Current Mood : Still overwhelmed ! 

And, as requested, there's most of The Great Wall of Cases ! Or, as Dearest Son might put it - eBay, yard sale, flea market, eBay, eBay, yard sale, (breath for bottom row) yard sale, GoodWill, yard sale, thrift store. They're a bit over eight inches from the ceiling. My two Midge cases are there - it's the black one I got into a bidding war over, and won - and I have an identical 'Enchanted Evening' case in blue that isn't on display. I prefer the black one ! You get the rest tomorrow !

Well, it's shameful confession time. I went back to the bonanza yard sale late yesterday afternoon, and bought more dolls. Since these were mostly yer standard ‘big blue eyes/bent arm/blonde' Barbies, I confess that I bought ‘em for their clothes. But even at 50c a doll, the outfits I picked are worth it ! Plus, I'll clean, redress, brush, and donate most of them. It didn't look as though anyone had bought a single one since I left with the first happy haul.

I now have the rest of the "Sharin' Sisters" set, including the three dolls. Still no vest or skirt, though, but I have two of the lace-and-pearl-decorated pink blouse. Always thought the idea was great, but wondered how the same shirt could ‘fit' both an eight inch and an ll ½ doll. Loose and snug, and ‘thank heaven for stretchy knits' is your answer here !

Scored another Tyco Ariel, with almost the same face paint as the one I got earlier. But she has the archetypical bangs !  I need to get photos of all three of my Tycos together. Also claimed a Gymnast Stacie, as a donor body for my recently-discovered-damaged Gymnast Whitney. Not to be confused with the '05 Star Gymnast line - they're bigger - these dolls are basically ‘flat-chest younger sister' Skipper replacements that came out in '95. Luckily, Skipper - oops ! Stacie has the exact same body tone as Whitney, so it was a perfect match. I'd have kept Whitney regardless - she's Rick and Lisa's daughter !

Whitney used to be a Barbie-age doll in the late 80s - with a Steffie face, brown hair and green eyes. Yeah, you know I'm familiar with this doll ! I once bought Jewel Secrets Whitney for a little girl, and a used-in-bad-shape nude Nurse Whitney, years ago. I was gonna try to get the ink out of her face and fix her faded brows, and ignore her chewed hands. Can you believe I paid $5. for her, with all that damage ! Doll shop owner convinced me she was rare and needed the kind attention of a good person...sheesh, but she laid it on thick ! And I ate it up.

Now I know her brows were gone because someone else (possibly the seller !) tried the acne medicine route and it didn't work for him/her, either. A bit of research shows Perfume Pretty and Style Magic, but I've never seen them before. Seems like little girl Whitney and big girl Whitney were in roughly the same amount of ‘friend of ‘ lines, too. Can't blame Mattel for reusing names they've trademarked, or obtained via buying other toy companies !

There was also another Teresa, whose head is glued on for some reason, and I now have the ‘Glitter Hair' blonde Barbie dress. I've had the brunette one for a while, bought in a lot. Not sure why I wanted this one, unless I'm going for the set. There's another version for the redhead GH doll...

What kinda tanks is that all these dolls - 16 total - are all great. Even with huge mops of blonde nest hair, they have pretty eyes and sweet smiles. But there's no way I can keep them all ! Belle and Cinderella and Ariels and one of the Teresas are definitely staying, but the Sharin' Sisters are so cute, and the beach Teresa has the prettiest hair and eyes...And Locket Surprise is simply so bizarre...Arrrgh !

While I'm glad for every last doll I got, I really bought myself a pack of decision ! Darn you, cheap beautiful dolls !!!

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:15 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Happily Stunned ! 

Sorry, but I have to suspend the Barbie catalog for a bit. Look what I found today ! Eight lovely dolls and a pile of clothes - $6. ! There were some other cool finds, but this was the biggie. Whee ! Figured I'd identify the ones I could, and tell ya why she's here - the seller had a whole table of mostly blonde Barbies, and I picked the ones I liked best. Seriously considering a raid on the change jar and heading back ! They're all still wearing what they came with, and only Belle's had her hair brushed. As you can see, I'm gonna be busy this weekend !

