Well, that lasted a day. . .

This is the old one. 'New' has all the turrets and slide !

Wheeee ! I scored big-time at Goodwill today ! Hope you found something special about today, too.

I debated it, for all of five seconds, before loading my second GW Frozen castle into my cart. This one was in much better shape than the one I had – also a GW purchase – and was only $6. Even came with a few dolls. Yaaay ! I debated longer about the pastel tie-dye Build-A-Bear teddy, but her eyes were just so beautiful… and the split on her back seam was probably the only reason she was still there. Found an orange kitten stuffie for Dearest Son, and a DVD (American Gigolo, I’ve always wanted to see it), and the large airtight pet food storage bin I’ve been eyeing at M-W for weeks. Got the lot for less than $20.

My old castle already has a home waiting. A member of my therapy group has a daughter, and she’s welcome to it. Kind of annoyed me when I got asked for photos and measurements – it’s a free, once-expensive toy, okay ? – but I’m glad it doesn’t get added to the pile waiting for Spring Cleaning Saturday. Although it was tempting. . .

Once home, the bear got repaired and washed, and researched. She’s a discontinued Valentine’s Day bear, called Sweet Swirls, and she still smells faintly of cotton candy. If I’m reading her sewn tag correctly – only the barb from her hang-tag remains – she was released in 2015. Cleaned up, she was amazingly soft, and even cuter ! I’m thinking of a project for her. . .

Rest of the day was dishes and laundry and a few hundred little things, like using the shop vac (Dearest had it out to clean the Ranger-truck) to clean cabinets and the hard-to-reach cabinet corners, and cleaning a spill in the fridge.

Madcap existence, I have.

I gotta quit going to Goodwill . . .

My 99¢ new-to-me mug for tea at therapy

‘Spring Cleaning’ Saturday (aka: Big Trash Pick Up Day) is next week, so we spent some family time dragging unwanted stuff to the curb. Got rid of the last bits M & FIL left behind, some junk from the garage, and some kitchen chairs. Beloved Hubby’s talking about moving again, so we’re thinning the herds of stuff. I saw several others doing the same when I went out on a soda run. Pickers are already out, and they can have whatever they want, long as they don’t toss the rest into the street ! 

Pancakes for a late breakfast – Beloved’s a great cook ! – and naps after lots of cleaning and full tummies. Chickened out of finishing QC Barbie’s leg repair after I noticed how dirty her legs are, so I gotta figure how to get years of grime off soft vinyl. 

(embarrased) Um.. . Hi.

Sorry ! Didn’t mean to worry you – again ! I just. . . (sigh) got embarrassed that I wasted another week and didn’t sew anything, and it cascaded. Then some personal stuff comes up – like it always does ! – and by the time the dust settled, here we are. My cold was only slightly painful and didn’t risk my health at all, but all that coughing and gunk certainly wasn’t any fun. One of my friends called it ‘the crud’, and I wondered if she meant what was getting coughed and blown out, or how I felt.

So. Still haven’t sewn, but I finally brushed Princess Luna out and put some newly-thrifted dolls away. My sewing table’s clean enough to sew on now ! I’ve scored several ‘Little Disney Princesses’ and the random ‘Animator’ from Goodwill and other thrifts, which I’m sure you’ll see soon. They nearly all come to me with packaging rubber bands and tags, but their hair’s wrecked around them. And about 75% of the time, they’re shoeless. I even found a Mulan LDP !

I also got the Plastic Surgery glue, and put the inner hip-workings of that Quick Curl Barbie back together. I’m letting it cure, but if you’ve ever had a hassle with SuperGlue and Barbie parts, I can assure you, this stuff is problem-free. The broken parts adhered quick and solidly, very nice. I’m letting it ‘cure’ overnight, and we’ll see if I did it right tomorrow.

And. . . I wanna sew !

Bye, weekend ! Thanks for the sleep !

