Lazy Monday, too.

 

Current Mood : Satisfied

 

Today, I was even more tired than yesterday, which is hard to believe. Any five minute span I wasn't actively doing something, I fell asleep ! And when I managed to stir in my stirrups, it was only for short bursts. At least I got all the Lab culls bagged up and out of the hallway and bathroom - except for the cabinet going into Dearest Son's room - and into the garage. Soon as the snow melts, I'll haul the whole lot over to the nearest available donation drop. It probably won't be until Saturday, since we're expecting more snow this week. But at least it's all out of the way - you could hardly walk down the hall without twisting sideways around something.

 

My old desk/sewing surface found a new home. Beloved Hubby set it up as a laptop station, since Dearest Son's desk is perpetually too cluttered for it now. It's in the corner of the dining area, between the kitchen and the table, and Beloved hopes that it'll help keep the table clean. I think anything short of barbed wire wouldn't keep our dining table cleared for long, since everything ends up there within three days of entering the house. It's like a clutter magnet !

 

It's astounding to see all the stuff I'm ditching bagged up and in one spot. There's six Mal-Wart bags of misc., two 13gal. bags, and the huge fabric one. And I'm not done with Props yet. More accurately, I haven't started the Barbie props. I'm not digging in my heels or avoiding it, I simply don't have the energy today. Gonna have to tomorrow.

 

I'm actually glad things worked out this way, since I was free to go out with Beloved Hubby for a while. Stopped by Hastings and picked up Dearest Son's birthday present for next month - I am sooo happy to have that done ! The gift card we got for turning in all those books paid for all but seven bucks of the Wii Nerf Strike Elite game he's been wanting. Sixty bucks ! But it comes with a really clever Nerf gun. It works like a regular Nerf projectile weapon, foam ‘bullets' and all, but to use it in-game with the Wii, you have to remove the firing mechanism and replace it with the Wii remote. No in-game projectile firing at the TV ! Very nice.

 

The marketing's clever, too. Put a couple playable scenes on a kid-based website for free - just make sure to repeat the name of the game frequently, so the kids can get it right for the parentals. Anyway. It just really makes me happy to have it already. Some years, his birthday's a bit thin and last-minute, but not this time !

 

After that, I rode along while he picked up supplies for work and finished a patch job. It was nice to have some quiet alone time, with no TV. We talked about stuff silly and weighty, and I loved every minute.

 

Once home, we walked doggies - Briscoe is still having trouble with DC, so we may need to find him a new home - and settled down to dinner and a movie. Halfway through some Rambo or another, I got obsessed with identifying the Kira doll I keep starting to donate, but never do. It's kind of hard to find a Kira these days, and I liked her...but never really bonded.

 

Hours later, after searching every Kira, Lea, Artic, Peruvian, Korean, Polynesian, Native American, Hawaiian, Japanese and Chinese Barbie Mattel every made, I'd about given up. She has the 1980 Oriental head mold, on a 1999 bellybutton body, no earrings, no ring, separated fingers, and a no-bangs-side-part-twin-ponytails hairstyle - and if a Kira had one, she didn't have the others. I thought she might have been foreign-market Picture Pockets Marina, but she lacks any eye shadow at all, and has unusually small eyes for a female doll. But, as it turned out, I wasn't far off, as the Picture Pockets Kira did not have the green eye shadow Marina did. Whew ! It also explained the slight kink in a section of her hair - it used to be a ponytail. Kind of like the useless pulled-straight-back ponytails that are routine for Kelly dolls.

 

I can't really confirm it for sure, since there's very few photos of PPKira, and all of them are small and in-box. I can't tell if the boxed ones have the ponytails part, since it looks loose in them. But the length seems right, and comparing PPBarbie's eyes to Kira's, they're nearly identical, save for color, and Barbie's are a bit bigger. And neither of them have eye shadow or jewelry either. So, I'm gonna declare this mystery solved - and Kira's home for good !

Dorrie's Desk presents : "Hat Trick" !

 

Current Mood : Content and chocolate-filled

Another nice day - ice on the roads melted, but snow on the ground remained, so when the sun hit it, it was such a bright day, your mood was lifted whether you wanted it raised or not !

