Holiday Announcement

This is just a shout out to my good friend Gina, who is better known to many in the doll world as DollgrrlTrixie:

Happy Birthday, woman!

Get in some daydreaming - such as, when do we finally make your birthday a National Holiday?

And no, I won't tell anyone how old you actually are. Namely, because I have no clue myself. THAT is something to keep in mind as you get older - your secrets are safe with your friends, because they can't remember them, either.

Don't forget to loosen up a little, and have some fun!

Or, if your human friends are too free with your secrets, there are always non human friends with whom you can spend your personal holiday.

Such as your dolls and your favorite fuzzy prop

Finally, there is one thing I just HAVE to say about old age. Or maybe, I will let someone a bit more blunt state it for me.

This is a GREAT attitude toward getting older

In all seriousness, I wish you the happiest of birthdays, and I hope you have many, many more. I also hope you at least get yourself a doll.

ADDENDUM!! I forgot to mention, the picture of Gina's doll and favorite fuzzy prop was taken by Gina herself. The first pic is of Naomi, which I bought from her, and the second pic is of a Grail that Gina helped me acquire. Hence the choice of pictures. The Honey Badger is something she got me hooked on .

You can leave your hat on

As mentioned in my recent post on Fashion Doll Review, I enjoy attending the Cascade Mountain Men gun shows. It is like a vast indoor market, only one where you stepped back somewhat in time, because you can see handicrafts that folks of the timeframe of the American frontier era, around the 1840s-1880s.

What is really nice is that there are some merchants who sells beads and other jewelry components, and I found something that I thought would be a LOT of fun - a pair of scallop shells that are perfectly scaled for Tonner dolls, for something a little naughty in nature.

A fan dancer.

Gypsy Rose Lee eat your heart out!

This is Krista, my City Style Kit, who has the "take no prisoners sexy!" attitude that I needed for a fan dancer, so she was volunteered for the duty at yesterday's OCD meeting. Of course, I forgot to grab my elastic thread, so I had to improvise to get the shells onto her. Thank goodness for poster putty!

Unfortunately, thanks to my inexperience in posing a doll in such a fashion, I could not get her into exactly the proper position. However, I was lucky enough, at least with this setup, that I could use camera angles to fool the eye.

There had better be a sweater for the ride home!

Krista, alas, was not too happy, because we had our typical psycho weather patterns yesterday, and the poor thing got a little chilled. It was sunny when we came in, and hailing like mad when the meeting started.

Remembrance

As you may have read earlier in this blog, a great gal named Cherylette passed away in early January. She was justly famous on the doll boards such as Prego for her creative photos and dioramas. Today, a good friend of hers posted on Prego that her partner Ingrid is in the process of selling Cheryl's dolls, props and diorama settings.

I am sure that Ingrid has about a million other things she would rather be doing, than going through Cheryl's things, and seeing what can be donated or sold. I remember those feelings well, after my father's death. It is hard to relate, to someone who has never suffered the loss of someone close to them, how it feels. "Awful" is such a paltry word for it, because you know you have to go through the things the loved one left behind, and yet, it is another devastating reminder that the person is gone - "Oh, I remember how much he loved wearing those ratty old slippers!"

The ratty old slippers are way too far gone to be donated to charity, where someone else might be able to get use out of them, and yet, they have to go. Little memories start going off in your head, of that loved one wearing their beloved, ratty old slippers. Seeing that loved one shamble out to the breakfast table in the morning, wearing those slippers, or protesting wildly that the slippers are fine, "I've been wearing these things for 20 years. If I got those new ones - and I HATE the color, by the way! - they wouldn't last 6 months. Cheap, useless modern day CRAP!" My dad was quite defensive where those slippers were concerned, let me tell you.

The message was left by the friend on Prego, and I contacted Ingrid. I frequently teased Cheryl that I wanted to become a dolly burglar, and steal all of her dolls, props and diorama sets. I also teased her that with my ten thumbs, I would have to steal her, too, so that she could maintain the great diorama scenes. Then, too, I would have to steal Ingrid, so that she would be kept happy as she took care of what were now "my" dolls, props and diorama sets.

However, since I do NOT have a great deal of money, I opted to ask after two things. One of them is in the following picture:

Photo by Cherylette

This was the photo that started a LOT of tongues wagging - with laughter. It was Arbor Day, or something like that, and Cheryl wanted a picture of her Rabbis planting a tree. As she took the picture, Basil, the doll on the far left shifted position. She didn't notice anything untoward, until another Prego regular named Helene said that he looked as though he were about to skewer the other fellow, and called him a "Killer Rabbi."

Of course, me, being a smart alec, and also knowing a small handful of Hebrew words, said, "No, no, he's the Meshugganah Avenger!"

Cheryl laughed herself silly, and shortly afterwards, managed to acquire a scale chainsaw. From time to time, she would post pictures of Basil holding the chainsaw, and getting into all sorts of adventures as the Meshugganah Avenger. It also became the butt of many jokes, when he was shown with his family, or the other Rabbi characters, that he would be missing his chainsaw, because his wife would hide it from him. "Basil, I hid the chainsaw because I just put the baby down for a nap." or "Put that chainsaw to good use for a change and cut the bread for the feast."

