The return of the school girl

Hi.
This is the first entry of September because I took a few days of from blogging cos I was going to be away for a few days so needed to use my time differently.
The first thing was packing cos I had a new once piece travel case as the handle on my old travel attache case broke which took some getting used to was it has a short compartment at the front for things like my tickets and timetables, a middle compartment for things I need immediately on arrival and a generous core for other things with a total weight capacity of 2.5 kg together with wheels to drag it around.
That meant I only that had my hello kitty hand luggage carrying bag which I kept Katie Kitten in as she helps me deal with social anxiety, cellphone, outbound ticket ready for inspection and hello kitty purse.
As we had had heavy showers up here, I did have my Peter Storm waterproof jacket with me too.
Given I didn't need to be out early I caught a later local bus to join the service calling at the North-west Midlands leading rail hub to travel down my friends.
I had a few damp moments between connections but despite warnings about signalling issues on the train, that went very smoothly with the train being on time so having come in at the station in this part of South Staffordshire, I was met and walked to the parking lot just beyond the station before a short car journey to their home.
Upon arrival I changed to my middle uniform a black tunic with a zip having my hello kitty slipper socks on over my white 3/4 white socks with bows.
Over the period I did a lot of colouring  taking my new pencils as well as my Frozen colouring with me to work on as well Lucy one of my dollies to play with which probably says a about why I spend my time with and at littles meets here in the UK.
It's to be in (for me) middle headspace, just enjoying things more associated with actual middles without the sophistication's or concerns of groan ups during that period, just some point where I'm focussed on small things  and not like being preoccupied with news or adult interests.

So it was a welcomed surprise to be working sat at a traditional school desk and chair in uniform  doing my colouring, something that mentally took me back in time, feeling very much that child in class in view of groan ups. It's a feeling I feel very comfortable with, bring back many memories  from my past.
This is so much me.
We had a lovely chicken roast and home made plum pudding for our evening meal enjoying a sing song and quiz in the evening until it was time for me to sleep on the couch in front of the fire which I quite like anyway.  It's the feline in me!
I had a good nights sleep after about twenty minutes ready for the next day.
I got up sometime around 7:30 which is actually a bit later than normal for me, had a wash and got dressed in good time for everyone to be up drink and talk.
As is my want I did play at being a cat making the appropriate movements with my paws and meowing between colouring.
We had a cooked breakfast that was much appreciated before I left to join my train on the way home.
After Auntie Andi had dropped me off at the station, I caught the 13:20 that calls at our rail hub and as I was feeling tired I got a taxi off the rank straight home to cut out the waiting in very good time, directing my driver who was from Mid-Cheshire.
Thanks to Jennifer and Susan (no other name or Gah!) for their cooking and hospitality and Auntie Andi for giving me  a lift back to the rail station,

Ghoulish togetherness or Fall LG Camp

If anyone wondered why I was a bit quiet last week when it comes to social media and so on  it was because I was at a LG meet aka "Camp" for several days where we can all be ourselves for a few days although we had some planned activities organized by fellow attendees.
For me  it was a bit different as I spent a few days either side of camp ending at the one at the kind school with the Head Girl and First Former in full uniform to whom I travelled down with.
No need to fall off of the chair but the first time ever I had my nails painted  for the entire duration with help from a n other which apart from curing my nail biting issues also helped me feel more feminine so thank you for talking me into it.
The first day was more a meet and greet as we arrived in the late afternoon sharing candy and eating food (most had Indian takeways but GHS did their own catering) and games.
On Friday thanks to Y.T and the Bear, we had oatcakes and bacon with breakfast, had a Halloween  themed Fish and chip meal  that was ordered plus collected by a couple of attendees plus a competition for the best Halloween outfit so I had a Death Kitty black and pink netted skirt with skull and cross bones on with black tights followed in the evening by a ghoulish disco.
Also most attendees made Pumpkin Lanterns carving out ghoulish faces with knives that were lit with "Tea lights" but as I'm not good with those things I made this instead!

I'd had this set for a bit and took it with me to make as you can make three things from it so I opted to make a Helicopter.
Friday and Saturdays middayish meal was a hand prepared super cold meat platter with pork pie and  salad  people helped themselves to.
On the Saturday thanks to two persons, we had home made Pancakes with breakfast which was a choice of cereal and toast.
The "Sticky One" held a monster class where she gave a presentation about Monsters and handed out a task for completion,namely to draw a monster and explain all about it.
I drew "Persianous Cateious" who was a cat monster I imagined at the age of 7 who had bright yellow eyes,  who'd growl and tear me apart from under the bed with fawn and red coloured fur. As I explained the cat died of natural causes but it kept me  awake at night during that period as it scared me.
We were visited for the day by three long term friends who sadly aren't able to come for the whole time but spend the day with us which was kinda fun and two bought delicious cupcakes which I was noted to have eaten with fork and napkin most delicately so not to get it all over my clothes and face.
Also, as it had been sunny, a swing had been temporarily erected in the grounds so I spent some time swinging back and forth on it without a care in the world.
In the afternoon, one member organized a treasure hunt based around the Addams Family stories centring on solving the mystery of Who Killed Mrs Death (The Cat) with clues positioned in the building to find and read which when I found it were read with my obvious accent!
The Green Team created a lovely chicken roast evening meal with a choice of deserts from scratch. 
The Sunday was more taken up with packing ones case, tidying up the place for the people we pay to use it and saying goodbyes. Those of us leaving late had a meal from the left overs before departing and our group went back via a well known Black Country castle to school enjoying a takeaway meal together before I left for the rail station the following day.
Thanks to the Organizers, the littles who bigged up to do stuff like cook, tidy up, run events and fetch food and the GHS people for making it possible for me to attend such a hugely enjoyable event.

