Current Mood : Lucky and knows it 

I swear, I never learn. I just don't ! After wasting Tuesday, getting off my butt and sewing a decent - but not at all what it was supposed to be - Aileen's Petite Fashions ‘vintage' Barbie dress on Wednesday, I'd planned to spend a happy Thursday, writing this and taking pictures.

I am such a bloody idiot...

Thursday, a job Beloved Hubby had scheduled got called on account of rain (although it wasn't raining here, it was pouring where he was - I saw the radar !), so once he was home, we decided to pack up the PIL's remaining stuff still in our garage and his Office, and deliver it. Mostly their fridge and big TV, which, for some reason, has remained here since the big move and big move back. Luckily, they'd already gotten their washer and dryer earlier this week. Unfortunately, it was already darn near East Coast humid, which really triggers my asthma, but I had inhalers and was reasonably in control.

Too bad it didn't last. Between the dust and long-hair cat dander that clung to the PIL stuff like hairy fairy blankets, my breathing needle pegged fast and hard. Long story short, I gasped and wheezed my way into Friday, when it started to get worse. I was getting panicky from all the straight shots of steroids - prescription speed, quite literally - and even bathroom trips made me cough so hard, I saw stars.

Yet during the day, I was a bit wheezy in my speech, but otherwise mostly OK. But once the sun began descending, my nights of hell began. Honestly, I'm amazed I made it through Friday night. I woke up about every ten minutes wheezing and gasping, and completely forgot my other medicines in the panic-shuffle, so it was rapidly goin' south. About all the ER could do for me was shove a nebulizer at me and make appointments for Monday, this I knew from past experience. And we really couldn't deal with another $800. bill - although Beloved was set to bundle me up in a bedsheet if it became necessary.

Asthma's a weird disorder. All most people know about it - unless it's a loved one who suffers - is Primatene Mist ads and cheap movie shorthand. You know, highwater-pants unable-to-deal-with-Life nerd gets stressed, wheezes for three seconds, and sucks on an L-shaped tube, and never again has another symptom, because it was all always in their heads. Once they're successful and beautiful, asthma falls away, without a leaving a trace, a scar, or a memory, just like pimples and virginity. I wish it was that simple. Stress does not equal imaginary bronchial tube malfunction, ya cheap-hack writers !

I was once asked for a simple explanation of what went on during one of my attacks. I likened it to normally breathing through a tube the size of a drinking glass. Then, usually with some bit of warning, but not always, the available air constricted to the size of a drinking straw, and it felt as though it was getting smaller. I could suck in air, but it got pushed right back out by my panicking lungs. The inhalers eased the panic by soothing the inflammation that began the attack, but it could - and often did - happen again. My chest and windpipe would soon be rough and sore from the forced chemical openings, and fluids easily built up - after all, it was an extreme allergic reaction. If I was lucky and could get free of the allergen and weather that may have triggered it, I'd be OK. Until the next attack. If not...I'd be suckin' on a nebulizer in the ER, having my chest x-rayed again. I was rather heartily sick of the whole business. I'd been diagnosed when I was 20 -  when did I get to grow out of it, like in the movies ?

So, without many alternatives save the ER, I scrabbled for the purple oval Advair Diskus sample the nurse practitioner had pressed on me during my last ‘need scripts refilled' visit. I didn't want this powder thing, I'd heard enough bad about it from my mother and various others. But desperate people = desperate acts. Or desperate people = first act of ‘Henry V', I forget which. Need to watch Blazing Saddles again. Read the directions twice, and...

It worked. I hit it every 12 hours, and most of my symptoms are under control, all day. I only need the ‘speed' inhalers now for sudden attacks. Which I haven't had a single one since my first pull on the purple thing. I'm not sure if I'll need to continue using the Advair every day, or just on bad symptoms ones, so I get to call the NP. I'd also like to tell her that there's a very good chance she saved my life. I know all that speed wasn't good on my already-stressed heart ! This stuff doesn't even make it flutter.

Just kinda bugs me. Everyone else adores spring. There's so much beauty, so many delicate but strong flowers, so many harbingers of hope. For me, though, it's one big sick after another ! I feel so old when I have to check the pollen forecast before planning anything. And it's been two weeks since I hit yard sales ! (sniffle) Oh, well - someone else had a good chance to find the goodies, and maybe next week will be my turn.

