For those of you who are bloggers, have you ever come across something and thought, “I've just got to blog this!” This is one of those cases. For background, I should explain that while I was the only Sasha in the house growing up, I was by no means an “only doll” or a “lonely doll”. MamaT and her closest sister, AuntieN had an array of dolls that were well loved and played with. Besides me, MamaT had a Velvet doll (no not the 1981 Sasha Velvet), but an Ideal Velvet with blonde hair that could grow and retract, and was ecstatic to receive the talking Kenner Gabbigale from Santa one year, whose stay in our home was short-lived, because her voicebox didn't work, and she had to be returned and was never replaced, much to MamaT's disappointment. AuntN had Velvet's redheaded friend, Crissy, and her favorite doll, Susan. There was an also an assortment of dolls that their older sisters had left behind, such as Shirley, Samona, Poppy, and undoubtedly others. While Poppy seems like an unusual name, there was an empty field behind their house that grew California poppies in the springtime. At least, I think it was spring. In Salinas, it was hard to tell one season from another. They and their friends also spent hours and hours playing with the Topper “Dawn” doll family. There were one or two leftover strays from the Barbie family in the box, but they didn't see nearly as much use as the Dawn dolls.
So back to today's story, we recently unearthed a note between Crissy and Velvet. Crissy's note is encoded by being written backwards, so you have to hold it up to a mirror to read, so I will transcribe it, so you don't have to get a mirror out.
It reads: “Dear Velvet, how are you doing? I am lonesome for you. I am mad at Sosha now, because she said my hair is too long! I am best freind's with Susan again. I'll be glad when me and Sosha are freinds again tho. Who are [you] best freinds with now? Simona still? I hope so. You guys were always such good freinds. Love always, Crissy”
I tried to retain the original spelling, which the computer is reluctant to do. It keeps trying to correct friends. How do you like that I am only mentioned because Crissy was mad at me? I don't recall saying her hair was too long. I was probably jealous. Not only did she have longer hair, but I have always been a little envious of red hair. At least she said she hoped we'd be friends again, and I think we did make up again, so I will forgive her for spelling my name wrong, and Samona's too. And now for Velvet's response, which is on the back of the same sheet.
“Dear Crissy, Your handwriting is neat. I stil like Sumona. I like Shirly to, too, two. I fergot wich won. Poppy is being a brat! She's crying and sayeing nobody like's her any mor all the time. Mis Mousy is acting big! She say's the biger the beter. Really the biger the worse. The other stufet animals arownd here ar o.k. tho. Love, Velvet. Picture, Shirly, Poppy, Victoria Sumona, Velvet (me), Mis Mousy, I'm the Best.”
In some ways, Velvet's encoding is trickier than Crissy's, because the letter starts out backwards and needing a mirror to read, but as it goes along fewer and fewer of the letters are written backwards, so you can harldly read the thing either forwards or backwards. I love it where she got all the “two's” covered, but than she got the wrong “one”. I read this to the other dolls last night, and Shyvonne laughed so hard, she fell off the shelf, making a little “thunk” just as MamaT was drifting off to sleep. She saw Shyvonne had taken a dive and just left her to sleep on the floor for the whole night if you can believe that. When she reads this blog entry, she'll find out the explanation why Shyvonne fell off the shelf. To be honest, I always thought Velvet was my best friend growing up, so I have to admit I'm a little offended that she does not even mention me, or include me in her adorable drawings. But I think I should get over it, since after all these years, I'm the only one of the dolls that was kept long enough to become “real”.
Miss Mousy, who also got a bit of a bad rap in Velvet's note, is also still with us, so I've included a photo of her with Sandra, who is tugging on Miss Mousy's necklace as babies will, and a purple cow from the same era, whose original name no one can recall anymore. So as you can see, Miss Mousy IS big. Don't tell Sandra, but the irresistable new romper made by Diane Scarbrough she is sporting is just on loan until we give it baby Sasha who is in need of more clothes.
Just for fun, I've added one more photo of a few more old toys I used to know that somehow survived the years, including a cheerful old woman with oversized hands holding Sweet April, along with Raggedy Ann and Andy, Kanga and Roo, and one remaining Dawn doll dress, #217 Party Puffery to be precise. Most of these, we'd be willing to offer to collectors, but they are not in exceptional shape, so they will probably stay here.
And last, before I sign off, today's link is Karen Watson's page, who has a couple dolls and some clothes patterns for sale.
-- http://www.bestdollclothes.com/index.html
