A Boy Doll Diary - The photo story about a man living with his boy doll

Dear Diary, The boys and Santa Claus under the Yule tree. A dam ;  It's Christmas Day and we're celebrating.  The weather is stunning - sunny, blue skies and hot and blessedly, no wind.  It's the perfect Christmas Day in the southern hemisphere.  You'll notice that I'm wearing my summer kit - shorts, T-shift and jandals.  The other day I saw Santa Claus in shorts! Staying cool in the middle of summer. A ngelo:  I love Christmas!  We have a special new tree this year, decorated with vintage New Zealand toys, in particular the Marylou doll.  And, underneath, prezzies for the family.  I love opening my gifts to see what great things I was given. "Check out my festive snowman socks!" A dam , A ngelo & J esse :  We wish all of our friends in cyberland a very happy Holiday season.  There are lots of reason to celebrate this day, from the summer solstice here at the bottom of the globe, to the winter solstice...

Dear Diary, J esse:  It's been a long three months since we last wrote anything here.  Needless to say, this has been a very trying time for us - technically speaking - given all the problems with computers and phone cameras.  In spite of professional assistance, we've been unable to get back online until today and we are happy to return.  I promise we'll write very frequently.  Many apologies to everyone who has been looking and waiting for word from us.

Dear Diary, A ngelo :  I am a spoiled boy - really I am.  I have a fantastic wardrobe, almost all of which has been sewed by Ruth in England.   When people see my clothes in real life, they just can't believe the attention to detail, like real buttonholes, buckles, and trims.  Long ago Papa sold off all the Trendon factory-made outfits as he considered them historical but poorly made when compared to my outfits from Ruth.  We first started to buy clothes from Ruth in around 2001 when I first came to live with my Papa.  At that time Ruth lived in a small village in England and didn't have good access to a large variety of fabrics.  So, Papa would go to the mega fabric stores and purchase cuts of different fabrics. He would then attach a photo from an advertisement which showed the kind of garment he wanted made.  Ruth always came through with the best coat, hat, suit and etc. Papa ordered a new outfit for me as a surprise and it came a li...

Dear Friends, I recently purchased a new computer - a Mac - and I trying to find my way around it.   Currently, the biggest problem I'm having is figuring out how to download my photos so I can put them on this site. Regrettably, I am not from the techno-savvy generation, so this has posed quite a challenge for me. Please don't abandon the three of us.  Angelo, Adam and I don't want to lose any of our friends.  Hopefully, by the end of this week we can post some more entries. With warmest regards, Jesse

Dear Diary, A dam : Not long ago, Jesse came home with some wonderful knitting wool for me to use to make a slipover.  It is made in New Zealand from NZ animals.  It is 60% merino and 40% dehaired angora.  Let me tell you this is soft as can be!   It is a very fine 2-ply, almost lace weight.  I think I got 34 stitches/10 cm on 2.75 mm needles.  I knitted it flat but used steeks so it is seamless.  It's not easy for me to knit flat, so please excuse my errors at times.  Plus, don't forget I don't have a pattern so I had to just make it up on the fly. But, all things considered it finished up pretty well and I like wearing it.   I am convinced that mauve is definitely my colour. Now, about the colour.  It's a beautiful soft shade of mauve which goes well with the size and soft texture of the fabric.  And, we all agree that mauve is a fantastic colour for me.  It brings out the colour of my face and hair, compliment...

Dear Diary, J esse : You may remember some time back when I reported that all of Angelo's shoes had disappeared.  At that time I had made many thorough searches of our house, including two trips to the attic.  Sadly, I was unable to find his footwear. Last weekend, we decided that we needed to clear out some of the things in the attic before the ceiling cave in.  I brought down lots of very large plastic storage containers and we happily decided that since we had forgotten the things inside were even still around, we didn't need to keep them.  In one large box there was an assortment of things, from clothes to kitchenalia.  At the bottom was a white plastic bag and inside - Angelo's shoes! I would not have been able to see them when I looked through the sides of the clear plastic boxes.  I was delighted (and relieved to find them) but for the life of me I have absolutely no idea how this box came to be put into a plastic bag and then put into the botto...

