happiness is having a scratch for every itch

Hello everyone! How have you been? I trust all of you are keeping well and happy! While not actively aiming to, it does seem that I am posting about once a month now, and am finding that frequency the most comfortable at present.

Sourced from T.E.R.R.A.I.N

So -- I debated which picture should grace the top of this post, and decided that the dolly was significantly more pleasant to look at than this. For those of you who don't know, this thing -- this ****ing execrable, accursed thing -- is a sandfly. The reason I am giving it any attention at all -- which, trust me, it does not deserve -- is because my legs are covered in ****ing bites which itch like the ****ing.. Sylvanians.

Yesterday, in a fit of exuberance, the kids and I decided to go to the beach, where we displayed our joie de vivre in watching the ships, hunting for seashells, building sandcastles, and yes, feeding sandflies. It was idiotic of me to go despite not having repellent on, but the kids were so keen, and we hadn't had any trouble with the bugs for quite some time; I thought it would be alright.

Well, the upshot of it is that Ro and I pretty much fed the entire sandfly population there; the one comfort is that Jake came away completely unscatched, while Becky only got a bite or two. As anyone who's ever been bitten by sandflies knows, it's not till later than you really start clawing at yourself, which was where I was at about 4am, and where I still am now. Needless to say, I've tried everything I know how to quell this insane itching -- which far surpasses anything a mosquito can come up with -- and am now just trying to relieve myself by blogging.

For what it's worth, I thought I'd share with you what I did try, so you might know what works and what doesn't (honestly though, this is pretty much going to be a list of a whole bunch of things that don't work at all). Here we go anyway:

1. Apple cider vinegar. Despite the cure-all this stuff is purported to be, it didn't do **** for the bites. We only ended up smelling funky.
2. Zyrtec Allergy. I can only say it tasted quite nice.
3. Mopiko. This is a Japanese menthol-based ointment used by generations of people here for bites; while it does work pretty decently on mosquito bites, it couldn't conquer the sandfly.
4. Savlon. This is an antiseptic cream often used in first aid for wounds, nappy rash, and "bites". While that might even have included rattlesnake and rabid dog bites, it had no effect on the 15 ****ing *@#!&s dotting my legs.
5. Steroid cream. Not sure what that did, despite the ominous-sounding literature that accompanied the tube.
5. Hand sanitizer. This I just did out of desperation. Pointless of course, except for that two seconds of hope.
6. Hot metal. Useful only for burning yourself in a fit of misdirected anger and loathing.
7. Ice. Possibly the only slightly effective thing. It may well work for more than five seconds if you encase your legs in an entire tub of cubes. For a whole day.

So there. That's everything I've tried so far. Any other suggestions? I had wanted to try tea tree oil applied neat, but someone had left my completely empty bottle in the bathroom without saying a word... If you have any ideas, even half-baked ones, please feel free to share. There is of course a plethora online, including toothpaste, garlic, lemon juice and urine -- I will probably try them all; well, except perhaps that last.

But on to something more pleasant. Dollyland is always fun (though, admittedly, even working on a new doll today did not help distract me). I'll just quickly share some dollies who went up for adoption. That little one up there is Oisín, my little deer girl. She's quite different from my other dollies obviously! She wears needle-felted deer ears, and I like the idea that she might be both a therianthrope -- half animal, half person -- as well as a little girl playing a game of make-believe. She was a big step out in faith for me, and I'm happy with her colouring, and sweet, gentle expression.

This little minx is Juliette. I was thinking of Miles Davis and beatniks and smoky little dens where groovy hepcats wore stripey sweaters and spouted poetry. I gave her plenty of eyeliner, and eyebrows too! Juliette's mommy writes atmospheric stories about her dollies, in segments avidly followed by her readers, so I'm thrilled that Juliette has joined her cast of Jazz Age characters.

This curious thing is a Blythe doll faceplate; well, specifically, it's Persis' faceplate. I took a picture of it because I wanted to remember my first attempt at carving an actual open mouth -- not one that appeared open, but one that actually is. The opening in her mouth was made all the way through, and I fit little teeth in inside. This too was another big step out in faith -- thank you Lord!

Persis made me think of peacocks and fruit punch and tropical islands; I gave her a very bright, vibrant faceup. I really love her, so I'm glad she's been adopted by a wonderful lady in the States.

