pira

And somebody was sleeping in my bed and he's still here!

2008-09-29T23:40:40Z

At the grocery store today I found a bin of tea towels that had just arrived and was struck
by their moss green stripes.

Aside for my current obsession with this particular shade(s) of green ...and tea towels in general, it occured to me that THIS would make a marvelous blankie for my doll bed.

....I was correct. It's a prefect size and it lays really nicely and looks most natural :)

It had me thinking though ~ when I put Willow in the bed last night, on her side. Her elastics are still tight and she sort of curled up and looked very lonely...so what if I finally introduced her to Kohl?

I flipped her over, face to face with him and her arm flipped out as if to embrace him. *0__0!!!

...*Quiet murmuring*....

OH ~ Hi Auntie! Look whom I found in my bed!

He says his name is Kohl...

I want to keep him.

He's the most beautiful doll I've ever seen....

.....

...um...we're just gonna lie here together and talk for a while, 'kay? So...um...see you later.

......and I was worried that their personalities would clash *0__o??

I did not buy them as a couple. I did not buy them as a couple. I did not buy them as a couple.....WHERE the BLEEP did all these HET DOLLY RELATIONSHIPS come from?!

I thought YAOI gurlz had YAOI bjds. Harems of Bishonen Resin?!

....What just happened??!!!!

The weekend

2008-09-29T12:07:12Z

Went to T.O. late on Thursday afternoon as Teh Bob was meeting up with his former boss and another work-buddy for dinner and the next day he, the sprog and I were going to attend his company sponsered event for One Million Acts of Green campaign.

I realized on our way to drop the husband off for his tête-à-tête that I had the chance to slip away to an Ikea for bed linens..admittedly dragging an 8 year-old boy but I had a mission and wouldn't be long.

While searching for the sheets, I spied a little wooden bed that I assumed was a model of larger one and thought that would fit my kitty girl perfectly, too bad it's not forsale. Turned out that it was actually a doll bed & was available for purchase...HAH...POUNCE!!

Yesterday I made a mattress and pillow for the bed, and then made a matching pillow case and mattress cover from ...what else?...used kimono material. >D I have ordered THIS fabric to make a little duvet cover (and probably pamamas for Willow) with. BEWARE THE CUTE! =^..^= I am obscenely please with myself.

Anyway ~ I dragged the boy back to the restaurant where the men were eating and after dinner they were giving us suggestions where to stay the night (we had to be up early the next morning to plant trees)...and I was rolling my eyes inwardly, as these guys began suggesting a Four Seasons, close to Yorkville and how much I'd love the shopping, Prada-blah-blah-blah...*=__=

I smiled, Teh Bob nodded and thanked them, and when we got back to the car the two of us couldn't help but laugh a bit. They must have mistaken me for a corporate wife like they are married to.

Of course they mean well and are trying to smooth the path for my husband by assuming that I will enjoy doing what their wives do, making some recommendations based on their experience. It would never occur to them that I am desperately allergic to high end fashion shops....considering the flannel shirt over the black t-shirt, adidas pants and black clogs I was wearing. *cough* Why does NO one EVER says *oh it's close to the most wonderful book stores*....??

ANYway ~ the next morning we arrive at a park that is part of one of the many ravine forests in Toronto and I am again reminded how much of an outsider I am to this lot...as I stare at the people who arrive to participate (not the company organizers though..they at least have common sense).

I had on my best poker face as men in beige chinos and women in Chanel and other high-end HEELS showed up to plant trees in a ravine. We all got the same memo...right? RIGHT?! *0__o

I brought my own garden gloves. That about sums up the gulf between me and them. *falls down to knees and praises husband for choosing to work in the sticks*

It was a good day though ~ the job was done fast, we got outta dodge and snuck over to Chinatown north for some japanese groceries and shishimi for the sprog to snack on during the drive home.

The only downside was a three day headache that had wrapped itself like a fog around my brain. It finally lifted Sunday...at which point I could puzzle together this bed and use my machine without fear of sewing my fingers together! >D

BEST line of my day!

