Distracted By Something Shiny

10 Years - Double Digits!

2020-05-14T03:55:28Z

It is my Livejournal ten-year anniversary. Ten years! It seems like forever and also never ago. I sure wish this place was what it used to be, but alas everyone has gone and spread out across so many social media sites that it is impossible to have kept everyone together. Still, I am so grateful to have had this place when I needed it the most — when I was getting sober. And then for all the years after. And for all the people who made this place what it used to be, and what it still is, I say “thank you”. Getting a Livejournal brought me back to fandom and I had not realized how much I missed it or how much I needed it. Fandom truly can be family, and with so many of you, I found that to be true. I am forever grateful to The BFF for setting this up for me, this place here what I never knew I needed or was missing in my life. And, of course, to all of you, thank you and happy anniversary — not just to me, but to all of us who have been here through my ten amazing years. Stay safe out there.

comments

Cruise, Day Two.

2020-03-16T03:08:37Z

March 1, 2020...Day 2: Day 2 started out perfect, even though it was super early in the morning, because I woke up sailing through the middle of the Caribbean with T standing next to my bed grinning like a lunatic. The kids ordered me room service, because that’s “fancy” and “what rich people do” - & it’s all inclusive on Disney cruises. Then T was insisting he needed to go to the pool *immediately*, but when he put on his swimsuit it didn’t fit, so we all went down to the store. I got water shoes because L explained to me all the things they are good for and I decided she made a good points. We also bought magnets for our room door, to decorate it. Also I called for a pool lift, but they said it can only go in the adult pool. I swore it was portable and could go to any pool - that was a selling point of Disney cruises for me. Needless to say I was very, very bummed. We went down to the family pool though and I lounged outside and I definitely got some nice sun. Plus there’s a movie screen by the pool, so I watched The Incredibles while I got sun.

( Under the cut for spaceage. )

Then we went to a game show, but you had to be able to do stuff in English so the kids could not play it, but we watched and it actually was pretty funny. It was called “So You Think You Know Your Family” and they pulled a parent and a kid from the audience, four sets, and have them compete against each other, kind of like The Newlywed Game. That ended at 11pm, we were party animals! T was still insisting that he wasn’t tired, but I think he was the first one of us to fall sleep, LOL. That was a huge day and that wasn’t even the biggest day we had on the cruise!

comments

Cruise, Day One.

2020-03-15T02:14:42Z

I have been home one week, and I took notes everyday, so gonna try to stick with posting one of these for every day of the cruise. We will see if I stick with it. Photos to come once my sibs & I get our acts together & do a Dropbox share with each other. Also T is The Canadian Nephew & he’s 8, & L is The Canadian Niece & she’s 10,

February 29, 2020...Day One: I’m gonna be straight up you guys, Day One started at 3 AM when I had to get up to get ready to go to the airport - thanks to Uncle B for taking us at four in the morning. Also props to Delta airline for being so disability friendly, helping us out so well, and not damaging either of my mobility devices. I only had to tighten the screws on my walker when I got it back and my transport chair was just fine. I hear Delta is pretty good about these things, but I was still nervous because 29 wheelchairs a day get lost or broken traveling by air. Anyways I only had four hours of sleep and then I went for 20 hours straight. I had a little in and out dozy nap on the plane and had another one in the early evening, but for most of that time I was upright. So I’ll be honest that my body totally revolted in the middle of the night, for about three hours straight everything inside me just broke down. But that’s okay, because in the morning on day 2, I woke up and we were sailing through the middle of the ocean and T was standing next to my bed with the biggest grin on his face just staring at me. Which is kind of how he looked all day on the first day. He just kept saying “I can’t believe we are finally on the cruise! I can’t believe we’re on vacation with you!” And L kept saying “I’m so happy to see you in real life, we only ever get to see you on the screen, we hardly see you in real life.” The TV monitors on the bus ride to the port didn’t work, and I lamented that we didn’t have any cartoons to watch, and L said, “That’s okay, we don’t need cartoons,we are just talking to each other the whole time.” Which was true, L and I sat next to each other on the bus ride from the airport and we talked to each other for the whole 45 minutes straight and that was kind of amazing too. It’s the little things. I was so happy to be with them.

( Under the cut for spaceage. )

I’m going to be straight up though you guys, the dance party, the ocean, Mickey Mouse, warm weather... none of it was anything to that moment in the Orlando airport when we were sitting waiting and then all of a sudden we saw two children running towards us with their arms outstretched. That was my favorite moment of the first day. I’ve never had anyone running towards me with their arm outstretched, so happy to see me they have to run to hug me. I seriously love these kids, oh my God. I love the feeling all my niblings give me, to be honest. I want to marry that feeling.

comments

Bleach-Baby!

