Heeeeeere's Kira !

 

Current Mood : Still kinda dizzy

 

Beloved Hubby actually came over to watch me cancel the ongoing recording of Clean House. Tired of erasing the same episode three times a week, tired of the same lazy idiots whining over trading a $50. breadmaker in exchange for $500. worth of furniture - and about $5000. worth of cleaning he/she/they refused to do. Unless it's heirloom vintage sentimental, you can buy a new one when they leave, but good luck trading it for a three-room home makeover to anybody but this crew. Besides, I got plenty to clean (and lots of stuff to get upset over) without the time this show takes. 

 

Took two hours to finish cleaning our bedroom - it really needed it. Friday's been hiding toys and shredded tissues from the trash under the bed, and there was the usual litter of socks and books everywhere. Decided to donate a few, and stored the rest, sorted my shoes, bagged up Lego and toy cars for Dearest Son to put away in his room, and got all the laundry in one place. I'll wash sheets and blankets tomorrow, since it'll be a nice day, and I can hang them out. I'm hoping to vacuum in there this week ! And I loaded the three bags of donations into Molly's trunk, which filled it. Hoping to get those dropped off tomorrow or Friday.

 

And with Dearest's help, all the trash, from the house and the garage, has been Dumpstered. What a relief ! Between the AirSoft stuff and the Delorean, there were shipping boxes everywhere, and always in the way. I swear, once the worst of the clutter is cleared away, I feel much better - and want to do more !

 

Right now, though, I'm about to pass out. Hope your day went well, with next to no clutter !

 

Filed and fried

 

Current Mood : A bit spinny-headed

 

Don't ask me why I do the weird stuff I do. I can't even explain it to m'self, much less Beloved Hubby, although he accepts my bizarre tangents. And I went on an odd, obsessive one for no real reason this morning.

 

I now check the daily feed of One Pretty Thing, since Craft's blog is still into electronic clothing, gluten/sugar/dairy free recipes, ‘cheap' IKEA storage (that's still worth more that what I'd use it to contain), and more stuff to do with your video iPod (which I don't have). Today, there was a link to ‘mini file folders' that looked cute, so I copy/paste/printed them. Hmf. Too big for Barbie, but would probably work for Elphie and Fiyero. I liked the ‘sticker tabs', it's a nice touch. Here's a link -> http://triciarennea.blogspot.com/2010/02/mini-file-folders.html

 

I figured I could scale them to the size I wanted...when it hit me. There's an entire website devoted to paper miniatures in various scales, including sixth-scale for Barbie, Jim's Printable Minis ! http://www.printmini.com/printables/pp.shtml , on the off chance you haven't found it years ago. I did another copy/paste/print...and they were huge ! I mean, these could store Barbie's X-rays. I was kinda surprised, since other things I've printed from the site were in scale. Hrmf.

 

Well, time to have my own fun with scale ! I did a quick bit of math - folders in human-scale hold standard 8.5 x 11-inch sheets of paper. Dividing that by six (since Barbie is roughly 1/6 the size of a person) gives me about a 1.4 inch wide by 1.8 long page. To hold that, a folder would need to be about three inches tall, folded in half. When I entered that, the length went to 1.9 inches, which sounds about right. I deleted the color - I can use some of the hundreds of colored papers I have already - and did a few print runs. Only problem with some of the papers is that there's writing on one side that'll show on the tab part. A swipe or two of White-Out fixed that, and gave it a professional look.

 

So, in short (too late !) I spent an hour this morning scaling and printing and cutting and saving, because I was suddenly obsessed with creating in-scale Barbie file folders. (sigh) I am so weird...but I have plenty of doll-size folders now !

 

In only slightly obsessive news, Sandy / Kira arrived today - and she's perfect ! I'd figured, back when I first got the ‘I wanna Kira doll !' bug, that any blonde Barbie would do. Until I saw the Grease dolls. Then I really really wanted a Sandy, especially since the hair and face were just perfect for Kira. Only problem is, I couldn't find one. The few we got at Big Lots were the secondary characters, and $20. even on markdown was kinda high. On eBay, with shipping, she was even more expensive. So I leapt when I found her nude on Robin's ‘for sale' listing on In The Pink. And she's here, you get her photo tomorrow. Sometime this week, I gotta study her costumes, for reference. And watch Xanadu a dozen or so times !

