Neon’s A Doll A Migraine-less Day, More Or Less - 2019 edition!

[Lejays17]

Aargh, didn’t realise there were more photos after the cemetary ones. Navi Star looks very different with the 2 different colours. And Briar cheers everything up - even the disappointment of the frozen garden.

What an amazing tour of the ghost of a graveyard. I’ve seen iron rods in trees before, but nothing like the cross here. It must have been truly heavy to never have been knocked over in the years this would have taken.
How interesting that there was a 40-year gap between the first & last relocation - I wonder why that happened (I bet it was money-related somehow).

I’m glad you asked permission of the family to take the photos. When you do the grave maintenance on the special day (sorry, boring English keyboard doesn’t have the special accented letters), do you also talk to the family members about what’s happened in the past year?

[davidd]

How interesting that there was a 40-year gap between the first & last relocation - I wonder why that happened (I bet it was money-related somehow).

Or two world wars related, maybe.

[Lejays17]

How interesting that there was a 40-year gap between the first & last relocation - I wonder why that happened (I bet it was money-related somehow).

Or two world wars related, maybe.

Very true - which can also involve lack of money as it had been diverted to other more pressing needs.

[Alliecat]

What a great tour and history lesson! I really enjoyed these out-and-about photos a lot. And what a remarkable thing, the cross in the tree. I'd get hung up there for some time, I'm sure, taking abstracty close-up photos.
Thanks for sharing your outing with us!

[neon_jellyfish]

SO MUCH STUFF TO ÜBER-SQUEE ABOUT in this post!!!!

Remei has clothes, for one thing! Adorable clothes. Wait... more all-caps required: ADORABLE CLOTHES!!!! Purple dress and stripey socks!!!

(Okay, yeah, I should have commented on Remei's outfit in the first cemetery post, but I guess I got distracted by the candles. Fire-obsessed Triv was nattering in my ear the entire time about the candles.)

And a ghost cemetery! Ghost of a cemetery (as you say), not in a cemetery!

What a fascinating history! I'm surprised that despite all the political upheavals that have affected the area over the decades, they were organized and dedicated... dead-icated... enough to relocate the graves. Although, granted, it took them forty years to finish.

The iron cross growing in to the tree is one of the most spooky cool amazing things I have ever seen! That is incredible!

This was truly a fascinating and fun Smart Doll Adventure!

And I'm so happy to see your beautiful Felicity/Remei in action! She's a real cutie! Gotta love that little smile!

Thank you very much!!!

Haha, I was kinda glad that Dušičky  stuff grabbed so much attention that nobody noticed she has clothes. The grave candles might be too much on the safe side for Triv, the cap that protects them from rain also prevents them from setting other things on fire. I have no idea why I felt compelled to point this out...

I'm glad you liked this little adventure. I think it's a fascinating place, so I wanted to share it with you guys.

And yes, Remei/Felicity is a total cutie and her smile has healing properties! I'm kinda sad Danny scrapped tea and cocoa Felicity before they went into production, I would most likely want to get them.

Oh wow, it's amazing to see Remei - she looks so cute!

Also a ghost of a cemetry! Omg! That's amazing!

Wow, what is awesome photo story... Remei makes a lovely tour guide (and her outfit suits her wonderfully), and the pictures are just perfection. The one n front of the window is my favorite.

Thank you both!!!

Aargh, didn’t realise there were more photos after the cemetary ones.  Navi Star looks very different with the 2 different colours.   And Briar cheers everything up - even the disappointment of the frozen garden.

What an amazing tour of the ghost of a graveyard.  I’ve seen iron rods in trees before, but nothing like the cross here.  It must have been truly heavy to never have been knocked over in the years this would have taken.
How interesting that there was a 40-year gap between the first & last relocation - I wonder why that happened (I bet it was money-related somehow).

I’m glad you asked permission of the family to take the photos.  When you do the grave maintenance on the special day (sorry, boring English keyboard doesn’t have the special accented letters), do you also talk to the family members about what’s happened in the past year?

