Anyone need an icicle?

It reached 37 degrees on Monday. I went outside for few minutes and it felt positively balmy. Funny how it’s all relative, right? That’s when I took this photo. Honest to God, for a moment it felt like I’d been freed from captivity.

That’s what the days have been like here. Unbelievably cold. Endless snow. An extremely dry house. (Yes, we have a humidifier. It’s still way too dry.) Both of us feel lethargic, which I suppose is the universal urge to hibernate. And that 37 degree temperature is an anomaly. We’re back to below freezing.

It’s been years since we’ve had a winter like this one.

So I’ve been reading off and on, playing Solitaire on my phone, working on the puzzle (which just might take all winter to complete) and doing the usual chores. We won’t mention the news, except to say that it also consumes a lot of my time.

It’s a surreal world that we’re living in now. Thank goodness for Don, who helps keep me sane. I believe I do the same for him. Thank goodness for “Best in Show,” which we watched the other night in tribute to the late, superbly great Catherine O’Hara. It still makes us laugh and we’ve probably seen it 10 times. Thank goodness for moments when we allow ourselves to be silly and giggle. Thank goodness for Don’s music, his voice, his gift. Thank goodness for “Slow Living” videos on YouTube, which I now am addicted to. Also videos about living off-grid in Alaska. Also old SCTV episodes. Seek out the funny, the things that, for a moment, take you away from the horrors we’re living through. Or the peaceful, like those “slow living” videos.

I hope you’re all hanging in there.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

It is so frigging cold this morning, We’ve been dealing with frigid temperatures for over a week now and it looks like it will be continuing through February. I have about 3 layers on as I write this and I’m wearing fingerless gloves. The wind chills this morning have resulted in a dangerous cold weather warning from the National Weather Service.

We’ve already had to order more heating oil, which is quite expensive.

We work at it, but it’s real hard to stay positive these days.

I have been wondering if a brown scalp would look good on Harper. Her hair color is so distinctive that it sometimes limits how I can dress her. This ensemble is perfect for her of course, along with anything in red. Anyway…I was going to remove her scalp (which is usually easy as it’s just attached with a small screw) and at the same, remove Zoe’s dark brown scalp and switch them out just to see if I liked it better. Side note: a lot of Blythe collectors switch scalps or wigs on their girls all the time, but I really don’t.

Well, the screw was stripped and try as I might – and I did for a couple of hours – I couldn’t get that screw out of there. I remember that the young woman who sold her to me had tried several scalps on her so I imagine the stripped screw was a result of all of that. I posted on the Blythe feed asking for suggestions as to how to remove the screw. One suggestion involved buying a little kit and drilling into the screw. I didn’t want to do that because I was afraid I might damage the doll.

The next day, I had the thought that a tiny bit of vaseline around the screw might do the job. And, much to my surprise, it did. At the same time I was removing the screw, I was realizing that I really liked her hair the way it was. And I remember that young woman saying that after trying different scalps, she came to the conclusion that she looked the best in this one.

She was right.

She’s a Ferro Doll and that particular customizer does exquisite face ups. I can tell she took the hair color into account.

I decided to take a picture of her and just happened to plop her on this quilt which is on the sofa in the den.

Perfect!

That quilt was made by my grandmother and I had it on my bed in junior high and high school. I love it. Gram made her quilts very heavy so it’s perfect for cold winter nights.

I’m working on an inexpensive miniature piece. It came with the Beacon Hill and I’m painting it. It will get another coat today. I’m also looking at wallpaper for some of the rooms. I seem to either have an inspiration piece, like the sofa, that inspires the rest of the room, or I find a wallpaper pattern that inspires me.

I’d like this house to be elegant and cheery.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

First: I mourn Catherine O’Hara, who I first discovered decades ago in Detroit when we watched SCTV on the local Canadian station out of Windsor, Ontario. I’ve been a huge fan of her work ever since. She was brilliant, perhaps the best comedic actor ever, and she was kind and good and loved by everyone who knew her. I was shocked at the news she had passed away. What a tragic, untimely loss.

In the past year, we have lost Gene Hackman, Robert Redford, Diane Keaton, Rob Reiner, and now, Catherine O’Hara. It’s inconceivable.

Second: and this is why there is no photo on the post, I have long followed the ξp*tein Files and the testimonies of those women and men who were victims of what is now clearly a cabal of predators, abusers, and murderers. Orange is at the center of all of it. He r*ped children. Repeatedly. And far worse. Names of those in his previous and current administration also appear in the Files. As do the names of the wealthy and powerful. I’ve downloaded the newest release because we must make sure that information isn’t scrubbed by you-know-who.

I could write reams about this. But it comes down to two things. Believe the victims. And remove Orange and his entire administration – the administration that has worked so hard to hide this information.

Sharing my thoughts and my research about the ξp*tein Files on this blog is not something I do. I keep that separate. But, if you’re ignoring the information that is coming out – don’t. It’s shocking and it’s stomach turning. But we must bear witness to this and we must use our considerable power to ensure that those who are guilty are brought to justice.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.