Current Mood : Thrilled and proud of me !

Spent on Dolls today : $2.14

Whoo-hoo ! I am pleased to announce that Jem's oxy treatment is done ! Oh, I can still see some shadow marks on her chin and on the left nostril, but they're faint and may yet fade. But for now, she's done with the windowsill and I'm happy ! Now I have a Jerrica (plain bulb earrings) and a Jem (starcap earrings) !

I was gonna wait to repaint her lips - her original paint was removed by the oxy, but there was no way around it, the purple stains were all over her mouth - but Beloved Hubby and Dearest Son were happily doin' their own things, so... no time like the present ! Plus, tomorrow's a heavy volunteer day, so I knew I wouldn't have time then. Dragged down the family collection of various arts and crafts paints - Beloved's old portrait paints and my even older craft paints - and selected Plaid's Paint for Plastics ‘cream' and ‘crimson'. I bought these on markdown so long ago, we were living in another state !

Originally, I'd thought to match her original lip color, but instead, I blended on a polystyrene plate until I had a color I liked. And proceeded to swash it across half her chin with the oversized brush. Wiped it down with Goof Off and started again. This time, with a toothpick !

Much better ! Now the color went exactly where I wanted it to, and the tiny tip didn't hold much paint, so it couldn't slop all over the place. I didn't follow the original contours, but I soon had it the way I liked it. Well, mostly liked it. One side of her lower lip is a bit thinner than the other, but I knew if I kept messing with it, I'd end up unhappy.

And, as it turns out, I used the wrong paint. ‘Paint for Plastics' is only designed for non-flexible plastic. According to the website's FAQ (on plaidonline.com), if the plastic can bend without breaking, the paint won't adhere correctly. Well, I doubt I'll be flexing Jem's face very much, and if it flakes off, well, I'll just start again. It's acrylic paint, and acrylics are what doll artists use, so it's probably OK. Bottle sez it's dry to the touch in 30 minutes and fully adhered in 48 hours, so we'll see how it goes. I think I did a fairly decent job on my first doll repaint !

Not so happy with Dancerella's treatment. Granted, it is just the first one, but it looks as though the stains didn't fade at all. I'll reapply a thick coat of oxy goop tonight and check next week. All else fails, I can attempt a third variation of the oxy therapy, and you can read it here : http://www.immediateweb.com/mef/ . If you're not up to reading, it's basically : Coat stain thickly with Oxy-10. Wrap with foil to prevent too-early dry-out. Place doll in front of heat source, like an old CRT monitor or desk lamp, making sure it gets enough heat to warm the doll, but not so much the vinyl melts. Check frequently. Reapply daily, and be careful. If you tend to forget, apply Oxy thick, wrap in foil, leave in sunny window. Check every two or three weeks.

I confess, I'd never heard of the foil part before, but ya gotta try everything if the usual ain't workin'. I just kinda hesitate before wrapping my dolls up like baked potatoes !

Ran out for a few forgotten groceries, and decided to make a quick stop in the Thrift. When I visited Monday, there was a certain Barbie dress in a baggie that might be the gown I've been wanting for a long time. Still in the 1977 Super Star box, it often goes for $75. This was wadded up in a snack size baggie for $1.99, but I wasn't sure if it was the gown or not, and you know me, I hate to waste funds. So I studied the image in my copy of Barbie Doll Fashion 1975 - 1979, and noted the tacky-to-me oversize flower at the waist. If the baggie there had it, then it was # 9836, Spotlight on Romantic White. I'd gladly shell $2. for it, and get it washed and pressed !

Well, it did, and I bought it. I now have a rumpled and slightly dusty #9836. I also have a Cali Guy Ken tank shirt, a stained pair of Barbie riding pants, a Barbie Collectables ballet tutu I haven't yet ID'd, and a knockoff cheerleader leotard. I hope to get the gown washed tomorrow. Seriously considering scissoring the tacky flower and the odd fur-like poufs on the tulle overlay. They've really flattened out over the years, and look weird. I'll decide once it's clean.

You know, I heard on a doll board several months ago that Mattel was issuing a repro of Super Star Barbie, with an extra gown. I was all set to pay $40. or so for this doll if the extra dress was Romantic White. It isn't - I think it's #9837, Dramatic Black & Silver Shimmer - but how nice it is that I have the real thing, and it was only two bucks !

Not much else going on - but today's had a lot in it ! I'm sleepy and ready to crash. Hope your day had some neat surprises !

Posted by dorriebelle at 9:33 PM CST

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:44 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Pleased

Whew ! For some reason, the first paragraph of yesterday's entry just would not post at the correct font. I tried everything - it always showed correctly in the ‘preview' feature. Finally, I got tired of it and changed the whole font and size on the entire thing, and that worked on the first paragraph as well. Once that posted, I changed it back to the normal font and size, and now it's the way I want it. Sheesh.

