Part Two of The Whole Sordid Mess !

Current Mood : Digging out exhausted.

Taking up from where we left off yesterday, without too much wasted space...

So. After a bit over a week of intensive care hospitalization, I was released with seven new prescriptions - one I've already finished, so I'm down to six - and a subscription to an oxygen provider. Also a scad of appointments for the following week at the VA hospital. I have two next week, as well, and have barely had a week since this started without some sort of medical visit. But they say I'm improving, if slightly, and they want to keep a check on me. 

Now, you can imagine what this did to Beloved Hubby's work schedule. Between the ER, the VA, and the follow-up appointments, not to mention Dearest Son care on the days when DFIL and DMIL couldn't take care of him for their own medical maladies, he was about run ragged. And work suffered. Which meant, since he's self-employed, the funds did, too. Our landlord, to be immortalized here as Mr. Hardhart, wasn't interested in why the rent was late, just that he had someone skip out on another rental after doing $2000. in damage to it the week prior, so he had no sympathy to spare on anyone but Mr. Hardhart. 

So we had a choice. Although Ole Hardhart had our deposit (which is 3/4 of our rent), he clearly wasn't taking that into account. We could pay him what we had, which still wasn't all he wanted, and it meant eating what was left in the pantry and no fuel for the Diesel to get to the remaining job Beloved had. Or we could use our funds for groceries, gas, and getting us moved out - and stay for a while in the newly emptied DBIL's room at Beloved's parent's house. Dearest already has his own bedroom there. We had hopes that various delayed funds would come through, but they haven't yet, so...

Anyway, we decided to move, just until the bills were paid and we had some savings to move out, maybe around the first of the year. It's kind of humbling to move in with your in-laws, even if they are wonderful, especially when you weren't always on your best behavior those couple of months they lived with us. But maybe I was getting less than humble these past few years, I don't really know. I'm just lookin' for reasons in a random world...

Of course, that meant we needed to be up and out as soon as we could, since that's only fair to give Hardhart a chance to rent it as soon as possible. Even though we'd just had a major toss and trash from the last move to get there, and I've been too sick and not had a car to buy very much since, we'd still have to sort our stuff even thinner. Y'see, my in-laws have a bit of the hoarder bug, so all their storage is already stored beyond full, and a lot of it is stuff we tossed out three or four moves ago. Seriously, if I toss something out, it's rarely worth keeping, but they have ! Plus, we'd have to do the same thing anyway even if we were moving to that tiny apartment we were considering, so...

We did a yard sale this weekend, with DFIL helping while Beloved worked and Dearest stayed with DMIL. Hard work, but we made some decent money, enough to help out with bills, and got rid of a lot of junk. I also sold a lot of dolls, but not one went into the 'end of sale' pile, they all went to good homes, so I'm content with that. What I have is truly what I love the most, so I'm not upset or mourning. Heck, part of me really really wants a visit to TRU soon...

 I met some seriously nice people - got a card from a lovely lady, a set of coasters from another, and met P. who works at the VA hospital, hope to see her again soon ! And, even better luck - big trash pick-up day is Wednesday ! We invited the neighbors and anyone driving by late Sunday to help themselves to any yard sale leftovers they wanted for free, pushed the rest to the curb, and cleaned up the house. Got the cats moved - today you get to see a nearly-grown Oliver, asleep in a plastic tub that moved sewing stuff, with a bit of a breathing tube visible in the lower right corner - and even found someone interested in the place, and took her number and name for Mr. Hardhart. 

Don't get me wrong - he's clearly entitled to his rent. We owe it to him, and no one understands it better than me. My erstwhile folks had rental properties (they actually raised the rent on me when I moved in to one), so I know how it is. But some slight compassion would have encouraged us to stay and work it out. As it was, money was all that mattered, not me just barely out of Intensive Care, running around with a breathing tube, and facing defibrillator surgery, so that's what they'll get. At least they won't have to evict us, we're already gone. And they'll get their rent money. It'll probably just take 'til the end of the month, and yes, we have asked about our deposit, we just haven't heard back from them yet. Go figure. 

