Planet Nilknarf

November 2014 6
th
Anniversary Issue
Welcome to Planet Nilknarf
During her sermons Joyce Meyer has often been known to say the following:How can you
take authority against the devil if you can't even take authority against a sink full of dirty
dishes? Well ! have enough authority to know that they're "#$ going %"&WH'('))) %nd the
week after my return from the *ig %++le was no e,ce+tion- $hey H%D to be done sooner or
later ! was running out of ./##".) %nd ! mean that in the literal sense not in the figurative
meta+hor !'ve used in recent months to measure base0+oints1co+ing ability- %nd of course
they were beginning to smell-
%nyway welcome to our SIXTH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE!!! &eah !'ve survived that long since
! started doing this) $o those 2ust tuning in for the first time how do ! e,+lain Planet Nilknarf?
!t is a monthly collection of my news views musings and o+inions my reflections on +laces
!'ve been things !'ve done and things ! ho+e to do- !t is a collection of the insane ravings of an
evil baby0hating lunatic- #nly kidding- !'m not 3uite that bad am !? Well- Maybe ! am maybe
!'m not- What does it matter- 45 years ago ! entered this world an annoying little shit0disturber-
"ow 45 years later !'m an annoying *!6 shit disturber- .o if you don't like what ! have to say
2ust don't read it- %t least /lanet "ilknarf has basically been a safe +lace to vent-
*ut it's a lot more than that- #ver the years it has been a ha++y +lace full of colourful fun-
Well maybe not always- !'ve shared my angst and tribulations as well as my trium+hs and
achievements- Where else can a fat middle0aged woman on the autism s+ectrum tell it like it
is? Where else can ! o+enly share my o+inions and anecdotes of life from my often bi7arre
+oint of view- &es ! know !'m not normal- ! gave u+ on being normal years ago- "ormal is
over0rated- Weird and normal are relative conce+ts anyway- ! am the kind of +erson weird
stuff normally ha++ens to- !f anything normal ha++ened to me $H'" it would be W'!(D))
'"uff said about that- What ! must say is that ! am very thankful for all the wonderful fun
+eo+le in my life and all the e,citing +laces !'ve been and all the wonderful things !'ve seen
over the years- ! have a wonderful husband ama7ing friends and !'ve ridden some fabulous
carousels eaten some great food and e,+erienced many e,cellent adventures over the
years-
$he "ovember issue always feels like the kickoff to a new fiscal year for me- 8oming back
from the latest "ational 8arousel %ssociation convention +re+aring for school working on my
latest +ro2ects sales coming u+ such as the %utism 8elebration and the 6eneva .ym+osium
having the best intentions of turning over a new leaf but sadly still being an under0achiever---
the list goes on)
Carousel of the Month
$he *9* at 8oney !sland- ! decided to do this one first :well the first one for the new year-
;ast month was the *ug 8arousel at the *ron, <oo= because we had an ama7ing tech day
+resentation about this carousel at the start of this year's convention- ! would like to thank
$odd 6oings of Carousels & Carvins for sharing his knowledge and so many wonderful
+ictures and stories about this ama7ing restoration +ro2ect-
! have +ictures of this carousel from when ! was there more than >5 years ago but !'m afraid
that it's kind of a big and cumbersome ordeal to try to scan them from the heavy scra+ book
where !'ve ke+t them all these years and besides the 3uality isn't that great anyway- .ince
their restoration and relocation the *9* doesn't even look like the same carousel anymore-
$he *9* is a Mangels mechanism with 8armel horses several which have +assed through
the hands of *orelli- *orelli was a carousel owner who was notorious for decorating his
horses with an e,cessive amount of 2ewels- $here is one !llions horse on the +latform an
armoured horse nobody is allowed to ride- ! consider myself lucky to have gotten to ride him
over >5 years ago-
$he *9* carousel used to actually have all !llions horses until there was a devastating
breaku+ with Mangels and !llions and the two factories went their se+arate ways with the
e,ce+tion of the armoured horse of course- During the restoration +ro2ect when they were
removing the many layers of +aint they actually found !llions' signature hidden underneath-
"obody knows for sure but it looked like Mangels may have actually tried to sand these letters
away:
%ll the horses were covered with many layers of +ark +aint and they were stri++ed down to
their original colours and documented- *ecause of the rift between !llions and Mangels all the
original !llions horses with the e,ce+tion of the armored horse are 8armels- During
restoration they scra+ed ?1@ of an inch of +aint from the floor and were astonished to make
an ama7ing discovery- !f you take the time to look closely at the floor you will see markings
that look like smiley0face emoticons0 := $hese come from the metal horseshoes that were on
the original !llions standers-
%ll the 8armel horses have carved wooden shoes- %nd the ama7ing thing about them is that
they're not fully carved all the way around- $odd 6oings resisted the tem+tation to continue
the line because he wanted to +reserve all the im+erfections the original artists left behind as
not to take away from the integrity of this ama7ing machine-
He also noticed that the chariots were not directly across from each other as e,+ected- #ne
of them was off by one row-
Here are some of the many ma2estic steeds that grace this +latform-
%s we a++roach the 8oney !sland carousel---
htt+s:11www-youtube-com1watch?vABC8D7'EC.3F
