no one told me chico was 3 miles from the sun.

so it was 108 here yesterday...

i washed my clothes and hung them out to dry outside.  at night.  and i woke up and they were dried.  they dried during the night.  do you have any idea how gnarly that is?

just thought i'd let you know that in case you were tempted to complain about the weather wherever you are

i have decided to never disdain the cold again.  ever.

in fact, my daydreams these days place me somewhere on the same latitude as humboldt or england....preferably the latter.

when one steps into the sun here, it feels like he takes his mighty fist of fitful rays and just bashes at your face until you step into the shade where he cant see you

i peer around the corners suspiciously like a miscreant child avoiding the police

it gives new meaning to those verses that talk about how God shaded the children of israel in the desert with a cloud

can you hear the singing

i was watching a movie on my computer tonite and accidentally sent my cursor over to the far bottom left corner of the screen, which makes the widgets pop up. :)

no, widgets were not the inspiration for a dark comedy horror movie made the year i was born-

you're thinking of "gremlins"

(the car version of a gremlin is pictured at right)

or that perhaps a widgets is an insect or pest.

no, see those are weevils (also known as "snout beetles").  

if you dont know what a widget is, ask your neighbor.

suffice it to say that one of my widgets looks like a sticky note and i can type little reminders on it.

my widget says "the meek shall inherit the earth."

the meek are the ones you want to be in God's economy.

they are the ones the world often label as pathetic, because there is something not so self asserting about them.

they are the ones who see God as He is- strong.

strong on their behalf, to be more precise.

and tonite as you go to sleep, dear ones, i hope you can hear them...

because if they are to inherit the earth, there's nothing else to do but rest

you'll know them by how they sing in their sleep

chico: land of extremes

made it into chico today.

its about 8 million degrees here right now, at about 6 at night.

i pulled all the stuff out of the back of the truck, threw it in my room and took off for down town because i have decided to take up hunting:

A/C hunting.

i am in peets right now and its like 60 degrees, so go figure...i have a large scarf around my shoulders.

its so funny how peets always plays this stuffy music.  "its always tea time in peets," as my friend mo once said.

before i got to my house when i got into town though, i swung by the trader joe's here.  apparently they are hiring a sign artist which i used to do for the store in A.G. a few years ago.  last time i worked for traders i was making like 11 dollars an hour to sit and doodle all day.  the guy seemed really stoked knowing that i had already worked for traders and he gave me an application and told me to come back tomorrow.  it would be really crazy if i got this job...almost eerie...who gets a job at trader joes drawing signs for them the week they arrive in town...

ones drowning

in His good graces,

thats who. :)

back to basics

i totally have little drummer boy stuck in my head right now.

according to my itunes i have 1387 songs on my computer.

this translates to 3.8 days of music.

and the best thing my head could come up with is little drummer boy-

(the version with sleigh bells in it keeping time)

and i dont even own that song.

and i dont even know the words.

"listen to what i say...da da da da da...

ringing in the sky little lamb

listen to what i say...hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm

hmm."

new and tempramental painting

this is my newest wall mural-

its for a little boy named wyatt who's 7 years old and has bright red hair and lovely freckles.  he shares his room with his 5 year old brother jayden who is blond and smiles like a surfer already. their room is a tangle of cowboy boots and guns and birds nests they found in the yard and a fish tank full of crickets that they got from the same place.  

i sat on the couch for 20 minutes with wyatt discussing with him in very serious ardor what he wanted on his wall.  you cant pull a fast one on this little guy, let me tell you.  "a peregrine falcon chasing his prey" (which are pigeons, he informed...which is true.  i researched it...who says homeschool doesnt work).  those were his exact words.

so anyway, its not the best thing i've ever done and i confess a fair level of frustration with this picture, mainly because i dont paint falcons all the time and i desperately wanted to do a good job for wyatt...how do you produce art for a 7 year old?  you'll notice the tail feathers are pretty non-believable...ah, well.  the falcon itself is about 4...maybe a little more....feet high to give you an idea.  the room i painted it in is on the top floor of the house, which includes a lovely physics lesson with it: heat rises.  so basically this peregrine was born into an arid desert of hot tehachapi air and a frustrated painter who couldnt mix any colors on the wall because they would dry the SECOND they hit the wall.  

i did learn two cool things from this piece though.  

