Well, it's pretty...I think.

 

Current Mood : Oddly tired

Current Image Notes : Hope ya'll don't mind some 'just pretty' images off the old hard drive. As I post these, I just don't have the energy or even interest to take enough photos to catch up all the back entries !

 

Another mostly-boring day - my Lab is still wrecked, mostly because all the new purchases are finally in there, and I still have a mess from the Fashion Plaza set up scattered around. It makes me not wanna go in there, ‘cause I'll have to clean up before I can do anything, but I seriously didn't have time today in any case.

 

I'm trying to not be gross or disgusting, but skip this paragraph if you're squeamish. We had to boot it to get groceries today, because Friday needed medicine. I discovered to my disgust and horror (in a disgusting and horrible way) that he has worms. I thought he'd chewed one of his toys apart and possibly ingested part of it - nope. Ick. Did the necessary research and knew what we needed so that hopefully our puppy'd feel better soon.

 

OK. I'm not gonna be icky anymore. We also got him a new collar - he'd outgrown the one we bought him when we got him - and a very realistic looking steak chew-toy. He loved it, and the new collar that Dearest Son picked out looks great. He's all treated, and I could swear he's already feeling better.

 

Dearest was so funny today. He's saving more Deloreans for various wants, and enjoyed showing me all the things he's saving for. I offered to get him another set of action figures, but he declined, showing me two or three more choice $15. - $25. toys. I admired each in turn, saying he could easily save up for these in no time. I turned for the Barbie section... when he suddenly decided that he'd like to look at those $3. action figure sets after all. (giggle) Ordinarily, I'd have been a much easier sell on the more expensive choices, but we just got him new stuff at the Fashion Plaza yard sale. He selected a set, and we continued to the dolls. Nothin'. Which was fine, I have plenty of stuff I haven't even had time to touch yet. I just like to look anyway.

 

I confess, though, that I was looking for that SuperStar-tribute Barbie, but mostly because I'd heard it was only $3., and I wanted to see if I liked her pink gown - hemmed to a mini-dress - enough to snag the doll. According to TRU reviews, her legs don't bend, so if I was gonna buy one, it'd be only for her clothes. I'd have been seriously looking for her if they'd have used the original SuperStar head mold. As it is, it'll probably be like last year's Then and Now doll - I saw plenty of ‘em before and  after the sale price, but never during. No big loss.

 

Got more dishes done, but I didn't have a lot of energy after groceries. After shepherding Dearest around an entire Super Mal-Wart, I'm pretty wiped out ! At least he's helping bring in groceries now. Two weeks ago, he brought in his Lunchable and his Capri-Sun box, and sat down, leaving me to get the rest. I don't think he's forgotten the lecture he got from that little escapade !

 

What a skitty day...

 

Current Mood : Not good either.

 

Today was not a good one. It was rainy and cloudy and crappy outside, and it evidently preyed on psyches state-wide. No drama like family drama, but I swear, I will not engage the crazy ever again. It's sad to learn you can't trust family members, but I learned a valuable lesson. If you have to explain yourself or your actions more than once, stop. The other party will either use it as ammunition against you, or just doesn't want to understand. It's far better to disengage and let it go. You can never make anyone understand. Lay out the facts truthfully and step back. What happens after that is pretty much out of your hands.

 

On the plus side, the drama-llama feeding hour hit late in the day, so it wasn't completely a waste. I got dishes done, and I'm contemplating having ‘Don't Engage The Crazy' tattooed on my left inner arm. Right now, the idea amuses me. Next week, it probably won't, so I'm entertaining the notion with an ink pen, nothing permanent.

 

I need to get a photo of Kenny, my ‘newest' vintage Kenmore sewing machine, for ya. Haven't had time to use any of ‘em in a while, but I did find an image of Kenny's manual cover. Gotta love that 70s style !

I guess everyone went to the Mall today !

 

Current Mood : Playful !

 

Since confession's good for the soul - and it is Sunday - I may as well confess. I kinda saved putting the Barbie Fashion Plaza for today. Beloved and I were up rather late last night, and I really did have time to assemble it then, but... I wanted to reserve a whole day, if necessary, for it. Beloved Hubby had morning AirSoft fun, Dearest Son slept in. Also, I knew I'd wreck the Lab doing it. The only place it could go was The Slab, where the Castle has rested since last year. (sigh)

 

Might as well confess that, too. Last year, I fully intended to move playsets around monthly, so there was always something new on The Slab. Since the old playset would get stored where the new one was, it'd keep things fresh, and keep me from wanting more. Also, knowing how limited space was, it'd keep me from buying more.

