"....and there was a great rustling and flurry of wings, as the devils suddenly arrived.
​
'We have a visitor!'"

November 15th was 'America Recycles Day', but we put out our recycling on Thursdays. So Holly helped Milo take their's down to the road.....

It was also Garden Waste day....

"That's not so many leaves..."

"Well, I'll rake up some more for next week..."

"So that's everything for today's pickup...."

Took advantage of some final fall colour for some portrait shots of Yvette and Eden...

I got a new camera yesterday.  The one I've been using for years is 17 years old, which is practically 'prehistoric' in digital camera terms, and it's been giving me trouble for years now.  But I hate change, so have just dealt with all the increasing issues. But its days were numbered.

I had no idea what new camera to get, so my son did some research and said this model would be the best for my specific needs, and ordered it for me. 

Now I get to try and figure out how to use it. Things have sure changed in 17 years, and there's LOTs of new stuff to get used to.  Nothing is the same.  And now I need a new PhotoShop, and a new cataloguing system as well, so there's even more new stuff to learn. 

​So even though it's exciting to finally get a new updated camera, I do feel sad about the passing of my old one. It's been my constant companion for 14 years, and has taken some amazing photos.

* Edited to add:   Turns out that I ended up returning this camera. The main reason was because the data card goes into the bottom slot with the battery, and the tripod shoe will cover the opening and prevent easy access. Since all my interior, and many of my backyard, photos, are all taken using a tripod, and I need to go check the photos constantly on my computer, the inaccessibility of the data card is a total deal breaker. So the hunt for a new camera continues.....

Today, November 16th, is National Fast Food Day.  It was Owens turn to look after dinner again, but after all the work it took to make dinner ten days ago, and the huge mess he was left with afterwards, he decided to go an easier route this time.....fast food....

...and he made sure to get something to please everyone....

"Everyone is going to LOVE this!"

A free pattern for a simple dress for a Fashion sized doll. I made this one out of stretch jersey, to fit a SartoriaJ  45APH girl, but the pattern can be used as a starting point for other styles as well. 

Today I'm releasing the patterns for Naomi's second outfit from her recent story. It includes the jacket, T-shirt, leggings and knee-high socks. However, this time it's being added to 'Just Patterns', which doesn't come with instructions, just a few helpful notes. But it is very simple, so should not be any problem for an experienced sewer.

With it getting rather late in the fall, and most of the trees being bare already, I still wanted to take a few portraits of some of my BIDs with whatever coloured leaves were left.  So we took Aki and Erin to look for some....and found some lovely bright red bushes....

Aki wore one of the new sweaters and hat sets that I knitted recently....

Erin was borrowing an outfit made for Bonnie...

Together they posed for some portraits with the leaves...

It's been quite the week!  Last month our dishwasher died. That's no big deal since I much prefer washing dishes by hand anyways. Then Monday our freezer died. Thankfully we discovered it before the stuff inside started thawing, and we managed to fit almost everything into our fridge freezer. The one good thing is that the ancient turkey hiding in one corner of the freezer for years finally went out with 'kitchen waste'.

That same night we heard tapping INSIDE one of our kitchen walls.  We've had mice before, but they don't make sounds like that.  Then Tuesday there was all water under the sink, and we now need a new tap installed.  Then yesterday's dinner didn't bake very well and it turns out our oven isn't working properly anymore either.  And we were going make a cake for our granddaughter's birthday Sunday. Still managed to bake something at a longer, lower temperature, but the oven definitely needs to be looked at.

I also need a new camera (been saying that for years) but that means I need a whole new PhotoShop as well, since mine is way too old.  And did I mention I HATE change?? 

Then to really top it all off, my radio station went to 24/7 Christmas music today. I mean, I like Christmas music as much as the next guy, but I like it a week before Christmas, and not for seven whole weeks day and night!  So I have to work in silence the next while.

On a more positive note, I'm finally getting around to changing my little dolls into warmer clothes for the winter. There are a LOT of them, and the ones on the top shelf have been changed....

That leaves six in the bottom row, and then all the KIDs, and the KW tinies who are all still wearing their fairy outfits from last spring. The only ones who don't get changed are the eight royal children belonging to FID families. They keep their Medieval Fantasy costumes.  All these little cuties have been sorely neglected of late, and it's high time that changed. After all Christmas is coming.

​I'm also getting somewhere with my Storyteller. He's an old art doll I made some thirty one years ago. He's one of the first dolls I ever sculpted, and was only ever photographed in a bare studio, and never in a nice interior setting - which I didn't have back then, but do have now.

I created the set for him and his dog the other day, and ended up having to fake a fire in the fireplace - out of Christmas lights and cellophane.....

He's almost ready to start telling his dog the story of 'the Soldier and Death'.....and when he is, he'll be telling it here...so stay tuned....