I'm not dead yet...

...but they're not sure if I'm getting better or not !  Seriously, I've been hospitalized for over a week now, and  just last night was released. I'm weak and on oxygen, and our home internet isn't working. So, for now, here's a place-marker to reassure you I'll be back soon as I can - miss you !

Gil ! I saw GIIIIL ! Soon he will be ours...

Wow ! Looks like Operetta's sneak peek was just the beginning ! Today I got to see the video up there, laden with new, rumored goodies. And, yes, yes, YES ! There is aGIL !! Everyone else can go nuts over Spectra or Operetta, I've wanted Gillington Webber as a doll since his first episode appearance, and I was beginning to think his time may had come and gone too early. But no ! He's in the video !! Oh, so soon to be MINE...

So many other goodies shown, too. Cleo's vanity...looks kind of tentacle-y, so I'm not too sure about it, but it's hard to really get a close look, so like most stuff, once it's on shelves, I'll decide then. Ya'll know me, I have half the stuff I never thought I'd want, and some dolls and things I burned for I never wanted again once I saw it !

DracuLaura's roadster will probably thrill Dearest Son, but I'm not too wild just yet, and I find myself more intrigued than I thought I'd be by the 'Create Your Own Monster' dolls, especially the clothes that come with them. There seem to be 'Cupid' sets, maybe with a masquerade theme - the out-of-box display of DLaura and Clawd seem to have whiskers or costume elements on - and boxes have hearts beyond DLaura's 'Sweet 1600' logo. Some stuff blurred by too fast to see, so I can't comment on it all, but wow. There certainly was a lot to gawp at - especially Gil ! If I only get one MH item for the rest of days, it'd be Gil. It'd sure make Beloved Hubby happy if that were so.

Another kind of boring day. I scratched my poor damaged leg in my sleep so hard I snagged a scab, so now it hurts. At least I have an appointment with my practitioner tomorrow, so she can advise. It's really healed up a lot this month, so I'm hoping we can quit all these antibiotic pills, they're making me nauseous, and just keep up with the sterile bandaging and triple antibiotic gel. Appetite is still off after rallying briefly, so maybe she'll have some ideas. Goss knows the last two didn't give me a lot of confidence. Oh, I believed in their abilities, but their shuddering and squirming around me really shattered mine.

New dolls coming !

Operetta, left

Mattel finally released images of 'Operetta', a character long-mentioned in the diaries but never seen or really described before, on Facebook today. There she is. Her bio there reads : "Caught sight of my ghoul, Operetta, haunting the halls lately ? She's kind of hard to miss with her rockabilly style and hotrod red hair. Her dad is the Phantom of the Opera, so you know she's inherited some mad musical chops. Just be careful if you hear her sing live. There's something about her voice that really drives monsters crazy ! At sixteen, she's already a bit of a perfectionist and she absolutely hates being told what to do. Oh, and keep an eye out for Memphis "Daddy O" Longlegs (he's her pet spider). He's unlike anything you've ever seen in this unlife." No further word on the doll or the date of her release yet, but hey, at least we got an image finally ! Not sure if I like her yet or not, she seems to be taking some of Ghoulia's vibe !

Not much going on at Chez Insanity, though - finished the last of the Whitman's Sample Barbie Alterations box when I put a fastener on the back of a long-finished pair of Deuce Gorgon shorts I forgot about. Before that, I tried on a pair of animal print and silver micro-dot doll leggings on Clawdeen, and they both fit and look good as ankle-length leggings with just a tweak in the waist. Something I thought I'd never find time to do is all done. Still, it's kind of sad to see a Whitman's box emptied twice !

This week, I plan on going through all the fabric I own. When I first began sewing,  I made the classic mistake of buying tons of fabric without any planned use for most of it. Yeah, I'd buy this fat quarter on sale thinking, 'Ooojh, awesome dress for Ghoulia !', but also end up with huge grab bags and endless yardages from yard sales that were soo cheap, I bought 'em without thinking. Got rid of a ton about two years ago, looks like I need to do the same again.

I mean, heck, now I know. Sewing for me is not something I do that often, so I don't need six different heathery shades of pink fabric that I got even for free from Aunt S. I make doll clothes, mostly for myself. So why don't I just keep that which I like the best, to inspire me, and find new homes - and maybe some cash - for the rest ? Believe this or not, I'm gonna try to get it down to the dollhouse (I still love that thing ! ) and two tight-packed milk crates. Thinking of coming up with a standard size of poster-board, cutting a bunch the same size, folding each piece of choice fabric around them, and standing 'em up in the crate 'til it's full. Should make it easier to see what I have and get the most in those crates !

Not looking forward to going through it all, though... 

Sometimes I even get to enjoy Dearest Son's toys !

Current Mood : Sleepy again

Was a little busier today, since I wanted to attempt using "KJ", my lovely sewing machine, again. My last few brief attempts have been...lacking. I know I shouldn't be surprised, it's been months since I last sewed, but even a simple hem has been a pain. So I planned some larger projects, loaded up the right thread, and got to it.

Still had lots of tension problems. Changed needles, re-threaded several times, changed thread. Last time I sewed with some rarely used yellow thread, I had no end of problems with it, and decided to toss out the spool. Luckily I hadn't yet, because I was still having issues.

Today's projects included repairing and hemming the sleeves to a fuzzy sort of beltless trench-coat I got from somewhere, but it fits the MH guys, so... Also doing the same to a pair of Barbie jeans that once had a blouse-matching design on the cuffs. Took off the fabric bits, but that left raw fabric instead of hems, so I had to split part of the leg open to hem, then resew the leg. And, while I was at it, I could machine-sew the adjusted Velcro closure. Several small projects, each a hassle if KJ and I weren't agreeing.

