Just opened a brand new Etsy shop and our grand opening is underway with special finds and great handmades!  Visit Knot By 9 for vintage doll clothes, handmade Blythe hats and more!

Just got the plans settled, the lizard has her sitter arranged for, and the hubby and I are heaed back home to Detroit for a visit while his thumb heals- he put a drill bit into his thumb nail, it's ikky beyond words but he's taking care to keep it clean (hence the holiday), and while he heals up, we'll be feasting on our faves from the restaurants we miss the most, like El Cafetal, home of Elda's Speical Guatamalan Combination, then to Cedarland for a shwarma (or however it's spelt), I haven't had either in over a year and they're my favorites from back home.  My parents said the Willie, the dog who appears in my avatar, still looks for me, he'll sit outside my old room and wait for me to wake up, so I know I'm in for some serious puppy-lovin, his cohort pup manny should be happy to see us too, giddy about it, manny's always been a bit skittish since he started life on a puppy mill, but in the years since his rescue he's been slowly opening up more and more, he's supposedly a real little sweetheart now.  Willie was a big part of my life, I miss my dog alot, he's even what convinced my folks that my hubby is a great guy- how could he not be, as much as the dogs liked him?  Yay- I'm giddy and packing too much, as usual!

After months and months, the bag I've been making myself from some very colorful Noro amid black stripes is ALMOST done- it's in the washer with a couple pairs of jeans being felted.  It's all wool, so it'll shrink up a bit and become even more fabulous, and sturdier, after it spends some time getting tossed about in hot hot water with the jeans, which are there to 'agitate' things along into a nice wooly fuzz.  Seriously, I started this bag WAY back last winter, it's what I was working on when carpal tunnel kicked my butt, and HA!  I win!  It's almost done and I will be rocking a pink and green and black bag in short order.  Oh, I'm giddy about this one alright, can't wait to open up the machine and see what's happened!

I've got what might just be a situation of sorts regarding that cross-over of postal mailings between internet aquaintences, but I'm not sure.  Whenever I've been talking about a trade with someone who ended up being a less-than-honorable swapper, my gut told me not to and I was able to end the discussion politely, if not a bit awkwardly.  My gut didn't mention anything, so I sent off some things- it's one of my greatest joys in life to find the person who'll enjoy whatever nifty stuffs I've found.  Honestly, sometimes I just send stuff because I know that's where it should be- be warned if I've got your address, you might be at risk of randomly getting stuff I think you might enjoy.  The only problem I've got is how should I phrase an email to ask if something may have gone wrong in the mail, like a package getting returned to the sender because my street address isn't on the postal route and the new guy at the P.O. didn't know which box it translates to.  I know there's no issue with the person who sent it, my gut doesn't lie, but I had the new outfit in mind when I did my Loolu's face-up (it was SOO fun!  it's not perfect by a long shot, but I loved doing it) so I told Loolu how cool I thought it would be to have her grand entrance be modeling her new outfit, which I thought I'd pick up at the post office while her eyelash-glue was drying.  Well, I'll give it until Wens or so before I email again, I just hate doing it- in case there's been some delay in the mail- I hate this sort of weird  confusion and doubt;  Was I wrong when I thought that sandwich was behind my bellyache?  I know, it must be the post master's kitten, she's wearing my doll's new dress!  Nah, there's a corner of the truck that doesn't get much light, my package must be rattling around in there after it fell out of the mailbag.  I'll just have to make Looli-boo a new outfit for her debut.

Loolu, my dear little resin friend, just got her head removed for the first time.  It was easier than I thought it would be- yes, I've read time and time again how the DoC's heads aren't all that hard to remove, but all it took was a twist of her S hook and POOF!  I had decapitated my darling dolly.  And then we washed out the funk where her eye-putty ikk was.  Dream of Doll makes a lovely doll, but their eye putty- yuck- it's stinky.  Go ahead and laugh, I haven't opened the sealer yet.  Tomorrow- after the mundane running of errands and such- I will be doing my first face-up!  I've got my supplies gathered up, testor's dullcote, pastels (no, NOT oil ones), watercolor color pencils, acrylic paints, brushes, various other painting stuffs, several means of fixing any Oops, a set of human-size eyelashes to be trimmed and aleene's tacky to glue em on with- wish me luck- Loolu is about to make her grand entrance!

Going away for our 2nd anniversary this weekend, and our lizard sitter asked for a refresher guide to Bob's life, thought everyone else might like to know about how I spoil an iguana when I'm not around- here's the note I'm leaving for Bob's awesome pet-nanny:

Bob is molting!  do not be alarmed by big bits of skin hanging off of the princess, she just needs a warm mist and possibly some help removing the larger flapping bits.  It's almost all off of her, but just in case her tail starts peeling off I didn't want you to get nervous.


