Fins and Stems

So… An overnight bath in nail polish remover produces this:

The marks I wanted off aren’t any noticeably lighter. The yellow is now kinda green. Minus. Everywhere she was submerged she has stained/dyed a rather beautiful blue. Minus. Her entire body is soft like she would’ve been years ago. Plus.

Not very successful if you ask me. I will be looking for some pure acetate and polish remover sans dyes posthaste. This may be a method of pre-dyeing some harder and drier ponies but I don’t think I’ll be trying it on any G1 ponies any time soon (unless I turn one of my Salty into a storm pony!).

After a bath I let the two halves sunbathe for a couple of hours. No noticeable difference but I understand sun bleaching takes weeks/months to do properly. I don’t have that kind of patience.

I need to figure out the symbol for no. 1 and the little girl that will be Thundercloud’s daughter. She’s a Noddins that someone got really dirty then cut off her horn. I think she’ll stay an earth-pony rather than be restored fully.

There are two ponies I want (other than the Leaper I’m going to strong-arm tonight) and though they’re technically male/daddy ponies, they’re female bodies in the Gingerbread pose with special horizontally striped hair. That pose made the pony’s face much more masculine than most so I can understand why it was used. I don’t think I should get them but I want my Originals Collection to be as complete as is monetarily feasible…. And Daddies Berrytown and Meadowsweet are sitting, available if bought together for less than it’d cost to get Sunbright. Then I’d have them for direct comparison for remake into Clydesdales as is only proper for G1 boys.

But I cannot quite make myself spend $200 for two ponies I don’t like the look of anyway.

Just writing that makes me feel better about just watching their listings go by. Maybe if they don’t sell, they’ll be relisted for more reasonable prices and I’ll get them then. Not likely but I can dream…

And here’s my victim volunteer. A nice little bait I call Sunshine Smile I got in a box with some pony else I’d ordered.

I think I want her to be both a reroot trial and a Rit dye experiment. Her name will either become Ember or Crackle depending on if she looks more fire or lightning type (yes I know this isn’t Pokémon) and how much dye I feel like trying.

The head popped off easily and what glue is left has long since given up the ghost. The tail was held in by some metal-less rope/washer combination. Ingenious really as it guarantees no tail rust.

Now to de-hair her… Though it looks like it’s held in in a more unorthodox manner than the GluedToNineHells methodology that Hasbro employs. Of course I can’t find any of the needlenosed pliers I know we have. So it’s improvise time!!

Lucky for me it looks like I was right. The hair seems to be looped from one hole to the next with no glue. Just the hair angle keeping everything in place. Some of my heavier tweezers are working well enough though my fingers and thumb are going to feel this for a while.

Those are some saaaad and uneven little holes… I’m giving this girl a definite upgrade.

Now to remove some paint!

All I have is nail polish remover. Most have some pure acetate on hand for more stubborn paint. It’s mostly gone but I’m going to see what happens with an overnight soak. Right now she just looks battered and bruised. I hope she feels like a new woman in the morning.

BTW… I did all this while watching Game Six of an overtime lasting NBA Finals. The Heat managed to squeak this one out 103-100 so Thursday is going to be the be all game.

Goodnight and stay doing.

Here we go. Done with the Tell. Out with the show.

I’m starting with the US Families since they’re complete.

The Apple Delight family.

I am attempting to detangle the dad’s hair so I can restyle it in the curls he originally had. The baby’s hair was restyled by the person I bought her from but I think I should redo the curls since they were crushed in her travels. The mom I got in compensation for a late sent package. She needs serious cleaning. Maybe some sun bleaching to try and preserve the markings. And a Magic Eraser to the forehead. Otherwise, a nice looking family.

The Sweet Celebrations family.

Another light cleaning and some hairstyling all around and this family will be show worthy.

The Bright Bouquet family.

The dad’s hair falls out of style if I look at him wrong but he still looks great. The mom’s hair is resisting my gentle attempts to restyle her hair. I’m going to have to get tough with her. The baby is perfect except for a few stray marks.