So little Nova here is still waiting for her mommy or daddy. She is a sort of sister to Electra, with her galactic eyelids and star cluster tattoo. Her blue-lilac hair is really lush -- the thickest I've ever come across. She's hoping she'll find her home really soon! Bloggy friends, feel free to make an offer if you like :)

I'm off now to meditate/scream silently/pee on the *@#%ing bites -- I'll catch up with all of you really soon! Keep well, dear friends, and use repellent!!

just another little update :)

Hi everyone! How have you been? Yes, it's another weekend! Thank you so much to everyone who's still faithfully sticking with me :) I shan't be writing much this time round, as I'm under the influence of some meds that are making me really drowsy. It's quite miserable really, but I'm trusting God for complete healing in His perfect timing, so I'm pressing on (but will talk with the doctor about getting on a different med)! Your prayers would also be greatly appreciated :)

Well, this here is Electra, one of two little girls up for adoption in the shop now; she was inspired by my love for stars -- Electra is the name of a giant blue star in the constellation of Taurus. She is one of the nine brightest stars in the Pleiades open cluster; I even "tattooed" the cluster on Electra's body -- it runs down the side of her neck and across her chest.

And this is Elodie, my sweet little hippie. I had the song San Francisco by John Phillips (and sung by Scott McKenzie) running through my head the entire time I was carving and painting; needless to say, I had to make her a floral head wreath! Again, both girls are looking for forever homes now; bloggy friends, feel free to make an offer if you like :)

In other dolly news, Tova's hair finally came! It suits her so perfectly I think; she looks so adorable and naughty and loving and playful all at the same time -- just like a real child. Here she is with her best friend, Rufus the bear.

Several people did ask me about Rufus; they'd never seen a teddy quite like him before. Indeed, Rufus was a kind of "holy grail" for me as an antique and vintage bear collector; he is a 19" Tru-to-Life American Black Bear made by Dean's Rag Book Co. in the 50s. Happily, Rufus' fur and rubber molded parts are still in lovely condition; being unjointed and stuffed with excelsior and kapok, he is wonderfully floppy and weighty, and feels just like a real cub might if you were to carry him. His legs are sewn to the front of his body, so that he is always in a sitting position, but he is perfect for Tova to lie on. Doesn't he have the sweetest expression?

Well, that's all for now -- but o! before I go, a few long-overdue shots of little Jakey. He's just turned one; how time flies! He can walk now and is such a bundle of adorableness -- he makes any post-childbirth ailments worthwhile. Sorry these pictures are so dreadful in terms of lighting and composition -- I grab what I can, when I can lol! (and yes, that unholy mess you see in the background is part of my tiny "art studio").

And one last thing -- have you heard of moo.com? Moo is an award-winning online printing company -- they help customers print business cards, postcards, stickers, letterheads and so forth. No, I am not being paid, or even asked, to write this lol, but I have personally had good experiences with them, and would recommend their services. They're having a sitewide 25% off sale at the moment, but it'll be over come the 21st. If you'd like to get 10% discount off your first order (and help me earn some money off my next one!) just follow this link: http://www.moo.com/share/ts6zbs

OK, happy, blessed weekend and new week everyone!! See you again soon!!

just a little update :)

Ah, another weekend. And I just realised my last post was over a month ago -- a first for me, excepting perhaps that time when I had morning sickness. The blog has always been in the back of my mind though, but I'm really coming to that point of acceptance that I will not be blogging as regularly as I did before; in fact, I'd be content to post perhaps once a month, at least till Jakey is a little older. In truth, the thought did cross my mind to leave off blogging altogether, but remembering the friends I've made and who have been so supportive -- as well as those who would bother to leave comments or email me telling me how helpful or encouraging something I'd written was -- gave me pause.

So as I've a bit of free time today, I decided to write a bit. Warning though -- this post is decidedly dollyish in tone haha.. but after all, that is part of what I do to earn my keep now! Thanks to my work, I was able to bring the girls on a little staycation at the start of this June holiday -- the hubs was away on a lovely European business trip for two weeks and I felt the girls deserved a bit of time away as well. We had a splendid time of course, but I think the girls would agree one of the really high points was going to see Maleficent! Did you all manage to catch it too? If you didn't, you really ought to. Angelina Jolie was just perfect, and the film was really so lovely -- and of course, as Disney would always have it, I teared up.

But now -- on to dolly business! First a couple of girls who came and went over the past month -- Starling, right at the top there, and redheaded Poppy here.

