"L" as in LICK for Alphabe-Thursday

We're back again for Alphabe-Thursday.  This week we are studying the letter "L" as in LICK.

In keeping with my doll theme for this round of Alphabe-Thursday I chose "L" as in LICK.  The kids like to LICK ice cream on a hot summer day.

L-R: Vintage Reproduction AA Ginny, Vintage Reproduction Ginny, Vintage Reproduction Crib Crowd Ginny, Modern Jill, Madame Alexander boy, Vintage Strung Ginny

Now head over to Jenny Matlock..."off on my tangent" for a list of this week's participants.

Thanks Jenny!

"J" and "K" for Alphabe-Thursday

Last week we were again without phone, television, and Internet for a few days.  It's getting a bit ridiculous.  We still don't know what was wrong.  We called and the earliest AT&T could get someone out was sometime Saturday between 8 and 8.  A 12 hour window!  Fortunately, for some unexplained reason it all came back on before Saturday.  I stayed home on Saturday anyway since no one ever called to cancel and I have no earthly idea what was wrong this time.  I don't have a lot of confidence that anything is permanently fixed.  My son got a message on his cell phone Sunday or Monday from someone saying they had no idea when they'd be here...they were swamped.  While it's working I better hurry and get this post up before I find myself doing J, K, and L next week!

So, this week I'm making up last week's letter "J" assignment and this week's letter "K" assignment.

Welcome to Alphabe-Thursday sponsored by Ms. Jenny at Jenny Matlock..."off on my tangent."

In keeping with my doll theme I thought I'd tell you a little about the Vogue JILL doll.  "J" is for JILL.  The Vogue Doll Company first introduced JILL in 1957.  She was supposed to be the Vogue Ginny doll's teenage sister.  She was a 10 1/2 inch tall bent knee walker made out of hard plastic.  There were different hair styles and colors.  She was produced from 1957 until 1960.  Another version appeared in 1962-1963 and 1965. 

I'm primarily interested in the version made from 1957 through 1960.  Vogue also made some wonderful fashions for JILL.  If you're interested in learning more about this vintage doll there is a website devoted to JILL.

The JILL on the left in this picture is a vintage JILL.  She is wearing a vintage Vogue dress that survived my childhood.  I no longer have my childhood JILL, but found this replacement doll on eBay.

The JILL to her right is a reproduction JILL produced by the current Vogue Doll Company in 2012.  I think they did a wonderful job with this reproduction.   I was thrilled when she came out.

"K" is for KITTIES.  My dolls have plenty of KITTIES...just like me!  I rounded some up for this picture.  I know I have more in a Zip Lock bag somewhere, but I was in a hurry today and this is what I found.

The Ginny on the left is my childhood doll.  She is what's called a 1954 painted lash walker.  The rest are vintage Nancy Ann Muffy dolls and vintage Ginny dolls.  See all the KITTIES in front of them?

Thank you for visiting.  Now head over to Jenny's blog for a list of this week's participants.

"I" as in ILL for Alphabe-Thursday

Welcome once again to Alphabe-Thursday sponsored by Ms. Jenny at Jenny Matlock..."off on my tangent."

This week we are studying the letter "I" as in Ginny suddenly became ILL.

In keeping with my doll theme here's Ginny.

Miss Jill is her nurse.  Ginny took her medicine and is feeling much better now.  No need to worry.

Please head over to Ms. Jenny's blog for a list of this week's participants.

Thank you for visiting.

"H" as in HORSE for Alphabe-Thursday

Welcome to Alphabe-Thursday sponsored by Ms. Jenny at Jenny Matlock..."off on my tangent."

Today we are studying the letter "H" as in HORSE.

In keeping with my doll theme...

Since this is Texas my Ginny has to have a HORSE.

Of course, a stable for HORSES is necessary too.

Now head over to Jenny Matlock..."off on my tangent" for a list of this week's participants.

Thank you for visiting.

"F" and "G" for Alphabe-Thursday

Let me tell you how I had to suffer last week.  :)  We had a storm and after a loud clap of thunder everything AT&T went out.  POOF!  Just like that we lost the television, phone, and Internet.  I'd call it a power surge except we didn't lose anything else and everything was plugged into a surge protector anyway.  For 3+ days we had to live in isolation.

