Fairy Rings and Caterpillars

It is cold and dreary outside this week. But last week, we found something very special in the yard. I just now am getting a chance to share it with my friends.

Maman had noticed a ring of mushrooms right in the middle of the yard. She said it was a fairy ring. I could just imagine fairies dancing in the middle of it. I decided to sit in the middle of the ring myself.

Although I am not a fairy,

I still felt quite magical sitting in the middle of their mushroom ring.

It was a magical day in a lot of ways. I saw a fuzzy caterpillar on our pink lilies. I was worried because the caterpillars seem to be eating the flowers all up. Maman said it is okay. They are trying to get full before sleeping during the winter. Then, perhaps next spring they will turn into a butterfly or moth. Maman said the flowers are almost spent anyway and the first frost will be here soon, so let the caterpillars eat their fill.

So, today I found fairy rings and fuzzy caterpillars! A magical day indeed!

Dolly

A New Book

Maman isn't feeling well today. She asked all the little companions to please play quietly. A book had just come in the mail for Sara and I yesterday, so we thought reading it would be a nice, quiet activity.

We sat with Maman to keep her company, and we all enjoyed the stories and poems and pictures about dolls and their little girls from long ago.
Sara and I especially enjoyed seeing dolls in the pictures that look like us. We don't always fit in with the modern world and it was a great comfort to read stories about old fashioned dolls like we are.

We think the quiet reading of these lovely stories made Maman even feel a bit better!

Dolly

It Will Never Stop Raining

I can't believe it. It is raining AGAIN! I don't believe it will ever stop raining. It rains almost every day. Maman says at least we don't have to water the garden, but I like helping Maman water the garden. I don't mind if the rain helps some too, but I don't want the rain to do it for us almost every day.

I didn't know what to do with myself, so Maman told me to play in my basket with my friends.

I like my friends, but I had been in the basket all night and I didn't want to stay there all day too.

So I took my newest little friend, Gabriella (or Gabby as we call her...although, since she is very quiet I don't know why she would be called Gabby, but I don't suppose that is my business) to peek out the dog door at the rain.

Unfortunately, we didn't get to peek out for very long before the dog decided to stick his nose in and peek at us. We were just about to find something else to do when Maman caught us.

Maman sighed deeply, which I noticed she does a lot on rainy days with a house full of little girl dolls. "Oh, Dolly...Gabby...it is all muddy over there. The dogs have been tracking dirt and mud in all morning. Gabby is going to get her new slippers dirty."

I told Maman they were just house slippers, so what does it matter...they're bound to get dirty sooner or later, but I don't think she agreed with me.

Then I tried, "But, Maman, we're boooorrrrrrred. We wanted to have a picnic today, but it is all muddy and you wouldn't like us to have a picnic in the mud. Although, we could make mud pies and I think it would be perfect." Gabby just kind of stood there quietly looking at her shoes. I guess she is still a little shy. Good thing I am not.

Maman said absolutely no mud pie picnics, so I tried another idea.

"Can we make some tea cakes?"

Maman said we were out of eggs and can't make them without them. She didn't plan on going to the store until later. She thought a minute, and then came up with a good idea. Maman has lots of good rainy day ideas...I guess she is getting plenty of practice lately.

Maman said we could make jam tarts. They are not tea cakes, but I thought they sounded good enough. It didn't take long. Maman put some tart shells in the oven....

And when they came out, we filled them with jam. The hardest part was waiting for them to cool.

But good things really do come to those who wait and before long we were all having an indoor picnic...without mud pies, but tarts will do.
Your Friend,

Dolly

A Rainy Day

Today I was hoping to go play in the garden again. I was very disappointed to look outside and see a steady rain. I went out onto the porch anyway. The lilac bush has just began to bloom so I at least wanted to visit it today. I did get a little wet, but I didn't mind.
A big puddle had formed on the porch. I was just about to take off my shoes to go wading when Maman saw me. She sighed rather deeply at the sight of my slightly wet dress and suggested I go play inside with the dolls I share a basket with.
I share a basket with Eilonwy, Arwen, and my best friend Sara Crewe. I do wish I could sit quietly and neatly like my friends do, content to just chat or read as the rain falls. But, as much as I love talking to my friends, I just find it hard to sit in the basket for very long. I decided to find something else to do for just a little while.
I thought I might make some music, but Maman caught me climbing up her harp and again suggested I find something else to do...maybe play with the other little girl dolls in the household or look out the window. For some reason, my idea of "something else to do" is often rather different than Maman's idea of "something else to do."
I tried looking out the window at my flowers. They really aren't just mine I suppose, but I do help Maman when she opens the window to water them so I think it is okay to consider them just a little bit my very own flower garden.

I watched the rain water my flowers for a little while. I suppose we won't need to water them today. I was disappointed with that too since I like taking care of them.

Finally I got a bit tired and decided to take a nap. I was too tired to return to my basket so I found another companion to curl up with. She didn't seem to mind and she is nice and cuddly to take a nap with. Maybe later the sun will come out and I can go out to play. Although, Maman says NOT in the garden because of the mud. I think making a mud pie would actually be nice. Maman suggested making some cookies later...not out of mud. I suppose that would do...but I still think mud pies would be interesting.