Dear Diary, A dam :  For the past 2 1/2 years, Jesse has been a volunteer at the local Red Cross thrift shop.  Once each fortnight he pulls a shift, working in the store.  He loves doing this because he feels he is giving back to the community where we live.  In addition, he has met many people and become well-known.  The other day he went to pick up something he purchased on-line and when he arrived the woman said to him "I know you from the Red Cross shop!" A few weeks ago when he went for his shift, there was an 18" boy doll for sale.  I use the word "doll" loosely because it isn't really a doll because it could never be played with.  It's more a manikin; you know the type: ceramic head, hands and feet, cloth body and wired into a pose to represent something (like a dancer, little child, etc).  Think Franklin Mint.  Anyway, this boy doll had on an old fashioned newspaper boy outfit and Jesse thought it would probably fit me.  S...

Dear Diary, A dam : Living out in the middle of the country has one fantastic benefit – on a clear night we look up and clearly see the starry firmament. There are no big cities or towns nearby pollute the night sky with excess light. At the end of June, there was an amazing astrological phenomenon: the conjunction of the two planets Venus and Jupiter. It's said that this event hasn't happened for the past 2,000 years and won't happen again until 2023. We were very fortunate to be able to see the stars coming closer and closer. The planets at dusk The planets at twilight.  Jupiter is on the left, Venus on the right. A ngelo : Unfortunately, on the night of their actual alignment, there were too many clouds so we couldn't view it. But, it didn't stop us from waiting outside in the winter chill anyway! "Here we are, bundled up against the winter cold; staying warm under this Peggy square rug." J esse ...

Dear Diary, A ngelo :  Papa, Adam and I really like making friends and keeping in touch here on our blog.  As more people visit our site and we get more messages, our circle of friends is growing wider. New friends are wonderful but it's equally wonderful is when old friends resurface after a long absence. Very recently I received this message in the comment section of one of my postings: Angelo? ANGELO!!  My dear Angelo,  So many years have passed since my Mamma and I would sit together to read your Picture Trail blog and so many not very nice things have happened in the meantime. The worst for me was being locked in a box for what I now know was years and years. Did you know that you are the reason I am here? Probably not, but Mamma saw you and fell in love with the idea of having a boy just like you. She took a few months to find me and then had to keep me a big secret but we would spend an hour or two each day together and looked out for your posts with grea...

Dear Diary, J esse : I have a footwear fixation and I think my boys should have all the latest styles. Angelo has his custom made but it's a different story for Adam.  As anyone who buys the generic footwear for 18" dolls knows, there is no consistency as each manufacturer makes them in different sizes and shapes, not to mention quality.  My biggest complaint is that they are wide and clunky. Not long ago, Usha, a member of the Carpatina Yahoo Group, recommended that I try the footwear for the Maplelea doll, Canada's own version of the American Girl.  It seemed like a reasonable risk so I purchased these: Back row L - R: Summit Boots, Silver Streek, Snowdrifters Front L - R: Skedaddlers, Carpatina loafers for comparison They each appear to be nicely made and look good.  Unfortunately, almost all their footwear is for girls and can't cross-over for boys.  I thought I'd show these, comparing them to the proper-fitting and proportional Carpatina sh...

Dear Diary, A dam :  It's almost the winter solstice and our lemon tree has decided to give us all these beautiful lemons.   We bought this tree last spring but didn't know where to plant it to keep it out of the winds so it spent all spring and summer in  the glass house.  In the latter part of summer it got too hot inside so we moved it outside.  In early spring we'll plant it. We have another potted lemon tree which thinks it's spring so it's put out new blossoms. Silly tree - fooled by Mother Nature! "Love those lemons!" A ngelo :  We make a number of wonderful baked goodies for afternoon tea time with fresh lemon juice and zest.  I suppose we never have enough lemons!  Next year we should have a big crop from both trees and lots of lemon cakes and biscuits - yummmmm! "You don't really need any shade in the winter sun." A dam : I want to point out our new shoes.  Mine are from Maplelea and Angelo's are from Ru...

