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Showing posts from December, 2016

Boy story: breaking down stereotypes 1 doll + 1 boy at a time

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Dear Diary, Jesse : Boy Story  i s a doll company with a worthwhile mission for boys everywhere.   The company has the following 2 goals: 1. Play! And play some more. And have fun while you're at it!  2. Break down stereotypes! Watch these videos:  Visit their site:  https://boystory.com/ I purchased one of these dolls because I want to support this  exceptional effort. This isn't just about making boy dolls available; it's about making it possible - and acceptable - for boys to play with dolls. I wonder how my own childhood would have differed had this philosophy of play been available to my parents.  I look forward to Mason's arrival.

Holiday greetings to all

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Dear Diary, H ans :   The winter solstice will soon be here.  Like our ancestors, we will celebrate the change of the seasons, from winter to spring in the Northern Hemisphere.  For centuries, pre-dating the arrival of Christianity, people of ancient times found meaning in the shortest day of the year.  The practice recognised the movement from the dark days of winter to the ever-lengthening days of spring.  The celebration honoured the fertility of the earth, upon which the survival of humankind depended.  As Christianity sought to subsume the old religions, it adopted the story of darkness to light and applied it to the birth of its founder, Jesus of Nazareth.  Gradually, the notions of the old religions were replaced with Christian theology but in many cases the ancient symbols remained.  The celebration of Christmas is best placed in the Northern Hemisphere where the darkness of the long days of winter is replaced by the lengthening of the days of spring.  All the current

Ich bin endlich angekommen

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Dear Diary, H ans :   Guten Tag!  Ich heisse Hans Kruse.  Ich komme aus Deutschland.  Was?  You don't speak German?  Entschuldigung - er - pardon me.  I will speak in English instead. My name is Hans Kruse and I just arrived in New Zealand from Germany where I've lived since I was born on 15 January 1943.  My grandmother was Kathe Kruse, a world famous doll creator from early in the last century. When I was told I was to be auctioned and there was a chance I'd go abroad to live, I was very concerned about where I'd end up.  You see, being born in Germany in 1943, I know all about fascist regimes and how awful they are.  I worried that I'd end up in the country with the now-emerging neo-fascist government and I thought that sounded like an awful future.  Thankfully, I avoided this fate, being purchased by my new Vati (German for Dad) and coming to New Zealand, a socially progressive and stable country.  Bullet dodged. I was fashioned after one of

Boys with dolls

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Dear Diary, Jesse : This blog is intended to encourage guys to actively play with their dolls.  It's geared to blokes but by extension, it can also be an encouragement for lads, too. I found these two items on Pinterest and wanted to share them here.  This is the story of how a mother transformed a girl doll into a boy doll for her son's birthday. This is about a boy doll available for purchase to the general public: http://pin.it/GYyfqgS http://shop.mysiblingdolls.com/collections/boy-dolls/products/18-boy-doll-my-pal-for-my-school   Remember, it doesn't matter what kind of dolls are chosen. Action, fashion BJD, male, female,collectible, childhood - they are all equally valid.  It's all about playing with your dolls.  

A gaggle of gooseberries

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Dear Diary, A dam :  It's now early summer and time to harvest the gooseberries.   We planted 3 gooseberry bushes a couple of years ago but had to move them last year for better drainage.  The plants seem to have appreciated the new place in the garden as they have produced lots of berries.  Angelo and I went out to pick them.   A ngelo :  We have the old variety which has long, very sharp thorns which make picking the berries perilous.  "Ouch!  Bloody thorn!" A dam : We love gooseberry jam and pie so we wouldn't let the thorns get the better of us.  We picked and picked until we had almost 2 full baskets of berries. Say, Angelo, Do you remember in the movie Krull when Ergo says "I'd wish for a gooseberry pie as big as a house"? A ngelo :  Yes, I do remember that part. A dam : Well, I think we've now picked enough gooseberries to make his pie! Lots of good eats here. "Oops - I missed one!" "Get out

Our daily bread

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Dear Diary, A dam :  Today was my day to make bread for the family.   It's an easy job because we use the no-knead method of Jeff Hertzberg and keep the dough stored in the refrigerator until we want to bake some bread or rolls.  I just took this out of the oven and Angelo came to check it out.  He loves bread; it must be his Italian heritage. "Take the lid off, Adam, so we can see it.  I can already smell it and my mouth is watering!" I was delighted to see how well it had raised ('oven spring') and how nicely brown and crispy the crust is.  It's a 2 pound loaf. "Oooo - that looks yummy!" Now, we need to cool the loaf for several hours before cutting it.  Angelo gets impatient and wants to eat it now.  I have to always explain to him that the bread isn't done baking until it's cool.  Patience, Angelo! "I've got the knife and I'll run and get the butter!"