Anybody got a white flag with a red sole on it ?

 

Current Mood : Resigned

 

It just hit me yesterday night. During the year, in one yard sale, thrift store, or flea market or another, I found all the original dolls offered this year in the ‘My Favorite Doll' repro line, except for a loose #1 or #2. I found a boxed ‘Busy Girl', but $30. was too much. Throughout my hunts, I found a Bubblecut, three Twist n' Turns, several Malibus, endless SuperStars, and once, the neon-eyeshadowed Rocker. With yesterday's find, I've pretty much snagged the entire My Favorite line, secondhand - mostly originals, only one repro. Awesome ! My Favorites (retail) - $240. My finds (secondhand) - $12. True, I didn't get the cool leaflets and stunning extra outfits, but $228. saved would buy a lot of those, too.

 

The Christian Lowboy controversy continues - and I hope that, after today, I never see or hear of it again. In a follow-up interview, Mr. L expresses surprise that his comments ignited such a storm, and that it proves Barbie still has fans. Yes, goss knows, nobody liked the doll ‘til you came around. (sigh) He says he's apologized to his god-daughter (Barbie) for all the fuss, and that he never said she had fat ankles. Just ‘she could have had thinner ankles. That's all.' Direct quote. You can read fer yerself in the link below. I'm staying out of it from now on. I don't ‘see' his ‘Jewel Thief' doll as a Barbie, instead it's his doll, his god-daughter, but for anyone wishing to collect them, good luck, and enjoy.

 

http://www.wwd.com/markets-news/louboutin-fetes-barbie-at-50-2344612?src=nl/mornReport/20091016

 

Reason I don't wanna hear about it anymore is because of In The Pink. Yesterday, when the controversy broke and images of the CL doll came out, nearly everyone hated it. It actually kinda bugged me when someone said it ‘looked like it was hit with an ugly stick', and several others agreed, because, to that one person who did like it, those words  kinda hurt. I know, I was accused of liking Concentration Camp memorabilia for saying I wanted the Tonner Elphie doll. So I went back, once I finally saw it, and said that, while she and CL weren't my bag, different strokes for different folks, and good luck to anyone who wanted one. Frankly, I think the doll looks like a cross between a Susie and a Fashion Royalty, dressed as an extra in Kill Bill, but I don't dare say so in public.

 

Today there's the new WWD article and a slideshow, and everyone now loves it all. It's witty, refreshing, and fun ! (sigh) Yesterday's solo fan said she knew he didn't say her ankles were fat - um, his reps said he did, it was in the article I linked on ITP - and here was proof. The new article quoted him as saying he didn't call her ankles fat, ‘but she could have had thinner ankles', so that's what he gave her. She didn't quite get the difference, and in my usual blundering way, I couldn't let that be the last word, especially when it wasn't right. And I know that, no matter how many links to articles you post, most folk will take your word for it, and won't read unless they're really curious - so I quoted precisely the ‘could be thinner' part, and called her attention to the ‘god-daughter = Barbie' bit.

 

I have got to learn to quit saying the emperor's naked, because it never gains me any friends, and usually gets me alienated. Which is what's probably happened at ITP. My single image post since has gone by with zero comments, and I think it's one of my best. Same as today's here, of course. So it looks like I've gotten myself on ‘ignore' again over there - which is why I quit going about six months ago. I need to learn that, if I can't agree with everyone on a board, forum, or group, to get the frack off it before I dare to disagree. Not going along with the herd means you get left, and you'd have thought I'd learned that in Junior High. This is the one place I can spew all I want, without worrying about stepping on anyone's toes, and I really should quit trying to ingratiate myself into a crowd.

 

I'm pretty much done. Especially since two of the following messages were, 'Oh, I knew he didn't say that ! I'm so glad !' (sigh) I give up, I surrender, I'm done. I can't make anyone hear or read what they don't want to, no matter how many links I post, or words I publish. *&^% it. 

 

Anyway, Beloved Hubby worked on Molly-car today - her window is back up, but the switch is still non-functional. Well, half-functional, ‘down' works great, it's ‘up' that's shot ! I'm glad anyway, since driving on cold, rainy days was getting to be an ordeal. Although he never touched it, the switch on the passenger side, for that window, works now. Didn't used to. We also took her out for a wash, and he gave her a good polish. She looks so good, I may actually have to clean her interior !

 

Sleepy snarking

 

Current Mood : Blurgh.