In the shop now is Skylar, whose hair I spent a great deal of time dyeing violet, pink and blue. Dyeing, especially synthetic materials, is a tricky affair, but that's part of the fun I think! Plus it definitely guarantees the OOAK nature of the doll.

Skylar's eyelids :) 

Since getting more involved in the Blythe community, I've come to learn more about other kinds of collectible dolls, in particular, the kind known as ball-jointed dolls, or BJDs. BJDs are articulated dolls, and their parts are strung together with elastic, giving them the ability to "move" and pose. Some of them are quite tiny, about 4" tall, while others tower at 24". Pandora here is a 16" BJD, and my first!

The fun thing about many BJDs is that they're easy to customise -- well, easier than  Blythe at any rate, I think. You can paint them, and change their eyes and hair. I deepened Pandora's faceup and gave her new eyes and hair. The girls love her pale, but I personally have a thing for redheads :)

Pandora is from a line of what I consider "mature" BJDs -- as in, I feel they look like young adults. They have very well-developed figures and some are very busty, quite different from Blythe. In this picture, Pandora is wearing what I call her "mature" hair haha..

And so, because I was loving working on Pandora, I decided to explore other BJDs as well. The next one that captured my attention was this little Secretdoll Person. Persons are funny little BJDs measuring only about 7 1/2" (as a reference, Blythe is 11"), with distinctive pouts and a Yoshitomo Nara-esque face. Here, I've opened up the Person and stripped off the original faceup.

I learned soon enough that they were fiddly little beasties -- the tiny face made the carving and colouring quite a delicate, tedious affair.

I finally got Tova done after a great deal of futzing. Persons are sent with random wigs, but since we hated the one they sent us -- something resembling a dried bush -- I had to leave Tova sitting about like this. Which did look a little pathetic.

So Pandora has let her borrow her "mature" hair till her own arrives. Pandora's head is a good deal larger than Tova's, so she looks like a teeny tiny disco queen haha..

Well, that's all for now -- I mean to catch up on my blog-reading while I still have some time now, so I'll see you again.. in awhile! Have a super lovely weekend, dear friends!

on being happy regardless

Ah, the weekend at last. Though Jakey has no respect for the sanctity of weekend R&R -- he literally knocks on my door every single morning at 6am (or earlier!) -- I do get to sleep a little more while the hubs goes pick him up, and I'm spared the rigours of french-braiding the girls' hair.

Anyway, I did want to share with you this book I discovered a few days back. I was catching up with a neighbour of mine who lives down the street -- she was lamenting the increase in her and her daughter's allergy sufferings ever since major construction work began behind our houses, on which daily meds have had no effect. I totally sympathised, because I've been observing the irritating effects myself -- smarty eyes and Ro's stuffiness and sneezing.

Unfortunately, the work is happening on the side where our bedrooms are, which necessitates keeping the windows perpetually shut -- while that may be keeping outdoor crap at bay, it's also keeping indoor crap in. I've decided to open the windows when it rains, but then they don't call it a drought for nothing.

Anyway, while we chatting, I saw this book on her table -- Stop Being Your Symptoms And Start Being Yourself, by Arthur J. Barsky, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and director of psychiatric research at Brigham and Women's Hospital; and Emily C. Deans, a clinical instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and a practicing psychiatrist in the Boston community. Opening it at random, I was struck by the point the authors made about how, in our modern world, we are "doing better and feeling worse" -- or the paradox of medical progress -- i.e., while we've now overcome many of the diseases that used to cause sudden or untimely death, like pneumonia or TB,we've had more limited medical progress with the "chronic diseases and frailties that come with a longer life...

"The result of these medical advances is that while they enable us to live longer, the proportion of life spent in ill health has actually increased. Our dramatic gains in lifesaving treatments have increased the proportion of people living with chronic ailments. Dementia is a vivid and omnipresent example. The incidence of dementia is rising because we can now treat the pneumonia, kidney failure and heart attacks that used to end people's lives before they grew old enough to become demented..."

"Trends in contemporary American society aggravate our distress and make coping with symptoms more difficult. They influence our personal psychology by heightening unrealistic expectations and supplying idealised images of good health, coaxing us into making upward comparisons. This in turn amplifies symptoms and makes them harder to live with... Our standard for judging good health has been elevated so much that we are now more bothered by symptoms and infirmities that in the past we were able to tolerate better".