So that's where things are. We're kinda crowded, and there's boxes all over the back porch, but we've already moved the dining room table back into the dining room - right next to my redone sewing/computer arena ! - and had dinner as a family, so things always get better. We have goals and hope and we're together, and that's about as good as things get. 

Tomorrow - the new Monster High special. And the Gil doll !! So much to be excited about !

Decisions, decisions...how long can I put them off ?

Current Mood : Crabby

Current Image Notes : Here's Crew 2, in the sewing arena, in the box TRU gave me. It's darn near perfect for what I ended up wanting. Love it !

In a bit of a crabster mood, but it's nothing major, and there's no real reason for it - but it did get me off my butt and into my sewing arena. Didn't sew, but  I cleared some space and reshuffled stuff. I finally found a purpose for that Monster High cardboard book display easel TRU gave me the other day...

But first. I cross-posted yesterday's image all over the place. I don't normally do that, but I admit, I'm kind of proud of it. Many of my alterations /customizations involve taking something apart, doing something or other, then putting it back together. Lotsa folks will comment that they like the new look, but it's too complicated for anyone else to mess with. The 'Forbitten Romance' changes involve scissors and a Sharpie, no sewing, no fuss. Anyone with reasonably steady hands could easily do this or something better, so I shared it around. Maybe I gave someone else a new idea - that's the real fun !

I'm always nervous about sharing my alterations, though. You're wide open to folks who aren't always gentle in their critiques, and I tend to be a bit edgy when I think someone's being negative about my efforts. Character flaw #532 ! I got good response, though, mostly to DracuLaura's outfit - most folks like Clawd's ragged collars and plan to keep them and that bandanna. Ain't it great when everyone can be happy ? Everyone was nice, and I appreciate the kind words.

About the same time, someone else was selling her Clawd. Like most of us, she likes the animated character, but feels the doll representation is lacking. I can understand that. We chatted a bit on LiveJournal, and it led me to today's gazing at the plentitude of MH dolls standing, sitting, leaning, propped up, all over my desk - with two more on their way from yesterday's living room photo shoot - and thinking that this wasn't what I wanted when I started out. Like the lovely and thoughtful soon-to-be former Clawd doll owner, I really don't have space for stuff I don't absolutely love.

Yet here I was, with 19 MH dolls - and as far as I could tell, I loved every one of them ! Now, I said when I started out with them, that I just wanted one doll of each character. But that hit the bricks when 'Dawn of the Dance' came out and I was desperate for doll shoes. I bought all three, mostly for new clothes, shoes, and props. What the heck, we had money and I had transportation then... The 'Gloom Beach' dolls followed, and they were cheep in comparison to the Basic and DotD ones - new shoes, too ! Some even had new hands, and I was smitten. Ended up with all five, even though only one was a new character. Just when there seemed to be a glut on the market, I scored a second Ghoulia to customize. No regrets...but did I really need two ? And that led merrily to this weekend, when I snagged a third DLaura to go along with my three Cleos, Clawdeens, and Frankies.

That lady on Hoarders last night, Phyllis with the massive doll and stuffed animal collection, ain't got nothin' on me ! Unless you count her Cabbage Patch dolls... Still, I now have four characters who each have three doll versions. And I'm looking at buying at least three more. (sigh) It's just so ridiculous ! What am I gonna do with four Frankies ?!

Thing is, I really do like each version. With variances in hair and hands and facial styling, each is unique, but...I'm starting to drown in a sea of MH. I'm really at a loss. I'd always intended to sell the new DLaura and any red-glasses Ghoulia I decide to pick up, plus the 'Classroom' three...but the real question is, can I really go through with it, and is anyone really gonna want tube-redressed, no-shoes, no-props dolls ?

It's been on my mind all day, and I still don't have a real solution. For now, though, I got all the MH dolls in one place, and started shuffling. All the first-issue dolls are on my desk. The four guys are lined up in back, the six girls are seated. They're easier to see when they're not lost in an ocean of more. The other girls were relocated to the sewing arena, which meant I'd need to do some quick moving around. Hmm. I could move the doll patterns from the open-air basket to a plastic 80s sewing tote that was holding felt under the desk...yes, that worked. The felt went into a fabric bin, and some other shuffles got more bits out of the way. Finally relocated some mat board - cutaway pieces from the custom framing department that Hobby Lobby sells cheap in baggies - to the photo backdrop drawer in the desk, something I'd been meaning to do.

