Memories; While the snow falls

The snow is falling.

Soon, the longest month ever in a year, turns into February and from there it does not feel so far to the first month of Spring. Last year brought some hope with the happenings against the reason why mostly sit indoors and avoid other people. After several months that turned into years, we finally could take a trip to the cottage. It was like something surreal and happy at the same time. The deers had taken over our garden and the grass was higher than Kardashians high heels. But the sun was warm and the forest green, so I did not complain.

Had some Barbies along to the lake near our cottage. 
The leaves had started to fall.

A new star. She is a Barbie Extra that I found at a local toy store. 
She has Rainbow High doll's outfit on.

I had some of my dolls along and I knew that we could not travel as we usually do, so I hoped for some amazing days with wonderful weather. I got lucky. So lucky that I even could take a swim in the lake. That was like medicine for my soul. I just lied on my back in the water, floating like a plastic bottle, looking up to the sky. It was blue with fluffy white clouds and this was in late August and almost the whole September, before it got colder in October. The forest around our cottage is a great place to walk, pick berries and mushrooms...and take photos. 

Rose and different backgrounds

Rose got a cute crocheted dress.
Bought it from a lady who makes clothes for Barbies and sells these outfits.

While I was sewing something new for my Sindy after giving her some extra care, I wanted to take a break from the sewing. I took Rose, my BMR1959 curvy Barbie. A bit inspired by Monster Crafts different backgrounds and photography I wanted to take some quick photos and then edit them in iPiccy - took the effect 'Bloom' at 50% on every photo, but not on the photo with the pebbles. That photo is without editing, just the blog name. I took it later during the day, when the sun started to set and get a more softer tone.

Barbies in Pershyttan

In the beginning of this week we took a little trip to a small mining town called Pershyttan. It is just 3 km from where we live. This place has been restored and kept as a working museum of the mining and iron handling in our area, which started in the early 14th century.

It is a beautiful area with possibilities to have a picnic, walk in the forest, enjoy the nature or, if the museum is open, visit it. There is some old train wagons made to a café, so you can enjoy a cup if you did not bring your own. Pershyttan is one of Sweden’s best preserved charcoal-fueled blast furnaces from 1856 and this place has one of the biggest working water wheels.

We stayed for a short while in the upper parts of Pershyttan and I took some photos of my two Barbies, while the rest of the family enjoyed the surroundings. And we kept our distance to the other families enjoying their time.

Enjoy.

Hello!

Bumblebee

I hope that you are doing well. 

Bentley met a cat! 'Come on, play with me!'

He turned one year in April and has been with us one year since June. 

I have been deep down in the rabbit hole, like Alice in Wonderland, when it comes to my life. Since my last entry it has been much ado about nothing, really. It has been the normal stuff in life - graduation for my youngest daughter (aesthetics/theater) in the middle of the covid-19 and all that it can bring, planning for a summer at home instead of the cottage, walking Bentley, starting my summer class, searching for literature, getting sweaty during the heat wave and now freezing when the degrees drop down to half of the heat wave’s….

A place of her own

I was watching some YouTubers, just for fun and came across this little DIY and thought that it would be fun to do something else than clothes. It felt as a good way to get closer to the room I have been planning, collecting material to and postponing every single day. 

Merry Christmas!

Csilla standing by my own little Christmas tree.
Have had it since I was a kid.

Just want to wish you Happy Holidays!

Be jolly and enjoy the twinkling lights,

good food and lovely company.

The little kitty has not found her way to the tree yet.

Merry Christmas.
Csilla with some christmassy fellows.


PS: Have made an order. Now I wait for a tracking number. Then I track!

Bye, bye!

Well, it is not as dramatic as it sounds. I have been doing some cleaning in my boxes and on my shelfs - sending some dolls and figures to new loving homes. Have done this while preparing for Christmas and because my eyes caught a cute ball jointed doll, a boy. I am half way already...or all the way, depending. If I just buy the doll, I am there - but I want some clothes for him and some shoes too.

Maeve

Bonnie

Two Barbies have left the building - Maeve and Bonnie. I know that I searched for these and put a lot of effort to get them. But having them for some years and not taking so much time to bond with these girls, made me decide to let them go. The new owners are happy. So, bye bye Maeve and Bonnie.

We got some beautiful winter days during first Advent. Snow, blue skies and even some degrees below zero. Our landlord has decorated the area where we live with some trees and lights. Brightens up the darker afternoons and evenings. And the little hill is just all fun for kids and dogs to slide on. Some days later the snow rained away and it is all green again. So, bye bye snow.

