Just When I Thought I Was Safe . . .

Fairyland are releasing two new Real Fees and a Fantasy Art Line. When I first saw this photo on DoA (Coco with FAL body) I thought she looked right up my alley, but on seeing the open eyed version I was a tiny bit disappointed.

But then I saw the Toki version and immediately new he would be coming home. Fortunately hubby liked him too, so it was soon agreed that he would be my Christmas present this year.

No photos have been officially released yet, but I can tell you he's really very cute. If you are on FB you can see preview shots here.

Of course Toki will end up a SHE and a fairy to boot!

27/6 Updated photo of the Toki full set with upgraded eyes, which hubby is purchasing for me, though Toki's sleeping plate, shoes and axe will come unpainted. I will use the clothing as a secondary outfit for either Nomios or Rugierro.

Photo courtesy of Fairyland

My First Black Haired Beauty by Götz

Look who's coming home to me . . . her name is Avery and she is an Asian equestrian from the FAO Schwartz Classic Doll line by Götz. She wears her hair in a bob without a fringe, which is one of the things that really appealed to me (all the Hannah's have long hair), and she comes with two rather splendid outfits: the equestrian attire she is wearing and a cowgirl set, comprising jeans, check shirt and cowgirl boots.

Although this doll is an American repeat of Götz's popular Hannah line, the bob makes her quite unique compared to her Götz twin. When you see them side by side, they are not as alike as one might think being produced from the same sculpt. Not only does the Götz Asian Hannah have longer hair, her face looks like it's painted differently.

The photo of Asian Hannah on the right, appears to have slightly darker skin, the lips are lighter and it could just be a trick of the light, but the nose looks narrower than Avery's. I guess I won't really know until I see them together IRL.

There were three other dolls in the Schwartz Classics range: Tess- a new blonde Hannah, Claudia- an Hispanic school girl, and Nina- an African American performer.

The FAO Schwartz Classic line, which sold at Toys R Us, was discontinued in 2013, so I was lucky to find her in NRFB condition, still in her lovely zippered carry case.

History: FAO Schwarz was founded in 1862 under the name "Toy Bazaar" by German immigrant Frederick August Otto Schwarz, in Baltimore and was once the oldest toy store in the United States.

Growing old is Mandatory, Growing Up . . . Optional!

I thought I would share a short story written by Frank Kaiser, as it's about someone who also favoured my favourite quote by George Bernard Shaw.

The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.

"Hi handsome," she said, "My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?"

I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course you may!" and she gave me a giant squeeze. "Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?" I asked.

She jokingly replied, "I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, have a couple of children, and then retire and travel.

"No seriously," I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.

"I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!" she told me.

After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake. We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months, we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to this "time machine" as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.

Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she revelled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up.

At the end of the semester, we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor. Frustrated and a little embarrassed, she leaned into the microphone and simply said, "I'm sorry. I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know."

As we laughed, she cleared her throat and began: "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humour every day. You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die. We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it!"

"There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything, I will turn eighty-eight. Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability."

"The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change. Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets."

She concluded her speech by courageously singing "The Rose." She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives.

At the year's end, Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago. One week after graduation, Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example, that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be.

If you read this, please send this peaceful word of advice to your friends and family, they'll really enjoy it . . . and maybe learn something of what's in store for them down the line!