 

With so much going on, I was a bit hyped-up, so I cleaned my closet. Including the craft storage areas I've so often delayed working on. Went through the fabrics stored for ‘me clothes', donated six of those and added eight more fabric pieces that Aunt S. gave me. Many of the Aunt S. ‘keepers' fit in the newly emptied spaces, so now I only have half a crate to find storage for, instead of an overflowing one. I also freed up space for Dearest Son's home-schooling supplies in the hall closet, re-folded the sheets and blankets and got them stored neatly in their space - it'd gone terribly messy in there - and found a spot for Kenny.

 

If that wasn't enough, I also went through my clothes and donated about ten blouses that either didn't really fit or I just didn't like, but had been holding on to anyway. It's funny how much better it is to have a closet with everything that fits and I like than it is to have stuff I'm always pushing aside. I have no idea why I kept some of that stuff for so long.

 

Beloved Hubby came home and asked if there'd been an inspirational Hoarders marathon - nope, yesterday's was an already-recorded repeat. Plus, if I was gonna get everything I wanted to do done, there wasn't time for TV. He started doing the same to his closet, to free up space for his AirSoft equipment. I cut up most of his discards for rags or embroidery experiments, and added a string of buttons to the jar. The rest - a jacket, two shirts, and a sweater - got added to the three bags of donations waiting for me to load ‘em up, move ‘em out.

 

Didn't get to the dishes, though, because all this gave me a roaring headache, and I passed out in my computer chair for over an hour. Headache's still there, but it's been blunted. Dearest is now working on the mushy brakes on BIL's car, so we may grab a quick dinner when that's done. I still have a lot to do in our bedroom - the area around my closet's a mess of trash and emptied boxes - but right now, I need to relax a bit. Moving my melon head around still makes it swim, which is no fun for anybody.

Well, I wasn't sure if he was dead or not...kinda like that other Kenny.

Current Mood : Very happy, although there's not just one reason to be so.

Current Image Notes : Seam ripper mitten ! 

 

I knew but forgot - last Thursday was my one-year anniversary with Brody. Hard to believe, but a year and then some's gone by since I opened his box and nervously tried to stitch a few built-in letters, scared to death I'd do something wrong, break something, or just plain screw up so badly, we'd end up wasting $500. Plus shipping and handling. Little did I know that we'd soon spend a lot more than that - about what we spent on Brody and half again - on supplies, software, and designs. I'm glad most of it will last me a long time, and that there's darn little left for me to want anymore. I think so far this year, embroidery's only cost us a little less than $10., and I hope to keep it that low this year. Goss knows I got plenty to do already !

 

Since the year is up, I decided to finish the thread-cuts ornament. It's a simple plastic Christmas ball I got from the Flea Market, filled with all the threads I cut away from all the embroidery I did this first year. It's nearly full ! Jump threads, needle threadings, you name it, it's all in there. I printed out a bit of paper that told what it was, and stuffed it in there, visible, but with thread swirling around it. Would have loved to embroider it, but to be legible, it'd cover all the threads ! I may slipcover it later, but right now, I wanna limit the dust that gets in there. Since it didn't have a good plug, I'm making one, from ribbon that came in the Boy Scouts' sale sewing box I bought earlier this month. First strips are drying - I'll add two more, then a hanging loop, then wrap it around the opening, to cover all the strip ends. It may well use all the ribbon, but that's fine with me !

