Current Mood : Overwhelmed with luck - and happy !

I feel *much* better today ! So I decided to take a little ‘me' time and prowl. Hit a few yard sales, the Tuesday Morning I've been meaning to hit since February, and maybe TRU.

Always yard sales first ! There were a few today, and the first one was a gold mine. Spent a big whoppin' $4. there - and scored a teddy bear in a nice robe (Timey/Dottie size), a jewelry box (more later), a Barbie Pegasus horse, a carriage, and ‘Troy' and ‘Gabrielle', dolls from High School Musical 2, complete down to their shoes ! I kinda wanted Gabrielle, but never got her, and now I had one, for just a quarter ! Troy is a serious lookin' fella, but I liked him, too.

It can be argued that the next best thing to great finds second-hand is researching great finds. Discovered that Troy and Gabrielle were sold as a ‘Summer Romance' set, and are still in their original outfits - only her necklace is missing. They retailed for about $20. - $25. new.

My huge-wingspan pink Pegasus is, of course, from 2005's direct-to-DVD Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus, and she's also darn near new. Yup - my first Barbie horse (all together now) still had her hair in the factory set. With bonus plastic packing clinging to one fetlock, and a clear rubber band around her neck. Brietta's necklace, saddle and doll seatbelt's missing, but she still had her star hairclips - and I had even more of ‘em, from a baggie of Barbie stuff I got from a thrift store last week. Had her mirror and brush already, too (you know I can't toss out stuff that's star-shaped !). From what I can tell, she's still on her factory batteries - her ‘crown' still glows. She earned much ire from parents rating her at Amazon.com, over the detachable wings. I played with her for a good fifteen minutes and only lost one wing, once. Maybe I'm not doing it right. And it's possible the parents would rather the wings break than snap on and off. I like that this pretty, well-jointed figure can be a horse or a Pegasus. Her legs are amazingly poseable, and I love her long lashes ! She was around $30. on release. Mine was $1.50, with the carriage/coach.

The coach is the Royal Kingdom Carriage, from 2004's Barbie as The Princess and the Pauper. I really need to start watchin' these movies if I'm gonna buy the toys at yard sales ! It's missing quite a bit - two horses and their attachments, and some detail butterflies and a fake front gemstone - but it's in good shape and it'll make a fun photo prop. Right now, two R2D2 action figures are piloting it, sans horses, and it flies. At least, that's what Dearest Son says. It also had few fans at Amazon.com. Apparently, this $30. toy had numerous problems, mostly butterflies falling off and the horses refusing to stay attached. While I doubt Brietta will condescend to pulling it, I come across numerous Barbie horses in my thrift travels, and was thinking of getting one, for kicks. Might still do that, and rig up my own tack.

I actually found myself at Mal-Wart later today, eyeing the Disney Princess horses speculatively...one question arose, though. Why don't some Princesses have their movie horses ? Belle has a yellow grown-up My Little Pony clone, Cinderella has a blue one. Shouldn't Belle have Philippe, and Cinderella her Major ? I guess blah, cartoony horses are easier to paint and sell... still, I'll probably buy used, even though numerous Barbie horses are for sale at Mal-Warts and TRUs around the world. Why pay $15. when used goes for a buck ?

The jewelry box...(sigh) Well, it had a ballet theme, and was pretty. Old, too. I always wanted one as a kid - a cardboard jewelry box with a musical movement and a ballerina figure that twirled. I had a Mickey Mouse box, with a Mickey that spun to ‘Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head', so I really longed for the classical plastic bob-haired one with the scrap of scratchy tulle skirt. Never got one. By the time I had enough jewelry to need more storage, I'd long since outgrown Mickey. Didn't really need this one, either, since my grown-up selection of plastic beads and unique, weird necklaces currently nestles in a lovely armoire, a fantastic Christmas gift from my PILs about ten years ago. But for $1., I couldn't resist finally having that tulle-skirt doll twirl to ‘Dance Ballerina Dance' on my nightstand. So there it is.

Later sales were a washout, as was Tuesday Morning. Toys R Us, on the other hand, had some interesting stuff. With the movie coming out soon, they were unveiling the '08 Speed Racer models in the ‘hot spot', this store's opening display. I smiled reminiscently and moved quickly towards the doll section, beelining as always for the red ‘Clearance' shelf-talkers. Nothing new, and the few remaining My Scene Roller Girls were back up to $10.