 

More fun with computer ‘wallpapers' and doll photos. We actually had a few hours of sun, so my desk lamp alone provided enough light. I'm assuming ‘Sirene' (she seems to like that name, she hasn't corrected me yet !) is wearing a Mattel dress, since I have two of ‘em, but there's no tag. I love the vintage-style neckline and the fold-gathered skirt, but the Velcro closure and 1/8-inch hems tells me it's fairly modern. I thought it funny to have her necklace arranged the same way many women wear winter scarves, in a doubled-up loop.

 

I originally had her posed next to a very pretty Fall park, but her dress screamed ‘Spring', so I changed it. This dress came from the ‘tent and box' group I got a couple weekends ago from a yard sale. Really need to put that stuff away.

 

And I may be coming down with something. My ‘day in the lab' ended up as ‘a day spent asleep'. I kept nodding off, napping, and zoning out all day long. Arrgh. I was hoping to avoid a cold or flu this year, but I still feel vaguely dizzy, and didn't really do squat today.

 

Finally found photos of the Christian Louboutin Barbie today. Yikes. While the current page on BarbieCollector.com only shows the doll in two separate images, neither being a full-length shot, there was a full-length earlier, on the ‘reserve mine !' page. Amazingly, the doll has already sold out, despite nearly every comment on Barbie discussion boards being a resounding ‘Ick.'. Check it out for yerself here ->

 

http://www.barbiecollector.com/news/news.aspx?news_id=218

 

 

As for my snarky comments (if you want ‘em), here they are. Geez. I thought he only made fetish shoes. The doll wears a solid black ‘leather' catsuit, and yes, with ropes of straps around her ankles and instep, some misguided designers might conclude that they make her feet look big. But actually, when I look at it, it's the straps that look huge, not the doll. And that's because they're made of regular ole injection molded plastic, nothing couture or designer about it, really. To me, she looks more like a Fashion Royalty doll, not a Barbie, especially with the half- bored/ half-asleep expression.

 

The snark continues - While the ad copy from the linked page breathlessly announces that there's a magnificently photographed calendar included, detailing Barbie's year-long visit to Paris and her friend Christian Lowboy ( sorry, tired of looking up the spelling of Louboutin), along with her Parisian makeover, inspired by Nefertiti and Marilyn Monroe. Um... I'm hoping the other dolls show that, ‘cause she looks more like Uma Thurman's stand in, or a background character, in Kill Bill to me. I'm also trying to figure out more Mattel math (no wonder Barbies of old thought math was hard, the way Mattel figures things would constipate Einstein).

 

"Only 2,400 of the first Barbie® by Christian Louboutin dolls will be available for purchase for just $150 in the online shop and in the catalog. There are only 7,700 produced worldwide."

 

Hmm. There's three Lowboy dolls. If they make 2400 of each, that's 7200 dolls. Where are the other 500 dolls going ? Is it 2400 for Doll #1, and 2650 for #2 and #3 ? You'd think they'd say so. And I'm kinda giving them the benefit of the doubt here. A quick read could lead you to believe that 2400 #1 dolls are available via online and catalog sales, the rest are worldwide sales, probably in Lowboy's store. 

 

And, if you look hard, the hands and part of the feet are painted. No doll gloves are ever that tight ! Do her feet look weird in those shoes, like they're pegs instead of feet filling out the whole shoe ? Maybe she's just more on her tiptoes than ever. Again, yikes.

 

Extra bonus snark : While you're over at BarbieCollectables.com, you can check out the Heidi Klum doll. Why is there a Heidi Klum doll ? I had to look up who she was. Is she a noted philanthropist, or esteemed professional ? Nope. Model, actress, singer, tv host. In other words, model. In five years, is anyone gonna know why there's a doll of her ? I've been wrong before, but I'd say, probably not. I haven't heard anyone sigh, ‘If only there was a blonde Barbie that looked like model Heidi Klum'. I'd figure darn near any blonde doll with the right length hair and eye color would work...

 

You can also check out Heidi's favorite 15 Barbies. Of them, only one is Playline (her sons like Batman, so here's Batgirl), five are Bob Mackie dolls, and ten are less than three years old. The oldest one in the slideshow is 1992's Empress Bride Mackie. No vintage, no childhood memories, just big-ticket designer dolls from a few years back. I was hoping her choices would tell me a bit more about her, but not really. She likes expensive dolls. Yaaay.

 

Well, with that earth-shattering news, I'm going back to bed. Urgh.

So I got a new doll - and someone to vent my snark on. Not a bad day at all...