$he traditional run without riders that we do at every convention sto+:
htt+s:11www-youtube-com1watch?vAWDr2Gl(3<7H
My ride on the carousel--
htt+s:11www-youtube-com1watch?vAiD4I7JD+t&o9featureAyoutu-be
oey!s Pro"ect
;ast month ! asked the following 3uestion: Will my latest s3uare be finished before ! take off for "ew
&ork- .ure enough it W%. finished in time- .till ! chose not to share it in here until "#W so unless
you've already seen it in my Iacebook +age or Deviant %rt account here it is along with the following
s3uare ! am +resently working on and how far !'ve gotten so far---
$his +icture of .hady among so many colourful balloons has got to be my favorite s3uare so far off all
the ones created for this +ro2ect- ! 2ust love all the bright rainbow colours)
Joey recently sent me a document about a tri+ she recently took to .able !sland where they got to see
the wild +onies) :=
#seful $inks%%-
!'d like to thank .haron for sending me the link to this useful blog-
htt+:11as+ergercafe-word+ress-com1
! wish ! knew how to bookmark KIavorites on my new com+uter :&eah Knew as in ! got it five months
ago and still don't know how the hell to do most of its functions)= but since ! don't !'ll 2ust refer to them
in my issues---
%nd this is the story of this blogger's diagnosis---
htt+:11as+ergercafe-word+ress-com1>5?J15J1??1diagnosis0and0beyond0my0story0because0you0asked1
Carousel of &rien'shi(
;atest u+dates
.till no closer to actually building a real carousel anytime soon but this has been a season of finding
new homes for a few 3uilts that haven't sold over the years- !'ve given it a lot of careful thought and
consideration and made the decision to donate the K$rue *lue 3uilt to this year's "ational 8arousel
%ssociation convention for the auction- !n order to avoid trouble with customs at the air+ort ! mailed it
at least a month in advance to (ita and *ill .harkey who brought it there for the convention-
#n the night of the ban3uet my 3uilt sold for LJ45 to ;inda *er3uist---
htt+s:11www-youtube-com1watch?vAM3GM"CagIM@9noredirectA?
My first two 3uilts are also being re0homed----
KCictory on the left was donated to this year's 6eneva %utism .ym+osium for its fund0raising raffle
and K/eace on the right was donated to this year's Eerry's /lace %utism 8elebration night for the
door +ri7e draw-
We had big round tables this year so ! decided to dis+lay the first row of my work in +rogress along
the edge of the table- !t was a fun and +leasant evening with a variety of musical acts- $his year ! only
made around LN4- ! immediately sold half a do7en teddy bears to /atrick who bought them for his
nieces and ne+hews a total of five carousel horses two $0shirts and one clown +u++et- Here is the
winner Joanne arriving onstage to claim her +ri7e) :=
%nd here are three different versions of the same horse for three different 3uilts ! am multi0tasking
between- Details to follow----)))
"ew homes have also been found for the K'aster *unnies Built even though ! never had the chance
to dis+lay it in any shows and the KWarhol Warhorse Built- ! honestly felt in my heart that they were
meant to go to two of my dearest friends- ! gave KWarhol Warhorse to Wendy Mutton as it was her
design that ins+ired the high0contrast motif that ! chose to re+licate in different colour schemes- %nd !
gave the K'aster *unnies 3uilt to (ichard 8once+cion for his birthday-
$he to+ row of my K!ns+iration 3uilt is still as follows:
! have a backlog of ama7ing ideas to kee+ me entertained until about si, weeks after hell free7es
over)))
*ut ! don't think !'m going to take the art class at my school again- ! have to confess ! am tired of the
same old +ro2ects and the lack of sufficient materials due to our school's budgets- ! have no more
room in this house for anymore +a+ier0mache animals nobody wants to buy and ! never liked the
Kstained glass +ro2ect- ! hate working with cello+hane and glue sticks that stick to everything else but
the cello+hane and +a+er they're su++osed to- %nd ! %;W%&. get into a fight with somebody over the
radio))
What ! want to do is find some other kind of art class where ! can learn more relevant skills such as
wood0carving- ! wish we had a carousel worksho+ here in #shawa- *ut nobody really listens or cares
around here- !t's sort of been on the back0burner for awhile-
)o( )hree *est an' Worst +otels I!ve *een In
!n the s+irit of it being our si,th anniversary it is tradition to reca+ various events over the years- With
all the travelling ! do on a regular basis ! would like to share my reviews of some of the best and worst
+laces !'ve ever stayed-
! might as well start with the W#(.$ and get them out of the way)
?- Sands Motor Inn North Bay- $his is where Janette and ! stayed on our "orth *ay tri+ back in
>5?>- $his +lace is terrible) Don't believe me? (ead my review here and the others to follow)
htt+:11www-tri+advisor-ca1HotelO(eview0g?445550d?JM5N>N0(eviews0.andsOMotorO!nn0
"orthO*ayO"ortheasternO#ntarioO#ntario-html
>- Timbers Hotel, Denver Colorado- $his is where ! stayed for the >5?? "ational 8arousel
%ssociation convention- ! was absolutely H#((!I!'D when ! went into the bathroom to
discover "# *%$H$H*) %nd the stu+id sliding door didn't even close- !t was bad enough that
the +lace has "# /##; but "# *%$H$H*? ! literally felt like a fish out of water with no +lace
! could soak- .howers don't cut it for me- ! need to be immersed in order to rela, es+ecially
when my limbs were in such e,cruciating +ain from altitude sickness) $his is my review for
$imbers:htt+:11www-tri+advisor-ca1.howHser(eviews0gJJJ@@0d@?5>J0r?J5?M?>DJ0
$heO$imbersOHotel0DenverO8olorado-htmlP('C!'W.
