Thanksgiving 2021

I hope you have had a wonderful Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving Eve, I went to church and sang a few songs from choir practice. The Thanksgiving Eve service was great. I can’t wait until we all get to rehearse for the Christmas Eve service next Thursday. My friend Mr Kiffer got to do a speech, and it was wonderful and funny.

Today I got to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the dog show. I actually watched them on the Peacock app. They were both amazing and I’m glad that I got to watch them after watching them on my tablet last Thanksgiving. I was really excited that they were both gonna stream on the Peacock app because Mom doesn’t have cable for our apartment any longer.

My older brother deep-fried a turkey for Thanksgiving this year and we all got to try it. I tasted it for the very first time. I got a really huge piece of the turkey. I tried to eat it but I ended up being full!!!

I’m thankful for all of you. Thank you for your ongoing love and support in my autism journey. I love you all very much and you all mean so much to me. Always cherish every single moment that you have with your family. Please take the time to make somebody feel loved.

Dave Goelz Autographs, Italian Festival and the Halloween Parade

Last month I was so excited to recieve some autographed pictures from Dave Goelz. I recieved a message from his wife, and she told me that he asked her if I wanted some autographed pictures. I said a resounding “yes!” so I recieved them a week later. I was thrilled!!! I opened them as soon as my mom gave me the enveloped package. There was a short and sweet note from Dave and this is what it said.

And then came the autographed pictures!:

Boy was I thrilled to have gotten them!!! This was one of the most wonderful moments of my life. I was so excited to recieve them!!! Thank you so much Dave Goelz!!!

We went to the Italian Festival in mid-September. I loved the pizza and cannolli there. We listened to some music there too. i brought my Kermit the Frog plush with me as a comfort aid. The pizza and cannolli were so yummy. There was Frank Sinatra music playing too when the band that was there had taken breaks.

Then earlier this month I went to the Halloween Parade in Temple. I brought Walter and Gonzo with me as my comfort aids and I also brought my noise cancelling headphones with me. It was such a wonderful parade, and I’m glad that I got to enjoy it with my noise-cancellation headphones on as well as my comfort aids. I got a lot of candy that night!!

The day after we had breakfast at the Fifth Street Diner. I had dippy eggs, toast, home fries and bacon. My sister gave me some toast to dip it in the wet yolk. On Friday I watched Muppets Haunted Mansion twice. Every night so far I have been watching it to help me fall asleep. Thanks to Peter Linz, Eric Jacobson and Matt Vogel it worked!!!

My choir teacher Mimi gave us a week off from choir so I’ll be building puppets again soon.

Thank You, Dan Garza!!!!!!

I was SO excited to recieve a package in the mail yesterday after going to Walmart and eating a breakfast burrito at home for breakfast…a Gonzo doll, a drawing of Gonzo, and a note from Dan Garza!!! I think this package is the greatest package, especially since I have gotten it yesterday!!! Thank you so much, Dan Garza!!!

To those of you who don’t know who Dan Garza is, he’s a puppeteer that works for the Jim Henson Company. I have discussed that I loved the Muppets/Sesame Street/Henson Company and that I have found so much comfort in the Muppets/Sesame Street/Henson Company productions in my autism journey.

I am doing great today. I had a great birthday on Thursday. I went to see The Great Muppet Caper on Wednesday, and I went to Hollywood Casino and Red Robin on Friday. I had such a wonderful week last week. Even if I had a rough start to last week, it got better and better.

Anyway, that’s all. The pictures below is me with the gift that Dan Garza sent me. I am one happy Muppets/Sesame Street/Henson Company fan!!!!!!

Happy New Year!

Well, it’s 2021 already. Christmas is gone, and the New Year has finally begun. I’m glad to see 2020 end. There were so many hard times people went through. But now that 2021 is here, I hope it will be a better year than 2020 ever was. During the months that my family and I were on lockdown, I watched some Henson Company shows that I have never watched before. I watched them and immediately fell in love with them. I loved watching them over and over again. They were so awesome to watch.

