Lhunpaurwen's Ramblings

I return. Sort of. I have had a horrible go at it with reoccurring flair ups of my autoimmune issues. No thanks to the stress of having to jump through more hoops to get a little help.

It is better explained here, with neat pictures of my crazy flesh!

http://www.patreon.com/posts/handy-hands-5871180


It is finally letting up enough where I can think somewhat clearly and function enough to venture on here and see what everyone is up to.

I have a ton of little updates to make here or there, mostly passing comments about random things that have happened.

That includes a very random and rapid visit from my friend, the good doctor Jenn.

She brought along her friend and fellow doctor Abby ( who was moving to Louisiana, yay! ) and Abby had with her an awesome gyr-burd.

The nirds taught me great wisdom of avian ways. Shenanigans were had, great photos were captured ( envy of Jen and her snazzy super lens ), tasty gator was partaken and good company shared by all. It was an awesome day and evening full of laughs and animal geekery that I have been dying for.

They got to meet Ember and Chakotay and experience the silly that is service dogs given a "relax and say hi" command. Chakotay did very good for his first lengthy outing working alongside Ember with all sorts of crazy distractions ( like birds! ). It was also his first experience doing a long and boring down/stay under a restaurant table.

It was totally worth the recovery time from all the activity afterwards. They went to the French Quarter the following day before leaving town, and while I wish I could have too, there is no way I could have gone along and managed to keep up. Especially not in the scorching heat and humidity.

Other stuff happened. I found a baby possum skeleton, I saved a fledgling Blue Jay in epic fashion, I have been training with my dorky dogs when my body allows, and I continue to battle medical conditions and fight for the aid I need. With the Medicaid expansion I am finally getting access to immunological medications and other treatment options, which we hope will better control symptoms.

I think I covered all the main highlights.

Very exciting changes will be happening over the next year or so, thanks to my aunt believing in me and wanting to help with an investment that she saw the value and potential in. I can't talk about it too much just yet, but this is opening limitless opportunities for us and for our future. So insanely happy and feeling so fortunate my aunt has the ability to help with this. As everything falls into place and comes together, I'll be able to share more details.

Making dog bandanas. I can't believe I didn't invest in a rotary cutter much sooner! Also working on a huge overhaul of my website with new coding and updated layout. So much to do, and almost travel time!

My birthday is coming up on May 21st ( two weeks from now).

I have one big wish I am asking for this year, and hope to somehow make possible.

I want to go visit my dad.


I haven't seen my dad since I was about 3 years old. We recently reconnected with each other this past December, when he found me online.





He stayed in touch long distance throughout my life. We lost contact and track of each other after Katrina. I searched for him online for years and never managed to find anything solid and all the contact info he ever knew for us changed when we lost our house. The one address I did find and send a letter to, was returned by the post office as "undeliverable, address not found". I was worried I may never find him.

Then he found me. I have been so overjoyed with being able to catch up after all these years and have a chance to get to know him better and share stories and memories of childhood.

Our only form of contact has been via phone calls, texting, and online chat sessions when he can get online through the local library for a few hours at a time. He is a telecommunications contractor and having a hard time finding large steady jobs, so his money is extremely limited or else he'd happily be paying part of the expenses to have me come visit.


It would mean so much to me ( and him ) to be able to go see him and would hope to spend a week or so visiting. He's not getting any younger ( no offense dad ), and I want to have an opportunity to visit with him in person while I still can. Many people never get that opportunity. I don't want to be one of them.


We'll need around $1,600 USD for this to happen.


My PayPal: leopardwolf@gmail.com


I am estimating for round trip travel expenses, for having someone take care of my marine aquarium while I am gone, fuel, possible need for lodging (not sure I can make the full drive in a single day with my health issues ), food expenses for the trip and while I am there, and some extra spending money to be able to take my dad to do some nice things and for any unseen circumstances.


I'll be documenting the trip along the way, so you'll get to share in the adventure and the reunion through pictures and video.


If you have a few dollars to spare, I would be eternally grateful if you'd consider contributing to giving the gift of spending time with my dad in person after so long apart.



I'd create a crowdfunding thing for this, but didn't have a lot of success with them in the past outside of friends helping ( thanks again you guys! ). I'm not sure if it's the kind of thing people would care about enough to help, since it's not a medical necessity ( sure it is! ) and I really don't have a lot to offer in return besides art and creative things or my supplies and materials for such things. I could do dog and cat training and behavior consults in exchange. Website and graphics stuff too.



While this doesn't have to happen by May 21st, I am hoping to make the trip within the next month if I can raise the funds.


Thank you for taking the time to read.


You have permission to share / repost / reblog this to help spread the word so more people might see it and want to help.

I am inspired by many things in the world around me, especially by animals and the natural world. Besides my cats and dogs, one thing that has always had a special place in my heart is water and aquatic life. I grew up exploring the creeks, marshes, and swamps near my home along the Gulf Coast. I love going to the aquarium, or even just to the local pet store, to watch the fish and other creatures. I've almost always had an aquarium or at least a betta fish on my desk. I enjoy sitting listening to the flowing water, its soothing and helps in meditation and daydreaming. I love watching the fish as they glide along effortlessly. The colors, the way light flickers through the water and the plants sway with the current, it all inspires my creativity.

When we moved from Minnesota, I had to leave my 29gal aquarium and all my supplies and fish behind. It made me very sad and I figured it would probably be a long time before I could have an aquarium again because of our living arrangements. Recently I thought about getting a betta, inspired by a nice little desktop setup a friend had. That idea evolved thanks to Mike's help in funding the "fish fund" so I could have that little slice of happy back.

I ended up finding a beautiful 13gal slim profile wide view tank kit for the same price I would have paid for the 5gal. Just the right size to sit next to me on the dresser, and large enough that I could get the other fish I really wanted.









Community tank inhabitants currently include: School of neon tetras, school of emerald green corydoras catfish, one happy male betta, one mystery snail, and some ghost shrimp.

Aqua-scaping counts as a form of artwork, right? I created the environment. It is aesthetically pleasing. The fish are happy. They make me happy.


What inspires you?

Journey and I just got back from Walmart. It was a madhouse. We grabbed what we needed, expecting to be in and out, and stood in line. The lady behind us was with her daughter. They were buying brownies for a school party tomorrow. We were chatting and they asked me about Journey. There was a delay ahead of us, and come to find out the checkout registers crashed while we were waiting in line and they could only run cash or check. Lucky for me this was one of the only times I actually had come in intending to pay with cash!

The lady made the comment that she didn’t have any cash, only credit when the store manager started making the announcement that they couldn’t run cards. She told her daughter they’d have to put the brownies back and not get them, and the girl was obviously sad.

So I offered to pay for them! This got a big smile from them both and the cashier too. We walked out to the parking lot together and I told them more about Journey’s job and about Ember, and it turns out the mother is a teacher at a local school and asked if I would be willing to come give a presentation to the kids if they could get the okay for it. So I gave them a card and my contact info, and we’ll see what happens.

Either way, days were made brighter. I wished them a merry Christmas and happy new year and off we went.

Spring thunderstorms are love. Cool crisp breeze, rain, and the scent of sweet olive, wisteria, and citrus blossoms in the air. ::Happy sigh::