It rained yesterday. Then it turned to snow, and then, later in the day, it turned to rain.
Just plain yucky, though I will say that we enjoyed seeing the snow fall.
And now – pinch me – I think we have no rain in the forecast for about 8 or 9 days.
January in the Northeast should involve snow and lots of it. Maybe we’ll get walloped in February and March, but we’re almost at the end of January and there’s only been one significant snowfall and even that didn’t last long because the temperature warmed up quickly.
Let’s see, yesterday I took care of some chores, went to a zoom meeting, and did this:
Yes, that’s Shirley under there. She’s made of composition (made out of sawdust, cornstarch, resin, and wood pulp) and if you get composition wet, the doll will be ruined. So Shirley was covered in dish towels while I inspected the stitching on the wig so that I could decide where the curls should be. Her mohair wasn’t in very good shape to begin with, so my fingers are crossed. Will it be a bit better than it was? I’m not sure. I curled her hair years ago, but I didn’t use any water. This time, I did, per the YouTube tutorial that I followed. I also used those end papers that were a part of every permanent. It took me a couple of hours to put all the rollers in.
She’s sitting on the kitchen table. I offered to move her upstairs but Don is fine with her being there in her basket. I should leave the curlers in for at least two days. I may do three.
Then I have to figure out how to clean up her face and fill the hole in the composition near the corner of her eye. She also has some cracks in the composition on her legs but they don’t look too bad, so I’ll leave them alone. I found a product online (on eBay) that is made specifically for composition repairs and it’s very inexpensive, so I’ll be ordering some of that. The dress she’s wearing is one I ordered about 15 years ago from a dressmaker. It’s a repro of one of the dresses Shirley wore in the movies. But it doesn’t fit as well as I’d like. The one that was original to the doll was in horrible shape, so I had to let it go.
My mom would be shaking her head, wondering why I am doing this. Since she wasn’t all that fond of this Shirley made in Canada, she would say “Don’t waste your time!” But I’ve left her on top of the pink cabinet in the office for a long time and she needs some TLC.
We had a great FaceTime chat with Zachary the other day. His voice is quite deep now and he was very chatty. He’s so, so intelligent! He amazes me. He was fitted out for an EEG and had to keep that rigging on for 48 hours. (He’s had some seizures in the past and the doctor is trying to get to the bottom of them.)
Then Mere and I continued to chat and got caught up on things. A lovely surprise.
Another Etsy sale over the weekend, so I have to do some packing today.
Stay safe.
Happy Monday.
Glad you got to FaceTime with Little Buddy, altho, he can hardly be called “Little” anymore. I was surprised to see in Meredith’s last post how much he has grown. Hope they figure out what they can do for his seizures and I hope Meredith is feeling better.
Can’t wait to see how Shirley Temple turns out. Hope all of your hard work is successful, Claudia!
Thank you, Ellen!
Stay safe.
Oh, I can’t wait to see how Shirley’s new “do” turns out!!!!
Yes indeed, it has been a strange weather period. Our snow is nearly all melted away again. By the end of the week it should be gone. Warm temps are heading our way and they said it should be that way through Feb. But we all know what March can also bring with it, if it chooses, to roar in like the lion.
We have a bright light illuminating from the sky today. It is quite lovely. They are calling it The Sun. We haven’t seen it in what seems like forever. May it continue……….. Take care.
I saw a bit of sunlight for approximately two seconds today. It must have been a hallucination.
Stay safe, Chris.
I am going to enjoy these next few weeks weather wise, that’s for sure! ;)
Ditto everything that Chris said…and I am thoroughly enjoying that bright light in our cloudless blue sky! And, to think that a week ago we were staring at icicles a foot long in some places. Unreal weather for Wisconsin.
I am anxious to see Shirley Temple as well. I’ve got my fingers crossed for her hair…and her eye repair. Had to look up what that composite material was exactly. Good luck on the repair.
Enjoy your day! ;)
Thanks so much, Donnamae!
