Decisions, decisions

C'mon, if y'all saw the forecast then you probably knew I'd post tonight.  The weather is once again very bad, and Ryan Hall says the Missouri storms are in the best environment for tornadoes.  Here's what the radar looks like, without warnings and with.

Under normal circumstances the southernmost storm would be what's bothering me, but these storms have some southern motion in them, and that storm is dipping into Arkansas.  No, the one near Poplar Bluff is the one I'm giving the side eye.  If it keeps hooking south then it'll hit us.

As always, I spent a fair amount of time deciding who to grab, since I've got plenty of nice dolls.  Some are gifts, some are one of a kind, and some I just love.  In the end I've chosen to pack light tonight, just The Doll Who Shall Not Be Named and Rita Cheryl. 

I may pick someone else at random if I need to run for it.  Mia is small enuff...no, Rita Cheryl says she'll go Talky Tina on me if I don't bring Ginger.

I understand, Rita Cheryl.  I'm worried about my cats; they panic if they're caged, and I simply can't chase down six cats in the six-to-ten minutes of lead time that a tornado might give.  My dogs, on the other hand...they have a nice cage.

As to my friends in Ohio, y'all keep a sharp lookout as y'all might get hit by a squall line.  Squall lines produce nasty straight winds and can do some serious damage.   Love y'all!

Stormy love,

RagingMoon1987 

So random, September/October '25

Ah, my favorite two months have come and gone!  July and August were dynamic and a little depressing, while September and October have been pretty chill.  I got all of my cats moved over to Casa Pizarro, and as a result I no longer have to worry about driving two miles in ice storms or driving rain or God knows what kind of weather to care for them.  See, I had been waiting for our handyman to build a fence so they could all go outside, but Mama wanted a patio instead so we've got that (the cats are all indoor anyway).  The transition has not been smooth; the girl cats all hiss and glare at each other, Adric hasn't come out of hiding since I brought him over, and Tommy went missing on the 29th.  Turns out the little devil was trapped in a pile of laundry; by nightfall he'd freed himself and was back to his old self.  Oh, and my surviving parakeet, Shirley?  I got a brand-new cage for her, new toys and everything, and I went to get her out of the old cage and found her dead.  So now I've got a nice new cage, a nice new travel cage, toys and seed and cuttlebone and everything, and no bird to use it.  Yet.  Mama says that we can get some new birds when we're done moving everything else around, so the cage won't go to waste.  Nor will Shirley's old cage; I plan to sterilize it and get some zebra finches.  Mama is very fond of zebra finches, and frankly, so am I.

Alrighty, first image is on August 31st.

Rita Cheryl and Silver Bird strike a pose.  As I discussed not too long ago, they're both ready for fall, and indeed fall is now in full swing.  I've experienced colder Halloweens, but this one today isn't exactly swim weather.

September 2nd.  I found two fall dresses in Chatty Cathy's wardrobe, and I dressed her in one of them.

Usually we have a mini-summer in September, but it was still so mild on September 2nd that I started to wonder if this fall would be different.  The heat broke back on August 19th, and it hadn't cranked up by the 2nd!  Not that I missed it, LOL!  Y'all will get to see Cathy's other dress later; it's a smidge more appropriate for Halloween.

September 7th.  I was gearing up for Monst and Amooooore Doll reviews and had to move these two.  Big surprise, I pushed the reviews back.

They look funny peeking out of my walker bag.

September 8th.  A new arrival and an old one.

I'd planned on introducing Dell to her pen pal Mosi, but Cotton Candy Mia met her first.  The two made very fast friends; note that Mia is wearing Dell's charm bracelet. 

September 12th.  Head shot of my new-to-me B.F.C. Ink doll, Kaitlin.  She too will be getting a review...in the spring.

Back when this blog was young, I moved Heaven and Earth to find a B.F.C. Ink doll to fill out an outfit I'd bought on sale.  My search was fruitless and I forgot in time, and then I remembered, LOL.  Kaitlin is the result.  Mama is very fond of Kaitlin, by the way. 

September 14th.  Kaitlin strutted her stuff as best she could.

