Poor Leia-chan...
Mood:  down
Now Playing: XM 150 - Uncensored Comedy - I need the laughs.

 

My poor car Leia-chan has developed an oil leak. Pretty bad one. In addition to her sporadic radiator problems, and the myriad other issues (window doesn't work, speedometer and gas gauge don't register, broken door handle on the outside driver's door and inside passenger's, etc.), it isn't worth the $600. under-the-hood fix. So we've obtained a van from family, and it needs a bit more work than we'd thought, but it'll be OK. I'm kind of excited about the van - we pick it up tomorrow - but rather sad about Leia-chan. 

 

As far as dolls...I'm taking the rest of the week off, I think. Maybe tomorrow, I'll go get the other Dollar Tree Halloween bear sweaters, but that'll be about it. I'm still rather disconnected, but at the same time, I want to have some fun. But when I have time - and time's been a rare thing lately - I end up sitting around. Gotta get off my butt before it braids into the chair ! 

 

Dearest Son was at the doctor's yesterday, but was still ill and tired today, so he stayed home. He's taking his 'no artificial colors, no sweeteners' prescription without complaint, which tells me he knows he's sick !  Still, he was pretty upset  that he didn't get to go to school. It's funny, because he's already hit the 'I'm bored with school' doldrums, according to his teacher.

Umm, hi ? It's me. I'm back again...
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: Dearest Son snoring, CPU fan whirrr...

 

Hiya.

 

Didn't mean to scare anyone Sunday - there was a lot going on, and my sprained psyche decided I needed to deal with it all NOW ! Most of it's the usual 'How can I be 40 years old already ? I still haven't figured Life out yet, and at least half of it's over ?' thing that most humans get, one way or another.

 

Part of it is the also-usual family stuff, a wicked cold that waylaid all of us, and coming to the quiet realization that, no matter what's next, we'll find a way to deal with it. Always have, always will. That is Life, now that I think about it.

 

Part of it is knowing I don't really fit in anywhere around me. My religious affiliation is atypical, I'm rather large, I play with dolls and read Japanese comic books... usually I celebrate diversity in any form. For some reason, it was very alienating this weekend. I felt so adrift ! So, of course, I had to take it apart and examine it from a few thousand angles until I got tired of it, smacked it back together, and went back to living. All this introspection gets exhausting. Believe it or not, even I get tired of thinking about me after a while. 

 

I'm being over-simple, as I doubt you'd want a tiptoe through my tribulations when you probably have your own. There's a time in life where everyone takes stock and looks around, and where they go next is determined by what they see.  I usually get this every Fall, but it's never been this intense and painful before. I'm still undecided about some things, but it's not a huge issue anymore. Life does have a way of going on, even while you're trying to figure yours out !

 

Anyway, so all that up there won't be a total waste of your time, here's a new photo :

 

 

Doesn't Cindy (Disney Lil' Princess Cinderella, Playmates) look so cutely 'goth' in her new sweater ? Color's off a bit - the spiderweb is actually gold thread, not orange, but it looks great anyway. This particular sweater came from Dollar Tree today. It was originally on a cheap stuffed bear, and comes in several designs and color combinations.

 

How cheap was the bear ? Well, the bear's chest under the sweater wasn't sewn closed ! That's right, it's really an autopsy bear, or maybe a horror-movie victim, ready for action !

 

But I think it was simply a cheap toy. Still, pulling out stuffing while removing the sweater was a unique experience I hope I don't repeat with the next ones. I'm definitely returning to DTree tomorrow - to get sweaters for Belle and Ariel, and also Crissy. It fits her, if a bit short in length, so it'll probably fit Isabella, too. I may split the sweaters down the back and add snaps so they go on the dolls easier. There's some 'torso bulk' (i.e., the sweater is a bit rounder than the dolls) that would be eliminated that way, and improve the fit, as well.

