more pictures

"demand your doughnuts"

eating a hot dog from "snoop dog's pound"

adventures in seattle

It is absolutely beautiful in seattle this week, it's actually supposed to be 95 degrees tomorrow! We spent the night with Hannah's cousin Katie, and I am in love with her house! Full of hand made pillows, decopaged art and a super cute rug by one of my favorite designers.... it doesn't hurt that the bed in her guest room is like sleeping on a cloud. This early morning finds us sitting in a sweet shop called "bakery" sipping a latte and chai. The plan is to go watch the world cup with my brothers, (maybe) go to discovery park, it's reportedly green and gorgeous ( i'm pushing for a jaunt into kent where there's a bookstore/thrfit store combo that sells clothes at a dollar a pound). For the evening meal we will be dinning with Hannah's aunt and uncle and their son Henry, whom live in Bellevue and then we will probably go out for a drink with Katie. There's a really fetching bar called Zig Zag near Capitol Hill. It's the scene of my first cocktail ever and I'd love to go back.

Well today has been pretty calm so far, it is only 9:30 am, but let me catch you up to speed on yesterdays adventures.

As we confidently strolled into the building I said was the ferry station I felt my stomach plummet, this was not the right building. A gangly, bearded man locking up his bike outside informed us we were at least a half mile away from the station. crap. It was already 9:45 and we wanted to be on the 10:00 ferry. Flash forward to us pounding up the carpeted ramp, bee-lining to the ticket booth, hastily purchasing our tickets and racing onto the ferry that they so graciously were holding for us (we made it on board by 10:02). never a dull moment. every single time I have started walking towards a destination it has been the wrong way. I'm just so confident that Hannah never thinks to question me... hopefully that will change.

The ferry ride was so delightful, armed with coffee (mine had 13+ half-n-half packets in it) and breakfast we walked the length of the boat and sat on some benches with a window to the water. I live in Bremerton for a few months almost two years ago so we disembarked, and walked to a favorite thrift store of mine... you'll notice from the pictures that I stopped at Snoop Dog's Pound for a hotdog. We walked to Cornerstone Coffee, where I used to work, and alternately read poetry and journal. This is what I saw out the window.

"There's two men standing on the corner of fifth st. They have been there for at least 30 minutes. What are they doing, surveying? There are a few orange signs scattered nearby. They could be the oldest of friends or strangers caught up in a coincidental appreciation of some rare fascination."

-A

poetry & coffee with god & abigail

what abigail neglected to mention of our delicious holler mountain "blend" (the name of the coffee shop!) included an illicit u-turn (another blog title?)due to our maniac distress in the form of a 9 am service.

oh, seattle - how i lose myself in you (literally - abigail & I've been in every corner of seattle entirely directionless already). today we took the ferry ride to bremerton where abigail lived for awhile. it was beautiful - very blue and lit and brilliant along the coast of the city, where little houses line the water. we looked at vintage dresses we couldn't afford and sat in her old coffee shop reading.

now we are sitting in Elliott Bay's books (yes, again - we have certain addictions...) reading and drinking coffee. abigail is writing (you?) post cards. i bought a book of poetry here yesterday, "walking to martha's vineyard" by franz wright. the title sounds terrible, but once you read it, i promise, it isn't. it is beautiful - his words are so simple, so ordinary, and yet, every word he gives you settles inside of you, like an ocean, because of his understanding of syntax, and beauty, of course.

here is one of his poems:

On Earth

Resurrection of the little apple tree outside

my window, leaf-

light of late

in the April

called her eyes, forget

forget -

but how does one go

about dying?

Who on earth

is going to teach me -

The world

is filled with people

who have never died

love hannah

Sunshine in Seattle

Yesterday we woke up in Portland and stopped at a hole-in-the-wall shop and got two cups of the "holler mountain blend". We headed over to Imago Dei church and after a wrong turns found the parking lot The sanctuary is relatively small with a balcony above, the seating alternating sections of red and blue cushioned pews and a modern feeling stained glass window portraying (who else) Jesus. The way the congregation tithes is called "change for a dollar". A 20's something man walked on stage and held the microphone and started talking about a young boy, Billy Moore. He had boarded a bus last week after saying goodbye to his mother who was being taking off life support at the local hospital. As he stepped off the bus he got in to a vocal altercation and as the speaker put it "he choose to fight with his feet by walking away, rather than his words". His reward for taking the higher road was a bullet in the back that claimed his life and gave his sister a double funeral. The speaker was just a guy who worked at the hospital were Billy's mom had spent her last days, he was just a member of the congregation who saw a need. It was inherent in his talking that Imago Dei doesn't always have a specific idea for the tithe, rather they let the holy spirit push the plan into their laps each week, one of the many things I loved about this community. The speaker made the point that God can show up when he wants, but our willingness is helpful.

The text was Matthew 5:13-14; and Rick reminded us to hear it in the context of the beatitudes. Here are some notes I wrote during the sermon; " There is no podium, he holds no bible or notes. It feels more intimate, more like teaching than preaching. They have no missions team because the body IS IT... salt is a preservative, we are to preserve the world and live out a memory. The memory that this is God's world. Problem: when the church trys to hold the shaker, usually the dump on to much and run the flavor. Then they sit there and say 'why does no one like the flavor!? We're just being persecuted right now...' God shakes out just enough salt, in simple ways." He also touched on the two extreme ways christianity can manifest itself in todays culture; syncretism and sectarianism. Being too apart of the world, and too far removed. He gently reminded his listeners and friends that surrounding yourself only with christian persons and activities is sin, it's not right. It's just as bad as putting your light under a basket, it's like shining your spotlight into a room with no windows. Rick started and ended his message by pointing out that verse 13 says "you ARE". The best thing we can do, is be ourselves, not try to do anything better or be someone different. I so often feel a pressure from the "church" or christians in general to do better, be better, be doing something different in a better way. It was so refreshing and true to be reminded that the best way to showcase Jesus is to simply be who he made me.