For some days ago we took our dog Bentley to the vet, for a check up. All is fine and he is getting closer to 8 months now. He is learning new things almost daily, but he is still a pup and sometimes he just can not keep himself together when he meets people and other dogs. He has some great dog friends in a labrador, a younger golden retriever and a springer spaniel. If they could, the would play forever and ever. We have had some meetings at the dog park and it has been a blast.

For fun

When it comes to my arm, the broken humerus, I am healing slowly. Do not use a sling so much at the moment and in 10 days I will meet a doctor for x-ray and planning for the next step. Last meeting in November went well and some new callus have appeared. Doctor was happy, but wanted me to know that the huge spiral fracture will take time to heal. Like two months more...yay. So no bye bye orthosis yet. Even if this conservative healing (no surgery) takes time and can be rather painful, I am doing well and are keeping my chin up.

A day in Kalmar

Kalmar square, near the cathedral. And a nice tourist from Germany.

Not far from our cottage is the city named Kalmar, by the Baltic Sea. This city was one of the most important cities in the thirteenth to the seventeenth centuries, with the Kalmar Castle as a center, because of the fortified town. 

Husband with my red bag and a tiny shopping bag.
This is an old mound (wall) from the time Kalmar was fortified.
Today there are stores, restaurants and sight seeings in these places.

From the mound above you can walk to this bridge to the prison.
It was opened in 1852 and it is still in use, making it the oldest prison in Sweden.
Before this building was built, the prisoners were kept at the castle.

The castle in Kalmar, with the towers and cannons.
My daughter took this photo during the evening, before we went back to the cottage.

Some parts of the castle in sunset.
We had some food along and sat in the first inner yard,
eating and enjoying the surroundings.

There is so much to see at this city and we often take a trip here. Some places are given to visit for us, like the toy shop Paddington and the castle. The town has several exhibitions, mostly at the castle and every year they host a medieval folk festival. At the castle you can experience the history and the tales from many years back. As an example we have the Kalmar Bloodbath, on July 1505, when the public execution of the town's mayor, city councillors and a handfull or the leading burghers happened. This was a retaliation for assisting the Swedes in retaking the city of Kalmar from the Danes in 1503. 100 years later there was a war between Denmark, Norway and Sweden. It was a wild time, but today it is so much calmer. Just a nice industrial city with cold oceanic climate.

Csilla sitting in the grass at the castle.

Csilla and the rose. The castle has a little garden.

I had Csilla along and she was really great to work with and take photos. I took a bunch of photos of the city, of Csilla and these you can see some of at my Flickr. And I bought some materials for the room, for Csilla. We had a lovely day as a family and now we are at the cottage - gardening, swimming in the lake, enjoying the sun and reading books!

Hello!

How are you doing? I hope well. I have not forgotten you (will visit you soon) or my blog, but it has been a lot to handle the last few weeks. But we are doing rather good and Spring has arrived, finally. No snow, no chilly winds and no cloudy days. It has been sunshine almost every day during last week and this weekend. Good for those who celebrate Walpurgis, a feast for the eighth-century English Christian missionary Saint Walburga. Valborg, as it is called in Swedish, also marks the arrival of spring. The celebrations vary from place to place, but often there is a bonfire, choral singing and a speech to honor the arrival of the Spring season. It is a public event and nothing I have celebrated since I took my exams.

Beautiful box.

Something to celebrate and be happy about is a new friend in my collection, arriving all the way from down under. I got a gift from the lovely Alasse at The Wayward Inn, thank you so much. She wanted to cheer me up, bring some sunshine and put a smile on my face. So thoughtful and kind. In the package I found a beautiful box with a Made to Move Barbie, clothes and accessories (everything in the photos, but not the guitar - that I found at a grocery store, toy section). My mind went "oh, wow!" and my face was a mix of looking surprised and very happy (glad to have ears, or my smile had traveled around my head). Hubby, who met the postman at the door and took the package in, said that it was a beautiful and generous gift. I agree, totally, and it made my day. 

"So bright!"

Out of the box.

This doll has joints and can make the posing so much fun. Her articulation is spectacular and she is double jointed at both the elbows and the knees and have jointed ankles, thighs, upper arms and torso. But above all, she has personality. She feels like a dreamer, gazing some where else. It will be wonderful to learn to know her.

Sunshine, flowers and a little smile.

Dreamer.

Hubby brought a larger cardboard box from work (he had his new work clothes in it and instead of throwing the box away, he thought I could use it) and my project (hopefully) this summer is to make a little room (two walls, one floor) for her. Probably the other dollies in her size will try to move in, who knows. I have been lurking on youtube to see different ways to make a room and I have several props that I can use. I have even thought that I could start in a different size, smaller one just for a try.

