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You are here: Home / Archives for Blythe dolls

Tissues, Christmas trees & a Sweater

December 2, 2022 at 9:06 am by Claudia

Just thought I’d share the pack of tissues that was handed out to audience members. Perfect – and timely – because this movie will  make you cry.

We’re still on a high from the premiere and we’re trying to stay there. We need to remind ourself that magic and miracles are not limited to a certain age group. This entire experience started for me at the age of 68 – an offer out of the blue. And now, at the age of 70, I’m seeing myself on the screen, hearing Ben’s excellent dialect work, and my name is in the credits for the film. Twice. Since it’s been a long time since Don has worked, he needs to know this as well. He’s been depressed about not having a job for over three years. He needs to work. And we need the income. But mostly, he just needs to do what he was born to do. I keep reminding him that Margaritaville came to him out of the blue, as well.

Christmas tree: We went to three different places yesterday in search of the right tree. Our favorite vendor has the weird pruned branches that we’ve now seen on trees everywhere. But theirs are the worst. And they’re charging $96.00 for a tree. So we went to Lowes. They were charging $30 less, but their trees were pretty crappy. I don’t know if they’re waiting for a new shipment or what, but there wasn’t a lot available. (We got our tree from them last year and it was quite lovely.) So, we drove down the thruway to another vendor and we found our tree there. It was priced midway between the other two. By that point, we were determined to get a tree. Prices are outrageous here, but we love a real tree, so there it is. We don’t put a lot of money into Christmas otherwise – our families don’t exchange gifts, our parents are gone, we don’t have kids or grandkids…so it’s just us. Some Christmases are a bit more lavish, depending on income, and some are very lean – I think that will be the case this year. But our tree is everything to us, it’s what we love, so it’s worth it.

Here it is. Though we are going to turn it a bit. The side of the tree on the right is better. We’ll put the lights on it today and decorate over the weekend. (Note the ever-present heating pad on my chair in the den.)

A couple of little Christmas ornament sweaters arrived here yesterday from Kohl’s. One seems like it will be impossible to fit without a snip or two at the back. The other had a wide enough neck so I was able to wrestle it on Sophie. These are bigger than the ones from Target. Who knew that these were a thing? I sure didn’t. But I guess certain stores carry them every year.

Here’s Sophie, late in the day:

Warm and cozy and her red sweater. I don’t know about you, but I love a red sweater.

Today, we’re taking it easy. We’re still tired from Tuesday. I’ve been to hundreds of opening nights in the theater over the years, a few of them big events on Broadway. But this one was even more intense and required a lot of energy to navigate, as well as to be ‘on.’ For this introvert, it was wonderful and magical…and completely exhausting. Time to retreat for a few days.

I hope you don’t mind if I just say thank you to all of you for your support and your wonderful comments yesterday. I just don’t have the mental energy to answer them all. Things will get back to normal soon, I promise.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

Filed Under: Blythe dolls, Christmas, Spoiler Alert 27 Comments

Off to the Shops Again

November 27, 2022 at 8:59 am by Claudia

Forgot to post this photo of the girls. It was my Thanksgiving post on my IG Blythe account.

Gosh darn it, they’re cute.

Today is the dreaded shopping day, but I say that lightly, as I’m determined to have a positive attitude. I told Don I can handle it on my own and I’ve decided the first stop will be Kohl’s, which someone suggested yesterday. It’s much closer to my home than the mall is, so my ideal scenario would be finding just the right pair of pants there. But if not, I’ll drive to the mall.

Deep breath!

I’m going to make this short so I can grab some breakfast and get ready to go. I’d like to finish all of this early in the day…fingers crossed.

We’re seriously thinking of getting our tree tomorrow. A bit earlier than usual, but remember that last year our local supplier was sold out by the time I came back home from Brooklyn. We need some sparkle and pretty lights. If we get it tomorrow, then we can decorate on the 30th or December 1st.

Push-pull as to the premiere. Very excited to see everyone and see the film but, as an introvert, can’t wait for it to be over. Mostly, I’m so happy for Jim and Ben and all of the producers, the director, and the cast and crew.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

 

Filed Under: Blythe dolls, Spoiler Alert 14 Comments

Mini Christmas Sweaters

November 26, 2022 at 9:31 am by Claudia

The Christmas lights for the porch have been hung. I must say, they look very pretty and festive. While I was out there, I dumped the contents of  several porch pots onto our mulch pile near the shed. It was such a pleasure moving the pots into the nicely organized potting area in the shed. What a difference from years past when I had to jam them inside each other, toss them on a pile of STUFF and hope I could find them the next spring. There’s more porch organization to go, but I can’t dump a pot in which the plant is still somewhat alive. It’s not in me. Plus, we have to fold up the Adirondack chairs and bring all the cushions inside.

Yesterday’s mini project. Reader Elaine from Ontario gave me this idea. I’m proud to say I was a bit of an enabler with Elaine and she now has two Blythes. I may be wrong about that number, Elaine, feel free to correct me. Anyway, she read about these little sweater ornaments that Target does every year. Of course, I had no idea they existed. They come on a gold hanger and they’re supposed to go on a tree. But, many people buy them for Barbies and Blythes. They’re only $3 each, This year, there is a white sweater and a gray sweater.

 Photo: Target

I knew the neck was too small to fit over a Blythe body, even the small licca body of Olivia. But they’re only $3 each, so why not experiment? I did try to fit it over Olivia’s body before I experimented, but the neck wouldn’t stretch enough. So I grabbed my embroidery scissors and snipped an opening at the back of the neck, extending about a half inch into the sweater. I used some Fray Check, but it’s really not meant for knits, so I ended up using my yarn needle and some yarn to bind the edges of the opening. It worked!

It’s not all that attractive to look at, but who the heck cares? I’m the only one who sees it and her hair covers it.

It’s a little bigger on her than it will be on her sisters as Livvy is the only one with a licca body. I love it. The hat, by the way, arrived yesterday all the way from Thailand. It was included with a dress I ordered. It seemed meant to be – perfect for this outfit and for Olivia.

The hangars are sewn in and can be easily removed.

I can’t afford to buy handmade sweaters for the girls that are holiday themed. That’s a lot of money for something I can only use once a year. This solution is perfect.

Thanks, Elaine.

Favorite line from Little Z (who is no longer little) during yesterday’s FaceTime. (He was about to go visit Santa.)

Don: Why don’t you want to see Santa?

Z: Because I’ve already seen him multiple times.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

Filed Under: Blythe dolls, Christmas 27 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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