2016: Looking Back...

So. 2016. I have to confess, I’m not sorry to see this year die. Looking back, I could say that 2016 was an SOMETHING slog of misery from beginning to end. However, there were some bright spots, and in years like this, those points of light, as dim as they might be, are what saw me through the long night.

( The Home )

( The Job )

( Family )

( Loss )

( Writing )

( Fun )

For me, 2016 was full of more shadows than light. It was a year where I felt lost and helpless. It was a year when I let go and surrendered to feelings of doubt and woe that came from the lost and hopeless. There were good things too. I have to keep reminding myself of that, and of how those things made me feel. More importantly, in 2017, I have to work to find those things and those people that make me feel like that more of the time.

The Center for Puppetry Arts...

Yesterday, the sis and I went to The Center for Puppetry Arts, primarily to see the limited run anniversary exhibit for Labyrinth. While the center isn’t huge, it’s full of cool stuff. They run puppet shows and events and have workshops. The museum part was divided into three sections. The larger two were their standing exhibits: Puppetry around the World and the Jim Henson exhibit. There is a smaller space for special exhibits.

The puppets around the world had everything from hand puppets to marionettes to puppets that float on water to shadow puppets. They had bits on political puppetry and Punch and Judy show puppetry and stop motion puppetry. For the last, they had a Corpse Bride and her groom puppets and a diorama from Coraline (Coraline in the kitchen with her Other Mother and Other Father.

The Henson section… Well, let’s just say we both got more than a little excited there. Why? Well, let’s see. When you first go in, they have Henson’s desk set up in a faux office with his things. They have two of his Emmy’s and gold and platinum records. They had Big Bird and Little Bird, Grover, Cookie Monster, and Elmo from Sesame Street. Fan of The Muppet Show? They had Kermit and Piggy, Robin and Scooter, Dr. Teeth and one of the chickens (Chicken #5 to be specific). There was Fozzie! Prefer Fraggles? How about Mookey and Red and a bunch of Doozers, along with some Fraggle babies and “Chorus Fraggles”?

As excited as we were by that, it didn’t in any way prepare us for the next room, which was the standing exhibits for The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. From the latter, they had that door guarded by the playing card guys: the red card was on one side, the blue on the other. They also had that big dark door with the huge gold demon knocker. Also… Sir Didymus. And that little spiked goblin they shoot out of the cannon that gets embedded in the wall.

The special exhibit for Labyrinth had Worm and the Junk Lady (sans the big Sherpa pack of junk) and a host of goblins (including the orange jousting one that Sir Didymus fights), their weapons and their armor. They also had a display from the masked ball. They had a host of masks and fans, a female gown (pale brown with gossamer over it) and male suit (with a skeletal ribcage breastplate). They also had Jareth’s costume from the Escher stairs scene. And, guys, they had Jareth’s crystal balls!

Circling back to The Dark Crystal (because we both loved it best), they had Jen! And Fizzgig! And Aughra! They had one of those little pod people who raised Kira.

And…THEY HAD A GARTHIM! It was GLORIOUS!