Planet Nilknarf

July 2014
Welcome to Planet Nilknarf
This is a test: The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dogs!! Huntington Hartford hates pickled
Herring!!!! !"#$%&H'()*+,-./01T234567!!!!!!!!!!!
*ooks like '8ve got it! !y &eorge '8ve got it! keyboard that actually works9 nd999:drum roll puh;
leeeze!< ,$4 "-+.2T$0!!! !ear with me as ' am just learning a new system here and have had to
work a few bugs out here and there9 +y new computer arrived at the school on +onday= +ay >?
th

:which also happens to be my dad8s birthday by the way<9 !ut ' wasn8t able to get it hooked up and
running for quite some time9 +y trusty computer technician= 4ayne= from "omputer @AA picked it up
on Thursday morning and said he8d have it ready the next day but it proved to be much more
complicated than planned9
6ou see= these computers here from the school are basically !!6 computers! That is they8re pretty
much made for people who have never H# a computer before!! +y old computer had T$, 6$01
worth of shit to cram into that itty;bitty ram!! nd ' didn8t hear a word from 4ayne all day on %riday so '
was quite worried9 't turned out he couldn8t work on the computer that day because he had such a bad
migraine that he couldn8t get out of bed9
nd he wasn8t the only one9 Thursday after he took both the old and new computers to the shop '
stayed home from school myself because ' was recovering from the day before9 ' was already running
low on BspoonsC due to sensory overload9 The BspoonC analogy has become a familiar concept to
many of us on the autism spectrum9 ' had to deal with excessive noise at school that day not only due
to the annoying construction on B+6C side of the bridge but a carnival that was going on!!!
Those of you who have known me for years know that ' usually *-3$ carnivals9 !ut ,-T outside the
classroom window!!! +ixed with the constant nattering of the jackhammer were regular blasts of the
siren wailing from the B+uzik $xpressC ride9 !y about quarter to four my brain was starting to shut
down from trying to focus in class above this external cacophony! ' was getting the neurological
equivalent of the !ig Hourglass9
nd ' made the mistake of dragging myself to my sperger8s 1yndrome support group meeting that
night when frankly ' didn8t really feel like being around people to begin with9 ' ended up leaving early
because everyone was talking so loud9 't8s an spie thing go figure9 Talking too loud is something '8ve
gotten into shit about all my life9 $specially when we were all getting into a rather heated debate about
credit card debt9 "redit "ard #ebt is the new 4eight *oss= go figure9 Touchy 1ubject ' don8t want to
talk about and am sick of getting advice about9 "ut up my cardsD! 6eah right! 4hat good does that do
when they8re already on account of several e;merchants such as mazon or "# 2niverseD
-h well= aren8t the flowers lovely for this time of yearD /uite literally! E<
!eing Bbetween computersC has really thrown this household into an uproar for me9 That would be
putting it mildly to say the least9 *osing my old computer has been like losing a family member and
until today everything about this new computer seemed to be designed by the devil himself to drive me
absolutely stark raving mad!!!! 5;F
$ven though it took several rounds of Bmusical computersC which of course took longer than intended=
4ayne was able to rescue and reuse that extra piece of hard drive my friend llan had installed in my
old computer and was able to store most of my stuff on that9
However= once we finally got everything set up ' had to deal with the frustrating discovery that the BHC
and B5C did not work on my keyboard9 t least ' managed to get the BHC to work when ' plugged my
keyboard into a different port and 1pellcheck could take care of some of the B5C issues= but it8s still
kind of useless when the word you need $,#1 with an B5C like BfoxC or Bbox9
t least ' could joke about it9 ' called my new keyboard B$liza #oolittleC because she had a "ockney
accentE B(ust you wait 8enry 8iggins!C %unny ' recently saw that movie on T3 just a few nights ago9
't could be worse9 t least it wasn8t the B$C9 That reminds me of this old B1hoeC comic strip9 #oes
anyone remember B1hoeCD 't was about a bunch of birds that worked in an office9 nyway the
secretary was complaining to her boss that the B$C didn8t work on her typewriter9 B(ust try to work
around the problem and do without it9C he said9 1o she wrote him the following note:
Dar Boss: YOU AR A CHAPSKAT!!!!