How interesting that there was a 40-year gap between the first & last relocation - I wonder why that happened (I bet it was money-related somehow).

Or two world wars related, maybe.

How interesting that there was a 40-year gap between the first & last relocation - I wonder why that happened (I bet it was money-related somehow).

Or two world wars related, maybe.

Very true - which can also involve lack of money as it had been diverted to other more pressing needs.

First of - thank you, Lejays, I'm glad you liked the photos and the story! No, I don't talk to them. The dearly departed in that grave are mother, grandmother and grandfather of my grandmother on my father's side, so they all died long before I was born, plus, we don't really keep in touch with that side of the family. They just can't take care of the grave anymore, so it's my dad's turn now. I asked the dead for permission mostly to make myself feel better about posing a doll on their grave and taking a photo, although it would be fun if they actually answered! I would get to know them after all.

As for the pause in relocating graves, I didn't find any reliable info, but it's possible to make an educated guess by looking at local history. Most of graves were moved by families that owned them, graves without living owner (or with owners who didn't have means to move them) should have been moved using municipal money, but a lot of things were happening at that time, and those got the priority.

Liboc wasn't part of Prague back in 1900s, but autonomous village. It was close to Prague, so it became Prague citizens' favorite spot for weekend trips, so the trade and consequently the village flourished, and started ex²panding, whole new streets were being built. Works on new railroad started around the same time they closed the old cemetery. Then the First World War happened. Then Czechoslovakia left Austro-Hungarian Empire and became autonomous in 1918, and in 1922, Prague got so big that it swallowed Liboc, which lost its autonomy, so those were big changes to local politics and how public matters were managed, nobody had time for abandoned graves.

Just as things finally settled after WW1 and gaining autonomy, Second World War came, Slovaks established Slovak Republic, a client state to Nazi Germany (the government did so against the wishes of vast majority of nation, because they wanted to be safe) and the Czech part lost portion of its territory to various countries of Axis and the rest became Protektorat Böhmen und Mähren. That was in 1939. Bad, bad times. I don't think anyone even remembered the old cemetery back then.

In 1942, very successful and popular businessman from Liboc died, and he wished for him and his ancestors' remains from the old cemetery to be buried in the new cemetery together. I think (and it's really only my personal theory) that this was how people remembered that there was an old cemetery and that there was work left to be done there, and got it done despite everything.

What a great tour and history lesson!  I really enjoyed these out-and-about photos a lot.  And what a remarkable thing, the cross in the tree.  I'd get hung up there for some time, I'm sure, taking abstracty close-up photos.
Thanks for sharing your outing with us!  

Thank you! I'm glad you liked it!


This post is waaayyy too long, so I'll post today's photo in another one.

[neon_jellyfish]

Day 310

Yesterday was Love You Red Hair Day, but I was too preoccupied with belated Halloween stuff. I guess 'belated' is how I do things now... Anyhoo, REDHEADS!!!

[werepuppy]

Ooh, your red-headed ladies are so stunning, and your group shots always look so *good*

[davidd]

It is always a delight and an honor to be graced by an appearance of Her Royal Insanityness!

You have a particular photographic talent for creating stunning images with your harem of red-haired beauties!

And thank you for the additional background and history about the cemetery and the villages around Prague. I was curious about the time period myself, so I did a bit of online reading about the "war years" and the effect on Czechoslovakia. I was vaguely aware of the "appeasement" approach by Britain and France regarding German ex-pansionism, but I had not been aware that, specifically, Britain and France met with Germany and Italy to discuss the matter of Czech territory, and the Brits and the French essentially gave away Czech territory with no input from the Czech government! Much of the territory that was ceded to Germany included ... how convenient ... Czech military defense fortification. Yes, it was 80 or more years ago, but still I was horrified to read how callously Britain and France treated the Czech people, and how little regard they had for the Czech nation. Afterward, the Allies did nothing to protest against further German ex-pansion in to Czech territory, and nothing to defend Czech sovereignty. And as you say, the Czech government acquiesced to German rule, but apparently the majority of the Czech citizens and the Czech military wanted to fight, and absolutely did not passively or willingly submit to German occupation.

