Sadly, the days of this blog have come to an end. I have migrated everything to my new blog. Please reset your bookmarks.

I drove to the Houston area today to attend a writers' retreat. On the way, I passed the skeleton of an old drive-in movie theater. I remember when I was very small that my family went to the drive-in a couple of times a month during the summer. It was a big social thing....lots of families, and there was a playground right beneath the screen so that kids could play until dark. Sometimes, we were even allowed to play after the movie started, which was super-cool.

I found this picture of my old drive-in, which was located in West Quincy, Missouri.

One of our family traditions was to go to the "candy shop" before the drive-in. (It must have had a name, but I always knew it as the candy shop.) In lieu of buying crap at the concession stand, my mom let me buy popcorn there (they had several different kinds) AND a bag of candy. What I remember most about the candy shop was this wonderful buttery smell that seemed to linger in the car for days. The candy and popcorn were to die for.

I had the back seat of the car to myself, with a pillow and a sheet. I thought it was pretty snazzy to hang my feet out the window so that they were cooled by the night breeze off the river. Sometimes I could invite a friend, but mostly it was just me and my mom and dad. I'm not sure I EVER stayed awake long enough to see the end of a movie.

The drive-in was still around when I was in high school, and let's just say that I didn't fall asleep.

When I got married, my husband, our friends, and I used to go. We made moon tea (lemonade and Stolichnaya vodka, which didn't come in flavors back then)and sat on the roofs of our cars. Sometimes, we played on the playground.

I really miss that drive-in.

I am tired of Texas at the moment... or maybe just tired of my house...or maybe just tired. If the world as we know it is coming to an end (Google: oil spill gulf of mexico), I want to see more of it before I go. I have a few journeys set up for the rest of 2010 and early 2011.

To begin with, I'm going to Spring, Texas next weekend for a Write-a-thon . I'm in the doldrums of revising/combining LORD OF ABYDOS and QUEEN OF HEKA. Well, maybe I'm just in the doldrums. I set a goal for finishing by November 1. This goal plays into my plans, because I really, really want to get back to Reeds of Time and I simply must be on-site to do research. (It's as good reason, really.)

Let's play a game. Can you guess where Michalea is going by these pictures?

July 30 to August 7 trip (confirmed)



September 3 through September 20 trip (97% confirmed)



December 27 to January 14 (emails are flying; whipping my writing to a frenzy)
This one is no brainer for my friends.

I haven't taken animal and garden pictures in a few days. Since it rained and was all muddy and muggy and insecty, what could be a better time. I was rather inspired by someone who told me that artichokes are like something from Jurassic Park, and just in time my artichoke started looking all Jurassic. So hold on to your hats, you're in the hands of an amateur photographer, now.

First, the Jurassic artichokes:



Some amaranth and black-eyed peas and the blackberries among the asparagus:



And last but not least, the Okra forest. This okra has been "cultivated" for the last 25 years in the Sunshine Garden Community gardens. It is Texas-hardy.



Now, for Voo (top left) and Doo (bottom right), my Houdan hens, and Fraggle (top right), the Houdan rooster.




Rameses (left), who never lets a good camera go to waste, and his son, Kamwaset



And finally, the goatie goats: Oz (left), Dr. Dillamond (right), and Toto (far right). (Does anyone guess the theme we've got going here?)

One of the things I buy abroad is shoes. There are some interesting shoes to be had. Given the fact that I work at home, my chance to wear real shoes is limited. On a good day, I put on the sandals that aren't covered with chicken poo and call it good. However, with a wedding and a graduation on Friday and Saturday night respectively, even I came to the realization that one needs to think outside the box. Just because the shoes aren't covered in chicken poo doesn't make them acceptable. Luckily, I had a stylin' pair of somewhat high heels (skyscrapers in my world) that I bought in Paris that I've only worn twice and a pair of dressy, flat sandals I bought in Cairo.