2020-02-27T20:41:41Z

Why yes, I am going on another cruise! This time with Sis, Canadian Brother, Canadian Niece (age 10) & Canadian Nephew (age 8). It’s another Disney Star Wars Cruise - (the kids are both super into Star Wars) - only this time instead of the Virgin Islands, we sail west to Mexico, Grand Cayman, Jamaica & Bahamas. 7 days of sun, I can’t wait! Just 2 more days! Anyways, my hair... From FB, hence my begging if anyone knows where my hairstylist went, lol...

What do you guys think of the new hair?! I’m beach-ready! Vacation time! Tbh I was iffy at first on the hair. I had to work w a new girl, mine left JcPenney. (If any of the places you go have gotten a 30-something tattooed awesome lady named Lindsey on their roster in the past 9 months or so, lmk so I can check & see if that’s my girl, I need her back!)!!!

( Pics & ramblings under the cut. )

Vacation pics when I get back!

comments

Talkin Bout My Girl.

2020-02-26T02:46:19Z

I let the dog I babysat last week use the cat-video game on my phone, CatSnaps, which takes a selfie everytime they touch the moving mouse. She took 4 good pics outta 50, lol. But that’s true of all selfie taking, yeah? (The final 2 pics are ones I took). Her name is Cheena & she loves to fetch, loves it. Will play until one of us - her or me - passes out from exhaustion, lol. I introduced her to video games on my iPad a few years ago, I have a ton of games for the cats. After that first time, her dad texted me saying, “What did you teach my dog? I can’t get any work done...she thinks all screens are for video games now!”

I always tell Sis that if Cheena’s dad - who is Sis’ boss - dies, I will fight his sister in court for custody of Cheena! She’s my best girl! Diggle does not do bad with his jealousy, but he *will* take all the toys from her because, “These are my toys, Cheena. Even though I have never actually played with this spider toy before today, now that you have it, I want it. Bring your own toys, omg.” Fur!bbs are the best.

comments

Book Birthday!

2020-02-10T02:16:00Z

From Westword Books FB - it’s my book-birthday!
***

Today is a very special day - Sunday, February 9, 2020 is the one year anniversary of our first book release, Terrific Tails: Stories From A Pet Guardian. In publishing circles, this is called a “book-birthday”, because to writers, their stories are like their children. Which is why you never ask an author to pick their favorite work, any more than you’d ask a parent to pick their favorite child - (even if we all know they have one!).

We checked in with our author, Adie Weston, to ask her how she feels about it all one year later.

“To be honest, it’s still surreal to think that my words are out there in the form of a book. I don’t know if that feeling will ever go away.”

As for what she’s been working on lately, Adie says, “I admit to taking a break from Book 2 over the holidays to write a few short stories for my niblings. Every writer has to have priorities and for me, my monkeys are always my priority.”

We prodded just a little to see if we could get anything out of her about this so-called Book 2.

She laughs. “The working title is Roller Kids and that’s all you’re getting out of me!”

And then we broke protocol and asked the forbidden question - does she have a favorite child?

“Of my original work, obviously Terrific Tails is my favorite. I adore the subject matter of course, as well the way the project brought my family together. And it certainly has been my biggest labor of love. But in my late teens and early 20s, I went through a phase of writing short plays and there are a few of those I’m still quite proud of.”

We asked her if she had any closing thoughts on Terrific Tails’ first birthday.

“Just how grateful I am to everyone who helped me with this project, especially my older brother and sister. And how grateful I am to every single person who bought and read my freshman book. I’m so happy I was able to do this, not just *for* my Grandma, but *because* of her.” She smiles softly and adds, “Miss you, Grandma.”

You can celebrate the one year release of Terrific Tails: Stories From A Pet Guardian by buying a copy on Amazon today!
***

Can’t believe it’s been a year! Wish I was further along on Book 2, but also...omg, I have a book-birthday! That fact alone is mind-blowing! Thanks to all of my LJ writer friends for your support - wouldn’t be here w/o the fanfic community, for sure.

comments

I Chose Life.

