Weekend's work on display - more doll time to come !

Current Mood : Slow but steady recovery.

And Life returns to normal. Dearest Son is home from an extended stay at his Grandparents' - they wanted to give me another day to recover - and I actually got some sleep last night. Asthma is heck on sleep, you either have to try it sitting straight up, or you become a day sleeper. Either way, sooner or later, you're gonna slide to horizontal. Depending on how bad it is, you'll get either the rest of your rest that way, or you'll wake up in a panic a few minutes later, gasping and clawing at air, fighting to get back upright so you can breathe.

I was actually free-breathing pretty well yesterday, but night's always the worst. So it was heavenly to wake up with the alarm, instead of already being awake and staring at it. Haven't needed the inhaler at all today, although I am taking it easy. I hope to get more normal tomorrow, the kitchen's a mess !

Well, I watched several episodes of Intervention and Obsessed, and saw several other A& E exclusives, like Parking Wars and Criss Angel available on the Netflix queue, and started to wonder if Hoarders was available, too. Yes ! Turns out, I missed an episode or two, and there's a couple I can't make m'self watch again. I tell ya, a cocktail of Intervention, Obsessed, and Hoarders over the course of a long weekend will make anybody 1) clean the immediate area no matter how bad yer wheezing, and 2) start to hate humanity. So many people who cry endlessly over their situation, but won't do a blasted thing to change it, even with a cadre of professional help. My throttling hand started to itch fiercely. I have more sympathy when I just watch one episode - and one series - at a time. Doubt I'll watch Intervention again - I just have no frame of reference when it comes to drug and alcohol over-indulgence.

Another potential side effect is that, in seeing others' collections and even piles of stuff, you might realize some things about yerself. One Hoarders episode featured a family of stuffed animal fans. Bought 'em by the ton, from the looks of things. And by the show's end, most were out in a Got Junk ? truck, contaminated by bugs and other nasties. I never really thought about it before, but I've never been 'into' stuffed animals much. I have a few, but Dearest has a boxload, easily twice over what I've had my whole life. I preferred easy-to-clean dolls, even as a kid. Vinyl's easy to wipe down and brush out, because, let's face it, I hate cleaning, and yes, my room had to be clean always. It's great to have soft comforting toys, but it always drove me crazy when some of my always-limited possessions inevitably got dirty and were nearly impossible to get clean again. If there's anything I hate more than cleaning, it's throwing something I care about in the trash, so I ended up not caring about stuffies that were temporary at best. Even now, when someone kindly gives me a stuffed animal, I cringe inside and wonder if Dearest would want it. As yet unexplained is why I really have a hate-on for teddy bears. You'd think a doll hobbyist would like teddy bears, but I can't stand 'em. One day, I'll figure it out. Heck, it took me years to figure out why I don't care for stuffed animals and porcelain dolls - the next big epiphany is always right around the corner !

Never did get to 'doll redressing time' this weekend, heck, I barely ate. Just not hungry. But I'm sure to find time this week. Beloved Hubby's gonna custom-make a shelf for the Jem Rockin' Roadster this weekend - no Airsoft for two more weeks - and hang it for me. Glad I redid the doll bookcase, since I like how this looks much better. Everybody's not so crowded and tight, and I don't really like having a lot of dolls on the floor. At this point, we need as much floor space as we can find !

But it was worth the work, just to see Beloved take a spin - and a spin-out ! - on Dearest's Razor scooter through the living room tonight ! 


PS - Hi, Chelle !!

It's not a good day today...

Having a really rough day - wheezing and gasping. I'll catch up later, promise, but for now, I just want to stay in one place. Hope your Sunday is more fun ! 


PS - Beloved Hubby's home ! Whew. Now I can wheeze in peace... :)


PPS - Remember that 'Wasted and Broke' ramen package that made me laugh like an idiot for three days ? It's real ! If you visit BlueQ.com, you'll find it, along with other tasty ramen products like  'Hello Lazy',  'Din Din F*K Chow', and 'Soup for Sl*ts'. And a slightly embarrassing galaxy of other fine items. Their ramen's expensive, but hilarious !

Color your own coffin !

Current Mood : Increasingly sleepy.

Current Image Notes : Click on it, get it good and big, and cut/paste it ! Grab the crayons and colored pencils - it's coloring time !

Beloved Hubby text-messaged me late last night from Big Event Thang. He'd just gotten in from the briefing, and was settling down to sleep. It'd been a long, big day. And the client loved the badges. Just wish I knew what happened to the first set we mailed. Ah, well, guess it doesn't matter much now. Customer's happy, job is done, we got paid. Yaaay, me !

I've had lots of unexpected fun with DracuLaura's coffin-bed. Sincerely, I didn't want it. I've seen photos of it for months, thought it was kinda cheesy, and definitely 'kiddy'. I mean, between the pink, the bows, and the frills - and the jewelry box component - it just didn't say 'I must own this !' to me in any fashion.

Yet, I loved Frankie's mirror bed. It appealed to the 'weird scientist' in me, and looked clever and unique. About the only thing that kept me from wanting (and having) it earlier was availability and space. Even rotated vertical, the mirror-bed has a big footprint. And it looked like DLaura's coffin took up more, and frankly (ha-ha), I don't really like coffins. Someone on eBay's makin' bank customizing small wooden coffins as character-specific beds for the MH crew, and while they're really neat, they're just not my style. But now that I have this one...it is AWESOME ! It took a few tries to assemble it, and it seems a bit flimsy, but it works. It collapses down for space, and is tons of fun to pose DLaura in. Part of me wants to tuck her into her Gloom Beach swimsuit, fill the coffin with water, and declare it a holiday !