 

I was more tired today than I expected, so I more or less took it easy. Piled up the loose props so they're ready for tomorrow's planned dig through and sort-out, and put away doll clothes. I've pulled the ten dolls that will be moving on as soon as I get them redressed, and added the miniature Disney Princesses. I already know they're not something I'll play with anymore. Stored some papers and craft misc.

 

Then I tackled the scrap fabric box. It really irritated me every time I saw it. I sincerely thought I was done with the material part of this week of Lab work, so having to go through more really ticked me off. It just seemed endless. Cleared a small drawer in the pattern cabinet and put only the pieces I really liked in there, then saved some especially stretchy pieces for tube dresses, in case the donated dolls need ‘em, then pitched the rest into a Mal-Wart sack inside the fabric bag. I almost pity the next bit of fabric that floats my way...

 

Watched a movie with Beloved Hubby - One Hot Summer - and almost absent-mindedly cleaned off my desk. Fashionista Ken's hat had fallen off and was lying a few inches away, beside Claire. Thirty-two photos and three sets of dialog later, I had today's photo. The flash looked terrible, so I had to keep a steady hand to get the shot without it. I'm getting better ! I also learned that his name is - don't laugh ! - Kendall.

 

Poked around a bit until the phone rang. Dearest Son's grandparents asked if they could have him over tonight and tomorrow, and if we could drop him off. No problem. He merrily packed up nearly all his Christmas gifts, to show them off, and was eager to unwrap one or two more from them ! Beloved reminded me to get the Wii game rental (a day overdue !) and print out my Ship-to-Store order, so we could pick up my SuperStar repro on the way home.

 

And, oh, she's wonderful. I can't believe I got her so inexpensively ! It's taking darn near everything I got to not debox her. It's a mild irony, because of the ten dolls I decided not to keep, two use the SuperStar head mold. No, this one, like the Malibu, I'm ‘keeping nice' - sort of a set of doll bookends from my childhood. A version of the Barbie who started it all, and one of the Barbie I wanted but never got...until I was old enough to buy her myself !

 

I also snagged a half-off box of holiday-themed chocolates, Beloved got a snack he wanted, and we were home in time for half of Blues Brothers and all of the new 3:10 to Yuma. Tomorrow, I got a ton of work - dishes, prop sorting, moving the cabinet into Dearest's room while he's gone. So tonight, I'm gonna eat chocolates and savor a cup of Ramen.

 

Hope your day was restful, too !

"More Floor ! " - the latest Lab clean-out campaign name !

 

Current Mood : Self Indulgent

Current Image Notes : I just felt like DPrincesses, since half of today's culls were DP-related

 

Today started off with a roar - namely Beloved Hubby's. We had no water ! After a flurry of checking fuses and the well pump, still nothin'. So we had to call our absentee landlord who really tried to pin whatever blame there could be on us somehow, but still called a well service company. Hal the well guy was here two hours later, and ten minutes after he arrived, I heard an odd noise in Beloved's Studio. Water ! We hardly ever use that sink, but had left it dripping since we heard about the snow forecast.

 

Turned out the well roof bent in from the weight of the snow, which pressed down on the already damaged switch that we knew nothing about. Hal replaced the switch and reinforced it. We'll make a new well roof soon. I tell ya, running water is magical when you lose it and get it back !

 

We also found out that Hal dug that well, forty years ago. And it's 400 feet deep ! Beloved enjoyed talking to him - my lazy butt was inside flipping breakers and faucets, and reclaiming the living room from Christmas. Called the landlord, so she'd know we were good to go now - and now she wanted to blame the issue on the horses. (sigh)

 

In the lull after the storm, I actually got a bit bored. So I opened up the ‘Generations of Dreams' Barbie, and found several surprises. First off, she was double-boxed. In order to include the necklace, the doll's original box was placed inside a second larger box that included the necklace display, and a second Certificate of Authenticity. Seriously, the doll's original box had its own UPC and item code, both different from the new box information. I also noticed that the printing on the second box wasn't as sharp. 