Rather quiet, boring Sunday. Beloved Hubby slept a lot, and while he rested, I sorted dolls and cleaned off the ‘junk table’. I use part of it to cut out patterns but hadn’t been able to, due to tools, laundry, receipts, and winter gear. Spent a good hour getting it all sorted and stored and wiped down. Now that I have my cutting table back, I can sew ! It would also help to lower the height of the Tower Of New Fabric over there. Yes, even with not visiting Jo-Ann’s in two years and Hancock Fabric’s unfortunate closing, my fabric has managed to overflow the sewing area and terraformed its own landscape in the living room. I’m sure you’re shocked.

Dearest Son prefers his phone camera to his pawn-purchased Nikon CoolPix, so I inherited it. It shares an SD card with the thrift-store digital frame I scored last year, which is nice. If I want, I can screen-grab my pattern’s directions, load ‘em to the frame, and it’s there for me without printing another page or scribbling the instructions on the backs of the pattern pieces. The Fire 8 tab can do the same thing. It’s amazing how much tech a simple hobby like sewing can use !

Gonna ease my way into sewing tomorrow. I figure I’ll make a super-simple gathered skirt for PJ Sparkles, that should take about a half hour, most of which will be spent ironing the fat quarter I plan to use. If it works for her, I can use the same basic idea on about any doll, so it’ll be a great go-to. As if I don’t have six million patterns cluttering up the joint !

For tonight, though, I just wanna relax, enjoy coughing every few hours instead of every five minutes, finish up the junk food, and get some sleep. Hope your weekend was healthy, restful, and also had lotsa your favorite food !

It's so funny, how she doesn't talk anymore. . .

I think she looks more like Marlo Thomas than Lynda Carter, but. . .

It’s a good thing I had a clear ‘want’ in that last Bag O’ Barbies I bought from Goodwill. My new MLP Princess Luna is awesome, and seems to have a color variant mane, but I haven’t done my usual full research. I gotta say, though, the rest is sure not much to write a Blog about !

C. A. Cupid – the first edition MH one – is missing a forearm and hand, and she has Rochelle’s issue shoes. But her hair still has that trademark heart in it, and she has her issue dress, so it was sort of a blast from the past. There’s also a nude arm-missing Holt Hyde. Same arm, too. A revamp (arms don’t come apart) Frankie rounded out the MH crew in there. It’s still seems odd to me to see such sought-after dolls in a thrift-store grab-bag.

There was also a shiny-faced Maxie and two LIV dolls, all nude. A small army of tanned blonde Barbies, with one perma-blouse Cinderella almost buried the two tiny cheap porcelains (I think I remember seeing them for a buck or two at Dollar General, years ago) and a DTree infant, and one near-black haired brunette. With eyelashes. And an odd starred belt. Hmmm. Oh, it’s a Raquelle !

I liked Raquelle. She was the ‘bad girl’ foil for Barbie in the webisode series Life In The Dreamhouse. I plowed through shelves of Barbies and Kens to find her original side-twist smile version, and scored another brunette with a standard smile in another thrift bag. This was Talkiing Raquelle, and her belt played phrases from her dialog, and had six seconds of record and playback. Didn’t work, of course, it’s been a while since Dreamhouse dolls awaited eager buyers. And, unfortunately, she had no hands.

(sigh) And that’s what got me. I probably would have re-donated her had she been intact. After all, I already have two. But seeing her like that, especially after all those similarly afflicted MH dolls, made me want to fix her, badly. Her hands could be replaced, much like an MH, but I didn’t have a suitable articulated donor.  But I did have a damaged Disney Rapunzel from the bag who was a close match to her skin tone. . . .

So, my new Raquelle doesn’t talk anymore. Never been much on gimmicks anyway. I think she’s happier with hands. And not having three star-shaped buttons in her belly !  

May I present Chez Insanity's very own Wookiee Furbacca !

