See what's on the slab

They did it again!

Momma stopped by a Super Target today and found it stocked with Wonderful New Items for 18" Vinyl Americans!

Some are so new We can't find them online at either Target.com or ourgeneration.com, but they are found at smythstoys.com in the United Kingdom. 

Momma found the new Healthy Paws Vet Clinic (we are sooo getting it someday!), and new plush pets including a turtle, ferret, guinea pig, and kitten. 

But what is coming home first? The Our Generation Schoolroom Science Deluxe Lab Set. 

It's time for science with this Our Generation Schoolroom Science Deluxe Lab Set. (Doll and outfit sold separately) Our Generation Schoolroom Science Deluxe Lab Set Contents: An apron, a pair of gloves, a skeleton model witkh a pole and a stand, a rolling cart, a functional bunsen burner, a flask, a beaker, a florence flask, a functional microscope, a tube stand with three test tubes, a pair of glasses, two phials, a bottle with crystals, a rubber ball pipette, a measuring spoon, a molecule model, a pencil, a marker with a lid, two copybooks, a textbook, and a periodic table chart. 

Just what I need for my Mad Scientist Laboratory!

I've said it before and I'll say it again - AG better watch out! OG is winning the accessories war. 

Camera ready, set, go!

That sound you heard?

Oh, that was just Momma completely losing her few remaining marbles over American Girl's new Z Yang. 

We love Z's look (especially her beauty mark) but Momma's hysteria is over Z's Filming Accessories. 

(Have I ever mentioned that Momma has both associate and bachelor degrees in photography?)

Z's Filming Accessories comes with:

Z's tripod helps her steady every shot—and her backpack helps her carry everything to the next cool location! This set of pretend filmmaking accessories includes:

• A 35mm camera with a colorful carrying strap
• A camcorder
• A smartphone with five interchangeable screens
• A tripod to be used with all three devices
• A backpack

I suspect that will be coming home with us ASAP. 

Z? The jury's still out until we see her in person. Will her perma-panties look as bad in Real Life as the do in photographs? Is her vinyl super squishy - AKA cheap? Inquiring minds want to know!

Meanwhile, it is bedtime. 

Zzzz....

Liver of life

I know I am really, really late (blame Momma) in announcing the winner here, but Donna Wooten is the winner of the Life Science Set! (She was privately notified earlier this week.)

The Our Generation Life Science Set includes one molecule model, one anatomy torso with three removable pieces (rib cage, lungs, and liver), one book, and one poster.

While hundreds of thousands did not participate in My Giveaway (unlike The March for Science which did!) I truly appreciate Each and Every one of you who did. 

Congratulations Donna!

Life loves the liver of it. 

Maya Angelou

Science not silence

Whew, I'm just in time!

In honor of The March for Science I am having a drawing for the Highly Coveted Life Science Set from Our Generation. 

The March for Science (formerly known as the Scientists' March on Washington) was a series of rallies and marches held in Washington, D.C. and more than 600 cities across the world on Earth Day, April 22, 2017.

According to organizers, the march is a non-partisan movement to celebrate science and the role it plays in everyday lives. The main goals of the march and rally are to call for science that upholds the common good and to call for evidence-based policy in the public's best interest.

The march is part of growing political activity by American scientists in the wake of the November 2016 and the 2017 Women's March.

Comment below or a my Facebook page by midnight tomorrow, Sunday, April 23, 2017. Momma and I shall contact the winner for a mailing address. 

The Our Generation Life Science Set includes one molecule model, one anatomy torso with three removable pieces (rib cage, lungs, and liver), one book, and one poster.

Good luck! May the odds be ever in your favor.

The name of the companion

What a week! Grandmomma fell and is back in the hospital - but we think she's relatively okay. 

Then Phoenix Comicon announced Jenna Coleman will be appearing one day only on Sunday, May 28, 2017.

Jenna Coleman is an English actress best known for her role as Clara Oswald in the British television series Doctor Who.

Born in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, Coleman began her tenure as the 11th Doctor's companion in 2012 on the long running BBC series Doctor Who. Sworn to secrecy during the audition process, Coleman would refer to the project only as Men on Waves (an anagram for "Woman Seven") when asked what she was auditioning for. Producer Steven Moffat remarked that one of the primary reasons Coleman landed the coveted spot was because of the chemistry she shared with Smith and her innate ability to talk faster than him during scenes together.

Coleman's first appearance as The Doctor's companion was originally planned to happen on the 2012 Christmas special. However, she made a surprise appearance  in Asylum of the Daleks playing a relative of her character Clara Oswald, Oswin Oswald. Oswin subsequently died later in that particular episode and appeared again as her own distant relative in the episode, The Snowmen. Her final incarnation as Clara Oswald was introduced in the episode, The Bells of Saint John, where she carried on as The Doctor's regular companion, continuing on in her role as companion when current Doctor, Peter Capaldi, stepped into the role as the 12th Doctor. Her run as Clara Oswald concluded in 2015 with the show's ninth series.