 

The necklace's chain is actually long enough to fit my thick neck, and I'm wearing it now. The front image is enameled over what feels like tin - or whatever they make fashion dog tags from - and the back is flat silver, with the Barbie signature in pink, and Mattel © 2009 under it in black. I love it.

 

The doll has the ModelMuse body, and includes a plain white platform stand that probably won't work with any other doll body. It's at an odd angle. The dress is actually two pieces, and both snaps on and is sewn on - removable, but you have to cut a couple threads. The skirt has built-in panties, and a full crinoline. The ‘Red Flare' patch on the skirt's front is actually sewn to the package platform, and a lock of hair is sewn to the bodice. Keep good scissors handy if you decide to debox one of these !

 

Her left thumb, on her bent arm, was pinched a bit from her packaging, and for some reason, her hands look rather large. Maybe it's the dusky pink nail polish. Let's see...Nope, I just compared hers to Claire's, and Generations has much larger hands. The bodice was taped to her with double-sided sticky. On both sides and both...well, her bust. It came off the doll much easier than it came off the bodice lining. Light pink strappy sandals completed her outfit. And her silver dot earrings are held in with those safety barbs, so I left them in. Once the ice and snow melts enough for me to get out of the driveway - right now, Molly has snow up to her axles - I'll probably give her away on ITP.

 

The second box also repeats some of the ‘50^th Anniversary' fabric design on the cardboard, so you know I'll be salvaging that ! Possibly also the black with pink pinstripe platform the doll stood on, but I don't see me saving an illustration of the doll I don't want to keep.

 

Plus, in my current clean-out mode, it's far easier to not cling on to everything. Went through the Elphie-and-larger sized doll furniture, and got rid of four benches and a chair. Since I still have three benches and six chairs, I think I can let those go. Eliminating all the furniture cleared off a whole bookcase shelf, so I moved the standing Little Disney Princess dolls there, and... more floor !

 

It also left me with a bit of a problem. The Barbie vehicle fleet used to sort of hide the large doll furniture storage, but I didn't want to hide the LDPs. Relocating the cars in front of the fabric towers didn't look good either. And they stuck out too far. So, I slid the slab closer to the door, moved a box of fabric scraps I forgot about, made sure the door could still swing freely, and moved the cars to the newly opened space. They look a lot more natural next to the castle - it's like a little parking lot over there. Only problem now is, there's another blasted box of fabric to deal with. (sigh)

 

I also started to cull through the dolls and separated out eight that need ‘to go' clothes.

So far, the goal is ten, and from now on, one comes in, two go out - and I have to have an idea of which two before buying the newest one. I finally ran a quick census. 115 Barbie-scale dolls remain, and there's 32 other dolls, from Elphie to the MSBs and Baby Crissy. Much as I'd love to get the count down to under a hundred total, I just don't see it happening right now. I like having several versions of Midge - vintage, Happy Family, Florida, Bedtime, California Dream...I love seeing them all together. Sure, I have three Malibu Barbies, but one's going brunette, and the other two have different bodies. I can rationalize keeping every one of them, so letting ten go is OK for now.

 

I'm considering dumping the six-inch Musical Disney Princess dolls, too. It's another scale I don't need, and while it's been fun to play with them, I doubt I will much longer. So I may put them aside, and when it's time to talk trade with Brenda at the Flea Market, give it one last think-over. But I pretty much already know.

 

That leaves Props, and another look at Barbies, for tomorrow or Monday. I finally figured out what the holdup was on furnishing the Dollhouse. Y'see, I've been hoarding doll props since...well, let's just say much of the collection survived The Big Move of ‘02, and they've been joined by a metric ton more over the years. While I've done occasional thin-outs, the herd has only grown. Once I drag everything out and down, and when the Dollhouse is fully furnished, I have little reason to keep what wasn't used. I didn't want to know how much I've hung on to for so long - or give it away. And I wasn't ready in November. I think I'm ready now.

 

That, and I still don't know how I wanna do the floors and walls, but heck, once there's furniture, what's there is fine. I'll get to play, and that's the point. Right now, I have too much to play with, odd as that sounds.