 

But, as it turned out, time is even rarer than space, and it was easier to play with the Castle, and it camouflaged all the new dolls I kept adding to Chez Insanity. There was always a bit more space in the Castle ! It was holding (hiding) 33 dolls total !

 

The Plaza can hold quite a few shoppers, too ! But I hated taking the Castle down. Although it didn't mess up the Lab near as much as all these boxes of new possessions has. I have one whopper of a cleanup due ! Boxes, dolls, and fabric everywhere !

 

I'm glad I took a day, though, and made it special. I really, really love the Plaza. I love the awesome mid-70s graphics, the amazing engineering, the ease of assembly, and the space it affords. I have a renewed sense of why doll hobbyists love vintage, and I doubt I'll ever pine faintly for the Barbie Fashion Shop ever again. This set suits me sooo much better !

 

I probably could have figured the assembly out without the directions sheet, but I'd have been lost wondering what the numerous pink wedges were for, and where they went, since they don't show on the box photo. I admit, I was really concerned about getting that escalator right, but it was engineered so it'd only snap together one way. It has an ankle-grab stand that slides up a track, propelled by a pull-string. Awesome. The railings are just the right height for a Barbie's hands. Then and Now Barbie was the first to ride today, and it was so cute !

 

All the little yellow hibiscus and curl railing pieces snap into holes in the particle boards, and they even have arrows on the top, so lining up holes and pegs was easy. It's little details like that I find very impressive.

 

I'm all done setting it up, but my Lab is still too much of a disaster to take photos in. So I went through dolls, since my ‘one new in, one or two out' idea hasn't held water either lately. Let's see - I've added two Becky dolls, Kira, Triana, Grandma Heart, American Idol Tori, Charlotte, Scully, Mulder, and Prince Ken, all in the last couple of weeks. Not to mention a couple of princesses I knew I wasn't keeping. Once I got all the Castle denizens and the new arrivals together, I eliminated a round dozen... but there's still 30 mall rats, waiting for opening day ! Well, at least the numbers went down a little.

 

Beloved is still out on AirSoft with DFIL, and Dearest is fast asleep after several hours romping around outside. I'm gonna go back and play - and save the cleaning for tomorrow. Well, I'll clean enough for a photo. Hope your weekend was fun, too !

 

Wow - I've never owned a mall before !

 

Current Mood : Elated !

Spent on doll stuff : $25.

Current Image Notes : Here it is, from a 1975 Sears Christmas Wishbook. I can't wait to put it together tomorrow - you know you'll get photos !

 

Today started off early for a Saturday. DFIL dropped by for a few minutes last night - he loves his latest Betty Boop doll ! - and said he'd be here around 7 -8 am to drop off Dearest Son. So I set an alarm and hopped up at 7, got dressed, fed DC and Friday, etc. Let Beloved Hubby sleep in, he was resting so comfortably, and there was no reason for both of us to be up. Dearest got home about 9:30. (sigh) Oh, well. I had some quiet ‘me' time with the dawn, so it's all still good !

 

Realized that, even as early as 8am, I was watching the clock, checking how far away noon was. OK, that pretty much told me I wanted the Barbie Fashion Plaza, and I had the funds already, and Molly was in fine shape ... should I get it, if it's still available ? That was really the big question, and I examined it from all angles. As well as the Christmas catalog photos of it I found on a couple of websites. It was funny that it was only available for a couple of years, and the price ranged from $15. to $20. And here I am, thirty-five years later, hoping I wouldn't pay not much more for it.

 

I was getting jittery with excitement as the clock hands spun past 10am, then 11. I had my shoes on at 11:30, even though it was a ten-minute drive, max. While I would have considered arriving a few minutes early and camping out in Molly for a bit, Beloved Hubby had to do some touch-up for Aunt S., and I didn't want to have Dearest stuck in the car for ten minutes on my account. So we left at ten ‘til... and drove into a serious parking mess.

