Balance With the Family

Did a very full Yoga class this morning, 19 people including the teacher Jill. Good thing we mostly worked on back stretches and bends today, which aren't things that require a lot of room.

I stopped at Rite Aid after class for Listerine, then headed back to Oaklyn. I rode by Dad and Uncle Ken's house on my way home and saw Jessa's car in the driveway. Yes, she was in, and I finally asked about the American Girl dolls she said she wanted to give me. Turns out she had three - Felicity, Molly, and a "Just Like Me" custom doll made to look like Jessa herself, complete with long black hair and pretty almond-shaped eyes. I drove the dolls home on the bike. Jessa said she'd bring over their accessories after she ran some errands.

After I got in, I brushed the girls' hair. Jess told me that Molly was her favorite of the three, and she looked it. She had pink marks on her legs, and it looked like her hair had been cut and dyed a reddish shade. Still, she was otherwise intact. The Chinese-American doll (whom I dubbed Little Jessa) and Felicity were in far better shape. Both wore the outfits the dolls came in when purchased. (In fact, Felicity wore her ORIGINAL original outfit, the lovely orange-and-red patterned dress she came in until a few years ago. The current Felicity doll comes in a lavender dress that I don't think looks nearly as good on her.)

Molly got pigtails (I couldn't think of what else to do with her shoulder-length bob). Little Jess imitated her "mother"'s messy ponytail. I left Felicity's hair in the headband she wore - it looked fine the way it was. Molly was wearing what looked like a cheap doll outfit and a long fur coat. I took the fur coat off and ditched the outfit - it was stained and ripped in the middle of the jumper.

Had a big lunch after I cleaned up the girls (salmon, strawberries, a spinach and radish salad, and a slice of Buttermilk Whole-Wheat Rye Bread with plum butter), then went on the computer for a little while. Jess came over shortly after finishing today's WebKinz session. (I wanted to check out the new General Store theme while I had the time to do so.) She came bearing a box filled with other things for the girls, a trundle bed with a ton of linen, a blue bike for Molly, and Molly's huge backgrounds.

Turns out Jessa, the only child of a fairly well-off middle-aged couple, had quite a bit of American Girls stuff, a fairly great feat given it's hefty price tag. Felicity only had one other outfit, her pink spring "pinner" dress with the pinafore you're supposed to attach with straight pins (likely long gone). Molly and Jessa, however, had a whole wardrobe, from Molly's plaid school jumper and pink print flannel pajamas for Jessa to fancy costumes (mermaid, fairy, and most of Molly's hula get-up). I changed Felicity into her spring outfit and Molly into hers (a pinafore-style dress with huge ruffled sleeves). Little Jessa kept her short-sleeved shirt on but was changed into the green shorts that originally went with a Girl Scout uniform.

Like Molly, not everything was in the best of shape. Shoes were missing. The handlebar on the bike was loose, and it's minus a pedal. Jessa said she'd once accidentally sat on Molly's glasses and broke them. The bed was cheap plastic, but it was a trundle that would fit all four dolls. Still, given that Jess is not the world's most organized person (her room generally looks like it was for nuclear target practice), I'm surprised she came up with as much as she did.

(And I especially appreciated the bed, cheap plastic or not. Sam's bed was originally the wicker bassinet for Anny's baby dolls. Mom had refitted it with a new mattress and a ruffled comforter and pillow that matched Sam's Victorian wardrobe. It's been moved around and battered and shoved for over 20 years, though, and a lot of the wicker was breaking. Not to mention it never fit Sam all that great anyway. I kept the pillow and the blanket, but put the bassinet and the stained mattress in the trash.)

My late work night (5-10) was steady, with no major problems. I did returns off-and-on for the last hour.