Color of the year, 2026

It's rainy today here in the Bootheel, but I much prefer that to the snow and ice that we had two weeks ago.  Indeed, some of y'all are still having to put up with snow!  Ryan Hall said that for my neck of the woods February may end on a warm note, but I've noticed that the ants aren't out yet so we should get at least one more sharp cold snap.  When it comes to the arrival of spring, ants know better than we humans do.

Now!  According to an Etsy ad that I saw in January, the color of 2026 is...teal or patina blue or somesuch like that.  One of my favorite colors, but if it's one thing I love to do it's go against trends, so I've broken my own rule and declared it PINK SEASON!  Perfect for Valentine's Day, and perfect for a dreary day like today.  I did blue last year, see.  It's been a minute since Isolde was in the blog, so she goes first.

I do have shoes for Isolde somewhere, but God only knows where I put 'em.  The glasses are L.O.L. Surprise glasses and thus don't fit very well, but Isolde makes it work.

Let's face it, Isolde could make a paper sack work.  For that matter, so could Sindy.

Probably one of my other Sindy dolls would've worked better (they're all blonde), but this Sindy needed something to wear, so here she is.  I think this is a Pedigree Sindy, by the way.  She needs restringing, as her head is prone to snapping around to face backwards, kinda like in Poltergeist.  But she's otherwise everything I wanted in a vintage Sindy doll, and the dress (a Barbie dress) fits her well. 

As with last year, this post isn't just for Barbie-sized dolls.  One of my favorite Disney movies is Dumbo, so when I saw this I knew one of my dolls had to have it.  Idalia Gale has a bit of a tan, and she looks fantastic in light pink.  By the way, Barb, here's my wheat-haired girl.  You were nice enuff to share yours with us, so here's mine.  Wheat hair is kinda an unsung hero of the Cabbie world; it's not as eye-catching as red hair or lemon hair, but I love the way it looks.

Idalia is NOT a baked potato, by the way.  People on Failbook keep asking me that, and the answer is no.  I don't care much for that trend, but some collectors love it.  See, some Cabbies turn dark when they're heated, and some collectors toss their Cabbies in a low-set oven to turn them dark.  A hot garage, attic, or shed will work too.  Baked potato Cabbies thus look kinda like Afro-American Cabbies, but with white bodies.  I'll pass, thanx.  Idalia Gale and Ernest John look naturally tan, and that's the way I want them to stay.  But boy, they both look nice in pink!  Ernest John refuses to wear pink, but Idalia Gale is okay with it.  Now if I want a Preemie to wear pink I'll pick either Bunnie Candie or Carla Jennifer.

Oh right, Carla Jennifer is my new-to-me Preemie.  I didn't have the #4 head in an Afro-American tone yet.

According to her papers, Carla Jennifer wants to be a pharmacist when she grows up.  I can get behind that!  I also like Carla Jennifer's stock outfit, but this next getup is handmade and...part of it is pink.

If it's handmade, odds are I'm gonna be at least mildly interested, and the eBay listing said this was indeed handmade.   Bunnie Candie's dress is presumably handmade too (Mama found it on Etsy).  Polka dots!!!

For something a bit more traditional, here's what Primrose Jessalyn is wearing.  Mama supplied this, of course.  It's not pink, but it's cute so who cares about color???

Look at the little letters!  I think those are too stinkin' cute.

No American Girl stuff this time around!  The girls have new things, but it's spring stuff and they're not wearing it yet so...yeah.  But that's Valentine's Day for me this year!  Dolls in pink, rain in the air, and me chillaxing at work.  Not a flake of snow in sight, ha-ha-ha, and no tornadoes either (Ryan Hall thought earlier in the month that it might get bad today).  Right now all is well in the Bootheel, and I hope it is with y'all too.

Happy Valentine's Day,
RagingMoon1987

So random, November/December '25

Happy New Year, ladies and germs!  Hold up, I said that LAST New Year.  Technically it's not the new year yet, but I plan on taking off from blogging tomorrow, so...yeah.  I don't know about y'all, but for me I hope for two things:

A) a spring that isn't as crazy as the last one, and
B) some sort of resolution to my health woes.