%ortunately ' was able to easily exchange the defective keyboard for one that actually works perfectly9
The defective keyboard was a curvy= black ergonomic design9 The one ' exchanged it for is a silver;
trimmed more Bold;schoolC variety9
4hen ' went to exchange it l was telling me another student had the same problem9 -nly this student
was missing the BHC and the B,C9 &oodness gracious! That would be even worse9 4e probably use B,C
more than BHC and B5C combined!! ' guess this goes to show that all letters of the alphabet are pretty
much equally important and if any of them didn8t work it would be impossible not to notice9 1ooner or
later we even need less commonly used letters such as B/C and B7C= the ones that rack up the most
points in 1crabble9
-ne of the first things ' did to claim the new computer as my own was put a beautiful= colourful
carousel picture up for my desktop wallpaper:
+y first desktop wallpaper!!!! The start of a new chapter in life9999!!!
Joey's Project
NEWSFLAS! "y Art #ill N$% &e on 'is(lay for t)e Entire "ont) of June*
'n fact everything has to be taken down on (une >?
th
9 1o if you8re at the !oyd &allery any day after
that= don8t say ' didn8t warn you9 ' am 1- ,-T a happy camper about this9 'f you had plans to come
and see my art display on the "anada #ay weekend you will be 1--T*!!! :1hit out of luck<
This means ' don8t get another chance to give my presentationGart workshop either! ::
nd it means that *orraine can8t help me because she8s already got other plans that day9 t least my
father;in;law can drive me back and forth to gather my stuff but he8s even more disgruntled than ' am
about the fact that ' didn8t get the full month ' paid for! %ive days early! That8s almost an entire week!
4ith no apparent apology for all the inconvenience this has created!
This kind of ends my art display on a bit of a sour note9
The good news is= however= that 4ayne got my scanner working!! 4hen ' tried tinkering with it the
night before= ' kept getting the message B,o #rivers9C
That phrase reminds me of a very funny storyE !ack when ' was living in *indsay my friend +elinda
stayed over for the weekend ad she was telling me about the time she and her boyfriend were
ordering "hinese food from a place called Happy %amily Haw9 The conversation went something like
this:
BHappy %amily Haw9C
B6es= '8d like to place an order for delivery9C
B,o #wivas!C
B.ardonDC
B,- #4'31! ,- #4'31!C
:phone hangs up<
4hat makes the story even funnier is that that night when ' went to sleep ' had to dream that ' was
relaying this story to somebody else and ' talk in my sleep9 +elinda heard me singing at first If I were
a tree... whatever that was all about and then she heard me shouting NO DWIVAS! NO DWIVAS!
+ear "om an' +a'
1unday= (une AH
th
= >IAJ
#ear +om and #ad=
Hello9 How have you been up thereD *ife has been pretty crazy around here9 ' can8t believe the school
year is almost over already9 1urely= there has been no shortage of drama around here9 ,ever a dull
moment9 'n fact ' 4'1H there "-2*# be a dull moment9 -r two9 -r three= or +-0$!!