My chest is super-tight today - 93% humidity - so I stayed home and got housework done. Five more loads of laundry. Three more and I'm done ! It'll probably take me all day tomorrow just to put it away. But it's nice to not have to worry about whether or not Dearest has socks and pants enough to go to school. I heard some real horror stories from the librarian at Book Fair. I was feeling kind of ‘bad parenty' about his clothes lately - he's between sizes, too small for one, not big enough for the next size up, and he's wrecked several brand-new bought-on-sale shirts - but while there may be patches and the occasional permanent stain, at least his jeans zip and he always has underwear ! And it's always clean, even if I have to stay up ‘til 2am to make it happen !

Got to spend some ‘me' time this afternoon, and got the photos taken for my backlogged entries. While I was tearing up the Lab yesterday, alternately cleaning and looking for stuff, I found a pleated knit girl's skirt I'd bought from the thrift for a quarter a few months ago. I'd intended to alter it to fit a My Size girl. Well, believe this or not, I'd brushed Lacey's hair, but she was still nude and by herself. I fixed that today ! Altered the skirt - it took ten minutes, and I learned how to do tailor's tacks, and why I would want to use them - and paired it with a boy's shirt from the MSB closet, and Lacey looks great. A necklace Aunt gave me a long time ago (it's too tight for my thick neck !) and some yard-sale penny loafers, and Lacey was ready to stand with Gracie and Casey. Isn't she adorable ? I think her entire ensemble cost a dollar.

I also found the other empty Advair inhaler. Now that I have both of them together, I'm gonna make the most expensive doll chair ever ! Well, I didn't pay $400. for the meds within, but someone somewhere does, and if ya ask me, that's expensive, even when you can recycle the containers. I'm just glad I won't have a dollhouse full of $400. doll seating. Or I could just put little wooden feet on ‘em - like the ones they sell for $1.47 at Hobby Lobby - and make two hassocks...

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CST

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:44 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Reflective 

Today is Veteran's Day in the US, a day set aside to honor veterans of all the armed forces branches. Last year, I got talked into going to Dearest Son's school assembly, something I'd avoided for most of his educational career. I was in the Army during the Reagan administration, and was never in any danger. Except during a near-fatal asthma attack during a run and a six-months-to-live proclamation from a doctor who misread some test results. Anyway. I mostly got a paid tour of Europe on the taxpayer dime, so I didn't feel especially proud of my ‘service', although I count those years as some of the best in my life.

But I went last year, and was warmly welcomed by the other vets, those who'd really risked it all for everyone, and while I still felt like a sham, they made me feel that it was vitally important for me to be there. One, to show that women are just as vital to service - very few women come to these things, probably for the same reasons - and two, I wasn't there for me. I was there for the ones who'd sacrificed to be there long before me, and the ones who'd serve after I was long gone. With those words, who could duck out of attending the next year ? Not me.

And what did I do with my newly-refreshed appreciation and patriotism once I got home ? Took a nap for an hour. I'd been up late last night, making some ‘Mal-Wart sack dispensers'  (aka ‘Bag of bags') for the school's various classrooms and departments that needed ‘em. What can I say, I promised. I can now make 5 of ‘em (almost six !) in two hours. Dropped those off on the way to the assembly. Another two hours should have the school blanketed with ‘em. And I did get to sew yesterday, it just wasn't what I'd wanted to sew... but it's important to keep promises.

Beloved was home after lunch, and I went with him on a bid. Treated him to a soda while we were out, which I love doing. Finally had a few minutes to look at that TRU catalog we got when we were sick, but there wasn't anything new there. I'm starting to feel about TRU and Mal-Wart the same way most folks felt about Circuit City and Best Buy. Since CC is in bankruptcy protection and is shuttering 155 stores just before the feeding frenzy of consumerism called Christmas, that isn't good for TRU...

Dearest's been watching Ratatouille lately, and he just came in wearing his karate gi uniform, saying he was lead character Linguini. So I made him a tall chef's hat out of copy paper taped together and cut at the top, and tossed a small stuffed toy kitten inside. It won't last forever, but it's fun for now. I'm trying to figure out how to make a more durable hat, but I don't wanna iron a cotton version every other day, and felt's too hot. I think for once, I'll just stick to copy paper...

Not a lot of doll time today - I did six loads of laundry, dried four in the dryer. Tomorrow, I'm gonna wash and hang out clean clothes ‘til the sun goes down. By then, I may just be caught up ! But I cleaned up the Lab, and puttered a bit. Had a laundry basket full of stuff that needed to be put away in there, and I needed the basket for Dearest and Beloved's socks. And the Lab gets messed up every time I go on a yard sale safari and with every project, even a small one like sack-keepers for the school. I was also on a hunt for my bag of ‘Barbie shoe pairs identical but for color', since I wanna experiment with spray-painting ‘em soon. Took me an hour of shuffling, storing, and poking, but I got everything put away and found the shoe baggie. Once the humidity goes back down, I'm gonna have a date with a can of grey Fusion !

