Thursday, September 15, 2022

Fun With Fabric!


Well, there you go. This morning I discovered that indeed, some of the seeds I planted on Monday have sprouted. You can still see the birth dirt on these turnips if you look carefully. The entire row of arugula has come up. Arugula has a very strong life-wish. It just does want to grow and I am so grateful for that. I am imagining focaccia baked with tomatoes and a little parmesan, topped with the freshest arugula salad dressed in a little salt, garlic, a slurp of olive oil and a few shakes of balsamic. 
THAT is heaven. 

I decided to take a health day today. Mental AND physical. Mr. Moon left early to go do something in Lamont, a little bend in the road a few miles from here where he hunts with some guys. There is a great deal to do before hunting season begins and I have to tell you that these men must love hunting more than anything in the world because it is a LOT of work getting things ready. 
Do not ask me what it is they do. It involves deer stands and food plots and clearing and...okay, that's all I know. Trail cams! Those too. 
So I just didn't feel that well. I think I may have overdone it yesterday trimming the palms and weeding. Whatever, I decided to stay in and play with dolls. 
And that is what I did. 
Last night I washed Lisi's hair. You may recall it had been in two rough braids, bound with plain old rubber bands so I cut the rubber bands and untangled the hair. Lisi has real, true human hair with is a little weird but she has a real true human face, too, so there is that. 
I washed her hair in the sink, apologizing when I got shampoo in her eyes. I used my own shampoo and then after I'd rinsed that out, a little bit of my conditioner and when it was all dried and brushed, she looked like this. 


Damn! My own hair should look so good! 

And my plan today was to make her one last dress before giving her over to Magnolia. I had thought to use some of the tulle I have for a petticoat but I quickly determined that cutting and sewing tulle was not something I am interested in doing. So I used some fabric that I had bought for masks and some satin blanket binding and this is what I came up with. 


It's her fancy dress! 
I think she looks a bit overwhelmed and I don't blame her. It's...a lot. 
But maybe Maggie will like it. 
I still have a tiny bit to do in the back with fastenings and so forth but for the most part, it is done. 
I don't know when I'll see Maggie. Lauren has tested positive for Covid and so things are a little closed down over at Lily's house. I feel so bad for Lauren. Lily says she's basically just very, very tired but then again, she did just work nine days in a row so one would expect her to be, Covid or not. Lauren is a hard-working woman. 

As I worked on that saloon-girl dress today, I listened to yet another few episodes of Mormon Stories. 
Yes. I am still addicted. 
I just love the very, very long form episodes, some of them lasting more than five or six hours. Today I was listening to one in which John Dehlin and his wife, Margi Dehlin, were interviewing a well-regarded Mormon historian and scholar and I won't go into it but it pleased me so to hear the man say that he truly does believe there must be a religion gene and that he has it. 
For many years I've been saying that I believe there's a religion gene and I DON'T HAVE IT! 
It was a very fine interview. 
And I will add that humans are weird. 

Mr. Moon is home and he had a wonderful day in the woods. He's going back tomorrow. I'm going to cook him some of the fish he caught for his supper. I have no idea what I'm going to be doing tomorrow. I sort of apologized to my husband for spending all day making a doll dress and he said, "There's no one telling us what we should and should not be going these days. If it makes you happy, why not?"

He is so precious. I am so lucky. 

Love...Ms. Moon


34 comments:

  1. I can't believe your seeds have sprouted so quickly! You must live in a very fertile place. Lisi's dress is gorgeous but I agree, she does look a bit overwhelmed. I think gingham is more her personality. Her hair looks lovely but it must have felt strange washing human hair on a not quite human.

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  2. You did a wonderful job on that fancy dress- and so quickly!

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    1. Florida is indeed quite a fertile place. I always think that if all the humans here disappeared, the jungle would cover everything within a decade.
      Gingham would be excellent for a dress for Lisi but I've just been using scraps of what I have. And I do have some gingham but not enough. It did feel a bit strange to wash human hair on an inanimate object.
      Jan- Well, dolls are small. And their clothes do not have to be perfect.

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  3. Oh, Ms. Moon. Have you heard of 'Fancy Nancy'? If not, allow me to assure you that Maggie almost surely has. She will love Lisi's dress.

    I love Mr. Moon's line. He is right. I spent today chopping vegetables for a mighty fine pot of chicken rice soup. I made two loaves of honey wheat bread. I made two loaves of zucchini bread. I mowed a lawn, grocery shopped, washed the kitchen rugs and now I am sitting on my behind. Because it makes me happy.

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    1. Debby- I had to look up Fancy Nancy. She's adorable!
      And can I just say that your one day's activities would do me for a week? Whoa, lady!

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  4. Lisi's clean hair is lovely...will you braid it? and the dress is sublime and perfectly suited, IMO. Cannot believe your turnips are sprouting in 3 days time.....ah, Florida. Good for you for doing exactly what you wanted today......and Mr Moon knowing how needed that is......... he knows.....you know...... it's a win win.
    Susan M

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    1. I'm not sure if I'll do anything to Lisi's hair. I might just let Magnolia decide what to do with it. I'm sure she'll have fun giving her hair dos.
      Yep, things sprout pretty quickly here. It generally takes the carrots a long time though.

