What?! It's 2018!

Wow, I cannot believe it is 2018. Where did 2017 go? It flew by! 2017 was a year full of ups and downs. I had many health challenges, but I guess that comes with aging. I turned 65! I still can't get over that. Since I was already retired and on social security and Medicare (I retired on a disability), that part kind of breezed right through. But I am really feeling being 65 in my bones . . . and my joints . . . and my brain!

I have become a little more forgetful. Not anything to worry about according to my Dr. "Natural" at my age. I have noticed my hearing is not as good as it used to be. That can be convenient at times 😉! I also get tired more easily. I know that is a side effect to some of the meds I have to take, so I am glad I don't have to work anymore and can take a little snooze when needed.

Looking back on the year, I am grateful that I have started to turn a corner with my health. I have changed my diet pretty dramatically and it is really starting to show the benefits. I was pre-diabetic, but I no longer am. My cholesterol has gone down far enough that I don't have to take any medication for that anymore, which is nice because that made my joints so much worse. I have something called tempular arteritis, which was scary because the Dr. said it can cause blindness, stroke or aneurism. Yuk! They removed a piece of vein from my temple and put me on a high dose of steroids. The side effects of that drug are bad!  I am happy, however, to report that my inflammation numbers have come way down and I am now on a much lower dosage and some of the other side effects are starting to subside. I have even lost a small amount of weight. Considering that steroids make you gain weight, I feel this was no small feat! I hope to continue to make positive changes and therefore continue to show improvement! OK, enough of that!

In the doll world, my collection has grown exponentially! Dag-nab-it, Mattel, you keep offering such really cute dolls and resistance is futile! I am definitely going to have to thin out some dolls soon -- they have taken over every nook and cranny in the house. I did join a local doll club in August. I joined the Great Lakes Doll Club. One of the things they do is sponsor the Grant a Wish Convention each year. I am finally going to be able to go to that convention! They also clean up and box used dolls to be given to the Salvation Army for donation to families who might not have presents to give otherwise. I personally donated 145 dolls! Of course, most of these were as a result of my desire for articulation for my dolls and were basically new non-articulated hybrids! I dressed 55 of them myself and the others we taken by other members to dress them up. The total donation by the club for 2017 was 640 dolls! I am already working on another box for 2018!

The loss of Vanessa Morrison in 2017 hit the doll community really hard. It was difficult for me for many reasons. I know I along with anyone who knew her will miss her greatly. Sometimes, I still check to see if there is a post from her and remember that there won't be anymore. Vanessa is the person who really encouraged me to play with my dolls. I don't think I would have ever even attempted a body swap had it not been for Vanessa! She always used to talk about how we all "enable" one another in the dollverse I know she would want to be remembered for her undeniable positivity, her extreme talent and her ability to inspire others. I remember that she often would name a doll after people who had meant at lot to her, so I don't think she would mind if I named a doll after her. So here is my Vanessa doll:

The "Selma DuPar James" doll will now be called Vanessa Morris in Hanaly Corners. She will be an Interior Designer/Architect and she will help me get my homes and other structures together. The perfect job for Vanessa, don't you think?!  The other residents of Hanaly Corners are very excited about her arrival and are standing in line to get a chance to discuss what they would like to see!

Selma nka Vanessa is the last of the Harlem Theater Collection by Mattel. She is such a pretty doll and she does remind me of Vanessa!

She will soon have to get out of this beautiful dress and get into some working girl clothes! She is going to be busy!

I have actually set some doll and blog goals for 2018.

1. Organize dolls and get them in a dedicated doll space. I am happy to report I have already made significant progress on this task. This is requiring a complete rearrangement of my basement recreation area. My dolls have definitely overrun the entire basement. So I am switching things around and my craft room will become the doll room. The larger family area will have the craft and sewing area and a lounge area for my daughter to hang out with her friends. It is scary, but here are some in progress photos:                                 
   
   

   

   This wall previously had a table against it that I used for laying out and cutting fabric. It was also my crafting table. I have moved shelving from the rec room to the doll room.

    
   

   

   I moved dolls from other shelves in the rec room to these shelves temporarily. Eventually, these will be converted to living areas. One of these shelves will have things like a classroom, restaurant, shopping areas.

   

   Because I have to make room in one area to move stuff around, things are quite a mess right now! This used to be where I sewed. My embroidery sewing machine sits here.

   

   This was my general sewing area. I taught my daughter Alyssa to sew on this machine and is the only one she is allowed to use. It is a very good machine, but not as expensive as my embroidery machine! 

   

   Yikes, look at all that doll stuff piled up in the corner! What a mess!

   

   I have a nice, deep window sill in this room. Look at all the dolls it can hold! These are residents of a joint community where we have duplicate mini-mes and post on Flickr. It is called LaurenLand.
   I have actually made more progress on this, so will have more photos to share soon. I am really excited as things are coming together!

2. Learn how to take better photos. I struggle a bit with setting up photos and applying photo effects. I want to learn how to work more with my camera and take more and better photos.                   
3. Create more blog posts. I have set a goal of creating at least 1 blog post a month, hopefully 2 posts!                                                              
4. Write photostories. I enjoy reading photostories so much! I had started out with a few episodes of a photostory about the residents lives in Hanaly Corners, but I have not been consistent. This is for many reasons. With having a more organized and dedicated doll space, setting up for a story should be a little easier and therefore, I should be able to create stories more often.                                  
5. LIMIT DOLL PURCHASES and sell some dolls. I know I have too many dolls. In order to enjoy them more, I need to sell some dolls. I know I will still buy dolls --- I just can't help myself, but I also know I need to control my doll spending.                                                    
6. Make more dioramas and diorama items. Make doll clothes. I think once the doll room is organized, I will better be able to create and this will make my other goals more achievable too.                          
7. Lastly, but not leastly, have fun!

I hope everyone has a wonderful 2018. Have fun playing and sharing! See you soon!