Bluestocking? No. Blackstocking? Yes!

Inquiring minds have been asking about the status of my library in the sky.

So far I have mini copies of:

• Meet Kaya
• Meet Felicity
• Felicity's Surprise
• Very Funny, Elizabeth
• Meet Caroline
• Meet Josefina
• Josefina's Surprise
• Meet Kirsten
• Kirsten's Surprise
• Meet Marie-Grace
• Meet Cécile
• Meet Addy
• Addy's Surprise
• Meet Samantha
• Samantha's Surprise
• Nellie's Promise
• Meet Rebecca
• Meet Kit
• Really Truly Ruthie
• Meet Molly
• Molly's Surprise
• Brave Emily
• Meet Julie

I also have nice little copies of:

• A Charlie Brown Christmas
• A Christmas Carol
• Horton Hears a Who
• It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
• Mother Goose in Hieroglyphics
• The Night Before Christmas
• Olivia Saves the Circus
• Peter Parley’s Book of Fables
• The Quest of the Missing Map
• Robin Hood
• The Tales of Peter Rabbit
• The Wizard of Oz
• Woodworth's Cabinet Library

Please let me know if you have any mini suggestions - or donations!

The odd couple

Momma's still not feeling quite Up To Snuff, but don't worry; we're taking good care of her.

However, tonight my Big Sister thought her doll should spend the night with me so we could become Best Friends.

Does it look like I want to be BFFs with Princess Buffy?

Whatever am I going to do with her?

This Week in The Civil War: July 29, 1862

Capture of Confederate spy Belle Boyd

One of the Confederacy's most famous spies, sexy temptress Belle Boyd, is captured by the Union on July 29, 1862, and hauled off to prison in Washington, D.C., only to be released about a month later in a prisoner exchange. Born into an affluent Virginia family ardently loyal to the South, Boyd used her charms to eavesdrop on Union officers while frequenting their camps. Reports have it that she beguiled at least one officer into providing her with advance word on federal troop movements before the First Battle of Bull Run or Manassas. As war progress, Boyd would regularly deliver gleaned war intelligence to the Confederacy, at times crossing enemy lines at great risk on horseback. Confederate Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson was so impressed with the spy that he made her an honorary aide-de-camp. In the North, her espionage would garner her media attention to the point that some began calling her "La Belle Rebelle." Later in the war, in 1864, Boyd was sent to England as a Confederate courier but captured before she could complete that mission. Historians say she later escaped and went on to marry a Union naval officer and live in England until 1866, where she worked as a stage actress. Boyd eventually returned to the U.S. and died in Wisconsin in 1900 while on a lecture tour touting her adventure-filled life. The Associated Press reports on Aug. 2, 1862, that the Union at this point in the war is garnering thousands of prisoners. The AP dispatch from Fortress Monroe, Va., said three steamships laden with a total of 3,000 rebel prisoners had just arrived, docking outside the large Union-held fortress off the Virginia coast. "The physicians from Fortress Monroe have been on board and cared for the sick and wounded," AP's dispatch said.

Hoorah for the bra

While I definitely prefer a corset, there is much to be said for the humble bra.

The brassiere has long been thought to be a relatively modern invention, but in 2008 archaeologists working at a castle in Austria discovered evidence of modern-style bras made from linen.

The pictured bra, found in the Lengberg Castle, looks similar to the modern longline brassiere with the cups made from two pieces of linen sewn with fabric extending down to the bottom of the torso with a row of six eyelets for fastening with a lace or string.

The brassiere also has two shoulder straps and is decorated with lace between the cleavage. Using radiocarbon dating, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, estimates the brassiere was from sometime between end of the 14th to the second half of the 15th century.

From the 16th century onwards, the undergarments of wealthier women in the Western world were dominated by the corset. In the latter part of the 19th century, clothing designers began experimenting with various alternatives to the corset.

In 1910 at age 19, Mary Phelps Jacob invented the first modern brassiere to receive a patent and gain wide acceptance.

