Joel the Pest, featuring Hadley... and Joel.

I thought that Hadley was looking especially cute in the things I made for her, so I took a few pictures of her. 

But that's all I got. A few. And why?  

Well, because Joel the Pest came and ruined my photoshoot with Hadley, that's why! *grumble* I guess he thought she looked pretty cute, too. *grumble*  

Brat. Pest. Unapologetic hugger of the Hadley.  

"Oh go away, you two."  

*sigh* at least I got a few pictures... 

Blink and You’ll Miss Him

For a few hours today, I finally got to see all four of my Soom brothers together. Bran’s Sard body arrived today after a long layby. I only got to enjoy him on it for the morning, then I packed his head and torso to go off to get a faceup, but it was a lovely ‘preview’  of things to come!

We were all very excited about this arrival, and Bran’s brothers all wanted to help.

Aidan: That's your body in there.

Evan: I came from there, too.

"Hey boys. Ready to get cracking? Let's open it up"

Evan is completely ready to start opening up that box. With his sword.

Layne is rather scornful of Evan's box-opening tool. Aidan and Bran are keeping a careful eye on things.

Evan: Bite me, Layne.

Layne: Oh come on. Really? You're going to let him open it with a sword?
"Yep"
Evan: And what's wrong with my sword anyway?

And at last, Evan gets to hack into a box with his superfly sword and show us how it's done. It only took him three box openings ;)

The outer box is all opened up now and put aside for the real box-opening. Layne is already cracking it open, and Evan is well pleased with himself. A job well done. He's pretty sure he'll get to open all the boxes from now on... We'll see.

Aidan: They've got it open now, Bran.

Layne: There's a letter.
"Yes, Captain Obvious.  It's a letter. Going to open it up?"

Evan: Who's it from? Can I read it? ... Hey, what are you doing with that?

Layne opened the letter up.... and had to stick the tape somewhere, I suppose. Younger brother's head is always a good place.

Layne: Yep, it's a letter.
"Oh good. Glad that's cleared up."
Layne checked out the letter while Evan dealt with his 'sticky' situation.
Aidan wisely kept out of it.

Just as well, too. Evan is out for revenge. Watch out, big man.

Layne is occupied in telling Bran that everything looks okay so far, and doesn't suspect anything is about to happen.
Aidan wisely kept out of it.

Evan takes his revenge. Hope he can run fast.

Hm, Evan is strangely absent from this picture, and Layne looks rather unruffled. ;)

It would seem that Evan didn't get away fast enough and Layne isn't the biggest brother for nothing. He swatted Evan away and threatened to put that tape on his face if he didn't buzz off.
I may have laughed at him a little. Don't think he was too pleased about that either.
Aidan wisely kept out of it.

But, he sorted the problem out by putting both of them to work opening up all the bubble wrapped parts.
Clever Aidan.

Layne: What the heck is this?
"Looks like a pony, Layne. Maybe Tracy meant it for you?"
Layne: ...

Well, we continued to open up all those little parcels and we got Bran's body all ready to go. Just one more thing left to do.
Aidan goes to get ready to trade heights with Bran.
(I swapped around the thigh parts so that the Sard body now has the taller Heliot legs)

And at last! All four of my Soom boys are together and complete! For a minute anyway ;)
Aidan, Evan, Layne and Bran. And one very happy camerawoman.

We didn't have long before we had to get Bran ready to go off to the faceup artist, so I figured we'd all give Bran a nice send off by making him stand around for one of those boring family photos. He looks like he's just thrilled about that :)

A couple of hours later...
And things have changed!
Bran says goodbye for a while. He's off to get a 'tan' and a faceup. So Evan decides to appropriate that tall and groovy new body!
And I made him hold the cute little pony Tracy gave us to help me say...

Thanks Tracy!

Open your eyes, Ruby

Ruby has kept her eyes tightly shut almost the whole time she’s been home. Nobody is quite sure why, and we all tried to get her to open them up, and at last Aidan has succeeded!

 

Ruby…

 

Ruby… open your eyes!

Ruby… 

Hello, Ruby! There you are!

You’ve got lovely eyes, Ruby.

Would you like to say hello to everyone now?

Hi Aidan.

 

Hello everyone.

 

Evidently, they’re not big on talking, those two…

And evidently, I am incapable of simply taking a picture of Ruby with her new eyes... Had to go and make a tiny story, but I hope you enjoyed it!

Poking our head out...

...just once more to say we hope that we didn't offend or make uncomfortable anyone with our blog post a couple of days ago. We are really sorry if we did, because that honestly wasn't the intent. We have been feeling a bit scared the since we posted it, because it is always hard to take off the veil of anonymity and speak -even indirectly, as in the blog post- more deeply than usual.

It was just my thoughts on a subject I hadn't given much deep thought to, and I thought they were good thoughts to share... and it was also a good chance for me to say I am so grateful for all my online friends, however I know them. Because I really am grateful.

Digital Friendships

Today, I read that one of my online friends is dealing with some changes in her life, and probably won’t be around as much. I felt really sad about that and said so. Then a little while later, while I was browsing my flickr contacts photos, I wondered if I had a reason to feel sad and say so, or a right…

And then it struck me suddenly how strange online friendships are, just by the very nature of being digital, and I just felt the need to write about it. So I am.