It was like a dream, rounding the corner of the kids' clothes and stuffed animals, and seeing an entire table of dolls. I could hardly believe it. Oh, and if you're wondering how I can ID these, I used to work for TRU in the early 90s. They let us have the manufacturer's toy catalogs after orders were placed. They just tossed ‘em into the break room, help yourself if you want. So I scored a great Barbie one, darn near memorized it, then passed it along to Carol (of Perestroika.ca fame). I can still remember the She-Ra sized Wonder Woman line that was never released. . .

Standing in the back is Belle. I had the first Belle doll that coincided with the 1991 film - the one with bangs and ink lipstick. I ended up donating her a few years ago, during a massive Barbie purge, and I've regretted it ever since. If Mattel's used this mold since, I don't know about it, and I really missed her. So when I saw that signature dress and brown hair, she was the first I grabbed. Happy !

Also standing is another Disney favorite, an older model Cinderella. I always liked this head mold- she looks so wistful and dreamy. I think that's kind of what I miss when I look at dolls on today's shelves - they're smiling and happy, but otherwise, completely blank-faced. You can't see them, but she has matching blue sparkly shoes that I dug out of a 5c bin. This costume would easily fit in at a Main Street Electrical Parade, it has that much glitter and shine. But it's her dreamy face I've always loved, but I never bought. Let's face it, if I had $10. - $15. in my pocket back in the day (and no one was around), I'd invariably buy a brunette doll. So I'm glad I finally have the Cinderella I've always loved.

Between Belle and Cinderella is a pile of clothes I bought, which, like the dolls, is mostly late 80s to mid 90s stuff. One is a Best Buy I haven't had time to ID yet. I have pretty much the whole  1992 ‘Sharin' Sisters Gift Set' wardrobe - looks like I got two of the pink shirt, but not the lace vest or blue skirt - I've always thought it was pretty, but the clothes look bunched up on the smaller Skipper and Stacie dolls. There's a ‘Bloomies' licensed sweatshirt, a Joe Boxer bra and panty set, a pretty blue dress from an '05 AA ballerina, the lavender and gingham blouse to a Picnic Pretty fashion, the dress to Glitter Hair Barbie, and the Hollywood Hair Skipper's turquoise and gold outfit.

Seated, we begin with the never-confused-with-any-other-Barbie, Locket Surprise Barbie. Her chest swings open to reveal a heart-shaped photo of Ken. Or kid makeup. I thought this had to be one of the weirdest dolls Mattel ever made. Her earrings are big enough for me to wear, and her then-fashionably crimped hair is a total nest. But, if you ever wanted to make a breast cancer survivor doll, pop the hinge, and you're halfway there. She also had a friend, Kayla, with a similar chest, but in turquoise clothes with pretty red hair. They even made fashions for these dolls, that accommodated the tiny lock (missing on this one) and unique style. Sometimes, you can't help but wonder what's goin' on over at Mattel...

Next to her is the also unforgettable Bandai Sailor Moon. Often referred to as the ‘no-nose' version, she was the first to appear on North American shores when the show premiered in syndication. She actually does have a tiny little wedge nose, it just doesn't show in photos. I have a long history with Sailor Moon dolls, but all the ones I have are the later releases from Canadian-based Irwin Toys. Those were clearanced fast, to my joy.  

In the middle is Sparkle Eyes Barbie, in a Hugh Jass (say it out loud) wedding gown. The gown belongs to Rose Bride Barbie, and like SE and Locket Surprise, she had a Happy Meal toy made to represent her. It's difficult to get a good photo of SE - her pupils are blue rhinestone chips imbedded into the plastic. It's an odd effect. It's quite lovely in the right light, but it also gives her a bit of an empty over-wide-eyed stare. This was also done with some Disney dolls - the Belle one had green crystals, but nearly all others, even the AA version, had blue.

On her left is a short-haired Teresa wearing what I thought was the blouse from Yo-Yo Skipper. On a full-bodied Barbie, it's short, tight, has a place in the back for the lever, and an anime-ish design on the front. But I can't verify. So I don't know who originally wore it. The pants are easier, they're from 'Barbie and Ginger Dog'. I probably have the blouse somewhere. I think Teresa has had a home haircut, so I'll even it out a bit later. It's actually quite cute.