s you probably read earlier in the issue ' am dealing with the disappointment of my show having to
close early9
t least #ave is doing well9 He hasn8t had anymore problems with his leg lately :knock wood!<
't8s been kind of a downer weekend for (anette and ' both9 fter dealing with all the drama about my
computer ' had a doctor8s appointment on +onday9 +y blood pressure was through the roof! 4hat do
you expect! The place was wall;to;wall babies!!! There was already one in there screaming when '
arrived and the moment ' sat down somebody brought one in a basket= then along came a stroller and
then along came ,-TH$0 basket and ,-TH$0 stroller9 ' was more nervous than a long;tailed cat
in a room full of rocking chairs9 +y +.K player wasn8t equipped to handle such mass sprougulation in
such close proximity9 t least ' didn8t have to deal with any on my way home= either on the subway or
the &o train but ' was exhausted and irritable with having to share the &- train with so many people in
my personal space9 To top it off ' never got to have lunch that day because the little cafeteria in my
doctor8s building was closed that day and when ' got to 2nion 1tation the train was right there so ' had
no time to stop for anything9
nyway= on 1aturday morning ' woke up with one nasty case of diarrhea9 ' think there8s been a bit of a
bug going around at school9 t least it didn8t happen on a school day= so ' did my best to not let it get
me down9 1till= ' felt pretty drained and went back to bed after Terry -80eilly8s program was over9
' slept until #ave woke me up to tell me (anette was on the phone9 Her weekend kind of sucked too9
1he was planning to visit her dad= but %riday on her way home from work she had a nasty fall when
she was getting off the bus9 This isn8t the first time this has happened9 !ut at least the people around
her were nice9 They helped her up and asked her if she was okay9 ny other time this sort of thing has
happened folks usually ignore us9
1till= she had a pretty nasty scrape and her knee was quite swollen9 There was no way she could face
that journey and all that walking through 2nion station with this going on9
nd that was after several medical tests within the space of a week or two!! -ne day she had to have
an ultrasound9 !een there= done that9 ' could really sympathize9 To make matters worse when she got
there she found out that they had given her the wrong day!! They told her that her ultrasound was on
+ay the >?
th
when they had written .0'* in their own records9 1o rather than reschedule= as she
wanted to get it over with= they were able to find another clinic just up the road that had just had a
cancellation that same day= but it wasn8t for another %-20 H-201! 1o poor (anette had to do the
horrible water;drinking thing T4'"$ that day9 nd there was really nowhere else to go in the meantime
so she went all the way home and back between appointments9
nd she also had to have a colonoscopy last week9 1he had the choice of being awake so she could
see what was going on on the T3 screen or being put out9 1he chose the latter9 ' don8t blame her9 '
probably would have done the same thing9 Too bad they can8t videotape the footage for the patient so
they have the best of both worlds9 -f course who8s going to think of that at the time9 4hile she was out
she dreamt she was at home in her own bed and someone was standing at the foot of the bed9 1he
couldn8t see who it was9 '8m guessing it was probably (esus9
ctually the procedure wasn8t as bad as the day before when she had to fast in preparation for it9 1he
stayed home from work and all she could think about was food9 ll she could have that day was clear
consomme and &atorade9 1he would have given anything for just a cracker!!! ' can totally sympathize9
nd the day after ' had my doctor8s appointment= she had her complete physical9 1o ' couldn8t phone
her at lunch that day like ' usually do to tell her how my ordeal went9 !ack when ' saw my doctor in
pril she wanted me to lose AI pounds9 !ut when ' was there she didn8t weigh me or even mention
the subject9 ' guess she figured ' had already suffered enough9
,ow some actual &--# news for a change9 #ave and ' actually have "$,T0* '0
"-,#'T'-,',&!!! 66666!!! 't is 1- ,'"$!!! 1ometimes it still isn8t quite cool enough so '
have to turn the fan on= but at least ' am no longer sticking to the furniture on these warmer days!! 't8s
funny= our thermometer says it8s LL degrees in here but it feels much cooler most of the time9 't8s taken
a lot of trail and error and adjustment but ' think our landlord has finally been able to get it set to a
temperature that is comfortable enough for us without freezing the people downstairs half to death9
Hard to believe the school year is almost over already9 Tomorrow is our exam review9 Tuesday is our
