Starting on Inktober 2020

Time to dust off the cobwebs here with a new blog post. When I participate in an art challenge like #inktober it also gives me a kickstart of energy to make progress on other projects on the to do list. Which I currently need more than usual given the stresses of this year and recurring feelings of depression. So here’s the first ink sketches I’ve done for #Inktober2020 and an update on other happenings…

For this year’s Inktober I already haven’t been able to do a sketch a day, so technically won’t meet the official challenge rules. But I do intend to make 31 ink sketches during October. I simply don’t have the energy for daily drawings on my work days (they’re long days), so will be catching up with multiple drawings on my days off.

In other news… in a follow up to my previous rant of frustration over months of hassles and delays trying to receive unemployment benefits, it’s with *much relief* I’m able to report my “disqualifications” were finally cleared up. Although my pandemic lay off was of stand-by status and only a couple months duration, it still was stressful and demoralizing being additional months in adjudication expecting it likely that the $$ thousands $$ of savings I had burned through was gone forever. (My thanks to a few people who encouraged me to resume fighting for those benefits when I had given up.)

Also in the positive column, our 26th annual Labor Day marathon of AKC Spaniel Hunt Tests was able to go on. It was great getting out of the bubble and afield again to be with dog friends for a beautiful holiday weekend. With timing that luckily dodged some of the hotter weather and terrible wildfire smoke of the summer. In not so good but could be worse news, another of my older dogs is having health issues. It has been a rough few years of vet bills, but for the moment Wren is doing better, Mac is hanging in there, and Mouse has responded well to meds so far.