No Strings Attached

Posted By Kathleen David on December 28, 2016

First I would like to wish Stan the Man Lee a very happy birthday. Next year will be Stan and Joanie’s 70th wedding anniversary. I hope that I can move as well as he can when I am 94. Seriously the man is amazing and spectacular. I have enjoyed the conversations we have had over the years. I think one of my favorites was the chat we had about bowling.

Yesterday and today are a little difficult for me. Today is the fourth anniversary of Peter’s stroke. And I am more grateful than I can ever express that Peter’s recovery was so through. Last week’s health scare just reminded me about all that happened four years ago.

But I also remember the out pouring of love and support from his friends and fans. I remember people working to make sure we didn’t have to worry about things like our cats, our deductibles, and our lives outside the hospital. After I got home and Peter went into rehab, I knew that I had support that I could call on if I needed it and that was a great relief. People cared about us and we knew it, which made what we had to do easier.

I was reminded of this when we posted about Peter’s recent illness and again lots of love came his direction. Peter is fine and working on regaining his strength and balance. He is getting better each day.

Caroline had an adventure as she is now deemed old enough to no longer be considered an un-accompanied minor by some airlines. I said Good-bye to her at the security gate and made her promise to text me when she got to the gate, on the plane, and at her destination. She is in Jacksonville for the next couple of days to spend time with her sisters who are all there right now along with her nephews. I had no worry about her navigating the airport because it was in a terminal she has spent a lot of time in and she knows the drill about how to find your gate. I think it made her feel grown-up.

The next couple of days are going to be sorting out Peter’s rehab and the like. With some good luck, this will just be a small bump in the road rather than a road block.

I am grateful for all the people who have had our backs.

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Posted By Kathleen David on December 26, 2016

A lot has happened in the past couple of days including Peter coming home from the hospital and some holidays.

There was also an episode of Doctor Who, which we quite enjoyed.

Because we were here rather than Atlanta, we had to quickly put together a few things that make it Christmas to me since they have been part of my Christmas for years.

Caroline and I got a small tree to decorate and some lights for it.

The past couple of days were a bit of a flurry trying to sort out Peter’s issues and get him out of the hospital. Then getting the house ready for him to come home since he needs clear flat surfaces to get round. Stepping over things is not happening for a while.

There was the wrapping of presents and figured out when one could without the other party walking in on the wrapping.

Christmas eve I made a new salmon dish for dinner. Real simple and really tasty. I made wild rice and broccoli as well. For dessert we started eating the Christmas cookies my mother sent us.

Christmas eve was also the first night of Hanukkah so we lit the candles and I gave Peter his present which was Batman: A Celebration and he gave Caroline a vey special present. He met Natalia Tena at the convention he went to in Argentina and had her sign Tonk’s wand for Caroline. Tonks and Luna are Caroline’s two favorite characters in the Harry Potter canon. So she was amazed and very happy with her gift.

We decorated our little tree and later than evening I put the presents around the tree.

Christmas morning we gathered around our little tree, which had been dubbed Groot and opened our presents. Caroline had gifts from Peter and me, my parents and friends of hers. She got books on Fantastic Beasts and where to find them, origami, and others. She got some warm clothes that she really likes along with some bath stuff, t-shirts and other stuff. I got the Labyrinth game from my parents and Peter gave me a Doctor Strange statue that lights up.

After that I proceeded to make Eggs Benedict and managed to get everything to come out at the right time. My awe of my mother increase as it is not easy to get everything to time out right. I have seen her do it for many years but to actually do it is another thing entirely.

Caroline and I did our tradition of going to the movies. Peter, wisely, decided to stay home and rest. We saw Fantastic Beasts for the second time as neither Sing or Assassin’s Creed really appealed to us and it is about to go out of the theaters. I saw a lot of things I hadn’t the first time around. Really like that film.

Dinner was a beef roast and baked potatoes which took a little juggling as they had to be cook at different temperatures at different times. I managed to get all that to balance out and we had a very nice dinner. For dessert we had more of amazing Christmas cookies.

We ended the evening watching the Doctor Who Christmas special.

Today is boxing day. We have a few errands we have to run and some things to get in place for Peter and his recovery.

Tomorrow will be a busy day and the rest of the week will be getting ready for 2017.

I am so very grateful that Peter is home.

(more…)

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Posted By Kathleen David on December 22, 2016

If you have been by Peter’s website, you know he is in the hospital and they aren’t quite sure exactly what is going on. Part of the puzzle has been solved but there is another piece that just doesn’t fit.

