Yeah, it's been a bit crazy around here

[cleolinda]

I never told you about my favorite Christmas present, did I?

Galadriel glides forward. "So... welcome, and all that. I'm the Lady of Lórien and that's Aragorn, Son of Arathorn, over there with my granddaughter" (he still looks a bit peaked, but I think he's getting his strength back) "and the other Aragorn's off with the other Arwen. The ones with the swords--they're Anna Dollerious, Elizabeth Swann, and Eowyn, Doll of Rohan."

I think Galadriel's getting a little tired of the whole welcome wagon thing, but if she doesn't represent, I don't know who will.

"HEY, COULD YOU KEEP IT DOWN OVER THERE? I'M TRYING TO CONVERSE HERE."

"I want to play with them."

"Lyraaaa... tell her who you are!"

"Oh. Right. Lyra Belacqua. Nice to meet you. I guess."

Once again, I have to congratulate Tonner on the detail here; even the outfit under the coat is perfect. She's also got her own tiny alethiometer (with very detailed etchings on top) that's a little bigger than a quarter, and thick-ass mittens that I couldn't get on her hands for love or money, so I found her a little jewelry pouch that's just the right size for a knapsack, and that's where we put all her stuff. And the pouch is a nice silvery-beige color, so it even matches her coat.

So I'm wondering if I should interrupt the swordfighting and introduce her to the girls (I'm still concerned about the delicate social balance there, particularly with Eowyn feeling so low lately) when I feel something nudging my foot. Hey, it's that Webkinz I got two Christmases ago, my very first one, because my mother knows I like polar bears. So of course, when I started up the account on the website, I gave him the best polar bear name I could think of--

"IOREK!" She has to bend down to hug him, though. "You're... a lot smaller than I remember."

"BUT MY BEARLY DIGNITY IS UNDIMINISHED."

So I put them out on the stairs in the afternoons now (the carpet's even white--well, cream-colored) and they have a big time climbing up and down the "mountains" looking for sky iron. (And you can hear Lyra just going a mile a minute about how her uncle's an explorer too, he's probably on some really big stairs right now, and she hopes I'm not going to get any Mrs. Coulters because playing dress-up was okay for a while but it got really boring and also, Mrs. Coulter's face never, ever moves, which is really creepy, and you wanna talk about creepy, don't even get Lyra started on that monkey...) I'm going to have to think of something to do about the whole armor thing. Maybe Iorek will be okay with sky foil? I'll have to look into that.


(More from the Secret Life of Dolls.)

Comments

[ipuchan.livejournal.com]

thats brilliant. freaking awesome :D you don't have a shiny gift bag of semi-sturdy material to use as armour? it'd be a lil stronger and more tear-resistant than tin foil

[elvensapphire.livejournal.com]

She's awesome . I adore the costume and the teeny tiny alethiometer. I still haven't seen the movie version of The Golden Compass , much as I adore the books. I guess I should get on that. ;)

What does Ellowyne think? She has a friend her size now.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

She's actually a lot shorter than Ellowyne--despite Ellowyne having sort of teenage girl proportions, she's the same height as Elizabeth (but with a much bigger head, for example). But Lyra's sized to look like a child (12") when you stand her next to other movie dolls like Elizabeth (16").

I kind of think they might not get along anyway. Ellowyne likes playing dress-up way too much.

[wolfsilveroak.livejournal.com]

Hehehe

[oh-la-la.livejournal.com]

oh, those dolls are their crazy adventures :)
she's just so beautifully done too, & so is Pan!
you did well on your Christmas stash it seems, miss.

Weirdly enough, I just re-read the Amber Spyglass last night.
If only there was a Will! ;)

[robinmc.livejournal.com]

Ooooooh. That's awesome. And Pan and Iorek are adorable.

I still haven't seen the movie, even though I love the books and was really excited about the movie. I guess I was more than a little thrown when I saw a preview and Nicole Kidman called her "Lie-ra" and I'd always thought it was "Lee-ra".

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I talked to a couple of other people who thought it was "Lee-ra" as well. I always figured it rhymed with "Myra"--and then there's the part in the third book where they say that "Lyra" sounds a little like "Liar."

[annlarimer.livejournal.com]

Skyfoil and skycardboard! Perhaps a skymeasuringcup for his helmet.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Hee! I think a 1/3 cup might suit him pretty well, actually.

[shoiryu.livejournal.com]

I can never stop wondering what would happen if a BJD happened to show up in the midst of all this, hee. The giants are attacking?

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Heeeeeee.

[duckiemegs.livejournal.com]

Sadly enough, I bought a webkinz my myself because I had a MOTHER telling me about how amazing they are at Christmas. Her children EACH have three (there are three kids) and she told me of a kid at school that has FORTY FIVE. These things are $15 a pop, usually. I got mine on sale so... that's a little better, lol.

[sighthoundlady.livejournal.com]

I have to admit here, I'm not a huge doll fan but that Lyra Belacqua has me smitten! How wonderful!