2020-01-10T23:24:11Z

It was 10 years ago today that I looked down at the pills laid out in front of me and made a life-altering decision. I had been trying for months to scale back, ween myself, anything I could to get off of the pills. I talked to someone in my family who had gone through something similar for advice. But no matter what I did, I just seemed to keep digging myself into a bigger hole. I couldn’t call my doctor out of fear of being blacklisted for any future medications that I might, and most definitely would, need as my degenerative disease got worse. But I needed to do something. I *had* to do something. I was staring down a very black hole.

On this day 10 years ago a little voice inside of me spoke up and told me that the next choice I made was going to be between my future and my end. My life and my death. And so I chose.

I chose Life.

Today is my 10 years sober.

comments

‘Twas The Night Before Christmas...

2019-12-25T06:17:40Z

The stockings were hung with great care...in this chair.

Because the magnetic hooks over the fireplace won’t hold their weight. Let’s see how many toys are left in the fur bbs stockings when we get up - they have a habit of getting into their stockings without permission. Oh, children. Niblings presents are handed out, Dad’s & Bestie. It’s just Sistas & Fur bbs left under the tree. And now Santa & her elf, Pippin - who insisted on over-seeing the arranging & photos - are about to settle down for a long winter’s nap. Probably not sugarplums dancing in my head though...more like my regular dreams about tornados & that place I worked in high school. Idek.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good...Zzzzzzz.

comments

Perfect Christmas Gift!

2019-12-13T01:46:31Z

Just a reminder from Ripley - the best early Christmas gift I ever got - that if you’re looking for that last minute perfect gift for someone, Terrific Tails: Stories From A Pet Guardian is still available on Amazon. A pet lover? A book lover? A supporter of charity? (yep, proceeds still go the local Humane Society). Terrific Tails makes a great gift *and* has a chapter about how Ripley came to us just before Christmas, like the perfect little gift *he* is. Come on, buy one last gift for someone who deserves it - do it for cats like Ripley!

Terrific Tails

comments

I’m On It!

2019-11-16T02:42:07Z

I’m so on it this year! Christmas shopping is done. Most of it has arrived & is already wrapped. Just waiting for the tree to go up the day after Thanksgiving so I can put them where they belong. I’m still waiting on 3 gifts (have the wrapping paper cut & ready for them!), as well as 3 stocking stuffers for the fur bbs & 2 stocking stuffers for Sis, to arrive. Usually I do all my shopping on the 1st of December, but last year because I knew I would be laid up in December from my November hip surgery, and unable to open packages & wrap things, I did it all in October & I really liked just having it done with so early. So I guess this is how I roll now. Go me!

Things of note: Sis had to throw out a bunch of her geek tees because a certain someone /coughhiccupcough/ put holes in them all because he clings to her like a red panda. And she just went out & bought a stack of cheap, boring, plain tees to replace them. But the next week one of the places I buy geek tees from had a sale, so I went wild & bought her a stack of awesome tees & they’ve been waiting for Christmas in my closet since September. Then oddly she sent me a tee she saw online & was like, “Get me this for Christmas!” so I got her that tee too. I also threw in a how-to make-your-own fairy-house book because she keeps saying she wants a fairy garden next year.

The Nephew is 13, and while still a big geek, is also starting to develop his own personality & ‘cool’-vibe. His dad said he wanted band tees for Christmas, so I found a sneaky way to get a list from TN of his fav bands. The Beastie Boys was on the list. You guys, BBoys totally shaped me as a tiny human person when I was TN’s age. I had multiple BBoys shirts in junior high & high school. Obviously that’s what I ended up getting him, a No Sleep Til Brooklyn tee. I’m so overwhelmed with pride about how he’s gonna be walking around sporting a Beastie Boys tee as the coolest kid in his school, even if those other kids don’t know it (they never recognized how cool I was at 13 in my junior high either, pffft). Anyways, super proud auntie.

I got my little brother, our resident handyman that he is, a magnetic wrist cuff to stick his nails & screws too so he doesn’t drop them all the time while on a job. And Sis & I went in together to get Dad an iron works art piece, a Welcome sign for the house with a black lab dog (Dad’s current & former dogs being black labs), that was made by the little girl (now 37 year old woman) who lived next door when we were growing up & who spent nearly as much time with us as she did her own family. Dad is gonna be ecstatic to have a piece of her work.

But my best find was the dog toy for Diggle, a talking Mr Bill plushie. I’m keeping it a secret from Sis because she loves Mr Bill. And yes, when you squeeze him, he says Oh Noooo. I texted a photo to Sis’ college roommate who assured me it’d be the best present Sis, er Diggle, gets for Christmas.