 

Dearest Son is still sick, so we went to the doctor today. Yes, it's just a cold, but the poor dear was up at night coughing this week, he coughed so hard last night, he threw up and couldn't stop coughing. We cleared the possibility of pneumonia or other ailments, and got a prescription.  He's doing much better, but I worry about him going back to school tomorrow. He can't wait, after being stuck at home with Momma, and knowing it's School Picture day - and there's two new Cars outfits in the closet ! He's actually rather vain about clothes when they're his favorite designs and characters.

 

I bought a new (second-hand) cabinet that, with judicious shuffling, improved the storage in the Studio, and even opened up a bit more floor space. I'd been looking for something to re-do the fabric storage with, but all I could find in my price range was a TV stand ! I tabled (ha-ha) the notion for a while, but Tuesday I found a glorious 36" long open-face cabinet (like a long, squat bookshelf) with an adjustable shelf at GoodWill for $7.  Some dings, but once it's buried in material and notions, who'd notice ? That took up most of Tuesday while Son was in school.

 

It almost makes me want to sew again, and soon ! :) I've really missed it. Hopefully, this weekend, I can get back to it. I think, sometimes, we have to 'give up' stuff we love for a bit, so we can appreciate having it to enjoy all over again.

 

That said, I would have loved to see the look on Son's teacher's face this week. We did a family 'scrapbook' assignment, which included bits for everyone's hobbies. I pasted photos of Beloved Hubby's paintings and guitars, and Son's trains and Herbies, and for mine, a shot of all the dolls, and the one of Elphie and Fiyero posed by my sewing machine, with the note, "Mommy has 55 dolls ! She loves sewing for them, and even has a website all about them".

 

His teacher probably concluded that  it explains some of Son's behavior... 

Please pardon the mess...
My mid-life crisis arrived yesterday, and I'm still unpacking my psyche for evaluation and restructuring. Back soon. 

Still sick...but getting better...
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: XM 80s - 'Dr. Heckle and Mr. Jive', Men At Work

 

I hope I pull out of this power-cold soon. I'm supposed to volunteer at Dearest Son's school tomorrow. Poor Beloved Hubby was up half the night, listening to me wheeze, scared to death I'd stop breathing. So I put him to bed right after dinner. I'm not wheezing anymore, but I'll definitely be sleeping upright tonight. I hate to make him worry.

 

But we had a little time together at lunch, and he gave me a surprise - a buncha cash ! He says it's to spend any way I want to, but I can't think of anything. I retrieved the Cars fall outfits we had on layaway for Son, and ordered the CD Hubby's been wanting, and the VW Beetle book Son's been interested in. Still, even with hours on Amazon, eBay, and Half.com, I never found anything I wanted.

 

I literally can't think of anything. I have more patterns and fabric than I'll ever use, even if I live to be 112,  I don't want any other dolls, I can make most of what doll and me clothes I want, I got the last three CDs I wanted a few weeks ago and for Christmas, and I can't think of any movies, either. Even the stuff I used to search eBay for...just doesn't seem interesting anymore. Just more clutter.

 

I may go up to Hobby Lobby between dropping Son off at school, and going back to volunteer. Still, even my sewing supplies are burgeoning, so I don't know what I'll find there that I'll want. Maybe hit a bookstore. I just can't think of anything right now. Maybe I'll make a donation...but to whom ? 

 

Too bad I can't buy health !  

Relapse.
Mood:  don't ask
Now Playing: XM 80s - IT (think it's up to mid-1982 by now...)

 

I thought I was well on my way to recovering, but I'm even sicker today. Going back to bed. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.  

Improving...slooooowwwly...
Mood:  cool
Now Playing: XM 80's - "IT" !

 

XM's 'IT' is fantastic. Second time I've heard it, it begins on 4 (the 40s channel), and keeps going until every song that's ever charted has been played. They've played all day and are now up to April 1980. It's incredible !

 

Still sick, but doing better. Dearest Son returned to school, but it looks like it's making the rounds - several of his classmates were out today. I'm on the downhill part, but Beloved Hubby is where I was yesterday. Blasted miserable. About all I can do is feed him and put him to bed when he comes home.