 

And I decided to add the Snuggie photos to the main site's Home page. There's a link to the pattern there, and an inset photo of the original one, made by Sharon. I like how hers drapes around the ‘skirt', but I still prefer my neckline. I've come to the conclusion that I like to make doll clothes once or twice a month or so, and I hope to update the Home page at least once a month with a new outfit. Heck, I still gotta get back to a finished version of that silk Pak dress I have cut out and sitting around. (sigh)

 

But, probably not today. BIL dropped off Uncle's sewing machine - well, now, I guess it's mine. Turns out, it's a Kenmore, not a Singer, and just like KJ, it's a Kenmore 385. Which means it's a Janome, down deep. But this ‘new' one is much older. I can't find much information on it, but from what I have discovered, it's about 25 years old. But it functions nearly identically to KJ. Well, now it does.

 

The light came on, but it didn't move at first. So I stripped off all the thread I could find, and gently rocked the flywheel by hand until it spun easily. Looks like it'll sew, I thought. No manual, so I guessed at how to thread it, and wound a bobbin, basically running a full one to an empty one, to figure out the specifics. But it really is just like KJ, except for some exposed tension discs and a more complicated top threading sequence.

 

More online research found a scan of the threading and bobbin-running diagrams, and an offer for the manual, e-mailed version, for $8. I bookmarked it, just in case. Still had trouble with the bobbin thread, so I took the whole thing apart this time. It was easy, because KJ's bobbin run and case are identical. Dragged out a long, raggedy grey thread. I was working with brown and white. Reassembled, the bobbin worked just fine, now all I had to do was experiment with tension and soon, even that was solved. I had a nice, straight line of even stitches, without puckers or too much of thread on the opposite side.

 

So I now have a third sewing machine. Please welcome ‘Kenny', the ‘new' senior sewing machine of Chez Insanity. He's an all-metal heavyweight, and I like how some of his plastic panels have discolored to various shades of Harvest Gold. In a world of white machines, I welcome his three shades of yellow and dark chocolate dials.

 

The check box of accessories was mostly hand-sewing needles - some of which look rather old - four tiny crochet hooks, half a card of hooks and eyes, some embroidery floss bobbins, and a button. No extra feet, but I'll check if the ones Brody and KJ share can go a bit further. I also got two unidentified needles and a dozen metal bobbins, seven of which were partially would with various thread colors.

 

About the only thing I'm not sure about is what I'm gonna do with three sewing machines, but Kenny is just too cool to abandon. At least I'll have a back-up, twice over !

 

Also... what do I do with the embroidery thread clips now ? I don't think I need two ornaments...

 

It's good weather for a Snuggie...

 

Current Mood : Pleased.

Current Image Notes : Yup, this is the same faux-Snuggie that Charlotte modeled yesterday. Maybe a quarter-inch more fabric at the bottom, and it'll fit Kens without any other alterations. Cooool ! 

 

 

Another dismal day. We had a heckuva storm last night - lightning and thunder and fierce winds woke me up several times. Now it's just grey and bleh, and our yard's a marsh again. Perfect sleeping weather. I slept in a bit, which gave Dearest Son and Beloved Hubby some guy-time, and Beloved was ready for a nap right after breakfast.

 

While he slept, I cleaned up the creative mess of yesterday. By coincidence, the armhole circles I cut from the Snuggie flannel landed next to a seam-ripper I'd been thinking of either trashing or keeping at my desk. The cap is missing, and I've scratched myself against open seam-rippers in the past. Covering the sharp parts with tape led to some discoloration, maybe it's rust or something similar. I was about to trash it when I saw it by the circles. Hmmm.

 

A few minutes later, I had a pink starred flannel seam ripper blade cover. Yup, I just sewed ‘em together, turned ‘em right side out, Fray-checked the bottom edges. It looks sort of like a mitten. If I were more ornate in my designs, I'd add lace or elastic to the bottom, but this is enough. Looks better than a cap eraser, and works well. Of course, I can't tug on it too forcefully, or the blade will poke or tear through, but for now, this works. And I used all of the buffalo again !

 

And my soon-to-be Kira Xanadu doll will be on her way to Chez Insanity Monday. Robin wrote that she already got the money order, and she'll soon sell off some more stuff. Ya'll know me, I'm hoping for books or big props ! She's been so nice, I hope I get to deal with her again.

