Hello all..
I am still currently working on it, but I am nearing the completion of my Christmas Card this year.
It won't quiet be as elaborate as last year's card, I am still hoping this year's card will turn out nice. Seem I have done this for 25 years so far, having started in 1999. Who would like in?

This will be physically mailed out, so just contact me in a NOTE or you can Email me your details.
my email is thepeoplesfurry[at]shaw.ca

=^.,.^=

Happy Thanksgiving from the Great White North, eh!

I want to say THANK YOU to all of you who have stayed watching me and offered support, advice, and kind words. I am thankful for every comment and like on my art, as slow as I am to produce it.

The last 2 years have been rough... My health has improved, but I have had 2 major heath scares, first my heart 2 years ago, then an infection in my leg just over a year ago. My sleep is still God-awful, and my stress could tower over Mount Everest, so still a long ways to go.

I am thankful that after speaking to my lawyer last week, he wants me to stay in the family home for the foreseeable future, until after probate of my mom's will is taken care of, and since Mom i still alive, I have a home for the next few years, probably a decade or more.

There are a few areas i still need to work on. I need to work harder on finding a doctor.. and some sort of income. I am so exhausted all the time, the specialist around the corner is thinking it is unlikely I will find sustainable employment, though I have a bit of here and there that helps out with bills and such. I was hoping to be doing more commissions by now, and I am thankful for the few I have done this year, but I am falling behind on drawing again. I am just still so worn out.

Thank you all for everything. And starting soon, i will begin on my annual mail out christmas card. Not sure how I will top last year's, but that one will be at least uploaded in about a month's time.

=^.,.^=

I absolutely do not agree with his stupid little spiels... the bulks of what he had to say was crap anyways. Hell, he was made fun of on South Park, so that should be a clue on how seriously we should have taken the guy.

HAVING SAID THAT...

One should not go around shooting people you disagree with. That is absolutely wrong! I might not agree with it, but he had the right to say it.. that is what freedom of speech means. It is the same thing that lets us post our furry porn, or wave our gay pride flags, or tell someone like him to STFU. When we lower ourselves to the point where we have to murder one another, than society has failed.

And now there is a family with out a dad, and a TG person with out a boyfriend, who is probably going to spend the rest of his life in jail.

I can understand the feeling. There have been quiet a few around here I would have liked to give a good solid smack to and tell SMARTEN UP. Going around killing people over something said, for having a differing view, no matter how hated is wrong.

I am an old school lefty, and I have watched from my little hovel up in Canada, and I often am fearful for just how nuts it is down there. Many of you, some of you I consider dear friends, live in a mad house, it seems. Don't give in the the madness please. We can weather this storm of stupid, we can get past it, and show how standing tall and keeping to love and respect for all others, even those we sometime dislike, is the right path to take.

You are all loved and cherished, so keep your heads up, keep your spirits lifted, and we will all get through this together.

=^.,.^=

As I stated in my previous journal, I need a new laptop... and I am financially challenged, so I am limited in what I can have. I need something that is NOT a Chromebook or a glorified tablet. I need something I can run my scanner off of as well as an older version of Photoshop (CS3 to be precise) or other such software, as well as some light gaming... Does not have to run much, of late I have been running mostly OG DOOM and the Pixel Remasters, along with the occasional bout of Palworld. And I need to keeping to under $700 Canadian (about $500 US), because I live in Canada.. Thankfully we have some sales on right now, so I have been checking Walmart.ca and Bestbuy.ca... i might even break down and check Amazon.ca...

Any useful advice is welcome please.

=^.,.^=

Hello all.. I need a new laptop.

On Friday, after visiting Mom in her nursing home, I noticed a single row of burnt out pixels on the bottom of my laptop's screen. I figured no big deal, I can handle one burnt out row. I mostly use the laptop for YouTube (I bring it with me to watch videos with Mom and that makes her happy) and occasionally I will game simple games that don't strain it, like the Pixel Remasters or the original DOOM.

Sadly though, that single row of burnt out pixels is now an entire bar that takes up and now over flows over my task bar at the bottom of my screen, as it has grown larger. I NEED my laptop, but my funds are rather limited. I am hoping people will get a few commissions for the few of you who had been asking over the past year or so when i would be open again. I have been open, but now I am VERY open!

I am offering a single character with basic back ground deal for $100cnd or a simple bust shot for $50cnd. You can even add me in for free if you want to so something like in my previous commission.

