Of Dolls, Clofoutis, and Social Security, and a Sad Farewell

   I had several things planned for the holidays, but I just never found the time to do them. I saw some toys at a Burlington store that I thought might interest those who like to do dioramas or 1/6 scale houses. 

 They might interest them, until they see how the scale really measures up.

  Not sure if they would still have these at Burlington, but if they really interest you, you might be able to find them online. They're by Arcady.

   Remember way back in 2022 when I did a post on some Friends Forever Club dolls I found at Dollar Tree? 

The two at the top.

Well they still have them, and they finally got the clothes too...

...and even wig sets! 

  They also have some little anime' looking dolls too.

  I have become the queen of finding marked down produce, so Ken can eat healthy. I happened across some severely marked down cherries a few weeks ago, and thought it would be the perfect time to try making clafoutis. I had some when we were in Paris, and it has haunted me ever since, (along with the pastries we had. I have been spoiled for anything else now!) 

  It turned out quite good, but I'm no French chef.  

  Recently I've been sitting around here, trying not to freeze, because our house is really cold. Not quite as cold as it is outside, but freezing none the less. And it has been VERY cold outside. I had to cancel both of Ken's therapy days and a doctor appointment, because it is so intensely cold that I didn't think it was safe for him, with his diabetes and poor circulation. So he has been doing some exercises at home, (and trying to get out of them!), and a little walking to keep from stiffening up. 

  I also had a doctor appointment last week, since I have been having swoony spells. I went to have blood work done They gave me a 'lay down chair' this time, because I told the that the last couple of times I have had weird reactions to having my blood drawn. (The last time I got a bit weak and sick, and the time before that I went to the car and cried all the way to the library. I just went crazy emotional and couldn't explain why. I did well this time though. ) And my blood work came back like Mary Poppins: practically perfect in every way. The only thing that was even slightly off was that my cholesterol was up by 1 point. How that happens when I haven't had meat or animal fat in 37 years, I don't know. I don't even drink near the amount of milk that I used to, or eat as much cheese. And with the price of free range eggs so high, I almost never eat them. I do eat some stuff with eggs in, but mostly lately I have been eating mostly things without. Anyway, the doc also ordered a CT scan of my head, an ultrasound of my carotid artery, and some kind of test on my heart. She did give me ear drops too though. She said my left ear had fluid, and my right ear was red inside. So I have been having Fuzz squirt the drops in my ear. My swoony spells were fading by the time I got to the doctor anyway, so I'm guessing it was an ear thing. I still have to have the tests done, as long as they will be paid for. That's because we STILL haven't got any income coming in. We are still waiting on Social Security Disability to kick in, even though the guy who examined Ken in December said it was a no brainer. I have been told that he didn't qualify for SSD, and instead will get Social Security Disability Insurance. That sounded worrying, until I was old that all that meant was that he qualified for a different kind of SSD. Apparently it's the kind they put you on if they assume you will be able to work again in the future. I don't know about that. The wonderful thing about SSDI is that they require a 5 month waiting period since you applied, before they will pay you. Fortunately, that's coming up in about a week, because we are running out of money.  Unfortunately, unlike the other kind of SS, they don't give you back pay from the time you applied, because they think you should have had five month's worth of money just laying around. I'm serious. They think that 5 months without money is 'reasonable'. Sure it is. 

  If you're wondering why people who haven't had income since July were shopping at a Burlington, (or anywhere else), well, we had a large gift card, due to Ken wanting to keep the horribly fitting suit he bought there, for Emma's wedding,  instead of the fairly decent fitting suit we got elsewhere. As with most things, he procrastinated until he was too late to return the suit for a refund, (and he had lost his receipt anyway), so we had to take a gift card. So we had Christmas shopping money to spend at Burlington. I also spent a lot of it buying marked down pajama bottoms and warm shirts for Ken. He's lost so much weight since his strokes, and is now cold, so he has needed a whole new wardrobe of pants he can actually keep up when he walks in therapy, and long sleeved shirts to keep him warm. He owned a couple of button up long sleeved shirts, but everything else was short sleeves.

  We had some sad news right before Christmas. Our cat Mow, who had been living with Ivy in Indiana for the last few years, was an old man, and had to leave us. I drove all the way to Indiana to be with Ivy on the day. She is heart broken. We got Mow when she was 10 years old. He was the best boy. I always said he was practically a dog. He was well behaved, didn't destroy things or climb on the counters, and  came when he was called. We will all miss him very much.

 

  So that's what I've been up to lately. I don't have much chance to do posts, but I'll try.

Doll-A-Day 2023 #343: Magnetic Babies

  To start off, remember my friend Cheryl and her cat Ted? Both have had some heath problems recently. They very much need each other, and right now, whatever you believe in, be it, prayers, positive thoughts, or good vibes, sent their way, would be appreciated.   

I'm honestly not sure if I've posted these guys before. I feel like I have, but I can't find them anywhere on the blog. They're some cute babies that came from Dollar Tree several years ago.

  They're just the happiest looking little things.

  They have squishy bodies that feel like they are filled with sand, and magnets in their hands. I think that was so they could hold their bottles. I do remember that they came with accessories. The one had a high chair. I think the other one had a baby seat.

  Look at those weird feet!