 

Current Mood : Still overwhelmed

Spent on dolls : $4.31

 

Sorry for yesterday's flake-out, ya'll - what can I say, it was a tough day. We've some books on homeschooling waiting for us at the Library, and we've joined a local HS Yahoo group, and we're still cooling out and making sense of things before we do anything irrevocable. As if to underscore how up in the air things are, Dearest Son had a good day at school, and he's off tomorrow and Friday.

 

I knew that, if I was going out at all this week, today was the day. So despite rain and fog, I hit two thrifts, a Dollar General, and a drugstore, then came home. GoodWill was a total wash - although it is a bit less cluttery now - and all I found of interest at DGen was a thin plastic Barbie trick-or-treat bag. It's nearly as flimsy as our old costumes, as the handles would break with half of a decent night's haul.

 

The local thrift held a surprise for me. Two actually - today's image and a less-than-nice one. From what I can tell, she's 1994-95's ‘Solo in the Spotlight Reproduction Barbie', since she had the same hair color and bangs, as well as the same jewelry - pearl earrings and choker made from a single strand of smoky glass beads. She came with the blue shirt she's wearing, but the rubber band on her hair had rotted and broken, one of her earrings was halfway out, and there were a couple of random red stains on her legs. I brushed and redid her hair with clear elastics, popped off her head to remove the necklace - without a clasp, there was no other way - scrubbed most of the stains away, and removed her metal-post earrings. No green ear, luckily.

 

The other surprise was that the price of dolls had (sort of) doubled. Before, there were two dolls in a no-exchanges-or-trades sealed bag for $3.99. Today, it's one semi-dressed doll in a wrapped up bag, but the price is the same. It's a shame, they had several others I was interested in, but at $4. each, I wasn't going to buy very many. Plus, most dolls aren't dressed, they're wrapped in the bags with clothes stacked on them. It's odd, you'd think a semi-religious-based thrift store would dress them, but its as though it takes too much time for the usually-standing-around employees to bother with. Other times I've bought dolls there, the clothes or hair were arranged to hide stains or damage. So it's kind of a crapshoot no matter the price - and if it's this high, I'm much less likely to take a flier on a doll I can barely see.

 

But I lucked out on Sirene, which is her name so far, until she tells me differently. Her hair easily went back into its original style, and while her legs and arms are softer - almost flexible - than Midge's, they're undamaged and actually in pretty good shape. She also came with a worn tutu that doesn't come close to fitting her - I think it goes to a slightly out of Barbie scale ‘Star Team' or ‘Wee 3 Friends' Stacie doll.

 

It's still raining, so I wasn't very active today. Broke one of the ‘Glam' Fashionista's silver earrings when I removed them. The long post has a safety spike at the end, to keep it in, so kids can't choke on ‘em. My pulling it out broke it close to the earring back, which didn't leave enough to fit in the Then and Now doll's ears. She also has smaller earring holes, so they probably wouldn't have worked anyway. So I fixed ‘em. Basically cut both earrings so the backs were flat, and heated up a couple of straight pins over a candle flame, using pliers to hold the pins when they got too hot to hold. Then I pushed the hot pins through the top of the earrings, and cut the ends of the pins long enough to hold position in the doll's head, but not so long, it pokes the opposite side of her head. The silver pin head blended in with the silver earrings, so ya can't tell.

 

Tomorrow, I'm gonna spend most of the day in the Lab - unless Dearest talks me into a trip to Dollar Tree !

 

 Oh, and in case you haven't heard, fetish shoe designer Christian Louboutin threw his couture self on the Barbie birthday bandwagon and designed three dolls. However, the always-criticized Barbie body was lacking for him - according to one assistant, he found Barbie's ankles 'too fat'.

 

http://www.avclub.com/articles/you-can-never-take-doll-shoes-too-seriously,34080/

 

Women's Wear Daily broke the story, but I prefer The Onion's take on it, excepting the crack on her 'duck bill' feet. Heck, most of the My Scene dolls have permanently bent legs from the heavy shoe-feet they came with - and they're too fat for this freak ? I'd boycott his useless Sex and the City-nourished useless consumer aesthetic and his semi-skank shoes - but I'm not one who'd blow $500. on footwear, even if I had that kinda cash. Or on plastic dolls made by a snob jerk with just enough talent to paint the soles of his cruel shoes red. 

Blue Tuesday.

 

Current Mood : A bit lost, honestly. 

 

(sigh) It's not been a good day. I could go on for three pages what happened at school today, but I don't even want to hash it through again. Suffice it to say we're weighing the pros and cons of home schooling for Dearest Son. I don't know if he can deal with many more days like today.

