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You are here: Home / Archives for Meredith

Nephews, Books, and Dolls

September 20, 2023 at 9:01 am by Claudia

It’s so brisk and cool out there this morning! I have a sweater on….what????  Our transition to Autumn weather was rather abrupt, but I’m fully on board. And the light is gradually changing to that beautiful golden light that I love so much.

Yes, if you missed it, my nephew passed the bar exam in Florida, so he is officially a lawyer. In August, he started working for the Pinellas County District Attorney’s office. Everyone who took this year’s exam commented on how hard it was – harder than usual, according to those who had taken it more than once. I’m so proud of him and all he has accomplished after having gone through a harrowing time when he was a teenager. My sister was there at his side through all of it, of course.

Monday was also the day in which Z was having surgery. (He’s fine, all is well. I’ll leave any details for Mere to discuss.) So, as Mere was driving him to the hospital, the phone rang and it was son #2 saying he’d passed the bar. Talk about an emotional day!

One of the books I’d been waiting for is now at my local library branch, so I’m headed over there later today. It’s the newest in “The Girl with… ” series – The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons.  I finished Yellowface  yesterday morning (loved it) so I’m ready for a new read.

Time for a couple of dolly photos:

Nina in her back-to-school outfit. Her body is a bit taller than the bodies of the other girls and her legs seem so long! I love the veins that the customizer painted on her forehead and eyelids.

And a Gene Marshall doll I managed to snag on eBay for next-to-nothing:

This doll is called Iced Coffee. I’ve loved it since I first discovered these dolls. But what I love even more are the great hair rolls and the SNOOD! Oh my goodness, I’ve always loved snoods. My hair, unfortunately, is too fine/thin for any kind of snood, so I’ll live vicariously through this doll. (She comes with the snood, necklace and a matching bracelet, earrings, and that brooch pinned at her waist.

If only we all had Gene’s impossibly small waist.

I know there are Gene collectors who dress and redress their dolls, even making clothes for them (and some of them are exquisite.) But I like them as they are and keep them in the outfits designed for that specific doll. Of course, there are lots of Gene outfits that were sold separately, so I suspect the way to deal with that is to buy one nude Gene doll and use that doll for modeling other outfits. I’ve learned a lot about this from my friend, Doug, who was one of the three original clothing designers for Gene Marshall. He has such fascinating stories to tell!

My Blythes are the dolls I play with and redress, because they’re so gosh darned cute.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

 

 

Filed Under: Blythe dolls, books, Gene Marshall dolls, Meredith, reading 32 Comments

Monday

July 3, 2023 at 8:51 am by Claudia

Today is Meredith’s birthday! I have to call her, both to wish her a Happy day and to catch up. You know how I feel about her. There isn’t a kinder human being or a more giving sister or parent or friend. I pray that this  year things will get much better for her. She deserves everything good.

It’s a quiet weekend here – except for the fireworks that went off on July 1st (not the 4th) in the campground that is down the road. The fireworks went off right behind our property. No warning, no email to neighbors, nothing. They were so close and so incredibly loud that I couldn’t help thinking about all the wild animals and birds that must have been very, very frightened. And pets – you remember Scout went ballistic when there were fireworks. Collies have acute hearing and Scoutie was a Border Collie. We never left home on the 4th. I read on the local page that a dog was seen running frantically across a road during some fireworks.

Do we need them? No. I wrote a message to the campground on their Facebook page complaining about the fact that none of us were alerted beforehand.

Moving on.

Lucy has new eye chips.

They’re a greenish blue, depending on the light. She came with grayish chips and two pair of iridescent chips that – though beautiful – always seemed spooky to me. I want to replace another side-positioned pair as well. But that was enough for yesterday.

She needed a little color.

The doll spa has closed until further notice.

More rain on the docket today, though it’s sunny right now.

And humid.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Filed Under: Blythe dolls, Meredith 22 Comments

Saturday

October 29, 2022 at 8:19 am by Claudia

This morning.

First up: Meredith is feeling a little better. She got out of bed and drove Little Z to school yesterday because he really needs his routine and he’s been very, very upset this week. His mom was away and then home sick, and he stayed with his dad, and everything was out of order. And he was worried about his mom.

It wasn’t easy driving him there, but she felt it was important.

She was also calmer yesterday and we even laughed together over the phone. Healing will take time.

Thank you for your prayers. They help a great deal.

She can’t lift anything per doctor’s orders. So she obviously can’t work for a while as a lot of her work involves lifting children and sitting on the floor working with them.

One day at a time.

I finished this puzzle yesterday.

I dropped some things off at the post office and picked up a package (Elaine, I got your package) and then I drove to a local antique shop. I haven’t done that for so long and I just wanted to shake up my daily routine. I don’t know why, but every shop I used to frequent has been disappointing of late. In this case, there’s a lot of mid-century modern and some junk, and some favorite vendors have disappeared. But I did see a couple of booths that I liked. I found a miniature stool that was very inexpensive. I thought the girls might like it.

Zoe looks a little wary, doesn’t she? I think she looks adorable there.

No apple pie yet, but I have been told that one should be on the way. Don went to see the Orthopedist yesterday and the doctor said Don’s thumb was doing much better than he had expected. So no cortisone shot! Don has to continue to exercise the thumb and stretch it. Good news!

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

 

Filed Under: Blythe dolls, jigsaw puzzles, Meredith 31 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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