2008-09-25T16:38:05Z

Peddling away on the bike at teh gym. Reading Volume 7 of Eiji Otsuka and Housui Yamazaki's The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service

We find three of our heroes out on yet another errand, and upon entering an enormous, multi-leveled, gaming/manga/anime complex (like Akihabara under one roof) one of them quips:

"I've heard of this place. It's like a five-story ant farm for Otaku"

.....I couldn't help it. I laughed aloud (more than once) today at the gym.

Sorry sildil...I'm keeping this series. It's too good for teenagers. >D

All you Ycon attendees

2008-09-25T11:23:17Z

BON VOYAGE ~ travel safely and make sure to leave lots of extra time, check everything three times & pack a heap of patience since Mercury is in retrograde and that means SNAFU-rama.

*HUGS YOU ALL*

Have a BLAST! Hoist one for me! Oggle a few bishonen and tell me what Shiki is wearing this year (I demand pictures)

Let the PARTAY begin!

Shifting gears....

2008-09-24T21:35:48Z

90% of doujinshi are boxed up and moved to the attic.

I have re-arranged the raw manga/dj shelves keeping only my collection of K2, CJ Michalski, Sadahiro Mika and Maikata Mira and a few odds n sods ~ the rest are in storage.

Three shelves freed up for dolls.

Next job is to take all the Shonen Jump to the basement for my son. If he wants to read them they are on a shelf. If not they will eventually get pitched.

I'm SO glad I got over that insane phase of my life and have found something MUCH more grounded in reality to do with my spare time....

....

HEY.... at LEAST dolls are INTERACTIVE!!

...it's in the details.

2008-09-24T17:53:13Z

When I finally got to stripping the little fella out of his underoos and spraying him I took a really close look at his peenie and was amused beyond words to discover that Dollzone boys have a urinary meatus (a.k.a. pee hole)

GO-GO DZ! *^___^*

Once I got up off the floor laughing I proceeded to finish spraying his little headless body and then blush up the shadowed areas and nails with some coloured chalk ~ matching it to the pink of his face-up.

While I'm not 100% happy with my work ~ it's better than I thought it would be for a first attempt and I even managed to add gloss to the nails which actually looks rather good if I do say so myself.

I learned a few things: I'll have a better selection of brushes and work slower ...and DEFINATELY work using my maginifying lamp because once more my eyes shifted their prescription ...(f**k the mid-40s) and I could barely see what I was doing at ANY distance.

Below is a slightly different angle of my handiwork....*wicked grin*....am I having fun yet? Probably waaay too much.

Uh-oh.....

2008-09-23T23:00:17Z

Today I decided the weather was perfect for me to take Kohl's head off, take his body outside and spray it with a UV protective coating and then while I was at it, blush-up his body & define those fingers and toes with some pink chalk pastel. AND just for kicks I gave his nails a nice shiny coating ~ because poets should be well manicured.

*cough*

ANYway he's been wrapped up in his pillow-thing for a week and THIS *points at the above* was the way his body was folded when I started to undo his wrappings.

If there was EVER an annoyed looking doll ~ this would be it.

Also...someone asked if the catgirl could stand and I took this photo of my kicky little kitten to see if she could. I don't trust her though, to do that for very long. She needs a slight adjustment of her elastics. Kohl on the other hand is a rock in barefeet...

Hopefully he forgives me. He's all prettied up now with a nice pink bottom and everything.

AND yes...I did colour up his dangly bits and YES it WAS fun. *^__^*

What just happened??!!

2008-09-23T22:20:03Z

Blah blah blah I'm a yaoigirl blah blah blah.

SO why the heck do I have 4 GIRL dolls in my resin family (three incoming before the end of the year), am wibbling about a 5th (won't let myself order her before the end of November to see if I really want her) YET... there are only two boys...

....and one of them is married to one of the girls?!!!

I look at the boys and smack my lips together and when my fingers do the walk of commitment on the keyboard.... they are choosing girls *0__0!!!

I am serious danger of having my Yaoi Membership revoked!

1 + 1 = MROwrrrrrrrhissssss!

2008-09-23T11:32:37Z

Okay ~ since what I seem to do a lot of is read the DoA boards I might as well comment in my own journal (in spite of probably boring the snot out of anyone here, but as Tam said go for it...i't my IJ)...... because sometimes my reactions to things that are discussed/debated/whatever there just need to leak out.

