I want to buy a paper doll (part 1)

Librarians are collectors by nature. Its not "do you collect" but "what do you collect." Frequently it is books, but some of us branch out to other treasures. The Extraordinaire has many obsessions, high among them: paper dolls.

Lately she's been admiring the growing number of websites devoted to creating, collecting, and trading these little gems. eBay is a fantastic source too, but the Extraordinaire is always tempted to add to her collection. Look but don't touch (thy credit card) is the mantra she should be following. It's amazing the prices commanded by these little pieces of paper! Fortunately, many are "reasonable," though the Extraordinaire suggests that readers get familiar with the market before jumping in.

A few sites of interest:

Original Paper Doll Artists Guild
http://www.opdag.com/

Paper Doll Review
http://www.paperdollreview.com/catalog/index.php

Paper Dolls.com
http://www.paperdolls.com/

Paper Doll Game for the Fashionista
http://www.paperdollheaven.com/en/

Next: The Extraordinaire's Paper Dolls

Seeing Green

The color green has been on The Extraordinaire's mind a lot lately. Yes, it was recently St. Patrick's Day in all its glory; the world is also in a financial crisis that threatens to trickle down to yours truly as well as others in her circle; global warming continues to make the news too. However, what has taken her mind off of these pressing issues is her recent foray into Martha Stewart-ship and a dinner party given for an out of town friend to celebrate a recent engagement.

Never mind about the food, the table looked FANTASTIC!

Green tablecloth, green Bordallo Pinheiro pottery from Portugal with silver chargers, and a grapevine hanging from the chandelier.

There's a commercial out there where a woman whose Southern accent is thicker than even that of The Extraordinaire's mother (and that's pretty darn Southern) who remarks "I can't cook, but I sure can set a cute table." Fortunately for the guests, the cooking that night was pretty good, but for once there was a feast for the eyes.

Yes this is bragging, but, well, sometimes you've just got to show off and with my track record, this may be the only time such a thing is worthy of sharing!

Another Book-thingy for Organizing Your Reads

As yet another example of how the Extraordinaire is behind the times, yet quickly catching up: yesterday, finally, the facebook application VisualBookshelf appeared onto the radar. A recent joiner of online social networks, Yours Truly has become quite the adapter, albeit a late one, of various add-ons and other nifty services. VisualBookshelf is the latest.

Disappointed that LibraryThing was not so easily integrated into her service of choice, The Extraordinaire discovered that several friends were using something else as part of their Facebook accounts. Fortunately, because the she is, indeed, an Infomatician, ISBNs to thousands of her collection were easily acquired. Though still in the process of updating, the collection has grown and now even includes some of her reviews. Now her friends on Facebook can marvel at the breadth and absurdity of her bookshelves. Hopefully she'll have an opportunity to learn what other people think of the books they've read. Check out her library shelves and she'll happily take a look at yours...

Maple syrup at Pastoral Symphony Farm!

Pastoral Symphony Farm: It's syrup season!

Hear ye, hear ye! For those inclined towards natural sweeteners, the lovely folk at Pastoral Symphony Farm are giving away a pint of homemade maple syrup. All the Extraordinaire need do is remind those down in the part of the country where maple trees don't work properly how expensive maple syrup is in the stores and how insipid it tastes. Fresh syrup, though, is a delight. Enter at your own risk, for the Extraordinare may well come after your prize!