Dolly

In the Garden

Today it was finally the "right" weather to tour the garden. It was a lovely afternoon...not too hot with a nice breeze blowing. I had been sitting in my person's work basket as she began to crochet a new dress for me. Although, I won't refer to .....my person....as my person any longer. We have been looking through French patterns for the Bleuette dolls for new dress ideas for me. I am the very same size as Bleuette and I have a lot in common with her. The Bleuettes tend to call their person, "Maman." This is French for "mama" I think and although I am not French, I like the way the Bleuettes call their person that. My "Maman" said that would be fine with her.

So, Maman and I sat on the porch with our work betwen us. I like being in Maman's work basket because it is rather cozy, but I also like getting out of the work basket and taking a closer look at the scenery beyond the porch sometimes.
If you look hard enough, you can see a bird's nest in the bush behind us. The little birds are long gone, but the nest is still interesting and there are still birds generally singing in the bush whether they are nesting or not. The cardinals visit often with their bright red color and sweet trilling voices.Maman said it was still a bit wet from recent rains, but she thought I might go out and play in the garden if I was careful not to muddy my shoes and new dress too much. It is a play dress, but I still like my play dresses just a little bit fancy. Maman said that is fine, but that means I must be more careful with them. She also said the way things are going lately she needs to work on making a plain "overdress" for me like little girls used to wear when they wanted to do things that would almost certainly involve getting dirty. She also said I need some sturdy play boots the way things are going.

I think I am a little more adventurous than Maman originally thought, but she said that is okay, she was a bit of a "Tomboy" too growing up. I don't know what that means, but I told Maman I am certainly not a boy and certainly not named "Tom." Maman explained that just means I am rather active and like adventure and things that get one dirty a bit sometimes. I still don't quite understand. I just know I want to be active, adventurous, get dirty on occassion and STILL wear ribbon, roses and dresses all the time like the little girl named Dolly that I am. Maman said that is what you call wanting to "have your cake and eat it too." I don't understand Maman sometimes. If you have cake, why wouldn't you eat it?" After that, Maman just sighed in what you call a "resigned" way and made a note to find a sturdy overdress pattern very soon.

Anyway, Maman said the weeds were springing up like wildfire after the rain and if I liked, I could help weed the garden...very carefully. I like to be helpful, so off I went.

I was very, very careful...although I did get just a little mud on my shoes. It wiped off just fine though, so that was fine by me.

The garden sure did have a lot of weeds. I only pick some little ones and Maman said she would pick the rest this evening. Weeding is hard work.

We have carrots, tomatoes, and corn in the garden. They get bigger every day. We did have radishes, but we already picked them.

After weeding, I helped pick the spent flowers off my favorite lily patch in the yard.

I also checked the rose to see if it needed water. I hope our turtle didn't mind me getting a bit of a boost to finish the task. Although, Maman minded when she saw me standing on him. I think I gave her a bit of a fright, which is why she told me to stay on the porch until she could go out with me again later. That is okay, since after I washed the dirt off my hands...and dress...and shoes...and face.... Maman said I could have cookies and lemonade!!!! That is worth staying on the porch!

Your Friend,

Dolly

Lemonade, Tea Cakes, and Catching Up

It has been almost a whole month since I last wrote in my journal. Because many days have passed since then, I won't attempt to tell you about every day. Let me just begin anew with today.

It is very, very hot today. I wanted to go look at the garden and the new flower beds in our yard, but it is too hot to stir much right now so I will wait until later in the evening when the sun begins to go to sleep to take a turn about the gardens.

My person said it was a perfect day for lemonade and tea cakes on the porch under the ceiling fan. I have never had lemonade or tea cakes, so it sounded quite exciting.

I helped my person make the lemonade.

Then we made the Southern tea cakes. We made them just like my person's grandmother used to make them. They are not quite a cookie and not quite a cake, but something in between. My person said the recipe was quite old, since her grandmother learned it from her mother.

I even made some little cakes just for me. Although, I think my cakes looked more like tea blobs than tea cakes.It didn't matter in the end though, they tasted just as good with a cold cup of lemonade on the porch. As for catching up, I will say I was privileged to travel to stay in the mountains for a weekend with my person and some other doll companions. My friend, Hitty Rowan, plans to tell all about our adventures in her journal. However, I will say one of my favorite parts of the trip was sitting with my person on the cabin porch as she worked on knitting a new dress for me. Mountains are wonderful things to look at, especially when viewed with those we love!
Dolly

My First Outing

Today I ventured outside. I have never been outside but it always looked nice through the window and I was glad to see it in person.

We went out in the woods.

And by a little pond. I have never seen such things and they were lovely beyond my imagining.

We saw a tiny little turtle near the bank. I carefully watched him so as not to frighten him.

Then, even more wonderful, I rode in a canoe on the water! I stayed safely tucked in my carrier until we were launched and the canoe was stable.

Then I ventured a look around. I could not believe I was actually in a boat on the water! I have read about such things, but never imagined in my wildest dreams experiencing them!

The pond was so tranquil!

We returned to shore. I visited the little cabin boyscouts used to camp in. I am not a boyscout and I do not think I would want to sleep here, but it was nice to visit.

At last my first outing ended and I returned home tired but quite happy!

Dolly