I was scheduled to have another foot surgery in July, courtesy of sub-acute Achilles' Tendonitis on my left foot. Achilles' Tendonitis is normally seen in professional runners who had to take a break from running, then jumped back into running at their 'normal speed' without giving their body a chance to warm up to that again. This sounds a lot like weasel-speed me (without the professional running part).

I say I *was* scheduled, because my body decided to give me an unwanted adventure that overrode that. Two weeks before the end of spring quarter, I had an acute gall bladder attack. Bad enough that I was in the hospital for 6 days, and they couldn't immediately remove it because it started going septic -- throwing my body into full blown emergency mode, which spiked my blood pressure over 200, my heart rate at 135 and a fever of 101. After many tests and meds that didn't seem to work, they initiated an emergency procedure at 11pm to insert a catheter into my gall bladder and attach it to a port and valve system to a bag to drain the infection. After a week at home with a bulb hanging off me filling with gunk, the infection was drained out so it became safe to go in and remove the darned thing. My body pulled one more stunt and had a full-blown bronchio-spasm asthma attack just as they were removing the breathing tube, sending the surgery team scrambling. I stayed an extra day at the hospital to make sure nothing else went wrong, and I got to see a picture of my removed gall bladder -- I didn't know I could grow golfballs in there! It was impressive even for the experienced surgeon. So after 6 weeks of not being allowed to lift anything over 10 pounds, no swimming, and a change in my diet to deal with the missing organ, I'm back to 'normal' and now waiting for the rescheduled surgical date for my darned foot!

Alas, a few weeks ago I lost my cat Sting to FIV-related lymphoma. Yesterday we picked up his ashes from the vet, and they had placed him in a wooden frame with the wrong last name (after I had corrected the info on their form!) -- the box looks like a wooden gravestone, which sets me off in a bad way, so I'm making him a canopic jar with his face for the lid ornament. I'm posting progress pics in the scrap area if anyone's interested.

Yes, I *will* be at Furry Fiesta, hanging out with my big brother  WolfKidd mostly, but might be wandering around looking for a place to sit and draw and chat with folks. :)

Spotted this on  cooner 's journal, and feeling silly soooooo......

---

-Hotel?
Marriott

-Arrival/Departure
Thursday evening to Monday evening

-Means of transportation
My own car.

-Sharing a room with:
 cougr should he decide to attend...

-Gender
Female

-Relationship Status?
Keeping  cougr 's life from being dull (for good and bad)

-How old are you?
Older than I look, younger than I think.

-How tall are you?
62 inches

-Are you an Artist?
Yesh!

-Do you have an artist table?
I am sharing table #82 with  melwhite

-What will you be offering at your table?
Badges, buttons and sketches

-Do you take commissions?
Yes, but only what I can do at the con at this time.

-Do you do trades?
ON a case-by-case basis, yes.

-Are you a Fursuiter?
Costumer with 30-years of ideas to become fursuits, but never had the time and money to make them.

-Attending parties?
Yes

-Do you drink?
Responsibly, yes.

-Can I buy you a drink?
I will work for chai. :)

-Do you smoke?
Never.

-Are you attending any panels?
Only if  melwhite needs me.

-How do I identify my self to you?
Introductions are always useful, badges with avatar images are helpful.

-Rules of engagement (physical contact)?
I'm a bouncy person, but that's not an open invitation.

-How can I find you?
As a Dealers Den/Con Store lead, I will be in the Dealers Den for the majority of the con, if not at my table, then across the way at the Con Store.

-Can I talk to you?
Absolutely! So long as you don't try to monopolize my time and block the table, come on by and say hi!

-Can I give you lots of money?
Money is an unfortunate necessity, but yes I'll gladly accept money... that's why I'm a dealer.

-Can I hug or snuggle with you?
I'm huggable with friends; if you want a hug, be a friend first.

-Can I hang out with you?
If by chance I'm in a public area chatting and drawing, sure. Please don't try to "hang out" in the Dealers Den -- loitering is bad for business, both mine and the dealers around me.

