Hi everyone,
Good news… my mammogram was normal! Yay! Another year of good health in that department!
TOMORROW you’ll get to see Anne’s pretty quilt she has made. I got a sneak preview of it today!
I had another really busy day so not much sewing was accomplished. I only managed to get the edge of the waistbands and the hems of the shorts ALL serged. I started hemming them, but we had to leave for a birthday party in the evening.
I did take a few pictures, just so you could see them, but it’s not much to look at.
I thought I’d show you my template I made from some cardboard to use when I’m trying to “fussy cut” something out… It’s nice to be able to see what your complete piece will look like so this helps. You just center it onto the fabric (which is spray starched and more rigid) and then draw on the inside of the cardboard along the edges and then cut out your piece. You know for sure it’s the way you wanted it to be… centered, even on both side and straight. It’s hard to do that when you are laying a paper pattern piece on top of your design and you almost just have to guess that you have it right under the paper.
Here are a couple examples of how it looks… except I didn’t spray starch this fabric, so it looks a bit wrinkly.
Now I’m hoping someone can help… Suemae emailed me asking about this doll… I only know she’s a #4 Asian doll with Almond eyes… and was made in 1995 and retired in 2011. I know she has the softer vinyl skin and is pretty sought after. I think she’s pretty hard to find, but can anyone else add to what I’ve said.
The back of her neck is printed: Pleasant Company 749/76
Linda or Marilyn…did Susette ever tell you anything about this doll… if she bought her new, or what she was wearing when she got her?
Anyone have any idea how much Suemae should sell her for? I looked up one and she was in a red brocade looking Asian outfit and was listed for over $400…
Suemae told me the Estate sale went well and Kirsten’s trunk sold for more than she had on it. I caught her just in time for her to change the price higher…
Well, that’s going to be it for me today…
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
So glad your mammogram went well, and all is good in that department, Jeanne!
Anne, I’m looking forward to seeing the picture of your quilt!
I like your idea of the template for making sure a design is properly centered. Sometimes, if your pattern material or tissue is sheer enough, you can see thru it to the fabric, but it doesn’t work on all fabrics, especially for those where the pattern and colors are all similar tones!
Oh, now THAT is my AbbyRose doll!! I have her, too, and I have heard she is relatively rare, and expensive. The doll shop where I used to work (it is no longer in existence) would get American Girl dolls occasionally to sell to people who wanted to be able to come in and buy one (we had no AG Place yet), and Sandy had just gotten this new doll in. First time we’d seen her. She was putting her up on a shelf and I said, “Uh, just a minute…” and that’s how she came to be mine! I hope you are able to find some in nice shape on ebay so you get an idea of a fair price for Suemae.
Because I had her and took her to doll shows and the like, several of my friends decided they needed one, too! I think PC sold quite a few of her in our area that year!! 😂
Now, going back to some of yesterday’s comments:
Sissy, my husband’s name was Ronald, he was always called Ron except for when he was growing up, when he was called Ronnie, which he Hated!! So when we named our son Daniel, we decided he was going to be Daniel. Period. And one day, shortly after we got him (we adopted him–he came to us at age 3), my brother–who was about 6′ tall then (he’s lost some height)–picked up this little boy, and in his deep bass voice, said, “Well, Danny, how’s it going?” and my son put his hands on his hips and looked at my brother and said, “Uncle Paul! My name is NOT Danny! It’s Daniel!” Oh. 😂🤣😂
Silver. We have silverplate (so I let my brother have mom and dad’s sterling), and I have a few pieces of my grandmother’s sterling in the “George and Martha” pattern. I also have three sterling silver teaspoons in Alvin’s “Chateau Rose” pattern. I was given the first one when I was a little girl, by our neighbor, for Christmas; it has my first name engraved on the front and the date on the back; my brother got one, too. (Ate my cereal with mine every day!) I had mentioned it to my great-aunt Ethel when I was probably 18 and noticed her silver service was that pattern. Fast forward ten years; I was getting married. Aunt Ethel took two teaspoons from her own silver service (she had double teaspoons, as I recall), polished them, and sent them to us for a wedding gift! All those years, and she remembered. 💖
Charlotte, I still have all my sterling silver service and use it some times. All of it is engraved. I hope a granddaughter will want some of it, as I have 12 place settings and all the serving pieces. Half of it was my grandmother’s. I also have saved table sterling pieces for my older son and family. They chose my mom’s silver service. My mom was an only child so all my grandmother’s and my grant aunt’s silver went to my mom. When my mom died a lot went to me and some to my old brother and some to my older brother. I have saved all the silver goblets because both my sons want those. I still have some pieces that are not sterling but they can still use those if they want them.