Then we have another Teresa, still in her Sparkle Beach swimwear. Her hair has a reddish cast to the brown, and her green eyes are gorgeous. She even has her necklace, which I always thought was odd on beach-themed dolls. Most of us, when we pilgrimage to the surf, leave as much behind as possible - especially jewelry.

And certainly not least is a lovely Tyco Ariel ! This one really is gorgeous, and I'm not much for the Tycos. They always looked too ‘kid' for me, rather short next to the other dolls, and the Mattel ones looked older - and sexier ! So I only had one Tyco, found nude at a thrift store several years back. The one I found today has such a pretty smile, and starry eyes...she's wearing a slightly tattered ‘Ariel, the Beautiful Bride' fin and bikini top, and at first, I thought she is the wedding version, her face is that happy and beautiful. But a bit of eBay and Google Image research shows that invariably, the Tyco Ariels have bangs pulled out a bit, then curled under and cut at an angle, to give her that signature ‘floating shelf of hair' look. But this one has a more film-accurate style - no bangs, with a lovely curl over her eye that really looked good. If I paid attention to the way the hair wanted to go and brushed it so, it curled and assumed a beautiful shape and color. Her left arm angles away from her body, so it's PTF (Palms To Front, very rare), while her right is a straight PTS arm. I'd assume she was Beautiful Hair Ariel, but her hair's not that long. She can't be Tropical, she has the same pale skin tone as my other Tyco. So I truly have no idea who she is.

But I'm gonna have fun finding out !

Also scored a few smaller things. An Elphie size laundry basket, a pair of blue glitter-dot keychain shoes (they fit the DPrincesses, Crissy, and Mia) - I paid $4. for a set of pink ones at Mal-Wart, but these were a dime each ! Some Barbie-size accessories - two pair of shoes, three lotion bottles, and a set of funky drinking glasses - finished up the haul. All that for $6.

Oh, and I scored the Ariel wand Happy Meal toy for 5c - it lights up ! So, out of those eight toys, we only missed Cinderella's shoe decorations and Aurora's crown. Not bad ! And I'll have to scan the Ariel card, the signature is adorable. We'll resume the catalog images (we are less than ¼ through - it's a good size booklet !) on Monday - glad you're enjoying ‘em, Mandy ! Tomorrow, I hope to get a good photo of at least half of the Great Wall of Cases. 

And ya'll think I don't listen...(grin)

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:14 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Beyond lucky ! 

Today is the last and only time I will *ever* schedule a doctor appointment for 8am ! I mean, it's great to be the first appointment - there's been no time for everyone to run late - and have it over with, but the amount of sheer scurry to get all of us ready on time had me ready for a nap in the waiting room ! Plus, I have this stupid, irrational medical anxiety. Even when I know darn good and well that the worst that'll happen is that I'll have to get on a scale, I can't sleep the night before I have any sort of contact with medical professionals.

And I forgot it was trash day, and if I don't have that can out at least a half hour before I'm required to, the pick-up guy will skip us, and it'll be Friday night before they come back around. So I had to run around gathering trash cans in 40mph winds just before I jumped in the car for the appointment. Next time, 9am. Maybe then I can get some breakfast !

Got my meds renewed for another year, and was out of there a bit before 9. Just in time for a yard sale ! Where we live, you have to buy a $10. license to have one, and it allows  a three-day sale. The three days have to be consecutive (that's why we occasionally have Thursday sales) and an address can only have two per year. Annoying, but Thursday sales are always fun.

Unfortunately, rain's been forecast for today and tomorrow, and the charitable organization holding today's sale was understandably hesitant to put much stuff outside. So they crammed most of it inside, and there was barely room for my big hips to move around. Another side benefit to Thursday sales is that they're not usually well-attended. This one was an exception. Evidently, there's not much else going on today...

I beelined it for toys and crafts, only to find another customer and her son - about Dearest's age -  had completely taken over the limited space. And she was on her phone, asking someone if this toy or that one was worth $X., and what it was getting on eBay. (sigh) I considered going under the table after ten minutes of patient waiting, but there was nowhere to go on the other side.

Other people began to gather, but they still held the fort, pretty much everything she'd asked about still clutched in her fingers. Her son started to whine about a toy he wanted, but she was too busy on the phone to tell him if he could have it or not. So we all stared at each other. Not sure why or when she got the clue, but eventually she moved on, returning later to put pretty much everything back, except the one her son wanted.

