I can watch the news again and not have my blood pressure go through the roof.
There is not the scandal of the day.
The government is working again kinda sorta. Yes, there are still obstructionists and whiners not making this easy but there is a feeling of hope.
And that takes my stress level way down.
We had some other stressors add last week that are gone now.
My body appreciates it a lot.
I miss kickboxing. I loved the activity and punching the heck out of the bag.
I know part of the reason I have made it to this point without having a total collapse is the walks that Caroline and I have taken and the exercise we have gotten.
I think having a job helps my mental health because it gives me other things to think about.
I am better than last week and I hope to feel even better next week.
I didn’t drink coffee until my mid 20s. Before that I was a tea drinker.
It was while I was working at the Barter Theater in Abington Virginia that I started drinking coffee. It was due to an actor who had his wife send him his favorite coffee beans and he would methodically create the most wonderful cup of coffee. By the end of my contract there, I loved coffee.
One of the perks at Borders was fresh good coffee in the breakroom and, if you brought your own cup, you could get free coffee at the café.
I became a coffee fiend. Probably a 5 to 6 cup a day drinker.
At Del Rey, we had free coffee available all day, so I didn’t slow down my caffeine consumption. Especially mid-afternoon.
This all came to a screeching halt when I became pregnant with Caroline and I cut back to once a day.
Since then, I tend to have a cup or two in the morning and avoid caffeine after 1 pm.
That did improve my sleep patterns for a while.
There are days that I make myself a big pot of coffee and drink my way through it.
I feel a little more wired that day, so I pick and choose when I want to do this.
Today seemed a good day to do this so I am on the coffee train.
My new favorite comic strips are <1> Sarah Scribbles</i> and <i>Phoebe and her Unicorn.</i>.
I really liked today’s Phoebe and her Unicorn
<img src=’https://puppetmaker.dreamwidth.org/file/71869.jpg’ alt=” title=’Phoebe and her unicorn’ />
It is true that that anticipation is greater than having a thing. I have to remember that.
I am going to start this with one of my best Mira stories.
There was a convention in Massachusetts that was in a town close to the border with Connecticut that had a cabaret in which the guests performed for the attendees.
At this same cabaret, Peter and Richard Hatch did a dramatic reading of Peter’s work entitled the Cad in the Hat which we performed as a puppet show at DragonCon.
Sylvester McCoy was there as well. He was performing with his spoons which he is amazing at.
While he was doing this, Mira came over and was talking to Peter. She had a question about publishing that she knew Peter would have the answer.
While they were talking, Sylvester had moved his act to the floor playing his spoons off of people’s heads and tables and the like.
Mira was bent over talking to Peter when Sylvester snuck over and bounced his spoons on Mira’s rump.
She stood up like a shot and turned to see Sylvester there. He winked at her. She smiled at him with a finger wag and went back talking to Peter. At this point I offered her my chair and went to sit with some other friends.
I met Mira because of Peter and his work on Babylon 5.
She was a gracious lady who was really good to her fans.
She also tended to be the best dressed at the convention with the most amazing collection of shawls and wraps.
We were convention buddies and would catch-up when we saw each other.
She had great respect for Peter and his writings.
I will miss her. We now have a Mira sized hole in our universe.
Her role as Delenn on Babylon 5 honestly could only be done by her. She gave the role such wonderful richness. With her accent, she sounded to Americans as alien and other worldly. Her character meant a lot to the fans of the show.
From SpaceCon where we celebrated 20 years of Babylon 5.
(For the VI: on your left is Bill Mumy wearing a blue button-down shirt and black jacket. In the middle is Mira with an orange, yellow, and red patterned shawl wrapped around her. On your right is Bruce Boxleitner wearing a blue shirt. He is a head taller than Bill and Mira.)
I have work today in the middle of the day rather than the crack of dawn.
Yesterday I finished my section. I am rather proud of that since I had a lot to work through. I might have a few bits and pieces today, but the big part of the job is done.
We watched the inauguration. It was dignified and at a safe distance. The speeches were good, and the poet was amazing.
I am enjoying the Bernie memes. I understand why he dressed like that. He is seventy-nine years old so is very susceptible to temperature. And those were awesome mittens.
I feel like I am in less of a fight or flight response to the news. But I am waiting for yet another shoe to drop.
I have discovered the Great Pottery Throwdown and am enjoying learning about pottery and ceramics.
Disney + will have all five seasons of the original Muppet Show for streaming on February 19th. I am so happy. Now if we can get the Jim Henson hour in the mix along with Muppets Tonight, I will be able to see things I have not seen in years and have fond memories of.
The Storyteller is available on Amazon Prime both versions.
The space bar on my keyboard is acting up again. I need to get a can of air to clean whatever is gunking up the works.
Right now, I have ideas for plushies, puppets, costumes, dolls, and clothing.
Then there are all the writing ideas I have.
Right now, I am working on some of my PhDs (Projects half done) to clear the decks for the next project.
I have a slightly wacky idea of selling just puppet bodies. They are called Blankkets and then the buyer can embellish them any way they want. I have to figure out if there is any interest.
Then there are the anime related ideas that I want to get done before Anime NYC especially if we can get a table.
I am sorting out a way to display my work if we ever go to a convention again.
Then there is my website that really need both a revise and new things on it.
I feel a bit paralyzed by all that I want/need to do creatively.
I will continue with the project I was working on last then move onto the next.
Baby steps until I get my momentum going so I am not doing everything last minute.