With metal shortages, World War II encouraged the end of the corset. By the time the war ended, most fashion-conscious women in Europe and North America were wearing brassieres. From there the brassiere was adopted by women in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

But not me.

Geronimo!

While visiting with my dear friends Inky and Raven on Wednesday they mentioned that they hoped to go camping in the Chiricahua Mountains this weekend.

I decided to surprise them.

The Chiricahua Mountains are named after a group of Apache Native Americans who live in the Southwest United States. At one time they were living on 15 million acres of territory in southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona in the United States, and in northern Mexico.

The most well-known warrior leader of the Chiricahua Apache, although he was not considered a chief, was Geronimo.

After an 1858 attack by a company of Mexican soldiers killed his mother, wife and three children, Geronimo joined revenge attacks on the Mexicans. During his career as a war chief, he was notorious for consistently urging raids upon Mexican Provinces and their towns, and later against American locations across Arizona, New Mexico and western Texas. He made a stronghold in the Chiricahua Mountains, part of which is now inside Chiricahua National Monument.

In 1886 Geronimo surrendered to U.S. authorities after a lengthy pursuit. As a prisoner of war in old age he became a celebrity and appeared in fairs but was never allowed to return to the land of his birth. He later regretted his surrender and claimed the conditions he made had been ignored. Geronimo died in 1909 from complications of pneumonia at Fort Sill, Okla.

Today, only two branches of the Chiricahua are federally recognized as independent units: the Fort Sill Apache Tribe, located near Apache, Okla.; and the Chiricahua tribe located on the Mescalero Apache reservation near Ruidoso, N.M.

This Week in The Civil War: July 22, 1862

First inklings of a future Emancipation Proclamation

President Abraham Lincoln, amid the dawning awareness of a divided nation that the Civil War would not be ended quickly, confides with his cabinet on July 22, 1862, that he was preparing an initial draft of the Emancipation Proclamation -- what would become one of the defining documents of his presidency. But his cabinet advised him not to make any public announcement of a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation until after a Union victory -- an opportunity that would not present itself until after the Battle of Antietam in September 1862. That September, Lincoln would declare all slaves in those areas still in rebellion against the federal government to be free within 100 days. Essentially, Lincoln signaled to his cabinet, 150 years ago this week in the Civil War, that he would make the conflict as much a war on ending the secession as a war to win the freedom of slaves, adding moral force to the Union cause. This July 150 years ago, the Union was absorbing the reality that its top general had essentially failed in his large-scalle campaign to seize Richmond, Va., capital of the Confederacy. And fighting is continuing elsewhere as the bloody conflict drags on. The Associated Press reported on July 27, 1862, from Nashville that Union forces in Tennessee were being harassed regularly by guerrillas of a bold Confederate cavalry leader, Nathan Bedford Forrest. The tenth Ohio regiment guarding the Memphis and Charleston railroad near Nashville was the latest to fall under attack this week by a "large force of guerillas," AP reported. "Thirty or forty of the regiment are said to have been killed." AP reported. The dispatch added Forrest was reported to be now en route from Tennessee to Kentucky "with the object it is supposed of making a descent on the Louisville railroad."

One small step

Momma always laughs when she remembers watching man walk on the moon for the first time.
After the Apollo 11 lunar module landed July 20, 1969 on the Sea of Tranquillity, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon on July 21, 1969. Momma's parents made her stay up late (Momma was only 5 years old!) to witness the historic event.

Sadly, Momma was not impressed. You see, Grandmomma was an avid fan of Star Trek: the Original Series and Momma watched each and every episode with her.

So Momma was unimpressed when Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the moon in boring black and white.

After all, she saw Captain Kirk do it weekly in color.

Years later, Momma is thankful she got to witness the event and clearly remembers it, but still laughs at herself.

Science fiction: 1. Reality: 0.

The best laid schemes of dolls and women

Inky and Raven enjoy our desert landscaping.

