andy

this weekend we had a short visit from our friend andy. he's from england, but recently moved to calgary. we met andy about 2 years ago in edinburgh. we all loved him right off and have stayed loosely in touch. it really was a blessing to know that he wanted to swing 8 hours (round trip) drive out of his way just to see us. i really apreciated conversations about his adventures in moving to calgary. it was encouraging as i look to my move to edinburgh. it seems like it was just a few days ago we were sitting on the floor upstairs in the reading boiler room talking about him getting into his last season in england before his move to calgary, and now he's there and seeing God put all the things together as he settles in.

it was really great to be included in his whirlwind road trip and to be able to catch up on life's adventures. we caught up on calgary, portland, reading, edinburgh and the next season of life where God has us. it was awesome. he joined us (the house of prayer) for our friday night prayer walk, which was really great to get to do with him along. i love my city so much, and i felt like we were giving him a crash-course in why we love portland. we kept him out way past his bed time, but we all slept in the next day chilled before a late afternoon drive up the columbia river gorge. we kept him up again last night as everyone converged on kathleen's house to hang out. i hope he stayed awake today for the first half of his drive back to calgary.



andy (if you're reading this), thank you for making time for us. it was fabú to have you here. i think your coming may have set the wheels in motion (ha! bad pun alert!) for lots more road trips back and forth. God bless you in this next season. our prayers are with you.

there are a few more pictures of our day here.

clicking

it's so freeing to be able to illustrate your own life! i had the loveliest of strolls to work today, camera in hand, unafraid to be taken for a tourist.

there are a few more pics here

it's here

 

it's here! well, it was here two days before i could coordinate with my manager to pick it up from the office. but it's in my hands and i'm clickin' away.

it's sooooo preshie-presh (sheenaneese for 'precious')! it fits in the palm of my hand. i didn't think it would be so tiny, but i'm glad it is. it's taking some getting used to, but i'm really enjoying getting used to it.

this was the very first real picture. i'll be posting more soon.

finally!

i did it. i bought a camera. i almost bought a different one, but a call to my old friend dan got me on the right track.

i talked to jake, i talked to dan and i bought a canon powershot SD550 digital elph (pictured above). i almost bought a refurbished rebel, but it looked too good to be true when it came down to it. as i looked at the website and talked it over with danno it seemed less and less like a company i wanted to get involved with. and since i'm really just starting with the whole photog gig i figured i should start small and work my way up. the elph had everything i didn't want to do without, and more...and all with 7.1 megapixles. i can't wait to hold it in my hands.

look out world! by the end of the week i'll have a camera again.

(thanks, jake & danno!)

ecuador

today my world shifted a bit, and all my best-laid and half-paid plans for a nice trip to the uk in september have all been undone. and there couldn't be a nicer reason to postpone vacation!

this afternoon my boss pulled me aside to ask if i would be able and interested to re-schedule my vacation because...
my work wants to pay me to go to ecuador and the galapagos!

yep, these galapagos!!!



i absolutely can't believe it! not only will they pay my expenses for the whole week, and pay me my regular wages on top of it, but i will be helping my boss lead a fam (familiarization) trip where we take a group of our top client travel agencies on this trip. and as if that wasn't compliment enough, she said that i was the first person on her list of who she wanted to go with her. that just blew me away!

so now there's lots of sorting. i have to shift my vacation and decide if the money my work is going to refund me that i've put into the vacation i thought i was taking should be completely put aside, or if i should go ahead and spend some of it on a camera. and mom and i have to decide when it would be best to re-schedule our world domination tour. so much to do! i also have to figure out if going to australia and new zealand will really work out this winter after all. lots of planning, lots of shifting.

thankfully i have lovely new luggage to take.

a 5-piece 4th

happy 4th of july!

i have never owned my own luggage. not a real set, anyway. i have a lovely vintage piece of 1940's leather samsonite (similar to the one pictured above), but it's only an overnight case. not nearly large enough for a full-on vacation.

yesterday i took the plunge and in the spirit of independence day i purchased my first real luggage. today they emailed to say it's on the way. it was on clearance at target.com and only cost me $57.10, including shipping. isn't online shopping great?

check out my five-piece beauty...



for under $60 i don't expect it to last forever, but it'll get me through my trip in september and my move in december. i'm not crazy about the color, but a little acrylic paint and it'll be quite nice. i may have my friends come over and paint on my luggage. then wherever i go they'll go with me.

artist

 

i was reminded today of how little credit i give myself in regard to the creative. it came through a revelation, a realization, a label i allowed myself to bestow...on myself. i realized today that i am an artist. somehow it's taken more than thirty-one years to let myself believe it.

i am an artist.

it was free day at the portland art museum. they have them once or twice a year, but more now since the downtown neighborhood association is putting pressure on them for being elitist and only offering admission affordable to the upper-middle and wealthier socio-economic population, and leaving the poorer regiments of society standing outside looking at the posters. (okay, i'm getting off the soap box now.) since i was working the early shift i was off at 3:30 and able to meet up with kathleen at the museum.

i hadn't been there since january, when i got some of my chick-posse together for my birthday and saw the hesse exhibit. today kathleen and i got there just in time to catch the first part of a tour of the modern wing. since i've never studied art i was glad for the educated exposure. then somewhere between cubism and modern impressionism i realized something; i have a few pieces that could just as easily be on one of these walls with a little foam-backed description card next to it. not only is some of my stuff 'not so bad', but there are even one or two pieces that are pretty good. maybe exhibit good. maybe 'artist' good.

wow! i'm an artist. i really am an artist.

so i told kathleen. i told her after we left the tour group because i felt a bit self-conscious putting a label that categorizing on myself. and she said, "duh! hello!" and then she laughed.

there's always going to be someone more skilled, and it may never come out on paper, film, canvas, fabric, yarn or blog quite like it is in my heart, but that doesn't negate the beauty of what i do manage to express, or even the expression itself. i love to create - it's part of who i am. i create to express. i express to connect my view of the Beautiful One in everything i see with anyone who will take notice. and i'm a little better at it than i have given myself credit for up to today.