I had a much better night of sleep, thank goodness. And I took a nap yesterday afternoon, which helped. In true Claudia style, I did a lot of chores to keep me busy. I cleaned the bathroom thoroughly (and you know how much I hate that particular job) I watered everything outside, washed the towels, and weed whacked the property. Then I had some lunch and took that nap.
Another beautiful day today. Memorial Day weekend is not my favorite as it’s the first ‘summer weekend’ of the year and every motorcyclist in the area decides to take a ride down our road, engine roaring. It drives me nuts. Sometimes I can tune it out, but it was a bit of a challenge yesterday, especially since I really needed that nap. Ear buds in, music loud…and I eventually slept.
I love getting back to Elly Griffiths again. Really enjoying The Night Hawks and I’m fairly close to the end. Her newest book is out and I’ve reserved it from our library system. I’ve heard rumors that the new book is the last in the series – is that true? Sob. I know Griffiths has another series. Has anyone read those books? What do you think?
I’ve been following some Barbie accounts on Instagram. Boy, has Barbie changed! Some of them are quite inventive in their use of photos and text. A couple of them make me laugh out loud. But I’m fascinated by the newer Barbies. Warning: another rabbit hole. No, I won’t I’ll be collecting them, but I might purchase one if there are any that are reminiscent of the now-vintage Barbies I grew up with. Did you have a Barbie? Mine had what was described as a platinum bubble hairstyle. Kay, my friend who reads this blog, was my fellow Barbie lover and we played with our dolls for hours.
Speaking of dolls…
Mabel and Katie explored the Great Outdoors yesterday.
Stay safe.
Happy Sunday.
Lots to think about this morning, Claudia. You know I’m an Elly Griffiths fan and I’ve read everything I could get my hands on. Her Magic Men series, her standalone stories, and the new ones she’s started lately—the Harbinder Kaur mysteries, too. They’re all good. Many of them set in or near Brighton. Somehow being near the sea draws me in, too.
And Barbies. I’m a few years older than you, so I only had one—the very first one, in a striped bathing suit, blue eye shadow, heavy eyeliner, black hair in a ponytail and curly bangs, that aloof, vacant look on her face. I saw her in a store when they first came out and was smitten. Being nearly too old for dolls, I thought, she wasn’t a doll at all to me. She was a mannequin. And I was quickly becoming mad for fashion. So, while I never really “played” with her, I was all into the clothes and dressing her up, making clothes for her. My favorites were the slinky form-fitting gowns I made from my dad’s cast-off knitted ties.
Oh, and Mrs Maisel…sniffff…
I wanted the Barbie with the ponytail and black and white swimsuit but I was just young enough that when mom and dad bought my first Barbie, bubble cuts were the style. I also had either a Midge or Skipper – I can’t remember which.
Wasn’t that last episode of Maisel fantastic?
Stay safe, Shanna.
So fantastic, I’d like to buy a modifier—sooooo fantastic.
xo
glad you slept better!
trusting you will find other books that are as compelling as the ellie griffith books sound.
had one barbie (until i left her outside and a squirrel or dog chewed on her), also liddle kiddle, chatty kathy, raggedy ann and no more tears dolls. and trolls, if they count as dolls. also played with paper dolls, especially the betsy mccall ones in the back of my mother’s mccall magazines. loved them all. those dolls are gone now, but i still have the stuffed toy cat from my maternal grandparents (given when i was two) and am also grateful we have my mother’s doll and my maternal grandmother’s doll. :) thanks for raising the topic and many happy memories.
very busy day yesterday. felt good to get a lot of things done, but i am hoping for and needing a quiet day today with members of my family, church online, a walk after lunch, a ride into the countryside and that’s about it. :)
happy, easy sunday to everyone. stay safe.
kathy
I grew up with the Betsy McCall paper dolls. I loved them, but I tired of them quickly. But paper dolls were very, very popular when I was a little kid.
Stay safe, Kathy.
The cover of the next Ruth Galloway book does say it’s the last one. You got me reading them and now I am so going to miss those characters.
I never had a Barbie but Lisa had a Barbie house and a few lived dolls.
