IT'S BEEN A LOOOONG TIME

1983 Coloring Calendar

I know it's been awhile since I last posted anything on this blog but that was due to the fact that it was increasingly more difficult to see. The cataracts in my eyes made reading impossible, never mind trying to type anything. I was literally nose to computer screen and I still had difficulty making out what I was writing. Since then though, things have started looking up. I've had eye surgery on the left eye and what a difference it has made!  
I still can't get over how clear my vision is in that eye. I do have to use reading glasses to read a book or even type this sentence but after going most of my life having to put on glasses as soon as I get up JUST to see my reflection in the mirror, well that is a small inconvenience to bear seeing as I now have such good distance vision.  I go next week in order to have my right eye evaluated for surgery on it. I really hope the doctor will give the go ahead since I'd really like to be able to see perfectly for the first time in my life. I'm eager to have it done as I'm getting rather tired of going around with one eye closed all the time. I'm looking so forward to the holidays now since I'll be able to see the controls on my stove once more. I am amazed that while I was blind, and have no doubt that I may have been able to see legally I was blind. I would not have been able to drive a vehicle. 

Other good news is that I'm now on disability. It really helps with the doctor bills, believe me. It also takes some of the burden off hubby. I told him that from now on I'd be paying for the doctor visits, medicine, whatever I needed. Maybe it's wrong, but I don't like to rely on him since most of the time there wasn't any money to spare to buy the insulin I needed. If not for a good friend, well, without being overly dramatic, I wouldn't be here to write this now. She, in every sense of the word, is a life saver. Jean is diabetic too, and if she had extra vials of insulin, she'd give me a couple to tide me over until I could pick some up from my doctor, who, at times, was out of the vials as well. Another good thing is that I can now get blood work done. I've been avoiding it because hubby's finances could never stretch to include blood work. Even when he had insurance Atena wouldn't cover lab work. The cost is close to $300.00 so needless to say when my blood doctor asked me to have it done, I was thrilled to be able to comply. I want to take care of myself, despite being diabetic and I know that there could be more wrong with me than just the high blood sugar. Happily I am fine. I even surprised Doctor Gabir because he thought more would be wrong. I'm relieved because I don't want to be taking medicine for anything else. 

I'm reading a really good book by Sharon Kendrick entitled SEDUCED BY THE SULTAN . It's the third installment of her Desert Men of Qurhah series. It's all about the relationship between Murat (who was once engaged to Sara Williams) and Catrin his mistress. While she understood that as Sultan of Qurhah, he would have to one day marry and she'd have to say good bye to him, she finds herself breaking her own rule and falling in love with him. Murat, at the same time, is finding it hard to say farewell to the woman he's been involved with for the better part of a year. Even when he's considering a princess in a neighboring kingdom, he can't get up the nerve to end their relationship. A very good series. I shall be sad when I finish it. 

Recently I FINALLY finished a paper doll set I'd started in 2007: Summer Sally. I've already sold one set to one of my "fans" through Ebay and hope it will do well. It has 9 pages, consists of 45 outfits with 28 accessories and the costumes are from various ones done for Katy Keene, Boots, Jane Arden and Tillie the Toiler.  The pose was inspired from one of Katy in one of the comics. I'm rather proud of how it turned out. I'm also working on completing another older set for sale entitled MATCHED PAIRS. I created this set in the 80's and it consists of three dolls: DeAnn, Donald and Donna. The doll poses were inspired by a Barbie paper doll set that I owned at the time but I couldn't for the life of me tell you which set it was.On one of the costumes in the set I put a daffodil floral pattern with Donna holding a Hawaii "bag". I've got to change the flowers to hibiscus before I can post it for sale on Ebay it just makes more sense than daffodils.  The clothes all came from Barbie booklets at the time, mainly from one in 1978 and one in 1982. I recently found the books on Ebay and purchased them so that in the color version of the set I can get the colors right.   

Matched pairs in Hawaii

I did do a little tweaking to the set. I changed their faces (which I think look much better than my original versions) and I redesigned their swimsuits. Originally I was going for the design that was used for the Sunsational Malibu Barbie dolls but I like my new design much better.

Original faces wearing the daffodil motif  outfits.

While the design on the outfits doesn't look bad, it just doesn't mesh with Hawaii. Why I didn't draw the flower at the time I have no idea considering when the set was created I was living in the state and had a hibiscus bush growing right out my front door, which I planted myself. It's the only flower I've ever grown and it was red. I hated leaving it behind and I couldn't take a clipping with me. I know they can grow in Arizona if planted in the right spot and where it will always be in moist soil but at the time I didn't know that. On later visits to the islands though, when I've thought about bringing back a clipping the packages all say not to plant it in Arizona. Or something along those lines. 

1981 Barbie World of Fashion Booklet

Barbie, Ken and Skipper's bathing suits were the inspiration for the design of the suits on the dolls above. I did have a flower on the original ones but like the nautical motif on the new versions much better. I scanned the entire booklet and promise to one day upload the entire thing. I am also thinking about using the dolls above as paper doll models. There was one more doll in the Sunsational Malibu line: PJ. 

While the swimsuits were inspired by the above booklet, most of the clothes were inspired by the Barbie 1978 World of Fashions booklet. 

1978 Barbie World of Fashions booklet

As you can see I shortened Skippers dress. Sorry about the quality of the above scan. I have this booklet now but when I scanned this I didn't,. So in a future post I will upload a better version.  I might have a little fun with Photoshop and combine all the photos of the fashions that match as well. I'm thinking about doing it with the paper doll set set so their is a color guide should the person buying the set wish to follow it.

Well, I'd better end here and post this. It was supposed to be posted LAST month but I let the month slip by without doing so. One last thing; I have an appointment for next Wednesday to have my right eye operated on. While I am not worried about it, I do realize there are no guarantees that the surgery on the right eye will go as well as that on the left, but I am hoping God will once again bless me with another miracle and have me seeing clearly out of my right eye. 

KK 1983 coloring calendar altered in Photoshop
took off the '83 and left it blank, changed days
to match this years. Everything else was left as is. 

Til' next time, whenever that might be....



                                                                 ALOHA!!