The linked tattoo artist's work is gorgeous! She has an amazing skill with color shading.

I have two tats. I mentally sat with the subject and placement for years with both before I got them. (A Viking long ship at the top of my right thigh and a swallow from the Akrotiri frescos on my left upper arm.) I've been happy with both since I got them—2009 and 2018 respectively. I'm not ruling out another, but I don't have anything currently in mind.

Okay, Jessica, a friend of mine is literally at that studio getting a tattoo right now. Like, her appointment started at 12!

If I ever get another tattoo (unlikely) I'll go to Korea and get a whale from this dude: [link] [link]

I'm seriously obsessed now, Jessica! I'm trying to figure out roughly when I could take the trip. I've been thinking about this tattoo for years and hadn't found the right artist for it.

Those whales are incredible, flea!

Wow! The first looks like brushwork—so cool.

My friend is only about 1/3 done after 7 hours - it's a full-arm thing - but she's very, very happy with it already and said the process was really great and there was a nice older dog at the studio to hang out with.

The body art is beautiful, but I will stick to admiring it on others.

Thanks for all the good vibes, guys. Dad is still in the hospital. Mom asked me not to go visit as too many people have shown up and he's not sleeping. She told the nurses no visitors, and left herself, because he kept getting up to take care of her. He tried to get her to take a nap in his bed -- he said he'd just sit in the chair! The nurses are getting frustrated with him because he can't ignore them. He's telling jokes and chatting -- while coughing up a lung and with a voice so hoarse he's hard to hear. People came to him for prayer for themselves yesterday. I was kind of shocked.

Love the tattoo pics linked here. Laura Bochet's are gorgeous. I'm really drawn to the way she uses lines and colors; and the whales are amazing.

Aidan is all head/chest congested and so I gave him a Mucinex. I explained to him how it works, and he said something like, "Oh, I get it. It's like a laxative for your nose!"

I sometimes refer to it as my daily dose of rat poison

My grandmother used to say this about her blood thinner after her heart attack in 1988. She lived a good long while after, and I hope the same for you, Toddson.

Good vibes and expressions of solidarity and affection all around. I'm still reading, but struggling to compose replies.