One thing I noticed, especially as I was assembling it. Ya hardly ever see it with the jewelry-box lid down. Even on the box, it's almost always pictured open, which doesn't make much sense - why would that be wide and gaping when the doll's watching The Sunrise Channel beneath ? Well, I have no idea if this is the 'real' reason, but with the lid closed, it's apparent that this is a coffin. A cute as heck coffin, but if it was standing on end and silver instead of bright pink, you'd think it's a regular adult-size burying case, if a bit on the frilly side. Sure, DLaura's a vampire, and vampire = coffin sleeper, but there's no reason to antagonize the wallet-bearing adults, right ? With the lid open, it looks more like a jewelry box. Lid closed, it's a bit creepy. So, ya'll know me...right now, is the lid up or down ? (grin)

The engineering has once again impressed me, too - the little table slides down on a tiny track, but you can still use the sides for things, they're wide enough. There's a place for Count Fabulous and DLaura's parasol, and the little curtain is sewn to a track that extends nearly the whole length of the 'back' side. The curtain can be positioned anywhere on the track, and even replaced if ya don't mind employing a seam ripper and either Velcro (tm) or some hand-sewing. Everything fits well and aligns correctly. Someone really gave this a lot of thought, and I love that ! I didn't get that the pillow was bow-shaped until I saw it in the manual, it's so clever how that 'fits'. Nearly everything has bows or lace on it, and it was a nice touch that DLaura and Frankie's beds have unique sheets. It would have been so easy to give them the same thing, and no one would have quibbled much, so it means a lot that Mattel didn't go there. I spend so much time whining that Mattel's quality-cheap that I feel oddly elevated when I can say they did good. Really good.

All the pets fit in the jewelry-box section, even the wide-base Hissette, Cleo's snake. I needed to arrange her to one side or the other ofow the white rail piece under the lid, but the top closes neatly. Cool. There's even enough space for both owls. That made me happy, since I wanted to use the pets in more photos, but it was a pain to dig through the MH box to get them. I've put Watzit in his little cubby on Frankie's bed, and hung up Count Fab - but his little hanger keeps popping off its base. May have to glue it later.

I also noted for the first time that the included tiny doll-size diaries open ! These tiny little things can be 'posed' like a book. Frankie's bed came with one, too, but I didn't see the tiny clasp. DLaura's bed also comes with a useless-to-me kid-size ring - the 'ring' part doesn't go past the knuckle on my fat little finger ! - but with gentle pressure, I popped the black ring part off, and can make a pin or a sewn-on accessory with the bat-shaped part. Her pitcher, along with the heart-shaped teacup and matching round saucer, are also so in character, it made even me squeeee out loud. I'm thinking of making a black and pink draped pedestal for it...

It even made me re-think how I had Frankie's bed displayed. It was crowded on top of my computer tower, and didn't look especially good there. Thinking that I now have two beds to play with, I relocated them in our bedroom, on my nightstand. Much better ! Even without dolls, they display well, and there's space to play and have fun. Heck, if I end up -somehow !- with Lagoona's Hydration Station, I can add that, too, but then I'm about outta space. There's only one other bed out there, the not-yet-released Clawdeen bunk bed set, and I really don't want that one. They sort of look like dog beds !

Also began to imagine a bit. What would Cleo's bed look like ? That doesn't exist, even as a photo or an idea yet, that anyone knows of. Hmm. A modern communication center housed in a sarcophagus ? Maybe the lid could hold a motion-sensing light or room doorbell. And Ghoulia - I could see her with an awesome trendy loft, with a mad science lab, desk, and computer beneath. And the computer can hold MP3 speakers - tinny cheap ones like kids' electronic toys always get. Would Deuce's snake-hawk have its own pillow, and how would we engineer the dual nature of Holt Hyde / Jackson Jekyll's crash pad ? Plus, there's new students... hmm...

While I contemplated, I re-worked my doll bookcase. Beloved says he'll build me a shelf for the Jem Rockin' Roadster, so I moved it over and freed up some space so the Barbies aren't so crowded, and the not-Disney Little Prince / Princess dolls aren't falling over. Much better. I'd planned on more doll time, changing Barbie clothes specifically, but I could always do that later. Got a final count - 92 dolls total. It still sounds ridiculous, but at one point, I had over 230 Barbies, so...

Right now, I'm watching old movies on Netflix and hoping Beloved Hubby calls tonight. I wanna hear how much fun he had, 'cause I'm enjoying my time, but I'm starting to miss everyone somethin' fierce ! 

DracuLaura can't wait 'til Frankie sees *her* new bed !

Current Mood : What a thrilling, well-slept day ! 

Beloved Hubby left even earlier than expected today - he's driving two friends to Big Event Thang, and had made plans to meet up here around 10am. So, while I was up 'til 3am embroidering those stinkin' badges, it was OK, at least we'd get to sleep in a bit, and I was a twinge wired from the new inhaler, and would have been up that late anyway, if you want the truth about it. Slept like a warm, happy, horizontal brick for the first time all week ! So happy...

Until Beloved's phone rang. At 6:50am. Hard Luck Friend called to let us know he was about 15 minutes from our house, and forgot the exact way to it. (sigh) I'm sorry, but to me, it's kinda rude to be expected at 10am and show up at 7am. But, whatever. Bitterness does not become one. Clapped on clothes from yesterday, and went to finish up and help out. Ate a couple of the luscious strawberries we bought yesterday. They're so red and so delicious, it's like eating a flawless ruby ! I'm savoring them one berry at a time. It's better that way.

For some reason, late last night, the second badge I did glitched something fierce, and had to be cut out of Brody's feed dogs. Still not sure how it happened, I'm just lucky I caught it before he sustained damage. It could have gone so much worse. But recovery, resetting, cleaning Brody's entire bobbin race, and re-sewing that one from scratch made me run so late, I didn't sew the Velcro (tm) backing part, just got the embroidery finished on 'em while Beloved cut and Fray-Checked them. Besides, there'd be plenty of time, we'd be up early enough to get all our work done, get him packed up and fed, and still have time to wait for Beloved's friends...(sigh)

But that's about what happened anyway. While he finished getting his and Hard Luck's stuff loaded and his Diesel's back seat cleaned out (a task he'd put off ), I got the Velcro done and the badges trimmed and packed. I have to admit, the second run looked much better. I'm actually proud of these. Idly wondered if that's what happened - if our client didn't like them and wanted them redone - but Beloved said he wasn't like that, and the first run was good, too.