 

Plenty to write about, though...

Yaaay ! We survived another Christmas !

 

Current Mood : Lazy and indulged

Current Image Notes : Here's my 'Generations of Dreams' Christmas present ! Don't want the doll - but can't wait to tear into the dress and necklace ! 

 

I hope ya'll didn't mind that I just went with a single, lovely image and wish yesterday. I really felt at peace yesterday, and I couldn't put it in words. So the angel Barbie I bought for her dress from the local thrift a few weeks ago said it for me. Ironically, I got her backdrop from the same thrift a few weeks before Halloween !

 

We got about six inches of snow yesterday, and it's absolutely beautiful out there. Since Aunt lives a bit in the boonies, Christmas dinner was cancelled, and we had all day to loaf, relax, and enjoy. Dearest Son had a very nice haul of gifts - I gave him the remote control Barbie car from my dolls' garage that he's always liked, but he's still campaigning for my garish but wonderful ‘ Jem Rockin' Roadster'. Good luck with getting that one away from me, kid. I've wanted it longer than you've been alive ! (grin)

 

He also got another toy I wanted back in the day, got second-hand as an adult, enjoyed, but knew it was time to pass it along - a standing Garfield. I was a HUGE Garfield fan in the 80s, and while I amassed a large collection, I had very few of the thousands of stuffed animals. Just the one $10. sitting Garfield, a small Pookie, a discount Odie, a gift Arlene, and a splurge Nermal, that was all. The one that stood up was about $35., too pricey for my after-school-job budget. But I always wanted it, so when I found one for a quarter a couple years ago, I snapped him up.

 

And, aside from a few weeks of play and restoration, he's stood around ever since. About two weeks ago, I noticed that Dearest had programmed the DVR to record the French CGI Garfield Show, and really enjoyed it. So it was natural to pass the grinning kitty along. He's been tucked under Dearest's arm all day. When he's not running Battle Force Five cars from the TRU-exclusive set along the also TRU-only Hot Wheels Track Pack, loading the Nerf Vulcan, fixing the ‘U-Repair' Wall-e action figure, or ignoring a couple other toys. The Clone Wars pajamas were a big hit, too. But he knew that his Garfield used to be mine, and I think he might actually love it a bit more for that.

 

Well, I can wish for peace on earth, but the battle between DC and the dogs continues. When Brisco sees DC, he gives chase, and we pretty much start from ground zero again. Right now, the hall door remains closed, but DC comes out more often...just never far from an escape route.

 

My Lab's not yet safe from ongoing sort-and-toss either. Today I went through ‘backdrops'. Year or two ago, I went through this insane ‘collect anything useful for doll photos' binge, and I haunted Dollar Tree and the Home Décor Frame-Ready Art section of Mal-Wart for any posters that might somehow work with Barbie scale. And I bought quite a few, all a buck or three at a time. And I used about a can and a half of Krylon matte finish spray (also available at Mal-Wart), so camera flash wouldn't bounce. Any poster, any doll box, any scrapbook paper, any paper doll playset, any calendar image that could work, I wanted.

 

I used maybe ten pieces of my ‘collection', over and over, because those did work. The rest sat, often still in the plastic they sold in, until they got jostled or squeezed by the next find. I'm not sure why or even when that obsession stopped - probably this year, because I wasn't sewing much that needed them. I'm just glad it ended before it got worse. Today, the favorites got pulled aside, the images I know won't work got added to the Donations pile, and it all fit in a much smaller space. Freed up so much space, I could fit the Gene doll case between the bookcases, instead of in front of one,  and move the Little Disney Princesses back a bit - more floor !

 

And with that done, there's only two major categories of clean-out left - dolls and doll props. The biggies. I'm planning on furnishing the Dollhouse while I have the prop tote down, and knowing what I can and can't use for it - instead of keeping everything just in case - will help a lot. I'll probably run through props tomorrow, and dolls Sunday or Monday.

 

Otherwise, I goofed off all day. Napped, played a bit in the snow with everyone but DC, watched movies and the Dragon episode of Clean House - wow, what a witch ! - and just enjoyed the day. I hope your Christmas was just what you needed !

