The End

 Federal Agent Carol Danvers meets with Maisie Barnes. 

Carol:  Are you going to deny any of this?  Your family, their possible ties to organized crime?  I know the incident at the dam is not related to any of this, but I find it alarming that you've moved into town and cozied up to the mayor. 

Maisie:  I have nothing to do with my birth family.  I don't even know how my mother keeps getting my phone number to harass me every time she gets in trouble.  I suspect she was involved with the fire back in the day, but beyond that I know nothing about that place or those people.  And as for cozying up to the mayor, I've known Rose-Grace since I was a kid.  I'm only here because I promised Dionne I'd help with Helena House and I'll be gone as soon as my husband is stationed stateside.  You don't need to worry about me.  

Carol:  Just know you're cleared on this dam business, but I'm going to be watching you.

*****  

After Maisie leaves, Carol meets with a motley crew.  

Hank:  I don't believe we've met.  I'm Hank Higgins, realtor.

Gage: I'm a private investigator.  I hope this meeting has something to do with my job because I just keep hitting dead ends.  

Gage:  Good afternoon, Mrs. Smith.  I hope your presence means Agent Danvers is going to help me find your father.  

Pocahontas:  I wish you'd just leave that deadbeat lost.  We're all better off without him.

Hank:  What is she doing here?  All this time, you've been riding me to avoid her, and now you call us into the same meeting?  

  

Gage:  Why would she tell you that?  Why are you answering to a federal agent about anything?

Pocahontas: You had no problem not-avoiding me when you sold me and John our house.  

Carol: Cash Nedakh entered the Witness Protection Program.  As part of the deal, he insisted on being put in Barbieville.  You remember receiving flowers at your office for a while?  It was him, unaware that your mother had passed away.  He hoped to reunite with her.

Pocahontas: After leaving us for damn near twenty years?  Not a chance.  Me and Nakoma both would've fought that idea.  We saw what she went through after he took anything that wasn't nailed down.  (She realizes.)  Wait a minute... are you saying what I think you're saying?

Carol:  Hank Higgins is Cash Nedakh.  Not for much longer, though.  Turns out the dam was sabotaged by the very people we were hiding him from.  (To Hank)  You're being moved.  

Hank: You can't do that.  You need my testimony for -- 

Pocahontas:  (Redacted for language.  This is a PG13 blog.)  

Carol:  Losing your testimony might hurt the case, but you have proven such a liability that the program is ready to drop you.  This is your last chance.  (She turns to the PI)  Unfortunately, your client is one of the people we're hiding him from.  They followed you here. 

Gage:  Oops?

Once she's seen Pocahontas and Gage out, Carol fills Hank in on his new life.  A life far from Barbieville.

Hank:  It's just as well.  There's nothing here for me, with Kida gone. 

This concludes my "soap opera".  Maisie (and Charlotte Jackson) will continue their own stories at Our Toy Story on Facebook.  Maisie in "The Sons" and Charlotte in "Nearly Famous".  

Please see my previous post titled Changing Things Up.  I've already begun reorganizing and rearranging my doll area, which I'll continue to refer to as Barbieville even though that show's been cancelled.  Stay tuned!

Changing Things Up

 

I will no longer be doing the "soap opera" continuing story.  I will do a final episode to tie up the loose ends, don't worry.  I'm not gonna leave y'all hanging off a cliff.  

Yes, I still have my marbles.  Here they are.

I stopped decorating the dollhouse for holidays because it hurt my brain to have several Christmases with no one aging.  I thought I could fudge the timeline by having no obvious seasons, and therefore what's five years in real time can be a month in Barbieville.  And that has worked well for me, for the most part.

During the pandemic, I did end the school year.  Graduation during a pandemic was an interesting story.  My fudged timeline worked okay... all this time and its only been a year or two in Barbieville.  When you go back and look there has been a ridiculous amount of drama.  Which I guess is cool, since it's a soap opera, but if I was one of these characters, I'd be leaving town ASAP.  Place is dangerous.

