The Other Shoe

Last night I felt like I was waiting for the other shoe to fall. I went to bed at 10 PM, way early for me, because my bf had snubbed any desire I had to go out and do something romantic and fun on a Friday night. I dropped the idea when it went over like a lead balloon. My Internet connection hadn't worked most of the day, so after wasting an hour playing solitaire, waiting for the link to come up, I decided to just go to bed.
Only I couldn't sleep. I was still reading 'When God Was a Rabbit.'  I finally finished it at 1 AM but was still wide awake. So I tried my connection again, and still no go. I played solitaire until my eyes were blurry and finally went back to bed. Shortly after I fell asleep thuds against my window woke me up. Nothing there. Back to sleep. Thuds. What the heck.

Got up this morning, still no Internet. That's why I'm at the library now. But not before my boyfriend's mom called to tell us her husband was just read his last rites. So there was the other shoe falling. They aren't sure what is wrong other than the Alzheimers and the hip he just had surgery on. They were about to move him to another convelescent home or a hospice, but it doesn't look like he's going anywhere physically. She told us not to come down. He won't recognize us anyway. Sadness.

Surprised Guest

Our watch cat Wallop alerted me to an intruder this morning. Whatever it was had come down the chimney and was now in the wood burning stove. I peeked in, expecting a rat, and there was a very sooty unhappy cactus wren. So I shut the door, woke up Guy and asked for his advice. "Just reach in and grab it," says he. So I open the back door, put the cat in the bathroom, and open the door of the stove just a crack when out it flew. Now that it knew the way out of the box, it wasn't going to wait another second. Unfortunately it headed for the front door, which was still closed, bounced off some blinds, and spotted freedom through the kitchen.  And smacked right into the window over the sink. Ouch, that had to hurt. There it clung to a strainer in the utensil jar and refused to move. So I opened the front door too, and this time when it flew again it was right for Guy's head. Then it ended up behind some bookcases. There is only one other window in the living room without a blind over it, so that's the next spot it smacked into. After 3 or 4 attempts to get through the glass, I slithered behind the recliner, and opened the window, hoping the bird would stay put long enough for me to slide it open. Now that window doesn't have a screen so it perched on the edge, looking at freedom but figuring this was another trick glass pane. Finally it took off out the window.  So I let the cat out, who still thought his prize was in the stove, and continued walking around it for awhile.

Iguana and Quail

It's 102 degrees today. I made sure everything was thoroughly watered, then spent the rest of the day indoors under the swamp cooler and the fans. It helped a lot to wet down my tank top and put it back on.  It's supposed to be 104 on Saturday.

I saw my first desert iguana today. I used to have a pet green iguana. Imagine my surprise today when I looked out my front window and saw what looked like a sand colored iguana, about 3" from back to belly, and about a foot long. It was cruising through the sand I just watered heading for the joshua tree. I never saw it leave so maybe it is still in the tree. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_iguana

Then a few minutes ago, I saw a mom, a pop, and a baby quail heading for the chicken wire enclosure where I have the peppers planted. The little darling hopped right through the fence, leaving mom and dad outside.  I asked my boyfriend if they would abandon it there, and he said he didn't think so. As if they heard us, mom and dad both ran off. About 30 seconds later I see the little one pop up on a rock, dive through the fence, and take off like a rocket in the direction of the parents.

Queen's Champion Barony of Angels

Oh Look...Knees!

Clash

Red Shirt Guy

Honour your opponent.

The Dance

Drama

Ready to fight.

Double kill?

Shield block.

Now what?

Back view.

Bow to the one whose favor you bear.

Double elimination.

Grrr!

Hail Chivalry

Nice kit.

I would love to see this on a magazine cover.

Fancy shield.

Crunch

Low shot.

Don't hurt me.

Yesterday was the perfect escapism for me. I got to go to Queen's Champion Archery in the Barony of Angels aka Los Angeles CA. I wasn't that diligent about getting photos of all the activities. For some reason, every time I sat down I never wanted to get up again. And I was aggravated with my camera, which hasn't worked quite right since the day I fell down and smashed it on a rock. But of the photos I did get, I really liked them.  So I'll share them. Notice how green everything is? I miss green since moving to the desert.

There was also fencing going on on the other side of the field. Next time I'll write a list so I get some of everything. Also, dear photo fairy, I really need a new camera! 

The Weekend Gypsy

I get to don my gypsy garb tomorrow and be who I really am. Full skirts don't work well in my tiny house but the event is at a shady park, so with any luck I will get to be under the trees doing the things I love which include painting on scrolls, juggling, reading the tarot, and doing fiber arts.

I seem to have lost my belt. I had it Friday before last at the Steampunk campsite. I took it off to put on my driving clothes and mislaid it in one of my bins or tote bags. Sheesh. Maybe it is out in my art studio, but it is too dark out there to look for it. Let's hope I get up early enough to find it before I have to get a ride to town to catch my ride to the event. I have to grab my painting supplies and my belt and load the last minute items into the truck, like the food, that can't go in ahead of time.

Today's self portrait.

June's First Sunset