No Strings Attached

Posted By Kathleen David on August 15, 2017

Time I have not.

I know what I need to do before DragonCon and I have about two weeks to do it in.

Today I need a few things from the local Joann’s Fabrics which is the only choice I have in real life because all other cloth stories have closed and I don’t like trying to figure out fabric on the Internet because I need to see the fabric and feel it to make sure it works for me.

I do have the advantage of the fabric district if I care to go into the city and that has saved me some headaches.

But this time I have to go with what I have and build it from there.

I go forward

I am grateful for items being in stock.

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Posted By Kathleen David on August 14, 2017

I had a weekend that involved getting together with friends and playing an RPG, getting together with a friend and having sometime to just talk about everything and anything, and getting together with friends and looking at art at the Met including a rooftop exhibition that really took my fancy then I got to stand on the stage where one of the most popular musicals is currently running and talk to my friend who is in the show.

It was a lot of different activities with a lot of different people and all of them gave me motivation that I haven’t felt in a long time.

I haven’t played an RPG in quite a while and this one was a pip. I do feel a little sorry for the Dungeon Master who was trying to get us to a point and it was like herding cats. We did finally get to the point where we would have had a lot of combat but we had to wrap it up. On the plus side we are going to play again since we had so much fun. It was one of those we were laughing so hard our sides hurt. After that we went to Katz’s deli and had some good food and even better conversation. It reminded me that I have a quick creative brain.

Since Peter and Caroline were coming into the city the next day for their adventure, I decided to spend the night in the city (well Brooklyn) and catch up with another friend that I don’t spend enough time with in real life. We caught up on the summer and talked about fannish things. I got the new Ducktales up for them to see which was more enjoyable than the first time. It was nice to just shoot the breeze and remember why I like certain things.

So I had a day free in the city and hadn’t been to the Met in quite a while. I put out a call on my facebook page for anyone who wanted to join me and three friends did. We saw some of the new exhibits and some of the old favorites. I think my favorite was the roof top installation entitled The Theater of the Disappearing by Adrian Villar Rojas, which will be there until October. It gave me some ideas creatively.

After the Met I walked from there to Hamilton to catch up with Peter and Caroline. We went onto the stage and got to talk to our friend and his fellow cast mates. It is such a joyful and blessed cast. A lot of laughter and positive energy on that stage. Plus the stage design is really cool and a great use of a stage that is not that big.

So today I actually feel creative again. The brain fog has vanished and I can see clearly how to attack the projects I have on my plate. I was working out how I was going to get some stuff done in my head on my walk downtown which I hadn’t been able to do well for a while.

Now I am motivated again. I can see clearly how I am going to do some things that I have needed to do.

I am grateful for my friends who give me a push in the right direction or make me see that I am a creative person.

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Posted By Kathleen David on August 10, 2017

That you can do what you do and you do it well.

(Thursday: Except to remember to post what you have written. This was written on Tuesday and my lame brain didn’t follow through.)

There are many things I am unsure of as an artist but occasionally empirical evidence shows me that I am an artist and a good one too.

The same goes for my ability to write which I feel shaky on some days and totally solid on others. Even with all the voices whispering in my ears about how can I possible think that I can entertain by writing? People have read my work and told me that they liked it and were looking forward to whatever I had next on my plate. They like my style and my tone, which I know is not for everyone. I tend to write streamlined leaving more to the reader’s imagination to fill in. I have a voice that I am comfortable using.

Apparently I have fans of my puppet work. I learned this on our last set of conventions and some comments out on the Internet including someone who found my work because of other people telling him he had to find it.

I have no doubted my ability to build puppets in over 30 years. I can do it and I do it well. The time before that I had my doubts but the more I did, the more I realized I was good at this activity.

Some are amazed at the speed I can make a puppet with. That was learned over time and a lot of trial and error. It is not something I can teach but I do give advise so that others don’t end up in some of the time sinks I did until I figured out a better way to do it.

I can de-construct a costume in my head given good photos and then recreate that costume puppet sized. That has taken a lot of time to learn but it is a good skill to have. It has also improved my pattern making skills.

I want to get back to the dolls and the stuff animals I was working on but right now I am in a puppet groove and at least that is still working in my brain.

I am grateful for everyone who has taught me over the years how to do what I do.

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Posted By Kathleen David on August 7, 2017

I have a set amount of time before DragonCon. The number of things I have to do I have reduced on purpose. I had that number reduced again by circumstance which now has me re-evaluating what I can get done before the convention.

I am still digging out from convention/vacation and getting Peter ready for his next convention.

I am very frustrated right now because my brain decided to go into neutral along with my back having fits due to travel related issues so getting anything done is one hëll of an effort.

This morning I did make a serious dent in getting things back where they go but it is only half way to completion. Things literary are half way to being put away. I have to go up and down stairs to get things to their final place.

I can tell that I am not at my best. I am second guessing every move I make and every word I say or type. I am worried about so many things it is becoming irrational and I know it but I can’t stop my brain in overdrive.

I go back to what works and try to calm myself with varying degrees of success. Peter is being very supportive and helping me where he can.

I keep going forward hoping that something will click back into place and I won’t feel so drained and tired all the time. I need to get back to my exercise routine because that helps a lot. I have Caroline to help me be motivated with that because she wants to go to the gym too and continue her exercise routine.

