Stellarly sick.

 

Current Mood : Whiny

 

Somehow, I'm even more sick today. Urgh. I'm coughing so hard, I see stars, and I'm not gonna describe the colors I see when vision returns. I've given up tissues - box is empty - and switched to handkerchiefs or soft, slightly damp t-shirt rags, which are always easier on my nose. Just pretty darn disgusting, so I keep ‘em close to me. Or tucked away in the computer drawers during the rare few moments I'm mobile.

 

On the plus side, my colds often go this way. I'm not quite all right on Day One, but it doesn't stop any of my plans. Day Two, it's clear I'm sick, but I still try to move around since I'm not completely miserable. Day Three, I am completely miserable, so if I can, I sleep a lot, and actually take cold medicine. We seem to be enjoying Day Three today, which is good, because Day Four dawns with more energy, less ick, and Day Five is nearly back to normal, and I wrap up on either Day Five or Day Six, which is nearly a carbon copy of Day One.

 

Not sure why I bothered to write all that. I'm sure everyone is pretty much the same way ! I just don't know what else to say.

 

Burning my way through a box o' Kleenex...

 Current Mood : Urgh. 

 

Well, I guess it's official now - I've caught a cold or something. I'm coughing so hard my eyes water, my throat's like raw meat, and I've gone through a quarter of a box of tissues. And that's on Mucinex. I am a bit more clearheaded on it than off, but that just means I'm more awake to feel miserable. Ugh.

 

On the plus side, it kept me from going to the flea market. That, and I'm still broke. (grin) Sometimes, that's a real blessing. It's not like I need anything, not even 6mm craft foam, right now. My plans for the day were some intense Lab work, but so far, all I've done is clear my nose, cough, and click to another website.

 

At least I managed to clear off, clean, and redo the top shelf of my computer hutch. Dearest Son started to take his ‘Galactic Heroes' size Millennium Falcon apart this morning, and I offered him three Delorean tickets in exchange. It's mine now ! I probably wanted it more than Dearest in the first place, truth be told - it's just easier to justify a $30. toy for him than for me ! While it's not nearly so huge as the action-figure Falcon (original or repro), I've always loved its ‘chibi-cute' factor - it's almost cuddly, if it weren't hard plastic ! Sometime next week, I get to dig in his toybox for the guns, the satellite dish, and the cockpit piece, but right now, it looks cute as-is, with the Beanie Baby crab lounging by the landing gear.

 

Of course, for it to be on the top shelf of the computer hutch, I had to move stuff around and clean it. Once everything was off for dusting, I had to decide where to put it back. Couple years ago, when Beloved Hubby did anime music videos, we bought a super-cheap small DVD player dedicated to that, and since it was considered a computer peripheral, it's been up there. Since it's been at least two years since we did one, I moved it over by the TV, shifted the blank DVDs down, and reorganized the diorama-platform-thingie I keep up there for quick photos. That gave me plenty of space for my latest recycled toy ! And I found a Disney Princess pen I bought about two years ago, when it was 75% off. I thought it was lost somewhere in Molly's rarely-cleaned-out backseat.

 

There's another Hoarders type show debuting tomorrow, on TLC. Our cable provider isn't sure if it's called Hoarders : Buried Alive or Hoarding : Buried Alive - it has listings for both. But it's Hoarding on the TLC website. I can't help but wonder how it'll differ from A&E's, or if it's a carbon copy. Guess we'll know tomorrow.

I have some really *strange* stuff on my hard drive...

 

Current Mood : Still on a buzz...

 

More of the same family drama I mentioned earlier this week. It's really getting tiresome, since it's the same thing over and over, re-hashed to the nth degree. But I stand by my original assertion - don't explain or offer a reason more than twice, at the absolute most, in case somebody's having hearing problems. After that, the other party simply doesn't want to hear it, refuses to understand, or is just plain in a stink-butt mood. Soon, very soon, we can absent ourselves from this person's life for a while, and come back when our much loved Drama Llama either is in an improved mood, or has a better target than us.

 

It's just really frustrating when you never really get your say, your side of things said, though. Not much for it but to shake it off and not let it destroy another minute of life.

 

Speaking of which, it was Dorrie Fun Day, since Dearest is already at his grandparents' home. Got a late start due to all the drama, but I got to do nearly everything I wanted, and came home flat broke. Yaaaay !

 

Since Hastings is always crowded with book trade-ins on weekends, I figured an early afternoon visit would be best. So they were the first stop. Went through the bag o' books that've been sitting around in the living room since before Christmas, books they didn't take last time, removed a few, cleaned up a few more - they don't take a book if it has an owner's name in the flyleaf, but that's an easy fix - and added four or five more. Back in the day, if it had ‘sewing' or ‘doll clothes' on the spine, I bought it. I have to admit, having about two dozen sewing books all lined up together made me look quite professional, in my own eyes ! Like a budding gourmet chef with a wall of cookbooks. And I had so many different dolls, I could surely use any and all pattern books, no matter how badly written or oddly presented.

 

Things have settled down now, and I have helpful sewing books I actually like and use, with barely a spot for them. Time to ditch the stuff that's collected dust since I pried ‘em out of that church's yard sale three years ago. Pretty much any book with ‘Beginning Sewing' or ‘Easy Sewing' on the spine will still sell. And if I haven't made a single thing from Two Hour Doll Clothes in five years, out it goes !

 

Turns out, I wasn't the only one who thought was today was a good book-ditching day. Luckily, I'd transferred my heavy tomes to an old tote bag, easily identifiable. With my Hastings card on top, they could scan ‘em while I looked around, so I wouldn't have to stand around waiting. Very nice of them. Nothing new in the Crafts or Collecting (where they normally put all non-kid Barbie books) shelves, no new sewing or embroidery books either. Didn't see anything in the ‘Last Chance' section, or in the Kids section, so I wandered over to magazines.