My US Big Brothers.

They’re all very handsome boys. Six of the line came out year 5. Three repeated the next year with three new ones. A couple I’ll upgrade with better preserved boys and either use them as bait or resale. Half of them need some serious work done on their hair. A couple, Slugger and Chief, have partially rubbed symbols. I’ve managed to get QB’s, Cheif’s [difficult], Tex’s, Salty’s [w/new pony], and Barnacle’s hats but no ones doing WigWam, Slugger, or 4-Speed and I missed Steamer’s.

The Baby Brothers.

This photo isn’t the complete picture. I have gotten Whirly and have Waddles on order [shipped] and will be bidding on Leaper soon. If I can’t get him, I will get a bait Racer and go from there.

All of them need at least minor hair styling. They’re all clean. My originals, Drummer and Racer, need the most hair help. I think I’ll start the recovery process today.

My Mail-Order Ponies.

Tux’n'Tails is still a handsome guy. I quail at the thought of trying to unbraid his tail. I was very good at braiding when I did that and they’ve stayed in with no hair holder or ties for upwards of 15 years now. Lucky is the only pony to come produced with hair that short. Odd that.

On the news front, I have obtained Blue Ribbon but lost out on Clipper. Blue Ribbon was listed as a guy but is quite obviously a girl. I may get another Lucky and turn him into a Clipper… or I may just wait for another to eventually show up. It’ll happen or it won’t.

My UK Big Brothers, the Mountain Boys!

Here’s Sunburst and Thundercloud!

These are the hardest to obtain aside from the UK Families’ Daddies. I would have Ice Crystal [the rarest] right now if the one I managed to see so quick would ship to the US… Fireball is still available for $120 plus s/h. No one is giving up Tornado or Lightning. *sigh* Oh well. Customizing adventure!

It’s not easy being green is what Kermit sang.

It seems to be a very easy thing for my tomatoes… They’re only just now showing slight tinges of “not green”. All of them. Romas, Yellow, Stripey, Patio, and Pear; they’re all staying stubbornly green.

I can tell you if I’m not seeing more color by the middle of the week on Thursday I’m getting me some fried green tomatoes. And maybe frying up some more squash flowers too. With my farmer’s market large free range organic mixed breeds chicken eggs… sooooooo hippy… I got some garlic scapes and will try and make something odd and filling for hubby tomorrow with them.

Even with the peppers I picked for my father-in-law today for Father’s Day, I have a large number of peppers that are still getting big. Green, but growing. My new bell peppers look nice and the balloon-type sweet peppers are filling out nicely.

It’s not easy for me when things that need to turn colors are only green… *sigh*

I have recently come to grips with the fact that I have a problem. I have always and will continue to love My Little Ponies. Not necessarily the show. I do have a couple of the original series shows on DVDs and do really like the new Friendship is Magic [FiM] (they’re all real bitches to each other).

I love the dolls.

Generation One [G1] especially. Not really the first couple of runs with the My Pretty Pony bodies though. I have a large number of G1 ponies and have started amassing more (again…).

When the G3 line started, I abstained. Much as any recovering alcoholic night avoid the liquor store. Then my mom got me one for Christmas! And that was all it took. I have three or four very large boxes and plastic tubs filled with G3 ponies. They never truly got into the crystal ponies and were no where near introducing the brother, flutter, or sea ponies. Then FiM took off and they started the G4 line.

Have to admit, not a big fan of G4s. Not of the off-the-shelf variety anyway. I do not like the G4 Brother design at all and will not be purchasing any of that unless its for customizing purposes. Which is probably a good thing, all considered.

Because I’ve started finishing my collection of G1 Brothers.

I now have almost every G1 male pony in existence. I have all the US Big Brothers. I have Tux ‘N Tails (which I’d saved up my Pony Points for as a kid to get to go with my Bride pony). I have all three US families and their children. I’m trying to get the UK Apple Baby Brother variant. I have most of the Baby Brothers (only like 2 more to go!) and almost all of the mail order boys (UK). I even have two of the Mountain Boys (UK)!