Amazingly, I found the Speed Racer Barbie set. A bit early, which is unusual for Mattel ! I was kind of predisposed to not liking it, and I don't. Price was good, at $40., and it really looks like the prototype photos. But a few days ago, I got to see, for the first time, a nude ModelMuse Barbie body. Yikes. I had no idea they'd bent her back so oddly. And it really showed on Trixie. Almost as bad as those American Idol dolls out a few years ago. Her elbows looked as though they'd been given a quick spin in a pencil sharpener, and her mouth was identical to the pursed-lip whistle/p+rn star Birthstone dolls I didn't like. Her hair looked as good as it could, plastered hard to her head, but I hated to buy a whole new doll for her head - when we all know the first thing I'd do is chisel her hair out of the styling block it was in, potentially wrecking her. That $40. set would end up costing $50. or more, at least.

Speed, though, looked pretty good. Fake leather outfit, cool helmet, brown eyes, good rooted hair. Too bad he's otherwise identical to the beach Ken I got for Christmas, and the Bridegroom one I scored at the After-Xmas sales. And in the Speed costume, he resembled my Robotech Rick Hunter doll so much, it nearly made me laugh. So I put it back. Maybe if Speed has bend-elbow arms or something, there's a chance. Otherwise, that's $40. back in the pocket.

Well, actually, only $19. I found a last-gasp My Scene playset, the Bling Bling Delancey Spa. Haven't had time to debox it yet ! And from what I can tell, it wasn't on clearance, either - $21. But it'd be sooo perfect beside Shinobu and Inaba's gazebo and grill ! Unless someone here sez somethin', Delancey will be on her way to a thrift store - evidently they haven't made her in a while, and with the My Scene line rumored to be headed for the Great Toybox of Memories and eBay, well... if anyone here wants her, drop me a note, ‘kay ? I'll be sure to post photos of it, but for now, here's an Amazon.com link -> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B000F4LFBE/sr=1-1/qid=1206830486/ref=dp_otherviews_0?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&img=0&qid=1206830486&sr=1-1  .

Also scored a great Lego Star Wars t-shirt for Dearest Son. It's the Lego version of the classic poster - man, I hate to preface ‘classic poster' with ‘Episode 4', but I guess I should. On sale, too, which made it cheaper than the less visually appealing ones over at Mal-Wart. So it's put aside for a Monday morning surprise. If it came in my size, you know I'd wear it !

Hit Barnes & Noble and Hastings, neither has Barbie Collector. I think it's the last issue, which ranks. I've read that Haute Doll snarked about its folding, which just ticks me off more against HD. Folks at HD used to run Barbie Bazaar, and if they get any further away from my interests, they'll be in another galaxy. Or I will be. Their latest issue was in stock, and it was more of the same - ugh. Apologies to any true-blue fans, but there's no way they'd write two pages about yard sale finds, unless they found vintage or brand-new BJDs there, everything was a quarter (or they paid the authors to haul it off, about $2000. or so) and then it'd be slanted to make readers gnash envious teeth. I wish I could quit bothering even picking it up, but I get so starved to see new doll stuff...you'd think I'd realize my appetites are simply not what HD feeds. To me, Pegasus and Gabriella are new !

Believe it or not, there was even more to today, but I've already written a book ! I'll have to catch you tomorrow ! Hope your Friday was fantastic !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 2:49 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Lazily happy - with a mirror !

Got the living room nice and clean, and vacuumed. It was 80 degrees here today, so that was a hot and sweaty job ! Beloved Hubby came home from work for lunch, so I got to spend a bit of time with him, always a treat.

I got tired after cleaning, so I lay down for a bit. Slept three hours ! At least my stomach isn't singing dirges anymore. Don't know why I'm still so tired, though.

After another few hours at work, Beloved came home, bearing McD's. They're doing a ‘Pirates and Princesses' promo, which includes a selection of Disney toys in the kids' meals. I asked Beloved to just get me a kids' meal, not being very hungry, and when he got home, we found that they'd given both me and Dearest Son Princess toys. I was quite happy with my musical Snow White mirror, but I wasn't sure how Dearest would react to the shimmery sky-blue Cinderella opera gloves, with matching ring. He happily slid one glove on, said it was his Anakin Skywalker robot arm glove, and snatched up his lightsaber. Well, at least he has a spare ! A quick peek on Google Image Search revealed that he even had it on the correct arm. That's our (fan) boy !

