Some self care

1. Had my first counseling appointment today. I really needed it a couple days last week. Now, I kind of fluctuate between "Well, I can keep doing this for another year if I have to" to "holy crap, is the world even going to be worth coming back out to when this is over?" (I worry about my job, about the food supply chain, about restaurants and the "fun" small businesses I frequented)

But maybe it helped? She didn't have any magic answers and I guess I kind of knew she wouldn't but I also admit a part of me hoped she did. But she did say to focus on what I had control over, and that yeah, what I was feeling about "no one to take care of" could definitely be part of my distress.

2. Well, not being able to take care of anyone "in person" is still going to be an issue for a while I will just have to live with, maybe I can find some substitutes? Sort of? I realized today I hadn't changed the clothes on my dolls in a long time and I was hanging around taking a break from reading stats and I picked up Mary-Margaret (one of my Creatable World dolls) and put her in a checked dress that was probably a knock-off for Barbie (Creatable World dolls are shorter than Barbie, and of course are flat chested - seeing that they portray 8 or 10 year old kids and are meant to be gender-neutral until their owner decides who they are - but they are chunkier than the similar-height Skipper doll)

She was cute in it, so I picked up the "comfy princess Anna" I had, and changed her clothes.

And then this evening, I decided to swap out everyone's clothes, and also open the couple of Creatable World clothing packs I bought the last time (sigh) I was out (29 February) - I got the rainy day pack because I wanted the cloud-print t-shirt and the stripey leggings, and then I got an "everyday" pack, which I wound up actually not opening. And I got the Barbie sized dolls on which I usually change the clothes (There are a couple - Camille, and the Wonder Woman with the sword, and the Hermione Granger doll - I don't change the clothes on)

Gabby (A Gabby Douglas Barbie) was the first I bought, and the one that got my little collection going. I liked her - and bought her - because of the excellent articulation. One reason I never cared as much for Barbies as a kid, I think, is that they weren't that poseable. (They had click-click knees that never bent enough, and sort of rubbery arms that flexed but didn't actually bend)

But Gabby had articulation, and you could pose her.



Here, she's wearing a Superman themed outfit, down to the little Clark Kent glasses. (For a while, the little inexpensive fashion packs were a periodic "ugh, I have to go to wal-mart" treat. Now that I'm not going in any more....well, I have to rely on what I have. Though I also have ordered a few either new or vintage handmade dresses from Etsy from time to time. There's one seller on there - Buttercup Dress Up - who makes new outfits, some from vintage patterns. They're kind of expensive and yes I can sew, but it's a nice treat.

And, oh hey, I put one of those on Olivia, this is a 1970s styled dress in sort of a 1970s print:



And Sam, another "conventional sized" Barbie, got a vintagey pink top, and a denim skirt out of one of the fashion packs:



I also have two of the "curvy" Barbies - they're a little chunkier and the vintage clothes don't generally fit them (but the new fashions, at least the Mattel ones, are cut a little more generously:



Cinnamon (left) is a bit more of a wild child/punk/hippie, and Ginger (right) is a bit more preppy or classic in her style.

And then the kids. (I think I said before that I kind of headcanoned that Skye is Sam's little sister). First the girls:



Theophanie, who is wearing an actual Barbie dress (from the Super Mario themed line), and Mary-Margaret in the checked dress, and then Skye in the striped leggings from the Rainy Day clothing set, and a tiered skirt and top from another set.

And the boys. Ben is Theophanie's cousin, and Alex is Skye's best friend:



Ben is wearing the cloud-print shirt, and Alex has an amalgamation of pieces from different sets (the full doll set comes with the doll, a wig, three pairs of shoes, and several sets of separates that can be mixed and matched, so if you have a couple of sets you have a lot of small clothing pieces.)

Oh, and Anna and Elsa - in modern clothes. These are, I think, Hasbro (?) dolls, they are not as well made - the joints are stiffer and they don't sit quite as nicely. But they're still cute dolls (they are from the Comfy Princess line, from Ralph Breaks the Internet)



Oddly enough, I feel a little better after taking the time to do that.