Everything Goes My Way

So, this is Christmas.

It's Dec 27 and I'm beat, done in, dead on one's feet, wiped out, run down, spent, and tired.  I'm also stuffed with holiday "food".  That stuff is delightful, but it hardly qualifies as proper sustenance.  And spirits.  The intoxicating kind.  I feel terrible down there. *points to intestines and liver* I'm about to run to the grocery store to buy a load of fruit, vegetables, green tea, and miso paste.  Then, a long soak in the bathtub.  And a good night's rest.  Reset. RESET!

Because the big day (Dec 25) was on a Wednesday and some of us had to go back to to work the next day (not it!), we figured we'd get our family time on the front end. A couple of weekends ago, ATM, KMHD & I went to Fort Smith to visit with my father, aunt & cousin. It was a good visit except for the debilitating toothache that I developed. Thankfully, my old man had 'something for that' in the form of hydrocodone.  As usual, my aunt fed us a lot of excellent (soft) homemade Vietnamese food. When I'm at my Dad's, I become the parent, at my aunt's I revert back to childhood.  It's a lot to go through in such a short amount of time.

The photo album got busted out @ my aunt's. I adore this photo of KMHD and I, enough to get it framed. Love that gal:

Dad gave ATM stacks of well-kept 45s. It was exciting:

The following weekend, ATM & I headed south to Mississippi to visit his mum, stepdad, brother & sister in-laws, and our nephews.  Unfortunately, his dad & stepmum were sick with the flu, so we could not see them at all.  I was so absorbed in hanging out, that I didn't take very many photographs.  I did manage to get a snapshot of one of my nephews modeling his new skivvies that he got for Xmas.  He was stoked about it!

When we got back to (N)LR, I was able to get QT in with Keiko & LP:

I'm really proud of LP's kitty cookie that she made for the Jolly Man:

When I am bored & there is no one around to stop me, I do things like dump an entire box of biodegradable packing peanuts into the toilet to see what happens.  I had my doubts for a moment, but they all went away with a single flush!

One evening, we met Jonathan for oysters & red beans/rice, and then headed over to a party @ Everett's.  I made cookies for it:

At one point, there were three pairs of siblings in the kitchen.  Lauren, Natalie, Collins, Hank, me & KMHD:

I got myself jewelry from CITIES IN DUST (Hello, Siouxsie reference!) Those door-knockers make me feel something powerful:

Every time my coworker tires of her tree, she gives it to us.  This is our second one from her.  There's actually the tiniest bit of space between the topper & ceiling:

A present!

Try: Blood & Sand cocktail:

STAHP HELPING KITTY:

Inclement weather makes the locals do this, it's a sight to behold:

Gorgeous, vintage stamps on a package I received:

Three out of four ain't bad:

Louise:

Photo by Zach

My new, pricey addiction.  So good, I can eat a box in a sitting.  ;(

My new bag:

I believe I've covered everything.  Hope you had a really great holiday.

CITIES IN DUST

23

NOVEMBER

It was liberating to admit to my Thxgiving companions, who certainly could not care less, that I simply did not feel like working on FEAR ANTS.  It was more of an acknowledgement, really.  It took an ice storm and being stuck at home for a few days to get me motivated to tend to things that I've put off. 

November came & went.

I turned 35.

SOLO getting her check-up.  She is now on a very special renal diet:


Brittany needed to decorate an apron for the Our House Tie One On benefit, so we did shibori.


Tooting my own trumpet here, they turned out totally first-rate. I want to make one for myself:




We went to Petit Jean State Park to gander at autumnal splendor with my cousin.  Arkansas really impressed, as usual:










C'mon, Andre, move!


Thx


green+purple+orange=greetings!


We are down to one Victory St. kitty.  Her name is Louise.  ATM captured her & had her spayed with help from FURR, a really great organization that deals with feral colonies and individual cases like ours.  Louise especially loves ATM; I believe she's deemed him her go-to human.  If we did not have a near-17 year old cat in residence, we'd take her.  Still looking for an amazing permanent solution.  What a looker!


Met Brittany and visiting Kristina (Deutschland) for coffee one Saturday morning. We ended up visiting the State Capitol Building, having drinks @ Capital Bar & Grill, and eating at Gus's.  I love that kind of unplanned, easy day.




My amazing souvenir from the State Capitol Bldg. ladies restroom:


Moscow Mule from CB&G:


ATM playing Olivia's wee leetle drumbs at Victory St. space:


For Thxgiving, ATM + I went down to Hot Springs to stay at the lake house with KMHD, Everett, and Brittany.  We did it up proper!  

Thxgiving Eve @ Waffle House:


Cross-country cousin Thxgiving video chat:




Them apples are fake, but that turkey is not:


Morning view from bed:


Geese in a row:


Canadians:




We got to see John Mark, Lindsay, Collin and other lovelies from out of town during the holiday, too:
 

N O V E M B E R

Q

OW OW OWWWWW!

