windthread

i'd thought it was going to be a Drift Day,  a home alone to drift day,  but very much it was not.  Just getting in to the motion of the kantha,  phone and it's the Old Cowboy's across the street neighbor, Karen,  calling to tell me that when she was leaving for work,  there were some kids in front of his house.  Just standing around talking,  smoking cigarettes and they had water bottles.  She said she didn't want to stereotype,  but they looked like gangbangers to her.  Hmmm.  I had talked to Paul Who Can Do Anything about how he had said that his woman's son Seth was interested in yard work last fall,  i'd talked to him and he and Seth were supposed to go check out the weeds at the Old Cowboys,  see if Seth wanted the job,  the real estate woman having called me about it,  the weeds.  So i told her this and just kept on stitching.   A while and phone again.  Was Seth,  to tell me that he'd be  FINISHED with the weeds in maybe an hour and a half.

eee

ok.  so i kept stitching for an hour and then put on my clothes and went in there.  Here we have Seth, Gabriel and Damien.  3.  about very early 20's except for Damien,  less than that.  Young.  There has been serious weed work.  Piles here and there.  Still some finish work to do,  but yes.  They had worked.  I'd met Seth a few times before with Paul Who Can Do Anything and his woman, Seth's mother,   like it was Paul who redid the slope of the roof over the ROOM so the ceiling wouldn't fall on my head…..and Seth and his mother stopped by during that job once for a minute.  And then at the grocery store.  Seth has had his troubles as i guess all young men do anymore.  But they all keep going,  keep their eye on the prize so to speak,  and here he is all happy as a clam and giving me excellent introductions to his co-workers who are anxious to make a good impression and i felt like crying.  There are so few opportunities for work in this town.  Not like it was when i was 20 and went through the want ads in the paper.  Doesn't happen here.  It's word of mouth and also random drug testing so if you are inclined to like a little comfort from weed,  well,  forget it.  And i thought so much in those few seconds that maybe were a moment how i have a friend now retired from a long career as history teacher with honors at public school middle school who would take a puff on her lunch break during all those years just so she could teach History.  and i thought about my own GrandSon who i love beyond love but who would not do yard work.   And i thought about the minimum wage now in California and New York.  And i asked him How Much and i could see he was hoping it would go ok and i said ok and added $30 and there was just great happiness all around.  And just then,  the across the street neighbor Karen came home for lunch and i took them over to meet her…i'd told them what she'd said earlier,  and they exchanged pleasantries and i told her they would be continuing to come until the house sells.   So we were happy.   And i went to the grocery store because yesterday i wasn't sure,  but  i wanted to get some flour to make a Pound Cake with all those wonder FULL eggs from Jan  and i realize i still haven't talked here about the Grocery Store Story,  but i will,  for now just to say that everyone is having to shop at the same old Independent Grocery since the other fancy one went down,  and today as i am heading for flour isle,  there is "Snowman",  an old friend of that person i was married to and we greet one another and Hug as is the way and i see he is carrying a single can of something and i gesture and look,  he laughs,  he is shy,  and it's a can of pinto beans…but it's a can of ORGANIC pinto beans and i exclaim….HEY!  what's THIS and he laughs again,  there is always a lot of laughing in New Mexico,  laughs again and shyly looks down and says,  well, i try to do my part.   Snowman,  whose real name is Gilberto,  buying organic pinto beans and this filled me with 

HOPE

it is still,  hours later filling me with hope and maybe will Always be the one single thing that fills me with Hope.   I could describe him further to you but it wouldn't be all that kind,  but here he is,  carrying his can of Organic.  JEEZ.

And if that were not enough,  in the check out line,  ahead of me is Tana,  the Social Worker from Hospice that was the beginning for the Old Cowboy and me not quite a year ago today and we talk and behind me is someone i've known for a long time and she chimes in and  the Goats come up and the cashier young man who is new and just so great already says GOATS?  You have Goats?  and 

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.   He loves Goats.  He WANTS Goats.   His name is Jesse and i gave him my phone number.  

 

Early,  doing Morning Feed,     I 'd been looking  at Liz's post of all the Wild Flowers in her Texas Hill Country and this morning…here,  my ONE wild flower.  somehow it makes them so incredibly lovable because they manage to seed them selves,  just one at a time….only one

 

Martha Stewart.   Pound Cakes.  8 eggs.   If it doesn't storm tomorrow eve i'll take Dog Trainer Jan one of these when i go to help set up the Hog Fencing.  There is a lemon glaze.  

 

Kantha is finished.  I look.  She says

Stand.  Face what you know.  Do what you can.  Wrap yourself in the things of this Earth,  of the Planet.  Look for small things.  DO these.  Wrap yourself in the things of this Earth,  of this Planet.  Look for small things.  DO these.

 

OK.  ok and Ok.