In the studio today...

 

...or last week when I was actually home for a day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was listening to some Hillsong and got inspired.

 

 

 

 

I think I have a fever

...which automatically means I get to take a hot bath. I like to do this when I'm sick even in the summertime. It just makes all that achiness feel better. I'll be listening to All Sons & Daughters while I soak and feel slightly sorry for myself. What do you like to do when you have a fever?

(Don't you love this album art, by the way?)

In the studio today

 

 I'm on a jellyfish kick. They're pretty fun to do. I might make this a jelly series. Or maybe I'll do an ocean life series. Sorry 'bout the grainy pictures.

Read this this morning. My favorite part?

²³ "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,
And He delights in his way.
²⁴ Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;
For the Lord upholds him with His hand."
- Psalm 37:23-24 (NKJV)

I love this because it is true. No matter how many times I fall into sin, the Lord rescues me from myself and brings me back to him. I love the way the New King James puts it: "Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down" ....utterly cast down is so vibrantly descriptive. That's what I deserve, but He keeps me from it, hears my repentance, and does not deny me His presence.

 Do not hide me from Your presence
Pull me from these shadows, I need You
Beauty, wrap Your arms around me
Sing Your song of courage, I need You.
- Song of Solomon, Jesus Culture
 

Oh that I would hunger for more of You, Lord!



No bread, no tomato? Yum!

 

Forgot to buy bread at the grocery store so I toasted an English Muffin for my turkey sandwich. Didn't have a tomato, but I wanted something with a little chomp so I cut up a yellow bell pepper and put it on there.

A little mayo and...man was that good!

Can't think of a clever name for this post...

 

...but I came up with a clever way to spend an hour!

 

 

 

    Made this top/dress yesterday out of a 2XL T-Shirt I bought at the dollar store. I think it turned out OK. It's reversible so the leaf detail on the neckline can be work in the back, too. It was pretty quick to make...probably took me an hour this first time, but I was figuring everything out, so next time will probably go faster. I just cut off the sleeves and collar, cut up the sides so that they angled in at the waist, and sewed them back up once I removed the excess. Then I cut out leaf shapes on the neckline.

 

New Sunglasses!

 

 

New sunglasses! Like 'em? It's so nice to finally have a pair of designer shades. Just kidding. Got them at Dollar Tree.

They cost me $1.06

I like to read in uncomfortable places

 

...actually, I'm not sure it's true that I like reading in uncomfortable circumstances, but I do it consistently, sometimes for hours on end. For instance, Thursday I found an interesting novel on the Barnes and Noble best sellers table and stood there for about an hour at the table, bag hurting my shoulder, neck craning, back aching, feet hurting from a full day of standing. Why didn't I just take the book to one of the many seating options available at the bookstore? I may never know. I'll read for hours on end sitting on the hardwood floor at home because I'm grubby from work and haven't showered yet...(why not take a quick 5 minute shower so I can actually sit on the furniture?) or I'll be freezing cold because I don't have a sweater, or I'll be absolutely famished with the kitchen 5 steps away, or I'll be reading a book in the bathtub after the water has turned cold and the back of the tub is forcing my neck into a crampy right angle. Why, why, why do I do this??? I'll pick up a book "just for a minute" and get absorbed. It's like my brain only has room for one thing at a time. Once I'm into a story, it uses up all the space in my head so that bodily needs and functions barely enter my peripheral thoughts. I'll wake up from the book and realize that the nagging feeling in the back of my mind was some limb or other has been cramped for an hour and a half. The end result usually being that the next day I suffer from reading soreness. Have you ever suffered from reading soreness? I am going to make it a goal this summer to master the art of comfortable reading. Haha, we'll see.

Feeling kind of blue

Well...it's been a while. huh. Feeling kind of blue today and I needed a place to put some words. I don't really think I want anyone reading this, but didn't want to put it in my journal where there would be definitely no possibility of anyone reading it...sometimes it's just nice to put something out there. Had a nice, long, relaxing day at home by myself. When I say at home, I mean on the island. It's nice not to have to leave the island for anything all day and when I get to stay, I consider it a whole day at home. I even did some kayaking and freaked myself out trying to pick up a horseshoe crab that I was not 100% sure was dead. So all in all a great day. ...but now I'm feeling blue. Because I've been by myself all day. Which is the way I wanted it. I could have gone for tea with someone today, but I said, "No, I can't" because today was my one day at home for who knows how long. I needed this. I did. It's true. But now I'm sad. I didn't even get to check on the cats I was supposed to check on because the bridge closed down. So not my fault, but I still feel guilty about it of course...and sad. I didn't get to say goodbye to the cats. I said, "See you later" and left in a hurry (so they wouldn't escape) with both of them mad at me for putting them in the basement while the painter was working. I never got to open the door and say, "Come on out and have some dinner!" The family came home and didn't need me to come back, which should have been a blessing because going over the bridge and all the way over 2 more rivers takes a while even without traffic, but I'm sad. Sad sad sad and now I want cats. I'm not even a cat person. Would it be weird and awkward if I asked the family to let me say goodbye to their cats tomorrow? Yes. Definitely yes. Oh gosh. Last night I was looking for a movie in their basement, but didn't find anything that really struck a chord, so I settled on "Lady and the Tramp," which I hadn't seen since way before I was a lady (I mean I was a very little kid, a girl not a boy). I had a dream I found this very small dog with a very long nose...like a dachshund, but not. Anyway, I decided to keep it, even though it was a little dog and I was so happy to have something that would give me company. Then I woke up and no dog. Then I fell back asleep and dreamed this kid at school was misbehaving. I liked the dog dream better. Anyway, I've got a movie all picked out for myself to watch tonight. It's got Maggie Smith in it and it looks pretty good, quirky, hopefully. I better get started or I'm looking at a 2am bedtime. I get to skip a service tomorrow, though. I'm not singing and Sunday School's been cancelled. Hallelujah! I'm sorry, Lord, I didn't mean that to sound so much like it did. I'm just happy to have some extra time for snoozin'. OK, well, as Meg Ryan said in You've Got Mail, "Goodnight, dear Void." (What was her character's name in that movie?) Anyway bye. No idea when I'm gonna come back to this. (Kathleen Kelly, that's what it was.)