 

Evidently, half the town did precisely what we were doing  -  noted a few interesting items yesterday, then came back at noon or a bit earlier today in hopes of snagging a better deal. We parked about eight houses down, it was the closest we could get without being caught in the snarl further down. Ya'll know me, I'd rather park with an eye towards leaving than drive around for a better space for ten minutes. We went straight into the room where the Townhouse and Plaza were yesterday...and there was nothing on the table. Well, darn. I sighed and looked over where Dearest had spotted some nice models of vintage cars - there it was ! They'd just rearranged the room when stuff sold. I took a second look at the Townhouse (Beloved had given me enough cash for both) but knew I really didn't want it, even if I did change the ‘folded felt' backdrops. I eagerly reached for the Plaza and giggled a bit before I could stop m'self. At least I made the older gentleman looking at model cars smile.

 

Dearest selected a classic convertible - red, of course, with fins and steering that moved the front wheels, for about half the original price, and we'd be paying half of that ! - and we squeezed and ducked around other shoppers to rest in the very long line to cash out. I'm wondering as we wait if they sold anything at all yesterday, given the large number of folks clutching numerous overflowing boxes in front of us. One of the roving salesfolk asked if anyone had correct change for their goodies, and we did ! So she marked the card on the Plaza ‘Sold', telling me they'd used painter's tape to attach it, so it would pull off without damaging the box. I thanked her for that heartily. It's so awesome to have the box, with it's mid-70s graphics, and it's so thoughtful of them to have a concern about damaging it. So many people, even in the antiques/collectable market, still consider Barbie stuff just a bit better than trash, that it's nice to meet the ones who took the time to catalog and preserve this awesome playset for me. The guy behind me was digging for his wallet next, but we were already out the door. Yaay !

 

One of the sellers I talked with yesterday greeted me, saying he was glad I got what I came for. I thanked him, saying I wish I could have bought more, but I was so glad to get what we got ! He peeked at the box, then snapped his fingers. He'd lost the bet, he said - he though I'd come back for the Townhouse ! I said I had to choose, so I got this one, but if money and space were no object, he'd have been right. By then, a whole new wave of folks had swapped parking spaces with the early birds leaving, so he was soon busy again.

 

On the way home, we kept passing signs for a garage sale at one of the local high schools - the one we'd pass on our path. So we pulled in, following the signs...that stopped right at the entrance. Was it over where the cars were over there ? Nope, baseball game. In front of a Performing Arts center ? Nope. Concert for the disabled. Found the gym parking lot busy, so I decided to stop there... only to find out that the sale had ended at 11am. Note that I didn't even leave the house until nearly noon, and it was after 1pm when I saw the school sale signs. Grrr. I hate it when they don't take their signs down ! So, too, would the people in the gym for a basketball game, since there were several cars arriving as we walked back to Molly, and from their familiar ‘where is it already ?' expressions, I doubt they were there for round-ball.

 

Once home, I went through the Plaza box. It's all there, even the directions ! Well, all but the sign and veil. It's too bad I had stuff to do today, or I'd already have it assembled. Rest assured, I will have it together for tomorrow - I can't wait !

 

She may be Grandma Heart, but she's not dressing like that anymore !

 

Current Mood : Confused

Current Image Notes : Isn't Gramma Heart some hot stuff ! Yes, that's her dress, she wore it when we met !

Spent on dolls and crafts : $6.

 

Well, I have a quandary. At least I'm awake and alert enough for it today !

 

With Dearest Son at his grandparents' already, Beloved Hubby and I had all day to goof off. Yup, he was off, too. So we slept in, had a late breakfast, snacked for lunch, and watched TV. Yesterday, I'd announced my intent to hit the Habitat Re-Store sale again by m'self, and Beloved pretty much shoved me out the door, with some cash clutched in my fingers. He's so sweet !

 

Not that he really had to push hard, once I found a yard sale offering ‘70's Barbie townhouse and Plaza multi-story playsets' on Craigslist. I beelined it, telling m'self that, for sure those items would be long gone. Nope. They were still there, the ‘new improved' 70s Barbie Townhouse (the one with the yellow elevator and plywood printed floors) and the Barbie Fashion Plaza mall playset, both with lists attached to their in-good-shape boxes of what few bits were missing. Too bad the Townhouse had a $75. price tag and the Plaza had a $50. one.