Later B.F.C. Ink dolls were jointed all over, but my doll is a first wave doll and is only jointed at the knees.  There are a number of other quirks about Kaitlin's jointing that I'll discuss when I review her...and that's not scheduled until next March.

By September 15th I already had Kaitlin out of her stock clothes and into her secondary outfit.

I love how the hat makes her eyes pop.  I wish she had something on her neck, though; a big neckline like that always looks good with a necklace or a scarf.  I'll see what I can do...

September 26th, Failbook memory from 2018.

I think this may be the first picture I got of Freya.

September 30th.  Cloe accompany me to work.

Cloe is small and easy to carry, so I may make her the blog mascot.  Jade was and still is my favorite of the Bratz dolls, but this Cloe reminds me of all that was good during my adolescence.  Capri pants, high heels that were both cute and comfortable, and cheap lip gloss that smelled nice and had glitter in it...LOL, kinda dated now, but I had a heckuva lot of fun.  Now I just wear whatever's clean and comfortable.

I must say, Cloe is photogenic even when her hair's not doing what I want it to do.  But then that's the case with a great many of my dolls.

Yep, that's our side-view mirror she's in!  I've never done that with a doll before.

October 3rd it was Lorifina's turn to go for a drive.

Lori fits nicely into my walker bag, despite her long legs.  She's not as compact as some of my other dolls, but getting her oot and aboot was small potatoes.  Even so, I only took her to Sonic, LOL.

October 7th. 

When I get bitten by the Bratz bug I rediscover the Bratzillaz all over again.  Believe it or not, I tend to forget that I have these, even though they're jointed and have striking eyes (note how Jade's eyes seem to glow).  Even though the Bratzillaz are fairly flagrant rip-offs of both LIV and Monster High, I like 'em a lot.  They're characters.

October 13th.  My resident brown-eyed redheads strike a pose.  Both of them are new-to-me.

Y'all have met Billie (twice), and the other doll is Zelia, a Hearts for Hearts Girl.  I have Dell waiting in the wings too, because I love H4H Girls' bright eyes and shiny hair.  But then Billie's eyes are nothing to sneeze at either.  Nor is her hair.

October 14th.  Two of Treesa's Build-a-Bears, Raina and Hal.

I love these Build-a-Bears!  They're unfortunately quite addictive. 

October 18th.

This shows San Juan Carmen and Kaitlin together.  I thought I'd have Carmen's review ready by now, but obviously I don't.  I was trying to pound home the point that Carmen is not terribly attractive, but spoilers, I'd already pounded home the point so I edited this out.

October 19th.  Treesa requested a picture of Danica and Billie together since they both have freckles and short red hair.  I thought it was a good idea.

It was cool enuff for fall clothes by the nineteenth, but Billie's new things weren't in yet.  More spoilers, her ensemble (and Camille's) are full-tilt winter garb rather than fall, but then temperatures last night fell into the high thirties, so it's all good.

October 30th, after a week of moving cats from Point A to Point B.  A girl on my favorite Cabbage Patch group said she missed me, so I shared my It Girls.

Christa loves Beryl June on the left, and I think it was another C name that loves Candela Laura.  Said Candela was her dream Jesmar.  Said dream Jesmar just fell into my lap pretty much, so I told her to keep her ears to the surface, and if I ever decide to do a Cabbie cull she'll be the one who gets Candela Laura.  Christa, same goes for you.  If I have to start giving them away you get Beryl June, hands down.

I've actually thought about that, believe it or not.  Let's be honest, some of our dolls are special and we want someone to take extra care of them if something happens to us.  I don't have my wishes in paper, but I plan on divvying some of my things up in case the Big C or some other terrible illness signs my death warrant, or if I decide on a whim to drop the doll hobby (highly unlikely).  Tam gets Sandy McCall, that much is certain, Christa gets Beryl June (and possibly Rita Cheryl if she wants her), and the other lady on Failbook gets Candela Laura.  So if I have anything that you want willed to you, speak up and I'll make a note of it.  Don't worry, I'm fine right now!  I just want to have my little ducks in order...just in case.  'Cause sadly, you never know.

