You may enjoy the photos in the following link - a mother's celebration of her 5 year old's potential.  I guess, in my own way, I try to show some of the same spirit, when my girls get busy in the lab or at the piano.  Enjoy.  R.
http://www.jaimemoorephotography.com/2013/05/09/not-just-a-girl//

Another new friend arrived at the Joe Pye Station recently.  Linette from the Plusczok clan!!

While they wait for the rest of her luggage to be unloaded, Zandri is holding Linette's Schultute.  "A Schultute is a German tradition; a cardboard cone nicely decorated and filled with toys, chocolate, candies, utensils and various other goodies" says Andreas - he is excited because now he has someone else to speak German with.  Gracie and Zandri (who saw a picture of Linette before she arrived) both decided to wear their hair in somewhat similar little knobby "dos" when they went to the station to meet her.  (Andreas didn't see the point in that at all!  Either point!)

This is the first Plusczok doll to join my gang.  I took one of those risks - buying a doll after seeing her only in photos and hoping that she/he would "fit" with the rest of the gang.  I lost a little bit in the gamble - Linette's eyes-and-head-to-body proportions are a little smaller than I was thinking/hoping they'd be.  So she's part of the Smalleye family, I guess - along with Zandri and some of the Effners.  I used to be "pickier" about having everyone match up really well - it doesn't bother me quite so much anymore (but Linette will never be able to stand side-by-side with Poppy/Patsy of the Bigeye family!!)

Welcome Linette!!  R.

All sorts of wonderful things involving learning about butterflies!!!!  A net!  A jar for keeping butterflies or maybe growing caterpillars!   A field-guide/checklist!  And .....

... most precious of all, one of the collections of butterflies that Uncle Dick and Granddad made when Uncle Dick was a child, way back in the days when there seemed to be butterflies everywhere and it seemed like an OK idea to "collect" them.  Annie Laurie will treasure this especially because she knows nowadays there just aren't enough butterflies to sacrifice for this kind of a collection. 

Gentle Reader,
Spring is here!  (At least at Joe Pye Towers.  In my own neighborhood six days ago there was ice loading down all the tree branches [i.e. winter] - today it is 78 [i.e. summer] - tomorrow it will be .... who knows what! But just as in the country side at Joe Pye Towers, the daffodil buds, bearing up through snow and ice, frost and sun, have finally opened -- trooper trumpets!)  Gracie and Sophie, still in their Easter finery, take a stroll to gather a bouquet.  Enjoy!  R.

Do you run around outside in the cold, then come inside, shuck off all your extra clothing, except your new hat (and boots!) and warm up again??  It appears this is what Ann Estelle does!

Well!!!  This is not what I've been doing while it snows!  I've been knitting Ann Estelle's new hat.  Here you see the second generation (in a better weight yarn than the first generation).  Pretty cute, if I say so myself - no wonder Ann Estelle doesn't want to take it off.  But I do wish she wouldn't stomp around indoors in those boots!!!  (And I do wish it would stop snowing!)   R.

Gentle Reader,
I recently purchased a doll so that I could "borrow" some of her accessories for the Joe Pye clan.  This is the first time I've had exposure to a Barbie-style "collectible" doll.  (Yes, I know that I have relatively narrow tastes in dolls - for instance, I've only seen those apparently extremely popular "Re-borns" once, at a convention.)
 
I found the "box" confusing and difficult to "open".  I do understand the concept of a doll (or outfit) being temporarily attached to a cardboard backing, and I was just innocently trying to reach that layer of cardboard.  I finally got there and then was amazed:  There were several large acetate "girdles" around the doll keyed into the cardboard, and these attachments liberally enhanced with lots of clear tape; two twisted wire attachments (around neck and waist), through the cardboard and plastic reinforcements; the long hair had its own thread attachment through the cardboard; each arm and leg an elastic band through the cardboard; and numerous t-type attachments, of several sizes, through parts of the outfit and the cardboard.  The labor to "insert" this doll into her box must have been just about as much as the labor to put her together and dress her!!!

It became obvious to me that this poor doll was never meant to be separated from her box!!!  And it eventually dawned on me that this must be an example of what I've seen referred to as "displayed in box", clarifying for me pictures I've seen of people's collections of rows and rows of boxed "Barbies" - before, this has been a mystery to me.  Frankly it is still a mystery!!!  If one is going to collect dolls attached to boxes, one might as well collect an image of a doll printed on a box!!

But, to each his own!  R.

This year our wee lassie has moved outdoors to celebrate the saint's day .... and no, she's not actually in Ireland, but is in north Yorkshire ..... anywhere to find a nice breath of Spring .... (no, not something she's finding yet in our own neighborhood either!!  Sigh.)

While we've waited for Spring, I've been spending a lot of time on the computer, working on genealogy and neglecting the poor wee dollies.  We do sometimes get tired of playing here all by ourselves.  But I will try to post more.  I just purchased some new photography lights and need to try them out.  Readers have asked for photos on the "outfit only" page so perhaps I'll start with some of those.  Sadly, I myself do not have all the outfits, so won't be able to complete the page, but at least I can get a start on it.

Enjoy, R.

Check out the Mary Engelbreit website for what looks like a really fun way to play with cyber dolls!!  Sadly, I myself don't have the kind of equipment needed to do this kind of thing.  But that's probably a good thing, because I just might spend too much time playing with it!!  (And from the small part of the doll's voice that one hears on the video, I might have problems with the voices .... but maybe one can "manipulate" the tone/pitch/etc of the voices???)  Enjoy.  R.

http://www.maryengelbreit.com/blog/introducing-breitville-paper-doll-app/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=app