CONE OF DREAD

We've made it over our yearly SPX hump! It was a great time, we had a respectable increase in sales over last year, and we got a lot of positive feedback. The University of Minnesota is starting a Mini-Comics Special Collection (Ian promised them ours when we're dead) and the librarian purchased a copy of I Wish. This is my third special collection, and I get a particular thrill out of getting a call number. My first was PIX BA D922z.
Ian's book looks so great and I'm really, really proud of him. It's beautifully drawn and his writing team-up with Tom Batten was very fruitful. Everyone should buy a copy, though I have to warn you. He calls them "funny books" which is an accepted term for comic books, but it's not funny. It's bleak and sad, much like his taste in movies and baseball teams. Also, in case you haven't already seen it, Ian drew a really great recap-strip of our trip.

This week another big project is finally coming to fruition. PCB has an interesting curated members exhibition at the Free Library of Philadelphia, where 15 artists installed bookworks in library cases on the theme Space and Sequence. Since I am on the Exhibition Committee, we've been busy! Installation was last week, and the Reception/Members Meeting is on Wednesday. I've organized the reception (big surprise). I'll take some more exciting pictures then.

To prepare for teaching applications I've been working on my National Exhibition Record. This basically proves people other than your friends are interested in exhibiting your work, and that you are willing to put in the effort to get your work across state lines. This month I have two books exhibited at the Collingswood Book Festival (super hokey website!). Also, to Asheville Booksworks in North Carolina, which seems like a really great place/organization, I submitted a copy of Gma Kelly's House to the BookOpolis exhibit. The print then got selected to be up in an extended show through December. Yay!

Our biggest news this week, however, is what has delayed my blogging so long. Jenny's had some gland trouble, which also happened 4 years ago. She was licking nonstop on Monday, so on Tuesday I took her to have them clean her out, but the vet was worried her right gland might have a tumor in it. We put her on meds to reduce inflammation and gave her an e-collar so she couldn't get at it. She was very upset and wanted to do nothing but lay her head in my lap.

On the Friday trip to the vet the glands were better, they could get some gunk out the bad one. The vet doesn't want to put us in the clear yet on the tumor, we need to make sure once all the inflammation is gone that it is normal. Friday night she was super puffy and I started to worry. But, I thought, they poked around a lot down there, and her butt had seen a lot of action in four days. It had right to be inflamed.

She woke me up Saturday morning, her gland had ruptured and there was puss everywhere (I've tried to keep this as not gross as possible.) We went to the emergency room, and by now she's refusing to go into any clinical looking place. After many hours, they sedated her, shaved her, flushed her out, and sentenced her to two more weeks with the CONE OF DREAD. She has a big wound on the back of her, and our apartment is so small, she's pretty limited to where she can go without knocking over something (likely the cat). After she drinks water she comes to me so that I can towel off her face and the inside of the cone. She can't reach the floor directly, so she also gets fed by a hand-held bowl like a princess. It's all very pathetic and she's ready for her pity-party photo-op whenever. She must be in awful pain though, so send her good wishes and hope that this is the end of it.