 

But, for now, I need a break. So here I am. Other than school, today was a good one - my Ken case came in ! Yep, I found a really inexpensive one, paid twice as much to ship it than I paid for the case, but it's in great shape, and it's kind of a blue-greenish turquoise ! I'll hang it up sometime later this week. I noticed that the seller paid more to ship it than I paid for the whole auction, so I wrote to offer a bit more, because it made me feel bad that they lost money sending me something I wanted. They were happy I liked it and it didn't go into the trash, so they didn't want more money, just for me to enjoy it. I think I'll take those funds to make a donation to the Children's Center Dearest used to attend for therapy. They should have their Christmas collection bins out soon.

 

Beloved Hubby did the grocery shopping today, and he got the Deluxe Anakin Skywalker costume for Dearest. It's nice, much more detailed than the $20. version, and it fits well, but the rubbery Jedi belt is too big for him. So I'll add some Velcro to it, a bit further up the belt. That should do it. I found an unfinished seam I have to fix as well. But I'm glad he got the good one. It looked so cute on him ! He hung the cardboard panel it came in up on his bedroom wall. I rehung the costume, and it's in his closet. He wants to keep it nice for Halloween, but then he says he's gonna wear it at home. Fine with me ! It won't fit him next year, so I'd rather it get worn out than donated in perfect shape.

 

Beloved also really enjoys bringing home snacks - so I have rice crackers, savory crackers, chips, you name it. He got the stuff he likes, and even got Halloween cupcakes for Dearest. We're trying a few new dinner entrees, or at least, we will, if I can put the rice crackers down !

 

I brought the ‘trade' bag of dolls back inside. It's not their fault the trade didn't go through, and I don't want them to get dirty waiting ‘til the next Flea Market in my car. They might even get spiders in with them in the garage, so it's best for them to go back in the house. I may have more to add later, too, but I'm rapidly approaching the ‘new doll comes in, older doll must go out' threshold again.

"I Dreamed I Directed Traffic in My Joe Boxer Underwear..."

 

Current Mood : Unremittingly lazy.

 

A nice, quiet day after a rather nerve-wracking night. Not sure if it's due to his going off the generic kid Robitussin or going on the antibiotic, but Dearest Son talked in his sleep for hours, and sleep-walked twice. This put me on edge at the slightest bump in the night, since we never did find out what caused his seizures, and I worried. Turns out for nothing, it was that darn DC who knocked over stacked-up dinner plates, hunting for more chicken, but every sound had me upright, awake, and in Dearest's room. Usually checking his breathing.

 

While waiting for the next sonic upheaval, I played around a bit more with shooting photos against the monitor. By now, it was much later at night, so I needed even more light to avoid flash-bounce. But I think the final image was worth it ! It's today's image, natch. Basically, my Franken-dolly Glam (body) and Then and Now Barbie (head) stood up in front of the Google Image Search result I liked best for ‘intersection'. Out of restlessness, I posted it to In The Pink late last night, under the title, "I Dreamed I Directed Traffic in My Joe Boxer Underwear". I doubt it'll get much response. It's rather silly. But I love how flexible and fun that Fashionista body is - I only wish the dolls came in more skin tones, so I could rebody more dolls !

 

Joanne, the owner/moderator of ITP, is not doing well, and is in the hospital. She'll recover, it's just time and healing now. Still, she's missed, and I hope she's back soon.

 

Not a lot going on today - it's still raining, and so Beloved Hubby was home. And, for some reason, my butt was again rooted to the chair, watching cable all day with him. Fun, but not very productive. Tomorrow's gonna be busy, so maybe it was best I got to veg-out for a bit. Dearest has a musical program then, two performances, and I have to be at both. Since he only rarely participates in these things, but has to be there regardless, it's kind of annoying for both of us. Last two years, it's been a spring thing, but I guess the third grade is different. At least I'll probably like the t-shirt he'll wear - the program is titled ‘Seven Spools of Thread'.

 

He also has the after-school science program sponsored by the local University. He'll barely get home from that before he has to get ready for the evening program ! He gets a two-day ‘Fall Break' Thursday and Friday, so I'm glad he'll have some downtime - after Halloween, it's really busy at his school !

 

I'm hoping to do a bit of shopping in the morning. Wanna snag his Anakin Skywalker costume before they sell out. Here's hoping they still have his size ! After the holiday, it's all his - he can wear it out, tear it up, whatever he wants. It'll probably be a bit more durable than the industrial waste nylon things we wore (that came in Ben Cooper or Collegeville boxes) back in the day, but not much ! Ya'll know me - I've enjoyed my fantasy life all of my life, so I want our son to have good props for his !  