I'm still stuck on the lack of aging.  Maybe I just think too much for long-term Barbie stories.  I did a bit of research (duh) into how other doll stories work with the aging issue, but none of those work for me.  One I found even replaces the child dolls periodically!  Some of them do a hard reset from time to time.  Some of them can successfully ignore the time passage. 

I've decided that what I will be doing is stand-alone stories, using the dolls are a sort of theater troupe.  Silly little holiday tales (so I can decorate the dollhouse again).  Classic books, fan fiction, who knows? I just know I'm stressing myself out and want my doll play fun again.   

Zoe by Brooklyn Lollipops

 

MyFroggyStuff told me Five Below has a Chelsea-like doll with articulation.  Zoe, imported by Brooklyn Lollipops, and apparently exclusive at Five Below.

I found the Varsity Captain Zoe, who comes with working lockers and a soccer ball.  Her outfit is one piece with a separate jacket.  She's a cute little doll.  And, most importantly, sturdy.

Box Insert has a nice locker room backdrop.  Small, but possibly usable in crafting backdrops.

She comes with braided pigtails and I quickly found out why.  Rooted only at the hairline and center part.  Not that it really matters.  Anyone who knows me knows my plan for her.

Zoe with Fred (Kelly body) and Bobby (Chelsea body).  Kelly was originally marketed as a baby - with a crib and smelling of baby powder - and Chelsea is meant to be maybe kindergarten age, so the Chelseas are taller.  My last post talked about the challenges of their shared wardrobe.  

As one of the dollhouse family, Fred gets first dibs on the head swap.  

Bobby:  Dude, you're taller than me now!

Fred: And I can bend my knees and elbows!  Jeanie will be able to pose me better for the stories!

Fred: Look at me crossing my ankles.

Bobby: I wonder if Zoe's head will fit in the locker?  

   

The Chelseas, even without elbows and knees, pose more naturally than the Kellys.  And there's that height thing.  So Kelly, Jenny, and Wilma get dibs on the next Zoe bodies.  (Malachi does not appear in these photos because I forgot he exists.  He's a Chelsea.) 

Dressing Little Boys

 There are, of course, Kelly/Chelsea outfits available.  But like most things Barbie, they are aggressively feminine.  There are Kelly/Chelsea clothes with britches, but they're hard to find and often vintage and therefore pricey.   As much as I hate gender roles, I'm reluctant to put Fred and his male friends in skirts.

There are on-line sellers who make unisex outfits of the right size.  Quality varies and styles vary at the discretion of the seller.  I did buy from one of them, and wasn't unsatisfied, but prefer to buy in person.

  Dollar Tree has come to my (and maybe your) rescue.  

So far I've only found four pants outfits.  I've only had one problem with them.  

They're too long for the Kelly dolls.  When Mattel changed the name to Chelsea, they added height.  Fred here is a Kelly.  He'll have to stick to Kelly-era britches or shorts.  Let's try them on Bobby, who is a Chelsea.

Much better.  Bobby's white shirt here is attached to the pants, but the flannel is not.  The shoes are too small.  "Hairbrushes" went into the trash with the packaging as nonfunctional and ugly.  The backpacks do not open, but they can be worn.  For less than two bucks.

Now to find something that fits the Skipper Babysitter babies!  Didi is a Happy Family Baby and she fits nicely in the clothes from the Hairdorables minis.  But Orlando here only fits properly in his included diaper.

1979 Barbie Dreamhouse

 

First picture from Internet.  The rest are mine. 

This is the 1979 Barbie Dreamhouse, in my opinion the best Mattel home for fashion dolls.  The room dimensions aren't much different but look at all those windows!  For Barbie, who presumably lives alone, this would be a nice little house.  

 

And this is what I brought home from Goodwill yesterday.  The box is full of parts (mostly windows).

