Dear Friends & Scoobs...

Just wanted to drop a lil 'note' to you guys to catch you up on everything.. since I know I've been MIA for awhile (sorry about the disappearing act) See, a few months ago I was abducted by a tribe of tree-dwelling midget albino Satanists and forced to adopt their ways, living in the treetops and eating twigs, berries, and the occasional bowl of Frosted Flakes, until finally, I managed to weave my hair into a ladder and make good my escape, and then......

...ok, ok, OK... that didn't really happen (but I did climb a tree on Easter per the request of my little cutie niece, heh) Anyway, I have spent awhile away from the Internet for a variety of reasons... both good and bad... and I just wanted to drop my web-friends a line here to let everyone know that yes, I am still alive, and yes, I do still remember how to use a computer and how to get online.... *wink*

These last few months have been crazy for us... hectic... stressful... interesting... superbusy... all the way down to craptacular... you name it, we've been through it recently. We completed all our work and travels for the upcoming Weird Texas book (how exciting!)... lost and then finally regained a vehicle (ugh)... started re-painting/modeling our place... dealt with many weeks of illness on my part (the usual)... and a zillion little things in between. I don't wanna go into all the details, but, you get the picture. Things just got into a real crunch there for awhile. Anyway, to get everyone back up to speed, here are a few of the things that have happened in the interim...

As I said, we finished all of our travels for the Weird Texas book, which will be coming out very soon (*squee!*); it was hard work but well worth it- I have never been involved in such a wonderfully fulfilling and exciting project before. I got to explore/photograph some of the spookiest spots and oddest urban legends that Texas has to offer... and, in doing so, I got to travel all across my home state, getting to know it better and discovering things I never knew existed here. I visited more Texas towns (all across the nooks/crannys of the state) doing this project than I have during my whole life in Texas, lol. It rocked, and I sincerely thank the Marks of Weird US for the amazing opportunity... 'THANKS GUYS!!!!' And another cool bit of news- I am going to be listed as an author on this one (*swoon*), and am going to be doing a 'Meet The Author' thing at a local Barnes & Noble here in El Paso (*faint*)....! More details to come on all of that later, though :)

In other news, we have a new canine member in the family- her name is Dearly (as in D. Parted), and there is a reason we named her so. While out photographing the San Elizario Cemetery again one afternoon, I found her abandoned/locked/trapped inside one of the cages that cover so many of the graves- poor thing. She was actually digging into the grave (searching for a bone? *gulp*) when I found her. She was extremely malnourished and covered in ticks and dust, with bleeding wounds and injuries all over her body (many were prolly from trying to escape the grave-cage) My heart melted and we brought her away from the grave and the graveyard and home with us...

The pic on the left shows her after we brought her home and took her to the vet (she actually looked much worse before that), but you can still see some of her damage- wounds, bald spots, skinned back, dull lifeless eyes, etc. The pic on the right is Dearly now, and she's pretty much healed her wounds (though you can see some scars)... she's made friends with our other pets and seems to be having a blast here. She's a funny, sweet and friendly dog, and very obedient... though very odd-looking. We don't know what she is per se- even the vet didn't think she is pure 'dog' and is probably some kinda weird dog-coyote hybrid (which is common way out in the desert, aka like where we found her)- I think that makes her a sort of American Dingo?! I dunno. We just call her a Chupacabra... ha ha.

Last bit of news.... as some of you knew (and no doubt, some of you didn't)... we lost our beloved Rav4- the Shady Lady- and were without our own transportation for awhile there... *sob* It was not a fun time for us (and as you all know the 'Lady' had carried us on countless adventures)... but, I am glad to say, with the help of a little luck and some family members we were able to get our new ride- the Jimmy. It has already taken us on a few trips, and it's been a great set of wheels. So, that's been very cool. Being ride-less when you are an explorer stinks. Oi.

Well, anyway... we're finally getting back to 'normal' now, and I've had some time to rest and recuperate... and it's a good thing, because stuff is about to get busy again. I'm headed out on a short CA road trip in a few weeks (*waves excitedly at Lobo*) and I'm hoping to explore/photograph some weirdness while there... and, we're also excited about the upcoming Weird Texas book release and it's subsequent promotions (yay!) I did just update Lost Destinations (Building 265... new Full Moon pics... new Viewer's Choice Poll), and of course, I've got some new stuff- more spooky stories & photos- to upload to the site...and I will soon get back to updating regularly in my journal to get everyone back up to date with the Lost goings-on. So... stay tuned you guys,

PS... Lobo- my F'in hero- I ♥ you  most sincerely- *hugs/kisses x infinity*... Tara, Mister Stinkee, Mogwai, Uzi, Magestorm, Jen, Lars, SlimJim, QueenOfDarkMoon, and my other countlessly-unnamable awesome Internet/web/chat buds... thanks so much for all the various things you guys do for me (and you each know what those things are, mwa ha!)... you all have been sorely missed.... *lovingly dogpile-tackles you all*