Along with the toy is a small sheet of either Princess stickers or Pirate water tattoos. Also a trading card, which I'm assuming is also a prize card, since it's in a solid black plastic envelope. Anyway, the Snow White image today is the card that came with my mirror - tomorrow, you get to see what Cinderella's signature looks like !

Not really kidding about the 'signature' thing. Even though I only worked for Disney at a store in a mall (at Christmas, no less !), I knew what was expected of 'cast members'. If you were in costume, part of your training included signing the character's name. That way, Taylor's signature (August '04) looked like Marissa's (March '08). If you were to get a signature from 'Snow White' next week, it'd look like what you see here. It's that kind of attention to detail that'll either have you admiring or aggravated.

Anyway, this promo runs ‘til April 10^th, or until they run out of goodies. They run out frequently around here. And from what I'm hearing, it's not just the little girls (and occasionally Dearest Sons !) who want the crowns and props. Beloved interviewed a new guy yesterday. They worked together today, and New Guy was heard to say, on his cell phone, ‘Oh, you got it ? Well I'm glad - I know you wanted the Belle necklace ! Any luck on the crown yet ?'. He's engaged. No kids. And he sheepishly told Beloved that his fiancée gets into the weirdest stuff... I gotta meet her !

Oh, and an update on the Skipper case. They got it...but they put the case away. She's got all the toys and dolls, but her parents - Beloved's buddy and his wife - think the case is just too nice for her to have right now. Well, their decision, and they know their daughter far better than I do. Gift once given ain't yours no more, and all that. I just know the case is worth maybe $10. max on eBay. Hopefully, they'll let her have it in a year or two. They were very grateful for the goodies, so I'm still happy about it.

Well, since I'm feeling better, and everyone else is asleep, I'm gonna go crash. Maybe hit a yard sale or two. I've been very home-bound this week, so it'll be nice to get out and about.

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 2:48 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Bright 

Another catch-up day. While laundry spun in the washer then flapped in the breeze, I rewired my broken star lamp. I've had that lamp since the first yard sale after we married and moved. Over a decade, at least ! The lamp socket flopped around, because it was, when all's said and blogged, a cheap lamp, with no pipe inside it. It was just a matter of time before the ceramic star stripped enough to need one.

Basically took the pieces it needed from another broken lamp I found in the garage. I think it used to be in the bathroom, where we lived about a year and a month ago. It was easier than I thought, thanks to online directions. It came out well - but I'll probably take it apart again in a week or so, to repaint it. Beloved Hubby has leftover spray paint in a shade that'll look so much better in the lab than the bright red does now...

Also gave it a new shade - I'd bought the shade to cover the bare bulb in Beloved's closet. It's the kind that clips on to the bulb. Problem was, the clip was too long, so it didn't fit. $6. down the tube, I thought. It spent some time in the living room, but it was too small for that lamp, and hid most of the much-needed light. It got put back into the closet when I found two ‘new' shades at a yard sale for 25c, in a size that worked better. The old star lamp's shade was slightly torn red gingham, to match the star. Once I paint it, that shade won't look very good - so, new shade !

Lotta shuffling there. Good thing we have many, many closets !

Dearest Son came down with the tummy bug, so he was home today. Slept most of it. Had to take him to Mal-Wart with me, to pick up a prescription. He was such a good kid. He understood we were just looking at toys today, so he spent some quality time with the Indiana Jones mega-set, admiring the box art, and computing how many tickets he still needed to get it. Quick aside - he'll have enough by this weekend !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 2:48 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Woozy, but not aching anymore.

Feeling a bit better. Oddly, if I keep something on my stomach all the time, I don't feel so wretched. So I'm never far from crackers, but I still want to sleep like a caterpillar for a few months.

Did a bit of research on my hybrid Scott/Ken. It's definitely a Scott head on a Ken body...but the All Star Ken had two curled hands, to hold his weightlifting equipment. Mine had one curled, and one open, but both were wrist-jointed. Hmmm. Turns out the hands were slightly different colored, too. Some leg-work over at Keeping Ken (http://www.manbehindthedoll.com/) revealed that the Starr ‘Shaun' doll had bend-wrists, too, and photos revealed that my doll has an All Star body and right hand, a Shaun left, and a Scott head. It's amazing that someone somewhere spent all this time patching and matching the components...and I bought him for $2. !