For example ~ this morning I am sipping my coffee and grazing on a debate about *copying other peoples dolls*... and for the most part a lot of doll owners that comment are calmly resigned about the phenomenon and muse on how it might happen quite by accident since everyone is sort of swimming in the same pool of aesthetic influences... but not everyone is ~ hence the subject as a topic for debate.

My first reaction to the topic was...*people copy dolls*?

My second was ~ but what exactly does that mean when you have so many little resin clones flowing out of the factories?

My third was to be quitely amused at the idea of people getting their knickers in a twist because someone dressed their dolly up to look just like someone elses dolly. Wow ..it's sort of totally like two high school beauty queen attending the Prom in the same dress on OPPOSITE COASTS so the chances are they will NEVER MEET IN REAL LIFE but CAT FIGHT!!!!

I could kinda-sorta understand if someone copied another persons' doll right down to the buttons and birthmarks and was selling it as their own design ~ but the fact of the matter remains that these are customizable items, and you have the right to paint/dress/style/mod them ANY way you want since you have paid out of your own pocket for them.

Sorry but while companies can copyright the molds/sculpts you can't copyright the way you paint and dress your BJD.

@__@ seriously...dolly people are funny creatures. VERY entertaining stuff this.

One last times....

2008-09-22T18:57:13Z

Argh ~ before I totally forget to share these last images from the Pacific Heights area of SF.

Again ignore anything that is not exactly square...I'm obviously need work in that area, but it's easy enough to see how much eyecandy there is around the city from just a few of these homes ~ and there were streets going in all directions with the pretty.

Given time I'm sure that a person can fully explore all the nooks, cranies, angles and shadows in these neighbourhoods ~ few cities are just sit there posing for the world like SF does.

People get hung up on the *painted ladies*....a row of pretty houses off of Alamo Square ~ but you know ~ there are a LOT of people in this city that pour a lot of money and sweat into gussying up their dwellings, and you can't turn your head in most neighbourhoods without being in awe if the sheer manpower needed to keep up these places.

SF residents might not have the space for gardens but they make up for it by painting their homes to rival any gilded lily or prize rose. :)

Gah.....

2008-09-22T11:59:08Z

Well Iplehouse finally revealed the unpainted face of Akando ...he who will be my Masanori Araki ...I will order him without a face-up when the body /head become available beyond the circus act series... and make him Masa.

Thar SHALL be yakuza bjd in my household.

SO PRETTY.....

2008-09-20T21:02:54Z

I just had to share this because I was ticked several shades of pink the other day when I opened a package of goodies from eve_le_dez ~ Not only I was spoiled with all kinds of goodies from her side of the pond...but so was Willow. This perfect 1/4 scale urn, set of cutlery and a model ship in a bottle (which reminds me of all the wonderful Royal Navy illustrations she's done for the brilliant joyful_molly... ) were included in the package.

*^___^* I was beaming from ear to ear...and laughing.

The Gods sometimes just can't help but pull my chain and the arrival of a box full of European chocolates is just evil when less than 24 hours earlier I'd promised my middle child I would join her in an 8 month abstinence of junk foods (french fries, ice creams, chips, cakes, cookies...chocolate)...all the things that she is having trouble over indulging in when she needs to lean out for the basketball season.

I didn't really care ~ this would be easy for me since I don't eat much of that kind of stuff anyway ~ but then I realized I'm giving up my once a week apple fritters (those thick slices of apple, battered, fried and rolled in sugar at the farmers market) and monthly strawberry/rhubarb pie. (craving of choice at that time of the month) DOH!

So there I am ~ the day before my elder daughters birthday ...having just bought a cheesecake for her celebratory dinner ....that I can't eat....with a box of lovely assorted German and Swiss chocolate in front of me feeling really ... irked at the Gods and their very bad sense of humour.

My mother flipped on me when I told her about all this, saying I'm the last person in my household that should give up pie...infact I should just cheat.

*0__o!!??