J- The Long Island Hilton)) ! haven't written a $ri+%dvisor review for this +lace yet but 2ust about
'C'(&$H!"6 in this +lace was designed to bring out the worst in us with all these annoying
high0tech gadgets- !t was im+ossible to make an ordinary +hone call because the +hones had
too many buttons and it +ractically took a rocket0scientist to figure out how to use them- $he
bathtub had to be filled by a stu+id dial system- "ormal bathtubs have a dial you +ull out and it
that goes cold if you turn to the left and hot if you turn to the right- "ot this one- !t starts out
cold and gets hotter the more you turn it- $hat being said it is im+ossible to turn the water off
without filling the tub with a big s+lash of cold water) Don't get me started on that fiddly
thermostat) %nd even though the food was good the restaurant was closed on .unday so we
had to eat out in the bar which is out in the o+en foyer com+lete with unbearable sunlight
streaming in from the overhead skylight and having to deal with the +ublic bustling back and
forth com+lete with baby strollers) $his whole +lace is so non0%s+ie0friendly and full of
negative energy) %bout the only thing normal was decent comfortable beds that weren't too
high or too hard but we suffered horrendous mood0swings throughout our stay)
#kay---now for my to+ three !EST +laces)))
?- Castaway Bay, Sandusky, hio- &es ! know it's a big family resort com+lete with a water
+ark so you'd think !'d be concerned about noisy kids- *ut this has actually been one of the
most +eaceful +laces !'ve stayed- ! loved the view from my balcony and en2oyed making myself
a cu+ of coffee in the morning so ! could sit there and en2oy it- $he +lace is within walking
distance of several good eateries including a $6! Iriday's and has a really handy convenience
store down in the foyer where ! could stock u+ on treats while ! watched an e,cellent selection
of +ay0+er0view movies- $his is where we stayed for the >55M "8% tech convention and
+erha+s one of the nicest +laces !'ve ever stayed at-
>- Days Inn, Cli!ton Hill- $his has been our home0away0from home for at least the last decade
on the ma2ority of "iagara tri+s we've taken- 8onveniently locates within walking distance of
most +laces we want to go and reasonably +eaceful with a +ool and hot tub we usually use at
least once or twice during our visit- $his +lace is full of ha++y memories and it never changes- !
think we came u+on this +lace by chance the first time we stayed there in January of >55F
when we were celebrating Janette's F5
th
birthday- .ince then we've en2oyed several stays over
the years-
J- "arkview Motel, #uel$h- $his may be one of the +lainest sim+lest +laces we've stayed at but
that's what we like about the +lace) 'ven if the refrigerator leaked all over the car+et in front of
the bathroom this +lace was one of the most +eaceful +laces we've ever stayed- Janette and !
really en2oyed the time we stayed there and one of the best things about the /arkview is that
it's within walking distance of most of the +laces that are im+ortant to usQ great eateries the
+la7a that has a great Dollar .tore and MichealRs and best of all we are literally almost right
ne,t door to the carousel) We looked this +lace u+ on line and were kind of confused by some
of the +ictures because ours was +robably the +lainest room on the +remises our bathroom
nowhere nearly as fancy as the ones shown but that's okay- !t was a +lace where we were
ha++y +retty much the whole time during our visit-
$his is the lovely view ! had from the balcony when ! stayed at 8astaway *ay in .andusky back in
>55M) := $he "8% is scheduled to have another convention in #hio in >5?N and ! wouldn't mind if this
is where we stayed- $he hotel we stayed at for my very first "8% convention back in ?MM? wasn't bad
either- ! forget the name of the +lace but it was like a huge indoor courtyard and the +ool was easy to
find- ! ho+e that +lace is still there and that it hasn't changed-
$ife After )his ,ear!s Convention
!'m ha++y to say things are finally back to normal around here- $hen again are they 'C'( ('%;;&
normal? #ne thing's for sure at least ! did it) ! I!"%;;& did it) ! decided to bite the bullet and I!"!.H
writing out and +ublishing my review of the "ew &ork tri+- $his has been one of the most difficult tri+s
!'ve had to write about because even tough we did have fun and saw a lot of ama7ing things it was full
of more than its share of unwanted drama- Don't say ! didn't warn you- $his review is full of I0bombs
and angry rants es+ecially about babies- ! know it makes me sound like an evil +erson sometimes-
*ut ! don't sugarcoat my shit +retend it didn't ha++en or +retend to be someone !'m not- What you see
is what you get- ! kee+ half0e,+ecting for the hate mail to come in and the shit to hit the fan so if you
don't like what ! have to say 2ust don't read it-
htt+s:11www-scribd-com1doc1>FJN5??N>1*ack0in0the0"ew0&ork06roove
#ne thing's for sure ! made a little wager with myself: which is going to fade first? My unicorn glitter
tattoo ! got at 8entral or the bruise ! got at the Hem+stead ;ake carousel?