And that was about it for the day. Finally got the bag of trims and lace sorted and stored, and even put away all the doll clothes lying around. Since it'll be a while before the computer moves out of here - we still have some of PILs stuff in the Office, and Beloved Hubby wants to texture and paint before we move anything, which makes sense - I need all the space I can get !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 2:48 PM CDT

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OK, it's official. I'm blasted sick. It was 40 degrees outside this morning, waiting for the bus with Dearest Son, and I was sweating. Pushed myself through the grocery shopping, remembering to snag the now half-price Disney Princess pail, and slogged home. Stuffed the cold groceries away and that was enough for one day. Slept for four hours, ate some toast, felt a bit better, and then straight miserable about an hour after Dearest came home.

It's clear I was not sympathetic enough to Beloved Hubby, if he felt this bad. He felt better, and returned to work - then came home to find me asleep and ill. I'm just hoping Dearest is spared, because frankly, I don't know if I have the energy to spare to take care of him right now... 

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

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Kind of a ‘blah' day - getting ready for the week to resume. Beloved Hubby's still ill, and now my tummy's starting to sound off, too. Ugh. All I wanted to do is sleep ! But the house is a wreck, and I had to make sure there was enough clean plates for dinner. It's about all I did today, seriously.

Dearest Son loved his Easter bucket ! Ate darn near all of it, too. If anyone should have a stomach ache, it's him ! Instead, I was the one moaning, and Beloved was so ill, he took the day off. About all we did was sleep. Hope your Easter was more pleasant ! And that the Easter Bunny - or Fairy !- was good to ya !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 2:48 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Chillin'

Current Image Notes : Stolen and cropped from icanhascheezburger.com

You'd think this pretty day would be prime for yard sales, and you'd probably be right. But after all my mad spending this month, I decided to stay in, get some laundry done, and finish the scanning. It took *hours* to finish that Dolly Style book, and it was only for eight dolls, two of which, I didn't bother with. Finally got that finished, and made two coasters before getting good burns of back-up discs.

Went through the pile of old CDs, noticed that it's usually on about a six-month cycle. I buy enough patterns - and finally get ‘em scanned - to warrant a back-up about twice a year. And every time since 2004, I can't imagine that there is a pattern I want that I somehow don't already have. Six months later, I have several. Really, though, this time I think I finally have everything. Seriously.

Found the old Dollar Tree disco ball I loved so - until Beloved got me the big motorized one ! - in a pile of fabric, along with a metal crescent moon and crystal stars ornament I made years ago. They got shoved in there during the Lab painting. Hung the moon and stars over the window, dead-center above the similarly-themed curtain. I'd even used a yellow ribbon to make it, so it coordinated well with the yellow curtain scallop. The disco ball is now over one unused curtain bracket in our bedroom. It occasionally gets enough light to bounce bright squares around.

Cleaned up the Lab - much time as I spend in there, you'd think it'd be spotless ! Nope - bits of 40+ year old tissue dotted the floor, along with potato chips and the occasional taffy wrapper, along and the ubiquitous Lego land-mines Dearest Son forgets to retrieve. There's still lots of new fabric to store, a bag of trims and lace to sort, and three bags of doll clothes awaiting storage, but I wasn't in much of a mood for it. Got the worst of the misplaced stuff put away, and vacuumed, and by then, I was headachy again.

Beloved Hubby dropped off the Skipper case - unfortunately, no one was home. Hope she thinks the Easter bunny was early !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 2:47 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Pretty good !

Current Image Notes : The Skipper Case, loaded and ready ! Even the accessory drawers are stuffed ! :)

The pseudo-Garage Sale at the fairgrounds today was interesting. Remember the guy with the knock-off doll case ? I offered him $5. for it last week, but no sale. He was there, and the case was marked $3. Nope. I got what I wanted - or very nearly, once I get the second Midge one - so I left it there, glad I didn't buy it last week.

Found a near-identical Skipper to the missing-toes one I already had, and gleefully bought her. After making sure her feet were intact ! Intended to do a head-swap...until I noticed that, while the dolls were identical right down to lip color, one was tan, the other pale. (sigh) It's hard to determine doll skin tones in a metal barn at 8am. Well, now Beloved's friend's daughter gets twin Skippers ! She's already dry from her boil perm - bad bangs again !- and I've made up a second elastic dress and skirt for her. Added Velcro to the Avon porcelain dolls' dresses, and tucked them into the case. It gets dropped off tomorrow, so I have to have it ready today.