What is the old saying about "the best laid schemes of mice and men go often awry"?

Well, they certainly went awry this week!

Momma and my friend Inky's mom had spent considerable time setting up a Wednesday play date for us at the Phoenix Zoo. They're visiting their friend Raven's mom in Tucson, but wanted to come north to meet Me!

So what does Momma do? Lands herself in the hospital instead.

Now would you rather have a play date at the zoo, or go to the hospital?

I voted for the zoo but Momma said her vote overruled mine - especially since she was driving.

Sadly we told Inky's mom about our change in plans, but she replied that she would still like to come see us! So Inky, Raven, and their moms arrived at the hospital just as Momma was discharged.

Being sporting women, they said they would follow us back to the house where we visited and posed for photos for a few happy hours. We even surprised each other when I gave Inky a pin with my likeness on it ... and she gave me one with her likeness!

It wasn't a trip to the zoo but it sure was fun!

I hope they come back soon, although they did invite us to visit them in New York City, too.

Clockwork couture

Cher of Sew Fun Doll Clothes is busy creating a fun new outfit for my darling Clementine.

The outfit starts with a lace up bolero jacket in golden tan twill lined with gold shantung. It features a Steampunk Gunslinger embroidery design from Urban Threads on the back; pistols border embroidery (also from Urban Threads) on the lower sleeves; a gear with brown suede bow above the peplum ruffle in the back; and brass eyelets laced with brown suede cord in the front opening.

A doll can get pretty hot fighting crime in the Wild West, so Cher's doll is wearing a sleeveless camisole of black muslin under her coat. It has feminine ruffles around the neckline and waist; and it buttons in the front with four small black buttons (no velcro to snag your doll's hair!).

Finishing the outfit will be a rust riding skirt - linen trousers covered with an embroidered skirt front (because adventurous girls don't do their time traveling side saddle!). This skirt also features an Urban Threads embroidery design - a pocketwatch in gold, cream, and antique brass embroidered on the left front side; the right front skirt panel is held in place with brass fasteners attached to three sets of brass eyelets. The narrow front waistband is flat; the back waistband has encased elastic.

Clementine and I shall be sooo fashionable at the second Wild Wild West Steampunk Convention in March1

Pet peeves

As previously mentioned, neither Momma nor I like the Bratzillaz dolls.

But we do like their pets and they're sold separately!

Wingzy is the pet of Meygana Broomstix. 

Barkthalameow (great name!) is the pet of Cloetta Spelletta.

The Bratzillaz's trusty sidekick pets help the girls work their magic! With their own special powers and features, the Bratzillaz pets are just as fashionable and glamorously wicked as the stylish girls they belong to.

Yeah, right.

Me and my shadow box

Momma got creative this weekend and used an extra one of her family's antique type cases to make a shadow box for my treasures.

A type case is a compartmentalized wooden box (or drawer) used to store movable type used in letterpress printing.

A shadow box is a case containing an object or objects presented in a thematic grouping with artistic or personal significance. The grouping of the objects and the depth effect created by their relative heights from the backing creates a dramatic visual result.

Isn't it awesome?