It's amazing how much you get done when the above mentioned three things are gone.  I vacuumed and dusted!  I watched Breaking Bad on DVD's.  In a strange kind of way I enjoyed the isolation, but I'm glad to be back too.  So, here we go!

Welcome to Alphabe-Thursday sponsored by Ms. Jenny at Jenny Matlock..."off on my tangent."

I wasn't able to get an "F" post up last week, so I'll be combining "F" and "G" this week.

"F" as in Summer FUN!

My dolls enjoy splashing in the pool on a hot summer day.

The doll in the middle is a vintage strung Ginny from the early 1950's.  Her wig has been replaced and she has a lazy eye.  I believe her eyes weren't set in correctly when she was manufactured.  Her other eye is wide open, but the right eye shows some eyelid.  I love her crocheted bathing suit and hat.  The set was purchased on eBay.  The other dolls are vintage reproduction Ginny dolls and a modern Jill doll all by the Vogue Doll Company.  The modern Jill has been repainted and was purchased on eBay.

"G" as in GINNY, of course.

My love affair with the Vogue GINNY doll began in the 1950's.

I'm fortunate to still have one of my childhood GINNYS.  She is a 1954 Painted Lash Walker.  My sister and I each received one that Christmas.  The photographer who took the above picture put my sister's doll in my doll stroller for the picture.  Her doll was a blonde and mine was a redhead.  They were both wearing the same outfit from 1954-The Whiz Kids #71, a chartreuse jumpsuit trimmed in blue rickrack, a blue stenciled "Ginny" felt skirt, and a matching hat.

Here she is today.  She originally had a flip, but shortly after receiving her that Christmas I gave her a haircut.  Some years back I found a faded GINNY on eBay and bought her to be a wig donor, so GINNY now has braids.  The bangs are her original bangs.  The red hair matched perfectly so I kept her long bangs and just used the braids.

My GINNY would be considered worthless to a serious collector.  Her skin has a grayish cast from being handled so much and her painted lashes have faded.  Her walking mechanism no longer works.  None of that matters to me!  I consider her priceless.

Now please head over to Ms. Jenny's blog for a list of this week's participants.  Thank you for visiting!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!

The Latest Happenings...

We had a storm and just like that our TV, Internet, and phones were gone for 3+ days.

I've been watching Breaking Bad on DVD's, so I still had something to watch.  I never watched when it originally aired, but I kept hearing people talk about it, so I bought the first season.  I was hooked.  Normally I stay away from shows with violence, but I've made an exception with this one.  I'm up to season four now.

I also got quite a bit of cleaning done.  Then the family all came over for crabs.  (Keith came all the way from Austin.)  We hadn't done that in ages.  I've had the crab pot since the 1970's when we lived in Virginia Beach.  We used to buy crabs and sometimes crab there too.

Crabs are a lot of work.  It takes a considerable amount of time to get a little bit of meat out of each crab, but that's part of the fun.  You end up sitting at the table forever.

We had potatoes, corn, salad, and garlic bread with the crabs.

I can afford a tablecloth, but we always put newspaper on the table.   That way I can just throw out all the mess when we're done.

Somehow I missed getting Wyatt's picture, but I did get a shot of his hotdog.  (Not everyone likes crab.)

Yesterday I got up at 4:00 AM.  Reid had his six month scan, bone density test, pulmonary function test, and blood work at MD Anderson starting at 7:20 AM.  We left home at 6:00 AM because we expected a lot of traffic.  We were pleasantly surprised.  It only took us an hour to get down there.

The news was good!!  NO CANCER!!  His vitamin D was low and that might explain the fatigue, so he's started taking vitamin D.  His bone scan indicated that he needed it too and he is supposed to start exercising for bone strength.  The chemo has affected his bones and the radiation his lungs, but those are all things he can deal with as long as the cancer is gone.  He did get a call today and they want him back in six weeks instead of three months because one of the numbers that can indicate graft vs host disease was elevated and they want to watch it.  That's OK...it's better to play it safe.

It was a long day and Reid had gone without eating, so we went to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner.

