It’s been a crazy time. Work has been very busy but reading has been good. I catch you here and there, mostly on social media but I am here and doing well, just inundated with work. The work/life balance thing got completely overturned awhile back and I can’t say it’s improving. I make the best of it.

Both kids are good. Emma is thriving in NYC. It really suits her. She continues to audition and has some work here and there. Evan’s non-profit has been going well as well as his job with the City of Bellevue. He loves Seattle.

The Otter Pup is still here!! 16 years old. I have said a least a handful of times in the past six months that the time is near and every single time she proves me wrong. The other day she tried to run out the door! Running is not something she does anymore so that was a surprise! She’s also taken to hiding kibble in her cheek like a hamster to dump into her bed so she can have a late night snack without getting up.

Right Now:

Still volunteering at church. Three services back to back covering 5th-8th grade. Love those students but at the end of the day, I am exhausted. I usually enter my attendance, grab a quick bite and pass out until dinner time. I am about to head there now.

This Week:

On Monday, I have a followup brain MRI. Everything has been good but I always get a little nervous since two small tumors remain. I feel great and have been able to up my fitness quite a bit. By outward appearances and energy levels, I am good. Much better than I was before my brain surgery. Strength is back, which feels great and also foreign. Gotta chuckle. It’s been two years!

I really don’t have much else going on this week. I am trying to line up my books accordingly so that I am never at a point where I don’t know what to read. One book that is on my radar for October:

Of course, this prompts me to reread the other books in the series because it’s been so long since I visited The Talisman. Kind of exciting though.

Reading:

• King Sorrow by Joe Hill
• I Am the Ghost Here by Kim Samek
• Wellness by Nathan Hill

Watching:

In typically Ti fashion, not a thing. These days curling up with a book is so much more inviting than gazing at a TV screen.

Grateful for:

• My health
• Still loving my ability to work remotely two days a week
• The rain we’ve had. California is out of the drought. First time ever.

I just want to say that although I have not been bouncing around blogs too much, I still see and read your posts. I hope you have a fabulous week.

Hey there, friends. Wow. Hospitalizations, multiple times, work challenges and a heavier time-sensitive work load, mean that I’ve had a hard time managing this space and reading.

Although the reading has started to turn around. It’s weird how when  you are really sick you cannot read. I mean, I spent hours in a hospital room and all I could do was stare at the wall or watch South Park. Seriously.

Right Now:

As you are reading this, I am preparing to head out the door to be with my students and leaders at church. That new format, three services back to back makes the day fly by. Post church naps have become a must.

This Week:

We are headed into the second week of classes at the university. It’s different this time around. Warnings involving ICE and preparations in place to deal with them should they approach anyone on campus. We are living in a police state. Straight-up 1984.

As of this writing, Garcia was kidnapped again. Again. While a certain someone gets away with everything. Absolutely no consequences. I don’t often mix politics with this space but it’s impossible to ignore.

In other news. My daughter returned to stay with us for a bit. After that shoot she did, she’s had to turn down some jobs because they wouldn’t pay for travel. She still needs her equity card so getting roles that require travel become costly, fast.

This Tuesday she heads to NYC for three weeks to find an apartment and to audition for a few shows. Then she will return to us only to leave again. Her cat Jinx is just started to come around. She’s feisty! And she will be leaving soon.

Here she is. She’s watching me work. Sweet, right? Then she will launch herself and attack me!! My daughter says she’s playing. Ha! She is very sweet and gentle with the senior Otter Pup, though. Follows her around to make sure she gets to where she wants to go.

My son got a new job working for the City of Bellevue!! This is what we’ve been praying for. It’s double what he was making and although he misses the kids at The Boys and Girls Club, this city beautification job is what he does with his non-profit so it’s really what he wants to focus on.

Reading:

Ok. Reading. All sorts of good stuff. I recently reviewed Finding Grace. Read it. What a sucker-punch of a read that was.

Still reading Infinite Jest. I’m ready to be done with it. It’s very weird but it’s over 1000 pages. Slow going.

Just finished The Wasp Trap. Review coming this week. Comes out 9/16.

Just started Havoc for September book club.

I received Ian McEwan’s new one, What We Can Know. Comes out 9/23.

Watching:

This absolutely stupid show for laughs, My Strange Arrest.

Grateful for:

You know, I thought my kidney failure and blockage came out of nowhere but now that I am where I am today, I see that it was a long time coming. I had been feeling pretty miserable for weeks. Swollen ankle, pain in side. It wasn’t until I got that high fever that I went in. Sepsis is a real B.

Here’s what I am grateful for besides the obvious. When I had my brain surgery 18 months ago, yep, can you believe it? They touched my hypothalamus by accident and said that I will probably never have a fever again. It’s the fever that sent me in, so praise Jesus for the 104 fever.

I know this was long but there was a lot to update you on. I hope you are all well. Thanks for the emails and comments. I read them while recovering and I loved every one.