davidd’s A DOLL A DAY 2021

[Alliecat]

That's a rather angsty looking B&W photo!, and she looks kinda like I feel right now... after a long day, long-winded e-mail rant to a friend, and in need of sleep!!!
Still sweltering there, huh? Janie needs to wear ... less. Nobody wants a coverall in summer heat!

You kept a dozen letters, or you still have a dozen real pen pals?
I used to have several pen-and-paper penpals. We would exchange pages upon pages of nonsensical rambling. It was loads of fun!

Yes, a dozen (ish) pals. Once again I owe most of them letters that I haven't got round to because once again I'm dragging my heels on the French ones, because they take longer.
I only had one pal that I could count as 'pages of nonsensical rambling' ... we took turns writing chapters of a story featuring an actor we liked. I can't remember what it was about and it was pretty awful, but it was fun

[Elfy]

I agree with Allie. If it’s too hot an orange coverall won’t make her feel any cooler.

[Lejays17]

Janie's making a plea to the weather gods? She doesnt seem to having much luck.

are you in danger from bush/wild fire where you are? if everything is tinder-dry it must be a worry.

[dargosmydaddy]

Still sweltering there, huh? Janie needs to wear ... less. Nobody wants a coverall in summer heat!

This! And she needs to pull her hair into a ponytail or messy bun   Long hair in the summer just adds to that sweaty, icky feeling (I say, from ex.perience).

[davidd]

Yes, a dozen (ish) pals.  Once again I owe most of them letters that I haven't got round to because once again I'm dragging my heels on the French ones, because they take longer.
I only had one pal that I could count as 'pages of nonsensical rambling' ... we took turns writing chapters of a story featuring an actor we liked.  I can't remember what it was about and it was pretty awful, but it was fun.

How do you find the time? Well, sounds like recently you're not finding the time! Lack of time spelled the end of most of my pen pal projects. It was usually me who ended up dropping the ball... after years of back and forth. I find that if I put off a letter for too long, I end up with so much I want to say that that it seems overwhelming, so I put it off longer... and then there's even more, and... yeah.

I agree with Allie. If it’s too hot an orange coverall won’t make her feel any cooler.

Perhaps we can stuff the pockets with ice?

Janie's making a plea to the weather gods?  She doesnt seem to having much luck.

are you in danger from bush/wild fire where you are?  if everything is tinder-dry it must be a worry.

The entire state is under fire restrictions: no campfires, no outdoor power equipment, no lanterns with flames, restrictions on the types of off-road vehicles that may be used.

And she needs to pull her hair into a ponytail or messy bun.

That might look cute, too. I should try it.

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11 July - A Doll A Day 2021:

11 July - In a Hurry, Slightly Blurry

This poor guy has been waiting patiently for a body swap for weeks now. Every time... every single time I sit down to work on this, something comes up to interrupt me before I even get started. I'm beginning to think this project is cursed.

[Alliecat]

He's a serious looking fellow.
I just did a body swap this evening Stay tuned for results.

How do you find the time? ... I find that if I put off a letter for too long, I end up with so much I want to say that that it seems overwhelming, so I put it off longer...

Yeah... I only have a few really long-letter pals, and I stopped handwriting most of them because I can type much, much faster. I just have to determine to sit down and DO it.

(Edit to add: I’m going to adopt “in a hurry, slightly blurry” as my default line when anyone asks me “how are you” before noon )

[Elfy]

He looks like the kind of person who would feel right at home with your current heatwave. To combat it have you ever thought of getting the Smart Dolls an ice vest?

[Loona]

Body-swapping is like that... at least I'm in the same boat, I, too, need the right time and mood (but, then again, I need this for all dolly-modding...), so most of those in my crew who aren't on their original bodies sympathise with Mr. Inspiring Beard - most of them got on their bodies much later than when said bodies arrived.

Finally I had a lazy Monday morning (new project is going well, team is productive, deadlines all kept - it's scary! I feel like I changed jobs after the past year's pure hell that was my previous project, and I'm constantly alert for when things will go downhill, having gotten used to that. Not that I miss it, but the current one is going so well it's too good to be true) and had a chance to look back at your Doll a Day posts It was nice to see your Smart Dolls in action again in mid-June, and I see Choco Ciggie Momoko did indeed arrive since you posted about her in the waiting room forum - she looks badass also on this actual owner photo.

Glitter Mountain looks awesome, and went right on my (already endless) list of places to visit if I ever get a chance to fly through the ocean and visit the US. I'd probably need to stay there for years, though, to see everything I'd like to...

