Perhaps not surprisingly, the car boasting this amazing image also bore three major dents. Litigation pending, perhaps ?

And yes, the original (I deleted the names) had that (c) TM mark.

Still rather tight-chested, have been all day, but I’ve given up fighting and just take the medicine when I need it – and I’m darn grateful I have it and the nebulizer. Did a little research and it’s very common for those of us with breathing issues to see them ramp up with seemingly no explanation (I was worried my heart was worsening) in Spring, mostly due to pollen reactions and barometric pressure dropping before a storm. Did’ja know that when the barometer drops, there’s actually less oxygen in the air ? Makes it almost as hard to get what you need out of it as massive humidity. Potentially knowing what’s causing the issue reduced my tension quite a bit, and makes it easier for me to be in the right mental spot to take the medicine I try to avoid.

FIL’s appointment went well enough, I hope – I was just glad to have it done before noon. Turns out the ‘local’ medical center (not the hospital) is nearly as long a drive as it is to OldTown ! But the valet guys were cute, and it was nice to have a non-family member smile at me. I think they were glad Emmy-car was just dropping off – so few folks these days can drive a stick.

Got my Arena cleaned up – not a lot you can do when sitting in a chair is about it for activity that doesn’t make ya wheeze – but I hope to sew tomorrow. Maybe SG Elsa’s shoes, so she can be donated, and another test of her simple shift dress with my minor alterations. Gosh knows I got the fabric for it, I can use velvet if I want to ! I already have tomorrow’s lunch ready – marinated teriyaki chicken over steamed rice, leftovers from tonight’s dinner. I can’t do much, but quick, simple dinners I can tough my way through !

That's a lotta felt !

Still having some trouble breathing after what should be minor effort, like climbing the stairs or bringing in a light bag or two of groceries. Not sure why, but albuterol in the nebulizer works great ! I’ve been told I can take a treatment every four hours, but my breathing issues are negligible unless I’m putting forth the effort, so I only use it if I don’t settle after a few minutes’ rest.

Needless to say, that doesn’t make for a very active day. So I sorted that huge bag of felt from Monday’s OldTown thrift trip – I counted over 100 sheets in many colors in there, plus numerous big scraps, a silver hand-embroidery hoop, a baggie full of DMC embroidery thread, three unfinished projects, a hand-sewn hat-shaped felt pincushion, and five magazine-torn pattern/direction pages. Well worth the $4.98 – I’ll probably not ever need to buy more felt for a while – if ever !

The sack of velvet was a steal, too. What I thought was black is actually a very dark brown – with a rose pattern embossed in it ! There must be at least two yards of it, possibly three. Not sure how I’ll use it, those roses are pretty big. The burgundy (about 1 yard, still with a Hancock Fabrics sticker on it) and the green (half-yard) is your plain, stretch velvet, pretty and so rich-feeling. Not bad for $1.48 ! It’d been marked down from $2.98, I’m amazed it was still there.

I still have the fabric bag to sort through, but I can probably get that done in between taking FIL to his appointment tomorrow and picking him up. Just can’t wait.

Ever think you'd see an MH-themed Easter Basket ?

I still don't know how they filled it without any dolls, but they did !

Dearest Son was thrilled with me – the video game I found at the thrift yesterday, Gran Turismo 4, was one of the games on his ‘gonna buy’ list for $7. I think I see another pizza party coming up this weekend ! He bragged about it all during Game Day. (sigh) Next time, I’m taking a book. The Mommy Klatch sat at the table behind me, although the table where I sat was completely empty save for me. I actually had to move, as ‘their’ table filled up, and they were making seats at the ends. (expletive deleted) it.

At least we weren’t there long. And Hobby Lobby was a blast. Dearest spent the funds he had allocated for video games on new markers, and he’s already used and proclaimed himself in love with them. As for me, I snagged a cheep divided plastic box (for sixth-scale doll shoes), a slightly outdated McCalls pattern catalog, a big ‘beach fun’ themed tub of Perler beads for an upcoming project (that’s where the 40% off coupon went), some yellow felt (the thrift bag only had one piece of that color), and a little bag of ‘bubbles’. Those are iridescent half-orbs in varying sizes that’ll look great glued to a lucky doll’s clothing, and hopefully will be soon.  

I have the doll shoes organized, sort of – they’ve been assigned rows and cubes of the rows, but I haven’t verified that both shoes of a pair are in the same cube yet. I had no idea I owned so many pairs and colors of Barbie ballet shoes. To think, I once had three of those boxes, even bigger. They were in one of those kids’ plastic school supply boxes, but it was a cram, and it took me a while to find matching pairs. Not so much of an issue anymore !

We’re home tomorrow – I gotta get these bags and still-boxed dolls sorted out and put where they belong before I can’t walk in here anymore !

Tons 'o Stuff Monday !

