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You are here: Home / Archives for Blythe dolls

Books and a Bear

May 15, 2023 at 8:38 am by Claudia

Reader Jeanie sent some miniature books to the girls. They’re in German. One is about Einstein and the other is about Leipzig. Wouldn’t you know it, Nina and Sophie know German, so they’ve started studying them.

Thank you, Jeanie! The girls love them and send their thanks. Though Sophie looks like she’s read enough for the day.

Story from yesterday: Around 11 am, I was upstairs in the bedroom getting ready to make the bed. I happened to look out the window and saw a bear about 5 feet from our kitchen door, right between the funky patio and the memorial garden. I couldn’t believe my eyes! I yelled out to Don: “Don! Don! Go to the window!” He kept yelling, “What window?” But I was so stunned that I could only say, “Just get to the window!!!” I finally heard him say, “Oh, my GOD!!!”

By that time, the bear had turned around and was heading up into the corral and Don got a photo of him.

Sort of blurry as Don was using his iPhone and trying to zoom in. Plus, the sun is shining on his coat, so he looks sort of brown on top. He isn’t. He’s a black bear and I got a really good view of him.

Don thinks he was not full grown, kind of a teenager. I think he’s right.

Anyway, we’ve never seen one that close to us before. He proceeded to go up into the back forty and then over to our neighbor’s property. I told Don to call them and warn them because they have chickens. Our neighbor said she was looking at him at that moment; he had crawled under the chicken house (which is raised quite a bit off the ground) and he was eating their food. Oh, my!

Later, after I’d posted the photo on IG, my neighbor who lives across the field that runs behind our property, asked me what time I saw him. Apparently, he was in the neighboring campground around 12:30 walking around near the canteen and front entrance – they’re not open yet for the summer. And my neighbor discovered that her trash cans had been raided. So, he left my neighbor’s property, walked across the field, ravaged her trash, and then went on to the campground. He/she was hungry!

Black bears are not aggressive. If, for example, I had been outside when he was approaching the property, he would have run off.

An amazing experience and it makes us wonder how many other times a bear has been around and we just didn’t happen to look outside at that moment.

I was really tired yesterday – allergies, I think – so I didn’t accomplish much other than a few chores. But today, I’m going to mow the corral, the last section of the property that hasn’t been mowed in the last week.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Filed Under: animals, black bear, Blythe dolls 28 Comments

A Strange Day

May 9, 2023 at 8:33 am by Claudia

Don is doing very well. The bandages were removed and the incision healed nicely. His thumb is straight again! His hand is sore because he’s now using it without the support of a bandage. But all is well. And the best news? Playing guitar is perfect therapy.

Good news/bad news: let’s start with the bad. I spilled water all over my laptop and it isn’t working. I’m following all the instructions as to letting it dry out for 48 hours so we’ll see what happens, The cost of a new laptop is daunting and I must admit, it’s sent me into a bit of a panic. I’m writing this on my iPad, which slows up the whole process, but so far, so good. Because it happened right before we went to bed, I didn’t get much sleep. As I didn’t get much sleep the night before, I’m now running on empty.

The good news: this girl arrived yesterday.

I will take better photos today. This is Nina, made by Dragonfly Blythe who lives in Israel. She is exquisite, more lovely than I already thought she was. Her face! Blue veins on her forehead, teeth, gorgeous eyes and mouth. And her hair is soft, made of wool. When taken out of the braids, it’s quite voluminous.

There’s a story behind her. I saw her over two months ago and fell in love with her. I had a conversation with Ola and expressed my interest. She was very reasonably priced. I eventually backed out because Ella was on her way to me. But I couldn’t get her out of my head, so a month later I contacted Ola again. She was still available.

I told Ola I had to wait for my check and she kindly and patiently put her on hold.

Can you see the veins on her eyelids? I love her. Never say never, but I do think she will complete the family.

What a strange 24 hours!

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

Filed Under: Blythe dolls 22 Comments

Outrunning the Rain

May 3, 2023 at 9:12 am by Claudia

I have yet to respond to your comments but thank you so much for your thoughts on Gordon Lightfoot. We played his music for much of the day yesterday. He will be deeply missed.

My goal yesterday: trying to outrun the rain in order to mow the front lawn. After so much rain it was still very wet in places. And we have more coming.

So, in the afternoon, when I thought enough time had passed to lessen the soggy patches, I got the lawnmower out and mowed. I did it at a faster pace than I usually do because I could see clouds darkening on the horizon. I ended up taking a short break when it started to rain, then I was back at it until I got to the lower third, where it was so wet I could no longer continue.

Needless to say, I’m tired today. But I am conscious that I am the only one who can mow this week and the grass is very, very long. So I had to make a start. Rain today. Rain tomorrow. And then, finally, a break. I’ll go back at it on Saturday after we’ve had a day to dry out.

Let’s not mention all the weeding and pruning that has to be done, all of which has been neglected due to the rain. It feels overwhelming.

Pip is wearing a new outfit that I got from a seller in Spain. Since she already had a yellow barrette in her hair, as well as yellow shoes on her feet, she was chosen as the model.

I still haven’t heard from Brenda, which I find very concerning. It’s not like her. Send some prayers her way, please.

Today I have to buy some more groceries. Don doesn’t have a follow-up appointment until Monday and he’s getting frustrated. Restless. I don’t blame him. Hopefully, in six more days, the bandages will be removed and he’ll have more mobility.

He talked to Adrian yesterday and he sounds like his old self. Our mantra here is “Think of Adrian” – we invoke it whenever we are tempted to complain too much about hand surgery or sinuses or allergies or sore joints.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

 

Filed Under: Blythe dolls, Pippa, rain 13 Comments

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Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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