It seems I am behind with the blog again but I have a great excuse. I have been lugging babies back into the out-back studio. We have had two very warm days so I have felt confident about the babies being home again. I didn't take photos for two reasons. One, every thing looks very much the same except the white floors have no rugs. That is not an improvement but a protective move on my part. If water comes in again it is easier to mop up around the legs of furniture rather then lugging tables and chairs across the room to take up dripping rugs and then have to find a way to dry them.
I found, by re-reading the instruction booklet that the images are easier to get out of the Nikon if I download their software. Something has to be done since as things are now, it is such a battle. So I decided to follow instructions, but when I got on the web site their program has a different number than it has in the book, so I am hesitant to download the wrong one.
I am thinking this is not the day to do it as the computer has been nothing but a problem this morning. With Microsoft guys messing in my computer while trying to do my mail, someone overriding the printer, and Adobe showing up where I do not want to see it, I think it is better if I go sweep floors or something.
 I do have Kay to prepare for shipment to Oregon and that is fun to do. Someone ordered her even though I do not have her listed in any of the outlets. At least God does not charge a sale-fee for guiding someone to her.

More hanky-panky in my computer. I am fairly sure I had all these landscape photos up-ended into portrait mode but this morning they are all back to landscape. I am either losing my mind or the MS guys are back in the computer. If you never hear from me again you can blame the Nikon program which I am determined to get working.

On Werner's trip to town for shopping he stopped by Gualala Arts Center to snap this photo from the Surreal Exhibit. That little-bitty doll on the foreground pedestal is mine.

Seen up close and personal it looks like this.

I'll bet the Chinese never suspected their big-selling doll would end up like this. Got lots of nice compliments on the work. Was glad I still had the ceramic block with baby arms to add to it.
At home I started to put the babies into their new bodies I had sewed yesterday. First off I find all the leg caps are too small and must be re-cut and sewn again before starting. While doing that I got the idea to make Eliza's body out of the next size up. That meant more cutting and sewing. But as I put her into it she and I both had the feeling that this was right. Because Werner had the new Nikon in town with him, I forgot to get a picture of Eliza in her new body. Here she is in her official portrait however. What a sweetie!

 In the afternoon, which got very open-every-window warm, I was able to finish the other two and get their photos taken. What you may not realize is that the babies are sitting on a home-made boppy pillow. Caitlin said her doctor recommended she get one for Everett (I had looked at them on Amazon but figured it was such a necessity that she would surely have one.) I could make mine out of a big bath sheet because my babies do not squirm like hers will.

Last, but not least was Rina. I love her tiny open mouth but the rest of her face looks very wary which is why I put her eyes in with the side ward glance.

It is interesting that both Ling-yen and Harmony, my two most frequent visitors have no tolerance for cranky babies. As soon as they spot one I get a small lecture on being more discerning in my choice of kits.
I love my new Nikon camera except tonight my printer refuses to find and print photos it took. Thus I had to pick these photos, not from print outs, but by seeing them only on the computer screen. Old dog with new tricks struggling this evening.

This photo from yesterday shows what I worked on all morning but it is not the photo I wanted to show you. I love my new camera but my computer has hidden all the photos I just downloaded out of it.

[I found out how to find these photos from yesterday. Now you can see the heart notepads and the pencils.]

So I will explain with what I have. Harmony and I had the idea of giving away notebooks with the idea of asking the receiver to use the notepad to write down things for which they are thankful. We are hoping that by the time they have filled the notepad they will be inspired to use other thicker booklets for their thanks. Next Saturday at the Upstairs Gallery in Gualala, Jane Head is giving away ceramic hearts she has made to all visitors and she invited other artists to join her in the project of sharing art hearts. This morning I made 17 little packages of notebooks with pink 1/2 pencils and felt hearts in cellophane bags. The printed out notes on the left above were then pasted on the backs and fronts of the pads inviting the finder to join us. The unfound photo is better as it shows the heart-shaped notepads which are really appropriate. These were just the extra ones.
In the afternoon I started to stuff the three babies. Again all I can show you is a photo made yesterday. Tomorrow I hope to give everyone a painted face and a new body.  I am not so sure I can show you the babies in their new bodies unless I find a way to access the pictures from the new camera. All of this reminds me that when I started this blog in the spring I had the same complaint. Somehow the computer learned to put the pictures where I could find them. May it do so again. It did it right yesterday but today. . .

[The photo I wanted to show you. That is Rina standing upside down as the glue dries in her head.]

In the outback studio I cleared off more shelves to accommodate the boxes of babies. So far the only response on Etsy has been from children. Time-wasters we call them. They get off on asking dumb questions to see if we will answer. They do not realize the proper way to get us to respond is to send money.

