davidd's A DOLL A DAY 2025

[Alliecat]

$300 for a can?? Whew. Someone was telling me the other day that some people will buy old perfume bottles for like $600.

[davidd]

$300 for a can??  Whew.  Someone was telling me the other day that some people will buy old perfume bottles for like $600.

Never throw out anything old (or old-ish) or odd without checking on eBay. Make sure to check "sold prices," because eBay sellers often ask unrealistic prices which do not reflect true market value.

But stuff like old soda cans and beer bottles and cardboard boxes of Gold Dust Washing Powder -- yeah, it's why I said that old farmhouse you were looking at, the one with a phonograph shipping crate in the attic, might be worth as much in "junk value" as they were asking for the whole place.

By the way -- I learned that Canada enacted a "non-resident owner" tax on U.S. residents who own property in Canada. They did this during COVID. The Canadian government taxes U.S. owners one percent of the assessed value of the property annually. So the non-resident owner of a $500k property in Canada must pay $5000 to the Canadian government every year, in addition to the regular annual property taxes. I certainly hope that the current U.S. administration reciprocates with a similar real estate tax on Canadians who own property in the U.S.

Anyway... most "old stuff" isn't worth much, if anything; and prices on "old stuff" have been declining. Younger people have neither the space nor the interest to collect things. And the things we usually think of as being potentially valuable, or which our families told us over the years were "old and valuable," tend not to be, while stupid stuff like old soda cans or cereal boxes or PEZ containers can sometimes bring a few bucks.

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14 April - A Doll A Day 2025:

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What th' What, Now? Pullip Amelia with Brown Eyes?

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The original owner of this "limited edition" Pullip Amelia doll replaced the original green plastic eye chips with brown inserts.

Why somebody would purchase a limited edition doll and then modify or customize it is something I do not understand.

Fortunately, the owner saved the original eye chips and included them when they sold the doll.

I purchased this doll pre-owned three years ago and am only now opening the parcel to look at it to see if I can restore the original eyes.

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Opening the head of a Pullip doll

Remove the wig and remove three screws to open the head

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Ex-posing the "Eye Mech"

The eye mechanism is secured inside the "face plate" by three screws

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Pullip Doll "eye mech" after removal

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The eyelids, which are held in place by tiny springs, usually fall off during the eye mech removal.

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Original Pullip Amelia Eye Chips

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The original owner of this pre-owned Pullip Amelia doll had changed out the eye chips (the colored parts of the eyes), but kept the original green eyes. I am attempting to restore the original eye inserts.

Some eye chip tutorials suggest backing the eye chips with metal foil for a brighter appearance. I thought I'd try doing that.

The brown replacement eye chips popped out fairly easily even though they had been secured in place with glue. The chips can be pressed out from behind using some kind of stick or probe or tool that can be inserted through the eye mechanism.

While I've removed and replaced eye mechanisms before, I've never actually replaced the eye chips until now.

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Eye Mech Re-Installation -- Eyelid Springs

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After the eye mechanism is reinstalled in the face plate, reconnecting the eyelid springs is often the most challenging part of the entire process. Teeny tiny tweezers, a lot of patience, and a little bit of swearing help accomplish the task.

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My First Re-Chipping -- Complete! YAY!

[Alliecat]

Yeah, I sold a few things to a vintage shop on the mainland that I was surprised she wanted, but turns out some of that stuff is in demand for film productions looking for set decor.  Unfortunately she's not buying stuff anymore -- so much for that decluttering outlet -- guess she couldn't sell enough old junk to make a profit.
Of course sold prices.  Looking at resale Pullip prices is ... entertaining.

I don't think non-resident tax is unusual.  When there is already a housing shortage and you have foreign buyers grabbing up tons of property and driving up prices (BC being a prime example) people might ex-pect something to be done to help citizens being priced out of the market.  "They say" young people starting out these days can't realistically ex-pect to afford a house, and that's Canada-wide.  Prices everywhere are stupid.  There are higher non-resident property taxes between provinces.  And tax here on the island is higher if you aren't a year-round resident.  >shrugs<
I can't be too offended by the notion; if someone's got half a million bucks for a second house in another country they can probably afford the property tax.

I mean, have at it with reciprocal tax down there.  Plenty Canadian snowbirds bailing out anyway, from what I hear.  I just sadly turned down a threepeat housesit for those lovely TX folks; not gonna try driving over the border again for a while.  And, well, the plane tickets and car rentals do add up.

Anyway, congrats on your first re-chip.  "Everyone" does it, and the little springs & eyelids seem to cause the most trouble.  Not having any dolly friends nearby to fix the stuck eyes if I mess up, I have not tried it!

