Jenny has a mandatory library "Staff Day" on Friday (her usual day off), so she took today off from the law firm, which worked out well. We both had haircut appointments this morning, and then headed over to The Comic Book Shop to buy some comics.

We actually didn't get this week's comics, as we got to the shop before they officially opened and they were still sorting through the new books out today. But we left our subscriptions pile up for almost 2 months, so we had quite the sizable stack waiting for us. Maybe we should get back into the habit of actually picking up our comics each week again....

After some time at The Comic Book Shop, it was off to lunch, and then some much needed grocery shopping. Then back to the apartment so we could meet with the office and sign our new lease. We're locked in for another full year - so we've got 12 months to get some more income coming in and find a better place to live, so we don't have to stay here any more.

We eventually got a hold of our friend Jamie, picked him up, grabbed some dinner, and came back here to watch a couple of movies. We saw Meet the Robinsons, which was hilarious and highly recommended; and Illegal, a classic Edward G. Robinson courtroom drama, which was also quite good!

Yesterday was Jenny's father's birthday, and we spent most of the day over in Coeur d'Alene with her parents. We went to see the Surrogates with him - which was a pretty awesome sci-fi flick (based on an equally cool indy comic). Glad we got to see it in the theatre, though I think it could've been a bit longer.

Then after the movie the four of us went out for Thai food at the local Thai Bamboo (which was, of course, delicious), and then caught up on a bunch of recorded TV from the past week. A very fun and relaxing day!

The library is doing sort of an "employee exchange" program, where they're moving some people to different branches so they can see how things might be run differently and meet other co-workers. So now Jenny is working up at the North Spokane branch once a month. Her first day was this last Thursday, and she really enjoyed it, although it does mean a much longer commute (like 45 minutes instead of 15).

Otherwise things are going OK. Jenny had her year review at the library, which went well and got her a raise (yay!). The temperature is dropping, and even dipping to freezing occasionally, but the apartment seems to be holding the heat pretty well. Maybe those new energy-efficient windows they installed actually work.

I've been working on some commissions and tinkering with one of my comic ideas. Doing the 24 Hour Comic Challenge has definitely been an inspiration to get back to work on it - hopefully I'll have more concrete news on that relatively soon...

Jenny's been working on a bunch of cool crocheting projects, which we really need to take some pictures of and post up. It would probably help if we had a decent digital camera, since right now we have 3 old ones that all only work about half the time. 

Local Arts & Crafts People: The next Spokane Comicsmiths' Guild is on Sunday the 18th at Merlyns, from 3-6 pm. The next Crafty Club meeting is on Friday the 23rd at the Spokane Valley Library, and starts at 7 pm. Feel free to leave a comment if you're interested in more information.

And I also drew up 4 Star Wars pictures for the kids coloring contest, which you can see here: Star Wars Coloring Pics!

The Microsoft "Courier" Tablet Concept

I'm a fairly OCD person when it comes to organizing, and make lists for everything to help me remember what I'm supposed to be doing most days. Because of this, I've taken to having a little Moleskine notebook with me everywhere I go. I use it as a day-planner/calendar and also jot down notes to myself so I don't forget ideas I have.

I'm also (not surprisingly) a very visual-based person. I like making sketches, drawing out ideas, and I've often wanted a more intuitive system for digitally combining my notes, sketches and ideas into a cohesive, yet easily manipulated whole.

So when I saw the pictures and video showing the concept for the new Courier from Microsoft I was seriously geeking out. I even had an idea for something similar to this a few months ago - I then heard about Apple's rumoured tablet which sounded close to what I wanted, but wasn't quite.... and then I saw this on Gizmodo the other day.

It's obviously just in the concept stage right now, and I have no idea if/when it's released whether it will live up to my expectations. Ideally I'd like to be able to use it for sketching, finished artwork and writing, but there's no word yet on hardware specs or what software it will use, so for now I just have to wait and see. But it's definitely got my hopes up, and I'm still geeking out about it, so I'd thought I'd share... :)

Nothing too crazy going on at the moment, although I did apply for a job today (Monday) that I think I've got a decent shot at. I actually applied and interviewed for the same job a few months ago, and was in the running for it, but apparently it's open again so I figured I should go for it. It's part-time at the library, and seems perfect for me, so I've got my fingers crossed.

Jenny was feeling sick today, and her throat was really sore, so she called out for both of her jobs to rest up. I stayed up really late last night getting my application ready, and then went to turn it in first thing this morning, so I was pretty exhausted too, so we both spent a good chunk of the day asleep. Exciting, I know. ;)

Yesterday was our monthly artist meeting, and this time it was a BBQ hosted by one of the members (Erik Thompson, who doesn't have a website yet, or I'd link to it because he's an awesome artist). The BBQ was a ton of fun with a lot of great food, and we ended up staying there pretty late (hence me not getting started on my application till even later).

Our group was also out at the Spokane Main Street Fair last weekend. We've got a couple of photos of us up over at our blog: Spokane Comicsmiths' Guild Blog!

The next big event for the Guild is the annual 24 Hour Comic Book Challenge, which is on October 3rd. Last year's challenge was actually what got us all together in the first place and sparked the formation of our group. Hopefully we'll end up with even more members, since we're expecting our biggest turn-out yet this year.