Loving this weather but my body isn’t used to it…so sore.
Love you,
Eileen
I had a double Barbie case and the orange Barbie car. Where oh where are they now?
Sore from working outside, Eileen? We are too.
Stay safe.
Yard work….I’ve spread 3 yards of mulch and helped Woody paint the decks (and we have a lot of them). I’m torn between saying I’m too old for this and saying I can still do this! At any rate, we have screens and windows to wash and one more railing to paint. I think I’m going with “I’m thankful I still can do this.”
I go back and forth, too. But we just mowed a bit and I sat on the porch with Don feeling grateful we could still do it.
Love to you and Woody.
xo
Claudia
Claudia, I’m glad you were able to nap and sleep better…that always feels so good. My sisters and I had Barbies, recently found one in a closet that sounds like yours. The original dolls definitely had a more sophisticated look than ones in stores now…and quality shows, but that’s the case with just about everything!
Yes, they were much more sophisticated looking, Barrie. They reminded me of the characters in Mrs. Maisel – hats, gorgeous dresses, heels.
Stay safe.
I’m waiting for the new Ruth Galloway to come to me from the library reservation system – suspect it will be a while. Of the other 2 Griffith’s series, I find the Magic Men unsatisfying but really like the Kaur one. So 2 out of 3 are hits for me. After the first Kaur book I wrote Ms Griffiths saying that I hoped it was the beginning of a series and I am so happy it worked out that way!
Ceci
Hurrah! I’ll have to check a couple of the books from the other series out of the library and see what I think.
Thanks, Ceci.
Stay safe.
The Magic Men take their name from the WWII (or WWI? I forget) regiment that was made up of artists who used their talents to fool the Germans into thinking that there was a big military build up in Scandinavia, I think. There is a strong vaudeville component, with magicians and performers during the last days of that era in England. I thought they were quite entertaining and I liked the flawed characters that EG is so good at.
That sounds fascinating to me, Shanna. Thanks so much for the info. She’s such a wonderful writer and, like you, I love that she has flawed characters.
xo
If you are reading The Night Hawks, you will have two more to enjoy. The most recent one out is called The Locked Room and one is coming out in August of this year, entitled The Last Remains. And sad to say, according to this website, at least, Griffiths did announce that it would be the last in the series. https://crimefictionlover.com/2023/01/the-last-remains-by-elly-griffiths/
Thanks for letting me know about The Locked Room, Anne. I just reserved it. The Last Remains has been published recently and I have a copy coming to me, as well.
Stay safe.
A couple of cuties in the garden. Too bad they couldn’t help you and Don mow, lol. I was too old for a Barbie so maybe that’s why I am so enamoured with the Blythe dolls. I sure enjoyed playing with paper dolls, though. Glad you’re more rested today. A nap is worth a million dollars if you really need one. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Hugs, Elaine
A nap helps me get through the rest of the day for sure and then a good night’s sleep? Priceless.
Stay safe, Elaine.
Yes, I played with Barbies and have been an adult collector of the reproduction Barbies since the early 2000s. It’s a shame the Mattel website which at one time was called Barbie Collector is so changed in the last few years because there used to be an extensive gallery of the Barbies and their clothes from my favorite years which were about 1962-64; really well-made Barbie official clothing. Anyway, I strayed at one point and went away from the vintage face sculpt and I will be selling some of those in time, because I only want the face sculpts from the era of my childhood which is what I call the ‘real’ or authentic or original Barbie face. I got a lot of my dolls new-in-the-box from secondhand marketplace sellers when the dolls weren’t so expensive; I didn’t always buy them directly from the source/Mattel; but, today, they’re mostly too costly for me. There was a repro of Barbie last year from them called “After Five” from 1962 but there was no way I felt I could afford it at $75, not in these particular senior-aged years when fixed finances are too tight for the unnecessaries. If you can even find that doll now, again from only just last year, it can be $200 as Mattel only makes so many of them and when they’re sold out, they’re sold out. They also pulled out a repro Midge last year which I think was 1963 and you can still get her on their site for $55 but I think you have to buy their membership. Some of these Barbies have a diff composition from the ones we had as kids; are now something called silkstone. The best designer in my mind for these dolls in the past twenty years was a guy named Robert Best but he hardly creates a doll anymore to my knowledge; I think he went into administration. But his repro Barbie clothes and even other clothes for other face sculpts were the bomb; he’d formerly been a real-woman fashion designer. I think the younger girls want more contemporary-looking Barbies and that the vintage face sculpts and their repro clothing are for a very specific/nostalgic collector; so, they don’t come out with many anymore, maybe just a couple vintage repro dolls per year now.
