Hey there, Reader,

February is a very short month, isn't it? Those 24 to 72 hours certainly make the month short enough to make me realize just how quickly things seem to be hurrying by.

As I was struggling to come up with an opening bit for this week’s newsletter, I started making a whiny voice and gently teasing Cinnamon with my wife as I was browsing through my perpetually exploding email inbox (the bad one).

And I misread a subject line, “What Your Cat is Trying to Tell You,” as “What Your Car is Trying to Tell You.” I had to do a double-take, of course, because I’m a teeny bit savvy to the “cat spelled like car” meme. Or…what do you call it? I think people call their cats cars?

Or is it, like, a specific thing?

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Enjoying a Little Moment

As I’m sitting here after a day of being my wife’s cheerleader/support, I’m thinking about how incredible it is to share my life with them. I’ve got a special playlist (one I’ve titled “Good Mornin’ Gorgeous. <3”...yes it's midnight) playing while they’re putting together an incredible dinner for us after a long day of shopping and food prep on their end.

Cinnamon’s curled up under the blanket with me on the couch, Carrot is up in his tree (not just his tree), and there’s just cute little video game music remixes playing from my laptop speakers. It’s almost 1 am, and we finished tag-teaming some food prep for them a couple of hours ago: delicious breakfast burritos they’ll have, ready to eat, for the next six weeks.

My wife mentioned how nice it was to just exist in that moment together, and I couldn’t agree more! It brought to mind how even the most daunting tasks can become catalysts for some of the most cherishable moments if you tackle them with someone you love and trust, and reminded me of the importance of community during times like these.

🍊 Where have you been finding comfort and community? Reply to this email/post and let me know! 🍊

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Speaking of community, I’ll be hosting another exclusive stream for my Ko-Fi monthly supporters and would LOVE to have you on board! Things are still starting out, but I’m hoping to turn these streams into a memorable interactive experience for everyone involved. These streams, which I refer to as “Treehouse” streams, are on the first and third Fridays of every month, with a few special cases like our next one being tomorrow! At the moment, I’m experimenting with different media outside of my usual wheelhouse (digital media) like coffee, watercolor painting, and perler beads, but I also wanted to add an interactive component to the Saturday streams as well.

Click here to join the Fruit Salad!

I have a few ideas of what to try during these, like coffee/tea together, sketchbook tours, making a Drawpile so that we can doodle together, or even making Google Meet/Zoom coworking sessions or game nights. If any of those sound pleasant to you, let me know!