Happy New Year 2008

2007 was a good year and it went by very fast. There were lots of changes in my own life with the move to the new town. My intention for the new year is to enjoy each day of the new year and cherish all the fun times it will bring along with friends and family. My intention is to also hear a whole lot of good news from my family and friends who also include my blogging friends.

So best wishes for the new year my blog world friends! Happy 2008!

Challenge Doll

Judy Skeel had a challenge on her website and here is my interpretation of the doll. I reduced the pattern and separated all the parts (the arms, legs and head) before putting it back together again. She is a tiny little thing- only 6" maybe. I love the green hair and secretly wish I had green hair too but could I pull it off like that?

Is it December already?

October Swap Doll: Teenage witch out on a stroll with a pet spider. I got a card for my swap partner and this doll is my interpretation of the witch from the card. My swap partner for October was Patti LaValley. I do have her pindoll from her and I will post that soon.

Days go by so soon and it is almost December. It seems to me that I am right where I was a couple of months ago in California. Fall was so serene and beautiful here. So many colors and such a vibrant display! The locals say it was more colorful this year because of the warm weather. I loved every bit of the season. Now the trees are bare and are waiting for spring. The holiday season is my favorite and I am enjoying it very much this year.

We are all settling in nicely in the new place. People are very friendly here and so helpful. It is getting easier to drive around and I am going places without taking too many U turns. I actually went to Weight Watchers today without any wrong turns- yep! I made it. Tomorrow's project: to go to the post office to mail the pindolls. I know how to get there. I think I do.

I have made 3 pindolls since October and I have the picture of just one of them here in this post. The other two dolls are not mailed yet (because I have to get to the post office first) and so I have to wait for my swap partners to receive them before I can post the pictures. The future plan with my doll making is to finish those UFPs. (unfinished projects). I have three identical dolls waiting for the clothes. I will post them soon.

Picture of My Collection

Here is my pin doll collection. Some of these dolls were made by friends from the Pindoll Alley group and some of them are mine.

Cary, North Carolina

I am working on a borrowed laptop and here is a very short message. We reached Cary a week ago and are waiting for our stuff. I am pretty happy with the 5 bags and 4 backpacks that we flew in with. I am not sure I need all that "baggage"- all 60 or so boxes of it (except the doll stuff ). I am bored of eating out though. I want my own rice, dal (lentils) and veggies. Wish I could post some pictures of this place. It is really green here.

Moving to North Carolina

Hi to everybody! I have been very quiet for more than a month. We are moving back to the east coast after a brief fling with the west coast which lasted 7 years! We had a wonderful time living here in California. We have lived in one of the most beautiful places in California and have made such wonderful friends along the way. We have also had several get togethers with school friends from back home. There is a very long list of people that I will miss dearly when I leave but I take them all in my heart and will always cherish the wonderful memories.

We are moving closer to family and the kids are thrilled that grandparent's home will now be just a few hours away.

I am doing what I am supposed to- packing a box a day. I have packed about 10 boxes in all since last month (and I am sure there will be 40 more to be packed by the end of the month). Does it show how bad I am at counting and planning?

Thank you to Connie, Kelly and Tami for my Nice Matters Award. Thank you all for visiting my blog from time to time. I will get back to blogging soon after I unpack. I do have a few doll pictures to post. I have some dolls which are already packed and I forgot to take pictures of them before I packed them. Sue's Star swimmer is one of them.

Duncan

Connie's Duncan has been enjoying the sunny days of summer here in California. He reached me last month and life has changed (smile). Isn't he the cutest puppy? I swapped pindolls for the summer theme with Connie. I also received the cute Star swimmer. I will take her picture soon and post.

June Swap Pin Dolls

Here is the picture of summer swap pin dolls. I thought of so many different things like picnic baskets, or ice creams but liked the Bermuda babes the best. I made two of them since I swapped with two people. I exaggerated the proportions a bit to give them a light hearted "cool" look. They can stand up on their own. I forgot to measure them before sending them to their new moms but I think they are around 7" tall. I like the beach bags they are carrying, don't you?

100th Post Update

I should first thank all of you who visit my blog from time to time and leave lovely comments about my work. Last night both kids picked one name each and the winners are: Connie and Shashi. Congratulations guys! Shashi, please send me your snail mail address and I will mail your surprise to you. Connie, I will mail yours on Friday.

Long Weekend in May

It's been more than 2 weekends since the long weekend but I decided to post the pictures anyway. We went around the South Lake Tahoe area, took a gondola ride, played on a small beach on Lake Tahoe and also went to Circus-Circus (a casino with circus acts and arcade for kids) in Reno, Nevada. A very fun trip and what made it better was a warm pool at the hotel room which the kids enjoyed since they can both swim now. Here are a few pictures of the Gondola ride and the lake. Circus-Circus pictures pale in comparison to the beautiful natural scenery which Mother Nature provides so generously. The last picture shows what I did while the kids played in the sand. Of course DH was clicking away.