I got the trench-coat sleeves done well enough - if I were doing it for anyone but me, I'd have redone them - but the stitching on the jean hems was all over the place. After the usual efforts, I decided that I needed to just clean and oil everything, it was past time for that anyway.

Glad I did, since there's no way I would have found the bit of brown thread wedged around the bobbin race. I have no idea how long it's been there, or how it messed with everything else, but it did. Guess it pulled at the current thread and got it tangled, or pulled it out of tension just enough. Also found a huge dust bunny behind the bobbin, and that took tape and brushes to remove, since we're out of canned air. Dusted around the feed dogs, oiled the three points the manual says to, and got her put back together. Ahhh. Like a new machine, quiet and perfect. Made me sad and upset at m'self that I'd wrestled with it without checking everything before.

The rest of the alterations took about two minutes since I didn't have to redo them twice and rethread anything, so today, you get Jackson. VW Beetle is also Dearest Son's, a 50c yard sale find, and the jeans are Barbie's. The sports jersey came from kids meal toys - I think they were from Burger King. They were on little plastic figures that bent to dunk a basketball, also included. We got them a couple times when BK ran out of the toy du jour, and I found dozens unopened at yard sales, so I doubt they were very popular. I split 'em up the back, where the name was, applied Velcro, intending to use them for my dolls. But they were too tight on Ken, and fit wrong on Barbie, so they went into the 'discard' box. Turns out, they fit Monster High guys pretty well ! There's three more besides the one Jackson's wearing, so you'll probably see 'em around.

But now, I wanna sew more for the dudes ! Haven't made anything new for Clawd yet !  Hmmm....

This is what happens when Dearest Son leaves his toys out !

Current Mood : Silly

Not much going on today - my legs itch like crazy, so we started using a light lotion on the spots we could. Much better ! Healing skin can be so dry.

We have another example of 'Don't like the weather ? Wait a few !' going on. Tuesday it was so hot, we had to turn on the air conditioning. Tonight, we have blankets on the beds. May actually have to activate the heat this weekend. It's hard to believe.

Still no luck finding my old sudoku puzzle book, so I did some more hand-sewing. We're down to the guy clothes, so I grabbed Holt Hyde and pretty much used him as a try-on model, to decide what got altered and what went to the growing yard-sale pile. Turns out, some stuff I altered for Barbie that didn't fit well looks decent on the MH guys, so their wardrobe has just increased. Talk more specifically about it tomorrow, since I already know Jackson Jekyll is modeling then, and is wearing a selection.

Holt is posing by a remote-control Barbie car I picked up, working and even with intact batteries, from a yard sale for 25c. I gave it to Dearest Son later, and he still plays with it - mostly to compare it to the $250. high-powered remote control vehicles that aren't made for fashion dolls. Occasionally, though, I'll find it, or one of his other two Barbie-scale cars, in the living room, with a yard-sale box Barbie at the wheel. I still ask when I need one for a photo shoot, of course.

His shirt is from a Bratz Boys outfit I ended up with in a doll clothes lot. The outfits are well-made, but darn near too short for anyone but a Bratz, especially the pants. Still stole the belt of the accompanying jeans before I donated them,  though. Not sure where the faux-suede brown pants came from, but they fit without alteration, so yaaay. Scream Team Casketball uniform shoes.

No appointment today, had to cancel. But I'll rebook for Tuesday - I need to know what to do about my prescriptions, and I doubt she'll refill any of them without seeing the current status first. I know I wouldn't. Things should be better by Tuesday. 

Enjoy Beloved Hubby every chance you get

Current Mood : Sleepy but happy - with lots to look forward to !

Yet another everyday day, I'm still on the sofa, but there's not much going on. Dearest Son has expanded his skills to repairing his Razor scooter - he said it was broken, and now says it's fixed - so he's pretty proud of himself.

I spent half of our time at Dollar Tree the other day looking for another sudoku book, but they didn't even have those super-easy chintzy search-a-word ones. I was enjoying the cheap book of it I had, but it vanished during the move. Ranks, because I was about 3/4 done. Last time I finished one of those books, I think was my tonsil surgery when I was twelve, and Dollar Tree didn't exist yet !

Instead, I got two books, Escape from Bridezilla, a paperback novel from Jacqueline deMontravel, because I can't seem to pass up bad wedding adventures, and Columbine, a hardback study of the school shooting, because I'm a bit too close to that topic, too. Bridezilla is OK so far, just sort of bland - although the page and a half on revisiting childhood-denied breakfast cereals was unique. Columbine takes the tact from page one that Harris and Klebold were sniveling cowards and Janus-faced liars, and the author's hatred leaks off most pages, even when their names aren't mentioned. I confess, after spending my high-school years semi-bullied, I see things a bit differently, so this book promises to be interesting.

For some reason, I could barely stay awake today, but that came in handy tonight - Beloved Hubby and I had a serious talk, which we both needed for some time. We're in for some changes soon ! Major and minor, but at least we'll be moving towards something, instead of constantly chasing and scrambling to make yesterday's bills. I'm not sure where or when all this is gonna happen, but I know it will, and you'll know when I do ! 

Celebrate Dearest Son with bubbles

Current Mood : Proud 

Dearest Son spent a good chunk of today putting his old Back to the Future 2 Delorean car back together, noting various changes he wanted to make, then taking it apart and getting them started. There wasn't much I could do to celebrate his achievement - he's been trying off and on to reassemble the DMC - so when he got it done, I blew bubbles all over him, which he thought was funny. It's a good lung mini-workout for me, and it uses up these leftover wedding bubbles from Dollar Tree we bought years ago for birthdays, Easter baskets and just plain what-the-heckness. 