My friend was reading the book because, as all sufferers of chronic ailments know, it's easy to sometimes get depressed, overwhelmed or anxious about one's symptoms. Well, of course I asked to borrow the book. According to the synopsis, the book explains the six-week program designed by Dr Barsky to overcome the symptoms of chronic illnesses.

The program "teaches patients to master the five psychological factors that make chronic symptoms persist through hundreds of exercises, worksheets, and patient examples. You may not be able to completely eliminate your medical symptoms. But it is possible to control your symptoms rather than letting them control you—to manage your pain, fatigue, insomnia, and anxiety. You can minimize your symptoms, learn new coping skills, and do more to make sure that your symptoms are not robbing your life of meaning and pleasure". Sounds good right?

Well, I'm still in the first couple of chapters, but thought I'd share a bit with you. "Two very important psychological factors determine how much our illnesses bother us and how satisfied we are with our state of health: our expectations about how healthy or ill we should be; and the health of those to whom we compare ourselves. In general, our satisfaction with a situation depends in large measure on what we think that state of affairs should be... Your dissatisfaction and distress with your health are relative and determined by comparing yourself to some standard -- that is, some imagined ideal of how healthy you should feel... We view our own situation in a more favourable light when we become aware of others who are in more difficult situations and confronted with worse problems".

And then from Chapter 3, or Week 1 of the program: "The attention you pay to a troubling symptom is one of the most important factors in how you perceive it. The more you concentrate on an unpleasant or uncomfortable sensation, the worse it becomes over time... If concentrating on a symptom increases sensitivity and discomfort, it follows that lessening the attention you pay it will decrease discomfort... you have the power to improve symptoms by distracting yourself and learning to ignore them".

In asking readers to track their focus on symptoms, the authors write, "Are you surprised by how much time you spend thinking about your discomfort, fatigue or pain? Were there times in the day when you did not think of the symptoms? What were you doing during those times? Wht did you do that made you think about the symptoms more? Is there a way to increase the amount of time spent in activities that help you decrease the discomfort from your symptom?" And then, in the "List of Distractions": "Spend time on an enjoyable craft project" -- yay! (all extracts from Stop Being Your Symptoms And Start Being Yourself, by Arthur J. Barsky and Emily C. Deans).

Of course, this book is written from a secular standpoint, and the Christians among us should already know and trust that Jehovah Rapha -- the Lord our Healer -- is always with us and wants to bless, heal and restore us, in His perfect way and timing. We need to always walk in faith, and speak positive words over our lives, however things may seem or appear. As Joyce Meyer writes, "After praying for healing, at least give God the same opportunity as you would a bottle of medicine! Keep taking your medicine, the Word, and continue leaning on God in absolute trust and confidence (Col 2:5)" (from Be Healed In Jesus' Name, by Joyce Meyer). But this book looks to be a promising read, and I know many of you do live with chronic discomforts and ailments that can be quite trying, to say the least. It's a great comfort to know you're really not alone though, isn't it! Do feel free to email me if you want to know more, or just need a shoulder :)

But on to some other fun-ner stuff. First off, I was really tickled by the reactions to my last post on the fwooarishly droolworthy Morten Harket -- friends even messaged me on my phone and FB haha.. So I thought I'd just share this little gem I'd found some time back; unfortunately, it's cut off quite abruptly, but it's certainly pleasant eye candy nonetheless.

And just before I go -- remember poor little Rila who was just stuck at her face? Well, my chips arrived and I finally put her all together. Here she is!

I renamed her Ryuko when everyone agreed that Rila was too soft a name for someone like her, and streaked and dyed her hair a funky, vibrant purple. I love her punky, edgy attitude -- I'm certain she's listening to 80's rock here!

I think she's softie at heart though, and she's looking for her forever home now. How can you say no to this face?

Have a blessed, restful weekend everyone! See you again soon!

just because...

... you know I need a picture of Scout in a dinosaur suit before she goes to her new mommy!

just a little update

Hi everyone! How have you been? I trust you are all doing super and enjoying a lovely, blessed Easter season. We certainly have, praise the Lord, though today I got a little tantrum-y with the new girl I'm working on. The eye mech cracked and had to be replaced, then the chips I'd painted were too big to fit, yada yada yada ya. So now while I wait for new blank chips to arrive, my poor little Rila is just stuck like this, twiddling her invisible thumbs.