And while Dearest showered, I located the two-pack of C-size batteries I bought last Friday. It was time. After two incorrect attempts at installation - I couldn't figure out what the diagram was trying to say, and the compartment was innocent of the usual springs and contacts - I saw my Dancerella pirouette and spin. Wow. It's hard to believe after all these years of indifferent treatment (let's face it, if she were stored well, she wouldn't have had those terrible stains !) she still works, but she does, flawlessly. Heck, I still can't believe I only paid $2. for her !

I'm seriously considering making her a pretty new tutu and shoes, then taping her battery installation and operation, and posting it on YouTube. I looked all over for some information about her, but all I could find were eBay pages with no info, and catalog listings. And conflicting information. So far, I have the dates for my doll as 1968, 1972, and 1978. Back of her head says 1972 Mattel, and that may be the date for just the head mold, but that's what I'm going with. My lovely 1972 doll, 36 years old, still works. Wow.

And thanks to veterans I'll never have the honor of meeting, I can enjoy that.

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CST

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:43 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Once again, amazed ! 

Spent on doll history : 31¢

Spent on fabric (sigh) : $1.01

Goss, what a day. Rain and thunderstorms, and I had dozens of errands to run in it. At least I checked the weather in time to get Molly-car's windows up. I completely forgot it was Dearest Son's turn to provide a class snack, so I had to get it all done early. Plus, there was a sort-of birthday party for DMIL at Gramma's house at noon. So I grabbed a shower, secured snacks and drinks, delivered them to the school, did Beloved Hubby's banking -  he's still sick - hit the thrift and picked up my expensive prescription. Luckily, I only need this $78. wonder every two months, and the other three I take every day are just $4. each.

I spent a whoppin' 31c, but I got something I kinda~sorta wanted for a long time. Read a lot of doll books and eBay auctions, and you see A Premier Product baggies, holding anything from Revlon doll clothes to Barbie shoes. Premier Doll Accessories, located in Brooklyn, NY, has been around a long time, but I can't find out much about the company. Several Premier items for sale have ‘40s-50s' in their descriptions, but the packaging isn't dated. Some of the ones I've seen listed as 50s have the same header card as mine, but the zip code is sort of a giveway - that wasn't established in the US ‘til the early 60s.

Premier is frequently described as a ‘jobber' - they didn't work for a doll or toy company. Rather, they made ‘aftermarket' products like doll shoes and jewelry to enhance dolls already for sale - or dolls in company catalogs. Their products were frequently sold to doll shops, catalog companies like Sears, and variety stores like Ben Franklin and TG&Y. Since they didn't have to worry about things that the doll manufacturers did, Premier's designs were frequently quite original and beautiful, and used materials that toy companies didn't. Check out http://crissyandbeth.com/Aftermarket.html and scroll down for some wild Crissy clothes made by Premier, in some fantastic fabrics !

I read that they went under in 1983, but that's about all I could find about them. In any case, today at the Thrift, I found a baggie with the never-opened black ankle-strap shoes inside, with three loose shoes in the baggie as well. They're too small for Leia and Jem, but they're also worn and frayed. So I'm gonna keep the unopened ones just as I found ‘em, and hang ‘em up in the Lab. I find that I'm really groovin' on the vintage packaging and graphic design. So, now I have some vintage Premier ! Doll history. I'll have scans up soon, promise !

It must've been Mystery Day for me, because the pink Barbie mailbox was gone when I got there. I asked around, and it turns out, yes, it was a ‘drop your used dolls off for charity' effort sponsored by Mattel. But, for some bizarre reason, it was Saturday only. I could have donated a dozen dolls, but darn if I knew about it, and ya'll know me, I haunt the Barbie aisle at least once a week over there ! Not to mention that the two store associates were still struggling to assemble the thing at 12:30 in the afternoon... 

Got home, and Beloved was tossing his cookies, he was that sick. So I begged off DMIL's get together and stayed home with him. My poor guy ! I got him into bed where he slept nonstop for four hours - and he'd gotten a good night's sleep last night. He felt better when he woke up, and he and Dearest are watching a movie while I type.

Oh, and I did get some inexpensive pink broadcloth I liked while I was at Mal-Wart. Half a yard should last me quite some time for the $1.01 I spent on it ! Tomorrow, I hope to sew...

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CST

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:43 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Sentimental

Kind of lazy, kind of busy Sunday. Never got to the sewing machine, but the more I can't sew, the more I wanna sew, ya know ? Besides, I don't really like the pale pink I've got planned and cut out for the dress I'm making. So, while I'm out tomorrow, I'm gonna scout around a bit. Gotta go out for one of my prescriptions - since I only need it every other month, it's not quite on the same schedule as the rest.

I'm also hoping those ladies finished assembling the ‘Barbie Recycling' mailbox, ‘cause I'll be smuggling in my camera to get a photo of it. Or whatever it was. I'm intensely curious about it.

We watched Toy Story 2 during dinner - so far, we've made three meals out of a rotisserie chicken, a great loaf of crusty bread, a can of baked beans, and some baked potatoes. Not bad for $8. ! One thing about the movie... it's nice that Wheezy the Penguin got fixed, that Andy's mom found another squeaker in the toybox to affect repairs. But has anyone noticed that you never see the toy shark again...?