I think I just need to learn to 1)not take tomorrow for granted (something you'd have though I'd learned thoroughly by now !) and 2) realize that, yeah, surviving getting older takes a bit more forethought than it used to. I once said that the gift of asthma is having to slow down once in a while. I think I need to take that thought with me more often. I have an incredible life - and I want to keep it a while longer !

(embarrassed mumble)Should have a photo of the not-really-vintage-Belle dress I made Wednesday. Although I worked on it for three hours, it's not quite done, and was quite the wrestle-fest. I am sooooo close to deleting Aileen's Petite Fashions off my hard drive...At least the finished item fits the former Sailor Moon quite well !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:21 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Cat-nap envy 

Slowly but surely, I'm getting back into productive activities. Got some stuff scanned - it was piling up over there - and printed a couple patterns. Also got to do a bit of shopping ! Wheee !

Thrift stores were a total wash this week. I mean, nothin'. Most weeks, especially during yard sale season, I wonder why I even go. But that's the nature of it, ya never know who's gonna find what where ! Plus, it's ‘me' time of the purest sort ! And I needed a few sale items from the grocery store over there. Mal-Wart doesn't carry the local French Onion dip I really enjoy. Not to mention the eternal hope that Dollar General has something new in the toy section...

Last time I ran the circuit, I found that DolGen had more keychain shoes that fit Mia (a smaller Crissy family doll) and Aria (the larger Teen Ariel doll). Last year, they had sneaker keychains that fit Crissy and Isabella (Interactive Belle). So I bought one, for fittings, last week, and I soon knew I needed more ! Amazingly, I didn't run out the next day and buy ‘em, I waited ‘til today.

The shoes resemble ‘Crocs' - those started out as rubbery plastic clogs sold primarily to gardeners. They soon became popular, colorful plastic shoes in pretty much all sizes, kid and adult. I'm not sure why, but the vamp has holes sprinkled throughout, maybe for personalization, air circulation, or just to get the darn things off yer feet. To me, they look like clown shoes, but I understand they're extremely comfortable. Sort of like soft jelly shoes - cheap and fun. Last time I tried a pair on, I looked like Generic Overweight Background Anime Character #12, so I don't own a pair. My dolls, however, now own ‘em in seven colors. One of the things I love about dolls - they can be trendy as heck, even when you have no interest in being so. And I just can't turn down a pair of doll shoes for $2. One pair of Aria's was $5. plus $4. for shipping, and I once paid $12. total for Crissy's orange issue pair.

Me, I own a pair of everyday flats (navy blue with white polka dots), a white and green elastic strap pair, sneakers, and the white pumps I got married in. Oh, and a pair of knockoff exercise sandals. That's it. The most shoe-impoverished doll I own has at least twice that. Go figure.

Decided that, tomorrow, I sew ! Since I've had such bad luck with my attempts to use Aileen's Petite Fashions' pattern for 'Modern Art', I've decided to try another of hers. Maybe I'll finally know if it's me, or the pattern. So wish me luck !

Oh, and I'm trying a larger font. The old one was a bit small. Better, or worse ? Let me know what'cha think !

Posted by dorriebelle at 9:08 PM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:21 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Better 

Hi, guys. Sorry I took a week and then some vacation without saying anything - I swear, I kept thinking I'd catch up later. But between the school volunteer mess (every *&^% ing time, "Why don't we" always ends up "Dorrie ends up doing (and paying for) by herself", and I'm pretty *&^$ing sick of it already), the frequent asthma attacks followed by the ‘sleep all day ‘cause I keep waking up at night' freaks, and the general "OMG, I'm a lazy, squalid pig!" house, I just sort of lost it for a bit.

There's been lots of good things too - the kittens and Mother's Day, and yard sales and rice crackers...but my good intentions never lasted past a few minutes of ‘just let me rest for a few minutes, and I'll get right on it'. I started getting frustrated and upset with myself...which led to worse insomnia. So last week, I let myself rest. Slept for hours. Didn't get a blasted thing done on anything. Didn't sew, didn't scan, didn't clean much, didn't even shop much either. About the only thing I did was to reorganize the stuff in the Lab's windowsill, ‘cause it kept blowing over in high winds, and I found a gorgeous, wooden Crissy-size dress form at a yard sale, so I had to move all that stuff around for it to fit ! For the curious, the sill now displays a mixture of miniature dress forms and sewing machines - the castles got moved to the bedroom sill !

