Good things come from Pennsylvania!

Buckle up.  This intro's gonna be a long one.

Despite my chirpy post on Independence Day, my week has been kinda poopy.  As I said the other day, I took that fall Tuesday night and mangled the living daylights out of my ankle.  It's not broken, but y'all can see the lump on the side of it where the torn stuff swelled up.  Pardon my nasty ol' foot, LOL.

By last evening I was purple as well as swollen.  Real purdy.

It would've been just fine if I'd sprained my left ankle since I can barely walk on that leg anyway, but NOOOOOOOOO, I had to injure the right ankle!  It's healing nicely, thank God, but this mishap made gawking at fireworks all but impossible (it simply hurt too much to limp out of the house).  The bum ankle also made my trip to the hospital a lot more difficult than it would've been. 

Yes, the hospital.  I went on July 2nd, this past Wednesday.  Here's my bracelet, since I think stuff like this is interesting.  Y'all can see that I'm a 37-year-old female with a birthday in October. 

Seriously, I used to collect crap like these!  But anyway, if you've had an MRI done then you know you have to lie as flat as possible and keep still.  One problem:  it's excruciatingly painful for me to lie flat on my back.  Lying like that was...well, for you Whovians out there (particularly NuWho folks), y'all remember the look on the Tenth Doctor's face as he was regenerating?  That last glimpse we got of him before the Eleventh Doctor took over?

Yeah, that was me, minus the flames.  For the first few minutes I wanted to scream.  Then my muscles relaxed and it wasn't so bad after that.  The only complaint I have is that my procedure was finished right as "Wheel in the Sky" was beginning to play.  My favorite Journey song...or one of 'em; I'm also pretty fond of "Girl Can't Help It" and "Feelin' That Way" with those tight harmonies.  Oh yeah, they gave me music to listen to.  I requested Chicago and got them, plus several other bands from the seventies and eighties that I love.  So the MRI is over and done with.  I don't know the results, but I hope they can give me some final answers.

Despite my relatively positive experience at the hospital (I don't know the results yet) I got home in a fairly bad mood.  I was in pain of course, and Uncle Man-Child drives like a maniac, and I hadn't had lunch.  So getting a box from Treesa was a huge spirit booster.  Especially when I pulled out this little gal!

My very own Flower Magic Mary doll, compliments of Treesa and her sister A.  My exact words upon seeing her were "Noooooo, she didn't...she did!"  I don't remember ever saying that I wanted this doll...or maybe I did.  <pauses to look>  I did say I was very fond of Flower Magic Mary, and usually when I say "I like this doll" that translates to "I want this doll in my collection someday."  So Treesa hit this one right on the nose.  Mary does have her watering can and three flowers, by the way.  Like Alexis/Pretty Crazy Curls, Mary's shoes are molded to her feet like so.

Kinda cuts down on the versatility of a doll, but it also prevents dolls like Mary and Alexis from losing their shoes, which I positively hate.  Seriously, I hate it when a doll's shoes won't stay on, and Mary avoids that problem.  She's a really cute little doll, though.  Look at her eyes!

They've got flowers too!  I've got dolls with star eyes, eclipse eyes, nebula eyes, poison eyes, sunset eyes, and kaleidoscope eyes, and now I can add flowers to the list...oh wait, Lady Dooli has flower eyes too.  

How quickly I forget!  Come to think of it, I think I've got someone with heart eyes somewhere too.  Oh, and rhinestone eyes.  I do forget quickly!  As an aside, Treesa told me that these hats, oh so popular during the nineties, are called blossom hats.  They're basically bucket hats with the brim turned up, and sometimes embellished like Mary's is now.

I decided to put Li'l Miss Magic Jewels's gems on her dress too, since they work the same as Mary's flowers.  Now Mary will really sparkle!

Moving on, this teddy bear, one of Treesa's personal Build-a-Bears.  She has her paperwork and everything.

Treesa named her "Raina."  She's your classic teddy bear, made special by her cute fabric and by her nose, which has a rainbow on it.

I love these Build-a-Bears with decorated noses!  Summer Daisy has her namesake flower on her nose, and during the coronavirus mess I saw one with a leaf on its nose.  I just think it's cute.  Hmmm...<pauses to count>  Flaxie, Summer Daisy, Floppy Kitty, Peppermint Sloth, Glen Frog, and Raina Bear...that's six full-sized Build-a-Bears now, and a nice, diverse lot of them too, I must say!  I usually also count Boomer, my red panda from Vermont Teddy Bear in the mix.

Hmmm, next thing, next thing...oh yes, this box was at the very bottom, and the three dolls inside are well-wrapped, just like my Dawn dolls were.

The box belongs to this gal, a reproduction Malibu Barbie.  Treesa remembers that I'm fond of Malibu Barbie, and this young lady has everything!

Her hair is thankfully a lot softer than that of the real Malibu dolls.  Remember that I said P.J.'s hair had a mind of its own.  All of the vintage Malibu dolls that I've seen/owned have stiff hair.

Just for the heckuvit, here's a headshot.

What's not to like about Malibu Barbie?  As warm as the weather's been I'd love to take her outside, but for reasons stated above I can't.  Not right now, anyway. 

Tucked in with Barbie's towel were some cards that show the awesome things that were available for Barbie during the seventies. 

The beauty center caught my eye...

...because American Girl made that in miniature one time.  Julie Albright got it for Christmas. 

There was also a reproduction booklet, the kind that came with Barbie dolls of the era.

This picture drew my attention for two reasons.  One, the Skipper on the right is an obvious Pose 'n' Play Skipper.  Two, I own that yellow dress!  Fluff usually wears it.

