Calli that really sucks.

Shir that is a beautiful poem. I keep you and Nilly in my thoughts all the time.. I wish all this madness would end.

So we are running very late on our plans to the Comiccon. We had to stop by Walmart to get something and I realized my shoes were worn through in the back and rubbing blisters so we had to detour back home so I could change. And now we decided to have a leisurely breakfast and we get there when we get there. Which means we miss the panels But as long as he can get an autograph he says it's fine .

And I am totally out of the loop with what is going on with Melania.

Fun was mostly had. M did not buy very many comic books. I bought way too much art (but it was so cool) and Rico Renzi had these awesome covers he did with gel prints. He did an original gel print and adhered them to a Spider Gwen comic...I got one that was Debbie Harry inspired. I couldn't resist. I will have pictures up on Facebook. And we both geeked out about gel printing . M didn't get to actually meet Kevin Eastman because we didn't make the panel and the con underestimated how many people would be there and handed out tickets with times and it maxed out at 100 people. But was able to sign some items so M was able to get a comic signed and picked up a signed proof for a Magic the Gathering card.

I got overwhelmed because it was dark and loud and we walked around first and I got visually overwhelmed. I think the next con we go to if there is a program I'll use that to map out where I want to go in terms of booths and head to those first. And maybe the next time I'm at one of these I'll seek out some of the smaller artists I've bought from repeatedly and don't seem to have busy booths and just chat with them and ask them about their art.

There were quite a few anti AI signs, but I also did see some AI looking art at some places.

And there was one guest artist who had a comic book up with a pro Trump cover, which surprised me when the crowd was clearly not a pro Trump crowd. There were so many people of all ages and it seemed to be fairly accessible because I saw different types of wheelchair users, mobility scooters, and service animals.

I'm home again, after spending most of the week in Chattanooga, Nashville, and on the road to and from. I decided to make a bigger deal of Mom's 87th birthday than we usually do since she'd been feeling good this spring, and took her on a vacation to mark the occasion. I'd originally looked into making it a cross-country train trip in a sleeper car since she loves trains, but when that proved impractical I opted for a driving vacation in Tennessee instead.

I booked us into the Hotel Chalet at the Chattanooga Choo Choo to keep with the train theme. As it turned out the converted sleeper train carriage I reserved had plumbing problems and flooded, but since that was unavailable at the last minute the hotel comped us a very nice regular king room plus dinner Tuesday night at the hotel restaurant.

We toured the ocean exhibit at the Tennessee Aquarium Wednesday morning, where we walked through a solarium filled with tropical butterflies and I got to pet stingrays. Then we traveled to Nashville in time to take a dinner cruise on the General Jackson Showboat. I'd expected entertainment to be a house band in the background, but instead there was an hour-long stage show with six talented singers performing Country standards. We enjoyed the show alone enough to be worth the ticket price, nevermind a nice buffet and getting to see the downtown city lights from the river.

Thursday we continued our nautical theme with lunch at The Aquarium Restaurant and a brief wander around the Opry Mills Mall. We spent the afternoon and evening walking around the Gaylord Opryland Resort, touring the conservatory and atriums, taking an indoor riverboat ride, watching a fountain show, and having coffee at the Cascades before returning to the hotel for our last night.

That all sounds great, Matt! I’m so glad you were able to pull off such a treat for your mom!

That sounds absolutely wonderful! It's a delight to see you having such a perfect trip.

I finished my personal tax return and filed it this morning. Woe is me. I am going to have to plan much better this year, but it may be too late already.

That sounds nice Matt!!

We had a dance (two step and line) last night but one of the folks convinced me and some others we should go out to the club afterward. Which I hadn’t done in forever and it was packed, but fun. I think I left around 1230am? Which I guess isn’t actually all that late but it felt very late. But then for some reason my body felt it important to wake up at 730am. Tried to doze but mostly failed. Supposed to do playground and lunch with my friend and her 4 year old later…maybe this afternoon will be nap time.

Orban lost in Hungary, it looks like. Not going to pretend I know about who or what comes next, but since he seemed to want a Putin-style stranglehold on the country, that feels like a healthy sign.(Also, commentators are saying Vance's intervention was a fricking disaster and I can't get enough of reading that, personally. Your schadenfreude may vary.)

Better than him winning, surely. I don’t know what comes next for Hungary but I am rooting for them

And I hope it’s a bad sign for authoritarians everywhere

From your pixels to the universe's earballs, -t.

Gee, after a personal visit from JD and a phone endorsement to the populace from the orange Don.