As bonus and thanks for finding these, here is timid Tim still trying to get Sleepy Sam to let the pig go without any more kisses. The things that go on in the nursery.

This is the new crew and I hope the last one I will do in the living room studio. We have Eliza on the left, then Blaze and then a rather cranky-looking Rina who came to us over eBay. There was some splitting on the inside of her head near the eye which I suspect was the reason she was offered so cheaply. Thank goodness there is no splitting on the face. I was surprised that her eyes went in and immediately slipped to the corners, but seeing her lips I feel their placement is exactly right for who she is. She certainly looks as if she thinks she is not in the right place with us and is looking for a way out. I hope Blaze and Eliza will sweeten her a bit as we go along.
When WR brought the mail home at lunchtime the new camera was also there. I had been so disappointed with the Canon I bought before Christmas to replace my old one, I kept a lid on my enthusiasm in case this was also an item to return. However, I have loved everything I have tried with it. It's size is perfect, I love having more lens area, the variance of exposures are so easy to find and set. I even had a crocheted bag it fits into already. It feels like MYCAMERA. Werner said it was my Valentine's Day gift so I asked if I could use it before. He gives me that long to learn it. Punkin/Everett was eager to pose for me so here he is.

That was interesting. First the computer hid the file and when I forced it to open it it downloaded so slowly as if checking it for virus. Any how this photo does not have adjusted exposure so you can compare the skin tones with the photo above of the crew taken with the Sony above. This is a Nikon, which I have never had before, but I am very happy with it. No wonder it was listed as Amazon's #1 best-seller in cameras.

I got all three babies - the whole crew - into their bodies today and they are ready to be photographed if the sun shines tomorrow. My biggest joy was in the first baby. I could not wait to see Punkin in his blonde wig. I cut his hair the way Everett's was in one of his pictures. Punkin has a little more above his forehead but Everett may catch up with him when he is 4 months old.

The longer I looked at him, the more he became the four month old Everett. I was just head over heels in love with him.

I am sure it was my joy in him that caused me to make so many mistakes in Blonde Blaze. I got her into her body all backwards. I was so upset with myself having such a huge senior moment that I actually had the thought that I would just leave her be as she was. After a nap I had the courage and energy to take all her limbs off and retie them on right.

I am thinking of ways to pull her shoulders into her body more. As they are, the arms are too long and stick out too far. Maybe when she is wearing sleepers it will not be so noticeable. I gave her a hair cut and curled hair so she has to sit in the chair all night waiting on it to dry.
It was late in the afternoon and I wondered if I could or should finish the unpainted Blaze. By going very slowly and checking myself at every new part of the assembling I was able to get this Blaze together right.

This Blaze is bigger than the factory-painted Blaze and I like the fact she has only 3/4 arms and legs so her arms and shoulders are more realistic.

This was the crew this morning after I put in the weights in the limbs and joined the limbs with the heads in their own trays. It took me all morning to stuff everything and everyone. I had some hopes of getting the bodies sewn in the afternoon but in the mail came the blog2print books for Beads N Jane and Janes Therapy Reborns. I admit I simply sat in the sun and enjoyed the day and read my words of two years ago.
Oh, I wanted to share my beautiful experience from this morning. Caitlin sent a bunch more photos of Everett and I could see he had two dimples - one on each side of his mouth. I began running the images of available kits through my mind to see if I could remember a kit with dimples. When I started to work in the morning I picked up Punkin because I love him most. To my surprise he has two dimples! My favorite boy baby and he looks (in my mind) most like Everett. I stopped all my inclinations to make babies to dig out a blond wig for him and then I just sat and stared at him.

Later in the afternoon I did get the 3 bodies cut out but when I tried to start sewing them I recognized there was not enough energy to do a good job. I would love to show you the real Everett but I still cannot move the photo from email to here. It is not easy to be so dumb.

Here is Blaze watching over the body pieces so no one tries to help themselves to one that is not finished in their eagerness to become real babies.

This is the crew that awaited me this morning, There was Blaze with her limbs already painted and hair rooted. Best of all she had her eyes in. Yesterday when I started two kits had troubles with their eyes. One needed 18 mm eyes and I had none and the other one surprised me by needed stemmed eyes, also small. Instead of waiting for a new order of eyes, I picked the Blaze kit because her eyes were in. Pumkin. on the right helped me put his eyes in. Even though I placed them poorly, with a little pressure they jumped into position. But the reason I got no farther on these today was because
Caitlin had our great grandchild - Everett Greyson on Friday. Hans sent photos but I cannot get any of them into the blog to show you what a cutie he is with lots of wavy blond hair. Curses.