 I think he wants another 'collector car', but this one was $40.+ several years ago, and about $60. now, so it'll be a while longer. It can easily be argued we spend that and more on my dolls, but it's rare that we spend more than $23. at once, which is a little easier to come by. But there's little left for me to want, and he's been so helpful while I've been ill. Plus there's plenty of time before there's more for me to obsess over...

According to BBCW Distributors (a toy and collectable distributor located in Hollywood, Florida, originally Baseball Card Warehouse), the next big wave of Monster High stuff is expected to be released in February. Whew. That is such a relief ! Included are notes on an anticipated 'Sweet 1600' roadster, evidently a car for DracuLaura, their next vacation will be at Skull Shores, with a doll assortment to mark the occasion, and Cleo de Nile is due for a 'Play and Display Accessory Kit', with the subheading, "Time for Cleo to Get Ready !". Most of us think this is the rumored vanity, which is a nice change from all the beds. I'm curious to see what the design crew does with it, since every successful fashion doll from Silkstone Barbie to last-gasp Bratz has enjoyed their own style of furniture, and vanities are some of the most feminine of designs possible.

There's also a 'Create A Monster Add-On Parts Assortment', which I'm sure will have to be seen to be believed. I mean, my imagination can have lots of fun thinking of new pieces for Lagoona's leg-fin slots, now that the fins actually fit and stay put ! This news is courtesy of Fashionista Luv, on the MH LiveJournal page, where I get most of my doll news, it seems !

It's kind of funny, since I always mentally placed DracuLaura with Jem's Rockin' Roadster, ever since I got her. I somehow doubt her 'official' one will be so huge !

Not a lot else going on, although my legs are itching, bad. It's a sign of healing, but when I wake up in the night clawing at the bandages, it's a bit scary. At least I can refrain during the day, it doesn't seem so bad then. I'm getting to the bottom of the Whitman's Box of Barbie Doll Clothes That May Become MH Clothes - nearly all that's left is stuff for the guys. Today I did another pair of Barbie jeans that I would have refit for the guys, but the decorations were too cute and too well-sewn to remove. Plus, taking the ribbon off would render the jeans too short, so they're a bit too long on Frankie, but so cute ! I think they'd look great on Lagoona, since she sometimes gets the 'hippie / 60s vintage' vibe in her wardrobe. I also did a simple blouse that I'll pair with a pair of knee-shorts I adapted last week. Then it's guy time !

Comfort me with dolls....

Current Mood : Distant 

I'm in one of my weirder moods today, just so ya know up-front. Watched a couple episodes of Hoarders online, and heard the phrase, 'She comforts herself with Home Shopping Network', and I realized that I did the same thing, just with dolls. If there's nothing I want to buy - or the funds simply aren't there - I make something, or play on the sites. Pretty soon, I'm gonna add cataloging to the comforting, because that appeals to my researching kick. Put that way, a doll habit doesn't sound quite so ridiculous. One day, I may be part of someone else's searching for details - cool !

Last night, for various reasons, pretty much no one at Chez Insanity slept. I thought Dearest Son did, but he's just as wired and weird as Beloved Hubby and me, so I made sure everyone got naps - I even took a two-hour one m'self, and was so tired, I actually did sleep ! Wasn't really surprised, since I literally fell last night. During another brief time slot when we were both awake, we were discussing his latest art project, and I turned to go see it, and didn't quite complete the pivot. Luckily, my computer chair was a step or two away, and I'd already staggered through those, so I managed to not hurt m'self and fell into it. Scared heck out of Beloved, but I know how I get when I'm over-tired. No bruises this time !

I'm a little worried about my next med appointment. Oh, my legs are actually healing pretty well, if glacial-slow, and the worst spots are still on the mend, so that isn't my major concern. It's my newly screwed-up diet. Savory foods like meat and cheese still taste funny or off, but sweet things are fine, so guess what I'm eating lots of ? I have no idea how that'll affect the diabetes check they want me to take, too, and I'll be flat-out honest, diabetes scares me. One funny side effect is that I can detect artificial sweeteners like a flag now - they're actually quite bitter and sharp. Previously, I'd get a bit of after-taste if anything, even less if the fake got blended with real sugar or fruit-sugar. Now the taste of fake screams out from the first bit on my tongue. Weird.

On the other hand, I eat less than half what I used to at meals, and nearly all of it tastes over-salty now. Used to be, I'd have a huge lunch (two bricks of ramen, or a whole can of ravioli would be typical, especially if there weren't leftovers to eat up) then about mid-day eat maybe half a $4. bag of potato chips or popcorn. These days, my afternoon snack is usually what I didn't finish for lunch, like half of a single can of soup or part of a ham sandwich. So I'm actually eating less and  healthier, and I'm even drinking more water now than lemonade or Kool-Aid, and still not drinking soda, but I still worry about all this sugar.

Ah, well. My appt. got rescheduled for Thursday, so we'll see. Tomorrow, MH locker #5 is due to arrive in the mail. I wasn't going to get any more, but this one was so cheap...I'm hoping to trade for the sixth and final one. Anyone want a re-handed Lagoona #2 or a redressed Forbitten Romance DracuLaura ? I'd put the offer up on the LiveJournal site, but I wanna make sure I can get my part of the trade safely to the post office first !

Sometimes they come back...dolls, that is.

Current Mood : Wiped out !

I thought a bit about how to start today's entry. How do you begin another entry about dolls and personal junk on the tenth anniversary of a national tragedy ? But then, I'd spent a good hour this afternoon on our side stoop, sitting on the step-stool toolbox, listening to cicadas and watching dragonflies circle overhead, enjoying pretty weather and a calm day, and I can't think of a better tribute to the day and past events. Life continued. Still does. Can't ask for much more than that.