 

Oh, and Uncle offered me his mother's sewing machine, in anticipation of his move. He's not sure of what model or how old it is, or even if it still works, but he'd like to think someone's using it, so I'm welcome to pass it along if I can't use it. He says it's a Singer, so I'd like to check it out, although I have no idea how I'd use it. DFIL was saying one day he'd like to learn to sew, so I may offer it - and what few lessons I can offer - to him, once I know it works. So, we'll see. It's kind of exciting.

 

Beloved also took another go at the patch for his AirSoft group. The new one is very nice, clean and simple, and evocative of everything from Atari to NASA to Robotech. He's getting quite good at digitizing. After running it through Ambassador, I did a test stitch-out, and it came out quite well - we just need to tweak the lettering a bit. He's very pleased, so I feel good, too.

 

Now, I just need to start one or six of the three or four thousand projects I have on a warehouse full of back burners...

I think this is One Pretty Thing...

 

Current Mood : Happily Crafted

 

Today went much like yesterday - I'm still wafting my way through One Pretty Thing's past posts, and it hit me. Why not search for ‘Barbie', instead of the more generic ‘dolls' ? Heck, Barbie is so ubiquitous in our culture, most folks don't use the word ‘doll' after her name.

 

That got me some new results. I clicked on an apron, oven mitt, and chef's hat tutorial and found a pattern on the same site for a Barbie-size Snuggie ! You know, the blanket with sleeves. It looked simple enough, and there were both ‘easy' and ‘harder' options. Interesting... Here's the link -> http://sharonsews.blogspot.com/2009/12/sew-snuggie-type-blanket-for-fashion.html  .

 

Only thing I didn't like is how the thick fleece refused to drape around the doll's neck. Fleece is a rather thick material for Barbie clothes...but what about flannel ? While its loose weave is harder to sew, scale-wise, it's closer to fleece for Barbie than human-size fleece is. Printed the pattern...then printed it again, because it kind of looked big. Nope, it just looks big. Nine inches across, twelve inches tall. Grabbed the leftover flannel from Elphie's pink starred pajamas and got it cut out, cheap-serged, and Fray-checked. Pretty simple. I've discovered that good, sharp embroidery scissors are great for cutting out small stuff like armholes on doll clothes, so now mine are nearly always in use, not just with Brody anymore.

 

Since I didn't like the side seams, I went for the ‘harder' option, and it was indeed harder than I expected. I ended up hand-sewing the sleeves to the blanket part, then slowly going over them with the sewing machine. Very, very slowly, since even with my smallest presser foot, there wasn't a lot of clearance in the sleeve. But it worked out, and I liked how it looked. I liked the flannel a lot better. Posted it on In The Pink, because I'm a total applause hound, and wrote the pattern creator a ‘thank you' note in her comments, enclosing a link for her to see my version. I know I love it when someone writes me, saying that they used my idea and enjoyed it, so I always return the favor when I can.

 

I estimate that, start to finish, it took about an hour, and would probably take less if I'd gone with the seamed version. Of course, I have to estimate, since Beloved Hubby came home in the middle of things, and I ended up going with him to his job site, to keep him company. I took it all with me, but ended up never going near it. It was nice to spend some time with him, and we even went out for my favorite fried chicken afterwards. Finished it up when we got home, and had some fun with photos. With just a bit of length added, the Snuggie fits Ken, too. I still think I need to work on those sleeves a bit, but I enjoyed this pattern. If you use fleece, ya don't even have to hem stuff - fleece won't ravel - so you could work this pattern without a machine, by hand, if you liked.

 

We had company over - Uncle and BIL - after dinner, which was nice. Uncle is considering an out-of-state move, so whatever time we get to have with him is a bonus. I kinda loafed around while the guys talked, really. But I like doing that !

We didn't help Haiti very much...

 

Current Mood : Stymied

Spent on dolls : 50c

 

Big day for Dearest Son. His Mark II Delorean arrived, and he's so in love. He's had drag races with both cars, and flew the new one around the house so much, I'm surprised the FAA hasn't called us and required we put up an air traffic tower.