Can’t wait for Christmas now - my fav part has always been buying gifts for others. If you wanna make someone’s Christmas special, think of picking some stuff off of one of Little Miss Flint’s Christmas drive wishlist to help out the kids of Flint, MI. They were already one of the poorest cities in the country, even before their water turned poison. Help them have a magical Christmas!

https://www.maricopeny.com/help-me-give-back

comments

Favorite Night Of The...What, Snow?!

2019-11-06T01:38:12Z

Dismal Halloween this year. So cold, like 35F, windy af, wet. And then halfway through trick-or-treats, around 7, it started snowing. Ugh. Last year we had 150-200 kids. This year was 15-20 kids. And for some reason Sis bought a bag of candy where half continued nuts - which isn’t a good idea anyways since something like 40% of kids these days have nut allergies - but I hate things with nuts in them (I like nuts, I hate biting into something & having pieces of something else inside, idk, I’m weird about it) & Sis is watching her sugar intake, so like half the giant bag of candy ended up going into her office even though everyone there was like, “No don’t bring candy into the office,” a policy I think Sis actually started! Anyways I sat in the big picture windows in my outfit, but only one person noticed and it was a dad, though at least he thought I looked cool. Bummer night.

Though my costume was sweet!

But...the weekend before Sis, BFF & I had taken The Niece to her first convention! (Her brother is mad she got to a con before he did, even though his first con will be a comic con and this was just a family Halloween convention, there were lots of cosplayers there though). There was a Killer Car Show, which I was psyched about. There was free candy at every booth almost, which TN was psyched about. I ran into an awesome cool vendor I met this summer at the Festival of Oddities (you may need pics from that at some point to fully understand the crowd and the fare at something called Fesival of Oddities). I may be nursing a small crush on her, plus her art is amazing. The League of Justice cosplayers were there, a charity group that cosplays at events & runs to raise money for various things, and does children’s hospital visits etc. Their Joker let the children kill him over and over and was just as dramatic about it as Joker would be. Though TN was way more blown away that she met Poison Ivy and then Ivy saw her later and called her by name, “Hi, Jojo!” and waved as she walked past. No, that’s not TN’s name but the night before we took her to Target and she got a JoJo Siwa costume, some kids’ popstar I’ve never heard of. But a couple other kids there noticed her costume and shouted, “She’s Jojo Siwa!” and TN was maybe the proudest she’s ever been in her life. “They might think I’m the real Jojo Siwa!” She made everyone call her Jojo all day. They also had a simulation of the Monsters Inc scare training room, that TN & Sis did together to practice scaring kids in their beds like the MInc characters. They had a recreation of the Greedo scene from Star Wars where you played Han Solo’s role...I am forbidden from showing you the video of Sis doing it. There was a magician that had all the kids gathered around his booth while he did tricks. There was a creature creator creating on the spot.

It was lots of fun. I dressed as a creepy little ghost girl with her creepy little doll, and this zombie lady, who was one of the heads for the zombie walk taking place the next day, literally, I mean literally, begged me to come back for the walk. “We need you and this costume tomorrow!” I mean, look at her makeup and outfit? I was honored someone with this skill level liked my outfit. I didn’t wanna kill her buzz by telling her we couldn’t come back because we had my uncle’s memorial the next day.

( Pics of the Halloween con under the cut. )

Anyways, it was an all around fun Halloween convention. I heard about it on FB last year after the fact, so I’d been waiting all year for it. It was worth the wait and even better for taking TN. Hope your Halloweens had better weather than mine, or at least that you got to a fun convention!

comments

Rest Well, Uncle John.

2019-10-24T21:33:43Z

On Sunday my family held a celebration of life for my Uncle John. He left a hole in this family & I am heart-crushed at the loss. I am eternally grateful though, that not only did he get a chance to read my book before he passed, but that he also thoroughly enjoyed it! It gave me a lot of pride to have his stamp of approval. I was literally busting the day my aunt sent me this pic of Uncle John reading my book. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Rest well, Uncle John. Rest well.

But the other thing his memorial had me thinking of - the thing I wished I’d told him - was that his fight in life was an inspiration to me. And I don’t mean against the cancer - though that too - but I mean through every struggle he faced since Day 1 and his ability to get & stay sober, to turn his life around...it inspired me beyond measure when I was getting my own life back on track. I’m not one to talk about emotional family things, so when I get asked on my inspiration for staying sober, I say things like Robert Downey Jr - and that’s true too - but also you, Uncle John. Always you. So thanks for that. I’ll miss you.

comments

My Feelings!