Dearest Son's desk chair kept bumping my hip when I did laundry, so I moved some Office furniture around. Mostly a file cabinet and an end table. The cabinet's tucked away in an unused corner and that allowed his desk to get pushed up against the wall - lots more hip space ! I also went through the piles of papers scattered around, mostly handbills from Dearest's school, and completed assignments. Got all those organized. I still have stacks of scrap paper from last year ! Cut some up for notepaper, including the cut sheets I used for the pattern yesterday. I like to use the fancy-edge scissors I got for a quarter a piece at a yard sale, just for kicks. Cleaned off my desk, too. Now Dearest and Beloved Hubby's look bad (for a change !).

Next time I'm in the garage, I'll grab a set of bookends. DMIL gave us dozens - when the company she used to work for folded the tent, it was an office supply bonanza. It was three years before we had to buy envelopes. We still have enough binders to last for the next decade or so.

Also finally tackled my computer's doll photo files. There's over a thousand photos and images in that folder. Since that's normally where I store website images, you can imagine digging through ‘em all to find the one I want to post ! So I made a few new folders, combined a couple more, sorted through all of ‘em, and ditched a few dozen pictures. Now I can actually find stuff.

Beloved went out for a bit and came back with a surprise for me - a knockoff Fashion Plates toy ! He'd found it at the 7-11 across the street for $2.99. It's the Ja-Ru No. 3270 Pocket Travel Fashion Designer Color Sketch Kit, to be precise. It's about 5 inches by four inches, with a slide-around tray to store the double-sided green plates, rubbing crayon, and coloring pencils, all included. There's even ‘design tissues' in there, which is probably their fancy term for ‘paper'.

I haven't opened it yet, as I wanna get lots of photos. And I just wanna look at it. That was so thoughtful of Beloved, that I don't want to rip it apart yet. I'm so silly and sentimental sometimes !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CST

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:43 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Wheeeee !

Spent on Dolls : $3.

Spent on Sewing : $1.90  (sigh)

I swear, every time I pontificate on ‘it's time to use what I got, not spend more money', invariably I go buy more stuff. Even more fabric ! I must be the world's biggest hypocrite...

Beloved Hubby either never really recovered from our ‘Fun With Flu' October, or he's caught another cold. So he was home today, and I was off to Mal-Wart to refill our generic Robitussin and decongestant stockpiles. What the heck, some folks make sure they got plenty of chicken noodle soup and pantry foods when cold weather approaches, I make sure we got plenty of cough and cold meds, ‘cause when we get sick, no one has the energy to go shopping. And I also took stock of our soups - and got two more cans of Vegetable Beef and chicken stock.

But on the way, I passed a yard sale... Well, no, I didn't pass it... I pulled in and soon had an armload of goodies. A ‘Cabbage Patch Kids Pop Star Stage' caught my eye immediately. Almost Barbie-scale, it has lights and sounds, and can play music via A/V port, and the CPK signage easily reverted to a vivid purple. It's mostly purple, with some star design stickers. It was designed to work with specialized miniature CPK figures, but a slight boost to the poles, and it'd easily accommodate my dolls. Came with two drums, cymbals, and fake speaker props.

From there, I found a pink Barbie china cabinet - it has a mirrored back, with ‘glass' rose-etched doors that open. Kind of ‘A' shaped. I'd say it was part of the "Sweet Roses" line, it's even dated 1987, but I can't find an in-box example. Once it's painted something other than pink, it'll be even better.

Found a Barbie pool - it's about like the infant pools you'd find at Dollar Tree - and a Happy Family baby clothes ‘store' shelf unit that will be soo easy to convert to any other store I'd like to make. I also found the Krissy castle ‘bedroom' from 2003's ‘Barbie and Krissy Princess Palace Playset', but none of the other props. Looks cute with the Disney ‘Musical Princess' dolls ! Three bucks for the lot. Wow.

From there, I stopped in a Dollar General - haven't been there in a while. They had some Barbie fairy dolls, but nothing else new from Mattel. They've got their own line of princess and vanity dolls for $10. - the vanity was a bit too kiddy for me (it even lit up), but the doll was actually kind of cute, and the dress looked nice. Remember the Disney Princess Christmas gift tag stickers I scanned last year ? There's a whole new set out this year, and I bought one. In fact, starting Dec. 01, I'll be doing a DPrincess holiday sticker every day. More later on that. Anyway, they also had Tinkerbell gift tag stickers and Christmas cards, so if you like the Disney Girls, you may wanna check your local DolGen.

Used up a few quarters to wash off my beloved Molly-car. The recycling place had a lake-like mud puddle, and it dalmationed my car hood yesterday. I felt bad that she looked so dirty, so I gave her a quick wash. Funny how the three minutes of time I bought went much faster than my watch said they did...