After all that, I didn't find much. There was a vaguely Star Wars looking spaceship that I thought my Dearest Son would like, and a nice set of DPrincess paper dolls. I'll probably end up scanning them, too - I know you can't wait to see what Ariel's underwear looks like. No dolls at all, unless you count the very live Persian-mix cat who purred at my ankles. What a sweetie ! Paid for those - $1.25 ! - and went outside.

Found a walkie-talkie lookin' thing with the Barbie logo on it amid the cordless phones, but didn't think much of it. At least six thousand articles of clothing sprawled in and half out of a field of boxes, with some interesting tidbits here and there. While digging for something with stars on it (it ended up being nothing I wanted), I found a nice blue remote-control Barbie car ! Two seater, seatbelts, steering wheel, and windshield intact - even the rear view mirrors were there. Nice ! The charity representative said everything back here was 25c each, and so I asked if that included the car. Yep !

Found a brand-new Star Wars pillowcase, a nice orange windbreaker for Beloved Hubby, black velvet pants and a pink blouse for me, blue ruffled trim, a brand-new pair of lavender slippers, and a VHS copy of Tommy Boy. Paid the nice lady my wallet's last $2., and carried my booty to Molly. But I didn't put the Barbie car away. Y'see, I thought that walkie-talkie Barbie thing might just be the remote. So I aimed it at the car. Nothing. Well, batteries could be dead. Maybe there'd be something on the car's underside that'd tell me if - oh ! An on/off switch. Yes ! It works ! The batteries were still good ! Wow !

Offered to pay them the 25c for the remote, but they told me it went with. Which was good, since I wasn't sure there was any change left in Molly ! Got my goodies home and began the research. Found - on the Hasbro.com site - that Dearest's toy is a Droid Tri-Fighter, complete with Buzz Droids stored in the center sphere. Appeared in Revenge of the Sith, and the toy hasn't been made since the film's release. Oh, was he gonna love it !

Mattel's website didn't have anything about the ‘new' car, but the date on the underside is 1999, and we can't expect ‘em to keep records forever. The R/C Beetle had the same remote control device, and that was what I had questions about. The number panel seemed to be fake -  buttons didn't move when pushed. Were they supposed to do anything ? Nope. Just there for ‘imaginative play', so a kid could pretend it was a cell phone. Only the two triangle buttons (forward, turn reverse) worked. Once inside, I got a surprise - the headlights worked, too. Cool !

The blouse fit tighter than I like, but the pants fit great. Comfy ! Tossed the blouse in the donations box, and the new clothing acquisitions in the laundry. Dearest just loves his new spaceship, and he knew right away what it was. It took me ten minutes with Google to find out ! He likes the new car, but likes his Tri-Fighter better. I'm saving the pillowcase for when he's home Saturday.

And I know of four yard sales tomorrow...

Posted by dorriebelle at 6:56 PM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:14 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Happy as a hummingbird !

What a great day today was ! Got three loads of laundry out on the line on a beautiful day before it was time for volunteer work at Dearest Son's school. Completed all they had for me - even the stuff for next week - with time to spare. So much time, in fact, that I nipped off to the fabric store for a few minutes before returning to pick Dearest up. He'd earned enough tickets for a bit of shopping, but driving him directly to Target from school was a surprise.

I was a very, very bad girl at Hancock Fabrics. Spent $12. ! But I am sooo in love with what I bought ! A half-yard of repro vintage cotton fabric - sweet little ballerina girls on a soft green background, just too adorable to leave without getting some. It'll make something special for Timey and Dottie, I think. And a third of a yard of black cotton with stars and spirals in white and grey. It's hard to describe this material, so I'll do my best to make something with it quick ! Once I'm done here, I'm gonna cheap-serge it, ‘cause I still have two loads of laundry waiting.  I keep saying 'no more fabric', but I can only hold out if I stick to shopping at Mal-Wart ! They haven't had anything new in months...

They had other wonderful fabrics, too - there's one star print I want, bad. $8./yard, though, with no coupons on the immediate horizon. Ordinarily, I'd just bite it and get a quarter or half yard, like I did with the ballerina and star prints, but I want enough to make me a blouse out of it. There's always plenty of cutaway to make doll clothes. But since I'll need two yards minimum, maybe three, depending on the blouse, I'm gonna hold off for a sale or a coupon. It really is gorgeous.

