No Strings Attached

Posted By Kathleen David on March 11, 2021

We had no idea what was about to hit us.

We were clueless to how much our lives would be affected.

I bought a large toilet paper pack at the grocery store because we were running low. I had no idea how fortuitus it would be.

The changes that were coming down the pike were unimaginable.

A year later we have vaccines. 

I got my appointment yesterday for late in April, but I have one.

We wear masks and keep our distance.

But there is hope with people getting vaccinated. 

We know that down the road we will be able to hug our friends and loved ones who are outside our bubble. The CDC has updated what we need to do to be safe.

I have very mixed feelings today. I morn for what we have lost. I have hope for the future. I still hate the not knowing of when we will get to the new normal.

There will be changes in our lives.

Things we took for granted we now realize are precious and I think we will value them more.

Today I plan to make a couple of masks with some slight alternations from the ones I did previously. I found some really cute fabric that I got for very little money since they were scraps. I like masks that have a tight seal but are not crushing my nose.

I am grateful for all I have learned in the past year.

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Posted By Kathleen David on March 9, 2021

This all started because of a meme posted by my friend Karen Taylor who is an amazing poet and social worker among her many talents.

(for the VI: this is a black and white photo of a woman with dark hair wearing a very stylized chicken hat with a bowtie on her head. The caption reads, ”Somedays you add a bow tie to your chicken hat and get on with life as best you can.”)

Karen said in the comments that if she had a hat like that, she would wear it.

That put the idea in my head to create the chicken hat which turned into a bit of trial and error to make and I did learn a bit about millinery along the way.

I started with a pattern for a deerstalker hat for the basic shape. I put buckram between the outside of the hat and the lining to keep the form. The head was a bit of geometry and there are some failed heads on the scrap heap.

The feathers were an adventure with the added fun of four cats wondering why I was taking away their new toys.

Behold the chicken hat.

Front view

(For the VI; This is the front view chicken hat. The beak is gold. The chicken is wearing a bow tie.)

Side view

(For the VI: This is the side view of the chicken hat. The wings are tipped with gold.)

It got to its new owner and she took this photo promising to think only deep thoughts 

Karen models her chicken hat

(for the VI: Karen is wearing the chicken hat. She is looking off in the distance like the meme photo. She is wearing a purple shirt and glasses.)

I am very proud of this hat and am glad that idea stuck in my head.

Next P5 mice.

I am grateful I can make things like this.

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Posted By Kathleen David on March 8, 2021

This year’s theme is Choose to Challenge.

Change can come from challenge. 

From the International Woman’s Day website, “A challenged is an alert world. We can all choose to challenge and call out gender bias and inequality.”

This is the 110^th year of International Woman’s Day.

They are asking people to take a selfie with a raised hand to “show your commitment to choose to challenge inequality, call out bias, question stereotypes, and help forge an inclusive world,” and use the hashtags #choosetochallenge and #IWD2021

I plan on doing so later today.

I would like to thank all the women who have gone before me allowing me to do all the things I can do now that I could not 110 years ago.

Those women challenged what was consider the societal norm and broke the barriers they faced.

I try to do the same.

I think one of the things I did to change of thinking of what was normal was being the first woman to work in several comic book shops. It was hard to convince the owners that I wasn’t a fake and knew my stuff. After I got the job, they found that I did know about comics and various fandoms and was an amazing organizer. I could get women who came in with their boyfriends and husbands to read comics as well. I was very good at finding a comic that suited the person. I made the shop feel more welcoming for everyone. Since then at least half of the employees at those shops are female.

I am grateful for all the woman who have broken barriers.

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Posted By Kathleen David on March 7, 2021

This morning I made us banana smoothies for breakfast. They were very tasty.

Caroline is meeting up with a friend at the mall. They are looking at Prom Dresses. Yes, Caroline is planning on going to prom. Where does the time go?

Today I have a number of directions the day could go. 

I am proud how much I got done yesterday. It was a productive day. 

I am hoping today will be the same.

I want to get some writing done.

I just have a few things on my plate before that. 

Less than I thought I would have.

I did learn my lesson that medication only works if one remembers to take it. When I don’t, I sleep a lot with a wangdoodle of a headache.

My tremors are acting up again. Not as bad as last time however I do have to make sure I have a firm grip before picking something up. No idea why they are flaring up.

I saw another entry on the Internet that got me to thinking.

“So many folks are talk about how they’re being “forced to accept” things that go against their beliefs.

You’re not being forced to accept them.

If you have a problem with a group of people who don’t live or believe like you, then you are still welcome to feel however you want to feel about those people.

You are just not allowed to make their lives harder because of your feelings.

You are not allowed to turn their daily lives into a battle ground.

No one is forcing you to “accept” a single thing. 

You’re just not being allowed to terrorize people.”

I hadn’t thought of it that way, but it makes so much logical sense to me. No one is forcing anyone to stop believing. They are being calling out on their bad behavior based on their feelings. We are mad as hëll and we aren’t going to take it anymore.

I am grateful for the good and kind people in this world.

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Posted By Kathleen David on March 6, 2021

I saw the following on Facebook today on my friend Helen’s page. It is attributed to the user name thatwitchreven.

I, personally wanna see less ‘you are not a burden/it’s not work to love you’ and more ‘you are worth the work it takes to love you.’ I know I’m a burden sometimes. That isn’t such a terrible thing! Humans are strong. We carry burdens. It is work for me to be there for my friends, but it’s work I’m willing to do.

We need to acknowledge this because pretending love isn’t work will never make people like me feel less guilty for accepting love. We need to talk about it, so people don’t feel bad for having boundaries and not always being up to do the work. We need to accept it so we can properly appreciate what others do for us and what we do for them.

Yes, it does take work to love. Guess what? You still deserve love and you deserve people who are willing to do the work to love you. It doesn’t make you bad. All love take work and everyone is worth it.

You have heard “the toughest job you’ll ever love”, which was the catch phrase for the Peace Corps.

I think parenting falls into this category. One has to work to be a good parent. There is sacrifice and compromise. I put the needs of my children before my own. I have to set limits and push to show them their potential. It takes work but it is so   worth it.

Marriage takes a lot of work. Falling in love can be easy but nurturing the relationship is the challenge. There are give and takes. There are things that aren’t going to change, and we learn to live with those. There are things that change over time and we adjust to those. There are the curveballs that can test a relationship and how we respond can strength our bond.

Sometimes I can be a very hard person to live with. I get into one of my deep funks and I am grouchy and sensitive to everything that is going on around me. There are times I don’t recognize what I am doing but Peter knows and gives me my space to get my head straight. 

I know intellectually that I am deserving of love. Emotionally it can be a bit of a rollercoaster. There are times that I feel I don’t deserve love. I wonder what my family and friends see in me. I feel like I am fooling them into loving me and I feel like a burden to them.

I am more than willing to put in the work on the various relationships I have. They are important to me. I hope that others are willing to work with me.

I am grateful for all the love in my life.

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