I don't think i need the money urgently yet, still sooner rather than later would be best. I don't need a fancy machine, so a couple to few hundred dollars will do. And the old one will still be put to use.. i will just hook it up to the TV to watch videos and movies that way.

Feel free to message me through notes here or leave a comment below. I will keep this sale going the rest of September... (or maybe to Canadian Thanksgiving...)

Thank you
=^.,.^=

I finally got around to making my e-begging button for donations, as funds are starting to get tight since i am right now with out work and unlikely to find full time employment any time soon. I absolutely do not expect anyone to donate anything, as I am often just happy enough to have people like and comment on my art.... but, I really do like to do stuff like buy fresh art supplies and groceries. Help out only if you want to and have the means, because right now I am okay, but it is very tight...

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?host.....=CXE8V8ZF8N7PC

thank you
=^.,.^=

I am hoping to do up a price sheet over this Long Weekend.
There have been some of you telling me that you have been wanting to commission me, now is your chance.
I accept PayPal primarily, but will also take Money Order as well.
Full sized sheet starting at $100, half sized (mostly for busts and half body) starting at $50.

About the only things I won't draw are stuff that is illegal for me to draw (like naughty cub stuffs) and I am uncomfortable with the nastier things in life like gore, vore, scat, heavy drug use, and far end politics.

For more info, please feel free to leave a message before or send me a note.

=^.,.^=

Did Prismacolor suddenly get the plague or something?
For a while now, they have been hard to track down, and now my usual suppliers have all stopped selling Prisma for their own cheep house brand which is not worth even the $1 they are trying to sell it for.

I would completely switch to Copics, but those are $12 each on a good day, plus I have become quiet used to how Prisma works.

The Prismacolor (i keep wanting to put a U in the Colour part) website still shows them selling stuff directly if I don't mind spending a small fortune on colours i don't want to just get the few I do need.

I could try digitally colouring more, and probably will have to in the coming years, but my digitial set up is old, small, and still runs on windows 7... Either way I feel sort of screwed. Or I just go back to pencil crayons.

Any constructive advice welcomed

=^.,.^=

We lost Brian O'Connell yesterday.

His was amongst the very first artists that drew me into the furry fandom, along with others like Terrie Smith, Steve Gallacci, and Brian Sutton, and others of course.
Brian O'Connell was known for drawing the female form often, and his bunny girls are what spawned my love of the lagomorphs.

He was one of the grey muzzle artists all living together in the home of furry artist Steve Martin, who made a post here on FA a couple hours ago, which is how I found out.
The furry fandom has lost a great one tonight.

=^.,.^=

I am drawing the winner tonight...
i will announce winner when I am more sure of myself on drawing this.

=^.,.^=

UPDATE: CLOSED. WInner: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/60859944/

I am offering up a free commission to ONE person.

I will do a raffle type thing here...
All you have to do is reply to this journal entry.
Tell me a VERY BASIC idea of what you want to see your character doing
This is for JUST ONE Character unless you would like to do something with my every loving bear-cat self. (so either a solo pin up or a duo piece with my furryself doing something with your character.)
This can be any rating from G to X.
Suggestions must able to be posted on FA, and must be illegal for me (like not cub porn or hate speech).
Also, no substance abuse (because of personal family history...)

I will let this run for the rest of this week and start drawing next week. Just One winner.

THERE WILL BE A PHYSICAL ORIGINAL. If you want the original, I am happy to mail it, you will just need to pay for shipping and handling. A digital copy will be provided for free of course.

Good luck.

I am hoping this will encourage me to open commissions in the near future, just need to figure out a price sheet really at this point.

=^.,.^=

I uploaded a bunch of stuff... i had a bit more I could upload, but maybe at another time.

I am tired... so very tired. Exhausted really.

I want to draw more, but i feel like there is just so little left in me, that I just can't get it out. Like, the last bit of toothpaste left in the tube.

The past while. i have been in a very dark place. I am not sure if this is part of turning 50... or because of dealing with Mom going into Long Term Care... or that for over a decade I have been taking care of the elderly and dying of the family while dodging attack from family members... or being told by those who could help cover me that they would.. only to have that coverage removed... or the fact that I just can't get a full restful sleep any more.
i am also clinically obese.

I honestly feel used up and have been questioning what is the point.. is there any hope left?

