Good Grief! Anyone still here?

Well hello Steemit! How the heck are you?
It's been SIX YEARS since I last logged in. A friend over on BlueSky reminded me that I had and account here. I can't believe it's been six years. So much has changed since then. Let's get caught up!

Hmmm, ok... all of the kids are grown now except for the youngest and he's 16. The oldest is engaged and working hard at Lowe's. He's looking to go back to school soon I think. The eldest daughter is with us, helping out on the farm. (Yes I said FARM. More on that later =D ) and the twins are off to college. One is going for Pediatric surgeon and the other is majoring in Theater Set and Design with a minor in Psychology.

Now, about that farm. In 2021 we bought 4.5 blissful acres in the Ozark/ Boston mountains. It's been a lot of blood sweat and tears but we are slowly getting to be semi-self sufficient. We have a flock of chickens, geese and ducks, as well as 3 potbelly/ razorback cross pigs and one demanding Duroc Hampshire cross sow who drives me nuts.

As far as work goes, I closed down Gothic Toggs a few years ago. I wanted to consolidate everything into one company. The Zazzle shops are still up but I've pretty much closed everything else including the website. I am still CEO of Ivy and Bat LLC. It's now my main website and has been up and running since 2016, though we've definitely gone through a few overhauls since then. I still make soap and things occasionally but my art has become my current focus.

Speaking of which, a recent diagnoses of RA combined with the Fibromyalgia has made painting or drawing nearly impossible. However, I made the leap to AI last year and have found a new way to keep creating. I found that by training my own models by feeding it my original drawings and 3D renders, I've been able to create something that feels like I can finally get all of the things in my head out that my traitorous body never let me do before. I understand the vitriol that some artists have for AI but for someone like me it has allowed me to keep creating and still feel human so they can take a long walk off of a short pier.

If you would like to see more of my art, come by my website or follow me on all of the usual social media sites @ ivyandbat.

That's all I have now. But let me know what y'all have been up to!

~Tabz