I've also been back to work creating some art. I finally finished the painting begun for Kim's 30th birthday. As well as beginning to work out some of the figures for a new painting. Which reminds me...I'm wanting to expand my "blue boy" painting to a whole series of kids. If you have any great photographs of a childs face...I'd love to have it - the idea is to have kids from around the globe, with stories to go along. I also finally got some pinstripping laid down on the bottom of my skateboard. To see this stuff, visit :create:, my artblog. (Click on :create: to be redirected).
The skateboard finally got done, because I was creating an example design for what may be a budding business amongst 3 of my neighbor kids. A friend gave them a "seed" of 6 skateboard decks in which to start a little business with. It was fun going to my friend's, John from InnerCHANGE, office and having him talk to the kids about business, money, and what not. We also made another trip to a skate shop (Non-Factory) to get grip tape. The guy working there was super nice and gave the kids a great lesson on how to apply grip tape to the board. After that we came back to the house and everybody took turns putting a sheet on a board. All of our fingers were all rough and sandpapery after that! At the moment the kids are a little discouraged because they're not finding buyers as fast as they thought they would. We'll see...even if nothing else happens it's already been a really good experience.
This past Sunday, my community had its first ever Sunday gathering. Much like church, but in the home. It was really fantastic! Some friends came - we sang, took communion, talked about grace. Since it was the day before MLK - I was happy to be able to focus on that a little with others. I'd been realizing last week how much grace exists in hope and in the ability to pursue one's dreams. So each person read a segment of MLK's I Have A Dream speech - which was so cool for me to hear a collective group of people read. I love hearing the voice of Martin Luther King Jr., but hearing the voice of my community say those words was pretty cool.
Sunday evening I went and saw the movie Slumdog Millionaire, after a bunch of people told me I should go see it. SUCH a good movie! I went in having no idea of what it was about...which is how I suggest it. Enough to know is...it's a story, it portrays some realities, and it's hopeful but not easy. Highly recommended! After the movie I was lucky enough to go swing dancing. The Derby, of long-standing placement, is going to be closing it's doors at the end of this month. The building is a historical spot, so it will eventually reopen again - I hope with better owners who can really bring the original feeling of the club back.
On Tuesday I was super excited about the inauguration of President Obama. I couldn't help but shed some tears during the proceedings. I hadn't been gung-ho for Obama from the beginning. I actually didn't decide who I would vote for until about September. But since then, it's been really exciting to see people excited again about the President. Especially when its, for example, impoverished kids from Watts. I thought his speech was fantastic - hopefully an indication of his handling of his office. I felt he was able to lay out the seriousness of the situation that we're in while at the same time reinforcing ideals and instilling not only hope but action.
One thing that really struck me as I watched everything was how much all of the individuals on that podium seemed like family. Not that I'm naive to think all of those relationships are rosy. But it is something unique about America I think. That all of our past living leaders can stand together. The ideal closeness and intimacy of the American family is quite unique.
And lastly...I haven't been too shutter-happy lately, so there's not many photos to share. I thought I'd share my very impressive baking project of non-gluten bread. Since I stopped eating gluten in September, one of the things I've craved most is just a regular old sandwich. (I do have sliced bread which works really well for toast, but not so much for sandwiches.) So this was my first trial of non-gluten yeast bread...and it's post-creation, a delicious BLT. Oh...and then below is the pictures from December I failed to post...Kim and I's holiday cookie-baking extravaganza! 
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