Then it was on to Mal-Wart. Got the meds we'll need for the near future and had a look around. The Halloween stuff was on final markdown, everything was a dollar or less, even the costumes. I scored a box of fruit snacks (36 bags for a buck !), a star necklace (50c), and four rubber duckies - dressed as a pumpkin, a pirate, a witch, and a cat - for 24c each. The witch is, of course, mine, and the pirate went to Beloved. The other two got tucked away for Dearest Son's stocking. He's gonna love that cat one ! I shared my idea when someone asked what price they scanned as (I always scan sale stuff), and when I left, several folks were going through the duckie boxes. I figure they didn't have them in stock for much longer !

Poked around Toys a bit, although I was pretty well plaything-sated at that point. Found a little catalog in a cardboard Barbie display, so I should be scanning that one soon, but it's mostly identical to the one I got and scanned from TRU earlier this year. I'll scan the pages that are different, though, for  you.

I also saw something unusual. Two ladies were struggling to assemble a fuchsia-pink box with the Barbie logo all over it. It resembled a mailbox, and oddly, the yet-unfinished sides seemed to indicate that it was the place to recycle old Barbie dolls ! Huh. I may go over tomorrow - I forgot a few groceries - with a camera. If this is so, I want a photo of it. I wonder why Mattel (and clearly, it was licensed) is setting up abandoned Barbie drop boxes. And why now...

From there, I toured the fabric section and found a remnant I liked - yes, it was a princess print, just throw something at me already. After yesterday's success with PDorrie clothes, I thought it'd make a cute dress. And it fit the theme of my other self-indulgent purchases from the Christmas section. A package of 80 holiday Disney Princess stickers (12 actual character stickers repeated twice, the rest are ornaments, snowflakes, and arabesques) and a pack of similar multi-character pencils. What can I say besides I'm a sucker who's been wanting those for a while. There were similar treats for Cars and Tinkerbell. Ornaments, tin lockers, tin boxes, stickers, pencils, notepads, stockings. While part of me berates my purchases, I'm kinda proud of me for not glomming on to more of it !

Decided that, if I was gonna fight this crowd at the registers for what I was already buying, I may as well get the grocery shopping over with, too. Was gonna get Dearest a new pair of larger sweatpants ($5.), but instead, found a long-sleeved shirt with matching pants for $7. on markdown, so he has that instead. He's growing so fast, his wardrobe can barely keep up ! May have to hem the pants a bit, though.

Oh, and I forgot to tell you - Big Lots has those Kari Mitchell sets again this year. It's a decent knock-off doll with five very nice outfits, all in a color theme. Blue, black, and rose this year. Last year, they were $12., but I forgot to see what they were this year. The clothes are pretty nice for the price !

They also had a fairly decent kitchen set, too. I thought about it, but decided that I liked the ‘TV Chef' Barbie playset more. Since the price is the same, I'll snag that one maybe next week or the week after.

I didn't quite sew today, but I got the material cut out for a pretty little dress. It's a Japanese pattern, so wish me luck ! The ballerina fabric didn't quite work with the skirt part, so I'm going to use blue and pink layers instead. Just wish I had a darker pink. What I have is too light. (sigh) But I hope to get it sewn up tomorrow !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CST

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:43 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Pretty !

Spent on dolls today : $3.

Spent on sewing today : $2.68

Spent on something pretty : $2.39

Sorry for the change in scheduled photos, but I'm really proud of altering Princess Dorrie's ‘new' clothes ! Believe it or not, they're ‘Battat Dolls' separates, intended for the Target American Girl clones - that are much bigger than the LDP Belle I used for PDorrie. I found them, and a pair of black velvet clogs that fit Timey and Dottie, at a yard sale today for $2., and just couldn't resist.

I knew they were too big, but I also knew I could alter them, and that the green blouse would look sooo good on her. So I took off the side pocket and took in the side seams until the shorts fit. Took maybe 20 minutes. Another ten took in the sides of the blouse maybe another quarter-inch on each side. I wanted to keep it a bit baggy, ‘cause I like baggy. Eventually, I'll make a belt to hide the new side seams going through the waistband, but even as-is, it doesn't look bad at all. I may redo the crotch seam, it's a bit low for her, but it looks OK when she sits. If I sew it too tight, she won't be able to sit !

I had a truly busy day. I got to sleep in ‘til 7am, and from then on, it was go, go, go ! DFIL picked up Dearest Son a few minutes early - I was still getting dressed, in fact ! - but he was ready to go already, and I got a quick kiss before Dearest headed off. The Parent/Teacher conference went well, Dearest is doing OK in all his subjects, he's just behind in reading, and he already has tutors with that.

Met ‘Bee', the folder-counter supervisor, as she was waiting for her conference, and we chatted for over a half-hour. She's at a loss for Pink Lady, too, but as it turns out, PL's going through a lot. While I'm not sure how it relates to the ability to count papers, it is something the charitable will keep in mind - so I'll try. We talked a lot about personal info that isn't mine to share, but it was nice to chat and feel connected.

