Current Mood : Fat & Happy & Well-rested

Kind of a continuation of yesterday. Beloved Hubby and I really slept in today, didn't even stir until after 8am. Considering I'm normally up at 5am, this is mega-sleeping ! Especially after Friday's nearly day-long doze.

We went out for an errand and lunch, though. Cruised by two yard sales, but there wasn't anything of interest. I swear, I really do already have everything. It kind of cuts the excitement and thrill of the hunt, that's for sure. 

McD's has gone to a Hot Wheels / Barbie Happy Meal for the next six weeks or so. Barbie's theme seems to be ‘clothing clichés around the world'. I mean, the New York look is oversized funky, the Shanghai has cherry blossoms, the London has a plaid so boring, her shirt actually says "London".  (yawn) Don't think I'll be bustin' my butt trying to get any of these, honestly. I'll be seeing ‘em in next season's yard sales soon enough !

http://www.happymeal.com/en_US/standalone.html?s=GirlIntro&swfH=450&swfW=772&bs=GirlToys&swf=/en_US/swf3/sections/toys/girlintro/intropreloader.swf&bgc=%23000000&ID=#GirlIntro   Website, if you want it !

Otherwise, kind of a boring day. And I loved it !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:36 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Mild annoyance (from tripping over stuff in piles)

After spending a good chunk of today trying to find places to put stuff, I decided against going out to yard sales for more. Plus both Beloved Hubby and I have tummyaches, so it was just as well that I stayed in. We slept in after getting Dearest Son ready for school, read some, played on the Wii some, watched old Law and Order episodes on DVD. We only have the fifth season, though. Wish we'd bought the rest, you can't find ‘em now !

Got the last of the images up while Beloved dozed. Like before, it was a struggle and an eternity for the first ten or twelve, but after that, they only took seconds. Long as I kept at it. Once I stopped for more than five or ten minutes, it was back to Square One. Hard to believe sometimes that I pay for this...

Not much else going on - we really did stay home all day today. DFIL picked up Dearest after school, all we had to do was get him ready. And there's always ‘just one more' toy or DVD he needs before he can go. Leaves us plenty of opportunity for bye-bye kisses !

Normally by now, I have a list with directions of all the yard sales I wanna hit on Saturday. But I'm just not into it today. Got to visit Community Thrift, but I didn't find anything. Well, I found a set of Barbie-licensed clone Fashion Plates, but I already have that set, complete with box. So I'll let someone else make that find. Problem is, without the box or prior ‘Fashion Plates' experience, the tray and plates don't make a lot of sense !

I also found a Disney Princess counting book, complete with CD, but again, decided to let someone else make the find. Only thing unique about it was that, for a preschooler's volume, Jasmine was really, um... out there. You know the poses where she has a scarf wrapped around her, and her eyes half-closed ? For some reason, they used those. The other characters were as wide-eyed and widely used as ever. I'd seen each ‘artwork' previously at least a dozen times before.

I did find a Little Golden Book from 1974, at GoodWill. Barbie's first LGB, if I'm not mistaken. Story inside is terrible. Artwork is awful. But you know me, if it has that much-loved Friend Ship airplane on it, I gotta have it. I'm just glad it didn't cost much, but I wish I'd paid what it was worth. Coulda saved about 48c that way...

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:36 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Relief !

Whoo. Done. All the images are up, and for the first hour and a half, I got maybe ten done. The remaining 30 went at lightning speed and took about an hour, total. I have no idea why Tripod's like that. If you can fight it for an hour, you're awarded impressive upload and download speed. But for that first hour, it's a fight and a drag the whole way.

But it's done, and hopefully, I won't get more than a week or so behind again ! Sorry for the worry - and I know the entries don't sound like I was very ill. But I tend to write more optimistically than things often warrant. Yeah, I did go to all those yard sales, but most of what is up doesn't mention the intense inhaler-sucking in the car in between darn near each of ‘em. Or the wake-up, get-Dearest-ready, go-back-to-sleep-for-five-hours rhythm my days have had for the last two months. Asthma means never having to say you slept too much.

Anyway. I'm getting better - darn near normal some days ! - and I'm gonna take advantage of it and quit whining already. Had a parent-teacher-coordinator meeting today, and it's good to know that Dearest's schoolwork isn't all that bad, but we're having to upgrade our game on some aspects.