Dearest Son was home at 9 this morning, and couldn't wait for the kids across the street to come play. After yesterday, I was a bit more subdued about it, but I know he needs the socialization, bad. Still, it was a near-replay of yesterday - little K. - I'm starting to think it stands for Krowbar, it's nearly impossible to get her back outside once she's in - expected me to drag down all the MH dolls, and if you knew how many that is, you'd slap me ! Instead, Dearest dug out his DracuLaura and Frankie Stein, offering to let her play with them and one of his Barbie cars. I thought that was very nice and thoughtful of Dearest, and praised him...only to notice she'd swapped his dolls out for mine just before finally deciding to go play on the porch with all the other kids.

Well, shoot. I've been out-thought by a 5 year old. Or is she six ? I honestly don't know. Besides, I had something to do for once. Couple weeks ago, Beloved Hubby found a box in with some art stuff he packed when we moved. I could tell there were dolls in it from hair sticking out. I had no idea which dolls these were, and why they were separated from all the others, but I finally had time to dig through and see what was there.

Ah. This was a box I'd meant to donate, and it'd somehow ended up also holding tools and such, so it got shoved around instead. At last, we finally found his air compressor tire chucks - we've rebought them about six times. I also found Sailor Jupiter (2), Sailor Mars, Sailor Pluto, Teresa, Barbie and the Beat Midge, and a New Kids on the Block doll Beloved'd had some fun with long ago, drawing in a black beard with a Sharpie. Hmmm...

I immediately reclaimed Sailor Pluto, knew that I already had Jupiter (1), considered keeping Mars and Midge, although I have no idea where they'll go. Got those three cleaned up, mostly a hair brushing and a dusting for now, and decided to restore Dearest's MH dolls while I was at it. All they needed was to have their hair brushed and reset, doll locks get tangled up quickly in the underbed box.

I got a short nap - kids only woke me up twice ! - since I had trouble sleeping the night before. It's gloriously cool during the day, but at night, the house gets stuffy and a bit hot. But it's been a week since we had the air conditioner on, so yaaay, us ! 

I got out of the house today...and was soooo glad to get back home !

Current Mood : Wiped out 

Very busy day today. Beloved Hubby finally got a photo he wants to paint enlarged, and put on the first coat of paint to the sincerely ugly kitchen cabinets. It'll need at least a second, if not a third coat, and that's after he sanded off various crud and paint drips from at least two other paintings (that were both done by drunk monkeys, from the looks of them, and both in the same hideous crap brown).

The kids across the street, who were either gone most of the summer or ignored Dearest Son when they were home, are evidently bored, because they pretty much came over every time the doors were open. I was down for a nap the first time, and didn't know, so I was lucky I didn't surprise anyone (it was hot in our room, and I'd stripped down). Ended up feeling trapped in our bedroom for three hours, but hey, at least I got some rest and reading in.

There's three kids, and they're all pretty good younglings, but the little girl, K., kinda gets on my nerves. Last time she came by, she just walked in and pulled all my Monster High dolls down while Beloved and I were at her house talking with her parents, just sort of hanging out. When we returned, all the dolls were in a pile, half-dressed, arms and hands pulled out (they're designed to do that, but the ball and socket break easily), hair and shoes everywhere. And I had no idea she was even in our house ! I've since been sort of wary of her... today, I could barely sit without her there, asking when I'd get the rest of the dolls down for her. She'd already helped herself to the ones she could reach while I was still in our bedroom.

Beloved was also getting a bit annoyed at his limited Dearest-free art time getting constantly interrupted, so we left for a little shopping. I was a little nervous, since I just discovered this week - I'm not having asthma attacks still. I'm that seriously winded walking from one end of the house to the other ! So I unashamedly took the wheel-cart at Hobby Lobby, but arranged things so my leg bandages showed, since I am still petty. Beloved was more than happy to push me around ! All I bought was a new green seam ripper, since he stole my last new one to use as an awl, but it was fun to get out and look around from a new angle.

Dollar Tree, which does not have 'fat-azz' carts of any kind, darn near killed me. But again, I toughed it out, got two new books I'll tell you more about when I've read a few pages, and some hard candy. Not a bad visit, the problem was the cash. Someone in front of us bought over a hundred bucks worth of stuff, mostly cleaning chemicals, and then her out-of-state paper check wouldn't go through. We would have jumped registers, but it was the only one open. On the fifth try, manually keying it in, it was finally accepted. Never thought I'd see anyone spend three digits and change at a DTree.

Plus I sorta needed the hard candy. Forgot to mention, when I woke up from my too-short nap, I had raging heartburn. I haven't had that since I was expecting Dearest ! And this was painful. I tried some hard candy, lots of water, deep-breathing exercises, and going back to sleep, but none of that worked.

Once I had access to the computer, I looked up other home remedies. Ate ginger, ate celery, ate honey, drank pickle juice, drank lemon juice, ate a couple crackers, had a salad for an early dinner. And still had that twisty feeling in my throat. At least the 'burning esophagus' feeling was gone, and it was just the throat part lingering. Beloved bought me Tums, and goss, are those awful, and I still went to bed with my throat reminding me that yes, things can always get worse.

Woke up with the same, ate another Tums with breakfast, spaced out the prescriptions I'm taking, especially these six antibiotics a day (four of one, two of another). I hate to say it, but the only thing that worked was that I threw up. I let out a belch that's still echoing in the back of the house.

Here's hoping the 'workout' lets me sleep tonight ! I really need to walk more...

Send in the clones !

Current Mood : Frustrated with Flickr - can't access images right now, darn it. 

I was wondering the other day - where are all the Monster High knock-offs ? Anything this popular usually has cheap-jack semi-clone versions out by now. Heck, Sailor Moon was never near this eagerly sought, and there were 'Shirley Moore' and 'Sera Muun' dolls on shelves and in flea markets almost before the no-nose BanDais were first stocked at TRU. 

