Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award

I've been nominated by Barb the Evil Genius to participate in this award.  Since I'm a bigmouth and I love to talk about myself, I'm going to participate!  If you don't know the rules (and you quite possibly do), you get ten questions to answer about yourself, and then you must nominate five fellow bloggers to do the same.  So...here we go!

1. Do you collect anything other than dolls?
One could safely say that I collect collections!  LOL, I collect doll clothes, rocks, knitting supplies (especially needles), and trinkets.  Most of my trinkets are tiny novelty toys and odd cast-off stuff like dried bones or bottle caps.  Go figure.  LOL 

2. Why did you start a doll blog?
I started a doll blog for a few reasons.  I have some Facebook friends who like dolls, but for the most part they've got their own hobbies.  Starting a blog seemed like a good way to meet other people who shared the same passion that I did.  It's also a great way to recommend a good doll to collectors, or to warn them about a bad one!  And of course, I did this for the sheer fun of it; I like taking the pictures and sharing my opinions and experiences.

3. Do you have one particular doll that is the favorite in your collection?
Yes, I do.  This is Astrid, from the J. Misa Porcelain company.

I don't know if she originally had another name; "Astrid" is the name I chose for her when I received her.  Astrid was a gift; I was seventeen, and my grandfather had been hospitalized.  Since I like to snoop I mosied down to the gift shop to see what they had, and Astrid was there.  My intention was merely to show her to my grandmother without asking for her, but I guess Grandma liked her too!  You can see how the story ended (LOL again).

4. Your favorite doll accessory?
I like shoes.  Shoes are often the first thing lost off of a new doll (depending on the size of the shoe), and certain sized shoes are hard to find.  So when I find a pair of doll shoes that will fit one of my girls, I go out of my way to get them.

5. Do you know exactly how many dolls you have in your collection (you don't have to tell the number of course :-) )?
I stopped counting long ago.  If I were to count every single one I think the number would come out around three hundred.  Most of them are small, so storage isn't a huge problem...yet.

6. Do you play any instruments and if so, what?
Unfortunately I'm more fond of music than I am gifted.  If I could learn any instrument in the world, I'd pick something unusual like a balalaika or a set of bagpipes.  

7. Where is your most favorite place you've ever been?
Columbus-Belmont State Park in Hickman County, Kentucky.  My father was a historian and he loved taking the family on trips to forts and other historical sites.  Columbus-Belmont was a Confederate strongpoint (don't hate), and it's close to the sites of two battles so there were a lot of graves.  I was only two or three when we went there, but I remember how beautiful the scenery was.  There were the graves and some old cannons, and even a big anchor!  For some weird reason, we never went back to Belmont, not even after I got old enough to truly appreciate it all.  My father was a superstitious type, and he had this strange fear that if we returned, there'd be some big catastrophe and we'd never make it home.  So I've never been back to Belmont, even though it's very close.  My intention is to return someday.  

8. Where would you most like to visit, that you have never visited?
I've got several places on my bucket list; the highest place on the list is Banff, Alberta, because the scenery is beautiful.  Plus, it might be a good place to learn how to ski.  I'd love to learn how to ski.

9. Is there a retired doll or doll line that you'd like to bring back?
That's a tough choice.  There are a lot of lines that I missed out on because they existed before I was born, and there are also some good ones that I DIDN'T miss out on!  If I had to pick a single line it would be the Ideal Crissy line.  The whole line was cute, dolls, clothes, concept, and all.  Their concept, hair play, is about as timeless as one can get.  I mean, what little girl doesn't like to play with hair???  Plus, since Crissy and her friends were supposed to be young children, there wouldn't be any overzealous parents harping about boobs and skimpy clothes and oversexualization.

10. If you could design your own doll, what would it look like?
I'd want her to be a blue-eyed redhead, because in real life that's a very rare combination.  She'd be about seventeen years of age and be dressed in seventies-style garb (bell-bottoms, tie-dyed shirt, the works).  She'd be a bigmouth like me and have joints all over like the LIV dolls.  And of course I'd want her to come with a ton of outfits so that little kids wouldn't have to scrounge around for clothes.

Alrighty, now it's my turn.  I present to you a few of the same questions as above, plus a couple that I made up myself.  I think that's how it works.  Anywho I nominate:

D7ana at A Philly Collector of Playscale Dolls and Action Figures
Pandora at Pandora's Dolls
KAF FRUM at .....A little doll will do it.....
Michelle at BlytheLife.com
Rhonda F at Living A Doll's Life

To thee I present the following questions for you to answer if you choose to participate:
1. How old were you when you started collecting dolls?
2. Why did you start a doll blog?
3. Do you have one particular doll that is the favorite in your collection?
4. What hair color do you prefer your dolls to have?
5. Do you know exactly how many dolls you have in your collection (you don't have to tell the number of course :-) )?
6. What does your family think about your dolls?
7. Do you ever take your dolls out in public?  If so, where do you like to take them?
8. Do you remember your first doll?  If so, who was she/he?
9. Is there a retired doll or doll line that you'd like to bring back?
10. If you could design your own doll, what would it look like?