So a little while ago, I decided to do some AI work on the characters of The Arctic Fox. Specifically, Arctic Fox 3, but of course, some of the characters are in the other books as well. Having pictures of the characters allows me to keep a picture of the in my mind so any descriptions of them are consistent.

Since I had the pictures available, I decided to put them in a blog, so if anyone wants a reference to what the people look like when you’re reading the stories, you have it.

So I was having some pain in a tooth that was damaged many years ago by a 2x4 and a truck axel. I went on vacation the beginning of April, and while on vacation, I started having more and more pain, and even started getting daily headaches. To make a long story short, I had an abscess in the gum, and the infection was causing bone loss. Now, I've got a nice 2 tooth gap in my mouth, and I keep sing "all I want for Christmas is my two front teeth."

I was thinking this morning (definitely cause for concern) and was wondering if I had anything in my arsenal that could maybe be converted to a contest entry.

Originally, I was thinking about my unposted things, but then, on review of the rules, I didn't see any prohibition on previously posted works. Turning my attention to those works, I discovered that I do in fact have a wonderful story for the contest!

As I said in my blog before, I have some lovely pain in my left hand. Needless to say, this makes it tough to type. Of course, the left thumb isn't used in 10 key typing, but the pain likes to remind me that it's them anyway.

I've discovered a good way to write regardless. I'm using a stylus on my tablet. Quite literally the latest chapters of Arctic Fox and the Letters are handwritten. It's really not much slower than typing. And wonderfully, the tablet usually can read my writing. As a matter of fact, I don't have the general problem of my drunk spell checker!

Late in 2022, I started to get pain in my hands. I went and had an x-ray done, and there was some arthritis forming. Well, at my age, that's kinda normal, so I wasn't REALLY worried about it.

The problem was, the pain in one of my thumbs got worse and worse. Unfortunately, it's the thumb that supports my trumpet when I play, and it's used in the piano quite a bit, as well as guitar, accordian, you name it. It's used. I don't play guitar very much, but I do need my left thumb to help me grip the neck when I'm making a chord, or even when playing the bass guitar.

It's Thanksgiving in the US, and still 5 AM in the Northwest, so I'm laying in bed, thinking of all I have to be thankful for.

So many things are good! Even when things look bleak, I find that when I turn them around and examine them from all angles there's something good there. Even the death of my dad earlier this year got my sister and me working together, something we hadn't done for a long time.

So last night, at 10:55PM, while I was holding my Dad's hand, he passed away. He had been gasping for breath all day. I arrived from Spokane at about 5. Mom tells me she thinks he was waiting for me to arrive before he stopped fighting.

I sobbed several times as I talked to him. He wasn't responsive in a normal way, but as I spoke, his breathing became easier.

Well, a little while back, I went to get an MRI on my brain. The site of the tumor I had removed about 3 years ago.

Talked to my neurosurgeon yesterday, and there's no new growth of the remain of the tumor. Just a little bit of thickening in the dura (the membrane that surrounds the brain) where the tumor was.

I hate having to get an MRI. A cat scan is fine, but the tube you go into in an MRI is so stinking tiny! Ugh!

I always get a kick out of the May the 4th deal.

Norma and I were married May 4th, 1991 in BC, Canada, long before May 4th became a Star Wars thing. LOL. So, for those who don't like math, today is our 31st anniversary. LOL!

Saturday morning, Norma and I were woke up by one of our sons knocking on our door and saying there was water pouring into his room. His room is directly below our en-suite bathroom, and as i ascended from sleep, I heard water spraying. We wondered if someone was showering in the main bathroom (right beside ours) and the answer was no. I opened the door to our bathroom to find water running across the floor. A fitting underneath the sink had broke during the night, and water was spraying all over under the sink.

Well, this has been an interesting couple of months!

Of course, at the end of November, we had Thanksgiving in the US. This was not unexpected, nor was the sudden explosion of colorful, twinkling lights in the Spokane, Washington area following the holiday. In fact, it was rather pleasant.

Lots happened this last week. My two favorite uncles were named Tom. My dad's brother Tom, died about 6 or 7 years ago, and I miss him a lot. This last week, my dad's brother-in-law, also named Tom, died after a long time of struggling with his back and other things.

My dad also lost another sister, who I don't remember ever meeting, but then Dad found out he has a blockage in the back of his heart and will need it removed. sigh.

I find it fascinating how much people get messed up, and then report it as the truth.

I got an email about "watching out for public records being released, and what they may say about you." So, just for kicks, I looked myself up online to see what it says.

The result? Whitepages isn't making a good impression with me They have 2 wrong aliases and 3 incorrect places I used to live. "Uh.... No, I don't think I really want to pay for your services. You don't seem to know much about your 'subjects'."

So I finished the blog entry on my Dad and his heart this morning, and I leaned back in my office chair. I guess I must have, somehow, entered unknowingly into a wager saying the day couldn't be worse. Thus, my office chair decided it no longer liked me, so it leaned all the way back, depositing me in a rather undignified manner onto the floor behind it.