July 14, 2019


Again, it’s been a couple of months since I’ve updated this blog. Truthfully, I just haven’t felt like it. Nor have I felt much like working on the T.N.A. story or doing much of anything else creative. I have been doing some work on and around the house just to keep myself from going completely batty. So much crap happening all the time… I’m just so tired of it. I’m feeling very depressed and discouraged.

After the sewer replacement I described in the last post…

After heavy rains for several days, the basement flooded again despite all the work I did in 2017 to waterproof. It was not as bad as the 2017 flood (no damage to computers or anything), but still frustrating.

In May, I had to take Jolene to the E.R. as she was running a high fever, coughing, and feeling terrible. She was diagnosed with “walking” pneumonia (which is a “milder” form of pneumonia that does not require hospitalization. Fortunately.) That ER visit cost us almost $7,000.00.

In June, my main Photoshop computer rolled over and died. It appears to be just the C: drive, so I’m currently rebuilding the computer.
 

A week after the computer died, my Cintique 22HD stopped working. No image, no control, the power light comes on when plugged in, but the power switch has no effect. It’s on its way to Wacom for repairs. $810.00 for repairs, $140.00 to ship it.

A week after that, we were leaving a restaurant (after attempting to cheer ourselves up with a nice meal out), the battery in the minivan decided that now would be a great time to give up the ghost. $200.00 for a new battery.

Then a couple days ago we got ANOTHER bill from the ER visit. $988.00 for the damn doctor to spend 5 - 10 minutes with us, give us the diagnosis, write out a prescription ($55.00), and send us on our way.

I know life is full of challenges, but damn… Enough already..

On the positive side, we have refinanced the house through our bank, and reduced the payments by close to $300.00 a month.

The house next door (on the east) sold fairly quickly (which is encouraging for when we want to sell this place), and the new neighbors were here yesterday breaking up the sidewalk and ripping out all of Francis’ flowers and garden. They were all chattering in some language I didn’t understand. Great.

Speaking of selling houses… A couple days ago, I saw a car stop out front, and a black guy got out, opened the gate and started wandering around the property. He didn’t come to the door. After retrieving my Llama .357 mag, I opened the door and challenged him as he was leaving. He was polite enough (probably because I had a .357 in my hand) and explained that a friend of his thought the house was up for sale. Ummm…. I don’t see a realty sign in the front yard, do you?? He apologized and said with a grin, he’d tell his friend he nearly got his head shot off.

It was most likely an honest mistake, but you don’t just go wandering around someone’s house, even if you do think it’s for sale. Not these days.. You go to the front door and inquire first – especially if there isn’t a sign in the yard. 

At any rate, having people interested in buying this place – even before it’s on the market – seems encouraging.

I’ve also been considering shutting down my online stores at Pixels and Redbubble, and my Patreon as well. No one seems interested. In the time I’ve had the Redbubble store open I’ve sold exactly ONE pillowcase, and that was to one of my buds on Renderosity. I did pick up a new supporter on Patreon a couple days ago, so I’ll keep it active for a while, anyway. Thanks to my Patrons, Mike, Erica, and BlueOwl Productions! You rock!

I’m kind of on the fence about my Pixels store. I currently have the free option, but you’re limited to 25 images with a free account. Redbubble has no such limitation. Anyway, I’m not sure how I can compete with people that have thousands of images with just my meager 25. A “Premium” membership is $30.00 per year, and while that’s not a lot, it’s still 30 bucks BEFORE I have anything sold or even looked at. 

Yeah, I know business comes with risks… If you open a brick-and-mortar store there’s no guarantee that anyone will buy anything. So I don’t know.. I may go ahead and spend the 30 bucks and see how it goes for a year. But I’m not very encouraged by my results at Redbubble..

It’s a little discouraging, actually. I get a lot of good feedback, comments, likes, and so on with my “Girls From T.N.A.” story / comic / graphic novel. Lots of folks seem to enjoy it as well as my other art. But nothing ever seems to sell... I sometimes wonder if it’s worth it.. And yes, I do it primarily because I enjoy it, and appreciate that it brings a bit of enjoyment to others. But still…


Anyway, enough for today… This hasn’t been the happiest of posts, as I’m pretty discouraged right now… 

Again, I’ll try to keep this updated more often, and hopefully a little more positive. Thanks for stopping by – if anyone actually reads this…


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