$he first +icture was taken two days after the incident- $he second was taken on #ctober ?5
th
- &ou can
still see a faint outline-
$his first +icture was taken as soon as it was done and the second one was also taken on #ctober
?5
th
- !n the +icture of the bruise you can still see a faint outline but ! am ha++y to say it is com+letely
gone now- However traces of the unicorn tattoo are still visible- $hat's kind of neat because they're
only su++osed to last J to D days- .till ! have to admit ! am gra++ling with the tem+tation to get yet
%"#$H'( ('%; one) $he other night ! had a really vivid dream about a lady who wanted to give me
one for free right then and there but ! was feeling +ressured to choose something right at that moment
and she was trying to talk me into something silly ! might regret- ! forget what her idea was- *ut ! think
! ended u+ getting the head of the (ose Horse on the "unley's carousel on my right arm 2ust
underneath my first tattoo- !'m going to try and wait until >5?N to go for it in kee+ing with my five0year
tradition- ! want to get either that my Irog /rince on my right leg or a heart with %rchie *etty and
Ceronica sharing a soda-
$hat reminds me yesterday when ! was walking through Hnion .tation on my way to the .ym+osium
! was sur+rised and delighted to discover that you 8%" .$!;; buy %rchie comic digests))) &%%%&&)) !
was afraid they weren't going to be available anymore when they said that %rchie's character was
going to be E!;;'D))) $here had to be at least I#H( available at the moment but ! never got to buy
any because ! didn't really have any money in the morning and ! was in a hurry to catch the ne,t train
on the way home-
%nyway the day before the .ym+osium Eerry's /lace had a very s+ecial meeting at D%I(.Q
!ntroduction to %utism and ! was invited to attend and share my ideas and e,+eriences- !t was great- !
really en2oyed talking to the grou+- Most of it that we discussed in class was stuff ! already knew from
before- However ! ended u+ leaving early because the video we watched at the end made me feel
very angry)))) !nstead of 2ust writing in my blog about it ! decided !'d e,+ress my rant in the form of a
video:
htt+s:11www-youtube-com1watch?vAO/ul&D<Hgt@9featureAshare
! was ha++y to see Eristine at the .ym+osium the ne,t day so ! could tell her why ! left- .he said that
the +erson making the video was being sarcastic- H';;#? Most of us on the autism s+ectrum don't
understand sarcasm) !t's confusing enough when it comes from neuroty+icals) *ut it's 'C'" M#('
confusing when it's by an autistic +erson trying to e,+ress herself from a neuroty+ical +oint of view)
's+ecially when she used Kwe to refer to "$'s and Kthem to refer to autistics)
$he +art about talent vs Kstimming got me thinking too- *ack in >55N when ! did my first 6eneva
%utism .ym+osium ! also unfortunately had my first :and ho+efully ;%.$= M%"!8 '/!.#D'))) !t
turned out that besides having %s+erger's .yndrome ! am also *i+olar and ! had to be +ut in the
hos+ital for at least two weeks- While ! was in the hos+ital ! embroidered a $0shirt that said K%rt is a
6lorified .tim))
Well art is more than a stim- .ure it feels good to do it and it kee+s my hands in a state of +er+etual
motion but it actually +roduces things that are useful and beautiful- !n my video ! am arguing about the
fact that the +erson who made the one we watched says "$'s have hobbies but autistics 2ust Kstim-
.timming for the uninitiated means re+etitiive behaviours we usually use to comfort and soothe
ourselves- $his includes things like s+inning rocking hand0fla++ing etc- $rue ! sometimes rock and
fla+ my hands if !'m agitated enough but ! D# have H#**!'. and art is 2ust one of them)) ! travel !
take +ictures ! like to write- %nd of course ! do these things for comfort too- .ometimes when ! can't
slee+ at night ! find looking at +ictures of carousel horses comforting- ! watched several of my
carousel videos riding home on the 6o0$rain yesterday- .o maybe it is a stim as much as it is a hobby-
"ot to mention looking at other colourful things- #ne of the reasons ! like carousels so much is
because ! like the lights colour and motion as much as the art history and details-
! also gave a rebuttal on Ktalents versus Ks+linter skills- !'ve never really liked the term Ks+linter skills
to begin with- $o me a s+linter is a shar+ +ainful and annoying ob2ect that gets under your skin and
has to be removed with a +in- K.+linter skills refer to things that are im+ressive but basically useless-
#r are they? Memori7ing every number in the +hone book or being automatically able to guess the
number of matches thrown on the floor- .ure they hel+ed (aymond *abbit in the movie K(ain Man
and made him an e,cellent gambler- ! wish ! could do something useful with my knowledge of
carousels and my artistic talent- 'vents like last week's %utism 8elebration and yesterday's
sym+osium give me an o++ortunity to dis+lay my talents and shine-
Irankly it would be my dream to do +ublic s+eaking events at schools and various other +laces to tell
+eo+le about my e,+erience as both an artist and a +erson on the autism s+ectrum and get the
chance to also sell my merchandise while !'m at it-
My first .ym+osium in >55N was also the best- Will ! 'C'( make that much money again)? $hat day !
netted #C'( $H('' HH"D('D *H8E.))) &esterday was very slow for the first two or three hours- !
don't think anyone bought anything until at least ?5:J5 or ??:55- ! was feeling kind of discouraged at
first scared ! wouldn't sell anything thinking !'ve +ast my +rime +eo+le aren't interested in my stuff
anymore- $hen all of a sudden things started ha++ening and momentum +icked u+)) %ll in all ! must
have sold roughly about a D#<'" carousel horses yesterday) %s well as two clown +u++ets one set
of emotional +u++ets two of the yellow KHoneymoon horses and one Halloween shee+ $0shirt- !