In the meantime, I've been intrigued by the comings and goings of erstwhile bloggy "friends". Of course I haven't been blogging at all regularly, but those of you who have become close know the reason why, and I truly thank you for your continued presence, friendship and support. I actually do know who disappears from my bloggy list -- having a memory for wordy things like that -- and, having not significantly changed the nature of my posts, I can only conclude they either got tired of my irregular posts, or my irregular visits to theirs, or both. So again, I truly do thank you for your faithfulness, patience and support.

But on to more cheerful things (i.e. a trip to Dollyland)! Here are a couple of recent little girls I was working on. This is Rowan, and I think it's obvious why haha (well, in case it isn't, Rowan means "little red one" in Gaelic).

I really love redheads, and felt inspired to do her faceup as flushed and ruddy as possible. As with real-life redheads, I love how the flaming hair complements light-coloured eyes. That's two layers of eyelashes per eye there, by the way -- lush!

I actually treated Rowan's blonde hair to become the flaming red it is now, and there's a lot of it too -- it's right down to her feet! Rowan has already been adopted -- thank you so much new mommy!

And this is Scout! She actually had fairly long hair, but I felt a short bob would suit her cute little face better, so I cut it. Here she is with Flossey the cat.

The super fun thing about Blythes, or dolls in general, of course, is dressing them up. There are so many amazing, talented Blythe clothes and accessories designers from all over the world. Here's Scout showing her handpainted left-facing eyes, and wearing a linen dress by one of my favourite Japanese designers.

And here she is wearing her kitty helmet and a wool dress by a designer from Spain -- it's completely hand-knitted, wow! I actually find Scout really adorable, but the poor little thing has been waiting in the shop for over a week now -- I guess her mommy has yet to find her. Whenever I take her out for photos though, I find myself really taken with her -- I just might, maybe, possibly, actually keep her!!

Have a wonderful new week everyone! See you again soon!

just a little update :)

Hi everybody! Just a quick little dolly post today. This is my new little girl, Miette! My last girl was quite serious and melancholy, so for Miette, I gave her a bit of a smile.

The kids helped me decide on her name. They felt she had a kittenish quality to her. Here you can see Miette's lovely side eye chips. Eye chips are a huge deal for Blythes -- when your eyes are that big, they are rather a central feature haha.. put in the wrong ones, and she can look quite deranged!

This is Miette in her original Sherlock Holmes outfit. She was originally a Blythe Lorshek Molseh -- get the anagram lol! Miette is up for adoption in the shop now :)

And here's a quick look at Marine, the little girl before Miette. Marine sort of looks like she's thinking about all the world's problems, don't you think?

She does have wonderful hair. I streaked it with highlights and dip-dyed it green.

I love her edgy street style. She looks very New Yorky I think. Marine has already been adopted and is on her way to her new mom -- yay!

I'll be posting some thoughts on body shape issues next I think, when I've a free moment. In the meantime, have a restful weekend and a lovely, blessed week, my friends. Thank you so much again to all of you who pop by -- it means a lot to me :)

all's well that ends well

Remember that little upset with Ophelia?  "When we get disappointed, then immediately get re-appointed... We're letting go of the causes for the disappointment and pressing toward what God has for us. We get a new vision, a plan, an idea, a fresh outlook, a new mindset, and we change our focus to that".

In a classic case of God knowing best, taking care of the situation, and always working things out for my good, the sweetest lady came along a couple of days later and adopted Ophelia -- right off, without layaway. Yay! Thank you so much God! Thank you so much new mommy! Thank you so much everyone for your kind words and encouragement!

So, Ophelia got lots of good bear advice before packing up. 

Such as, always have a doughnut handy.

Here's Ophelia with her new pulls. The pulls control the eye mechanism and also allow for sleep eyes, which Blythes in their original condition don't have. New pulls are always fun because you get to play with all sorts of beads and trinkets.

Now that Ophelia is happily on her way to her new home, let me share with you my new little girl, Eponine (I actually reeeeeeally wanted to call her Scampi, but everyone said "No").

I cut and curled Eponine's hair and love how unruly it looks. It makes her look a bit of a minx I think.

A good friend of mine said she looked like a little starlet straight out of the 50s. That was really sweet praise :)

The inevitable hood. Eponine is up for adoption now :)

Have a super lovely week everyone!