And with that happy thought I bid y'all a cheerful adieu until this evening.  Some of my dolly children are dressed up for Halloween and I want to share.

Hugs,
RagingMoon1987

I'm going to gripe about pink again

DISCLAIMER:  I solemnly swear that I DO NOT HATE PINK!!!  Indeed, I love wearing certain shades, and I love dressing my dolls in certain shades.  I love how my dark dolls look in a light shade, for example.

Last night I went browsing through American Girl's wiki because I haven't done that in a hot minute, and let me say that I was sorely disappointed in the current wardrobe and its glut of pink.  Last year was an Olympic year so there were some cute patriotic offerings like the Team AG Sweater and Skirt Set (left).  Another Janie and Jack collab brought with it the Rose Fair Isle Sweater.  I could see Rita Cheryl or Gabby or Danica wearing either of these, and fair isle knitting?  Yes, please!

But so far there's nothing like that in the lineup this year.  The new clothing releases of 2025 have all been dominantly pink, with the exception of the Glam Shimmering Ocean Outfit and its accompanying accessories.  I'd dress Marina in that outfit in a heartbeat.  But the pajamas are pink...and the ballet outfit is pink...and all three of the new meet outfits are dominantly pink.  

I actually like the Truly Me meet outfits, though I've yet to meet a little boy who likes wearing pink.  Big boys, yes; I had guy friends in high school and college who wore pink, especially in October.  But younger boys, the ones who might actually be the target age for these dolls?  The ones I know are still solidly in the "Pink is for girls" rut.  But the Long Hair Looks outfit goes overboard.

Honestly I don't care much for the Long Hair Looks dolls, period.  They look cheap and gimmicky, like something one might get at Wal-Mart.  But then some of my buddies on Failbook have 'em and like 'em a lot, so that last gripe is probably just me needing something to gripe about.  But overall I can't say that I'm impressed with the clothes for AG dolls this year.  Too much Barbiecore, not enuff originality.  I do sort of like the Glam Sparkly Concert Outfit...

...but that's because it's modelled by one of my favorite current JLY dolls, #115, better known in my household as River Song Woodruff.  And for the record, despite those blonde locks, River Song is not fond of wearing pink.  The only doll I've got that's obsessed with pink is Doremi, and she's currently off gallivanting around somewhere in her own little world, so that's that.  I like Etsy clothes anyway, so for the foreseeable future that's where I'll be going for American Girl threads.  I hope they get out of the pink rut soon.

Blue love,
RagingMoon1987

If it's not too early for Disney then it's not too early for me

Walt Disney World kicks off Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Bash today (it'll run until Halloween proper).  I can only imagine how those cast members must feel in those Halloween costumes, particularly when August is so cotton-pickin' hot!  But then again, a lot of those cast members have to run around in full-body costumes anyway, folks like Mickey and Minnie and Donald and Goofy, so it's hot 100% of the time.  Still, I hope they'll be okay!  Heatstroke and heat exhaustion are no joke (I've had the latter).  But either way, Halloween Season has begun at Disney World, and if it's not too early for them then I can do it too.  Halloween is Mama's favorite holiday, and she...well, she's bought one little Halloween-themed outfit so far.  Exhibit A.

Silver Bird is already ready to hit the streets and gather some candy!  She's even got her little bucket, which the sticker says came from Oriental Trading Company.

Oh Lordy, I used to love Oriental Trading Company catalogs.  I look back on it all and realize that most of it was just junk that could clutter up a kid's room, but to my child's eye it was TREASURE!!!  A lot of the Halloween stuff glowed in the dark, so I always loved those catalogs the best.

Rita Cheryl is a little more understated than Silver Bird, but she too is ready for the oncoming fall, and the blazing weather that will inevitably come before Halloween gets here.

I do have a jacket and footwear for her to wear when it does turn cold, but for now Rita Cheryl is happy as a lark without all the frippery.

Of course no post of mine is complete without a Cabbage Patch Kid.  Mama got this for my Kids, and I promptly assigned it to Idalia Gale.