The middle-sized doll is the one I was most excited about.  She's a vintage Francie, which I've been wanting, but she's also been customized...

...to have PINK HAIR!!!  I freaking love it!  There was, unfortunately, a bit of a disappointment that accompanied this doll, at least for Treesa.  She said there was another Francie that accompanied this doll, and she had lamb's wool or something of that stripe attached to her head.  No big deal, except that the wool came off, leaving naught but a poor bald Francie with rooting holes in her head.  What a shame.  For the record, I do have a couple'a scalped dolls myself, whom I keep covered with hats and scarves.  Treesa, if you've still got that doll, try that.  It's better than nothing.  As for my Francie, the poor love has a broken knee, but I can stabilize that with some tape.  It certainly hasn't stopped Francie from striking a pose!

Francie's ensemble is worth noting because it's part vintage and part modern.  Her cape is vintage, but underneath she's wearing a Sparkle Girlz dress.

Oh, I miss the Sparkle Girlz!  I could grab ten outfits at once and not get a duplicate, and the dolls themselves were cute too.  Oh, and obviously some Barbie dolls could wear Sparkle Girlz clothes.  But regardless of what she's wearing this unique little Francie will be getting a place of honor in my collection.  I love that hair!

The smallest doll is a baby with a switchable head, kinda like what Hedda Get Bedda has.

This young lady is significantly smaller than Hedda, but her gimmick is exactly the same:  turn the knob on her head, and her face changes.  She laughs...

...she cries...

...and she sleeps.

The doll's body feels like hard plastic, and thus I suspect that this baby is a Hong Kong doll with no specific brand.  No biggie, I happen to love dolls like that; they're the kind that I likely would've played with as a little kid, because they were cheap and had a high entertainment factor.

Treesa also tucked some small odds and ends into Malibu Barbie's box, including this purse, intended for Draculaura...

...and this critter.  Her name is Vanilla Icing, and she belongs to Angel Cake from the Strawberry Shortcake line.

Yowza, Bandai!  I've been looking for an excuse to buy a Bandai Strawberry Shortcake doll.  I hear tell that the Bandai dolls are terrible about losing their hair with time, but y'all think that's gonna stop me???

Lastly, carefully wrapped up was a Collectibear pin.  I had no idea these even existed. 

I decorate a lot of my blouses with pins and buttons of various styles, so this is right up my alley.

Regarding other odds and ends, this item is my favorite.  It's a Wizard of Oz-themed jacket sized for eighteen-inch dolls; Amanda Faraday and Cindy Lou Who may have to fight over that.

These little frogs are awesome too.  Danica is my reptile enthusiast (she already owns a chameleon), so she'll be stoked about these.

Bet y'all didn't know that poison dart frogs can fit in the palm of your hand!  Naw, I'll bet some of y'all do know; y'all aren't dummies.  I freaking love poison dart frogs, though.  I'm so used to big critters being dangerous that it was a shock for me to learn that poison dart frogs are so tiny.  Strawberry poison dart frogs are my favorites, and I've seen green-and-black frogs available as pets.

There was a mini lunchbox with the G4 MLP squad on it.  I always like items like these because they make good props for my larger dolls.

Treesa likes to tuck smaller items into boxes like these, and this time was no exception.  The contents made me giggle.

They're sparky Barbie rollerblades, just like I talked about last winter!  I have no shortage of Barbie dolls that can use these.

In her e-mail Treesa asked if I had any dolls who rode horses, and when I said yes (Justine-Marie owns a horse) she included some small items for the horse.  There's a saddle pad and some very fat carrots.

I don't know of any horse worth its hide that doesn't like carrots.  Heck, I like 'em too, and I'm definitely NOT a horse.

Then there was a bag of miscellaneous stuff.  

Camille will like the sunglasses, and Denise will like those ballet slippers.  Ballerinas always need new shoes.  The doll will most likely go to Z Yang, since she's something of a doll collector herself. 

The doll is a thumb-sucker, just like I like. 

Lastly...or technically firstly, since it was at the top, Treesa sent me a lap blanket.  She says that these are popular in her neck of the woods when someone has or is going to have surgery, and since I like My Little Pony she knew I'd like this.  The outer side is made of brightly-colored patches and has cute heart buttons.

The underside is all MLP.  Treesa thinks these are G3 ponies, but they sure are cute!  Indeed, I liked some of the toys from the G3 era.

Truth be told, this blanket has come in handy already.  I wear short pajamas and have long legs, see, and when the AC is going Casa Pizarro gets a mite chilly.  So when I'm on the couch reading or working on the blog I cover my legs and feet with the blanket and I'm pretty comfy.  So while I love the heck out of my new-to-me dolls and accessories, this blanket has gotten the most mileage so far.

At the end of it all I'm reminded that even though I need help to walk and am in a fair amount of pain, I'm still incredibly blessed.  I have my family, my pets, food in my belly, clothes on my back, and a roof over my head.  I can get upright unassisted and I can move and feel all my extremities.  That's more than I can say for an ex-student of my mother's, who was in a serious diving accident this week and may be paralyzed from the waist down...or worse.  He went into surgery this morning and doctors aren't sure how much he'll recover.  That's more than I can say for some of the folks in Texas, who are reeling from a very deadly flash flood.  Last I heard the death toll was 51, including many children.  There's so much sadness in this world, sadness that isn't anyone's fault, and I feel fortunate to not have been affected.  I'm grateful for what I've got, and I'm grateful for friends like y'all who remember when I say I like or don't like something.  Not everyone remembers that kinda stuff, so it means a lot to me when y'all do.  I love y'all a lot, and as usual, I thank Treesa for her lovely, thoughtful gifts.  I appreciate it big time.

Love