I never thought I'd hear my morally righteous mother say something like that...but I did mollify her saying that I'd told the middling ~ should she cheat I would find out (because I ALWAYS find out) and then I would make her life a living hell. We are talking about 8 months without apple fritters or pie. I wouldn't do that for ANYone but my children!

Sneak a milkshake? Find yourself unable to resist a jar of nutella? Think very carefully child of mine...because HELL hath no fury like a MOTHER denied apple fritters by a weak willed offspring.

Once more with PATIENCE!! =^..^=

2008-09-17T23:53:34Z

Today was nice and sunny and I thought I'd take a moment to grab a few photographs of the resin kitten outside ~ but I was annoyed by the wig. Cute as it was, I really didn't like how the mesh under the hair would be visible in photos so it was time to bite the bullet and change her wig and that meant....taking those ears out ....again.

...and that meant taking out the ears and dealing with the silky, subtance of the wig I purchased a while ago, and was starting to doubt it suited her.

After the first wig I'd done a deep think on the mechanics of attaching ears that screw into the head through a wig filled with things that get caught up in the screwing...and plotted my attack.

The attack involved tape among other things and it worked. It worked REAL fine I might add since I had to do it more than once having not heeded my own advice and got the ears in on the wrong side of the head ~ but I've this thing so well figure out that changing them was a breeze if I was patient and went at it slowly.

Below are comparison shots from the old *ew* straw textured wig in the morning (and the only one where the wig webbing doesn't show across her forehead) and the new one later in the day....

Bonus for me is that I was right about the new wig...it DOES suit her. This pink outfit is just something to kick around in. She is going to find herself dressed in earth tones beyond this pretty little urban number. :)

If windows were eyes they would reflect the city.....

2008-09-17T11:01:02Z

Damn but I have an obsessive personality....dolls, dolls, dolls. I'm worse than a kid with the Sears Wishbook leading up to Christmas. >_<*

Okay so a few more photos from San Francisco before I get my head stuck so far up these little resin asses that I forget I even went there and took any!!

What follows is a series of window shots...keep in mind that for a LOT of them I am standing on the ground, several stories down from the thing that caught my eye....and it would have made a GREAT shot if I'd had a telephoto lense blah blah blah....but you will have to do with the resulting capturing of a concept shot instead. >D

One thing I love about SF is the windows....and the windows in windows. My eyeballs were bouncing from one thing to another like a ping pong ball lottery tumbler.

To be sure I took a hellalot more pictures that I am sharing here, and the reason I'm not really, REALLY spamming you is that I was not happy with the angles of a large number of shots. Again I need to slow down and compose more thoughtfully but also ....it would have behooved me to use a tripod but I am NOT carrying one around on a casual walkies around this hilled city when on holidays with Teh Bob. Nuh-UH.

I am now going to go and try to regain control of my life or find one or something like that....

Letting the Cat outta the Bag/Box/Receptical thing

2008-09-15T22:58:14Z

She's HERE!! Finally ~ THE bjd that pushed me over the edge of the rabbit hole. The one I HAD TO HAVE because my defenses were breached and my heart captured....the one I ordered before the others...although not the 1st to arrive ~ Willow, my Dollzone, Shoyo-3!

She stands 44 cm / 17" high for those wanting to know. :)

....first the box. I am amazed how intact it is considereing some of the wrecks that I see delivered to other DoA members....SERIOUSLY...how is it that EMS gets totally trashed and a lot of people have it left on their doorstep...in bad weather. Um...what were people paying for the signiture delivery system for again???

The inside: ads from DDE amidst the paper. I am personally still grinding my teeth at the customs (provincial taxes) that I had to pay. I mean...if I'd bought her from a seller in B.C. I'd have NOT paid those...ARGH!...but whatever...

A dollbox and stuff. The stuff is an outfit for my Willow and some underwear & socks for her older brother who will arrive in October...

INSIDE the Dollzone box is her *fullset* outfit/wig....and....I see bunny ears!

AND now I see toes and KITTY EARS =^..^= ...it's like I just unearthed her from a tomb, my little bubblewrap mummified cat >D

AND HEREs my WILLOW!!!

But JUST as I'd suspected...I was not going to be able to tolerate those dayglow green peepers...but that's okay...I'm prepared.