I would be that kind of nostalgia collector, Vicki. You are a wealth of information. How many Barbies would you say you have? I am drawn to the older face sculpts as well. It’s what I know. I’m not about to start collecting them – hello? Blythe collection already – but I’d love to have just one reproduction with the pony tail.
Stay safe.
Well, just look around your sites like eBay and Amazon. I had bought several ponytail Barbies from other people (again, I only go for new-in-box; from smoke-free homes; I only got burned once when somebody sent me a doll which, true, hadn’t been removed from her box, but perhaps had been sitting on a shelf where she was getting too much heat or sun thru the packaging, so I also like it when a seller says the doll has been in a ‘temperature-controlled’ setting).
I bought up some xtras of ponytail Barbie when they were more plentiful, having come out as commemoratives at certain Barbie anniversary years (I can remember picking up some for as little as $12 or $15; I bought them to display other clothes and will still be doing this; they are the repro ‘plastic’ Barbies, not the silkstones which are more costly; it’s been a little while now, but those ponytail plastic Barbies from the other years of reproduction were very plentiful at one time; when I ever get to my storage, Claudia, and I have zero idea how soon that would be, I will send you one as a gift [would you want a redhead, a brunette or a blonde?]; least I can do for your ‘free’ blog and cyber friendship which is just part of my life now; truly, I’m glad you said something of your desire and I’ll try to make it happen and not have it be an empty promise; I just don’t, again, know how soon; I’ve been, as you well know, in a packed-up/remodeling mess at this house for, can’t believe it, nine years, but we’ve had a lot of complicated and also serious life happenings to put us on ‘stall’ and of course my husband was working a full-time job for some of that time, too, and I needed his help; I’m trying really hard to ‘dig out’ now, though; I’m motivated!).
I would shudder to think of how many repro Barbies I have and what I have to go thru once I can get to them (in my packed-away stuff; long-term storage; but always-always kept in the house and never a garage or attic or basement or my offsite storage unit; that plastic [of any type of doll] is sensitive to temperature variations); the main thing is that I don’t have an easy way to sell them because I’m unfamiliar with Etsy and eBay; I mourn the loss of businesses we used to have in my vicinity which were the Amazon ones(?) where you could take your stuff into them and they’d sell it for you (for a nice, healthy commission; but it was a way to do it). I’ve been (finally) in serious decluttering mode for two months now because I simply must be; my dolls ahead are a big part of it. I’ve been really (and long overdue) forging ahead.
I don’t regret the money I spent on my repro Barbies with the vintage face sculpt and repro clothes I recall from my childhood (can’t wait to display them; I have the doll cases/curio-style, glassed-in cabinets [two had belonged to my mother] and they’re already set up in the room; one of the early things we did in the whole-house remodeling a long time back; now I just have to {said ad nauseum on repeat} unearth the dolls!]) but I do regret that I got pulled into the offshoots/more-modern dolls. I feel that twenty-something years ago (and I’m not saying it hasn’t been ongoing since, ’cause I’ve gotten lured more than once[!]; I’m just having to be really, really careful these days as there’s no wiggle room with the budget now), although I overbought, I was a fairly-shrewd ‘collectible-Barbie’ buyer at the time; I knew the market and I did my homework; of course today I head-shake over the indulgence (sometimes our collecting bug can take us into unwise territory).