Oh blog, how I would love to attend to you, but alas...
I will leave you with this valuable life lesson learned from Beauty and the Beast:

Always listen to your horse.

Surprise!

Well, I logged in today just because I haven't in a while and was very surprised to see that I had posted in September. Apparently I had scheduled these earlier...well what do you know. I'm more active on the internet than I think I am. I've got nothin' to say today. There's a lesson plan I need to be working on...sigh. Can't wait to rejoin the human race in December.

A reflection on an autumn day...

One day last fall, Krista came to visit. The sun was bright that morning and I took some pictures from my balcony. I like to pretend my balcony overlooks a sprawling mountain vista.

...in reality, we look out over the next apartment building at the bottom of the hill, but we still get a nice view of all the trees. It's pretty darn good for an apartment view.


We went hiking around Loch Raven Reservoir. I wish I had some pictures, but, alas, Krista has them all. The sky was blue, the trees were flaming, the lake was glittering, leaves fluttered down as we walked through the woods...a perfect fall day.

We came home and made apple pie...
We drank cider...

...and carved pumpkins.


I'm pretty sure we did everything fallish that you could do in a day. Well, except for going through a corn maze, but hey, we'd done that a few weekends ago.

Reflections of an Intermittent Lindy Hopper

Though my partner

is good,

a descriptor of death

would be called for,

could

you speak of his breath.

Moving Blues...

Karen moved out today...Sad day!

It was too much for some

But had its moments of levity

Chloe demonstrates the emptiness of K-ran's room

Our living room ...

Have a seat, or four.

A LOT of cleaning was involved, but overall, it was a pretty smooth move.

Dog Days

Summer. Quintessentially speaking.

The Mediator

"Everlasting Creator-Father,

I have destroyed myself,

my nature is defiled,

the powers of my soul are degraded;

I am vile, miserable, strengthless,

but my hope is in thee.

If ever I am saved it will be by goodness

undeserved and astonishing,

not by mercy alone but by abundant mercy,

not by grace but by exceeding riches of grace;

And such thou hast revealed, promised, exemplified

in thoughts of peace, not of evil."

~ The Valley of Vision

How is this possible? Who am I that you should be so thoughtful of me?

wwWAAAAAAATtterfall!

Muddy Creek Falls! - Deep Creek 2011

More pie please

Sometimes life seems like one long string of things to be anxious about. Just when I think life is going as it should, something else reveals itself. Many of these things don't matter in the long run, but some of them do and I often wish I could have just one week, one day when I would know that there wasn't something really important I forgot to do; that everything was in place on my end.

I don't wish that I would never have problems (well, I do wish that, but who doesn't?), I'd just like to approach situations knowing that, as far as it depended on me, I'd done what I was supposed to do. I'd like to be a victim for once instead of a delinquent. ...But most of the time, problems are my own fault and that's what really gets me down. The ones that aren't my fault...well, they might be tough, but they don't sting.

The difficulty is that there always seems to be something I could have done differently that would have made the situation better...or kept it from snowballing. Sigh. Lately, it seems I have to be constantly admitting some short-coming or other to someone else - my head hung low, plate ready to receive an ample, well-deserved helping of humble pie. I think my pie plate is starting to chip from overuse.

Well, "For what do we live but to make sport for our neighbors and laugh at them in our turn"...except I'm not finding that life is very funny after all. Maybe that's why we're not supposed to waste it on trying to be happy here - there's too much at stake. I may as well give up and surrender to being poured out for God's purpose. My sin might harass and haunt me to my grave, but maybe, by giving up my rights to any self-dignity I ever had, I'll get to hear "well done" when I reach it.

So...bring on the pie, I guess.

Sketchy sketch sketch

I've discovered that I really like to draw - more specifically - to illustrate. So I've decided to try (a big operative word) to do a sketch every day. Here's today's:

If I like the sketch, I'll ink it in and color it and maybe I'll post it!

Here's yesterday's:

The feet kind of bother me, especially the back feet.

I had no idea how hard it is to draw rhinoceros feet.

The last rays of Sunday...

A hazy Sunday evening at Loch Raven Resevoir...

Pumpkins and Plates

I know some of you might be ignorant about what's going on up here on my apartment balcony, but I thought it might be prudent of me to warn you about some plants that just might soon take over the world.

Karen's pumpkin collection has been slowly taking over the balcony since the weather turned warm in the spring. I've added some tomato and pepper plants to the mix. So far, no tomatoes or peppers, but we do have two pumpkins that are coming along nicely:

As it turns out, the pumpkins create a very green sort of privacy screen and, with the addition of a little plate collage on the utility door, our veranda (as we like to refer to it) is looking pretty

festive.It's like a privatish sort of oasis if you pretend that the beltway noise is the ocean and that the truck horns are coming from passing ships.