Last week, I picked up this lovely 1978 Barbie DreamHouse. I didn’t know if it would quite fit in my car – the original box said it was, “Over 4 Ft. Long! 3 Ft. High!”, which turned out to be true; and that same box also spelled DreamHouse as one word, so quit bugging me, Spell Check – but I suspected I’d need every inch of space in my vehicle for the ups and extras that were being offered as a Craigslist enticement. Besides offering several pieces of DreamHouse furniture, the seller also promised a Barbie Star Traveler motorhome for interested buyers. The motorhome is another 36” of vintage yellow plastic fun, and it filled the passenger seat as I drove home.
If Glynn had come along on my expedition, space would have been an issue. I’d have had to choose whether to leave the motorhome behind or my honey. Since I love the look of the Star Traveler, it’s probably a good thing that Glynn stayed home.
Since no DreamHouse is complete without a full collection of 1970s furniture, including plants and accessories, I was giddy at the thought of the challenge ahead. I get to fix up my own Malibu mansion! 1972’s Busy Barbie would wonder what she ever saw in Mod Hair Ken (have you seen the Ken dolls from that timeframe?), her cousin Francie would be dealing with her own issues, wanting to support her cousin but secretly infatuated with Mod Hair Ken (she’s young, she’ll outgrow it), and little sister Skipper would be wandering about downstairs, wondering why she never sees her parents.
Barbie never sees her parents, either. There are issues.
Speaking of issues, Flora in The Fourth Brother has issues, too. I should know because, before I get to play with my new dollhouse, I want to complete this novella. I thought we’d be done by the first of May, then the middle of May, and now….
The next story in the One Bride saga isn’t going to be finished by the end of the month because, despite all of our efforts, it keeps getting longer. This is a recurrent problem with this series; each story is supposed to be shorter than the last and, somehow, each one isn’t. When it comes to writing, Glynn and I are plotters, not pantsers, and we took extra pains to carefully plan each step in this sequel. THIS was the novella that we were going to bring in on time and at the expected wordage. We were oh-so-wrong. There is more of Flora’s story to tell.
And precious little time to tell it. This is not because of the DreamHouse challenge but, happy joy!, because we have babies coming to visit. This means I have a real house to baby-proof and then, after the babies leave, I get to prepare the place for more visitors. These adult visitors, happy joy!, are coming from China, and we can’t wait to see them, either.
I’m trying to hint that it’s going to be a busy summer. The upcoming months will be glorious but oh-so-busy.
For the next many weeks, then, this blog will be a little less regular than it has been recently. Not that I don’t have things to say – as Glynn tells me, I always have things to say – but because our available writing time is even more precious than usual. Unless I simply have to blog about something, I’ll focus on completing Flora’s story. Once that’s done, I’ll try to return to a regular schedule here.
But, also, babies.
If Glynn had come along on my expedition, space would have been an issue. I’d have had to choose whether to leave the motorhome behind or my honey. Since I love the look of the Star Traveler, it’s probably a good thing that Glynn stayed home.
Since no DreamHouse is complete without a full collection of 1970s furniture, including plants and accessories, I was giddy at the thought of the challenge ahead. I get to fix up my own Malibu mansion! 1972’s Busy Barbie would wonder what she ever saw in Mod Hair Ken (have you seen the Ken dolls from that timeframe?), her cousin Francie would be dealing with her own issues, wanting to support her cousin but secretly infatuated with Mod Hair Ken (she’s young, she’ll outgrow it), and little sister Skipper would be wandering about downstairs, wondering why she never sees her parents.
Barbie never sees her parents, either. There are issues.
Speaking of issues, Flora in The Fourth Brother has issues, too. I should know because, before I get to play with my new dollhouse, I want to complete this novella. I thought we’d be done by the first of May, then the middle of May, and now….
The next story in the One Bride saga isn’t going to be finished by the end of the month because, despite all of our efforts, it keeps getting longer. This is a recurrent problem with this series; each story is supposed to be shorter than the last and, somehow, each one isn’t. When it comes to writing, Glynn and I are plotters, not pantsers, and we took extra pains to carefully plan each step in this sequel. THIS was the novella that we were going to bring in on time and at the expected wordage. We were oh-so-wrong. There is more of Flora’s story to tell.
And precious little time to tell it. This is not because of the DreamHouse challenge but, happy joy!, because we have babies coming to visit. This means I have a real house to baby-proof and then, after the babies leave, I get to prepare the place for more visitors. These adult visitors, happy joy!, are coming from China, and we can’t wait to see them, either.
I’m trying to hint that it’s going to be a busy summer. The upcoming months will be glorious but oh-so-busy.
For the next many weeks, then, this blog will be a little less regular than it has been recently. Not that I don’t have things to say – as Glynn tells me, I always have things to say – but because our available writing time is even more precious than usual. Unless I simply have to blog about something, I’ll focus on completing Flora’s story. Once that’s done, I’ll try to return to a regular schedule here.
But, also, babies.
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