Hello Patricia, thank you so much for your very kind words! 
Hi Maki - Of course I LOVE IT, but we need a WOW button too.
Terri Robichon
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Hello Terri, thank you so much for your very kind words!
Framing idea for the winter:
I’ve selected the green combination because some green Christmas roses are included in this flower arrangement.
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Hello Maki,
WOW!!
These are all amazing, fantastic, inviting, beautifully created, etc. etc. etc.
I always enjoy seeing your framing ideas.
You have such talent to create such beautiful pieces, always carry your themes, and create interesting compositions. I am most impressed as always.
Will these be in a show or just for a specific person? They really are fantastic.
Also how is your mother doing?
Warmest regards,
Teri
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Hello Teri, thank you so much for your very kind words.
They are all going to be shown at my next local exhibition. I had some very good responses to my tree drawings show this autumn so I wanted to have another show at the same venue as soon as possible. The next show is scheduled in March next year and I don’t have much time to prepare tens more new works, so I decided to display my cat drawings including the old works along with some brand new ones.
Thank you also for caring about my mother. She moved to a very comfortable nursing home this Monday. I had a chance to chat with her Monday morning. She somehow looked pretty carefree. I guess it is mostly because of her dementia, i.e. she doesn’t clearly understand what has happened to her for the recent months and cannot think about anything in the future. The nursing home has a good reputation around here, so I’m now happy knowing that she’s settled in the best place for her conditions. 
Hi Maki,
Happy to hear the update on your mom, and more about your next exhibit.
Terri Robichon
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Maki,
I am so looking forward to hearing about your next exhibition next March. I think it is a great idea to show some of your other pieces, they are all fantastic!
I also am glad for the good news about your mother. My father had Alzheimer his last years and when finally in a place where people understood his condition, personality and needs I felt more at peace. It sounds like your mother is in the right place because of her carefree attitude.
Teri
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Hi Terri, thank you for your kind words!!! 
Hello Teri, thank you for your kind words.
Yes, it is interesting, but my mother, who cannot remember how to brush her teeth now, can somehow maintain a very friendly and well-mannered attitude towards her caretakers. When we were leaving the hospital, I saw my mother said a very polite and amicable “thank you” to the nurse who has been taking care of her. Looks like her dementia does not affect so much on the brain areas which control her personality. As long as she can stay as a nice person as she is now, her new caretakers could spend a good time with her.
Thank you for sharing the story of your dad. Glad to know that he had a happy time in his last years 
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Hi Maki - Thanks for sharing the update on your mom. Sounds like she is indeed in a very good place, and hopefully that will make your own life much less stressful. I also find it interesting to follow other people’s progression with dementia. As you know, my sister has Alzheimer’s. She can’t brush her teeth anymore either, can’t dress herself and half of the time needs someone to feed her. She is also getting into the habit of pocketing chewed food (and pills) in her cheek, and won’t swallow. My sister can walk short distances some of the time if holding someone’s hand or using a walker. We are in the process of getting her a wheelchair (as she is using a loaner now for whenever she goes out of the group home). Anne can also be polite and say “thank you” or “I love you”. But there are also times when she is mad and will swear. Where did she learn some of those words? Anyway I wish you and your mom nothing but the best as your journey continues.
Terri Robichon
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Hello Terri, thank you so much for your kind words.
Yes, now that I know that some professional staff members are taking care of my mother, I think my daily life has finally come back to normal.
And right now my most important target is to complete some animated films using my pen artworks that I was planning to finish a few years ago. I cannot believe that I haven’t completed a single animated movie for over four years since I first started pen drawings. Before that, I started taking soft pastel lessons in April 2018 and was able to finish my pastel animation in Feb 2019. I was actually preparing a storyboard for this film and that film using my pen works and was about to get down to the intensive drawing tasks for these films, when my mother’s first fracture took place. Then my life as a caregiver started, I had to survive my own health issues, some exhibition plans popped up, so and so and so…that it has been very hard for me to concentrate on the film making projects. Film making projects are so demanding that you must keep working on them day in day out until you are satisfied with the completed works. Now I feel that all the required conditions are finally met for me to restart these projects. Last night I reviewed one of the half-completed movie editing files that I haven’t updated for almost two years, which literally sent shivers down my spine. YES, THIS IS SOMETHING I TRULY WANTED TO MAKE! And to my delight, I know that I have not wasted these years not specifically working on these film projects. During this time, I’ve had much more pen drawings experiences, got some important information useful for the scenarios development, and come up with some much better approaches to all the planned projects. I’ve almost finished the prep for the March cat drawings show, so I am going to really focus on the film making for the next 6 months or so, which I am wholeheartedly looking forward to.
And yes, I think that living with someone with dementia, which has provided me with good opportunities to closely observe how it changes people’s behaviors, has been a really interesting experience. And very useful too. With this knowledge and the real-life experiences, I could avoid hurting people with the same conditions and their caregivers by treating them as just some kind of abnormal people and making them feel alienated. This experience has taught me that this is simply one of the ways we humans are.
Speaking of usefulness, I’ve also learned how innovative and shrewd the business people are in the huge elderly care market. I still remember how astonished I was when I got the 120% odorless portable toilet to be set in mother’s room. After mom had a femoral neck fracture in May this year, I had to admit that a 100%-sure fall-prevention was impossible and started to look for some alternative approaches to ensuring safety for mom at home. In that process, I came across a brand-new flooring material named “coroyawa” developed by a Japanese start-up company. The material is solid and easy to walk on, but gets soft when there is a sudden, strong pressure on it. I asked them to cover the living room floor with this material while mom was away being hospitalized in July. While she was living in this house in August and September, there was indeed another fall, but she had no fracture thanks to the new floor covering.
They are now trying to market this material in the US too.
Here are some helpful information if you’re interested:
Thank you again for your thoughtfulness. I hope the same for you and your family.
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Hi Maki - I’m so excited for you that you finally have time to take a deep dive back into your film making. That skill set is way above my head. Artwork is providing all the challenges I can handle and the art continues to be one of my passions at this phase of my life. Please stay in touch here on the forum from time to time while you’re working on the films. Merry Christmas!
Terri Robichon
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