No Strings Attached

Posted By Kathleen David on March 6, 2020

Today was thrown a bit up in the air because Caroline is not in the best of health after getting back from her Robot competition. It is not presenting at the dreaded virus with the beer name but some other bug she picked up. So we will be off to the Doctor this morning to see what we need to do next for her and get that lovely note that the school insists on even more so these days.

Before that I am going to get some supplies in case it is recommended that we will self-quarantine but I am expecting that is not going to happen. This will also allow us to work on our various projects over the weekend. 

Back from the Doctor. She has laryngitis and an infection. Strep, Flu, and the beer virus have all been tested for and eliminated. She is to stay isolated until Monday and under orders not to talk.

I am grateful for things that make my daughter feel better.

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Posted By Kathleen David on March 5, 2020

Today is my mother’s birthday and I am so very happy that I can call her and talk to her.

This year is going to be a big year of changes for my parents. Last year they came to some decisions and this year they are making those happen in as timely a fashion as they can. I am over here cheering them on.

There is so much I have learned from her over the years. 

She is my second informed opinion and a number of times the first call when it comes to medical questions. She was the person who told me to get Peter to the hospital NOW when he was having his stroke. She has helped me understand what medical people are telling me. When Caroline was a baby I would worry that she was sick. I would call my mom and she asked if Peter thought he was sick if the answer was No then I was told to listen to Peter which worked because when Caroline got her first real fever I knew that she was really sick.

I would not be able to make the things I make if not for my mother. She taught me how to use a sewing machine and sew on a button along with repairing tears and putting on knee and elbow patches when needed. A lot of my summer clothing was made by her. She would let me pick the fabric with some serious guidance and then make me clothing that I lived in. She repaired beloved stuffed animals so that we could continue to love them. When I wanted to learn embroidery, it was a fad at the time in the 70s, she helped me learn the stitches and let me embroider my clothing. 

I get a warm feeling every time I cook a meal and it tastes the way that Mom made it. She made sure we had the basics down before we left the house. She is a gourmet cook who continues to add to her repertoire. I have friends who still say her mac & cheese is the bet. We had crepes, beef bourguignon, fondue, and chicken something. I can remember sitting with her watching Julia Child on PBS and her trying some of those recipes. She has a very beat up copies of the two volume set Mastering the Art of French Cooking and the Joy of Cooking. She is also an amazing baker as many know from her cookies at Christmas along with her breads and cinnamon rolls. 

I didn’t get her green thumb but I do know how to take care of plants and start a garden from scratch. Every year at the beach we feast on home grown tomatoes which taste the way tomatoes should. Her garden has been on the Druid Hills Spring tour more than once. 

She has supported all her children over the years in different ways and we all appreciate it. She knows us very well and treats us as individuals which she has been doing since we were born. There was no cookie-cutter parenting in our house. And I think that is one of the many reasons that I have such a good relationship with my brothers and sister. She made sure we knew we were individual with our own likes and dislikes and it was OK not to like what someone else liked this included some foods but we always had to try it before dismissing it. 

She and my father are my shining example of how a marriage works. They presented a united front as parents. They were our parents not our best friends and had our best interests at heart. If Mom said No that was that. They expressed their love for each other in so many ways. I learned from them that marriage is a partnership and there is give and take throughout it. That supporting your spouse and helping them live their best lives is what you do. It is a marathon not a sprint and they are still running hand in hand.

A long time ago I remember being at a convention with my brothers and sister and we were in a large group of friends just sitting around and talking about everything under the sun. The topic go onto parents and a number of people did not have the best relationship with their and were venting about it. The circle got to me and I said, “I got nothing to say. I get along great with my parents.” Sean, Sheila, and Patrick nodded and the conversation went on to another topic. 

And I believe that is why I have the confidence that I have in myself and my worth because my parents believed in me. I was taught that women could do any job a man did. Women were equal to men and should not think less of themselves or their opinions. My mother showed me that with her life and what she still does.

