Professional Documents
Culture Documents
June 2015
Cover story: Here's Janette and I with one of the most recent quilts I've finished. This one I made
especially for her. I believe I started working on it way back last summer around the time we went to
Guelph. I've kind of been multi-tasking between several quilts at once. The following horses appear on
both her quilt and the big one I'm working on:
The skulls, hearts, etc. on the original drawing are stickers I bought at the Dollar Store when we were
in Guelph The colourful green floral print on hers is from an old blouse that she cut up and saved the
fabric from. I did three of the same for the Don't Give Up and God Loves You Too Much... horses for
both our quilts and the one I made for Jan and Fede:
The square in the middle is the third time I've done my picture of a small carousel with several of our
favorite animals including my papier-mache creatures and Janette's Gas Sign and Honeymoon
horses. The only difference is that on hers, instead of the Frog Prince there is Fluffy Ladybird and it is
trimmed with the yellow fabric instead of the pink carousel fabric I've used on the one for the Positive
Energy Quilt and Jan and Fede's Quilt. It has been fun bringing my projects with me to the Livingroom
where I can work on them in the presence of other people whose company I've really been enjoying.
It's such a blessing getting to leave the house and be with all these new friends I've made.
One wonderful surprise has been being reunited with Barb, who was my landlady in Peterborough
when I was in college. She's been coming to the Livingroom since it opened last November! We had a
great time reminiscing. When I lived with her in Peterborough, her daughter, Sarah was just a toddler.
Sarah still remembers me and still has the unicorn I drew for her way back then and Barb has had two
more kids since then. The youngest is now 24, I believe. We've been showing each other our
scrapbooks we've been working on.
Both Janette's Quilt and the one I'm working on have references to the New York Library Lions:
It's really made a difference having a reason to get out of the house and hang out with other people.
The Livingroom has been the best thing that's happened to this town and when I am not working on
my quilts I am either working on my scrapbook or my collages.
The collage pictured at the beginning of this month's newsletter is the result of the Soul Collage
workshop we did on Saturday, May 2nd. The idea is to divide the page into four sections, not unlike the
medicine wheel: Emotional, Physical, Spiritual and Intellectual. Then without thinking too hard about it,
just freely associating images with each category. It is okay if there are more examples of one
category than any other or pictures that fall into more than one category and overlap. Even before I
took part in this workshop I found myself experiencing working on these collages as a meditative
exercise to express the feelings of my subconscious.
I've noticed I seem to include a lot of pictures of food. And when doing so I actually feel kind of
rebellious. I guess it's kind of a way of getting revenge against all the times, living as a Fat Person, I've
been made to feel guilty and ashamed for my love of food. The picture in the middle of my Soul
Collage happens to be an inviting-looking banquet table, outdoors with cozy lanterns at each place.
It's not just about the food. The banquet table represents a place for good friends to gather and
exchange ideas and meaningful conversation. There also seems to be a lot of books, chairs and
water. I guess lately the most important thing in life has been comfort, so I am drawn to these images
for a reason.
Eloise's Adventures
Welcome to a new feature in Planet Nilknarf. On Monday, May 11th, I made a very special new friend.
She would like to share her story...
I woke up not knowing where I was, how I got there or where I had been before. I had no idea
how long I'd been sitting there when a lady with purple hair crossed the bridge and came walkig
toward me. She took out her camera, bent down and took my picture. Then she walked away.
Moments later she turned around, picked me up and put me in her backpack. I was scared. I
didn't know what to expect. She took me out at a place called a bank where she sat me down in
front of a vase full of white flowers. I heard her talking to the man at the counter, telling him
that she wanted to post my picture on Facebook and hopes that it goes viral so that the little
girl who lost me may find me again. What if someone just threw her away because they didn't
want her anymore? he said. I didn't like him very much. He seemed kind of grumpy and
unfriendly. And the lady with the purple hair definitely wasn't impressed either. She was
devastated to discover that she had only $14 left in her bank account and muttered something
about exchange rates whatever that means, not to mention not being able to make the minimum
payment on her VISA bill this month.
When she brought me home, her husband was annoyed. He called me trash! What a big meanie!!!
Aunt Margaret, as I now call her, cleaned me up and made me a pretty new dress and I do SO
NOT look like trash now! Still, I'd best stay out of Uncle Dave's way. Getting my body cleaned
up was easy. Whoever I'd lived with before had been scribbling on me with a pink magic marker.
There was a pink stain on my chest, a bulls-eye drawn on my butt and X's on the soles of my
shoes. A quick rub with the Tide Stick made me good as new. We can't do anything about the
marks on my face though. Maybe it's just as well. If I looked too new, my previous owners might
not recognize me.
Even if I could remember my own name there's no way I could tell Aunt Margaret. Dolls can't
talk. Pre-recorded messages activated by pulling a string don't really count as talking either. But
I HAD to have a NAME. We had considered Perdita which is Spanish for lost and Nellie
after a character on Little House on the Prairie. But Nellie's really not a nice person. So the
name Eloise stuck because I reminded Aunt Margaret of the little girl in the storybook. The
one about a little girl who lives in a fancy hotel in New York. My namesake was made into a movie.
Aunt Margaret had actually made a doll for that movie at her old job!! Sabine is Eloise's
Jamaican doll who looks like the daughter that Aunt Jemima and Mr. Peanut avoid talking about!!!
Anyway, Aunt Margaret sat me on a very large rocking horse. It was fun but a little scary as it
was quite high and I was a bit scared of falling.
