Dye Vats of Fes - Day 2

I woke up to snow again this morning. I've been house sitting a lovely home with two really nice dogs, 4 hens and a rooster(sounds almost Islamic.) I spend my day opening and closing the door for the dogs, playing with them, feeding them and reassuring them their family will be home soon. I share a little popcorn with them, and then I wonder if that's the wrong thing to feed dogs, especially someone else's cute, well-loved dogs. The dogs lie down for naps, and I feel encouraged to do the same.

The chickens have had the same care, except I don't play with them. The chickens seem more foreign to me, but I am trying to work through that. They flutter and cackle in ways strange to me and all my limited pet experience. Last night, the rooster landed on the edge of the fence around the hen house; I gave him a good pep talk about how he needed to get back with his hens and responsibilities. No go. I got a small branch of a fir tree that was ladened with snow and swooshed him back into his gaggle of girls. He flew backwards and so did I.

I then watch the news about Libya and see the odd pictures of their leader. Does he have anyone to give him hints about clothing options? I hear he has forty armed virgins guarding him at all times. I wonder if this is all gossip and hype. With forty of them, he should look better, and act better. Maybe forty is actually harmful.

The commercials remind me I need to exercise, or at the very least, buy some exercise equipment for two installment payments of $39.99 each. I decide I should quit napping and reading, and I pour myself a second cup of Nicaraguan coffee. Just two days ago, I was living a lot closer to the earth, so to speak. As Donald Miller puts it, post-Nicaragua, I am living on top of my creature comforts, on top of the earth.

I read a good article online with an interview of Bono. (OK, I went back to reading.) I am encouraged, by him, in my love for Jesus, and remember afresh His love for me and all mankind. Bono shares his faith without coming off as preachy, and he contrasts Karma with grace. Karma - you get what you dish out. Grace - you get what you don't deserve: you get love and forgiveness from a savior named Jesus.

I read an article about a woman who went to Morocco for 2 months and painted 17 paintings. She lived in the desert and other places. Her work is abstract and creative. Really nice colors. I go back to work on my dye vats of Fes, and I wonder if I should be an abstract painter. My drawing of the men looks so real, but are they telling the viewer how dangerous those vats really are to the health of the men? I'll lay in some color today and see how it goes.