move

i am in love with this video and the editing. the part halfway through when he claps his hands and the birds fly away on beat is what impressed me the most. watch & learn more about it at http://vimeo.com/27246366

*stop autoplay music by scrolling to the bottom of the page.

just because

the piano. its a cover. this voice. 

**you may want to stop the auto-play music at the bottom first

7 am until sell out

this permanent sign stands in a parking lot near our neighborhood. 

we drive past it all the time. but somehow i never notice it till winter. every winter. dang. like when its snowing i'll go ooohhhhh yeah... farmers market... sad face. there is no farmers market in the winter. this time when the weather started getting warmer, wanting to take full advantage of the good things around me, i paid closer attention when i drove past... mentally double checking the wording. july... ok. tuesday - thursday - saturday... got it. 7 am... um.. noted.

i made a plan in my head... im gonna be a farmers market shopper.

i asked aiden (in a very excited tone of course) if one morning he would like to.... get up reeee-llleee early and ride his bike!! to buy... vegetables!! yay! (what kid wouldnt wanna do that?!) it was the riding the bike further than one block part that reeled him in. lucky for me aiden is not one to turn down an adventure. also lucky for me riding his bike early in the morning still qualifies as one.

his alarm goes off every morning at 6:30. but only on the days there is something special happening does that signal actually waking up. he was ready to go by 6:40.

im not sure what i expected our farmers market to be... well yes i am. i had pictured that it would take up the majority of the parking lot. it would be at least two long rows of tables, side by side with crates full of fruits and vegetables on either side of the tables all under dark green canvas tents to keep everything in the shade. there would be lots of people intently inspecting the produce and the farmers would be old men in plaid button up shirts, cowboy hats and sunglasses... happy to tell you all about how they grew the best okra.

what? it has its own permanent sign... 

whatever the case, even having never been there, i didn't think it would be hard to find. we left in time to get there about when they opened. i walked and aiden rode his bike. the weather was cool and a little breezy. it felt like an oasis considering if you're outside around here lately more often than not it feels like that feeling when you open the oven to check on dinner. only no one ever shuts the door. i have realized that living here, there are few times when you're outside that the weather doesn't occur to you. its either so windy you're concentrating on holding your skirt to your sides, so hot that all of your thoughts are about how to cool off, or so cold your brain freezes and you cant think at all. so it was a welcome novelty to walk, breathe in the air and take in everything around us.

it was a quiet walk because aiden was far enough ahead of me that he couldn't hear what i was saying when i talked to him anyways. i found that out when i asked him what kinds of things he wanted to pick out at the farmers market, and he replied by yelling behind him to me 'i wanted to look for a tie!' turns out he thought i had asked him a question about the gap. (ha) so much for conversation.

so we walked and rode. we cut through a back lot, making our way between buildings to get to the parking lot nearest the sign. when we came out on the other side i expected to see my green tents and farmers. but we saw nothing. just an empty lot. that's ok... we rounded the corner and looked again... nothing. we decided to go around all of the buildings and make a complete circle just in case. as we rounded the back side of the furthest building i was chalking our adventure up to just getting some early morning exercise when we spotted it. barely! but i knew for sure when i saw the green tent.

so it was just one short row. just one small tent. and no old cowboys with okra. but i was so happy they were there! the guy under the tent had tomatoes. if you saw these tomatoes at the store you would not buy them. they were yellow to orange in color. not that beautiful bright red. and they looked almost split on the tops. the farmer explained to me that these were field tomatoes, not hot house tomatoes. these were picked 'right outta the field'. he said it like this was preferable and i believed him. natural! i like that. he also explained that the taste of the yellow ones were the same as the tomatoes that had ripened closer to a red. so i bought some. to be honest, i mostly bought them because i really wanted him to make a sale and i wasn't sure anyone else would really buy them (they weren't that pretty) but looks aren't everything.

next there was an organic farmer with really beautiful vegetables and a flyer explaining how they farmed organically. and the last table had bunches of dried wild flowers, swiss chard, and lettuce.

satisfied that we did what we set out to do we made our way back home to put up our veggies.

left: beautiful bell peppers from the organic farmer. right, from top to bottom: lettuce, swiss chard, field tomatoes

then, having started our day doing something healthy, in true contradictionarianism (that's not a word?) or maybe in just keeping the balance, we went to mc donalds for breakfast.

left: lunch. right: dinner.

but for lunch i couldn't wait to try the field tomatoes. (pictured: farmers market lettuce and tomatoes with olive oil, salt, fresh grated parmesan, and a crushed red pepper spice mix that my dad found in taos)

they were sooooooooooooooo gooooooooooood.

i was so proud. i felt like i would imagine i would feel if i had grown them myself. 

when the sun sets

its my favorite time of day. sunset. dusk. those few sacred minutes of transition between daytime and night. when the sun comes down to meet us and look us face to face before it says goodnight. shining through everything bending and reflecting colors making things vibrant. the very very best is when its just almost dark and the neon of restaurant and gas station signs have already come on and the traffic lights are changing. they look the most alive against a setting sun sky. 

i am enamored with the sky. how no two days or nights ever look the same. how each day is beautiful. for a while now i've not been able to keep from taking pictures of the sky when i'm lucky enough to catch it at my favorite time. and sometimes i go find it on purpose. these were taken over the past year. all in the same town, yet not one is the same. 