Oh, and I started Charmin' Chatty's acne treatments for the ink on her cheek. The deck we built last month is perfect for it ! The marks have faded a bit - enough for me to see it's actually three ink lines instead of two - but they're still there. Don't really feel any closer to her, but I did buy her a pretty pair of white embroidered corduroy dress shoes from a yard sale this weekend ! She can wear newborn shoes, but those are as expensive as Dearest Son's. So I try to find nice used ones - and with babies, ‘used' often is ‘new' !

I had a really nice Mother's Day - even though we celebrated all weekend ! Friday, Beloved Hubby took me out of a wonderfully nice dinner, just the two of us (Dearest was at his grandparents'), and he wanted to see me work the Elphie-size blouse-and-skirt pattern in that Haute Doll I'd told him about, so he bought me a copy. There's another pattern in there, for a ball-jointed doll that's about 17 inches tall...I may try it, for the experience in pin-tucks, and see if it fits Crissy or Elphie. It's not like I don't have plenty of fabric for trials around here !

Saturday, Beloved told me to yard sale all day if I wanted to - so I did ! He made sure I had cash, and I ended up finding him an overhead projector for $10. ! He's been wanting one for murals and plans, and this one not only works, it has a spare bulb ! We already have transparency sheets (bought from GoodWill) from when I tried to use them for patterns - well, that didn't work the way I planned, but it just means we got ‘em when we can use ‘em now !  

Speaking of patterns and fabric, I also scored a $14. two-cube storage unit for 50c - it holds all the multi-yardage fabric lengths that'll eventually make me-clothes. Fits in the closet perfectly, so nearly all my stuff is free from plastic bedding bags. Still gotta find a good way to store all that wonderful UltraSuede...And I found the big dress form I've already mentioned - it was $16. at Hobby Lobby - for $3., not far from the house.

And I found me somethin' silly. Do you remember Fashion Plates ? I had the first beige Tomy set as a kid, and wore mine out ! Just loved ‘em. So I found a few pieces on eBay - an Ariel set and the plates to the Tomy set - cheap. And a Barbie and small knock-off one at yard sales, a year or so ago. This week, at the same yard sale I got the cubes from, there was the Barbie Rockin' Runway for 50c. It's pretty much big Fashion Plates - each scene has two dolls - with lights and sound. It only had the two plates on it, so I nearly didn't buy it, but since it had the black rubbing crayon holder, I went for it. None of my other sets have one. So you can imagine my surprise when I found another drawer under the frame...with the rest of the plates, never removed from the packaging ! Whoo-hoo ! Had to clean up some ink marks, but it looks brand-new. Now, if I can just figure out how to get a good rubbing without getting black crayon smears on the rest of it...

Didn't find much for Dearest, save for a ‘weird creature' action figure that sort of looks Star Wars-ish, but he was OK with it. He had enough tickets saved up for the Indiana Jones truck playset and an Indy figure. Once home, he had Indy and Anakin drivin' around the desert looking for treasures. If I could get my hands on a Willow action figure, and throw him into the truck, I can probably give George Lucas a massive migraine from here, just by cross-themeing his movies. Oooh ! Man, what I wouldn't give for a Howard the Duck figure ! (evil chortle)

Later, Dearest gave me the card and framed photo he'd made in school. Awww ! The card had a butterfly that opened, and inside was a list of ‘Top 5 Things I Do with My Mom'. Yes, the Wii and Mal-Wart were represented ! It wasn't until today that I noticed that the butterfly is decorated with various Star Wars spaceships, in full battle. Dearest said they were there for protection. He's such a sweetie !

Sunday, I just took it easy. Played with Dearest Son, and watched action movies with my guys. While doing some laundry - I like to line-dry - I found some folks wandering around the backyard, where the horses we're boarding are. Y'see, two months ago, I stupidly told this same family that they could see one of the horses, who was in a smaller gated area near the house. It's not our backyard, and the horse was completely fenced and locked in. But they took that to mean that they could wander around our house whenever they pleased. (sigh) So we're getting a new gate, and I'm hanging up ‘no trespassing' signs. I hate to be an old grinch, but I'm not runnin' the po'-man's version of Knott's Berry Farm around here. I'm sure they wouldn't like me venturing around their yard when I'm bored on a Sunday afternoon. Beloved's about tired of the horses already - and the mare had her foal Friday, a boy ! - and it's rapidly approaching the ‘not worth it' mark for us. Mare kicked her owner, and bit her, when she tried to see the colt, and here's these folks, trying to...you know, I still don't know what that little girl (with the charming ‘Buy Me Something !' shirt) was trying to do, but I asked her twice to stop. Not that her parents said anything... It's getting to where it's not worth the frustration, we sure ain't making any money off the venture, and the horse muffins are starting to pile up and smell. I'm still pretty ticked about those folks, as you can probably tell.