 

Tons of magazines ! I wafted through Doll Collector, Doll Reader, Doll Costumer, Soft Dolls, Art Dolls, Haute Doll, and Fashion Doll Quarterly in a soft chair. Had some trouble deciding between FDQ and HD, since one had a neat article on Malibu Barbie, the other had a good one on Barbie patterns. And I also spied an interesting book on robots that Dearest would probably enjoy. Decisions, decisions... then I heard my name.

 

They'd gone through the books and took nearly every one that they didn't take last time. And all of the sewing books, but none of the doll patterns ones. I could choose $20. in cash or $31. in credit - whoo-hoo ! I happily chose store credit, and snatched up the robot book, and both HD and FDQ. That only left $7. on the card, but heck, Beloved Hubby'd told me to just donate the lot, so I didn't feel bad at all about spending the proceeds. Chunked the bag in Molly's trunk, where it'll probably stay until I donate the rest of the books to the library next week.

 

Since I was already halfway across town, I hit TRU. Sad. The Barbie aisle is down to just one aisle, and it's not even very long. I finally got to see the 1966 Stewardess Barbie, but didn't get her. Beloved urged me to use the credit card if I found anything, but heck. I'd rather make that suit m'self, and I don't need another doll. I'd really feel obligated to keep her, since I spent so much. Of course, they were completely out of the $3. SuperStar Barbie, which I kind of knew would happen. Again, no big loss. I was actually thinking of buying one of the Disney Princess tote bags, and it took me longer to talk myself out of that than it did any doll !

 

Remember the fuss and nonsense I went on and on about, when I was making that soft-sided box ? How I couldn't find 6mm thick craft foam, and how ticked I was ? I later found two sheets of it at Michael's Crafts, and called twice since then, and it'd not been restocked yet. Since it was in the same strip as TRU, I walked down...and walked out with 12 sheets of the stuff. I now have enough 6mm craft foam to make at least three of the biggest boxes, whenever I want to. I selfishly bought them out, but clearly, someone else had purchased a few. Still, I was happy to have it, and glad that I never mail-ordered it. Now I just have to get my big ole butt in there and clean up the Lab, so I can sew something ! It's just funny that I had $12. in cash (plus change) on me, and there were 12 sheets of it at 99c each !

 

I'd originally planned to hit Target, but by now, school was out and traffic was thick. Even worse, it was Friday. Target would be a huge snarly mess of cars, shopping-as-recreation adults and screaming kids, so I decided to just come home. Plus, I was broke and rather hungry.

 

 

Current Mood : Questioning my taste in cheap thrills...

 

We ended up back at Mal-Wart this morning - Dearest Son earned enough for the Mole Pod, a GI Joe toy, and he wanted to take it with him to his grandparents'. I'd forgotten a couple groceries, so no problem. I also checked out the vacuum cleaner section. Hrmf. It may take me a few stops before I locate the bags I now need. All else fails, I'll have to mail-order ‘em.

 

A bit of excitement with lunch - what looked like a routine speeder stop between a small blue car and a Sheriff cruiser soon escalated into three flashing cruisers, a police dog, and possibly an arrest, I was trying to not watch too closely. Then our rarely-seen landlord dropped by. Thank Everything the living room was clean ! And that she didn't go near the kitchen !

I feel so clean...

 

Current Mood : Happily exhausted !

 

Whoo, am I wiped out ! I finally did a to-the-carpet cleaning in the living room, and ditched the rug. Finally got tired of tripping on that one spot that always folds up. It'll probably go under the ‘Free' sign this weekend. Moved Dearest Son's big keyboard and stand to his closet shelf, then cleaned off his desk and drawers and planted them in the ‘new' space. It was always a clutter magnet because it was right at the front door, and he hardly ever used it except as toy storage. Used his office chair to transport the heavy drawer set - I'm lazy.

 

While I sat at my desk, recovering my breathing, I found that a box of envelopes I'd recently recovered didn't allow a drawer to close. So I cleaned out the drawer of a ton of useless papers - from rebates long granted, checking statements not filed, scribbled notes no longer needed. A bit more shuffling and I can get to everything easier now.

 

That accomplished, I decided to vacuum. This was almost a treat. It's embarrassing to admit how long it's been since I last had the Duros out, but I can say there was an artificial green decorated thing in the living room, for some reason. It chugged right on into it...but after a short while, didn't seem to pick up much. I looked at the bag indicator, it seemed as though I had lotsa bag to go. Cleaned the beater heads of dog hair and various threads, and ten minutes later, had to do it again. The third time, I actually popped the top and looked.

 

Wow. No wonder I had to clean out the beaters. That bag was beyond full. Not sure why the indicator was so off, but now I know better. I knew right where the replacement bag was...not. Beloved Hubby had shoved a ton of stuff into the closet since I put the bags up there, so now it was a scavenger hunt. Found the last one and got back to it. That old bag probably weighed seven pounds, and it was as round all around as a ham. Whew. Carpets are much cleaner, and I feel a lot better. Here's hoping I don't wait for the next major holiday to drag the Duros out again.

 

Didn't get back to the dishes as I'd hoped, but I got the living room clean enough for company, the hallway and our bedroom vacuumed, and got the trash out. Swept a bit, but mostly to keep the small pile of trash from migrating onto my nice clean carpet ! It's funny, but for a day or three after I vacuum, I'll actually pick up tiny bits of trash I see - but after another day or two, I kinda give up and let it go until I vacuum again.

 

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 !