The birthday package for Daphne went off on Tuesday and should arrive sometime today. The clothes for Zachary's Paul were in the package, too. My Paul (Pauly, as you may have guessed if you read The Doll's Storybook) arrived on Monday after an adventure I'm calling The Great Train Holdup, because it sounds more romantic than "train mechanical failure." He still arrived within the time frame given me by the vendor when I ordered, but several days late according to the delivery window given me by UPS.
I finally got an update from UPS on Monday morning that Pauly was loaded onto the van and would be delivered between 1:30 and 5:30. He arrived shortly after 1:30, and then I received another text saying he had been delivered. Those were the only notifications I received, although I could keep track on the website using the tracking number.
I quickly had him try on Paul's clothes, so I could get photos before I sent them out the next day. As I guessed, the turquoise and olive T-shirt went well with the pants he came wearing.
This was a pullover I made for Pippa. I thought it would be good on a boy, too, so I sent it along.
The bathing suit works better on a boy. 😆
It may be getting a little warm there for flannel PJs, but dolls are usually just grateful for everything they get, since they can't whine.
The shirt and blue pants work well with the cap, and I had the shoes for Emil's friend, Holly. I can order more, and I think I will, so Pauly can have some different shoes to wear.
I use elastic in the back of the cap instead of ribbon. I think it make the cap fit better. You can see the pleat in the back of the shirt in this photo.
I finished Paul's turtleneck sweater on Monday. Both of his pullovers/sweaters can be worn as cardigans, because they button down the back. (Dolls don't like to have things pulled over their heads, for some reason.)
Of the three T-shirts I purchased, Paul got the turquoise and olive one, Pippa got the blue one and Pauly got the Red one. (The cap is Paul's. I'll be making Pauly one of his own.)
The long-awaited bathing suit that had to go in with Daphne's doll arrived with Paul. Laura was wearing the hat and carrying the bag in her box when she arrived. I actually got two of these bathing suits, so I would have enough for all the girl dolls.
The package went into the mail just before lunchtime on Tuesday, expected delivery today. I signed up for updates and have received them each stop along the way. Laura and all the clothes are almost there as I write this. I have to say I'm more impressed with USPS than UPS. I wonder if that extra "S" gives them something extra.
About UPS, I found this on Facebook:
Maybe their problem is they're hiring children, although the young man who delivered Pauly looked at least college age.
I've started on Pauly's clothes. He needs pajamas first. I thought I would make something with a T-shirt top, because Sunday's snow (!) notwithstanding, it's getting warmer here. I altered a pattern designed for the larger Happy Kidz dolls for this. I'm not altogether happy with it. I think the sleeves are too short to look right on a boy, but it will do, once I have the pants made. The next one will be better.
I had a lot of difficulty with it, not because there was anything wrong with the original pattern, but the color is so dark, I kept mistaking which was the right side of the fabric and ended out picking out several seams. I also think I miscalculated on the sleeve and neck binding. I wasn't myself for several days due to a kidney stone (ouch), so I'm happy I got this far. I plan to try again after I get a few more things made.
You may remember from two weeks ago, I had decided to give up the separate Facebook page for The Doll's Storybook. It had made the site very cumbersome and not worth the extra time. I had set May 7th for when I would delete it. I agreed to "friend" anyone who wanted to follow the stories on Facebook. It was a real challenge to figure out how to delete it without deleting my personal page, which will now serve the stories as well. After much frustration and considerable gnashing of teeth, I managed to delete it. I've been posting the links to the stories on my personal page, and people seem to be finding them. I've been accepting friend requests from people I don't know, which I have seldom done before, but I trust that somehow it will work out. I changed my banner to reflect the page's new role, using the photo I had used on the business page. My life is already easier, at least where this site is concerned. Facebook isn't nagging me to promote my "business," and I don't have to log out of the business account to get back to my page every time I respond to something there.
We were able to get our yard sign installed in the front. It just took finding the metal stand for it. It's so nice to be able to support a candidate who is honest and ethical, as well as having the education and job experience needed to deal with issues that come up in our part of the country.
On Sunday we sang "My Shepherd Will Supply My Need" at Trinity. St. Luke's had used this piece, and I know I had sung it at least once before, so it was easy to relearn the parts where the sopranos leave the melody. That's what I like best!
We had Mexican food for Cinco de Mayo with leftovers for another night and TV dinners for the freezer. I had made lasagne earlier in the week, and the extras went into TV dinners as well. We're out of lettuce, but I made my frozen corn salad, and we've been eating that.
If you have a few minutes and are willing, please go to Amazon and B&N and search for "Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook by Peggy Stuart" in Children's. Every click on the page for the book makes it more likely they will keep a good supply in their warehouse and stores. If you are outside the US, you may have a separate website for these retailers. If you have a copy of our first book, Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, it would help if you left an honest review on the websites, especially if you bought from them.
Where's my blog: If you want to follow my blog, go here and sign up to follow.
What's on my needles: Besides the sweater for Pauly, I still have my Hinterland Pullover and the emPower People Kerchief on the needles. Both are at the boring, I-don't-need-the-pattern stage.
What's on my loom: Still the trailer rugs.
What's on my sewing machine: Clothes for Pauly.
What's in my hoop: Whole cloth quilt, no progress.
What's in The Doll's Storybook: In Friendly Surprises, Pippa discovers her friend Polly is really Pauly, and he's a boy! Pippa and Pauly are happy to learn from Mandy and Veronika that they can still be friends.
What's in The Doll's Storybook: In Friendly Surprises, Pippa discovers her friend Polly is really Pauly, and he's a boy! Pippa and Pauly are happy to learn from Mandy and Veronika that they can still be friends.
Not having Pauly arrive in time for last week's story caused a fortuitous change in the ending, which worked out better, I thought. The "gender reveal" ending became a separate story.
What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still listening to The Woman Who Smashed Codes by Jason Fagone on the Audible app. I haven't gotten too far yet.
What's in my wine glass: Baksteen Breedekloof Shiraz 2020 from South Africa.
What's my tip of the week: I have one of those sinks that's huge on one side and small on the other. It takes a lot of water to fill the big side, and the small side is too small for my big pots and bowls to fit, so to save water, I fill the big pot or bowl with hot water and detergent in the big sink and wash all the small stuff in it, then dump the soapy water into the sink to wash the outside of the pot or bowl. I'm convinced it saves water.
Where are my books: The stories in each book first appeared in the blog and they are reproduced with few changes. Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook is now available for preorder from booksellers world wide. The link for Book Baby is here. The three stories are Best Buds, Getting What You Want, and The Boys Cook Dinner.
Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook is also available. The three stories in the first book are Being Little, Besties, and Distraction.
If you don't get free shipping from Amazon or B&N, buy from the BookBabyBookshop, because 50% of the price goes to St. Jude. Other booksellers pay much less.
Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.
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