Icey at Tea

TEA FOR THREE, PLUS ME


I went with Miss Connie to tea today. She was to meet Miss Jane. Surprise, Miss Melody came, too. Tea was served at "Tea Leaves and Thyme" which is the tea parlor in Miss Connie's hometown. She dragged me along and made me wear pastels. Can you see my hot pink vinyl pocketbook shoulder bag? Of COURSE there's no money in it (thanks a lot..)
This is the table setting. Lots of pink flowers on the pretty, pretty porcelain. Ish.

Miss Connie brought along a tea cup and saucer that was just my size. I don't drink sugar in my tea. I tolerate lemon though. Miss Melody said I looked familiar. Miss Connie remarked that I was designed after those 60's and 70's paintings of waifs (by Margaret Keane). Then Miss Melody remembered, and when she heard my name (Icey Crink) she said, "No wonder she is so emo. With that name, she couldn't help it." At least she didn't refer to me as "It". I think, but I hope I didn't really hear:"Poor little thing".

The Grumps (short for Grownups) had chicken salad, pasta salad, fruit salad and green salad. Then, a surprise mint brownie for the birthday girl, who was Miss Connie, who is almost as old as dirt this year. There were also assorted other desserts: lemon bars, carrot muffins, and pecan bars. They were all bite sized and I decided to try some. Aargh, even the candle is pastel pink. Is there no black left in the world?
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Here are the happy-camper Grumps. These three ladies have known each other for about 17 years now and their kids grew up together. Miss Melody is holding me, at least she has me upright and not hanging upside down (thank you very much). Miss Connie is in the middle in her louder-than-loud fuschia dress and Miss Jane is the other one whose bright idea it was to turn this otherwise calm luncheon into a surprise birthday event. I guess I had an okay time, considering it was a party.

The other two Grumps are used to Miss Connie bringing dolls along and they ask things like, "Who did you bring today?" instead of being surprised to see someone like me there. Not a bad thing, considering. I have to admit, although I don't want to, that the mint brownie and peach iced tea were good. Maybe I'll go back there one day.... if I have to.

A Day At The Museum

Hello, I'm Icey Crink, one of the famous Crink Sisters, the older one that gets to go more places than my little sister, who is prettier than me but not as gifted. This is my story of the very long day at the museum, of which the movie is probably better than this story. But I wrote it anyway.

Mr. and Mrs. C dragged me along to the museum today. We had to drive a total of 2 hours and 25 minutes each way. Mr. C timed it for two different routes. I was the navigator and kept them from getting lost on the road.

This is the rest stop at the Alabama state line. No toys here, just maps and bathrooms. Why do humans have to "stop" to "go"?

There was a display of American Flags attached to white crosses with people's names written on them. It lasted about half a mile and it was near Fort McClellan. We were all quiet while we passed the flags.

Finally, we arrived at the museum. It was filled with old stuff, older than me. I sat with the Indian which was a Remington sculpture made of metal. It was shinier than the picture shows. All the time, I was hoping the curator didn't catch me playing with stuff.

This is how people used to make yarn. It's called a spinning wheel. The display also had old rocking chairs and a bench and other stuff.

This is an old grand piano but it was square. Imagine that. I heard the keys were made from bones.

This is definitely not a Maytag. It was the way people used to wash dirty clothes. In the middle was the wringer, of which the saying "Wring Your Scrawny Little Neck" comes from, I think.

I met some old big dolls and a bear in a wicker carriage. There was a parasol on top.

Now on to the Egyptian stuff. The displays are in progress. I had to help with some of them. What a chore.

First picture: reproduction boxes that were the kind that held old bones and mummies. See me in there?Second picture, I found an old bowl just my size. Somebody said it was about 2000 years old. It looked it, I'll tell you that. I don't think I'd eat my gruel out of that one.

I snuck into the display which includes an antique burial mask. Cool stuff, things that were unwrapped in mummies and they're really real. The toy soldiers are called dioramas. They're not old.

Here are my new friends: Pharoah I, Pharoah II and Guard. They're reproductions, but Pharoah II is covered in real gold leaf. He shines.

Walk Like An Egyptian, and offer bribes...I mean gifts to the Pharoah.

I met an antique member of the Crink Sisterhood. I call her "Sally". I don't think she liked that. I think she's just about older than dirt. I wasn't supposed to touch her, but I did.

Now for the work part. I had to help the C's with these big stinky horses. We have to make full battle costumes for them, at least all the cloth part. It has been and will continue to be too much trouble. But the C's don't seem to mind at all. They think it's exciting for some odd reason. Strange people.

Well, this is me on the horse and then there's a closeup. I handed pins out and threatened to cut off the horse's tail with the scissors if he wouldn't be still. The C's use scrap fabric to drape the horse and cut the pattern out. You'll be surprised at the finished product and how it can be made from this silly light blue dog coat.

Here's me with the boy in a chariot. The C's have to dress a bunch of mannequins too, in authentic style Egyptian clothes. Yeah, real stylish eh? I'm seriously thinking I adore polyester about now. Give me double knits, y'all. Black or purple, of course. The human guy in the back is the head artist for the display. We surprised him when we took the picture. Ha, gotcha.

Good grief, stupid horse. Don't eat me! Oh, you're just smelling. That was scary.

And here's the perfect end to a...long day. Not only did we drive back-roads on the way home, but there were spots where there were NO cell phone bars. I mean, what if we had gotten a flat tire or something. It would have been a disaster.

And, it rained.

The New Girls who aren't really New

Christa: "May I introduce to you two Susie Sad Eyes dolls. Mama brought them home from the doll show June 2007. They are from 1971 and 1972.