Do Czech people harbor any ill-will against Britain and France for being abandoned and betrayed during the war? Or is it sufficiently far in the past to not matter as much anymore? I'm sure people from earlier generations had very mixed feelings about the Allied powers.

On a more positive note: I sincerely hope Remei will take us on more tours of Prague and of the Czech countryside! Perhaps one day she will even take us to see the amazing cathedral at Prague Castle!

[Lejays17]

Thank you for the extra information about the cemetary & the timeline of what happened. I enjoy learning the “smaller / personal” history of places that don’t get covered in the big history books. So (like Davidd) I can read about what happened between the wars & during WW2 in general, but that won’t give me the smaller details of the businessman who died & his wishes got the rest of the graves moved.

And I forgot to compliment Remei on her gorgeous outfit with the striped stockings as the rest of the post was so interesting.

A beautiful group of red-heads. There really is a day celebrating everything, isn’t there?

[Elfy]

Jus as well you have so many redheads. I wonder what their collective noun is?

[Lejays17]

Jus as well you have so many redheads. I wonder what their collective noun is?

A Danger?  A Gloriana?  A Trouble?  A Delight?

(I love collective nouns - the weirder the better.  My personal favourite is a Chapel of (book)Printers.  So delightful and why?? A chapel? - actually I know the answer to that too.  It’s because the illegal printing presses were hidden in church chapels from the authorities.)

[neon_jellyfish]

Ooh, your red-headed ladies are so stunning, and your group shots always look so *good*

Thank you very much!!!

It is always a delight and an honor to be graced by an appearance of Her Royal Insanityness!

You have a particular photographic talent for creating stunning images with your harem of red-haired beauties!

And thank you for the additional background and history about the cemetery and the villages around Prague. I was curious about the time period myself, so I did a bit of online reading about the "war years" and the effect on Czechoslovakia. I was vaguely aware of the "appeasement" approach by Britain and France regarding German ex-pansionism, but I had not been aware that, specifically, Britain and France met with Germany and Italy to discuss the matter of Czech territory, and the Brits and the French essentially gave away Czech territory with no input from the Czech government! Much of the territory that was ceded to Germany included ... how convenient ... Czech military defense fortification. Yes, it was 80 or more years ago, but still I was horrified to read how callously Britain and France treated the Czech people, and how little regard they had for the Czech nation. Afterward, the Allies did nothing to protest against further German ex-pansion in to Czech territory, and nothing to defend Czech sovereignty. And as you say, the Czech government acquiesced to German rule, but apparently the majority of the Czech citizens and the Czech military wanted to fight, and absolutely did not passively or willingly submit to German occupation.

Do Czech people harbor any ill-will against Britain and France for being abandoned and betrayed during the war? Or is it sufficiently far in the past to not matter as much anymore? I'm sure people from earlier generations had very mixed feelings about the Allied powers.

On a more positive note: I sincerely hope Remei will take us on more tours of Prague and of the Czech countryside! Perhaps one day she will even take us to see the amazing cathedral at Prague Castle!

Thank you!!!

Yeah, what remained from Czechoslovakia was mostly treated as loot during WW2. Loot doesn't get a say. It happened again at the end of war, Allies agreed to concede us to Soviets, again without caring about our opinion. It was ridiculous, because US Third Army arrived to Czechoslovakia first, but because of the Allies' agreement with Stalin, they had to stop, and it took Red Army four more days to arrive and liberate the rest of the country, which then led to manipulated elections, joining Soviet Union and several decades of communism. Screw it.