For those curious about the *ears* on the INSIDE of the head....I gave the other DoA cat buyers a word of advice...those springs are SHARP and so put a thimble on your finger when pushing them to help twist them out or you will bleed in your dolls head.

*speaks from experience* It didn't hurt...but...bloody mess!

Oh ...SO MUCH BETTER!!!

After much fanagling with the wig and ears I got her into her Tomkitten outfit for some quick portraits....

I was not entirely sure about the default wig but it's growing on me...and the outfit actually suits her skin-tone. I'd been a bit worried about that, especially after my assassin by arrived and I just plain didn't want him in that black. Who knows what personality is going to speak to us from these resin figures???

I'd had my doubts about this outfit...but....I think I was right in not seeing in her a delicate girlie-girl but more of a playful kitten who will doubtless be posing up more than one tree in her overalls >)

The CREEP factor

2008-09-12T23:00:54Z

Throws up hand and flaps it at those people recoiling in horror at *creepy dolls*

I saw the one today that you couldn't PAY me to have in my house...and he ain't gonna be cheap!

He's from Iplehouse and I have been watching the developement and teasers the company has been posting because he has the *NEW MAN BODY* which is simply do die for...

See it HERE...seriously
I don't know WHAT THE HECK I'd do with such a big doll (70.5 cm/27 1/2") but GOOD GODDESS that body mold is just...*drools*

Okay...anyway so the body is going to be released first as a special, limited edition version and I was thinkging *oh PLEASE be something I won't like*

...I found out it would be part of their circus series and I was happy because I really dislike clowns....and doll clowns in particular.

Then I saw their teaser pix for the face...HOLY HELL I'm going to have NIGHTMARES for WEEKS because of that mug! I need to bleach my brain!!!!!!!

I'm sorry if my opinion hurts the feeling of those who want to spend over $1000 US to have something that stands over two feet tall, leering like the murderous Joker in their house and love it to widdle bits before it trips them on the stairs and breaks their necks...but WTF?! WHO LIKES THIS KIND OF THING?!

*shudders*....so ~ should you look upon my dollies ....who are by default of being MY dollies .... happy, clueless, and/or gently thoughtful....and become creeped out, please keep in mind how bad it COULD BE. >D

Learned a new trick....

2008-09-12T22:41:42Z

Personally I'm just completely intrigued and totally emmersing myself in the whole enchillada ~ and as I mentioned to ariss_tenoh earlier...I don't think I've been as absorbed in a hobby (thing, topic, fandom, whateveryouwannacallit) since I was involved in the LoTRs fandom.

It totally engrosses me, with the blessed exception at this point, of story telling/writing the dolls as characters and/or buying/modding them to match. I am letting the ones that *ambush* me evolve rather than bang a square peg into a round hole. Not what I need from them.

I am trying to absorb the whole thing and it's so big, and so diverse I have a hard time believing that BJD people are still considered rare birds and when they are exposed to the harsh light of the media they are so ridiculously stereo-typed I'm torn between wanting to laugh or cry.

I am at this point a closet doll enthusiast, hiding this mania from disapproving strangers, local RL friends and extended family. *cough* I'll speak of that later...this peculiar need to keep these dolls to myself.

*DOLLS* ~

....you might have noted the plural.

Suffice it to say I'm not going anywhere for a while and in retrospect I'm actually fine with that....too busy playing with my toys. I'll elaborate on that later...but

ANYway I decided to swap out the red eyes that came with Kohl....

...those glowing fire-red ones annoyed me a LOT and I knew they would be coming out as soon as I bought him. It was an interesting exercise taking his head off but in the end it wasn't nearly as daunting as I'd anticipated.

Next was learning the very definate art of setting the eyes in so that they don't give you that creepy, glassy-stare that is so common with regular dolls (shudders). The idea is to set them slightly upward and crossed so that they are looking AT you and not THROUGH you....(the ubiquitous dolly version of the 100 mile stare)

Next project for Kohl (aside from sewing...think this green fabric will make a great vest or coat)...is taking his head off again and spraying his body with protective coatings of Mr. Super Clear.

...gah.

