Hey, Mom! The Explanation.

Here's the permanent dedicated link to my first Hey, Mom! post and the explanation of the feature it contains.

Also,

Thursday, February 12, 2026

A Sense of Doubt blog post #4014 - Letter to Dad #22 - The Garage and Various Updates

Garage work space at 8209 Pattiwood taken Dec. 27 2015

A Sense of Doubt blog post #4014 - Letter to Dad #22 - The Garage and Various Updates

Hi Dad, I like looking at pictures of our houses, and this one is a picture of your last garage at Pattiwood. I did not live there with you, but I stayed there with you after I moved out west and visited. I would have surely visited more if not for the pandemic making air travel and just being out among people risky. My sister and her husband live there now, and last I saw, the garage looked much the  same as they inherited all of your tools.

I thought I had written updates here since my last post a week ago.

SATURDAY: I had two things to attend and had to push myself to get out. I almost skipped the first one, which was the Zen and Psychotherapy cohort at Dharma Rain. But I went and made connections with those in my soon-to-be profession. I like some of the ideas with Zen Buddhism, but I am not now and not going to be Buddhist. But “Zen” is just the Japanese word for meditation, so saying “Zen meditation” is redundant. I strongly believe in meditation, and there’s a lot overlap with tai chi.

Then I went to the Star Trek fan club happy hour hoping to meet people to play games with and people BROUGHT GAMES! So I had a fun time playing Trek-themed card games and talking nerd stuff. Plus I learned about other game options locally, one being a con in March.

DOGS: Essel has acne again. No big deal. Satchel is okay but her urine showed a little more protein than the last time so filtering is not getting better, but it’s minor and not yet to the level of medication. The big issue is that after weeks of Ellory having diarrhea I finally got fed up and took her in and we are trying a “hydrolized” diet, basically an allergy-safe diet. So no more making food in the crock pot and cutting up boiled chicken. She can ONLY have the hydrolized diet, even treats, even peanut butter, are out. There are approved treats! I was worried about getting her pills into her without pill pockets and peanut butter, but they suggested meat balls with the approved food and she LOVES THAT. And she is generally eating ALL of her food without help as long as I put enough canned meat in it. And we’re going back to weekly B12 injections for a while.

That’s it really. I am on break now until Feb 23 and spending my time on house stuff, applying for jobs, writing, and a few social events, including my ride along with the cop that I have to schedule. I need either more financial aid or more income. Both would be nice. And I am having trouble connecting with the supervisor where I get therapy to set up my clinical internship, so I am going to have to expand my search.

Netflix has good stuff. Though I am back on STAR TREK via Paramount. Watching the new STAR FLEET ACADEMY show and am current with it as it just started.

Satchel will be 14 in July. She’s getting old and it makes me sad and fearful. I am sure like me you are cherishing every moment and more so as the pets get very old. Also, like me, I know you hope to have Ashley for many more years. Even Ellory is showing signs of age as she will be ten in October.

Snuggles are the best! I wish Ellory still snuggled with me like she did when she was young. I snuggle her in bed all the time but she rarely sits with me or lies with me on the couch. Though she was scared to death by all the fireworks after the Super Bowl. She was trembling. Some close by neighbors let off a lot of loud ones. She was so scared she didn’t want to return to our room at bed time (her safe place) and refused to get off Liesel’s bed. I had to leave doors open so she could return late in the night (which she did) but I had trouble getting to sleep without her and without my music AND white noise.

Ellory loves her new food as I reported but she has been begging for chicken and peanut butter that she used to have and can’t have anymore.

So I make two things: the chicken with lemon and garlic powder and ground chicken with seasoning. And broccoli. I tried the ground chicken with vegies and she liked it the first time and not the second.

However, I have been saving some recipes I want to try, like some fried cabbage with miso, chicken pot pie meat balls, and some egg plant wrap. I have to be careful as she is totally off carbs. But it removes some stress that I could basically make the same thing every other day.

I am off to get my RSV vaccine now.

Love you, Big Guy!!

More next week.

