This update is about more than the baby birds, but I thought I would start here. The eggs hatched about a week ago, and mama has not abandoned her little hatch-lings. Right now, they are all beaks and gray fluff. They are so cute!

My browser was acting up terribly. For weeks, every time I logged on the page would freeze up, and it wasn't just this site. I was going crazy! I finally figured out that Norton 360 had an error of some kind and I had to uninstall and reinstall it. I have left several comments today and checked all of my messages, and so far, it has not locked me out once. Hope this means I solved the problem.

While my browser problems definitely contributed to my lack of participation here recently, it was compounded by a more personal issue: another acute depressive episode. They settle on me once in a while the way fog settles over a landscape. One of the symptoms of PTSD. They happen, but that is not to say that something does not trigger these episodes. This one had a significant trigger.

Right before Christmas I learned about the Covington, Kentucky Artist Relocation program. I was so excited. I cannot remember when I last wanted to do something so badly. Then I talked to a realtor about selling my house. She expected me to spend thousands of dollars, most of which dealt with 'staging' the property, not with repais or maintenance. She lead me to believe that the housing market was so soft that I would never otherwise sell my house. That depressed me. I felt trapped; like my house owned me, and not the other way around.

Well, darn it! I want to do this. I need to do this. If I have to lose some money in the sale, then I lose money. I sacrificed thousands of dollars in property when I divorced because I refused to fight for anything. I wanted out, and I offered no excuses for any resistance. (My attorney thought I was nuts!) I have to treat this the same way. I cannot forsake pursuing my dreams over some loss of money now. That really would be sad. My guess is that by being a part of a growing artist community, I will recover my present loses in time.

Bolstered by my new resolve, I feel better already.