Jeanne, such good news about your mammogram being normal! Mine was last month too and was also normal! Extra happy for that, since I had breast cancer 11 years ago, so, itIs kind of nerve wracking when it is time for another one!
I just love the old car illustrations on those shorts! I hope everything goes perfectly and tney get done so you can start selling!
About that doll, yes, I do remember Susette getting her, but the details are fuzzy, because she was always getting a new doll! If she saw something she liked, she got it pronto! I don’t know a lot, but she did get her used, off EBay. She did not come in that outfit, but I have no idea which one she did actually come in. I think she bought all of her American Girl dolls used, either off Ebay or Mecari. She absolutely loved knitted outfits and was always buying one. I know that particular one is not an American Girl outfit, just one of the many knitted outfits she had.
I believe Marilyn has one of that doll, and Susette liked her so much she found one and bought it. Not completely sure about that or if she had one first, then Marilyn got one. Maybe Marilyn will chime in.
Everything you mentioned an out her is true, she is a #4, and rare. I believe she was the first Asian doll that AG made, then Ivy came along, and #4 was retired. She was a JLY doll, so more than likely would not have come in an Asian outfit, but whatever the meet outfit was at that time. However, AG did make several Asian type outfits that you could put her in.
My #4 was the first one, and came in the mix and match outfit, which is shown here: https://americangirl.fandom.com/wiki/Mix_and_Match_Outfit
Magenta t-shirt and leggings, white l/s shirt, denim vest, etc. Apparently she came in whatever outfits were the outfits for a particular year–there is a list here: https://americangirl.fandom.com/wiki/Just_Like_You_4 You can click on each one to see what it was.
She was released in 1995 (when I got her) and retired in 2011. Hope that’s helpful.
Hooray, so happy you got that mammogram done and out of the way with a good result. It is scary, especially if you have dense breasts. I have small breasts but they are “dense” I have been told. I was called back one time a few years ago. I am not sure why but the xray doc came in and explained some difficult area and they redid that and I have had a good xray every since. I have heard a lot of negative information regarding mammograms. It is something that puts us in a lot of panic.
I am so glad you have another year with an excellent result. What a great relief!
This doll is beautiful! Wow, what a sweet lovely face!
Charlotte and Linda, you have provided excellent information from your memories.
I am very happy for Suemae that she had a successful estate sale.
Your template for fussy cutting is very good, Jeanne. Your boy shorts factory is top notch!! This fabric is perfect!!
Today I feel like being lazy, but I have several errands, so I will do those.
I hope all of you have a nice day. It is cloudy here, temp is going up to 55º but no sun 🥺☁️
Jeanne, we are all happy your mammogram was good, thanks for letting us know. How is George? We all think of him too!
So glad the Estate sale was good and that she will have info on the AG doll from Y’all.
I am looking forward to seeing Anne’s quilt! That is something I tried to make for a doll and can’t imagine trying to make one human sized!
We finally have help getting rid of the leaves in the yard. My yard man and his grandson are working out there now. I hope they can get them all before their time is up. We are leaving at 11 thirty for our monthly lunch with my high school class.
Joy, about selling the sterling silver, you wrote that you would not do that and neither would I have done so years ago. Now that I am on my way to 87 this year, It is time. My sons have told me which pieces to save and I have also saved my sterling silver service, hoping some of the younger grands will want them. Why should I keep the sterling pieces that no one wants when they will just sell it when I am gone? The $2,000 I got from selling some yesterday will really help with some of the money we have to put into things that need worked on for our house.