- christopher

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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2602.12 - 10:10

- Days ago: MOM = 3877 days ago & DAD = 532 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I post Hey Mom blog entries on special occasions. I post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day, and now I have a second count for Days since my Dad died on August 28, 2024. I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of Mom's death, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of her death and sometimes 13:40 EDT for the time of Dad's death. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
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Wednesday, February 11, 2026

A Sense of Doubt blog post #4013 - Books Read in 2025 - Writing Wednesday for 2602.11


A Sense of Doubt blog post #4013 - Books Read in 2025 - Writing Wednesday for 2602.11

I set a goal of 80, and I read 88 books in 2025.

Books feed my head.

Books feed my writing.

Here's a few thoughts on the books.




I am always reading graphic novels, and I especially liked the DCeased set that I got for Christmas.

The Last Ronin was an impulse buy, but I loved it.

Sunday, March 16, 2025

I applied myself to reading the Sherlock Holmes pastiche novels of Nicholas Meyer after discovering that he had published several that I did not know about.

I finally worked my way through two memoirs: Robbie Robertson and Rickie Lee Jones. I had some trouble with the latter:

These are in ascending order, so the bottom row is from 2024. The Christmas Carol marks the end of 2025 as I read two books on grief, though I guess the Sinéad O'Connor book counts as a memoir.

Friday, February 7, 2025


Friday, May 9, 2025




I had issues with Scalzi's book, but I overcame them:
More Sherlock Holmes that produced this post:

I finally finished Wild Seed, which I liked quite a lot.

The Orphaned Adult has become a go to recommendation about grief.

The Fantastic Four books were re-reads to prepare for the movie. Wise Blood was a supposedly a re-read, though I do not recall if I read it in college when it was assigned or not.

Some books on Zen because of a school project and visits to Dharma Rain Zen Center.

Re-Read Hush to prepare for the underwhelming Hush 2.

Getting Things Done was not revelatory but it was validating.

Lots of other graphic novels, including some more re-reads like the Silver Surfer one.

The Vegetarian was a recommendation from my wife. I liked it a lot.



A new Lisbeth Salander book!
I finally got around to The Ministry of the Future, which was on an Obama favorite books list.
Read two Tanith Lee books (not via audio).
Re-Read Slan.
More Sherlock Holmes.
Discovered the Stoics via The Obstacle is the Way.
Not sure how I landed on The True Believer but it was somewhat inspiring.
Re-read Superman books both because of the movie and this post:

Sunday, August 10, 2025
A Sense of Doubt blog post #3827 - Superman Year One - a review - Comic Book Sunday for 2508.10

Started doing tai chi, so I read the Lou Reed book:

Tuesday, July 15, 2025
A Sense of Doubt blog post #3801 - TAI CHI - Lou Reed & The Art of the Straight Line

Re-read Ruse when I learned of Jackson "Butch" Guice's death.

LOVED UNF#CK YOUR BRAIN!!!

I love Stephen King, but I will jump on new Holly Gibney books all the time!

Very underwhelmed by an Unkindness of Magicians, but starting V.E. Schwab's A Darker Shade of Magic (which I read read, no audio) prompted me to get the next two and read them quickly (via audio).

Finally read Matt Baker's It Rhymes with Lust ahead of a Matt Baker post that's been on the schedule for years.

As I wrote above, I found the stoics, so read a lot of Marcus Aurelius.

Working my way through the three volumes of Micronauts by polishing off the first.

TWO Scalzi in one year!! Bonus! The Shattering Peace was excellent. His work is always excellent.

The Power Fantasy has become one of my favorite series, but I am ONLY reading it in collected form.

The Memory Police was intriguing. I read a review but also liked the cover.

And worked on more old SF, especially Time Storm that I have wanted to read for decades.

More on these:

Thursday, December 4, 2025

Read the Kamandi collected, finally.

And every year, I listen to wat least one version of A Christmas Carol.



I set a goal of 85 books for 2026, assuming I can read about the same as last year as I read 88 when my goal was 80.

I am 10% into that goal already with eight books read.



This is about writing because the study of writing is important to the practice of writing.

I learn so much from reading book good books and not so good books.

I am also just proud of how much and what I have read.

Thanks for tuning in.