I don't know.. but i have not given up yet. I have spent some of my VERY limited funds and got myself new old stock mid-range phone, and I am using that to go for walks, following routes around here on Pokemon Go. (i finally have a modest amount of data). Going out for the walk, rain or shine, helps me know if I am feeling tired from fatigue or depression.. Fatigue means I barely get anywhere... i can usually outwalk my depression.

The despair is real, and it is why when people have spotted me on line I am not doing much. I am sorry if I have ever blown anyone off trying to contact me. When I get into my dark place, i often become crippled or lethargic or just too tired to move. But I am working on it... this is just going to take a lot longer than i thought it would.

Please bear with me a little longer... I know some of you have been asking about commissions, and I am hoping to open them up this month on a limited bases. (I could use the money too, I am bleeding my life saving to stay afloat).

=^.,.^=

A week ago Saturday night, my phone fell out of my pocket while I was sitting at my computer chair, and when I pushed my chair back i ran over and destroyed the screen.
I immediately ordered the same old phone from an on line vendor via my friends Amazon (I don't have an account and she insists I have a phone).
today I got to have disappointment when i opened up the packaged (which had been sitting at the distribution hub since Friday)..
it was not the phone i ordered.. similar, but not the same, and still just as old as the one I wanted to replace.
but I could have got this phone cheaper elsewhere.

So, given that I am on a tight budget, and low end or refurbished phone ideas?
I am coming from a Galaxy Note 9. The most complicated thing I ran on it was Pokemon Go.

TL;DR: I am hoping to open Commissions and YCH soon. I am still taking stock of what I have, what I need, and figure out prices. I am also hoping to start up some comics again. However I am still MASSIVELY used-up feeling and VERY tired.

---

Journal Entry:

For the past few years, I have not had the time nor the energy to really want to sit and draw for any reason. I would pretty much have to force some output now and then for Christmas or North American Fur deadlines, and NAF is now gone.

Now that Mom is in Long Term Care for the rest of her life, I now have some time on my hands.. that I have been spending in bed mostly. I am still really, REALLY exhausted, but I have been trying to get some doodling done when I am not visiting mom, dealing with finances, or cleaning house.. (my parents were only two steps away from being full on hoarders).

Since I have not been working, save for taking care of my mother and the occasional odd job, I am feeling my bank account start to suffer. To that end I am hoping to open up commissions soon. Taking on a few here and there, and getting them done when I can. I am thinking of setting up a few low cost YCH drawing, mostly bust and upper torso stuff, to begin with, as well as taking on a few regular commissions from scratch.

Between all of this, I have been working on several lewd comic ideas, actually world building to see if they can all be part of a larger story.. causing me to write and rewrite them all in my head, and then jot them down onto a note pad. The first couple will be short and maybe tangentially connected, but I have a whole lusty backstory to this world which will probably never be actually used, but will help establish a canon at least. I am not sure how far into this I will do, as this will be at least a decade long commitment at this point if I do all the stories.

All this means is I want to do a lot of drawing, and I need some funds. I don't want to e-beg, though I though of setting up a tip jar that could go neglected, heh heh. I am hoping to set up commission using PayPal or maybe money orders or other options at some point. The nice thing about PayPal, is I can us that to pay for groceries (completely with delivery). I do like eating! I could then use the cash in hand to pay for markers and pencils and card stock and so on. (Yes, I know how horrible PayPal is, but it is currently all i have...)

What I have to still do is figure out what I have and don't have for my supplies. I am down to testing my markers. I have been tossing out a ton of old dead or damaged stock. The place I had been getting my markers from now has a VERY limited supply, so I might have to try local sources again, for a stab to my wallet (and soul). Its cheaper to go out for lunch than it is to buy a marker... I am also hoping to do more with pencil crayons, especially with my smaller YCH and half sized commissions. I like to think I am quite good using pencil crayons.

I am also thinking I might set up a DATE ME commission for Valentine's.. might mention that Monday...

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

=^.,.^=

I never thought I would actually make it.

12 years ago, I had though if i made it to 40 with out killing myself, it would be a miracle, but had been making improvements.
11 years ago, I started taking care of Dad because he would not take care himself, and I was in the best shape of my life.
10 years ago, life was going good to start the year, then my Dad go Cancer, and I started having less time for myself.
9 years ago... i burried my dad and started taking care of mom who was starting to slip.
8 years ago, was starting to fend of my idiot brother
7 years ago, I had to get a lawyer to defined myself.
6 years ago, I finally got my shit together and graduated from University!
5 years ago, I started having heart problems again.
4 years ago, I started having severe sleep issues from stress...
3 years ago, we managed to get through Covid, but it felt like starting over with half the support no longer there...
2 years ago, my health started to really slide.
1 year ago, I had just got out of hospital, more heart problems
2 seasons ago, after putting down my dog, my Mom had a terrible fall.
1 month ago (and a bit) mom goes into long term care, freeing me from having to take care of her.
1 week ago, i was able to actually go out and see friends for the first time in over a decade...
1 day ago, i had a great time playing table top games with friends again...

