The morning is sunny. It is cold but not bone chilling. I’ve pulled my heavy, heavy sweater from the storage bin. On the coldest days I wear it instead of a winter coat. I still have nightmares of all those layers.

Last night was one of those nights. I had checked the mouse hotel for three days, no new occupants so I stopped checking. Last night I decided to bait the traps again. One poor mouse had taken his last breath in one of the traps. I took him outside. Jack, my cat, decided to throw up and not a little. I cleaned up the floor, gave Jack some pats and scratches then left and went to bed. I always give the two dogs a before sleep treat. Henry ate his, but Nala started coughing as a bit was stuck in her throat. I went to help her but she coughed it up and hit me with it. Yup, it was one of those nights.

I stopped playing with dolls when I was young with two exceptions. Both were Christmas presents. The first was a cloth doll with long legs and elastics on her feet which also went around my feet then we’d dance together, sort of toe to toe. I always lead. For years, after midnight mass, my grandparents would come to our house to watch us open presents. We opened them and played a little while until my parents would send us back to bed. That year I brought my dance partner with me to bed. My brother and I decided to sneak back downstairs to play with our toys. I left my doll in my bed under the covers. My father checked on us and saw my brother’s bed was empty. He checked my bed and saw I was sleep under the covers. He yelled down the stairs for my brother to go back to bed. I got to stay and play.

The other doll I loved was a Ginny doll. She was made of hard plastic and was not very tall. Her arms were moveable. One Christmas I got my Ginny doll and all her pink bedroom furniture. Ginny had a bed, a bureau, two chairs and a table, a hat stand and a wardrobe filled with clothes. Many outfits had matching hats. I swear Ginny had more clothes than I did, certainly more hats. I still have that Ginny but not any furniture. She is wearing a dress, sweater and, of course, a hat. She sits in a place of honor on the top shelf of the bookcase in my bedroom.

This entry was posted on December 11, 2025 at 10:48 am and is filed under Musings. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. Both comments and pings are currently closed.