Went through the markdown bins, you'd be disappointed with me if I didn't ! I'm gonna try something, just for kicks. They had those woven labels in the bin, 60% off. You've seen ‘em, they say ‘Made with Love By " /(design) /"Fairly Popular Woman's First Name". If you mail ‘em to the manufacturer, package intact, they'll put your name on the same labels and ship ‘em back to you. As you can guess, ‘Dorrie' never appears on these things. So, I found a design I liked ("Specially Hand Made By"), and snagged two. And wouldn't you know it, one package of 8 labels was $3., the other, $2. Fished around some more for a second $2. set. At 60% off, two packs of $2. ones came to $1.60. If I hadn't noticed, two sets of $3. would have been $2.40. Double score ! And yes, I will be mailing in both packages tomorrow, and I'll let you know if it works, and what they finished ones look like.

But I wasn't done yet. Found several button sets on 80% off, from the ‘So Girly !' line. I think they're the same ones who made the makeup bag I bought at the first yard sale Saturday. Anyway, I got a set of rubbery ‘flip flop' buttons that will probably become real doll flip flops (55c), and sets of two blue ‘Cool', pink ‘Lucky', and green ‘Best of Pop' "record" buttons, each for 35c. They'll probably go on my sewing machine cover, which is slowly becoming a sort of scrapbook.

And I found two bags of remnants I liked, each for a buck. I got three four-inch-wide silver glitter-micro-dot strips, two yellow cherry-bloom cutaway bits,  a quarter-yard of pink with white hearts flannel, a streak of ‘trucks' flannel, a chunk of cream canvas, blue/green/white stripe canvas, a third of a yard of black felt, deep purple lining material, black lining stuff, a gorgeous half-yard of cream satin, a third yard of yer everyday white cotton, some weird-textured white polyester, a half yard of brown suit material, a streak of soft white micro-knit, and about the same amount in navy blue, a wonderfully textured black peachskin strip, and three gorgeous sheers - one white, one black, and one crinkled white. Georgette ?  Voile ? Too thick for tulle, but otherwise, I haven't a clue. Guess I'd best dig out More Fabric Savvy and check.

That wasn't all - there was even, at the very bottom, a half yard of "Disney Princess II" cotton, by Springs Industries. Of all the bags to pick - there were at least a dozen - I found possibly the only one with some DP print in it ! Most of it is pink, with darker pink, purple, and white bubbles (or pearls, could be either). Floral borders are surrounded by printed ‘beads' of pink and purple, and on one end, there's hips-up cameos of Aurora and Cinderella. That end has a scalloped edge, again bordered with pink and purple printed bubbles/beads. I'll have to scan it, Aurora has *such* an expression on her face ! It's probably designed to make curtains, but I'm sure I'll find other uses for it !

By the time I'd gone through all the markdowns and touched about 200 fabrics, I had to scurry to check out and get back to school. Dearest saved his tickets to get those last two toy lightsabers, and since Mal-Wart let him down on the purple one last week, he wanted to try Target. We found the last purple one, second to the last one we checked, on the highest peg. The green one was much easier to find, so now he has the whole set. I'm just glad he didn't decide to collect those $20. ones ! Nope, these don't light up, they just collapse into the hilt, and they run about $6. each. Amazingly, each one has a different hilt. Nice.

Once home, he installed all four on his sweatpants' waistband, and his pants promptly fell down ! I told him ‘beyond three of anything is a collection', and he seemed a bit prouder of his ‘sabers. Beloved Hubby and I both ‘fenced' with him, but he preferred to run around the yard, one in each hand and two on his hips, until sunset. He was clutching the purple one at bedtime. (happy sigh)

While waiting at the cashier's, a familiar infant sundress caught my eye. It was darn near the exact same dress I bought Baby Chrissy at GoodWill yesterday ! But this one was pink, and the embroidery at the hem may have been flowers, instead of fruits. Yet everything else, right down to the ‘So Sweet' appliqué at center front, was identical. $7. I don't think Chrissy's had ever been worn, either. It was kind of a shock seeing it there. And I saved $5. - not that I would've bought it new anyway...