I really do commend you for selling some silver. You are doing the right thing! I just couldn’t do it. Too attached for so many reasons. I will have to leave it to other person or daughter and grands to do. I really enjoy having it and especially, seeing my grandmother’s teaspoons everyday. Being an only child, I have become the keeper of so many things from the family. From silver to china and photos galore, All reside here for others to discover. 🙂
My best friend when I was young was an only child. I always envied her. There was no one messing with her stuff. Then as I got older I saw the advantages of having siblings. Now you gave me another. When my mother passed away my sisters told me take what you want and they took care of the rest.
Well, it does get lonely sometimes, but there was no one to fight with over anything either. I’ve heard horror stories of family fights over this or that left by their parents. You were very lucky. 🙂
Oh yes Joy. I can back up those “fights” over things.
Ugh, it is so painful. My sister called me a liar, oh gosh, there were some days….
Love the idea of a clear view of seeing the fabric before cutting out. I can tell you that I have managed to miscalculate when laying out a pattern for fussy cutting in the past. This would be a great help.
As to Susette’s doll, I know nothing, but I’m sure that Laura and others will come to the rescue. She is cute and her winter outfit sweet. I wonder what she originally wore?
Another hot day here expected. But, it has been nice in the shade and working in the yard pulling those weeds has been tolerable. Everytime I pack up after working, I look up and see so many areas left to clear. Kind of depressing, but then, I look back and see how nice the area looks that is done. So many weeds. So little time. Yikes! Maybe I can get other person to help today. We’ll see.
I’m pretty sure that I have Ivy Lee. At least I think I do. I’ll have to take a look. The AG girls are not out often. I do like Susette’s girl a lot. Hope that she finds a wonderful new home.
Congratulations on the mammogram. Like Linda, I had breast cancer and would not like a repeat. Mine was discovered in 2013, we were waiting for the biopsy that year on my birthday. I had trouble sleeping because of the chemo and discovered that Linda and Susette were often awake at 2 am, and we began emailing each other then.
#4 dolls were some of the first modern girls, so their original outfits would have been the original GoT outfit — striped shirt, black pants, gold jacket. The original ones, like Susette’s, have pie bangs. A second version, like mine, have thinner bangs and a middle part.. Susette got hers first, and I liked hers and, like Susette, got mine on Ebay. The older ones are more expensive. I had 4 to choose from and the least expensive, and newest, was my favorite. No Asian who has seen her thinks she looks Asian.
Susette loved Asian art , so if her doll was not wearing Asian clothes, she would have quickly acquired some. I think she had at least one outfit before she had the doll, and probably several others purchased for her afterwards.
When I got mine, the ones like Susette’s were going for around $400. One that’s been well-cared for, like hers, especially one in an appropriate outfit, would probably go for that. She looks so pretty in what she’s wearing that I’d be tempted to sell her that way with one of her Asian outfits as an extra. She liked that doll in that outfit so much that she insisted that I get one too.
Good news on your mammogram. Hope George is doing well. Are you still on chicken duty?
I have no clue about the Asian doll but it was interesting hearing from those who do. She didn’t look terribly Asian to me but I cede to the experts that she is. But she is very pretty and I love her outfit. So good hearing that the estate sale went well.
Good job on fussy cutting the shorts. I have template plastic that I use for patterns where I want to use fussy cutting. I can’t remember what I got it for but it has come in handy many times.
Hubby had a meeting with the woman at the city this morning. Guess I’ll have to wait till lunch to see how it went. It was at 10 a.m. and it’s now almost 11:30 so I feel he’s finished by now and probably just went to the shop afterward. Which could be good because if it hadn’t gone well he would have come in loaded for bear to share what transpired.
Tonight will be our first Chorale rehearsal for our spring (actually summer) concert. We are doing it late this year so as to be nearer July 4th since it is a patriotic concert dedicated to the 250th anniversary of our Country. Then I think I will retire. Even the Lennon Sisters have retired by now and Janet and I are the same age.
Enjoy your last year of Chorale. My mom sang is 5 choirs, one was the Annapolis (Md) Chorale. She was so enthusiastic with singing!
I am so glad you are doing a special concert this year!!
The board shorts are coming along nicely. Always glad to hear good heath news.