Photograpy experiments...(maniacal laugh)

 

Current Mood : Fat and happy.

 

What a nice day ! It's still cloudy and kinda dark outside, all day, but we were together and cozy inside. Made a half-pot of coffee and a can of biscuits, and we watched a RedBox rental - Scooby Doo: The Mystery Begins - with jelly or cheese biscuits for breakfast.

 

Back when I first got Stitch Era Universal, I joined a free raster images site. While I haven't done much with SEU since, I still get ‘hey, new images !!1!' e-mails. Got one today, for painted landscapes that'll work as computer wallpaper. Not exactly my style - sort of inexpert Thomas Kinkaid, and I hate that guy !- but it got me wondering. Could I photograph a doll balanced against the wallpaper on my screen, and get a good shot ?

 

It took a bit, and I had to flood my desk with light to avoid flash-bounce on either the screen or the dolls' eye decals, but it really didn't take any longer to get a good photo that way than it does any other way. All the light pretty much made sure there weren't any shadows, so it doesn't look like she's propped up against a poster. It doesn't give any additional depth, either, but it does give me a few million new free backdrops I can use for photos ! Between that, and finally finding more brick and stone print scrapbook paper, I'm pretty much done hunting for backdrops ! Which is good, since the Lab is rapidly approaching maximum capacity again. (sigh)

 

It's been nice, though, to have a few dolls on my desk to play with. I think I'll keep doing that, just rotate ‘em every week. Normally, I don't like to have my ‘toys' out of the Lab, especially since I'm constantly on Dearest's little butt to keep his picked up. But all these are either brand-new still, or fresh from a second-hand buy, and I was working on ‘em - they hadn't been put away yet. Still, three or four on the desk shouldn't be a problem.

 

Oh, and I'd forgotten to mention that my much-loved and often-worn grey sweatshirt zip-front hoodie jacket was missing when I went to the hall closet for it two weeks ago. Looked all over for it, nothing. I even poked in the ‘embroider this' basket. I was a bit sad, thinking I'd left it somewhere a couple months ago, because it's perfect for Bus Watch on these cool but not yet cold mornings. Beloved Hubby found it for me yesterday - it was in the garage the whole time ! It was like getting it new all over again. It's already been washed and worn, and I'm so happy to have it back. Now, what to embroider on it...

 

Speaking of colder climate adjustments...I was thinking of just when it started to get cooler ‘round here. And then, it came to me. It was the day after I bought the fan for the Lab. It only ran for the one day ! Good thing I saved the box. At least it'll be nice and clean for '10 !

 

Still not sure where the day went. I really didn't do much besides play with dolls and the camera and my guys. We got my favorite fried chicken takeout for dinner from the local place, and I'm almost too stuffed to move ! Hope your day had bluer skies, but was just as cozy as coffee for you !

Saturday...at my desk...I know it wasn't the fourth of July...

 

Current Mood : Satisfied with Saturday

 

You may soon notice that the photos are getting bigger. That's ‘cause I figured out how to post here and on In The Pink  using the same image downloaded and stored only once. Basically, I save it as a ‘Draft' blog entry, view the image link under ‘Properties', and cut/paste it to the board. Then, when it's ready, I can enter the day's text and move it from ‘Draft' to ‘Post' for publishing. Before, I posted the image to a photo album for ITP, then posted it again here. Since the same image would be on my web space twice, I always kept the pictures fairly small. Since I can now use the same posted image both times, I can make it bigger - and still use less web space ! 

 

Only thing I don't like about it is that I usually end up posting to ITP first. But when there's already an image uploaded and ready to go, I'm more likely to keep the blog up to date. 90% of the time I'm a week or a month late, it's due to lack of images. Since I now wanna post photos of my second-hand, playline dolls - especially when ‘everyone' over there seems determined to buy as much as possible and only post photos of the latest and most expensive - it'll end up being a boon all the way around. Who knows, maybe I'm not the only one who isn't into big-dress, big ticket Silkstones and Limited Editions. I doubt I'll ever shake my personal conviction that no matter how expensive and limited they are, dolls are ultimately playthings.

 

And I took a bit of time to play today. Decided not to keep the brunette doll I got from last week's yard sale - her eyes just looked weird to me. So I dressed her and added her to the bag - and played with the two Pilots, Tiana, Glam TaN, and today's girl, since they were on my desk anyway.