I also snagged a Kelsey little sister doll, and had to give her a serious haircut. No time to make her clothes, so I cleaned the Tinkerbell-knockoff outfit she came with, found her some shoes. So now there's three dolls in the case. Beloved's telling me to not go crazy with this project, but I can see that he's looking forward to giving it to her, too.

For m'self, I found a John Smith (Pocahontas) doll, and a bend-wrist/bending arm All-Star Ken doll with a Scott (Teen Skipper friend) head. There's a bit of skin tone variance between Scott's head and body, so I knew he was a head-swap, and I knew he looked familiar. It's a bit jarring to see such a youthful face on such a...muscular body, but dressed, he looks fine. Kind of like a Marine of my acquaintance, back in my misspent later youth. In any case, I just can't resist bend wrist dolls - and his arms bend at the elbow, too ! The bend joint feels just like the one in a standard Barbie leg. Cool !

That seller told me she has tons of vintage and 70s Barbie clothes that she'll have to bring next time. I gave her my name and number, as she requested, but I've done that so many times, I know what'll happen. No one I've ever given that info to has ever called ! Even when it was to sell something. Oh, well. 

Dearest Son was home soon after my return, and he felt bored. So we hit some yard sales. He scored some new toys and a new Star Wars book, I found some new fabric and a new project I'll write up, as soon as I can find the right size beads. It's silly, and funny, and simple. Heck, it's easier than the Tribble (that I still haven't written up yet !). 

I confess, one length of fabric I got not only because it's a shimmery green/red piece, or because it was only a quarter. (sigh) I'd seen some simple sheaths made from similar material on various doll boards - don'tcha hate it when the same person posts on six different boards with the same exact photos and text each time ? And you click on it several times ? - and I know I can make those. Easy. But people were complimenting them as though no one had ever seen a strapless sheath on a $150. FR before. (snark) Maybe I have something to prove, at least to myself. Goss knows I'd never post my versions on any of the boards ! I'm not an established doll artist who sells simple dresses for Barbie at $60. each, so I'd just get ignored. Or worse.

This funky mood wasn't very conducive to sewing, so I scanned the Cabbage Patch Kids pattern I got months ago, along with the last ones from fairly recent doll magazines. Only one more scanning project remains - the Nippon Dolly Style pattern book I bought a few months ago. I've put it off because the patterns are in pink ink, and I know I'm gonna have to redraw and scan them numerous times. Plus erase the Japanese text and try to figure out which two-inch square is a shirt cuff, and which is a pocket. Headache city, so I've put that off for tomorrow.  Once that's all done, I have to burn back-up CDs, ‘cause I am not doing all this again !

Eventually, I'll learn to not buy any more patterns...

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 2:47 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Still Weird. Big Surprise.

Current Image Notes : Darci catalog I found online. Cool !

I'm still in a bit of a weird mood, due to yesterday's thoughts. It's the first day of Spring, I should be springing about. But I'm kind of down a bit. Plus Beloved Hubby has a tummy bug that's knockin' him to his knees, and his sole employee is making problems for him. (sigh)

I'm a bit upset at myself, because Dearest Son's Spring Break is nearly over, and my lofty ambitions - the duck pond, the library, some math and reading reviews, the park - didn't even come close to realization. Again. Mostly, he got to sleep in, play Wii, run around outside when the weather was nice, watch his movies, and chase the cat. If you ask him, it was a great break, he mostly did what he wanted when he wanted to, but I feel like I cheated both of us by scanning patterns.

Oddly, I didn't scan anything today - busy day. Beloved's sick, and Dearest leaves for his grandparents' tonight, but he'll be back tomorrow morning. I was kind of hoping for a bit more time at tomorrow's ‘Garage Sale' (heh - it's the Flea Market, same people, same stuff, same place), but at least I'll have some of the morning to m'self. I'm kind of looking forward to getting back on schedule, since I haven't done squat with the unstructured days this week !

Worked a bit on the Skipper case project - the case lot arrived today, and I'm happy. I now have nine on display, but one will go bye-bye when I get the Midge #2 one. Beloved thinks I need to start a second row, but unless I make some amazing finds, I like it the way it is. The Skipper case is in great condition for its age, but the design is off just a bit from the lines. Some of ‘em are simply that way. It's funny to me, because most Barbie cases have a metal latch at the top, and the older it is, the more likely it's rusted. This Skipper one has the latch in the front middle, and it's shiny and new-looking.

