i went on a

Capture Crawl in November but an hour and a half afterwards, I got busy and I don't think I ever shared any of the images here.  It was downtown at Via Colori.  It's a festival to raise money but what they do is close off a few blocks downtown with squares taped off to serve as different canvases.  People use their chalk pastels and go to town with their street art.  This totally looks like something I would've been a participant in way back.

 

I thought about this Capture Crawl because I just got notice for the one happening this month.  I hope I can make it.  If so, I'll tell you all about it in a few months.

can i call

it or can I call it?  I went to the dentist yesterday.  No biggie.  I have a cavity.  He showed me the x-ray.

Me: Wait...  This tooth with the big filling has a cavity?  (I give him a look like I know what's     coming...because I do)

Him: Yeah... you'll need a crown.

I know at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo they give out Hard Luck Awards.  The cowboy with the roughest ride/outcome wins airfare.  I think I'm deserving.  As I left I could only think of two things: 1) at least I have insurance and 2) at least I don't have poison ivy.  So, one week from tomorrow I'll be back in Houston for a crown.  And then hopefully before two weeks from that I'll be back for my permanent crown.  (I mean two weeks from that is Thanksgiving...)

On that note, I had a dream I was covered in poison ivy.  I realized I walked through it and was in the shower washing the oils off while on the phone with the doctor telling them to get a shot ready.

I bought bananas for banana bread.  I think I'll make it today.  The exterminator is coming, maybe I'll offer him a loaf.  It makes several loaves so I guess if anyone else shows up at my door I'll offer them a loaf too.  Oh, I bet that'll be wonderful with the homemade butter.  This might just be a wonderful day ahead of me.

On the dog front, I was watching Maggie out the window yesterday.  I'm pretty sure she was hunting snakes.  She was on a scent and it was around what I'll call the "snake pit" (the mess of palm that was obviously planted with the idea that the buyer of this house would install a pool... don't count me out just yet).  Luckily for me, there were no snakes found on the back porch.

It's almost 5:00.  It's getting late.  I guess I'll start laundry now.

and that's

a wrap.  The haunted house was a hit and apparently trick-or-treating at the house was a hit too.  Eric and Cosme dressed as Batman and Robin, respectively, and stood outside to pass out candy.  I gave Eric instructions on how to hand the candy out (from worst to best, stopping before best is gone).  Everything is gone.  Put it this way, I started on a pack of M&M's yesterday but I got busy and left a few in it to finish later.  Even those were gone.  See?  They gave out everything, probably eating some along the way and when they realized it was all gone, they even took my scraps.  At least I figure that's how it went.  Either way, our candy is gone.

As for the haunted house, it was great.  It's a little messed up how delighted I am to hear the people scream and see them jump.  Today's the cleanup day so I need to head over there pretty soon to help out.  That won't take near as long as the setup took.  Awesome.  Now I just need to figure out what time to head over.  They said it definitely won't be before 10:00.  I was thinking 11:00 would be good.

Oh well, I should probably wash some dishes and get dressed.  And don't be surprised if my Christmas tree goes up in the next week or so.  Don't judge me either.  Is it my fault that I think a tree is so pretty and a month just isn't enough time to admire it?  No.  So as Eric would say, let me do me.

(from the Houston photo walk)

the poison ivy is on

its way out!  I'm thrilled and relieved.  It's settled.  The next time I get it, I'm going for a shot.  Although, I felt a little weird getting it.  The nurse asked me if I'd ever had a steroid injection.  For a split second I thought that maybe I should get pills.  I felt so Lance Armstrong and wrong.  When she told me to stick around for about 15 minutes to make sure I didn't have a reaction, I took another few seconds to think about the pills.  Bottom line: I was miserable and if a shot would make it go away faster, give me two.  So that was Tuesday and here we are on Friday.  I'm a little itchy but I'm almost to the point of feeling like I might be getting close to wearing short sleeves.  Not today and probably not tomorrow but close.  Put it this way, if I were somebody standing next to me, I'd want me wearing long sleeves.  It isn't pretty.

Speaking of not being pretty, today we start assembling the haunted house at church.  It's grown and is kind of a big deal.  It should be pretty good.  We were planning and drawing out what would go where yesterday and of course, some laughs would come out when we thought of something really good and scary.  I brought up the fact that it's a little messed up how much joy we get from that.  So anyway, I'll go up today and we'll start covering everything and setting up for next week... but first I have to wait for Antonio to come and remove any poison ivy from my yard.

I guess, for now, I could get busy on any of the chores around the house that need to be done or I could continue working on props for the haunted cemetery... even though I'd rather take a nap.  One thing's for sure.  If I don't put a can of Coke in the refrigerator for later, I'll regret it.

it's always something

and now it's poison ivy.  And it sucks.  It showed up a week ago and I went to the doctor yesterday for a shot.  I'm not near as itchy as I was at this time yesterday but I'm still itchy.  But really though, it does look better.

In other news, the trainer came out for Maggie yesterday.  First of all, before the trainer got here, I went out back to pick up the water hose that Maggie finally pulled off its rack and attacked.  I was stuffing pieces of hose into the trash bag when I went to grab the last section from in front of the door.  There was a snake right there.  UGH.  I hate snakes.  When I see a snake, I prefer to scream and run rather than kill it.  Lucky for me though, this snake was dead.  At least I thought it was until its little head raised up and he hissed at me.  So I grabbed Maggie's beloved shovel and killed it.  Since the grass was wet and a shovel's distance between me and the snake was not long enough, I threw the snake in the grass.  (I figured Cosme needed something to do when he got home... if another animal didn't run off with it before then.)  Anyway, I picked up the hose, figuring I'd tell the trainer instead of leaving evidence of Maggie's destruction.  The trainer came and we were using a clicker to work with Maggie. She was doing really well.  Then I noticed the snake back on the porch.  About that time, Maggie picked it up and started walking around with it.  Somehow the trainer got it away from her and it went back into the yard.  Everything went fine and a couple of hours later I wanted to try the clicker approach with her again.  She was a little hyper but went along with it.  And guess what.  That snake was back on the porch.  To top it all off, I forgot to have Cosme get rid of it last night.  Between all the talk of training and doctor visits, it didn't get done.  I'm sure when I go out there to work with Maggie this morning, there will be even less of that snake on the back porch and hopefully no new ones.