 

Merry Christmas, Ya'll.

 

 

 

I did it ! Well... sorta almost...

 

Current Mood : Very, very tired - but again, excited about tomorrow ! Plus, we're supposed to get snow ! 

 

I gotta start off with a 'thanks' - I really appreciate all the encouragement and praise ! I'm not sure who's more pleased with my 'new' Lab, ya'll or me. It's like we're discovering it together ! And also, here's a confession - my asthma's been really bad since yesterday. I mean, wake up every half-hour gasping bad. If I don't move around a lot, I can breathe, but even carrying one of the crates five feet has me gasping. So I've been taking it easy, and taking my time with lots of breaks.

 

But I can't stay out of the Lab for long ! I want sooo much to have it all done. So today, I started with the fabric. And folding it didn't take a lot of energy. Just a long time. And a couple hours later, with a few last-minute donations, it was done. The eight overflowing crates became four...and a half. (sigh) I just couldn't get it down any further, and I was tired of scrapping so much. Seriously, the recycled contractor's-grade lawn and leaf bag I used to hold the fabric-only donations is not only huge, it's stuffed full, and I can't lift it. So I stored the last ‘keeper' bits in an emptied shoe box on top of the crates. I'll just have to use it first ! Oh, and the white plastic basket on the other crate tower is all UltraSuede. Not getting rid of that, no way ! I'd always intended to just replace the basket when I got it all folded and assembled from the get-go.

 

Still, I can't help but be a bit proud of m'self. Two months ago, the very idea of scrapping half (maybe a bit more) of my fabric hoard was ludicrous. I bought and paid good money for every stray strand of all that, and I wanted every bit ! Two weeks ago, I was starting to see how having less fabric would be better than having too much. Yeah, I spent good money on pretty much all of it - but letting it continue to control me would be a greater misuse of a far more limited resource, time. And it's not like I had to ditch everything - just all that came between me and the pieces I really fell in love with.

 

And, as with most clean-outs, I was inspired all over again, just seeing all I had to use. I'm still not sure how I let it get so ridiculous, but I did, one dollar and one yard at a time. Hopefully I'll have learned my lesson this time. It says something that I haven't been to Hancock Fabrics in months, and they've had holiday sale e-mails every day this month. But after two days of sort and store and toss, I still don't find any sense of loss in missing those sales in me. And this weekend, I didn't have time to notice until Monday that I'd totally skipped the Flea Market !

 

Once the fabric was finally dispersed, and after a movie break with Beloved Hubby, Dearest Son, and the brownies my guys made while I toiled away in my Lab, I attacked the cluttery spots. Turns out there's plenty of room under the desk for stabilizers, the craft tote of sewing tools, and a few other storage boxes. Yaaay !

 

Once the Lab clutter was stored, I got the last box of misc. I moved to our bedroom while furniture was swapped around. Most of it's now placed, but there's a clutter-jam of dolls by the Castle and I still have to go through the larger doll furniture storage and the carpet / backdrop storage areas, but for the most part, the Lab is darn near close to finished. I may move the windowsill dress form / sewing machine collection to orbit the crescent moon lamp. The area under holds the Madeira thread Treasure Chest, but I can still use it to stage doll photos, which would be so cool. I even sat at the new desk and mimed sewing ! Oh, it was so nice...

 

I'm hoping to actually sew tomorrow. Since we're having Christmas dinner at Aunt's house - her first holiday without Uncle - I'm hoping to embroider some fleece scarves for everyone. It's a good way to test out my new setup !

 

It's cluttered as anything can be short of a tornado, but the Lab's getting there !

 

Current Mood : Exhausted and tight-chested, but happy !

 

As you can expect, today was a busy day ! I moved both sewing machines onto the new desk, and moved most of the old desk stuff over, too. Since we decided to use the wood-grain side parts as night-stands in our bedroom, that freed up the two plastic cabinets we were using. One went to Dearest Son, the other went into the Lab to hold lace and ribbon and trim. The drawer the lace was in now holds Dearest's old school papers, and my ‘Fashion Plates' collection filled up the new nightstand. So that worked out.