1) i need to START with prayer and surrender and not END with it out of desperation...will someone please tell me why i forget that all the goodness or ability i "have" is just Him and His grace?  

2) the way peregrine falcons catch their prey in mid air like they do is they soar up really high and then dive at close to 200 mph at their prey and snatch them.  the wee birds never know what hit 'em.  i think God is amazing.  a true artist, if i may make such an understatement.

in the rest of the room

the dining room of this house that i am staying at is literally a "dining room": an empty room, save for a table and chairs and some candlesticks.  it is about the size of a large bathroom and since there is no carpet in it, the acoustics in it are lovely.  

the thing about playing music in an echoey room is that it makes you sound good because you can hear so well, and thus helps you enjoy your music a little more- it completely fills the room because the sound bounces off every surface

i've been playing my guitar in there the last few nights, and tonite a wonderful thought filled my mind.

i imagined myself sitting in a room like that, except (forgive me for the cliche) it was in God's heart- and He could hear the music and the singing because it was the only thing there...table...chair...candlesticks maybe, and singing.  

i thought of that verse in revelation when He silenced heaven to listen

because that was the only thing He wanted in His heart

the only thing He HAD in His heart

He wanted the sound to meet every surface

and ring in His ears.

i think thats really how things are with Him.  i think when we get to heaven we will kick ourselves for not realizing just how empty, save for our voices,

that room really is.

we will kick ourselves for not singing louder

for not enjoying it

for not believing what He was listening to us say.

"if i was a meter maid" and "armenian cucumbers" in B flat

this picture is of an armenian cucumber i picked today.  the only problem with these things is how to fit them in the fridge

and here is i poem i wrote this morning after a conversation i had with my friend jen about meter maids (she knows a male meter maid...which makes me laugh out loud.)  in case you're wondering about the spare time i have on my hands, here's an idea of it (sheesh...)

if i was a meter maid

and too long in your spot you stayed

out would come my ticket pad

to help remind not to be bad

and as you came a screaming out

from the place you were about

i would smile a funny grin

and dance around your long-stayed sin

and wear a clown wig as my hair

and a red round nose, but not a pair

of huge red rubber clowning shoes

that would slow me down as i ran from you

and i would drive a little car

that i peddled near and far

with flashing lights and stripe-ed doors

to make me look of vast import

and maybe you would get to laughing

at my humorous attractings

and tire as you chased my car

and paid your ticket after all.

cowboy shirts and why the british are cool

i am in tehachapi housesitting and working on a small organic farm these days

(if you dont know where tehachapi is, ask your neighbor)

today i picked raspberries and orange cherry tomatoes for, like, 4 hours.  it was pretty amazing- especially because i was wearing a huge sun hat and a man's long sleeve cowboy shirt (tied at the waist all 80's) and there were bees and silence singing into my thoughts

i decided the taste of a sun warmed raspberry proves there is a God

(among other things)

anyway, i also worked for this farm at their farmers market booth.

next to us was this guy from england and his wife who make and sell goat cheese.  

imagine a little tent booth at farmers and space for one more booth beside it. 

all of a sudden a huge dodge truck starts to parallel park itself between the back of our booth and the back of the open space beside us.

the truck came an inch from our table

i squealed

and out of the truck a man got out

i congratulated him and he replied in his british accent

"its because of where i learned!"

in britain.  of course.  those people are magicians with cars and tight spaces.

thats why british people are cool

(among other things)

ps.  here is the website for the place i am working at: www.tangleweedfarm.com

psalm 84

i know why 84 was Your choice this morning

because you know i'm leaving

again

in two days.

because you need to remind me that a real pilgrimage

is not one my body feels

that things are a lot easier when the whole heart is set on them

and that you cant "GO"

with only half 

your heart

you cant.

and You, of all

would know.

the perfect breakfast:

2 oreos to dip in ones coffee

a bowl of plain old fashioned style oatmeal

strong coffee with milk

and reggae.

all before 9.

:)