When you look at Barbie stuff today in the department stores, the clothes are just shoddy and so poorly made; of course some are quite inexpensive and we know that little hands can be hard on this stuff; after all, Barbies and their clothes were meant and are meant as playthings/playtime for little kids (the collector thing came so much later). But the ‘regular’, just everyday Barbie clothing and accessories in the early 60s was of such amazing quality. The Barbies of that era were very chic, so stylish, often with hat, gloves, of course the heels and maybe a pair of sunglasses; jewelry sometimes; those clutch bags; and ohmygosh, do you remember the pretend princess phones from 1959-forward?!! All that teeny stuff was easily lost when we were children; so, to find an intact outfit grouping in today’s world of the real-deal Barbie accessories from the early 60s or even late 50s is nearly impossible; there seems to always be one piece missing. And sometimes the fabrics are soiled and tattered although still pricey. It’s why I went with the repros.
I didn’t get much of the authentic Barbie clothes in those early 60s because although it all seems so affordable today if you see the prices on authentic packaging from the most-dedicated collectors, it apparently was always too much for my own parents to buy for me; I had to rely on an auntie for that sort of thing when I was age 9 or so. I really only had at best a half-dozen of the original and authentic/genuine outfits to share between my Barbie and Midge in about 1963 and I can recall them quite clearly; less for Skipper. In the repro-Barbie craze of the 2000s, all of ‘my’ outfits I’d had for my dolls of that earlier age were duplicated but one, so I found that quite joyful as I had nothing left from my childhood of the dolls (or my Barbie closet, my Barbie Dreamhouse, the clothes; all sold off when I was a teen of which I’ve spoken here before, always having a big regret about it).
I was just over age 50 and one day out of nowhere although something must have nudged my rusty brain on the subject, I starting thinking about this one particular Barbie outfit, just making myself remember what I had in the way of Barbies after I hadn’t, in a dedicated way, thought of any of it in over 35 years. I think what happened, that as I became more familiar with the internet, making it easier to find things, I just googled something like “Barbie suit hat gloves heels” or something like that and, poof, up came photos of all that stuff of the specific outfit I was beginning to remember from the 60s because somebody in the secondhand marketplace was selling off parts of the original outfit; then, I stumbled upon these reproduction Barbies/Midges (I don’t think they’d done Skipper yet) and I was hooked. To think I could actually duplicate the Barbie, Midge and Skipper I no longer had, in almost their identical-same clothes, was just so rewarding. I didn’t even care that they were reproductions because they looked almost exactly the same from my memory.
We’d talked about it here, but I did put together my pennies to invest in the reproduction Barbie Dream House of 1962 which was identical to what I had as a child; it’s the last big Barbie-type purchase I’ve made in recent years and I still can’t believe what I paid for it thru Mattel (although I think I remember getting a significant discount because I had a Barbie Signature membership at the time) but it DID also come with a vintage-repro Barbie and clothes; it was the 75th anniversary, year 2018 I think; they included three reproduction outfits actually; a lot of accessories including a rotary-dial phone; I couldn’t resist the dangling carrot; they saw me coming.
Claudia, in the meantime, if you were to go surfing/scrolling, what I’d probe is the 35th anniversary ‘ponytail Barbie 1959’; those were the repro plastic Barbies like the ones we grew up with and which I purchased as reproductions quite a long time ago, for under $20 each (but even then, I wasn’t first owner/purchaser; I was not buying Barbies in 1993 when these dolls were offered from the manufacturer; my collecting came as much as ten years later or more than that); I don’t know what they’d cost today if you were to find some for sale because that 35th anniversary was 30 years ago and I think any surplus out there is now largely exhausted; but you might be surprised; the dolls do appear; people go thru their collections and weed them out; somebody inherits their dolls and needs to unload them; I’ve seen this happen; sometimes you’ll see people who wind up with these dolls and they don’t know how to price them, don’t know enough about them, and they’ll go ‘way too low on the pricing which of course is to a buyer’s advantage; you might just get lucky til I can find one of my (new-in-box) ones to give you from the archaeological dig which is unfortunately my home and possessions!
I really must shut up, but it got me to pondering once again about the why of collecting, which is a subject near and dear to your heart as it is mine.