Getting geometric

2008-09-12T21:41:08Z

Actually when I went through all my photos (meh....not so many that I liked) I labelled them either by the neighbourhood that I took them in or the thing/concept that fascinated me at the moment (ie., reflections in windows)....so that is how you'll get them. There is logic to the randominity.

These images were all from a single block radius in the South Market of our hotel. Teh Bob was
sitting in a coffee shop with his sports section and I was just...wandering for 20 minutes before we started off on whatever walk we were doing that day.

I've said it before and I'll say it again...San Francisco is a city full of eyecandy ...and sadly I never really think out my shots and for some stupid reason I still don't take enough multiple images of the same thing to make sure that I captured/centred what I saw. Many times the light was too low and the job needed a tripod...but seriously I think Teh Bob would draw the line at humping that around all day and then me standing about fussing with it.

STILL I wasn't totally unhappy with the pix and there is enough diveresity overall to make a set of photo cards for the sprogs teachers at Xmas. :)

And thar she gooooooes

2008-09-07T21:52:57Z

Yep. It's offical...well more official than it has been up to this point.

My first doll of the ball-jointed kind arrived the same day that my mother did, just prior to my leaving for SF. ARGH!!! At least she didn't have to sign for it but still...that meant spiriting the unopened box to a dark corner and waiting a week till I was back and she was gone to open it. Hard to believe I'm 43 and hiding toys that have nothing to do with smex! >D

I don't even want to contemplate her reaction to him...or any of the *cough* others. Teh Bob seems bemused with this new obsession and the girls sardonic but slightly creeped out by it *snort*...ANYway...yeah...I won't bore you with the details beyond the fact that it's been fascinating to unbox the first doll because I really had no idea how I'd react to him.

I teared-up. Seriously...I did not see that reaction coming. He was nothing at ALL what I was expecting but as I mentioned to another bjd-owner...he is 1000 kinds of wonderful. The texture of his limbs? Smooth as satin (blew my mind away that did). Dismiss them all you want but don't look to closely at them, because I really don't think you can be totally immune and once you spot *the one*...you ~ are ~ doomed.

The following are just a few images I managed to snag today when the sun finally came out. I wanted to capture his skin colour and face-up without a flash. Now I've got to choose a fabric to make a kimono out of that compliments his colouring :)

I still have to change his eyes...I have dark ebony ones for him. These glowing red, demonic coals are not quite doing it for me...but I'll get to that later.

I am random, yes I am

2008-09-06T11:37:34Z

So we were off to Fog City for a bit of couple-time last Friday. It was one long, casual date and a nice change of pace from the usual run around one is faced with when travelling. No agenda besides picking a film to watch and then building the day around the showtime.

I wanted to take photos....natch.... I finally fought the good fight (after this day when I took these photos) and won him over to the idea of walking around before noon...because as a rule of thumb, taking pictures outside is best before 10 a.m. and after 4 p.m., when the light is less harsh. This of course conflicts with his rule of thumb that vacation = sleeping in till 10 a.m.

I bribed him with the plethora of cafes and carrying a newspaper in my bag. Plunked him down with an espresso & the sports section and then wandered up the street for 20 minutes at my leisure to just clickty-click. When we were just walking and I'd need to pause, he'd text the teens or call his dad on his pda while I played with my camera. Finally we found a pace and PLACE that worked for both of us. :)

I was sitting in the lobby of the hotel we were staying at and waiting for Teh Bob...noting that it's not a particularly interesting lobby but fills the space of this 3rd incarnation of a hotel on the spot effeciently. In front of me is an enormous table (and I do mean the size of a small car) covered in muliple vases of flowers and my mind wanders in two directions ~ to the manufacture of these absurdly enormous pieces of furniture which serve no purpose other than to take up room....and the floral display made up of metre high vases filled partially with water and stalks (tree branch thick) of vegetation. Were they real?

Yes...Fridays meadow of orchids became Sundays' bamboo forest etc. Every two days there was something new and impressively expensive in the dozen or so vases....and I was left thinking...how do you scrub a vase that long and narrow??

ANYway...while waiting on Teh Bob again I took a moment, sans tripod in the dim lobby, to grab a quick stem shot:

I took the pre-requistite *we were here* photos as we tromped about the neighbourhoods of SF proper...but you know me, my eye is wont to stray to things around my feet....