Dropped off the soda cans. Wow, the price of aluminum has dropped ! I've heard of companies with warehouses of scrap metals that now aren't worth the price of hauling out to be recycled, so they're stuck. I just didn't apply it to my little micro-economy.

I was so close to TRU, I stopped in. And spent maybe 20 minutes. They really didn't have anything that Mal-Wart didn't - and they were more expensive, too. Barnes & Noble was a doll magazine washout. All they had was Doll Reader, and it was bagged up with Marie Osmond's Christmas Memories, a magazine I had zero interest in. And, since the bag kept me from leafing through Doll Reader, I didn't buy it. There's other things for me to spend $6. on !

Like the Michael's Crafts further down the strip. I spent nearly a whole whoppin' big $5. there, on a package of foam stickers - Halloween markdowns - in heart shapes with wings and candelabras. I couldn't resist the ‘Wicked'-labeled black hearts ! So, for 89c, it went into the cart. I also got a beautiful acrylic star ornament, 30% off, that looks like a star-shaped soap bubble. It's already hanging outside my Lab. $1.39.

And I blew $2.50 (!) on a piece of fabric. With tiny ballerinas on it. It'll probably show up tomorrow as a Barbie-scale dress, with the leftover bits going on a PDorrie shirt. It's silly, but it was so charming, I just had to have it. Like I need more fabric around here !

They also have a papier mache dress form I'd like to experiment a bit with. A bit high, though, at $6.99. But I got a 50% off coupon with my receipt, so I may be going back for it soon !

From there, I hit a couple yard sales - scored a ‘Wedding Day Midge' gown skirt, the pink bridesmaid dress, a Ken flannel shirt, a pair of glow-in-the-dark Barbie shorts, a lemon-themed and scented dress, and a Fashion Fever skirt and blouse, and the window from one Barbie house or another, all for a buck. The window will probably appear in a foamcore backdrop soon. Also a lovely pastel necklace of stone beads. It's heavy, but so pretty ! I feel pretty wearing it. Also, just a buck.

I also saw Aunt while I was out and about, and we chatted a while. I told her how much we were enjoying the blankets, and that Dearest really loves his ATM bank. Uncle's doing well, she was waiting for an appointment of his to end. It was so nice to see her !

Came home, and Beloved Hubby was already here - and we've spent the rest of the evening doing misc. fun things while watching Law & Order DVD episodes. I wish we could find more seasons of it - I've always enjoyed the original and Criminal Intent. Just wish we could find more.

Not sure if I'm going out tomorrow or not. Never did get to Hobby Lobby, but I was gonna buy a dollhouse window with the current 40% off coupon. And I found a Barbie house window today, for just a dime. So I may stay home and sew. I really enjoyed my sewing time today, thinking back... plus, I got new ballerina fabric to play with !

Hope your day gave you something to play with - or something pretty ! Preferably both !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CST

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:42 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Happy !

Current Image Notes : Tonight, you get Aurora, Sleeping Beauty herself. We're halfway done with these lovelies, so I hope you enjoy them !

What a nice day today was ! Beloved Hubby was home, and we lazed the day away, chatting and enjoying our various hobbies. It was a grand way to recover from yesterday's school fracas and last night's power outage.

Before I forget, there's a final coda to the Candy Corn Incident. While I left a note for the Homeroom Parent and Dearest Son's teacher to keep any leftovers, including the felt, as I was tired of looking at ‘em, they came home with Dearest Tuesday. (sigh) At least there was only one candy corn piece left - I'd sent 21 for a 17-member class. I soon found that the Resources Manager could use the felt, so I'll drop it off Friday. I'll be in the area for a Parent/Teacher meeting anyway.

Yesterday at school, I heard over and over how cute everyone thought those things were. The librarians told me Dearest's class had been waving them around during the costume parade, showing them off. One of Dearest's tutors voiced surprise that they weren't commercially made - she thought someone had bought them. And I'll soon be on the receiving end of some upholstery and craft fabrics - my co-volunteer at Book Fair has been trying to ditch them for months. And you know me, I can't turn down freebies. So, it all works out, and I'm not ole bitter me about it anymore. Long as the kids liked ‘em, I'm good.

I had a luscious day of cleaning the lab, getting felt and notions put away, sorting through new goodies, and finding places for some scattered stuff. It was so much fun. I can now sew in the Lab if I want ! Who knows, I just might. DFIL has tomorrow off, and he's picking up Dearest early, because Dearest is also off tomorrow. About the only plans I have are touring Big Lots and Hobby Lobby after the P/T conference, it's been a while since I was in that area. Gotta drop off soda cans, too, so why not ? Not very many yard sales this week, which is fine - I'm rapidly running out of spaces for stuff anyway. Time to use and enjoy, instead of hoard.

That said, I still wanna go shopping ! (grin)

I'm having fun with the miniature Disney Princess photos. I know they're only a decade or so old, but it amazes me how well they look when I find ‘em. There's the usual hair snarl, but the facial paint has been good, and the bodies on the ones I have are like new. Further research reveals Musical Fairy Godmother and Mary Poppins dolls, too, and Princes Charming, Philip, Aladdin, and Beast. About the only Princesses I don't have are Ariel and Pocahontas, and really, I've yet to see an Ariel, I just figure there has to be one or two. Still, it's not something I'm gonna haunt eBay over. They'll come my way, or not. Heck, I haven't even finished cleaning all of ‘em up yet - I don't need more !