 

Yikes. Yet I still had a dilemma. Tomorrow at noon, whatever didn't sell would go on half-price. Did I really want either ? Sure, there was still a good chance they'd sell long before Saturday dawned, but was I interested in trying just in case ? Hrmf.

 

I was still thinking about it as I hit the thrift - nothing - and the Re-Store sale, where I snagged a boxload of craft supplies, a Grandma Heart doll, a tall stuffed Betty Boop doll (for DFIL), and a bag of Barbie pizzas and props for $6. While I didn't need all the ribbon in there, it's all so beautiful. Pinks and whites and peaches and silvery-greys...I just love to look at it all. There were also kids' stamp pad sets, a Perler Bead set, large teddy bear and Christmas tree hole punchers, several mini cross-stitch kits, a brand-new bottle of Craft Bond glue, a large Create A Basket shrink wrap bag, and a pack of miniature green silk rosebuds. Also a lot of florist supplies - a mid-size foam brick arrangement base, green pipe cleaners, florist wire, and a large bag of some odd things called Florists Pins. Nothing as cool as corsage pins, these are more like a cross between a bobby pin and a staple. A quick bit of research shows that Florist Pins (aka U-Pins, fern pins, or pole pins) are favored for their ease of use in tacking down moss or decorations to foam blocks. Their long ‘legs' anchor the items well, allow for repositioning, aren't permanent like glue, and are easily reused. I have nearly a whole bag that clearly came from Hobby Lobby, with no idea of how I'll use ‘em. I may check with the florist closest to our house, see if they can use ‘em. I can find uses for the foam, the pipe cleaners, and the wire, no problem.

 

Came home and cleaned up the dolls - Betty had a slight water stain, and Gramma Heart had some surface grime, but they're both clean and sweet now ! - and dug through the Crafts box. It wasn't long, though, before I was online looking up both ‘Barbie Townhouse' and ‘Barbie Fashion Plaza' on Google and eBay. I knew, though, that the ‘folded felt' graphics on the Townhouse just didn't ring any bells with me. It's kind of odd, because I have no problem with the quasi-mod décor of the Country Living Home or the Friend Ship, but I knew that, childhood memories or not, I really didn't have much interest in the Townhouse.

 

So it was kind of a pain that there were so few pictures of the Plaza. According to the list, it was only missing a sign and the bridal veil, neither of which bugged me. I could always make a duplicate sign by scanning one of the present ones, and I have enough veils for 30 brides or four Scheherazades. I could have it, if it was still there tomorrow, I had the cash on me. But did I really want it, or did I just want it because I saw it ?

 

Truthfully, I'm still wrestling with it. Beloved wants me to go get whichever I want, or even both, but I still don't know. I don't really have space for it, I have no idea if I can figure out how to assemble it , and I'm sure it's positively huge.

 

But part of me really does want it. Well, I guess we'll see tomorrow !

 

Bedtime Barbie, take me away !

 

Current Mood : Barely conscious.

 

Lotta stuff going on around me, but I was wiped out all day and could barely stay awake. Luckily, all the stuff going on was to other people.

 

Uncle, who'd been taking care of Grandma (Dearest Son's Great-Gramma) until her passing late last year, has decided to pull up stakes and move back to his home state. That means Beloved Hubby's brother has to move, and who knows what'll happen to their house-mate. Since BIL will probably move back with DM&FIL, that necessitates a serious house-shuffle at their place. We thought about offering to have BIL with us, but between BIL's constantly rotating schedule and his bossy cat, and our occasionally howler-monkey-like Dearest and overactive Friday, I don't know if he'd get much rest at our place.

 

DFIL took the opportunity to do a full furniture shuffle, since they inherited stuff from Grandma and BIL comes with his own stuff. He asked if Dearest could come over earlier this week - as in, today - to help paint and move things. We agreed, and sent along a DVD player we don't use for their bedroom. Hope it's working out over there.

 

I've offered to help Uncle with a yard sale, but he wanted to have an estate group come by and give him a bid on various chattel. I don't blame him, it'd be much easier to go  that route. He's pretty much leaving with what fits in his sedan, not much else. While it doesn't matter to me what'll happen to all the pink porcelain poodles, I still wanna help in my small way if the estate bidder doesn't offer much. There's nothing in Grandma's house I want - he's already given me a sewing machine and (sigh) yes, another box of fabric, which is more than generous - but Uncle's always been nice to us, and we all want him to be happy. If a yard sale will net him some traveling cash, I'd love to help.