 

It was so funny - we went to the Haiti yard sale first, and we weren't home from it for five minutes before the nice UPS guy arrived. We did well at the sale, though - Dearest snagged a ‘My Scene' car in a sort of purple-pink color, a smaller Dollar Tree-vintage race car, and Volumes 1 & 2 DVDs of Teen Titans, a Cartoon Network show he watches occasionally. I found several nude Barbies, and selected the Princess Anneliese from Princess and the Pauper, mostly because I liked her still-attached crown and choker. She still sings, too. I got her crown and necklace off, and restyled her hair a bit, since it was mostly still in the factory set. Just needed to be brushed. She'll probably be donated, but it was fun to play with her, restore her hair, and steal her stuff.

 

I find myself stymied on the dollhouse yet again. Back when I first got back into dolls (after Dearest was born), I went through everything on eBay under ‘Barbie', noting what I'd like to have, hoping to find it on a yard sale / thrift store / flea market / junk shop hunt. All else failed, I'd run endless insomnia-fueled searches on eBay for it, always running into the brick walls of ‘good item price + outrageous shipping' or ‘kinda price item + decent shipping'. One of the things I eventually went eBay on was the Starlight Bed, screen-capped above. I really liked it - and it looked big enough for two ! Of course, a week after it arrived, I found it, all alone, in a sea of hardware and musty books, at a junk shop. Luckily, mine was cleaner, and they were about the same price, shipping and all.

 

The Starlight Bed - nicknamed the Bordello Bed by a friend of mine, for its light-up disco ball function - survived The Big Move, and was always first in whatever storage box I had. I treasured it. So I was really excited to dig it out when Beloved Hubby's dollhouse came up. I could finally use it !

 

Too bad it really didn't fit two dolls, the lace curtains looked both dingy and ridiculous, and the pinkness of it all just hit me completely wrong. I could easily wash the lace and paint the plastic, but the canopy bed just didn't suggest a married couple - more like a single Princess. I'm sure Charlotte would look great in it, though.

 

So now, I'm re-thinking Shinobu and Inaba's bedroom. I see the gorgeous beds on eBay, and they're perfect, but expensive. Of course, with all the AirSoft and Deloreans we've bought lately, both my guys urge me to get something splashy I want...but I kinda feel guilty about this ‘had to have' Starlight bed I can barely look at anymore.

 

Most doll beds are simple boxes, with a pillow-like ‘mattress' on them, topped with pretty sheets, and matching headboards. I can make them easily, I even have patterns. I just don't know what I want yet. Do I want to carve up the Starlight, or keep it for another doll, do I want to buy ready-made, or make my own ? Arrrgh. I'm so locked up right now ! But that's kind of where I am now, in the Dollhouse. Locked up.

 

DFIL got off early, so he picked up Dearest before Beloved came home. That gave me nearly all afternoon, but I didn't do much with it. Yesterday I discovered ‘One Pretty Thing' and it's daily lists of free ideas, patterns, plans, and readings, and I've been clicking ‘older' for the last two days. I'm midway through December 2009 now.  Many ideas and designs repeat, but there's still a lot to see in one place, especially since the Craftzine blog has been disappointing lately - more stuff to buy and/or admire, not as many designs and patterns. (http://www.oneprettything.com/ and http://blog.craftzine.com/) .

 

Used the search function for ‘dolls' on One Pretty Thing, but didn't find much - most of what I saw was more ‘make your own dolls' than ‘make stuff for your commercially-made dolls'. While I've made a few stuffies over the years, and a couple of porcelain dolls, I just don't see me making dolls any time soon. For one, I already have dozens that I love. Even when stuff I make comes out beautifully, sometimes I don't really love it. Plus, I learned from the porcelains that I'm just not really into it. If I ever am, I got hundreds of patterns waiting for me in all those old Doll World magazines.

 

Anyway, the Haiti fundraiser is my big splurge of the weekend. I don't even want to go out shopping. It's messy and rainy, and will be all through Sunday, and I'm already slow on putting all the recent acquisitions away. I'd rather stay home and sew and embroider.

 

And find more stuff to sew and embroider !

 

Ready for Friday ? Here he is !