Waking up Princess Bob-arella:

1- remove blanket from the front of her house
2- take out last night's dinner plate and pick up the bits she spilled.
        *if she's shedding, makes a mess of her food or otherwise clutters the floor, use the hose attachment on the vaccuum to tidy up.  Bob doesn't mind the vaccuum, but she'll try to eat things off the floor if it's messy.  Doesn't need to be done every day, just when it's messy.*
3- get her fresh drinking water, slightly cooler than room temperature.  If Bob's tail is where her water goes on her shelf, generally she'll move it if you ask her to.
4- mist the bottom area of her house.  she likes it humid.

When she goes in the pool
1- Tell her she's a good girl if she went in her pool.
2- Remove pool and dump contents into toilet
3- Wash the pool with comet and sponge- found on bathroom sink.  Rinse out well, refill with room temp water.  if the water is too warm, she'll go again (just a little bit) right away.

**Bob is used to getting a walk for a reward when she potties in the pool.  If you do not feel comfortable taking Bob out, that's okay.  She might reach for you, but she won't leap for anyone but mom.  If you want to take Bob out, put both hands out and up to her shelf, she'll climb on if she'd like to come out.  She is not allowed to run free, so I take her to the window and let her look at what's going on for a few minutes.  If you're not comfortable taking Bob out, it is completely okay.  She also loves being petted, and will arch her back upwards if you run along her spines just right.

If Bob misses her pool (sometimes she has an accident, not often, but she might)
1- Get a wad of paper towel, dry, and blot up the mess.
2- Get more paper towel, spray at the spot with the water bottle, and re-blot.
3- check out the pool.  She doesn't like to use it if there's anything in there, like dried skin, or stray food.

Dinnertime!
Between 3 and 5 pm each day Bob gets her dinner, 'num-nums for the Bob'.  It's served on a saucer, found atop her house on the left hand side.  We serve her dinner by holding the saucer while she's sitting on her shelf, she'll look at it for a moment and start chowing down, lately she's been diving into her dish.  It's impossible to over-feed an iguana, and she can make it a few weeks without eating so please don't worry, she'll be fine when she's done sulking.


The Recipe:
-rinse everything in cool water

3 to 6 leaves of greens (found in the left-hand crisper in the fridge), remove the center vein and slice into 1/2 to 3/4 inch square sized bites.  This is Bob's favorite, and she prefers larger bites of greens.

Green beans or snow peas- 3 of them, ends removed and cut into 1/4 inch or smaller pieces.

Yam- about a half to a full tablespoon's worth of shredded yam, skin removed, the shredder is on the counter.

Fruit- Bob likes different kinds of fruit, she gets 1 type of fruit a day.  Cut the fruit about the same size as her green beans or snow peas.  A large strawberry (or 2 small ones), three or four cherries, a slice of an apple, pear or peach is great.  She can eat most varieties of fruit, but NO CITRUS.

Mix, place on saucer, and give it to Bob.  She likes hearing what's for dinner



BEDTIME:
Easy.  The lights are on timers, so she just needs the blanket hung across the front of her house.  She tucks herself into the corner of her shelf when she's tired, just leave her food in overnight because she likes a late-night snack. 


Other things about Bob-
Princess Bob loves music.  The tv music choices she likes are retroactive, #815, and reggae #832.

Bob's gotten more social since you last saw her, she really loves being petted.

She understands when you ask her to 'Please put the tail down' or just 'tail down, Bob'.  Most of the time, she'll ease her tail down if you ask.

Bob loves to hear how pretty she is.  We tell her 'Hi Bob' quite a bit, and she likes to hear about getting big and strong when she's eating. 

Bob climbs on the front of her cage, a lot.  It's okay, she does that.


Bob does NOT like:

Give her space when she's eating.  Their predators come from above in nature, and she feels she's vulnerable when she's on the floor at her dish. 

High-pitched noises, squeals, or squeaks.  Shouldn't be a problem, but they upset her.

She used to be frightened by paper towels.  It must've been something at the pet shop she came from, she's not had a problem with me using it to clean up accidents for a while now, but just in case she misses the pool, she might get scared by someone she doesn't know as well coming in with paper towel.

Got my doll from the post office this morning- she's fabulous, but my camera died and I have no box-opening to show.  She came with a white wig and brown eyes- and she's absolutely everything I dre4amed of and more!  Thus far she's not faced-up (rainy day, boo) but we have found a couple things in my stash that fit Loolu- an Elle doll blazer, a couple ken button-downs and a vintage 1/6th coat that fits like a 40's bed jacket.  I love her, she's fabulously awesome and pretty and so very well-made that I don't mind it taking two months to get her

Yes- I got my shipping notice, Dream of Doll has helped my Petsha find transportation.  On the 25th, she left Seoul, Korea.  It's exciting, even more than I thought it would in those long weeks of waiting.  Loolu Vonderland is on her way home!