exam and 4ednesday is our summative presentations= as well as our potluck9 ' am going to make my
famous broccoli salad9 '8ll have to make it without sunflower seeds because of the school8s policy
about people with allergies to nuts9 ' brought *aurie some leftover broccoli salad last time ' made it for
the $aster dinner9 *aurie is the lady who sits next to me in class9 1he really enjoyed it but she had to
pick the raisins out9 1he doesn8t like raisins9 nd '8m not leaving them out because if ' already have to
leave sunflower seeds out there won8t be much left9 '8ve thought of making it with pineapple but my
teacher is allergic to pineapple9 4hat to do= what to do999
-ne thing8s for sure= once that school is out ' want to make sure ' keep up my routine of walking every
day9 ,ot sure where '8ll go or what '8ll do yet9 There is a lovely trail behind the *owblaws 1uperstore
and "anadian Tire and ' will probably visit the library frequently in search of interesting music and
#3#8s9 ' could sit and work on my embroidery in the park9 't8ll be a nice way to strike up conversations
with people and promote my artwork9
t the moment ' am taking boriginal 1tudies9 ' won8t start school again until ,ovember because '
know ' would miss at least a week of school because of the ,ational "arouse ssociation convention9
'8ll be taking the same old art class again but then ' am going to take a class called B!e 6our -wn
!ossC9 ' hope '8ll learn some useful stuff there to advance this so;called career of mine9 1ame time
next year there8ll be another art class and ' want to take &rade AA computers again9 ' know ' already
took &rade AA "omputers back in >II? when ' was in rdith 4ood8s class but a lot has changed since
then9 $specially since '8m working with 4indows L instead of 5.9 ' am having to learn to do
$3$06TH',& differently!!! ' still haven8t figured up how to loaderize music to my +.K player but at
least ' know how to get the computer to play it so '8ve got music to listen to while '8m doing the dishes9
' seem to be listening to a lot of !oy &eorge lately9 ' wonder why9
4ell= he has made a bit of a comeback lately and he8s been in Toronto this weekend9 ' wish ' could
have seen him but '8ve been kind of broke9 6esterday was his birthday too= by the way9 't8s just as well9
'f ' had tickets ' probably wouldn8t have been able to go because of how ' was feeling9 't8s hard to
believe it8s been almost KI years since (anette and ' saw "ulture "lub at +aple *eaf &ardens in
,ovember of A@MJ! That was the first concert we went to together!
nd she still treasures the !oy &eorge doll ' made for her birthday when she was still in college!
'8ve been watching some of his videos on 6ouTube and it makes me a tad disgruntled when some
people grumble about him being an old fart and a washed;up;has;been! ,o way! He still looks as
young as ever and he8s done quite well for himself in recent years despite all the horrendous ordeals
he8s been through over the past decade or so! $veryone does things in their past they8re not proud of!
(ust ask a certain masked trio of kids8 performers9999
Hard to believe that #ave and ' will be celebrating our A>
th
anniversary this year and this summer ' am
turning HI! '8m not sure how #ave and ' will celebrate our anniversary9 4e were talking about 0ipley8s
quarium at the ", Tower but it tends to get overly;sprogulated9 ' want to go ,64H$0$ where '
don8t have to hear screaming brats!!!! (anette and ' are planning to celebrate my birthday at the
carousel in &uelph9 4e hope to get there early in the morning before there are too many people
around so ' can take plenty of pictures of the horses9 &o figure= ' probably have more pictures of
carousel horses than there is coal in ,ewcastle!! -r rabbits at the 4oodville +arket9
4ell= that8s it for now9 Take care=
*ove= +argaret
%)e Easter ,unny -uilt
*ast 1eptember= shortly after the /uilt 1how in !obcaygeon= ' knew ' wanted to make a small quilt
with every picture ' have of #entzel rabbits9
$specially since ' have some colourful $aster fabric to trim the squares with9 ' recently completed the
first square:
This rabbit is pictured on the front cover of the #entzel "olouring lbum= the back cover of Tobin
%raley8s book and ' saw him at the "949 .arker +useum in )ansas:
1o ' stuck with the original colour scheme9
The second rabbit is from a pattern that was in the "arousel ,ews N Trader9 ' decided '8d copy his
colour scheme from a much;loved sweatshirt ' bought at my second ," convention in A@@>:
' should have this quilt completed by next month8s issue9 'n the meantime= there8s also9999
Lilac %ime
These are the first of probably a dozen! ' have always wanted to create a series of carousel horses
decorated with *'*"1!!!!