I told Beloved about Wii Fit, and we watched the ads for it. He says that it looks like fun, and if I want it, it's mine, so I'm considering. Gotta do something before I can't fit into my car anymore ! I'm too lazy to trust myself to walk for exercise, that much is proven. I've already checked - the platform will support my weight, which is considerable. It's due out on the 21^st, so I have a bit of time to think it over.

And that brings us to today, and my apologies. I really should have said something, but I really thought...anyway, hope you were too busy with good things in your own lives to worry about my big butt !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:21 PM CDT

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Current Mood : dismay at the Lab wreckage

Current Image Notes : Thought we'd take a break 'til Monday on the Barbie booklet. This is what I saw on the Lab computer desk this morning, while everyone's preparing for the day. Glad I got a photo - the sun had shifted by the time Dearest Son's bus had come and gone.

Wrecked the lab - what little of it I cleaned yesterday - looking for a certain length of black fabric for Beloved Hubby, for one of his projects. So I still have dolls everywhere, fabrics in piles, and projects perking. I'm really happy with the boil-perm on Sailor Moon's bangs, as you can see. :)  The dent on ballet Teresa's head didn't go as good as I'd hoped, so I'll probably re-boil her soon. And I have to start work on that ink marring Charmin' Chatty's face.

I'm kind of torn about Charmin'. I've yet to make her anything, and I don't like how her hair comes out in brushloads, no matter how gentle I'm trying to be. She doesn't fit anything I already have but Baby Chrissy's shoes, and I already have several large dolls. So, as much as I like her history and the fact that she still works (and she's older than I am !), I'm not sure if I'm keeping her or not. I don't really like the smirk and eyebrow, it reminds me too much of the Eloise stories about a Richie Rich-clone six-year-old girl who lives in a New York hotel penthouse (sans parents) who always gets her way, yet everyone is completely charmed by her, and her Christmas list is still miles long. For all I know, the books are beyond adorable, but the movie preview was obnoxious.

Which, unfortunately, reminds me of a little girl I saw tonight. It was almost 11 at 7-11, and I was making a snack run. Had to dodge this child about a dozen times while her father smiled indulgently, and she yelled a blue streak running through the tiny store while crashing into things and people. They also cut line, but it was OK, because Little Sweetie was just so darn adorable ! (hork) One guy, who was there to buy money orders, just could not take his eyes off Sweetie, and commented several times to everyone how cute she was. Yep. So cute that, when I went to pay for my stuff, I had to ask for the total twice - I couldn't hear the clerk over Sweetie's screechy chatting - yeah, they checked out before me, but she was still going. I could even hear them outside.

Weird Money Order Guy followed them. Seriously. Went outside and talked to Indulgent Dad about how adorable his daughter was. He had to say it loud, so Dad could hear over still-goin'-strong Sweetie, and I could hear it as I left. Now, bear in mind, he'd said all this stuff several times before, when we were trapped in the store with them. Forgive me for making snap judgments, but I wonder if that kid's gonna be runnin' around with ‘Juicy' across her butt in five years, embroidered on the smallest shorts known to mankind. I realize she's just a kid, and most of my disapproval is knowing I wouldn't let Dearest behave like that even if he tried to - plus her voice frayed my nerves somethin' fierce - but I couldn't help but shake my head on the trek home.

So I'm still up in the air about Charmin'. Maybe I can make her a few things, get me out of my not-sewing-crap rut, and go from there. It's just that, right now, she has a lot of things going against her, but it's my call if I get over it or not. But frankly, I think I fell into the ‘got her ‘cause she was cheap, and the seller made me a deal, not because I liked the doll in the first place' trap again. I'd have been overjoyed if it'd been one of several other older Mattel dolls, though - maybe that's what I really wanted, and thought Charmin' Chatty would do.

When will I learn that it never works that way...But, heck, who knows. Once I get to work on that ink, she might grow on me substantially !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:19 PM CDT

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Current Mood : On the upswing - Thursday is always the best day of the week to me, since I was a kid with a paper route !