 

The doll in today's photo has a sort of interesting story. I wasn't going to keep her at all - she was in the ‘trade' bag for weeks. Her blonde ponytail in that cotton-candy fiber was unremarkable, and her SuperStar face I'd seen a million times. In fact, back in my earliest days of ‘collecting' (i.e., playing as an ‘adult'), the SuperStar face was held in near total disdain by most other adult fans, and it was worse if she had bent arms and big eyes. It was a sort of backlash, since Mattel wasn't using many other faces back in the 80s and early 90s, at the dawn of the recognized adult collector. If it was in wide use and had at any time been within line-of-sight of a child's toybox, the adults seemed to sniff down their noses at it - unless it was vintage. SuperStar's ubiquity and playline origin was really working against her.

 

I actually left a board after the members all agreed that the ‘big eyed' dolls were awful and ugly and not worth having. Um...darn near all mine were playline, used, sold within the last five years, and usually all three, including having big pretty anime eyes. It was nice to have different faces, but I didn't quite understand why suddenly everyone loathed 90% of dolls out there at the moment. Anyway, I had plenty of blonde SuperStars already, so this one went into the ‘trade' bag - where Beloved Hubby dug her out and tattooed her ! She has a flower on her right shoulder and a heart with stars on her hip. No way could I give her away now ! But I hadn't really done anything with her, either. So today, I got her hair all brushed out, and took her photo about a dozen times, ‘til I got it right. It doesn't show the glitter stuck seemingly permanently on her legs. Tiana has the same thing, from her lily pad-themed issue gown.

 

Scrubbing and soaping didn't help much, and the idea of picking it off flake by flake seemed like a long, boring job. So I tried lifting it off with regular ole Scotch tape. That worked ! Took a while, but it all came off. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, since she's Glitter Beach Barbie. She even came with a bottle of glitter lotion. But I always figured that most of the lotion ended up on the girls who owned her, not so much on the doll. I'm not even sure consumer-level body glitter even existed in 1992, outside of costume and adult shops.

 

It's been cool here for the last week or so, and I'm happy to record that the heat's working fine. After all the fuss with the air conditioning this summer, I was a bit concerned. Yesterday, it only got up to 58 degrees, but it was a comfy 70 in here !

 

Yum ! DFIL brought us sandwiches from where he works, and we chatted a bit. Grandmother's on pain meds, the kind that absorb through the skin, so that was a relief to hear. It's the medicines other than pain relief she's not having to deal with anymore. DFIL says she's slipping away, and last night was calling for her husband, who passed nearly a decade ago. I'd like to believe that, wherever we go after we depart, we're with our loved ones who've gone before.

Gray skies are clearing up... but it was still a lousy day for yard sales !

 

Current Mood : Relaxed

Current Image Notes : I decided to keep both my Barbie Pilots, after all. Today you get to see the 1997 version, who came with navy luggage to match her uniform, with the zippy pink trim. She's modeling one of the few finds of the day, being a yard sale treasure herself ! 

Spent on cardstock and backdrops : $4.

 

Busy morning today, too. I stupidly let my imagination roam when I read the words ‘vintage toys' in a Craigslist.com ad for a yard sale, and soon after Dearest Son and Beloved Hubby left, I was on my way. You probably heard the sigh I released when I got there - I'd been to their sale last year, and bought one doll for her dress, that was all. Guess the ‘we just moved here from Chicago' was also BS, and I should have known. Who moves, then gets rid of stuff ? Very few folks.

 

It wasn't just the same house - it was the same stuff from the last sale, too. Same sticky creepy-headed Baby Alive from 2007, same plastic barware, same blankets and clothes. Oh, well. I still scored two huge decks of scrapbooking cardstock, and some brick and stone patterned papers, all for $4. I can quit stocking cardstock now... I've already used some, as a backdrop in today's photo. The only ‘vintage' toys I saw were some battered, paint-stripped Hot Wheels that probably anyone could find after a short dig in a good municipal playground sand box.

 

From there, it was off to Dearest's school, to drop off his doctor's note and Thursday folder that I'd forgotten. By then, the pharmacy was open, and I picked up his prescription and ordered mine. $136. later, I was on the way to the Flea Market, feeling very lucky that Dearest's wasn't as expensive as I'd feared. I also added two $9. inhalers to my usual order, since my bedside one felt light last night, and I wanted a backup one in Beloved's truck. With the exception of the single expensive prescription, I'm well-stocked for winter, since I take advantage of the 90-day supply for $10. on the three I can ! Sure, it only saves us $24. a year, but that's a week of feeling luxuriously spoiled for me ! 