 

Had errands to run - I keep forgetting it's Tuesday ! - and on the way back from the last of 'em, I decided to stop in a thrift store I haven't been to in a while, mostly because they're not open Saturdays. Found an Alto Sax music book for Beloved Hubby, a fire-engine sweatshirt for dearest son, and a pattern for me - well, actually, for Cabbage Patch dolls and kids. It makes simple jackets and pants, and it's in Dearest Son's size. There's girls all over the pattern envelope, but a jacket's a jacket. Still have to see if all the pieces are there, but for a quarter, I couldn't resist.  

 

On the way to the register, I found this doll. A soft-body Belle, from Playmates 2003. I think she was a 'Princess Diva' or something, I vaguely remember them from the Marts. For a buck I bought her, too, and her removable dress fits Leia !

 

Isn't she lovely ? Now, if I could just figure out what that doll line was called...they had a Cinderella, too...

 

 

Still honkin' sick...
Now Playing: XM 23 - 'The Heart' love songs.

 

Ok, so we turned off our TV two years ago. I know almost nothing about the American Idol craze, save for a few winners' names. One is nearly a local girl, the newspaper is there with a hanky every time she sneezes, so we can be informed about how she felt during and after said sneeze, consequently, I haven't been allowed to forget her name, although I'd like to. Anyway, XM Satellite Radio's channel 23 - The Heart, love songs 24-7 - seems to play AI recordings fairly frequently. So here's my question - do all AI alumni have a song with 'one moment' as the theme ? I swear, I heard two like that, nearly identical songs from different 'winners'. Urgh. I may be sick again...

 

I'm still miserable, but the cold has gone from 'drip' to 'chunk', which is entirely too much information for you, and I apologize for icking you out. Some people shed inhibitions with alcohol. I get waaaaay too personal when I'm ill. Beloved Hubby has a minor version of the same thing, and Dearest Son, who brought this %$#@ thing home from school, is nearly recovered.  

 

Haven't done much but sleep. Oh, I did join DeviantArt a few days ago, posted some doll customizations you've already seen on the site. It was mostly to thank Doc Hammer for that I-still-love-it poster for DragonCon, I had to join to leave the message. So I posted the home page photo of Elphie wearing the poster shirt. And posted a few more. And some later. If you wanna see, I'll post the link, but it's nothing you haven't seen or read already.

 

http://dorriebelle.deviantart.com/   Heh. Looks a lot like the address for the main site, huh ?  

 

It's kind of suprising I did that. Ordinarily, I wouldn't feel confident about sharing my hobby anywhere but here. And it's one thing to make off with web images and make a doll clothes out of 'em, but to tell the image creator...? That's confidence bordering on near arrogance for me. But I did it. Wheee.

 

Beloved Hubby ended up getting Labor Day off after all. He was all set to work, but it was raining there. I've let him have the terminal so he could write. Still, he's sick, if not as miserable as me, so when he got tired, this baby was mine, all mine !

 

Not that I'm really doing much with it. There is some secondary guilt I wanna talk about though. Remember our neighbor's dogs ? The ones that barked for hours and woke me up at least three times a week at 3am for no apparent reason ? The one our neighbor, their owner, ignored, even though they were barking about two feet from her bedroom windows ? 

 

Well, they're gone. Have been since Saturday. They got out somehow - I know when they get into another neighbor's fence, he puts them out of his yard to run free, but they always go back to their yard. And here's my guilt. I saw them running loose, and didn't do a darn thing to corral them back. I figured they would on their own, they have before. Their owner wasn't home, not that she would have answered her door anyway. She herself said Friday that she needed to 'do something' about them, the property management co. had leaned on her some about 'em. Probably due to neighbors calling about them being in their yards and the ceaseless barking.

 

But knowing it all, I did nothing. I honestly thought they'd go back on their own, and chasing dogs in the rain wasn't something I was gonna do when I was already sick. I do feel vaguely guilty about it, mostly because I haven't been awakened at 3am since Friday night. Haven't seen her, and for all I know, she's relieved, but I'm happy they're gone, so I'm guilty as heck.  My karma's probably in the toilet.

