Hokey

Oh my word! I decided to watch a programme about 'fake baby' dolls yesterday evening. Only in America I thought...but no, these were British woman, although one flew to the States for an extra special version to add to the four or five 'home grown' ones she had already. She took a suitcase of new clothes (we watched her spend three hundred pounds on one outfit) and 'gifts' like toys and blankets and a fold up pushchair cot thing she could take on the plane. Now I can just about get dressing these, maybe as much as I can get dressing up pets (which to be honest isn't a great deal, but I understand the desire for creative display). But they have car seats and prams to take them out in, and bottles of fake milk and they wash their hair. I'm like...what???? The husbands of these women love them very much...the women I mean. They'd have to really, wouldn't they? Several hundred pounds a throw on a 'reborn' plastic baby plus all the kit to play with it? But on the whole the chaps didn't love the doll thing. And on the whole I'm with them on that! Apologies to anyone I've offended here, I've tried to be tactful but it's not one of my strong points...

Didn't have many points that felt strong last night. I pinned up four trouser legs but only sewed one. Be all right if I do the Hokey Cokey, I suppose! I give thanks that I know how to sew, with or without a sewing machine. I can't imagine not doing but it's good not to take our skills for granted. I'm grateful for all the little everyday bits of kit that go with it we forget are minor miracles...needles and pins and sewing thread, press studs and buttons and zips. We might admire a pretty bit of ribbon or lace but when did you last truly give thanks for elastic, ha ha!

I give thanks for my emotional self sufficiency. It's four weeks since I had a conversation with anyone who wasn't paid to be in the same room as me. Luckily some rather nice people are paid to be in the same room as me sometimes but the fact remains they wouldn't be talking to me if they weren't! I realise four weeks isn't a record and if it were I'd be about to break it but what cracks me up is that a couple of weeks back people were saying 'Oh, well, you'll have visitors at Christmas' as if I'm some different kind of life form from themselves. I've not met many people who could easily go four days without warm human interaction, in fact I've known a few for whom four waking hours alone is a challenge! Of course, maybe the fact that people think I'm a different kind of life form is why they don't readily volunteer for the challenge. They've watched too much Torchwood maybe!