Happy Birthday Mom! Hope the day brings you lots of lovely memories.

I am grateful that my mother is the person she is.

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Posted By Kathleen David on March 4, 2020

Today is my friend Glenn Hauman’s birthday. He is the webmaster for Peter’s site and runs ComicMix among may other things. He is one of those humans that you are very glad that you have in your life.

I am still working on my secret project. It is interesting having to look at this as a static piece when my stuff tends to be a little more kinetic.

There are times that fandom does not disappoint and other times it does nothing but disappoint. I know I have complained about the sense of entitlement that some very vocal members have and express very loudly. I have found that more people are saying, “Oh I really like X but I am not in the fandom which is crazy.” Can we agree to let the creators tell the story they want to tell without being double guessed on for every fuzz shot of something that is incomplete? No? OK, I thought I would ask.

But there are other times that I see fandom at its best. The joy of it can be amazing. The fan art and fiction along with the discussion of that thing we love. I run a Good Omens costuming group on Facebook and we have kept the topic limited but there is a richness to the material we see. Now I have put myself out there as the organizer for the Good Omens group in the DragonCon Parade. That will be a chunk of time that I have no problem giving as I want to walk down Peachtree with my fellow fans celebrating our fandom. Any Good Omens cosplayers want to join us, get in touch. Yes, I will be walking with the puppets.

Our next convention is in less than a month which is Heliosphere. I am crossing my fingers that we will not be impacted by health concerns. 

My mind is not focused today. I am going several directions at once. So I am going to use it to my advantage and just go from one to the other as my whimsey takes me. Now there is a puppet I should build a Lord Peter and Bunter. Maybe as animals or people or…. See this is what my mind is doing this morning.

I will say that I am getting more done these days. I don’t feel paralyzed but can get my brain to allow me to do something rather than throwing up my hands and admitting defeat.

I just want to keep that trend going and I think I can do it.

I am grateful for strawberries. I had forgotten how tasty they can be.

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Posted By Kathleen David on March 3, 2020

Short entry to keep the streak going.

Will show the results next month.

I am grateful for battery run lights.

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Posted By Kathleen David on March 1, 2020

It is windy this morning. I have watched things being blown down the street. I have to go check my garbage can lids to make sure I don’t have to go searching for them. 

It is also really sunny today. There are no clouds in the sky which is the first day in a while this has happened. Today is going to be one of the cooler days of this week. My crocuses are sprouting and the trees look a bit confused. We have not had enough days of consecutive cold to kill some beetles who are very harmful to our trees. We are not out of winter right now but nor are we in it.

Caroline is traveling home today. We are looking forward to seeing her. Her cat is going to be so happy that she is back.

Peter and I saw Onward yesterday. What a lovely film. Not what I was expecting from the trailers but a solid film about family and what family do for each other. This one had a lot of emotional tension in it as the stakes are rather high. Take tissues because it is a tear jerker. And good luck figured out where John Ratzenberger is in it. I only knew because of the credits and once I had that I could hear his voice in that role.

Today is an at home day for various projects we are both working on. Tomorrow we will deal with the world except the spring training baseball game that we will be watching at 1 pm. 

Tonight is also the final episode of this season of Doctor Who. I think I will do a New Who Review for the whole season as it was so much of one story through the episodes. Overall I have been impressed with what they have surprised me with and how they have woven in so many elements from classic Who.

Every morning since the beginning of the year I have been writing in a notebook before starting my web log. Some days it is more and some days less but it is my starting point for each day. Before I do anything else I write there. It is also there I have been practicing my cursive trying to shake lose my brain for the rest of the day. I have managed to keep it going for two months. My goal is now to get to three months. It has been helpful for me to be able to see patterns of behavior and gives me data so I can improve on me.

I have been trying to keep up here as well. Not going to be perfect but I am not too unhappy about my current days in a row. I have a feeling some entries are going to be shorter as I am working on a short story and my mystery project. 

I am grateful for consistency in my life.

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