I hope the chainsaw can be found, because I would hate to break up such a great double act. I have made up my mind that if I can get hold of Basil and his chainsaw, or even if all I get is Basil himself, that he will hold an honored place in my collection, in memory of Cheryl.

Ingrid says that she has really enjoyed the stories people who are contacting her are telling her about the items they are asking about.

Security Rant

Some folks here on Blogger have security features up on the comments section of their blog, to keep from being pestered half to death by spammers or other no-goodniks. Since I think spammers are particularly loathesome, I understand fully.

But someone needs to talk to the people who do the security feature, because it is to the point where the security is SO tight, that it is impossible to "prove you're not a robot."

The feature I am referring to is the feature which shows a collection of letters and or numbers, which have to be entered by hand, to prevent spammers from just breezing past security, and posting thousands and thousands of nuisance messages automatically.

However, sometimes, these things are so obscured, it is impossible to read them, then reproduce them in the security field, in order to post a comment on another Blogger's site. I just shut down one such attempt at making a legitimate comment on a friend's blog because after 7 tries, I could NOT read the security combo correctly, apparently, nor reproduce it properly.

There is a point where the security gets so tight that it is impossible to use anything properly. I am not suggesting that any of my friends, or the folks whose blogs I follow who are not friends give up securing their blogs from spammers. But I think someone needs to tell the security features folks that they really need to print these dratted security codes in something a little less obscure, so the people who ARE trying to comment legitimately CAN comment.

The lineup

Well, I didn't get the pictures I was hoping to on my birthday, since it was also the first anniversary of my doll club, the OCD (Obsessively Collecting Dolls). I missed getting pictures of the displays of MOST of the members (Bad Blue!)

There is something about meeting up with doll friends face to face that defeats the best laid plans. This is a bad thing if you want to take pictures.

However, the good outweighs the bad by a long shot!

You get to talk to, in person, someone else who UNDERSTANDS your dolly mania. Sure, there's phone calls, e mails, text messages, Internet chatting and other forms of communication to keep each other up to date on what is going on with your lives, but you just can't beat the fun of a live encounter.

I almost didn't make it - the van decided to act up. ACK!! This was a double ACK!! considering the sheer amount of stuff I bring with me. I usually bring a cooler along with me, with a couple bags of ice, and two liter bottles of soda. Then, I also bring some picnic ware with me, including plates, cups, bowls and serving implements that can be tossed in the dishwasher (yay!) to clean them up for reuse. Then I bring myself, my dolls and a wheelchair.

Thankfully, the regional library where we have our meetings provides a kitchen sink in the meeting room. I swear, it looks like I am moving out every time I go to a meeting!

Luckily, Mabel, who lives about five minutes away has a PT Cruiser with back seats that fold down. Thank you again, m'dear, and again, my heartfelt and PROFUSE apologies for that stupid, balky gate control when you brought me back home! Luckily also, I have a little brother who is willing to help pack up a vehicle in a logical fashion, so there was no damage either to Mabel's car or to my huge assortment of stuff.

I have never really gone into detail about our gatherings, because it is more of an informal get together with friends, rather than an actual structured meeting. Everyone comes in, sets up the folding tables, unpacks their dolls, sets out the goodies, and then set out our dolls while we wait for everyone to arrive.

Then, we'll nosh for a while and catch up, then wander around, some of us with cameras, to look at the displays.

I was hoping to get some decent shots  my very first Tonner, Signature Style Tyler, and my latest Grail, Aqua Angelina. Unfortunately, when I looked at the following picture, all I could think was, "Police lineup."

She was about sixteen inches tall, with red hair, and she was wearing a knockout of a blue dress!

So, to wrap this up, I think I am going to name everyone who was present, as kind of a shout out to some truly wonderful people.

Sonya, A Queen of All Trades - Thank you for meeting me at the Puyallup Crossroads Doll Show back in 2010, and more, for coming up with the idea for this wonderful little club!

Angie, Waterfallfaerie - An all around, truly talented artist. I salute you, and thank you for the couch!

Bobbi - You have some of the weirdest, wildest, and most incredibly original ideas for your dolls, that I just LOVE!

Wendy - I wish your work schedule would allow you to attend more meetings. I love your dolls - fashion, the porcelain dolls you make yourself, and otherwise.

Vix - A great lady who shares my twin loves for cats and dolls, and understands the problems when the two collections collide. She is another one of our talented, talented artists.

Kristi - This lady has not only a great sense of style for her dolls, but also herself. She is also a terrific baker!

Margaret - We missed you this time around, sweetie, and hope that things start looking up for you! You have some of the most breathtaking dolls and gowns.

Mabel - Another unsung talent, with an eclectic, very well dressed collection. Any time you want me to come by and help you document your dolls, just say the word! I have to put my otherwise dusty college degree to work.