When I began the new Jem doll's benzoyl peroxide (zit cream) treatments, I ceased Charmin' Chatty's. Gave her a good cleaning and we regarded each other for a while. The mark on her cheek had faded somewhat, but would probably always remain. But that didn't bother me. Facts were, I really never bonded with her - or she with me - and pure space constraints made me question keeping her here. In the end, I've decided to let her go, so she can be happy. I'll probably donate her, so someone can have that wonderful ‘score' feeling, unless someone here would like her. Drop me a message, and we'll take it from there - I'll be glad to send photos and such. Make no mistake, she's not pristine and was probably lonely in an attic for years. If you can accept that, and you've wanted a Charmin' for a while, then consider adding her to your home.

The brown feathery yarn works OK in the Knit Hits machine, but I discovered that I really have to watch any and all yarns in that thing. Even a simple three-ply acrylic could drop a stitch undetected, so the specialty stuff really needed monitoring. I hope to find some yarn needles soon, maybe at Hobby Lobby. I was hoping to find one in the machine's box, but nope. Crochet hook was, though... maybe I'll learn to use that for the finishing thread instead.

Oh, all right, I admit it... I did kinda like Winx. Just wish the characters' wardrobe selections had been, well, different. Otherwise, it was cute and fun, and I wish it'd continued.

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:36 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Emerging

Spent on crafts : $1.08

Wow. And I thought posting all those text entries yesterday was a PITA. Going back and adding photos is like wrestling with a statue. You hurt, you're frustrated, and you end up not knowing who really won ! Guess I should have done images and text at the same time, but I was about to give up yesterday - adding photos may have encouraged me to wreck the computer ! It's taken me an hour to add four photos. Sheesh. I'm gonna get the rest of August's up, then take a break before I hurt something...

As you may have guessed, we got the computer back up yesterday. We bagged the UPS and just got a super-heavy-duty surge protector. Otherwise, I'd still be down. With a few of the bucks we had left, we got Dearest Son a copy of the now-on-markdown Cars : Mater National Championships for the Wii. Pretty much a sequel to the first Cars game. He and Beloved Hubby really enjoyed it. Much more fun than the first one, from what I could tell. The first Cars  really was too dicey, even on the easiest setting, for Dearest - you had to be on the exact right pixel most of the time for anything to work. Mater seems to be a bit more forgiving.

Got to visit Dollar Tree today - the cats have shredded their second shower curtain, the little furry *&^5ings - and snagged a couple of goodies. Tinkerbell fans should hit it soon. LOTS of Tink stuff ! Lotsa DPrincess stuff too. Puzzles, megaphones, knock-off gymnastics ribbon wands, playing cards, color-in posters, Christmas gift wrap, small plastic figurines, stationery, all kinds of stuff. I got one of the ribbon wands as a cat toy. Used to have the original toy, the Ribbon Dancer, and used it as therapy when I broke my arm in college. This one is much, much cheaper, but DC and Jack love it.

I also snagged a small skein of brown yarn that's quite bushy. Almost hairy ! I was wondering if novelty yarns would work in the knitting machine, so here was a way to find out without spending novelty yarn prices. I'm hoping to make a ‘fur' jacket.

There were hundreds of copies of Winx magazine hanging from pegs, but just the first issue. You may remember Winx, it was a cartoon about fairy school and the rather.... um, tightly and slightly dressed teenage girls who attended. In four-inch heels. Kinda silly to me, but so was Sailor Moon when you really looked at it. Anyway, this was yer typical kids' magazine - a comic story, glitzy columns about hair and nails and friends, with several doll, game, and video ads. Only reason I bought it was because the included pencil bag was kinda neat. It wasn't until later I thought that some of the poses were kinda... Playboy bunny-ish. Oh, well.

At least I got through the first week of September's images. It's like I have to fight it for an hour or so, then it's as easy as sipping soup. Go figure. Now, if I can just find two or four hours tomorrow to get the rest of the photos up...

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:29 PM CDT

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 Well, I'm  back, sort of. Guess it goes without saying that I've been horribly sick for a while. I kept up with writing, but I haven't had the energy to fight Tripod to post it all. Plus, my car, the sweet, always-a-joy Molly is down right now, and as of Saturday, so is my computer... that holds all those other entries. I'm on a borrowed laptop for the time being. All the computer needs is another UPS, all Molly needs is oil and a tune-up, but even minor things have to wait for fundage.