In 2016, Coleman was seen in the television drama Victoria as Queen Victoria. Chronicling the early life of the Queen from her accession to the throne to her courtship with Prince Albert, the series aired to rave reviews on ITV in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the first round of episodes, a second series has been ordered and is currently in production.

Jenna. Coleman. 

Clara.

Queen Victoria. 

What to wear.... What to wear....

Drama queen

Whoopsie daisy! Melody and Xyra from Tea Time with Melody Q named me to participate in the Period Drama Tag.

In February. 

I wrote this then ... but promptly forgot to post it. 

Sigh. 

Better late than never? 

Enjoy!

1. Which period dramas do you like most? Victoria, Downton Abbey, Mercy Street, Penny Dreadful, and Outlander. 
2. Choose four characters from a period drama that you like most. From a single drama? Claire, Jamie, Brianna, and Lord John from Outlander. 
3. Which period drama have you recently seen that you recommend to other bloggers? Victoria
4. If you had to choose, which period drama heroine do you like best? Claire from Outlander. 
5. And which period drama hero? Jamie, also from Outlander. 
6. Have you ever seen a movie which was exactly, or mostly, the same as the book? Enchanted April. 
7. Which movies do you like most: Jane Austen (ex. Emma), Dickens (ex. Little Dorrit), Bronte sisters (ex. Jane Eyre)? Jane Austen
8. Would you rather play Emma (Emma), Lizzie (Pride and Prejudice), Catherine (Northanger Abbey), Mary (Downton Abbey), Marian (Robin Hood), Amy (Little Dorrit) or Jane (Jane Eyre)? Marian, especially the Marian from the 1992 version. She was feisty!
9. Would you rather have Call the Midwife or Cranford? Call the Midwife. 
10. Which period drama that you haven't seen yet would you like to see? Cranford
11. Which adaptation of Sense and Sensibility do you like most: 1995 or 2008? 1995 with Alan Rickman. 
12. Which adaptation of Pride and Prejudice do you like most: 1995 or 2005? 1995, but my guilty pleasure is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. 
13. Which couple from a period drama movie do you like most. Claire and Jamie from Outlander. 

I think I shall nominate Karen from http://karenmomofthreescraft.blogspot.com

Unraveling the mysteries

Wow.

All I can say is American Girl had better watch out. Target's Our Generation line by Battat is becoming a Serious Contender when it come to Cool Accessories for Vinyl Americans. 

(According to its website, Battat is a family-owned business that is almost 120 years old!)

AG still wins the doll department, hands down, but OGs accessories are becoming better and better each and every year.

Momma got Me the Under the Microscope set a few years ago. (We found a few pieces of it after The Fire.)

Under the Microscope Includes:

1 microscope

1 tube stand

3 test tubes

1 pair of glasses

1 Erlenmeyer Flask

Today she found the Highly Coveted Life Science Set, which includes:

1 molecule model

1 anatomy torso with 3 removable pieces (rib cage, lungs and liver)

1 book

1 poster

AND the Lab Class Set! It includes:

1 volcano with functioning light

2 phials

1 bottle of baking soda

1 measuring spoon

1 rubber ball pipette

1 bottle of dishwashing liquid

1 pair of glasses

She also spotted the Specialty doll Blanca, who comes with:

1 non-poseable 18-inch doll

1 shirt

1 skirt

1 lab coat

1 pair of socks

1 pair of undies

1 pair of boots

1 bow tie

1 pair of steampunk goggles

1 pair of glasses

1 wind-up robot

1 caliber

1 atom model

1 pencil

1 robot spec sheet

I am seriously geeking out!

Does anyone want to play Mad Scientist with me?

Nevertheless, she persisted

You may now officially call me an Old Battle Axe. 

A battle-axe is a derogatory term for an aggressive and domineering woman.

Perhaps the best example was Carrie Nation, who wielded a hatchet and made it her symbol. Not only was she a militant temperance activist, but she also became involved in the suffragette campaign for votes for women which cemented the stereotype.

So Momma and I were delighted when watching Doctor Who, and the Twelfth Doctor challenged a Viking to an axe battle. (Yes, yes, I know. We're a year behind.)

I knew I had to have one for myself! It took awhile, but then we spotted this beauty that sounded exactly like Peter Capaldi's description of the Twelfth Doctor's guitar: 

"We ended up with a guitar that looked like a Fender Stratocaster that had been described to someone who had never seen one."

Oh, yeah. I be jammin'. 

Anyone want to duel?

And the winner is...

... Nonna of Mommy's Doll Club!

Nonna is the lucky winner of the meal from Winter at Faux Real Foods:

•A ham sandwich 

•Potato chips

•Eggnog

•A mummy pumpkin tart

•And a boxed lemon pie - complete with tiny bite marks

Thanks Winter!!! It has been an honor and a privilege to host this giveaway!