 

Beloved Hubby was home early and put my wiped-out backside to bed, and after a two hour nap, I felt much better. I have no idea why I'm so exhausted lately- laundry's work, but not overwhelmingly so.

 

Welcome to my Drive-In !

 

Current Mood : Doll Overload !

 

Other than getting big Bedtime Barbie redressed in her velour gown - now stain-free ! - I didn't get any doll time today. Oh, that's right, I forgot. I ordered a couple of dolls from Kelly on In The Pink last week, and they arrived today. Deboxing them was doll time, too, but while Scully arrived perfectly attired and coiffed, right down to her FBI badge and no-nonsense shoes, Mulder is still rollin' around nekkid. His hair is perfect, too, but it's easier for him, since it's sculpted as part of his head. Not being an X-Files fan ( it debuted during one of my ‘working three jobs' phases), I had to look up who was who. I just thought both dolls were attractive, but I'm too cheap to pay the original price for licensing. Although now I can't remember if the set was $60., $40., or what. I just knew I didn't buy it at the junk shop for $15., and Kelly asked even less than that. And now I have them. Yaaay !

 

She also included a cute Barbie Halloween bag, with a matching pencil and vintage-style luggage tag. How sweet ! Next time she's selling stuff, I'm gonna give her a great endorsement. I love it all. Just wish I had more time to play today.

 

I mostly spent the day doin' laundry, which is boring and makes for a boring entry. But it was so gloriously nice outside, I hung the quilt and sheets out on the clothesline. I forgot that Beloved Hubby had shanghaied my clothespins for miniature craft clamps, so I used several of my hair clips to secure the sheets to the lines. Everything dried nice and gently - it helped that we didn't have much wind today - and the sheets smell great. I got everything put away but the mountain of socks, which is a great feeling. There's maybe two loads left, but they can wait ‘til next week. I'm kinda tired of laundry.

 

Re-Store sale lots of re-fun !

 

Current Mood : Eager to read !

Spent at Habitat for Humanity sale : $10.

 

Yup, I had a huge bagload of fun this morning ! The local Habitat for Humanity Re-Store is less than a mile from Chez Insanity, so when I read their Craigslist ad for a yard sale, you know I was going ! Since they don't have to go by the ‘home' yard sale rules - $10. license fee, can only hold the sale for three consecutive days twice a calendar year, no refunds for rain - it began today. Like any volunteer-run organization, there's always delays and glitches, so I waited well past the opening hour.

 

They were still setting up when we left, but I made some great hauls ! Dearest Son found two action figures and a copy of A Dog for Life he liked, but the rest of the paper grocery sack was my stuff. Mostly books. When they're 50c for paperbacks and a buck for hardbacks, it's stock-up time if you find stuff you like ! I got a h-u-g-e Barbie coloring book - that sucker's 20 inches tall - mostly uncolored, and five various paperback Doll ValuesDon't Know Much About History for Beloved Hubby, as a bedside reader. books (they're out of date by the time they see print, but I love to look at the photos), and a paperback

 

As further proof the Universe loves me, I'd just finished A Charming Princess Collection last night - for a paperback Scholastic pre-teen volume, it had a lot of great fairy tales I'd never read before - and was bemoaning my lack of new stories, thinking I'd pick up my read-cover-to-cover copy of Grimm's Fairy Tales that I've had since college. It's a great research volume, heavy with annotations, history, and interpretations, and I'd always meant to go back and get the companion Hans Christian Andersen volume. You know where this is going. I found hardbacks of Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales, The World's Best Fairy Tales, and The Complete Illustrated Stories of Hans Christian Andersen. Not the same as my Grimm near-textbook, but I was thrilled. All the books are in fantastic shape, and I don't see me wanting for bedtime reading in the near future ! Just bookshelf space.

 

But there was yet more in my bag. I found four pretty blue table napkins to embroider, a set of four ‘decorate your own' glass ornaments (yeah, sure, now I find the darn things !), a pair of American Girl-sized doll boots, a Kelly-size dress and shirt, a Barbie dress and two blouses, a Princess Annika (Magic of Pegasus) Barbie still with her crown and two-way gown, and the big 18-inch soft body bedtime Barbie, for her crushed velvet nightgown. It fits Tiffany Taylor, so now I have one that isn't so wrecked.