There's always gotta be one in the mix who WILL.  NOT.  wear a dress, and for me that someone is Idalia Gale.  Oh, she'll wear dresses when I push the issue, but it's like pulling teeth without anesthesia.  Idalia Gale is a jeans-and-overalls Kid, full stop.

Going a size down now, I have a Halloween-themed outfit for So Surprised Suzie around here somewhere (always somewhere!), but because I'm so organized I can't find it.  Never fear, I've had this outfit waiting since last winter.

There's always something available for a Baby Face doll if you know where to look, and not to brag, but I know where to look.  This particular dress is an eBay find, from Luvable Creations.

This next doll is a new face to the blog.  She's Lorifina, though I call her Lori.

Lorifina dolls came in simple little sleepwear, and items for this doll can still be found on eBay, but a healthy cottage industry also exists for this doll, and that's what this is here.  The eBay shop is dea850, and most of the items in this ensemble are handmade.  The shoes are not handmade, being Lorifina-brand shoes.

Pretty sweet kicks, I must say.  These slid onto Lori's feet with zero fuss, by the way.  Lori has sizeable feet, and the openings to the shoes looked kinda small, but they gap open enuff that I had no trouble getting these on her.  

From the very tall to the very small, here's another new face.  Meet My Mini Baby!  Ayla Diamond is her name.  Ayla...I've got another Ayla in my collection, but don't tell the Baby Name Genie that.  I like the name Ayla anyway, so I can live with having two.  Here's the new Ayla; she looks nothing like Big Ayla.  My Mini Babies have sweet little faces...but they're all asleep!

Yeah, I ripped Miss Emily's blog off again, name generator and all.  She recently talked about tiny blind-bag silicone babies (posts HERE and HERE), and when she mentioned that Etsy has a thriving market for clothes, I was sold.  Most of the items for these dolls are crocheted, and I love tiny things that are crocheted.  Crocheting something that small is NOT easy; I've tried it and it made my hands and eyes ache.  This little outfit came from PaulasCrochetArmoire.  As an aside, the Star Babies in the second post are WAAAAY more expensive than My Mini Baby, but the only way they're superior is in the name (I think they're also handmade, so that's something).  Staaaaarrr baby, flashy little shiny little lovin' machine!  LOL, I freaking love the Guess Who.

Ahem...not all of my kids are getting ready for falling leaves, fun-size M&M's, and pumpkin spice lattes.  Summer Daisy is ready to soak up some rays.

Thank you again, Treesa!  She said she wanted to get that little outfit to me before summer ended, and she succeeded!  Maybe that little outfit would look better on a neutral-colored critter like Flaxie, but I STILL haven't found Flaxie!!!  The pink provides a nice contrast to Summer Daisy's fur anyway.  As an aside...have y'all seen this year's Build-a-Bear Halloween cats?  They are ADORABLE!!!  One of 'em has ghosts printed on its fur.

Mia isn't really dressed for fall either, but she and the next two dolls look so cute that I wanted to include them.  I guess frogs can be for early fall, since they're still hollering on warm nights.

There's a story behind this outfit, one that shows that our local postal service still has problems.  I ordered this super-cute little outfit for Cinnamon, one that mixed go-go dancers and tie-dying, and IT.  NEVER.  CAME.  The tracking number said "delivered," but I never got my cute little outfit.  So, not wanting to give the shop a bad review for something that was out of their hands, I messaged them and they offered me my choice of the other outfits.  I picked the frog dress above, as it was the same price as the lost dress and since Mia needed something nice and new (Cinnamon didn't).  We see the result!  The eBay shop is called Park Ave Doll Clothes, and they have a nice selection of items for a number of vintage dolls that aren't the easiest to clothe.  They've even got some things for my buddy Sasha.

Lastly, here's two more of my Cabbage Patch Kids, Rowena Skylar and the beloved Candela Laura.

As usual, these were gifts from Mama.  Candela Laura's set has Peppa Pig and Rowena Skylar's set has brightly colored insects.  More springtimey, these colors are, but my cares are nigh next to zero.  By the way, remember when I told y'all that Beryl June (one of my double popcorns) has a fan?  Candela Laura does too; a friend on Failbook told me that Candela Laura was her dream Jesmar.  I have seen a couple'a Jesmars that look a lot like Candela Laura does, so if my friend looks hard enuff she should be able to find one.  Candela Laura kinda just fell in my lap...but then so did Rowena Skylar, LOL!