 

Haven't done anything doll-related since I finished Elphie's shirt. I keep meaning to make Fiyero a t-shirt, but I just don't have the interest and energy going at the same time. I need to go get some cold medicine, or something. Maybe they make one with a guilt reliever, too... 

*&%$... darn cold.
Mood:  don't ask
Now Playing: I don't even know anymore...

 

Uggh. Caught Dearest Son's cold, and I am miserable. How am I dripping from my nose like a busted faucet and congested at the same time ? 

 

At least the plumbing got fixed yesterday afternoon. Not that it has anything to do with how ugggh I feel, just that using 'field expedient' methods would be even more of a PITA when I can barely be more than two feet from some sort of tissue or handkercheif.

 

I'm going back to bed...Hope you have a great Labor Day tomorrow !  

Don't worry - I'm getting back into dolls...
Mood:  celebratory
Now Playing: XM 80s - something or other, I'm not really paying attention to it...

 

Have you ever bought something - a pricey purse, maybe, or a special do-hickey for your computer - but ended up too scared to use it, for fear you'd screw it up ? Well, I may be clearing my 'fear' decks after sewing that blouse Thursday (fear of a new pattern and new fabric !), because yesterday, I faced one of the specialty items I bought months ago, and actually used it !

 

Months ago, using a Hobby Lobby discount coupon, I bought some iron-on 'Print and Press' paper. Even with the discount, it was more than a buck a page, and we didn't even have a color cartridge in the printer yet ! Dutifully, I read the directions and then never touched it. Had some grand ideas, but my follow-through was, as usual for me, seriously lacking. 

 

But sometimes, it's just the absolute most right time you're ever gonna find, and you're ready and can go for it. As a devoted fan of The Venture Bros., I keep my shiny eyes on a favorite fan site. The site owner announced the link to a poster for a convention that the show's creator, Doc Hammer, created, and I was at that site PDQ. And I loved it ! 

Here's the link to the poster - http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/38849487/

 

See why I love it ? 'May the Better Man Win' ! And there's Dr. Girlfriend ! AND The Monarch ! Who gives a flip for Phantom Limb ? Nobody I know ! I had to have that ! So I saved it like a good image thief and printed out a copy as a poster perfect for Elphie's bedroom. Still, that wasn't enough for me. What about that iron on printer paper...

 

After a few misunderstandings with PaintShopPro, I got it to print the size and color I wanted. Y'see, it wanted to use a whole sheet of that $1.25 paper to print one miniature, cropped version of that ! I then hit on the obvious idea to 'create' an image sheet, with several versions of that graphic - plus a few more -  and that way, get a bunch of images on that same sheet. Just takes some cut/paste and mirror skills.

 

So. It's all printed.  Would I have the guts to actually *use* it ? The convention was Saturday. If I wait too long, it won't be very special... well, it's on the home page.  After four attempts, I got it right, and I love it. Even wrote Doc Hammer to tell him, not that he'll respond, but I feel I owe it to him to tell him what I did with his image. 

 

Debated which to do first. Sew the shirt, then iron on the decal ? If the decal screwed up - and it did, twice - that'd be a lot of wasted work. But if I put the decal on first, it'd get handled a lot, and might not be in the right place. Decisions... ended up putting the decal on after I cut the fabric. First transfer didn't work, second worked, but I screwed up the shirt. Third didn't work. Fourth did, and I got the shirt right ! Happy ! 

 

I've since figured out where I messed up - iron wasn't hot enough on the first and third tries - and I really enjoyed doing it. And there's still two more decals to use - one great image of Lisa Hayes from Robotech : Macross, another from a doujinshi (fan art comic book) of Molly and Nephlite sharing a parfait (Sailor Moon). I'd say that I'll try to get to them today, but...

 

Our plumbing doesn't work. Yup. Toilet and tub, no go. We've put in a call, but it's Saturday, on Labor Day weekend, so I think we're gonna have to shift for it until Tuesday. I'm kind of hoping it's our neighbor's fault - everything worked until hers went screwy, then ours did. Wish us luck...  