Slept late again, but finished one of my downloaded free books on my Fire tablet. Can’t remember if I told ya, Beloved Hubby got a Fire 8 for me back in late September as an early Christmas gift. I just love it ! My laptop’s getting a bit weary and tends to run hot with video, so I run those on the Fire, and it’s got about 500 novels, books, nonfiction, and yes, women’s erotica on it. All free. I’ll have to live another hundred years to read them all, but I try to read some of it each day. It’s been a while since I’ve wanted an actual paper book.

Our VA clinic has Wi-Fi but the VA Medical Center doesn’t. Not sure why, but everyone I’ve spoken with agrees – we’d gladly do without internet to get one more vet taken care of. And I’m hoping I won’t need any more lengthy hospital stays that would make the Fire useful.

Feeling a little bit better – it’s now about a half-hour between coughing jags, and at least the resulting gunk never went green or even yellow. I just make a freakin’ lot of it, and I still get dehydrated. Still, I was lively enough to take Dearest Son to Goodwill, which was a blast.

He’s currently enamored of 80s and 90s interactive toys, like Furby and Teddy Ruxpin. Nostalgia factor on those run pretty high, with resulting prices. But today, he lucked out – I found what I thought was just an digital-eye recent Furby, in attractive shades of brown. His eyes lit up when I showed it to him, and he eagerly grabbed it, yelling, ‘It’s Furbacca !’. Wha ? I had no idea that The Force Awakens engendered a Wookiee Chewbacca Furby until he told me. This one’s missing his bandolier pouch, but we paid 99¢ for him instead of $60., so I’m not about to quibble.

He’s hilarious ! We all crack up when he starts humming the Star Wars Main Theme ! Luckily I’d just bought some AA Dollar Tree alkaline batteries, and he works perfectly. It adds to the fun (to me at least) that we actually paid more for the batteries than the toy ! Beloved Hubby was entranced when he started dancing, and I noticed that the loud servo noise that was part of the ‘vintage’ Furby was quiet as space on Furbacca. His ears move a lot more, too. There’s an app to go with him that I hope still works. He’s delighting the heck out of Dearest !

As for me, I snagged another Bag o’ Barbies when I saw an MLP Princess Luna in the scrum, along with a one-handed, still-dressed MH C. A. Cupid. Haven’t sorted through it yet. I also picked up a Little Disney Princess Mulan and yes, another Elsa, both dressed but shoeless. And another bag of lace, ribbon, trim and elastic lace beckoned, and it went into the cart, too. I console myself knowing that I’ve wanted that Luna for a long time, and she would have cost more on the collector circuit than I spent on the whole GW trip, so there.

Fell asleep after a quick leftover lunch, but Beloved was home early, so we got to hang out for a while, which made me glad for the nap ! I’m still in love with him and I’m just now starting to believe that he really does love me, too. I know that sound silly, considering we just had our 20^th wedding anniversary and are coming up on the 25^th anniversary of the day we met, but my history makes believing in love challenging. There’s a reason I’m in therapy, guys !

Finally remembered to take a 'Before' photo !

Didn’t mean to pull a vanishing act on you so soon – appreciate your patience ! While I’ve just had a bad cold / allergies, with no hospitalization this time, they have wiped me out. I haven’t been worth a used Kleenex in a thrifted handbag all week. And I’ve gone through a lot of tissues. Still coughing up gunk, then blowing it out and wiping my eyes. Then I get five or ten minutes of peace before it starts again. About the only time I’ve not had to mess with it is when I’m asleep, and because I’m so tired, I’ve slept every chance I got. Doesn’t give me much energy for much, and isn’t very interesting to hear about.

I even cancelled my Tuesday defibrillator appointment and skipped therapy. Luckily the defib has already been rescheduled, and we were able to use my monitor for a quick check. It’s working perfectly. Aside from therapy, I don’t have another VA med appointment ‘til June !