I believe Reid is a miracle and I thank God every day.  Back in 2009 he was in Intensive Care with his chest cavity full of mass.  His one lung was actually pushed a little to the one side and the mass was pressing on his spinal cord.  Doctors were trying to decide what to do.  They were afraid to give him anesthesia because of the mass in his chest, but they had to do something because of his spinal cord.  Finally they operated and we learned that he had Hodgkin's Lymphoma.  Later, one of the radiologists at MD Anderson told me that the head of radiation there had never seen a case of Hodgkin's like Reid's in 25 years.  It is now 2014 and he's been cancer free for 18 months.  Yes, it has taken chemo and two stem cell transplants, but the cancer is gone!  One of the drugs he was given hadn't even been approved by the FDA when he was first diagnosed, but that drug put him into remission before the last stem cell transplant.

Do you believe in miracles?  I do.

"E" as in EASTER and EGGS for Alphabe-Thursday

It's time again for Alphabe-Thursday sponsored by Ms. Jenny at Jenny Matlock..."off on my tangent."

I'm using some of my doll collection for this round of Alphabe-Thursday.

I started getting some dolls dressed and a scene set up when it occurred to me that I could save that scene for next week.  I already had plenty of "E" pictures saved from EASTER.  I know EASTER wasn't that long ago, but most of you probably never saw those pictures anyway, so here we go again.  These are mostly Vogue Ginny dolls...both vintage and vintage reproductions with a few other dolls thrown in for EASTER 2014.

These pictures are from past EASTERS.

I hope you saw all the EASTER EGGS!!

Now head over to Ms. Jenny's blog for a list of this week's participants.

Thank you for visiting!

"D" as in DOLLS for Alphabe-Thursday

OK, I know it's Saturday and not Thursday, but it's still not too late for Alphabe-Thursday.  This week we are studying the letter "D" as in DOLLS.

Since I'm using my doll collection for this go around of Alphabe-Thursday the letter "D" was an easy one for me.  I didn't get around to taking pictures this week, but I've got plenty of old ones saved.  I took these with my very first digital camera.  I thought I'd show you some of my Chatty Cathy dolls.

This one seemed appropriate for flag day.

Summer means baseball.

Of course, my Chattys are cowgirls.

My poor Chattys are kind of neglected.  I used to enjoy buying them and fixing them up.

I'd give them boil perms.  That's where you set their hair in perm rollers and then pour boiling water over the rollers.

One time I found a Chatty at a flea market in the bottom of a box.  Her face was crushed.

Someone told me to take her head off and pour boiling water inside and it worked.

Like I said, I've lost interest in Chatty.  I've thought about selling them off, but then I look at their cute faces and just can't do it.  So, they're here to stay.  Besides, I always enjoyed sewing for them.  If I ever find the time I might get back to it.

Now head over to Jenny's blog, Jenny Matlock..."off on my tangent..." for a list of this week's participants.

Thanks for visiting.

A, B, and C for Alphabe-Thursday!!!

Today is a make-up post for the letters "A" and "B" and an on time post for the letter "C" for Alphabe-Thursday!  Yes, I've fallen behind again.  Go ahead and deduct a few points for my late assignment.  I'll try and do better in the future.  I promise Ms. Jenny!

I thought I'd use my dolls again for this round of Alphabe-Thursday.  I used them once before a couple of years ago, so it's time to bring them out again.  I mainly collect the Vogue Ginny doll and her family from the 1950's, modern day Ginny dolls, and the vintage reproduction Ginny dolls.  I enjoy setting them up in scenes and have a doll room with lots of shelves.  I have other dolls too, but the bulk of my collection is Ginny. (You can click on the pictures to enlarge them.)  Here we go...

"A" as in AIRPLANE.  A modern Ginny shows off her AIRPLANE to a couple of friends (a boy reproduction doll and a vintage Ginny).

"B" as in a BIRTHDAY party at BUILD A BEAR Workshop.  It's a modern Ginny doll's birthday party and some vintage Nancy Ann Muffie dolls and vintage Vogue Ginny dolls along with a Vogue reproduction Ginny attended.  A vintage Vogue Jill doll supervised.

"C" as in CRAZY CAT Lady.  My life would not be complete without one of these.  Every neighborhood has one and I may or may not be the one in my neighborhood.  I'll never tell.

Now head over to Jenny Matlock..."off on my tangent," for a list of this week's participants.

Thank you Ms. Jenny and please excuse my absence.  (Miss you!)