Thursday, March 31, 2022

all signs say no

Three covid tests later all signs say No but bsp has been down and out for nearly three weeks. I’m on the mend, I think, but still struggling for strength and adequate words.

In the meantime, read people with something relevant to say about war, pandemic, nefarious R's and spineless D's, and The Slap:

Wednesday, March 23, 2022

food lab

Of course now that I claim to dislike puns, I remember the kawaii Food lab images from Riverside.
These did make me laugh and hang around long enough to get photos. 

stay brewtiful

i'm your biggest flan!

laugh s'more worry less


Monday, March 21, 2022

The power of a (nick)name

We made up a few nicknames on this last trip. Ashlord. Chilberg. Full dipes.
There's something about clever wordplay that brings a lightness and hilarity.
Someone once told me I was an easy laugher and I think they meant it as a dig but I take it as a badge of honor.
Give me all the jokes, I love laughing. 


(Hard exception on puns though, growing up they were used as a substitute for meaning and they still give me a shiver of "is this a passive aggressive dig or just a joke?")


My mom's side of the family was known for its nicknames, and I don't know the meanings of most.
Boonch. Dusty (I think related to his time playing shortstop).
Myself I don't have many nicknames that I know of. This bothers me sometimes. I want to be that beloved auntie, that friend known for a million passions and interests.
Instead I guess maybe I'm the cantankerous coot.

Friday, March 18, 2022

a dry beauty

One appeal of the Southwest is the extremely dry climate (although cool air and rain seemed to travel with us). I'd be fine with never again driving through a dust storm (looking at you Arizona) or clouds dipping down from the sky dropping rain that hammered the rental car like pellets (sigh...still Arizona).

Walking around New Mexico was a treat to my mossy eyes, with the various cacti and succulents, oddly blooming things, curious rocks, little lizards, the occasional roadrunner (I finally saw one!). 

I also ate the best pecan pie of my life, along with Hatch chiles in everything from tamales to pizza toppings, spicy pistachios, pecan chocolate caramel chews, and a fair amount of local beer. Oh and Pistol Pete rye.

cacti
yup cacti

cacti
cacti

texasboulder
texas boulder




Wednesday, March 16, 2022

juicy writing news

Juicy news on the writing front, San Antonio Review published my creative nonfiction piece, "Fetch" this week. It's another piece of a longer work in progress. Please read and enjoy!


Tuesday, March 15, 2022

I went with friends to Tio's Taco's in Riverside, and the food was good but the art was great.
Colorful, inventive, funny, poignant--everywhere you look there's something recycled, remade, reinvented.
A faucet became a tiny penis. Plastic bottles became succulent planters. Old cans, a space shuttle.
It's inspiring and demented, clever, and extremely Instagrammable.

butterfly wing of flowers
tio's wings

space shuttle and skeleton
shuttle + skeleton


Sunday, March 13, 2022

howdy

Two weeks and 3000 miles later, I'm broke, tired and happy.
It was a nice mix of friends, road trip, train travel, good food, weird towns, sketchy truck stops, and delicious hot tubs.
I had two more story acceptances while I was away.
I'm ready to hit it.