Sunday randomness: Redheads

Today is one of those days where I wish I had more leg strength and more ideas.  The weather is all but perfect for taking pictures...provided one stays away from the fields.  The wind is high, and because of that there's plenty of dust blowing up from the fields.  So I stuck to the safety of my late grandmother's backyard, complete with Robyn, Reagan, and a sweet-smelling bed of pine needles.

I didn't cut Robyn's hair, by the way.  In that first picture she looks like she's got a bob 'do, but that's because I tied it back.  It's blowing around a bit in the next picture.

I've always wanted a picture of my girls straddling a piece of wood!  I used to do that myself when I was little, pretending to be a cowboy or a witch or an astronaut, something that flew.  Robyn looks like the cowboy type, but I'm not so sure about Reagan.

Happy Sunday,

RagingMoon1987 

Autumn at Crowley's Ridge

The passing of a front is often a mixed bag here in the Bootheel, as I expect it is elsewhere.  We can get anything from a single cloud and a puff of wind to a wave of tornadoes.  Last night we got rain and...I think I heard one crack of thunder, and today is clear, cool, and beautiful.  Since Mama and I had the day off we grabbed some grub and went out to the ridge, the same road where I took most of the pictures in this post.  Since it's just fall foliage I'll let the images speak for themselves.

Oh yeah, I had Reagan in tow.  I asked Mama to stop at this footbridge so I could take this picture. 

The home behind all this once belonged to a family friend, and it once served as the backdrop for a few of my senior pictures. 

Then there were more leaves.

Note that the kudzu is still bright and green, LOL.

Not bad, eh what?  I wouldn't trade living in the country for the world!

Much love,
RagingMoon1987 

Oh deer!

Since Halloween is on a Sunday today, my town is holding trick-or-treating a day early.  Since I don't have an original bone in my body I've chosen to do the same thing.  Remember the costume that I said I was gonna try on Reagan?  Well, it fits!

Reagan and Airy are ready for trick-or-treating...well, ready as they'll ever be.

Adam is ready too, though his outfit is more pajamas than a costume.

The awesome thing about baby dolls is they'll never outgrow their clothes like real babies do.  In this case I'm glad of that, because this outfit's got Snoopy on it.  Vampire Snoopy, no less!  I guess Snoopy decided not to be a WWI flying ace this time.

I hope ol' Chuck gets something besides a rock this year!

Kissy isn't dressed up for Halloween, but I put her in the blog anyway because I love Kissy.  My mom wasn't thrilled with this getup.

It's the ill fit that she didn't care much for, and I can't say as I'm thrilled either.  But if I get anything tighter I may break her kissing mech and that would be bad.  I guess that's the bad thing about baby dolls; they can't outgrow clothes, but they can't grow into clothes either.  Oh well, I suppose I can hem those sleeves and pants if need be!

So that's Halloween for me!  It's gonna be another quiet one, but that don't worry me none since I prefer my Saturday nights quiet anyway.  Some folks like to party or fight on Saturday nights, and I like to stay in.  No candy for me since I'm trying to lose weight, but I'll find a way to have some fun.  Or I'll try...my mother has had some health problems crop up, and neither she nor I are sure what the next two weeks hold.  Basically, Mama's hemoglobin levels are elevated, which could be a number of things ranging from the innocent to the malignant.  To be on the safe side her nurse practitioner has already referred her to an oncologist.  Mama has also been hitting the water hard, since she doesn't drink enuff water and dehydration can cause elevated hemoglobin levels.  We're hoping and praying that the fix is as simple as that, but time will tell.  In the meantime she and I have been laughing, cutting up, and buying pajamas for American Girls like the pajamas are going out of style, but there's that undercurrent of worry there, in both of us.  Prayers would be greatly appreciated.  Cancer rates are frighteningly high here in Malden and in the surrounding area, and I blame that on the crop dusters and their constant spraying of this, that, or the other chemical.  Granted, most of the sick friends we've got have battled successfully and won (or are winning), but...well, it's still cancer.  So if y'all pray, please pray for my mama.  With most of my family being far away she's really all I've got.

Happy Halloween,
RagingMoon1987

What I've learned about Reagan

Oh no, not another fluff post!  Yeah, if you don't like fluff posts you may wanna skip this one.  Over the past week I've developed a curiosity about my Kennedy and Friends doll, Reagan.

She was a gift, and I hate looking a gift horse in the mouth, but I'm curious about her maker.  Reagan and her buddies do have their own website, but the dolls are also widely available on Etsy and on other doll sites.  The clothes are also available separately on Etsy and God knows where else, as her tag shows.

