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

Dear Diary, Adam :  Over the road from our house are several old walnut trees.  We don't have one because it takes about 10 years to produce and Jesse says he'll most likely be dead by then so why bother?  Anyway, we do love walnuts in the baking and they are so expensive.  We have permission from the property owners to collect the nuts each year.  It's a big job because it's best to collect them after they've fallen to the ground and the grass is always tall and wet.  But this doesn't deter us.   I do climb the tree to shake it so the nuts which are ready to fall drop to the ground. Up a tree Angelo :  I stay on the ground and collect the nuts.  Since I'm shorter than anyone else in our household, I can spot the nuts more quickly and easily than anyone else. "I'm sure I saw a nut somewhere around here." "Ah - here it is!" "My first basket-full.  How many more to go?" Adam :  Obviously,...

Dear Diary, Jesse :  Autumn is here and there's a chill in the air.  Hans needed something warm to wear but not heavy like a coat.  I made him three cardigan wraps to keep out the cold. #1  Green Just another pumpkin head. This pattern was purchased off Etsy.  Now, I don't claim to be the sharpest knife in the drawer nor to be the world's most proficient knitter, but I can get by. However, I struggled with this pattern, trying to understand it.  After three garments and multiple attempts, I have come to the conclusion that there are errors in it.  The biggest issue is the way it is written; I found it confusing and not according to the standard style of writing knitting patterns.  Gratefully, the garments came out  satisfactorily,  made from up-cycled knitting wool from a local op shop.  I think it's New Zealand wool.  It was the first one I made and it has the look I was after.  The belt is a 6 stitch knitt...

Dear Diary, Jesse :  I used to collect vintage dolls, composition from the 1930-1940s and hard plastic from the 1940-1950s.  My collection had a large number of all-original, mint-in-box dolls as well as singles.  I was always in awe of the fine work of makers such as F&B, R&B, Madame Alexander, Toni, Revlon, Terry Lee, Dollikin and etc.  There is nothing like their dolls today, until Nini, that is. Anyone fancy a peek inside? Whenever I would come across an all-original doll in its box, I wondered what it would be like to be a child of those times and to receive such a doll as a gift.  What would have been the child's excitement to see the label on the box and know that a special doll was inside?  How thrilling it must have been to open the box and to behold the perfect doll!  The closest I ever came to this emotion was today when I opened the packing box with my Nini Doll box inside. Total attention to detail.  Does a...

Dear Diary Jesse :  "Couldn't put Humpty Dumpty back to gather again." Oh dear, we've had an major incident here.  Just like Humpty Dumpty, Armand has had a great fall.   The boys can tell the story. Angelo :  I was walking through the house when I heard "Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!"  I ran into the next room and found Armand on the floor.  I asked him what happened.  He replied that he tripped and fell off the table and onto the floor.  He asked me for assistance to stand up because he couldn't do it himself. Now, Armand is a big boy, if you know what I mean, and I couldn't do it alone so I called for Adam to come to help. Adam :  I heard Angelo calling my name and he sounded in a panic.  I went into the room and there he was, bent over Armand who was lying flat on his back on the floor.  Armand said he'd fallen and needed help.  Angelo and I lifted him to his feet but he ...