So he and Hard Luck were ready to go at 8:30. I'd offered to make Beloved a sewing kit, but he decided he didn't need it...until he saw that Hard Luck's uniforms completely lacked the loop Velcro (tm) for the badges he'd be getting at Big Event Thang, and also needed some minor repairs. Five minutes later, I had a repurposed Airsoft ammo bag loaded with two colors of Velcro backing, two spools of thread, a fresh pack of needles, scissors, a thimble, and the tube of Velcro glue we bought weeks ago, in a separate snack-size baggie, just in case.

Second friend was called and arrived shortly afterward, and when it was all done and said, they were on their way to the convoy at 9am. First, he had to stop for ice, and swing back for a couple things he forgot, but that just means I got more kisses. Also a surprise. Before he pulled off, he told me to check the oven. Huh ? I did - and there was DracuLarua's coffin bed ! He'd bought it while I was in line for the inhaler, stashed it in the Diesel, and hid it during the morning shuffle. He'd wanted to get me a new doll, or Lagoona's Hydration Station, but time was a bit short, he knew I didn't have this, and hoped I'd like it. I do. I have the sweetest Beloved...

I also have a box of fried chicken, three TV dinners, three kids of potato chips (with dip), two different loaves of bread, and plenty of soda. What did I want to do, now that Beloved was on his way, and Dearest was enjoying time with his grandparents ? Slept for five hours. Seriously. It's the most sleep I've had all week, and it was glorious !

Got my desk cleaned off and the blog caught up, and mostly puttered. They arrived safely, got checked in to both the motel and Big Event Thang, and the fun begins !

So tell me why I want another nap soooo bad ! Won't sleep tonight if I don't knock that off, so I pulled up Twilight Zone episodes on Netflix and set to debox and assemble DracuLaura's coffin-bed. I'd always resisted getting it before. I mean, it's pink in ways that would make Barbie murmur, "D@mn, that's pink !" to herself before looking for something more sedate in subterranean sublets, like a whiskey decanter box...

I'll write up a nice review tomorrow - this is already pretty lengthy ! Wanna take more photos, too. The short sneak-peek review is that I love it, and can't wait to share it.

Not sure what I'm gonna do with the rest of the night, or tomorrow. Thanks to the badges, I'm a bit burned out on embroidery right now, and don't know what to sew tomorrow. All else fails, I'll do some housework. I can always think of a few hundred things I'd rather do than chores ! 

Say hello to my lil' friend...and go shopping with us !

Current Mood : Relief !

The Inhaler Saga continues ! Called the M-W pharm today, found out my prescription was 'on hold' for some reason, but they'd fill it within the hour and I could call back for the cost in that time. Which I did. Now, I didn't actually for one second *believe* that it'd be that easy, did I ? Turns out the inhaler they had to get authorization for on Wednesday - they're out of stock on it. So the pharmacy has to get another auth from my Dr. for a full-size $40. inhaler, instead of the 60 dose $9. one. Same medicine, just a different size container, but we're still in fax limbo.

Of course, with the pressure systems still arcing through our state, my reserve inhaler is getting pretty thin. I didn't think it'd be a problem when I called Tuesday to get another one, but now I actually need it, and we're still effing around with it. Pharmacist said she'd call the doctor personally and get it handled, but I'm really getting tired of being jerked around and I'm scared a little, too. $20. says they had the blasted inhalers in stock when this whole cluster-bomb started...

And it's not like I have nothing else to occupy my time. The eight 'big badges' we mailed off a week or so ago...never arrived. The buyer chose this morning to tell Beloved. Guess what I get to spend the rest of the day redoing ? They have to be ready when Beloved Hubby leaves for Big Event Thang tomorrow morning, to get to him in time, since it's a Big Event item. Nothing I love more than redoing something I was happy to finish nearly two weeks ago - and it's repetitive and boring, too ! I'm just glad we have enough supplies left over.

But wait - there's more ! Now I can't logon to Blogger. Keep getting returned to the same sign-in screen, and I've changed my password twice. Unfortunately, the latest one reflects my mood and is unprintable. Could sign in yesterday, wth ? Maybe if I dump my cache...

Sheesh, I know it's my turn in the Barrel of Misfortune, and really, this is Mild Frustration more than any real issues, but I'm still feeling a bit put-upon right now. Sorry I'm whining.

Okay. A couple hours have passed - Beloved was home early, and our day rapidly changed ! DFIL picked up Dearest Son while I was crashed, thank Everything Beloved was here. First time I sleep for more than a half-hour all week, and it's when Dearest is leaving !

Never did eat lunch, so I was roarin' hungry when we went to - finally ! - pick up my inhaler. As predicted, $40. for a 200-dose device, darn it. While I waited for it, Beloved wanted to check out a few things for his trip, which was fine with me, I wasn't up to a lot of his standard rapid walking ! I barely had it paid for when I was on a bench, using it. Confession Corner : My old one's been on fumes since Tuesday. I haven't been out of control, but it's scary when you know the device is nearly empty, and you're not sure when the next one will be ready - or even 'if' ! I also need to admit this - for all the negative reviews I read about ProAir, it worked darn well for me. Sure, it smells and tastes like a Primatene Mist (do they even make those anymore ?), nasty as a cat fart in the face, but wow. It really worked for me, and I didn't feel that 'medicine hitting the back of my throat' sensation. Nice.

Met up with Beloved and we did a bit of shopping. Nothing new over at Monster High central, but I'm still tempted by the Moxie Teenz shoe sets. Just not today. Found a nice keepsake box of Barbie stickers - 800 for $5. ! - that ordinarily I'd have considered a score, but I'm just not into Babs yet. They also had Cars 2 sets, which Dearest seems unexcited about, so I didn't get that one, either. Wish they'd had MH !

From there, we dropped off groceries - including some TV dinners for me during my very rare solo weekend - and headed out on a work errand of Beloved's. And we picked up a box of fried chicken on the way home. Yaaay !

And I finally got to work on those blasted badges. I swear, next time we mail anything, I don't care if it's 50c worth of used fly-paper, we're gonna use Delivery Confirmation. At least that would have told us the darn things hadn't arrived with a bit more notice. With my cat-nap sleeping this week, I was gonna be up late anyway, but there were more fun things to do, ya know ? Oh, and I can sign on to Blogger again, of course - but dumping my cache has left me with a ton of sites and no passwords. The fun never ends...