Sc)ool's $ut
Those of you who don8t see me that often are probably wondering why this month8s newsletter has
been illustrated with several boriginal;style images here and there9 4ell= for this last term at school '
just completed a course in boriginal 1tudies9 nd what a course it was!! ' have always been
fascinated by boriginal matters9 This includes some of my favorite music and T3 or radio shows9
'n this class we discussed a variety of interesting subjects and ideas9 4e learned about land treaties
and we learned about residential schools9 4T% were the people thinking when they did this to these
poor= innocent kids!! 't saddens me that these programs were run by the "hurch9 ,ot just 0oman
"atholics= but other "hristian denominations were involved9 boriginal children were malnourished
and abused in these harsh environments9 They languished on bologna sandwiches= skim milk and
gruel while the teachers= nuns and priests dined like royalty in their presence9 "hildren were crammed
in close proximity to each other when they were very sick and as many as KI to ?HO didn8t survive to
graduate9 They were taken away from their families as young as age three and out of those who
survived= many committed suicide once they graduated because they had lost their language and
culture and found they didn8t fit in anywhere anymore9 +uch of the time they were subjects of cruel
experiments= unbeknownst to them9 't infuriates me that this was the doing of the "hurch9 4hat kind
of &od do we serve who says it8s okay to treat people like this9 &od is supposed to be loving yet it
makes me sick when the people who are supposed to be representing him are such deplorable
bullies!!! ' realize '8m not perfect either9 '8m kind of a crappy "hristian myself9 6ou8ve read my angry
rants and my filthy language when '8ve been really angry9 !ut who are we serving when we treat
people the way these head honchos at the residential schools treated these kids9 +y friend "arl
mentioned that a three;year;old kid was thrown out of a third;storey window in one of these places9 't
just makes me so sad9
That and the 'nuit relocation program9 't made me sad how the 'nuits were sent to live further north
and the 0"+. injected their sled dogs with distemper so they8d have to rely on our help9
nother attempt at assimilation!
That8s a word that comes up frequently9 The $uropeans took over the boriginals land9 t first they
lived together peacefully but the $uropeans ended up taking more and more and wanting the
boriginals to be more like the white folks9
't8s a sad but common thread throughout history9 .eople feel threatened by others who are different
and do what they can in an attempt to pressure them to conform9 Hitler and the ,azis did it too= trying
to eliminate the (ews and anyone else who was different for that matter9
!ut it8s not all bad news9 -ne of the most uplifting stories we8ve learned about has been the
establishment of ,unavut!! ,unavut became our last provinceGterritory on pril A
st
of A@@@ and it8s
given the 'nuit peoples a well;deserved recompense! 't8s a wonderful place where they have their own
government and they8ve established their own political rules9 ' have it all written down somewhere9 The
name ,unavut means B-ur homelandC9
.erhaps one of my most favorite things '8ve discovered while learning about boriginal peoples has
been their artwork9 ' like the bold lines and details and the vivid imagery9 ' have been inspired to create
a quilt with a variety of these motifs9
,ow that school is over ' have to admit '8ve felt kind of melancholy9 ' miss my classmates9 '8ve enjoyed
coming to school each day and learning so many new things9 nd now '8m off until ,ovember! ' don8t
go back to school in 1eptember because ' know ' will be gone for a week near the end of that month
because (anette and ' will be going to ,ew 6ork for this year8s ,ational "arousel ssociation
convention! 4e are both very excited because this will be the first convention she8s gone to with me
since A@@? when we were in #enver for the first time9 nd it will be my first time in the !ig pple in
over >I years!!
'n the meantime ' have so many creative projects on the go to keep me busy and '8ve resolved to keep
up with my daily walking regimen9 &oing to school every day gave me a reason to get out of the house
and walk every day9 ,ow that school is out ' tend to need a reason to get out of the house other than
just walking9 ' admit that on the first day of vacation ' was totally lazy and ended up not going
anywhere9 4ell= '8m not T-T**6 lazy9 ' 41 majorly engrossed in whatever latest embroidery project
' happened to be working on9 The problem is= embroidery tends to be a more sedentary act9 ' ,$$#
exercise9 ' don8t want to gain back whatever weight '8ve lost since pril9 ' don8t want to be puffing and
panting when it8s time to go back to school= or even sooner when we8re at the convention!
