We’ve had sunny skies for two days in a row and they’ll last through Wednesday. The difference this makes in a day is enormous. We’re so used to gray skies, rain, and heavy clouds that this little gift makes us very happy. Back to gray at the end of the week, but in the meantime, I’m really enjoying this.

We take my car in this morning for some minor repair work from the car accident. It will be done by late today or tomorrow.

One of my friends on the Blythe feed does a thing called “Flatlay Sunday.” A flatlay is a photo where a variety of things are arranged on a flat surface, usually with some sort of theme. All items must be placed flat against the surface. Then the photo is shot from above, looking down on the arrangement. She names a weekly theme. I don’t do it every week, but this week’s theme was “Play” which sparked an idea. (A lot of Blythe people have lots of little props scaled to Blythe size. I don’t, nor do I want to, which is why I usually avoid these things.)

Here it is:

Maeve is playing a little violin that Nina’s customizer included when she sent her to me. The piano is something Heidi gave me long ago.  That’s a tiny old music dictionary above the piano. And you are familiar with the deer, who, it turns out, can play the piano.

Maeve is so beautiful.

This was laid out on the rug in the den.

Anything I can put together quickly is the only way for me to go these days. The younger Blythe lovers spend a lot of time on photography and some of their photos are simply gorgeous and truly imaginative. But after taking photos for the blog for nearly 16 years, much of it on a daily basis, I no longer go for perfection. It’s their turn.

We are loving All Creatures Great and Small. We watched two episodes last night. Only two more to go in this season. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this series is good for the soul.

I’m well into Wolf Hall, as well as The Poppy War, so I’m juggling two books at the same time.

Okay!

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

♦ We woke up to the smell of propane. When the tank is running low, the smell becomes more intense. I quickly checked  when the last delivery was. It was on November 21st. Since we get it every two months, it turns out the delivery is ten days late, as it should have been on January 21st. So I was on the phone at 8 am and we are now on the schedule for today. I guess I have to go back to calling them to make sure we’re on the schedule.

We were awakened by the sound of a truck backing up at 5:45 am but thankfully, after a half hour or so, went back to sleep. So we got up later than normal and that, coupled with the propane problem, has thrown me off. It doesn’t take much these days!

♦ I’ve done more research on the Shirley Temple doll and she is definitely a knock off, or ‘clone’ as I see in some eBay listings. The middle of her body is cloth and Shirley Temple dolls were all composition – no cloth. And the face molds of the Ideal dolls looked much more like Shirley. (I can see why my mom was pissed off!) Her hair is a bit more blonde, as well, though all the Ideal Shirleys were honey-blonde. Her hair is a bit brighter. She has the dimples, though. I took the rollers out and she’s looking okay, but I had to reset a few of them, so I’ll have a photo for you tomorrow, after I’m sure the curls are dry.

♦ One of my Blythe friends had some extra Mickey Mouse mouse ears, so I bought a pair and Chloe is modeling them. Too darned cute! I remember watching The Mickey Mouse Club every afternoon when I was a kid. I thought wearing one of those white sweaters with my name on it and a pair of ears would be the coolest thing in the world.

♦ I’m not sure what Lucy and Zoe are looking at, but they look disapproving. Shortly after this, they disappeared for a while. I have no idea what they were up to. Suffice to say, they returned with a look that said they’d dealt with whatever was troubling them. There’s a lot of activity here during the course of a day. With 18 girls, you can only imagine!

I suspect they’ve been in the kitchen checking out Shirley’s transformation and peppering her with questions.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.