Say hello to Mei.

She didn’t arrive until 10 pm yesterday, so the light was limited. I took her up to our room for the night – I did this with Pip, as well. She didn’t arrive until 9:30 pm.

If you notice a resemblance, you’re right. She was customized by Natalia, the same woman (of VegaDolls) who customized Olivia and Pippa.

But there’s a little story here. Natalia bought her over a year ago. She had already been customized by someone several years ago, but the skin was yellowing and she needed to be restored. Natalia wanted to save her. When she felt ready, she worked her magic by re-carving the face, restoring the skin, adding makeup and coloring, and adding beautiful new eye chips and now we have this new Mei. She’s called Mei because that name was written on the inside of her head and I’m going to honor that. (Plus, we called my sister Meredith a variety of loving nicknames when she was a little girl, one of which was ‘May.’) Mei, in honor of my beloved sister.

So. Natalia rescued her and you know I also am a rescuer. When she rescues a doll she has an auction for it, rather than selling at a specific price. You can message her with a bid and when the auction is over, whoever has the highest bid wins. I debated on this one. Did I need another doll? Of course not. Did I want this girl? Yes. I felt drawn to her. So I took a deep breath and submitted a bid and figured I would lose. One afternoon, as I was working on the puzzle, I got a message from Natalia saying I had won. I was completely surprised.

She was shipped from Spain on Monday and she arrived here two days later. Amazing.

I will dress her in something else later this morning and take some photos.

Shoelaces gone wild.

She is dear, isn’t she? There is a wonderful winsome quality in all of Natalia’s dolls. I’m completely charmed by the sweetness in her face.

Bless Don. I hadn’t yet told  him about the impending arrival of another doll and I suddenly had to when DHL informed me they were delivering the package a day early. He was excited and supportive and delighted and…well, he was Don, the best man I know.

It’s warmer here today. We’ll get a break for a couple of days then back to the cold and maybe 3-5 inches of snow on Monday.

Stay safe.

Happy Thursday.