I noticed that the scan of the cover to the Barbie catalog cut a bit of Midge's hair. Our scanner sometimes nibbles at an image if it's too close to the edge. Well, that wouldn't do, so I rescanned and reinstalled it, on the 08 April entry. If you're saving these to your hard drive, you may wanna go back and snag it again. This one's better !

I noticed that a few pages - really, only seven - had small red ink lines on them. Cover has a dark blue ‘B' just under the ‘e' in ‘Barbie'. As is usual for me, I wondered who'd put those marks there. Was it a little girl in 1963 ? Or an adult, much later ? Did the red lines tally what he/she had, or what was next in line for that allowance and birthday money ? Did the ‘B' stand for the owner, to show who this booklet belonged to ? Or was someone trying to copy that famous signature ? It's unusual for a child to be so restrained - all the kids I know write all over everything they own ! Ah, you just never know when you're buying used, but isn't that part of the fun ?

PS to Michelle - This weekend, I'm gonna post photos of the "Great Walls of Cases" for ya, ‘cause you asked ! It's too late to do it tonight (I want as much sunlight in here as possible), and there's rain forecast for tomorrow, so this weekend's about as fast as I can do it. So stay tuned ! (smile)

Posted by dorriebelle at 10:27 PM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:14 PM CDT

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Current Mood : a bit restless, but relieved 

Current Image Notes : We're going in order, as if you were looking at the booklet in your hand. Thought you'd like it that way !

So... What Have We Learned ? From having to catch up two weeks of Doll Diaries in one day - again ? (sigh) I don't know why I keep doing that lately. I write the entries, pretty much every day, but when it gets to posting time, there's always something else that has to be done first. And once I've skipped one day, skipped one week, it's easier to let it go a bit longer. I still enjoy doing this, and sometimes I hold off because I need a photo or image, and it's not ready yet, but...(sigh) I need to pay attention to how I spend a day. Most of the time it's gone before I did anything with it !

Beloved Hubby did his usual last-minute checks this morning, then pronounced the taxes ready for mailing. I'd just have to scan a few pages and print some copies, and then it was off to the post office. I always have the Federal ones weighed - so I don't over or under spend on postage, plus the receipt proves it was mailed on time. Hope your taxes weren't too much of a drag ! Or, if you're not in the US, you enjoyed *not* having to mess with all that !

And the post office is only a few blocks away from GoodWill... was so sick last week, I didn't go. Actually, for that store, every other week is about right. I've seen a few things in there that've been around since before Christmas ! Didn't find much today, either - two novels, a stuffed animal I'm taking apart for fabric (yes, it has stars on it), and the sweetest little infant dress for Baby Chrissy. I've gotta quit buying stuff for her already ! I've had to winnow down her wardrobe twice before, and if you remember the closet photo, she still has a large selection ! Appropriately enough for tax day (and my personal liking), the dress is a soft green...

There was a nude Raggedy Ann, and I really thought about bringing her here. But I don't need two - it's a ‘dress and release' thing. It's rare to see a Raggedy without clothes. They really look sad and lonely, and it's hard to not ‘help' them !

The Dollar General next door had some markdowns - got one of the Cali Girl Barbie doll clothes sets for $2.80. There were two sets made back in '04. I bought the other one then, because I couldn't resist the tiny exercise sandals. I think I donated most of the girl clothes, but kept the Ken ones. The one I got today had a pretty brown cardigan sweater with a simple coordinating sundress and the guy outfit was good. It has stars on the shirt, and jeans instead of shorts ! I just didn't like the macramé bikini top and the sky-high wedgies sandals. They had a few Flavas left (believe that or not !) and a the lead Barbie from Twelve Dancing Princesses on the markdown shelves, but nothing else I really wanted. I mostly got the Cali set for the Ken clothes and the brown sweater !

Tomorrow, I have some volunteer work at Dearest's school, so I gotta get a move on early. Funny thing - whenever I plan out a day, darn near all I plan gets done. When I plan nothing at all, well, that gets done, too !

Posted by dorriebelle at 10:08 PM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:13 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Hectic scrambling 

Monday's my usual ‘catch up from the weekend' day, and this Monday was no exception. Dearest Son's been moping around since the Wii wouldn't activate, so I made sure to get a new power strip, hoping that'd fix it. It did ! Lucky !