I've seen some photos of baby doll versions that were hilarious, and I've heard they were even scented - horribly. But aside from a single in-store shot, I've yet to see them anywhere. Well, yesterday, I got my answer. Again, from a LiveJournal member, Kujasangela, we have photographic proof that out there now exist the Gothic Angels. She says she found them in a Roses store - a retail outlet I haven't seen since I left the East coast - but I've seen similar price stickers at other stores with some infamy about selling knock-off toys, so they'll probably show up in Family Dollar or Dollar General soon. 

Much as I'd love to steal her image, I find m'self more reluctant to do that in my old age, so I'll post the link, and describe it a bit to whet your interest. Have a peek : http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r311/Princess_Skylark/junk/image.jpg .

Moving from left to right, you got lame versions of Lagoona Blue and Cleo de Nile in the first package, then DracuLaura and Ghoulia in the second. Kujasangela says there was a third box, with similarly awesome/awful versions of Clawdeen and Frankie, but an employee was giving her ye olde hairy eyeball, so she didn't get a photo. I'm glad I haven't seen 'em. At two of 'em for $5., I'd buy the whole set just for the laugh factor - and probably another Ghoulia-clone to steal her clothes. I'd also love to see the accessories. Can spy Lagoona's jacket, and pink microphones, and what may be wrap-around glasses, but I'd enjoy seeing what else is in those boxes - and the box back. 

Update ! Found a photo I can steal, from the Fingerhut site. There, you can buy the whole set of six for just $19.99 (plus $8. shipping) ! Or you can arrange financing at the low, low price of $5.99 !  Nearly twice as much as Roses' two for $5. dolls, but according to Fingerhut, the dolls are 10.5 inches tall (MH size, although they look more Barbie size in photos) and come with three extra outfits ! Shoot. Now I really wanna see these dolls 'in person' ! 

You can go see them - and zoom in on their shoes ! - here : http://www.fingerhut.com/product/105-Gothic-Angel-Doll-Set/NV636.uts

Other than that, not a lot going on. Snugged up three Barbie skirts and a pair of knee-length shorts to fit the MH girls, and that darn near emptied the box. My last two brief attempts at sewing didn't go well, so I think I'll need to start gently relearning again, it's been so long. Thing is, it hit me today that, when I follow orders to stay off my feet to let one thing heal, it leaves me weak as anything for everything else. Guess I can work on my strength and energy once I'm all healed up, but it's disheartening to know that walking from one end of the house can make me wheeze - not all the time, but most of it. It's not that I'm still having asthma issues, it's that I'm so weak and not exercising. Here's hoping I can get it all back together soon !

Hangin' with Lagoona...all four of 'em !

Current Mood : Still slightly ill...

That's my new Lagoona ! Funny how I've gone from one in 2010 to four in 2011. Mattel didn't even offer a second Lagoona until this year, and then, like with Ghoulia, they really pulled out all the stops ! I'm relieved - no more hunting, or hoping. All I want are the new clothing packs, and if the Fear Uniforms are any indication, once they're in stock, they're around for a while. Folks are still payin' $20. for 'em on eBay, but they're not me. If retail is eight bucks, that's what I'm gonna try to pay - unless I can get it for less ! Beloved Hubby doesn't mind paying a bit extra for shipping, since it probably costs less than the diesel it takes to tour Target and TRU hunting for stuff !

Today was...not good. Oh, it was still lovely outside, and we're going on nearly a week with no air conditioning (which is great, since our last bill was outrageous !), but I woke up feeling like aquarium crud and afraid to eat anything, lest it get worse. So I ate a baked potato...and it got worse. I think maybe two hours' spacing may not be enough for all these antibiotics I'm on, so I'll try to allow more time in between them. After all, it says right on the pharmacy sheets what they can do to me, and I know they ain't lyin' !

As a result, I wasn't in much of a mood to sew or even watch Netflix today. I figured I could let my fingers rest up for a little while, pick up the next project tomorrow. So I salvaged a belt from a pair of Barbie pants and a buckle from a damaged Barbie jumper, and put those away.

Beloved came home with a deli ring of multi-colored Jell-o, which I ate about half of - it was perfect ! Cool and delicious, and unlikely to do anything else to my screwed-up stomach. He opted for a melon, so we both ate light for dinner. I'm about ready for bed already - and I'm hoping for kind dreams, for all of us !

With this scan, you could probably make your own bookmarks...

Current Mood : Just plain sleepy !

Mentioned on Flickr that Lagoona 2.0 arrived yesterday with a little plastic bookmark loose in her package. Odd, I hadn't heard about that from anyone else - must be new. It's certainly cute enough, and a neat ad for the novels. The middle 'coffin' shape is detached to form a sort of clip over the page, and I can tell you, the little 'skullie' peeking over the pages is adorable. Evidently not many have seen it yet, so it's today's image, even though I have a new photo of Lagoona 2.0 herself, as well as revamped Barbie fashion images from yesterday and today. It's nice to have the photos ready to go ! 

I'm sort of proud of today's Barbie retrofitting, sort of not. I actually got on the sewing machine today, but 'KJ' and I are still finding our happy place again. Forgot to change the foot from straight to zig-zag when I dialed up a zig-zag stitch, so I broke that poor needle. The thin, costume-y fabric didn't wanna sew anyway, so today's effort is a perishing mess in the back, but it looks OK in the front. Basically, what I did was flatten out two skirts from the 'Sassy' Fashionista Barbie that was out a couple years ago - those little shiny bubble ones - and sew them together. With Velcro and a bit of stretch at the top, the skirts are now either a short dress or a skirt, and it's pretty cute. You'll get that photo soon ! 