Seriously, I don't want to run in a marathon, but being able to take my dogs outside without maneuvering a walker would be great.  Carrying my dolls to the playground across the street for pictures would be amazing.  And a simple walk around the block, like Grandma did with me when I was little!  Oh, that would be the best thing in the world.  When Uncle From St. Louis took me he'd always hold me up and let me touch one of the stop signs (I had a thing for stop signs when I was small).  As for the spring, well...this post is the beginning of the saga.  Mama, Clio Teresa, and me, crammed into our bathroom around midnight with Ryan Hall, KFVS, and KAIT all streaming on our phones and tablets.  Last spring wasn't the worst I've ever seen; that title still goes to 2011, with 1999 being a close second.  I hope to the good Lord we never see another spring like those.  But last March and April were no picnic.

All that said, November got off the a slow start for photography.  I didn't take my first random pic until November 14th. 

I'd just spent half an hour putting my dolls back in their places after Tommy (my problem cat) knocked a bunch of them from hell to breakfast.  Primrose Jessalyn looked the way I felt:  hot, winded, and overwhelmed. 

November was a slow month, period, and it was the 28th before I had anything worth photographing again.  Snow was in the forecast for my neck of the woods, and I got a handful of my dolls out of their warm weather garb and into something more substantial.  Here's Kiara and Kyle...

...and here's Rowena Skylar. 

Ah, snow.  So beautiful, so infuriating.  It ended up being a cold rain and a sharp wind that time, the kind of weather that'll "make you good and sick," as Mama put it when my sister and I were young.  The snow came on December 2nd.

I made up for lost time on November 30th.  Tommy had knocked My Newborn Nancy reeling, so I picked her up and had a little one-on-one time.

I also got a cute picture of Kiara, lying in my lap.

Usually Kiara sits beside me on the couch, but on that particular day Lily had her spot.

When Lily picks a spot, it's hers for at least an hour.  Or until Tommy chases her off.  I love Tommy, but he can be a tremendous a$$ at times.  If he's not slapping my dolls around he's picking on Lily, and Lily is no spring chicken anymore.  She turned nine in late July, and she growls if I try to pick her up so I think she has arthritis.  I don't want any of my animals bullied, including Tommy, but my oldest two, Callie and Lily, are especially off limits.

December 1st.  It was cold and wet, and I'd fished the last of Alice's egg sacs out of what was left of her web (Alice has been MIA and presumed dead since early November).  Lagoona Blue saw it and decided to pay tribute to her freaky fab comrade.

Don't worry, it's empty!  I wouldn't be caught dead bringing a live black widow egg sac into the house.  Y'all can see how big Alice's sacs were, though.  Lagoona could use it as a baseball if she wanted.

December 2nd.  I put Ayla Diamond in her Christmas dress.

I never would've dreamed that such a tiny doll could be so satisfying to clothe!  I think the Etsy shop is AKMysticMoose; they're a good place to go to if you have a My Mini Baby that you want to dress up.

December 4th.  The temperature never got above freezing that day, and there was a sharp north wind.  Sour Apple Mia and Ilaria made the best of it, though Ilaria's shoeless feet made ME cringe.  No lie, the wind was like a bone saw that day.

What a pair!  Spanish and Italian, Modern and vintage, stylized and somewhat realistic, goofy hair and natural hair.  I do kinda wish Furga dolls smelled like vanilla like Nines d'Onil dolls do, but

A)  Can't have everything, and
B)  Not everyone can handle that scent.  It's not overpowering, but it IS noticeable.

December 6th, Failbook memory from twelve years before.  Head shot of Sabrina.

Sabrina has a humorous backstory.  She belonged to a lady who was downsizing her rather large collection.  The collection had some beautiful stuff, including a couple'a Annette Himstedt dolls (I love those), but Sabrina was the one I really flipped out for.  The dolls were being listed on eBay, and Mama, who was just as smitten with Sabrina as I was, engaged in a no-holds-barred bidding war against some dame from Russia.  We see who won, LOL.

Also December 6th, present day.  Ilaria flew solo.

