Sunday randomness: shellbug hunting

September 17th and I haven't seen a single one, even with Cara Raelean helping me.

Nothing in this beat-up little redbud tree, nothing in my unidentified tree with the Eye of Horus, nothing under my eaves.  The trees are full of cicadas; hell, I can hear 'em every night!  But I've yet to find any husks.

And then Cara Raelean fell out of the tree.  It rained last night, so I had to wipe her head clean.  Luckily, Cabbies are built to last, and even more luckily, Cara's dress didn't get dirty.

Idalia Gale and Cara Raelean will be having some fun in the days to come, so stay tuned.

Happy bug hunting, 

RagingMoon1987 

Sunday randomness: an armload of cabbage

Sandy McCall has his hands full!  He's used to having smaller dolls in his lap, but not quite like this!

The two dolls he is holding are newbies, though the Preemie bears a strong resemblance to one I already had.  They'll get their formal debut...well, whenever their sister comes along.  I went a little crazy with Cabbage Patch Kids last month, mmkay?  My Patch increased in size from seven to at least eleven, maybe more, and I was able to knock a couple off my wish list.  So Sandy may be a very busy young man over the next few weeks!

Cheers,

RagingMoon1987 

Sunday randomness: the year's first scorcher

In years past my neck of the woods might've already had a couple'a days (or multi-day stretches) of exceedingly hot weather, but today is the first time this year that it's going to be honest-to-God hot.  The high is predicted to hit a hundred, and I don't dare look at the heat index.  On a day like today I usually keep cool by staying in my pajamas and doing as little as possible, and that appears to be what Joss plans to do.  Behind her, River Song and Arista are plotting a day outside in the shade.  

Watermelons for the win!  I love these My Life As outfits; once upon a time they didn't fit the American Girls...or the sets I had didn't.  But these newer sets fit the newer dolls just fine.  I think these pajamas would be too tight for my Pleasant Company girls, and indeed they're a hair snug on Joss.  But I didn't have to fight them to get them on.

As for me myself...well, I actually have an escape at hand.  Uncle Man-Child has functioning air conditioning, and Mama and I plan to pow-wow there today and do laundry.  Up until now the nights have hit the high sixties or low seventies and thus I've thankfully been able to sleep, but that may come to an end this coming week; the low on Thursday night is only supposed to be seventy-eight.  Le sigh...I'm doomed.  Oh well, I've survived summers without A/C before and I can do it again.

Pray for rain,
RagingMoon1987

Sunday randomness: Jettivee finds her name

It's warm, windy, and a smidge threatening today, but that didn't stop Jettivee Bargo from climbing one of my trees.

I told her she'd get her new dress dirty, but since when do the kids ever listen to me?  Anyway, Mama and I got some lunch while the weather remained calm, and after that we visited the graveyard where my dad is buried.  While we were there Jettivee saw a familiar name on another grave marker.

The woman's name is Jettivee Campbell.  She is buried next to her husband and a stillborn son, both of whom died in 1959.  Ms. Campbell lived to be 89 and outlived just about everyone in her immediate family.  Her Find a Grave memorial can be found HERE.  Clearly she still has someone who cares about her, as she's got new flowers on her grave.

Rest in peace, ma'am!  Thank you for the name!

Love
RagingMoon1987 

Sunday randomness: Jaylin is finally ready for spring

Jaylin is more suited to fall and winter, but because I'm kinda the boss of her I threw her in a spring getup.

One sitting down on Jaylin's favorite rock, and one standing up so y'all can see her kittens!

That outfit came from Playperdoll on Etsy and I thought it would never get here.  It was worth it in the end, though; the shop even sent a little outfit that I'll probably use as pajamas.  The shoes came from DreamlandGallery, and they're a hair fiddly because there's only ONE lace and it spiral-laces the shoe instead of criss-crossing.  But they fit Jaylin just fine, so that's really all that matters.

So my attempts to build Jaylin's wardrobe back up are moving slowly, but they are moving.  Soon she'll have some summer things, which is good.  After a cool, rainy, at times violent spring, the Bootheel is finally starting to warm up.  I hope it takes its time though, because my A/C is still on the blink.

Cheers,

RagingMoon1987

Sunday randomness: an elephant!

When I was little I was easily frightened, particularly at night when I couldn't see what was going on.  Shortly after my parents put me in my "big girl bed" some idiot across the street decided to leave at three-o'clock in the morning, with radio blaring and lights blazing.  The conversation ensued as follows:

ME (panic-stricken):  DADDY!!!
DADDY (sleepily but patiently):  What is it, baby?
ME:  What's makin' all that noise out there???
DADDY (dramatically):  An elephant!

