Werepuppy's A Doll A Day Challenge 2020

[dunneh]

Momoko is cute, she has cute gumboots! The warrior girls look very sassy.

Wow, never seen beanie babies with flag before. I've been to KL a few times, its a fun place. I also cant wait to travel again to see family and stuff. I wonder if it will ever be like it was.

Love the Mary Poppins bear! He's super cute.

[Loona]

Haha, I automatically touched a button on my shirt upon seeing the chimney sweep bear. Do you have this thing (freit?) over there that touching a button (probably even spitting on it - I did not do that ) upon seeing a chimney sweep brings you good luck?

Never heard of that -- the fun things from abroad that one learns on this forum!  Do you know the origin of that idea?

I didn't, I guess it was... always there? And I never really thought of it - but now you got me interested, so I had a look around
Based on what I found it definitely doesn't seem to be a local thing (which I suspected), but I didn't manage to find out where it originates from. More than one resources dated the origins back to the Romans, and link the association to fire: humans always had a fear&respect relationship with fire, as it gave warmth, but could also cause tragedy. A home's fireplace was said to be the home of good spirits, and in other cultures, shamans communicated with spirits through fire
All sources I looked at seem to agree on a closer (date-wise) and more specific association regarding good luck: it most likely comes from chimney sweeps having been observed as the protectors of homes, as their work, and the resulting clean chimney prevented smoke inhalation and housefires - the latter were more common in the past due to the materials used to construct houses, and especially housetops. One resource stated that it is also believed that chimney sweeps "sweep out bad spirits from the chimney" - but how and when those previously good spirits that reside there turned into bad, I do not know. Or do both good and bad spirits live there (and if so, do they not fight?), and how come the sweeping only evacuates the bad ones? Now I'm *really* interested...

Regarding the part about buttons, one resource states that a button resembles a magical circle that functions as a shield, keeping out whatever we fear (er, OK, but then why can't I also touch a... plate? a ball? or anything spherical? if I don't have any buttons on my dress ). Other resources say that buttons used to be more valuable in the past, as they were usually made of more valuable metals like silver - thus losing them was a sad and unlucky thing, and vice versa, if you still had them all (or if you had money to buy buttons for your dress, in the first place), you were considered lucky. And even more so if combined: you saw a  chimney sweep and still had your buttons.

Funnily enough, upon this small research I also found other aspects I wasn't aware of: more than one resource stated that you need to touch the third button (from which direction, I have no clue  ), and that if you manage to steal a thread from the sweep and keep it with you, your wish will come true. Oh well, I guess I know now why  I never really observed this whole luck-bringing thing as something that works... I never knew the number-thing, nor did I ever try to raid the poor guy to pluck his sweep !  One resource stated that we need to hold the button until we see broken glass - WTH? but what I found the most weird is that I haven't come across a single source mentioning the spitting part - could that be a family flavour my ancestors have added? Yuck!

"I do not talk affectedly. I merely open my mouth to let my heart speak it's truth."

Aha. To be honest, there is truth in what she says - I guess to a soul like her it must be hard to understand how her words might come across differently from the outside.

[neon_jellyfish]

Ophelia and Gaston are much alike when it comes to being genuine and true to themselves and coming across as haughty and pretentious to everyone else. I guess that's why they make such a great couple. When they're not trying to make many other couples with many other people just to spite each other. I'm still hoping V is alive.

[davidd]

Well, Loona, that was quite clever the way you quoted Ophelia! 

No affectation from Ophelia. How she appears is truly how she is.

Or so we are implored to believe.  

(I trust Cousin Opelia about as much as does Cousin Monday.)

[Alliecat]

That's how far too many people get into trouble, Ophelia....

I kinda feel like sleeping through this month too. There is nothing redeeming about November.

[werepuppy]

Momoko is cute, she has cute gumboots! The warrior girls look very sassy.

Wow, never seen beanie babies with flag before. I've been to KL a few times, its a fun place. I also cant wait to travel again to see family and stuff. I wonder if it will ever be like it was.

Love the Mary Poppins bear! He's super cute.

That momoko is the Black Riding Hood one, and everything she's wearing is her stock. 

Yeah, there was a whole range of beanie babies with country flags on them, it was pretty cool at the time. (I also have the Scotland one, obviously.)

Thank you! 

"I do not talk affectedly. I merely open my mouth to let my heart speak it's truth."