Also that year, I built some puppets, and I also built them with Adelka Polak and the Wonderspark Puppets group. I loved the people of Wonderspark Puppets. They have been so kind to me. And during my birthday I had a Reese’s peanut butter chocolate cake. I went camping for the first time since the early ‘90s that year, and I ate some s’mores. They were so yummy. 

In October, I made some Halloween decorations, and watched Muppets/Sesame Street/Henson Company programming that was Halloween-themed. In November I made Thanksgiving decorations. We had a great Valentine’s Day party back in February 2020 long before the lockdowns started. I loved eating cookies, whoopie pies and candy during the party. That was the most fun event that I had before choir practice ended for the year too soon.

In December, I made a wreath and a reindeer puppet for Christmas. I watched Christmas-themed Muppets/Sesame Street/Henson Company programming during the Christmas season. The wreath turned out to be beautiful and the reindeer puppet will be finished soon. I was gonna finish it by Christmas Day but I am thinking about finishing it once today is over. It felt great to put bells on my reindeer puppet.

I hope you all have a wonderful 2021 and I hope this year will be lots better than last year ever was. You all mean so much to me. Always know that there is always hope. More importantly, always know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Thanksgiving and Christmas 2020

I hope you all had a safe and merry Christmas.

On Christmas Eve morning I had breakfast with my sister and her friend’s family. The meals were so yummy. My meal was yummy too. I loved the hash browns and bacon that Perry’s had. They were really good. I especially loved the dippy eggs, my favorite breakfast food. Before that we went to WalMart and I could barely find some polar bear fur for the polar bear puppet I was gonna make. Anyway, it was still a good day despite not finding what I was looking for.

I went to my aunt Debbie’s house for a visit on Christmas Eve. I watched A Special Sesame Street Christmas when I was there. That’s a great Christmas special. We went home after and then the rest of the day I watched Muppets/Sesame Street/Henson Company Christmas specials.

On Christmas Day, we always have our usual Christmas breakfast. So I ate breakfast that day, then opened some Christmas presents. I got a Miss Piggy plush, the book called Imagination Illustrated, the DVD of Henson’s Place The Man Behind the Muppets, a Sesame Street calendar for next year, then some Ark Therapeutic chewable necklaces. I was so excited to get them. And I was also excited to get some new squeeze toys, a vintage kazoo and some Christmas candy.

I also hope you guys had a great and happy Thanksgiving. We Pennsylvania Dutch folk have potato filling with our green beans, corn and turkey for Thanksgiving, and I also got to eat some candied yams. I have always found candied yams really yummy. And for those of you who don’t know what potato filling is, it’s mashed potatoes with celery, onions and bread stuffing. And it’s the yummiest side dish on Thanksgiving EVER. 

I hope you guys had a great Thanksgiving and Christmas, as I have said before. 

Camping Then and Now

Every summer when I was a little girl I used to go camping with my grandparents. I had a great time going camping, and we went to Virginia for camping trips. I loved it so much. I listened to music at the time. I usually listened to the Wee Sing tapes and Golden Book tapes. They were such fun times, going camping with my grandparents.

 

Sadly in 1995, the camping trips stopped and my grandfather had developed a heart problem. He died in 2003 and things were different then. There was no way any of us could go camping ever since Pappy had a heart condition. Times were hard for all of us.

We did however go to Mary Ann and Johnny’s house before Johnny died.

On Friday, we finally went on a camping trip. This time the camping trip would involve a cabin in the Poconos. I was not allowed to bring my Sesame Street blanket because it was smelly. But I did bring my Sesame Street pillows. We went on the camping trip to the Poconos as soon as my sister Ashley came to my apartment. Then we were packed and ready to go.

 

It was hot in the cabin the entire time we were there. We were all sweaty by the time we went home. I enjoyed being outside in the nature that weekend. It was a good feeling even though the flies bothered me. I had a great time going camping. The coolest part was when Ashley turned on some Disney music for me and O to listen to.