Imago Dei was refreshing in it's lack of performance quality, there was no mingle! From what I could tell from the website and bulletin, this is a church that values community and living out the truth in simple ways and I really loved the service. It doesn't hurt that one of my favorite authors, Donald Miller, goes here too!

After church we hit the road and headed to Seattle where we had a delicious homeade lunch with my older brother Ben and his girlfriend Lydia. Then we headed over to a friend's house and played in a cash poker game with eight of (my brothers and my) our friends. Let's just say for the buy-in being $5 dollars, I made myself enough to pay for a couple of nights in Yellowstone :) Who knew I had such skill? After the game some other friends joined the party and we made and consumed a delicious taco bar. Then, because it was the fourth of July, my brothers (Ben and Jon) Hannah, me and few other boys headed to the apartment building roof to set off fireworks, while our friends watched from below. It was a blast, literally and I even got to set off a roman candle!

Last night we stayed with Jon in his great studio apartment on capitol hill. We slept in today and got coffee at Vita and walked to Elliot Bay Books, the best bookstore in Seattle. I got a few postcards, "The Living" by Annie Dillard and a book by Madeline L'engle ('m on a quest to own them all). We walked down towards Pike Place Market and stopped at a sunny cafe called Specialty's. We're just about to take off and go to the Egyptian theater to see "micmas" (by the director of Amelie). Later tonight the plan is to stop by the Living Room where Jon bartends!

So far Seattle and the trip in general have been excellent and so much fun.

-A

pictures from portland

these pictures are from our day in Portland, photo credit: joe ruppert

Day One: Over 700 Miles of Dust

hello dear friends (okay, really: hi mom),

oblivious (impermeable?) to directions? check. already lost? oh, yeah (but who doesn't love a two hour pastoral detour?). stained the (incredible) yellow corduroys from the flea market? first lunch stop (burrito). broken glasses? two hours in. stretched co-pilot's extra pair? sorry abi. revoked co-pilot's licence? self-conscious lack of navigation skills discovered. (strategically) avoided speeding ticket? the girl definitely has a manual for her big blue assets. annoying rhetoric format? sorry (but who can't help being (a little) pretentious in Portland?!)

we are here, our first destination, the city with roses on every police car, enjoying Stumptown coffee, which I think should double as a record label (right? who wouldn't buy that cd?), drinking (more?!!!) coffee, reading, editing poetry, writing post-cards, occasionally making up (ridiculous) pick up lines.

I loved driving here, and love being here even more - it is so green and there are so many trees! traveling is strange - passing through so many landscapes - like traveling through worlds. there is something beautiful about all of it - miles of matted(almost golden)brown grass , blue lakes - it changes you - who would I be had I been born on Forest Hill Auburn Ravine Road next to Ikeda's Tasty Burgers?

yours, h.

city of roses

Yesterday morning we got off to an early start and headed for the I-5, the connection was supposed to happen somewhere around Vacaville? maybe. Well in our excitement Hannah and I ended up driving to auburn, yes we know, it takes special skill to keep driving for hours without realizing you are headed the wrong way. Finally realizing we were going the wrong way we pulled out the atlas and followed some great back roads till we finally made it to the interstate. We hadn't been missing much, I-5 was incredibly boring and a bit depressing. The closer we got to Oregon the scenery changed from scorched grass and weeds with the occasional telephone pole to gorgeously green, lush trees and mountains. After a quick pick-me-up of incredibly delicious am-pm coffee (no really, it was great) we hit the road and reached Portland.

We're staying with friends of mine (joe and dan) and this morning they took us to breakfast at "bread and ink" and showed us around Portland. We walked around the Hawthorne district and found a street painted with a huge sunflower and a barbershop's named "bishop's" each spurring a mini photo shoot. Joe directed us to a sweet vintage shop called "house of vintage" where i purchased an incredible rose printed bathing suit. Next we headed downtown for Powell's books. It was inevitable, it's a huge new and used bookstore that divides it's books into rooms. The gold room (attached to the coffee shop where we sat and read for a bit) houses; mystery, nautical fiction,romance and more.

The weather has been perfect so far, the sky is a gorgeous vivid blue and holds my favorite clouds. They are white with the undersides painted grey and shine as if illuminated from the center. The streets here reminded me of Seattle, they house quaint, colorful homes and the main streets are dotted with hip coffee shops, thrift stores and tasty looking cafes and restaurants. We are at Stupmptown coffee roasters, a long rectangular shop with one brick wall behind the counter. The rest are creamy white and hold up multi-colored, digitally altered photographs. The coffee here is delicious and the music is an electro-hip-hop-rock combination. Hannah is seated across from me, hunched over her black mac book. Alternately typing and staring in consternation at her screen,or frowning in thought at the wall behind me. Tonight the plan is to get thai food at a restaurant Joe pointed out called "thai me". How can we say no to that? Tomorrow I'm looking forward to going to Imago Dei church and driving up to Seattle!

-A