I watched the new Shonda Rimes series ‘Black Barbie’ on Netflix. I had no clue about the huge difference in the timeline of when a white Barbie hit the shelves and when a ‘black’ Barbie was finally developed, and how much longer it was before a black doll with more realistic features was created. The original black Barbie was just the blonde blue eyed Barbie with chocolate skin.
As a little girl, I never considered what it must be like not having a doll that looked like me, despite the fact that most dolls did NOT look like me. Everyone said I was ‘exotic’ looking and often asked my parents if I were adopted. I was always in the sun in as few clothes as possible and the Cherokee was strong when I was small.
Then when I got old enough to grow my hair, it added to the ‘exotic’ look.
One of the things I found interesting was the show’s description of a Topsy Turvy doll. I found it so interesting because this was the style of an old Appalachian rag doll I had which my mother had bought for me as a child. The doll in the image below is not my actual doll – I am old af and who knows what happened to poor Amy (no clue why I chose the name Amy or why both heads had to share a single name). The hair styles are the same but mine was not crocheted, she was made of the softest printed calico. Each end had a different patterned patchwork dress.
I wonder was it generational to have opposite races on the doll, or was it regional? I do not remember any of the other dolls on sale that day, just mine. My doll had a head with a grey bun on one end and a head with dark brown braids on the other, so I remember being happy that I had a dolly with my own hair colour!
It took me a lot of investigation to discover the name of the place where I bought my Amy or where the festival was! In my childhood memory it was hours and hours of driving along curvy mountain roads and hating the journey, but I have never been good in cars. Meanwhile, once we realised where it was, I see that it is only a couple of hours out of town!
The first outdoor art show was held in 1947 by Fannie Menne at her house on the back of Lookout Mountain, Georgia. The reason that the property had been named Plum Nelly was when her brother-in-law, Louis Marks remarked, “Fannie, your place is plum out of Tennessee and nearly out of Georgia.” I do remember that you parked along the side of the road and walked down to a trail that meandered through the woods of Lookout Mountain. There were stalls all along the path with various home made products for sale. Toys, various cooked bits of food, art, produce, and all manner of fascinating things.
I was about 11 years old when I acquired my beloved Amy doll! If you check Wikipedia, it says that the doll’s heads are usually one black head and one white head, but not always, the dolls can also represent two opposing characters and now I realise the young brunette with the pigtails on mine was supposed to represent the innocent young maiden, and the grey haired doll represented the old crone or grandmother figure, both eras of a woman’s life. Bit deep for 11 year old me. I just loved the soft colourful calico cloth of her dresses and the fact she had 2 heads.
Isn’t it funny the things we remember from our childhoods?
It was my Mom’s birthday this week and we had a family group call. She is still not feeling her best so we did not talk too long. Little Amelia was hilarious. She kept making faces, squealing, waving and generally just performing for the crowd. Mom loved it.
Next month is little Amelia Ray’s first birthday so Caitlin and I are flying down to George for the weekend. I am so excited to see Millie’s beautiful little face as well as Lily, Trevor and Josh of course. I paid half of the cost of this doll house as my birthday gift for her. Obviously she is too small to play with some of the pieces now but she can play with the house.
The other lovely event this week is that I was notified that I am getting an annual increase of 5% of my total salary which is not bad, better than a kick in the pants as they say. I am blessed to be employed in a career I enjoy with a client I love, working remotely. To get paid more? Yes please.
Another thing I wanted to share was ‘The Source’. I was sent a link to watch it while it was still free to stream and I viewed it last weekend. This film blew me away completely. It proves empirically that what I have always believed is actually true, that the power of collective consciousness can heal, or that certain people have the power to tap into this ‘consciousness’ and harness it to heal others. That meditation can result in connection to a higher power or our highest selves (‘My Creator’/’Wakan Tanka’ in my own belief system).
The main doctor to start this healing process was Dr Joe Dispenza. Dr Joe wrote books about the links between meditation and healing from various illnesses. The movie tells about the scientists and physicians who wanted to prove his concept with data and how they did so. It is absolutely fascinating and if I had an illness I would be booking a retreat ASAP!
I hope you manage to watch this film yourselves, if you do please let me know what you think?
Norm and I are off to the theatre this afternoon to see ‘Hollywood’. I love a bit of glitz, glamour and intrigue!
We are going to a matinee cos we are old AF and will probably pop in somewhere near the theatre for dinner and still be home before dark! The theatre is right by the sea and is so quirky and ummmm theatrical. It is my favourite venue.
I hope you all have a lovely relaxing weekend and a fabulous week ahead. Until Next Time Kisses from the Kitten xoxoxoxox
Kitten in the City 