 

Whew ! There was a lot in that lot ! When I got it to the register, they offered $5. for the whole shebang, but I insisted they take $10. I had nearly that in books alone ! And it's a fundraiser for a group I believe in. I would have felt like we were taking advantage of them (and cheap) for only giving them five bucks for so many wonderful things. And my second-hand mantra is, ‘It's not fun or a great haul if you feel bad about it !'

 

Princess Annika's dress had a couple odd stains and storage box dust on it, so it went through the doll clothes washing machine, conveniently still out from when Friday mouthed a pair of Prince Ken knickers. Not sure what the rusty spots were - food, possibly - but they came right out, and the dress is drying on one of the Castle turrets. Similar stains dotted the back of Bedtime Barbie's nightgown. So I did a doll clothes wash mini-marathon, and everything's drying nicely. Poor Bedtime has to go naked until her velour gown dries. Annika is kicking back in the narrow-box floral dress I also got at the sale, for now.

 

I may go back Saturday - yup, the sale is going on through then - without Dearest Son. He's a great shopping buddy, but he gets restless long before I'm done looking at everything...twice.

Triana's all healed and out of surgery - happy March !

 

Current Mood : Miffed

 

Tried some new experiments today. I have to really be in a mood to try new stuff, I have such a fear of screwing up that it takes a ridiculous amount of effort - or a sudden yen to do it already. When I had so many computer problems as the year first began, we replaced my CD drive. Although it wasn't the issue, it no longer burned CDs, so out it went. Twice before, I'd had the opportunity to get LightScribe devices, but dismissed them as a gimmick. This most recent time, the best component for the cash had LightScribe included, although I was still convinced it was just a near-useless toy. It uses special discs and drives to print designs directly on the discs, no Sharpie required.

 

This weekend, we needed DVDs, and believe this or not, LightScribe ones were our least expensive choice. So we got a pack of them and headed home. I spent a couple hours today, unable to locate either the drivers or the product number to our drive, since I needed it for specific downloads. I researched our purchases via the rewards program, but it didn't match anything on the company's website. (sigh) While I didn't need drivers, I did need a LightScribe program and an LS graphics editor, and those should have come with the drivers package. Since I couldn't locate even which one I had, I downloaded the generics from lightscribe.com. It wasn't until I was midway through burning one that I bonked m'self upside my head. Clicking on Windows' Device Manager would easily have told me the specifics on my CD drive. D'oh !

 

I'm always nervous about installing new software on my system - back in the Win95 day, a Star Wars screensaver package somehow ate half my hard drive, and it was legally purchased and licensed. I've been timid ever since. But I did it anyway...and it worked ! The editor includes customizable templates and access to dozens more online, and it was fun to use. Burned my first one in a ‘normal' setting, but it's kind of faint. Next time, I go to high resolution, baby ! It was fun, and I love having the new ‘canvas' to play with.

 

Speaking of playing, having LDP Tinkerbell on my desk, for comparison/ contrast to Rainbow Brite, encouraged me to play with her a little. I never really did before. She was the last of the ‘classic' collection that I needed for the whole set, and I had to go eBay to find her. I knew that I could have waited about a month for the new ‘Pixie Hollow' ones to reach Mal-Wart, but I'd seen Toy Fair photos, and knew the newer ones had an eye design that looked out of place with the other LDPs. As it was, the one I wanted was only about $5. more, and to me, she was worth it.

 

Anyway. Since she was played with, her hair was OK, but not in the best of shape. Oh, it'd never been cut, but it still had frizzy ends and wasn't styled well. Today, it is. I took it down from the odd garter thing it was wrapped in, and gave it a good, all-around nice brushing. A bit more research showed how her hair was from the factory, so I curled the little bun around my fingers, pulled the shimmery pink flower off the headband-garter-thing, and reattached it to her hair. Much better. I still want to find her a nice green ribbon for accuracy, though.

