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You are here: Home / Archives for Blythe dolls

Wednesday Thoughts

September 7, 2022 at 8:36 am by Claudia

• It rained all day yesterday and, though we’re experiencing a lull at the moment, it will rain for several hours today. It should be partly sunny tomorrow. I’m anxious to see how this has changed the water level on the river. It was shockingly low last week. Hopefully, the amount of rain we’ve had will make a difference.

• I coach today and tomorrow, most likely for several hours each day. Since my brain feels foggy today (sinus) I’m sure hoping that I sharpen up soon! Long days, and then long days on the road on Friday and Saturday. I’ll be glad when my work on Jane Eyre  is complete. I plan on relaxing for a couple of days after I return home. And then I’ll have two days of coaching next week.

• We just passed the 31st anniversary of my brother’s death. I always think of him, of course, but especially in the early days of September. He had cancer, as you know, and while I was chaperoning a group of BU students at the Edinburgh Festival, he took a turn for the worse. My mom held off telling me because she didn’t want to upset me, at least, not until they knew more. I returned home before Labor Day and mom told me what had been going on. I immediately called my brother in the hospital. He seemed to be hanging in there, but he told his girlfriend he was tired of fighting. One night, he sent her home, insisting she get some rest. He died that night. He was only 44.

I didn’t meet Don until 3 years later. I wish they had had the chance to know each other.

• More experimenting with hats for the girls; a lighter weight yarn, some tweaking of the pattern, and here is the latest version.

Zoe is wearing her back-to-school clothes. I think she looks quite fetching in that hat.

Although, I was in such a hurry to get a photo in the late afternoon that I put the right hand where the left should be, and the left hand where the right should be!

I didn’t realize until later when I was trying to figure out why her hands looked weird.

Don sometimes calls me Dr. Frankenstein when I do something like replace eye chips. I think this little error qualifies. Don’t worry, the hands are now in the right place!

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

 

Filed Under: Blythe dolls, Dave, rain 23 Comments

Rain!

September 5, 2022 at 8:06 am by Claudia

It rained  for about an hour yesterday. And, drum roll, it rained during the night for several hours. When we woke up this morning, we could hear the rain on the roof.

You know how wonderful that is after the dreadful drought we’ve been having? Oh my goodness! It’s stopped now, but more rain is due late this afternoon and, supposedly, all day tomorrow.

It’s too late for some of the already brown maples. They’re not brown because of autumn color – it’s too early for that. It’s a result of the drought. We have a lot of leaves on the ground in the back forty and it’s only September 5th.

I sat here sipping coffee in the still-dark morning, listening to the rain. Heaven.

Just one more thing on this holiday morning. Yesterday, I crocheted a hat for the girls. I was sitting with the heating pad on with nowhere to go, so I made good on my promise to try a pattern I’d seen. You remember several years ago I was crocheting throws and lots and lots of scarves, which I sold on Etsy. I eventually stopped because I had been crocheting so intensely that my wrist was impacted. So, it’s been 7 or 8 years since I’ve done any crocheting. I had to brush up on my skills. Thankfully, I have a little book that I didn’t  give away, so I referred to it as I worked on this pattern.

Here it is. It’s a slouchy kind of beret. Sophie has a flair for wearing hats, so she got to model the finished creation. Plus, it coordinated with the outfit she already had on.

I ordered a bit more yarn in a different weight and I’ll play around with it this week. Wednesday and Thursday will be coaching days for the A Man of No Importance. Friday, I travel to Rochester, returning home on Saturday.

My back is sore, but it could have been much worse. I’ll feel much better in a day or two.

Don is making a sugar-free apple pie today.

I hope you have a peaceful labor day. My dad and brother were union members. My husband belongs to three unions.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Filed Under: Blythe dolls, crochet, rain 18 Comments

Change in Schedule

September 4, 2022 at 9:43 am by Claudia

I’m not sure if any of you will see this, but my trip is delayed until next Friday. I slipped this morning and tweaked my lower back and I decided that driving for 5 hours is not the best idea. Turns out it worked out perfectly, as the tech rehearsals are running behind and they wouldn’t have been able to run through the play tonight.

Since I’m coaching on the other show on Wednesday and Thursday, I can’t go until Friday, which will allow me to see the last preview before Jane Eyre opens. Better in the long run.

So – there you go.

Thought I’d write a post just in case someone sees it.

Just want to share with you what I did the other day. Blythe dolls have what are called eye chips and there are plenty of people who make them and sell them. Some are wonderful quality, others, not so great. I’ve never been thrilled with Madeleine’s eye chips, so I ordered a few sets. The other day, I followed the procedure to remove them, which involves a glue stick (like you use in glue guns) being held near a candle flame to soften the end – the glue is then placed on the eye where it remains for about 15 minutes. Then you wiggle the glue stick, twist it a bit, and hopefully, the eye chip comes out. This worked beautifully on one eye. The other eye took four tries and when it finally came off, the eyelashes came out along with it. So I had to learn yet another skill. How to glue in eyelashes. Thank goodness for YouTube.

But it worked and I’m happy with the result.

More eye changes soon.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

 

Filed Under: Blythe dolls 23 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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