One just wasn't enough....

Seriously, this could be anywhere....but it wasn't. This is in the Haight-Ashbury district. Not sure why we were there ....beyond the fact that we were killing time before a 1:30 p.m. film and just wandering aimlessly :)

Oh here's a self portrait!

...and...my attention as usual is upward as often as it is directed to my feet....

Because ....well it was there and it was really a nice old beast and...

It got my attention because the gas tank was leaking petrol *0__o!!!

To be continued....

pira @ 2008-09-05T13:44:00

2008-09-05T17:53:56Z

In case anyone wondered if the force of the Earths' rotation had flung me off the planet or some such....the fact is that it only tossed me across the continent.

Spent a wonderfully relaxing almost-week in SF with the hubby, who is wrapping up his visit/work out there as I type and will be back to embrace the chaos of the new school year/basketball season(s) with me tomorrow.

Much espresso was drunk, newspapers read in cafes, and many ~~calf muscles tortured~~ steep hills traversed as well as movies watched.

...I kid you not.

Our idea of a great date is a good film and we took in no less than 7. *^__^* It was one long extended date!!

Oh yes and much camera clickage. Results to appear around here 'bouts soon. ~__^

My doll is more dolly than YOUR dolly

2008-08-26T20:50:54Z

Well yeah...it was inevitable that I'd go head-over-teakettle down the last Dolly-rabbithole and that little speck waaay down there is me waving back up at you guys.

While bouncing around the internets I found the following quote by Cate Blanchett regarding dolls, which had me just howling ~ in particular after having two daughters who didn't enjoy Barbie so much as they enjoyed...modifying her appearance...*cough*...

You know you've made it when you've been moulded in miniature plastic. But you know what children do with Barbie dolls - it's a bit scary, actually.

Which in turn reminds me of a few WTF experiences in doll forums when looking at what people do to their dolls or looking at particular molds from different manufacturers. I'm not ashamed to say that some of them seriously make me cringe if not totally creep-me-the-bleep-out ~ but then dolls are all rather personal and one persons princess (or prince) is another's nightmare so whatevh. Each to their own....right?

Weeeellll ~ this in turn brings me to the inherent elitism in the hobby ~ and dispite the naysayers, there is no doubt in my mind that some people seriously think that ~ not only are some dolls more equal than other dolls...but the same goes for the dolly hobbiests too.

I won't bore you all with endless commentary on numerous threads where people discuss the pros & cons of dolly ownership, vent dolly annoyances or ponder dolly thoughts deeply ~ rather, suffice it to say there is not only a snobber amongst some, about the price of some ball-jointed-dolls (higher the price the more real it is), but ~ I smell a resentment in the air.

...this once small group has started to grow with the introduction of Chinese and Taiwanese models which are cheaper (but no less in quality from what I've read from those who own both) due to where they are made ~ making them more affordable (in a way that only makes sense to doll people) and hence forth...the rabble have been allowed in.

OMG ~ now people can walk in and just BUY a doll and be into BJDs? You don't have to wait for a year for a coveted mold and assemble, sand and paint it yourself?!! OMG what has the hobby come to?! It's going to ~ the ~ dogs!

**EDIT** ..I actually found a thread after I posted this, that lamented this exact fact......*

In a 6 week period I have watched in facination as a small element of OLD TIME doll owners have slowly started to wade into discussions such as *Rough Seam-lines on new expensive dolls are annoying* with attitudes that those who dropped $1200 US on a doll that was a limited edition are fools for not knowing that the seams would NOT be sanded ~ even though they paid EXTRA for clothing and a full body paintjob. Funny...if they offer you the OPTION of a body blushing/face painting, clothing set...but NOT SANDING OF THE ROUGH EDGES I do NOT think the person is unreasonable or stupid for being upset that they dropped a LOT of money on something that is only partially complete ...and only remotely looks like the photos and then questioning the industry standards in a doll forum. I'm not talking about seams being visible...I'm talking about rough enough to tear stockings you put on your doll.