He seems to have a...sheep? on the bottom of his foot.

  As you can see from them in my hand, they aren't very big. They must be about 3 inches tall or less.

  Those are today's dolls. 

  The good news is, I have finished one of my big projects, which gives me three days to accomplish the other two, as well as the smaller stuff I have to do. Shew! See you tomorrow.

Doll-A-Day 2023 #120: Friends Forever Club Dolls Iha and Carina

    Emma's home from the hospital, but still having pain and discomfort. I hope she is all better soon.

   I found these dolls at Dollar Tree. Their names are Iha, and Carina.

  They're from a line called Friends Forever Club, which makes them easy to confuse with 4-Ever Best Friends  dolls, and the Friends Forever line of Winx dolls.

   There are actually four dolls in the series. The others are the red haired Viera, and the brown haired Alanis. You would have thought I would have bought the red haired one, (It's actually sort of pink.), but I thought these two were the cutest, so I bought them. So there.

  The theme behind these dolls is that the four met 'on a field trip to the Science Center and...became best friends'. The idea of the Science Center suggests they all have an interest in some form of science.

 Each character has an interest that is her theme. Iha loves fish,(and killing them apparently, because she also loves to fish.), the beach, shells...and baking cookies. (No word on if the cookies have to have a beach theme too, or if they have fish in them.) She wants to be a marine biologist when she grows up. To show her interests, she has a sea shell on her headband. 

  

With her dark hair and headband, there's a little something Snow White-ish about Iha.

 Her eyes are sort of almond shaped, which gives her a bit of a fairy look. Well, I think so. The red haired doll, Viera, looks even more like a fairy than Iha does.

  Carina loves all things space. She likes studying 'astrology', and wants to be an astronaut when she grows up. I think they meant to say she loves studying 'astronomy', not astrology. Just guessing. There's nothing about her appearance to show that she loves space, so to prove she's smart, she wears glasses.

And yes, her glasses are removable. They also don't stay on very well...well, we'll get to that. She also has cute little hair meatballs.

  Both dolls use the same head sculpt. 

Carina modeling the no glasses look.

  These dolls are about 5 inches tall. They could be used as dollhouse dolls, in a dollhouse that's a bit bigger than 1/12 scale if you want them to be children. They'd be about the size an of adult woman in a 1/12 scale dollhouse.

  Their hands look as if they were meant to hold something, but they don't come with accessories. Maybe they were originally intended to. Maybe it's for the larger accessories that are sold separately.

  They have simple articulation, but then, they did only cost $1.25 each. They're jointed at the neck, shoulders, and hips. They can turn their heads, move their arms, and even sit down.

  I did kind of feel like their limbs might break off if I wasn't delicate enough with them. They just feel cheap, but then, again, they were. There is also another problem with them sitting down.

Um. Yes. These dolls do have removable rubber clothing. And when they sit down, it removes itself. The clothes have an interesting latching system in the back. 

I found Iha's skirt hard to force closed over her butt. 

The hooks are weird, and almost have to be hooked from the inside. It's hard to explain. None of the clothes stayed closed very well.

  And Carina can't pull her shorts up all the way.

The sleeves on Carina's hoodie are just her arms, painted. And when she raises her arms, it shows.

On the other hand, they bothered to put some texture on Iha's skirt.

It's like fish scales, to go with her interest.

And their shoes are removable too.

Slits down the back make them easy to remove...and fall off.

And they have one more removable thing.

Their hair! Surprisingly, they can't wear each other's hair, although I did see someone review all 4 dolls who put someone else's hair on one of them. But it was neither of these two. 

It won't sit all the way down on her head.

There are shapes in the hair, and bumps on their heads. They look the same, but they didn't fit both dolls the same.

Carina's hair is marked 2, and Iha's is marked 1.

Then why make it removable? Maybe it isn't meant to be, but it wasn't glued on.

  And that brings us to that other issue. Carina can't keep her glasses on unless they are stuck under her hair...or she doesn't wear her hair at all. but the glasses won't stay over the hair.

  As a side note, the glasses fit Tammy World really well.

    I didn't see them in any of the Dollar Tree stores I went to, but apparently there is a swing you can put together, that is sold in a pack, and a slide for these dolls. There are also cloth outfits for them too, but our Dollar Trees never seemed to get them either. From seeing them online the clothes, although actually made of cloth, look very cheap and like they would probably fall apart with very little play.

  So these dolls are cute, and would survive some play, but I don't know how long they'd last before they start falling apart.

Those are the dolls for today. See you again tomorrow.  

Doll Goodies at Dollar Tree

   This is just a quick extra post to show you some things I found at Dollar Tree recently.

Doll house sized furniture.

Stuffed "Arthur" dolls.

Licensed Barbie and Chelsea clothes and accessories, as well as some generic ones.

Generic Fashion dolls.

More Barbie clothes.

More generic fashion doll stuff, and the Barbie and Chelsea stuff again.

Generic fashion doll clothes.

Barbie sized generic furniture. 

I have also just heard that at least some Dollar Tree stores have Totally Tiny packs! They're the bags with only a couple of things in them, and not the bigger sets, but they are only $1.25. (The Dollar Tree is now the Dollar Twenty Five Tree, at least around here.)

  That's all. See you tomorrow for Doll-A-Day.