14 August 2018

Mystery Blogger Award!

Well, I am alive but have not had so much dolly time that I hoped for this summer. But there have been a lot of time for other things like books, painting, walks in the forest, swimming in the lake (almost lived there, because it was so so so hot), spending time with family and relatives and a visitor from Portugal. She is a friend to my oldest daughter and they met through social media and have daily contact. She stayed with us for a bit over a week. So much fun.

And now to this post’s topic - an award. I was nominated by Alasse Carnesir, thank you so very much. She is a friendly doll collector with beautiful dolls, wonderful stories and great tips and tricks. You can read her Mystery Blogger Award here.


The Award was created by Okoto Enigma, take a peek there for the specific post about this award.

On to the rules!

Obligatory Rules for the Award Meme:
1. Put the award logo/image on your blog.
2. List the rules.
3. Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
4. Mention the creator of the award and provide a link as well.
5. Tell your readers three things about yourself.
6. You have to nominate 10-20 people.
7. Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog.
8. Ask your nominees any five questions of your choice; with one weird or funny question (specify).
9. Share a link to your best post(s).

Three things about myself:
1. I do love books. I just become a part of the book I read and feel totally empty when the book ends. There are so many books and so little time is one of the thoughts that go around my head. So finding the pleasure to audio books have made me happy. Listening to a soothing voice telling a story is just amazing. And I can paint at the same time.
2. People make me nervous and at the same time I want to socialize with others, because it is a joy to talk, hear the latest and be a part in others life. This is something new to me, so I do not know how to handle it. Too many makes me anxious and I get so tired afterwards. But being social is something I want.
3. When I was a kid, I used to stand between the Finnish and Russian border to see how the guards changed posts and shifts. Sometimes alone and sometimes holding my grandmother’s or grandfather’s hand. My dad’s parents lived very near the border, so it was something exciting for me.

Five questions from Alasse:
1. The doll that started it all?
2. How many years have you been collecting?
3. Your tallest doll's favourite colour?
4. Thoughts on social media?
5. To be or not to be?

My answers:
1. The doll that started it all, was a picture in a doll magazine. Maybe two pictures. The first one was a tiny photo with a Dollmore Narsha, Basic Doll, with black hair and brown eyes, light skin color and cute clothes. I still remember the picture. The other is more blurry, but it was a larger doll with Kawaii inspired pink clothes, sitting on a rock, in the forest. Do not remember the brand, the maker or where to get the doll. 
2. My first doll was ordered in January 2011, after several years of thinking, surfing, checking, comparing and finally landing on the doll I saw the first time. A Dollmore Narsha, sleepy one. So I have been collecting since then.
3. My tallest doll is a Dollmore Mokashura Duyou. She's a bit over 40 cm and likes the color blue and green.
4. Social media, a scourge. When the social media came, it was so much fun and I wanted to be everywhere, talking, connecting, blogging and making new friends. Today I am more and more planning to skip some, deleting accounts and just staying one or two places. At this moment Instagram and blogger. Need to focus. Twitter has become a battlefield for the elite and the daily tweeters that just use the platform for connecting with friends and family. You are nothing if you do not have a lot of followers. This is happening here in Sweden, so I do not know how it is in other countries. 
5. Ah, Hamlet. I do love Shakespeare - have read some books about him and are a member in an association! And to be or not to be, it is really the question. Poor Prince Hamlet, thinking about the pain of life and the fear of what happens after death. It is a dilemma. Life can be harsh and things do happen - both sad and joyous. But that is just the thing - life is about sad and happy things, events and plans, love and pain and all those things. We all, probably, think about the meaning of life, not just Hamlet. Life can not be just up beat, fun and happy things. It needs even the opposite things, even if it is painful - it is inevitable. These things make you stronger (if it does not kill you, it makes you stronger…) and I do pick to be. 

I follow several blogs, new and old, some more active than others. But I will never come up to so many nominees, but shame on me for not trying at least. So I nominate these and hope for the best.


My questions for the nominees are:
1. Which doll do you regret buying?
2. What moment in your life would you love to experience again?
3. Coffee or Tea? Why?
4. What will people be nostalgic about in say 30 years, do you think?
5. The most embarrassing clothes you have worn?

The blogpost. Well. I have been blogging about dolls since and it would be easy to take the first entry, just because it started a new kind of era for me. I met new kind people in the hobby, made connections and learned from them. It made me search for other bloggers and take a leap of faith to connect. But I also like this post, A Day at Wämöparken, because I took the step forward and photographed dolls outdoors among people, not minding their thoughts. But I do like taking a nice walk down The Memory Lane too. Old photos of ones dolls is a joy to see.

Hope you enjoyed reading this and if you are tagged I hope to read your contribution! Happy August!

10 comments:

  1. It's great to read your answers :-). I haven't tried audio books yet (only once on a cassette many many years ago) but maybe I'll try it! Social media is very limited for me, I only use Blogger :-). Great to get to know you a bit better!

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    1. I am glad you enjoyed this post and my answers.
      I remember when google+ came and almost everyone around me (friends, family, workmates) sighed and said "another social media thing?" and added "I do not have time for this". Blogger is a great tool, you can write longer posts or shorter ones - there is no limit, as on twitter.
      Well, we will see how this ends - maybe just blogger and instagram.

