Now Playing: Friday traffid
Current Mood : I can't really describe it right now...
I think next Thursday and Friday, I'm gonna hide my car keys in Beloved Hubby's lunch cooler. Maybe that'll keep me home and encourage me to create, not buy.
Yes, my friends, I have done it once again. At least this time, I haven't gone berserk with second-hand Barbies. But I did buy another doll today. (sigh)
The monthly flea market here is a kind of traveling show. And when the owner/manager obtains use of the fairgrounds at other times due to cancellations, it goes from a flea market to a garage sale. Same folks, mostly the same stuff. But the flea market is when smaller sellers appear, and regular booth-holders drag out the stuff that's been moldering all winter in a tin shed on the dark side of Io. Lots of stuff with weird textures and smells, most of which is rotting, but a few interesting things bubble up to the surface, too.
Like today. Very few sellers. I thought this'd be one of the rare times that I prowled without buying anything. And I was inches from the door when I decided to poke around one booth again. Hmm. A doll leg under the table. Big one. I leaned waaaay over...oh ! a redhead Charmin' Chatty doll. I'd never seen a real one, just ads and doll reference photos found while researching Timey Tell and Hi, Dottie. She rather reminded me of Brikette, another doll I'd only seen as a reference, with her pointed chin, odd eyebrows, and close-mouthed smile. A tag on her wrist identified her as a Charmin' Cathy (close, but not quite) for $15.
Hmm. I really wanted a closer look at this doll, but she wasn't on display. For all I knew, the absent booth owner had purchased her and tucked her underneath so no one would try to buy her. So I found myself on my knees at a second-hand venue for another week, staring at a doll curiously, wondering if I should try to pick her up.
Then the booth owner appeared, and asked if I'd like to see her. Yes, she was for sale, there just wasn't room on the table. I got to hold her, and see that her eyes were good and clear, opening and closing as they should. An ink mark decorated one cheek, but otherwise, she just seemed a bit grimy, not really damaged. She had on a skirt with a bib front, and some blue and white saddle shoes with the Mattel seal embossed on each sole. Amazingly, her voice still worked, but it was hard to understand. Her hair was very thin up front, with many missing hair plugs, but it was barely noticeable.
Now, I've never really wanted a Charmin' Chatty doll. Maybe a Chatty Cathy, but even that was remote. And this one had kind of a weird expression. But she's part of doll history, and I'd never expected to see, much less hold, a real one. Compared to my mother's Patty PlayPal, Chatty was lightweight...easy for a kid to carry around.
I guess the seller noticed my wavering. He offered to sell her to me - because he could see I liked her, and would get her cleaned up and dressed nice - for $10. (sighhhh)
I have two My Size Barbie dolls already. And a Baby Chrissy. I don't need this Charmin' 25-inch tall doll, no matter that I could probably sell her shoes for what I'd pay for her, or what her history was. It didn't matter that I had $15. in my wallet, either. I just did not need another doll.
Yeah, right. She's standing right here beside me, with her hair brushed - lightly, it comes out waaaay too easily for my peace of mind - and some of her grime scrubbed off. The ink mark will need acne treatment to fade, and she needs clothes from scratch, but the skirt and bib she wore, as well as her saddle shoes, are original to her. She does talk, but sometimes it garbles a bit. I saw her original ad on YouTube, and it really was charming.
I just couldn't say ‘no' to her. Maybe the seller was right, she needed me. But I swear, next week, I'm gonna hide my car keys ! Along with my wallet and the ATM card !
Another booth set up as I tried to make for the door, two small girls eyeing my newest doll friend. I smiled, but their mom beat cheeks. Oh, well. Maybe she thought I was trying to sell the doll. Found a yard and a half of ‘paper doll' print fabric that'll probably make several nice dresses for a buck, and several spools of vivid thread for 25c each. I'm a slave to pretty thread - especially when it's so inexpensive !
I don't regret owning Charming Chatty. But I do need to rein in all this buying ! Oh, and I'm taking name suggestions ! I'll post the ‘Hibiki Backyard' photo tomorrow, and Charmin's on Sunday. We're getting close to mid-book on the Barbie images !
