No Strings Attached

Posted By Kathleen David on March 20, 2016

I really never thought of myself as tall. I am 5’ 10 ½” in my stocking feet currently. And according to that, I am considered tall. I know I am taller than most people and that had been useful over the years. But I also have a lot of friends who are taller than me so I don’t feel so tall. It was only after I married Peter and we had the running gag about one of the reasons he married me was that I could reach stuff on the top shelf without a stepladder that I started considering myself tall.

Last night at the final performance of the Little Mermaid, the director was reading a list of folks to be thanked for their help and she thanked me for the puppets. One of the parents I was standing next to said to me that they loved the puppets and I was very talented. I thanked her for the compliment. I didn’t say you should see what my friends can do. It took me a while to accept the word talented when it came to my puppet work. Probably because I know so many people who are better at this than I am. But over the years I have improved and have gotten to the point in my abilities that they were at when I met them so to the younger set I am now the talented one. I am still learning from other puppeteers but I now know there are puppeteers learning from me and that makes me feel good.

Whew, word shut down on me and I was worried that this hadn’t saved and I didn’t want to try to reconstruct what I have been working on for the past half hour

I knew I could write but it was only since I got together with Peter that I starting seeing myself as a writer. I have learned that I can write and I am good at it. I can construct stories that other people want to read. And I got my first royalties check for my writing, which felt really good. I am a writer and I have something to say. I now feel comfortable enough to take the stories in my head and put them out there for others to comment on. And then there is this web log that I have regular readers for where I put out the things that come to mind for others to comment on or just read and reflect. This writing exercise over the years has made me a better writer over all.

Intelligent is an adjective I have felt comfortable being labeled with along with smart. I can thank my parents for that. Being intelligent was the norm around the house and you were praised for it. I have had people try to tear me down as too smart or too clever but I tend to diffuse that with agreeing with them, which takes the wind out of their sails. I am proud of my brain and what I can do with it.

I use to be ‘wise beyond her years’ but the years caught up so now I am just wise.

I am grateful for being tall.

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Posted By Kathleen David on March 19, 2016

It’s funny how a simple word can invoke all kinds of feelings.

Recently there has been some discussion about news pundits telling Hillary Clinton to smile and it set off a firestorm. So Bernie can be a grouch but Hillary has to be upbeat?

Another friend of mine was talking about dealing with a man in a coffee shop where she went to get a coffee drink she liked because she had, so far, being having a rather spectacular bad day. He smiled at her and then berated her for not smiling back at him quite loudly. She backed out of the shop and didn’t get her drink.

Then there is the trope of resting bìŧçh face, which is applied to all kinds of women usually with the implication that if they just smiled then they could approve their appearance.

I have learned how to when it is just easier than dealing the other person. Down south we have the smile down to an art form and you learn to read a lot from the smiles that are bestowed upon you. It’s in the eyes not the lips.

“You look so much prettier when you smile,” has been said to scores of women and probably a number of men.

I know when I am looked at “pretty” is not the adjective that comes to mind apparently, I have been informed, it is “intimidating” which, honestly, I am fine with.

If you have seen the Jessica Jones series, you know how devastating that one word is on Jessica due to things that another character inflicted upon her. The last episode is entitled AKA Smile and it is a terrifying episode indeed.

Ya know what, I get to decide if I want to smile or not. There are days that I really don’t want to or it would be really hard to do. I am allowed not to smile.

I am also allowed to smile when I see something that amuses me or make me feel like smiling. Seeing my daughter day to day makes me smile. My husband can make me smile. My pets and their antics can make me smile. Pleasant memories of things past is another one. I can use my smile as a weapon if I so chose. It’s mine and I do with it what I will.

I am grateful for things that do honestly make me smile.

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Posted By Kathleen David on March 18, 2016

Yesterday’s headache went to the point of losing my dinner because my stomach became upset due to the pain in my head. Aspirin didn’t even make a dent in it so Advil to the rescue, which made enough of a dent that I could go to sleep and awoke this morning in not too bad shape. Still a small headache that I can deal with, not the skull-crusher of yesterday afternoon/evening.