I may split my upcoming ‘free' time - I want to sew, but I also want to get at least one of these reroots started. But I'm looking at the calendar - more volunteer work coming up, some family obligations, holidays, and Veteran's Day... I'm not sure I really have any free time !

So I'd best go enjoy ! Hope your day was fun, too !

Posted by dorriebelle at 9:17 PM CST

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:41 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Mild frustration, abating quickly. Our power's back on, and I don't hafta deal with Pink Lady for a whole month !

Current Image Notes : This is either 'bubble' or 'perfume' Princess Jasmine. I can tell from the correct shoes - all the rest have wedge feet - and the hole between her shoulders. She's wearing an altered Cinderella wedding gown (it should have long sleeves), but I think she's lovely.

Well, that was exciting. I'd just finished telling ya'll that we were in a hailstorm when the power went out. Well, shoot. Not what I had planned for the evening ! But we were OK - thanks to last year's ice storm wake-up call, we had lanterns and candles ready to go. So we cuddled up with the new blankets Aunt and Uncle gave us, and took turns reading one of Dearest Son's new books. Two hours later, the power was back, Dearest'd been asleep for over an hour, and everything was good. I'd already sent Beloved Hubby to bed, but since the lanterns run on kerosene and we had candles, someone had to stay awake, just in case. Dearest can't sleep in a dark room, so... I took first watch. I'd had a heckuva day I needed to decompress and repack in my mind...

So, OK, here's the ultimately meaningless deal. Last year, I did a volunteer turn as a folder counter at Dearest's school. For some reason, the Board of Ed. OK's a few hundred solicits during the school year, and these handbills - for Parks & Recreation, for church group festivals, for Little League, for museum days, for karate classes, you name it, it's been sent home - have to be distributed to the teachers, who stuff ‘em in weekly folders. Most of ours end up as scrap paper, colored craft paper, or used for pattern print-outs if one side is blank. I get at least a ream a year of this crap.

In any case, the office ladies showed me how to do it, in a way that everyone's used to, and it's fast and easy. I can do about eight to ten solicits for a nearly 500 student school in less than two hours, filed, collated, done. I'm the fastest, most accurate counter they have. No brag, they've told me so. I came in one week a month, on the busiest week, and everyone was happy. While I hated sorting commercial solicits, it was something that really helped out, so I did it, got it done, and got outta there.

Can you see it coming ? Evidently, I was also the only dependable one, because this year there's four people doing this every week, and as a consequence, no one knows what anyone's doing - and I'm the only one with last year experience. (heavy sigh) I arrived today to find some odd woman we'll call Pink Lady spreading papers all over the office floor. Why ? No one knew. We had a big huge counter in the resource room to do counting, and I never used a tenth of that space. Having papers all in the office space looked bad, was in everybody's way, and no one could tell what she was doing. When asked, she said she had a system, and that no one could disturb it.

OK. So. I'm not the supervisor here. I find her, and basically ask, ‘OMG, WTF ?' and she's at a bigger loss than I am. Pink Lady's been at it since 8am (!) and no one can tell what she's doing or how she's doing it. Just that she has paper everywhere and that it's some system that only makes sense to her. She also takes breaks about every 20 minutes and walks into her son's classroom, for some reason.

I am beyond understanding. I just know I can't do my work because Pink Lady's got it half-azzed done, and she can't even explain what she has done or what needs doing. The office ladies are beyond pizzed because their office looks like a paper-strewn shack, the supervisor doesn't know what to do with her, Pink Lady gets affronted every time someone tries to figure out what she's doing, and her son is now glued to her side. No school for him today, evidently. He even lied about hitting his head - um, I saw him, he was in the middle of the hallway, walking along fine until he spied Pink Lady Momma. Then he bellowed like a fire truck that he'd hit his head ( on air ?) and screamed bloody murder. He actually rolled around on the floor. And he's older than Dearest, who's always slightly embarrassed whenever his Momma's at his school. Bizarre.

Well, you know me - the Army tried to teach me diplomacy, but it just didn't graft. I told her point-blank that we weren't supposed to count in the office, and that the way they liked it done was ‘this way'. She said she had her own way and that no one told her about not using the office. Um, I heard both our ‘supervisor' and Ms. A. tell her to take it to the Resource Room, and that's where the handouts are stored, but she muttered and whined about her system. I said that her system probably worked for her, but it was confusing to everyone else who'd done it ‘this way' for the last six or eight years. Bear in mind, she did NOT volunteer for this last year, so I have no idea where this system of hers came from. When I asked, even she could not explain her system. WTF ?!