t least on +onday ' went to the bank downtown9 Tuesday ' might either go to the art gallery or take a
hike around that trail behind "anadian Tire and the *oblaws 1uperstore9 -r ' might go to the library9
nd '8ll take my embroidery with me and sit on a bench somewhere outside9 't8s a surefire
conversation;starter9
The problem is= what if it8s T-- H-T! ' don8t like being outside when it8s too hot9 -kay= sometimes if it
is too hot ' can always put up my umbrella9 ' don8t care if people look at me funny9 %rankly ' don8t
understand how so many of them can stand being out on such a hot day without a HT!! ' have to
have !-TH a hat ,# sunglasses9 nd ' prefer a hat with a wide brim that goes all the way around9
4hen ' was a kid ' always used to want a sombrero9 't8s probably not such a bad idea!!
nd ' like to take pictures of anything interesting and unusual ' might find along the way9 1tay tuned9999!
#ave and ' have our anniversary coming up on the AK
th
9 4e haven8t quite figured out what we8ll do yet
to celebrate9 4e8ve talked about the 0ailway +useum and 0ipley8s quarium and maybe the 1t9
*awrence +arket9 ' want to go back there because '8d like a couple more colourful caftan dresses from
nna *ee -rr8s booth9
nd= of course my birthday always falls smack dab in the middle of summer holidays9 nd it8s not just
any birthday this year9 #espite the fact that ' still feel like a kid most of the time= '8m actually going to
be HI!!! '8m not the kind of woman who lies about her age but ' do enjoy asking people to guess9
2sually they8re surprised to find out how old ' really am because '8ve always looked much younger9
The only person ' haven8t been able to fool is the age;guesser at the ",$!
(anette and ' are planning to go to &uelph for my HI
th
birthday9 6et another carousel ' have still not yet
visited! ' can hardly wait9 (anette went there with her family back in A@ML9 +ost of the places we need
to get to= including the carousel= will be within walking;distance of the hotel where we will be staying9
Primer W)ites
' have always wanted to create a quilt with carousel animals entirely stitched in white so that the
emphasis is in the texture and detail of the stitches:
' look forward to working on even more highly;detailed pictures= especially armoured horses and those
with a lot of flowers9
nd ' am also starting a trilogy of three quilts representing the three basic styles of carousel art: "oney
'sland= .hiladelphia and "ounty %air9 6ou may catch my works in progress at any given time on my
%acebook account= however ' choose to share them in .lanet ,ilknarf in next month8s issue as there
will probably be even more by then9
,eetle&om&'s ,ook Nook
This month '8m doing things a little bit differently! ' will be reviewing a book ,# a video! A Tale for
the Time Being by 0uth -zeki is a book '8d been wanting to read for a long time9 '8d already heard of
this story way back last -ctober when the author was being interviewed about it on "!" radio9 0uth
names the main character after herself9 The story begins on a beach in 3ancouver when 0uth finds a
strange package washed up on the shore9 't is a plastic bag encrusted with barnacles and inside are
several layers which are wrapped around a bright red Hello )itty lunch box9 'nside the lunch box is the
diary of ,ao= a (apanese schoolgirl9 0uth finds herself becoming quite deeply involved in ,ao8s story
and wonders if this diary was washed up from the tsunami9 ,ao is severely bullied in school because
she had been living in merica for several years and her father lost his job and had to admit financial
defeat so they ended up moving back to (apan9 .eople who have lived in merica and had to come
back to (apan because of failure are regarded as the lowest of the low in (apan9 The only thing lower
is a substitute teacher9 nd even the substitute teacher was better off than ,ao because he had
actually joined in on the bullying with her classmates9
't gets worse9 'n addition to bullying her= they pretend she doesn8t even exist and talk behind her back
right in front of her9
'n fact they pretend she8s dead and while she8s skipped school for several days they actually throw a
mock funeral for her! 3ideo footage of this funeral goes viral on the 'nternet9
,ao ends up spending the summer at a !uddhist monastery with her AIJ;year;old great grandmother
who= after her family grew up and moved on= has become a !uddhist nun!!
