No Strings Attached

Posted By Kathleen David on November 25, 2017

Getting home was pretty much textbook with minimal traffic. Once back on the island, we avoided shopping malls and other places were traffic was going to snarl. I am thankful for traffic apps that allow us to make decisions about which path to take home without having to guess why we are just sitting there.

I am thankful for having health insurance. I had a mammogram that showed that I have a calcified lymph node, something I knew about. I am going to be having others tests later this month just to make sure that overall I am healthy. This is costing me money but not as much as if I had to pay it on my own or for the consequences of not having the tests and something going horribly wrong.

I am thankful for a working vehicle. Public transport may be great in the Big Apple but out here you need a car to get around in a timely fashion.

I am thankful for a roof over my head. I have a number of friends who, for various reasons, are dealing with not having a roof or secure place to live. I have lived here longer than I have lived anywhere else. It is home and I love it.

I am thankful for a gym close enough to walk to. The fact that the Y also has an indoor swimming pool is a plus. There I can work out and take some me time.

I am grateful to where I live and who I live with.

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Posted By Kathleen David on November 24, 2017

First I am thankful to my in-laws who we had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings. It was a fun time with laughter and remembrances of Thanksgivings past. Silly in jokes were flying. It was family and comfortable.

I am thankful for breathing. I have had a persistent cough for the past couple of days that I think is season allergy related. No fever just a continuous tickle in the back of my throat and a post nasal drip which to me reads as allergies.

I am thankful for my family’s sense of humor. Caroline has proved her love of puns is as deep as mine. Jokes might fly over her head but puns and word play she gets. Her vocabulary, according to the tests, is at a college level. That is not a surprise to anyone who knows her. She has always had a fondness for language and using is properly.

I am thankful for Doctor Who. Yesterday was the 54^th anniversary of the show’s premiere on the BBC. There was a video from Tom Baker about the occasion that was quite fun. When I consider the number of people I have met over the years because of that program, it is rather amazing. The friendships that have grown out of the mutual interest of a TV show are myriad.   I have met a lot of people who worked on the show in one capacity or another. I have given puppets to a number of the actors, which is always good for a story.

I am thankful for Star Trek. If it were not for that show, I would not have made those Klingon puppets that my husband bought one of leading to our introduction to each other. Caroline says she owes her existence to puppets and Star Trek. That show has also lead to a lot of friendships over the years. The first puppet that I made into a character was Picard that Patrick Stewart signed after looking at it most puzzled until he realized what it was. It was then that I realized that I could dress puppets up as the characters. Giving them to the actors was later.

I am thankful for Puppetry. So much of my life has been touched by puppets in one way or another. I have appreciated puppets for most of my life. From Mr. Rogers to Kulla, Fran and Ollie to even Sid and Marty Kroft. Then there was Jim Henson who is someone I was lucky enough to meet. Henson’s work still colors what I do. He showed us what might be possible and encouraged us to be our best us we can be.

I am grateful to everyone who has taught me things that allow me to be creative.

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Posted By Kathleen David on November 23, 2017

Today we are spending with my in-laws. We drove up after bowling last night and didn’t hit much (any) traffic got in late but it allowed us a slow roll out this morning.

Peter’s mother passed away earlier this year and this is the first Thanksgiving he and his sister and brother won’t be calling their parents or spending the day with them. We decided to spend it with my sister-in-law, brother-in-law, and nieces which we have done often over the years but there is a hole that was Gunter and Dalia who were very much a part of their children’s lives.

I am thankful that my folks are still around and doing well. They have taken to “retirement” well and now can devote time to things they find interesting. We keep up with each other with at least one phone call a week and they read this web log which is sometimes the easiest way to keep up with the family. I like that I can call them and they still have all the answers. There is comfort in that.

I am thankful that our weather this summer was not too horrible. We could have used a little more rain but over all it was a pretty nice summer when we were in town. So far the fall has been nice and we haven’t gone through a lot of heating oil.

I am thankful for the ability to put costumes together quickly. This came up this year several times and it reminded me how much fun running around in a costume can be. I think there might be more of that this year. The trick is that I want to do costumes that I can just wear as regular clothing.

I am thankful fo my ability to translate costumes to puppet sized. I can scale things down and figure out clever ways to make it look ‘right’. This has lead to all kinds of adventures including meeting my husband.

I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving.

I am grateful that I have things to be thankful for.

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Posted By Kathleen David on November 22, 2017

Today I am packing our overnight bags as we are going to my in-laws house for Thanksgiving dinner. Once the rain stops this afternoon I plan to deal with cat boxes and the like.