One of the eyelets in the blue cubby box keeps popping out, so I also added ‘glue' to the shopping list. But once there, I could read that the SuperGlue I already had (part of a scavenged box from a few weekends ago) would work well on that. The print on the bottle itself was too smeared to read. Secured all the eyelets that pulled free with a bit of pressure with the glue - and was glad I didn't have to buy more !

Was a little bored after Dearest went to school, so I trawled eBay a bit. Looked up ‘Princess case', because I'd kind of like one for the Lab. Found a nice one that wasn't really a doll carrier - it was more of a lap desk that unzipped for crayon and coloring book storage. Even had a whiteboard inside. Pretty, and certainly cheap enough at $2.99, but the usual $8. to ship nixed that. Besides, I was just trawlin', waiting for the thrift store next to the Mal-Wart to open.

Believe it or not, the thrift store actually had it ! I've made a point to check the backpacks and lunch box section, a spot I'd previously ignored, hoping for doll cases. Haven't found a case yet, but I always check and hope. And today, there it was, like it was waiting for me. $1.99. Mine ! There was also a DP tote bag, but I left that for the next hunter-gatherer. I couldn't believe it. Now it's hanging up under the white ‘World of Barbie' case, and there's only space for one more ‘find'. Hope that one's not pink !

Oh, and I found two ‘cranberry' storage boxes, Christmas leftovers without lids, on markdown for 50c each. One would hold the misc. doll shoes (Timey/Dottie, DPrincess, Mia) with room to spare, and the other would be great under the sink. So the doll shoes that were overflowing the white tub went into the cranberry box, and Baby Chrissy's shoes and accessories went into the white tub. And the Cars shoe box went back to Dearest, with many thanks for the loan. He then put Lego in it. The circle is now complete.

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:13 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Thrilled and Proud !

Beloved Hubby had to work today - darn it ! - so it was just Dearest Son and me today. He ran around with his ‘podracer' goggles on, enjoying a bright sunny day and his imagination. Finally ! a mostly cloud-free day. Even the humidity was down...

Yup. It was low enough, and the temperature after lunch was warm enough to paint the cubby boxes ! They came out great. I scavenged the rope handles from the plastic bags I had doll clothes in before, and added the eyelets after they were all dry, and they look sooo good ! I'm glad I went with spray paint. Fabric or paper would have torn or slipped too easily. If I decide to change colors, about all I have to do is paint the other sides !

That blue one, though, wasn't fitting well where I had it. I shuffled it around until it did, so now the top row is plastic boxes-green-orange, and bottom row is red-blue-Elphie tote. I'm so happy with it - it looks even better than my imagination hoped.

Dearest was really good while I painted, so we went out to Dollar Tree. He found two knockoff lightsabers, and I scored a mylar palm tree table decoration. It looks so cute next to the hot tub in Shinobu and Inaba's ‘backyard'. The plastic stand it came with actually has a bit of suction to it, sort of a bonus.

While shuffling doll clothes in and out of cubby boxes - no way was I painting them with the clothes still inside ! - I found the bag with the hats and purses, and moved them into one of the plastic pencil boxes I got at the yard sales yesterday. Dearest claimed the other one. Tried to boil-perm Shinobu's hair, with mixed results. I'm honestly afraid to mess with it anymore.

Decided to cheap-serge yesterday's fabric purchases, but had a lot of trouble getting the tension right. When I got the top tension right, the bottom actually pinched the fabric. Cleaned some huge dust-bunnies out of the back, oiled where the manual said to, and adjusted the bobbin tension - but now the machine rattled. While the stitches looked fine, and the oiling made her almost silent, it just made that rattle stand out even more. I listened to it for a bit, and figured I'd loosened the bobbin too much. The rattling was the bobbin bouncing around in the shuttle. Once I got it re-adjusted, she ran quietly and evenly. That manual is worth its weight in gold. No wonder I broke that Singer we had so long ago - it didn't have a manual. Well, that, and the fact that I had no idea what I was doing...

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:13 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Joyous !

While Beloved Hubby slept, I hit two sales - I feel great today ! First sale got me a nice framed mirror that's a great doll size, a t-shirt for Dearest Son, safety power outlet covers for his room, a pretty makeup bag that'll be perfect for my checkbook that I rarely use, but can't leave home without, and some spray paint, all for $1.75.