I later learned that it was our sweet old neighbor's trailer-trash granddaughter going out to do God knows what, but I never forgot Daddy joking with me even though I'd woken him up.  He was a good daddy, and I think about him a lot this time of year, since he died on March 5th, and his birthday was April 15th.  Daddy was an elephant enthusiast, so when I saw these at Wal-Mart recently I thought of him.

His name is Bunny, and he has a carrot theme.  Bunny is a member of a group of brightly colored elephants in the Pop Art Soft collection.  They come in a larger size and in a miniature blind bag size, and true to advertisements they are very soft.  I keep Bunny at my workstation, and one day last week a little kid saw him and wanted one of her own.  I told her that if she did get one I wanted to see it, and a few hours later the child came toddling in with her own elephant.

According to the slip this one's name is Barry, and since he's printed with strawberries that's a fitting name.  He too is one of the blind bags, and he and Bunny look cute together.  They kinda remind me of the stuffed elephant that Melody Ellison has in her collection.

I guess Bunny is more of a girl's name, but after a childhood of making all my favorite toys girls I wanna make up for it a bit.  Either way these are super-cute and might make good little gifts for upcoming Easter baskets.

Cheers and giant steps,
RagingMoon1987

Sunday randomness: Amelia gets Gorjuss

Another post inspired by something of Miss Emily's, though I've not yet bought another doll.  Yet.  Operative word.  Anyway, if you read her recent post on one of Paola Reina's Gorjuss dolls then you may recognize the artwork on Amelia's blouse.

Step back now, Amelia, and let's see the whole shebang.

The Gorjuss dolls are based on the artwork of Santoro London, artwork that can be interpreted as cute, creepy, or a combination of both.  The art usually depicts little girls with round heads and faces that have only eyes, kinda like Hello Kitty, or like Funko Pop! figures if you're into that thing (I've got a buddy that collects those).  I personally think the Santoro girls are cute in a gothic sort of way.  They all have names or titles, with Amelia's girl being "Little Song."  Notice that she's listening to an iPod or some similar device.

The girls in the art have since appeared as little figurines, and also as rag dolls and vinyl dolls like the one Miss Emily has.  The figurines are scented, so I'll probably go without those as scented things sometimes make me sneeze.  But then again, Abigail Witch is scented, and she didn't even make me sniffle.

Since the vinyl Gorjuss dolls are from Paola Reina like Abigail they also are scented, and Miss Emily said she didn't like her doll's rosy scent as much as she liked the vanilla that perfumed Marta, Maia, and Amor.  Little Song doesn't have a doll in her likeness yet, and I have no idea what her figurine smelled like, so I can't issue my own opinions.  I'll just take one more cute picture of Amelia and let that be that.  Notice that my jonquils are up already. 

Ciao,
RagingMoon1987

Sunday Randomness: faded glory?

Y'all know Luciana.

Y'all know Rita Cheryl.

But y'all don't know Jettivee.

Jettivee Judsonia Bargo is my new-to-me Just Like You #15, complete with the wavy, textured hair that I'd never handled before, and the medium skin/classic head combo that I love.  Jettivee is my second doll with that combo after Rita Cheryl, and while she doesn't have the striking blue eyes she's a pretty thing in her own right.  She is an older doll, as evidenced by her her meet outfit (First Day, the second JLY meet outfit released), and there's something I noticed about her.  Remember when I said that Jettivee was medium-skinned???  Here's how she compares visually to Luciana and Rita Cheryl.

It's a subtle difference, but Jettivee appears to be a different shade from her younger friends.  Mama is used to me wagging Rita Cheryl around everywhere I go and thus she's accustomed to these darker AG dolls.  In fact, she's so used to how Rita Cheryl looks that when she saw Jettivee she commented "That one's a bit paler than your favorite one, isn't she?"  Since Jet is an older doll, I initially chalked it up to her having faded over time, the way Silver Bird and Amanda (both Pleasant Company-era dolls) have.  However, having looked at AG's publicity pictures, I wonder if #15 was always a little paler, since the headshots of #2 and #11 look darker than the headshot of #15.  Indeed, in her headshot #15 looks like a white doll with bad lighting, while #2 and #11 are clearly dolls of color.  The dolls photographed were of the same relative age, if their meet outfits are to be judged, so I dunno.  If any of y'all own #15, please share your experiences.  Is she lighter than your other medium dolls, or has mine just faded, or are my eyes playing tricks on me?  It's no big deal really, but I'm curious.

Just for the heckuvit, here's Jettivee and Silver Bird together, since they're both kinda "It Girls" among the original twenty.

These two, along with #2 and #11, frequently fall victim to price gougers on eBay.  I got Silver Bird for what I thought was a steal since she has some broken hairs, a silvered eye, and some nasty staining on her arms (the staining has since faded on its own).  Jettivee, on the other hand...I paid a high but fair price for her, but her #15 sisters are currently going for ridiculous amounts.

