Funky Llama wine, as seen at my local Giant, right next to my personal fav, Bully Hill. Made me learn a new word, too, which is always good: Malbec.

So. I've got an Etsy shop, and I sell something maybe once a month, in a good month. I've sold two rings in the past three days. I went online to figure out why, and, I'm on BoingBoing! *squeals again* Plus, it's John's buddy Cory Doctorow who picked my ring, so I'm super flattered in a 2-degrees of separation kinda way.

Check it out. Unfettered spray paint.

(For the non-Texans, the lovely state locks their spray paint up. Depending on the responsiveness of the clerks, it's sometimes simpler and faster to obtain a handgun and then use it to threaten the folks with the keys to the spraypaint.)

1) I was under impressed by the Fall Occoquan Arts Festival. The highlights were the combination public transport and parking enforcement (this being the first celebration post the new wider bridge over 123, which was lined with cars in years past) and this cool flower. Got a better shot, but my memory card hosed it.

2) Sugar had her first encounter with a cricket Monday night. She, unlike me, doesn't squeak when they jump two feet in the air, and chased it around the place all evening in and out of boxes as if it were a new toy. It finally escaped her clutches, but this evening I found dismembered cricket bits in the hall. It's good to see the cat act like a kitten occasionally, and even better to have a built in exterminator. I hope she handles spiders similarly.

Reeces Pieces 5-scoop sundae from Friendly's. Mmm.

Just one shot of the festival today, that of Tee Morris with baby Serena. He was out pimping Morevi, and wife Natalie brought Serena so I got to see the whole family. Unfortunately, there is no photo of the whole family, because shortly after this photo Serena exploded and had to be revived with a liberal application of french fries.

As for myself, the festival was much too crowded for me, and I am off to partake of ice cream.

Back in D.C. Had to take a couple of shots of Mom's roses, since she's missing them bloom. Sug is currently camped out on my lap, attempting to cute me into submission. It's working.

For the cheap flight, I'm flying through Divinity's neck of the woods to get to D.C. from Mississippi. Go fig. The guys behind me are raving about Talladega Nights, which illustrates the state of Mississippi education (motto: Proud to Be 50th!).

Had to get a shot of the minimalist art display in the Jackson Airport, followed by two of Granny and Mom yesterday, and a botanical one outside our hotel.

Shew. Left home at 5 a.m. Drove straight. Got to Mississippi 17 hours later. Just arrived back at the hotel room from seeing Gran at the hospital. Amusingly, while we were initially checking in, Mom made them switch our hotel room because she didn't think the hotel's air conditioning was working right, and, when we got to the hospital, Granny was complaining that she thought the hospital's air conditioning was broken. Two of a kind. Love them both. Even if my nose is asleep because it's so cold.

In todays news, I now own the coolest microwave ever -- the Sharp R-426H. You tell it vaguely what you're cooking. It senses the moisture and figures what power levels and cook times to use and does its thing. Popcorn will be the real test.

But it'll have to wait a few days. We leave for Mississippi in the morning. I think when Mom gets back, I'll let her do the honors.