-Can I take your picture?
Asking first is always a good idea, but I'm not adverse to having my picture taken. :-3

-How do I know if you're not looking to socialize (angry, busy or upset)?
It will be obvious... if I'm not my bouncy-bubbly-manic weaselish self, I'm focused on something and need to be left to deal with that.

-What's your goal for the con this year?
Meet some of the new/young FA artists I don't already know, hang out with the friends I do know, get a lot of art done. If I make enough money to cover the cost of the con, I'll be very happy!

-Any questions?
If we wake up any mummies at the Rosicrucian Museum (Http://wwww.egyptianmuseum.org), can I bring them with me to the con? Will anyone notice?

For the first time since November 2013, I have full use of my right foot again. I will be doing physical therapy, but it's now free of a walking boot, yay! I am also in the throws of my first semester at De Anza College, where I am embarking on a path towards a Bachelors degree in Business Administration, CIS. As I am doing this right and taking a full-time student load in classes, this leaves very little time for me to think, let alone draw. I am hoping to get enough of a break during Winter Break to finish outstanding commissions, but I'll have to close the commission lists for the time being. I will be attending Further Confusion, but that's the extent of extra-curricular activities at the moment. Wish me luck!

OK, I've updated my Commission Info page with images and added my Button Service information, for those interested in getting really good quality buttons made -- they've been "tested" and survive the washing machine! Come and Get It! :D

I just posted a picture of something I cooked and then resubmitted it to put it into the Scraps folder, and it occurs to me that there may be enough interest in my culinary adventures that perhaps I should just post them in my general gallery area. Would folk prefer me to post them in Gallery or Scraps?

On May 15th, I had a second surgery on my right foot.

After 5 months of healing, it was determined that my body was creating a "false joint" and filling the gap in the bone with cartilege instead of bone cells. So, this time they took out the screw, scraped the gap clear and applied whata I call "Bio-spackle", then wrapped two circlage (wires) around the bone to cinch it up tight, then wrapped my foot up to just under the knee in a hard cast (unlike the splint they used the last time) and put a little port in the bottom for me to continue with the ultrasonic bone stimulation therapy. So, I'm stuck on the couch again for a while and working on commissions as well as crochet and futzing with a Raspberry Pi I was given.... things to keep me busy, whee!

For those worried they haven't seen or heard from me in a while, I am still recovering from foot surgery, which is taking longer than I had hoped. I am currently doing ultrasonic bone stimulation therapy to get the bone to knit together, but there seems to be a spot that's just not healing like it should, so now I wait to get an appointment for a CAT scan and a Bone Scan to see exactly what's happening there. *sigh*

Because of the Exogen therapy, I'm back to staying on the couch for large portions of the day. As a means to keep me from going completely stir-crazy, I've been working on crochet. I will get back into drawing, but right now I'm just too depressed to be creative in that way. Have patience, I'll be better (hopefully sooner than later).

I had surgery on Wednesday to correct a congenital issue with the 1st metatarsal on my right foot. I won't provide details here for my squeamish friends (the curious can send a note) but the end result is that I am confined to the couch with my foot elevated and in a cast for the next 10-12 weeks.

In spite the ache and annoyance of my position, this does provide an opportunity to do art. So, I am opening up for commissions. I've created a commission tab with general information on what formats I do, and I'll take the first 5 who send me a note and will post the list. If I get back up to the speed I used to have, the list will be opened for more as I finish the first bunch.

So... who's up for some khromat art? :D

Sorry I've not posted in a whole, busy working to get my culinary business going and it's been slow. I'll be posting something soon, though... Got some ideas I've been working on....whee!

Okay, I'm on a chibi kick, sort of. I've never been good at cartooning, or making super-deformed characatures, so my muse decided to challenge me to make him a chibi... still working on it, will probably make a few more simplifications, but when it comes to minimizing a character I'm always afraid I'll overdo it and lose some of the essential personality in the process. We'll see.

I had a very busy week before the con itself: First, I picked up my little brother from the airport on Saturday, let him have a few hours sleep (he works nights, so had been up 36 hours about then), then drove him into SF for Frolic that night. Whew!