I don't get it...and I really need it !

Current Mood : Scared and worrying. 

And the hits just keep on coming. Waited for the early-morning rush to hopefully abate before I called the Mal-Wart pharmacy about my thrice-d@mned inhaler. This is the third time I've had trouble with simply getting refills for it. And it's still going. They told me our practitioner didn't call back. So I called them. Oh, they got the request yesterday, but reminded me that they have 24 to 48 hours to respond. When I told them it was for an inhaler, and I kinda needed one, they said my Dr. wasn't in, but they'd try to get someone else to approve the refill request.

Um, it's not a refill request. It's an update, not like I'm trying to scam refills without an office visit. My current 'scripts are good through June, and the inhaler had to be redone twice, so it's good at least through July if not August, since that's when it was believed solved (finally) last year. (sigh)

They called back a half hour later, saying they thought the prescription had been filled, because that's what the document W-M's pharm sent them said. I explained what little I knew, and gave them W-M's number. (sigh) Ever wonder what's really going on ? It's like I get told one thing, then another, and trying to reconcile what I was told with what the same folks told something else is like reading two different novels at once, and getting a third as a capsule review - and you were told they were all the same story.

Got a callback two hours later, my refill's been filed. No idea how much it costs or when it'll be ready, it's an entirely new brand from a different provider, Teva Respiratory. And it has the usual 'if you have heart / lung / kidney disorders, contact your physician before use' disclaimers (there's about a double-dozen more), so it was responsible of W-M to call and check. Just very frustrating when it seems like none of us had the whole story. I'll call tomorrow and verify the price and that it's ready. Kinda scared. 

There is beauty in even the worst day, if you can still look for it...

Current Mood : Scary wheezing...

(sigh) It's days like this...

Went to call in an inhaler refill, after checking Mal-Wart's website - yup, they still carry the $9. ones. Unfortunately, the actual local pharm said the manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline, just reformulated them, so she'd need to contact my doctor and make sure the new ones still fit my needs. While I'm fairly low on meds, I'm not desperate, but I'd be SOL if I was. Since it'll be tomorrow at the earliest I could get them - if said Dr. approves - it's a good thing I'm not. I have to call back to see what the final word is. $20. sez the final word is that I gotta shell $40. for one of the 'big' ones.

What scares me is, this is the third 'reformulation' I know about. What if the next version doesn't work for me, it's 2am, and I can't breathe ? It's not like you can test these things when you're not having issues, ya know. And I really want to have it taken care of before Beloved Hubby leaves for Big Event Thang sometime Friday.

So, when the tornado alarms went off late this afternoon, I kinda shrugged. With the horrible destruction in neighboring states, I knew it'd soon be our turn in the barrel. Got an online live feed off the storm center TV station, and scared m'self nearly to death. It didn't help that my lungs were reacting, too, due to the pressure systems that make up tornadoes. Knew the inhaler I had was too lean to really do much, so I made coffee and tried to stay calm. It helped that it wasn't really 'night' yet - my symptoms always get worse at night.

Seemed like the storms were aiming for places we used to live. The weather forecasters were in their element, predicting the tornado to come right up one street that intersected where we lived before we moved, a scary thing. Another started to head to where we lived when Dearest Son was a newborn. Luckily for both towns, the storms faded away before the predictions came true, but they still left a swath of destruction before they spun out. I've never understood why they send out the helicopters out to the places where there's freakin' tornadoes on the ground, but it was heartbreaking to see foundations and debris where homes used to be.

We had one stang of a storm here, even without twisters, including pea-sized hail and lots of it, and the most fierce rain I've ever seen. It was pitch black outside at 6pm, when it's usually still bright and sunny until about 8. About 7pm, the storms had passed here, and were off to make others' lives very exciting if not h#llish, and it was bright and sunny again. So weird.

About the only good thing about today was a surprise Dearest found - Tabitha sent me a package ! That's today's image - a green gown so gorgeous, it seemed like no photo I could take was good enough to share. It has the most elegant pointed waist, sleeves that enable me to choose where the lace hits the doll's arms, a flattering neckline, and a sweeping, flowing skirt. It is so beautiful...

Sometimes I love altering more than sewing fresh...

Current Mood : Satisfied

Another funky day. Turns out, it's humid through 'til Wednesday, with rain expected off and on all week. Since that's one of my triggers, my chest is darn near perma-tight, and the inhalers don't really work for that. Plus, one of 'em is empty, so I've been using it as a 'fake out'. When I 'feel' I need a puff but know the meds won't really work, I take a hit on the empty cylinder. It satisfies my need for treatment without giving me speed my system doesn't need. Yes, I think in some ways, I'm mentally dependent on those darn inhalers, too, but at least I can tell when I 'need' to take a fake hit and when I truly need the medicine. Control issues, I has 'em.

I am very lucky that I'm in control (mostly) of my day - when I'm looped or wheezing badly, I can always sit down until it passes. And I've got some energy returning, so I wanted to get something done today, too. Went to post the lab jackets photo on Dolly Stitches, where I got the pattern I used on Frankie's, and saw that the talented and sharing Lucreziadelbelcoure had also stitched a few of 'em up, as shirts for the Monster High guys. Lookin' good ! Since Frankie's was simply too big - and even with the sleeves taken up twice, they were still so long, they bugged me - I decided to resew the sleeves and try it on Holt Hyde, my blue guy. Oh, yeah ! Doesn't he look great ?

At least this time, there's not a pin holding it together ! (lol) I'll sew in a snap or two, with either camouflaging buttons or brads. I actually had to look up 'Men's Shirts' on Google Images to make sure I had it the right way - I always go right-over-left, out of habit. Have to do the same thing with kimonos, to make sure they're worn correctly.  If I use some heavier fabric on the next effort, it'd make a great jacket, too.

It was funny to read Lucrezia's comments - I had a bit of trouble with the sleeves, too, and completely unaware of her efforts, did the same thing she did, sew each sleeve-to-shoulder seam in halves, from the top of the shoulder to the underarm on each side, in two steps. Trying to get it all in one go lead to puckering and fabric catching. It's not Andrea ('Dolls Ahoy')'s design or directions, or anything at all at fault, it's just the way I have to sew deep shoulder caps. Andrea did a few MH guy shirts, too, and they're fab.

