Being transgender is not a choice, but being a bigot is a choice.

I'm really struggling this winter, it seems I'm back to being severely affected by the cold. Last winter wasn't bad, but this year I am cold all the time again. I have a bad thyroid, which I'm on medication for, and it makes it very hard for me to stay warm. I feel very weak, and have no energy. I have to apologize to anyone who has been wondering what happened to the story that I posted a teaser for, but I've not been able to do much writing. I promise, I haven't abandoned the project. I live in Southern California, so I feel silly complaining about the cold, but there it is.

I've been out to my wife, kids and grandkids for a few years now, but my wife's extended family didn't know about my real self - until today. We went to my mother-in-law's for Thanksgiving, as she will probably not be around any more next year. It will be a blessing; she has dementia and is getting very near 100 years old. After talking with my niece, who lives with her and has known about me for a couple of years now, we felt that it would be OK to be me. With my wife's blessing, I went there as myself.

I spent some time with AI, and found that it really has a problem doing the little things. Jake has two different colored eyes, and it took me forever to get that done how I wanted. I went through, quite literally, hundreds and hundreds of images before I found my Jake. https://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/fiction/104259/mister-sister-...

Or, as Dorothy would say, I've got some spoons again. I was really struggling with the story I'm working on but last night, it started to flow again. I don't know if it was just a difficult transition in the story, or if it was the dreaded 'writer's block' as I'm still very new at this author thing, I'm just glad it is over.

and I'm running a fever of 103F right now. Just took some tylenol. I have more than a few of the markers for being at higher risk from covid, so keep me in your thoughts, please. I'll let you all know how things go over the next few days.

although I have no illusions of winning said contest, it was still a step in the right direction for me. Maybe someday I will learn to be a real writer and have a chance at one.

I thought my problems with fatigue and everything else was Covid related, but it turns out I have cat scratch fever, and all of my symptoms match the common symptoms for that. I have started medication for it, and I'm feeling better every day. Cat scratch fever is fairly rare, and in most cases resolves itself, but with my weakened immune system, I have apparently been fighting it for some time now. It can be very serious if untreated for long periods of time, but I have no symptoms of it having reached that point.

Not too bad yet, just very fatigued and sore.

If anyone is willing to re-read them, I would love to know if it is an improvement. I will post chapter 4 as soon as my early reader gets back to me on it, tomorrow, I hope. If anyone else wished to be an early reader, let me know please.

I lost my best friend today, I've now outlived all of my friends except the ones I've made here. I do have my family, or I probably would have done something stupid by this time. I have to admit that I'm not sure how much more I can take, my parents are gone, my brother wants nothing to do with me (and it has nothing to do with me being Holly), and now my only friend I could hug is gone. I'm so very afraid of trying to make new friends in my area, I've started dressing full time now and I don't know how well I would be accepted outside of my family.

I just got over being sick, and I'm sick again. Not Covid, thank God, but I am absolutely miserable - fever just short of 102, coughing, congested and lung just don't feel right. Hurt from head to toe. The big problem, though, is it triggers me since I was deathly ill for most of my childhood, I would get sick and then when I got over that one, I would get sick again days later. What would really upset me is I would cry, which helped me deal with it as it was a good release for all my troubles.

took a Covid test, it's negative. But low grade fever, body aches, cough, congestion and sore throat - I am miserable.

hope you enjoy!

A bit of an update, Gwen's cellulitis is doing better, although she is still quite miserable and the medication is making her very tired. She is on her second course of antibiotics, they would have kept her in the hospital but Covid is using up most of the beds. She would like to thank everyone who messaged her or answered her blog to wish her well. For the time being, I'm going to be a go between to help her be able to rest, so feel free to ask me questions.

and my cat is not liking this at all, we live in a desert here so he doesn't see this very often. He's at the back door, looking at all the wet and yelling at the rain. Then he turns and yells at me, as if to ask me to turn off the wet. Since that doesn't work, he goes back to yelling at the rain. He desperately wants to go outside, he is a rescue cat who I haven't been able to turn into a stay at home cat, yet.