Well, my lack of diplomacy didn't work either, because I finished my work in less than an hour, and at 2pm, she was still working on her ankle-deep paper piles all over the office floor. Also, for the first time ever, there weren't enough of some of the handbills. Um, normally there's at least 50 extra of each one. We ended up making more copies rather than go through what she'd already done. While it ranked to use up more resources, it was much easier and less time consuming than going through that mess of hers.

So. What's gonna happen next week, and next month, when it's my turn again ? Well, the office ladies have already decided this will not be repeated. So they're holding most of the work for me and the supervisor. Pink Lady will get one or two sets, but that's it, and she will be told to stay in the Resource Room. We'll see. I saw her again at Book Fair - that was my second volunteer task today - and her son got her to buy $48. worth of stuff, mostly toys and three $4. books. I noted how well he'd recovered from what had to be almost a concussive head injury, and I could tell from the stink-eye expression he gave me that he was aware that I knew the truth. Sometimes, I really have to be reminded what a treasure Dearest is...

I got to see him at Book Fair, and we got the Disney Pixar story collection he wanted, along with a Clone Wars last-minute find. Saw one of the books his teacher selected, and it was just beautiful. So his class now has Maybe, My Baby. I also found a book about hospital Emergency Rooms, the doctors and specialists, equipment and diagnoses, and it was on the discount table, so I snagged it and donated it to the library. I can be so generous, because I get a book credit for volunteering.

About the only doll time I had today was thumbing through the various Barbie and the Diamond Castle books. (sigh) Nothing I wanted... but I at least got a short nap before dinner.

Tomorrow, I clean house and have fun. I think I earned some ‘me' time !

PS - Sorry Tues. and Wed. entries are late. I didn't have time - or electricity ! -  to take the photos until today (Thursday) ! Once this is up, I'll start work on today's !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CST

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:41 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Warm and snuggly - with my new blanket !

Current Image Notes : For today, and the next five days, I thought I'd photograph those six-inch dolls I got from the flea market, the Disney Musical Princesses. We start with my first one, Snow, who came in a lot I got a LDP in off eBay. I need to make her a hair ribbon... The Cinderella carriage behind this week's girls also came from the flea, I have no idea what doll it goes to. But it's sure pretty !  

Busy, busy day. Election Day here in the States - polls were backed up early, in sharp contrast to the previous voter apathy that normally illustrated our political process. Numbers are still coming in, so we'll see what we got in the morning. I'm still tired and a bit weak, and I somehow feel I'll get more out of an additional sleep hour than I will more political analysis and predicting. And digital graphics - although those are tempting...

Beloved Hubby was home part of the day, so I ran errands with him. Once Dearest Son was home, we all headed up to Aunt and Uncle's. Not sure if this is how it goes with other families, but whenever somebody updates something like furniture, if the old stuff is still in good shape, the word goes out over the grapevine until someone can use it. In this case, they got new kitchen chairs, and offered out the older ones. And, lucky us, we were the only ones in the market for such.

I have to confess, we bought a simple, cheap table and chair set after we moved. And it pretty much self-destructed within a year. We were figuring out what to do next - we didn't have the Shop at the time - when Beloved found a nice table and chair set out on the curb. We snagged it, but those chairs were rough. I mean, literally. Like a dog had chewed on the lowest rungs. They were strong enough to support my bulk when I needed to change a light bulb, but they looked awful. I'd actually found and bought a chair cover pattern at the thrift, intending to use it for them. It just seemed like a bit of a waste, though, buying $30. worth of fabric to cover $5. worth of chair. So it never got done.

And now, we have really nice chairs... that are better than our table. ‘S OK, Beloved's already designing a new table for us, which is something he's always wanted to try. Not sure what'll happen to the old chairs, they're so crappy, I hate to curb ‘em. I may stash one in the garage, and one in the Shop, for when I'm hanging around with Beloved. And curb the other two during Fall Clean Up days.

But the best part was visiting. Uncle's health isn't the greatest, and neither is Aunt's. But we all stay busy, and sometimes a phonecall is all we can manage, to stay in touch. So it felt wonderful to just sit and talk a while. They had an ATM-style bank for Dearest, which he loves... and I may hook it once in a while for doll photos, it's about the right size ! They also sent us home with several blankets they'd received but didn't want, and one was Dearest's, he made that clear before we left ! He's cuddled up to it in bed, right now.

I often make the senior members of the family simple gifts, usually using fleece. I've done lap blankets, bed jackets, pet toys, and scarves before. Uncle mentioned he'd love some mittens, and those are easy. I'd extend the gauntlet part, so bare wrists wouldn't be exposed to cold, and I'd add a Velcro strap at the wrists. Many diabetics have issues with elastic, I've read. I also yard-saled a pattern for scuff-type slippers, and those are easy, too. So, I'd best start lookin' around for some fleece sales !

Not much doll time this week, I'm afraid. I haven't had time to clean up the Lab yet ! And tomorrow's my volunteer day at Dearest's school. I swear, I stick my head up from the hole I'm in, and there's a ring of folks waiting for me ! J

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CST

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:41 PM CDT

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