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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2602.11 - 10:10

- Days ago: MOM = 3876 days ago & DAD = 531 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I post Hey Mom blog entries on special occasions. I post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day, and now I have a second count for Days since my Dad died on August 28, 2024. I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of Mom's death, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of her death and sometimes 13:40 EDT for the time of Dad's death. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
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Tuesday, February 10, 2026

A Sense of Doubt blog post #4012 - Photo Dump April 2025 - February 2026



A Sense of Doubt blog post #4012 - Photo Dump April 2025 - February 2026

It's time for a phone dump!

Comments follow.

These are just highlights. Not all the photos.

No organization principle has been employed.

SATCHEL snuggled with me while I was watching the Super Bowl on 2602.08




Tillamook Forest Hike 2508.10 - https://sensedoubt.blogspot.com/2025/08/a-sense-of-doubt-blog-post-3829-wilson.html

Writing at a Portland Coffee Shop: 2508.08

Using my tablet - this experience is what prompted me to buy a folding, portable keyboard.
I used geo-location data to retrieve where this photo was taken.



Trying to start the practice of riding to town for errands. These pictures from 2507.07. Because of the hills where I live and my bike's struggles to downshift, I did not do this often enough. This year: MORE!



After attending a cohort group at Dharma Rain, I headed down to the Books With Pictures comic convention with a trivia game that I lost soundly: 2506.10.


Visiting Puppy!! Chanelle on 2507.19 - I managed to find her home and reunite her with her owners with the help of Facebook and the Kalama police.



Cherry harvest


Ellory on porch 2505.10

Ellory on new bed 2510.03

Essel 2510,03

Essel Buttermilk 2510.10

we went Kayaking in inflatable kayaks 2508.21 - photo taken 2508.22


Tumwater with my friend J - 2508.23

Our magnolia tree 2508.13

Our magnolia tree June 2025

Making beef stew - 2509.14

Mom's fallen angel


I got a new license plate cover for the back:


And so I moved the old one to the front:


Here's the remains of the LCC one that was broken:


And I finally put the K-College decal on!



New Brooks Pride shoes - indoor shoes

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds 2505.10

I made tacos

Tillamook hike 2508.10

Porch time reading and watching the Tigers - 2509.06

Ellory and Essel 2511.11

Essel 2510.30

Essel and Ellory 2510.30

I played Ultimate!! At a tournament for Palestine: 2510.18:

Tuesday, October 28, 2025




I went to Portland Bookfest Nov. 2025


On a post outside my doctor's office:


I started making stew for the dogs but have had to stop since because of Ellory's dietary issues


Thursday, October 30, 2025
A Sense of Doubt blog post #3908 - Letter to Dad #008 - Meaningful Numbers & Ellory is Sick

Ellory scared the Hell out of me when she stopped eating and drinking around Halloween. We figured out she had a Vitamin B12 deficiency, and we have since learned that she may have other dietary issues or allergies and have put her on a special "hydrolized" diet.

Seen here after I took her to the vet for IV fluids two days in a row.

Ellory Queen 2510.30

Ellory Queen 2510.30

My new favorite applesauce that I eat almost daily. Cases available at Costco. GREAT stuff.



Satchel with Christmas present 2512.25

at the Keller - Blade Runner with live music - 2601.16

new sticker for my car

new notebook

I like to wear D&D shirts when I play D&D.


All three dogs at the vet on 2511.19 being crazy!




Ellory had a grooming appointment: 2601.09:



Essel with favorite toy - 2512.21

Essel 2512.25

Ellory and Essel 2601.29

Ellory and Essel 2601.29

Noodle and Essel - 2601.13

This never happens!! All three dogs in my office, under my desk! 2601.29



Why are my initials written on the tag of this shirt? Because my father used to have one, too, and this is how we could tell them apart.




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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2602.10 - 10:10

- Days ago: MOM = 3875 days ago & DAD = 530 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I post Hey Mom blog entries on special occasions. I post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day, and now I have a second count for Days since my Dad died on August 28, 2024. I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of Mom's death, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of her death and sometimes 13:40 EDT for the time of Dad's death. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
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