I'll post what I can, and catch up ASAP. Just wanted to let ya'll know I'm not dead (yet !) and it's been a busy month or so since last I updated this thing. In the meanwhile, allow me to give you something to ponder...

http://cgi.ebay.com/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350104103661

This is an auction for a 'Fashion Fever' Barbie "Hits 2 Go" music cartridge, that presumably goes with other proprietary players Mattel sells. The first track is the teen anthem, The First Cut Is The Deepest. A tune I'm sure everyone wants their eight year old to know by heart...

Posted by dorriebelle at 9:12 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:29 PM CDT

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Current Mood : quiet

Current Image Notes : This is my current desktop. I just love it. Read about it on Fark, but I can't afford even a print. So, like when I was a kid, I save a copy of it instead. Computer just makes it easier to see ! If Duran Duran ever does trance or Star Wars music, here's the cover art, ready to go !

If the world seemed quieter this morning, it was because I woke up with no voice today. Some time and cold applesauce soon soothed my poor throat, but it really reminded me that I haven't been taking care of my voice in quite some time. Goss, how I used to... ah, youthful vanity.

Kind of a boring day. With all the ‘finds' cleared from Molly's trunk box, I wasn't sure what to do while waiting for Dearest Son's bus. I hate to just sit around. So I swept the neglected porch and sidewalk. Much better ! I swear, last week, when Beloved Hubby got a package, I was rather embarrassed that the mail carrier saw our neglected doorway.

My new cell phone arrived a few days ago, and I'm absolutely paranoid about it. I can't even toss laundry into the hamper without checking where it is. It really is nice. I love the brushed aluminum housing and the perfect green color...

Picked up the items Beloved requested for Molly's oil change. He told me he'd get the tune-up stuff. Whoo-hoo ! I may have her back this weekend !!

Other than that, not a lot going on. Grocery shopping tomorrow, and I hope to score some cool yarn. I'm really having fun with my Knit Magic !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:28 PM CDT

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Current Mood : awe. And ow.

Current Image Notes : Not mine, but I love this image...

That or my cold's getting worse. All I wanna do is sleep ! It helps that my computer UPS is DOA. It kept going off last night, for no reason, and its shrill alarm at 3am is not something anyone wanted more of. It does that every so often, about every month or so. Then as now, we shut it off and went back to sleep. Only today, it won't click back on. Just keeps clicking back off. I guess we shouldn't be surprised, it was a barely functioning PITA three years ago.

So now we're down to Beloved Hubby's laptop until we can shuck another $130. for another UPS. I'm about ready to bag it and just get a really good - and much cheaper - surge suppressor instead. That we can do later this week - right now, we're diesel-broke. The parts came in and Beloved's truck is fixed ! Alleluia !!

With that done, he finally had time to look at Molly. At first, nothing appeared wrong. She's just horribly loud... Oh ! Well. One of her spark plug wires popped out - with the plug still attached ! Reattached, she's her usually only slightly noisy self. But Beloved wants to change her oil and give her a tune-up before she goes back to being mine again. Here's hoping for next week ! It's nice that I'll have the small truck as a vehicle this week, but I miss my Molly-chan !

Got to play with the Barbie Knit Hits machine. It makes the same funky tube dresses I remember. And I can easily dress donated dolls now ! Haven't quite mastered ‘panels' on it, my first attempt was pretty awful. Skipped stitches and threads that didn't catch... it looked like I'd been torturing a volleyball net ! Clearly more practice (and yarn) is necessary.

Aaarh. Ahem. My throat's getting sore. And I'm still coughing up gunk. I think I'll catch an early night's sleep, since the guys around here already are...

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:28 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Beyond stunned

Spent on sewing : $7.50

Another big yard sale weekend ‘round here. A sale on nearly every block ! However, with two major scores already, and a steadily worsening cold, was I really gonna go out to look for more ?

Well, yeah. A little. I wanted to hit one sale I'd seen while Beloved and I were out running early errands, and I still wanted to be out for a bit, since I'd been cooped up all week. So, off I went.

And I lucked into something so amazing, I'm still not sure how to look on it. The first sale got me a cute tote box, but was otherwise uninteresting. I got lost following signs to one sale when I found another, down a one-way dirt road.