Nonna, please email your mailing address to me at steampunkaddie (at) gmail dot com

BTW, Mommy's Doll Club is another excellent blog to check out at: http://mommysdollclub.com

Dreamy Great and Grand Luncheon

Whee! I finally got a story!

Tea Time with Melody Q is one of my very favorite blogs since it combines two of my favorite things: tea and dolls. 

Melody Q's mom Xyra has been very kind to us over the years, and even more so since The Fire. 

However, I changed the rules, so anyone who comments is entered to win, but I had to share this funny story. (I have an excellent consolation prize for Xyra, Kirsten, and Melody if they don't win!)

Winner to be announced tomorrow!

###

"Hey, Mel! I have to tell you about this dream I had!" Kirsten said, laughing. 

"I hope it wasn't a nightmare, Kirsten."

"No, no, but you'll get a kick out of it because Gramma Enne AND Great Aunt Lanie were involved."

"Really? Spill!" said Melody. 

"Okay, so I was in the kitchen making my favorite sandwich for school..."

"Ham and cheese, right?" Melody giggles. 

Kirsten giggles. "Yes, but don't interrupt. The dream is fading."

"Okay."

"So I'm making my ham and Swiss sandwich. It's perfect little bit of ham, cheese, lettuce, maybe some tomato, a dab of mustard."

"Oooo, did you paint on the mustard like the guy on Sesame Street who painted the number on the bread in ketchup?"

"Seriously? You have to let me finish...but yes, I painted on the mustard." Kirsten giggles. "Anyway, I had it ready on my plate when the doorbell rings and who's there but Great Aunt Lanie. She sees the sandwich and says, 'I'm just in time! You have to have some chips with your sandwich!'

"We sit down at a lovely little square table with a navy blue tablecloth and I give her half of the sandwich and she pours chips on both our plates. While we're eating the door opens and in pops Gramma Enne. We all hug and go back to eating; a third half-sandwich appears on a plate, the table is now round with three chairs, and the tablecloth is lavender...."

"House elves..." whispers Melody. 

Kirsten's jaw drops and she stares at Melody. 

"Sorry! Continue, please."

"We finish up our lunch and Enne says, 'What shall we have for dessert?' Lanie adds, 'Yes, we must have dessert, but not chocolate; it's after 2 p.m.'"

Melody giggles. 

"I go to the kitchen. 'Well, we have this lemon pie we can share.' I open the box and jump, 'There's a bite out of it!'"

"'Oh, no!' they say."

"Lanie pipes up, 'Oh, I forgot. I pulled this little mummy danish out of the freezer. I had saved it for you.'"

"I say, 'Oh, that's sweet. Looks tasty too. Shall we split it?'"

"'Yes, there is enough for three.' Enne says, 'You know what would be perfect with that?'"

"Lanie and I turn to her with questioning eyes...  'Egg nog!'"

"Egg nog?"

"Sure, the last egg nog of the season."

"'Well, okay.' We split the pie in three and the egg nog too...and that's when I woke up."

Melody laughs. "Well, if you're going to lunch with anyone in a dream those two are the ones to do it with; you won't go away from the table hungry."

"But I woke up hungry and wanting a mummy danish! Where am I to find that in March?!" complains Kirsten. 

"I'd be more worried if you wanted the egg nog!"

The two girls head off to the kitchen laughing.

###

Make sure you check out Tea Time with Melody Q at  https://teatimewithmelodyq.blogspot.com

Dr. Frankendolly, I presume

I am pleased to report that Lea 1.3 is Finally Here - safe and sound. 

Momma had to call American Girl last week when Lea 1.3 hadn't arrived yet. Apparently she hadn't even left yet!

Sigh. 

Lea 1.3 was sent out immediately and she arrived today. Thankfully her head now matches her body. No more farmer's tan!

Lea 1.2 will begin her sad journey back to Wisconsin tomorrow. 

Now, a quick observation on the AG Hospital and its recent quality control. 

Lea 1.2 arrived with the right head with pierced ears, but wrong body and limbs. She arrived with the standard hospital gown, socks, certificate, and doll-sized Get Well Card. Lea 1.2 also arrived with a tiny little hospital wristband. 

Lea 1.3 arrived with the correct head with pierced ears, body and limbs - phew! She also arrived with the standard hospital gown, socks, certificate, and doll-sized Get Well Card.

However, Lea 1.3 did NOT have the tiny little hospital wristband, but she did arrive with Lea's earring set which Lea 1.2 did not! 

Now, Momma and Lea 1.3 both prefer the earring set to the plastic hospital wristband, but come on AG. Little girls are counting in you to return their Vinyl American friends home safe and sound.

Please take a minute to double check before sending dolls such as Lea home.