Aha. To be honest, there is truth in what she says - I guess to a soul like her it must be hard to understand how her words might come across differently from the outside.

Ah, but that would imply that with Ophelia what you see is what you get and... to be honest, no one's really sure on that... 

Ophelia and Gaston are much alike when it comes to being genuine and true to themselves and coming across as haughty and pretentious to everyone else. I guess that's why they make such a great couple. When they're not trying to make many other couples with many other people just to spite each other. I'm still hoping V is alive.

The doll that is V has moved on - though there's still a couple of photos to come from him for Life in the Room due to my staggered posting. I'm not a BTS fan, so having the dolls around felt weird to me. 

But... yeah, you are right - if Ophelia and Gaston ever stopped trying to spite each other? They'd be a power couple. 

Well, Loona, that was quite clever the way you quoted Ophelia!   

No affectation from Ophelia. How she appears is truly how she is.

Or so we are implored to believe.  

(I trust Cousin Opelia about as much as does Cousin Monday.)

Ophelia's a Frump. That is a wise idea. Grandmother Frump taught all her girls - daughters and granddaughters - potions and poisons and the art of charm at a young age. 

That's how far too many people get into trouble, Ophelia....

I kinda feel like sleeping through this month too.  There is nothing redeeming about November.

And yet, she persists.

Seriously. I just want to sleep all the time at the momemt. I know the grey weather is not helping - it brings my mood down more, and makes me want to burrow under the blankets. 

- - - 

As a random side thing before I post today's photo? This song has been in my head the past few days. You're welcome: Remember you're a Womble!

- - - 

319. Z is for Zeal



Define: great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective.

It's little wonder Freya can be so quiet and calm; Ademetus has such a zeal for life in general that he must eend all the energy for both of them.

[neon_jellyfish]

Would a Geiger counter start clicking in close proximity to Ademetus? I'm inclined to think it might... Just a little bit...

[dunneh]

I wasn't aware she had gumboots as her stock! I kinda lost touch with the momoko releases, even though she is very cute.

Aww those kitty bjds are too precious... they have such a cute energy to them. ♥

[davidd]

As a random side thing before I post today's photo? This song has been in my head the past few days. You're welcome: Remember you're a Womble!

I was not familiar with The Wombles, but just seeing them has put The Banana Splits theme song in my head. Thank you.
Much like Ademetus, The Banana Splits exuded a frantic, near-radioactive level of hyperkinetic energy!

[Loona]

Oh, that was random indeed I wasn't familiar with The Wombles either - they have a left-handed guitarist! (yeah, a major unconscious characteristic of lefties is that they spot other lefties. I never actually realised how much this is true for me until it was pointed out )

These two are such a cute pair! I wonder if that ever-ex.ploding energy of Ademetus ever gets him in trouble (and if it does and it did in the past, Freya likely has a point in sitting calmly and thinking things through before doing something ).

[Alliecat]

Wow, Z again already.
Having boundless energy and zest for life might be a superpower....
I remember hearing of the Wombles but certainly never saw that

[Lejays17]

Adametus & Freya are so completely opposite in their personalities.

And congrats for getting around the alphabet again!

[werepuppy]

Thanks, all! Can't really believe I got through the alphabet again. I've got... one more round of it planned before the end of the year. I think.

- - -

320. New Arrival: Marmalade



Arrival Date: 14th November 2020.

My Pipos Star Cheshire arrived! I have been admiring these for a while now, so I put my mind to it earlier this year to save up and get myself one, choosing to order directly from Pipos. And now she's here!

I'm pretty impressed with her now she's in hand. Surprisingly weight, and a solid stander. Also poses really well. She's wearing a Mattel fashion pack item because she's actually a little shorter than I thought she would be, so I need to alter the length of some dresses I had sewn for her. That being said, I like the blue on her.

But yes, my Marmalade, home at last!

[neon_jellyfish]

Wonderful! I love her properly Cheshire smile. Also, we're going to need an updated group photo of your little kitty BJDs!

[dunneh]

I love that dress on her actually! She kinda reminds me of a amped up Sylvanian Families cat with it on, since the dress is a similar aesthetic. I dont mean that in a bad way, she looks so great.

I didn't know about the Monkees.. I mean, the Wombles. I knew the Banana Splits song but I had never seen the clip. Watching these old kids show clips give me weird nostalgia for a time I wasn't even alive. The late 60s couldn't be as fun as they seem surely. Haha.