I can't believe you didn't open the parcel at all for THREE YEARS????  

[davidd]

I can't believe you didn't open the parcel at all for THREE YEARS????  

I was surprised it had been three years. I looked up the purchase date: October 2022. So only two and a half years, I guess. This Amelia is Number Ten. According to my notes, Number Nine was purchased in 2020, five years ago, and she hasn't been out of her box, either.

I guess I can narrow down the time-frame during which my enthusiasm for All Things Dolly began to subside.

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15 April - A Doll A Day 2025:

Janie and Trivia undertake a bathroom remodeling project.

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Difference in Outlook

"It'll be great!"

"It'll be a lot of work! Dirty, messy, icky work that takes forever!"

"I know, right? Like I said, it'll be great!"

Janie loves this stuff. Triv not so much.


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First step: Trivia begins to pry up trim boards... most of which are already loose

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While Triv works on the corner trim inside, Janie disconnects

water lines and tries to make sense of the chaos under the house

[Alliecat]

Oh wow, another project! It’s nice that you have the dolls to make all this drudgery a little bit more fun[?].
I feel like 2020 was a period when enthusiasm for a lot of things began to fade   but hey, accomplishing the re-chip was cool, and that should give you a little bit of a boost.

[davidd]

16 April - A Doll A Day 2025:

Triv and Janie remove a pedestal sink, which is necessary to gain access to broken water lines inside the wall behind the sink.

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[Alliecat]

These are always so cute. Bummer about the water lines. Winter freeze?

[davidd]

Bummer about the water lines.  Winter freeze?

Yeah, these water lines froze a few years ago, then a makeshift repair froze and broke again and made a real mess, and I haven't felt sufficiently motivated to work on it. Now I'm seeing why I wasn't motivated.

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17 April - A Doll A Day 2025:

Triv and Janie remove a bathtub, which is necessary to gain access to broken water lines inside the wall.

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"There! That wasn't so bad, was it?"

[Alliecat]

Holy cow! You had to remove the WHOLE TUB?!
You must be mighty sick of all this reno work by now.
Maybe, with all this ex.perience, you should just start from scratch and build a whole new house!!

[davidd]

Maybe ... you should just start from scratch and build a whole new house!!

 I suppose that's kinda what I'm doing, a little bit at a time, and from the inside out so that nothing shows to tip off the inspectors and permitting authorities.

I should try to change my mind-set from "fixing broken things" to "building something entirely new." Maybe that'd make the projects seem less hopeless.

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18 April - A Doll A Day 2025:

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Triv removes a broken PEX plumbing manifold. A spell of extreme cold weather resulted in the manifold cracking and then leaking, or spraying, in spectacular fashion once the weather warmed.

[Alliecat]

Yes, perhaps that attitude would be more encouraging.
That’s an interesting piece of plumbing. Can’t say I’ve ever seen anything like that.
I hope the girls are going to get to take Easter Sunday off at least and get dressed up

[davidd]

I hope the girls are going to get to take Easter Sunday off at least and get dressed up.

Getting dressed up would require finding the box of Smart Doll fashions which is currently buried somewhere in the storage shed. The Smart Doll crew actually have clothing other than orange overalls.

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19 April - A Doll A Day 2025:

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Gadgetry

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LumeCube Ring Light Pro photo light

According to the postmark on the shipping box, it was last November that I decided I really really really wanted a Ring Light Pro. I thought that in addition to helping me achieve better lighting effects, a new photo light would re-inspire my photographic efforts and maybe help me find renewed enthusiasm in a number of areas.

'Kay, so, the new light that I really really really wanted sat unopened from November until now. What is that, five months?

It's open now. If I ever get around to using it, I'll let you know how it works out.

19 April - A Doll A Day 2025

[Alliecat]

I can identify with the lack of motivation to get things done. Let’s hope we both find some before long. I do at least open my packages. Small bright spots…

[davidd]

Small bright spots…

Speaking of bright spots, let's fire up the ring light and see what we can see................

20 April - A Doll A Day 2025:

BEHOLD! The House of the Future – Part II

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See Part I here:  A Doll A Day 2022 – 23 December

[Alliecat]

No, it certainly didn’t go as ex-pected, on several levels 
As night after night turns into one more night in my windowless basement bunker thanks to the neighbours from hell I try to cheer myself by saying, at least I’m not sleeping under a bridge. I’m going to steal this, maybe for a bit of a smile: “at least I’m not sleeping in a greasy pizza box”.
Looks like the ring light gives you nice even lighting.