Hey my camera came! I was just a tiny weeny bit depressed between the time the old one broke and the new one came. More like bummed, really. I love it except it’s so skinny and the screen is so big it kind of looks like an iPhone. I don’t want to lay it on its face, though. I hope it stays standing up well even when I am running around cooking and snapping or whatever.

You know what else came? A letter from the prosecuting attorney’s office (Child Support Division). BLARGH. The good news is that they are continuing to take my claim for child support seriously.

Whenever I get mail like this I honestly feel I’m going to shit myself, or at the very least have a panic attack. I almost did–I could feel my chest tightening up and everything. I was all alone when I got it. I could feel my brain racing around, what-ifing, predrafting the letters I have to write to continue to keep the ball rolling. I love how everything court related is HOOMHAH (me) vs. WHAT’S-HIS-BUKKIT. Let’s keep every interaction as adversarial as possible, even information requests.

I am completely Pavlovian with court stuff. I think it’s probably pretty normal to say “Oh shit, what does the government want??” but it’s certainly more dialed up in me now than it was pre-2004. Anyway, it should be pretty simple to send back what they want and then, I don’t know…wait another 6 months maybe?

Black, Italian, and Thai basil, in a place where they are both safe from the chickens and will get sun for most of the day.

I planted a gulfstream nandina. I love nandina.

My front flower garden is doing pretty well. I’m trying to aim for a balance of economy and beauty. I just bought some decorative grass on whoa clearance, which will continue to provide color and contrast even when nothing’s blooming. I bought the smallest number of lily bulbs I felt I could get away with knowing they would divide themselves, etc. Same with tulips and daffodils. It’s not too bad considering this was all grass when I moved in a year ago.

I don’t remember buying yellow lilies. I figured I just got a bunch of stargazers. Ah well.

This is the “sunset” rose, and was first to bloom. I forget its proper name.

Double Delight, looking crappy at the moment, but the bush is healthy overall and will bloom again very soon. Double Delight smells like Pond’s Cold Cream. I also have a Mr. Lincoln (red) and a Heirloom (purple) planted.

The solution to being stuck with this shitty decaying hot tub. GROW MY PRETTIES, GROW LIKE THE WIND! I’m hoping to have some decent screening by next summer. Hydrangeas, of course, are deciduous shrubs but I am not out in the yard much in the winter anyway.

Speaking of trashy crap…

The last of the carpet has been pulled from the garden. Before it is sent to Coventry, the chickens have decided to enjoy it for a while.

Molokai hangs out.

The coop has been enhanced a bit inside to accommodate the fact that the new ladies be laying now. There is also a new pop hole since it sits in the sun for part of the day at this house, but was constantly under a giant shady laurel before.

Also, my antlers I got in Idaho are mounted. Holy MAN was that something, the antler store. It was a huge fireworks store (POSTED: NO SMOKING WITHIN 50 FEET!!) and if you looked up, BAM, taxidermy. You could smell a musky reek in the store. “I hope your stuff doesn’t end up smelling like SKUNKS!” the register lady said. I had to sign a form swearing that I would not misuse my fireworks, even though I didn’t buy any.

I have not mentioned much about the trip, and I discovered when I was on my way when my camera was broken, but I stayed at my friend Kelly’s house and had a wonderful weekend.

Anyway, antlers. I have been wanting antlers for years, but the best thing about them is that I realized they were exactly what I wanted to display my rosary collection. When I was in college and ramblin’ around the Southwest I would stop at every little chapel and I ended up buying a lot of them.

So, camera. Court! An antelope head named “Jennifer Aniston.” I got nothin, really.