So down I go, thinking I'd poke around a bit and then split. But then I saw something. A wire dress form - and it was already clearly big enough for my size ! I circled it twice - you don't see these very often. It's basically coated wire that bends, forming a shape over the owner's, so it could fit nearly anyone. And it rested on a telescoping pole stand.

Now, I know regular ‘dial style' dress forms are expensive. Double the price if your size is above US12, and add about $60. to ship. This one wasn't like that - it wasn't covered over with current colored fabric...but it could fit me.

I remembered the $8. in my wallet and the random change in the truck. Yikes. Well, I had some cash in Checking, so I asked. Amazingly, she just wanted it gone. $7.50.

MINE ! "Catherine" was carefully loaded into the truck's passenger seat and borne home. Wow. I got the biggest dress form in the collection yet - and for less than the one I got at Hancock Fabrics !

Beloved, working at the Shop, was similarly stunned. We gave it a quick air-compressor dusting, then unsnapped it apart and started fitting it to me. Yes ! It took a bit of stretching, but it does fit, and now I have a dress form all my own. I never thought I would - I mean, it's pretty rare for me to sew clothes that don't have to allow for pull strings or gimmick levers. So I kinda wanted one for some time, but it never got beyond just lookin'. Especially when shipping alone was more than I could ever spend !

But, wow, there she is. Catherine - the name of the seller, too - rests in my closet, since there's no room in the Lab and no real display area in our bedroom. I still get a thrill just looking at her.

Oh, and I bought a Jasmine LDP online today. Mostly for her lovely purple harem costume. Yeah, I'm a bit disappointed in m'self, but I gave it much thought and didn't overspend my long-ago limit. Shipping and all came to less than $17. total. And it's done. I have all the LDP stuff I want, save for what I make.

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:28 PM CDT

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Current Mood : nostalgic surprise

Spent on dolls and crafts today : $2.

Beloved Hubby arranged work for his Shop this morning, so I could keep my promise to read to Dearest's class today. How sweet !

However, I took slight advantage of it and hit a yard sale on the way home. What can I say - I just can't resist !

Not much there, really - but I still scored a real find. A small hand-cranked knitting machine, just like the ‘Knit Magic' I had as a kid ! Except the box for this one was covered in a certain shade of pink, with dolls all around. This was ‘Barbie's Knit Hits', and it's clear purple with lime green accents, but otherwise nearly identical to my original yellow and orange one. Had one not too long ago, about 2001, but I donated it when we moved. I'd always rather liked it, and while I've seen ‘em at Hobby Lobby, it just wasn't $20. worth of nostalgia, ya know ?

But here was one for $2. It spun easily, and what the heck. No directions, but I remembered enough from years of pink and red tube dresses to use it. And yes, back in the 70s, I thought pink and red looked great together. Well, remember, I'm using a yellow and orange machine...

This one had a Mattel logo lever with a P on one side and a T on the other. That was new. Engaging the P seemed to stop it from completing the circuit. Hmm. Less than a minute later, I had saved a PDF file of the directions to this exact machine to my Patterns folder. Goss, I love the internet !

Seems the P stands for ‘panels', as this version makes flat pieces, not just tubes. Interesting...

Too bad I didn't have much time to play. I cut and bundled the last of the new cut pieces from Molly's trunk just as Dearest Son arrived home. Beloved was home about ten minutes later. It wasn't long before Dearest left for his grandparents', and Beloved wanted to shop a bit. After a lovely dinner out, I got the latest Doll Reader, mostly for the lovely photos of the latest Tonner Oz witches. Wow. Elphie's ‘Witchcraft' gown is gorgeous, but waaay beyond my meager means. I like having a great photo of it, though. Just wish they'd used the big photo on that, instead of another big-azz fluffy blue ballgown on Glinda. (growlmutter)

I'm still not sure what to make of the ballerina witches. Yup, there's ballet-themed dolls of Elphie, Glinda, and Dorothy. Dorothy, frankly, looks kinda silly in a gingham tutu with sparkly red toe shoes. Glinda, naturally, has a flowing romantic pink tutu that drapes to the floor. Elphie's is short, slightly bristling, and black. She strongly resembles Princess Krahe. I wonder if someone over at Tonner is a Princess Tutu fan...