2019-09-30T00:41:46Z

Tweeted this earlier, need you all to know my pain...
* Just watched the s8 premiere of Chicago Fire & I cant. I can’t. My boyfriend. Omg. I’m just laying here sobbing & making terrible whiny noises & I’m glad my sister is not home. “Brother, I will be with you always.”
Also I think the shot from where Severide & Kidd were having dinner was right on the same strip where my hotel was for Star Wars Celebration.
And what, the Days Of Our Lives dude is on the show now? He’s a funny character but when’s Brett coming back? *

comments

Wake Me When September Ends.

2019-09-22T02:48:21Z

A few posts from my FB this last week. It’s so weird to think it’s been two years since Mom passed, yet a part of me thinks she’s in that house down the street still, surrounded by her stack of used books, sitting on the sofa with Winston. It’s too surreal to think they’re not there. Also, I still think Grandma & Grandpa are out at the farm, playing gin rummy for nickels and making sandwiches for their grandkids, gum in the bottom kitchen drawer and Pepsi in the fridge. Dad said they’ve got an offer on the farm and they’re gonna accept it. He managed to buy a small portion to go hunting on, but the rest is being sold, including the house. I’m glad, in that it won’t be sitting empty, dark & alone anymore...but sad too, because it will no longer be The Weston farm. Until Sis & I bought this little house together, the farm was the one place I thought of as Home, far far more than my childhood home. So September has been a strange month of letting go.

( Anyway, my posts... )

If you read all of that, thank you.

comments

I Went Off.

2019-09-18T03:16:06Z

I went off on FB when I saw this article. And then copied my rant to Twitter. Because why not. Have yet to see how it goes over, other than getting a Like from my dad. ;) He likes all my original posts, even when it’s something we disagree on, because he says, ‘but you write your opinions so well!’.

My venting: “I get that this is an art piece, but I hate stuff like this. Listen, technology is a gd godsend, okay? It gives me a social life when I’m homebound, connected me with writing groups that have improved my writing & helped me get published, it lets me help disabled folks in need of support & advocacy in my free time, it lets me play Dungeons & Dragons & have a relationship with my niblings who live in a whole other country.

People that call out photos of others with devices in their hand as, “lonely or withdrawn or detached” or whatever, without knowing the context of the photos, annoy me to no end. If these photos were real & not art pieces, and they were lambasted for not “putting away their screens”, - as I have seen time & time again, ironically on social media - I’d say, “How do you know what they’re doing?” Those bro-dudes could be looking up how to safely start a charcoal grill. That couple on the porch could be frantically texting loved ones trying to get an update on a sick grandparent. Those boys on the couch could be playing an online video game *together*. That little girl could be watching a cartoon that is teaching her colors with a parent, only to ask, “How many shades of blue are there?” & now her parent is looking it up for her.

I get it’s Art, okay. But it’s infuriating Art, because it reinforces the notion that tech separates us, makes us farther from each other. It can. But it can also educate us, bring us closer together & improve our lives. And articles (and art) saying differently, just makes the person seem like an old disgruntled grandpa waving a broom at all the kids to get off his lawn. It’s 2019, y’all - tech isn’t going anywhere.”

I hate giving QZ the click for this lazy & uninspired article, but whatever, here you go:
https://qz.com/523746/a-photographer-edits-out-our-smartphones-to-show-our-strange-and-lonely-new-world/

comments

Soul, Tribute.

2019-08-17T01:28:26Z

Today is the one year anniversary of Aretha Franklin’s death. She passed August 16, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan at the age of 76. Aretha changed the course of music. She changed the course of women in music. She changed the course of black women in music. And for me - and so many other women - her songs were anthems, getting us through too many troubles. My only complaint - as someone whose main musical gift is harmonizing - is that I could never sing along with her very well. How does one harmonize with that powerful voice?! Lol.

Anyways, right after she died, I did this little piece in my sketchbook. It’s not stellar or anything - I need to work on my fingers for sure - but I just felt the need to do a small tribute to her in my own way. Thought today was a good day to share it.

RIP, my queen.

comments

I Know, I Know....

