Tuesday, 27 May 2008

moan and groan.

Man I HATE ebay sniping. HATE.
It's destroyed the fun in ebay for me that's for sure.
:( I don't mean to offend anyone who does this, I just can't stand the method itself (not the people).
I can sit there watching the auction close and because my internet is not as fast as the US I have no chance of revising my bid in time. I had 6 seconds to go, I pressed 1 click bid and it told me the auction had already closed?! there must be some sort of weird delay because there was no way it took 6 seconds to load. *sigh* hahaha and I REFUSE to use a sniping service. Maybe I should accept that it is the only way to win these days.

Sunday, 11 May 2008

Who needs a title?


I have been a bit slack with updating this week. My dad got a call last Sunday from his mum in Australia about his father who has emphysema. She didn't think he had very long left, maybe a week or two. Dad decided we should all go over to see him straight away so the next day we got on a plane to Sydney. We were only there two days but it wore me out. I hate travelling, even short plane trips. 3hr40min to Sydney and 2hrs40 back to Auckland. I have NO clue why its an hour quicker on the way back..maybe something to do with head winds *shrug*. Anyway, he was pretty bad..could hardly breathe, couldn't leave the bed etc. Me and my sister were never close to him (I only met him 3 or 4 times) but even so, it's horrible to see anyone dying.. I know my dads struggling with it a lot. He is still alive but really it's just a matter of waiting for the call :/ The whole situation is very sad.. He re married a lovely Filipino woman about 10 years ago, she had a son who was my age. About 5 years ago he committed suicide and left a tape basically blaming my grandfather. It is true my granddad was quite hard on him but he was an elderly sick man who shouldn't have had to put up with the carry on my cousin put him through... he was into drugs/petty crime etc. always in trouble. Anyway she left him shortly afterwards so he has been on his own for the last few years. It really breaks my heart to think of him lying there all alone all day.. but there really isn't much we can do. He is a very stubborn man and does not like help.. my dad did however organise for health workers to come in twice a day so that's a little bit of piece of mind that he's being looked after.

Sorry for the personal blabber, it's good to get that off my chest though.

It's been very slow doll wise since my massive haul the other week. I am pretty sure most of you saw those pics over on flickr but here it is (above) just in case.
As you can see I received that box of dollies i'd been waiting on. How amazing is that blonde haired kimono beauty? Seriously cute.

I have some other Kimono girls on the way.. mail seems to be taking longer than normal for some reason. I am still waiting for things I paid for around 28th/29th April.. I guess that's only 2 weeks but i'm impatient! I guess if I want things fast I should cough up for Priority which in my opinion is a total freaking rip off. Who wants to pay $10-$15 extra (or even $25-30 for express) just to receive something maybe 2 or 3 days quicker.. I will just sit and stare at the mailbox I think ;) Here is a sneak peak at those girls. Sorry about the terrible auction photos, some sellers need to invest in a decent camera (web cam auction photos = seriously lame)!



In addition to the lovely Japanese girls I am also waiting on these lovelies..
The Aboriginal doll is really interesting... It said on the auction it was a brownie downing doll. I am not 100% sure if that was their guess or if it has a label or something on the bottom to indicate this. If it is I will be surprised as they normally go for a LOT more than what I paid.
I just love the little kangaroo. I've never seen a pose doll like this before (nor do I have many boys) so I was keen to add him to my collection. Although I suppose he could even be a she? hmm I am guessing a little boy though.

Recently the only auctions I seem to be able to win are buy nows lol lucky finds that I spot before anyone else. Actual auctions keep ending in bidding wars and well I can't spend anywhere near as much as some people so I always end up losing. I did win a little gypsie girl (right) but I feel really bad about it as I somewhat stole her off Renee (sorrrrryyyy :/) I always feel really guilty when I know one of you girls are already bidding so I hardly ever compete nowadays. It's only on the really amazing auctions I just have to have a go at (and we all know who normally wins those ;P) I am now on a tight budget so no more sprees for me. The extremely wonderful Annette (from japanesesweetshop.com) has been helping me out with some non ebay doll purchases which I need to save my $ for too.

I did manage to win this doll lot (herman peckers I think)



I just have to say that the fellow 'vintage japan' doll collectors i've "met" through flickr are just the best bunch of ladies ever! I am so glad to know you guys. I enjoy corresponding so much with people of like mind. I think we are all a little bit nuts lol and I say that in a totally positive way of course ;)

I am very keen on getting myself some vintage japanese paper items. I just LOVE the graphics. Here is my first acquisition


Ok now that i've rambled on about my recent finds... I am happy to announce my 3 dolly treat bags sold pretty much straight away which i'm really happy about! Gretchen and Linda (who I know) and Jana whom I am yet to speak with but I see she is a shop66 dolly customer so she must have good taste ;)



I still have quite a few postcards and stickers left so will be making more packs up real soon. I am just waiting for another order of different designs. I also need to find some cute little dolly bits and pieces for them, it's quite a challenge to find lightweight tiny things in bulk that fit with the theme.

Because of time constraints I haven't had a chance to whip up new tshirt designs yet but plan on doing some tonight. Thanks Renee and Annette for being my first printfection customers!