This is the face of mild depression. I can function but it feels like I am pushing a rock uphill. I go on because people need me to do various things for various reasons. Which is a good thing because it keeps me moving and functioning.

I hope to snap out of this funk soon because it is not fun and I am not a lot of fun right now. I have things to do.

I am grateful for things that help me continue to move forward.

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Posted By Kathleen David on August 3, 2017

Working then vacationing then working then vacationing the busy part then the quiet part then working then home.

Or what we did in the month of July where Caroline spent a grand total of approximately 7 ½ hours in New York State.

Caroline at the end of June went with her sister Shana to Jacksonville to help her sister and brother-in-law get ready to move. She had a good visit there.

We picked her up at JFK on our way to Shoreleave thus the first hour and half of time in New York.

Shoreleave was a blast. Peter and I signed books and did panels. I was a prop in AJ’s sketch in the Masquerade. I talked to friends and caught up on news and the like. It was a very comfortable Shoreleave with the exception of the wool coat that is part of the 12th Doctor Costume and the eye problem that I talked about on this web log earlier. Sunday evening found us at the Watch Out for Snakes Tour of Mystery Science Theater and we got to chat with the cast for a short while.

Monday found us at the Doc in the Box and not the fun one. Got a diagnosis for the eyeball and started working on getting my sight back along with laundry so we would be ready for the next part of our journey

Tuesday we went into Baltimore and the Geppi’s Entertainment Museum . Where we oo’d and ah’d over the items in the collection and realized how much of that stuff either we had or friends had. Had a lot of fun and learned some stuff about comic book history. Also Peter has several comics in the cases on display.

Wednesday we went to Washington DC to find out that the museum we were going to was closed for renovation so to Air and Space we went and had a blast. I was able to show Caroline a lot of things that I remember seeing when I went to the museum when I was about her age.

We drove down to North Caroline to visit Ariel, AJ and Anthony and were very thankful for the HOV lane out of the city. We had a nice visit with them but short because we knew we would see them again at the Raleigh SuperCon that was our next stop on the tour.

Mike and Crew did their usual magnificent job of taking care of us. I can highly recommend the SuperCons to any professionals that might get invited. Any issues were handled very quickly and very professionally. I ended up on a number of panels because of my friend Patty who knows good resources when he sees them. The fans were great. The venue was splendid. Only downer was the food poisoning we had Friday into Saturday but were fine the rest of the convention.

It was there that we added a stop on our tour as Peter was wearing one of his rare Doctor Who shirts and was asked if we wanted to do Florida SuperCon the weekend that we were leaving to go back to New York because Capaldi. We said yes and plotted how we were going to do that.

While a lot of our friends were fighting their way through SDCC, we went to Disney World and spent a leisurely number of days just doing what we wanted there. We did not go to Animal Kingdom this time around. Figured Pandora is going to be there for a while so let’s wait for when the wait time is less. Tuesday Caroline and I walked Epcot while Peter did laundry. Wednesday we went to Magic Kingdom. Thursday found us at Disney Hollywood where we didn’t ride the great movie ride having ridden it twice last time we were down there getting both the gangster and the cowboy scenarios so we are good on that. Friday was back to the Magic Kingdom for some last minute rides with a lot of rain. In fact it rained every day we were down there but only after we were done and on our way back to the hotel with the exception of Friday where the rain almost chased us out of the park and our magic raincoats didn’t hold it off.

The biggest adventure was that of Peter’s cane. He has it for days that we are going to be doing a lot of walking for balance more than anything else. Also if his knee acts up, it is a good thing to have. Wednesday afternoon we rode the Buzz Lightyear ride and Peter’s cane managed to escape from the spaceship. They looked for it but came up empty. We left our information hoping that it would be found. Thursday no word. Friday no word but we were back in the Magic Kingdom. On his way out, Peter checked at the front to see if the cane had been found. He had a substitute cane that the park provided and it worked but it was not HIS cane. They had it and we got it back. Peter is very happy because he really likes this cane. Also if lost at a convention it is easy to describe, “Do you watch Once upon a time? OK, it is the same cane that Mr. Gold uses in Storybrook.” The more technical term is a brass-handled Derby walking cane.

Saturday we went to St. Augustine for the yearly gathering of my family. We have been going to that area for a week’s vacation since I was seven. The place we go to now has been the place we have gone for over 30 years. We had a very quiet week of walking on the beach, writing, spending time with the family and napping.

Thursday evening we drove down to Fort Lauderdale for the Florida SuperCon so we would be there at the beginning of Friday’s convention.

We set up Friday and began the next convention experience, which was amazing. We got to talk to old friends and made new friends. Got to hang out with the 12th Doctor and Amy Pond..I mean Nebula. I did some panels as did Peter which is pretty spiffy considering we were last minute additions to the show. Met Ricky Whittle who is one hëll of a hugger in all the good ways. Got to do a panel with my friends Patty and Hansi. Talked about Doctor Who. Amused Doctor Who fandom with my first Doctor puppet and War Doctor puppet. Caroline sold art. Peter sold books and scripts and signed a lot of autographs. And over all we had a good time.

The drive home was a bear as we added four hours to it but we made it home. The cats pretended to be miffed with us for the grand total of half an hour before cuddling up.

I am grateful that we had the adventures we did but also glad to be home.

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