 

Current Mood : Spendy !

Spent on books : 76c

Spent on leftover Valentine's stationery : $1.89

Spent on doll clothes : $2.88

Spent on Kira/Sandy : $14.00

 

Busy but lazy day. We had groceries to shop, and work waiting to be done. Didn't get to the closet clean-out, but we can always do that later. We also had a guest this evening, Beloved Hubby's brother, so that was fun. Thank Everything he doesn't mind a semi-messy house either !

 

I got a late start, since I'm still falling asleep in my chair if I'm not actively doing something. Grabbed a shower and got out just when Beloved came home for lunch, on break between work and getting supplies for work. I have to say, we all love Campbell's new foray into chili - we prefer the less-spicy Roadhouse variety. Big beans, lotsa meat. Great with crackers.

 

I also needed to mail off a money order payment to Robin, of In The Pink, for my future Kira Xanadu doll. And I wanted to go through whatever was left of the Valentine's Day goodies on sale. So, off we went. Hit the thrift first, but no new dolls or toys. Dearest Son picked out the kids' novelization of Monsters, Inc. - it's been on cable a lot - and I grabbed A Charming Princess Collection, a paperback volume of 23 fairy tales, most of which I've never heard of. I'd have remembered "Rubezahl" and "Mother Roundabout's Daughter". $1.30 for both.

 

Valentine's aisles had already been reset for Easter, and there wasn't much left at our Mal-Wart. Mostly heart-decorated napkins, a few hundred boxes of classroom exchange cards, and some broken cookies. Dearest was interested in the Cars box of cards, in the shape of a mailbox that lit up when opened. I was looking for a set I might like, when waaaay in the back, I found a Bakugon one, all by itself. He was so happy. And only $1.75. I swayed between a pretty butterfly-themed box and a hearts one, and got the hearts. So we have matching mailboxes now. And they both light up. I'll probably tuck the cards in Dearest's mailbox, and Beloved's lunches.

 

I also decided to treat m'self, and bought the sort-of Asian-themed print mini-dress from the cheaper side of Barbie's wardrobe. Been looking at it for weeks. Wasn't I surprised to discover that the little print wasn't continued on the back. Nope. While it's bad enough I know to note expect the ribbon to go all the way around, it's kinda chintzy to find that the back is solid lavender. It's not like this design used a lot of fabric ! Well, guess that's a good enough reason to sew instead of buy. Should have a photo of it for you tomorrow.

 

Hung out with BIL most of the evening. It was great to see him. He helped Beloved with his work supply run, and we talked about nearly everything for hours. Dearest even got him to play Nerf with him, and set up a target shooting range so BIL could try his Christmas gift Vulcan gun. Living room's trashed, but it was a great evening.

 

After dinner, I decided to try accessing my Blog - and it worked ! I have no idea what's happened these last few days. I could access the Control Panel, and cut/paste the text and photos, but I could not get to the actual Diaries page until tonight. All previous attempts timed out no matter when I tried, or how often. All other websites I tried to access worked, no problem, only problem I had was here. First thing I did was eliminate the double photo on Monday's, since it was the first time I saw it, then came back and got some photos for the last few days. Weird.

 

Well, Dearest and I have a Haiti fundraiser yard sale to hit tomorrow, and he's all excited since his Mark II Delorean should arrive. I think I'll be happier when it gets here than he will - simply because he'll stop asking me if I saw a UPS truck a few minutes ago. With all the help he's given us around the house, he's already earned more than half his required coupons for it. And I am still so darn sleepy - and there's new fairy tales to read tonight !

 

Hope your day went well, too - and that Friday's better ! Ours is happily asleep again. G'night, puppy. 

 

And here she is, out of the bashed box !

 

Current Mood : Normal - or as close as I get to it, anyway.

Current Image Notes : Here's Becky out of her box. Her camera and glasses are elsewhere, though. Every time I think I won't keep her, I see something so happy and friendly about her face, and I think again...