 

In other doll news, this morning I actually saw Friday knock a doll down - from our bedroom window ledge - and start mouthing it. Luckily, I got to the Tyco Ariel in time, but I was pretty ticked. Now I'm wondering if Triana's fall was due to me having her too close to a desk edge, or if Friday decided he needed a new toy. It's really annoying because he has chew toys all over the house, I trip over them all the time. I don't move ‘em though, because he's a growing puppy with emerging adult teeth, so he needs to chew... but there's no reason for him to go after things out of his reach when he has leather, rawhide, rubber, and food treats every five feet in here.

 

Since I can't do much about Friday - besides yell at him when I catch him, and ban him to his ‘house' for a while - I took some time to dog-proof every doll area I could think of. I even moved the dollhouse residents to a higher floor, just in case. He still can't get into the Lab, but he'll be blocked at night from now on, just in case. If I'm not around to monitor, the hall door is closed.

 

We also got to the grocery shopping, which started out a bit scary. I'd forgotten to renew my license plate, and there was a city cop on my butt for about eight blocks. Luckily, that was on the ‘to do' list, and I had a current insurance card in Molly's glovebox. Last time I remembered, I was broke. Luckily, the kind policeman didn't pull us over, and he peeled off a block or two later, but I moved the tag renewal up a few places. It's done now, so I don't have to worry about it for ten more months. Told ya'll I was late.

 

I was going to get the $11. ‘ballet' set of Barbie clothes I've been eyeing, but after my most recent Mattel purchase proved to be nearly beyond cheaped out, I decided against it. Instead, I hope to sew ! Of course, that was my hope last week... Sometimes I wish I could buy time - I'd probably value it a lot more that way !

Memories of toys that weren't even mine...

 

Current Mood : Sleepy

Spent on fabric yesterday : $1.07

Current Image Notes : Here's the cutaway thread ornament, all done and ready for nearly a year's storage ! 

 

Dearest Son was totally thrilled by his GI Joe RHINO, and happily agreed to pick up AirSoft ammo in exchange for it. It's taking a while, since his last ammo-cleaning wasn't terribly thorough, but at least it's getting done. I really hate stepping on the things. They get scattered on the carpet when Beloved Hubby's loading magazines or does any custom or repair work. Or when the semi-shredded targets come back inside so they'll last for another test session. Reusing ammo can damage the weapons, so they get trashed. Our otherwise awesome vacuum hates them, and spits ‘em back out on new trajectories.

 

Right now, two Anakin Skywalkers are manning the back machine gun emplacements, Ahsoka's in a front cockpit (there's two), and Obi Wan is in the troop transport section. The figure that came with is in the helicopter. Only thing bad about the RHINO is that figures need bending knees to use most of the spaces, something few of the Clone Wars characters have.

 

It's a weird wash of nostalgia for me. Gosh, decades ago, when I was a bike-only teenager, my neighbor was a few years younger. Had to be early 80s, since this brings Empire Strikes Back toys to the story. That Christmas, he wanted a certain GI Joe figure that'd work with both his ESB and Joe playsets - an Arctic Trooper. Unfortunately, that guy was sold out everywhere. I guess a lot of kids had the same idea, since stocks of the other 3 to 4 inch figures in the Joe line were plentiful. I ended up getting him a $2. parka-wearin' knockoff, with the promise I'd get him the real deal once it was back in stock. I had rainchecks for him in four stores. His mom was successful in getting him the right one, but he still played with the knockoff, and didn't want another.

 

Decades have passed, my neighbor is deceased (his on-again-off-again wife shot him, thinking he was a prowler, long story), but when I looked at the GI Joe aisles, I thought of him. Especially when I saw that Target also stocks knock-offs...and they're still $2. If I hadn't been staring so stupidly at them, frozen in memory, I might have looked for a parka guy. Next time, I will. I'll probably give it to Dearest, or I may keep him - let him be one of those ‘why does she have this ?' mysteries that always linger after someone's gone.

 

I also forgot to mention that we also hit Hancock Fabrics for a few minutes. Dearest wanted to make another fabric survey, since he's thinking of crafting a Ghillie suit. I've seen several fabrics I'd love to have online, but of course, they're not at Hancock's. I snagged a half-price fabric quarter, of white ballerinas silhouetted over a dark pink swirled background, and hope to make a new Rainbow-size dress - or possibly a tutu, if there's enough left - from it.

 

But first, I gotta get off my butt and get stuff done ! Luckily, here's another week starting up ! And a whole new month, even better.