I had some excitement today - a little sparrow flew in for a few seconds, with two yowling cats hot on his claw-heels. DC and Oliver were going nutz ! I was amazed they could yowl at all, drooling as hard as they were. They chased him right out the front door, so by the time I realized there was a bird in the living room, there wasn't. 

Other than that, it was a kind of quiet day. Fell asleep on the sofa a couple times, but only for a few seconds. I'm really looking forward to a good night's sleep tonight, I'm still waking up every few hours because I bumped my leg, or had a cramp or something. But several spots on my spa leg have healed completely, and my therapy one is slowly but surely coming along. Got an appointment with my usual practitioner on Tuesday, and I hope to have some real improvement to show off by then ! 

Well, time to scrounge up some dinner ! Hope your Wednesday was easy and got you looking forward to the weekend !

Mine ! Mine, mine, mine, mine...(like the seagulls in Finding Nemo !)

Current Mood : Happily sleepy.

Another gloriously nice day. But most folk had to go back to work or school, so it wasn't so busy outside, but it was a beautiful day. By 9:30am, both Beloved Hubby and Dearest Son had gone, so it was quiet, too. So quiet that I ended up sweeping out from under the sofa after I dropped a pill, and did my Barbie-revamp sewing for the MH dolls really early. Watched silly movies on Netflix, and polished off leftovers. Not an exceptional day, but a nice one. 

I forgot that hand-sewing does require some finger toughness that I lack. No worries, it's coming back. Straight sewing or button replacement probably doesn't need much fingertip pressure, but stabbing through two thicknesses of fabric and one of plastic Velcro (tm) does. I have thimbles, but they're kinda useless. Maybe I should look through my stash for sharper needles... Today, 'Home Ick' Frankie Stein got to model a revamped 'My Scene' blouse and possibly a Fashion Fever skirt - you'll get that photo soon, it's all ready to go. 

It was kind of funny - as I went to bed last night, I thought of what I'd written, that I'd have all day with my new Lagoona 2.0, since Beloved and Dearest would be out. It didn't occur to me then, but 'all day' might mean 'after 7pm', since that's when we normally get our UPS truck, especially after a holiday back-up. It wasn't that bad today, Lagoona arrived at 5pm, and she's just what I wanted. There were so many changes between the prototype photo and the 'real thing', I was kind of worried. It's also why I didn't want that doll at first, she looked a bit too mature for my liking, and the proto photo didn't have the 'hang loose' hand. All I really wanted when I first saw her were her shoes, and having a similar pair in the late 80s just wasn't enough to justify spending $22.+ for her. Never saw her in stores, so there wasn't regret for not getting her then, but I did go a bit nutz when I saw that hand. It's kind of difficult to get other MH fans to trade you a hand...

But, hey, I got a good sale and now I have a pretty new outfit for the dolls, the miniature jelly shoes memories are made of, and an easily swappable hand that has excellent timing, as right about now, I need to remember to just 'hang loose'. The doll herself, however, has a more 'grownup' look to her face that's almost disdainful. That's waaaay out of character for Lagoona, and not what I like in doll faces in general - the expression showed clearly in the proto photos, another reason I didn't want her originally. So we're not bonding at all. Once I get some photos, I'll probably do a more-or-less permanent hand-swap with her and another Lagoona, re-dress her, and offer her for sale - with a big ole reminder that she's been hand-swapped. 

(yawn) Well, all this recovery and doll fun does tire a girl out ! Plus I get to play tomorrow, and spend a bit of time with you, too ! It's so nice to have something to look forward to...

At this rate, my 'alterations' box and my bookcase will be empty before I'm done stinkin' up the sofa !

Current Mood : Sleepily hopeful...

Another day on the sofa. In fact, today was in many ways a lot like yesterday - another gorgeous day, with lots of folks home to enjoy it. Went to turn off the AC, and it was still off from yesterday, which I thought was great. With my legs all wrapped up, I could use with some cooler temperatures ! 

That said, my far less damaged left leg - which I call my 'spa leg' now, since most of Beloved Hubby's tender ministrations to it feel more like luxury therapy than medical treatments - has healed up enough to use much smaller bandages than what my poor right leg requires. To me, that's great news. Any indication of healing at all is wonderful. 

I also discovered that I was doubling up on the wrong medicine. Whoops ! Luckily I caught it after just a day, but that could have been dangerous. I wish they'd written my directions down, but then again, my care is my responsibility, and I knew what they meant even if I recalled the name hazily. Here's hoping being on the right stuff does the job for me ! 

Going through old doll magazines again - which really means I'm reading through 'em for fun. I ditched about 75% of 'em when we moved here, so it stands to reason that the ones I kept were special, right ? Well...of the first 15 or so I've read, I'm ditching three. I think I kept most of the very old Miller's issues out of habit more than content. There's some worth having - especially those with patterns and projects - but many of the rest are dedicated to identifying vintage shoes. Since I'm not as full-bore Barbie as I used to be, it's easier to identify the ones that don't 'speak' to me anymore. 

I tried like anything to avoid Netflix, and did a great job - it was my guys who turned it on today ! And it wasn't until late afternoon. Nice to see a couple episodes of Psych. Got a two hour nap today because I kept waking up last night. I was wrestling with my blanket (bit chilly last night), and somehow in the fracas, I loosened the bandage on my right leg, the one that needs to stay snug the most. It took me over a half-hour to get it back on right, and even then, it wasn't very comfortable. I was glad when Beloved woke up !

For it being Labor Day, he was pretty active. He painted the bathroom walls, made breakfast and dinner, did my leg treatments, got Dearest Son ready for his grandparents' (which got postponed 'til tomorrow), did dishes with Dearest, changed oil on the Diesel, helped Dearest bathe Oliver-kitten, and had a little time for his art and a nap, just not much. And he's back to work tomorrow. My busy guy - at least I was able to fold laundry and get it put away today ! 