I was trying to give Ilaria something of a glow-up, including shoes, socks, and the new brooch, seen above.  Well...the new footwear didn't fit.  Ilaria has bigger feet than Wellie Wishers, so she's still unshod.  The brooch works well, though.

December 9th.  Andra had been knocked off her shelf (by that darn Tommy) for the third time in a week.

"Why me???" she seems to be saying.  Theta looks like she finds it amusing, even though she too has hit the ground a few times due to cats...or Mama or me klutzing around.

That same evening two of my Cabbies got some bright new dresses.  Christmas lights were few and far between here in Malden this year, but my girls made up for it a bit.

I chose my two golden girls, Candela Laura and Beryl June, to model these.  Thanks, Mama!  You always find cute stuff for my dolls to wear, and I appreciate it.

December 10th.  I had Lena out in preparation for her inclusion in the post about Grandma's Marshmallow Babies, and I thought she and Candela Laura looked cute together. 

It's too bad Mama and I can't find cute clothes in Lena's size, because the purple in Candela's dress makes Lena's eyes pop.  I need to bust out my sewing machine and start taking measurements.

December 12th.  This one was truly spur of the moment. 

I was standing up to go to bed (not a pleasant experience), and I'd placed Li'l Imp between Candela Laura and Ilaria.  This is the result:  the green-eyed freckle faces are mugging for the camera, and Ilaria is channeling Alfred Hitchcock.

December 15th.  I'd just gotten back from the library's Christmas party and I was ready for a nap, but I did pause to get a couple'a cute pairs (while I was straightening up yet another of Tommy's messes).  These two are my Love 'n' Care Babies, Diamond Estelle and Alice Helene...

...and these are two of my Hopscotch Hill School dolls, Gwen and Hallie.

I have Skylar and Logan too, but I haven't moved them yet.

These next images are from a post that never made it off the ground.  December 16th.  Two dolls arrived in the mail, and this is the first glimpse I got of Dollikin (a large Uneeda doll).  Good thing Dollikin is jointed to the hilt, but she still looked like she'd been hogtied and thrown off a cliff.

Here, Dollikin and her lilac-haired travel companion channel Barnes and Barnes.

Fish heads, fish heads...LOL, shortly after this Dollikin's lower elastic gave way and her legs/butt fell off.  Oh, the horror!

Good thing I know how to fix her, but what a drag, just the same!  The doll with purple hair has nothing to wear, but I was able to give her some shoes and socks, at least.

These are the shoes and socks that I'd intended for Ilaria.  Though this new girl is the bigger doll her feet are smaller than Ilaria's.  She can thus wear Wellie Wisher socks and shoes if the socks aren't too thick, but not the clothes.  I've chosen the name "Ultraviolet" for this doll, by the way, after one of Andy Warhol's crazy comrades.  Ultraviolet's lip paint is in rough shape, but I can fix that.

I like how Ultraviolet retains a bit of class despite being nekkid and a little roughed up.  She's still got her gold cord around her neck, and a similar cord holding her ponytail in place.  She reminds me of one of my bisque dolls, Elfriede, who came with a silk ribbon tied around her neck.  I think Ultraviolet might be a Migliorati clone, as her body has a similar shape to this doll.

December 19th.  Another of those pictures I caught as I was getting a for work.

Ernest John, of course, but this time he's got Pineberry with him.  Kiara can also be seen on the far left.

December 21st.  I was in a bad mood all weekend, after altercations with Coworker A and with Uncle Man-Child the day before.  The quarrel with Coworker A was my fault, and the one with the overgrown child was his.  You don't yell at my mama and pets without catching hell, especially when my mama pays your bills.  Anyway, I was still aggravated the next day, and then Tommy and Vanessa made a cute photo op.

Y'all can also see some of Tommy's mess in the background.  That's not why Uncle Man-Child yelled at my critters, by the way.  A mess IS grounds for anger, but it's not why he lost it.  He's really been trying my patience lately.

Later that same evening I caught Aimee and Lori like this.

They'll be helping out with a review soon, if I can get my hip to cooperate.  The review is scheduled for after the first of the year. 