The jumble of colors and themes doesn't matter too much since fall is a mixed bag in the Bootheel anyway.  Some years it stays hot until the middle of November, and another year it snowed in early October.  Still other years have seen the temperatures see-saw wildly, with a wave of severe weather accompanying each swing.  Last fall was very wet, thanks to Hurricanes Francine and Helene.  Seriously, Helene didn't cause my area anywhere near as much trouble as she did Appalachia, and she was STILL a doozie!  I hope it's a long time before the country has another terrible storm like that.  I wouldn't mind a nice long soaking rain though, as the crops are starting to need it.  Speaking of hurricanes...here's Erin's baby picture, taken on the 11th. 

Not gonna lie, this hurricane has me concerned.  She formed in the Cape Verde area, where some of the worst hurricanes form, and she's got nothing but the wide open sea in front of her.  Those waters are warm, perfect for Erin to grow.  So we'll see what happens.  As for me and for much of the east-central part of the U.S., the weekend and the bulk of next week are looking to be hotter than the hinges of hell.  We're not quite to "Everyone in McKinney is dead" mode, but we'll be close.

ALICE UPDATE:  My resident black widow has had a third clutch of babies, and I've seen her oot and aboot a couple'a times, but no more pictures so far.  Alice hides when I come around, and I can't say that I blame her.  I'd hide too if something a trillion times my size looked at me.  But Alice is alive and well, still spry, still beautiful, still nimble as a jackrabbit.

Sunny love,
RagingMoon1987

Do it again

<sings>  And we're back where we started/here we go 'round again!  Tornado warning is in effect for Malden.

Mia got a new dress a few hours ago, and so she joins Candela Laura and Rita Cheryl.

Mother of God, I'm so sick of this crap!

Yours prayerfully, 

RagingMoon1987 

Level five

I've got the Severe Squad with me again.  Candela Laura in her new spring clothes, Rita Cheryl in her Boston T-shirt and her TARDIS leggings.  They're sitting.  Waiting.

The severe level has been steadily increasing since I last posted, and early this morning it hit level five, the highest it can get.  My area is smack-dab in the middle of it all.

Now buckle up, because I'm about to use some meteorological jargon.  Picture the atmosphere above you as a slice of layer cake, a cake with at least three layers.  The plate the cake is resting on is equivalent to the ground where we stand, and each layer of cake is one mile of atmosphere.  Now suppose that here on the ground, the wind is blowing from the west.  One mile/cake layer up, the wind is blowing from the southwest.  Two miles/layers up, the wind is coming straight out of the south.  Three miles, the wind is coming from the southeast.  When the wind blows from different directions at different levels, it makes the atmosphere around it rotate, and that (in a very, VERY simplified form) gives tornadoes their get-up-and-go.  This atmospheric rotation is called helicity, and our local meteorologist said that the helicity in my neck of the woods is similar to the helicity on March 14th and 15th, when we had tornadoes coming out our ears.

Several of the local schools are either letting out early or have called off entirely, just as most of Alabama did in 2011.  Dunklin County's storm shelters are open...and look where citizens of Clarkton get to hide.

The high school gym.  Without going into too much detail, a gymnasium is one of the worst places to hide in a tornado.  I pray that nothing hits Clarkton High School, both because their shelter sucks and because I like Clarkton.  The people there are rural farm owners and blue-collar workers, much like the citizens of Malden, and I have a lot of respect for them.  

As to the rest of y'all...I don't know where this storm system is headed after it hits us!  I've got friends in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Alabama who are reading, so I'd advise that all of y'all keep a sharp lookout and do what you can to protect yourselves and your loved ones.  God willing, I'll be around to update y'all tomorrow.

Love,
RagingMoon1987

Over the rainbow

The season's first severe day has arrived.  When that happens I drag one or two of my favorite dolls to work with me, rain or no, and today it happens to be these two.