I agree with Linda on the AG doll. My knowledge is limited to markings and packaging on the PC historical dolls. In the mid to late 90’s PC released their first Just Like You dolls in generic, matching outfits. When I saw the picture my first response was Asian but too early for Ivy Ling. Late 90’s JLY sounds right.
I missed the discussion on the silver but kudos to you Sissy for selling the pieces that no one wants. Like Joy, I have a hard time letting go. I love looking at the beautiful crystal and china in the cabinet. When we visit antique stores the prices for what was once expensive dinnerware are abysmal so I just keep them.
An update on our problems with the city. First a little background. We bought our property in 1990. Our city was under general rule at the time. The mobile home park was on the property so we just kept it figuring it was a good way to make sure the mortgage got paid on time, especially during the winter when construction was iffy because it usually rains here a lot. For five years we lived in peace until the city went to Home Rule sometime in 1996. For some reason the city thought Home Rule would make all that they didn’t like go away. It didn’t and they were not happy. There were a few small mobile home parks like ours that people on Social Security had built to add to their income. To the city’s dismay they discovered those parks were grandfathered. Thereafter we were referred to as non-compliance parks.
If this wouldn’t have been so stressful it would actually be funny but the two women in code enforcement David talked to totally had no clue what exactly non-compliance meant in this case. The woman that has been the biggest problem actually thought it meant we were not in compliance with the ordinance and needed to be “encouraged” to do so. Hence all the onsite visits, pictures and threats over the last few months after she got hired.
When David told them it meant we were grandfathered out of any ordinance after Home Rule was adopted, the woman actually said she would have to check into that. For thirty years that’s been understood and never been a problem but evidently the assistant city manager is ignorant of that also since he responded to my note saying we’d been given enough time to come into compliance with the ordinance so all this was on us. David was told all the other parks have come into compliance. Since we had a front row seat to the ordinance that was created in 1996, we knew this was not true since all our parks are small but the ordinance calls for three acres or more and all mobile homes have to be no more than five years old (idealistic for sure since people are not going to buy a new mobile home every five years) and most of the mobile homes have been in the parks for many years, often changing hands without moving. We do have one very large mobile home park in the city, but they are still non-compliance since most of their homes are a lot more than five years old.
I think the session ended with David saying he would fix the road and do other housekeeping duties and the fence had already been fixed – until someone backs into it again. So I guess revoking our license is off the table since they don’t have a good reason to do that because we are not actually in violation of the ordinance as they said we were. Sadly we have too many big cogs in a little wheel looking for job security. It never dawns on them we pay their salaries.
The history is so very interesting. So sorry that you have had to go through all of this. Sure hope they have figured it out now with your expertise, and won’t be bothering with it any more. Thanks so much for the update.
At least there is a light at the end of the tunnel that doesn’t include me being without the income for a while. Thanks for caring.
Wow, what a story!
Things go on so long people are not interested in the history of properties and decisions made. It is “sloppy” and we are the ones that have to do the work to explain things they are supposed to know.
Jeanne, I am so glad your mammogram was normal, long may it continue. Rosemary, I agree there is a lot of scary stuff out there concerning mammograms. When Sam was going through her treatment I came across a site that was insisting that mammograms caused cancer, all women had to do was feel their breasts and go to the doctor if they found a lump! This incensed me enough to write a comment because Sam had never had a mammogram before and could not feel a lump, not even the doctors could feel a lump but when she had a more detailed scan there was, amongst a lot of non-aggressive lumps, one that was VERY aggressive and if she had waited till she could feel it, it would most likely have killed her. It had already, small as it was, got into her lymph nodes. Mammograms save lives ladies and I am grateful.
With regard to selling (or giving away) items that no one wants, I did that with a lot of china that I had. Ther was no longer any full sets because the china cabinet fell in the September 2010 earthquake. It landed against the fireplace wall so didn’t fall down completely but the doors came open and the china fell out. Some survived but no complete sets. After Sam moved in the cabinet was getting a bit full so I decided to give all the china away. No one in the family wanted it and because there were no full sets it was almost worthless. I gave it to a local cafe that had just opened and did lovely morning and afternoon teas. Kai (my grandaughter) was 16 at the time. Now, at 20 she loves all the old stuff and is buying it from the thrift shops!! Go figure. So we still have no room in the china cabinet. She says frequently “My 16 yr old self was stupid”. I think I told you before that when we were looking at sleepouts the style Sam and I liked with a veranda, Kai absolutely refused to have it, now the style she wishes she had chosen is the one we wanted!
