She Who Must Be Named

Please Pardon my Excitement, but look at what Who Momma found at Goodwill today after dropping off a bunch of stuff! And she was only $9.99!!

Momma has not found an American Girl doll at Goodwill in 10 years. The other, Goodwill Molly, melted in the fire. This one is in better shape and came with all her clothes and a box!

At first Momma thought she had gray eyes, but decided they were blue upon further inspection. 

Currently sold as American Girl Just Like Me #23, she features:

• Classic Face Mold
• Light Skin
• Freckles
• Straight Brows
• Light Brown Hair with highlights and a Left side-part
• Light Blue Spiral Eyes

Now, what shall we call her? Who, or what, shall she be? Inquiring minds most definitely want to know!

Any suggestions?

Sentimental journey

Momma has been mourning the death of her one and only aunt.

Aunt Barbara was a childhood doll collector who shared her love with dolls with Momma. She gave Momma one of Momma's most prized dolls, Belinda, and they spent many delightful hours talking about dolls.

Momma and Aunt Barbara loved to peruse the early Pleasant Company catalogues featuring the original trio, Kirsten, Samantha, and Molly.

Aunt Barbara (who was born in 1928) particularly liked Molly. (Heck, she even looked like Molly - down to the braids and glasses!) Each item in Molly's collection could trigger a flood of memories and hours of conversation.

So which American Girl doll was Momma's first?

My Big Sister got Kirsten and Addy for Christmas 2006. It was the first time Momma had actually seen and held an American Girl doll, and she fell in love.

Momma quickly found some online groups dedicated to Pleasant Company/American Girl dolls where several people mentioned finding used dolls at Goodwill. Skeptical, Momma stopped by after work and found a beautiful Pleasant Company Molly for only $9.95! (Her one and only time, I might add.)

Goodwill Molly has become a mini Aunt Barbara over the past eight years. She has her drop-leaf kitchen table like we have, Kit's roll-top desk and typewriter, and other goodies that remind her of Aunt Barbara and other family stories.

RIP, Aunt Barbara. We shall meet again in the giant dollhouse in the sky.

Good-bye Molly?

So much for my powers as a prophet.

Back on August 8, 2011 I foretold that Addy Walker was the next to go, followed by Molly McIntire.

However, it appears that Molly is heading into retirement first.

Rumors have been swirling for months, and at least one customer service representative has confirmed it, but there has been no official announcement.

But now, photos have appeared of a new American Girl catalog with Molly on its cover and the words, "Good-bye Molly! Soon we'll say farewell to Molly. Bring home Molly's 1940s world - before it moves into the American Girl Archives."

While I am sorry to see Molly go, I am relieved that Addy is not on the retirement wagon.

Yet....

Auld lang syne

Sadly, my adventures with my dear friend Molly McIntire must come to an end.

For now.

Molly was understandably reluctant to go back to school, but I assured her that her arrival at school would be noteworthy.

So here we are saying our final goodbyes after touching down in front of her school.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne* ?

CHORUS:

For auld lang syne, my jo,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

*The song's Scottish title may be translated into English as "old long since."
 

Fearsome critters

Clementine insisted it was her turn to have an adventure with Molly so we went looking for that elusive creature: the jackalope.

I had heard of these supposedly mythical creatures, but Clementine said they were real and could be seen at most roadside attractions in Arizona.

For those who don't know, a jackalope is a jackrabbit with antlers. The word "jackalope" is a combination of "jackrabbit" and "antalope," an old-fashioned spelling of "antelope." It is also known as Lepus temperamentalus.

We found this gentle specimen outside of town. Molly was alarmed by Clementine's rifle* and raised her flag in surrender, but we assured her the rifle was saved for real varmints - not jackalopes.


*No jackalopes were harmed in the making of this adventure.

The Texan who conquered Russia

Molly and I are mourning the loss of concert pianist Van Cliburn, who died Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013 at the age of 78.

Cliburn was 23 when he won the first quadrennial International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow, at the height of the Cold War in 1958.

At the age of 3, he began piano studies with his mother, a talented student of Arthur Friedheim, who was a pupil of Franz Liszt. He was born in Louisiana but moved to Texas where Molly was lucky enough to hear him while flying with her Aunt Eleanor.
 
Cliburn toured everywhere and played for royalty and heads of state, as well as for every president from Eisenhower to Obama. He was also the first classical recording artist to have an album sell 1,000,000 copies.

R.I.P. Van Cliburn. The music in heaven got even better.

Wings on their feet

While we were visiting in England Molly and I got to talking about one of her heroines: Sonja Henie.

