Author Archives: mountainmullins

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About mountainmullins

Sasha doll collector primarily plus other interesting dolls. I inheirited my love of dolls from my dear Mother and also her collection. My first Sasha doll was Gwennie, a redheaded studio doll. Since Gwennie, I have collected other Sasha dolls and love their individual personalities created by their eye painting, hair color and styling, and dressing them. It is such fun to share with other collectors!

A Most Happy Return to England

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I left the States on May 4th of this year by flying from Charleston, WV to Atlanta, Georgia and from Atlanta to Amsterdam, Netherlands and from there to Birmingham, England. I arrived on Friday, the morning of May 5th, and was cheerfully greeted by Diane Duke. Thankfully, my hostess ensured that the first day was a restful one and then later that evening we walked to the local pub for a most tasty dinner of soup and fish and chips and dessert. I had wanted to eat fish and chips since I left England last year and my expectations were met…yummy! 😊

On Saturday, we visited the grand estate named Althorp, home of the Earl of Spencer and family and steeped in a long and rich family history. I was excited to visit the home where Princess Diana was raised and found myself thinking of what it must have been like to grow up in a grand place such as Althorp. And how Althorp was woven into the tapestry of the person she became.  I still mourn the loss of Princess Diana and I am grateful to have visited her childhood home though its grandeur was hard to take in in its entirety. Diane had our admission tickets ready and we toured the interior rooms of Althorp guided by a most competent tour guide.  The many rooms were beautiful and held ornate furnishings and the walls were graced with artwork accumulated over the passing of time. I was in awe. Outside, it was an overcast and chilly day though we managed to avoid the heavy raindrops.

Upon our arrival we received this handy tote bag and informative flyer.  It was a wonderful event. 😊

Photos of cheerful vendors flanking the front entrance way.

I believe this grand building had been the stables.

Next…meeting a very lovely lady. ❤️

On the top of my wish list of things to do while visiting Diane was to meet Granny Peggy. It was wonderful to finally meet her. What a dear and gracious lady. ❤️

Helen joined us for a group photo. Granny Peggy’s room is bright and cheery. I love her poppy curtains. What a special visit. 😊

Next… on Sunday, after church, we visited the Canons Ashby house.

A beautiful gate at Canons Ashby in Northhamptonshire. You can see the lovely gardens beyond. Canons Ashby is owned by the National Trust.

The walkway leading to the house.

A lovely view from the upstairs windows.

My indoor photos were all taken in the children’s room where evidence of play was clearly seen. It was my favorite room. 😊

A sampler was nice to see.

The Canons Ashby is constructed using beautiful yellow sandstone.  Inside, there was a very impressive art collection and furnishings.

I took most of the photos outdoors because the day was so lovely and the gardens so nice to see. 😊

A special church can be seen in the distance. I love a terraced garden. What a beautiful place and what a fantastic day we had visiting Canons Ashby. ❤️

 

An area where a fire 🔥 would be lit and people can gather around.

Diane capturing photos of a proud and handsome rooster.   😊

A welcoming pathway leading to the church. ❤️

A most beautiful church. ❤️

A beautiful and moving wall monument in memory of John Turner Dryden.

A unusual tree beside the church.

We had a very nice break and enjoyed a pot of tea and scones.  It was a such a special day and I loved visiting this part of England and spending time with Diane, a most gracious hostess. 😊

The next post will be our visits to the Cotswolds and Stratford-upon-Avon. I do enjoy writing these posts that allow me to revisit these happy days. ❤️ xxx

 

 

Exciting Additions Before the Trip to England

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I  want to introduce a few new members of the Sasha family that were adopted before my trip to England and were not shown on the blog. The first is a girl beautifully rerooted by Sarah Williams and her previous Mom was Kendal.  I so wanted a doll that belonged to Kendal and I am thrilled to have her here at Sasha Shangri-La. 😊

She was on Shelly’s site wearing this outfit made by Janet Myhill-Dabbs. So lovely. ❤️

Her hair is so beautiful. I really like the color and it reminded me of my hair when I was young.