Felt a little bit better yesterday, and decided to do the prelim work on restoring that Quick Curl Barbie I got from the church-run thrift last month. Her leg’s broken off, which I normally ‘fix’ with an elastic girdle. This time, though, I read some articles, watched a few instructional You Tube videos, and decided to try something new.

Broke a big needle, a seam ripper, and a toothpick trying to get the broken peg out of her leg, but my little screwdriver got it done. Played with it until I matched the break, marked it, and put it all away. I want to get some Plastix glue for the repair, and can’t quite handle Mal-Wart yet. I’d go to Ace Hardware about a mile away, but politics. Cleaned a ton of grime from her - note the shredded bit of Magic Eraser - but I have no ideas yet on restoring her wired hair. Wish me luck on that one. 

Today, however, I could handle Dollar Tree – Dearest Son and I hadn’t been out of the house all week, and we were both getting a little stirry. Found some 4/$1. Easter candy remnants, nothing really good at this late date, but a few little things that’ll be tasty later. Got the last of the specials from the local grocer down the street. We felt a nice little rain shower while carrying the loot inside.

Get this – 82° today. 40mph wind gusts tomorrow, with a pollen advisory. Saturday night, we’re on freeze warning ! Crazy !

Ooooogh.....(grabs tissue)

Still ill. Really ill. 'Not driving to Jo-Ann's even with a 70% Off Coupon' sick. Going back to sleep with my new thrifted Disney Store Dory. Hope your day is a lot more fun !

Coughing up gunk in a C-Pap mask is about as bad as it sounds. . .

Oh, forgot to tell you – during last month’s cardiologist appointment, I said I’d quit taking daily multivitamins, as I’d read articles that most of it gets flushed during the day. She told me it’d be a good idea to take them anyway, to fill in a bit. They wouldn’t hurt me, and it’d take effort to OD on them. In short, it was highly unlikely to harm me, and could help. So when we went to Mal-Wart, I studied the display, juggled some researched numbers, and found the best value ‘gummy’ vitamins, as those actually get taken. I left it to Dearest Son to decide if he preferred Star Wars, Frozen, or Disney Princesses. He ate an Ariel and a Belle this morning. I have to say that the red Ariels are quite tasty !

However, that was pretty much the high point of the day. Awoke feeling like the floor of a taxicab, and after breakfast, that upgraded to feeling like hot garbage. Cancelled my defibrillator appointment, I didn’t feel safe to drive or risk a buncha people if this was a bad cold. Already rescheduled. Not sure if I’m gonna make therapy tomorrow, unless I improve dramatically.

Meanwhile, I pretty much ate my rotisserie-bits chicken soup with potatoes, for lunch and reheated for dinner, and aside from a small bag of Smartfood popcorn, that was all. It’s early for me, but I’m wiped out, so I’m turning in. Hope your day was illness-free !

So true. . .

Ain’t no sewin’ for the lazy ! After successfully whizzing away an entire Saturday, I had the most solid intentions of sewing today. But a chance comment from Dearest Son – that he wanted to take drawing lessons from Beloved Hubby, to improve his art – had us completely redoing the living room, relocating unused computers, finding old hardware, finding the dust rhinos a new preserve in the trash can, and moving furniture. Luckily, we’d had a big bacon, egg, and biscuit/toast breakfast beforehand !

I benefit, too – it cleared enough space to use my Wii Fit again ! You know, like I’ve promised my cardiologists’ and doctors that I’d start up again back in November ? All I need are some batteries and determination, and I can buy the batteries.

It’s true what they say – change your view, improve your outlook ! I really like this new, improved living area. Just need to clean my incredibly cluttered sewing table (that’s had all this new and new-to-me fabric tossed on it !). I’m also hoping to snag an underbed box for Ms. Elsa's growing wardrobe. 

The thrifted fabric and clothes washed out nicely, and I don’t think his ‘Derpy’ shirt shrank. He’s so thrilled with it. ‘We Love Fine’ has some great designs, but I just can’t shell out $30. for a t-shirt, no matter how wonderful the Princess Luna image is.