The next sale was sooo great. I got two fabric cuts - one'll make a shirt for me ! - two pencil boxes, a small tool box, a ‘Dull Women Have Immaculate Homes' framed print, a Fanny Flagg book, a Polly Flinders smocked dress and a swimsuit for Baby Chrissy, a glittery shirt for fabric, a black jacket for me, two Star Wars action figures and a Cars coloring book for Dearest Son, and a pair of swim goggles. I wanted the goggles for the buckles, but Dearest saw ‘podracer' goggles, and he wanted ‘em. The rubber strap snapped and broke - oww ! - in my hand, so I measured his head and replaced the rubber with soft elastic. So he got the goggles - he loves ‘em ! - and I got the buckles for doll clothes. Not bad ! My stuff was just over $7., but I rounded it up, since it was a fundraiser. And I came home with a bit of change from the $10. I went out with !

Once home, it was Tax Time. I helped as much as I could, which wasn't much, but we got it done. Alleluia ! It's over with for another year. We'll go over them again Monday night, and mail ‘em off Tuesday. We don't get much of a rebate this year, but I'm happy we don't owe !

This evening, everyone was doing their own thing. I'd announced that I wanted to sew, but while I was tweaking the cubby a bit more, I stepped on that darn plastic thing in the floor again. It's worse than Lego ! It was probably a closet door piece, but with the doors removed, it was just in the way. Nails held it in place, but that's what the claw end of a hammer is made for ! So I grabbed the house hammer and went back to the Lab. Beloved asked again what I was doing, and without thinking, I said I was gonna sew. I'd completely forgotten about the hammer in my hand. He looked at me oddly, advised me to be careful. It didn't hit me until later. And that plastic thingie won't threaten anyone else's feet ever again !

Dress came out OK - as usual, it photographs better than it looks in person. Not sure if I'll keep it or not. I want to try it again, since this was kind of a muslin trial, and I left everything unfinished. At least I finally sewed something !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:12 PM CDT

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Current Mood : D'ya really wanna know ? It ain't pretty.  

You know I'm out of it when I'm too ill to yard sale. There were at least three that I knew of, but I didn't go anywhere today. I didn't even go on my thrift store circuit this week.  On the plus side, I know it's not an ulcer or anything now. I don't wanna get into too much information, but let's just say that the transition into the 'next stage of life' is often a rough one. No exceptions here. If you have no idea what the last sentence made, count your blessings and don't worry about it any further.

About all I did was sleep and get Dearest ready for school and his grandparents'. I'll be so glad when I feel better...

Meanwhile, enjoy some vintage fashion images. It's about all I can do for ya right now ! Bleah.

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:12 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Ugh.

Current Image Notes : This is pretty much why I bought this little catalog.  

I *really* feel miserable today. Starting to wonder if I have an ulcer or something, but then I wonder how someone living the indolent life I do could possibly work up a lot of stomach acid ! Maybe it's a new allergy symptom or something.

Still raining, and we got a thunderstorm, too. The lighting is so pretty, but it's making our power flicker. Noticed this evening that the orange ‘power' light to the Wii is off. Trying to turn it on didn't work. Dearest Son hasn't noticed yet - he's watching a Star Wars episode - so I hope it's the power strip. It'll be a while before we can get another video game system !

About all I got done today was sorting receipts for Big Tax Day Saturday. Urgh. Lab trash is overflowing with little bits of slippery paper. Beloved Hubby has the hard work, about all I do is the receipt organization and form finding/printing. It's so nice to download anything we need right from the IRS site. I always hated our last-minute runs to the library before. Have you heard about the economic stimulus plan ? If you get your taxes in on time, you may get some extra cash. In our bracket, it's about $300. a person - which is about what I've already spent on stuff this year ! If you're late, you may not get it. I'm not spending anything until I can cash the check ! And, truthfully, I've already spent it.

Oh, and BTW, Alvin and the Chipmunks (the new live action/CGI movie) was actually rather cute. Not as nasty as I thought, but the ‘updated' songs are a bit hard on the ears if you're used to the original versions. I would love to have a DVD collection of the 80s cartoon - and so would Dearest Son. He sort of has a crush on Brittany...

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:12 PM CDT

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