Cody’s blog

I get my first delivery from Abundant Harvest Organics tomorrow! I’m kind of excited.

I haven’t quite decided how I’m going to handle picking up my weekly delivery plus working on Saturdays. The delivery has to be picked up between 10:30 and 11:00 am at Mama Hillybeans, and then I work from 1:30 to 5:00. So that’s two and a half hours to fill. I don’t like the idea of driving back and forth to town twice in one day. I can have lunch at Mama Hillybeans, but that won’t take the whole two and a half hours. I had thought of taking my laptop and using Mama Hillybeans’ free wifi to hunt dragons. But I’m scroll-locked right now, and it doesn’t look like any of my hatchlings are going to grow up in time to let me to pick up any more eggs tomorrow. Oh well, maybe next week!

Saturday, I had lunch in town at Mama Hillybeans café, local coffeehouse that I’ve been meaning to try out for ages. As soon as I walked in, I felt at home. I felt as though I were back in San Francisco, at one of the zillions of funky little corner cafés that dot the city. They had menus written on chalkboards full of organically grown vegetables and Fair Trade coffees and teas, scuffed tables and chairs, a few couches and easy chairs, a fountain in the corner with a Buddha head decoration, a cheerful mural painted on the wall. I had a cup of lentil soup with cornbread, a salad, and hot chocolate, and it was all delicious. The music playing was a combination of Billie Holiday and hippie rock classics. I was surprised and pleased to hear Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s “Ohio” on the sound system, and even more pleased to hear the amiable-looking middle-aged man at the sofa behind me singing along. There are hippies in Tehachapi! And this is where to find them.

Not only that, they have free wifi. I will definitely be going back regularly.

While I was there, I also saw a notice saying that they are now a drop-off point for Abundant Harvest Organics, an alliance of small organic farms that delivers produce weekly to drop-off points around the region. So I went there and signed up for the small box of yummy food, and am looking forward to getting my first delivery of fresh, organic food next Saturday.

It’s been a long, tough winter, but, even though it’s another wet, gray, dreary day, there have been signs of spring here. The days are getting longer, the wildflowers are starting to bloom, and the temperature is gradually warming up. I’m really looking forward to the day when I don’t have to wear a sweater in the house, or build a fire at night. Maybe by the end of this month.

I’m also looking forward to getting back on track with housecleaning, de-cluttering, exercising—all those everyday things that fell by the wayside when it was so cold all the time, and I was sick half the time, and working extra hours to fill in at the library. I spent four hours yesterday cleaning the kitties’ room (including doing two loads of laundry to wash their blankets and kitty bed liners and the fish towels and my bath mat) and sweeping all the floors. I’d hoped to clean the bathroom and kitchen as well, but ran out of time and energy. Oh well. It’s a start. Next week!

I’ve decided to skip Fangoria this year. I already bought my tickets at last year’s Fangoria, but I just don’t want to go. I didn’t really enjoy it last year. They moved it to the LA Convention Center, and it’s too inconvenient and I don’t like the hotel. Oh well. I’ve seen all the people I wanted to see when I started going: my three favorite horror directors, Clive Barker, John Carpenter, and Wes Craven, along with many others, like Tony Todd and George Romero and Guillermo del Toro and Heather Langenkamp and many more. It was fun while it lasted, but I’ve had my run.