01. Cantaloupe. Or rockmelon, I suppose, to my one faithful reader. We bought two at the farmer’s market after trying samples. SO GOOD. My first melon this summer. I can’t wait to cut one open tonight.

02. Cooking. I made it into the kitchen for the first time this week. It was not pretty. Or tasty. But, at least I made something (mostly) edible. Rice cooker brown rice + microwave paneer. And as a bonus, I forgot my crutch on the way back to the bedroom, and didn’t realize I didn’t have it until I got there. Progress.

03. Flickr. It’s been fun interacting on Flickr again. I’ve been browsing the image pools of some Moleskine groups. Art journals too.

04. Training vs Talent. I enjoyed reading the comments to this post on the Illustration Friday blog. I tend to veer on the training side of the argument. I think the myth that artists need to be “talented” from birth is what steers people like me away from pursuing art. I’ve almost given up on the dream over and over again through the years because success didn’t come fast enough. I know from years of back and forth with art that practice and patience improve my skills immensely. Being good at anything takes dedication and hard work. Keeping faith and sticking with it is the hardest part.

05. Charlotte. We took Charlotte in to the vet to have a very large cyst drained a couple of weeks ago, and now it appears to have just filled back in. I don’t know what this means for her long term. They said we would “just know” when it was time, which was very frustrating to hear. I’m trying to enjoy my time with her while it lasts. She will always be my favorite shade of brown.

06. Downtown Portland. Today was another beautiful summer day. Every weekend in September feels like it’s going to be the last summer weekend, until inevitably one day it is. I’ve been missing the downtown walks I usually take in the summer. I LOVE this picture post of downtown Portland by hula seventy.

07. Red pandas. I saw photos on Facebook of a friend’s sister holding hands with a red panda, and now I am obsessed. I even dreamed about them. I am so looking forward to doing the red panda experience at the Auckland Zoo when I get there.