Friday 23 May 2014

Reminiscing.

On one of the doll groups I belong to we have been discussing doll collections and just how many we have, or feel comfortable with and whether we have them on display or not.

I started 'stock taking' to see just how many I have which includes various dolls from my childhood.

Doing this I realised just what an eclectic collection I actually have, ranging from teeny tiny dolls to the largest which is a doll I got given before we moved from England to New Zealand when I was six years old.

Of course this then led me to scrabbling around up in the loft to find that particular childhood doll that travelled with me from England to New Zealand.



Here I am standing on the deck holding 'Linda' my doll.  My Mum is behind me and my sister to the side.

When I came back to England I couldn't bring a lot of things with me so left my 'precious' childhood toys which included Linda, Jacko the monkey and a stuffed bear pyjama case that my Dad bought me stored in a wardrobe in Mum and Dads house.  Sadly for reasons that will remain unclear to me, my Mum decided to move these things to a dilapidated shed in the grove.  Result:  Most of these precious toys got chewed/eaten or destroyed by rats.  I can't even begin to explain how much this upset me. Now thinking about it I realise that the only childhood toys from my first six years remaining are Peter Panda, a knitted kangaroo, Dougal, and Linda.  There is definitely a feeling of loss involved.  I had thought about replacing Jacko but when I have bought 'replacements' in the past I realised that they still aren't quite 'the same', something is missing.

Linda was the only one who made it out - albeit with a missing thumb!

In the very early days of Ebay I decided to try and replace her and bought a lookalike with a fringe and a brunette friend.


I dressed her in Linda's dress which for some reason I did have with me.  I know she had at least two dresses, so the other one was on Linda.

In 2007 my son brought her back to England with him when returning from a trip to New Zealand visiting family.


I have just retrieved her from the loft.  The first bit of fresh air she has seen for some time!


Still as pretty as ever.  She used to talk and walk.  She can still 'walk' but I am not sure if she can still talk.


Photo of her poor chewed thumb.

I have in the past thought of swapping her arm with the other girl...but I haven't done so as yet as I wonder if she will then not feel quite right...  


Kangaroo - I remember my Mum having to go back home from school after dropping me off searching for the baby joey who had dropped out of the pouch on the way to school.  I would only have been four or five at the time.


Peter Panda, A dear childhood friend who has been literally cuddled threadbare.


Dougal from the Magic Roundabout.



Thursday 22 May 2014

A Doll A Day for May - Week 3


Day 15: From where I walk


Day 16: Create


Day 17: Bag


Day 18: Something I drew


Day 19: Alone


Day 20: Waiting (to be picked up)


Day 21: Card

30 Days of Roo: 28 - 30 Completed!


28/30 Preparing for a fry up


29/30 Inside


30/30 Drying out....after being left in plant pot during a couple of downpours!


Sunday 18 May 2014

30 Days of Roo: Days 21- 27


21/30  In Conversation


22/30  Roo Soup


23/30  Looking Out


24/30  Sitting


25/30  Oops!


26/30  Captured


27/30 Camouflaged?

Wednesday 14 May 2014

A Doll A Day for May - Week 2


Day 8: Blue (Hitty Carol Faith singing an Aria) 


Day 9:  Favourite  (Couldn't be anyone else really)


Day 10: In the Garden (Poppy in the garden)


Day 11: Mother (Mothers Day)


Day 12: Ready (Stevie is ready to go out)


Day 13: I Spy ( A Butterfly!)


Day 14: Lines (Come now form two orderly lines...)

Sunday 11 May 2014

30 Days of Roo: Days 17 - 20




17/30:  Roo Meet Hippo


18/30: Invitation for tea


19/30: Hello Rabbit


20/30:  Ouch!




Thursday 8 May 2014

30 Days of Roo: Days 9 - 16


9/30: Anyone in there?


10/30: It's raining, it's pouring.


11/30:  What is this contraption?


12/30:  Strange wildlife?


13/30 Hmmm....is this how you get to the food?


14/30: Transportation


15/30: Are these edible?


16/30: Making friends

Wednesday 7 May 2014

A Doll A Day for May - Week 1

Taking part in the 'A Doll a Day' Challenge for May


Day 1:  Begins with J - Joyful Hitty


Day 2: Snack (Hitty Patience is rather peckish...)


Day 3:  Collection (My Maori doll collection, which started off with two dolls inherited from my grandparents)


Day 4:  Us (Peggy Sue & Little Owen, always together and thus 'us')


Day 5: 4 pm  Hitty Madge admiring the rhododendrons.


Day 6:  From Down Low (Looking Up) 
From down low, Thomas is looking up into the tree to see what might be up there.


Day 7:  Taken from above (Jacob and Roo)