The Holidays

I'm stoked! My friend Fabian got me a Kinder Advent calendar:


Of course, I had to look up what and when exactly Advent is...when I found out it doesn't start til November 29, I busted into the candy early.

Then today, a big box came in the mail. I hadn't ordered anything—certainly not through FedEx!—but it had my name on it. When I opened it up...ooh! A copy of Blasphemy!

"In Blasphemy you take part in the fate of a would-be messiah. Your aim is to convince your compatriots that your Jesus, and your Jesus alone, is the genuine article.

To accomplish this, your Jesus must cut as impressive a figure as possible. He must give stirring sermons, perform miracles, attract devoted followers, and generally carry on in a messiah-like fashion. Your Jesus must make every effort to discredit his rivals, and in the end, he must get himself killed...you win the game if you're the first player to get your Jesus nailed up.

Blasphemy is the race to the cross!"

YES

French Mexican, TexMex food

Somebody went somewhere

...it just wasn't me.

G-man just got back from the Chimeriades convention in the Provence region of France. Yeah, game designer is never gonna make those World's Worst Jobs reality shows.

Ah, a French breakfast: strong coffee in a bowl, delicious fresh-baked baguette, sweet butter, and (usually) a savory, rich cheese—though that appears to be lacking at this table. After the con (a really good time, apparently. I am bummed the Post Office is such a harsh mistress), Greg, Charlie, Gregory, and Phillipe did some sight-seeing:

A sidetrip to Rennes le Chateau, a famous hoax as well as a pretty castle (and gaudy chapel)...


...and another sidetrip to Carcassone, a very different place minus the summertime crowds.

Sigh. Maybe next year?

Spot the cat...

...if you can!

(You don't need to tell me that that is one ugly chair. I know.)

Resemblance

This looks just like my brother Mike

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This looks just like my friend Lou

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Seriously.

Betty Sits

A couple of weeks ago Betty, our Astralorp hen, went broody on us. We tried kicking her out of the nest any time we saw her in there, but we gave up. Really, what were we trying to prove? She moved any egg within reach into her clutch, so we gave her a golf ball to tide her over during the hours between afternoon egg-collecting and morning egg-production. Between Betty's broodiness and the shortening days, we haven't had extra eggs to sell.

Then our friends Ryan and Teri, who keep hens and a rooster, gave us five possibly fertile eggs. In a hurry, we stuck those under Betty before heading out to the Festival of Courage, and put the golf ball on the windowsill.

Today, curious about the progress of Betty's egg project, Greg stuck his hand under Betty's deliciously warm and cozy breast. Sixteen eggs. We're now wishing we'd marked those five eggs; they're all brown, and no telling who laid which egg. I might try candling them tonight. Besides, I need to know if I should get a chick set-up...stay tuned!

**Update: yesterday (the 24th) Betty transferred out of her current Egg-sitting workgroup into the Foraging workgroup...something about a shut-down of the project; I'm not sure. Anyway, she's off the nest. Too bad! Greg and I were both looking forward to chicks.

$12.50

Have you ever wondered how much you'd get if you, for a year, picked up every single piece of money you saw lying on the street?

I did, and now I know:

$12.57

2 dollar bills
11 quarters
35 dimes
31 nickels
277 pennies