So, why do we (some of us; this doesn’t include friends of mine [or even my husband] who don’t) collect anything (old things, new things, unique things), especially as adult, old(er) women over the years … but especially dolls? Well, I love dolls. My mom loved dolls! My mom loved to collect all kinds of things but she just never had a lot of money (not that I do either, although there have been times I forgot, which probably has something to do with why I feel the pinch in the retirement years; I don’t need anybody else to remind me of my flaws and faults; I remind myself all the time of ‘consumerism’ gone awry!!) and Mom was definitely more disciplined than myself about her ‘purchasing’/spending at yard sales, secondhand stores and the like.
But I know I get my love of old things from her because she had so much respect and awe for vintage/antique, from furniture to linens and dishes, toys, dolls, books, figurines, Christmas ornaments (same with my brother; early on, he was a coin collector and postage-stamp collector; and he and my dad loved train sets [although my father was NOT a collector of really anything; he just held on to what he had, even old tools]; I’m glad my mom had held onto my brother’s Matchbox cars, his Tinker Toys, the Lincoln Logs, our board games; it’s all a part of my downsizing and decluttering which takes me so long because I get so caught up in the sentiment).
Mom valued what came before, she loved fine sewing and other craftsmanship and would point these things out to me when I was growing up. Even when I was less interested, I guess I learned by rote; she’d tell me the same stories over and over again if she knew the history of an object; she liked to pass on knowledge of things. But it dawned on me that she actually only grew up with old stuff in a poor household so I think the old things were also the familiar things which made HER re-live her own happy childhood despite the poverty. Maybe.
I think we read about, accumulate and yearn for what we love. We study, we get more informed; because we have the intrigue and the interest! I feel like I’m continually learning all the time about things I’ve never heard of and which I need to educate myself on; it keeps me excited and engaged. I’ll read here on your blog, for instance, of a book I’d missed reading somewhere along the way; or, as I’ve said before, I had putz houses and didn’t even know that’s what they were called; and I never knew what a butter pat was til you, Claudia! It’s like, at this age, there’s never enough time because there’s so much to yet discover, with collecting, travel, history; you name it. I never have enough hours in my day for all I want to explore.
Anyway, in my case with Barbies, I think I’m always going back to MY happy time, which is now a time I can’t share with anyone else because most everyone in my family is gone and I have no brothers and sisters, so if it’s not me remembering it from childhood, it’s lost, and I don’t want to lose my happy childhood memories. They make me feel good, and also very grateful. It’s nice to wrap yourself up in those good vibes in a chaotic world. (And there are many of those memories of playing with Barbies, with my gal-pals in the neighborhood, girls I’d known since we were babies on blankets on the front lawn. A Happy Christmas when my auntie got me the exact Barbie outfit I craved; opening it under the tree at her house; I loved her SO much and she was so good to me; it’s nice when you can remember that you were LOVED in your life!)
I’m sentimental about my youth; so, sue me! I think I’m allowed. The dollies are part of it.
Dear me, Claudia, I couldn’t stop writing. Again. I do this to you and fill up your blog, too many times.
I love what you’re sharing today, Vicki. You know that I love collecting. And many of my collections hearken back to my youth. Certain dolls, dollhouses, egg cups (started with the egg cup given to me as a little girl) vintage Nancy Drews, etc.
And I absolutely know I’m drawn to certain things because they take me back to a time when life was less complicated – purer, somehow. I feel the collections give me the chance to learn more about egg cups, or dolls, or a dollhouse I longed to have as a child, but didn’t get. (I had a metal Marx dollhouse, but not a dollhouse made of wood.)
Like you, my parents are gone, my brother is gone, my younger sister (the middle one) has cut off the entire family, so she’s gone, too. It’s just Meredith and me.
xoxo
I will do that, Vicki. Thanks for the advice. This is your area of expertise.
xoxo
This is a wealth of information, Vicki, and I thank you so much! I can’t remember what clothing I had for my Barbie, but I do remember my grandmother making some. She made clothing for a lot of my dolls. I suspect I didn’t have a whole lot of outfits. Money was very tight when I was young. But I had the ‘double’ Barbie case and the orange Barbie car. I also had a Skipper.
