Rain City Chickens

So I just realized that I kinda started another blog... but not really. You see, for the past few months, I've been talking about getting chickens. I grew up with them...which, for the record, does not mean I grew up in a barn...but we raised them in our living room. My dad was more prone to farm stock than he was dogs & cats. Well, something must have carried over from those childhood days. At the risk of repeating myself, I'll send ya over to Back Yard Chickens so you can see what I've been up to. For the moment, the skies have cleared and it's time for a walk.

Hope

Some funny things rattling around in my mind. One being that I have been thinking and not blogging. So here's a thought on the last movie my friends and I watched. It's called, Henry Poole Is Here, a "romantic comedy" (my friend's picked it out). I wonder if I would think more of this film if it were categorized differently. I guess it was ok for a $1 Red Box rental (again, I didn't have to pay the dollar). I s'pose it was artistic with original melancholy songs...I sat wondering if Luke Wilson was going to be sad the entire time or something would change. There are certainly interesting characters which perhaps give a glimpse of what it means to care for one another. Adriana Barraza played Esperanza, a meddling, good intentions neighbor. She-was-the-star. In watching the directors bonus thoughts (ha! too much time on our hands)... He said that he was trying to portray hope. My mouth fell open. My heart saddened a little thinking, "This is what the world sees as hope??!"

Without getting overly profound on cinematic doctrine shaping pop culture views or sounding too preachy... I will say this. Romans 8 has lots of good things to say about hope. Verse 24 says, "For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has?" Makes sense. Even one of my favorite movies, A Knight's Tale, (yes, I know it's cheesy) has many, many great parts. Where Henry's director fails, Williams director successfully captured hope. Secretly, I've wanted to give this to the love of my life one day... that day has yet to come. This is a note from Sir William to his love Jocelyn...

"It is strange to think, I haven't seen you since a month. I have seen the new moon, but not you. I have seen sunsets and sunrises, but nothing of your beautiful face. The pieces of my broken heart are so small that they could be passed through the eye of a needle. I miss you like the sun misses the flower; like the sun misses the flower in the depths of winter. Instead of beauty to direct its light to, the heart hardens like the frozen world your absence has banished me to. I next compete in the city of Paris, I will find it empty and in the winter if you are not there. Hope guides me, that is what gets me through the day and the night. The hope that after you're gone from my sight, it will not be the last time that I look upon you."

A day late...

...and a dollar short. S-t-o-r-y of my life. Not sure the relevance yet, but that's how I'm feeling. First off, what was I thinking going to the post office to mail a long procrastinated care package on tax day?! I was thinking: 1- It's way past high time I got rid of this stuff, 2- It's a gorgeous day in Seattle, cool ocean breeze, 62 degrees, 3- I need to mail this check that my accountant said I needed to mail (hopefully it wasn't yesterday) to avoid late fees... So yeah, pretty much caught up in my own world.

Qdoba routinely has the CNN on. I prefer Fox News. But I like to practice speed reading the subtitles while I have lunch. Turns out, there's a huge volcano in Iceland that just erupted...four days ago. Gosh! Where have I been? I am often baffled how long it takes me to hear the news. This photo flashed across their screen which I thought was super beautiful. I wish it could be bigger. I've wanted to go to Iceland for years, not for any good reason, but just to go. I seldom need a reason. Being there for the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull volcano would have made an awesome story... and perhaps I could have taken a few great pictures myself.
Photo by Ólafur Eggertsson, from the farm Þorvaldseyri

the Pursuit...

...of nice looking hair. A friend and I went to our longstanding favorite Mexican place, Gordito's, and afterwards, as tradition has it, we end up at Fred Meyer across the street to browse for sweet deals and usually buying something that we can do without. Since I'm wearing my hair longer these days, it's even more of a challenge keep it looking...complimentary. (this is where I start sounding more like a girl...no offense ladies.)

"All you need for moist, smooth and seductive hair in one irresistible formula." This comes directly from the Organix website. I'm just looking for not frizzy, dry hair. I want Pantene curls and shine. I'll gladly take "moist, smooth and (especially) seductive" hair. In college, I grew my hair super long despite favor with my mom. I was determined to prove her wrong. What? She has her own self to thank for my stubbornness and determination. (thanks mama) That was a big success. Not instantly of course, but when all her friends and strangers at the mall and market would go out of their way to tell me "What beautiful hair you have..." she'd lean in making her presence known which led to the inevitable question, "Is he your son? You must be so proud." Yeah. Seemed I had the world on my side. For the first time in my life, I was getting attention achieving something less common to man. Sadly, as expected, all the compliments went slowly, but surely, to my head. It took a few years, but after one life changing afternoon, I realized that there wasn't a parked car or store window that I didn't look in.

Ha. Actually wanted to talk about the new Organix shampoo conditioner I found. It was expensive (for me), but came with a complete mail-in rebate. If all goes well, it will be free. It has a really nice fragrance. I'm a sucker for conditioner with mint. I also like to travel, and this comes from Australian Teatrees. Today was the first day. Backup, yesterday was a horribly dry, no good, very bad, frizzy day. The new shampoo and conditioner has a true test and I'm quite pleased at the results. The mint is not as scalp tingling as I like but an hour later, there is a lifting freshness. The fragrance is mild and interesting (in a good way). It'll take a few more tries to identify just what it is, but I'm pleased! :D Seldom do I get good results right off that bat, but Day 1, I applaud you Teatree Organix!

Being from Seattle, I should also mention that it's in recycled packaging, ink, labels...not something I normally look for, but I'm glad it's part of this sweet deal.

Game day

Today is the Mariners first game of the season. The city is abuzz. Navy and teal apparel are everywhere. Randy Johnson comes home to throw the opening pitch. The 42 year old is 6' 10 and just retired after winning a whopping 303 games in his 22 year career. I wonder how he'll adjust after living and breathing baseball all these years. There is hope in the air on this bright and pleasant gray afternoon. The lawn is freshly mowed. Good luck, Mariners.