I'm back (again...)
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: XM 71 - Watercolors

 

Seems like I have to keep starting these with apologies. Sorry I vanished again. I guess I hit a slump. Seemed like nothing was fun or important all week. Made a simple Leia skirt that screwed up - it's now a simple Barbie-size skirt - and I think that was a signal for me to take a break for a bit.

 

But I came back yesterday, made the skirt again. Still not happy with the hem, yet it fits, so I'm just gonna go with it. When I make the matching blouse, I'll post a photo. I'm thinking seriously of giving Leia her own page. It's kinda not fair to the Barbie-scale dolls, since they can't really wear her stuff.

 

Once that was done, I still had most of a day, so I slumped around a bit, bored. There's this basket on top of my milk-crate fabric storage towers that holds 'recent uncompleted project'. Kind of a misnomer, as the project in it had sat untouched and unbegun since April. Just a couple yards of fabric I liked from a Mart discount table, and a never-used pattern for a shirt (also two other shirts and pants/shorts) in my size. Back in April, I was gonna try this new pattern, as the one I'd used twice before was OK, but I wanted better. And there it sat ever since.

 

Until yesterday. It'd be simple to say I started at 11am and finished at 9pm, but there was a lot in between ! Dearest Son's school and therapy, my extended lunch and computer time-waste, an hour's worth of housework and some more wasted time on the terminal, dinner, time with Beloved Hubby, etc. I estimate that solid work-time, from layout to final hem, was about three hours. Lotsa narrow doubled hems. It's much better than the one I worked before, and the fit's better, too.

 

I'm still not entirely sure what got me off my burgeoning butt. I need new clothes, and if I can find fabric I like at a good price, it's actually cheaper to make my clothes. My size isn't the easiest to find. Heck, I can spend more time trying to find my size than I'd use to make something. 

 

Few days ago, I was checking the Mart 'dollar table' (some Marts do have a fabric section wherein all you see's a buck a yard !) and found two lovely Asian-inspired fabrics. Inexpensive woven cotton, but very pretty. I prefer woven fabric to knits, as I tend to 'show through' knit blouses, and it's embarassing. One had more browns and a bolder design, the other one was green with a gingko leaf and luna moth design. Ended up buying some yardage of each, and got 'em cheap-serged and washed. Afterwards, I realized - I'd bought the *pants* yardage, not the blouse's !

 

Well, darn. Print's too big for doll clothes, and I hate to have a spare yard sitting around. So I planned on going back the next day to get blouse fabric, and make sets ! Yup. I love matching pants and blouses, wear 'em all the time. Why not make 'em ? I have before.

 

Beloved Hubby saw them drying on the rack, and really liked the green one. He asked if there was more of it - he knows I often buy remnants -  I said there was...and he asked me to buy the bolt ! Seems he wants a floor-length men's kimono. Kind of like the Happi Coat I made Fiyero, but longer. That's doable. I even have a set of 'no pattern' directions. So, I trotted back to the Mart, and soon had the one blouse yardage and 8 2/3 yards of the green - the first time I've ever gotten to say, "And that one, I'll just take the whole bolt.". When half a yard is an entire doll wardrobe, buying a bolt is a seldom thing !  

 

So it's all washed and dried, ready to go whenever he is. Y'see, he wants to make it himself ! That's fine with me. I have enough to make my sets, and I finally got the April blouse made, so I'm ready to make more. Making clothes for myself is more fun than I thought. I feel a kinship to everyone who ever laid fabric out on the bed, Simplicity pattern in one hand, scissors in the other, pins gripped between lips. Or out on the floor in the hallway, I've done that, too. It's a real accomplishment, to have fabric in the morning and a blouse at night, while the rest of the country seems to gasp, 'Somebody still sews ?!!'. I hope to again, soon ! 

 

Just not today. Dearest Son has a bad cold, and he's home today. Just not gonna have the time. Maybe next week. I have lots of fabric sitting around here...