With that minor alteration complete, I fell asleep in my computer chair for nearly an hour, then woke up to get some real, dreaded work done. This weekend is Beloved Hubby's Big Event Thang, so I wanted to get housework done, make good meals, and send him off happy to his much anticipated weekend of shooting, destruction, and carnage. That meant getting those blasted dishes done. Urgh. I've left 'em to sit for nearly two weeks, and we were out of plates again.

I'm still tight-chested, but as long as I had some energy and the MP3 player, a half-hour working and a half-hour resting worked well. After two hours like that, I just busted out and got the last of 'em done and the kitchen cleaned up in one steady hour. By then, Beloved was home and hungry, so I took a break, he fell asleep on the sofa, and when I woke him, his favorite dinner was ready. There's something to be said for the simple joy of a clean kitchen and a happy Hubby and Son. Especially when everyone's well-fed !  

It's still early, but I'm about ready for bed. It's been a busy day, and I got laundry tomorrow and Wednesday. Wheee. DFIL says he wants to keep Dearest Son with him during Big Event Thang, so it looks like I may have a quiet weekend all to m'self. If we can get a box of fried chicken Friday, it'll be like an early birthday !

What to sew, what to sew...

Now I'm sick of snap fasteners, too.

Current Mood : Happy, if sleepy. 

Still shaking off that tide of sleepiness. I wouldn't mind it so much, but it clouds my head, and takes whatever initiative I might've had for the day and hides it under several feet of cotton. But I was resolved to accomplish *something* today...

Decided to empty my sewing box of Barbie clothes I kept to make into Monster High clothes, and skirts I made but never put fasteners in. All hand-sewing, which is why it's been put off into a box. While Beloved Hubby napped a bit, I moved the fasteners of two Mattel-made blouses and three skirts to fit better, and sewed new seams to snug up two more skirts. Stuffed two pair of pants back in the Barbie boxes, after seeing how much work it'd take to get them to fit the girls, and knowing they were just too 'Barbie feminine' to work for the MH guys. Almost the same for two Barbie dresses - I'd end up reworking the whole dress for mixed results, and it'd probably take longer than just making a dress from current supplies. Since I'm gonna have doll time this week for at least a shelf of Barbie-size dolls, it'll be nice to have new clothes for them.

And there were four skirts I'd made that I never put snaps in, which is pretty sad. Half the time I take a photo of a new outfit I just sewed, at least part of it's being held on with pins. Like most doll folk, I prefer snap fasteners, since they look better - and all the fine, lovely vintage stuff had snaps ! - and don't snag long doll hair, but I hate sewing 'em. Sewed six total today, and four yesterday. I should make it a rule that I can't photograph it until I've completely finished it, but I know how I am. There'd be no photos ! So I either need to get quick and good with snaps, or get over using Velcro  (tm).

Sorry to keep using the same few dolls over and over - but Cleo was still on my sewing desk when I needed a fitting model, and her blouse, poorly sewn as it is, went so well with the cat's bow ! I didn't do that embroidery. It's from a kids' pair of jeans I bought years ago, at a yard sale. There's white cats with pink bows and pink cats with white bows scattered all over them. There was also a coordinating turtleneck blouse, and I bought that, too, but the cats are kinda large for sixth-scale dolls. I need to find it, just for kicks. Anyway, sewed up this skirt, cut to display the kitty embroidery to its best advantage, and never put in a snap, never took a photo of it - or at least, there's none I can find. So, now that it's finally finished, it's today's image. I do know that I sewed this back at our old place, so it really has been sitting around a while. (cringe)

Now the box is nearly empty, save for a pair of Deuce shorts, that black 'song' skirt that I'm still not sure what I wanna do with it, and a Bratz jacket with a similar uncertain fate. My fingers are a bit tender, and like Aubrey, I'm about done with sewing snaps for a while.

Watching all the old Rod Serling-era Twilight Zone episodes on Netflix. It may seem surprising, but I haven't seen that many, just most of the classics, like Living Doll, Time Enough at Last, and Eye of the Beholder. It's been really interesting, since Netflix even includes the old CBS TV logos at the end. Beloved Hubby's started watching MacGyver, which is a little confusing to Dearest Son, when we hop from one to the other. I think he expects the paper clips to have some sort of moral attached. 

You can't deny your geekhood once you've made more than one miniature lab coat...

Current Mood : So very sleepy...

I'm not complaining (for once), just sayin' - Beloved Hubby's Airsoft friend left at 5am this morning. We had a great time hangin' out and nobody wanted to quit talking, but that was one long day ! Today was the Airsoft game Beloved runs, and he was bowing out since we were both exhausted...but the other back-up game runner, Honey Butt, was out sick, so he ended up going anyway. Even Dearest Son, who'd gone to bed much later than usual, was wiped out and draggin' around.

If I sat still for more than five minutes, I'd drowse off, which happened over and over, even after a quick three-hour nap once Beloved had departed. So I didn't get a lot done. Mentally, I was right at 'can successfully navigate button fasteners' and 'reads with limited comprehension', but I kept trying.

Finished up Lab Coat 2.0 - just had to put in the hem and sew down the facings. Even though I'd altered the sleeves before I even cut it out, and once again once I saw they were too long, they're still a bit on the long side. I like the Dolls Ahoy one, it was easier to put together - that's the one on Frankie. Need to try it on the guy dolls before I make any other alterations.

But, for all its PITA collar ways, I prefer the McCalls one, Lab Coat 1.0, that's on Cleo. The small darts help it fit better, the length is right where I want it, and it just somehow looks more professional to me. It helps that, since I took the last photo of it, I hemmed up the sleeves and sewed down the facings on it, too. May make two or three more, just for practice. My collars look OK in photos, and they're sewn well enough, but it's a huge struggle for me, so I could use some remedial work on 'em.