Current Image Notes : As you can probably tell from the staples, we're just now halfway through the booklet !

Busy day today. Had to do some Dearest Son school runnin' around - next week is Teacher Appreciation Week, and no one has anything planned, least of all the uber-organized mom I'm Homeroom Parent with. So I spent a good chunk of the morning scrambling around with that, so appropriate notices went out in the Thursday Folders today. Much as I adore Dearest's teacher, I really kinda resented yet another greeting card celebration. We're kinda broke right now, too, which doesn't help...

But I got it all done, and had time for a quick prowl at the local Target. Attention Ariel Fans : They got stuff in the Dollar Spot with our favorite mermaid on it ! I saw socks, a cute little purse (no closure, but adorable !), a small memo dry erase board, some stickers, and two cute reusable/disposable ‘blue ice' packs. The ice packs had a particularly ‘grown-up' lookin' Ariel, glancing over her shoulder and winking. Was seriously considering picking a set up for Beloved Hubby's lunch tomorrow...

They also had most of the same stuff for Finding Nemo, so if you're a fan of either, scope ‘em out. Ya can't beat Disney stuff for a dollar !

Speaking of mermaids, the poster and two trailers for LM3: Ariel's Beginning is up on IMDB. If yer curious on what's been reported as the last direct to video sequel Disney's doing (yeah, right !), check it out here -> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0969647/   This'll whet your appetite for it - I saw Ariel's momma ! And possibly a pre-octopus Ursula, but that's up for debate....

Came home, and began to excavate the Lab. It's gotten messy again, now that all the fabric's been washed, and I've put off making any doll decisions for so long. Well, about half the ones I got from that big yard sale last month are leaving soon. Sparkle Eyes, the Sharin' Sisters, a lovely glued-on-head Teresa, a ballet Teresa, Glitter Hair, a My First, and another blonde will soon seek new adventures, once their hair is de-nested and they're redressed. Sailor Moon, a cut-hair Teresa, Glitter Beach Teresa, Belle, Cinderella, and the two Tyco Ariels remain. Locket Surprise Barbie is hanging around for a photo shoot - whadda ya'll think of a ‘Barbie Bizarre' photo page ? - and she may have Sparkle Eyes on the page with her. Of course, Growing Up Skipper will be there, and any other doll that strikes me as a bit weird. I just have to wait until we show up at a yard sale together...

Once the big decisions were made, the rest was easier. The ballerina Teresa had a slightly dented head, so I figured I'd fix that, and nail down Sailor Moon's sticking-straight-up bangs with the same pot of boiling water. Had the water started, and was switching Sparkle Eyes to a spare belly-button body (her original one had chewed hands, a chunk missing from the neck, and stabbed legs) when Beloved Hubby came home. I welcomed to him and listened to his day, with highlights of my own, when it occurred to me that he was probably thirsty. So I said, as nonchalantly as I could, "I was just about to boil some doll heads - do you want anything from the kitchen ?" He had to laugh at that one !

I really wasn't planning on keeping SMoon when I first bought her - just thinkin' of plundering her costume for other dolls, and boots I can customize for the Irwin dolls I have. I mean, I had this doll, brand-new, back when they first came out, and I sort of liked her, but ultimately gave her up easily enough. But what I told Manda was true. I kinda felt bad for them, and the more I played with this one's hair, the more I could almost ‘hear' a plea for a second chance. Of course, now that her head's been boiled and I brushed about a third of her hair out trying to remove the large snarls, she might regret that plea...but she's stayin'. And she may regret that haircut I'm planning on giving her, but I think she'll look cute if it goes right. And I'm sure Molly will be glad to have her old friend back.

Even if she isn't Usagi, and she really isn't Sailor Moon anymore...

(hm. I could probably get a 'what if' drama out of that ! Sort of a doll-fanfic...)

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:20 PM CDT

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Current Mood : useless, with more whining

Not much o' nothin' today. Did m'housework. Kittens and Beloved Hubby and Dearest Son all doin' their thing, and doin' fine. If ya re-read the last three sentences, you'd think I got in a new box of apostrophes. But I didn't. Still deep in an existential funk. I honestly don't know why I'm not creating, I should be. So now it's worrying me, and I'm still not making anything. (sigh) I'm hoping to blame it on asthma and insomnia...since one doesn't let me go to sleep easily and the other keeps waking me up. Sound good to you guys ?