Very old photos of me in my teens. The hair color is so close to this girl’s color though my hair was wavy and not straight,

Long, long ago….

Amazing reroot. 😊

Since it is summer, I redressed her in a pretty smocked dress by Molly,  knitted socks, and JJ shoes. Plus a dotted ribbon for her hair. 😊

I was calling her my “mini me” because at the time I adopted her, Janet had introduced on Facebook the idea of Sashas being a “mini me” of ourselves when we were younger. So please meet the most precious Minnie. ❤️

Next………

You might have seen these two photos of a PJ boy for sale on Susanna Lewis’ site earlier this year. These two photos are Susanna’s photos and she was accepting offers for this early, all platinum hair NP boy.  I thought he was fantastic and had seen him in Susanna’s book. I made an offer and happily, I was able to adopt this dear boy. ❤️

I redressed him for the Sasha Festival because he was modeling for Diane Duke’s presentation on her beautiful knitted creations.  His jeans, with the leather knee patches, were made by Pinestreet Studio.

His name is Ferris which means foundation. I thought it was a great name for him since he represents the early NP boys and they were only made in 1967 so he is a foundation boy of all the future Gregors to come.  Finn is so happy Ferris is here! 😊

Redressed again, Ferris is a little shy but Finn offers him a puppy to have for his own. 😊

My sweet platinum NP boys. They are alike but oh, so very different.  I love them!! ❤️

Dreamy. ❤️❤️

Ferris and his pup Fido, along with Finn and Fetch, are all enjoying their day on Cow Creek. 😊

Next……………

Please meet my new studio doll named Anita. I adopted her from Cathy Himmel and she came beautifully dressed in a Ruthsdolls lavender outfit and she also had her original red plaid dress.  I dressed her back in her plaid dress and added the green wool duffle coat which is an original studio coat and tagged. I then plaited her hair and added ribbons. Her head is made of gypsum and she has the “B” body or cloth body that I dearly love. She is an older girl and her painting is nice with her ochre colored eyes. ❤️

The little bear Fergus came along for the ride!  Anita with her hood up! 😊

I found a pair of dark green leather shoes and knitted socks for sweet Anita, a lovely studio girl. ❤️

I hoped you enjoyed meeting Minnie, Ferris, and Anita. I am sorry that my introductions have been delayed especially since I am so happy to have these special Sashas join my Sasha family.  I hope to begin the posts next of the trip overseas and the very happy times I had while traveling.  We all want to  thank you for visiting with us today and wish you a wonderful weekend to come. 😊 xxx

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New Sashas From “A” to “Z”

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A Long Note: Most of you are know that I am very tardy on blog posting and also tardy  with reading/commenting on my dear friend’s blogs. It seems daunting at times about where to start because my normal, logical writings would start with my trip to England.  But these are not normal times.  I have decided to begin with the some recent events and then decide what to post next later on.

Our family is focusing on spending time together and talking about our son Lance. The tears still pour forth even as I write this.💔  I have to say that I am overwhelmed with gratitude by the outpouring of love, kindness, and support from you all. Thank you all so much for caring about me and for caring about us. xxx

The Sasha Festival came up quickly though and I wondered if I had the strength and fortitude to attend…though I knew intellectually it would be fantastic in every way, my heart was here at home with Rick and family and trying to do little things each day to show love to them and some days, help just to get through…

My dear husband, however, encouraged me once again to go and though I cried as I left him and the healing hills of West Virginia, I ventured onward through the Shenandoah Valley, and onto the major concrete artery that led towards Washington DC.  I made my way steadfastly away from home to spend time with dear Sasha friends.  ❤️End of A Long Note ❤️

The 2017 Sasha Festival was held in Washington DC and was titled Forever Young.