Stay safe.
progress (shirley’s curls, your sister feeling better and z growing up; also, getting closer to spring …)! feels good, i know, so am glad for you.
prayers for z to have good test results and no more seizures. prayers for everyone.
we are having a sunny, mild day again today and it feels like spring out there. i’m not ready for it yet (will be in a couple months).
though i can read what comes my way, i can’t respond to texts and e-mails right now on my phone as the keyboard is still stuck for some reason. and for some other reason i haven’t made my way to the phone store to hopefully get things unstuck or (last choice) get a new smart-phone (which will make me feel stupid … i know i’m not, just am not tech-y and been feeling like i’m on information overload). avoiding the hassle and the likely expense is what it is. in the meantime i get to mhc via kind family members’ computer … glad to be here. it’s always nice to hear how you all are doing and i hope you’re having good, easy days.
stay safe.
kathy
Maybe you should see if it’s an easy fix for the phone? That would make your life easier!
Wouldn’t it be nice if just magically resolved itself?
Stay safe, Kathy.
yes, it would be nice if the issue was resolved by itself!
i am kind of maxed out on stuff to do (as i’m sure you could hear from me lately … sorry). we all have to deal with not-fun stuff at times … worries about family members, health changes, appliances and other things that aren’t working right … i have, too. will spare you the details and just say i will be getting my phone checked (with the hope that there’s an easy fix) but right now am needing and taking a much-needed break.
hope you all take it easy, too. and stay safe.
xo,
kathy
thanks for your encouragement. :)
xo,
kathy
xo
I get it. Hang in there, Kathy.
xo
dear Claudia/Don — here, we have had little snow (maybe 3-4 inches one time, did not last long) BUT the big news is that for Jan we have had over 6 inches of rain which is great b/c we had a semi drought going on- now is looking better. will be so o o glad when gr grass begins to grow again. So,Shirley is Blonde???? — sure hope your efforts/repair work turns out the way you want it. take care — stay safe/healthy
Yes, of course, she’s blonde! Little Shirley had honey-blonde hair, just like my mom had. And in both cases, their hair turned brown as they grew older.
I’m glad you got the rain you needed, Linda!
Stay safe.
I love that you are restoring Shirley! Good luck with the curls! We woke to snow today (not much) but next week is supposed to be sunny and in the 40s so I’ll take it. Can’t last forever.
It’s fun, isn’t it — talking with kids as they get older, “deeper,” have more to say and able to say it better! I hope Mere is fully recovered by now.
Yes, it’s fascinating to watch him grow older!
Stay safe, Jeanie.
I hope your sister is feeling better!
You’re in for NO rain and Southern California is in for LOTS of rain in the next seven or eight days.
All new info for me on a Shirley Temple doll. How did little girls play with them when they were rather destructible; can’t wait to see her ‘reveal’, with corkscrew(?) curls? Fun makeover.
I don’t know how I’m going to get Mom’s dolls ever repaired; it’s on the to-do list. I had a guy in upstate NY I’d learned about, the Doll Whisperer/Repairman; wrote to him a few years back with no response; so, gotta find somebody here out West although, for now, it’s a lower priority and I need to save up cash for the repair jobs; but, at present, I call them the Frankendolls (as in Frankenstein) and I can’t pass them onto anybody in the family in the shape they’re in, like ‘injured’ arms and legs made of breakable material, cracked head, hair in mats … and Mom had tried, in her adulthood, to repaint lips with nail polish which just didn’t fly. She was poor growing up and only had hand-me-down dolls which were already old (can make them more valuable today!); and she was very hard on them as she was a tomboy; however, they were much loved.
Yes, I see on the weather forecast that you’re in for a lot of rain!
Well, girls played with the Shirley Temple dolls for sure! That’s why you often find them with missing appendages or wigs that are flat and matted. I forgot I had a couple of books on Shirley Temple Collectibles and Dolls, and I pulled them off the shelf last night to peruse. I was very into this when we first moved out here, but that was 20 years ago!
Stay safe, Vicki.