Now the Gloom Beach and Dawn of the Dance dolls had a place. But I already had a semi-diorama on my desk, one I wanted to keep fluid. Didn't want another I'd never mess with on the sewing desk. So I grabbed the book holder, fitted it into the former pattern basket space, and arranged the dolls inside. Perfect. Now, when I sew for a MH doll, I have plenty of models ready to go. When she gets new clothes, she gets to hang out on my desk, with her 'sister' going into the sewing arena for her chance at new apparel. I think this is gonna work out just fine. I'll have 'new' dolls rotating around frequently - or at least, I will when I start sewing again ! - and I won't keep sewing for the same three dolls over and over.

(sigh) True, this doesn't help me 'cull the herds', so to speak, but it's a start. I'm sure I'll begin to realize which dolls I don't really like to sew for, or don't like the expression on, stuff like that, once I see them 'one on one' instead of a sea of repeating faces.

To cap off a pleasant day's 'labor', I grabbed the ultra-fine markers Beloved bought us a couple months back and touched up Basic DLaura's Fearleader costume. The one I darn near wrecked trying to get the 'stitches' decals off, the same one that made me swear to make my own blasted costumes next time. The waist ribbon is nearly totaled from being in the way of too much scrubbing and rubbing, but a bit of fresh hot-pink helped it look a bit better, and the trusty black Sharpie helped hide that blasted decal residue that never would come off completely. I've had really good luck with a Sharpie this week ! I wonder if they make a white Sharpie - and if it'd work on that ribbon at all. Anything'd be an improvement !

Well. Maybe with these new changes, I'll start to feel eager to begin again. I have plenty of new ideas...

Not a lot going on, but here 'tis...

Current Mood : Improving

Whoo-hoo ! Beloved Hubby may have figured out why my breathing is so wonky and my energy levels are so low. Turns out, our air conditioner hasn't been serviced in so long, the filter fell apart when he went to get the size, and beyond it is unimaginable dust. We've been running it since his big weekend away, since having the doors open to humidity mucks up my breathing, and a/c tends to dry air out somewhat. I confess, I was getting a bit worried when the new inhaler still left me tight-chested sometimes, and I had no idea why it was taking me so long to bounce back.

Luckily, he knows what we need to do, and what cleaning supplies we need. So later this week, we'll hopefully have that fixed. He's working insane hours, or he'd have it done already, since even he and Dearest Son are coughing. I'd love to be back to normal, even if it means cleaning house and doing dishes again ! This place is a mess, because I can't work on that stuff for very long, and what I clean usually gets mucked right back up the same day.

Speaking of which... the new season of A&E's Hoarders starts next Monday - with dolls ! In fact, it looks like episodes 42 (season premiere) and 44 (airing 6/27) both feature dolls and toys. No word yet on #43, it gets skipped over on the website.

I'm starting to sleep at night again, which seems like a near-miracle after the last month. The new pillows, while firmer than I'm used to, seem to hold the cold a bit better, so finding their dazzling white newness at 2am is like breaking the surface of a nearly-but-not-quite frozen pond with your head, gasping deeply as the coolness wraps around and delights. A burst of a motion sends your heated head back through, going down this time, letting your mermaid tail break up any remaining ice as you strive for the dark, cooler promises of Deep Down. And that's all you know until the alarm clock intrudes.

I'm not sure what significance 2am holds. Since I'm rarely in bed twice at the same time in a week, it seems even stranger that, no matter what time I lay down, I'm always awake either right at 2am or within ten minutes. Half the time I can't get back to sleep, I get up and do some sort of puttering, but last night I read. The 50c copy of Garrison Keillor's Love Me we got from our last thrift store visit is going back there - I guess I got spoiled by his WLT book. Love Me was not good. Semi-decent writer gets married, then moves to The Big City when his one-hit-wonder book makes it sort of big, and if a woman he encounters is given a name or nationality, he'll be enjoying her intimate company within three pages. Even if she has to chase him down and launch on him - every woman desires semi-famous writers ten years after their solo book is published, ya know. Meanwhile, his wife, still unselfishly doing good works in Hometown, is pretty much ignored until she mentions she wants a divorce, so she can enjoy life, too. Of course, Our Hero (snort) can't have that, so he races back and convinces her to remain married to him while he carries on more affairs until he can't anymore. I was dismayed that's all I took away from the book and thought I was just surface reading again, but Amazon reviews bore me out. Especially the one that stated, 'I think it was better for him (Keillor) than it was for us.' I agree. Be glad to get that volume out of the house.

