Tricks and Manners

Benjamin's Bedtime Stories

nobody@vox.com(Ruth Wilson) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:06:49 -0700

My father read us bedtime stories at night, and our older sister read to us most anytime. Our favorite book was an old cardboard Whitman number which kept getting re-published under various names and with varying cover art, but which contained sto...

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Deeper into War and Peace (Spoiler Warning)

nobody@vox.com(Ruth Wilson) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:54:47 -0700

"The period in the campaign of 1812 from the battle of Borodino to the expulsion of the French proved that a battle won is not only not the cause of a conquest, but is not even an invariable sign of conquest; it proved that the force that decided ...

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Reading List for Summer

nobody@vox.com(Ruth Wilson) — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 13:55:20 -0700

Someone said May is a month that deserves all of its 31 days. True it may be--but where do they go? I distinctly remember being busy every minute of them but did I accomplish anything? I did not. I have as little to show for this month of May as m...

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Pink Presents

nobody@vox.com(Ruth Wilson) — Thu, 08 May 2008 18:21:25 -0700

Here is the box of birthday surprises that just arrived from my daughter Emily... See, the wonderful thing about having preferences is that people can indulge them for you. If I hadn't finally figured out that deep down, all these many years, I...

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Birthday without Mom

nobody@vox.com(Ruth Wilson) — Wed, 07 May 2008 07:00:35 -0700

Today is my birthday. I like my birthday, both the specific day it falls on and the privilege of growing older. I am 51 and happy about it. This particular birthday is sad too: it's the first one of my whole life that my Mom hasn't been in the w...

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Further Adventures of Penelope

nobody@vox.com(Ruth Wilson) — Sun, 04 May 2008 14:05:34 -0700

Penelope doll has lived in my house without underwear or shoes for 13 years. It's something of a joke with my other dollmaking friends. But even without underclothes and footwear, she is still a charming doll, and my daughter played happily with ...

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The Ballerina Bedspread

nobody@vox.com(Ruth Wilson) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 04:06:35 -0700

When I was a girl, I loved ballet very much. I rarely saw anyone actually dance; I just looked at the pictures of dancers in library books. So ballet to me was a series of beautiful but motionless poses, and I thought that ballerinas could stay o...

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Oh boy! I got an award!

nobody@vox.com(Ruth Wilson) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 03:47:32 -0700

Thanks to Auntie Bunny for choosing my blog for the "Arte y Pico" award! An award for doing a blog that she finds inspiring--what an encouragement to bloggers to be acknowledged in such an exciting way! Auntie Bunny's blog happens to be one that ...

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First Vox Dollmakers' Challenge

nobody@vox.com(Ruth Wilson) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:10:54 -0700

Check out AuntieBunny's posting on her vox blog about the book "How to Make Foreign Dolls and Their Costumes" by Julienne Hallen. (Posting headline is "What to Do, What to Do.") http://auntiebunny.vox.com/ It's a 40s-vintage book whose main doll ...

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Back to dollmaking

nobody@vox.com(Ruth Wilson) — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 19:00:48 -0700

At first I was not very happy with this "Material Girl" pattern, the one I have named "Marisol." But now that she's been lounging around the sewing room for a few weeks (hard for her to do anything but lounge, since she has no head or lower legs),...

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