 

This week, it takes even less. The flea market was, in a single word, depressing. Brenda, the doll seller I often trade with, didn't have anything I wanted, so I left my dolls in Molly-car. She can't really give me cash for them, especially on slow weekends like this one, so when there's nothing I like, it doesn't do either of us any good to initiate a trade. Maybe next month. I found old VHS tapes of Stripes (for me, I'm a huge Harold Ramis fan), Night of the Comet (for Beloved, it's one of his few favorites we don't already have), and Return to Neverland (for Dearest, of course- he really loved it when we rented it a few weeks ago) for a couple bucks, and got heck out of there. There were maybe ten or fifteen booths, and probably more sellers than shoppers. Most of the booths didn't have sellers manning them, they were so bored, they were wandering around, too.

 

Beloved was home for lunch, always a treat, and he gladly tucked the spare inhaler away in his truck, just in case. A few hours later, Dearest was home, and he took his double-dose of meds like a trooper, declaring that it was only halfway rank. And, as for the rest of the evening, we goofed off together.

 

What a nice Friday ! Hope yours was good !

 

Thanks, ya'll !

 

 

Current Mood : Tired but perking up a bit.

Current Image Notes : Here's ‘toddler Tiana', yesterday's new acquisition. Isn't she adorable ? Her hair is so much fun - I made the little Leia-like bun on the left in about five seconds by simply brushing her curls over my fingers. On the right, her out-of-box hair. She comes with a cute little crown and a pretty green crown-and-frog themed hairbrush.

 

Thanks, everyone - your messages helped me make a bit of sense out of yesterday, and I really, really appreciate it. While I'm still dizzy and confused, maybe I'm not quite as selfish as I thought, that the dolls and play satisfied a need for all of us. Forgot to mention that Beloved Hubby's newest tattoo machine arrived, so we all had something new, just for ourselves. And I think we needed that, separately and together. And ‘Operation' was fun, even if Dearest Son's driving me nuts with its ‘new, improved' sound effects today.  We've already picked out our next game, Scrabble's "Slam" card deck. Surprisingly, a deck of cards is nearly as much as the ‘Operation' game.

 

And I have another confession. I just wasn't bonding with ‘Aramina', the Barbie and the Three Musketeers doll I got Saturday. It was very sweet of Dearest Son to pick her out for me, but between the big dress, the blue-green painted legs, and the unremarkable face, it just wasn't happening. I kinda knew when I didn't debox her right away, like I did with Princess Tiana. She went back to TRU when I got little-girl Tiana, a doll I really wanted. I'd have snagged her Saturday, but they were in an entry display instead of over in the DPrincess section. Heck, the fashion doll version was in with the Barbie dolls, not with the DPs either. What can I say, our TRU tries...

 

After numerous phone calls and three messages since Tuesday, we finally got an appointment for Dearest Son at the nurse-practitioner's office. So he was home today, since it was right after lunch, and with a note, it'd be an excused absence for a whole day, and he needed some rest. After having some trouble reading the old glass thermometer, we bought a digital one, but never duplicated the 101-degree reading Dearest had at school. In fact, his temp never got above 99-even. Still, he's been coughing for weeks, and while the cough syrup helps, it should be gone by now. So should the congestion in his chest. Time for medical intervention.

 

I should have known, this happens nearly every year about this time - sinus infection. Which is also why the cough medicine worked on the symptoms but didn't resolve the illness. We got a prescription and a note for school, and were on our way. With Uncle gone from us, and Grandmother fading, Dearest's home for the weekend, so I'll have a bit of fun tomorrow, while he's at school. I'm hoping that Brenda has some great new finds I can trade her for ! If not, it can always wait ‘til next month.

 

Right now, though, it's pouring down rain. (sigh) Don't think I'm gonna hit any yard sales tomorrow. They've probably been washed away !

I may have overdone the 'play every day' thing...

 

Current Mood : Mad scientist-y. And very tired.

Current Image Notes : Here's a 'Then and Now' Barbie head on a 'Glam' Fashionista body. I like it !

 

Today was even worse than I thought it'd be. Dearest Son's meeting was a mental minefield, one of our ill senior family members is no longer with us, I'm dizzy and nauseous, and despite it all, I'm happy because I got two new dolls. Goss, I am so self-centered...