last night we went in search of our sunset and we were not disappointed. you can breathe when you drive about 15 miles in any direction of this town. you can see who knows how far and you can enjoy unobstructed views of the setting sun as it says goodnight until tomorrow. 

the sun sets at 8:56 pm tonight, by the way.

hallelujah.

if you can hear the song playing right now... its pretty much what i heard when my dad called one night recently and said he would like to get me a new computer. hang on a sec lemme turn down the tv so i can make sure i heard you correctly... did you say you want to... buy me a new computer... ?

thats right. thats what he said. answered prayer! literally. my computer (i posted about it here) was a little outdated, a little slow. i have love for it... but my love couldn't make it play a video or save a file before every song in this playlist is over. i know everyone uses computers now, for you know... facebook :). i do too... but i really rely on it for work. being a graphic designer its important to have the tools you need to do your job. i have those tools at work of course, but having them at home is invaluable (i.e. awesome) because it lets me do personal work, extra jobs, and stay creative and current. i'm so blessed that my dad sees that and wanted to make sure that happens. (in the coolest way ever!)

so i spent the rest of the night in shock... this, friends, wasnt something i took lightly. keep in mind i have been daydreaming of a new machine and all of the things i could do with it for a long long time. i mean, i wanted one like that goldfish you won at the fair who is still in the plastic bag wants to be in the pretty glass fish bowl you bought him with clear water, colorful rocks and plants. i wanted one like the monkeys at the zoo want you to break the rules and feed them your popcorn. oh... i wanted one like a nerdy graphic designer wants an imac. yeah! i had thought of the options i had to get one... to get any version of a new mac. i had thought of ways i could make it work (refurbished mac?, selling my old computer?, payment plans?, selling a kidney?) none of those were going to work out for me though especially the kidney one. so when dad called i was so very very surprised and grateful.

dad followed through right away, researching macs on his own and in the end he insisted on getting the best one. (?!?!?) im a reserved person and i think all of my reactions have been as such but inside im jumping up and down. im excited... aiden style.

so then it came.... (ok first scroll down and restart the song)

ok ready? .... look!

yes, those are the heavens

so thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou dad. a million times. ive already been able to avoid having to be up at work late to finish an annual report because i was able to do it all at home. what a blessing to me! i cant wait to keep putting it to good use. (anybody need sumthin designed? imjustsayin) im so happy and excited in a really overboard computer geek graphic design nerd kind of way and im so okay with that.

my beautiful parents

also, here is a picture from my evening last night. feeling loved.

to hold the moon.

i see the moon and the moon sees me

the moon sees somebody i want to see

god bless the moon and god bless me

and god bless the somebody i want to see

there are endless songs about the moon... pink moon, yellow moon, blue moon, harvest moon, moon river, moondance. there's something magical about the moon. for me, that magic is told perfectly in this nursery rhyme... which to aiden and i is actually a song. i have no idea where i first heard it but i've always loved it. i made up a tune for it years ago when aiden was very little and ever since, we sing it when we catch sight of the moon. its a quiet song... i see the moon and the moon sees me. the moon sees somebody i want to see. the magic of the moon is that no matter where you are, there it is. the magic is that the people i love that are far away can look up and see the same thing i am seeing and that connects us even if its just a little bit.

i saw these amazing things called sunjars in a european online store one time. you may have seen them too. i loved them so much i considered for a (very intense but quickly fleeting) moment paying like 45$ and crazy overseas shipping for one. (im actually not at all sure how many american dollars it would have translated to... but everything had that L money symbol next to it and more than one number and im pretty sure it would have ended up being a lot, jolly ol chap) i then resolved to put it on my wish list for 'one day' when i have a bunch of extra money. the same list that has actually traveling overseas on it... in which case i could just pick one up, right? 

anyways, i didnt give up on them... i did a little research (thanks again, google) and whaddayaknow... you can make one. even better... you can make moon jars. and that makes my heart happy. so guess what... i made some. 

the supplies you need are basic:

garden solar lights

jars

frosted glass spray

the internet would like you think its super easy... and parts of it are... like spray painting the jars.. thats easy. the internet tells you 'then simply take apart the garden light'. oh. that's all? ok... uh how do you get into this thing? i found ways... but i plan on getting the correct tools for this in the future... something that cuts metal, and maybe possibly a screwdriver that, i dunno, fits the screws. 

so once you have defied odds and freed the insides of the garden light, all wires still intact, one ... you will feel pretty good about yourself, and two... you're ready to attach the solar light to your jar! i didnt think this part through before i started. the internet's version of this project is truly magic i think because it simply says 'place the solar light inside your jar lid'. well i have gravity at my house, so i had to find a way to attach it. i found a glue gun and went with that... i ran a bead of glue along the outside edge and used a bamboo skewer to move the glue between the solar panel and the glass.

finally after your jar lid has dried, place it on your jar and find it a happy home on a window sill or a patio table where it can feel the sun. just like the moon in the sky, it cannot light up with out the sun. the sun will give it energy to light up at night. 

i plan to make more moon jars and customize them... i will show you what i mean when i do. all finished, they feel like we caught the moon's light and can hold it in our hands.

if you would like one for yourself or to give to someone you love i could make one for you to hold, too.