If you haven’t, the short version is that he is in the hospital due to the inability to walk for reasons that are still be sorted out.

This, of course, put a serious spanner in our usual trip to Atlanta, which we were going to follow up to a trip to Jacksonville so all the sisters could meet up and spend some time together.

Right now I am sorting out the next couple of days, which are partially up in the air since we have no idea when Peter will be coming home.

This is the first Christmas I am here for Christmas. In fact this is the first Christmas that I won’t be with my parents ever. An over 50 year run is rather good.

Caroline is holding up but she is sad because she won’t be spending the holidays with her family.

We have agreed we need to get a tree even if it is a small one. I have Christmas decorations that we can put on it. There are presents to put under or round the tree. We will eat steak and real baked potatoes. I will listen to annual airing of the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. We will go see a movie on Christmas day.

Bits and pieces to make it Christmas and not just another day here.

I am grateful for everyone’s understanding on this matter.

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Posted By Kathleen David on December 16, 2016

Last night, thanks to the good folks at Fourth World Comics, we saw Rogue One in 3-D IMAX(ish). The ‘ish’ is because the screen was a big screen but not really what I would consider an IMAX screen having seen the real deal several times. I will say that it is impressive in 3-D but nothing makes me say that you have to see it in 3-D for the full experience. The space battles were impressive and the over look was great but not quite there for me to want to spend the extra money to see it again in 3-D

I am honestly still thinking about how I feel about this film.

Peter dubbed it Star Wars 3-A and he is not too far off. This does slot in between Revenge of the Sith and New Hope to a rather fine point.

I do give the film credit for getting rid of a couple of serious plot holes in New Hope which was interesting to see how the writers ‘no prized’ their way through it. And I left wanting to see the original Star Wars film (1977) as I saw it back in 1977.

Some of the more impressive tricks that they pull out I can’t talk about without it being spoilers to the film. I will say that the Easter eggs come at you fast and furious and it is nice that they tie into the Disney XD Star Wars Rebels series very nicely.

The acting is first rate across the board. Felicity Jones does very well as Jyn Erso. Alan Tudek as K-2SO steals the show both with the lines he is given and the delivery of them. Caroline calls him Sassy 3PO and I think she is right. Donnie Yen is also a lot of fun. I am sorry that Wen Jiang really got stuck with a one note character because he is a good actor. Diego Luna sort of got stuck with another one-note character that they were desperately trying to make more of him than what the character was but it never quite clicked for me.

And I think that is my problem with the whole film. The script just never quite made to the party. It was a really good Star Wars novel and something I could see Del Rey publishing and being rather proud of it and what it accomplished. As a film script, it seemed like two different ideas of how to execute the main purpose of the piece got dumped into a blender and mixed together. There are several points in the film that I found myself pulled out of the film because I was trying to figure out which plot I was watching. The Forest Whitaker (Saw Gerrera) part was so different from the Mads Mickelson (Galen Erso) sections which were different from the Rebel Alliance portion of the show. It is like they had a laundry list of things that must be done before the end of the film and they patchworked their way to it.

Do I think it is worth seeing? That would be a big Yes. There is a lot in there to be amazed by and the story does fill in a lot of holes in the other films. The scenery is sumptuous. The effects are awesome and what they do with a couple of the characters is beyond amazing. This has a lot for the most rabid Star Wars fan and something for the casual Star Wars fan that will either make them gasp, smile, or both.

I am grateful for the opportunity to see this film.

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Posted By Kathleen David on December 14, 2016

I agreed to be part of a holiday card exchange that I have participated in before because they were a few players short and I had a reputation for getting cards out in a timely manner and picking up the slack for others who drop the ball (yes, I know I am mixing my metaphors). So in short order I found myself having to figure out what to do for the exchange.

I thought my way through it and then got a giggle at a thought for the card which I will be posting next week so the cards I have sent have a chance to reach their destination.

There are times I have to remind myself that silly is allowed. That the serious work of art can take on a whimsical form. Something that makes someone else smile is as good as something that makes one think at time especially in times like now.

So I give y’all and myself permission to be silly because I think we can all use a little silly now.

What amuses you? What makes you smile and shake your head a bit because you can’t believe that you are smiling?

I am going to make a couple of puppets that I want to make for no other reason than it makes me smile at the idea of the puppet. And I know that if I walk around with them, others will get that goofy look on their faces and will be amused.

I have decided that this next year is my year to be silly. To try out my weird ideas and see what works and what doesn’t.

I think we need more silly right now.

I am grateful for ideas that make me smile.

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