+robably would have done even better if ! had more shee+ $0shirts so !'m 2ust going to have to make
more for ne,t time-
!'m always a ha++y cam+er once ! crack the three0digit mark- %t least when that ha++ens ! know that
it's made it worth my while- %nd to to+ it off a man a++roached me about the idea of this new cafe that
they're +lanning on doing so we will have M#(' #//#($H"!$!'. $# .';; #H( %($)) ! ho+e this
comes to +ass) !t sounds like the e,citing start of a new beginning) ! shall kee+ you +osted as
everything unfolds))
! am ha++y to say that yesterday was a smooth and +roductive drama0free day- ! had to get u+ at F:55
in the morning but ! actually felt well0rested and energi7ed des+ite the fact that ! had trouble slee+ing
the night before- My mind wouldn't shut u+ because ! was still all riled0u+ about that frustrating video)
%nd ! must have woke u+ nearly every hour- *ut ! was u+ before the alarm showered fed and out the
door 2ust in time to catch the first /ark bus of the day at 4:F4 to catch one of the first 6o0trains of the
day and bree7e into the city well before the onslaught of rush hour found my way through the station
to the .ky Walk easily with no confusion and to to+ it off ! ha++ened to meet ;isa whom !'ve known
from +revious events in the autism community- Having her to chat with made the long walk a lot less
tedious-
%nd the 2ourney home went smoothly too because ! have Monica to thank once again for bringing my
luggage home for me in her car so ! don't have to lug it back on the 6o train during rush hour- $he only
un+leasantness ! had that day was that there H%D to be a screaming baby when ! was on my way out
of the building- %t least it was far away but it was still like fingernails on a chalkboard- Messerella the
$angle Iairy had a field day making macrame out of my ear0buds so ! couldn't get my M/J +layer on
fast enough so ! was like K.hutu+shutu+shutu+shtthefucku+) while ! fumbled with the wires and
rushed out the nearest door until ! made my way down Iront .treet toward the station- Downtown
$oronto seems so s+acious com+ared to "ew &ork) "ew &ork at that time of day would have been
wall0to0wall +eo+le crammed together like sardines-
%nd ! was grateful to be handed a free sam+le of coconut water because ! knew !'d be thirsty once !
made it to the train- $he train was right there already so ! hurried on board- $here were no seats
available so ! sat on the floor +art of the way- ! had no idea how !'d get u+ as my left leg had fallen
aslee+ while ! was sitting there- *ut ! managed to +ull myself u+ and +ro+ myself in the corner once
the lady who'd been standing there before me had de+arted- % seat finally became available closer to
home-
$hese +ast two nights !'ve been ha++y 2ust to veg out and watch a darned good movie when ! get
home- #n $hursday ! watched "no# Your $ushroo%s and last night ! watched Xana&u- ! loved that
movie when ! was a teenager) .till do) ! remember getting my mom to make me a Xana&u dress like
#livia's- Mine was cream with tiny +ur+le flowers- ! used to wear it when !'d go to meet Wayne
6ret7ky))) $his was the movie that ins+ired me to learn to roller0skate- ! haven't roller0skated in literally
over >5 years))
Planet Nilknarf- .(ic Pictures of the ,ears/
!n the tradition of this being our anniversary issue- !'d like to reminisce and share my +ersonal choices
for my favorite +hotos and moments since embarking on this cra7iness-
%&&'( !t was 2ust after my second 6eneva %utism .ym+osium and the first "8% convention !'d been to
in J years that ! decided to +ublish my first newsletter- $hat was the year we went to Mem+his- %nd the
highlight from that tri+ the MH.$ .'' on my *ucket ;ist was the #ver0the Jum+s carousel at War
Memorial /ark in ;ittle (ock %rkansas- ! consider myself very lucky to have had the chance to ride
this uni3ue machine- !t is unlike any other carousel ! have ridden) ! would gladly go there again-
%nother reason !'d like to return to Mem+his and the surrounding area is to see what becomes of the
;ibertyland carousel) %s far as ! know it is still in storage awaiting a new home- When we were there it
was still 2ust idling after years of inactivity so we could not start it u+ to actually ride it- We did
however take some +retty ama7ing +ictures of all the beautiful horses and trimmings- ! ho+e that there
will actually be a time someday when ! will actually get to ride this machine when it is actually running:
$he K/egasus horse shown above is what makes this carousel truly uni3ue- ! love how they used
folk0art +ainting techni3ues to add e,tra gra+es and vines to the non0romance side-
!t was in my first issue ! introduced the conce+t of the $ravelling Dolls- $he first two were made in the
s+ring of >55N re+resenting Janette and myself:
#f course >55N was back in the +re0/lanet "ilknarf days- $he +icture on the left has to be one of the
first +ictures !'ve ever taken of these dolls- #n the right is a more recent one from our "ew &ork tri+
riding a +ush0me0+ull0you at the Dinger estate- ! changed the hair on my doll to match my own about a
year after ! dyed it +ur+le in June of >5?>- #ur dolls have been to a lot of +laces not to mention the
+laces their Kcousins have been)
$o+: a large grou+ of dolls waiting to be sent out to the mission fields) 8entre: Melissa's dolls on her
farm:left= and :right=K'ric in rural %lberta- *ottom: :left= K$revor at the Hnis+here in Ilushing
Meadows and :right= KJanette K'ric and KMargaret riding the .ky Wheel with the bugs on the first of
many "iagara tri+s-
!t was in my second issue of /lanet "ilknarf December >55@ ! started +ublishing my 'ife (ith
'ouella comic stri+- 'ife (ith 'ouella started out as a series of cartoons on my friend (ichard
8once+cion's show Ra)i& T* Ra++it an& ,rien&s- %ctually it was more like a series of comic stri+s
with a voice0over- #ur first story $he *et a++eared on the (a+id $- (abbit show in Iebruary of ?MM>-
htt+s:11www-youtube-com1watch?vAfa'2g*s4oNc
*etween Iebruary of ?MM> and the summer of ?MMJ ! must have created well over M5 'ife (ith
'ouella stories for (ichard's show including some that he didn't actually use because they K+ushed
the envelo+e- $hey can all be seen on my &ou$ube channel- My series kind of fell by the wayside