Then I had tea with two of her other dolls, Margaret who is her Travelling Doll and Punky
Penny who is a Groovy Girl. We had to improvise because I had the only cup. There used to be
two more but Uncle Dave threw them out because they were Toronto Maple Leafs mugs and he
doesn't like the Leafs anymore! Next time Aunt Margaret goes to Niagara Falls she wants to get
a proper Tea Set from that beautiful gift shop at the Secret Garden. She and her friend
Janette have been there many times with their Travelling Dolls as well as Waddle and Fluffy.
I've yet to meet Fluffy. Aunt Margaret has had the little house-shaped teapot for many years.
The manager of Golden Griddle gave it to her when she and Dave were regular customers there.
There is no more Golden Griddle at the Oshawa Centre. Dave's bank is where it used to be. Since
we had no other cups we had to improvise using a disposable plastic shot glass and an egg cup.
Still we had a pleasant afternoon together just the same. I'm making lots of new friends around
here, enjoying good food, adventures and beautiful new clothes. When and if my previous owner
finds me I will have a gorgeous new wardrobe to take home. It's a shame I can't remember
where I used to live before but I am having so much fun here I probably won't want to go home.
Wherever home is.
Anyway, we enjoyed a tasty supper of leftover Thai food. It's quite spicy but I think I like it.
And then Aunt Margaret took me along to her Autism Spectrum Disorder support group. I agree.
I don't really like the word disorder very much. It makes it sound like somethings wrong.
Here I am enjoying dinner and here I am riding on the bus!! I had a great time watching everyone
create comic strips!
Our meeting was originally supposed to be about Passport Funding whatever that is, but the
group leader had to cancel because she had something called a migraine, whatever that is. Aunt
Margaret was pretty disappointed, but at least she put her creativity to good use: There's even
a little lamb version of me in the corner leaning against Olive's hat!
Although there are pictures and regular posts about me in Aunt Margaret's Facebook Account, I
also have my own Facebook Page. You can find it here and see regular updates:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Adventures-of-a-Lost-Doll/1629667543915046
Epilogue
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Eloise was returned on Saturday, May 16 to the place where I originally found her, along with a
plastic box containing the clothes I made for her and a short note.
I regret to say that although it was fun dressing her up in pretty clothes and taking pictures of the
adventures she's had with the friends she's made here I've had nothing but bad luck since I found her.
Perhaps it's just a coincidence, starting with finding out I only had $14 left in the bank and the
Passport Funding workshop was cancelled. These things probably would have happened with or
without Eloise in my life.
My husband didn't like her and neither did the man at the bank, who seemed like a grump with no
imagination anyway. And when I posted her picture to the Empath community on Facebook, it was
pretty much unanimous that there was a bad vibe about her and that she had to go!
While Dave was grocery shopping I lit my White Sage candle to cleanse away any negative energy
that Eloise may have brought into the house with her.
Not only were there those two things that happened on Monday. I have lost my Happy Place. More
details about that later.
Clockwise from top: NCA members gathered in front of the pavillion, me riding a humble little brown
inside-row horse, Richard on his favorite horse, Blackie.
was there back in 1987. In fact that was such a bad trip for me that I didn't even WANT to remember
most of it and destroyed my film instead of ever getting it developed!
Maybe someday I will go back to Calgary under better circumstances, with Janette or staying at
Sharon's place.
At least I am happy to say that things are going better between Jan and Fede. By the time you read
this they will have moved again. They're still in Edmonton, but they are in a different place.
In the meantime it is unusually COLD around here!!! I don't believe it! The FIRST OF JUNE and today
I needed my Technicolour Dream Coat!! The other day I found my Huckleberry Hound patch from
Canada's Wonderland. That patch must be at least 20 years old. I probably bought it the time I was
there with Richard in 1993. I don't think Wonderland even sells patches of ANY kind now, let alone
Hanna-Barberra characters. For awhile there it was all Nickelodeon characters such as Spongebob
Squarepants and Dora the Explorer and now it's all Peanuts characters; Charlie Brown, Snoopy, etc.
Now there's a blast from the past. Talk about characters that never go out of style. I still have my
Snoopy wall plaque hanging in the bathroom. I've had that so long I don't even remember where it
came from! I think Aunt Jean and Uncle Alex gave it to me for Christmas when I was about eight years
old. It's been everywhere I've lived since I've had my first apartment back in Lindsay!
Scrap-booking/art-journalling with a vengeance has helped me hold onto what little is left of my sanity!
Here are a couple pictures not usually seen by the general public just yet. I have shared them in
Facebook threads but I won't be adding them to my album until sometime after the 11th when I have
printer's ink so I can finish the chapters in between.
Anyone who wants to see the rest of my scrapbook album can do so here:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?
set=a.554208641385568.1073741870.100003893116310&type=1&l=9440203e3d
A funny thing happened a few nights ago. Just as I was drifting off to sleep I felt something jab me in
my left hip. It was a crayon. Before turning on the light I thought I would try to guess what colour it
was. Blue. I turned on the light. I was right! And of course the first thing I thought of was that KIDEO
episode where Ace says I just can't imagine life without a blue crayon.
Tonight is a very special and very important meeting for my Kerry's Place ASD group! We are
FINALLY going to do PASSPORT FUNDING!!! YAAAAAYYYYY!!! More details to follow!!
Well, I can't think of much else to write about so I shall go for now and publish this month's issue.
Love,
Margaret