Barbie Adams

Barbie Adams

The Party Dress Book, by Mary Adams, an American designer, inspired this.  Mary Adams' clothes are vibrant scene-stealers.  Her wedding dresses are symphonies of colour that command center stage.  The skirts bounce with layers of glorious shades reflecting the full spectrum of rainbow hues.

Some Mary Adams designs that I particularly love include a white wedding dress with a ruffled deep blue underskirt and one with many crinolines in shades of red. I also like the ones inspired by Marie Antoinette 's wardrobe.

Barbie put on this dress and it made her want to twirl around and around until she was dizzy. 

Superdad Ken

Superdad Ken

My father was the best kind of father, involved.  He did his share of the housework and childcare because he wanted to.  My mother's agoraphobia often kept her at home so we went to the beach, to picnics, to the Sunday free swim at the local  pool and to the movies with dad. 

There were times in our lives when he had three jobs.  He was in the military and often away at sea.  He also sometimes had a weekend job repairing televisions and sometimes he taught television repair two nights a week for a continuing education program.  Keeping five children cavity-free and in shoes cost a lot but I don't remember his absences.  He always disparaged people who offered presents instead of presence.

My husband is also a loving, caring, involved father.

And Superdad Ken is the same kind of father, involved and perfect.

Tall Ships Barbie

Tall Ships Barbie

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking. 
John Masefield

The summer I was 9 my father earned his bosun's license.  In celebration, he took my younger brother and me for a sail around Halifax harbour in a sturdy whaler.  A submarine was coming into Halifax harbour just on the other side of George's Island.  We called excitedly to go see the submarine.  Dad was excited too, I guess, because he threw the tiller the wrong way.  The boat rolled over and lay in the water with the keel pointing at the sky.  We  clambered on the hull and she rolled upright.  We jumped in but couldn't bail fast enough.  The boat rolled once more and we were again clinging to the hull bottom.  Poor Dad was frantic and clutched us by the collar handles of our life jackets but my brother and I were not worried.  The whaler wallowed upside down in the harbour until a tug arrived to rescue us. 

My fearless sibling called as a man reached to gaff one of our lines, "Quick, take a photo so we can be in the newspaper."

 Dad never took us sailing again but, should the opportunity arise,  Barbie is suitably dressed for a day on a yacht.

Moonbeam Barbie

Moonbeam Barbie

I mentioned in an earlier post that I am a fan of L.M. Montgomery. I read Anne of Green Gables for the first time when I was 8.  The books weren't always easy to find in those days before Amazon and Indigo but I read as many of them as I could.

This quote from Emily's Quest, has haunted me. 
But he told her she looked like "the moonbeam of a blue summer night" in that gown. 

"That gown" was a long-time desire of Emily's, first expressed in Emily Climbs.

 If ever I can buy that one silk dress I know what it is going to be like. Not black or brown or navy blue--sensible, serviceable colours, such as New Moon Murrays always wear--oh, dear, no! It is to be of shot silk, blue in one light, silver in others, like a twilight sky, glimpsed through a frosted window-pane.

Do you think of your clothes that way?  Barbie does.

Barbie Capulet

Barbie Capulet

Zefferelli's Romeo and Juliet was released to great acclaim in 1968.  I saw it at the Paramount Theater in Halifax and was completely undone by the tragic story of the star-crossed lovers.

As the story unfolded, sniffs were heard throughout the darkened theater followed by muffled sobs.  The music rose to a crescendo (amazing score by Nino Rota)  and by the time the astoundingly beautiful Olivia Hussey stabbed herself in the heart the soaring soundtrack had been drowned out by the audience's anguished wails.

I was not immune to the hysteria.  The lights came up and the tears continued to pour down my cheeks.  I went to the ladies' room to wash my face.  One of the ushers was standing in front of the bank of sinks.  She was desperately trying to control her emotions.  She caught my eye in the mirror.  "I have seen this movie at least twenty times and I still can't stop crying."

Barbie Capulet is a lot more sensible than her sister Juliet and a lot less emotional than the usher and me.

 

Sou'wester Barbie

Sou'wester Barbie

When Barbie camps, the weather is perfect, balmy even.

When I camp, it rains.  I don't even have to sleep out.  One beautiful evening, we decided to take our three children for a short paddle on the river in our back yard.  Everyone put on a PDF and we floated downstream about 100 meters in peace.  Then a huge cloud appeared overhead and we found ourselves in the middle of a thunder storm.

Another time, we were traveling with a hiking group from Capetown to the Fish River Canyon in Namibia.  The bus stopped at an abandoned gas station for the night. It was the routine that everyone sleep outside in the field.  No one had tents because we were in a desert.  It hadn't rained there since forever.  The downpour lasted all night so we all slept cramped in our seats on the bus.

We went canoe camping in Temiskaming for a week.  It rained hard every single day and every single night.  Some portages had thigh-deep puddles to wade through as we carried the canoe on our heads.  I slept with a rivulet running through my tent and into my sleeping bag.  The sun did come out (once),  and we pulled to shore to hang the wet bedding to dry.

We hiked in the Wilderness National Park in South Africa.  We went in winter and were the only hikers on the controlled trail.  Of course, it rained.  Our safety matches could only be lit on the special box they came in.  The wax coating kept the matches dry but the box disintegrated in the rain.  No matches, no fire, no cooking.  Dry biscuit mix may be nourishing but it tastes like chalk.

Barbie is ready to go camping in a rain suit, yellow rain boots and a matching sou'wester, just in case.

Retirement Barbie

Retirement Barbie

I celebrated the last day of school by retiring.  I didn't announce my news until all the students had gone.  I don't like fuss and besides, it was their day to rejoice in their achievements.

My colleagues, who are creative, energetic, entertaining people felt differently and a few days later staged a Barbie Retirement Party for me.

We had pink balloons, Barbie tattoos, Barbie kites, a Barbie tablecloth and paper plates and Barbie games.   I was gifted with a pile of nude Barbies.  But just look at dessert!