Molly has admired Henie, a Norwegian figure skater and film star, for years. Henie has won more Olympic and World titles than any other ladies figure skater.

Henie gave up her amateur status after the 1936 World Figure Skating Championships and became a professional skater and actress which made her one of the highest-paid actresses of the time.

Henie became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1941. Like many Hollywood stars, she supported the U.S. war effort through USO and similar activities. Unfortunately, Henie's connections with Adolf Hitler made her controversial before, during, and after World War II.

Thankfully for Henie's Norwegian family, occupying German troops saw Hitler's autographed photo on their piano so none of Henie's Norwegian family or property was hurt by the Germans.

Henie is credited with being the first figure skater to adopt short-skirted figure skating costumes and wearing white boots.

Molly didn't want to interrupt Henie's practice, so she skated nearby so I could get a quick photograph.

Aren't they elegant? 

 

Molly and I take flight

photo courtesy of QNPoohbear

Golly gee, my friend Molly McIntire and her family sure do get around!

Not only is her father, Captain James McIntire, serving as a doctor in England, but her Aunt Eleanor is a W.A.S.P. -- a civilian female pilot employed to fly military aircraft under the direction of the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II.

On one of Aunt Eleanor's cross-country flights she and Molly met this short little guy named Curt Clump. Poor Clump has bad vision (we could both relate!) so he became a navigator for the 458th Bombardment Group.
 
During World War II, the 458th Bombardment Group was an Eighth Air Force B-24 Liberator unit in England. Assigned to a Royal Air Force station near Norwich, Norfolk in early 1944, the group flew its last combat mission on April 25, 1945 flying 240 missions and losing 47 aircraft in combat.

Molly is (understandably) a bit anxious about her father since he's overseas, so we popped over to see him in my time-traveling dirigible. While we were there I suggested visiting the 458th.

They had a group photo taken while we were there. Clump (the shortest man standing) was glad to see us since we were shorter than him, so I dragged Molly in, too!

Unofficially, of course.

Happy birthday, Emily ~ Sept. 29, 1933

Happy birthday, Emily!

In Chapter Four of Happy Birthday, Molly!, Molly learns what Emily would do for her birthday tea party if she was in England.

In England they have real tea, and Emily suggests that she and Molly could put a lot of milk and honey in the tea. The English have thin tea sandwiches (with the crusts cut off!) and are either meat paste (ground up meat like ham or liver) or watercress, or even bread and margarine as butter was rationed. Emily also says she'd have a lemon tart for a special tea party.

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!

Happy birthday, Molly!

Happy birthday, Molly!

Molly is excited to learn that an English girl is coming to stay at the McIntires'--just in time for Molly's birthday on April 22!

But Emily turns out to be different from the glamorous girl Molly pictured. Emily is shy and standoffish. Then Molly discovers she and Emily have some important things in common.

The girls become fast friends and decide to celebrate Molly's birthday with an English tea party. But they can't agree on how to do it, and it takes a special birthday surprise to help them patch up their hurt feelings.

Oops! I did it again

I discovered this morning that I forgot my friend Rebecca Rubin's birthday yesterday.

Oops.

It's a good thing I can time travel. She'll never know I forgot it!

!יום הולדת שמח

Rebecca's family would likely celebrate her birthday with a mixture of Russian, Jewish and American traditions.

In Russia, birthday parties would be celebrated on or after one's birthday, not before. And never give someone birthday wishes before their birthday!

If you're Russian, you may receive a birthday pie with a birthday greeting cut into the crust instead of a cake!

Jewish boys become bar mitzvah on their 13th birthday. Jewish girls become bat mitzvah on their 12th birthday (or sometimes on their 13th birthday in Reform and Conservative Judaism). This marks the transition where they become obligated in commandments of which they were previously exempted and are counted as part of the community.

And finally, a listing of all my friends' birthdays (including mine!) so I don't forget again!

• Kaya ~ Summer, 1755
• Felicity ~ April 21, 1765
• Elizabeth ~ November 5, 1765
• Josefina ~ March 19, 1815
• Marie Grace ~ March 3, 1843
• Cécile ~ May 28, 1843
• Kirsten ~ June 8, 1845
• Addie ~ April 9, 1855
• Addy ~ April 9, 1855
• Samantha ~ May 26, 1895
• Nellie ~ October 15, 1895
• Rebecca ~ April 4, 1905
• Kit ~ May 19, 1923
• Ruthie ~ August 22, 1923
• Molly ~ April 22, 1934
• Emily ~ September 29, 1933
• Julie ~ May 1, 1966
• Ivy ~ February 28, 1966

Good golly Miss Molly

photo courtesy of Artificer Made

I have found the Artificer* of my Dreams!