Mandy, Thing One - You are always a delight to have around. For anyone who thinks teenagers are shallow, snotty and dull, I challenge them to spend time in your presence and maintain that opinion.

Jenna, Thing Two - Always great to see you. Your displays show some wonderful creativity. I would like to come back in another life as one of your dolls.

Jamie, Yuu - Like Mandy, you definitely destroy any negative stereotypes of your age group. It is always a pleasure to see you!

Evelyn - Our dancer! Here's hoping Mr. Tonner got that message sent to him by "Evelyn Twist" and makes us more Chrys dolls.

And let us not forget our gentlemen members, and gentlemen they all truly are!

Patrick - I would have loved to have seen you get all weepy eyed when Vix showed you the receipt for your new doll! The description she made was vivid and funny enough, but I still would have liked to have seen that for myself!

Wil - A man of many, many talents. His articles have been published in several doll magazines, and I am left in awe of those writing talents. Couple that with exquisite taste in dolls, doll clothing, and some of the most incredible doll set ups - !!!

Carth - Sorry about your eyes. I will refrain from giving you further nightmares with the descriptions of the pictures on the "People of Wal Mart" site. It's a good thing you decided to join Angie amongst the OCD, because I think it is only you and Mr. Sulu (and his phaser) who stand between me and stealing all of your wife's dolls!

Taylor - Another great youngster to have around. Here's hoping you can join in more meetings, Taylor!
John - A talented kit basher as well, who can make his own props at need for those figures, if the factory stuff is not up to par.

My favorite holiday

Yeah, I toot my own horn. It's my birthday.

All my life, I have treated it as my own personal holiday. Why not? A birthday is the one day that is unique to each particular person. One great thing about most birthdays is that they do not fall on "major" or "official" holidays, so you can avoid endless commercials about "white sales" or worse, worry about a "Black Friday doorbuster event!"

I have taken, in the last few years, to treating myself to a doll on my birthday. This year is no different. However, my camera is currently packed up, in anticipation of a doll club meeting - it's our first anniversary!

So, I will hopefully have some decent shots to post when I get home tonight. In the meantime, here are some birthday doll shots of the past for your perusal.

Hey, that new chandelier DOES look great!

First up, one of my favorite shots of Alex and Winona - greeting their beloved Uncle Orlando in typical fashion - by bowling the poor guy over.  It all started when I opened the package that contained my new Will Turner Character Figure. I had taken off his long frock coat, and had him lying on my desk near my computer. To me, it looked as though he had been bowled over, so that's exactly how I staged this shot. I remembered an incident when I was eight years old, and saw my dad for the first time in a few months. I was walking down a flight of stairs, saw dad, and just leapt at the poor guy, with a full dufflebag on my back. Fortunately, dad had a terrific sense of balance, or I would have put the poor guy on the deck!



Babe, you need a step stool!

This is the other doll I got that particular birthday, but he has since moved on - Professor Snape from Tonner's Harry Potter line. I sent him along to my friend AnnMarie, who collects this particular scale, which, as you can see, is slightly larger than the regular line Tonner dolls. In this shot, he was meeting his mistress, Krista (City Style Kit) for the first time, and I had a devil of a time posing them. Just as I shot the picture, however, I had a "happy accident," wherein he leaned forward just a little, as though he were giving Krista a peck on the forehead. I thought it was so cute, as though he were whispering to her, "Babe, you need a step stool!"

I hope, since Tonner is making a line of Harry Potter Character Figures in regular scale, that Snape is one who will be made. I will get him, and this time, I will KEEP him!

2010 does not have a birthday photo, alas. Stupid me, I had forgotten the virtues of "regular backups" and got hit by a NASTY virus on Friday, August 13 of that year, which completely wiped my hard drive. A lesson I have not since forgotten!


I'm gettin' big, mama!

Oddly enough, I did not get a picture of the doll I got for my birthday in 2011 until April, if you can believe that. I got the Kish Mowgli and Balloo set on my actual birthday. I had made my second and final trip to the late, lamented Bearzabout in Duvall, WA, a week before they shut down their brick and mortar operations for good.

Then again, I have learned to like taking pictures outdoors, and April was the first time where I had actually gotten an idea for a photo shoot together with some decent weather. Talia, my Basic Friday Foster, was VERY surprised when I came home from my trip to Bearzabout, and found herself the mom of a hyper two year old. I'm not sure if she has forgiven me!

Again, I will be attending the first anniversary of my doll club, and I hope I can get some decent shots of one of 2012's birthday presents to myself. The other, alas, is a denizen of the infamous Bluebeard Drawer.

Time for some changes

I just felt like a small change of pace, so I decided to rearrange this here blog a bit. I will spare all of my faithful followers the swearing I did while doing so.

I know that tomorrow being Superbowl Sunday, many people will be watching the game. One of my favorite couples has an "oopsie" moment amongst my pictures, that might sum it up pretty neatly.

"Yeah, I'm glad to see you, too. You mind? I have 50 bucks on this game!"

It is SUPPOSED to be a sweet moment between Orlando and Adrienne. But Orlando looks a little distracted...