Proud of me. Dinner tonight – Chicken Alfredo – used most of the remaining markdown rotisserie chicken, the last of some garlic cloves I had to mince or toss out, the bread bits from slicing a 42¢ day-old loaf of Italian bread for Garlic Toast, and the last of an old bottle of red wine vinegar. The last of the rotisserie will go to stock for potato soup lunch tomorrow, including the ‘can juice’ from the green beans for extra flavor. Supper tomorrow is make-your-own Italian Bread Pizzas, featuring my own version of Italian sausage, two kinds of cheese, more garlic butter, pepperoni, and onions. Dearest Son loves any kind of pizza night !

(grin) My therapist asked if I cooked well. I told her I cooked cheap, using a pre-planned menu to use up leftovers and minimize grocery runs, while making the most out of markdown discoveries and sales. After I detailed our last few dinners, the whole group was impressed ! Really, though, Alfredo’s easy, even if you make your own sauce. Even Dollar Tree sells the bottled stuff.

Well, early to bed. Defibrillator appointment at the VA tomorrow. Basically an hour drive, 20 minutes finding a parking space, waiting an hour for a 15 minute consult, then an hour’s drive home. Seriously considering hitting JoAnn’s while fat quarters are just 70¢, but I’m already swimming in fabric !

I love what you do ! Whatever it is !

Ain’t no sewin’ for the lazy ! After successfully whizzing away an entire Saturday, I had the most solid intentions of sewing today. But a chance comment from Dearest Son – that he wanted to take drawing lessons from Beloved Hubby, to improve his art – had us completely redoing the living room, relocating unused computers, finding old hardware, finding the dust rhinos a new preserve in the trash can, and moving furniture. Luckily, we’d had a big bacon, egg, and biscuit/toast breakfast beforehand !

I benefit, too – it cleared enough space to use my Wii Fit again ! You know, like I’ve promised my cardiologists’ and doctors that I’d start up again back in November ? All I need are some batteries and determination, and I can buy the batteries.

It’s true what they say – change your view, improve your outlook ! I really like this new, improved living area. Just need to clean my incredibly cluttered sewing table (that’s had all this new and new-to-me fabric tossed on it !). I’m also hoping to snag an underbed box for Ms. Elsa’s wardrobe sometime this week. I actually measured the gown she came in, to get the right length. I’m insane. . .

Also hoping to soon snag a new bedside table. Mine’s an old, kinda wobbly TV tray, put there by Beloved back when I was nearly bedridden. Measured that too, in case I stumble over something good on my prowls.

Ahh, a new week begins. Hope it’s a good one for all of us !

Yup, finally found AG clones I like !

You won’t believe this, but after staying up ‘til nearly 2am – Beloved Hubby and I had some serious winding down to do, and it’s always fun to watch Far Cry game play and eat pretzels – I slept ‘til 12:30 this afternoon. He and Dearest Son went for sodas, and he brought me back a packet of mixed nuts. We shared it for breakfast.

A while later, I made a late lunch, more ham steaks, eggs, and toast. Added cheese and ‘ham juice’ to the eggs, they were so delicious ! Dearest came back for seconds on the ham.

Promised I’d tell you about the Old Navy infant dress. Well, we have a local church-run thrift that I rarely went to, but this summer, I did. They had a small room full of huge piles of clothing, simply priced – stuff a Mal-Wart sized sack for $5. There were three of us down there, sweating in the heat, working together. One thin lady was looking for clothes to fit her, another was searching for back-to-school kid clothes, I was there for interesting pieces, small prints, and stuff to fit my guys. If we unearthed something we thought the others might like, we tossed it their way.