Otherwise, things have been going all right. The weather has been pleasant, not too hot and occasionally rainy. Us both being sick off and on is annoying, of course, but we've still been keeping busy with art & crafts stuff.

Plus the Fall TV season is starting, so we're getting all of our favorite shows back, plus a couple of potentially good new ones. Maybe I'll use an entry to just run through all the shows we're watching now, which is probably too many. But at least we don't have cable or we'd most likely be glued to the couch...

I've mentioned in other blogs about our local artist/writer group, which we've named the Spokane Comicsmiths' Guild. We now have a blog set up for the guild, as well as a deviantArt page and Facebook group, so everyone can keep up with what's happening with the group and it's members. They're new, and very much works-in-progress, but it's a start, as we had several people asking if we had a website for the group at our last event. Here's the sites:

Comicsmiths' Guild

deviantArt Page

Facebook Group

Members of the Comicsmiths' Guild will be at Merlyns tomorrow (Saturday the 12th) after 3pm as part of the Sustainable September Main Street Fair!

We'll be drawing free sketches for kids between 4-6 and taking sketch commissions for others. There should also be a variety of prints and original artwork for sale as well. If you're a Spokane local, swing by and say Hi, meet the Guild and pick up some art!

In addition to the Guild, Merlyns will also be host to local members of the 501st Legion from 2-4pm. Get photos of yourself with stormtroopers and more of the Galactic Empire's finest!

The Street Fair will also feature live music, entertainment, sustainabilty info, kids activities, bike tune-ups, food and fun! In the street - 0 block of West Main, 3-8pm.

Also, I'm still sick, or maybe sick again, I'm not sure. I had what I think was a sinus infection about a month ago, before I got my wisdom teeth out. I think I shook that, but now I've got some cold-type thing. I've been a wreck the past couple of days, sleeping for 1/2 the day, wiped out with no energy, head stuffy, runny nose and sneezing, and my throat's been really rough and scratchy. Fun.

So it's been a lot of rest and juice and soup, and not much getting the things done that I need/want to do. The sooner I'm over this the better....

Sunday was our monthly meeting of the Spokane Comicsmiths Guild. It was a good time, and fairly productive, with some brainstorming done regarding the upcoming 24 Hour Comic Book Day event and discussion of various projects. Not sure on the exact date of the next SCG meeting - we're going to try to meet more often, so the next meeting may not be at Merlyns or on a Sunday.

The Marvel Birthday event we sketched at did make it into the Coeur d'Alene paper, and one member, my friend Matt Nelson, got his picture and name featured on the front page! That was, of course, incredibly cool, but unfortunately there wasn't any actual mention of the SCG group. Here's the full article: The Coeur d'Alene Press

I've been thinking about working on painting miniatures again - I haven't touched any minis or paints in months, but I've been looking through my gaming books and thinking about working on an army again. I'm sure hanging out at Merlyns and being surrounded by games and gamers probably has something to do with it as well.

Not sure when I'll get back into it, but I have been looking at gaming websites for the first time in ages, trying to catch up on new releases. In my internet browsing I also discovered that Gamer's Haven, the awesome game store in Idaho that tragically burned to the ground, is going to re-open in October! The store was originally in Coeur d'Alene (I even briefly worked there), and the new location will be in neighboring Post Falls (in the Outlet Mall along I-90). The new shop is scheduled to open October 1st, and I'm sure I'll swing by and check it out. :)

In other news, I think I might be coming down with something. My head's hurt pretty much all day (slightly less after some DayQuil and Aspirin), and I've just felt cruddy, like I have no energy. Hopefully I'll shake whatever it is quick, 'cause it's annoying...

Participating were myself and:

• Levi Skeen
• Matt Nelson
• Jesse Acosta
• James Bobbitt

In fact, it's the first time in weeks that we've had both the A/C and the fan turned off and it's still comfortable. We had an awesome thunder shower last night that dumped buckets of rain, and there's actually a nice breeze today. Very pleasant, indeed.

Saw on-line that Fairbanks finally got some much needed rain as well. Hopefully it'll keep up and help squelch all the smoke they've had to deal with from the fires up there. Of course, the timing of the rain is not too surprising for those of us who are from Fairbanks, as the fair starts today... ;)

Speaking of the fair, our friend Tigger (aka AlX Hurlbut) has a booth this year and will be selling prints of her photography. Any locals who are going, be sure to stop by and check out her photos & say Hi (and buy something!).

Also, this will be my friend Ellen's (of Ellen Million Graphics) last year selling at the fair. She's closing down the Gift Shop portion of her website, and expanding her business in other directions. So drop by her booth as well, to find out what's happening in the wide world of EMG and grab some of the cool Gift Shop merchandise that might be gone soon!

Took care of some much needed chores: laundry, dishes, some cleaning, and bill paying. Got started on another commission and brainstormed some other ideas. I think this week will be a bit more productive than some recent ones...