Imagine my delight when I spotted these steampunk goggles for American Girl dolls by Artificer Made.

After first making goggles for a cat Christopher Bright decided to try making some for a doll, and voila!

These are sized to fit an American Girl Doll and designed to be just as rugged as any original accessory. The goggles will, of course, fit any similarly sized doll as well as a cat or small dog. Fitting to anything other than an American Girl doll may involve a little more tweaking to get everything just right but there is an expansion spring on the back of the strap that allows for a little flexibility.

You can read more about these goggles, including a video and lurid penny-dreadful story, at his blog: http://artificermade.blogspot.com

And you thought I was crazy. Goggles for cats!

*An artificer is a skilled person who makes artifacts.

Cruising for a bruising

Sheesh, apparently it is as easy as falling off a bicycle.

hbbcinc.com

Momma went out for a bike ride on her new cruiser with my Big Sister yesterday.

And managed to fall once. Sigh.

She later calculated it had been at least 16 years since she last rode a bike.

I guess I'll have to borrow my good friend Molly McIntire's bike to show her how it's done.

When she wasn’t roller skating outside in the fresh spring air, Molly might have ridden a sturdy bicycle just like this one. Based on a two-wheeler from the early ’40s, Molly’s bike is equipped with working light, a rearview mirror, a wire basket, and a handlebar horn to toot” to friends. The toe clips keep her feet secure as you wheel your Molly doll around.

Momma's new bike is a lot like Molly's. Cruiser bicycles, also known as beach cruisers, combine balloon tires, upright seating posture, and single-speed drivetrains and coaster brakes.

The bikes, noted for their durability and heavy weight, were the most popular bicycle in the United States from the early 1930s through the 1950s, and have enjoyed renewed popularity since the late 1990s.

(Momma admits to having a bike nearly identical to Julie's when she was a girl, only hers was turquoise.)

I wonder if Momma will get me my own steam-powered bicycle?

It's cookie time!

Have you supported your local Girl Scouts yet?

cookies by Pippaloo

The first Girl Scout cookie sales was by the Mistletoe Troop in Muskogee, Oklahoma in December 1917. In 1922, the Girl Scout magazine The American Girl suggested cookie sales as a fund-raiser and provided recipes. In 1933, Girl Scouts in Philadelphia organized the first official sale, selling homemade cookies at the windows of local utility companies.

The first Girl Scout cookie recipe was a sugar cookie. In 1936 the national organization began licensing commercial bakers to produce cookies.

According to my good friend Molly McIntire, Girl Scouts sold calendars during World War II in addition to cookies, because of shortages of flour, sugar, and butter. Customers were limited to two boxes during some war years. By 1943 Girl Scouts also collected fat in cans with Girl Scout labels to aid the war effort and sold War Bonds at no profit.

Girls who participate can earn prizes for their efforts. There are also unit incentives if the unit as a whole does well. As of 2007, sales were estimated at about 200 million boxes per year.

That's a lot of cookie dough.

Cookies will be on sale in Arizona through March 11.

Steampunk Addie goes Downton

Hmm, I haven't watched Downton Abbey yet, but I'm starting to think I should after reading this hilarious article, Downton Abbey: Why It's Like American Girl Dolls For Grown-Ups, at the Huffington Post.

Downton Abbey is set in the fictional Yorkshire country house of the Earl and Countess of Grantham, and follows the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants during the reign of King George V. Season one spans the two years before World War I, beginning with news of the sinking of the Titanic.

The second season covers the years 1916 to 1919, and the 2011 Christmas Special December covers the 1919 Christmas period, ending in early 1920.

The hilarious Huffington Post article compares the three Crawley sisters to three American Girls:

Mary Crawley = Samantha Parkington

Sybil Crawley = Felicity Merriman

Edith Crawley = Molly McIntire

So, Downton Abbey paper dolls or trading cards anyone? Although that nightgown sounds promising....

Addie and Momma's Excellent Route 66 Adventure

Fans of American Girl might recall that my dear friend Molly McGuire took a trip with her family in 1946 along Route 66.

Molly's Route 66 Adventure takes readers for an eight-state ride, from Illinois to California, along the Main Street of America.

Molly's family took a side trip off Route 66 to go to the Grand Canyon, and stayed at the Bright Angel Lodge where we had lunch Tuesday!

Bright Angel Lodge, designed in 1935 by architect Mary E. J. Colter, has a natural, rustic character, and is a Registered National Historic Landmark.