I left with two super-stuffed bags over an hour later. I can get a LOT in a sack ! The other mom and I were giving the young lady tips on how to get the most in a bag, and she did quite well. Other mom had four bulging sacks to her credit ! My bags included a Cuisinart apron, an Old Navy hoodie (Beloved’s favorite this winter) and a grey sweatshirt, a pair of jeans for him and Dearest, two tees for Dearest, a blouse for me, and a ton of kids’ clothes. I got red velvet, cute prints, and many fabrics I don’t often work with. So worth it !

The starry dress was the Old Navy infant one. I basically made the back the front, and pinch fitted it until it worked. Made machine embroidery shoes from the cutaway. The Belle nightgown was a Disney Store kids’ shirt that was also cut to fit, and there was enough of the rose sleeve fabric left to make panties and shorts. Another black-with-red-hearts print kids’ tee made a blouse and shorts for dolls this same size, plus two ‘Curvy’ Barbie pieces. I make the most out of my upcycling !

As for the dolls, green-eyed brunette Autumn was a Mal-Wart markdown, although for those eyes, I’d have gladly paid full price. I traded the other doll – also a M-W doll on deep discount – for a nearly identical doll from Goodwill. The one I have now is named Summer, as she wore only a flower in her hair when I found her. She reminded me of Donna Summer, with her long wavy hair. Haven’t done a lot of sewing for them, just a few separates and a sofa, but I’m starting to get that urge to create once more. (grin) The sofa is a beanbag idea that I cut wrong, out of flea market 4yds for $1. fabric, and it’s stuffed with collected fabric scraps with some tulle from a neighbor’s wedding. I’ll have to show you that soon, too.

Darn, but I’ve missed this and you !

Poor Unfortunate tire. . .

Sorry to vanish on you, but there was just no way to make yesterday’s  ‘Slept all day and did dishes’ interesting ! Although the markdown ham steaks and mac & cheese with corn muffins for dinner were delicious !

Took Dearest Son out for a prowl – he found two MLP-scale playsets and a ‘We Love Fine’ MLP ‘Derpy’ shirt at Goodwill. Somebody paid $30. for that shirt ! Even if it shrinks – it doesn’t look at all worn – he wanted it, and I said I could always make a pillow out of it. It goes in the washer tomorrow.

As for me, I was quick to snatch up a seven-inch stuffed Ursula I found lurking in the stuffed animal rack. Missing her hang-tag, but otherwise perfect – for 99¢ ! I also found a pretty skirt with the half-off color that actually fit me (lol), and a bag of stretchy lace and other notions like sequins, jingle bells, ribbon, and poinsettia fabric. All the lace and fabric’s on top of the Derpy shirt in the hamper. Ms. Elsa scored a pair of half-off Old Navy pink jelly flats. Wonder what she’ll look like in soft pink. . .

(grin) This is about the third time I’ve found Old Navy second-hand. Only time I’ve ever set foot in the place is when I went to find sneaker-shaped keychains to fit the Tonner ‘Matt’ doll. Made a pretty dress out of an ON infant dress – hafta show you that tomorrow.

From there, we hit Mal-Wart, for soda and look-around fun. I bought two spring fat quarters – also in the hamper – and priced under-bed boxes for Ms. Elsa’s growing wardrobe. Kinda pricey, hoping to find an alternative or a sale soon. Dearest refused to spend any of ‘his’ money. Got a free sample of Mango Crasins from the machine/device, and they’re actually pretty good. Especially considering I don’t like cranberries and I hate mango.

And just a few hours ago, I had my first experience with Uber. Beloved Hubby was home kinda late, so we went out for a snack – and we had a blowout. Not on the tire I have to keep inflating, on the one opposite it. Tried to walk home, but it was 36° out and windy, and I lost breath and strength pretty quickly. We made it about halfway, and he knew I was trying but in trouble. So he arranged it, which was nice and not too expensive. Once home, we retrieved the spare, warmed up a bit (hot cider for the win !) and drove out in the Diesel. Beloved got it replaced and I drove it home. We were both wiped out, but some hot chocolate helped. Brrrrr !