Sunday, my little brother finally collapsed into sleep... which is a good thing.

Monday and Tuesday were fun relaxing days hanging out with my brother... I don't remember if I even logged into WOW for our Tuesday night raid, sheesh.

On Wednesday, I picked up my mom  melwhite from the airport, brought her home, and had her assist me making pies for folks at the con, as well as making Shepherd's Pie for dinner. I promised an apple pie for my brother, and a pumpkin pie for  kagur and it was easier to have them fresh at the con instead of trying to ship them (which is stupidly expensive!)

Thursday --after a brief distraction trying to find out if I could help a deer trapped in a neighbor's yard-- one of my guildmates and I introduced mom to the Rosicrucian Museum in San Jose, which houses the largest privately held collection of Egyptian artifacts in the US. We kinda had to drag her out of the place before it closed. :) Then it was off to the convention center to get mom settled in her hotel room. There were lots of suiters already roaming about, so I hung around for a while.

Friday, and I head to the convention with my button-case and my art supplies, putter around, deliver the rather large heart-shaped pumpkin pie (picture coming soon) and finally get settled at the table so mom can do her panel while I shill her stuff and do sketchbooks and badges. Was informed by con attendees that the AC unit for the Dealers Den ate itself, and the convention center was working on it, but Mel. and I never noticed -- guess we were short enough to be below the heat level! I wandered around the evening events, then joined up with the con-inside-a-con dubbed Rum Con (I need to make my badge!)

Saturday, overslept my alarm and got to the Dealers Room a tad late, but all was well -- Chip Unicorn was watching the table. I brought my statuette of Sekhmet with me to ward against the plague, and diligently gave her offerings of rum. Back to work, got more badges and books done, a couple of Badge-Buttons done too! After dinner, I visited the Klingon Party, had a few drinks, then returned to Rum Con for friends and booze, and hung out until the wee hours of the morning. I managed to hook up with a friend who needed crash space so I brought him home with me to crash on a cozy couch.

Sunday, and the last crazy day of Dealers Den. Mom had friends drive her to the airport so I could stay at the table, I got more art done and started taking notes about what I should do for next year to be more noticeable, and when Dealers Den closed I bundled all my things back to my car, then headed out for dinner with friends. Returning to the hotel, I pulled out art supplies and drew more (yay!) and schmoozed with folks.

Monday was still technically part of the con, even if the Dealers Den and Art Show were closed, so after a leisurely brunch and a quick trip to the store for my friend, we returned to the Marriott and hung out in the hotel drawing and chatting with folk. I really had a grand time at the con, even if I didn't see much *of* the con, which is really the point for me.... I should really open up for commissions again because that was fun. :D

While working on a different project, I came across an old folder of art I did by in '04, at a time when there was talk among the wiz corps of FurryMUCK to make a new website. Just for silliness sake, I drew a portrait of all the wizards at that time, along with a banner page image. I even built toolbars using the highway motif, but things never fell into place so my art was stored away for a while. Seeing how little of my art is actually online, I figured it's time to get more stuff here, :)

That actually isn't a command.... is the name of an interactive iPad game I'm playing.... it's kinda like Pictionary in that you have to guess a word based on a drawing. The computer supplies the choice of word (easy, medium, or hard) and you draw the picture in hopes the other player will guess it. Correct guesses rewards both players coins, which can be used to buy more colors or more bombs (used to remove letters on the guesser's side or to throw out the word choices on the drawer's side).

I'm calling out for all you fellow artist-types -- I'm tired of playing with folks who don't try and just spell out the word as the drawing -- to come and join me in this silly casual game. You can "Find Friend" and find by username, email address, or Facebook name. I have no Facebook, but my username is Khromat.