Now, anyone who knows me knows my dolls have never lived alone.  I like to make families, and usually big ones.  My main character family of Barbieville is the Pikes, with a total of eleven people living in the house!  They live in a Wicked Cool Toys dollhouse, but even it is overfull, so I recently gave them an addition.

This.  I put the parents' room, a game room, and the kitchen in it.  The dining room sits on the coffee table, as does the yard.  It looks like the dining room is outside without the "wall" I've already removed between structures. 

The first floor of the Wicked Cool Toys house has become the barn and/or garage. Because I don't like crawling around on the floor to play.  

After cleanup, the front of the house.

Pieces of the house I need to install.  I'm sure something is missing, this being a Goodwill find.

Not bad, really.  Only one louver pane missing, as shown by Fei's escape.  Some of the "hinges" are broken but I've leaned those doors where they belong.  Flowerboxes are totally missing.

Back of the house.  One of these windows in missing both panes.  Flowerboxes are totally missing.  This side of the house will be against a wall, so I'm not so keen on that pair of glass doors.  I've already decided to put the yellow "front" doors where they are.

Closet is problematic.  It sticks out too far in the back, I'd never use it, and one door is broken.

The house originally came with triangular floor pieces to open it up for play.  This is the closest I could open it on my work table, but you get the idea.  This will come in handy for photos!

Time to start customizing!  I switched the left and right sides to put the more closed walls to the back, against the wall in its final location.  Also removed the panes from the large windows for aesthetic reasons, the closet, and the front doors on the center section for easier access. I can get to the sloped sections via the open sides.   

I used a couple of the glass doors to turn that closet into a big window.  Kind of ironic, considering this is the back where I didn't want them.  I'll have to keep my eyeballs open for a really big scenic backdrop!  Kept the louvers even though one is missing.  I'll hide it behind something. Or maybe find a way to make a replacement from the unused bits.  

Contact paper to cover the holes where flowerboxes are meant to be inserted.  Also to cover sticker residue and discoloration.  Marble on the outside, floral on the inside.

I moved the coffee table away from the Wicked Cool Toys house.  This way I can get to those open sides and won't need my faux wall because that space in front can be just a patio!  

Long skinny living room. 

Grandpa Mace and the littles took the loft room.

The parents took the room that had been Mace's/the nursery. 

  

Dining room went in where the living room used to be.  I'm seriously considering sticking a fake door on one of these walls and saying it's to the kitchen.  Because Barbie kitchens suck.  Where the hell is the counter space?!  Or maybe the kitchen can be in that invisible area with the staircases and bathrooms.

I even made a parking spot for The Tank (1977 Star Traveler) so it can come out of hiding.  

The Mini Library

 I saw this online.  It's a tiny library for use as stress relief.  

I bought it even though it was so close to Christmas.  Spank me.

When you get stressed out and want to throw things, the idea is that you can pick up this whole room and shake the poop outta it.    If the shaking doesn't calm you down, putting the books back on the shelf should.  Different ways of destressing.  One of my friends said it would stress her out more to put the books back on the shelves.  Another suggested it would be good for Barbieville.  

**Above photos are from the Internet.  Below, unless watermarked, are mine.**

It came with all the books in that bag.  They're just squares that look like books, but the covers are those of real books.  If you are so inclined, you can even organize them by series or author!  When I was stocking the shelves, I noticed classics and modern works.

As I told my friend, the scale is a bit off for use as a Barbie library.  I was disappointed that the latches for the lid are so big, but that's on me.  Them latches are right there in the pictures!  There aren't enough books to fill the shelves, either.  I can remove the latch from the bottom so it will sit level. Put it on one side or just make sure I hold the lid closed during the quake. 

Here are a few of the books.  I'm pleasantly surprised by this.  This is the area I expected them to fudge instead of the quantity.  Anyway... They are about the same size as my other mini books.