....well I'm compiling a list of manufacurers that do that kind of thing (the really high end ones are the worst offenders) and personally I find this kind of elitism is wtf-funny ~ because it's like buying a Ferrari but having delivered without the welding ground off, but the paint job just slapped over top of it...because you know they're busy. Not too busy to take your money but you know...just too busy making cars for others to be arsed to do it.

*0__o...astounding logic dolly girls pull out of their asses when trying to act superior to the newcomers who are not in there for building from the ground-up but just want to enjoy and squee and play with the pretty.....

I'd found this brief article: Playing with Dolls is Serious Fun; "Girls don't even think of them as dolls. They are friends," she says. If you walk into your bedroom and your dolls are all lined up, "it makes you feel warm and cozy because you are surrounded by so many friends."

While the topic is about young children having an assortment of dolls, I think the logic applies to grown-ups who collect them...and I much prefer those BJD-owners who have been into it for a while (or forever) and get that aspect of it, and are happy to share the warm and cozy with newbies...instead of looking down their noses, sniffing at the riffraff trying to bust in on their little party.

I wanna use the force on the garden...heh

2008-08-21T23:15:13Z

*claps for self*

Another day spent and the garden still avoided.

Not entirely sure wtf I actually DID ~ beside actively avoid the garden.

Well yes the groceries and cooking but *ppppphttt* that's nothing. Do that EVERY day.

*ponders*

Listened to husband freak out about eldest spawn.

Bought another doll.

Played arbritrator between the eldest spawnling and her father.

Paid for said doll.

Lectured eldest spawnling for getting her father wound-up tighter than a rusty shut-off valve in an emergency situation.

Pretended I live in a condo without a front yard.

Tomorrow. Butcher. Baker. Organic green grocer. No internets for me after 9 a.m. until my work is done.

...I'm an idiot. I have to ground myself.

...hate garden.

Stumbling around life

2008-08-21T11:10:08Z

Yesterday...parged (and pointed )the area 2-6" upward, alongside the house where the driveway meets the foundation....the new driveway is a bit lower than the previous one and I wanted to deal with the exposed areas and construction modified bits...

My father was surprised that I wasn't parging the entire surface area....38' x 3' ....mixing that cement one wee batch at a time!! While I understand his logic....I can't help but wonder ~ Is he NUTS!?

I just want to fix cracks and gouges before I paint it ~ *rolls eyes*

Today I'll tackle the garden. ( you've heard that what...3 or 12 times now?) ...I couldn't face doing it after the wall. I don't want to wreck my hands and back all at once....as it is my grip is going to tenuous at best for a few day after all this ~ my forearms and wrists are not going to like the repeated pounding and clutching involved with these activities.

Late afternoon I sat down to more This American Life & pulling the strings out of another kimono while happily pondering the new 1/4 doll clothing patterns that arrived in the post...*hums to self* and which fabrics to use.

I've been highly disorganized and in no small way distracted by doll sites. (.__(.

I need to unplug the internet or I'll never get at this ridiculous list of *things to do*...*stupid siren-calling dolly sites* ....*stupid obsessive compulsive personality*.

More sunflower madness

2008-08-20T12:27:22Z

So issue of Forbidden Fruit zine launched and I am sitting back awaiting the continued chirping of crickets. If you missed the artwork in a format larger than a bookplate, check my previous post.

I did a run around with the eldest yesterday ~ picking ups bedding and such for her dormroom. She leaves to attend uni soon ~ and that just feels weird. It's not weird that she's leaving home...because she really isn't doing that yet. The school is walking distance from the house, BUT we felt it important that the emmerse herself in the experience of having to room with a stranger so out the door she is shoved.

I am looking forward to a school year that doesn't involve the daily father/daughter confrontations about the boyfriend.

Today I'm playing at some parging and... *groans*...I can't really put it off any longer...I need to deal with the fugly gardens. I have prefered to sit at the pc, listening to episodes of THIS AMERICAN LIFE and ripping seams.... telling myself that I'm being productive, but there is only so much ignoring of the yard a person can do and I need to suck it up and just DEAL with it before the stuff out there grows so wild it eats a small child

Speaking of things that grow... here is the second batch of sunny florals :)