Since I wasn't much up for new challenges, I decided to sew some snap fasteners on a couple not-quite-done pieces. Original Cleo's green blouse and black Toreador pants needed more than pins holding 'em together, so I sewed three on the shirt, one on the pants. While I had it, I took the blouse's sleeves apart and took up the hem - I'm slowly coming to realize that over-long sleeves bug me. Ripping up two finished items and re-sewing 'em is highly unusual for my 'eh, it's done' attitude, so those sleeves must bug me more than I originally thought.

I know it's just me bein' cheap and lazy, but sometimes, I really like sewing 30 seconds of Velcro (tm) and being done with it. Those four snaps took me nearly half of a re-watch of UHF to get done, and half of that was re-threading that blasted needle. I'm so monumentally cheep that I was using recycled thread. It's true. Often, I run a line of gathering-length stitches on the quarter-inch line, as a quick marker for hems. Only takes a couple of seconds to stitch, and it really keeps my hems straighter than ever before. A quick tug once the smaller-stitched hem is done, and the marking stitches are gone, but I have a pair of long threads...what better way to use 'em than on snaps ? Provided the darn needle cooperates...

I have one more outfit that needs snaps, and I hope to get to that tomorrow. and perhaps altering a Barbie outfit, those are always fun to change.

Speaking of changes, hugs to our own Smidge-chan, as one door gently closes on her superlative store, and another set of luxe French patio doors swing wide to welcome her skills ! Good luck, Smidge !

Seriously - the only fish I hope you'll feed are the ones that hang out in the tank at the top of this page !

Current Mood : Dizzy with little sleep.

Spent on books : $3.24

Oooh, I can't wait ! Today, Blogger informs me (along with everybody else) that they have a new app - so now, I can put down the equivalent of a tip jar, for those small 'bonus gifts' all three of ya'll are so eager to give ! Pfeh. Ya'll know how I feel about online 'buy me a coffee' opportunities - while I love to tip the pizza folks and the Chinese place, I just don't feel that anything on a free site, delivered to potentially millions of people at once, is in any way personal, and as such, deserves money from folks who are probably struggling hard. I mean, yeah, times are tough, but I can still plot and plan for the four dolls I want this year, I pretty much know I'll get them. Many folks don't get that much. Last thing I want is for anyone to deny themselves anything on my greedy account. We're friends here. I don't want money from my friends.

Heck, truth of the matter is, I do this blog for m'self, so I can still believe my opinions and views matter. Kind of a mental health thing. Ya get a bit of a swelled head in radio, and long after you lose your headphones, you're kinda still looking for a microphone. I'm honestly amazed anyone tunes in, and I'm grateful for that, always.

Anyway...today was super-fun, in part due to the massive thunderstorm we had all last night. It started around 9pm, with wild thunder and rapid rakes of lightning, and whenever I did the 'count between lightning and thunder' trick, it was only a few seconds, at the longest. It was still frenzied when I crashed a few hours later, and it continued hours after I woke up. Despite it all, everyone in the house, including me, got a great night's sleep.

Beloved Hubby's boss declared it a wasted day around 11am, so he was home a half hour later. DC-kitty was in, and soon all my fellas were asleep. While they rested and I goofed off, it finally stopped raining. We got to go out for lunch, and a trip to the thrift - wheee ! Dearest Son soon found a small jeep and a big stuffed cat he liked, Beloved found a vintage-old olive drab uniform in his size. Looks good on him, truly. 

As for me, I had more fun looking ! I soon found a familiar doll - a Crissy ! She was in sad shape, nude, with cut hair and eye mold, but it was still nice to see one...two...huh ? Looking further in the Toys section, I found six Crissys, total - all nude, all messy, all with cut hair. I even found one I'd never seen in person before, a talking Crissy who still worked. If I paid attention, I could even understand her, although her voice seemed a bit faster than it should have been, possibly. I don't really have a reference. She said, 'Brush my hair, please' and 'I like to dress up' and I was soooo tempted... but I'd already donated mine, and found a collector who wanted her dress and shoes. And that didn't even consider the amount of work this doll would need - a full reroot, as her ponytail was gone and her foundation hair was chopped, and lengthy Oxy treatments, since Sharpie lipstick and a black slash marred her face. Very sad. Even found two smaller Velvet dolls in similar shape.

So weird. To find so many at the same time, someone obviously donated a collection - but if it was a collection, why were they all in such poor condition ? I knew I'd not put in the work it'd take to get even the best one of the Crissy cavalcade looking good again, so I didn't buy any at all. I hope someone who can will find them soon.

Otherwise, the toy section was a wash for me today. Same naked Barbies, herds of slightly stained stuffed animals, three-wheeled cars, and sad, saggy baby dolls. Nothing in Crafts or Electronics, Housewares or Handbags. Found a few books on sale - hardbacks were 50c, paperbacks a quarter. I scored softback copies of The Devil Wears Prada, Reading Lolita in Tehran, and Kurt Vonnegut's A Man Without a Country, and hardbacks of The Notebook, Once Upon A More Enlightened Time, The Nanny Diaries, The Little Giant of Aberdeen County, and Garrison Keeler's Love Me.  The cashier only charged $3. for all the books, so our total for everybody's picks was less than ten bucks. Shoot, we spent more on lunch !

Yeah, we really splashed out today ! There was a Greek restaurant Beloved and I wanted to try, and Dearest, not yet into international cuisine, preferred McNuggets, so everybody got what they wanted. We were both missing our gyro restaurant back in OldTown, but not anymore. The new place, smack in the middle of a strip mall, is heavenly ! I could kinda tell it'd be tasty by the steady stream of customers, even at 4pm. I ate darn near everything in my combo, and still had some leftovers for tomorrow's lunch. We have a new gyro place ! And Dearest can eat a 20pc box of nuggets all by himself, which is amazing to me. I feel like I got a proto-teenager on the way, and he'll be taking over our little boy soon.