This Week in The Civil War: July 15, 1862

CSS Arkansas runs past Vicksburg

The CSS Arkansas, a famed Confederate ironclad of the Mississippi River, runs a gauntlet of U.S. Navy warships with its guns blazing on July 15, 1862, near Vicksburg, Miss. The ironclad, one of two authorized by the Confederate Congress a year earlier, would make it through only 23 days of sporadic river fighting before meeting its end. Built at Memphis, the CSS Arkansas steamed down toward the federal warships with its weapons firing. The CSS Arkansas heavily damaged two of the first Union ships it encountered.The ironclad then ran past 16 other Union vessels, damaging them, on its route to Vicksburg — despite receiving heavy damage itself. David Farragut, a celebrated Union commander, was so angered by the Arkansas’ damaging run that he sought to destroy the ironclad soon afterward at Vicksburg. But the Arkansas avoided further damage and would go on to more river skirmishing with two other Union ships later in the month before being scuttled. The ship headed south to Louisiana in early August 1862 to deliver firepower to Confederate military actions there. However, damage to a propeller forced it aground and the crew had to blow the ironclad up before federal forces could arrive. Elsewhere, The Associated Press reports on July 16, 1862, from Louisville, Ky., that the border state is rife with Confederate guerrilla activity this month 150 years ago in the Civil War. One band of rebels operating in the farming countryside has “cut the telegraph wire and tore up the railroad, and took everything convertible to his use.’’ The AP dispatch adds that supporters of the Union side in Kentucky are alarmed, particularly in Lexington. It locals were setting up defenses and “the people say they have ample force to protect the town, but not to take the offensive.’’

Dolly wants a cracker?

Today's post is basically due to a challenge.

Grandmomma got these mini saltine crackers for Grandpoppa's soup. He jokingly said I should write about them - obviously thinking I wouldn't or, worse, couldn't.

Ha!

Saltined crackers, also called "soda," "premium flake," and "saltina" crackers, date back at least to the 19th century. The saltine cracker was invented by Joseph Garneau Company Inc., manufacturers of biscuits and crackers. Premium Saltines, originally called Premium Soda Crackers, originated in 1876 in St. Joseph, Mo.

(Allegedly the original advertisement campaign was, "Polly wants a cracker?")

A saltine cracker is a thin, usually square cracker made from white flour, shortening, yeast, and baking soda, with most varieties lightly sprinkled with coarse salt.

It has perforations throughout its surface, to allow steam to escape for uniform rising, and along the edges, as individual crackers are broken from larger sheets during manufacturing. It has a very dry and crisp texture, as it is made with less shortening than varieties.

The Wild WIld West returns

Woo hoo!

Wild Wild West Steampunk Convention, the Southwest's best Steampunk event, is returning to Old Tucson Studios Friday, March 8 through Sunday, March 1, 2013.

I. Can't. Wait.

Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder

I was surprised this week to receive a gift of six miniature absinthe bottles. Each has its own different label and has a tiny butterfly or dragonfly charm dangling from the seal.

Momma said I can not have any until I am of legal age, but she forgot I'm a time traveler.

I'll simply scoot ahead a few years and....

Steampunk Addie: Vampire Hunter

Momma and I went to see Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter last night for her birthday.

President Lincoln's mother is killed by a supernatural creature, which fuels his passion to crush vampires and their slave-owning helpers. The secret life of our nation's favorite president...as history's greatest hunter of the undead.

As she put it, it was hysterically bad.

We loved the book because it made the plot plausible.

The movie? Not so much.

But don't worry, Mr. President. I've got your back.

For she's a a jolly good fellow

Today is Momma's birthday and she is eagerly awaiting Imperium Park's Apothecary Case from Grandmomma. (My Big Sister got her Robecca Steam!)

A must-have set in the city of New Britain! This set features a pleather case with a golden flocking interior and an antique golden clasp, and four glass apothecary bottles.

According to the photo it contains Thistle, Red Vine, Spikewort, and Dark Ichor.

I know that medieval writers thought Thistle could return hair to bald heads and in the early modern period it was believed to be a remedy for headaches, plague, canker sores, vertigo, and jaundice.

Red Vine leaves are sold in the United Kingdom as a dietary supplement for the maintenance of healthy leg-vein circulation, in particular to avoid tired, heavy and aching legs that result from long periods of standing or sitting.

But what the heck are Spikewort and Dark Ichor for?

Changing the world one ♥ at a time

Living in Arizona, Momma has great respect for the Navajo Nation and its culture. So she was excited this morning to learn (belatedly) that Hearts for Hearts Girls is releasing a Navajo doll this fall.