Say goodbye, Jettivee!  You're off now to find your place among my girls.  Move slowly around Samantha, keep flowers away from Justine-Marie, and don't take any crap from Doremi.

Love,
RagingMoon1987

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 

Sunday Randomness: Cissette and Elise move in

Greetings, comrades.  Looks like my AG Spotlights aren't the most popular things, since no one comments on them, LOL.  If you're not a fan, all I can say is buckle up because I've got plenty more to do.  Lindsey's personality hasn't been the easiest to put together, I must admit (she's my next doll).  But today I'm gonna swig some water and do something I haven't done in awhile.  I haven't done a post on Madame Alexander dolls since heck was a pup, and since two new-to-me dolls just moved into the house I figured I'd show 'em off now.  This little one is Cissette.  

In the time since I took the above photo both of Cissette's cute little shoes have disappeared.  Shoes or no, one of Cissette's sisters made a cameo appearance here many moons ago, but she belonged to the lady who owned and later gave me Mary Jane.  This Cissette is mine.  She's MINE, MINE, MINE!!!  LOL, pardon my excitement, but I've always had a fondness for Cissette, who has all of Cissy's beauty packed into a smaller frame and a smaller price.  I don't think my doll is vintage like my friend's doll is, but oh well, she's just as good.  Here's how she compares in size to my decrepit old Cissy doll, Peaches...

...and because I love Little Miss Revlon, here's how Cissette compares in size to Wendy.

I'm hoping but doubting that these two can share clothes since their measurements are a hair different.  Anyway, older Cissette dolls date from 1957 to 1963 (the line was apparently felled by Barbie).  Like her larger companion Cissette has been a ballerina, and she's also worn bridal garb, Southern belle costumes, and other frilly stuff like that.  Some dolls have knee joints and some don't, with my doll being in the "have" category.  Notice that she's also got little nylons.

Ugh...I have a love-hate relationship with this type of knee.  It bends to a nice sharp angle, but it's also hard to bend and bad to break if treated roughly.  Peaches has a broken knee, for example.

I need to bite the bullet and send Peaches to a real dolly doctor.  I don't have what it takes to return her to her former glory.  Now...I said that Cissette was discontinued in 1963.  That being said, Madame Alexander still makes her from time to time.  She's not as ubiquitous as Wendy, the little girl doll that everyone seems to love, but she still exists, most recently as Clara, from The Nutcracker.

Speaking of ballet, here's a better look at Elise.  Ugh, those reflecty Madame Alexander eyes!  Cissette doesn't look too bad, but Elise looks like she could be dangerous!

Elise is a bigger doll at seventeen inches.  She's thus closer in size to Peaches, though not quite her size.

According to a fellow blogger Elise became Madame Alexander's "tall doll" of sorts after Cissy was retired.  After her release Elise enjoyed about three decades of production, and it should be no surprise that she came in other costumes besides ballet costumes, though there are plenty that ARE dressed like ballerinas!  I've even seen one that looks like Maria Tallchief, red dress and all.  As far as I know Elise is no longer being made, with her run ending in 1992.  Also as far as I know Elise does not see modern-day revivals like Cissette does, but never say never, right?  By the way, Elise's joints are your standard joints that only pivot, meaning that though she's dressed as a ballerina Elise can't strike many ballet poses.  For want of a stand I had to hold her in this position, so pardon my fat white lump of a hand.  This is about as ballet a pose as I can get Elise to strike, stand or no stand. 

Compare that to Aida, my Valentine ballerina.  Valentine did a lot of ballerinas, some more jointed than Aida is.  I wonder if Aida's name is supposed to be pronounced "aid-uh," or if it's "eye-EED-uh" like the opera and the broadway show?  I guess I could do either one.  Regardless, Aida outposes Elise by a fair margin.

Oh well, Elise looks the part, right?  I always thought it was funny, by the way, that Madame Alexander dolls sometimes wear pointe shoes, but their feet are clearly NOT in the proper position!

Now this, I can explain, since Cissy and Cissette and Elise were all meant to be undressed and redressed if the owner so chose.  Or I assume that, since Beatrice Alexander wanted her dolls to be played with to some degree.  Sharply pointed feet would mean the doll couldn't wear regular shoes, whereas high-heeled feet mean that she COULD wear regular shoes.  So this part, I get.  It still makes me giggle, though!  I guess it makes sense though, since ballerinas don't live en pointe.  Indeed, just looking at a doll like Aida makes my legs and feet tingle, as she's eternally on her toes.  How painful would that be???  Not all Valentine ballerinas have feet frozen en pointe, but Aida does.

Elise looks more comfortable, though I doubt she could be super-comfortable in all that scratchy tulle.  Maybe she's waiting to go onstage, or she's milling about at a dress rehearsal like some of Edgar Degas's subjects were.  Either one works.