I’ve been looking at all sorts of sites, and I agree with you, the original face mold and makeup is my favorite. Sleek, chic – and it’s what I know. It’s what those of us who were around when they first arrived on the scene know. That’s familiar. Sophisticated. I looked at some ponytail repros the other day. It’s not that I want to collect them – I’ve already done a lot of damage with my Blythes. But I’d love to have maybe 3 of them.
You’re very sweet to offer one – I’d take any color ponytail, but I am definitely partial to red hair.
I remember you debating whether to order that dream house. I’m glad you did. You won’t regret it.
I’m also on the lookout for the platinum bubble cut, which is the Barbie I had. The real vintage dolls look pretty bad to me, so if I could find a good reproduction that was reasonably priced, I’d go for it.
Many thanks, my friend.
Stay safe.
Yes, unfortunately the old plastics, if you can find those original/used dolls from the early 60s, have some damage; the faces are usually kinda weepy and shiny; and, if there were earrings, the metal bled into that plastic, so there’s staining on the doll’s head and sometimes face. Again, it’s why I went with repros. A pretty good match to a blonde bubblecut I had as a child, in her nearly exact outfit which was a tweed suit, is the repro called Career Girl Barbie; ohmygosh, I just found one on Amazon for $200+; ‘way back when, I paid under $100 and, at the time, it was the most I’d ever paid for one of the repro dolls; the blonde of her bubblecut wasn’t too far off from the blonde I remember from childhood although on one of my ponytail blondes which is a repro of something I think called Barbie Learns to Cook(?) the blonde hair was a more yellow-y blonde from the 1960s-blond-color, but I think they tried to get the repros pretty-darned close to what had been. The Career Girl repro was of the 1963 Barbie I’d had and I think it came out in, ah, just read a comment about it, 2006. I got it a couple years later and paid more than if I’d been able to buy it directly from Mattel, had I been collecting at that time, but I was new to everything back then.
Another good Barbie bubblecut blonde I’d gotten, trying to recall this off the top of my head, was the reproduction called Sparkling Pink; was an outfit I’d had as a kid and here was the same thing, such a joy even if not original. Let’s see what I can find out about THAT one (hurriedly here!): She was released as a repro in 2009; was a 1964 doll. Again, these repro dolls are around; just have to look for ’em; there are categories in which sometimes Mattel would spew out a whole bunch of them but, on others, not so many repro dolls were issued.
I stumbled upon this, on what looks like a legit Mattel site, which is a far cry from the excellent info and gallery on the repro dolls they’d formerly had (I positively lament the loss of their color gallery on the original outfits, too; why-oh-why did it have to go away?!!); but you could try looking at it for repro-manufacture history: m.service.mattel.com (Technical/ProductDetail) because it lists a ton of the Barbies they’ve come out with as vintage repros and others of the higher-end Barbies over the last many years, maybe from 1990s forward; I haven’t explored the whole thing (I’ve gotta skedaddle somewhere; I’m running late!); but Happy Searching, Claudia! (That site is called Mattel Global Consumer Support. It has a search line, too. They came out with more than one bubblecut repro Barbie in 2009; there was a brunette bubblecut, too.)
An aside before I let go of this interesting conversation I’m mostly having with myself(!): Hallmark.com is about to debut their 2023 Keepsake Ornament line in July and one of their ornaments is Midge as she looked in the box in 1963 (cost is under $20; I don’t know if you have to be a Hallmark Keepsake Member or not; these ornaments wind up everywhere, though, after Hallmark debuts them, like you can pick them up on Amazon’s secondhand marketplace within the week of debut and they’re not THAT much more expensive [marked up] than off the Hallmark site or in a Hallmark brick & mortar store). Hallmark has been coming out with Barbie ornaments in their Keepsake line for 30 years; I have a whole glass-fronted (good-sized) shadowbox on the wall full of them; the detail is pretty good of these quite-small vintage replications in their original outfits (all painted plastic of course [mass production] but the quality is fairly good; again, they’re meant to be holiday ornaments) and it’s a spacesaver rather than having so many 12-inch dolls.