The Middle side of Little: Frilled in skater skirt with side pleats, I actually enjoyed arriving at camp looking more little and can 'own' being a bit  more frilled than in the past which is something for me and thanks to all of you for helping me find the confidence  from within to step out my comfort zone and what is more, enjoy it.

Another 365 days in the World of Joanne_chan

Phew! Where did all that time go this year as it seems that so much happened, some of it unexpected so as we see the olde year out here's a few reflections on it.
First things first, I established my own Tumblr for odd random stuff , which surprisingly got quite a following for something that doesn't hide it's alg side, has lead to some interesting conversations and in its own way is breaking a few stereotypes down.
I also started the Pre-blog series of past memories from notes connected with being  trans and alg typed up very much 'as is' that are about things that lead to my later life and the Blog proper.
Thanks to every  at GT, Ik, FA and Tumblr for your support throughout the year.
Before I forget, I have updated the odd  "Favourite site" link, like Karla's too.
I enjoyed quite a bit of music this year aided by cheap re-issues of box sets, a number of good new specialty re-issues and thanks to the lower prices older specialty discs go for thanks to bad state of the economy, got a good number of otherwise too expensive titles by artists I liked issued many years ago.
Thanks to iTunes, I was able to get otherwise not available digitally UK Rolling Stones titles including on a number of them booklets in extremely good sound.
I visited a number of places this year, having a whale of a time, not least Llandudno where I drifted very much into my little side as well as giving me much needed rest from the stresses of home life.
Perhaps the biggest thing for me personally came at the end of the year where I presented for the first time to group of people not known in 'RL' whatever that is including those raised as female from birth, as my little girl self and they just accepted it without question. I was rather nervous about it - groan up trans sites often make a big meal out of 'passing' - but I just felt I belonged with them, carrying myself being able to engage freely as me. 
That for me was progress.
This leads me back to meeting with Jennifer and Susan locally, spending time with them plus Andi that lead up to the GHS Christmas party where I met so many others and their partners, none of which I'd of expected to have happened this time last year.
So in many ways it's been a momentous year that I feel sets the tone for this upcoming one, spending more time face to face with you, going on adventures and -gasp- having a life!
Here's to 2014.

Junior Art

Most of us encountered art either around us on maybe on the things people bought us such as books, packaging of toys and so on.
As you slowly and for some of us definitely slowly developed your fine motor skills  you may of started to doodle on pieces of paper, done some colouring before doing art in the nursery or infants class usually around the things you know starting say with faces of siblings and so on.
Later on in juniors you'd of had lessons where you might be given a subject to interpret and draw which in my case included drawing things like branches, pussy willow, acorns and flowers that we'd seen in nature study. In my case we went outside to draw them too!
A while ago I did draw some Canada Geese in pencil as I'm a bit of a techophobe when it comes to using tablet and computer software and here is the picture.

Yes that's a Hello Kitty pencil I used to draw it with!

The Adventurous Four

I don't know about you but adventure stories have always had an appeal and two wonderful books in the series The Adventurous Four set off the Scottish West coast where four children with the oldest Andy aged 14 who's acquired already a good knowledge of the sea, islands and sealife is  helping his Dad,  encounter Nazi's thieves and gunrunners.
The series is very much set in Wartime arguably more so than any other of Enid Blyton's work and sees them taken prisoner by the Nazi's resolving to show them what Scots are made of.

These are my copies in the Deans Rewards series from 1973 where as with a few other series such as the Famous Five, the skirts and shorts worn by the children in the original  covers are replaced with Jeans although we all know children during the War never had Jeans!

Too shy? [Pre-blog]

It's February  in my last year at school and our new pin up group from England, Kajagoogoo first 45, Too Shy has hit the UK #1 spot this week.
They are give a special including the front cover slot in this weeks Smash Hits magazine a teen colour pop publication from England we read.
There are however other things very much on my mind right now such as gender identity as for a long long time I've always wanted to dress as a girl because I've always seen me  as a female.

 

I'd loved to have worn such cute dresses like the one on the right but for a long period lived in fear of harsh cutting words not from just boys but also other girls although I've been very lucky to have sympathetic girls at high school. Will I find others like that when I leave in July?