Dear Diary, Adam : Today is the Queen's official birthday.  "Happy birthday, Ma'am!" A ngelo : It isn't her actual birthday, that's on 21 April but since 1748 the subjects of the British Crown have publicly marked the sovereign's birthday. Each of the 16 countries which comprise the Commonwealth of Nations, selects the day to honour the monarch's birthday and legislates it as a public holiday. In New Zealand, we celebrate it on the first Monday in June. Most celebrations are mainly official, including the important Queen's Birthday Honours list which include Knight or Dame Grand Companion of the Order of Merit, Knight or Dame Companion of the Order of Merit and other honours in recognition of special service to the public. "How does 'Sir Angelo' and 'Sir Adam' sound?" A dam : We're all dressed-up and ready just in case our names are on the Queen's Birthday honour list this year! Queen ...

Dear Diary, A dam :  As you all know by now, I've misplaced all my shoes.  This is a tragedy beyond description.  It's times like this when you know who your friends are.   A long time ago, Ruth in England started sewing clothes for me.  She is a very expert seamstress and I have an incredible wardrobe.  Along with the clothes, she also made shoes and boots for me.  So, to whom else would I turn in a time like this?  Why, to Ruth, of course!  She remembered that my foot size is a bit smaller than the usual Sasha doll foot and she made a special pattern for me.  I order shoes from her to jump-start my collect and she certainly came through for me.  Look at the wonderful leather shoes I just received from England!  I am so excited because now I can chose the shoes to go with the outfit.  Wonderful! "I can hardly wait to slip my feet into all this lovely English leather!" Ruth limits her work to making clothes ...

Dear Diary, Adam : Here is my latest attempt at knitting something for myself.  I still don't have a pattern so I'm really winging it here. I took some measurements and did some calculations, cast-on and just started knitting. There was some 5 ply knitting wool around the house so I used that.  The stitch size is too large for my taste but it doesn't matter since this is just a trial and error project. "I think it's a good fit." I am reasonably satisfied with the finished garment, especially the colour.  I learned a few things, not the least that I can't knit continental and purl back English; it leaves slight ridges. "The photo is a little blurry but you get the point." I'm not giving up.  I will find a pattern for a proper fitting garment!

"If clothes make the boy and shoes make the outfit, whatever will become of me?" Dear Diary, Angelo :  Oh dear - we've had a terrible thing happen at our house. With the exception of the shoes on my feet and my pair of JJ biker boots, all of my footwear - all 30 pairs - have disappeared into thin air.   They were all neatly stored in plastic divider boxes and now we can't find them anywhere.  We've searched the house over and over again, even going into the attic multiple times (we don't have a basement).  It wasn't that many months ago we had them when we moved my clothes into a different storage container.  I had a fantastic collection of footwear: original Trendon factory shoes, vintage shoes, custom-made shoes from Jean Jenson and Ruth Hartley, sandals, boots, my vintage wooden snow skies and all kinds of different shoes.  My Jean Jensen shoes are irreplaceable!  "Ouch!" I've sent an emergency SOS to Ruth in Great Britai...

Dear Diary, Adam : When I arrived here, I had the clothes on my back and a suit. The people at the Carpatina Doll Company made a mistake in the order and sent the Robin Hood costume instead of the Casual Chic outfit. I really don't see myself running around in the green tights so I found my wardrobe severely limited. Angelo gave me a cardigan which was too large for him as well as an over-sized T shirt.  Jesse reordered the Casual Chic outfit with shoes but they are coming via an US address so I have to wait. All in all, a rather dismal situation. "My eyes are glazed over from concentrating on all these small stitches!" I decided to take matters in to my own hands, as it were, and knit a jumper for myself. This was easier said than done. I didn't have a pattern to fit me so I had to try to adapt a pattern I had. It is knitted from the top-down with raglan sleeves so it's all in one piece. Since I never wear any top which has to be pulled ov...