A warm welcome from the lovely leaders that organized this most wonderful event.  Thank you so very much Karen, Charla, and Norvell. ❤️

The schedule of events was placed on the back of the book which was brilliant!  No need to search and shuffle pages to know what is next and when it begins …  just pull out the booklet and there it is! 😊

Headings of the booklet’s contents plus there are areas for notes and the attendees directory which is always very helpful. 😊

This post is focusing on two new members to the Sasha Shangri-La family plus the fantastic Festival outfit. I will post other new additions to the family and Festival news soon.

The first new member is Alaine. Alaine means beautiful and I think she is truly a beauty. I adopted her from Laura Ward through a type of doll exchange between us and so my doll Fara is now living with Laura.  It works well. 😊

Please meet Alaine and she is a 1968 fringe girl.  She is wearing the beautiful Festival outfit received at dinner on Saturday evening. It was made entirely by Karen Warnaka and I cannot conceive even making just the socks much less 100 entire outfits! Karen is a most remarkable lady and so very kind too.  The leather shoes were made by the very talented Marti Murphy who was greatly missed at the Festival.  Thank you dear ladies for the dedication of your time and your talent to create such an outfit. ❤️

I took photos of the outfit just out of the box. You can see there were four different styles of outfits and they are shown on the right side of the sheet. I love them all.

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Alaine is wearing the white pants also included and what amazing red socks!

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Socks lovingly tied as a pair.  ❤️

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The beautiful dress that fits perfectly. ❤️

A very fine corduroy material, a gingham trim and the tiniest of buttons. ❤️

Fantastic brown leather shoes by Marti. ❤️

The full outfit on Alaine. I happened to have some red gingham ribbon for her hair. ❤️

The dress secures in the back and is easy to put on and does not mess the hair. 😊

Thank you Alaine for modeling. ❤️

Next is a fantastic Cora reroot with light repainting to her eyes.  A friend kindly brought her to the Festival for me because she knew I was looking for a special Cora.  I have named her Zayna, also meaning beautiful. 😊

Some of you might have seen Zayna on Facebook because people were snapping her photos at the Festival.  I have dressed her in a lovely long white dress with blue embroidery and it was made by Petrana.  Zayna wears blue suede sandals made by Jean Jensen.

Zayna was rerooted and lightly repainted by the very talented Jackie Rydstrom. Her amazing eyes are a deep, smokey blue color and her amazing hair is very wavy, has red highlights, and is very soft. I am smitten with this unique girl. ❤️

A clever and innovative Festival wrist tag was made and gifted to me by the lovely daughter of Julie Wiesler, Emma. I received one last year from Emma in Rochester and it was wonderful to receive one again this year. Thank you Emma! 😊

 

Beautiful hair by Jackie. 😊

 

Zayna and I, along with Alaine, thank you for visiting with us today. We hope you have a blessed day and week to come. 😊 xxx

Post Note: My time spent at the Festival went beyond my expectations and I had the most wonderful and uplifting experiences. I met new people and renewed friendships.  It was so nice to be among friends and so many kindnesses were extended to me.  I am deeply humbled and so grateful for the generosity of spirit and the grace abounding in our Sasha community. ❤️ xxx

 

 

 

Loss and Life on Cow Creek

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Upon my return home from a most fantastic trip to England, Scotland, Italy and Switzerland, I learned of the sudden passing of my stepson.  We are all grieving and mourning the loss of life of one so young and so loved.  Under the veil of sadness, I am grateful for the blessings and love given by family and dear friends during this time.

Life on Cow Creek is ongoing and Rick brought this tiny tree frog inside last weekend so I might see him up close and watch his tiny heart beating.  I want to share it with you as a symbol of life and of hope.

i will post on the blog soon as I do want to share the wonderful places I have been due to the kindnesses and generosities of dear friends and the support of my dear husband.  I am just having difficulty with focusing my mind and my heart is heavy.  Thank you all for understanding. 💔