I’m going to bed, to finish warming up ! Check your tires, sweet ones !

Some days, ya just gotta buy the stickers and eat the cheese crackers.

You might notice a drop in content on Wednesdays. That’s group therapy day, and while it’s only two hours plus an hour’s travel, and I get to talk about me for a good chunk of it, it is a bit tiring. Rewarded myself today with some of my new favorite cheese crackers, the Lisa Frank stickers I’ve wanted for a couple weeks, and a box of Slush Puppy pop-ice, all from Dollar General. Yeah, the stickers were silly, but they were only $1., and I really liked several of the designs. Since there were ‘Over 600 !’ in the folder, many are tiny, which will come in handy for my dolls. Just don’t tell my vast collections of Disney Princess and Frozen stickers, OK ?

Made those tasty smoked Gouda chips my reward for cleaning up the kitchen and prepping the dishes for this afternoon’s scrubbing. After a hearty lunch of potato soup – made from the corned beef stock – I fell sound asleep for nearly two hours. It’s noteworthy ‘cause I can hardly sleep these days without the C-Pap mask. Yeah, I still hate it, but I rest so much better with it, and the mask doesn’t freak me out anymore, it’s just become another thing I do, like brushing teeth or thrift shopping.

Got a good chunk of the dishes done before Beloved Hubby came home, and I’ll probably put off the rest ‘til tomorrow. We had a nice simple dinner – markdown ham steaks, mac & cheese, with corn muffins. I’m stuffed !

But I still hope to sew tomorrow. Oh, yeah – I’ve gone two entire days with no soda ! I’ll probably break down and have a single glass tomorrow, but I’d rather eat my calories than drink ‘em !

After Easter stuff. . .

Can you believe I got this, hand-stitched, framed and all, at a thrift in February, for just $5. ? It's true !

Some merry prankster – or clumsy bunny ! – decorated our sidewalks for at least four blocks with jellybeans and speckled malted milk eggs. Hope no kids picked ‘em up and ate them !

Slept late, so I didn’t get to any doll stuff today. Took Dearest Son to Dollar Tree, as we needed a few things. Cough and cold season means we tear through tissues, and I wanted to test the sweater shaver I got at the thrift this past weekend. Shaver : 25¢  Batteries : $1. Shaving a bald spot in an old towel : Awesome ! Of course, after I bought a box of chalk there, I found the pieces I’d been searching for- but it’s all good. Even if the thrifted fabric isn’t chalkboard stuff – seems to have the same texture as online photos do – that just means I have more colors to use now. Fabric works perfectly with chalk.

Selected a few small bags of discounted Easter candy, and Dearest crowed that he was getting more for his money buying chocolate rabbits on sale instead of candy bars. He even compared ounces to cost, which I didn’t learn ‘til I was out on my own.

Not a lot else going on – we got the local chicken shack’s Tuesday special for dinner, which was a nice surprise. And I have group therapy tomorrow. Maybe I can squeeze a bit of doll sewing time in between that and dishes !

Thrifted dolls - I got a LOT !

Last month, I scored a PJ Sparkles doll, no dress or shoes, but very pretty. Her hair wasn’t much of a mess, and once I replaced her ‘Best By 2000’ 9v battery, she lit up again, flawlessly. I always liked that doll, but was ‘too old’ when she came out in 1988, so I was happy to find her at GWill. Hope to sew a simple skirt for her tomorrow !

I also acquired a Bag o’ Barbies, and after careful consideration, kept seven and put fourteen back in the bag to re-donate. It was an interesting mix. Among the ones I kept were a Skating Elsa, a pink perma-blouse Disney Aurora, a Disney Descendants ‘Coronation Gown’ Audrey, a pretty brunette Barbie with eyelashes, and a fairly recent ‘Day to Night’ rotating scalp / hair colors Barbie. Continuing their adventures elsewhere are a Dora doll with yellow duct-tape diapers, a doll that may have come with a tree stand, rifle, and deer, a Model Muse Barbie, a princess Barbie with a light-up, spinning skirt, and an Ever After Apple White missing one hand.