I’m finding the ponies’ hats and helmets. I’m trying to complete the UK families.

And I have come to the conclusion that finishing my quest to have all the G1 boys may not be monetarily feasible.

There are four Mountain Boys I haven’t found/won yet. I crapped my way out of getting an Ice Crystal then didn’t read the fine print and had to back away from a second (stupid not shipping out of UK!) when I caught myself. I know of a Fireball but he’s $120 plus high shipping cost.

The UK Families have non-Clydesdale Dads. I’ve bought the moms (waiting on shipping) and the Meadowsweet baby. I can get the Sunbright and Berrytown babies pretty inexpensively. But I missed out on Daddy Meadowsweet because I balked at $100. My Thundercloud was $80 (£50) but he was the most expensive one by far. There’s a good looking Daddy Berrytown on offer for $95 and a questionable Sunbright for $202. Not doable by a long margin as far as I’m concerned.

Especially since I’m trying to get Baby Brother Leaper right now. I have fond memories of playing with a friend back in pre-school who had that one and Paws. I brought my Drummer and Racer and we’d go on sometimes very dirt-filled adventures that would end poolside (a nearby sink) with icy drinks (Capri suns or Koolaid). I have Paws. I will get Leaper.

So what am I to do about 7 ponies I may never be able to rationalize affording?

Customizing.

It’s something that’s being done so much more. It’s doable for half or less than what you’d need to pay. And you can recreate originals or make your wishes. And that may be how I get my collection to be “complete”.

Thundercloud was the only male purple pony made which is why I grabbed him when i could. QB or Barnacle could become Tornado. Steamer could be enhanced to become Fireball. WigWam could be a Lightning. Sweet Celebrations could make a good Ice Crystal. I might have to do some re-hairing (scary proposal) and would need to clear and redo cutie marks but at least I wouldn’t need to do any more dyeing than some color enhancements. Definitely doable by a beginner.

As per usual, after planning all this out I became afraid and needed to talk to someone (even if only myself) but shied away from posting my thoughts on the forums I’ve joined, even though I know they’d be generally receptive to the idea.

Whichever Big Brother base I get first will be the one I start with. I think I’ll just make the UK dads into US Clydesdales too. And when I get enough courage I’ll make myself a G1 Big MacIntosh

I’ve seen pics of “all grown up” Baby Brother ponies and want to try a version where they have moms & dads. Like Leaper having a dad named Bullfrog and a mom named Treefrog. Or Lucky with a dad named Chance and a mom named Clover.

I also want to do some baby friendly plushes. Maybe not ponies at first. Just animals stylized for learning and ease of manufacture.

We shall see what I get done with me trying to get the bedrooms moved around.

Yesterday was almost a sub-2k steps day. I took my walk late in the day only because when me and Jas went out to play in the garage we left the door open. I hate the idea of the nearby herd of cats going in and settling up shop there. Especially since they’ve started heavy spraying… With the heat coming on, finally, the smell is getting quite bad. Leaving me feeling more like they should all be rounded up and removed.

Got to meet Kim Hansard off of Mark, Kim, & Frank in the Morning and Laura Bower off of Twitter for the new Breakfast “Luther burger” Dunkin’ Donuts has put out, on Friday since that was national donut day.

It was sweet and savory in a good stick-to-your-ribs kind of way. Entirely too fattening even though it was only 360 calories. I’m sure 98% of it was salt/sugar/fat with very little redeeming factors aside from taste. I’d eat one again regularly given the chance. Especially if I budgeted the caloric intake beforehand.

Saturday me and Jas picked twenty one bush beans! We also gathered a couple of cucumbers then some fixings for small green salads. I picked a few more beans yesterday and then cooked those for the girls with the last of the roast/BBQ pulled duck I did a bit back. They turned out well and all three liked them.

As I lose weight (1.4 yesterday morning!) I become less able to sleep more than 6 hours. No matter how tired I am when my brain wakes up. I think I’ll start taking naps to mitigate the mental exhaustion that’s starting to creep in.

