Got a whole Lottie love...

Current Mood : Grateful we don't have a K-Mart...

Whole family came down with upset tummies last night, so we each retreated to solo suffering accompanied by the distraction and comfort of computers, sofas, cable, and books. I knew I’d need a lie-down in bed, so I snagged a favorite book I haven’t read in a year and something that’s been on my mind for a while.

Last time we moved, it was one of those ‘yard sale Saturday, completely moved out by noon Sunday’ deals. We’d been sort of packing off and on the whole time, but got the bulk of it done in less than eight hours. I can see you flinching, because you know that kinda schedule leaves little time for careful packing. Ya end up throwing most of your thousands of worldly goods haphazardly into boxes, and hoping it comes out OK on the other side.  

Of course, my dolls, being non-fragile plastic and vinyl, got this treatment. Most did come through  just fine, but my much-loved Charlotte (Princess and the Frog ) had one side of her hair completely smashed flat. I sighed when I unpacked her, as I’d loved her curls. One of the reasons it was so easy to let go of the Becky set was because both dolls had the same hairdo. Normally I’d keep the brunette, no surprise, but Lottie looked so happy (and actually a little less goofy than Becky !) that she made me smile from the day I found her on a retail shelf. And seeing the second Disney-exclusive doll of her made me really upset that mine got a little damaged. Have you seen that one ? She’s more cross-eyed than Lum ! Nice dress, though – but we’ve all seen more pink, elaborate, and fluffy on yer average Christmas Barbie.

Anyway, as you can guess from this long-winded wind-up that the ‘something’ was Charlotte. I’d had a little success with ‘jailbreaking’ Cupid’s similar style, and was ready to try restoring Lottie’s. Much as I love washing out the spray glue/starch/museum paste Mattel uses to keep hairstyles intact in packaging, some dolls have hair I don’t want to even try to restore after a sink shampoo. I’d discovered that I could brush out Cupid’s curls and they’d spring right back, even free of the product. I’m not sure why I was so surprised, my 1962 Midge still has her original curls, too. I just curl their hair around my finger with the doll brush.

So, when Lottie still looked good this morning, I gave her a bit more of a spa treatment and washed the rest of the spray from her hair. I wanted to keep the high curl and the tulle fluff, so I washed around ‘em. Much better. I don’t feel like I damaged her now, and with that whatever stuff out of her hair, I think she’s better than before. And when we move this time, she and the rest of my fashion dolls are gonna travel standing up in a divided container liquor store box. That I keep on my lap for the drive over. Hmpft.

I admit, I kinda felt somehow unfaithful to the Monster High dolls, but they seemed to understand. Even when I borrowed Cupid’s stand to keep Charlotte on her feet last night. Yes, MH stands can work for Barbie – if you can push the ‘c’ shaped piece down far enough to clamp one thigh. That’s right, MH waists are the size of one Barbie leg.

Today’s been interesting, too – although I mostly did some neglected housework, I still made time to read my various MH doll information sources. Kmart.com (sorry, that site’s so awful, I’m not gonna link it) showed the Roller Maze dolls available, so several fans barreled off to their local stores, or tried the modified in-store pickup thing the website offers. Turned out, the dolls are not available yet (not supposed to be ‘til July, which normally means mid-June, but nearly all the new stuff surfaces in California early), and the ones who successfully placed orders found Dead Tired dolls waiting for them instead. Seems K-Mart uses the same UPCs for both series, and the website reflected that. Made me glad the nearest k-store is over 50 miles away, even though I wouldn’t have gone unless they were less than two miles away. Until they start showing up on eBay with stupid ridiculous prices, MH dolls darn near don’t exist.