I’m writing this on a rainy December day, which is frequently the case here in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, but I’m not complaining. Long rainy winters are the price we pay for living in this lush green part of the country. Both kids are home for the holidays, a fire is burning in the hearth, and my intrepid Irish Setter is sleeping at my feet. Life is not without its challenges (whose isn’t?), but it’s pretty good right now.
A neat milestone: I recently published my 300th Run of the House cartoon. The first one was published back in April 2019. While I did take a lengthy hiatus, I’ve been consistently publishing twice a week (one free, one for paying subscribers) for two years. Take a look a the difference between the first comic and the 300th:
#1:
#300:
It’s fun to see the growth, which, for me at least, is the whole point of creating art or entertainment. There is no end destination. You just keep striving to get better, produce the best work you can on a daily basis, and let that be enough.
Which is a lesson I’m carrying into 2025. I’ve had both highs and lows in 2024 (as I’m sure most people did), but the joy of creating and getting better at creating is always there. It never ceases to amaze me how fast my worries disappear when I just sit down and start typing or drawing.
If you’d like to try out Run of the House, a comic strip about what a quirky group of pets do when their people aren’t around, you can do so at www.runofthehouse.net. Monday comics are always free, and there’s no obligation to upgrade to a paid account unless you’d like to get a second comic in your inboxes every Wednesday. I appreciate every subscriber!