Ventured out for some errands and a quick trip to Dollar Tree. Not much new there, save for the Vacation Bible School craft stuff and some ‘summer study' miscellany. They did have some ‘Lil' Bratz' toys, interestingly a miniature floating Sea-Doo type thingie, engineered for the tiny six-inch dolls. Geez, how many different sizes of Bratz are there ? At least five that I know of, and I don't even care ! I'm just glad I don't have to sew for any of ‘em.

Anyway, aside from the potential bathtub fun Dearest could have with this small floating waterski with attached life preserver and his Star Wars action figures, the box contained a tiny Playmate-clone cooler. Hmm...Yup, having that was worth a buck. So I got it, and it's a cheap copyright violation - it doesn't really close, but the top does move - and it's in good scale with the Barbie dolls. It'll fit a can of Mattel soda or two, and look good with the ‘Hibiki backyard' diorama I set up. Since all the coolers are the same blue with white lid, I may get a second, and spray paint it. Just for kicks. The other props - a snorkeling mask and flippers - were too small for anything save your Dawn doll collection, maybe.

And Dearest wanted a bubble bath tonight. Either Anakin Skywalker or Obi Wan Kenobi will hate me soon !

Laters !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:19 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Whiny

Didn't get as much done today - while the weather's warming up, my asthma's still kicking up. So I have to take things slow and quiet. Darn it !

Made my thrift store circuit, didn't find anything. When yard sale season is in full flower, the thrifts don't get as many donations. Plus, I'd much rather pay 25c for a pair of baby shoes for Charmin' Chatty than the $3. GoodWill wants. But they still get interesting stuff, so I go. Really, it's an excuse to get out of housework ! And it helps to get a sort of baseline price for second-hand stuff I want.

Made an interesting non-doll discovery today - True Confessions magazine still exists ! There were actually four of ‘em, with titles like True Love Stories and such. I was tempted to buy one, but there's other ways for me to spend $4. - and let's face it, I can find all the misery stories I want for free online, all day long. There's etiquettehell.com, motherinlawstories.com...many doll boards...

Now that the weather's more frequently nice, we've had the windows up. One good thing about where we live, it's always windy, so it's never long before a breeze blows by. Living in Belgium for a bit over two of my three Army years really prepared me for this state ! Only problem is, the wind keeps knocking over my small collection of tiny sewing machines, which I keep on the windowsill. I may tape ‘em all down, like I have the itty-bitty necklace-charm ones. At least the dress form collection (also sharing space on the sill) stays put.

It's sad that picking miniatures up off the floor is the closest I've been to the sewing machine in months. I still don't know what's wrong with me. Maybe once the pollen stops flying thick around here, I'll start sewing. I really want to use up these piles of fabric - and make some stuff for me ! I can use some new clothes, too.

In the meanwhile, there's always the pleasure of a fine whine !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:19 PM CDT

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Current Mood : tired

Today was the usual Monday scramble. Rooting through Dearest Son's school backpack revealed the monthly snack and activities calendar from his teacher - wow. He only has three weeks of school left ! Where did the year go ? I'm just glad he has a week off before Summer School - and they're actually on the ball about that this year. I already have most of the information I need, and I should have his bus assignment in two or three weeks. This is the first year I haven't had to fight and fuss to find out what's going on !

Had a little doll time today, so I went to play with Shinobu. Couple weeks back, I boil-permed her hair. Freed of the thick hard hairspray Mattel had on her, the back was a chopped up mess and the sides sprung out like an umbrella from her head. No amount of combing could get it to look less like gravity had given up on it. Hence, the boil perm. This took *all* the springy out of her hair and more or less plastered it to her head. At first, I was rather upset, but I got to play with it a bit, and it really is about what I wanted. Can't do much about the chopped-up back, but the sides look like a human's would. I even managed to keep a bit of the curl at the ends, so I'm happy. It's funny to me, because last week, I was still rather upset about the whole thing... 

Michelle, I've often wondered the same things. I think a lot of us are working things out using our dolls - but I know that when I was a kid, I was happiest when I was playing with my very small family of ‘em. So why give that up just ‘cause some other yape thinks I'm too old for it ? Who knows what bizarre hobbies the yape is into ?! (lol) There's a lot to recommend a doll hobby. They're as inexpensive as I want ‘em to be, patient with my creativity, and I can infuse five or five hundred with a separate part of me, or an aspect of life I want to explore, however I choose, in any combination, permanently or temporarily.

