Back in September I shared that my poem, “The Future Held in Store,” was a finalist in the Arizona Authors Association annual literary contest. Well… it won third place! I’m excited because I’m pretty inexperienced as a poet. This is the first time I’ve ever let anyone else read one of my poems, let alone submit one, so yay! I’m bummed I had to miss the awards banquet due to COVID exposure), but I didn’t get COVID, so that’s another reason to celebrate. And now I just noticed they put my real name rather than my pen name on the certificate. Oh, well. I have a little more news, a few pics, and the usual batch of meme-y silliness, but first: Welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer! Have a seat, grab a treat, and let’s get to it. More writing news Javelinas in the ‘hood! Normal neighborhoods have squirrels and stray cats and maybe a band of marauding raccoons that make a huge mess on trash day. Our Tucson neighborhood has a plague of rabbits (seriously… so. many. rabbits), squirrels, red-tailed hawks, the occasional bobcat, approximately 654,922 pigeons, and… these guys: Those are collared peccaries, better known as javalinas. They’re adorable–and mean and destructive. Sorry for the lack of picture quality–my son snapped these pictures with his phone from a distance because javalina will attack people. You can learn more about javalina from the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. You might be wondering if we live in the country or at the edge of wild land. We do not. We live in midtown Tucson, an area that’s been urbanized for over 70 years. Welcome to Arizona. Memes! This week’s theme is Random Crap I Found When I Should Have Been Writing. Here we go: Yep. Also that doll hair doesn’t grow back when you cut it. Too late. I need to fix up my enclosure, because I’m going to have a houseguest in a couple of weeks. Thank goodness for houseguests. If it weren’t for them, I’d live in total squalor. Truth. I’ve been such a slug this week, my Fitbit has started calling local cemeteries to comparison shop for pre-need burial plots. In keeping with this theme, there’s this: And this: And in keeping with my tradition of saving the worst for last, I’ll apologize for this one up front: You’re welcome.