There's also a cute dress pattern for a 10-inch doll in this issue. I may increase it for the LDPs. Gotta scan it first, though.

And this issue further proves my theory that no general doll magazine can go an entire issue without devoting at least one page to Shirley Temple and her dolls. I know interest in her is always high, but speaking as someone free of the enchantment, it gets pretty tiresome to always find an article about her and her dolls in every. Single. Issue. Of . Every. Single. Doll. Magazine.

Hoping to find playtime with the Knit Hits device tomorrow. It's lucky for me that it came with some yarn, even though it's an amazingly garish Christmas skein. What little yarn I had around here got used up in fabric bundling and kitten play !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:27 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Overwhelmed !

Beloved Hubby was home early, and he could tell I was restless. So at his urging, I got to pay a visit to Community Thrift.

Not much new - scored a couple replacement Happy Meal Cars toys for Dearest Son. Most of his are shot from heavy play. There were bundles of doll clothes in with the Barbie bins this week, but they were wedged and crammed into snack-size baggies, nearly impossible to tell what was in there, much less what shape it was in. I already got a boxload of doll clothes to repair, don't need to shell out $2. for more !

I went over the also-small bags of shoes and accessories, though. One set tempted, as I know that Fashion Fever shoe style fits some of my flatter-feet dolls, but I didn't much care for the pinky-purple color. I have a bag of shoes to paint around here somewhere...

No new dolls either. Mostly blondes I've seen there for a while. There is a Hasbro Jem, possibly first season, from the pink metallic dress and shiny waffle-weave hosiery. Unfortunately, her bright pink and white blonde hair completely obscured her face, and the other two dolls squashed in there with her were also wedged up tightly. Plus, I already have a Jem doll, bought from a DAV thrift waaaay back in 1999. Even thinking about her makes my mind play her theme song...

When I bought my Jem, I'd thought to piece together her ensemble, much the way I did the Fashion Plates. A find here, a bit there, a staggering avalanche of amazingly good luck suddenly one day. My Jem wore her hosiery under a Barbie dress, but I soon had her ‘Jerrica' striped one and her ‘Jem' pink dress from yard sales. I'd found the ‘Winning is Everything' and ‘Sophisticated Lady' outfits still on their cards in a junk shop, and bought them in hopes Lisa Hayes (Robotech) could wear her shoes. Nope. Waaaaaay too big for Lisa ! But it meant that my '99 Jem would have a wardrobe available since 1990 !

I'd kinda lost track of getting all'a Jem's stuff. Never really got past the dresses, and since I had pairs of pink and blue shoes from the outfits, even if the weren't the right pink and blue shoes, they were fine by me. Later I found her and Synergy strappy sandals on eBay, and discovered that clearanced ‘Beauty Cutie' boots fit and looked great, too. Plus, Jem accessories like shoes and clothes, tend to go for much more than the doll ! So I contented m'self for sewing Jem, Rio, and Synergy new stuff, and making new finds.

Anyway, it hit me on my final store circuit. I hadn't checked any of the baggies for Jem stuff. Worth a shot, at least. Since they had the doll... A quick dig didn't find anything. Rats. But since I was down there, maybe this Jem's dress was better than my Jem's dress...

And I bought her bag on the spot. A closer look showed that she not only had the pink dress and stockings, but she also came with the Jerrica dress and hat ! And both the metallic pink and turquoise shoes ! Those alone were sooo worth the $3.99 on the bag !

Once home, I also found myself the proud owner of her hair pick, her bracelet (complete with pink stone), and a doll with the ‘starcap' earrings ! I'd never seen one of those before ! My Jem just had the red-bulb earrings. How cool !!

I also found out why they'd gone to such trouble to obscure her face. Her hair was amazingly vivid. Her hands were near-perfect, and her arm and leg joints clicked like a new doll. Her clothes and shoes were also near-box bright. But her pretty close-mouthed face bore several purple marks, on her cheek, the tip of her nose, her upper lip, and her chin. Also a chunk of her bottom lip paint was gone.

Well, shoot. That was a shame. But I already have zit cream ! I got her cleaned up and started treatment. Here's hoping !

And no, my Jem is not now homeless. With her fair hair, she's Jerrica ! Now all I need is the belt, the sunglasses, the stand, the cassette, the box...

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:27 PM CDT

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