I’d thought Hallmark did a ponytail Barbie ornament in the box (box meaning in her original doll-box packaging) but maybe not; I think they did Ken and, as said, now Midge. Hallmark at one time even replicated the Barbie doll cases we grew up with (as an ornament); I guess they were vinyl in ‘real life’; wish I still had my doll cases from childhood! I knew they (Hallmark) did a Skipper ornament at one point, depicting her in her original doll box packaging.
I just found a site which has a lot of these past Barbie Hallmark ornaments, three pages worth: I don’t have time at the moment to explore it but will, as it looks like three pages of history; I don’t know anything about the site, but it’s called The Ornament Factory; good illustrated ‘history’ with images though (of the Hallmark Barbies; like Mattel, Hallmark makes these ornaments, never to be offered again, so they’re also collectibles, just as are the dolls). I’m rushing and I hope I’m making sense!
Hope you were able to get in a restful nap, Claudia.
I haven’t made much time to read. My daughter discovered the 1960’s BBC version of Maigret on YouTube and I’ve been binging on them while knitting. I’ve seen all the other Maigret (Crémer, Gambon and Atkinson), and appreciate each actors interpretation of Simenon’s Detective Inspector..
I never had a Barbie doll, but really really wanted one. My parents never told me why they didn’t buy me one. We weren’t unable to afford one, though I know money was tight in a family with only one wage-earner and three children who were destined to attend university. But my daughters have a small collection of Barbie dolls and clothes. I never had much patience for sewing Barbie clothes as the pieces were too small and now as I’m older, forget the small pieces! They still have all their Barbies, packed up and stored, but the so-called special edition collectible dolls that they left in the boxes they just display.
Yes, I guess displaying them in the box, never taking the doll out, raises the value of the doll.
I also came from a family with one wage earner and four children who went to college. Money was tight, especially when my brother and I were young.
Thanks, Wendy.
Stay safe.
I haven’t thought about Barbie dolls in years. This week I read an article that Mattel is coming out with a transgender Barbie. The doll will be modeled after Laverne Cox. Over the years Barbie has changed a lot since the first one in 1959. I guess that’s how Mattel keeps her relevant and selling to the next generation.
I think I just saw the Lavern Cox doll somewhere online. Good for them!
Stay safe, Olivia.
Ruth Galloway is on my list for sure…but I have to whittle down my TBR pile a wee bit first.
My Barbie was blonde and had a ponytail. She was sold along with other dolls in the late 80’s. By then, our 3 sons were born, and I figured it didn’t make sense to keep them. I didn’t play with her as much as I dressed her in all the different clothes my mom made for her. Sweet memories.
I’m glad to hear you got some decent sleep last night. I’m a little sore today from too much yard work, so visiting with old friends will be the perfect remedy for sore muscles today.
Enjoy your day! ;)
We just came in from mowing – Don mowed the paths in the woods and I mowed the lilac side of the lawn. Felt good, but now we’re in and getting ready for lunch. Enjoy your visit with your friends, Donnamae.
Stay safe.
The thing I remember the most about Barbie was that the shoes always got lost! :)
Would you tell me what type of weed whacker you use? Mine broke again and there are so many types and some are so expensive that I would like to be sure before I buy another that it is a good one. Thank you!
I’m pretty sure mine is a Black and Decker, Betsy. This one is a good one, holds a charge longer than my old one.
Stay safe!
I had a Barbie with the black and white striped bathing suit. What I really regret not keeping is my Betsy McCall doll. I love Katie’s hair and Beatles shirt, so cute! Those motorcycles, they seem to roar through here at night and blast the quiet. Have a nice holiday.
Oh, I loved the Betsy McCall dolls and I never had one, darn it! I’m sorry you don’t have her any longer. There are several childhood favorites that I wish I had kept.
Stay safe, Lynda.
Because of your recommendation I put a hold on Elly Griffiths’ first book. I like going to this site to see what books the author has written https://www.fantasticfiction.com/g/elly-griffiths/last-remains.htm
It is icky here. We had a very good rainstorm. No lightening. Just wet. The flowers that we planted needed a good shower.