 

Dearest's meeting wasn't good. Basically, it's pretty apparent that Teacher resents every extra minute she has to spend with him, and she's pretty much given up. I know that he's an extra challenge, but watching her weave her head back and forth on her neck like a hypnotic cobra while she defended herself against nothing - truly, all I'd said was an apology for being late (they'd moved the start time, but AGAIN forgot to tell me) - pretty much told me that Beloved Hubby's conclusion was correct. I also found out he'd been given a multitude of tests, and he's not doing well this year. I think I know part of the reason why. And why his spelling words are actually easier than the ones he had in first grade. (sigh)

 

I came home upset, and Beloved set up an appointment to speak with the principal, who wasn't at the meeting. And he confirmed that Teacher did, in fact, lie to us about not getting permission for the field trip. Teacher'd spoken to the principal with her concerns two days before, but she didn't know that Teacher never bothered to contact us until just before departure - and the crap about ‘no time for permission slips' was just that, crap. He also said I'd been ambushed and put on the defensive about today's meeting, where again, we were the last to be notified about changes. Principal was unaware of the details, but said she'd make sure that future decisions would include us, and in a timely fashion. First time for everything this year, I thought.

 

Want a laugh ? Teacher made absolutely sure we got his delayed Thursday folder today. Because tomorrow's photo day. And we don't wanna miss that ! What if we didn't have an order form ?! Horrors ! We might miss out on yet another money-making opportunity for the school, and get more blurry, hurried images that we paid for in advance and can't return. Who'd want to miss out on all that ?

 

So I left the meeting feeling pretty low. I'd already done the grocery run and found the ‘Glam' Fashionista Barbie, and swapped her outsized head for the one on the ‘Then and Now' Barbie I got from Target a few weeks ago. That's her, in today's image. It's funny how it's very nearly the same head, even the same makeup, but Glam's is noticeably larger. I put the unused Glam head on the belly-button body and added her to the Flea Market trade bag. I like TaN's sidelong glance and smaller head with the updated body much better, and have no use for the Glam head on the belly-button body. I also got the two Pilot dolls in the same space and selected one. I'll probably pull one more doll for the trade bag, to make it an even 20. I'd been happy with my Franken-dolly, but today wasn't quite done with turning into ash yet.

 

We found out this afternoon that Uncle went into a coma Monday, and slipped from it later that day. The service is tomorrow, but the burial will be in another state. I'm not even sure if I can go to the service, since shortly after lunch, Dearest's school called. He had a fever, so he may be home tomorrow. We also found out that Grandmother is off all medication now, and is pretty much stuck in bed until her time comes. This I do not understand, since we know she's been in pain for some time, so... it's not our decision to make, but I still don't understand it.

 

So, with all this going on, what do we do ? Since Beloved was home when the school called, we picked him up, and went to TRU. Got a copy of ‘Operation' for game night, and I snagged the toddler Tiana. You'll see her photos soon - her hair is a delight to play with. And she's very pretty. With the Tiana I bought this weekend, we got a special gift, a pretend Snow White baking set. A bit too feminine for Dearest, he wasn't interested, so I put it away for Toys for Tots' bins later.

 

Came home, Beloved went back to work, and I made a simple snack plate for Dearest, and put him on the sofa. Deboxed Tiana, and played for a little bit while he napped. With everything going on - death, illness, bills, education, fear, confusion, and despair - I noticed that Tiana's shoes had crowns on the toes and frogs on the soles, and her hair is wonderful. I managed to get the Glam earrings into TaN's smaller earholes, and tried to swap bodies with other dolls, but the ivory skin tone for ‘My Melody' and ‘Hello Kitty' dolls don't match any of the Fashionista's. I brushed hair, swapped clothes, found shoes, and took photos.

 

I played.

 

Then, when Beloved came home, we played more. Together. ‘Operation' now makes more obnoxious sounds beyond the buzz, the game now doesn't involve cards or play money, and Dearest is surprisingly dexterous with those tweezers. I ‘read' a coloring book to him tonight, making up voices and comments for a book with no words. Anakin is convinced that he's better looking than Obi-Wan, but Obi thinks his arms are his best feature and his lightsaber is bigger, and Yoda can still kick everyone's Jedi butt. And if you rub three battle-droids together, you might have enough intelligence to turn on a vacuum cleaner, and clone soldiers love to pose for family pictures. Or Heismann trophies.

 

Maybe I'm as selfish as I think I am, maybe I'm doing everything wrong. But I hope that our son knows that, no matter what his teacher thinks or what the school does, we're on his side. Always. And that life always goes on.