 

Gave up about half of what was in the single-shelf cabinet, and almost all of what was on top of the bookcase. But now the Barbie Friend Ship and the Country Living Home fit up there, side by side, and they blend right in with the doll case display. The next thrift shop I visit will get a bagload of zippers, fun foam, craft supplies, and a metric ton of fabric I haven't used in years.

 

That's taking forever. I'm in the process of condensing eight milk crates of fabric into four, and boosting them up on two empty crates. The empty ones will store jewelry findings, the mini iron, and other craft stuff - yup, I went through it all and dumped some of that, too. Found a few traces of mouse, typical for our area, but I don't want ‘em in what fabric I'm trying to keep, so maybe all the plastic boxes will keep them out of my material. About all I got done on that today was a quick blitz of ‘keep or donate', so there's now five and a half crates instead of eight. I'm going to re-fold the keeper material, so I can fit more in the space I have, and keep as much as possible !

 

Also went through that huge, overflowing bin of small fabric bundles while I was at it, since I emptied a tote that takes up far less space, and fits where I want it to. It held ribbon this morning (grin). That's already done, so I now have an empty 106 quart bin and a 32 quart one filled with fabric that I can even put the lid on. A lot of today's ‘ditching power' it is simply being honest with m'self about small things. Like, I'm not that fond of snowmen. They're cute, but not my favorite. That makes it easier to dump any and all snow-character fabric, and keep the pretty, the glittery, the kitty, the vintage-y pieces instead.

 

The cabinet and my old desk are in the hallway. The cabinet's going to replace Dearest's dresser - one of the drawers fell apart again - but we still don't know where the desk is headed. While I was moving the fabric crates back to the Lab, I discovered that the cabinet can hold two crates on the bottom shelf. Free toy storage ! Dearest can't wait to get it.

 

From the residual clutter in one Lab corner, I've got about a day's worth of work still to go - stuff to place, things to dig through - and another day of folding and storing fabric so it all fits in just four milk crates. Wish me luck !

 

The most wonderful Christmas gift ever...

 

Current Mood : Beyond thrilled ! 

Current Image Notes : Guess what's new in the Lab ? 

 

So, today I was thinking (and the very Earth trembled). When do I have the most fun in the Lab ? When I'm tearing it up to do something new in there ! And with my new ‘use it or lose it' goals, I can have it torn up for weeks ! I also realized that I haven't sewn all year because Brody is on the sole surface set up for sewing. The cutting/pattern table is all wrong to sew on - wrong height, wrong depth, no leg space - and all other flat surfaces are in use for other things and aren't good for sewing either. Technically, I can sew on a TV-tray table, but those wobble around a lot. What're we gonna do about that ?

 

Seriously. I don't want ‘KJ', my regular sewing machine, set up on the dining room table. It's not permanent, too far away from most of my supplies, and not where I want to sew. We're not gonna mention how it'd be covered over with mail, clothes, and misc. in less than a week. What I need is another desk or table in the Lab. Nothing major, just something stable - doesn't need drawers or anything. So I proposed a deal to Beloved Hubby. If I could find one cheap second-hand or he could make one, I'd donate and ditch the two milk crate ‘towers' of fabric in order to create space for it. He agreed, and quickly sketched out a simple desk-like table with two open cubbyholes for thread and often-used notions, much like my current school-surplus table. Just with the spaces on the opposite side. Awesome. I want to sew again, not just embroider, and this would be great !

 

A small confession. Brody is a combination sewing-embroidery machine. But I hate changing tension, feet, and supplies on him when they're just right for one function, but not quite right for the other. I have two machines I'm comfortable with, and greedy me wants to use them both.

 

I began brainstorming of ways to redo my sewing spaces. I breathed a sigh of relief. With a second table, I could move the often-annoying small plastic cabinet on my sole sewing desk over to the new one, I thought. It only holds iron-on patches and sew-on appliqués, and often gets in the way, so having it somewhere else...then I smacked m'self on the forehead. Um, if the cabinet's in the way, nobody says I have to keep it, and keep it right in that spot forever ! I can transfer all the patches to a bag or box, and move it to the notions cabinet ! Duh ! Why did I not realize this years ago ?! Aarrgh !