When I put each pair on, I remembered the occasion I bought them and felt all happy. Which only reinforces something I read about happiness years ago. The article basically said that if someone gave you $10K and said you could have it only on the condition that you spent the money on a car or a great vacation, choose the vacation. The reasoning, the memories of vacations improve with time and generally prompt increased feelings of happiness. A car starts disappointing you almost the minute you drive it off the lot. I think I agree with that.

I also got my long awaited tattoo this weekend. Morgan gave it to me for Christmas. I've dithered around about what I wanted it to be. BUT, the tattoo artist was in town this weekend, so it was TIME. I wanted an Egyptian symbol (which I'm sure surprises almost everyone). I chose the Eye of Horus for my ankle.

Here's the first photo. My skin is still a bit red and puffy from the needlework. I hadn't yet washed off some of the excess ink (that's not a bruise), because you have to wait about two hours to do that. Probably it's not clear from the photo, but the outline is black and the shading is purple.

Lovely long five day weekend where I have been busy, yet can't recount exactly what I did. Well, some of it, I remember, so it's not a lost weekend.

I mucked out the goat shed and cursed myself for NOT doing it in the spring, or at least before the temperatures hit a steady mid-90's. I cleaned out some dead veggies and replanted beans and corn, mostly as an experiment to see if it's too late in the season. One thing I read said it was not. I also planted the remaining yucca's someone left for my garden of spiny death and weeded said garden of spiny death with not too much blood flow.

I went on an exasperating search for new sandals as mine are pretty disgraceful. Even the chickens and goats look away in embarrassment when I wear them in the yard. I finally found a pair of birkenstocks for a mere $40 in one of the outlet stores that satisfied most of my requirements. I did not, however, find a dress to wear to a wedding for this upcoming weekened.... so I'll have to not spend $$ and wear something in my closet. Oh, the horror of THAT!

I'm making a feeble attempt to watch all six seasons of The Sopranos because I always watched it in bits and pieces.I'm midway through Season 2. Ignore it if you hear me singing Woke up this morning and got yourself gun! got yourself a gun! got yourself a gun! I think it reminds me of my blissful childhood.


I'm also finishing the final book in Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. I had a difficult time getting into the first book until I was forced to read it for my book club, but then I started completely loving it. Sometimes it's like that with books, one day you can't even bear to read the first word, and then you get obsessed.

I spent a fair amount of time writing as well. There's been a scene giving me fits. It's a seminal part of the Isis myth, Isis and the Seven Scorpions, and I so could NOT get into it. Possibly because I have a couple of other scorpions scenes and have (as I told a friend) visited the scorpion well too often. Anyway, I resolved the issue this weekend in a way I would not have expected.

I also finished a little handicraft project that turned my chainlink fence into something semi-private.


The not-private part belongs to my neighbor. To achieve this lovely effect, I wove strips of a shower curtain through the links. I'm rather pleased with the overall effect.

Finally, some of the latest pix.

Baby chickens



Junior chickens



Okra, black-eyed peas, and mint eat the world

In case anyone didn't figure out from my last post that Emma and I are too much alike, these pictures from a wedding shower we attended today should eliminate all doubt.

(or in some cases, yer pappa)

As you can see from these pix, genetics is strong at Le Jardin de Grand Singe.

The adult is the first picture; the offspring the second. The offspring, with one big exception, were all born this spring.

Nessa Rose and Dr. Dillamon


The Ramesside Dynasty





Hillary and Chelsea


Magda and we-don't-know-if-this-is-a-boy-or-girl, but we think a boy


Effie and Monsieur


Gamma and Reau


Don't know these people, don't know them at all.

Yesterday I let the occupants of Coop Junior High out into the backyard for the first time. They were getting crowded, and some of them are as big as some of the bantam hens, so it was time.

It went well. The Coop Junior High is in the backyard, so the big chickens "know" these guys and gals. There was no undue pecking, just enough to establish the new pecking order, then "been there, done that, got the tee-shirt."

The Junior High group is still mostly moving around in a big herd of chickens and ducks (think of the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park). They follow some of the adult chickens, peeping and quacking "Wha'cha doin? Wha'cha doin? Wha'cha doin? Wazzat?"

