funsies to the max.

Today was a dull day speckled with hilarity.

Between awkward moments of lack of plumbing where we thought it existed and learning a little structural integrity, today was full of enough laughter to get me through finish work in a good mood.

I know, it's been a while. But guess what, the Sasquatch Music Festival is ON. A friend and I are taking the less expensive route by only going to one day. But according to her, it will be funsies to the max, for sure. YES.

Vampire Weekend, how I long to see you in concert. Especially if you end up performing "Heart of Africa" with The Very Best, Ezra. Homes need built though, so I accept my mission.

In later news, this past weekend was full of impulsive adventure as I went on a road trip down the Oregon coast with a few fellow Americorps. Our trip started with some Mighty-O doughnuts and gas station coffee. We drove down along Route 101, a well-known ride along the West Coast. It's amazing how the weather was in our favor and we were able to walk along Ecole Beach barefoot in the February sunshine. It was great. Next came a visit to the Tillamook farm/factory store, full of all the cheese you could want. Apparently there was a cheese sample line, which I missed. Learning that I missed this reminded me of the time in 2nd grade when we went to the Cleveland Zoo and were in the rainforest building. I was really excited and went on ahead of people to the main corridor, missing the smaller one. And it ends up I missed the sloth - one of my favorite animals of the day. And yet, I couldn't go back! I still haven't seen a sloth in real life to this day . . . Anyway, we each purchased a different type of cheese and had a full sampling in the van on the way to the campsite, and that was quite sufficient.

We finally arrived at the campsite, and it was fitting to have a yurt this time of year. Complete with heat. hooray! We arrived in time to see the sunset, which was beautiful, as expected. It's funny how being in an open space just feels so good for your spirit. Nothing was going on, but just being in the open like that. Nothing like it. The next day we had a roaring breakfast fire going and were able to make a first-class camping breakfast, complete with grilled carmelized apple slices and oatmeal. To "pack it down" or burn it off, whichever you'd prefer, we decided to go on a leisurely hike we had read about. While walking the trail we thought was 3.5 miles, we got to a place about 10 minutes in that turned us back around - apparently it wasn't much of a trail at all. So it ended early, but we ended up going to the Rogue Brewery a few miles south, so that was a fun alternative. The town was complete with gigantic sea lions, they were cute as buttons.

All trips come to an end, and ours was a little stressful as a friend and I had to get back in time to see The Great Divorce, which we had tickets for. It is a play directly based on C.S. Lewis' book by the same name, performed by Taproot Theater.

At the jobsite the other day I learned a little lesson to share. I was working with our one volunteer of the day and it was consistently rainy. Earlier in the day I was warned by our site coordinator not to use my mouth as a nail holder, as this will make it brown and dirty. Never having the problem before, I dismissed the warning and went ahead with it as we were nailing things high up on ladders. Later I asked our volunteer about my mouth, which he confirmed did indeed turn brown, and to my surprised reaction he replied, "What, did you think she was lying to you?" This comment hit my spirit more than my mind, as it is a truth that I also tend to ignore in the spiritual realm. When one accepts the Bible as truth from our Creator, you can take comfort in the promises God makes to us. Comfort in the ones that promise peace (Philippians 4:6-7) and caution in wise warnings (Proverbs 3:5). This volunteer's reaction to my disregard for the warning echos how I think God may feel when I don't take His mighty promises to heart.

and finally . . .

Reason #25 why Seattle is so great:

Friendly silly people! The other day I was walking from Wallingford to the U-District, which requires crossing a bridge over the main interstate. From the distance I saw people just standing on the bridge, looking over. Sometimes people with political agendas will hold signs on these bridges for the cars below to see, but that was not this time. As I approached, I realized these were a couple of fun-loving crazies who were waving enthusiastically at the cars. And they were getting good responses! "A lot of people wave back," they told me as I walked by. It was a big generator of goofiness to which I couldn't help but smile. Maybe I'll try it some day.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding. . .

Proverbs 3.5