May 22

Shedding My Skin

BirdOfParadox is a name I’ve used nearly everywhere for fourteen years. While I think it absolutely is relevant to the very nature of my art, I believe it no longer represents All My Parts. In the spirit of that, I’ll be transferring the BlogOfParadox to another undisclosed location. I’m in no rush to vacate my digital […]

May 10

Through the Thicket

For years, I have been waging war against wild, barren brambles that have overtaken a section of my yard. I yank them up, only to have then defiantly crop up again, hardier than ever. For midsummer last year, I had the intention of uprooting them forever. I had grand plans to weave the strands into […]

Apr 30

Love Letter to Mother Mississippi

I am sharing with you the message I presented at the UU Church’s Earth Day celebration. Dear Mississippi, how should I begin? Water: In heavy rain, cats yowling, the lightning in the sky giving me a glimpse of the Chunky River’s churning. A sudden doom fell upon my shoulders: I was moving somewhere they would name a […]

Dec 13

Gingerbread for Gretel

This cake is as wild as wolves, dark as hunters’ eyes, deep as a forbidding wood. Happy Holidays, friends. (originally published in the Jackson Free Press, December, 2009) My mother spoiled me with books, and my prized possession was a gilded copy of “Grimm’s Fairy Tales,” which I pored over with all the twisted earnestness […]

Dec 8

Deirdra, Shut Up and Write!

A writing seminar would rattle my cage and ruffle this bird’s feathers. If you were considering sending me a Holiday card, or any sort of Yuletide gesture, please consider placing a drop in my bucket instead. Folks who donate have the option of giving me a (non-fiction) writing prompt, which I will fulfill, even if I hate it.

May 18

State of the Deirdra

Good Stuff Anusara Immersion: Bhagavad Gita studies, plus Tattvas next time around. Square Foot Garden: commence! I have 21 plots of forthcoming tastiness, including lots of basil, tomatoes, and chili peppers. Basils, tomatoes and chili peppers rule my summery world. I recently purchased some lovely heirloom tomatoes for eating, and I hoarded the seeds. Since […]

Apr 30

Tattoo + Jasmine Green Tea shortbread

Last night, I made a variation of Habeas Brulee‘s  Tea Cookies.  Instead of the oolong she used, I went with jasmine green tea.  I also used orange flower-scented sugar to coat the cookies, because I love flowers in food.  My miniature citrus plants are blooming for the very first time (they’re about four years old […]

Apr 7

Damages

We actually have power and intarwebz. Here’s what happened in our neighborhood. Most of the trees around here start branching out well over the tops of our houses, so a lot of these pictures don’t accurately portray the soul-crippling magnitude of these downed limbs. http://picasaweb.google.com/birdofparadox/TornadoApril42008