It’s hard to know, for me anyway, what relationship truly exists between myself and those I call friend that I have met online. I believe that I truly care about a lot of the people I’ve met online, and have called friend and I would hope that feeling is returned. But I realised also how very little I know of my online friends’ lives apart from our shared interests, and how little they know of mine. And that made me feel so sad, and so… distant.

I felt like writing a long biography of myself so that I could become real to these digital friends.  Show a picture of myself, so they’d see my face when they thought of me. Give them the opportunity to know me as I am… Because I love it when I have seen pictures of my online friends, and when I learn things about them apart from this shared interest that has formed the basis of my friendships with them. They become something more than just words and interests shared. However, I do equally appreciate them even if I don’t know them apart from their dolls. Because after all, that shared joy in bjd’s is there and that is something and wonderful.

…I also felt like running away because perhaps I have always presumed too much, and felt more than was there. (and that is my black dog talking)

I do believe friendships can exist without the friends ever meeting in person. The written word can be more than adequate to support a real relationship. And I have felt genuine happiness upon learning of one’s upcoming marriage, relief and happiness for another who was cleared of heart trouble, and so forth. Real feelings that you feel for your real friends.

But I think sometimes… rather often, honestly… that it isn’t right of me to wonder where my online friends are when I don’t see them there or wonder about them when they do or don’t do something I expect them to, because what do I really know of their ‘real’ life? But I do wonder. I noticed a friend’s absence and the ‘out of character’ behaviour of another friend. I wondered, and wanted to ask, but didn’t know if I had the right to do so. I guess because I wonder, too, if that shared love for bjd’s can translate into anything that can be called a friendship when so much of the interchange is based solely on dolls. Then again, why not. Shared interests are the best way to form a friendship.

I doubt these thoughts would strike me so deeply as they do if it weren’t for the fact that most of my relationships are based online. I have a husband, and one friend, and several acquaintances that I see in person. They form my physical social network. Everyone else is online. Even my family. I haven’t seen my sister in real life, or any of my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces or nephews for seven years, some longer. I’ve never met in person my sister’s husband. I’ve never met in person my sister’s child. But she knows my voice and my face on Skype. She turned two recently. I haven’t seen my brother for three years and my parents for almost the same. So my online life is very real to me, because it has to be, which is probably rather uncommon, and causes me to have a skewed view of the real depth of the relationships formed there. I don’t think that it is wrong, really, probably just uncommon.

I feel funny even considering posting this online…  And perhaps I shouldn’t… Because at the same time that I feel and hope some kind of a real friendship may exist with any of my digital friends and they would understand why I wrote this, it is second nature to mask our real selves online. Not hide or lie, per se, but not say more than is necessary. Like these thoughts. But on the other hand, I am more than just my dolls, as are my friends, and I do have these thoughts and they are not bad thoughts…

Another funny thing about digital friendships is that it is hard to follow the accepted social structure for a friendship, simply because you don’t have to. Online friendships are in theory and probably in practice free of obligation of any kind. So it is hard to know what the rules and boundaries are. Hard to know where the line is that you don’t cross, if there even is one. And, what if I hurt someone by posting this?

But it is only that I was inspired to say (in a sideways shy sort of manner because I am better and more comfortable with soliloquies) that I do deeply appreciate all of my online friends and am so grateful that I have them, regardless of the depth of the friendship, and even if we don’t know what each other’s smiles look like. It is just nice to have people who do make you smile.

So, Thank You to all of you for brightening my life in so many ways, for making me laugh, and writing stories and taking pictures that move me deeply enough to laugh, sigh, and cry and for enjoying the things I love with me. You’re all wonderful.

The Cake Saga

(I've decided to put my 'photostories' here sometimes, as well as on my flickr. This way, they can be read easier as one set, instead of having to look at each picture. I may also put up some of the older ones that I like, too)

Last week, Chari brought Queenie and Ruby one slice of cake... Just one. Ever since then, they've been arguing over who gets to eat it first, or how much each one gets to eat, or something... Arguing, in any case...

So far, neither of them have touched the cake... but that can't last forever! Realpukis love sweet things.

You touched it!

Queenie goes for the gold and decides she's had quite enough of this waiting and discussing. She wants that cake! But Ruby isn't going to let Queenie get away with it!

 Just you try and do it...

Ruby insists that the slice of cake must be shared. And I am not sure if Queenie is laughing at Ruby, or just... you know... laughing...

We have to share, Queenie!

I'm afraid Queenie and Ruby had got rather noisy by this point... and they have rather highpitched little voices... So, someone decided to take some initiative and help sort things out...

Hands off, this is our cake!

 You'd better be nice to me.

Hey, what's he got?

Oooh... cookies!

Isn't Joel the smart one. He got them to drop their weapons and stop making noise.

It seems Joel knows just how clever he is.. And it would seem he had other reasons for settling the dispute...

Ah, yes. Hadley. He wasn't just being impartial and trying to save all our ears... He had plans for that tasty slice of cake...

Sneaky boy.

Oh well!

I don't think Queenie and Ruby are too disappointed by how things turned out. They did end up with a cookie each, after all. No sharing necessary ;)