2019-08-14T00:25:22Z

I know, I missed the entire summer on here. I missed my birthday post. It has been hectic. Amazing. But hectic. Energy allowing, I'll be back soon to tell you all about it. But for now, I just need a place to drop these cover arts for some fanfic The Nephew wrote when he was six...because we are posting it to AO3. That's right, The Nephew - who you have 'known' since he was four years old - just got his own AO3 account. I have to monitor it, because his parents would freak if they found out I set him up on social media and wasn't paying attention. But still, it's exciting. Right now he just has the 2 stories he wrote when he was little - he mostly writes original stuff - but he has ideas for some stuff and a few things he has hand-written that will need to be typed up, but yeah...The Nephew is on AO3. He is "MightyAahz" and if ya'll could leave him comments, like "I can tell you had a great grasp of plot, even at age 6!" it would mean so much to me...and to him. I'll get his fic up there Wednesday. Thanks, fandom family!

comments

Special Day Of All Special Days.

2019-05-14T01:02:10Z

Today is my ninth LJ anniversary. I’ve been journaling via the Internet nine years. Usually I’d do a look back or meme or answer questions or something, bc getting an LJ was one of the most momentous moments in, not just my fandom life, but my whole life. Honestly, in saving my life. I can’t say I’d have stayed sober without it. But the thing is, the day I got my LJ was also important for another reason and that reason was that it was The Nephew’s fourth birthday. He was such a little guy then. And now he’s a big guy, bc today he is 13 years old. So despite it being my own anniversary, I wanna take today to talk about The Nephew.

This past Saturday The Nephew & I went to the movies together, as a little birthday fun for the two of us - (& bc I wanted to see Endgame again, lol). Now you might think, “Ok, don’t you go to the movies at least once a month, what’s the big deal?” Well, the ‘big deal’ is that TN took me to the movies, just the two of us, for the first time ever. I mean, let’s be real, I paid, lol. And Sis drove & dropped us off. But TN? He played caregiver the whole time. He handled my wheelchair, getting the snacks & drinks, getting us into the theater, transferring me in & out of seats, took care of our garbage, picked up things I dropped on the floor - (which, tbh, is a big part of caring for me, I drop a lot of stuff on the floor, lol). He even reminded me to turn off my phone - after we took a selfie, ofc. You know when we went on spring break this year, he handled my wheelchair all weekend, we stayed in our own room together, we snuck off to the arcade together. And he did so good!

And now we’ve been to the movies alone, together, and that’s a huge deal bc it means freedom for us both! No more hoping someone has time to take us to do fun things, now all we need are rides dropping us off/picking us up. Movies? Can do! Arcade? Can do! Mall? Can do! Out to eat? Can do! I mean, it’s not like we can go any damn time we please, like during the day in the week this summer when all our rides are at work, but still...it’s the point that we have the options. And we have those options bc TN has grown into an amazing & responsible young man, who takes good care of me, listens to me, behaves in public & is all around respectful. While also being hella fun, ofc. (He even fixed the back of my hair for me when I got chair-hair from the theater seat headrest - tho he refused to just spit in his hand to pat it down, bc apparently that’s gross).

I can’t believe he’s 13. I can’t believe he’s this grown up. I will always be a little nostalgic for 4yr old TN...but this new young man he’s grown into is gonna be a whole different adventure for us all & I for one am excited as hell to go on it with him! (As long as he doesn’t turn into a stereotypical teen who doesn’t have any time for his aunties & is embarrassed to be seen with us. But that could never happen right? I mean, we are a joy to be around). Happy 13th Birthday, monkey! I love you 3,000.

comments

Happy Mother & Mother Figures Day!

2019-05-13T01:11:08Z

A few Mother’s Day posts from me...

Mom:

You know what I was thinking about the other day? Little Thinker tapes. Who remembers these? Mom bought us a bunch. You listened along with the cassette as the narrator described the journey you were on - “Our submarine is diving down to the bottom of the ocean. What’s that we see? A shark! There are 440 different kinds of sharks. What sort of shark is this? Can you draw a picture of the shark we see?“. Then you would pause the cassette and draw a picture of the shark and then push ‘play’ when you were ready to keep going. Mom would put us at the kitchen table while she did laundry, dishes, made food. And when we were done with our pictures, before we pushed ‘play’ on our adventure, we would show her what we had drawn. It didn’t matter how terrible the drawing was, she always found something to compliment - staying inside the lines, color choices, imaginative type of shark/whatever. She would enthusiastically tell us how amazing it was and then - even though we all knew, us and her, what came next - she would ask us what would happen next on our adventure, as if she didn’t have the tape memorized by heart. That was the kind of Mom she was. And I miss her. Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!

Sis:

A second Mother’s Day post from me...there was a little contest on a FB group I follow to write about your mother for Mother’s Day. Like so many on the post, I chose to write about my second mother figure. In my case, my big sister.