I ended up rather regretting that nap, since it took away daylight that I should have used on the Barbie clothes resizing efforts. By the time I got Lagoona's 'Tribute to the 80s' done, it was pretty dark and I had some eyestrain. But that's two more pieces out of the Whitman's box and into the Monster High one. 

I'm excited about tomorrow. Lagoona 2.0 is due ! Actually, she's been sitting in a delivery truck since Friday afternoon. Holiday hours, donchaknow. But I'm actually glad it worked out this way, since Friday was a pretty bad day for me, and I'd hate to have my long-awaited doll anywhere near that. Since Dearest is at his grandparents' tomorrow morning, and Beloved will be at work, I'll have all day with her !

Hope you have something special for your tomorrow, too !  

Sofa-rest isn't *too* bad...

Current Mood : Increasingly hopeful...

If there's one thing that really ranks about being on sofa-rest with endless Netflix, it's that sitting there reminds me of all the stuff I could be doing. I stock up in the morning with books, old magazines, and projects, but invariably get bored anyway. Dearest Son was so sweet - I found the old 'beige brick' first-generation Game Boy ($1. yard sale find about three years ago) and figured I'd get some batteries for it, since playing Tetris is still better than just sittin'. Went to get said batteries (I'd stored it empty, since it's rarely used) and we were out. Oh, well. I moved it to get to a book, and noticed it was heavy. Dearest had installed the AAs he'd found for me ! Isn't he sweet ?

He and Oliver-kitten are adjusting. It helps when days like today are so glorious, the air conditioning is off and the doors are open all day long. There was so much activity outside that I haven't seen all summer - basketball games and bikes in the street, dog walks that went on for blocks, random fireworks, and yardwork before cookouts - it was a great day for it all ! Oliver's mostly outdoors these days, and Dearest is OK with it since he comes home to eat, just like DC-kitty. I'm still kind of stand-offish around Oliver, though.

Beloved Hubby is amazing. When our vows mentioned 'sickness and health', I know he wasn't anticipating this ! But he takes care of me without so much as a sigh. As a result, I'm so careful about the two new antibiotic meds, I'm keeping a log of when each get taken - if I take them too close together, I end up hovering the bathroom sink, contemplating my previous meal. And my left leg looks almost normal already ! Of course, it's not the horribly affected one, but any improvement is a celebration in my book !

One thing I can do is some hand-sewing. I hate hand-sewing, because I just plain rank at it. But it's like any skill, do it enough and you get better, and eventually you get good. So I may as well use my down time and get stuff done. Starting with some fun stuff.  The LiveJournal reporters noted that there's now a Monster High trunk (for doll clothes and such) and a showcase, with six backdrops to display up to three dolls with. Ya'll may remember I had enough doll clothes and props to merit a special box for them back in October last year, but I had to go for what was out there, and got a colorful skull storage box (that's so full, I've already had to relocate the stands and brushes). I'd like to have a look at the licensed stuff, but when I can get a much bigger box for $7., and the pretty themed one is $15., well...I can make my cash go pretty far when I'm not payin' for trademarks !

Anyway...I got my big ole skull box and went through it once more. You know how, when something's new, you hold on to everything, 'cause you don't have much yet ? Yeah, I had several things I'd made last year that were just plain awful, but I kept 'em 'cause I didn't have anything else. Well, the box is overflowing again, time to thin it out already ! Even salvaged some fabric and a couple strips of soft Velcro (tm), which sounds unbearably cheap, but was more to fill up time than save money.

I also took the red 'lighting bolt' decoration off the silver vest that came with Frankie's outfit in the 'Day at the Maul' set. Turns out, it works as a doll's ring, it's just a bit loose. So I also redid the 'jewelry/belt/hair accessory' box, and that's easier to access. Yaaay !

I have a whole Whitman's Sampler box of Barbie clothes I've put aside for eventual adaptation to MH-size, but some were floating around loose. Relegated three Bratz clothes pieces to donations - I don't know why I was deluding myself that those fit. Found a pink faux-wrap blouse and decided to improve the fit on it by moving the back Velcro, and got to work. Not sure if it's Barbie or Olsen Twins wear, but either way, in about 45 minutes, it fit Ghoulia much better ! Paired with the lavender LIV glasses kindly provided by Smidge-chan and the ruffled pink skirt from the 'Maul' clothes package, it looks pretty good on 'Dead Tired' Ghoulia !

So expect to see more hand-sewn repairs and tailoring ! As usual, the stitching on Ghoulia's blouse is awful, but I've only just started - I have at least a week on ye olde sofa to go !

Catch you on the rebound on the med side...(Airplane!, 1980)

Goin' on hiatus today - decided to dedicate the day to rest and recovery, since I made it through the night. Thanks mostly to Beloved Hubby and Dearest Son for that ! Truthfully, all I did today was watch junk on Netflix, go through old craft books, and try to make sense of things. Interesting enough to me, but not something I can easily describe here. 

Back tomorrow, since by then, I'll be so bored, I may actually accomplish something ! Sofa-rest isn't as easy as it sounds...

Another one to skip if you don't like icky medical...

Current Mood : Pain, but so much less, I'm almost happy !

I still don't know how to write about yesterday. Even from the safe harbor of Saturday, looking back, it was unbelievable, and I hope I forget it soon. I'm tempted to just say 'on hiatus, be back Monday' or somesuch - it's a holiday weekend Stateside. Labor Day. But something's telling me to get this done already, so here goes. 

Skip this entry if medical issues skeeve you out. Especially painful, icky ones. 