That ain't Milton-Bradley, y'all!  I wouldn't have given this tag a second thought, except that Doremi's fall outfit has the same tag.  Again that would've flown over my head, except that Doremi's outfit came from a different Etsy store than Reagan did.  Based on that and on the fact that I see these dolls in other outfits on other shops I started to wonder if Reagan is actually a dress-me type doll, like Pansy.  I scoured Reagan for marks and found this.

Not a "Kennedy and Friends" mark like I'd have expected, but something called "Vestida de Azul."  Something blue.  Vestida de Azul is a relatively new company, having been around about nine years, and they do indeed offer nude dolls for dressing, but Carlotta is eleven inches, not eighteen.  Indeed, all of the dolls I found are smaller than Reagan.  They're cute little dolls (Umi is my favorite), but they're not the same size as Kennedy and Friends.  Their faces are painted in a similar style, but they're not the same.  Vestida de Azul's eighteen-inch line is called "Coral," but they don't look much like Reagan either.

Well, Squidward, what have we learned today?  Absolutely nothing important, LOL.  Apparently Kennedy and Friends is a legit brand, and my conjecture is that Vestida de Azul designed these dolls especially for them, kinda like Dianna Effner did for Maru and Friends.  Or at least that's the explanation I came up with.  As for the clothes, my best guess is that Kennedy and Friends is a pretty new bunch and thus relies on Etsy and other outside shops for doll clothes.  I get that.  Mel Birnkrant had to do that too when he was designing the Baby Face dolls.  Anywho, there's that little curiosity satisfied for now, and I can tell Mama where her little gift came from.  If any of y'all find or buy a Kennedy and Friends doll then you may know a bit more about her.

I promise I'll get back with reviews next week!  No more fluff.

Love and fluff,
RagingMoon1987

A little red-haired surprise

"How many red-haired eighteen inch dolls do you have?"  Mama asked me yesterday.
"One.  Felicity."  I replied.  
"Well, I got you this..." was Mama's response, and she showed me a picture of what she got.  

I'd never heard of Kennedy and Friends before Mama got this for me.  Kennedy and Friends are eighteen inch dolls like American Girls, but they're all-vinyl like Carpatina dolls.  The line consists of dark-haired Kennedy, girlfriends Cara, Ryan, Alisha, and Reagan O'Connor, and male friends Carter, Javon, and Brandon.  I wonder why Reagan is the only one who has a last name?  I wonder why Jess, Joss, and Chrissa were the only Girls of the Year who got middle names?  I guess that like naming cats, the naming of dolls is a difficult matter.  I may have to touch on that in a future post...

I don't want to review Reagan since she was a gift, but I'll give y'all a closer look at her.  Her online description says her eyes are blue, but they look gray to me.

Reagan's lips are full and pretty, not terribly unlike Paola Reina lips.

Dig these ears!  They're so realistic!

I can't photograph how nice this vinyl feels in my hands, but it really feels pleasant.  It's smooth, but it's also got a little bit of give to it.  Reagan's joints are swivel joints, and that may be the only thing I don't like about her.  

To be fair, my beloved Our Generation doll has swivel joints too.  

I never have been in love with swivel joints since they cut down on posing, but beggars can't be choosers.  Mama herself wished that she'd gotten a doll with green eyes, but that don't bother me none.  Ryan has red hair and green eyes, but her outfit isn't as cute as Reagan's.  Reagan has a giraffe on her shirt!

Reagan is the only girl wearing casual wear.  The others, especially Alisha, are wearing dressy, almost formal-type garb, while Reagan is clad in a summery ensemble consisting of the giraffe blouse, striped shorts, and white sneakers.  I like dolls that are all dressed up, but when it comes to little girl dolls I prefer the casual look.

Before wrapping this up I want to show Reagan's hair.  Mama knows I love red hair, and the doll she chose is definitely a redhead.

It falls to Reagan's mid-back and has a little bit of wave to it.  It's lovely, smooth, shiny hair.  I really love this little doll, and I wonder why I've never heard of the Kennedy and Friends line before.  I'd have to review Reagan in more detail before I'd give her my 100% stamp of approval, but I'm certainly glad to have another redhead in my collection.  Now to get some fall clothes...

As usual, I thank my lovely mother for supporting (enabling?) my hobby and for providing me with such a sweet gift.  I think she enjoys it as much as I do!

Much love,
RagingMoon1987