of smoke and ash and small joyful things

it's not even 9am and already i am hot. the tiny casa is a stifling pile of clutter and it is too hot to even think about rearranging the living room. the windows are to remain closed all day due the the smoke and ash from the fire. my eyes are stinging, my chest is heavy with smoke and i can't help thinking that if i feel this way as far away as i am, how on earth are those who are much closer dealing with it? this darn fire. if only it burned fifteen years ago. we still haven't heard word about the mama a-go-go's house. thankfully everyone has been moved out for a while now but still, the not knowing is a whole new feeling of odd.if i can remain distracted from my discomfort i may be able to get some crafting done. soon it will be too hot to have the computer on so i must get all my blogging, reading and writing out of the way if i want to feel productive. this morning i woke up early to finish one article so that is a check off my list. yay! this is one of those moments when i think how nice it would be to own a laptop. usually i am thinking how nice would it be if i had this jacket or these boots or a press pot or another room in the casa. today i would be happy with air conditioning or a laptop or even a really large iced coffee.the light outside is a very eerie shade of pink and the sunrise this morning was quite stunning. when i went outside to put my laundry in the dryer (no line drying right now) i stopped to take a picture of it and noticed ash blowing all around. they estimate a containment of the fire by the 15th. i can't imagine two more weeks of this. i feel for those who are much closer and whose homes are threatened.with all this heavy air and heavy thinking i am looking for those little joyful moments to carry me through the day. there isn't really much i can do but i can can keep my eyes open for the pretty light of the day, a happy taste of homemade grape juice and the pretty pictures in a new magazine.i hope you all have a good day today. a moment of pretty, a good cup of coffee, a hug from a loved one and a good hearty laugh is what i look forward to every day. happy september!

Fire!

Griffith Park Fire, originally uploaded by DonnaGrayson.

We received a whole lotta phone calls about this puppy! It is bad and amzingly scary and even pretty in a surreal way. This photo was taken by another flickrite from my neighborhood. This is also the view from just outside my gate. Read more about The Griffith Park Fire here.

Mr. A-go-go and I had 2 bags packed in case of evacuation. Really, we are far enough away to not worry but with the wind, you never know. The helicopters woke us up around 5am. The witch-baby is freaked out and there are now ants all over our kitchen. My chest hurts and this morning I am finally smelling the smoke. Crazy.

Being asthmatic ain't so fun right now. I am tired. It is supposed to be around 95 degrees today. Hot and dry. I just have to be all venty and say I really really have a dislike (this borders on hatred) for those folks who throw cigarettes out of their car windows or who drop them at their feet. Six hundred plus acres have burned because of a cigarette. Each time I see someone toss one out of window I want to march over and stuff it down their throat. Smoking is bad in more ways than one. Go ahead and screw up your own body and health but keep it to yourself, okay?

Click on the picture for links to important places that the photographer, Donna Grayson, listed. Check the Los Angeles pool for more photos.

Thankfully the animals at the zoo are fairly safe and only one home has damage. I hope the wind dies down and they can get this puppy out!