 

We didn’t go to the lake on Saturday. We didn’t go to the other lake either because the lake didn’t allow any dogs. We brought our dogs Sophie and Toby along for a ride but we didn’t go to any of the lakes. My sister Ashley got me a Sesame Street coloring book and a Muppet Babies Kermit toy for my birthday. I was really happy about that because Sesame Street/Muppets/Henson Company productions are such a constant for me.

 

By the end of the day on Saturday I had my favorite campfire snack which is s’mores. I love those. They are my favorite campfire snacks because they’re so yummy. We had breakfast outside too. We had bacon and eggs.

 

On Sunday we went home and on our way there we stopped at Burger King and ate some croissan’wiches. I had the sausage, egg and cheese croissan’wich. When I got home I watched Muppet Treasure Island four times. I thought it was the best weekend camping trip, and I was glad to go even though I didn’t bring my Sesame Street blanket.

Happy Birthday, Kermit the Frog!

Today is Kermit the Frog’s birthday. I have loved him ever since his Sesame Street days long before I discovered that I was autistic. I have watched him in all the Muppet movies and productions and have enjoyed every minute of it.

Kermit the Frog has been such a comfort to me ever since I was a litle autistic girl. I remember getting the video to The Muppet Christmas Carol way back in December 1993. I was so excited that I got it. And years later I would get the DVD version for Christmas in December 2017. And just recently for Christmas last year, I got some other Muppet products with Kermit in them. Those were very exciting times in my life.

Kermit the Frog has been with me through doctor visits, quarantines, bloodworks, etc. I am so thankful that Jim Henson had created Kermit and thankful for the comfort that Kermit has brought me.

Happy birthday, Kermit the Frog! Thank you for bringing me so much comfort to me through the years as somebody who is autistic.

2019

I hope you guys had a wonderful Christmas and awesome New Year as well. I know I had a wonderful Christmas.

On Thanksgiving Eve, I finished the final chapter of my book called Shadows of the Dark Crystal. The book was wonderful. I wanted to get all the Dark Crystal books because I love anything from the Jim Henson Company. I love all of the Jim Henson Company products because they bring me so much comfort. I got to watch The Jimmy Dean Show’s two Thanksgiving episodes during the month of November. I got to watch the second Jimmy Dean Show Thanksgiving episode for the first time that month.

Thanksgiving Day. I had my usual for Thanksgiving because I love potato filling and turkey so much. I watched the Thanksgiving parade on Thanksgiving morning and I got to see the Sesame Street float, which is always my favorite float. Ashley and Zach came over to have Thanksgiving dinner with us. It was a wonderful time filled with laughter and love. I watched The Muppet Christmas Carol multiple times as soon as I was done taking my shower.

Christmas Eve. I went to the Christmas Eve service. I cried the entire service because I felt agitated. After the Christmas Eve service I watched the movie called The Polar Express immediately after watching It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie. We had popcorn and cheese balls during The Polar Express. After The Polar Express was over I watched the movie called The Muppet Christmas Carol on Disney XD. I loved watching it, and when it was over I went to sleep.

Christmas Day. We opened our Christmas presents at 10am that morning. BBB and Courtney came in from Wisconsin for Christmas. I got the books called The Muppet Christmas Carol: The Illustrated Holiday Classic, The Twelve Days of a Muppet Christmas, Kermit’s Christmas Tree, Elmo’s Merry Christmas, The NIght Before Christmas on Sesame Street, Flames of The Dark Crystal, and A Sweet Christmas on Sesame Street. I got the DVDs to A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa, Once Upon a Sesame Street Christmas, and the Fraggle Rock DVD called A Merry Fraggle Holiday. I got a Muppet Christmas sweater which I wore on Christmas Day, a Muppet Kermit the Frog Christmas ornament, a pair of Sesame Street pajama pants, the DVDs to Sesame Street’s 50th Anniversary celebration and the Sesame Street Dance Party DVD, and I also got a Sesame Street tshirt. I got a puzzle of Times Square and some lottery tickets. I also got a Muppet backpack with only three Muppets on it. I had a big Christmas breakfast. We didn’t have ham this time because the ham had been sold out.