SEE MYSTERY LIGHTS

ATM + I went to Far West Texas for our vacation this year.  We had an amazing time and would like to get back as soon as soon possible.

We left NLR by automobile @ 6 a.m. (with a stop in Dallas for lunch at Cosmic Cafe) and rolled into Marfa about 9:30 p.m. That's 14.5 hours travel time!  We checked in at our accommodations and then immediately headed over to Padres.  They were playing The Clean on the hi-fi when we walked in and that really set a positive tone. 

Our first two nights were spent at the awesome El Cosmico.  We opted for the Safari Tents.  Absolutely adored it:

Dusk:

Hangout lobby:

Terlets/showers:

We found the best view of Marfa from the top floor of the Presidio County Courthouse:

Free range chicken:

We wanted to stay at the El Paisano hotel for the second half of our trip, but it was booked, even months in advance.  We stepped in to check out the gorgeous lobby, though:

About town:

Marfan feline:

The tacos from Food Shark made me question everything about what I thought I knew about tacos.  So. unbelievably. good:

Miles of great wide open expanse, what we came for:

Chinati cat:

Donald Judd's 15 untitled works in concrete:

Rain in the distance:

Chinati Foundation:

WRONG store:

We went to gawk @ Prada Marfa in the dead of night, which is a little spooky. You can hear, but not see, fussy cows. Enveloped in darkness:

For our last two nights, we airbnb'd a house on Waco St. called Adobe Chi.  We really enjoyed our stay here and recommend it.  There's no television, but a lot of books:

Backside:

Across the street:

In the alley:

One day, we popped over to Alpine, TX, which is about 26 miles away.  It's a very nice small town, but not as compelling or cool as Marfa.  We didn't stay long, but learned that that is where you need to go for things like a big name auto parts store.

LOLs at Rangra Theater, Alpine, TX:

On our last evening, we drove over to Ft. Davis to visit the McDonald Observatory for a star party. We got to look through 7 big telescopes!  It was fantastic and if you head to Marfa, make this one of your absolutes.  Marfa is not a crowded place, there's always a manageable stream of people around (or not around) at all times, so the star party was a little overwhelming because where the hell did all of these people come from?!  But!  Do not let that deter your chances of seeing a galaxy or a cluster of stars that look like sparkling gems!  

Pack light, do laundry:

We had a couple of auto issues while in Marfa.  Driving back from Prada Marfa, we were pulled over by a sheriff's deputy, which is quite terrifying, mind you, if you are mistaken for Hispanic (hola!) all of the time because we were deep in Border Patrol territory.  He was very nice, though, and informed us one of our headlights was out, so the next day we had to make it a priority to change the bulb.  The tiny local car parts store didn't have what we needed, so we had to go to Alpine for the part.  An inconvenience!  When it was time to leave Marfa for home, we learned, after packing up everything, that the battery was dead.  Thankfully, Jen, our hostess, a very generous and results-minded individual, tossed us the keys to her car and let us drive to Alpine, AGAIN, to get a new battery, which they actually had in stock.  A word of advice: do not have car problems in Far West Texas on a Sunday.  

By ATM:

M A R F A, T X

1. You should go.  It's not ideal for children, frankly.  It's a holiday for grown-ups.  If you love art, delicious food, and wide open spaces in the high desert, start plannin'.

2. It's a small town with lots to do.  We were there 4 days and nights and couldn't do everything we wanted, which means we must go back.

3.  Bring ca$h.  Lots of places take cards, lots of places don't take cards.  Those are the ones you don't want to miss.

4.  It's weird to camp and not be able to have a camp fire (they are dead serious about burn bans), but to make up for it you've got the sky & the heavens.  I wish I could live there!  Really.  The things that hold me back from living in the west are the high altitudes (too close to the sun) and the apparent lack of surface water.  I am a water bb, after all.  Love you, Arkansas.

5.  Stay at El Cosmico for the first part of your trip.  It's really great!  And they have the best coffee in town.  Take a shower, too.  It's definitely exhilarating. 

6.  It's a small town that definitely has tourists, but not in large masses, so you see the same people (locals included) again and again.  It's nice, though, because you still get the 'middle of nowhere' feel, which is what I needed.  Phone signals are rare, too.

7.  Be sure to bring all of your necessities because you can't just buy them.  No pharmacy! 

8.  Vegans and vegetarians will get taken care of which is just incredible.

9.  Let your boots get dusty.  There's no fighting it.

10.  Be sure to buy as much green chile sauce from Farmstand Marfa as you can.  

11.  Marfa Public Radio, 93.5 on the dial, is excellent.  Listened to it most of the time.

12.  You might not see the Mystery Lights, but it's worth giving it a shot.

13.  Send me a post card when you do go.