No Strings Attached

Posted By Kathleen David on December 28, 2013

We are home from our travels for a couple of days before we start traveling again for a convention. Fortunately our cat sitter is going to be around until mid-January and is more than happy to take care of things. Last year she did a yeoman’s worth of work keeping things together until I could get home.

It was a year ago that I was sitting in a hospital having to sign forms for Peter and make decisions as they tried to work out what was going on with his body.

We learned later that he had a stroke in the pons region of his brain causing a lot of problems to the right side of his body and we started this roll coaster of the ride we have been on.

It has been scary but we feel so grateful that we are where we are today.

Peter has regained so much. He is walking without a cane. He can move his right arm. He can type. His vision is fine. He can take care of himself. All these are blessings. He worked very hard to get all that back. He decided that he was going to be himself again and did everything he needed to make sure it happened. His rehab facility holds him up as an example of a can-do attitude.

He never lost any of his intellect or wit through out the whole things. He had the doctors and nurses laughing along with anyone else who came into his orbit. His therapists had great fun with him. One told me that she enjoyed working with him because he always left her with a smile on her face from something he said or did.

We found out how much Peter meant to his fans and friends and we were overwhelmed. Personally I believe more in the power of prayer than I ever believed before. The good energy was palatable. And we also found out that we had friends in corners that we never knew about.

I will not sugar coat it. It has been very hard this year. A lot happened that wasn’t too much fun but we got through it. I have learned more about insurance than I ever care know and the system is so broken. And we did learn that no matter what you can prove, some can be gun shy about what they think they perceive as weakness.

But we are still standing and we got here with the help of all of you. We discovered things about ourselves that have made us stronger. We got through this year and came out all right on the other end.

I am grateful that we are where we are considering where we were a year ago.

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Posted By Kathleen David on December 27, 2013

For several reasons in fact.

We are starting our journey home.

A year ago was when Peter started having his stroke in the last afternoon at Disney Hollywood and our lives were radically changed.

And something else I care not talk about right now.

Yesterday my youngest brother, his wife and children joined us in Atlanta. Caroline got to spend time with her cousin who is not much more than a month older than her. Caroline and her cousin love each other very much and getting the two of them together is a treat for them both.

Christmas was nice. I will be putting together a photo essay of one of Caroline’s presents since my brother created a quest for her to find her present. As per the usual, he out did himself. Now I have to figure out the safe way to get this precious item home in one piece. Caroline is very happy with her haul and wants to get home so she can play with all her new toys and wear her new spiffy outfits.

I am still processing Doctor Who so the New Who Review will probably be Monday but I did see it. It was not perfect but neither was it a horror show to me.

The Christmas movie was Frozen. We all had fun seeing it again.

Now with Christmas cookies eaten, presents given, and joy enjoyed, it is time for us to head home and get ready for 2014. May it be better than 2013 but more on that later in the week/next week.

One more plug for the fundraising effort for my friends J & A who have had a rather unlucky year with their only means of transport stolen right after they finished a charity event for Toys For Tots. You can find the information about it here. If you can help please do and sharing the site with others does really help. I have known these guys for almost 30 years and they are very generous to others with what they have and now they need others to do the same.

I hope your holiday time was all you needed it to be.

I am grateful for friends and family.

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Posted By Kathleen David on December 17, 2013

Yesterday I made two puppets for a friend for her grandchildren. They had to be able to stand up to toddlers. I am pretty happy with the result.

(For the VI this is two puppets. The one on the right has brown hair and brown eyes. It has a shirt with monsters all over it. The one on the left had light brown hair and blue eyes with a blue shirt with trains all over it.)

It felt good figuring out how I was going to make them and then executing the idea. I haven’t done that since Rumple and Gold.

I have a wacky idea that I might do a couple of versions of. Think Raggedy Ann and beloved fan characters. I need to do some sketching for me to see what I can come up with. Rag dolls sort of. I also want to see how small I can go with the dolls I learned to make from Wendy Froud.

Ideas I have in spades but I need to get these ideas out of my head and into this world.

I think this next year is going to see more and different work from me. I need to get some of the characters in my head out.

Off to do some research.

I am grateful for clever ideas that work.

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Posted By Kathleen David on December 14, 2013

We have weather. Now we just see what the weather does to the day’s plans.

Right now we have the powdery form of snow that doesn’t really stick but blows around.

I have one fun project I am going to get done this weekend then I am onto the next less creative but must be done project.

My touchpad/mouse on the laptop has gotten almost too sensitive.

Saw the Hobbit. I have to agree with Peter that Peter Jackson is a bit of a jerk for ending it there and now we have to wait yet another year for the last section. Overall 3-D would add a lot to it but the shaky camera would probably set off my vertigo. It does need to be seen on the big screen if for nothing else but the Dragon, which is magnificent! I liked it better than the first one. This one moved better. I do admit to giggling when Sylvester McCoy came on at first because of the Five(ish) Doctors.

Saw the sneak peek for Once Upon a Time for Sunday. Steer clear if you want to be spoiler free but it is one heck of a scene. I am really not seeing how this gets wrapped up in an hour.

I have had my coffee before I started typing but this is pretty random.

Olaf the snowman would like the weather outside.

I am grateful for weather that lets us do what we want/need to do.

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Posted By Kathleen David on December 10, 2013

There was a young woman by the name of Zina Nichole Lahr who passed away way too young. I never met her but I know people who knew her and they are devastated. She has been described as one of those creative people that burned very bright. She had a phrase that is so perfect. She said that she suffered from CCD or Creative Compulsive Disorder. She would see something and start figuring out what else she could make with it. I know the feeling all too well.

Here is a video tribute a friend did for her and it gives you an idea of the young lady who has passed on.

I got a commission last night that I need to get done by next Monday. It is right in my wheelhouse and will probably take me a day or two to get it just right.

I have been hearing from various folks about how panels that I did at Dragon Con have affected them and people near them in a positive way. I have a passion for teaching and I love teaching others how to make puppets and what can be done with puppets. Any thing I know how to do, I am willing to teach others. The more people who know how to do these things, the better chance of the art of puppetry will live onto the next generation.

I am also good at coming up with creative solutions for puppets and costumes. It is part of my Creative Compulsive Disorder. I am a problem solver. It is just how my brain works. Give me something that you want to do and, if it is in my skill set, I’ll give you various ways of doing things. I am a wealth of information and I want to share. Now I just have to figure out how I can do that outside the convention setting.

I am grateful for the way my brain works.

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