Every Hearts For Hearts Girls doll represents a real girl from a real place around the world. (My Big Sister has Nahji from India and her cousin has Rahel from Ethiopia.) Each has her own story to tell, with ideas about how to make life better for her family, community, country, and the world around her.

Mosi lives on the Navajo reservation in Arizona, where she helps her mom and dad to keep the Navajo arts culture alive. Mosi is one who leads the way and though she struggles with challenges in school, she is working to overlook the differences among classmates and teach others the importance of standing up for what they believe in!

Mosi's horse Ahiga was captured by Mosi's dad because he had an injured leg. This fierce paint pony (his name means "he fights") is still a handful, but Mosi knows that they will be best friends someday.

Guess who will be joining our family this Fall?

This Week in The Civil War: July 8, 1862

Nathan Bedford Forrest Attacks

This week 150 years ago in the Civil War saw Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedfort Forrest capture a Union garrison at Murfreesboro, Tenn., after a surprise attack by his cavalry. Forrest and his fighters staged a dramatic offensive against some 900 Union troops that July 13, 1862, and forced the surrender of the federal garrison. At the time, Murfreesboro was a key Union supply point on the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad. Before dawn on that date, Forrest's riders surprised Union pickets and then overran a Union hospital before more rebel troops attacked other Union camps around Murfreesboro. Forrest's daring not only led to the destruction of railroad tracks and supplies but also stopped Union forces intent on driving on to Chattanooga. All told more than 1,000 casualties were reported. Forrest would not be able to hang onto the town for long, but his raid was the first of many bold strikes into Union-held territory that would make him one of the famous fighters of the war. The Associated Press was one of the first with news of Forrest's exploit on July 15, 1862. One Northern newspaper reported then that "A special dispatch to the Associated Press says that Murfreesborough has been taken by the confederates, who are mostly Texan Rangers under Colonel Forrest, but was afterwards shelled by our battery." The dispatch reported two ranking Union officers were among those taken prisoner when the federal garrison fell. An AP dispatch a day later reported that rebels afterward spirited away captured officers but released privates in the ranks. "The citizens are taking good care of the wounded, and have buried the dead left by the rebels," AP added.

The circus of dreams

I'm thinking about running away to join the circus.

Not just any circus, mind you, but the Night Circus.

The Night Circus is a 2011 fantasy novel by Erin Morgenstern set in a wandering magical Victorian circus that is open only from sunset to sunrise.

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

A network of devoted fans styling themselves "rêveurs" develops around the circus; they identify to each other by adding a splash of red to garb that otherwise matches the characteristic black and white of the circus tents.

The problem with running away? Momma wants to join me!

Brickbats and broomstix

I just saw a new line of dolls that makes me want to slap their smug little faces.

Neither Momma nor I have ever liked the  Bratz dolls.

We think their name truly says it all.

But this Bratzillaz line?

How do I loathe thee? Let me count the ways.

First, they're smug.

Second, they're hopping on the Monster High hearse. (Go Robecca Steam!)

Third and fourth, this Meygana Broomstix can't seem to decide if she is steampunk, a Hogwarts student, or both.

Or neither.

However I reserve the right to one caveat -- I admit the Bratzillaz pets are kind of cute.

Baby, you're a firework

Are you celebrating your independence today?

Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain.

Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, and political speeches and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States.

Independence Day is the national day of the United States.

How marvelous!

Speaking of super heroes, Momma's got a bad case of the giggles when it comes to Thor in The Super Hero Squad Show.

I can't say I blame her since Thor says silly things like “By my handsome Nordic nostrils!”

In The Super Hero Squad Show six awesome Super Heroes join forces to save Super Hero City from the uber-evil Dr. Doom and his Lethal Legion.

Thor, the thunder god, is big and hearty, with a booming laugh and a slap on the back that can send you across the room. With his Hammer, he can summon storms and even go a few rounds with the Hulk. Thor loves a good battle and a good party.

Wonder women

I like to think that I am a trendsetter.

Steampunk dolls seem to be everywhere nowadays.