My sister has always been a caretaker to me. My parents told her when I was born - & she was 5yrs old - that it was her job to take care of the baby. I came home from the hospital on my third day. My parents laid me in my crib & promptly passed out with exhaustion. And then I began to cry. And cry. And cry. My sister - who had a beloved Betsy Clark doll - crept over to my crib & put her baby doll in next to me. The story goes that I immediately stopped crying. That was the first time my sister took care of me, but it was far from the last. I’m disabled & when I reached the point of needing a caregiver - 27 yrs after she gave me her baby doll - my sister didn’t hesitate to suggest we live together. And these days she’s my best friend. And that baby doll - that I dubbed DD as a toddler bc I could not say the word Baby? Well, I still sleep with her every single night. She’s on her 8th body & missing most of her hair, but she’s as much a comfort to me today as she was the day my sister gave her to me. So you see why I took this chance to write about my sister.

Me & my baby doll, DD, circa 1979.

Random internet pic of a Betsy Clark doll, showing what DD would have looked like when she started out as Sis’ doll.

This is my DD today, looking as loved as she is.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms, big sisters, aunts, female caregivers, foster moms, female teachers, female mentors & mother figures out there!

comments

May The Fourth.

2019-05-04T18:06:01Z

Once again I have to thank Canadian Nephew for the use of his lightsaber for this photo. I mean, he didn’t *know* I was using it - I had just bought him this as his souvenir from my cruise, but then I was getting photos done on the cruise in front of the Star Wars backdrop & I thought, “I need a lightsaber! I’m borrowing CN’s that I haven’t even given him yet.” And I ripped that packaging open & borrowed his lightsaber. When I told him later why it wasn’t in the package, he yelled, “Hey! What the Heck!” HaLol

As always, fellow Rebels, May the Fourth be with you.

comments

Lost To The Stars.

2019-05-03T01:30:39Z

I have not even posted about it yet, but in April, just a few weeks ago, I got to go to Disney’s annual blowout Star Wars Celebration convention. It was pretty expensive for any autographs & photo ops, so aside from the group photo w my girls & Greg Grunberg, I selected just one person to meet. And it was Peter Mayhew, the original Chewbacca himself. And I am so glad I did. Because Peter Mayhew has passed away.

He had had a stroke or something, before, it seemed like. But he seemed so pleased to be there, goofing it up for the cameras, intently listening to his fans tell him what he & Chewbacca mean to them, messing around with the Chewie replica head they set out on his table. I hope he was glad to have gotten to participate in one last celebration of an icon. *I* am sure glad he was able to be there. It fulfilled a lifetime dream of mine, to meet him.

Star Wars was the beginning of a world of imagination & possibilities for me. It showed me the stars. It taught me loyalty & friendship & courage & hope. And at the center of that, drawing me in, was my first love, Chewbacca. I was gonna marry him, you know. I was five - I thought marriage would be holding his furry hand while we walked, laying on him like a warm fuzzy mattress & blankie all in one, and having him carry me around when my knees hurt. In hindsight, I think I had a pretty good grasp on what marriage should be. And to meet the man behind my Chewie? Well, that was truly amazing. It’s a bittersweet thing I’m feeling.

The stars will shine a little brighter tonight, now that Peter has joined Carrie in lighting up the galaxy. The one here and the one far, far away.

comments

Diggle The Dog!

2019-04-21T02:59:31Z

From my FB re the dog’s name: “Well, you people were no help! FB & Journal overwhelmingly said Hitch. Twitter & Tumblr went with Diggle. Everyone at physical therapy was split 50/50 too. However...the name Diggle was for a Green Arrow character. And the comic book writer for whom the character was named? Saw my convo on Twitter, jumped in & asked if he could vote. Obvs he voted for Diggle! So since the namesake himself wants Diggle, we are going with Diggle. (I was leaning that way anyways, but this sealed it!)”

Seriously, you guys, Andy Diggle, who writes Green Arrow & The Losers, to name a few, and who actually has a brother named John, and for whom the Diggle brothers in the Arrow verse are named for? He not only voted on my dog’s name, but has been back in my mentions looking at the dog’s pics & saying, “Give him a scritch for me!” And yes, I’m the girl that decides a dog name on nothing less!

( Pics under the cut. )

And today, on my pro page: “The Westword Books family - or in this case, the author & editor, who live together 😉 - are happy to welcome a new rescue to their home. Say hello to Diggle, aka Wiggle Diggle, (seen here with our author & on his first day in his new home).