 

Had a bit of fun amid the much-delayed  many chores, and a repair took me waaaay back. When I moved out of my parents' house, so many years ago, I threw m'self happily into the fun of furnishing my first place. I was delighted to get a shoebox-sized microwave the Christmas before. I comparison shopped like a crazy person, because I probably was. Obsessed = crazy, right ? Anyway...

 

One of the necessary purchases that ticked me off back then was towels. I waited for sales and still bought cheap, thin things...and it bugged me when I realized that a single $2. towel could easily make eight $1. washcloths, or six $1.50 hand-towels. Yes, I thought you needed hand towels. I was really nutz back then. I still bought six towels, six washcloths, and three hand towels anyway. I didn't have a sewing machine of my own then, and the idea of asking Mother if I could use hers for such a silly (read : cheap) thing would have earned me a lecture or askance looks at my penury. Note that Mother herself was a Tightwad Queen who would have never been caught dead with my ‘dogwash special' towels in her cabinets, but anyway. I seethed a bit, but let it go. A necessary skill in the adult world. The towels went into storage when I joined the Army, and yes, several years later, I found one in Mother's dog's crate. (sigh) They were cheap, true, and I know better now, but at the time, I was proud of them, and proud of me for providing for m'self.

 

Well, today, as I continued putting a mountain of clean laundry away, I noted that an ancient towel was torn. Not sure how. A chunk of it was missing, so it's possible Beloved Hubby cut it up for something. Since it was well-used when we got it - a thoughtful contribution from Aunt S. to our ‘moved with the bare minimum' supplies back in '02 - I wasn't upset or anything. I saw it as my very late opportunity to make washcloths ! Since more than half of it was still intact, I cut it into a large kitchen towel, and the rest made a big hand towel and two washcloths, and a kitchen rag. Somehow, I think the scales of the Universe hang a bit more even now.

 

And I had a bit of sad. Two Cars outfits I bought Dearest Son, at the height of the film's popularity, are much too small for him now. It's odd how nostalgic I got over clothes. Those were the last things I put on Mal-Wart layaway (they abolished it the same year), and I was so proud that he'd have ‘current' clothes, instead of ‘last year' ones. He wore them with enthusiasm, too. Well, hopefully someone else can get a few wears out of ‘em - they're getting donated. A lot happens when I finally get the clothes put away ! The huge, annoying pile is gone. Too bad I have three more loads ready to go, and at least that many waiting in the hamper...

 

The toys up for grabs curbside are nearly gone. We're going through his inside toys tomorrow, since he's cramming the closet again. He helped me out a great deal with the garage - we got all the trash to the Dumpster, some more branches picked up, and (blush) finally got the Christmas stuff stored. It's been bugging me for weeks, but the garage light is burned out and it's brutal cold in there. Today, it was bright and sunny, and over 50 degrees ! A good day to get outside tasks done. We were due for more snow Friday, but that forecast's been changed.

 

Back indoors, I found a small end table we weren't using, swapped it for the milk crate I was using as a mini-table, so now the corner lamp is up higher, casting better light. I'd been looking for a floor lamp for the last few weeks, but now I won't need one. And I have another crate waiting for a cover. 

 

And here I was, thinking I'd need to buy more ! I'm darn near swimming in the things ! 

Safety *is* our primary concern...

 

Current Mood : Frustrated and tenderized.

Current Image Notes : Here's the pincushion chair and the Barbie wardrobe I got last weekend. The chair came with a small red pillow, I forgot to photograph it. Seat cushion lifts off for small storage, and may be used as a flotation device for water landings. 

 

Well, I think I understand where the sudden back pain is coming from. Chime in when you come to the same conclusion I did ! Here's the symptoms, and if you know the presumed answer from experience, I am so sorry ! OK. Sudden, sharp lower right back pain that recedes and peaks in waves, making it impossible to find a comfortable position, nausea, cold feet and hands, but feverish elsewhere, and an intense need to visit the bathroom frequently, but without much ‘output'. Oh, and the entire universe is a h#ll of nothing but pain.