 

Also in that vein of thought, I decided to ditch the plastic ‘rug saver' circle-thing under my sewing chair. We bought one, intending to buy another later, so both our computer chairs would be able to move easily on our carpeted floors, years (possibly approaching a decade) ago. Shortly after, we moved to a place with tile floors and then down to one computer, so it ended up in the garage. When we settled in here, I put it under my chair at the sewing desk - where it's been a PITA ever since. The casters keep getting caught in the edges, I can't move very much, there's a crack in it that endangers toes and chair at random moments... time to dump what doesn't work. If it didn't have that crack, I'd try to donate it, but I know it's trash. I'm only holding on to it because seven or eight years ago - possibly more - it was sorta expensive. Feh.

 

I was mentally reorganizing things when I took a peek on Craigslist.org, just to see what cheep desks and tables were out there. Well, you know what happened next. I found the desk of my dreams for $50. It wasn't far away, and was absolutely HUGE - I could get both machines on it with room to spare, and it had a cubby-filled hutch !

 

If I got this monster, the Lab would darn near be a complete do-over. The two-shelf cabinet would have to go, as would my old desk. I found that I wasn't quite so attached to them as I thought I was. And it was doubtful that this corner-oriented beastie would go under the window, something I always insisted on before. Wanted the view while I sewed. But that wasn't as important as it used to be either.

 

Three hours later, we were on our way home, desk in the truck. It had suffered from a bad paint job, but by the time we get all my stuff on it, you won't be able to see the bad spots. The white center section is in my Lab, and the faux-woodgrain tables are now in our bedroom. The Lab is torn up ! I got milk crates of fabric stacked up high in our bedroom, the cutting table's in the middle of the floor, and my old desk is right where it's been for the last few years, but it'll be out tomorrow. To where, I have no idea.

 

It's really late, and I got a fabric-filled dollhouse to move off our bed... but I can't wait for tomorrow ! This is gonna be so much fun !

Meet my new Hottie !

 

Current Mood : Happy and a bit silly

Spent on a new doll today :  $12.35

 

Today went much better amongst the animals of Chez Insanity. There's a small pass-through ‘window' in the hallway that leads to the kitchen, and a door at the end of the hall that separates living room from bedrooms and my Lab. DC can easily jump through the pass-through and be in the kitchen without either dog knowing it. That's what he did today, he jumped through and got within four feet of Brisco and Friday before streaking off again. Later today, he zipped through the kitchen, across Beloved Hubby's Studio and to the back door, wanting out, before the dogs noticed. So he's slowly getting used to the dogs, and the dogs aren't chasing or worrying him, either. They're also becoming house-trained, and both are doing pretty well at that. Hope is flowering.

 

And, since Dearest Son is still with his grandparents -he'll be home Monday morning - we took advantage of it and did some holiday shopping. Even early on Sunday, TRU was packed. It didn't help that they had big toys stacked in the ‘racetrack', and carts routinely bumped them into pedestrians' shins. In retail, the ‘racetrack' is the main circle through the store that hits as many departments as possible, and is usually the widest walkway. We lucked out and found most of what we meant to get with minimal fuss, and decided on what to advise his grandparents' to snag. We like to leave them a few ‘oh, wow, I got it !' goodies to give when we can.

 

It's not as easy as it sounds. When Dearest was into Thomas the Tank Engine, I sent them a list of all the trains we'd bought for Christmas and during the year. He opened our gifts first that morning. Later, when he opened theirs, she got most of the same trains. No problem, we could just exchange them, right ? Nope. She'd torn them all out of their packages and thrown the boxes out  - something Dearest had done at home, too. Year before last, I told them we'd bought the big toy he wanted, the one he was so excited about, and even showed it to DFIL. They came over Christmas Eve with....yup, the exact same toy. Oh, was I fried.

 

Last year, I went shopping with DFIL, so I knew exactly what they got, and everything was fine. Hmm. I may offer to do that this week, too...

