Painting + 100 degree temps = EEWWWWW

We just finished painting the exterior of this house last week during the start of our heat wave here in CA. This is a 'before' picture by the way. I can't find any of the 'after' pictures to show the true superiority of our work. It's been HOT. But I s'pose everyone is feelin it these days if you live out here in the west. Now we are painting the interior of another house and the heat is worse inside! Especially if you are down on your knees painting behind the toilet. Sometimes I can't believe the little girl in me who at 4 threw away all the silverware in the house when dinner was done because it was 'dirty' can crouch behind a toilet for 1/2 an hour with sweat dripping from her nose as she carefully paints a line.
Now THAT was a run on sentence!

So TIRED..I miss Weed.

Here's a very bad picture of the very beautiful Mt Shasta. It's taken from my uncle Jamie's side yard. He's got a big spread out in Weed (yes Weed). It is absolutely gorgeous. Lots of acres with horses and flowers. And they look out on Mt. Shasta. Not bad. This is what I'd normally be doing in July. Sitting with Kimm on my uncle's swing with under the deck with somewhere near 10 dogs milling around (4 of them ours). The tempatures rising into the 100's. Sipping on a beer. Looking at Mt. Shasta. Watching the space ships fly in and out of the secret portal in the mountain. Good Times.

Unfortunately, Kimm and I are working our asses off to get our house ready for our big 10th anniversary party next weekend. We're going to have close to 50 people over here and we still don't have a working front door. That's just one of our GIANT problems we have to deal with before the party.

And summer is slowly slipping away...

Shorty

Kids really like me for some reason. I think it's because I tend to ignore them.
Such was the case with "Shorty". I never did ask him his real name. He told me his friends called him "Shorty" or "Killa" as nicknames. I chose to call him Shorty. It seemed more fitting for an 8 year old.
He was at the property Kimm and I are currently painting. He came with his dad who was doing landscaping work in the back yard.
I was painting the front deck in the direct sun so I was a little crazy from the heat and not in much of a mood to chit chat. Shorty started asking me questions. "How much do you make for painting?" "Where do you live?"
Then he asks me my favorite question and one I will remember forever..
"Do you have any famous rappers in your family?"
!!!!??????? I put down my brush and looked at him for the first time.
No, do you?
"Yeah. Do you know who Too Short is?"
YES!
"He's my uncle."
WOW! That's some uncle you got there kid.
Too Short is the most famous of rappers to come from Oakland. East Oakland in fact-where Shorty and I live. He's widely known for being the first west coast rap star. He's recorded over 30 albums with songs like "fuck face" and "pimp the ho". It doesn't get more gold teeth than Too Short and that's saying a lot.
Shorty told me that back in the day his famous uncle used to "put food on his mama's table". But now that Too Short is too famous his "mama has to put food on her own table". I guess sometimes success can ruin a good thing.

Woody

So I watched the KQED American Masters doc on Woody Guthrie. It was so depressing. He died at 55 of Huntington's disease. I woke up in the middle of the night and grieved for him.
I'm so weird.
Rock and Roll wouldn't have been the same without him.
Hail Woody!

Devendra Banhart

I really haven't been interested in anyone musically for awhile.
Except for this guy Devendra Banhart. I was given a copy of his CD Cripple Crow and I LOVE every song on it.
He's just all over the place on this CD. Plus he looks all Charles Manson so it's intriguing. He just doesn't sound like anyone else and I find that SO REFRESHING....
Plus I'm a sucker for that lo-fi sound.
Highly Recommended..

Jan, Joe and Zoe

Here we go again... More of our friends leaving the Bay Area to live out of state in large suburban areas dominated by cheaper housing and better schools.
I don't ask why anymore...
If I was a parent I'd do the same thing.
Jan, Joe and Zoe of all the BBQ's, bio-diesel, Punk Rock Music mix CD's, adoptees, wine and whine and flag girls.

They hailed from our neighborhood one street down. They understood.

They left on Monday July 3rd to live in Portland, Oregon. Summer time BBQ's will never evah be the same.

They will be missed..

Cassie

Here she is in all her glory at one of our shows. I think we were still calling ourselves Hoegarden back then. In fact...this may have been our very first show. It was at this space called the Accordian on Bayshore in SF. Kind of a scary place to park your car. But as I remember...no one was hurt or robbed.

This was before babies and all. Well, Jamie was pregnant with Miles. So she didn't play drums for us at this show.

Cassie and her husband Kaveh and their two beautiful kids left SF last weekend to live in Chicago where apparently it's less expensive.

It's never going to be the same here without Cassie. She of all the songs, gossip, parties, dinners, camping trips, clothes with animal print's.

She sang for three of my bands. Yusakuta, Might Tight and Hoegarden/Hazy. Cassie definately had that loud punk rock girl voice I LOVE SO!!!

I'll really miss you Cassie

Am I in another country?

I wish I could let you hear the insane "Iraqish" noise that happens in Oakland on the 4th of July. It really begins in May and goes until September but it has it's climax on July 4th. I'm not sure where all these people get their fireworks--
which are quite professional.
We're not talking sparklers here.
I would guess that at least every other house has something to send off into the air, blow up on the ground or shoot..Hopefully not AT someone.
Seems like people should be licensed for this stuff. And it is illegal of course but that never stops anyone.

Then, July 5th I took my dogs out for their morning walk and as I climbed to the top of a hill I spied out of the corner of my eye, a red fox. He saw us first obviously and began to run down the hill into the canyon away from us. I imediately looked for my dog Gabe. She sat and just watched him go. I couldn't believe she didn't chase him. Maybe it was a "I know your not a domestic animal" thing. So strange because Gabe will always chase.
Anyway. We watched that fox for awhile--Gabe and I. While the other 3 dogs sniffed around and ate goat poop. Completely unaware. He ran on a trail stopping every 30 feet or so to look back at us.
I like that kind of dichotomy about Oakland.