when Janette and ! became interested in music and songwriting and ended u+ moving to $oronto in
%ugust of ?MMF-
$hen in the s+ring of ?MMN 'ife (ith 'ouella re0emerged as a new series of comic stri+s for the ill0
fated -ufferin -ostar community news+a+er- #nly one issue was ever +ublished- *ut ! continued to
create as the e,citing story continued to unfold before me- $his series finally saw the light of day over
a decade later when it made regular a++earances in Planet Nilknarf within the first two years- $his
series can be seen com+iled as a gra+hic novel which ! +ut together almost a year ago---
htt+s:11www-scribd-com1doc1?M>D4NJ>@1;ife0With0;ouella06ra+hic0"ovel
With these early days of Planet Nilknarf was the start of trying to +romote my Autis% A#areness
Carousel +ro2ect which eventually changed its name to the Carousel of ,rien&shi) to become
more inclusive- !n the s+ring of >55M ! attended my first "ational 8arousel %ssociation tech
conference in .andusky #hio---
!'d already been to many of the regular conventions but this was my first tech conference- .ince then
they have gotten into the +ractice of alternating years where they host a se+arate tech conference in
the s+ring and incor+orating it at the beginning of the regular fall conventions- ! have since attended
two +re0convention tech conferences in >5?> before the Michigan convention and this year before the
recent one in "ew &ork-
#nly days after that first tech conference ! attended ! was invited to s+eak on a local talk show here in
#shawa about my carousel +ro2ect:
htt+s:11www-youtube-com1watch?vA+6.D*cD#kMF
! wish ! had another chance to tell them what ! have been u+ to since then- %lthough ! am still no
closer to building a carousel in #shawa or anywhere else for that matter ! have created many 3uilts
+romoting the carousel +ro2ect- *ut before then ! had my sales at Wind (each Iarm and
Haydenshore /ark---
! had an art table at both events where +artici+ants were invited to design carousel horses---
;eft to right: Jenn 6ale's horse from Wind (each Iarm Jessica and *randy's horses from the
Haydenshore /ark event- ;ittle did ! know that in the months to follow ! would get the scathingly
brilliant idea of embroidering them and others yet to come onto 3uilt s3uares---
$he rest is history---))))
>55M was also the year ! went to the "ational 8arousel %ssociation's convention in /hiladel+hia) !t was
e,tra0s+ecial because it tied in with the s+ring tech conference- #ne of the highlights of the tech
conference was visiting 8edar /oint in .andusky #hio- ! had been to 8edar /oint for my very first
"8% convention nearly >5 years ago back in ?MM? and back then 8edar /oint had I#H( carousels:
the Eiddy Eingdom Dent7el the Midway Muller a /ryor 9 8hurch (acing Derby also located in the
Midway and last but not least the Dent7el0Muller carousel in Irontierland-
Well sometime in the years that followed the Irontierland carousel was moved from 8edar /oint to
Dorney /ark in %llentown /ennsylvania to re+lace a beautiful /$8 that had burned down over a
decade ago-
.o in >55M ! got to ride all four 8edar /oint carousels again the last one a few months later in its new
location-----
Cedar "oint))))
$o+ left: Me riding the famous K/ostage .tam+ Muller armoured horse on the Eiddy Eingdom
carousel- $o+ right: Muller Midway carousel *ottom: 8edar Downs (acing Derby
Dorney "ark(
$his white horse was one of my favorites- #n the right is the legendary Muller K6host Horse-- $here
have been many stories about this fascinating creature over the years usually involving the carousel
starting on its own late at night and a ghostly figure being seen astride this horse- .ome +eo+le say
it's the ghost of Daniel Muller's wife- %nother legend says that there are two different ghosts an
engaged cou+le +lanning to meet at their favorite horse to elo+e- *ut they kee+ missing each other so
on one night the lady can be seen dressed in white or the man in black)
&ou can read about the >55M technical conference here:
htt+s:11www-scribd-com1doc1?44N@?>J1>55M0"8%0$ech08onvention0.andusky
and the /hiladel+hia convention here:
htt+s:11www-scribd-com1doc1>?4>@@ND1>55M0/hiladel+hia08onvention
$hese are 2ust some of the many highlights of that tri+- $o+ left: Hershey /%- $o+ right: riding the
Menlo /ark carousel in /erkasie with my friend (ichard- *ottom left: a 7ebra waits to be +laced on the
carousel in /ottstown- *ottom left: Me riding the carousel in /eddler's Cillage in ;ahaska /%- ! really
want to come back someday when the /ottstown carousel is running and o+en to the +ublic- ! recently
heard that it was com+leted but it still isn't running yet- $hat 7ebra is on a much0loved royal blue $0shirt
in my wardrobe))
%&&* was also the year that +ISS C,M- T SH,.,/// ,nd I .,S TH-0-////
%&1& was the year ! com+leted that first 3uilt)) !f you scroll back to near the beginning of this issue you
will see it- !t was also the year that Janette and ! went on our first "iagara $ri+ together since >55D
when we were there with my husband Dave and her boyfriend Mark- &ou can read about that tri+
here:
htt+s:11www-scribd-com1doc1JF>F5J4?1Margaret0and0Janette0s0',cellent0%dventure
%nd of course the >5?5 "8% convention was a tri+ full of some of my absolute all0time favorite
+ictures) !t was a thrill to ride so many e+ic legendary creatures)
$o+ left: $he K.neaky tiger on the ;ooff (iverfront carousel in .+okane Washington- #nly three of his
kind e,ist and he is the only one that can still be ridden on an o+erating carousel) $o+ right:/aint my
favorite ant the most famous horse on the Missoula Montana carousel- *ottom left: Montana 8ut0
$hroat $rout on the 6reat "orthern carousel in Helena Montana bottom right: a friendly kiss from one
of the $hree (ivers horses) ! hear this carousel is finally com+leted and u+ and running and ! can
hardly wait to go back there someday to finally ride it- ! will be glad when the .+irit of 8olumbia
6ardens carousel in *utte Montana is finally com+leted and o+en to the +ublic too someday)
"ot only that but the com+letion of my first 3uilt was also the start of the second- ! would like to thank
/eaceman Jim Eogelheide and the students who ride his bus for all the wonderful horses they
decorated)
%&11 could easily 3ualify as The (orst Year of $. 'ife- Iaced with surgery for an ongoing illness !