Come look me up and play with me! :D

Was a fun little con... I didn't see much of it as I was sitting with Wolf drawing my little heart out, but I got to meed folks I've only typed to on Wolf's web-streaming site, and added to the playful abuse, so it was fun. The best part of the weekend was that I was relaxed and inspired to draw, which I haven't been for a while. And the Sunday dinner at Tokyo One was so worth it! :D

Further Confusion 2012 was fun as usual. I got to share space with Momma Mel and got a few sketchbooks and con badges done this year, which I was happy about -- getting me back into a drawing groove. I hope next year to actually have some new stuff for sale and will try to alert folks early that I *will* do badge art before the con to be delivered at the con... stupid ADD never remembers to say that in a timely fashion.

Speaking of cons, it turns out I will be attending Furry Fiesta this year! Any of you Texan furs who will be there and wants a con badge or 3" button-badge from me speak up NOW. :D

Badge Prices:
3" button = $15
standard size con-badge (luggage tag, laminated) = $20
over-sized badge (up to 8x10, laminated) = $25.

BTW: If you want a con badge and you won't be attending Furry Fiesta, let me know so I can tell you shipping charges.

Sorry for being such a slug and not posting stuff here. I'm still inking for Mel. White's Coyote series and slogging away with my day job and trying to get my wandering muse to come back and visit me. Recently a housemate gave me a hand-me-down iPad as he upgraded, so now I have a new toy to play with and made a couple of things with 123D Sculpt. I should pick up a capacitive stylus and see how well Sketchbook Pro does. :)

In other news, the house we are renting has been put up for sale, so we are now looking for a new place to (hopefully) while we have the time. I hate moving, but if we can get a place more peninsula-side of the Silicon Valley, it would be good.

Today, I was just informed my car's East Coast origins have caught up with it -- the entire brake assembly on the rear tires are corroded, which caused the parking brake cable to seize. The dealership quoted me $1500 for parts and labor to replace everything, which is a serious ouch. Time to unbury the art desk and do commissions so I can pay for it... anyone interested in a hand-painted t-shirt? :)

Between the distractions of Life and ADHD, I make lousy journals. But I keep trying, in some vague attempt at building a good habit, and in doing so helping build structure in my life.

Currently, my time is taken up with adapting to Texas Time for work (where my boss lives), managing health issues and the wonderful world of Drug Interactions, and if I'm lucky get a little crafting or art or gardening in before I crash and burn.

And now I get the news that we may need to move, as the landlord's putting the house up on the market. Considering we got this rental after they tried and failed to sell the house 4 years ago and left it vacant for over a month before trying to lease it out, there isn't that sense of urgency one would normally have when given such notice. The housing market in the South Bay Area is still very depressed and this is a big place which is less attractive to the few buyers that are out there. Still, I should be packing things down, instead of worrying about all the work I've done in the garden. I hope we'll be able to harvest something before it's time to leave.

I got another page done for Mel. White's "Coyote" comic:
http://www.radiocomix.com/comix/coyote/

I've spent the week doing major reorganization to my little studio room so that it can house both coug'r and me: not an easy feat considering I have/need a computer desk, an art table and a sewing area and I have TOO MANY HOBBIES. But I should have the room up and operational again by the end of the week so I can finally unbury the commissions that are waiting to be finished.

I posted in Scraps some picture of a very long project process, an attempt to make a decent looking furry soft sculpture. There is no pattern in existence for the critter(s) I'm trying to make, so I'm now learning (by trial and error) how to create a sewing pattern from scratch. More images will be coming as I get farther along, but here's what I got so far.

I've inked Mel. White's coyote webcomic: http://www.radiocomix.com/comix/coyote/

Go look!

... I'm trying to get back on my feet, but my feet seem to have a disagreement with that.

I'm so underemployed I might as well be unemployed: the country club I hired on with for summer work has sadly been very slow so I haven't been called in for 2 months now. After a nasty fall at a gig with a staffing group, I've only had 3 days of work with them since. While my foot has been signed off on, the ankle still swells up on the outside and feels a little weak, which is frustrating after a month of it.

Being broke means curtailing on most activities and the depression caused by it curtails most creativity. It's hard to get motivated, but I'm trying to finish some projects on my table so I can clear the way for something new. I'll post progress on the Aviplush project when I get some. :)