As a kid, I could be anything, do anything, say anything with my dolls, and as long as I played quietly, no one could stop me. I took this into adolescence, a difficult period for every human in one way or another. I'd given the dolls away, but no one could take my imagination and thoughts. And, after a year or two of being ‘the nail that sticks up is the one that gets hammered down', I chose to ‘take it inside', so to speak, and rarely voiced my opinions even around those I mostly trusted. So I learned valuable things - when to speak up, and when to blend in with the roiling mob, yet still be me regardless - but I was still missing something important. After some thought, I realized that, even as an adult, I could still use some childhood happiness, and take it with me. So I returned to dolls, and my voice came back with them.

Now I can make my outrageous statements and wear my weirdest clothes, because I have a safe place (the Lab and my site) and a supportive, loving home (even Beloved Hubby calls this place ‘Chez Insanity' now). I'm just one person with one voice, and that's OK. At least I use it again, and if the dolls help me figure out who I am, I say it's cheap therapy !

And Miz Velvet says she's fine, but five kittens means someone's always on the bottom ! Sibling rivalry is already in full swing !  

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:18 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Surprised anyone can ever take any pet photos at any time. Those kittens learned to hate the camera flash pretty darn quick ! But as you can see, they're eyes are just starting to open ! Cuuuuute overload !!

Had an interesting epiphany today. Was cleaning up the Lab - with all the new dolls and stuff, it was a total pit ! - when I got to my Walda-like doll. I've already put aside the dress she came from the thrift store in (Playmates' Interactive Belle's blue Village one), and was cleaning her up a bit. Her face was grimy with that kind of greasy dirt you find caked up in yer kitchen. Well, maybe just my kitchen, I'm a terrible housekeeper ! It was coming up easily enough, but I was thinking of Waldas and porcelain dolls, and dolls in general.

Y'see, I don't like porcelain dolls. Never have. Even took a class in making them overseas - twice ! - and I secretly loathed both of the ones I made, despite having customized them with favorite hair and eye colors. I knew part of it was the breathless adoration of antique porcelain in doll magazines, while I prefer dolls I can play with and alter...and afford ! I also don't care much for the ones in doll magazine ads of cute boy dolls going potty and over-ribboned little girl dolls with butterflies on her three-layer lace-edged skirt matching the one alight on her hand just turned my stomach. I'm lookin' at you, Hamilton Collection, QVC, and Bradford Exchange ! They were over-idealized images of childhood that *nobody* ever had. I doubt anyone here had wild songbirds perch on upraised fingers and sing with him or her - but the dolls posed and accessorized for this are legion.  It probably goes back to my whole ‘princess' issue...desperately want to be one, knows I'm just too ‘me' to be that, ever. These dolls, however, seemed to promise a fantasy that no one had until the doll existed.

I bought and read Life-Like Dolls, supposedly a study of the modern made-for-collectors porcelain doll lifestyle. It was more of a condemnation of lonely 60-something empty-nesters than an actual study of advertising, society, class issues, and personal choice, so I read it again. Nope. Still a ‘that house fulla $100. dolls won't be worth a dime when yer dead, Granny !' attitude permeating all the text. So it didn't help much. I think the author didn't like dolls in any media, which didn't help her thesis or the book.

I then paid loose attention to what I did like. Fashion dolls were easy enough, but what about the other dolls ? I soon realized, with the acquisition of Baby Chrissy, that I don't like mixed-material dolls. If the head and limbs are vinyl, I really don't like a stuffed fabric body. It needs to be vinyl, too. If everything's fabric or plastic, that's fine. But it's a good reason why I don't like porcelain dolls - it's rare that the chest/body is porcelain, too. If I could find an American Girl clone that's all vinyl, I'd probably buy her. It's typical that the soft parts sag, and in a play doll, the stuffing might even shift, so you're stuck with a floppy doll that's difficult if not impossible to fix. It just seems like it would be easier to go all one-way or the other when it comes to doll body materials.