After dinner, each of us split out into our own thing, so I decided to stitch up another Barbie blouse / lab jacket, using a free pattern from Andrea, known as 'Dolls Ahoy' on Flickr. You can snag the pattern and directions - and a couple more patterns - at Dolly Stitches, look for the pattern in images and the instructions in discussions. I'm hoping her qi pao blouse / mini dress will fit Princess Leia... http://www.flickr.com/groups/dollystitches/

It's funny. This version is less an 'all in one piece version than the McCalls I tried earlier. While I had some futzing with the collar, it went in easier. I ended up having major fits with the sleeves, a problem I didn't have with Version 1, because they were 'built in' to the pattern, if that makes sense. 

Anyway, I never did get the sleeves right, but it looks OK - I'll do a side-by-side photo tomorrow, as I'm already late on this entry. One of Beloved's Airsoft friends came by, and we were still swappin' stories and bad jokes at 2am Saturday ! Gotta get some sleep. Hmf. Is it wrong to wish for a 'recharge' bed like Frankie's, just much, much bigger...?  

Provolone cheese and summer sausage on crackers is *wonderful* !

Current Mood : Drowsy - but I still got lots to do !

Current Image Notes : Fantastic art from http://www.cliffchiang.com/gallery/

Evidently, the e-mail spammers have realized I long ago made peace with my back fat, and have since moved on - now they think I desperately want a forklift. I didn't know my back fat problem was so pronounced...

We got a later-than-expected start to grocery shopping, but it's done. I was relieved to find no new Monster High dolls - at this point, if I'd have found Spectra, I'd have felt obligated to buy her, so many people are salivating - but they had all of the Scream uniforms, both Frankie and DracuLaura's beds, the charms and light-up pets, along with a generous display of mostly Gloom Beach and first wave 'Dawn of the Dance' dolls mixed in together with a few first-release basic dolls. Aside from the coffin / jewelry box, nothing new from last time.

Our Mal-Wart also had a full complement of Moxie Teenz, including their accessory sets. I'm sorely tempted to pick up the one with the white heeled boots, but this week, I managed to put it down. Shoot, that neon-cat roll bag I made several months ago is so full of MH shoes, I had to move the guys' footwear to another bag, and that was before I bought the lot of plastic high-heels from Dollspart. Plus, somewhere on my computer is a pattern to make faux-Ugg boots for Barbie, and I'm sure it's adaptable. I don't believe real human-scale Uggs are that difficult to make, so...

Got two PineCone surveys this week, and it's as if I'm a little kid, bouncing around bragging that I have six bucks I don't have to share with anybody. Yes, Tripod moved me to Free status on the 11th, neat as you please, so I get to keep my six bucks. I really want to spend it, though - right now ! But I calm down, and know it'll get spent soon enough, I just wanna do it wisely. With all the new stuff headin' down the pike, I don't wanna waste what I got on junk I won't care about in a week, just to have New. I can make New, anytime.

Just today, in fact, I made a new kitchen curtain. A bit too short, but I can always add a ruffle or lace later. It's basically a draw-string bag without a bottom or side seam. I like it much better than the 'Left Behind Buncha Flowers Single Cafe Curtain on The Wrong Rod' ones that were up last week ! Used fabric from the thrift shop big ole grab-bag - in fact, it's the same green I used to work up Cleo's poet's shirt a week or three back. I think it was a sheet at one point, but it's goin' fast.

It's so weird, being the fabric hoarder that I am, but often, I celebrate when I use some up. Probably because there's just sooo much of it, that even if I don't have any more of *this* green in that weight, I probably have something similar enough to work in another spot, waiting. Plus, using fabric goods up means I'll have space when I inevitably get more - another thrift-shop grab-bag, a gorgeous fat quarter, a lucky trade - so it's always good news. Now that I have the scrap storage tissue box, it all gets used up ! Always feels good to use all the buffalo. 

Slept like a rock last night. Hard to believe just nudging the bed up a few inches closer to the wall and the not-attached headboard could make such a difference. Sure, I was tired, but my chest is still tight, so I should have had problems all night. But I didn't ! So glad I finally got that done !

I may yet have Creative Friday, now that I think about it...

Getting those pesky 'been meaning to's out of the way while the moon is still gold...

Current Mood : Happy.

There's an ole saying, 'Make hay while the sun shines,' but I seem to be enjoying 'get rid of crap under a golden moon' more ! I completely busted butt today and got a lot done. Just not dishes or laundry. (grin)

There's the little cushion-lid I made for the candy jar yesterday. I still think it came out well. But I need to either change Frankie's clothes or find her some shorts ! I keep forgetting how short that 'dress' came out. Anyone interested in a tutorial ? 

Had a nice breakfast, and got to work. We have big trash pick-up this week, and we got a blue infant bathtub from somewhere - it blew up onto our curb this weekend. Since Beloved Hubby had some trash to put out, I added the tub to the pile. It's gone now. It's tempting to do some 'curb shopping' of my own, but I'm trying to keep the clutter down. Not much we need - and I doubt anyone threw any money away ! (grin)

I keep losing the pillows off the back of the bed because we never put the headboard back up - even though ours isn't a board, it's a gorgeous green metal swirl. I kinda need the pillows to keep me propped up, especially when my breathing's a bit tight, and have been meaning to move the bed a bit. I always forget, though. It's heavy ! But today I remembered, mostly because I was in there for other 'been meaning to' fun, and got it done. Hopefully I'll sleep a bit better tonight.

I also finally went through the two-foot stack of accumulated magazines, and got rid of all but six. They're bagged up in Starlight's trunk, waiting. I also redid my nightstand, which got trashed when I needed a part to something I wanted to sell on eBay. Put books away as well. Much better. Not so much junk underfoot now.

Yesterday, Beloved Hubby came home with a small fluorescent light fixture, complete with light-bulb tube. He gave it to me, saying it got ditched from a kitchen makeover, so he snagged it for me. I could put it wherever I wanted, so today, I hung it over the sink. Our kitchen has just one overhead light, and the sink and stove get pretty dim. I'd have gone for the stove, but there's no power outlet, so, if I ever get off my round butt and do dishes, I have light !

While I was over there on the stepstool toolbox, I took down the ugly cafe curtains that hung at the top of the window. These are the part that's supposed to hang from the middle to the windowsill, and I hated the print. Once they're washed, they get donated, too. They're in good shape, I just don't like 'em. Later tonight, I'll make a simple set for the upper window - I was too geared up to pick fabric this morning !