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  2. I am an avid blog reader, mainly in the wee hours of the morning. I really enjoy reading your blog. Congratulations on the nomination. I loved the questions you were asked and those you posed to others.

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    1. I am so glad to hear that and you are always welcome here to read my latest.
      Thank you so much! :)

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  3. Yay you did this. I love learning more about the people I meet and the friends I have made through this awesome hobby.

    I love reading too. At the moment, I have 18 books on my to-read list and that's not counting the three books I am reading simultaneously at the moment. I've never tried audio books though. It's on my bucket list.

    I can tell you're a Dollmore fan! How do you find the bodies and posing? I looked at their Kid Roo at one point. I think I ended up skipping the doll because of the owner photos. She looked a bit different from the promo photos.

    I'm the same as you, I stick mostly to Instagram and Blogger these days. Too many just overwhelms me.

    It's that whole light can't survive without darkness and vice versa theme in life isn't it? You have to take the bad with the good as things aren't always going to be good 100% of the time.

    All I can say is that I enjoy your travel photos and you're a braver person than me. I haven't yet taken my dolls anywhere public to photograph them. I hope to in the coming weeks when we go for a day trip up north.

    Thank you for doing the meme!

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    1. Yay! It was fun to do and I am glad that you tagged me, even if it took some time for me to even react. Blogger do not send out notifications. I wonder if I have been messing too much with the coding. Well, need to look things up.

      It is really an awesome hobby and it connects people far and near. I really do like that part.

      I have a long list too on books. I have one audio book and one ordinary book, that I read. I had some difficulties focusing and concentrating on a book, so audio books helped me with that.

      Kid Too is one beautiful doll, but the posing are not the best with these dolls. My Noomi, the Mokashura doll, is really difficult to pose, especially when it comes to the legs. It is the same with my two Narsha’s. I browsed the net before I bought the dolls, even if I knew about the legs. The upper body and the arms are really good at posing and I mostly take upper body photos, so it works.

      There is a saying - ”When life is sweet, say thank you and celebrate. When life is bitter, say thank you and grow”. Life is never a straight line and it is silly to even believe it is. Of course we do hope for it to be just amazing all the time, but there is so much more to life too.

      Thank you! And start small. Take one tiny doll along and take photos were there are not so many people. I started small, in my own backyard, to the garden at our cottage and to places where I knew that there would not be so many people. Step by step. Be ready for strange faces, but even smiles from those who like it, recognize it (are in the hobby or so…).

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  4. Hello dear Niina :)
    Thank you so much for tagging me - to be honest I really like those blog post with a personal touch a lot. I really enjoyed reading this.
    I can relate especially with the socializing. I also enjoy the company of people, but at one point it is a little too much for me and I need space and quiet. To be anxious and aware in public all the time is very exhausting. Interesting for me is, that most of the dolly people share almost the same amount of shyness, anxiety or social awkwardness. Maybe that is also a reason why we enjoy dolls. We have stories, characters or thought of them - about them - without the pressure to interact...
    I will definitely do this and you chose quite hard questions (looks at the first one)... But I love it! Thank you again Dear xx

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    1. Hello dear Nana! I do like the personal touch posts too, it tells a lot about the collector behind the dolls. And even if you as a reader get rather close through the dolls, it is always nice to read about you.

      In some way, liking socializing and getting anxious about it, is a dilemma. I really want to enjoy other company, but at some moment it gets too much for me and then I usually just want to leave. With family, relatives and friends who know it is different - but among new people or just acquaints you do not know so well, it can get strange. I know that one can be interpreted as a bit strange. I have noticed that too, that dolly people share the shyness and so on. Dolls help. Dolls can become a bridge to get connected with other people, even outside the hobby. At least I do hope so, as long as they do not see it as a strange thing.

      Look forward to reading your answers! Thank you!

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  5. Hi Niina, thank you so much for tagging me, I will do my best to answer it very soon. I'm a terrible blogger recently, I try really hard to keep up but what with one thing and another I tend not to spend much time with my laptop switched on in the summer months. In fact today is the first day in almost a week that I've switched it on. I tend to check emails etc on my phone and never blog or read blogs on there as it's too small!
    It was lovely to read about you though, and very interesting how you used to stand and watch the goings on at the Finnish/Russian border! Did you ever travel into Russia? I think it looks a fascinating country.
    I also loved hearing that your first doll was Narsha because mine was too!! Well I did have some vinyl dolls before that, but my 'real' start on the dolly hobby was when I got into BJDs, so yes, the same doll for me too :)
    xxx

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    1. Hello there! You are welcome, and I look forward to reading your post! I have not been so active with blogging either. Mostly I have been reading books and painting, and it can be a good feeling to take a break at times.

      I never travelled to Russia, but I have walked over the border. This goes right through a cemetery, so as a curious kid I walked there. :) Today I would need a visum to even start to think about a trip there. It is a fascinating country, so maybe someday.

      Narsha is a perfect doll, I think! She is perfect in size for me and the sculpt is very beautiful. Even the Narsha Friends are pretty. I have some other Narsha dolls on my wish list, but need to chill a bit. :D

      Hugs!

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