On that note, it's about time for me to get out there and start clicking.  Maybe that'll take my mind off the fact that I'm starting to itch.

i really wish

I had a hidden camera in the backyard to catch Maggie.  I heard banging this morning.  It was against the house, near my bedroom window.  I looked out and she was there with her shovel.  Who knows what she was trying to do.  She's goofy like that.  Oh, I'm so excited about tomorrow morning!  It's our meeting with the trainer.  I guess I also need to start planning on getting her fixed.  (Maggie, not the trainer.)  Once that happens, I could start taking her to the dog park in town.

Has anyone heard of any photo walks?  Me neither.  If I had a photo walk to think about and plan on, my mind wouldn't be so focused on this poison ivy I've got going on.  On the plus side, a cool front came through so I'm not as miserable walking around in long sleeves.

So I went to the art gallery with Eric yesterday.  Yeah.  We're still trying to figure that one out.  But, I guess that's the good thing about art... to each his own.  While this is the last day of that exhibit, it looked like they were pulling out pieces for what I assumed to be the next showing.  One of those actually caught my eye.  I'll have to watch out for that one.  But back to the contemporary art inspired by the artist's Indian upbringing and all, not that there's anything wrong with that, it just wasn't my cup of tea.

I guess it's time to get ready for my hair appointment.  I'll leave you with another Lake Jackson photo walk image.

deep breath in

... and release.  Now that's what I'm talking about.

Let's see:
Hand wedding pictures over to Brittany
Deliver food for Jake
Have new dishwasher installed
Pick up heart worm pill for Maggie
Go to art gallery with Eric
Hair appointment
Appointment with the dog trainer

Could it be that I'm almost caught up?  I think so!  Did you catch that last one?  Yeah, a trainer is coming by Friday morning for an evaluation.  I picked up a card from the vet's office because it's gotten to that point.  Honestly, I need the training as much as Maggie.  The rocks I had Antonio put down haven't stopped her from digging.  She moves the rocks out of the way and digs.  (My back porch is now turning into a rock garden.)  Oh, and the water hose she's been terrified of?  She chewed off about four feet of the end.  So I'm hoping the trainer will help me help her.

Looking at my calendar, I also realized the set up for our haunted house begins a week from tomorrow. I guess I need to get busy on some props.  It's not that we need them but I just want to make a few things to add to it.

Unfortunately, I don't have any photo walks penciled in.  Bummer.  Here's one from the Lake Jackson photo walk.

Oh well, now I'm off to get ready for the art gallery.  (He's 19 and in college.  Is it okay to refer to it as a field trip?)

boo! did i

scare you?

Were you starting to think this blog was part of the government shutdown?  Seriously, I hope to be back to regular posting soon.  I'm not just saying that, I sincerely mean it.  I've been trying to finish a few things here and there so my mind won't constantly be focused on what I should be doing instead of sitting here.  Really though, there's been a lot going on.  I think I might need a vacation.  Yeah, yeah... I don't work outside the home.  Why would I need a vacation?  Assuming I don't need a vacation is as bad as assuming I don't have anything to do.  Seriously, JUST because someone doesn't have a job outside the home doesn't mean they need anyone sitting there thinking of things for them to do.  Wow.  I'm 41 years old and finally starting to stand up for myself.  These backbone things are kind of nice.  I  should have looked into one years ago.

I did take two Saturdays in a row and do photo walks.  Have I mentioned that I loved it?  I can't believe  it took me years to finally do it.  (It must have something to do with that whole backbone thing.)  I didn't have a walk this weekend and guess what, I don't see one happening anytime soon.  There needs to be more photo walks.  I would do it on my own but walking around with a group is so much safer than walking around alone with camera gear.  Alone, I'm constantly watching out for what's around me but in a different way.  It's less of a "let's create great art" watch and more of a "let's not get mugged" watch.

For your continued patience during my times of preoccupation, I will share a picture from one of the photo walks.  This was another from Houston, before I was limited to my phone.  By the way, another first, I went up and to a stranger who was sitting on a bench behind the Wortham Theater, just taking a break, and asked if I could take his picture.

we all know what

we're supposed to do when life hands us lemons.  Guess what.  I had a whole lot of lemonade this weekend.  To make a long story short, I'm going to the camera doctor today.  Yes, everything turned to crap in the middle of the photo walk on Saturday but at least it wasn't a wedding.  Also, I just used my phone for the rest of the day.  I would say it all being operator error is the worst part but as much as I could kick myself, I'm using this as an opportunity to be more aware next time.

Here are some phone pics from Saturday.

Now let's all hope for a speedy recovery because my camera has places to go and people to see.  In the meantime, I've decided my backup needs to be upgraded.  My current backup is... well... let's compare it to the donut spare everyone has in their trunk.  Now let's say that someone who drives for a living needs to use the spare but also needs to keep driving while the permanent tire could possibly take 10 days to be replaced.  That trip would be a lot easier and go a lot faster if they'd just replace the donut with a regular sized tire.  Now I need to get dressed just in case I can get my camera to a doctor in Houston this morning.

Fingers crossed, prayers said, rabbit foot rubbed...