This is a Zuru Surprise Mini Brands book.  It opens and at least a few pages are the actual text of the real thing.  Others are that quasi-print miniature fans are used to.  These were first added to their Mini Toys and are now their own line.  It's started a firestorm of miniature books.  They are all over Etsy and myfroggystuff has printable ones.  Probably other crafters, too but Froggy is my go-to.

****** 

We Barbie folks have certain things we love and always must have in the dollhouse.  Potted plants, pets, artwork... it all depends on the individual.  For me it's books... and I've dealt with some slim pickings.

These are the books that sometimes come with a doll or fashion pack.  The composition books are cardboard, glued closed since the inside was plain.  The others are plastic with varying degrees of detail. None of them open.  Only one has a title "Recipe Book".  One appears to be a science book.  The scale varies, but that's okay because real books come in different sizes.

These are magazines I made.  I just cut out the pictures from subscription cards and glued them back-to-back.  In the case of Catster, I tried gluing it near the spine of a real magazine and cutting that to size.  

My dolls can actually open Catster!

These I got at a craft store.  They're book covers glued onto blocks of wood.  I have them all oriented with the spine to the correct side, to show that some of the covers are upside down!

These are another craft store find.  They're blank, but they open.  Maybe they're journals?

Here all the different types are together.  The mini library books are only slightly smaller than the craft store books.  The craft store journals are fatter but shorter.  Turns out my friend was right about the books working for my dolls.  

I do plan to display and use the mini library as intended.  It's just so much fun to shake the poop outta an entire tiny room!  But have no doubt, y'all, the individual books may very well show up in Barbieville photos.  

Meetings

 KAP  (Kin As Parents) has its first meeting since the disaster, welcoming new members.

Ken:  We don't know what we're going to do.  Peeta's dad pays his tuition, but with Mom and Bonnie gone and having the care of Tommy as well as Ox, I may have to drop out of college. 

Pocahontas: I'm always hiring, but during the off season... 

Tony:  What's your business?   

Pocahontas:  My sister and I own Witch's Cove.  She graduated with Ken and his husband.  I also have custody of a brother the same age as his Tommy and your Marty.  How is Marty?  Any news about his father?

Tony:  Rayshawn might be one of the John Does found, but they aren't ready for identification.  Marty's doing about as well we should expect.  His mother's flying in tomorrow.  

Nova:  How are you and Luna holding up? 

Gwen:  We're a mess.  Neither of us has even gone into Rallee's room, not even to get her work things for the new superintendent.  Guinness is starting the job without a lot of vital paperwork because I can't...  I don't even know if I should be here.  

Midge:  If you need us, you should be here.  I was totally lost when Kamala fell into my lap. 

Gwen:  Yeah, but I've been as good as her parent Luna's whole life.  That part isn't a big transition for me.  I thought about grief counseling instead of this, but I know you people.  That makes it better somehow. 

Ben:  Maybe we shouldn't tell them.  Seems mean. 

Becky:  Yeah, we should wait.

*****  

At the mayor's office, Rose-Grace discusses the dam sabotage with federal agent Carol Danvers.

Rose-Grace:  What do you mean, this might not be related to Hank Higgins?  You have other people in my town in Witness Protection?  And that PI is snooping around about Cash.

Carol:  To the best of my knowledge, Hank was the only person here with ties to organized crime.  But then I found out about Maisie Barnes's birth family.  What do you know about them? 

Rose-Grace:  Maisie?  Dionne's friend?  She has no contact with her birth family.  Hates all their guts.

Carol:  Possibly with good reason.  I have an even thicker file on them than I do on Hank-used-to-be-Cash.  Maisie isn't even her birth name, she legally changed it when she got married.  Presumably to dodge them and any of their associates. 

Rose-Grace:  Well, if you're investigating her, you shouldn't talk to me about it.  Conflict of interest - Maisie's been practically family since junior high.  

Carol: We'll move on to the seismologist that tipped off the saboteurs.