I always read in order. You learn about the changes that happen with the recurring characters and things make much more sense.
Stay safe, Trina.
So good you got your sleep. We’re permanently sleep-deprived in our household so I can relate. For the last year our elderly cat has been waking during the night and crying, wanting to eat. Sometimes 3-4 times a night. She doesn’t like to come upstairs where we are and I sympathize since she has arthritis. If we’re lucky some nights she goes until 4 am before waking. She just turned 18 and the vet thinks she’s sundowning. We leave a lamp on for her and we’ve tried playing soothing music all night. She’s going to be the death of us! But she’s my baby.
I had a Barbie as my last doll. Sometimes I wish I could have kept her but dad was big on passing our childhood things on to our younger cousins. It’s funny that I have my mother-in-law’s dollie from her 1920’s childhood but none of my own.
Take care,
Kay
Oh, poor baby! I would do the same thing, Kay. It must break your heart. You’re a good mom.
My mom passed my Barbie down to my sisters and then who knows what happened to it? I’m sure, knowing my mom, that she eventually got rid of her.
Stay safe, Kay.
Yeah, it’s what happened to me, Claudia. For as much as my mom accumulated and held onto some things, she’d get these wild urges with other stuff to clean out, purge, get orderly; of course we had a fairly-small house, so I know that was part of the issue; and, as I’ve said before, I’m sure she and I talked about it in my younger teen years and I was like, oh sure, I don’t play with Barbies anymore. I just can’t understand why she didn’t ‘get’ the Barbie value when she did understand value on other objects and things to save.
But, man, I knew of the guy she sold my Barbie stuff to … I think it was the case of somebody who knew us, knew him; this Barbie ‘sale’ was never part of my mom’s yard sales or anything; it was different; he came to our house just to look at the Barbie things as a whole and Mom had spread out everything on a table for him to look thru, but he bought the whole ‘lot’; I remember that part … and I’d see him around town years later and grumble to myself about it, of how he got my Barbie collection, and he didn’t even have kids that I knew of; he was just one of those collectors who collected everything and anything (everybody, back in the day, thought he was a bit weird; but I know of people in my life who think that I-Vicki am weird for what I collect, so, throwing no stones!).
I understand. Mom gave away my perfect Tiny Tears doll, with a beautiful wardrobe handmade by my grandmother. Why? I don’t remember her ever asking me if I wanted her to save it for me. We lived in a very, very small house, but come on! A little Tiny Tears doll? A Barbie? My Beatles albums? All gone.
You have two to go — Locked Room is set during Covid times and was one of my favorites — I thought she captured that period very well, the isolation, the not-knowing-what’s-next sense we all had. My friend game me “The Last Remains” just last night. It will be a couple books more before I read it and I’ll hate to! Here’s the article by Elly G. on her writing. No spoilers, really. You should be fine reading any time.
https://crimereads.com/elly-griffiths-goodbye/
I had Barbies — still have one. She looks pathetic now. But I can’t let her go so I stick her in the Christmas tree branches.
Yes, someone told me I had two to go the other day so I’ve ordered both of them from the library because I want to read them in order. Thanks for the link to the article.
I wish I still had my Barbie!
Stay safe, Jeanie.
Your yard sounds like a bit of paradise. Enjoy the northeast summer.
My Barbies are gone. I still have a Midge doll I the original box. She was never played with. My Mom bought her for a Christmas present then forgot about her. I need to see if a children’s museum would be interested in her as a donation.
Enjoy your beautiful piece of nature.
We are headed to Greece for 2 weeks. So depending on the wifi I may not comment but I read every single post you make
Lucky you! One of the drawbacks of working in the arts and buying a home late in life is that we’re relatively house poor, so traveling just doesn’t happen very often. Enjoy your trip to Greece, Kay. It sounds magical.
Stay safe.
Thank you for working in the arts. I am sure it was a lovely career. You had fabulous trips to Paris. We are all so very lucky.
Very lucky that my dad left me some money. That’s what allowed us to take those trips.
Much love.