He’s a 3 year old rescue, who traveled from a shelter in Texas to a rescue home in Michigan, before finding his way to the Westword Books family. Diggle, previously known as Hitch, was picked up as a stray with an injured back leg, that has thankfully *mostly* healed up. He was instantly recognized as adoptable, a cuddler & a kisser. He’s a bulldog/daschund/something, with a love for cats, dogs & kids. Perfect for a busy household with lots of guests, like this one. And yes, he is named for John Diggle of Green Arrow and his naming was blessed by John’s namesake, Mr. Andrew Diggle, comic book writer extraordinaire.

Thank you to Animal Aid of Branch County for helping unite us with the newest love of our lives! Welcome to your furever home & family, Diggle! We love you already!“

My new pupper, you guys! If you’re on Twitter or Tumblr, the hashtag will be DiggleTheDog!

comments

Doggo!

2019-04-15T23:43:09Z

We are getting a new dog! We started looking about a month ago - 6 months after Winston passed. The first dog we liked was a beagle, which I’ve always wanted. But he has seizures and while we were willing to take on a special needs dog, he would have needed an injection right during his seizures, something I am physically unable to do while Sis is at work. So that was Monty & after much discussion with his foster mom, Monty was decided against. Then we looked at another beagle named Phoebe, but she was spoken for. Then we looked at a pug/terrier I believe it was, but she was 8yrs old and a dog of that size would likely only live to 12, putting her at an age where she’d be passing in another 4yrs or so, around the same time we expect Pippin & Kirk to go :(. (They are 10 yrs old now, can you believe it!). All of our previous cats lived to be 13-15yrs old and we didn’t relish the thought of losing 2 cats *and* a dog within a few years of each other. So Charlie was out.

And then we met Hitch. And we actually *met* Hitch, his foster mom brought him for a visit. This is him. We knew right away we wanted him. Pippin & Ripley were both stoked to see a dog again. Kirk, as always, was indifferent. Hiccup was pissed - he is the baby, after all! We decided that day to get him and just had to wait for the new fence to get finished out back. We only had to wait two weeks but it seems like forever.

And now we get him on Saturday! He's a 3yr old rescue, 20lbs, slight limp, possible bulldog/chihuahua/dachshundmaybe/something, came to a MI rescue from TX. Hitch is his current name, he's had it for 6 months, but I not 100% on it, nor a 100% on making him learn a new name. They have no info about his life before the TX rescue, including a name. So the rescue gave him the name Hitch for his injured back leg. But the leg is mostly healed now and I’m just not keen on Hitch bc it always makes me think of that Kevin James/Will Smith movie. Ofc I’ve also been calling him Hitch for 2 weeks now, so idk maybe that’s his name. Here are some name choices, whaddya think?

Xander
Tripp
Diggle
Hitch

Weigh in!

comments

Siblings!

2019-04-11T01:27:14Z

Posted this on FB today for National Sibling Day! That’s me with the bowl cut. It was 1986, don’t judge me! You could see what country kids we were - we came from farmers, after all. And that was our family dog, Mackinaw. He was a St Bernard mixed with a Siberian Husky - a Saint Husky, if you will. He was my little brother’s best friend. And see those stairs? There was a dirt hill leading up to our clubhouse & swing set in the backyard, and with my bad knees it was so hard for me as a little one to climb that hill - so Dad built me these steps, railing & all.

Just a glimpse into my childhood right here. I still love my siblings, they even irritate me a bit less than they did growing up! ;)

Happy National Sibling Day! Any of you got pics with your siblings?

comments

Spring Break 2019!

2019-04-10T01:23:08Z

A week ago today I was on spring break with Sis & our friend hiyacynth, + her son Munchy P (8), & The Niece (6) & Nephew (nearly 13)...at Great Wolf Lodge in Sandusky, OH. I give GWL double thumbs up on both accessiblity & entertainment.

Once you are there, no reason to ever leave the resort the whole stay. The indoor water park has a pool, hot tubs for adults & kids, lily pad obstacle, clubhouse, gadget sprays that come on with pullies & levers, plus multiple water slides. Kept the kids entertained all day. The Niece insisted I “follow her!” so The Nephew pushed my wheelchair behind her while she pulled every lever to spray us! Also I definitely did the 700 gallon bucket dump. And I definitely screamed my whole way through it. And then I definitely got into the hot tub after that.

( Under the cut for spaceage. )

So all in all, a great spring break with some of my fav peeps.

comments