davidd's A DOLL A DAY 2024

[davidd]

Haha, funny.  I think your pirate crew needs a photostory or a blog or some kind of tv show of their own too.  It could air after Smarts & Crafts. 

At the very minimum, it might be fun to assemble the entire crew together for a group portrait.

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18 July - A Doll A Day 2024:

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Invasion of the Body Snatchers

[Alliecat]

Haha
Squash...? Is it a chayote? I had one for the first time in TX. It was... ehhh.

At the very minimum, it might be fun to assemble the entire crew together for a group portrait.

Yes! And then you need to add to your list of goals, building them a ship. Or at least part of one. Maybe a quarterdeck platform?

[davidd]

Squash...?  Is it a chayote?  I had one for the first time in TX.  It was... ehhh. 



Yes!  And then you need to add to your list of goals, building them a ship.  Or at least part of one.  Maybe a quarterdeck platform?

I've never heard of a chayote. Sounds like one of those hallucinogenic herbs hippies use to ex-pand their consciousness out in the desert. The seed pods are from a yucca plant.

Sure, I'll build them a ship, just like the one you've built for your crew.  

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19 July - A Doll A Day 2024:

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Doll Eyeglasses

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I have purchased at least five of these action figure size round eyeglasses. They keep disappearing, so I keep buying more. I only "needed" 3 sets. Then I lost one of the figures, so I only needed two sets... which I had... or thought I had, but I somehow misplaced one of them. I carried the eyelgasses from the house to the storage shed, then got distracted looking for the figure that I couldn't find, and set the eyeglasses down... somewhere... I think... maybe.

So I purchased set three, and set it right there in this very diorama as seen here, but... it's not there.

Set four and five arrived today. I know where they are right now, because I just snapped this picture of them.

I know where I put them after I took the picture. Will they be there tomorrow? Will I remember where I put them tomorrow?

Also, I'm pretty sure at this point that I accidentally discarded two action figures plus a head and some extra clothing. As I was rummaging through the storage shed once more the other day, I remembered the box I put the stuff in "temporarily." I vaguely started to remember taking that box to the trash. It was a box that was "a convenient size" yet was always in the way and I finally decided to get rid of it. I thought it only had old newspapers and wrapping paper in it. But now I'm kind of remembering putting those figures in the box. I must have tossed the paper in there to get it out of the way. Usually I dig through boxes of paper "just in case" before doing anything with them, but I must have been in a hurry or tired or something.

The TBLeague body would cost about $80 to replace.
The TBLeague head would cost about $40 to replace... but I can't find any more of that style on eBay.
The army guy figure would cost about $90 to replace.
The TBLeague figure was wearing a Phicen dress that would cost me about $80 to replace.
The other action figure head used to be cheap on eBay - I paid about $15 - but the only one I can find now is about $40 on eBay.
I know there were some military style clothing pieces in there, so probably another $40 to replace.

Total replacement value for what I likely tossed in the rubbish dumpster at the town dump: between $350 and $400.

Yikes!

I didn't pay that much... I don't think... as I bought most of it quite a while ago. But that's what it would cost me now to replace the things I know were in there.

I gotta be more careful. And I gotta clean things up. And... I don't know what else, but whatever else it is, I need to do it.

I won't. But I need to.

[davidd]

20 July - A Doll A Day 2024:

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Janie vs A Junk Pile

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Even the normally practical Janie is beginning to lose her cool, or maybe her mind, over the way random stuff, much of which might legitimately be categorized as junk, piles up on and in every available space.

[Alliecat]

Oh no!  I suppose it's too late to go to the dump and ask if anyone happened to look in the box and find them?  That would be my first action.  Or at least call & ask.  Maybe someone scavenged and found them.  That sucks.  How discouraging 
Maybe you could look when you take today's junk to the dump.
At least I suppose you could polish up the horseshoes and hang them up for good luck...?

I've never heard of a chayote. Sounds like one of those hallucinogenic herbs hippies use to ex-pand their consciousness out in the desert.

Heheh.  That's peyote.  I'd never heard of it either.

[davidd]

21 July - A Doll A Day 2024:

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Banpresto Q-Posket Spy x Family Anya figurine

[Alliecat]

Someone's up late.
Cute. Those little Q-Poskets are tempting.

[davidd]

Cute.  Those little Q-Poskets are tempting.

Yes, they are... hence this one!  

It's only gonna be one, though. Honest. For realz!

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Fell behind on posting. Let's get caught up.

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22 July - A Doll A Day 2024:

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"Do y'all ever plan on finishing this project? Just askin'...."

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23 July - A Doll A Day 2024:

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Dollhouse Denizens patiently waiting for their abode to be restored.

