Thursday, September 8, 2011

Better Day and Dolls

Kenny Neal in his album "Let Life Flow" wrote in his song by the same title, "One minute you up, next minute you down, Can's stay there, Keep your feet on the ground. It get a little hard to bear sometimes, Things out of nowhere, that blow your mind, But one thing I know for sure, Hey Hey Hey, you gotta let life flow."

Some of the songs on this CD have been of great help to me since Ann died. When we bought it together during the 2009 Blues Festival I never could have Guessed what could happen in th blizzard of 2011. "Life's so unpredictable, that's the way it is." (from the same song)

Today I was given a mostly up day, it ended that way, anyhow, I am Thankful!

Yesterday I stayed up until the wee hours working on a beading project which simply Wasn't working. It's easier than it used to be to despair of my ability to accomplish things, without Ann's suggestions and help.

But I think I'll string each bead on fishing line individually, them sew them in place with a self-threading needle which will hold fishing line. Couldn't find self-threading needle small enough to fit through small bronze bugle beads, though it did fit through the slightly larger and differently shaped ones. Tried a "big eye needle" sharp on both ends, splits in the middle. It worked, but was so thin it bent in all directions when forced through even thin leather, frustrating!

But today was better! Got most beads sorted by color into empty pill and vitamin bottles and marked each with a "Pen Friend" (in speech) and a friend wrote that flat stuff on each. When I have a new idea for redesigning a project, fixing a problem, I'm happy. It's kind of gotten to be my specialty, even when Ann made a mistake (very rarely) I could usually think up some way of salvaging the project. Stringing individual seed beads is something I've had to do for a long time, haven't found a better way to do it and keep the design consistent.

Got some needed work done in other areas and in the evening treated myself to Mango Lassi, (I think that is the right way to spell it) yogurt and mango pulp, thinned, and of course, I ruined the traditional kind by adding veggies.

And a couple of episodes of Deep Space Nine, on the DVD. Player. It's a talky enough show I don't usually need a video describer to tell me what's happening. And I've watched it in years past with Ann, a comfort.

So, this leaves me free to talk about dolls again. I like the Mixis dolls because they have distinct faces, more normal looking bodies, and because they are mixed race, like a lot of us Americans and Canadians and Australians. Does anybody know how to access their website? I am curious to read what is there. I've tried WWW.mixis.com and YNU Group, but all I get are places to buy the dolls. Most Mixis dolls dan stand alone, as the Get Set Club dolls mentioned earlier can, though the Mixis dolls sometimes take a bit more work to bet standing up.

I like the Sunset Edition's bendable elbows, even though the Limited Editions, I have been told, are the better dolls. Does anyone know why? Their dresses seem plainer, but clothes can be changed. Speaking about clothes, if my high school age daughter were going out in a skirt that short and was a fine looking as one of the Mixis dolls, I'd be worried. At least when the Limited Edition dolls bend over their underpants are barely covered.

It is Wrong, but it is also a Fact that girls and women who dress seductively Do get raped and assaulted more often than those who d
o not. If all high school girls these days have skirts that can slip down enough to show their belly buttons and skirts short enough to barely cover their underwear, or shorter, then the Limited Edition Mixis dolls don't look any different than other high school girls. But I would want my daughter wearing Capri pants or something else to make her freedom of movement easier and to make them safer.

I wonder if the Barbie Flying Hero set can stand alone? Their faces are Not unique, but their bodies are more reasonable and constructed somewhat like Disney's Mulan, who Can stand up.

I have an old porcelain statue of Quan Yin, from Taiwan. When I saw the Mulan face for the first time, it looked in shape and proportion, just like the shape of Quan Yin's face, so it would have been very hard Not to like her.

It's interesting, in the differing years of High School Musical, the face of Gabriella changes. Sometimes it's more round with wavy hair, sometimes it looks Native American with braids and a smaller, more pointed face, and sometimes it seems in between. The guy's faces don't seem to change so much. I wonder about the other female dolls in the series. It would be intresting to see if their faces change as well.

I knew a young woman who loved this show but thought Gabriella Montez was a strictly Latina name. When I pointed out that Gabriella could be Italian, she thought they were the same, Italian and Latina. But that's part of S. Mo. Growing up. I have another young friend who has an uncle from Puerto Rico, her family is Native American and German, she has a Jewish uncle, and had a friend from whom she learned to cook Kenyan food. And She grew up in the country on a big farm, so you can't stereotype us all. People learn according to the exposure they have and the understanding they develop for others. If I hadn't gone to the State School for the Blind I would be a Very different person.

I know from her song "Halfbreed" that Cher must have been tormented about her looks at school. But I've always thought she was gorgeous, and didn't Need surgery to change her nose and other things. We humans Are vain about our looks, I want my cousin's Cherokee-Osage nose, and she had it changed to fit in more. I was always teased by Ann who annoyed me by saying I had a "Barbie" nose, from English or Scotish immigrants. Doesn't really fit on my imagined image of my face, but there it is, and There it will stay, as I'm not into pain enough for cosmetic surgery, even if I Could afford it.

You should have heard me whoop when Ann's painter friend described her self-portrait as very accurate, with Ann having a "short nose" I hope she was Listening. She liked to refer to her nose as straight, (which it was) and Classical, like Greek statues. Turkey!

More than enough for tonight, again, Thanks for staying awake, if you managed it.

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