Look, joints!

Aha, that's on her mind - music.

Listening to music.

The flowers in one of the photos are named Chionodoxa, and are even known as glory-of-the-snow. We have several in our tiny garden and we usually call them Scilla. So, her name is Csilla. The name was invented by the 19th century Hungarian writer Mihály Vörösmarty, based on the words "csillag", meaning "star" and/or "csillog", meaning "it sparkles or shines". Csilla is even a character, a daughter, in a dramatic poem titled "Hábador" from 1826.

Say hellou to Maeve

A new doll in the collection, with dimples

While visiting my mother in law and having a good time at the cottage and at her place, we even did some grocery shopping for her. Nearby there is a big store called Coop, that sell not just food but even other things for you home, for you (make up, clothes, shoes, sport articles, books) and toys. 

My inner child screams every time I pass by the toy section and does not calm down before I have been checking it out. And this time it ended with a new friend coming along.

She has shapes

My second Barbie. A curvy fashionistas. With blue hair and a beautiful smile. Could not just leave her there. When I came home the youngest daughter said: ”Oh, wow you found her!” Some weeks ago I showed her the fashionistas and we talked a bit about them. She thought that it was a great idea with different sizes, colors and styles. I showed her my favorites and this one was one of them.

In her sunglasses

In the box

The oldest daughter said: ”So, are you going to rip of her hair and clean her face and make her all-new-something-else?” I looked at her like she had said an ugly word in church and said: ”Oh, my God, no!” And in some way she was reliefed by my answer. I showed her the back and said that she is number 27 and next one would be 25 for me, if I can find her. Her face is just adorable. Or number 48, with the pink hair.

She is number 27. They had even number 25 and her face was just so beautiful.

Can not stand without a stand, they said....

Tiny feet. Monster High shoes works on her too.

Well, this blue haired sweetheart will be named Maeve, a female given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish name Méabh (older spellings include Méadhbh and Medb), meaning "she who intoxicates". It is rooted in the Irish legend of Queen Maeve or Medb, one of the main protagonists of the early Irish legend Táin Bó Cúailnge. It is also associated with the fairy queen Queen Mab of Irish and English legend. Maeve appears in Irish mythology in two forms, one as the powerful Queen of Connacht, the other as the queen of the fairies.

I wish you a lovely new week and hope that all is fine with you!

Happy New Year!

Bonnie, my newest doll, wishes Happy New Year.

It is the last day of the year 2016 and it has been a rather good year, health wise. My sugar levels are better now and I feel that I am slowly taking control of it. When it comes to my anxiety and depression, it has been okay too. Not good, but I have survived. I still have full medication and will probably have it for a while. Compared to the first year, this has been marvelous year.

It has been slow, when it comes to my hobbies. Have not bought any new ball jointed beauties, even if I have seen some adorable ones. But I found an Animator doll, Merida, a Barbie (that was a surprise, that I bought one) and some Funko Pops. 

I wish that I would have found some more time to paint and sew, but there was always the opportunity to do more tomorrow, mañana. 

I do not make any New Years resolutions, because those often get heavy and more of a burden. But I will promise to do my best and make the most of the coming year. 

There are far better things ahead than any we leave behind – CS Lewis

Happy New Year!

The Tale of Peter Rabbit Barbie Doll

The story of an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist and conservationist Helen Beatrix Potter (1866 - 1943) has always been one of my favorites. Her life, born into a privileged household and being so talented in watercolors, is in a way different when it comes to women at that time. But even she had difficulties along the way, trying to get a book printed. She was deeply influenced by fairies, fairy tales and fantasy. Her first book was about a rabbit, named Peter, and his adventures. 

On 1st january 2001, to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of Beatrix Potter’s children’s story "The Tale of Peter Rabbit", Barbie releases a collector edition of their doll. She is dressed in a light blue jacket with yellow details and a skirt with images from the book. Barbie has a long blond hair and a light blue ribbon decorates her hair. The doll came with a little storybook, totally cute.

When I was a little girl, Barbie was a big thing. Today, as an adult, I have never thought that I would collect or buy a Barbie - but who am I to not to change my mind?

My daughter bought an used digital camera on a shopping site called Tradera. It can be compared to eBay. After that I thought I just would take a look - and see what I found! 

A Barbie! I had to order her and she arrived two days later, on the same day we drove to my mother in law and the cottage, for our Autumn vacation. I took some photos there.

And now to the box opening and some other photos. Enjoy and happy weekend!

Scissors ready!