So many ups and downs over the past dozen years...
I am not sure how I am too feel any more.
I feel a bit less lonely, but many of my friend who I would love to spend time with are still far away, almost all having family issues of their own, which will keep us apart still going forwards.
I am unsure what is all going on for me yet... this year will be the first year where I get to think about myself first, the first time in a long time. I need a lot of rest.. I need a lot of recovery. for the past 11 years, I have been taking care of the elderly and dying.. while dodging back stabs from various family members. For the past decade it has been stress, and worry and just feeling like I have to keep the plates spinning... and now, there are no plates.
I am not sure what to make of all this...
I feel like i am starting over almost.

what do I want for the next 365? To sleep.. rest and relax, and mostly sleep.. i have not been sleeping much the past few years and the doctor tells me it is showing. I need to get into shape.. i am back to being the heaviest i have ever been again... and I want to find time/energy to draw more. I have ideas, and I want to get them out and shared. I also need money, but doctor is unsure I can ever work a full time job again, since the past decade has taken a massive toll. Hopefully in a month or 2, i can open up some commissions, since there have been a few inquiries to such.

For now, I am going to bed.. and spend the day having pizza and games and cake after I wake up.

=^.,.^=

did everyone take off for the holidays?

over a week ago, I pointed out an erroneous account that was intimating an artist who draws naughty cub stuffs over on IB (amongst the occasional busty looking vixen.)
this imposter then proceeded to upload a pair of cub porn comics.
i of course reported this immediately...
nothing has been done...
a few days later I sent an update to no avail.

I find this bothersome...

=^.,.^=

I have seen a lot of tentacle plants with dicks at the ends... i am thinking about drawing some tentacle plants with vaginas at the end... Any interest in that?

I am asking for a friend....
=^.,.^=

I hope you and yours are home, safe and content. Please take care of yourselves, and each other.

For me, I am currently working on my mighty Christmas Feast, even though it is just Kanan and myself.
But i get to have the greatest gift of all this way... Leftovers!

Cheers!
Michael
=^.,.^=

so I am back on line with my new modem. I like it.
but they made me change my TV set up.. and I hate it.

I had a simple cable box before; coax came in, and I watch shows. This worked for me.
Now I have to have this little android device, that is sluggish and stiff to use...
That does not have my stations where they should be...
and was gerenally frustrating to set up, because it crashed while looking for wifi...

So i cancelled my service.

I will miss TV, but I barely watched it.. getting the occasional news bit and reruns, that I can easily find on line.

I know why my neighbours have been cutting the cable out now... if this is the shit that is being offered.

I am a simple man, I want the cable to come in to my TV, and I want to watch... i don't want to dick around with logging in, making sure my wifi is running, or wondering about interference like all the others who have told me of their woes...

So I have very fast internet now.. so I can just stream. And with the over $100 I am saving per month, I can get NetFlix or Crave or buy myself a new game on GOG...

=^.,.^=

I am going to have no home internet for a week it seems.
My modem is hooped so I have to wait a week for the parts to come via Purolator.
If you see me on line, it is probably me out using public Wifi.
I can occasionally draw out some life from this old thing as well, but it is spotty at best.

UPDATE: I seem to be able to coax out some life from the device if I reset it now and then.
I hope the new one get here soon, random drop off is no fun.

It looks like Canada Post if facing Back To Work legislation, so I can get my cards out this week coming.
I am aiming for hitting the post office Monday or Tuesday.

I am not sleeping again, even with sleeping pills. As such, I have been falling behind as some days I just can't do much of anything. This IS a massive project this year, as I am doing up double sized comic this year to give out. A massive full colour project that I started in September, and almost done now. Just have to colour the last 2 pages.

I still have to put up the tree and do my Christmas Baking. Just like with every year, i feel like I need an additional week.
I wanted to be done by now, but with everything going on this year, I am pleased to be as far along as I am.

IF YOU WANT A CARD MAILED TO YOU, just note me your address.

=^.,.^=

I might be needing a new phone, but I am on a budget.