"Mama used to have a 16 inch vinyl doll when she was a little girl, called Love Me Linda. She disappeared mysteriously, as lots of childhood dolls do. These two little 8 inch girls remind her of her Linda. They have bodies similar in shape to Penny Brite.


"Since they are so old as to be almost vintage, (36 years old), they have a very different perspective on life than I do. I will ask them to talk for themselves as they have seen a lot and been many places before they came home to live with us."





Icey: "I'm Icey and it is short for Isabel but pronounced with a Long I. My favorite colors are black and grey. My face is sculpted after the artwork of Margaret Keane. Don't be fooled. I'm not always sad. My last name is Crink."


Tia: "I'm Tia, the little sister. Icey is a year older than me. Originally I was called Susie Slicker but I'm identical in many ways to Susie Sad Eyes. I happen to be about 1/2 inch shorter than Icey. My vinyl is a bit more pink and my eye painting varies slightly from Icey's. We were manufactured by Fun World. We came in cheap cardboard boxes and cost about $1 in 1972. My favorite colors are black and mauve. The dark greyer mauve, not the pinker one."

Icey: "We are not comfortable telling too much at this point. It has been a very long time since we were welcomed into someone's, anyone's household. Miss C. keeps trying to tell us that we are going to be an important part of her doll family. I say, Prove It."

Tia: "Icey, hush. We have to be good. I like it here. We have new clothes, we got to go in Miss C's purse to the fabric store, and even got to pick out our own cloth and ribbon. And she didn't insist on pink."

Icey: "I know. Maybe I'll try harder. My memory is longer than yours, little one. All I ever got was purchased and put on a shelf for no good reason. And then I got dragged to all these doll shows and nobody wanted me for years and years. And don't you think anyone ever wanted you either. We weren't even reunited until a few days ago."

Tia: "Yeah, well that was a bummer. But now we live together and we can have adventures."

Icey: "What, like playing with spiders?"

Tia: "No, silly. There are no spiders here, except maybe outside. Miss C said she'd look for some small toys that we like, and take us places with her sometimes. And take pictures of us having fun. Maybe even get us some furniture."

Icey: "Yeah, like that will ever happen."

Tia: "You just watch and see. I have a Good Feeling about this."

Icey: "I'm glad YOU do."

Christa: "See what Mama and I have to deal with? Two very cute little girls who were left alone and unloved for too many years. I think they'll come around eventually...maybe."

The Doll Show, by Christa

I went to the Collector's United doll show a few days ago. It was fun. Mama, Second Son and I went. We saw some people friends there and met some new people friends. We saw LOTS of dolls from antique through new releases. There was no one like me there and many people commented on me.

I met a beautiful doll named Blythe. She was dressed as Alice in Wonderland. Here we are, posing in front of some new dolls who are still in their boxes. Mama talked to Alice's companion and got to hold Blythe, which was the first time ever for Mama. Alice's companion held me a little while too. I think Blythe is very lovely and unusual.

There was a booth that sold wigs and shoes and eyes and other fun things. Here is a picture of two of Mama's friends who were shopping at that booth. The man holding me has lots of BJDs at his house and he is a New Friend. The man holding the Obitsu head is an Old Friend. These two Friends used to work at the Puppet Theatre in Atlanta together many years ago.

There was another very large booth that had vintage and not-so-vintage dolls. Second Son held me in front of only part of the display.

Mama and I were looking at things so hard that we forgot to take very many pictures.

After the doll show, Mama and I and Second Son went home. Second Son bought sculpting supplies, and Mama got a 10 inch basic Patsyette from Effanbee. She also brought home two new little girls who you will meet on the next post.

Christa and Friends-An Introduction

Hi, I'm Christa.

This is my blog. I would like to introduce Olivia, the pig who is a dear little friend of mine. She traveled to Charleston, SC with Mama, Daddy and two of the boys last weekend. I stayed at home because I don't do well with heat and being packed in a case. Here are just a few of her adventures:


At the Battery there are lots of cannons. You can see Olivia perched on the big one.

Olivia: "Hey Mom. Look at me! I'm smaller than a cannonball. Whee!"

While they were walking around, the grownups found a hidden patio between some buildings. In there was a wonderful fountain with goldfish.

Olivia: "I like goldfish and orangefish and redfish and purplefish. La La La. "

Olivia loved the fish. She counted three of them, over and over, because she can only count to three.

Olivia: "Tomorrow I will learn to count to 100 million and beyond!!

Charleston is famous for its stories of pirates and ghosts. Here is a picture of Olivia pretending to be a ghost. I think she even scared herself.

Olivia:"Ooh, first the big lion spits at me and then I turn into a ghost. Boo! Uhhh, hey Mom, are there such things as real ghosts?"
Me: "Not IMHO, little one. You look like a little pig all dressed up for a party."
Olivia: "Good. I like being a real little pig whose Mom accidently got a cool camera picture without meaning to."

After a long day of sightseeing, the Grownups and Oliva went out to eat. They went to Bubba Gumps' restaurant, which is famous for its shrimp dishes. But what could be better at the end of a hot, sultry summer day in the Deep South than iced tea and raspberry Margaritas? Of course Olivia only drank the tea.

Olivia: "Please, Mom can I have just a little taste of the pink drink? The glass is just my size?"
Me: "No, Little One, yours is the tea."
Olivia (sighs deeply): "Well, okay. Hey Mom, how can a forest run? I thought trees had roots."
Me: "Aren't you getting tired yet? It's been a long day."
Olivia: "Nope, I mean No Ma'am. I'm ready to run some more and see more fishes and spitting lions and stuff."
Me: "How does it sound to 'run' back to the hotel for a nice warm bath and soft pillow?"
Olivia: (yawns hugely): "As long as there aren't any pirates, ghosts or spitting lions there."

Olivia:"G'nite everyone. See ya later."