December 22nd.  I noted on Failbook that this Christmas season was one of the most bah-humbuggy I'd ever had.  NO ONE was in the spirit!  Great time to play Dolly Dress Shuffle.

From left, Silver Bird, Jettivee, and Rita Cheryl.  And yes, it was warm enuff to traipse around in sandals (like Jettivee) or without shoes (like Rita Cheryl).  These are what the temperatures looked like last week.

I've taken to calling winter warm snaps "Mayfield winters," for reasons that are obvious to anyone who lives in the area.  The temperatures bottomed out not long after.

December 23rd, I got a very small dolly.

She's one of those dime-a-dozen Hong Kong dolls, one of those that has no name or company.  Y'all might remember how I like these.  I haven't thought of a name for this one yet, but I love her smug little face, and especially her eyes.  A couple'a my Failbook friends noticed the eyes too.

December 28th.  Lorifina sits pretty on one of the family Christmas presents. 

Heck, Lori might need a foot warmer herself, cold as it got after Christmas.

And that, ladies and germs, concludes my year!  2025 is not a year that I'll look back on with a smile.  Indeed, this has been one of the worst years I've had, with the pain and the medical woes and several depressed spells.  Granted, the year could've been a lot worse; no one I loved died or got diagnosed with some terminal illness, no one I loved suffered any property damage when the tornadoes hit, and my animals are all safe and well with me.   But 2025 was still was no walk in the park.  Lord willing, 2026 will be better.

Love and God bless, 

RagingMoon1987 

Throwback Thursday review: Grandma's Marshmallow Babies

Ah yes, the Christmas season is upon us!  I like almost everything about Christmas, but I wish Uncle Man-Child would either shut his door or turn his radio down.  He's found a channel that plays nothing but Christmas music...and not the good stuff.  No Trans-Siberian Orchestra, no Manheim Steamroller, just pop artists screeching out "Santa Baby," Celine Dion butchering "O Holy Night," or goodness knows what.  I wouldn't mind it so much, except that that station is nothing BUT that.  But other than that I love the Christmas season.  The lights on the houses, the nativity scenes in front of the churches, the little kids excited for presents and a break from school, the toys.  THE TOYS!!!  

Another kludgy intro over, I'm willing to bet that today's doll was on at least a few kids' Christmas lists in the eighties.  Y'all probably knew today's post was coming.  When I pulled this doll out of Treesa's box in October and found so little information about her online I thought "Yep, that one's going in the review pile."  Two months later, my lilac rag doll has gained a friend.  Meet Grandma's Marshmallow Babies.  Marshmallow is on the left, and the new girl on the right is Creamsicle.  Marshmallow is Treesa's doll and Creamsicle is one I found on eBay.  Treesa admits that she didn't really bond with Marshmallow too tight, which I get.  We all have our favorites and our flops.  Anyway, here's what these two look like.

The sole commercial I found advertises Grandma's Marshmallow Babies as being similar to the rag dolls that an eighties grandmother might make, though I kinda doubt that.  Most of the vintage/antique rag dolls that I've seen are NOT orange, lilac, pink, blue.  But then that's why I like these a lot; I like my dolls in weird colors.  Hair is good, but skin is even better since there's not a lot like that.  The only problem with these dolls is that there was no green, though I guess that makes sense because green skin on humans is commonly associated with illness.  Indeed, Daddy told me I turned green one time after I'd gotten overheated.  But then again blue skin on humans isn't a good sign either, so I dunno.  Not gonna complain too loud since the two I've got are pretty cute without green skin.

Alrighty!  As far as I know Grandma's Marshmallow Babies only came in one size, and that size was roughly similar to that of a Cabbage Patch Kid.  Marshmallow and Rowena Skylar won't be able to share clothes, but their heights are similar...or not!  Marshmallow has longer legs!

However, like our dear Cabbies, Marshmallow Babies also have a fair amount of variation in size.  Creamsicle has short legs, for example. 

Rowena Skylar does still kiss, by the way.  Treesa and I had that discussion not too long ago, and it turned out that I wasn't squeezing Rowena in the right place.