I've also been able to see genetics in action. For example, Daughter of Hillary (aka Chelsea) not only looks like Hill, but also has Hillary's LARGE-AND-IN-CHARGE personality. She was the first out of the coop, and she pretty much leads the herd around the yard.

The baby naked neck (who might be a rooster) shows Magda's penchant for hanging out in the goat shed.

The baby Fayoumis are, of course, independent of all this.

On another mad city chicken note, I apparently ordered a bunch of chicks in February and promptly forgot about it until the charge showed up on my bank card yesterday. So on Thursday, I'll be receiving (to the best of my clearly not-so-great memory):

Three Spangled Russian Orloff hens which have muffs and beards. Their eyes are deeply set under well projected eyebrows, giving a gloomy, vindictive look. (Probably the reason I ordered them.) Orloffs, which originated in Russia, are extremely rare brown egg layers.


Three Buckeye hens, a rare American breed originating in Ohio, the "Buckeye State", with color similar to the richly colored buckeye nut. They are known as a dual-purpose breed that is mainly kept for the production of brown eggs.


Two Silver Spangled Spitzhaubens, which are sometimes called Appenzeller Spitzhaubens, originated in Switzerland. Although they are efficient producers of white eggs, they are kept primarily for their unique appearance. This very rare variety is uniquely characterized by having strong cavernous nostrils, a horn type comb and a medium sized pointed crest that is bent forward. I think I wanted to match them with my Houdans (Second pix).


Two Buff Catalanas. They originated in Spain, have become popular in Latin American Countries, but are extremely rare in the U.S. They are a dual-purpose breed, with pinkish white skin, that produces both meat and large white-shelled eggs. They are one of the largest white egg breeds. Their shanks and toes are bluish slate. They have black tails, while the remainder of the plumage is buff to reddish buff.


Two Silver Laced Cochins a very rare variety of Cochins. They are the most docile of all breeds are an excellent choice for pets. We have three Cochins (black, white, and partridge colored), and they are sweet birds.


Two Buff Brahma Bantams a rare, relatively new variety of Brahma Bantams.We already have two white Brahmas, one of whom was mentioned previously as Shiva the bad little chicken.



Sigh, I had just declared my office a "chirp-free" zone not that long ago.

Today, a bob bean that describes how I'm feeling about the world in light of the oil spill.

Note: I started "finding" bob beans years ago when I got tired of hearing programmers talking about java beans. The theory behind bob beans: whatever is going on in the world, at work, or in your personal life, you can find the appropriate dylan song. It's sort of like the godfather-thing in You've got mail.

This song is Mississippi from the album Love and Theft, which Newsweek recently named one of the ten best albums of the decade. An interesting side note, this album was release on 9/11 (yes, that 9/11), which makes the line "Sky full of fire, pain pourin’ down" the ultimate bob bean.

Anyway, I heard the song again the other day, and found some of the lines particularly poignant.

Every step of the way we walk the line
Your days are numbered, so are mine
Time is pilin’ up, we struggle and we scrape
We’re all boxed in, nowhere to escape
.
.
.
Got nothin' for you, I had nothin' before
Don’t even have anything for myself anymore
Sky full of fire, pain pourin’ down
Nothing you can sell me, I’ll see you around
.
.
.
Well, the devil’s in the alley, mule’s in the stall
Say anything you wanna, I have heard it all
.
.
.
Walkin' through the leaves, falling from the trees
Feelin' like a stranger nobody sees
So many things that we never will undo
I know you’re sorry, I’m sorry too
.
.

Well my ship’s been split to splinters and it’s sinkin' fast
I’m drownin’ in the poison, got no future, got no past
But my heart is not weary, it’s light and it’s free
I’ve got nothin’ but affection for all those who’ve sailed with me

Everybody movin’ if they ain’t already there
Everybody got to move somewhere
Stick with me baby, stick with me anyhow
Things should start to get interestin' right about now
.
.
.
Well, the emptiness is endless, cold as the clay
You can always come back, but you can’t come back all the way
Only one thing I did wrong
Stayed in Mississippi a day too long