It has always been a popular place to stay and the center of South Rim activity. Located just a few feet from the Canyon rim, Bright Angel Lodge is the check-in point for the world famous Grand Canyon Mule Rides.

 

Merry Christmas!

My little friends and I were having a pleasant chat and it occurred to me to ask them how they would wish you a Merry Christmas in their native languages.

Felicity might say "Happy Christmas!" since that would be proper in England and probably the Colonies. (Molly's friend Emily would, too.)

Josefina would say in Spanish, "¡Feliz Navidad!" 

Kirsten would say in Swedish, "God Jul!" 

Ma chère amie Cécile might say in French, "Joyeux Noël!" 

Rebecca would wish her Christian friends in Russian, "С Рождеством Христовым!"

Kanani says in Hawai'ian, "Mele Kalikimaka!"

And Merry Christmas from all the rest of us! 

How do you say "Merry Christmas!"?

Let the hurricane roar

It's funny how our minds work.

You start thinking about one thing (earthquakes) which leads to another (hurricanes) which leads to yet another (Laura Ingalls Wilder).

Obvious, right? I thought so. 

And just before Pa laid the fiddle in its box ... he played a gallant, challenging tune that brought them all to their feet, and they all sang lustily,

Then let the hurricane roar!
It will the sooner be o'er.
We'll weather the blast
And land at last
On Canaan's happy shore! 

The Long Winter, Chapter 13
"We'll Weather the Blast" 

"The Evergreen Shore" was written by William Hunter and set to music by William B. Bradbury and was first published in 1861. Bradbury also wrote the music to Sunday School standard "Jesus Loves Me"! 

Both Wilder and her daughter Rose Wilder Lane used a different fourth line of the chorus, "On Canaan's happy shore," instead of, "Safe on the evergreen shore," which may have been how the Ingalls family learned the song.

Wilder began writing about her Little House books after the deaths of Ma and Mary and the stock market crach of 1929. Published during her lifetime were:

• Little House in the Big Woods (1932)
• Farmer Boy (1933)
• Little House on the Prairie (1935)
• On the Banks of Plum Creek (1937)
• By the Shores of Silver Lake (1939)
• The Long Winter (1940)
• Little Town on the Prairie (1941)
• These Happy Golden Years (1943)

Lane used the first line, "Let the Hurricane Roar," as the title of a serialized story using the names of her grandparents as characters and family stories. (Apparently this caused some friction between Wilder and Lane since Wilder felt the family stories were hers to tell.) It was published in 1932 by the Saturday Evening Post and as a book in 1933.

Let the Hurricane Roar has since been renamed Young Pioneers and the names of Charles and Caroline changed to David and Molly. 

But I digress. Again.

For those on the East Coast who have endured the 2011 Virginia Earthquake and are preparing for Hurricane Irene, I encourage you to remember:

Then let the hurricane roar!
It will the sooner be o'er.
We'll weather the blast.

Bring out yer dead

First Samantha, then Kirsten, followed by Felicity. Who is next? No one knows but some are fearful with the introduction of a Yellow Fever epidemic in 1853 New Orleans....

The Dead Collector: Bring out yer dead. 

(American Girl® puts a body on the cart.)

AG: Here's one. 

The Dead Collector: That'll be a half-dime.

Addy Walker™: I'm not dead.

The Dead Collector: What? 

AG: Nothing. There's your half-dime. 

Addy®: I'm not dead. 

The Dead Collector: 'Ere, she says she's not dead. 

AG: Yes she is. 

Addy®: I'm not. 

The Dead Collector: She isn't. 

AG: Well, she will be soon, she's very ill. 

Addy®: I'm getting better. 

AG: No you're not, you'll be stone dead in a moment. 

The Dead Collector: Well, I can't take her like that. It's against regulations. 

Addy®: I don't want to go on the cart.

AG: Oh, don't be such a baby. 

The Dead Collector: I can't take her.

Addy®: I feel fine.

AG: Oh, do me a favor.

The Dead Collector: I can't.

AG: Well, can you hang around for a couple of months? She won't be long.

The Dead Collector: I promised I'd be at the McIntire's®.

AG: Well, when's your next round?

The Dead Collector: Next year.

Addy®: I think I'll go for a walk.  

AG: You're not fooling anyone, you know. Isn't there anything you could do?

Addy®: I feel happy. I feel happy.

(The Dead Collector looks around furtively, then archives Addy® with a whack of his club.)

AG: Ah, thank you very much.

The Dead Collector: Not at all. See you next year.

AG: Right. 

With major apologies to American Girl, Addy, and 1975's Monty Python and the Holy Grail.