Tag: houston

Thank you, gray skies


Do you see this? Do you know what you’re seeing? Yes, it’s a daisy, but that’s not what I mean. It’s a daisy with RAIN on it. Real rain. From the sky. The sky that has been giving us gentle rains off and on for hours. After months of almost no rainfall–and when it did rain, it’d almost always be a short blast that went away quickly and turned the environment into a sauna–this persistent light rain is so welcome. Except to Rex and Margot.

Speaking of Margot… Writer ‘Nathan Burgoine is having a contest. If you photograph your animal with any book by an author with whom ‘Nathan appears in an anthology and give him the link to the photo on your blog, FB, Twitter, whatever, you’ll be eligible to win a FREE BOOK. He explains it all better than I do in the contest link I provided above. I’m disqualifying myself from winning Fool For Love (I seem to have several copies already), but as examples, I give you:

Margot hiding from the rain by staying in bed with Felice Picano’s wonderful Like People in History. Felice’s short story in Fool For Love is “Gratitude.”


Guinness is not hiding from the rain, she’s always this lazy, and who wouldn’t want to curl up with Paul Lisicky’s Lawnboy? Paul’s story in Fool For Love is “Two Tales.”

‘Nathan’s story in Fool For Love is “Heart.”

Mississippi: magnolias and murder

I personally have always found Mississippi to be laid back in all the best ways, beginning from the early days of my childhood in the northern part of the state to my visits to the beautiful white-sand coast featured in Three Fortunes in One Cookie. But magnolias and mint juleps can be deceiving, and writers Jeannie Holmes, Carolyn Haines, and Dean James–writing as Miranda James–have penned some tales to show you a more sinister side of my mother’s home state.


Jeannie Holmes, Carolyn Haines, and Dean James at Houston’s Murder By The Book on Saturday, July 16, 2011.

Holmes introduced her urban fantasy series featuring vampire Alexandra Sabian and her arrival in Jefferson, Mississippi, in Blood Law. The second in the series presents a new peril for Alexandra in Blood Secrets, with a killer known as The Dollmaker. I haven’t read these yet, but the books’ descriptions are enticing–though the doll thing may make me reconsider whether I want bins of Barbie and her friends in my attic.

Fans of Haines’s Sarah Booth Delaney series will be going with Sarah and her assistant Tinkie to Natchez, Mississippi, to investigate robbery, kidnapping, and possibly murder in this eleventh installment, Bones of a Feather. In more good news, Haines’s publisher has contracted her to write at least two more books featuring these Mississippi Delta sleuths. I swear I could listen to Carolyn’s stories as long as she tells–and writes–them. Also, be sure to check out her web site to learn more about Good Fortune Farm Refuge, her organization that rescues and places animals in adoptive homes.

I last featured Dean’s Cat in the Stacks mystery series back in May with the signing for his second, Classified As Murder. Fans of Dean (and his alter ego Miranda James) will be glad to know he’s just finished writing the third in the series and is beginning the fourth. Both will be out next year, and you can count on my letting you know when they’re available.

Find a shady spot and take a literary trip to the Mississippi of these three authors’ imaginations: no mosquitoes, just mysteries.

Return to an old haunt

I shouldn’t make that joke in the title, I guess, because nothing about Houston’s Glenwood Cemetery seems haunted to me, although its beauty possibly is haunting. On Thursday, Tom, Tim, Jim and I did some more exploring of this favorite spot (armed with bug spray, this time only Jim was bitten by mosquitoes–sorry, Jim!). There are still plenty of areas in the cemetery I haven’t explored, so that’s what I tried to do on this visit. Of course I have a ton of photos to share over time. A lot of the cemetery’s lush landscaping has been impacted by our drought, but you wouldn’t know that from the grounds around this monument.


Who can resist LOVE?

Moments

We can’t get a break from the heat. We did get two days of rain but desperately need more. Still, inside and outside, I’ve captured some images to share.


I wanted to go back here with a Barbie or two to give you a sense of this water’s depth. A frog couldn’t swim in this. Maybe a “No Wading” sign instead? Or “No Drinking.” That would better serve the public good.


One afternoon, Hanley came for a visit. I love to hear her say “Pixie.”


Not as gratifying, on a night she came for dinner, she kept calling Guinness “Becky.”


But she did eat her chicken, dressing, salad, corn, and three helpings of crowder peas. I love it when a child is not a fussy eater.


Also good eaters, Rhonda, Kathy, Tom, and Tim at Kathy’s pork chop birthday dinner.


Of course there was cake.

I still owe Kathy a dinner for some heavy-duty landscaping work she and Tom did. Margot shows the ground before. If we ever get rain to wash the rocks, they have more color than their coating of white dust would indicate.


Tim and I both got our “Jim is visiting soon” haircuts.


One day I met Alan, Matt, and John(nie) for brunch at Té House of Tea. Yep, those are my paintings hanging there. You can see the entire “Every Moment Is A Window” series and the nine paintings of my developing “Bottle Caps and Friends” series at One Word Art. Reminder: Art makes a great gift for birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, and other occasions. And if there’s ever a work you really want but aren’t sure you can afford, I do negotiate.

The night of July 4, I treated myself to this movie while other Compounders were watching the fireworks from downtown.

I really liked A Better Life. The role of the father, an undocumented Mexican worker trying to make “a better life” for his son, is played brilliantly by Demián Bichir (the sexy drug lord/corrupt mayor from Weeds). If you’re an urban dweller, particularly of the border states, many of the scenes and situations will be familiar. I always like it when characters are multi-layered, and this movie weaves them into the setting to provide a heart-troubling and thought-provoking tapestry.

Finally, I leave you with some shots from Houston Pride 2011.


See ya!

30 Days of Creativity 2011, Day 25

It’s Pride in Houston! As every year, our parade is at night. And you may recall that each year, I try to get a photo of Tim standing in front of some sign.


Like “Fantasy” and “Lust”

And the year I couldn’t go, so Tom shot him for me.
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Last year, Tim was out of town during Pride. But this year, I revived the tradition.

I’m so proud that this incredible man is my friend, writing partner, and artistic inspiration. He does amazing work helping rescue dogs in Houston, and his friends love him unconditionally. I hope the day comes when his country recognizes that he deserves the same rights and privileges that most of us take for granted. This year: Thank you, New York, for reinforcing that justice and equality are always in style!

Happy news!

Yesterday I worked for several hours to continue my “Canvas to Couture” series. I’m glad I haven’t been neglecting it, because I received confirmation that I will indeed be showing my work at the original Barnaby’s (in Montrose on Fairview) during the month of August. Here’s a little peek at four additional ones, now completed:

Unrelated: Do you think the old, wrinkly raisins are jealous of the fresh, pretty blueberries?