So. While I was cleaning the poor-quality-even-for-Walda clone, it hit me. Porcelain's fragile, of course, so it makes sense the chest-body have some flexibility to it, especially back in the day when plastic and vinyl were science fiction impossibilities. But this is also the area darn near always covered by costume - it often wasn't as attractive as the rest of the doll, either. And that part was often dirt cheap. Waldeena, here, has a body made of such cheap fabric, the recycled carpet cushion she's stuffed with shows through. Her arms, legs, and head are attached with plastic twine, wrapped around several times, tied, and sloppily glued down. Seams are crooked and uneven, with the barest possible seam allowance keeping her together. Even her feet are unpainted, with the expectation that her shoes and socks would remain covering them. Nope. You end up wanting to make sure she's covered, neck to ankles, to hide her ugly body. Seriously, I want to make Waldeena here a burqua. I want someone to think she's pretty, but there's not much here to recommend her.

It really boils down to more of what I see as a quality issue more than anything else. I really hate paying for only what I can see, but doll and toy companies are founded and flourish on that. When a company cheaps out on the part that doesn't show, I feel they cheaped out on me, and are unworthy of my trust and cash. And pretty much every porcelain doll is beautiful only where it shows.

Who'd have thought I'd actually have a reason to not like porcelain dolls ? I thought I was just being a reverse snob, because no matter how cute they are, I don't like Shirley Temple dolls either. They're expensive, have a rabid fan-base, and have reams of paper dedicated to their adoration. And most of them have all-compo or all-vinyl bodies. But I'm really just not into Shirley Temple. Every so often, it really is that simple.

And I'm free from ever even having to think about porcelain dolls ever again...unless I strip one for her dress ! From what I've seen on eBay, Crissy can fit that classic brown Walda praire dress ! Anybody want a copy of Life-Like Dolls ?

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:18 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Tired and very happy...but I hate to see today end.  

Oh, sinful me ! While on the way to pick up Dearest Son from his grandparents', I stopped by that yard sale I got Tracy from. She'd promised to have more dolls out, and I'd successfully beaten back the desire to go Friday...

No new Barbies, but Skateboard Shannon and Toddler Ariel had found new homes, which was great. Found a Happy Meal beanie-baby monkey in Cut and Style Barbie's yellow vest and skirt, so I snagged it. And a nice purple strapless evening gown, probably a Fashion Avenue. But the real luck was for Dearest -  I was amazed to find one of the two vintage Disney Love Bug/Herbie children's books - I'd wanted to get them for him for ages ! Also scored a Star Wars Jar-Jar Binks beginning reader.

Surprisingly, I saw another Charmin' Chatty ! This one was blonde, but was in far worse shape. Half her hair was missing, one of her eyes was half out of the sleep mechanism, and her nose was dented. No record, so there was no telling if she worked, and she was wearing an ill-fitting kids' shorts set, barefoot. I was rather glad I'd already bought my little redhead, or I'd have promised myself to reroot this one. The price was reasonable - $5. ! - but mine was in better shape.

She also had a pretty Revlon clone ($20.) and some vintage Madame Alexanders still in their boxes, probably well-priced at $75., but nothing I was looking for. It was just funny to me that I'd gone my whole life never seeing a vintage Chatty doll, and in less than 24 hours, I not only saw two, but owned one ! Doll's older than me !

Found a blouse with gold metal buckles on the thin straps, and a dressed stuffed-cat Simplicity pattern that I'll probably adapt for Charmin' clothes. The only pattern I can find made for her is kinda pricey. I thought I'd have time to measure her for DSD, but...

It was Touch-A-Truck day, a once-a-year event that Dearest looks forward to. Basically, a bunch of companies, local and nationwide, send over a variety of vehicles for kids to climb in, touch, pretend to drive, etc. for a few hours at the county fairgrounds. A small suggested donation benefits the Children's Library, and it's good PR for the participants. The driver/company representative normally hangs around, distributes candy, and answers questions in between posing for photos and lifting kids into cabs. We had a Life Flight helicopter, two race cars, six different police vehicles, a cement mixer, a huge crane, several ambulances and fire trucks, some semis, a satellite news truck, and more this year. The hot-air balloon couldn't make it, though. There aren't any vendors or sales, which is nice. The kids usually get a handful of candy and a shirtful of stickers, and the parents get brochures and general PR pieces. And lots of photo ops ! I took at least 20 m'self.

By the time we were done, Beloved Hubby was home from work, and the rest of my day was outside, keeping Beloved company while running for tools and finishing taking the stuffed bear apart. He finished work on the tool trailer, his big project for the last two weeks, today. 

So I never got back to Charmin', but it was a nice, full day. And, as you can see, the Hibiki's had a good time in their backyard today, too !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:17 PM CDT

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