Easter Decorations 2021

 I have started decorating for Easter. This year, I decided to incorporate some new dolls I have acquired over the past couple of months.

Look at that clown! He is a cloth doll made by Priscilla Arkoin, an artist and former member of Dollology who passed away March 2020. He is really something else. I fell in love when I first saw him. And then I was lucky enough to win him in a doll club raffle.

Standing next to him is an Annalee bunny ballerina, a Mid-Eastern doll (I think), and an Eastern European doll (most likely). These three dolls were part of the raffle lot that the clown was in.

I am at a loss at what country this little doll represents. I am guessing that it is some where like Greenland or another cold climate country.

The African doll is also from the same lot as the other dolls. The china doll is another story. She was given to me by a work friend. The friend's mother, who died about 9 years ago, made the doll in the 1970s. I have decide to name the doll Jennie, in honor of the friend.

This past year has been so stressful, that I have not been posting much recently. Hopefully I will get back in the posting groove soon.

A Caribbean Autumn

 Now that Halloween has passed, it is time for a new Autumn display. I put a few pumpkins on the table, including the two orange pumpkins that I liberated from my mother's basement.

The little tourist dolls in the photo were a recent thrift shop find. They were all in one tightly packed bag. When I got them home and opened up the bag, I was happy to discover that there were four dolls in all.

The doll on top of the pumpkin is on a straw-cone base, while the one in front of the pumpkin in the extravagant dress has a full stuffed body and legs.

These two dolls are topsy-turvy dolls, meaning that they have two heads and two torsos. When you flip them over and pull the skirt down, the other half of the doll is revealed.

Here they are when flipped over.

I stood them up against the pumpkins to get a good look at them, and realized they look really nice as the Fall display. What do you think?

Germany and Holland

At the end of August, we took a Rhine River cruise. We started in Basel, Switzerland, and then had stops in  France, Germany, and finished up in Amsterdam (in Holland).

As a doll collector, I hunted for and found some local costume dolls as my souvenirs.

This little German boy is adorable and of really good quality. He was also more expensive than usual souvenir dolls. (But worth it.)

Look at that little face.

In Amsterdam, these cheap cuties were the best I could find. 

They are cute, but not on the level of the German doll.

They make nice additions to my souvenir doll collection.

Aloha, from Mai.

Meet Mai, an Island Yu*Mi doll from Hawaii. 

Mai is dressed as a pineapple, and according to her tag, "Mai loves to welcome all... a honi (kiss) on the cheek, the warm greetings we all seek".

She is about 7 inches tall and her plush material is soft and velvety. I fell in love with her, and had to bring her home from Hawaii.

Discover Guam... The Local Way

I had the opportunity to visit the island of Guam this month. While there, I wanted to see the U.S, National Park sites for The War in the Pacific. I searched for tours, but all the tour groups were aimed at Japanese speakers, except one. I found Discover Guam ... The Local Way by searching online. They are a locally owned and run tour company that offers tours in English. Hurray! I was taken on a personal World War II tour around the island.

At the T. Stell Newman Visitor Center, a Park Ranger talked one on one with me about Guam and WWII and  I watched a 20 minute movie. There was also a very informative museum. This gave me most of the background information I needed for the other sites.

I highly recommend this tour group if you plan on visiting Guam.

Bali: A Week in Paradise

I am becoming an experienced world traveler. Our most recent excursion was to Bali.

We checked in to the resort at about 12:30AM. We were exhausted, but we were still given flower chains and welcome fruit juice drinks.

Our villa was swank.

The fruit bowl held tiny bananas, green oranges, ans snake fruit.

Most morning, we has breakfast at the outside restaurant. Dinner and lunch was outside, also, but by the pool.

The resort grounds were beautifully decorated and very relaxing.

Our first dinner was the Balinese Cultural Night, complete with food and drink, music, and dancing.

At the end of the night, the dancers invited the guests up to dance with them. I got to use my mad snake arm moves from our belly dance videos. ;)

Group pictures were then taken.

The next morning, we took a tour of the Ubud Wet Market (where locals shop, 4AM-9AM), and drove out to view some rice fields.

Our guide demonstrated how to make an offering packet out of a banana leaf.

Our guide then took us on a tour of a traditional Balinese home that belongs to a friend of his.

Little pigs.

Big Pig.

The pig was enthralled by David. This photo does not show her size, she was huge.

To be continued.