I’m also choosing our menu for the week, deciding what culinary delight I’ll employ to break in the ‘new’ slow-cooker. Writing up a menu really saves us money – I don’t buy as much, I can plan around sales, make the most out of leftovers, and it settles the eternal ‘what’s for dinner’ query quickly. And it’s not like we’re obligated to stick to it. Only problem is, we don’t eat out much anymore !  

In solidarity with the state teacher’s strike, Beloved Hubby was home today. So we slept in, got huge, sloppy sausage gravy biscuits, played Far Cry 5, and otherwise enjoyed the day. We talk politics a lot more now – age makes activists of us all eventually ! – but aside from keeping an eye on the strike, we didn’t much today. Hope your first Monday of April ’18 was good, too !

Hair Play Sunday - Happy Easter !

Wish my 'new' QC Barbie looked this good ! Mine does have those little hair beads though. . . 

Hard to believe it's April already ! Luckily today's only April Fool's prank was when I placed a ham sandwich in front of Beloved, telling him it was liverwurst !  

Beloved Hubby and Dearest Son loved their ‘Easter Bindles’ – Beloved had fun rubbing the tulle over my head, showering me in gold glitter. I’m not sure how I ended up with bits in my mouth and more down my bra, but glitter is considered the herpes of the crafting world for a reason ! He's using his custom Lindt ribbon as a bookmark. Dearest put his glitter tulle to work in the MLP castle, as royal rugs and a bedspread. I told him he could have more whenever he wants - thanks to another thrift score weeks ago, I got an entire spool of the stuff. How clever of the Easter Bunny, to wait ‘til he got here to use craft materials from my sewing table !

I’m still finding places for last week’s second-hand bounty. I was thrilled to find those vintage Cricket and Velvet clothes, even though I have neither doll. There are lots of free patterns for both dolls online, and I can use the issue dresses as testers on the dolls I do have, to preview if the patterns might fit.

                                                                                                   

In an effort to stop the bored-hungry – I’ve gained weight over the winter – I decided to brush out the snarled curls of the single doll who still needed it, the ‘Royal Reflection Eyes’ Elsa in a Cinderella dress. Took the dress off and realized she actually was Cinderella, as Elsa’s painted-on panties are teal while Cindy’s are light blue. Plus her hair parts differently. Same head, though. Half an hour later, her hair was at least out of the dreadlocks – it’s still floofy, but the brush passed easily through it, and my wrists were whining. Thank Everything I use a pet brush on those wrecked tresses now. Found a small one in a Flea Market ‘Free !’ box, and I swear, when I donate these dolls – I’m now allied with Dolls For Appalachia – I’m going to include a pet brush with each one. Amazing how many Disney Princess ‘toddler’ dolls show up at Goodwill with Medusa-level hair.

I also had time to play with my new Quick Curl Barbie, the one with the left leg that falls off. Had one, and QC Skipper, as a kid. A bit of research showed she was the first issue version, like my childhood one, not the ‘Deluxe’ or ‘Miss America’ one. If I can’t fix her leg, I’ll just make her a simple elastic ‘girdle’ so she can sit and pose, gosh knows I’ve done that before. Might even make the girdle into panties, just for fun. For now, her leg’s staying where I snapped it back on, but it may just be playin’ with me.

After spending so much time with more modern dolls, a a near-vintage one keeps surprising me. She has butt markings, the angled T-n-T waist, no perma-panties, her legs click and hold three times, and her joints are strictly back and forth. In fact, this one had gone so long without any play, her arms were almost stuck in the sockets. They’re fine now.

Also, her head isn’t so full of hair that light behind her doesn’t shine through a bit, which gives her face an attractive glow. Hm. Wonder if that’s part of the appeal of vintage dolls.