do you know what this photo means?

it means two things:

1. i finally got a card reader for my mac.  they're like 8 dollars at office max.  yep, i'm finally stepping into the 21st century (sheeeesh).  no joke, 98% of the photos on my blog were taken by my mac's photo booth...

yeeah.  you learn how to get creative :)  ian caught me more than once holding my poor little mac book up at awkward angles. 

2. it is proof that the etsy store is extremely close to going up.  the above photo is a little, how you say, hors d'oeuvre :)

so now that i have unmitigated access to the photos off ian's camera, lemme show ya some:

snow in july near glacier, WA.  we were so blown out when we took these... we had been in town for like a day or two and then drove up to glacier to go to a family bday party.

ian's hair is never not amazing.

what the heck is that outfit?

ian coming to get us on blake island last weekend.  his mum and stepdad are boaters and they took us along.  we were staying on the boat and had to get to land by dinghy.  he's so cute in his boat :D

natalie

My husband and I were eating at The Kells restaurant in seattle a couple weeks ago and as we were sitting at our table outside a young woman approached us.

"Hey, I know this is kinda weird, but I saw you guys come in and i just wanted to come over and tell you that you totally look like the quintessential northwest couple to me," she said.  You never know what a beanie and certain brands of jacket will bring you up here in Washington.

I had noticed before she came over that she was eating alone, so we asked her name and begged her to come and have lunch at out table.  Anyone bold enough to just come up and say something like that is someone I want to have lunch with.

Shortly into the conversation we found out she was a Christian and we became instant friends.  I liked her before she said she was a Christian, but once you find out you are talking to someone who worships the same God as you, the relation switches to family.

She was flying from Ohio to Alaska, had an unexpected layover in Seattle and was just killing time in Seattle until her flight.

I asked her what she thought we would say to her for coming up to us so abruptly.

"I DIDNT think about it.  I just did it.  I'm glad I didnt hesitate because now we've become friends!"

I think there's a lot in that response.
I think that's what is missing from my faith-walk with God most of the time.
I think ahead to the consequences of the momentary and risky obediences He desires from me and I become paralyzed by fear.  I'm not willing to create any type of awkwardness or have any sort of uncomfortable interaction with anyone.

It's ridiculous when we serve a God who tells us NOT TO FEAR.  We never would have become friends with her if she was not so bold.

gathering herbs and couches

today has been spent with the herbs growing around our house-

lavendar, clover, nettle, raspberry leaf

all cut and washed today for use in tea when winter comes.

i *hug and kiss* washington.

we've also been picking the local couches that grow along the side of the road.  we were very surprised to find this AMAZING designer-esque couch hanging out on the roadside with a "free" sign on it:

(ian is a ham.)

when we figured out how to make the couch lie flat into a bed (a superb design feature in these modern-retro couches), we realized from looking in the crevices that hadnt been exposed to the sun that the couch was actually BLACK at one time.  BLACK.  not grey.

i ended up bleaching the crevices with straight bleach and it made the black look less glaring.

the only drawback to this radsauce couch is that is smells like dog (*shudder*), but that's something i can work on.  

for those of you who know my deal shark nature, it should not surprise you that i think this couch is a blessing from God.  i LOVE this style but i would never pay full price for even a cheap knock off of a couch like this.  

the conclusion?

there IS a God and He loves me.  :D

practice

i've been busy busy busy trying to get my etsy site up and running- ETA on that sucker is one or two weeks maybe?

exciting!

here's some practice in the meantime...

view from the tiny manchester state park (actually, this is what the whole puget sound looks like: staggered islands brimming with trees).

did this with a 2H pencil, so i had to darken it up quite a bit... sorry for the poor quality.

here's a man i drew who was sleeping on the ferry.  he was the perfect subject because as soon as i was done drawing him as resting his head on his right hand, he shifted to his left.