A few weeks ago Sam had a call from the insurance company about the electric car that she has as part of the informal marriage settlement (it still has to go to court because Greg is not cooperating). The car is still in his name even though Sam paid the remaining $10,000 on the loan. In fact when he found out she had finished paying it he wanted it back! He refuses to sign the ownership papers. Anyway he stopped paying the insurance and because she doesn’t legally own the car she wasn’t able to change the insurance to her. We decided to manage with one car for a while and see how we got on. Then, suddenly it has all changed because of the war. NZ has only about 6 weeks of fuel supplies left (we have not oil in the ground here) so if the war doesn’t stop soon or, more importantly, the Strait doesn’t re-open, we are going to be rationed so the electric car was looking very attractive. It needed a warrant of fitness (we have to have those yearly) and she had been told it might cost up to $700 to get the suspension done. Anyway, it passed the warrant, yay, so now it was legal but she still needed insurance. We rang my insurance company and after a lot of toing and froing she managed to get it so today I will fill up my car which will last me for a long time. Now we also have to worry about LPG because our hot water and our hob run on that and we import that as well. Electricity isn’t too bad, 93% of NZ power is run on natural resources (solar, wind and water) so we won’t lose that. Oh well, hopefully it won’t last too long.
On that note have a lovely day everyone.
Well, I certainly enjoyed reading your post. I had no idea about no oil in NZ. This whole mess is so disturbing. For us of course, especially those, like us, who think this whole thing was avoidable. I am so sorry about the car fiasco, but glad there is now insurance and a car that does not need gas to run. We’ve been looking at hybrid cars for awhile, but waited too long. Now, the prices are going up, they are sold before they even arrive. Go figure. Wishing you and family the best.
Regarding the mammograms as necessary tests….I couldn’t agree more. Every year since I was 40 or so, I went for my annual mammogram. And the one year, when I was nearing retirement in 2014, I delayed going for the mammogram because I was helping one of my daughters paint and prepare a house to be sold….that was the year that the delayed mammogram indicated that I had a questionable lump that I hadn’t felt, and had no other symptoms, other than being fatigued some of the time. Which I attributed to the manual work I had been doing on the house.
A biopsy had me at stage 2 breast cancer, acquiring an oncologist, having a partial mastectomy (the cancer had infiltrated the lymph nodes by then) and a bilateral breast reduction, six weeks of radiation (five days a week), and around 16 targeted therapy (chemo) sessions over many weeks. I was prepared to ask for a complete mastectomy as I didn’t want to come back and I remember asking the surgeon to take a lot of the “margins” to get it all. Because I had large breasts, the recommendation was to have a breast reduction, as this would make it better to stabilize and target the radiation process. So half of the surgery time was with a plastic surgeon.
Needless to say, I have my annual mammogram every year without delay, and my daughters do too, since this type of cancer is now part of their background. Breast cancer, as far as I knew, did not run in our family. I had an excellent oncologist then, in Indiana, and she was able to recommend another one to see in Texas, when I moved down here. My Indiana oncologist had ordered a full-body scan after all of my treatments were completed which would have indicated if there was more cancer anywhere. Cancer free!….but it did show that I have arthritis in nearly every large joint….even the clavicles! I’ve been told that breast cancer rarely returns to the same breast, but can metastasize to the bones, brain, or another large organ.
Mammograms are indeed an important part of women’s health, even though it is not the most comfortable exam. I attribute my fight against the cancer cells to God’s will and belief in the strength he gives us, the oncologist’s decisions, and to so many prayers coming my way then, from family and friends. There are no words to express my gratefulness for more time on earth, as I often say to God. Of course, aging longevity can bring on a multitude of different aches and ailments, insomnia, slower mobility, and more. I say we just “keep on trucking”….and thank God for more time here…one day at a time.