I really liked the photostory about Tezca's... skirty incident. Blurple-haired (she looks purple-haired to me) skirt thief girl wasn't very smart, to choose Tezca, of all, to steal a skirt from. Tezca sounded surprisingly diplomatic and modest about the incident first, considering she could have easily set the whole room with its inhabitants on fire with a blink of her eye - but then I realised she did it to salvage the skirt, which would have perished alongside everything and everyone in the room if she were to set everything on fire. Who knew the god of living fire&sun&hot hell is this fashion-savvy! I'd be interested to see what alternative outfit Blurple girl came up with, because I have to agree, the clothes the Dals found for her weren't really flattering, or matching her style. Any chance we'll see a follow-up on this? ^^

[davidd]

Yeah... I only have a few really long-letter pals, and I stopped handwriting most of them because I can type much, much faster. 

(Edit to add: I’m going to adopt “in a hurry, slightly blurry” as my default line when anyone asks me “how are you” before noon. )

Up by the crack of noon, that's a lifestyle with which I can relate.

Typing... or word-processing, is much faster, and offers the added advantage of providing a record of what you say, so that when you hear back, if you hear back, from your pen pal weeks or months later, responding to your comments or questions, you can go back and refresh your memory as to what you said or asked about.
Plus... legibility.

He looks like the kind of person who would feel right at home with your current heatwave. To combat it have you ever thought of getting the Smart Dolls an ice vest?

I need to do something lest they melt. And the Smart Dolls were far too eensive to allow to melt.

Blurple-haired (she looks purple-haired to me) skirt thief girl wasn't very smart, to choose Tezca, of all, to steal a skirt from. ...  Who knew the god of living fire&sun&hot hell is this fashion-savvy! I'd be interested to see what alternative outfit Blurple girl came up with, because I have to agree, the clothes the Dals found for her weren't really flattering, or matching her style. Any chance we'll see a follow-up on this? ^^

I would like to present a follow up at some point. Perhaps after I finish responding to my pen pals.  

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12 July - A Doll A Day 2021:

12 July - Carly searches for fossils in the Arizona desert

iCarly Fashion Switch Carly finds fragments of petrified wood in the northern Arizona desert. Petrified wood counts as fossils, right?

[Alliecat]

That's so cute!! I love how the scene is in perspective for her. It looks just like a dolly-size landscape! (A slightly scary dolly-size landscape, given that those thorns are almost as big as she is!)

...the added advantage of providing a record of what you say, so that when you hear back, if you hear back, from your pen pal weeks or months later, responding to your comments or questions, you can go back and refresh your memory as to what you said or asked about.
Plus... legibility.

I have super-neat writing, (well, except when taking fast news notes), having learned to print letters from my draftsman dad I've had some barely-legible penpals. The handwriting style seems to differ in different parts of the world. And I'm so organized that even when I was hand-writing them all, I wrote on the backs of the envelopes what I'd covered or asked in the letters.

[Elfy]

Carly! Whether it counts as a fossil or not Carly seems delighted with it.

[Loona]

It totally counts as a fossils! To boot, plant fossils are considered rare compared to animal (and especially vertebrata) fossils, because their soft tissues break down quicker than shells or bones, and thus need more special conditions to be preserved. That's a cool find Carly (and I love those cacti too)! I totally want to be there with you now and hunt for fossils.
And now I totally want to stop working too, and take my cherished book on plant fossils back from my university years off the shelf, and read that instead.  While easier accomplished than flying over to where Carly is, this will have to wait until after working hours. None of my thick&informative university books are quick reads that I could indulge in as a break from work. Unless it's an "I'm out of office for the rest of the day"-type of break

[davidd]

I have super-neat writing, (well, except when taking fast news notes), having learned to print letters from my draftsman dad.

My handwriting style is reasonably legible, after I learned draftsman-style block printing in a junior high school careers survey class in the seventh grade.

Carly! Whether it counts as a fossil or not Carly seems delighted with it.

Carly generally seems delighted about most things. However, she discovered something really cool about local geology that she will be sharing here soon.

It totally counts as a fossils! To boot, plant fossils are considered rare compared to animal (and especially vertebrata) fossils, because their soft tissues break down quicker than shells or bones, and thus need more special conditions to be preserved. That's a cool find Carly (and I love those cacti too)! I totally want to be there with you now and hunt for fossils.

Come on out! Once international travel restrictions are lifted, anyway. I think Alliecat will be here during the epic solar eclipse in October 2023. We can have a science-intensive Dolly Market meet-up!

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13 July - A Doll A Day 2021:

13 July - "Like... seriously?"

As if rock slides, flash floods, and rattlesnakes aren't enough fun in themselves... beware of the cute li'l animals!

[dargosmydaddy]

Yikes!

[Alliecat]

Whaaat.
I had to google. Holy crap. And it's not just if you get bitten by the rodents; their fleas have it?!?!
So there's something worse than our Lyme disease ticks.

Come on out! Once international travel restrictions are lifted, anyway. I think Alliecat will be here during the epic solar eclipse in October 2023. We can have a science-intensive Dolly Market meet-up!

Oh man, that would be awesome! However, with all the restrictions and "rules" and "requirements" coming into effect for travel, some of us aren't feeling very optimistic Could things possibly be "back to normal" by then...?? ....????