I am thankful that I live were I live. Having a big city a train ride away when the trains are running is a lovely thing. Living in a small town has its advantages since I can let my daughter get together with her friends and not worry about her. People around here know who’s child is who’s and who’s pet is who’s so if a dog or cat gets out, it can be returned quickly and the children know that the adults talk to each other so bad behavior is relayed just as quickly. But if I need my big city fix, I hop onto the train and go into Manhattan where I can find just about everything I need from a large metropolis.

I am thankful for bowling. Peter and I both belong to a league. He bowls on Wednesday and I bowl on Thursday although it use to be Monday but for reasons too long for this entry, it is now Thursday. I like spending time with the people in my bowling league. We get along well and it is not a cut throat group. My bowling partner and I have been bowling together for about three years now. She is an amazing bowler. I am OK to fine depending on how well my body feels at the time. So far, knock wood, I haven’t had an injury that has prevented me from bowling this year. I am also thankful that we have a bowling alley close enough to walk to.

I am thankful for our cats. We added one this year. Mewlan is a black cat with yellow eyes. So far the kitty politics have sorted out to Figgy being the alpha female, Inky getting jumps on a lot but holding her own, and Mewlan learning to trust that she is not going to get dumped back at the shelter were we adopted her. Mewlan is a bit of a special needs kitty because the knees in her back legs didn’t fully develop which means her knees pop in and out which gives her a crazy gait and she has a tendency to roll rather than walk down the stairs. So she is flinging herself from pillar to post and the other cats are dealing with this new youngster as cats do.

I am thankful that my mother insisted that I learn to cook. It is a very useful skill to have. I think I am proudest when I can recreate something and it tastes like how she made it. Also I can poach an egg to perfection, which I learned from her.

I am thankful for my gym. When I go to the gym, it is my time. I slot out a period of time and don’t worry about how long I am there when I am there. I do what I need to do and then leave. For the most part my fellow gym members are a good group. Weights are picked up and machines reset to the neutral setting. Everything is wiped down. I feel comfortable there.

I am thankful for the restaurants that we go to in the village. I have a brew pub that I frequent where they know me by name. I catch up on what is going on in their lives and they do the same with mine. I also have my Irish pub where I am good friends with one of the owners. I go in and we catch up on the family and the grandchildren. We have been a sounding board for each other over the years. It’s a solid friendship that grew out of the fact that they have the best burgers in the area.

I am grateful for my friends in the village.

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Posted By Kathleen David on November 21, 2017

My clever titles are not so clever right now but I know I will eventually get back to doing that.

Two weekends ago we attended a local convention called “Long Island Who”. It just completed its fifth year and is an excellent convention that reminded me of the Doctor Who or Star Trek conventions I went to in the 70s and early 80s. I volunteered to make paper bag puppets with the children in the kids’ track, which was very well run and organized. The children took what I taught them and ran with it. They came up with some stellar paperback puppets. I am always trying to sort out what we can do next year if I am asked back. I am thankful for that opportunity and that convention which reminded me of the fun I had as a fan.

I am still a fan but my position at conventions has changed a bit from when I started. I am thankful that I am on the other side of the table. I made the move from fan to pro without realizing I had done so. Being married to Peter was part of it but more so my own achievements and abilities that allowed conventions to see me as an asset. I am thankful for my opportunities that allowed me to learn the skills I use.

I am very thankful to my puppetry peeps. That crazy tribe has taught me and I have taught them. There are not a ton of us out there but we are passionate about what we do. I love doing my ‘so you want to build a puppet’ seminar and have people come to us with what they want to build and then they bring it back in so we can see what they did. I am thankful to everyone who is willing to answer questions about how they build what they build. Why have everyone re-invent the wheel when you have the knowledge that will save them the hours to get to the point you are at? Give them your wheel and see what they can do with it.

I am thankful for my gaming group that got started this year. L figured out that she had enough friends in the area that we could get a game going. We worked our way through the first adventure and are now on our second. We might not be able to meet every month, but when we do hilarity ensues. It’s nice to pick up the dice again.

I am thankful for my theater friends. I have not stage managed in a while so I am living vicariously through their adventures. And there are times that what happens reminds me why I don’t stage-manage that often. But there are other times that I do miss it.

And I am thankful for you for reading my ramblings. I never really know the impact of what I have written until I come to find that what I have said has helped someone or amused someone or given someone something new to think about. And it is nice to know that what I do matters even in some small way.

I am grateful for the creative people in my life.

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