Like most of my Cabbage Patch Kids, Olivia Reese, and a few other dolls I own, Marshmallow Babies have yarn hair that they wore in varying hairstyles.  They could have short looped hair, double braids, high pigtails, or low pigtails.  By luck of the draw I got two dolls with high pigtails.

Sometimes a doll's hair color matched her skin-fabric and sometimes it didn't.  Creamsicle's hair is colored orange and white like her namesake treat, so she matches for the most part.  Mama says her hair is pretty "out there," LOL.

Marshmallow's hair is more subtle, being mostly white with streaks of blue and light green.  She doesn't really match, but she doesn't clash terribly either.

Both dolls have "bangs," in the form of yarn loops that frame their faces.  Several of my Cabbies also have these loops.

Interestingly, the longer strands are not cut either.  They're like loopy Cabbage Patch hair, only a lot longer.

I like that.  Keeps tangles to a minimum.  Now...these dolls' pigtails are fastened with loops of yarn and are thus not meant to come down, so I don't know much about rooting.  However, I was able to part a little of Marshmallow's hair and reveal some bare scalp.  

Therefore I presume that Marshmallow Babies have root jobs like Cabbage Patch Kids.  If the doll has short loops, then they have fully rooted heads.  If they wear pigtails, only the part and hairline are rooted.  Or at least, that's the case with my double pony girls.

As for texture, the yarn used varies a little.  Marshmallow has straight yarn...

...and Creamsicle appears to have a mix of straight and...not quite boucle, but wavy.

<rooting/texture>
These faces look vaguely familiar, with their big eyes and Mona Lisa smiles...ah yes, I remember.  Marshmallow and Creamsicle look a little like the My Child dolls in the face.  Their mouth is a similar shape.  Christa79 also noticed the similarities.

To my delight, there's a little variation in these dolls' expressions.  Both dolls are smiling, but Marshmallow's smile isn't as wide.  This paired with her upturned eyes gives her a wistful, vaguely melancholic expression.  Creamsicle, on the other hand, is happy as a lark.  Otherwise both dolls have the same basic facial features.  Their eyes are patches or appliques of some stripe, and my two dolls have blue eyes.  Note that Marshmallow has eyelashes and Creamsicle does not.

Another Marshmallow Baby that I'm eyeing on Etsy has pink eyes, so eye color does vary some.  Mouths also vary in both shape and color, but not in execution (they're also appliques).  Creamsicle's mouth is wider than Marshmallow's, and it's an orangey shade that jives well with the rest of her coloring.  Marshmallow's mouth is pale pink and can look washed out if I don't get the flash right.

Oh, I guess I should've mentioned right off that these dolls have a type of mask face.  Usually mask-faced dolls have a rigid face over a softer base underneath, the way Puffalump Kids and a couple'a my Polish dolls do.  Grandma's Marshmallow Babies have vinyl frames UNDER the fabric of their faces, but the principle is the same.  This is (presumably) how they get their little button noses...or those protuberances that pass for noses.  Good thing these dolls don't wear glasses.

<show this>
As far as I know, Grandma's Marshmallow Babies don't get saggy "skin" like My Child dolls can.  I've never seen one with sagging fabric, but that doesn't mean much.

Since these dolls are rag dolls their bodies are pretty simple, with floppy limbs that are loosely attached like so.  These kiddies can't hold a pose, but they make up for it by being lovely lapsitters.

Some rag dolls have stitched fingers and some have mitten hands, with Grandma's Marshmallow Babies being in the latter category.

The feet are typical rag doll feet, big and bulbous, kinda like Little Red's shoe-feet.

Most of Marshmallow's body is made of thick, smooth stockinette, but her body is made of this not-knitted fabric...muslin or something like that.

The print on the fabric leaves no doubts about Marshmallow's identity.  She's even got brightly colored marshmallows mixed in with the words.

The body is also tagged, in case there were any lingering doubts about the identity of these dolls.  This is Creamsicle's tag; her body is constructed identically to Marshmallow's.  One side has the company info...

...and the other side has the name of the line and laundering info.  Grandma's Marshmallow Babies can be washed and dried inside a pillowcase, just like Cabbage Patch Kids of the era can.

