Finding a "system" that works for you

Thanks for all the comments! Now I feel better about all my talking. :) I added a picture of the back of my haircut, as per the request. You can't really see how well Becky blended in the weight-line (that's an industry term) with the clipped portion, but you can trust me that she really knew what she was doing.

I had a little adventure today, walking around downtown. Our car needs to pass this thing called DEQ in order to get our Oregon license plates. DEQ is an emissions test thing. Our "check engine" light has been on for a while, and they won't even look at your car if that's on. We know. We tried. So Sean's been working on the car on the weekends to try to figure out what the problem was, but we got to the point where he'd run out of home-remedies.

Today we brought the car to an autobody shop that was recommended to us downtown. Sean and I got coffee together at a cool place (really, it was chilly since they had the door wide open) called the Backroom that had a pool table, wi-fi, and french pressed coffee. Then Sean took the bus to work while I wandered over to the shops on NW 23rd Ave.

Scenery of note: I passed a toupee on the sidewalk while crossing a bridge over the highway; I also passed a sausage and smoked meat factory that at first smelled like burning rubber, then like a pleasantly smoky woodstove.

I passed a florist where I got to poke through the plants on the sidewalk and find out what some of the local flora is that I've been photographing. The pink and white dangly guy up top is an Andromeda plant. I gotta say, they're kinda ugly when the whole bush is blooming. The colors look like they've faded in the sun when there's too many of them.

The yellow bell-like thing to the left is a Euphorbia. This plant is on our block, and I pass it on the way to TJ's and the library.

The pink flowering tree from the top of the last post is a Quince tree. It's really pretty. I think I'll replace that pic with the original hi-res one so you can click on it and see the flowers close-up. Sean's mom was kind enough to send us a link to a website that encourages Portland residents to pick the fruit from public trees. There's a catalog of fruit-bearing trees (that you can add to), harvest times, and organized fruit gathering get-togethers. I've never had a quince before, but maybe I'll check back when they're ripe.

I don't know what this tree is, but it's funky. This picture does not do it justice, either. This guy is some kind of pine tree, but it's got a whole bunch of spread-out branches, each totally covered in thick spikes. There are a couple really tall ones of these in the neighborhood.

So, back to the story of today's outing. I tried really hard to shop for birthday presents, since there are now 3 people on our list whose birthdays have gone by. For some reason, I just couldn't find anything! It's pathetic, I know. There were a lot of cool shops in the NW, but I couldn't find anything just right for any of these people that didn't cost $80. [Teresa, if I ever have a spare $80, there's an awesome ceramic Day of the Dead lady with your name on it. Val, if you want a giant red teapot from Italy, I know where to get it. Amy, if you want an inflatable moose head for your wall or a bobblehead gnome, I know where to get them. Seriously, just let me know...]

I did discover a new store called Cannibals where I met a very excentric Artiste lady who wants me to sell my work with her. She told me all kinds of success stories about the homeless artists she's discovered who've become stars. I'm enchanted by her store and encouraged by her enthusiasm for my work. She wants me to work on more expensive, creative art pieces, which is really the direction I'd like to head anyway. I'm going to try to meet with her again soon, but I'm trying not to cut off the crafty market just yet. Her store's focus is also on recycled materials, so I'm going to check out a new store tomorrow that sells scrap glass pieces that I can get creative with. I'm really happy that I'm finding some of those job opportunities that I knew existed out there for someone like me!

So that's pretty much how my day went. I walked past the Thai restaurant that Sean and I had a fantastic lunch at two years ago (Beau Thai, which does in fact use a bowtie as its logo). I ate a not-so-great burrito at Santa Fe Taqueria. And we ended up paying $723 for a new throttle body... yikes. But our car idles very smoothly now, and we should pass the DEQ test. Yay. It's about time I sold some real art, methinks. I'ma get on that now...