After a few days of hope and belief, it was hard to tell if the infection on my legs was getting better or getting worse. It looked different nearly every day, and the plasma puddles weren't going away. In fact, there were more of them, formed where I'd never been scratched or injured by Oliver, or any cat. And it hurt more frequently. I was really starting to worry, so when Beloved Hubby came home early, he pushed for me to call my nurse practitioner's office, make the soonest appointment possible, and at least get it looked at. I was hurting bad - although now, thinking that minor pain like that was anywhere in the same country code as 'bad', is laughable. I could walk after a bit of a owie-stretch, how dare I call that pain ? I was lucky and got an appointment for two hours later, and worry-stewed the time between. 

Without getting too much into it, I'd soaked my shoe through between putting it on just as we left and getting on the scale at their office. Lost eight pounds since my previous visit ! But that was the only bright spot. I soon had most of the practitioners in my exam room, since the first wasn't quite sure if they could help. To me, it wasn't that bad, but evidently, it was worse than I believed. In the end, they slathered both legs with antibiotic, covered the worst spots with telfa (absorbent, non-stick gauze) pads, and wrapped each leg in three 4 1/2" wide Ace bandages - very tightly. My soaked shoe and its dry companion wouldn't fit over them, and the bandages were super-tight.

So tight, in fact, that I had trouble getting into the Diesel, and was twisting in pain on the way home. I put it down to being folded in the truck's cockpit, and figured it'd ease up when I could stretch out. Nope. In some ways, it was worse. I was supposed to be feet-up, sofa-rest, but rest was a foreign concept. Pain was the nature of my very world now, and it hurt more, minute by minute.

I can't even really describe it now, because I don't want to hurt you - or myself by trying to remember. Suffice it to say, the bandages were tight enough to alter circulation, because I needed that...but it was not going well. Eating ? I couldn't take my mind off the agony to chew. Rest was an increasingly foreign concept, a barely believeable light at the end of the worst, most horrible tunnel I've ever known. Both legs seemed to compete over which could hurt worse, in turns.

Beloved checked over the wrapping and changed the telfa after three hours. I could feel tiny tendrils of blue light arc from my calves to my toes as my circulation went back to normal. That hurt, too, but it was a winking pinch from a lover compared to a beat-down from everyone who's ever hated the slightest thing about you given a single form and one day to wail on ya.

His rewrap was tight, too, but not as bad...still, I already knew I wasn't gonna be able to take much more. So, after four hours and $50., the bandages came off. I welcomed the gentle pain and nearly sobbed in relief. I hate to get expert advice and not use it, but I was...not human for those four hours. Words had no sense, nothing existed but my pain. Yes, I'm a wimp. Take these f^%$3ing bandages off before I saw my legs off with a steak knife. Seriously. I was considering it.

We haven't totally disregarded the medical advice - I have two prescriptions that'll be ready tomorrow, and they doubled two of my current ones, we need more pads and triple-antibiotic gel, and my single-Ace-bandage wrapped legs are elevated as much as possible - I'm still on sofa-rest. But now I'm human. I can watch old movies like Car Wash and understand what's going on, I have a slight appetite, I've colored two pages in an old Barbie coloring book, and the Monster High girls are keeping me steady company. My legs still hurt, but it's bearable. Maybe, between Beloved's loving care, Dearest Son's kind willingness to help out, and all these new regimens and medicines, I'll be OK.

If not, well, I can't help but think that, with so much on my side, I'll be all right no matter what !

Hope your day was less dramatic !

I love September !

Current Mood : Excited !

 

Yaaay, September ! I think things started to turn around when Dearest Son made me that sweet 'Get Well Soon' card last night - but read on and make your own conclusions ! 

Today started off great - I woke up at 2am, kicking off the sheet I'd curled under, and found that...most of the plasma leaks had stopped ! And the worst spot of the infection had begun to heal itself ! And all I'd done is cover it and go to sleep. Well, if that's all it took to get this fixed up, I can handle it ! Whew. And I'd been in such worry and gloom all week. Grabbed some fruit juice from the fridge and toasted to hope. Then went back to sleep. 

I was a little disappointed yesterday when Mattel Store updated their Monster High section, but my sole remaining wish-list doll, 'Lagoona 2.0', wasn't there. Surprise ! She was there today, and thanks to another LiveJournal contributor, I got to use a 15% off code, which made the already lower-than-Target-and-TRU price even lower. So even with shipping, she's less expensive than the other six (!) I got this year. 

Beloved Hubby's relieved - no TRU runs this weekend ! And she should be here sometime next Tuesday or Wednesday, she's already shipped ! While I'm curious about Abbey, I'm pretty much done for MH dolls this year. I'm actually gonna start seeking new homes for at least three dolls I already own this month, so it's past time for me to be a bit more selective of what I burn and yearn for. About the only thing left to want - that I know about ! -  are the new fashion packs, and while I'd love all four, if I just got one, I'd be happiest with Ghoulia's. So I think I'm getting better at decreasing my Want. 

That said, ya'll are gonna laugh. Late Tuesday night, I was reading a doll blog that mentioned that one of the new Frankie dolls seemed to have new hands. Of course, this was one I've turned down acquiring several times. A couple fans said the hands shown must've been bent in the box, a few murmured they had some like that already, others said they were all-new. Well, darn. I started to Want...but did my research first. Turns out, some of the new dolls have 'Gloom Beach' Frankie's hands - and I already have her ! They're a bit more gently posed than DracuLaura's GB hands, but much the same. How funny ! I was all set to start hunting for 'the one that got away' when it turned out, I already had her ! 

It was so gorgeous this morning that we opened the doors and turned off the air conditioning. Oliver-kitten saw this as his perfect chance to go exploring, and he's been in and out, along with DC, several times. We finally had to turn the AC back on at noon, but the kitties wanted to stay outside, so we're keeping our eyes open for them. Dearest Son's very worried, but is starting to accept that this is best for everyone. 

Wow. I hope your September started well, too ! I feel like my 'hope' supplies just trebled !