 

And heck, I was at TRU. You know I looked at dolls. It was almost heartening to see how empty the Barbie shelves were. Showed Beloved that the doll he got for me at $25. was $60. on their shelves, and she didn't even have the necklace. Our TRU really didn't have much, but they had plenty of the new improved Dream Townhouse and the Pink Glamour Camper. Got a good look at the Barbie Basics, and they're nice, but to me, not worth the hype. I actually prefer Claire to the Teresa-faced BB. Although that Steffie-faced one had my eye... maybe later.

 

The doll who really captured me was a Fashionista. Yup, there's my Hottie - Fashionista Ken ! I'd only seen him on In The Pink and in promo photos on eBay, so I was really happy to see him for just $11.44 on the shelves. He's now fully deboxed and relaxing on my desk, with his hat on straight and his eyes riveted to Beloved's episode of Law & Order. The hat, by the way, is soft vinyl, but it really does have a straw-hat sheen. He has a bit of a baby face that's quite endearing, but his well-sculpted arms and chest are all man ! He also has a ‘shifting torso' body, so he can lean and even pivot. While I'd have loved bending wrists, I'm pretty happy with him as-is. And I love his shirt design ! I'm seeing those same curves and trailing lines in a lot of embroidery designs lately, too.

 

Speaking of designs, you've got to see this - new for 2010 ->

http://www.sneakerfreaker.com/feature/adidas-starwars-lookbook/15/

 

Crates and hopes...

 

Current Mood : Much better -thanks, ya'll !

 

Well, nearly anything looks better after a good night's sleep, and since we were up late on our ‘puppy run', I needed the rest. DC-kitty spent all night under our bed, but came out this morning, still upset and scared of what was in the living room. After his breakfast, we tucked the dogs into another room, and he made a run for the front door and outside.

 

Few hours later, he wanted back in, so again, ‘Brisco' (Beloved Hubby's border collie mix) and ‘Friday' (Dearest Son's Australian Cattle Dog mix puppy) were led to his Studio, and DC ran off.  I found him and carried him inside, earning a clawed up arm in the process. He stayed in all day, but at least was on top of the bed, instead of under it.

 

So this afternoon, we leashed up Brisco and took him to PetCo. Friday stayed home and slept - he's painfully thin, and is sleeping a lot. Selected appropriate sized crates and a few other necessities we didn't pick up last night. Brisco did very well on the leash, and behaved when addressed. I actually enjoyed walking him, and he's very affectionate.

 

Gave both dogs baths with flea and tick shampoo, and found that they both love the ‘chocolate chip cookie' treats we brought home. It was so cute, the cookies were in a holiday-themed bag, and they smell just like regular people-food cookies. Friday loves his crate, it's a special hidey-hole for him. Brisco is less enthused, but will walk in when told to do so.

 

They both love wandering the yard, but even with the fence all around, they won't stray far from us. Dear FIL picked up Dearest Son today, and loved meeting both the new additions to the family. DC will come around, I believe. It'll just have to be at his pace.

 

Thanks for the encouragement, ya'll. I was pretty upset last night, but now I believe it'll work out.

 

In other news, everyone's going to Aunt's house for Christmas dinner. She's been very lonely since Uncle passed last month, so I'm gonna make a side dish and sew up some matching fleece hat and embroidered scarf sets for everyone. A rose design for Aunt, kitty for DMIL, Betty Boop for DFIL, and appliqué initials for Uncle and DBIL. I should have enough fleece already, and if I make a set every day, I'll be done in time. No-cost small gifts - you know I love ‘em !

 

During the height of my Clean House obsession, I read the mystyle.com discussion boards for the show. One homeowner was really the fan anti-favorite, mostly because she didn't seem to appreciate what the cast did, even shouting on-camera she regretted giving up her stuff for their design work. Veterans of the show may already know, I'm talking about Tony Dragon, and her episode repeats Christmas Day, late afternoon. I've seen some clips, so I'm really looking forward to seeing the whole thing.

 

Well, Beloved Hubby's let me choose dinner, so Chinese should be here soon. Hope your Saturday was great ! I didn't go near the flea market - too busy with other stuff !