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24 July - A Doll A Day 2024:

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"Oww! Watch where you're pointing that light!"

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25 July - A Doll A Day 2024:

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"See? I told'ja I could fix him!"

Ermm... how long did it take you to repair Atez the Robot, there, Moesephine?

"Uhhh... that depends. What year is this?"

(Real for true answer: about 13 years!)

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[Alliecat]

Your shed must have so many treasures!
And the diorama sets are such *cough/realtorspeak* wonderful blank canvases with endless possibilities.    (Someone's been looking at way too much of that.)
Hope you will get to finish them sometime.

[davidd]

Your shed must have so many treasures!
And the diorama sets are such *cough/realtorspeak* wonderful blank canvases with endless possibilities.    (Someone's been looking at way too much of that.)

If mouse droppings were gold I'd be rich! 

Realtor-speak... yes. I've been trying to get a real estate agent in Florida to realize what a "wonderful blank canvas" the Florida place is, but apparently selling a house that needs any work whatsoever is becoming increasingly challenging. Banks will not lend on houses needing work, insurance companies will not cover a house that isn't practically perfect in every way, and buyers want everything to be "modernized" and "up to date" even though they fully intend to rip everything out and remodel anyway - thus, agents either do not want to to handle the property at all, or they want the price to be practically give-away.

Yeah, prolly gonna try to put the Florida house on the market. The ac/heat system conked out, and it'll cost between $6500 and $8000 to fix it. Annual property taxes are $4400 (and likely to increase by at least 10% every year). It is not economically feasible to maintain two residences at this time. So... I dunno, still thinking things over.

Also, Florida is really crowded. That neighborhood is really nice, but the city is growing, tons of new condos and apartments going in, and the roads are already insufficient to handle the current level of traffic.

Whatever. I don't know. Seems like everyplace is turning kinda sucky... unless you're so rich that money literally means nothing and you can travel around the world on your private super-yacht. I obviously failed to make the right financial choices earlier in my life, as when I look out the window the window is not a port-hole and I'm not looking at the coastline of the French Riviera (which is not actually where I'd go if I had a super-yacht, it's more symbolic).

Have you had an agent look over your house and give you a ballpark estimate? (Then after they look it over more closely they'll revise that initial estimate down by 30 or 40%.)

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26 July - A Doll A Day 2024:

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"I say, good show, old sport!"

[Alliecat]

That's quite a realistic figure! From a distance on a small screen one might think he was real.

Yes, of course I have a ballpark estimate as it has to factor into the cost of another house. I'll revise their estimate up. An awful lot of people have had an awful lot to say about this house over the past 29 years, so of course they'll all show up with cash in hand (eyeroll). The realtor I thought I'd be working with is arrogant and a bit pushy and our last conversation put me off. He's not interested in working with people who aren't quite ready to Sell And Get Out Right Now. Too many red flags in the conversation. He's ghosted anyway, so I'm not bothered by that. The other one I contacted.... has been away on the main having a baby. Eyeroll again. Every effort seems to be blocked. Well, maybe "divine timing" isn't quite right yet. But it better hurry the f--- up.

Too bad about the FL house. I'm surprised no one wants to take on a fixer given the popularity of all those flip TV shows. I've seen quite a few houses that make me wish I had the skills/resources/team to do a flip. Can you sell it privately and just get a lawyer to handle the paperwork? There are plenty of DIY sale sites.
Yep, it sucks in lots of places, and while thinking I want a private little spot in the woods, I'm watching half the continent burn... Prices are stupid, and everywhere is too peopley.

[davidd]

27 July - A Doll A Day 2024:

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Doll Fall Down... and I Lack the Enthusiasm to Pick It Up

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Integrity Toys Dynamite Girls "Back to Brooklyn" Gavin

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If the weather cools down I might have more enthusiasm. It's too hot to do much of anything right now.

And no, the heat is not  related to "climate change," it's summer in the desert.

[davidd]

Yes, of course I have a ballpark estimate...

I had responded to your comment, but... I think I accidentally over-pasted something and what I said wasn't worth reading anyway. In short, your ex-perience with real estate agents is not unfamiliar to me.

[Alliecat]

She looks like I feel a lotta days.
How hot is it?
I'm loving our hot weather -- mid 20s and an occasional 30ish day, haha. Too bad I can't enjoy being out in my yard much.

[davidd]

She looks like I feel a lotta days.

Then you can probably really relate to this one:

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28 July - A Doll A Day 2024:

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Arranbee No. 2143 Nancy Lee Doll

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Poor thing needs to be re-homed, but there's no love for Nancy Lee on eBay. Mint condition examples bring as high as $50 but as low as $15... if they sell.