Hung a mirror in the hallway, and bagged up all the VHS tapes. (sigh) That was actually kind of sad for me. Back in the day, I'd taken quiet joy in having most of the Disney and animated movies I loved available at a moment's notice. But the combo VHS / DVD player we bought less than a year ago eats tapes no matter what we do to it, so it's time to let 'em go. I don't even know if the thrift will take them, since the VHS market is, frankly, crap, but I just couldn't make myself clear them away until today. It's not a huge issue, I have half of 'em on DVD, but when memories are involved, cleaning out is a bit tougher.

But with that done, it was easy to ditch the ten (oh, all right, twenty) VHS tapes I made of Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes. There was no real 'save' to these, most are 20 years old, were recorded six hours to a tape, and had degraded horribly. I kept 'em because, again, more of the memories attached than what the tapes contained - heck, they've been dragged from one end of the country and back twice ! But with Netflix, YouTube, and the Digital Archive Project, I can find most of them online in far better shape than the ones I clung to. And maybe when money is better and I'm not so addicted to dolls (laughsnort), I can actually buy a few. So those got discarded, and our poor DVD shelving doesn't look so cluttered and messy now. Heck, with the VHS tapes gone, we have room for all the DVDs - it's not like we've been buying those, either. Netflix has kept us pretty entertained these last couple of months ! Watched It Could Happen To You tonight, and UHF again today. Love it.

Goin' grocery shopping in a few minutes. Doubt I'll find anything in the Monster High section, but you know I'm gonna look ! Now, where'd I put that list....?

Golden moons and star seating...all aboard !

Current Mood : Bouncy !

Dearest Son is really enjoying the wonderful, bright weather we've had this week. It elevates my mood just by looking at how delightfully blue the sky is. I even saw a golden moon early this morning, decorating the horizon shortly before dawn. Too bad I normally miss all this beauty by not paying attention or being asleep !

Shortly after breakfast, Dearest presented me three white clover flowers, from the patch at the corner of the house. They were so pretty, not quite fully opened yet, tinged with pink at the stem. I grabbed a bud vase and put them in water right after hugging my thanks to my thoughtful son. He brought in more flowers and plants all day, and we kept adding them to the vase, until I got the arrangement in today's image. I think he's got an eye for that !

After an attempt to pull a tissue out of the Puffs box knocked over the modem and a couple small figures, I decided to change a few things around. I didn't like Frankie's bed being all the way over on the plastic cabinet either, so I moved the tissue box to the top of the printer, where it won't knock anything else over, and I can reach it easier. A bit more shuffling relocated the bed to where the box used to be, and the desk lamp behind it gives it more of a laboratory atmosphere. I took Frankie out of it, and wondered where to put her...and that led to today's project.

Although I think it may have started when I was still embroidering those badges - which, BTW, are completely done and finished and on the way to the new owner. Glad I did 33 small ones before I did the 9 large ones, since all the practice really came in handy. While the bigger ones were straighter and, well, bigger, there were still tiny turns and sharp corners, and I would have been frustrated much faster if I hadn't done the small ones first. I can now say that I can make a Velcro(tm)-backed badge, no problem. Too bad I don't wanna see another one for at least a month !

Anyway, while I was monitoring Brody for probably Set #8, I tidied up the desk a bit. I'd had the Doll Hair box down, searching for tiny rubber bands I ended up not using. I also keep those little Barbie catalogs in there - from vintage to the Barbie Girl Wish List. It's always fun to look at those. I grabbed one of the not-quite vintage Living Barbie booklets - I have four or five of 'em - and smiled at the beginnings of Mod styling. I also noticed how dolls weren't photographed sitting on Barbie furniture, which, by then, there was plenty of for sale. No, there were several colors of 'tomato' style pincushions and a couple of those baroque velvet-lined little jewelry boxes filling in as seating. I wondered where one might find a baby-pink and turquoise velvet tomato these days...

So, when it was time to find Frankie somewhere to sit, I thought of the tomatoes. Have several, but they weren't quite what I wanted. I remembered a sewing box I'd seen at Hancock Fabrics - small, but with a very large stuffed tomato pincushion on top, as a lid. Hmmm...I have a glass candy dish catch-all on my desk already. It holds Ghoulia's spare glasses, a couple marbles, two USB drives, a golden dollar coin, a couple safety pins... the usual desk junk. If I could make a softly stuffed 'lid' for it, I'd still have the use of the dish, and I'd have a cute perch for a couple dolls.

I started scouting around. Traced the star on to some scrap paper as a pattern, then claimed a corrugated cardboard box from the trash and cut out the star from it. Good. Fits the dish. Now then...I have some blue moon-and-star fabric that'd be cute, it was a knit nightgown I scrounged from a 25c rack at the local thrift. With a ruler, I traced the cardboard star shape on the doubled fabric, and added a half-inch for stuffing. Sewed the pieces together on the pencilled line, clipped the curves, and cut a slit on the back for turning it right-side out. Eased the cardboard star inside, then stuffed the topside, filling the rounded 'points' first. Ran out of recycled stuffing, and had to use the PolyFil - that I also got at a yard sale, but I still hate to open anything new, ya know ?

Was gonna use a pencil to make sure the stuffing was even, but my fingers worked better. With all the fabric and PolyFil on top, the fabric-covered cardboard underside fit nice and flat on top of the dish. Whip-stitched the slit shut by hand, and, almost instant, darn near free seating ! And I still have a place for miniature eyewear and USB drives. Photo tomorrow, I promise ! Frankie looks so cute on it !

Hmm...d'yall think I should write this up as a tutorial ? The glass star is from Dollar Tree, and Mal-Wart also has them, along with a heart-shape, both by Anchor-Hocking. Not sure if there's much call for candy dish doll seating, but if you're intrigued, I can write it up probably by this weekend...

I also learned that using DTree 'third-grade kids Fiskars' is not a good idea on corrugated cardboard. The pair I started out with broke right in half, no repairs possible. Switched to some bigger scissors, no problem. Live and learn !

And look around for other possible bowls and dishes I can use ! That was fun and cheap, and ya'll know how much I love that combination !