I had so many plans for the day – but I’m glad that it worked out the way it did. We all overslept, and I was still tired. So tired, in fact, that I bagged my trip to Michael’s, preferring to nap and remain at home to just relax alone (Dearest Son and Beloved Hubby were working together today) before it was time to take the ILs to their monthly doctor visit. Besides, who knew what I’d find in the OldTown thrift during the wait ?

‘The wait’ took over three hours, which is unusually long for them. I ended up hitting two thrifts, a grocery store, and a drug store, and still sat in the parking lot for a while with a no-cal drink and mixed nuts. I’d had major scores at the thrifts, but didn’t know what was with all the kids. Usually, I nearly have the thrifts to m’self, with maybe five or six other customers. Beloved’s texts reminded me that it’s Spring Break week.

My favorite thrift snagged me bagloads – the smallest one held 15 stretchy book covers (or stretchy fabric for doll clothes !), the larger ones included one of nothing but all colors of felt, another held yards of green, burgundy, and midnight blue velvets, a third was all gold trims and ribbon reels, and the fourth was all miscellaneous fabrics, including white-on-white stars, pretty harvest orange prints, and numerous florals including purple morning glories and green vines on a navy background. Snagged a cheep purse that I may use as a purse or as a strap for the green bag I got there last time, not sure yet. I also found Gran Turismo 4 for the PlayStation 2 for just $3., and it’d never been opened ! Dearest was thrilled.

The other thrift teemed with squealing, running kids. It was like they’d been given $10. and were told to stay there ‘til they decided how best to spend it, as hardly any of the short-statured horde was accompanied by adults, even at the registers. Yet, ironically, at this store that never has toys – just overpriced ‘collectables’ – my one find was a very dirty Ever After High Hunter Huntsman doll. He’s still in his issue wear, minus his jacket, satchel, and stand, and his shirt’s been replaced. Haven’t identified the shirt’s donor, there’s no tag, but it fits well and quite resembles his original. Found a clone of it on AliExpress, so it’s probably from a Ken ensemble. At first, I decided to get him for his neat boots, but since his feet are probably the same size as MH guys’, it’s doubtful I can use ‘em for the Star Wars guys. So, in the end, I got him for him. He fits in well with the MH crew.

I’d planned for lunch at Arby’s, too, but decided I wouldn’t have the time. (snort) Instead, especially after I spent about $30. on all that, so when I got tired of wandering around stores, I enjoyed my snack and the last half-hour in the doctor’s parking lot. Beautiful day for it. FIL came out mad as a drenched cat, muttering that he was finding another doctor, with MIL unsuccessfully urging him to calm down. I’d planned on getting them sodas (and stopping for the bathroom), but he told me he just wanted to go straight home.

Ended up taking them to the cheep tobacco store then the Burger King drive-through (where they over-spent and I had to pick up the balance, and I didn’t even get anything, sigh). MIL would like for me to install Skype on my computer (I have no use for it at all), then take them to the library and loan them my computer to talk to BIL and family – tragically, I think my very ancient laptop is too weak to meet minimum requirements. I have to take FIL to another appointment Thursday, which is at least local. MIL then wondered if I had any plans tomorrow. Oh, heck, yes. I reminded them of Game Day, then BS’ed some afternoon call I have to take about my own medical care. I desperately need at least ‘til Thursday to detox before I gotta drive ‘em all over the  place again. I plan to be so very broke by then, which I kinda already am.

I can’t wait to go to bed ! It'll probably be Wednesday before I get to dig through all I bought !

I actually sewed something today !

Massive thunderstorms rocked the atmosphere all night, so no sleep was to be had for any resident of Chez Insanity. However, when we did wake, there was bacon and hash browns ready to be cooked and devoured, so we had that going for us. I don’t think we noticed that twice-a-year ridiculousness that is Daylight Savings Time ‘til well into the afternoon. It helps when most of the clocks in the house – on computers and cell phones – update themselves.

Still, I found it hard to get going even on fun stuff today. Got bored of cooking bacon halfway through, and I was using our big surface electric griddle ! Had the fabric cut out and thread picked out for ‘Little Godiva’ Elsa before 2pm, while my guys napped, but didn’t get started on the very simple dress ‘til nearly 3.

Came out pretty well, and quickly. I think I got the pattern off Pinterest, but here’s a link, it’s for a 15-inch doll, courtesy of Heartland Happy. They have a pajama / shirt and pants free pattern available, too. I decided to just hem the neck and armholes instead of fussing with fold-over elastic, and it came out pretty, but in my opinion, the finished item was too big, and the armholes were almost to Elsa’s waist. Even though the original pattern is shown on a TollyTots Cinderella – identical body to Elsa’s – it hung waaaay loose. So I took up an additional quarter inch seam along both sides, which snugged it up a bit and ate up some of the huge armhole, but still leaves it easy to get on and off.

Her dress slid under the necklace while I was doing the final fitting, so that worked out nice. Looks good covering the necklace, too. Its original pattern length keeps it modest when she sits, so I only have minor adaptations before using this pattern again. Once I get her some shoes made, I’ll pop her in the Fever box and get her donated. After I get her photo, of course !