As for Cech people's relationship to other nations, it's a very complicated thing, and it would take a very long and boring history lesson to understand at least some of it. I would describe us as generally bitter and distrustful to absolutely everyone. We weren't a free nation from late 15th century to the end of the First World War, and then again from 1939 to 1989. We forgot how to take care of our matters on our own, how to stand up for ourselves. We became lethargic and cynical. We don't like anyone, including ourselves. I don't want to get too deep into this, because it would be depressing and not really useful. Considering all that, Britain and France don't really get extra portion of hate, it's about the same as with others.

I do want to do more Prague trips with Remei, but mostly next year, as the weather won't be so nice for the rest of this year. As for the Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral, that might be a bit of an issue. The access to the Castle is limited for 'safety reasons', you have to stand in long lines and pass through safety check. I do want to give it  a shot, but I don't know when.

Thank you for the extra information about the cemetary & the timeline of what happened.  I enjoy learning the “smaller / personal” history of places that don’t get covered in the big history books.  So (like Davidd) I can read about what happened between the wars & during WW2 in general, but that won’t give me the smaller details of the businessman who died & his wishes got the rest of the graves moved.

And I forgot to compliment Remei on her gorgeous outfit with the striped stockings as the rest of the post was so interesting.

A beautiful group of red-heads.  There really is a day celebrating everything, isn’t there?

You're most welcome! And thank you! Yeah, there are so many special days, there are actually sevaral of them for each calendar day.

Jus as well you have so many redheads. I wonder what their collective noun is?

Jus as well you have so many redheads. I wonder what their collective noun is?

A Danger?  A Gloriana?  A Trouble?  A Delight?

(I love collective nouns - the weirder the better.  My personal favourite is a Chapel of (book)Printers.  So delightful and why?? A chapel? - actually I know the answer to that too.  It’s because the illegal printing presses were hidden in church chapels from the authorities.)

Collective noun for a bunch of redheads sounds fun. I have no idea at this moment, but I'll look into it and try to come up with something.

[neon_jellyfish]

Day 311

Remei's clothes. They're my first attempt at sewing, and it shows. Sewing the knit was a nightmare, and I didn't get the hang of it quite yet. Everything's crooked, I messed up the skirt belt (the lining is showing and it wasn't supposed to, and the shape is deformed), but overall, I still think it's pretty decent 'my first dolly outfit'. I used Requiem Art patterns, which saved me and a lot of fabric from miserable death. The top is from her Shabby Chic pattern and the skirt from Cupcake Lolita.





I also got her more shoes and stockings.



These boots are so cool! But they'll require heel feet. I manage to close them on bare feet, but with the stockings, it's too tight and I don't want to damage the zipper.



These stockings are longer than the stripey ones. And this photo is more suggestive than I thought.



The whole look. Please pardon the terrible background.



I also got these stockings in white, and a pair of sneakers she could wear with the pants I bought for her from Smart Doll Store, but I don't have a top to go with them (this purple one's bottom hem is a three act tragedy).

Everything is from Alice's Collections. The quality is very nice, though the black and white stockings are a bit loose around the ankles. The stripey ones are fine. The shoes are amazing and the shoe laces are 10/10, kinda rough, so they stay tied.

Remei doesn't seem to mind the poor quality of her clothes too much, I guess she's just happy to have anything at all, after spending more than 7 months in her undies.

[werepuppy]

Your sewing looks brilliant there! Remei seems delighted with it all

[davidd]

"We became lethargic and cynical. We don't like anyone, including ourselves."

I feel as though I must have some Czech in my cultural heritage.     Thank you for the additional cultural background information.

Wait... Remei's outfit is your first attempt at sewing? Really? It looks wonderful! I thought it was something you had purchased! (Of course, through the magic of selective camera angles, we do not see the flaws that are visible to you.) Did you use a machine or do the stitching by hand?

Your choices for shoes and stockings are quite charming.  And yes, the "black stockings" photo is a bit flirty, but certainly not overly risque!

Your Smart Doll Felicity/Remei is a real charmer, and she looks so happy to have such a pretty outfit as her first set of clothing!