Trying to make myself adhere to a strict schedule of any sort, so far, is a complete wash. It’s getting better though as I try to make products for the Tech Co’s First Friday Bazaar. Production for profits’ sake has never really been my deal.

Oh well. Time to get the kids to day school!

This is mostly a picture post.

First, the four boxes:

So many things fruiting! Banana peppers, jalapeños, cucumbers, Roma and yellow tomatoes, strawberries, Japanese eggplant, and baby green bell peppers!

The two small rounders are doing nicely with their replants.

I am really liking this wall now! It has cayenne pepper and little yellow pear tomatoes.

A shot of my grapes of hope and raspberries of OMG.

And the first recorded instance of me successfully having a hosta flower!

I hope to put the Chinese Fringe flower tree/bush into its new home today. I need to mow and edge… and trim the hedgerow I have taken chunks out of… I think it’s salvageable if I just let make the privet fill back in. Thankfully it doesgrow out from old wood. Just a quick chop from the new electric trimmers and that should be done!

I should take a moment to finalize the structure of the planting bed because, Lord knows, I’m tired of quarantining one from the other… Maybe the root barrier hidden just to the outside?

We shall see.

Here’s Mr Random Peacock I saw on my Sunday walk:

And here’s the baby garden I’ve put all my seedlings into and bought a couple of potted plants to make look kinda pretty.

Second CSA pickup is today and there’s so much to do! Stupid program keeps telling me 182.9 is 183.0 unless I drill down to a close look (*mumblegrumble*) and I’m a bit irked by that but otherwise encouraged by my progress.

So. I got the Fitbit Zip and am 85% happy with it. I got the Aria and am 98% happy with it.

The unfortunate downside to both of these things are not really their fault.

The Aria is great but I think it tells my phone something either more detailed (182.956 vs 182.9 that I see) and lets it do its own rounding. That’s my only big complaint. I wish the phone program wouldn’t re-round numbers or disclose any more detailed info it’s getting. The little complaint is the website’s fault. I wish I could manually log weight more than once a day if my Internet is down or I’m on vacation with no free wifi available. Just sayin’.

The Zip is a great pedometer. I stick it on my underwear band after a shower and then don’t see it or think about it unless I’m connecting it to the CPU (wirelessly) or checking it during a potty break. The problem with it is it won’t connect to my phone directly. I have an iPhone 4 that has Bluetooth connection capabilities but the silly thing won’t talk to anything less than a 4S. That is some bull right there. Then there’s the inability for me to manually track my sleep. Yes that’s more the website’s (I give even the new look a 78) problem but I am reasonably certain it locks certain features based in the products you have registered. And that is the Zip’s fault.

I’m down to sub-183 and falling. 180 here I come!

In positive garden news, my little almost-farm is doing great! Jas is getting 2-5 strawberries every couple of days (that’s an average as we get a few days of nothing then a few days of fruit). There’s a Japanese eggplant, some banana peppers, and some bush beans setting up and getting big. I’m going to pick some cucumbers for pickles and eating today. There are gobs of each different type of tomato green and ready to ripen. There’s one ripe raspberry amongst the unripe clusters. It looks like the blueberries will be done soon. And I have tiny grape globes on my now re-fortified 2yr vine.

For the downside, the English eggplant isn’t tossing any flowers yet nor is the blackberry canes. My roses are still being destroyed by… something… The watermelon vines are only just hanging in there. My Chinese fringe flower tree/bush needs to be moved before it dies from collapsing on itself. I’ll move the rosemary and lavender into its spot and maybe all three will do better. The squash has yet to set a fruit. Plenty of great tasting flowers (I did fry a few early to try it) but not one fruit!

So, mixed bag. I’m going to start back on getting the yard looking like what I’d planned in the classes I took. I need to remember to join the Facebook group. I need to sign up for another class or two. And I need to connect my phone to the computer again to facilitate my showing pictures of all this…

*Sigh….*

There’s always something.