Doll designer Robert Tonner, who has obviously seen the steampunk light, is now offering Wonder Woman, Steampunk#1 for a mere $174.99.

• Dressed Tonner character figure™
• Face includes hand-painted details
• Fine quality vinyl and hard plastic
• Diana head sculpt
• 16” Heroic body
• Green painted eyes
• Black rooted saran hair
• Tyler skin tone
• Metallic blue faux leather bodysuit with navy blue attached skirt with silver stars and burgundy faux leather corset
• Gold faux leather lasso belt
• Silver faux leather gauntlets
• Silver and burgundy faux leather boots with gold stars
• Nude pantyhose
• Burgundy choker attached to the bodysuit with "W"
• Burgundy faux leather hat with gold trim and a burgundy star
• Gold vinyl goggles
• Stand
• LE 500

Wonder Woman is a fictional character, a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston, who first appeared in All Star Comics #8 (December 1941).

Wonder Woman is also well known for the 1975–1979 TV series starring Lynda Carter. Carter went to high school with Momma's cousins!

What has Me excited is the doll's description as Steampunk#1. Who else is going to receive the steampunk treatment?

Sweet dreams are made of this

The first Zeppelin flight occurred on July 2, 1900 over Lake Constance in Germany. It was based on designs German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin had outlined in 1874 and detailed in 1893. His plans were reviewed by committee in 1894 and patented in the United States on March 14, 1899.

It was largely due to support by aviation enthusiasts that von Zeppelin's idea got a second (and third) chance and would be developed into a reasonably reliable technology.

Given the outstanding success of the Zeppelin design, the term zeppelin in casual use came to refer to all rigid airships. Zeppelins were first flown commercially in 1910 by Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-AG (DELAG), the world's first airline in revenue service. By mid-1914, DELAG had carried over 34,000 passengers on over 1,500 flights.

After the outbreak of World War I, the German military made extensive use of Zeppelins as bombers and scouts.

The World War I defeat of Germany in 1918 halted the airship business temporarily, but civilian zeppelins became popular again after the War. Their heyday was during the 1930s when the airships LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin and LZ 129 Hindenburg operated regular transatlantic flights from Germany to North America and Brazil. (The Art Deco spire of the Empire State Building was originally, if impractically, designed to serve as a dirigible terminal for Zeppelins and other airships to dock.)

Sadly, the Hindenburg disaster on May 6, 1937 hastened the demise of the Zeppelin.

This Week in The Civil War: July 1, 1862

Battle of Malvern Hill

This week opened 150 years ago in the Civil War with the roaring finish to the Seven Days' Battle — that bloody, pivotal week of combat between Union and Confederate forces in swampy terrain outside Richmond, Va. The Battle of Malvern Hill on July 1, 1862, opened when Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee unleashed a flurry of brazen assaults on the virtually impregnable Union position atop the hill. Union forces commanded by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan fired back, mowing down Southern soldiers trying to charge up the grassy slope toward them. All told, the Confederacy suffered more than 5,300 casualties in the day's fighting, defeated at Malvern Hill. But while the Union appeared to end the week of fighting on a strong note, McClellan was effectively withdrawing his massive army to the protection of federal gunboats on the James River. And soon he would be pulling out of the area entirely, cutting short his long-planned Peninsula Campaign and its aim of taking Richmond. Lee would soon return to Richmond a hero, lionized in the South for successfully defending the capital of the Confederacy from the Union onslaught. Lee later wrote that his true aim at the time was to crush the federal army as a fighting force. "Under ordinary circumstances the Federal Army should have been destroyed," he wrote. But he noted that Malvern Hill had afforded the Union army a "position of great natural strength" to retreat. And he said bad weather and the battle-weariness of his fighters stymied attempts to pursue the enemy army on its retreat. As The Richmond Examiner reported of the climactic week of fighting, Southern forces went into the battle "with coats off and sleeves rolled up, fighting like tigers."