I'm about halfway through The Little Giant of Aberdeen County, and so far, so good. I confess, I chose that one (also from the thrift) because of its dress-form cover, and built-in blue ribbon bookmark. I love those things. May teach m'self to sew those into books I really like one day.

But for now, we're waiting for Beloved to come home, have dinner, and crash. I just hope he has part of the weekend off, so he can get some real sleep !

Happy June !

Current Mood : I agree with the monkey ! 

Hard to believe it's Wednesday already. Even though Beloved Hubby didn't really take Monday off, he had a short day, so it seemed like an extended weekend to me. Anyway...

Happy June ! Hard to believe it's June already, too. The local school system is moving to a year-round schedule, so the kids only have off two months this summer, and one the next. While I hated the endless summers as a kid - we lived so far out into the sticks, it was a half-hour drive to a small and crappy general store halfway to town - I kinda feel bad that they don't get much time off anymore. But heck, the kids were out of their braincases bored when we had those weeks of snow, so I figure the schools are just doin' their jobs.

One brief bit o' bad, then I'm moving as far away from it as possible - did my normal 'wake up rounds' online this morning. Nothing unusual. Read a few online comics, amass a few points at Designs By SiCK embroidery, look for new friends' photos at Flickr, check a Monster High site or two for any new news. I should have known this was coming. First MH message of the day, I kid you not : "It's June now, so Spectra BETTER be at Wal-Mart or Target today, OR ELSE !". (sigh)

Moving on...got about four hours sleep last night, which is the most I've had in so long, I can't remember ! I only needed about four 'hits' on the inhaler all day yesterday, although admittedly, I didn't do or move much on Tuesday. Still, it's an improvement, and I'll gladly take it !

Been reading 'Thrift Store Dolls' (http://thriftstoredolls.blogspot.com), and enjoying all the neat photos and brief slices of doll provenances. Makes me kinda miss my 'scoop it all up and drag boxes and bags home' yard sale and flea market Barbie days. Well, just a little. But it is nice to remember, and see someone else still getting to enjoy it all.

Couple that up with a few more episodes of Hoarders, though, and I think I was on the verge of trouble when everything hit the fan and we moved. Well, it was never as bad as what's on A&E - things were often cluttered, but the kitchen and bathrooms were never non-functional or covered in nasty, and trash may have piled up, but it was out on the curb on Trash Day - but unchecked, I could have developed behaviors very similar to what's on darn near every episode. Most of my personal junk/hoard was confined to the doll and sewing Lab, but if you knew how packed to the rafters that place was, you'd have dropped a dime to A&E on my behalf. I'm still amazed that 1) I got rid of so much when we moved and 2) I had so much to get rid of, and still have nearly 100 dolls today.

Part of me is secretly glad I don't shop like I used to - weekly flea markets and thrift store runs, and organized yard sale circuits. I already feel random twinges of guilt when I think of all I spent on stuff I don't have anymore, and don't even miss. Beloved is more philosophical about it - if I enjoyed it while I had it, then it wasn't a waste. And part of me still wants a day every week - or two - to poke around as I please, even when I know we don't have the resources yet. I'd probably be a bit more at ease if I had the mental shape to sew, but I know it's not there right now. Although I'm nearly off the inhaler, my hands still shake, and I'm still wheezing, and my mind is in a holding pattern somewhere over Dunnowhattheh#ll. I think that's near the Great Lakes - it's quite humid.

It sounds weird to say, but I'm still grateful we had a financial crisis that yanked me up by the collar before I really did some serious damage. At least now, I can look back and see things a bit more clearly than I would have otherwise. And this place is much easier to keep clean - which is a plus, since I hate cleaning ! (grin)