Very average for a rag doll body, though I love the knitted fabric.  I only have a handful of dolls that are made of stockinette, and they're always pleasant to touch and hold.  Marshmallow and Creamsicle are no exception.

A year and some change ago, when I was having a mild depressed spell and Hurricane Helene was front-page news, I spoke of a vlogger whose dolls dominantly wore pastels and were called "the Pastel Army."  Grandma's Marshmallow Babies would fit in well with them, as they too are dressed in pastels.  I'll show y'all Marshmallow's romper, which is pink and lavender with copious lace on the front...

...but the outfit I'll review is Creamsicle's.  She wears a dress in yellow and blue-green.

From the top, the neckline has a row of eyelet lace (I love eyelet) and a little satin/sateen bow that's just for decoration.  Here it's possible to see that Creamsicle's dress is not polka-dotted, but rather flowered.

The colors are a little off in this next image, but it shows more of the flowers.  I prefer polka dots, but I like flowers too.  The fabric itself is, from what I can tell, a simple cotton or polyester weave.  Likely if I read the tag closer I'd know for sure.

The sleeves are little puffed sleeves with no decorations, but the elastic is still good so that's something positive.  Elastic doesn't always hold up, as I've established time and time again.

The hem of the skirt has a row of eyelet and a green band, creating the illusion of layers, but in reality it's just the one layer.

I'd say that the only thing I don't like about these dolls' outfits is this Velcro.  It catches in their hair and on their arms and can snag, but it also holds the dress together.  If one is careful one won't run into snags.

Oh yeah, the seams inside also look pretty raggy.  The hems are nicely done, but the rough edges on both outfits are...well, rough!  They don't show on the outside, though.

Here's the tag; I photographed the wrong side for laundering info, but the other side revealed nothing other than the aforementioned laundering info.

My favorite things about these outfits are the cute little socks.  Marshmallow is missing one, but that's no big deal.  These socks fit tightly to the dolls' feet, so I took 'em off once and am not taking them off again, LOL.  The fabric is soft and smooth, not at all like my own socks, and they're trimmed with bows that match the bows on the clothes.  As far as I know, none of these dolls wore shoes of any sort.

Since Grandma's Marshmallow Babies are similar in a few ways to Cabbage Patch Kids, I swapped outfits...and since Ernest John was the one I had with me he was the one who got shoved into a dress.  He's NEVER gonna forgive me for this.

But then again, Preemie Cabbie genders are all but impossible to determine without clothes.  Anyway, Ernest's onesie is big on Creamsicle's body, but it fits well enuff that I'd put her in this again.  Ernest John looks good in Creamy's dress, but the neck doesn't fasten all the way.  Y'all couldn't tell it, though!

Hmmm...I wonder if a Magic Nursery dress will fit a Marshmallow Baby?  I kinda have my doubts about Lena since she's smaller than Creamsicle, but let's look anyway.

It's hard to tell in the pictures, but Lena's dress is very short on Creamsicle.  Mikey's onesie probably would fit better, as otherwise the Magic Nursery baby dress fits well.  Creamsicle's dress is slightly big all over on Lena, except for the neck area which (again) is tight.  Still, I'd dress these dolls in each other's clothing if the situation called for it.

That's a wrap!  Since these dolls are pretty simple I'm just gonna say I like 'em a lot and leave that at that.  There's nothing really negative to say, unless one finds the unnatural colors off-putting.  Indeed, some folks don't dig that kinda thing.  But I'll say Grandma's Marshmallow Babies are...oh, they're as good as Cabbage Patch Kids.  In terms of kid-friendliness they might even outdo the Cabbies a bit, since Marshmallow and Creamsicle are lighter and thus easier to carry.  They also have the same limitation as Cabbies, being poor posers and a bit top-heavy, but these are not really meant to be posed.  They're meant to be held, and that's pretty much what I do with them...when I'm not snapping pictures of them, that is!  These are fun, though!  Thank you, Treesa, for turning me onto this line; I had no idea they existed.

Warm hugs,
RagingMoon1987