We always have problems with wasps making nests in the eaves of the apartment building - I had the maintenance people come by earlier in the summer and take some of the super bug spray to the one's by our windows. But now we've got a giant nest in the stairwell outside our apartment. I put in a work order for them to do something about it - hopefully they've got a tall ladder.

Oh, and a while back I had posted a few of those daily Avengers sketches I was doing. Well, I finished my A to Z list. They're all up on my deviantArt page (http://piotrov.deviantart.com), and just for fun I stuck them all together in one big image. You can click on the image for a bigger version:

This week is the big Comic-Con down in San Diego; from what I hear it gets crazier and less about comics each year, but I'd still love to get to see it eventually. Maybe Jenny and I can make it there for an anniversary or something. We still haven't taken a real honeymoon, so that's always a possibility. :)

I do know a few people who will be at the Con, including local artist/writer Lars Brown, who's the creator of Northworld and is a member of our Spokane Comicsmiths Guild group. Apparently he'll be splitting his time between the Image and Oni Press booths, so if you're at SDCC take some time to swing by, say hi, and pick up one of his books!

Possibly the coolest event at SDCC is one not listed on the website - for the first time, two comic artists will actually be getting married at the convention on Sunday! Renae De Liz and Ray Dillon met in person at SDCC five years ago and decided to tie the knot at the same place. The two initially met through the Digital Webbing comics community - a website I probably spend entirely too much time on, but through which I've met some really great people.

Also, my photographer friend Tigger (aka AlX) will have a booth at the 100 Years of Motorcycles festival at the Spokane Fairgrounds this weekend, where she'll be selling her prints. Jenny and I have been helping her get ready and matting her prints the past few days. Any locals who are going to the be at the show, be sure to check out her photos (and buy something!).

Yesterday was the 2 year wedding anniversary for Jenny and I, and also marked 6 years since we started dating! Jenny took the day off from work and we slept in for most of the morning.

We'd originally planned on going out for dinner, walking around downtown and seeing the new Harry Potter, but it was back to being stupidly hot again, and neither of us really wanted to go outside. So we cranked up the A/C, cooked a nice big dinner and watched a movie we hadn't seen yet. Not too exciting, but much cooler, more relaxing, and a lot cheaper than going out...

The movie we watched was Defiance, which I'd highly recommend. Set during World War II, it's based on a fascinating true story about Jewish brothers who end up becoming resistance fighters. They protect other Jews from the Nazis and build a secret community for refugees in the forest.

This Sunday is the monthly meeting of the Spokane Comicsmiths Guild, 3pm at Merlyns. Friday the 31st is the next Crafty Club, which Jenny organizes through the Spokane County Library. Any locals who are interested in either group, please leave a comment and we can provide more information!

...since I haven't blogged in a while:

The 4th of July was good - we just headed over to Jenny's folks' place and relaxed and had lots of barbeque. Jenny also went to a beading exhibit at the fairgrounds with her mom, and picked up a bunch of cool stuff she can use in her jewelry making. We didn't stick around for the fireworks spectacular, since we got stuck in the traffic trying to get out of CdA last year and didn't want a repeat experience. Instead we got out early and still heard plenty of illegal fireworks going off around here.

It's cooled off a bit over the past few days, and even rained some. We were over in CdA on Sunday and got to see an awesome lightning storm, but all we got here was a tiny bit of thunder off in the distance.

There's still some cold/flu type bug going around, and we think Jenny brought it home from work and gave it to me. I'm sure it's nothing major, but it's still annoying. The heat saps enough energy from me as it is, and this certainly doesn't help.

Jenny's taking the day off from work this Wednesday, as it's our 2 year wedding anniversary. We don't have anything big planned, although we're thinking of walking around downtown and going to Riverfront Park. The new Harry Potter film also comes out that day, so we'll be seeing that if nothing else. :)

I've been attempting to write more than draw lately, as I want to get to work on these 2 different comic ideas I've got and figure it'd help to actually have a story to draw before I dive in.

For the past couple of weeks I have been doing daily sketches of The Avengers and posting them on my deviantArt page. I started with Ant-Man and am working my way through the alphabet, drawing one character per letter. Here's the first 9, and the rest can be seen here: http://piotrov.deviantart.com

Things have been going well enough, if not particularly exciting. But then, I guess that's nothing to complain about.

Jenny had her dentist appointment on Friday; she hadn't gone quite as long as I since her last check up, but it'd still been about 10 years. But she had nothing to worry about, as her teeth were in fine shape - no cavities or problems.

It's back to feeling like summer, with temperatures in the 80's and up to 90. Looks like more of the same this week, so I'm thinking we'll be breaking down soon and turning on the A/C. Which means higher electric bills. Yay.

Sunday was our monthly meeting of the Spokane Comicsmiths Guild, the group of local artists and writers that was formed after last year's 24 Hour Comicbook Day. We've begun planning for the next 24HCBD, which this year falls on October 3rd and will again be hosted by local shop Merlyns. We also discussed some other possible plans for this coming year which unfortunately are only in the discussion stage, so I won't go into details yet.

And, of course, we also sat around and drew. I began sketching out designs for another character in my Fight City superhero comic - a super-genius crime boss known as "Brains" McBannon. I think these are the closest so far to what I want: