My Bavatarbie

The Bootheel's weather woes continue, though I'm happy to report that there's no uncertainty like there was last Sunday. Last week we weren't sure whether it would be cold rain, FREEZING rain, ot sleet, but tonight and tomorrow we get snow, period. Last Friday the forecast was calling for one to two inches, and then by Monday it was up to two to four inches. I'd rather have snow than ice, but driving in snow still sucks.  Fortunately for us the worst of it is going south of us, but it could be bad for some of y'all.

Now to today's topic.  Years ago (I'm talking "I was in college" years ago, so the timeframe between 2006 and 2011), I was a fan of a blog called A Feminist's Guide to Barbie.  I hold a dim view of most modern-day feminists due to their obsession with their genitals and with sex in general, but this lady was...well, she actually had her head on straight.  She acted like she genuinely wanted to make the world better for women, and without all the man-bashing (she was married to a hunk, LOL).  She had a cute little girl, they played Barbie together, and the mom had a term for the doll one used to represent oneself.  This was your "Bavatarbie," a portmanteau of "avatar" and "Barbie."  This Bavatarbie could look like you, or it could...well, NOT look like you.  For example, I'm heavyset with shaggy brown hair, pale blue eyes, and a steadily worsening limp, but my Bavatarbie would likely be a redhead and able-bodied (any eye color goes).  Kinda like...

...California Midge (very subtle difference from California Dream Midge).  Red-haired, green-eyed, freckle-faced, and semi-standing on her own two feet.  Here's what the box looked like, because I'm like that.

As I've said before I've always preferred Midge to Barbie, because Midge was less perfect and more personal, but she was capable of being just as glamorous as Barbie was if she wanted to be.  Now for the record, I do own a rebodied California Dream Midge and I love her, but I wanted one of these dolls intact.  And I got her!  I got her MIB with her full outfit, her skates, her paper inserts, and pale spots on her legs.  Indeed, Midge's spots have developed into full-tilt patches.  Her legs are also very sticky, and a rubdown with a wet wipe didn't help much.

Here's a better look at the patches.

Bopsy can relate.  I don't know what it is about Barbie dolls from the late eighties, but a lot of 'em develop these round faded marks on their legs.  Bopsy dates from 1987 and thus has the spots.

A few years made a world of difference.  Snap 'n' Play (1991) and Teen Talk (1992) do not have these fade marks...nor do any of my nineties dolls.

The spots are an aesthetic problem, but as far as I know it's nothing more than that.  Spots notwithstanding, Midge is structurally sound and has everything that a good California Midge should.  She's got her skates, which I think are adorable.

I never learned how to skate, by the way.  Pain and I never have been friends, and the thought of sandpapering skin off my hands and knees turned me off of skating...and scootering...AND riding a bike.  My sister learned to ride both a scooter and a bicycle, so I figure she'd have been good at skating.  Anyway, here's a closeup of Midge's face; the first three Midge dolls of the eighties had my beloved Steffie head.  

California, California Dream, and Cool Times.  After that Midge took on the Diva head, and I think I own the first doll with that head, All-Star Midge.  Indeed, I think the Diva head favors the old-fashioned Midge head more than Steffie does.

I own Cool Times Midge, but guess where she is.  In storage!  Cool Times has pink lips that don't go very well with her tan, while California and California Dream Midge both have raspberry lips that I love.  Take special note of these eyes, as they're the best way to tell California Midge from California Dream Midge.  My doll is the California variant and has two round white dots...

...while California Dream has a dot and a line.  Told y'all the difference was subtle!  I think there were some minor differences in the enclosed skates too, but that's all the difference there is.  Hair's the same, coloration is the same, earrings are the same.  Let's take a moment to admire the paint on these dolls; I love their coloration. 

Shucks, I wish I had Dee Dee with me!  I love her fiery eyeshadow, but then I also love Teen Talk Barbie's paint, because her eyes are green rather than the usual blue sported by Barbie dolls.  Before the Fashionista days blonde Barbie dolls were almost always blue-eyed, so it always pleases me to find one of these older dolls with brown or green eyes.  But when it comes to heads, for me Steffie is at the head of the pack as always, and I'm glad to have another one aboard. 

After unboxing Midge I left her sitting on the arm of the couch, and she looked so cute that I turned her head and snapped a picture.

When I was just beginning to blog about dolls I'd sit typing up the words, and I'd usually have a doll sitting or standing nearby.  More often than not they'd look cute sitting or standing close to me, and I'd snap a picture.  I wish I had some of those now, but they're locked up in my old computer...which hasn't been used in ten years.  I can start the habit up again, but I still wish I had some of those old images, those that had a lot of extraneous junk in the background, or were kinda weird, or were just...well, candids of my Barbie dolls.  Maybe they'd be a little scruffy or not looking directly at the camera, but I was pleased anyway.  

Now, as usual, I'm gonna keep an eye out for ice halos and batten down the hatches for snow!  So far I haven't seen any halos, but I did see some beautiful hoarfrost on the windows and mirrors of our car (plus my reflection, LOL).  I love hoarfrost; it inspired my favorite Faberge egg.

We got put under a winter storm warning yesterday afternoon, but thank God, the weather folks aren't predicting any ice for us.  Snow is a pain in the posterior to drive in, but it's tolerable.

Love,
RagingMoon1987