I made coffee this morning and made sure it was a little on the strong side. Not going to make that mistake for a while.

Today I am going to do some housecleaning and post-puppet build cleaning. I have fabric down here from both the fish, the clams and the puppet Hook.

So here is a picture of Colin O’Donoghue in his outfit as Hook

(For the VI: He has black hair and blue eyes. He is wearing a black shirt, red brocade vest and black leather coat with a hook on his left hand and two rings on his right hand)

And this is Captain Hook the Puppet

(VI: Same as above but in puppet form)

I think I got it pretty much right.

Now onto mystery project 1 and mystery project 2 and my puppet slam puppets.

And some writing I need to get done along with all the things that go into take care of our house and hearth.

I am grateful for not feeling like I did when I went to bed.

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Posted By Kathleen David on March 17, 2016

One of the bigger holidays in New York City.

This has been a long day. A very long day and it isn’t over yet.

I got up a 4 AM to take Peter to JFK so he could fly to Las Vegas via San Francisco. I got Caroline off to school and then took care of some stuff around the house.

Then I packed up the Milli Cat into the cat carrier and took him to the Vet because his left eye was bulging and irritated. It’s not looking good for my 18 year old cat. They think he has a tumor behind that eye socket. But he is still eating and drinking and kvetching like he has always done. He’s not in pain but he has lost sight in that eye. So we are taking a wait and see what the tests say.

After that I went to the DMV to return the tags for my dead truck which I have been needing to do for a while. Didn’t take as long as I had planned.

Went to lunch at my favorite Irish pub who comped me a meal and a beer as a happy St. Paddy’s Day so that was nice. The owner and I have been friends for years now.

Tried to take a nap and had such a headache it was not even funny. It was pounding at my temples and I was thinking migraine and perfect timing when a voice in the back of my head said ‘You didn’t have any coffee today! Have some coffee and you will feel better.’

So I could have called this Random Thoughts before the Coffee Kicked In but I didn’t.

Peter has my laptop and I am on his desktop, which is taking some time to adjust since he has an ergonomic keyboard. I might give up and plug in my Mac keyboard that works so much better for me.

Caroline has a flute lesson later today.

I think I may be going to bed early tonight.

I am grateful that we got to JFK BEFORE the accident which screwed up the BQE going West.

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Posted By Kathleen David on March 15, 2016

Last night at bowling I had an interesting conversation with my bowling partners and the other team. I had shown them the pictures of the clams I made for the play and we talked about all the other things I had done including sorting out some issues and brainstorming some ideas that made other people’s lives much easier.

One of the members of the other team said, “You are so creative. I wish I was creative at all.”

Now this women is an amazing baker who brings lovely treats to the potlucks we have. She also makes some incredible cupcakes that show up at milestone birthdays at the lanes.

I pointed out to her that her baking ability is very creative. She poo-poo’d that idea saying that she just followed the recipe. I managed to get her to see her baking as a creative outlet but it took some doing.

Creative (Adj) having or showing an ability to make new things or think of new ideas

Everyone does that even if they don’t think they are. Anytime you solve a problem, you are thinking creatively, especially if you solve it in a unique way.

I know I am a creative person. Have been since I was little. I have been making up stories in my head and having my toys act those stories out to begin with. Now I have puppets that can do the same thing.

I create food that my family likes to eat and recreate recipes that my mother created.

I am a problem solver. I like the challenge of figuring out how to do something and I come up with creative solutions.

However it is not just me, it is you as well. You are creative. You create every day even when you don’t even realize you are doing it. Everyone does.

Think about your past day and the problems you solved. Betcha find something in there that you were creative at.

We are all creative in our own ways. And I think we need, from time to time, to be reminded of that.

So know that I believe in your ability to create and I hope you can too.

I am grateful for all the creativity in my life.

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