Blythe dolls — Page 101

Oil Painting and Sophie

September 19, 2021 at 8:45 am by Claudia

Finished!

This one took a long time. Between coaching and a slew of other things going on, there was a long period of time between the last time I worked on it and yesterday, when I finally finished. I don’t recommend it. I felt a little disconnected and had to work hard to get back in the ‘groove.’

This is number ten in the Pottery Portraits series. The pattern on this vase is Dahlrose.

I’m pretty pleased with the results.

Sophie was demanding a change of clothes, so I complied. After all, she’s fairly quiet most of the time, so I can hardly complain.

When she arrived in the mail, I soon thought of all my sheep and the fact that they might make a nice addition to a photo. I believe a reader of this blog suggested it, too. I started with this needle-felted lamb that I’ve had for a long time. The lamb, my teddy bear, and Maggie Rabbit always accompanied me on long stints in Hartford.

Sophie loves animals and is a vegetarian like her mom.

Good for you, Sophie!

The dress was made by an Etsy seller: Rose and Cacao. She also made those overalls Sophie wore with her Beatles t-shirt. The boots were made by Crafty by Cora, another Etsy seller.

This might be one of my favorite dresses.

Today, I have to run an errand, wash the sheets, unclog the bathtub drain (what fun) – that kind of thing. Don is already off running errands.

Tomorrow I coach Ben. We rescheduled this morning’s session because he has a whopper of a headache. Next Sunday, I take the train to NYC and then on to Queens, where I’ll be coaching Anastasia for two days. This Friday, I have to get the PCR Covid test; you’re supposed to get it 72 hours before starting work.

A busy time ahead, between Anastasia, private coaching, and preparing for 6 weeks in NYC.

My nephew updated us yesterday. Greta has a cyst and an abdominal blockage. She hasn’t eaten since Monday and she can’t keep anything down. We’re very worried. I can’t quite remember how old she is, but she’s around 8 or 9 years old. Too much for a little girl.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

Addendum to Rant and Sophie’s New Duds

September 16, 2021 at 9:51 am by Claudia

A shortish addition to yesterday’s rant:

In October, I am coaching both a theatrical production and a film. Yesterday, I got a form from the producers of the tour of Anastasia about COVID protocols. All well and good. I am grateful that protocols are strict. I have to submit a photo of my vaccine card. Okay. However, I also have to have two different COVID tests within 2 weeks (1st) and 3 days (2nd) of the 2 days I coach and there might be another day of work beyond that.

So. I have to schedule this stuff, find a place where I can be tested, and submit the results online to the producers. I haven’t had to deal with any of this yet and it’s a bit of a pain. On one hand, I’m grateful that everyone involved with this show will be tested and that rigorous protocols will be maintained. On the other hand, this wouldn’t have to happen at this point if everyone in this country had been vaccinated. The Delta variant wouldn’t have taken as strong a hold as it has. I would show proof of vaccination and we’d be good to go.

This is yet another thing that adds stress to a process that is already stressful for me. I have to travel into the city for Anastasia – most likely on the train because the air circulation is better – and I have to deal with actual people. In person. After a year and a half of not doing so. And I have to be tested more than once. I know this will be required by the the film, as well.

We could be so far ahead of this if only we’d had a vaccine mandate to begin with. I know that’s a slippery slope. I get it. But as I said yesterday, I have not one bit of tolerance or patience with this issue any longer. Not one.

Anyway, I suppose in the big scheme of things this is a minor annoyance, but getting the email on the heels of what I wrote in yesterday’s post was fuller validation of my feelings on this subject.

Moving on.

More coaching with Ben today. Lots of rain last night and today and tomorrow.

Let’s look at Sophie’s newest ensemble:

I got that Beatles t-shirt a while back and I’ve been looking forward to seeing what it looks like on Sophie. I couldn’t wait to show it to Don, as I’d kept it secret. He was surprised and delighted.

Since I’m playing around with finding the best way to pose her, I tried this one on the stair landing:

My caption on IG: Hangin’ out, old school.

I’m like a little kid. I love the moment I dress her in something new for the first time. Then I run and show it to Don. (God bless him, he’s always enthusiastic.) Then I bring her over to sit next to me in the den, so I can see her cuteness.

Stay safe.

Happy Thursday.

Don, Storms & A Wee Rant

September 15, 2021 at 10:01 am by Claudia

A look at the living room on this about-to-be-stormy day.

And it’s going to hit 85 degrees! No wonder we’re getting storms.

All tax info is now at our accountants. I had a good coaching session with Ben yesterday and we’ll do it again tomorrow.

I’m planning on taking it easy today, with the usual vacuuming, etc. But the thing I really want to do today is finish my Roseville painting. I’m determined. I’ve had a lot of other things going on, all of which kept me from painting. I don’t know if I’ll do more. I do have two other vases that could be the subjects of a painting. If I paint them, I’d have twelve paintings in this collection. We’ll see.

Don is too wonderful for words. This morning, during our second cup of coffee, the subject of Blythe dolls came up. He didn’t understand the concept of customizing the dolls, so I explained it to him. Then he asked if he could see photos of some basic dolls and customized versions, so I went to Etsy and he looked through several listings. He said, “I can see why they’re collectible – they’re art dolls. I think they’re really neat.”

What did I do to deserve him?

Thank goodness for the results of the ridiculous California recall election. What a waste of millions of dollars because a small minority of Californians didn’t like the Covid restrictions Newsom put into place. I’ve had it with these people. Truly. Howard Stern said something this week that really resonated with me. “When are we going to stop putting up with the idiots in this country and just say it’s mandatory to get vaccinated? F*** ’em. F*** their freedom. I want my freedom to live. I want to get out of the house already. I want to go next door to play chess. I want to go take some pictures. This is bull****.

That’s exactly how I feel. These people are holding us hostage. They’re also contributing to the unnecessary deaths of others. They’re clogging up hospitals, which – though they renounce science – they seem to be perfectly willing to run to when they’re sick with the very thing they didn’t want to get vaccinated for. One man with heart problems died because so many hospitals were full up with Covid patients and couldn’t admit him. That’s heartbreaking.

Enough, already. Either get vaccinated or stay in your house for the rest of your life. Those are your options. Of course, I am not including those who cannot get vaccinated for medical reasons. They have no choice. However, if everyone got vaccinated, we could end this virus and those who cannot get vaccinated would be free to live their lives again.

I don’t know how many years I have left, but I sure as hell want to live them. I want to travel. I want to work. I want options. I don’t want to have to worry about yet another variant.

I’ll stop there. End of rant.

Sigh.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Oil Painting and Sophie

Addendum to Rant and Sophie’s New Duds

Don, Storms & A Wee Rant

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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