was also confronted with my mom's sudden battle with cancer- $o to+ it off ! was being bullied not
only by Mother "ature but her new boyfriend---)))
$his was one of the most terrifying things !'ve ever had to deal with in my life in addition to the fact that
my mom was dying and there was nothing ! could do about it- ! found out about her illness in mid0
January- .he was in and out of the hos+ital a few times- .he seemed to be fading away on me when !
needed her most and more and more incoherent each tome ! s+oke to her- $his had to be the most
frustrating season of my life) *etween losing my hair facing surgery and losing my mom ! wouldn't
wish a season like this on my worst enemy- ! last saw her on March ?J
th
of >5??- .he +assed away the
very ne,t day- Her memorial service wasn't until June because that's when most +eo+le she knew
would finally be back from Ilorida- My cousin /eter came from Holland to re+resent her side of the
family-
! am thankful that back in March Janette could come with me when it was time to go through my
mom's estate- Here is one last look at the +lace---
htt+s:11www-youtube-com1watch?vAE<3?'y3cb?5
%t least it was the start of my career of an art e,hibitor- My first three 3uilts were dis+layed ! the
*obcaygeon gallery for the first time during the month of July and in .e+tember they were in shown at
my first *obcaygeon Harvest of Builts in .ettler's Cillage-
$hen there was the "ational 8arousel %ssociation convention in Denver 8olorado:
htt+s:11www-scribd-com1doc1N@D@?N4D1Hoofbeats0in0the0(ockies
$his was +erha+s my least favorite convention but this is my favorite +icture from it:
%&1% will always go down in history for me as the year ! went on $H('' ma2or tri+s))) Janette and !
had already +lanned to go to "orth *ay but by the time March break rolled around we E"'W we
JH.$ 8#H;D"'$ W%!$ any longer) We H%D to go .#M'WH'(')) $he last time we'd been anywhere
together was when we were at my mom's house 2ust after she died- !t was a heavy emotional time for
both of us and as we faced the anniversary of that season we 2ust knew we D'./'(%$';& needed
some IH") .o in %+ril we took yet another tri+ to our beloved "iagara Ialls- &ou can read all about
that here:
htt+s:11www-scribd-com1doc1@MDFM?DD1Margaret0and0Janette0s06reat0'sca+e
#n that tri+ ! designed two more horses for the latest 3uilt !'d been working on at the time:
$hus began the tradition of creating horses to re+resent some of the +laces !'ve been- $he K"iagara
*ug Horse is decorated with several bug stickers from a bo, of ;ucky 'le+hant +o+corn ! bought at
.ugar Mountain during that +articular tri+ and the Margaritaville horse gets its logo from a bum+er
sticker ! won when we were there- $his horse is decorated with an assortment of blender drinks and
the +ole is ins+ired by the stem of the kind of glassware they serve them in and the little +lastic +alm
trees they use to skewer their fruit garnish- ! was glad to have tro+ical fabric to frame this s3uare with-
We went on our "orth *ay tri+ in late June0early0July of that tri+- &ou can read about it here:
htt+s:11www-scribd-com1doc1?554?D@?D1"orth0*ay0$ri+
! ho+e we can go back someday and stay at a *'$$'( hotel not to mention make our #W" way
there so we don't have my aunt yelling at me again- $hat tri+ had its share of unwanted drama but !
