Nope, I sure haven’t been awesome at updating this page this last year! But in my defense, it’s been a kind of crazy year. I do hope the door hits 2018 on the ass on its way out, hehe.

My husband had surgery on his foot, and after his many-month-recovery, as soon as I could be sure he could drive and walk to get his own food and get to work, I scheduled a month to visit with my parents. My father was ill from ALS, and they desperately needed help. I’m so glad I did spend that month. Natasha, our pupper, made the road trip from California to Texas and back with me. She got to visit with her “grandparents” and they enjoyed each other a lot. And I really was needed, and got to spend quality time with my folks too. 

As soon as I got back I had a long overdue surgery on my ankle, and it was time for Chuck to take care of me for a little while. My surgery was not as traumatizing as his, so fortunately the recovery was not quite as long. Six weeks in, when I was JUST finally able to put my weight on it, my father died. So we went home to bury him by my mother’s side. Even though I was still on crutches, I was at least out of the boot by the day of the funeral. 

Then holidays. Mom joined us with my in-laws for a nice Thanksgiving. I couldn’t stand the idea of traditional Christmas without Dad this year. So Mom went to Mexico to have Christmas with her family, and the hubby, dog and I went on a nice road trip around Cali. We made it to one of Dad’s favorite spots for Christmas day, Sequoia National Park. No better way to honor Dad than to see some mountains, snow and pine trees, saluting General Sherman. 

Needless to say, art making has been low priority this year. I did manage to make a few new pieces in monoprint/collage. Something about the process feels intuitive, low-pressure, freeing. I seem not to have documented any of it on here. I will need to get on it. Oh, phone ringing…

Mom just called, New Year’s was hard for both of us. It feels like we are officially leaving Daddy in the past, moving on without him. It’s hard to describe, except that it’s painful. 

ALS sucks. 

And that’s the news.