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  5. A religion gene....what a concept. I don't have it either. But it would explain so much. Bless your dolls and all the love you put in them.

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  6. Lisi looks positively lovely and any little girl would love her to pieces!

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  7. gorgeous dressy girly dress for Lisi......Lisi with the clean locks! And good for you taking the day to do just what you wanted........ without (hopefully) guilt! Can't believe you have sprouts coming up in 3 days!
    Susan M

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    1. oops......why did I post twice? sorry.......must have lost my head
      Susan M

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    2. That is okay. Two comments are better than one!

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  8. That's a beautiful dress. First day of school dress. Visiting grandma or your favorite cousins dress.

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    1. It is definitely FANCY, isn't it? And, somewhat tacky. But hopefully, to Maggie it will just be beautiful.

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  9. I think a day spent working with a doll is a day well spent. I really prefer the baby dolls for some reason. A bit intimidated by the facial expression of lisl! Her hair does look like a shampoo ad now, cascading waves. And her best dress. She needs red bloomers now.

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    1. Red bloomers would be perfect!
      Lisi's face changes expression depending on what angle you are looking at it from. She scares me a little. She is so incredibly life-like.

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  10. Lisi's hair is so beautiful and I love her new dress. Sorry to hear about the Covid, my own daughter "no-one" had it recently, a mild case, but felt extremely tired and said her head weighed a ton. She's back at work now.

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    1. Lauren's ended up being quite sick but Lily says she's feeling a little better. It's still nothing to fool with, is it?

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  11. I am not sure how I feel about Lisi......she looks almost too " real" and therefore a bit creepy! Lovely dress though, and her hair is beautiful.

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    1. Yes. She is definitely a miniature human person. I agree with you.

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  12. Isn't it lovely how some men (and indeed some women) LOVE everything fishing and hunting. We used to go to a national park in our camper every second weekend so that my husband could fish with all the other guys, who had their caravans set up there all season. I can't see the interest in it myself (just like golf), but I think it's nice that some have that passion!

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    1. Glen just LOVES to do outside stuff. He's such a cliche of a man that it makes me giggle. Besides the fishing and hunting, working on cars brings him the most pleasure.

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  13. I love the doll dress and I totally agree with Mr. Moon...if it makes you happy, why SHOULDN'T you spend the day playing with dolls? Life is too short to pass up an opportunity for playing!!

    I was on an elevator with a man that looked a lot like Mr. Moon on Monday. If I could have snapped a photo of him to show you, I would have. Of course, he wasn't nearly as tall as the "real deal". :)

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    1. You are right, Jennifer, and honestly, I don't think I played enough as a child. I had a lot of pressure bearing down on me.
      I wish you'd gotten a picture of the pretender!

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  14. Maggie will love that doll with her pretty clothes and her lovely hair!
    Sorry to hear that Lauren has Covid. My younger brother has it now too - tired and sniffly but feeling better each day.
    Nice to have a play day! That is what retirement is for.... :)

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    1. Yes! And any day I spend with my old Singer sewing machine, scissors, cloth, and an iron is a day that makes me pretty happy.

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  15. The dress is so fancy! Lisi from the Alps might get her gorgeous hair tangled in the trees that need climbing but WOW, what locks, What a great job you have done for her. You are magic- the seeds that you dropped in the earth popped up right away!Nurturing skills- you've got them, You have got ALL of them.
    The dog found Zippy last night and tried to drag him off to a corner to have his way- I said "NO,...MARY says NO, too" , dog dropped monkey , monkey now up on bookcase triumphantly grinning down at dog. Dog's feeling are not hurt because I channeled you saying "NO" , in your nurturing Mary way. No one was hurt.

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    1. Oh my god! You made me laugh. You threw me under the bus so that Cubby wouldn't be mad at you for protecting Zippy! I'm so glad you saved that sweet little chimp. Glad I could be of help.

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  16. That doll has beautiful hair. I wish mine looked like that:) And I love her dress and I'm sure Maggie will love it.
    As for spending the day sewing something for your granddaughter and making her doll pretty, how is that not time well spent?

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    1. I agree- spending a day sewing a doll dress for Maggie is not a waste of time. It is a sweet and lovely way to spend a day.

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  17. OK, I had to look up Lamont -- it's not that far from you! It must be good to know that even when Mr. Moon is off hunting he's close by. My mom always said my grandfather used to go "hunting" so he could go sit in the woods and have some quite time with nature. Shooting animals was secondary for him. I think Mr. Moon is a more purposeful hunter!

    I think the dress turned out great. It's big and colorful and Maggie will love it.

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  18. Exactly! That's what this time is for. We did all the work and family things and now it's for other people to keep it all going and for us to do whatever the fuck we want regardless of what anybody else thinks. And I do like that dress.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.