So that's a much-needed break from American Girl blather!  Don't get comfy, because next Thursday is cobalt-haired Lark's turn. 

Cheers and pirouettes,
RagingMoon1987

Sunday randomness: quick post to break the monotony

Hello, dearest readers, it is I!  I'm sorry for the long lull in posts, but...well, life happened.  Nothing super-serious, but enuff to keep me busy.  Anyway, I have a long string of American Girl posts planned, so if you hate American Girls feel free to don your life vests and jump ship.  To keep this post from being super-boring, here's a quick view of what's to come in the months ahead.  My new girl is a bit shy yet.

Her name is Rebecca, and she belongs to a doll line that I remember from childhood but had forgotten about until recently.  It'll be quite some time before Rebecca's review is done, even though she's a fairly simple little doll, but I'll state right now that she has some ties to the Carpatina dolls.

Speaking of Carpatina, here's Ana Ming after a long absence.  She is modelling something nice and new-to-her.

This is NOT a Carpatina coat, but rather something that belongs to a friend of Rebecca's.  It obviously doesn't match Ana Ming's meet outfit, but I'll find something that does match!  Something blue or gold, maybe.  

That's all I have to say for now.  Again, sorry for the long dry spell.  

Love and warmth,
RagingMoon1987

Sunday randomness: a whole new level

A whole new level of weird, that is.  Frequent fliers of this blog know fully well that the Moon Girl revels in pushing the envelope of strange, but this one may be too strange even for some of y'all.  I'm going to birth a tiny baby.  Yes, birth, as in help it get born in a way.  Now this won't involve any blood, pain, or nudity unless I cut myself with scissors and have to strip (y'know, so I won't get blood on my new jeans), but if you're weirded out feel free to step out.  For those of y'all who choose to stay, this rather odd purchase was inspired by a video I saw on YouTube, one of this teeny-weeny little silicone baby being pulled out of an appropriately-sized amniotic sac.  The Etsy seller apparently has shuttered its store so I don't know where one could get something like this now, but I doubt this will be a repeat purchase so no biggie.  My baby came wrapped up in tissue paper and ribbon, just like a present.

I was only expecting one amniotic sac, but the baby came ensconced in two.  This bigger one apparently was used to cushion the smaller one during transit...I guess.  It's made of thick...latex?  God only knows what, but it's like a balloon.  It looks a little like a breast implant.

With all the protection that this baby got, I assumed that there would be fluids involved, and this bag reinforced that assumption.  There's a pad in there, and a tiny pair of plastic forceps.  Yikes!

My grandfather was a forceps baby, and he carried the scars for the rest of his life, in the form of a few small dents in his head.  Anyway, it took a fair amount of force to open the first bag, and inside is the second bag.  I see a little bald head in there, and an umbilical cord.

Here's the sac from the side.  As y'all can see, it too is tied off like a balloon.

This second sac fits comfortably in the palm of my hand, kinda like a stress ball.

Yeesh, I've seen stress balls that look like womens' boobies, but not babies in utero!  Regardless, I could tell at this point that the sac had no fluid in it after all, so I relaxed about making a huge mess and opened it up.  Once again, I had to exert quite an effort with the scissors, but the forceps were not needed.  Here's my baby!

Hmmm...looks like one of those toys that grows when you let it soak in water.  Definitely not the prettiest thing, especially with that umbilical cord attached.  It's a very realistic-looking cord, but let's cut that off anyway, just like we would a real baby.

Still not the prettiest baby in the world.  It's made of rough, gummy material, and thus painting those little eyes and that mouth can't have been easy.  In addition to the baby itself and the "c-section kit," the seller included several items that should determine this child's gender...

...but all of that crap is green except for the little hat.  Luckily there's also a pram inside, and it's BLUE!!!

Huzzah, I got a boy!  He looks a little like an "Ichabod" to me, since he's so funny-looking.  He looks only a little less funny with his hat (which appears to be the fingertip of a glove).

Ichabod is a little one.  He fits nicely in the palm of my hand.

He looks ridiculous in his little blue pram, though.

All of Ichabod's toys are way too big for him, especially that binky.  

Well...maybe that bottle isn't too big.  Ichabod is rubbery and soft, and he's completely flat on one side.

Yeah...weirdest thing I've ever bought on Etsy, hands down.  Luciana's Tribble was a little goofy, but there was at least a rhyme and reason for that.  By the way, "Goldie," as Luciana calls her has given us zero trouble with breeding.  So far there's just the one...and Ichabod seems to think she's a pillow.

Don't get too close to her mouth, kid.  Goldie hasn't been reproducing, but her appetite matches that of the other Tribbles.

Very truly yours,
RagingMoon1987