I currently have a Galaxy Note 9, but the screen is cracked.

Should I look into replacing the screen or a new old stock phone? A budget phone?

Please feel free to advise.

TL;DR version:
Mom is out of Hospital, and now in Long Term Care Hospital. My fiances are drained like my soul, meaning probably Social Assistance soon. Both my physical and mental heaths are tanked. And I feel used up and lonely.

ACTUAL JOURNAL:
Thanks to the Hospital screwing up, we managed to leverage that to bump Mom up the list to get her into the Long Term Care facility, to which Mom seems to be doing well, having been there for about 10 days now.

She has not been much of a problem, but needs constant attention and supervision now, as there has been a significant degradation to her faculties. She constantly makes Boop-Boop type sounds instead of speech, though she is still able to speak, at least a few words. It is hard to hard to tell how much of this is just her being a bit toddler like, and how much of it is just for show.. but I would say the former is more likely; 80/20 split. If I give her something she says oh yes, thank you thank you and can fully recognize me, often the instant I get through the door.

For 12 weeks, my mother sat in Hospital, and was able to go to Long Term Care after about 6 or 7, but the idiots at the hospital kept loosing my mother legal documentation... and by kept loosing it I mean at least 4 PHYSICAL COPIES and 2 DIGITAL went missing. And in one case, one of the more up-her-own-ass social workers called the side of the family that is on the DO NOT CONTACT list. Lawyer had a field day with that one... That social work was demoted and forbidden from having anything to do with my Mother the rest of her stay there.

Thankfully the social worker at the Long Term Care facility (which is also a hospital but for recovery and long term care) seems to get it and understands what is going on... and has an active brain cell. He knows me by name and says hello to my mother every time he passes by her in the common area, to which his office is attached to.

It is going to cost us a pretty penny to keep mom in care, but we don't have a choice. Mom needs 24hr supervision now and I am used up.

For the past year, I have been barely keeping together. I have been relying on Kanan to cover for me more and more. (Yes, she is still living here with me, thank God). Over the past 14 months I have have been down the the hospital for at least 3 major problems, and spent a week hooked up to an IV at the end of Spring. Thankfully Kanan was able to babysit mom for that week.

My battery is near empty all the time now. The despair is heavy on my soul. I miss my dog. For those who don't remember, we put Bella down the same night Mom fell; we think mom went looking for the dog when she fell down the stairs. I have been dealing with terrible insomnia on top of everything, and often getting woken up because Mom would get up early.. it got to the point where I found myself so tired I could not move, so Kanan would have to cover for Breakfasts a couple times a week. Or I would crash midday and pray Mom would not get into anything. With all the door locks changed so one would have to use a key to get outside, Mom could not just wander off when ever she wanted, which she has been known to do.

Last weekend, i finally has a crash... I crawled into bed at 11pm and woke up around 3:30pm the next day. I stayed in bed until after 5. The following night, I slept 12 more hours. I am still exhausted. I am not getting much of anything done. And when I do get to work on something, it takes me 3 to 4 times longer than it should take.. that is I can keep focused on it at all. Doctor thinks I am unraveling. I like to think it is like having taken off the pressure bandage, and all the hurt and stress is pouring out.

I have been told I should go on Social Assistance in the New Year. The doctor thinks it is unlikely I will work a full time job again anytime soon. Having a place to live is not a problem, as we can not sell the house as long as mom is alive and in care, so I can stay here for as long as she lives. What i would need help with is groceries and internet and clothing and dental care and so on... especially the Dental Care, since we don't have a government funded Dental Care thing like we do with Medical. I just want to make it through Christmas and figure out what I am doing afterwards

Overall, I am just tired. Most nights, I get home, I fall into my 'new' recliner I got from Value Village, put my feet up and try not to completely burst into tears. Or i crawl into my bed and fend off the nightmarish thoughts that tell me I am worthless and useless and that things would be better off if I were gone... For fun, I mostly watch YouTube, trying to find something funny to watch. (recently it has been the old Markiplier videos of him playing UNO). Sometimes I get on line to chat, sometimes I try to game a bit... I want to find my old Diablo 1 disks... But gaming is hard and mostly I just want to lay there and sleep.

My health is not great either. One of the problems that sent me to the hospital was a skin infection. While the infection is gone, I have a tangential skin irritation still that torments me and will wake me up now and then as well. I have an off the shelf treatment that seems to be working, but it is very much stress related.