-ne thing 0uth notices while reading ,ao8s diary is that the ending seems to keep receding9 (ust
when she thinks it8s almost finished= there8s more= as if it keeps getting written! ' notice this technique
while reading the book which is a good thing because it8s such a fascinating story ' don8t 4,T it to
end9
' was impressed to learn that the author herself is a !uddhist priest which explains why she knows so
much about (apanese culture and customs9 This is an amazing book9 ' didn8t want to put it down9 !ack
in +ay when ' was at my aunt8s place ' could hardly wait to go to my room at night and curl up with this
one to see what happens next!
Autism: the Musical is a show '8ve been wanting to see for years9 ' know ' can get it at my local
library but every time '8ve looked for it= it8s always been out and ' would have had to reserve it9 nyway=
' ordered my copy from "# 2niverse when it was advertised in my mailbox9
' have to admit though= my heart sank when ' found out that it was made by utism 1peaks9 -ver the
years '8ve heard mostly bad things about them and their agenda and if '8d known that about this #3# '
wouldn8t have bought it9 ,evertheless= ' decided to put my prejudices aside and give this production a
chance after all9
' have to admire the ambition that took place to get such an endeavour off the ground9 1till it made me
kind f sad that there are many negative moments that can be taken out of context9 The families of
these children have gone through such difficult times9 +arriages have broken up9 -ne of the fathers
had an affair just to escape from the household drama9 't broke my heart to hear *exi8s mother say she
felt like she was being a bad parent for saying that she wished her daughter would die before she did9
*exi is a good singer with a beautiful voice9 ' really empathized with many of these kids and found
them quite likeable9 Henry reminds me the most of myself9 He feels the same way about dinosaurs as
' do about carousels9 ' could feel his pain and frustration when the teacher kept telling him to look her
in the eye9 This is something many of us on the autism spectrum really struggle with9 *ooking into
someone else8s eyes can be like looking into the sun9 ' don8t blame him for finding it hard to focus on
what he8s trying to tell her9
' have mixed feelings about this production and found some of it kind of tedious at the beginning9
There were parts ' had to mute because of screaming and crying9 That first scene where the kid is
running around naked throwing furniture made me think B2h;oh999what are we getting into9C
1till= in the end they managed to pull together a good show and create a happy environment of
inclusion9
This documentary was made back in >IIL9 That8s seven years ago9 ' would like to know what these
kids are doing nowadays9 *exi was AJ when they made this movie9 This means she8s >A now9 Her
mother was talking about how she8d probably never be able to live alone9
!eing an adult on the autism spectrum= '8ve done a lot of things they say people with autism= or in my
case sperger 1yndrome= which is also what Henry had= can8t normally do9 .robably because ' didn8t
know ' had autismGsperger8s 1yndrome when ' used to do those things9 '8ve been employed= '8ve
actually lived on my own= and '8ve been happily married for the last A> years9 ' think it8s great that
there are programs for kids to make the transition into the real world but ' think there also needs to be
programs to help adults who have been out of the loop for a season to get back on track9
.arni/al at t)e "i'0%o#n "all
$arlier in this issue ' mentioned that there was a carnival in my neighbourhood9 ' didn8t actually go to it
but ' did take several pictures of it being set up9
The main reason ' didn8t actually go to the carnival after all was simply because ' couldn8t afford it9
+uch of my money was tied up in this new computer situation9 ' suppose if ' wanted to badly enough '
could have at least scrounged up enough change to treat myself to a corn dog and a ride on the %erris
wheel9 !ut with all the drama going on in my life and the way ' was feeling at the time ' actually came
to resent this carnival that was going on9 't felt like it was rubbing the fact that ' have no money in my
face and of course it contributed to +-0$ ,-'1$ in my already chaotic environment9 ' even ended up
missing school because ' know that where there8s a carnival there8s toddlers and sooner or later theyEll
be screaming and crying over 1-+$TH',&!!! B' 4,T TH'1!C B' #-,8T 4,T THT!C B'8+
1"0$#!C B' #-,8T 4,, &- H-+$!C or because they8re just plain tired9 *ike ' was!!! $ven when
(anette came over that weekend the last thing we were in the mood for was a carnival9 $specially
when we felt like we were already targets for drama9
Hopefully next year if this carnival comes back ' will want to attend because '8ll be feeling better than '
was this year at the time9 +y art classroom will be on the other side of the building and the computer
classroom is now air;conditioned9 nd besides there better ,-T be anymore drama going on in my
life9 4hen you can8t enjoy a carnival something +21T be really wrong!!