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Hee, yeah. People are always saying things like, "I don't like dolls, but... I LOVE yours." Tonner makes good stuff, what can I say.

Although, if you ever want to get one like this, make sure you look for "Lyra Silvertongue." "Lyra" or "Lyra Belacqua" is Lyra in her school dress, I think, and is not half as cool.

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

I'm waiting for the day Galadriel finally loses her skittles and backhands someone. She seems like the type.

[lyrangalia]

Oh Lyra is lovely. Maybe she can bring Eowyn out of her funk...

[tabbyclaw.livejournal.com]

Silver balloon mylar, maybe?

[glass-radical.livejournal.com]

Your doll fun inspired me to take a look-see at Tonner stuff (ANDOMGBATGIRLANDPOISONIVY) but I looked at the NYC Ballet company stuff, and the "Basic Rehearsal" dolls? ARE THE MOST ANOREXIC LOOKING THINGS EVER.

And sure, dancers are usually teeny-tiny people, but like....eat a doll sandwich...

[rahrahmah.livejournal.com]

http://www.tonnerdoll.com/2007Images/TONNER%202007/2007FH/nycb/rehersaljac.tif.jpg <--ballet doll

http://www.iconsofeurope.com/romeojuliet1.jpg <-- ballet dancer

http://theblacksentinel.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/anorexic2pl.jpg <-- anorexic

I'm sorry. I don't see it. There's nothing wrong with being thin or fit.

[chocotaku.livejournal.com]

What? someone listens to Alizée for musical reasons like me? unpossible!

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Hee. I had "Lui ou toi" on for the last couple of days, actually--I think I even owned up to it in the previous entry.

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

My god that is so awesome. I don't even collect dolls AND IF I END THIS SENTENCE THE WAY I WAS ABOUT TO, I'M GOING TO WAKE UP IN A BATHTUB WITH A VAGINA but...but...well, Lyra is an insanely great doll. The aleithiometer has markings! How do they even do that? Are these handmade or something?

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I have no idea how they did it--it's just plastic, and the circular markings are so uniform that I wonder if it could possibly just be molded. I'll have to take a picture of the bottom side of the alethiometer, which is even crazier.

[paranoidgrl.livejournal.com]

I'm not really into dolls, but I've always enjoyed reading the tales of your dolls. That said, I was recently at FAO Schwarz, where they had a bunch of the Tonner dolls on display, and, gosh, those are some nice dolls. Made me appreciate them in a new way.

Edward doll?

[thismortalquill.livejournal.com]

So I've been reading for a while, and I know you mentioned the Twilight dolls a long time ago, but I must have completely missed your thoughts on them. So... what *do* you think? More importantly, what do the girls think of the dollen himself?

Re: Edward doll?

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I think it's coming out in the spring, so I haven't actually seen it in person yet. Here's what happened when the Tonner pics came out. (http://cleoland.pbwiki.com/Anticipation)

[malanai.livejournal.com]

I'm just impressed you're listening to Alizée!

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Hee. Well, it's not a huge accomplishment or anything. I think I found her through audiography a couple of years back, and I like bouncy pop music a lot, so there you are. And I'm a lapsed French major, so I like trying to sing along.

[tinuviell.livejournal.com]

Lyra is beautiful! I own two Tonner dolls (a Tyler Wentworth and a Marley Wentworth), and I agree that Tonner's attention to detail is amazing. I'm saving my pennies now for Tonner's Narnia line. Your Secret Life of Dolls always makes me laugh, especially since I own some of the same dolls you do. Though my Eowyn (the same Toy Biz one as yours) is much more mellow.

[lilgoala.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry, but sky foil will not do at all. Unless you color it rust-red with magic marker or something.

[bright-blonde.livejournal.com]

i love this. and she really is lovely.

[laurelin-kit.livejournal.com]

How tall is Lyra?

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

12" - she's proportioned to look like a child next to an "adult" doll. The Asriel is 17" and the Mrs. Coulter dolls are 16", which are the standard male/female heights for their movie dolls, I think. Except for Bella Swan, who's 15" just so Edward can patronize her that much more. He's 17", but I'm not sure if that's before or after you factor in The Hair.

[caerbannog.livejournal.com]

Well, at least the one nice thing about 2008 is that you scored some really awesome dolls. Between Lyra and Pirate Elizabeth, I am getting dolly envy.

[scornedsaint.livejournal.com]

oh my God, Webkinz. I got a hold of my nephew's account and cannot stop playing Smoothie Moves. It's a sickness

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Oh, that one's bad. My particular poison is Goober's Lab, though. And the mah-jongg type game, also that one.

[jennnk.livejournal.com]

so...is Coraline (http://www.entertainmentearth.com/hitlist.asp?theme=Coraline) going to join the shelf crew?

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Aw, the one in the raincoat is adorable. She might get along well with Lyra.