My weight is also WAY up. 10 years ago, when I started taking care of my dad because he would not take care of himself, I was going to the gym semi-regularly. I got down to 230-ish Lbs through hard work and eating right. Now I am over 100Lbs heavier, and my diet is 'poor' to put it mildly. I over eat constantly because Chocolate is an antidepressant, and a Cheeseburger cures Anxiety. Never has this post been so poignant... I am right back to where I was a decade and a half ago... complete with the thoughts of wanting to end it all. Don't worry, I stopped listening to my thoughts a while back.. still its ever gnawing at my last bastion of resolve.

Most of my friends have gone away... either moved far away or just got busy with their lives.. or got stupidly either Woke or Pro Trump... I hate both ends because both ideologies come off as mind viruses that prevent reason and cognitive thinking. I have been able at least to have a couple friends over a bit more often now, but one has to come from Vancouver Island, and now has to deal with his Dad starting to deteriorate, so he can't get away like he used to, not that he could much before.

And it does not help that I have had many friends who just DO NOT GET IT... those who don't get why I couldn't just go out when ever I want for late night visits via a McDonald's or Tim Horton's. Aside from having to take care of Mom all day, and that I was just plain exhausted at night, I felt so worn out, I just did not want to go out. And it was hard to have people in because Mom was starting to have her cheese slip off her cracker. No I couldn't just have Kanan watch my mom, because Kanan has a life and has to go to work and deal with her own problems. No I couldn't just take off and leave Mom at home, because she could not be trusted not to get into anything, break something, or hurt herself. Now that I am free from Mom, I could go out at night and have late nights at Tim Horton's again, but i have the problem of being so exhausted, I can barely stand up, let alone drive. I have about 8 hours of solid CAN DO in me per day on a good day. The rest of the time I am just falling over or falling apart.

I think that is enough of a dump for now... I am hoping to open up a few commissions in January, since I have had people asking me to draw for them.. though I would not be surprised if most who are asking just want freebies. I need the money, even if just to replace some of my art supplies. markers are pricey.

=^.,.^=

So after having a nice time at Howloween, getting past all my anxieties and generally having a good time, I come home with my Laptop that wants to run a Windows Update.
The upgrade downloads while I sleep, and is ready for restart when I tell it to.
I check stuff on-line, everything is fine, nothing I have to look into any time soon, and so I do the restart.

after the restart, i have no wifi.

I try rebooting. Nothing. I try a system restore. Nothing. I try an earlier restore, more nothing.
I try running the network trouble shooter and then the network reset...

More nothing.. I tell the computer to shut down, and it goes into sleep mode, so I turn it off with the power button..

ANd now I am suck in forever looping DIAGNOSTIC MODE start ups.

I try to run a system restore from here. Nope, can't do because I am not an "administrator"...
Same thing for removing recent updates... not admin.

Okay... I will try a recovery disk (thumb drive)
I get tiny bit further, but same results.. won't do anything to undo the problems on my legit install of Windows.

So now I am doing a fresh install.. with ONE problem.. I never got an install key for Win10 on this laptop.

I am installing WIndow 10 onto partition on my laptop hd hoping that I can at least recover my files, none of which are super important, but would be nice.

At least I have Wifi again..

Everytime... every fucking time I start to feel good about myself.. something bad happens.
I would just like to feel good about myself for 24hours....

=^.,.^=

I was not sure I would be here, but just over 24 hours ago, Kanan and I decided to book a hotel room.
We could not get the same room for two nights, so we have to check out at 11am, and wait until 3pm to get our next room.

Had I the money, I would have booked right through to Tuesday Morning.. just so I can relax more.

This is my FIRST over night stay away from the house since 2018.

With Mom in the hospital (still), i know she is in good hands and I can afford to take a full day off or more to put some ME TIME in...
I am not used to getting ME TIME.

For this first night however, they gave us a deluxe suite as a free upgrade since they gave our room to 'the convention people'.
We booked our room through the hotel website, since there was no more con-related room available.
This is a huge suite; two bedrooms (though one is rather tiny), two bathrooms, a kitchen (with dishwasher) and in the closet... a washer-dryer combo.

The first day of the con was okay.. Far too many smokers (both pot and tobacco) lingering around the NO SMOKING main entrance, which is causing us issues, mostly Kanan, but once they were chased away, and after we got settled, it was a far more relaxing experience, even if it started for us around 4:30 (got delayed 90mins taking care of a neighbour).

=^.,.^=