No Strings Attached

Posted By Kathleen David on August 17, 2019

And boy howdy do I have a lot to check off before DragonCon.

The nice thing about attending the same convention for over 20 years is that there is a list of things you know you are going to need over the weekend. There are things that are rituals by this point. One knows where one is going to be at certain times because that is where they are every year at that time.

Then there is the list that is specific to this year’s convention. Things we need to get to people we see at that convention. Things we need to get from people at that convention. Things that last year we said, “we should have packed _________” so this year it goes into the kit. And things that need to come out of the packing because they are not needed/useful anymore.

Each of us has our own lists of things that we are bringing. Caroline has a suitcase of cosplay outfits. Peter has his books and scripts. I have the puppets and materials for my panels.

Within these broad lists come the smaller lists of things that need to be done before a week from Monday. Household things that need to be attended to. Cats that need us for food, water, cat boxes, and love. A couple of Dr. appointments that we have next week. The convention Peter has next weekend.  These take time too.

So each minute has to be planned for or at least sketch out into what I want to do in an hour by lunch by dinner etc.

I have four minutes left in my time allotted for this entry. Then I go onto the next thing on my list and work on checking off as many boxes as I can.

I am grateful for tickty boxes that are ticked.

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Posted By Kathleen David on August 15, 2019

Still alive and up to my armpits in puppet parts and fabric.

There is progress. Not as much as I want but it never is.

Caroline sewed her first solo sewing project a cloak for a character she want to cos-play at DragonCon. She learned a lot. I just unstuck it when the machine got jammed. She came up with new ways to jam it that I have never done. It is….well not funny…it feels like I am passing the torch. My mother taught me to sew as her mother taught her and so on. Now Caroline joins that line.

Another thing I have noticed in the past at this point I would be panicking if I could actually do what I set out to do. Not right now. Over the years I have learned that I can do this and do it well. I know how to make clothing puppet sized. I can work out my hair issues and get the puppets to look like I want them to look. I want to step outside my safe puppet box and experiment a bit but that is for later in the year. I still need to do that Warlock that Bill S. and I talked about oh so many years ago.

Peter wrote our sketch for the Puppet Slam and it is hilarious. Look for it on your DragonCon schedule for it. It’s one I have wanted to do for a while.

So I am diving back into the fray and get things done.

See y’all on the flip side

I am grateful for confidence. 

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Posted By Kathleen David on August 8, 2019

Or I looked at the calendar and panicked then calmed down.

3 puppets almost finished. 3 to 4 more to complete the puppetslam piece and 2 to 3 for people I have promised puppets to. It is do-able but I have to do it.

There is also getting ready for my panels this year. I want to do a handout for the so you want to build a puppet with terms and places to look for things and resources.

I am in DragonCon mode and will be until after DragonCon.

So this web log may go radio silent or get really chatty depending on where my brain is.

Caroline has two costumes she wants to complete before DragonCon. She is going to be cosplaying the whole time and having a ball.

This has to be balanced with the usual household chores and cat care and scheduled activities and unscheduled activities.

It can be done and I am going to do it.

I am grateful for everything I have learned that is going to help me with the next month.

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Posted By Kathleen David on August 3, 2019

July 7^thto be exact.

That had been the longest break I have taken from the web log ever.

Part of the reason is that Peter had my laptop for his travels and part of it was, when I had the laptop, I was so busy with family and friends I didn’t have the time.

Where were we? Started at Shoreleave went to Disney World then Peter went to SDCC and Caroline and I spent some concentrated time at Disney together then went to St Augustine to spend time with my family at their beach condo where Peter rejoined us from there to GalaxyCon in Raleigh NC then Peter helped Ariel get to Jacksonville where she has a job and Caroline and I came home while Peter went to the Tampa Bay Comic Con where he is as I type this.

Very busy month.

Shoreleave was fun. It was the usual panels and the like along with meeting people and making new friends. It is a very comfortable convention for us. It was the book release party for “Thrilling Adventure Yarns” edited by Robert Greenberger which has stories by both Peter and me.

Disney World was fun but wet. We had pop-up thunderstorms every day. I spend an evening in the Magic Kingdom riding the rides that I knew Angelo loved. I got stuck in the Haunt Mansion staring at the side of Madam Leota’s head for 15 minutes, which I attribute to him. Caroline and I took our time and created a schedule that worked for us. We also spent time with friends that we only get to see when we are in town. Caroline got some pet therapy from the same dogs that helped her after Peter had his stroke.

St. Augustine felt like I hit the refresh button on my life. I spent the time walking and reflecting on things. That first walk on the beach is always the best one because my body relaxes and I go on vacation from my worries for a bit.

GalaxyCon, formerly Raleigh SuperCon, was a blast and a half. Any convention you can spend time with friends and people you admire is a good one. This was a little more over the top. I got to show David Tennant the Good Omens puppets and he signed Crowley. Peter got to give his Phantom graphic novel to Billy Zane and Kristy Swanson. Caroline had a blast cosplaying and selling art at the table.

After that Peter helped Ariel travel down to Jacksonville and Caroline and I drove home. It took only half an hour longer than the original ETA. Peter drove from Jacksonville to Tampa where he is spending the weekend at the Bards Tower.

Out of this adventure, I have added three puppets to my list of puppets that must be built before DragonCon.

I am grateful for family adventures.

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Posted By Kathleen David on July 7, 2019

Today is my youngest brother’s birthday. He will be celebrating it with his wife and two daughters.

This past year has been a busy one for him as he changed jobs and his family changed houses.

Patrick is the gamer in the family. He plays RPGs, LARPs, board games, video games, card games, you name it he has probably played it.

I use to watch him play video games because my hand eye coordination stinks and I could never get the avatar to do what I wanted when I wanted. Patrick had a knack for it. I watched him play the first Star Wars game and Lara Croft and many other games cheering him on to victory.

He is smart and, given a problem to solve, works on it until it is solved or proved unsolvable.

He is a very practical person with a great imagination.

He and Sheila use to play complex games with the Star Wars action figures that only made sense to them.

I loved being able to give him books that I liked that I thought he would like and, for the most part, I was right. He was the other big science fiction and fantasy reader in the family.

He is a loving father and husband. His family means the world to him. He’s a great dad. I love watching him with his family.

I still think of him as my baby brother but he is so much more than that.

Happy Birthday Patrick, glad the day went well for you.

I am grateful for Patrick in my life.

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