Win'in1 +o#n
-nce again we come to the end of yet another issue9 1orry things have been kind of lame lately9 '8ve
noticed readership has been down in recent months but that8s okay9 ' understand9 .erhaps it would
seen as though '8ve just been going through the motions lately9 !ut things will get better9 They8ve got
to9 Today is the last day of my show and as ' write this= *orraine has probably already dropped off my
!ig .ink 1uitcase at the gallery so ' can pack everything up tomorrow9 1he will be unable to join me
because she already has previous plans9 t least unt (ean will be there to help me and ' have my
ride with my father;in;law back and forth to !obcaygeon9 However we8ve had to postpone it because
nobody will be there until at least A:KI9 nd nobody told me9 ' was shocked to learn that just a few
days ago !arb had a serious death in her family9 +ake that T4-9 ' don8t remember all the details9 '
think it was her brother and his wife9 nyway= they were killed in a car crash9 4hat a shock! ,o
wonder everything8s been so higgledy;piggledy and '8ve been so out of the loop!! ::
Things have &-T to get better!!! 1o far >IAJ has been nothing but a series of unpleasant surprises9
January had more than it8s fair share of ice and snow= a fight with a classmate ant the threat of
eviction if we didn8t get our place cleaned up9
February meant #ave was temporarily incapacitated when his leg flared up with another bout of
cellulitis= requiring him to miss at least two or three weeks of work9 t least it was a relatively mild case
compared to previous bouts9
Marc meant my +arch break being ruined by my Thrush +outh scare at the dentist which meant
braving a snowstorm to buy yogurt= and of course the yogurt display at the supermarket was closed off
due to construction9 nd ' had to haul myself all the way to Toronto for a doctor8s appointment= which
meant an impromptu physical and being told to lose a few tons9 :4ell= only AI pounds but it might as
well be tons as far as '8m concerned9
A!r"# meant the 4orst "ase of "onstipation $ver and finding out 4indows 5. was becoming obsolete
so ' had to do something about my computer as soon as possible9 1igh! +ore money ' can8t afford to
spend!!!
nd of course May has meant all this drama waiting for my new computer9
nd now June is almost over with the depressing bombshell of having to take down all my stuff almost
a week earlier than planned9
!ut it hasn8t been A bad9 t least (anette and ' did have a lovely time at ,iagara %alls for her
birthday9 't feels so long ago that it seems like it was all just a dream9 nd it was so cold that week that
we spent most of our time indoors= not straying too far from our hotel9 ' am grateful for that )elsey8s
restaurant being at the end of our hallway so we didn8t have to put on our coats and boots to go out for
some of our meals!
nd ' did have a pretty good time at (ean8s place in +ay9 +y show ended up being okay after all even
though it meant having to crowd everyone into the computer room for my .ower.oint presentation9 't
was nice to attend the church service and ' made out like a bandit at that amazing yard sale when it
came to all that fabric!!
nd school has kept me more or less sane= despite that moment of unwanted drama in art class and
my meltdown on my way home during the week ' was Bbetween computersC9 '8ve really enjoyed 4orld
0eligions and boriginal 1tudies9
nd= of course= my craft projects have kept me more or less sane9 ' have a variety of ideas on the go
so it8s never a dull moment around here9 1ooner or later '8ll have to finish that batch of carousel horses
' started before we embarked on the cleanup and ' will probably need to make more sets of family and
emotional puppets for the &eneva 1ymposium9 ' always manage to sell at least a couple sets of
puppets at these shindigs!
'n the meantime= ' was up late last night decorating the following horse in an attempt to cheer myself
up:
4on8t this one be fun to embroider on my next quilt!! $specially the corkscrew balloons in the
background!!!
See !ou ne"t month an# ha$e a great summer!!