 

If you guessed ‘kidney stone', you've probably experienced it. I am so sorry to think my friends have experienced this horror. I think I joined the club on Valentine's day (I omitted the bathroom part, so I wouldn't gross anyone out, but that was there then, too), and possibly a bit earlier, when I thought I was having the tummyache from perdition. It wasn't so much a stomach upset as it was an ‘everything from the waist to my generous hips is screaming'. Anyway, I had it this morning, too, and it was the worst. The immediate home remedy is to drink water, which actually hurt worse. Gulped two ibuprofen which seemed to do little, so I paced the house and tried to lie down...when I got nauseous and, well, let it out...About ten minutes later, I was sound asleep. I'd managed to tell Dearest Son I was ill before I zonked out, and was down for three hours straight. When Beloved Hubby came home - I'd called to tell him I wasn't well, but was managing - Dearest gave him the briefing, and they didn't wake me. How fast our son is growing up...

 

When I woke up, I was gloriously normal. All systems working as usual. Not entirely sure what's going on with me, but I hope it doesn't repeat on me any time soon. I think I need to switch back to drinking more water, less soda. And do some more research on the topic.

 

That pretty much torpedoed my day's plans. While I wasn't biting back pain anymore, I was still really weak, and a bit dizzy. So I engaged in a passive hobby - watching a TV program, and comparing my life to what's on the screen. This is probably why I watch stuff like Hoarders. It's close enough to be familiar, but not too familiar for comfort. Today, it was less about our unique messes, and more about stuffed animals.

 

I've never really been a ‘stuffies and fluffies' kinda girl. Only stuffed animals I had as a kid were of favorite characters, like Garfield, or favorite animals, like cats. And even then, I only had or wanted a few. I preferred dolls, of course, and whatever props for them I could make, request, or scrounge. And my parents kept me to a single toybox and cabinet arrangement. Not a lot of toy clutter, so everything I had was much-loved, and usually played with on a daily basis. Stuffed animals were mostly for display or decoration. I actually slept with my favorite Barbie, no matter what anyone says about her not being cuddly enough. Of course, she was usually on the floor in the morning, but it allowed me to take the day's play into my dreams.

 

So, in the same way that most folks don't ‘get' adults who still love dolls, I don't ‘get' people with hundreds of stuffed animals. Or guns. In the end, I know I have too many dolls, and need to thin the herds again... but at least my dolls aren't safety concerns, or hard to keep clean !

 

Another thing that struck me again was how similar the stories were to Pohl's The Midas Plague - but I've already ambled far enough away from the usual fare here for one day ! And now I can't get my page to load. (sigh) Just not my day...

 

Troubles with Tripod...

 

Current Mood : Not well

 

I just have to crow at how proud I am of Dearest Son. It was a nice day outside, so I told him that, for every toy he ‘curbed', I'd give him a ‘Delorean' ticket, plus two more for helping me with trash and branch clean-up. He pretty much dumped all the outdoor toys, including the ones he outgrew two years ago but still clung to, and a few others besides. I tackled trash pick up and the roadside work while he took all the branches around back using one of the few toys he kept - his big red wagon. He ended up with 15 tickets ! And he wants to go through his toybox later this week for more.

 

Busy day indoors, too. Did laundry for three hours, then some dishes. I'll do some more of each tomorrow - I'm way behind on both - but I'm gonna sew for a while, too. Sewed a bit today, since the frayed-edge dishcloth showed up in the clean clothes. Just ran two rows of cheap-serge around the edges, and it's usable for who knows how much longer. I've been meaning to do that for months.

 

I also splurged a bit. Since we didn't go out Sunday, and I still had a few bucks from the weekend, I pulled up two favorite searches - for the first repro Midge and an Olivia Newton-John ‘Sandy' doll. Nothin' much, nude or NRFB, they're both kinda pricey. So I was really surprised to find both for sale on In The Pink ! I was too late for Midge, but I have a beautiful straight-hair Sandy reserved for me, thanks to Robin. Looks like I'll soon have my very own Kira (Xanadu) doll, once I perfect her Muse outfit.

 

*Looks like Tripod's eating photos - and I can't tell if this has posted or not. (sigh)