Rita Cheryl Lassiter, my beloved JLY #49, and Candela Laura, my equally loved Jesmar.  It's a tough pick when it comes to Cabbage Patch Kids, but having browsed eBay I concluded that Candela Laura would be the hardest of my Kids to replace.  Rita Cheryl, on the other hand...#49 is a relatively easy American Girl to find, but I love my doll the way I have her and recreating all that would be a pain.  So if I go flying over the rainbow these two are coming with me.

Oklahoma has already had one tornado, and Fayetteville, Arkansas is getting pounded by thunderstorms right now.  Fayetteville is where my sister lives, and she doesn't have a basement, so we all need to keep a sharp lookout today.  The worst of this mess looks to be well south of the Bootheel, but I'm watching anyway.

Love y'all,
RagingMoon1987

So random, February '25

February of this year saw the return of some old faces, so let's dive in!  February 2nd.  Perhaps miffed by the groundhog's forecast, my Living Dead Dolls started rising from their coffin-boxes, and Spring-Heeled Jack immediately tried to terrorize Candela Laura.

He didn't have much luck.  Cabbage Patch Kids are kids' playthings, and nothing is scarier for a toy than some of the games kids play, so Candela Laura was not the slightest bit fazed by her pint-sized tormentor.

February 3rd, Bae Day Monday.  The theme was Puppy Love, and Lucey Dena took advantage of that.

She loves her Ginger.  Little does she know that another of my dolls has a pet named Ginger.

Also February 3rd, Vincent and Mandy got cozy.

It was a little chilly in the house right then, and the two were helping warm each other up.  Vincent is fuzzy, so warming up a friend isn't too hard.

February 9th.  I love me some peanut butter and jelly, and Cloe apparently does too.

Cloe wishes to know your favorite flavor of jelly.  She appears to be fond of strawberry, and I like cherry...and blackberry too, for that matter.  My paternal grandmother made her own jelly and jam, and one of the flavors she made was blackberry.  I kid y'all not, she had so many flavors in that storeroom that when the sun hit the jars it was a sight to behold.  Purple and red and amber and yellow, it was beautiful.

Later on that evening Venus and Cloe decided to chill.

Venus gets along with everyone, and despite her Bratz moniker Cloe does too.  Most of the Bratz I've met are pretty chill and get along with other dolls...unless you piss them off.  Then Heaven help you.

February 10th, 2025, very early in the morning. 

Andra has a lot of hair...or she LOOKS like she does.  It's relatively short for Barbie hair, but it's also very curly.

February 17th. 

Martina and Princess Pipp Petals.  These two are on a completely different scale, but they look cute together. 

February 18th.  The snow was falling, the wind was blowing, and the temperature was 21 degrees with a wind chill of five degrees.  It was my day off and I spent it hiding from Uncle Man-Child.  In one corner of the room I use is a large, motley group of my dolls, and I took a fancy to two particular pairs.  Here's Chelsea and C.C....

...and Alana and River Song. 

As usual Alana is being a ham.

Also that evening I got to futzing around with some of my nineties baby dolls.  So Surprised Suzie caught my attention. 

When my sister and I were very tiny we'd reach for something invisible and stare with big eyes and an open mouth.  My dad always said that we were looking at angels, and I don't doubt it.  Often babies and children can see things we adults can't. 

February 19th.  Head shot of Martina, one of my Furga dolls. 

I freaking love this doll.  She's got amazing hair and a sweet face, and...well, I just love her.

February 24th.  Angie arrived in the mail.  Angie is one of Dawn's friends.

I can understand why these dolls were so popular, since their tiny size made them easier to collect and since they fit well into a dollhouse.  Oh yeah, and they're cute.

This is my favorite way to pose Dawn dolls, by the way.  Sitting, back-to-back, comfy.

February 26th.  River Song had just gotten a new spring dress.

The dress, but no shoes!  Fortunately that was easily rectified.  River Song looked so cute on the back of the couch that I took her picture anyway, shoes or no.

And that concludes the auction for the month!  February was bitterly cold but is ending on a warm note, and I've got spring fever!

Cheers,
RagingMoon1987