New Year’s Eve. I had a bowl of noodles for supper. I watched the fireworks on my tablet that day. The fireworks were beautiful. I watched the ball drop on my local ABC station.

New Year’s Day. We had pork and sauerkraut for lunch and dinner. I watched the Mummers Parade on TV and some Muppets/Henson Company movies on my tablet at the same time. I had a wonderful Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. It was amazing and a lot of fun.

Jim Henson Day 2019

Today is the day that Jim Henson was born. He was born in 1936, which was several years after both my grandparents were born. I was glad I got to celebrate Jim Henson’s life by watching the Jim Henson Company production of The Dark Crystal Age of Resistance and Sesame Street which is Sesame Workshop, formerly known as Children’s Television Workshop.

Jim Henson was a kind man. He cared about everybody, and he showed appreciation for each and every person. He taught me so much. He taught so many people so much. He has inspired me to be kind to everybody, to be creative, and to love all kinds of people no matter who they are, and no matter what their differences were. He was a warm and wonderful man. And not only that, he has given me so much comfort through his Muppets as somebody who is autistic.

I am so thankful for Jim Henson, because of the comfort his Muppets have given me. Whenever I have a meltdown, I watch any Jim Henson Company production, or Muppet production, or Sesame Street, and I am a lot calmer as soon as they are turned on. I love that Jim Henson has given me so much comfort through these characters made in the Jim Henson Company because they are just so amazing. I love watching these characters on TV and DVD and I always get a sense of comfort through the characters. I am glad that I get to watch these productions on DVD, because they have been such a comfort to me through the years.

When I watch a Henson Company production, I always get a sense of comfort through these characters that Jim Henson or a Henson Creature Shop employee has made. When I was a little girl, I used to watch Sesame Street, The Muppet Show and Muppet Babies and that was when I knew that they would give me a sense of comfort. That was when I knew Jim Henson and his shows and movies would forever hold a special place in my heart.

The Muppets, the Sesame Street Muppets, and the Henson Company puppets will always be my friends and our family no matter what. They mean so much to me and so does Jim Henson. Jim Henson would have loved me if he and I were to meet each other. I know that he had a tender heart and a kind personality. He is in heaven with Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Jery Juhl, my grandparents, Mr. Kiffer’s parents, my aunt JoanAnn, and my great-uncle Lester. I’m sure that they are making puppets and doing some puppet shows for everybody in heaven right now.

Happy birthday in heaven, Jim Henson. Thank you so much for being such a comfort to me through your puppets. You have given me so much comfort, and everybody else so much joy. You mean so much to me and have brought joy to so many people and also me. I am eternally grateful for your kindness, and most of all, you. See you in heaven, Jim Henson.

Happy 60th Birthday, Steve Whitmire

Dear Steve Whitmire,

Where do I even begin? You are one of my heroes and favorite puppeteers. When I was a little girl I used to watch your performances as a Muppet performer. I think about all the times when I got the videocassette to The Muppet Christmas Carol for Christmas 1993 and watched it, when I watched Muppet Treasure Island with my classmates in fourth grade, when I watched Fraggle Rock at my late grandmother’s old house with my brothers and sister, and so on.

As an autistic adult, I find so much comfort in the characters you have played over the years. I loved watching the music video to Kokomo from on the Muppet Beach Party album I like to listen to every summer. Every Friday I love to watch Fraggle Rock and enjoy watching Wembley and Sprocket. I love watching Bean Bunny in The Tale of the Bunny Picnic every Easter season. I especially love watching your characters in Muppet productions.

You and your characters have meant so much to me through the years. It has been a priviledge to watch your characters in my autism journey, and they have comforted me when I have meltdowns. I love watching the behind the scenes videos on YouTube of you and the Muppet performers when you worked with the Muppets. Your characters have brought me so much comfort throughout my autism journey. I have so many wonderful memories of watching them, and I am forever grateful.

Happy 60th birthday, Steve Whitmire. And from the bottom of my heart, thank you for being a comfort to me through your characters.