The more I study Barbie cases, the more I find this to be true. What makes the latch placement determine rust ? Or is it simply that sticky little fingers make it more likely to rust, when the latch and handle are so close together ? Or did the Skipper cases just see less use ? In any case, Skipper now has two dresses, a skirt, pajamas, and a cape. Along with a sandwich-size baggie of small props, including a Littlest Pet Shop cat, with dishes. Hope she likes it.

Hit the thrift stores, had one small find. A really worn SuperStar Barbie, hair thin even under the tight braid, but she was wearing the overdress to Darci's Lifestyle Fashions ‘Garden Party', and it was in good shape, so I snagged her. SSB has already been redressed and prepared for donation, but the dress fits Leia, and I'm happy. It's transparent, but the original came with a peach tube under-dress, and I can easily recreate that. Nice white sash belt, and maybe some me-made white sandals, and Leia's ready for spring.

Remember Darci ? Kenner's last try at fashion dolls ? Here's a site with great info, including what 'Garden Party' is supposed to look like ->

http://www.darcidoll.com/index.html

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 2:47 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Kinda weird

Current Image Notes : Production cel (complete with scratches) from Raggedy Ann and Andy : A Musica Adventure. I don't own this cel, but at least I own a copy of an image of it. :)

Was a bad girl today. Finally did the grocery shopping...and I picked up the Disney Princess wastebasket. Last one they had, too. I feel so silly for spending $6. on a trash can, but it's very pretty, and fits in that now-green drawer set perfectly ! I love it. I had a tin ‘space' one when I was a kid - this one's tin, too, and it kind of takes me back a bit.

Also got Dearest Son's Easter basket stuff. Mal-Wart had tin buckets with various kid-friendly graphics - Cars, Spiderman, Transformers, High School Musical, SpongeBob, Disney Princesses, and even Tinker Bell ! I thought about buying a DPrincess pail for lab trash, but it's really rather small. And if I'm gonna shell $4. for a pail I don't really like, I might as well spend the extra $2. to get what I want ! 

Dearest, of course, got the Cars one, with Lightning and Tow Mater on it. He has a chocolate rabbit, Bubble Tape, and eighteen spaceship-shaped filled eggs waiting for him Sunday morning. Not bad for $11. The pre-made ones at that price point (well, actually $15.) are pretty crappy. A super-cheap, essentially useless basket with a gaudy plastic toy and about 50c worth of small candies. It'd be fine if you bought it at a gas station and were in desperate need (of an Easter basket, for some reason), but otherwise, sooo not worth it. One year, his grandparents gave him so much candy, it filled a beach sand pail, and we were still eating it in August.

Got the next pattern scanned - Simplicity 7737 - and it took maybe an hour. It's amazing how many patterns that are thirty-plus years old and have never been cut out. I can't wait to try it out...but I have two other patterns and a pattern magazine to scan first.

I'm in kind of another memory-flood mood right now, though. Found that the full feature-length production of Raggedy Ann and Andy : A Musical Adventure is on Google Video. This is basically the movie that set off my whole obsession with animation. When I first saw it, at a children's matinee I more or less got dropped off at, I was twelve and thought it a bit too kiddy and bizarre for me, although some sequences were undeniably charming. Some of the rotating perspective shots still make me mildly ill, though. It was actually a ‘Making Of' short feature on cable or TV a year or so later, showing the computer-guided rudimentary animation, that really ignited my imagination. While watching the movie has stirred some memories, I'd pay to see that ‘Making of' again ! It made me really want to understand how animation worked, and, lacking any real art skills, try to figure out how I could be a part of it.

Well, not all dreams work out. There's no way I could be all I dreamt of as a kid - there just aren't that many calls out for roller-skating voice actresses and worked in radio (at least I got to do that !) over at Lucasfilm. The one person I knew in animation - a guy who translated anime, some sub, some dub - didn't think enough of my voice to even give me a business card. So I let that one die. Most of the ‘prequel' films killed the Lucasfilm one, and I'm still not sure if I can skate anymore. My body was fine with it, when I tried last year, but my mind was screaming in fear. I'm not really sure what I dream of anymore, or if we still have them when we're pushin' our 40s towards the top of the hill.

Sorry. Don't mean to be in such a weird mood. Just some things I have to work out. I'm sure I'll either get over it or will have forgotten it all tomorrow !

The movie, in its entirety : http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6706642381871663196

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 2:47 PM CDT

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