Sunshine, Blue Skies, and PO Box Surprise!

Random "blue sky" photo taken while at a red light during a recent trip to the post office

The weather in my area has been wild since the latter part of April and throughout the entire month of May.  On a near daily basis, we experienced or received weather alerts that conditions were favorable for thunderstorms, flash flooding, and tornadoes.  During this time, I lost my old faithful desktop PC and three cordless phones in an electrical storm.  Another lightning-filled storm is the attributing cause of a $135 replacement part required to restore the cooling function of our central air conditioning unit.

However, we consider ourselves lucky.  While it rained almost daily for the past 45 days, there were no tornadoes in our immediate area and no flooding. Several people are not as fortunate with many areas still drying out even though we have finally enjoyed full days of sunshine since May 31st.

This past Sunday, after the weather cleared, I drove to the PO to mail some letters and to check my PO box, which had not been checked in several days.   Not expecting to retrieve anything from the box except junk mail, I was pleasantly surprised by a colorful padded envelop from dear friend, and fellow doll lover, Betty Ativie.  

Sunshine, in the form of two beautiful dresses made especially for two of my dolls and matching head bands, was my PO surprise.

The package contained a beautiful card with handwritten note wishing me a happy birthday. Carefully and separately wrapped in tissue paper were two beautiful sunny yellow dresses that Betty handmade for two of my dolls, Matoka by Himstedt specifically, and a smaller doll of my choice.  A third, smaller tissue-wrapped package contained matching head bands made of the same sheer yellow fabric.

I chose to dress Ashley Rose by Madame Alexander in the smaller dress as seen in the close-up photo above and in the following photo, where she is seated on the floor with Matoka looking on.

Ashley Rose is 14 inches tall; Matoka (by Annette Himstedt) stands 33-1/2 inches.

Matoka poses alone in the next photo wearing her new dress and matching headband which, in this photo, looks like a halo.

Attached to the enter of the bodice of each dress is a delicate flower with two yellow ribbon streamers.  Matoka, who had been dressed in a red velour dress since Christmas was as delighted to receive her new dress as I was for her to receive it.

Thank you again, Betty for allowing me to be a recipient of the blessing that is you!  Matoka and Smiling Debbie greatly appreciate your sewing talents and your thoughtfulness.

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While in doll redressing mode, two other dolls that had been dressed in Christmas attire since last December are now dressed for spring/summer.  Smiling Debbie and Emilee are shown below in their matching store-bought dresses.

The need to redress these two had been on my to-do list since February of this year.  Thanks to the recently received gifts of sunshine, that mission has been accomplished.

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A Gift For No Particular Reason

Earlier this month doll-friend Betty A. surprised me with three beautiful hand sewn dresses.

The yellow dress and brown and gold two-piece dress are made of cotton.  The red and white polka dot dress is a very sheer organza-type fabric.

Betty's sewing is impeccable and impressive because she makes her own patterns.

I love all three dresses but the yellow one is my favorite.  It's so right on time because Matoka, who is currently wearing another dress from Betty, has been wanting to change into spring attire.

I will hold off on redressing Matoka until my doll from Germany arrives.  She may be the lucky recipient of the yellow dress, but the two girls can always share.

Thank you again, Betty for your caring generosity that you have extended to me for no particular reason! 


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D'Azucar Dolls

After recently receiving Matoka's new dress from friend, Betty A., I telephoned Betty to personally thank her and praise her for such lovely sewing work after having not done so in decades.  During our lengthy conversation on dolls with my leaving her in suspense about which doll would wear the lovely red dress, she happened to mention owning a doll that I have been wanting for approximately four years.  With the manufacturer's name, D'Azucar, provided by Betty, and with the aid of Google.com's search engine, we both learned the desired dolls name is Buba. 

In 2008, I documented Buba's markings and other physical attributes in my second book along with his photograph.  These had been provided by my late friend, Ruth Manning.  Ruth did not know much more about him as she had purchased him on the secondary market some time prior to 2008.   She did not even know his given name.  He is listed in my book as "Unmarked 30-inch Boy Made in Spain."  Ruth named her doll, Abel.  (See Ruth's doll here, after scrolling down.)

Based on Abel's image alone, I thought he was wonderful and subconsciously placed him on my mental "gotta have" doll list.  I never actively looked for him until Betty mentioned him recently.

My Google.com search found that mint condition examples of Buba and his sister, Kolo, had been listed several times on eBay since this past September in auctions that never sold.  The seller described them as having an original retail of $400 and dating back to the 1970s or 1980s.  Initially, they had been listed for $199 each in their separate auctions.  Each of their final auctions were separate buy it nows for 2-1/2 times less, plus reasonable shipping.  During my conversation with Betty, I emailed the seller through eBay to check on the dolls' availability, specifically Buba's because I was not really interested in Kolo and expressed this to Betty.  She questioned, "You don't want the girl, too?" even though she had not seen her.  My answer then was, "No.  I don't really like her.  I just want Buba."

Well, by the time the seller and I completed our email correspondence, I had decided I could not separate Buba from his sister.  So they are now both mine and I am very happy I made that decision.

Buba and Kolo by D'Azucar Creationes of Spain, circa 1980s

Now, I know I have recently said I no longer collect large dolls their size (approximately 30 inches), but with me and dolls, there are always exceptions.

Betty wondered, during our conversation, since these dolls were made in Spain during the late 1980s, if they are copies of early Annette Himstedt dolls.  Originally her dolls were made in Spain and it was during the late 1980s/early 1990s that she discovered some of her doll molds had been counterfeited. I recall seeing an ad to this effect in one of the major doll publications which warned collectors and the culprit of this deed.  This is not to say that D'Azucar Creationes did or would have done this, but these dolls do resemble Annette's Fatou from the Barefoot Children series. 

Annette Himstedt's Fatou, the center doll, is flanked by D'Azucar Creationes' Buba on the left and Kolo on the right.  They could be from the same family, perhaps cousins. 

If my memory serves me correctly, I believe Ruth suggested the possibility to me that her "Abel" may have been a Himstedt copy.  Who knows?  What I do know is that had Betty not made and sent Matoka's new dress, I may not have conducted my mini search for "D'Azucar dolls," Buba would still be on my mental "gotta have" doll list, and his sister's existence unknown.

Something else good doll-wise (to be shared later) resulted from Matoka's gift from Betty. 

As my dear friend Ruth used to say and write, "...all things work together for good..."

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