did create two more horses for that fifth 3uilt:
K"orth *ay Horse was decorated with several stickers ! 2ust ha++ened to have in my back+ack on that
tri+ and KIancy "ancy was named for "ancy's (estaurant where we'd had several meals during our
stay- .he is decorated with gas station logos traced from a vintage road ma+ Janette bought while we
were there and a comforting +oem that hung on the wall at said restaurant-
$he last tri+ ! took that year was my >5?> "ational 8arousel %ssociation convention in Michigan-
$here's JH.$ "# W%& ! could miss $H%$)))
&ou can read all about that tri+ here:
htt+s:11www-scribd-com1doc1?5@DDD4451>5?>0"8%08onvention
$his has been one of my favorite tri+s because ! felt so at home at the wonderful .ilver *each
carousel- !t was like walking into my own creative vision) "ot only was the carousel itself gorgeous but
the surrounding amenities were +retty much identical to the kind of facility ! wish ! could create- $he
dining hall was ama7ing) $here was a wonderful museum and all kinds of fascinating e,hibits on the
+remises- $he +lace was full of rich and e,citing history com+lete with models of the original .ilver
*each amusement +ark which closed down sometime in the D5's- $he original 8armel carousel went
to (oswell "ew Me,ico where it remained in storage for several years until it eventually underwent
restoration and became the 8arousel of Dreams in $hree (ivers Washington which is where that
+icture of me being licked was taken- %nd the new .ilver *each carousel was eventually built as +art
of the .t- Jose+h Welcome 8entre-
#ne of the highlights of that tri+ was having my +icture in the +a+er when the grou+ visited 8rossroads
Cillage in Ilint:
&e+ that's me in the middle all in +ur+le)
Horses and menagerie figures from the .ilver *each 8arousel in .t- Jose+h a++ear on both my 4
th

and D
th
3uilts along the to+ rows:
$he colouring +ictures that ! used as +atterns for the .ilver *each carousel animals can be found
here:
htt+:11www-silverbeachcarousel-com1about0us1downloads0and0media
! am very ha++y to say that when ! had my art show in *obcaygeon during the months of December
and January ! actually sold that first 3uilt))) #ver the years these 3uilts have become like a giant
+ictorial diary to me not only inviting +artici+ants to share their art but chronicling my travels and
trium+hs not to mention tragedies-
$he first sale of that big 3uilt P4 was celebrated on that D
th
3uilt:
$hat felt like a ma2or milestone in my career) Built PD also included K*e+ster a horse ! created in
memory of my +arents:
$he +hoto is of the three of us on our last 8hristmas together taken in >55?- My dad +assed away on
July ?D
th
of >55> 2ust days after Dave and ! were married- $he original artwork along with a donation
was sent to the .omewhere 'lse +ro2ect at the Carousel of Ha))iness in "ederland 8olorado
which was one of the highlights of my >5?? tri+-
!n fact animals from the 8arousel of Ha++iness can be seen on my @
th
3uilt K/ositive 'nergy-
!n the +ast the colouring +ictures could be found on their website but now if you want them you're
going to have to order their colouring book- &ou can find it here:
htt+:11www-carouselofha++iness-org1store1P)1#ther1c1@>?DND41offsetA59sortAnormal
#ne of these days ! want to order myself the co+y as well as a cou+le +atchesQ one to go on my "8%
2acket and one to go on my famous colorful winter coat)
$he *obcaygeon e,hibit where ! sold that first 3uilt brought us into >5?J in some fine style and ! also
showed my 3uilts once again at the Harvest of Builts at .ettler's Cillage in *obcaygeon later that year-
!n the meantime last July Janette and ! also celebrated my birthday a cou+le days early by going to a
E!.. concert)
%nd then of course was the >5?J "ational 8arousel %ssociation convention in Eansas))
htt+s:11www-scribd-com1doc1?DFNN5>DN1>5?J0"8%08onvention0Eansas
Cisiting the Wi7ard of #7 museum and Eansas 8ity (oyals stadium were some of my favorite things
about that tri+ and ! created a few more horses for the K/ositive 'nergy 3uilt:
Hmmm--what else was s+ecial about that year-
Moving on--here we are- "ovember of >5?F- $he N
th
anniversary of /lanet "ilknarf and the year both
Janette and ! celebrated our 45
th
birthdays- !t was our last "iagara tri+ back in January:
htt+s:11www-scribd-com1doc1?M@44@5??1Janette0s045th0*irthday0%dventure
!t was so cold during that tri+ and feels so long ago that it feels like that tri+ was a dream) ! think the
time we s+ent at the arcade was the most fun-
$hen there was my ne,t big art e,hibit in *obcaygeon-
!t ended kind of abru+tly but at least now ! know +eo+le aren't mad at me after all-
%nd ! think my 45
th
birthday which Janette and ! celebrated together in 6uel+h was the *'.$
*!($HD%& 'C'()))
htt+s:11www-scribd-com1doc1>J44@D4DN16lorious06uel+h0$ri+
+a((y *irth'ay 0ave
$oday is my husband's birthday) &esterday his dad and ste+0mum took us to %++lebee's out in %2a,- !t
was wonderful)
Iirst they took us on a lovely drive through the country- We went u+ through /ort /erry and back-
%++lebee's is great) ! can hardly wait to go back again because everything on the menu sounds so
good- ! had trouble making u+ my mind between two different shrim+ dishes and the avocado burger-
! finally chose the burger along with sweet +otato fries- !t was 'G8';;'"$) Dave had the 8owboy
*urger along with onion +etals- $he selection of desserts is great- Dave and Marnie had the a++le
cris+- ! 2ust H%D to try the $ri+le 8hocolate Meltdown- #ne of the *est Desserts 'C'())))
$his morning Dave o+ened his +resents- His dad and ste+0mum gave him that Hockey 8ards book he
wanted along with L45 and ! gave him that E!.. $0shirt ! ordered over a month ago even though he
already knew about it- !t was im+ossible to kee+ it a secret because !'d ordered the same one for
myself too to use as a night0shirt on my "ew &ork tri+- !'d tried to kee+ it hidden from him but he had to
find it when he did the laundry after ! came home- !'d +lanned on doing the laundry myself when !
came home from that tri+ but ! was 2ust too e,hausted so ! told him to leave everything of mine turned
inside0out- #f course he thought ! only meant my 2eans- ! haven't had the time or money to go out and
get him anything different so he 2ust had to +retend to be sur+rised- What ! need is one of those
gadgets they use on KMen in *lack to make +eo+le forget they've seen aliens-
Well that brings us to the end of another issue of /lanet "ilknarf until ne,t time- .ee you ne,t month---
Hntil then /('D!8$---) W!;; this +anel be finished by the time ! finish the D'8'M*'( issue??