Playing with Barbie

James has gone to the li-berry to see a Move-On movie and I am staying home to play with Barbie. Last time I was up in the barn I found a box of dolls and clothing, all the things my sister and I played with when we were little, covered in some sort of seed and fluff left by some small rodent. Elizabeth has asked me if I had seen this stuff a few times and I knew it would just get tossed if I didn't grab it...

Most of our Barbie stuff came from yard sales. There are 3 Western Barbie outfits but only one doll, the blue eyeshadowed winking action barely working. Outfits my grandmother made for us out of her old flannel nightgown and the legwarmers she knit, roller skates and the Barbie Dream Store, a horse carrier and dog bed... Pillars and the elevator to the town house, but I can't find the floors or back. Lots of heels and go-go boots.

Elizabeth's favorite Barbie was the one with the bangs and the long hair. She is here with just a few spots on her legs, in a Sunshine Family dress that barely fits over her curves. One of my favorites, a princess with a crown permanently atatched to her head, also fared well. Black Barbie's hair is a little much for me to handle right now. I thought we had a ton of Barbies but there are only 5 or 6 now, lined up on my kitchen counter after a thorough bath. There isn't a single Ken here. Maybe there's another box in the barn.

Clothes in the sink, some will make it into a gentle wash in the machine. Pink satin dresses, the first we had, and mini skirts made from my mother's short dresses of the sixties. Orange dress with frills much like Orange Blossom from Strawberry Shortcake would wear and a yellow and white lace number in four or five pieces to layer. Our Barbies would give Xtina a run for her fashion money.