mountainmullins

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!

Heaven in England – Part 7 (last of the holiday posts)

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Note: I am barely able to get in my final post of the trip to England before leaving for Rochester but here it is!

A lovely view from Tricia’s window. The day after the Paris trip, we spent a delightful morning at home. ❤

We had time to play dolls! 🙂

I was up pretty early that morning and the light was dim for photos. It was so nice to have some leisure time. Finn looks very tired but Janet, the brunette NP purchased at the SCW, and sweet Mary, a Sasha course doll, were both very perky and ready to play. 🙂

We went that afternoon to visit the fabulous Great Foster’s for afternoon tea. It is located on Stroude Road, Egham, Surrey. So very, very nice! ❤

http://www.greatfosters.co.uk/gifts/afternoon-tea/

I did not take photos of the delicious sandwiches and sweet treats and the fabulous tea that Tricia and I enjoyed but I did take photos of the beautiful grounds surrounding the area. ❤

So very beautiful. 🙂

Very peaceful and it is a serene experience to walk in the garden area and observe all of the beauty. A wonderful exercise to do after eating so very well. ❤

I understand the Charlie Chaplain once lived in this magnificent estate.

Lovely gardens. ❤

These sculptures seem to say “quack quack” to me! 😉

On Wednesday, May 18th, we took a train into London. We were meeting Ann Chandler later that day and so we decided to go early and shop! We went to several stores to include Liberty of London! 🙂

A very grand store. I loved everything in it. ❤

Tricia and I enjoyed tea and a cheese board. 🙂

Beautiful architecture. 🙂

Later that day, at the train station, while waiting on Ann to arrive, Tricia and I observed Platform 9 3/4 that is well known in the Harry Potter books. It was fun to watch the children have their photos taken. 🙂

A great time! After Ann arrived, we return to Tricia’s house and had a wonderful home cooked dinner. Tricia is an excellent cook!

The flight leaving Heathrow Airport, and flying to the States, left very early the next morning on May 19th. I was sad to leave my friends and sad to leave the beautiful country of England. I loved my time spent there and will always treasure it in my heart.

For those of you that have followed the blog, you know that this was my first trip to England and that I had the very best of times during my time in your beautiful country. Thanks to everyone for your lovely comments and it was so wonderful to finally meet many of you in person during this time. You made it a perfect holiday. ❤

I flew from London to Boston and flew on to Columbus, Ohio. Columbus is a 3 hour drive from my house. On my return drive, I crossed the Ohio River and noticed a tow boat pushing a few loaded coal barges upstream. A nice, and normal welcome home view. 🙂

Ricky

The very best welcome home view ever was seeing my dear husband, Rick, waiting at the end of the driveway when I arrived. I am very blessed. ❤ xxx

I want to add this photo of Finn and Gertie admiring their souvenir that I brought back from Paris….an Eiffel Tower key chain!!! I absolutely love Finn’s France shirt and Gertie’s Eiffel Tower dress made by the very talented Sharon Humphreys. Thank you again Sharon! ❤

Lastly, this is one of my favorite memories of England and commuting through many train stations during my stay. I absolutely love this phrase “Mind the gap”. A delightful warning and what a perfect way to remind people to be careful. ❤

Heaven in England (Paris) – Part 6

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Tricia and I left very early for Paris, France. It was on Monday, May 16th and we departed her home about 6:00 am and returned that night around midnight. It was 18 hours in paradise!

Before arriving in England, Tricia made our travel arrangements and she asked me what
I would like to see on that day in Paris. 🙂

I really had no particular ideas but listed a church, the Eiffel Tower, have a good meal, and to see art. Tricia guided me through Paris and together, we checked all the boxes I listed and more. Thank you Tricia for an experience that I will always treasure. ❤

Tricia purchased our Eurostar tickets and we boarded the train in London. We traveled under the English Channel and emerged on the other side in France. Wonder of wonders!

View of the train station from our window. 🙂

Upon our arrival in Paris, Tricia obtained our local transportation tickets and we made our way to the Notre Dame Cathedral. ❤

The Notre Dame Cathedral behind me. As you can see, I traveled only with a fanny pack around my waist and kept my hands free during the trip which turned out to be a really good idea. All photos were taken by my cell phone camera.

Places to rest and reflect nearby.

The police department adjacent to the Notre Dame Cathedral. I was so impressed at the beauty of the architecture and those amazing doors!

Another photo of the police department building from a distance. We have quite a few law enforcement officers in our family and they really enjoyed seeing these photos. 🙂

The River Seine. ❤

We walked along the River and saw this tour boat passing by. It would be fun to partake of this tour if you had more time to stay in Paris.

We then walked and I took a random photo of the lovely streets and alleys in Paris.

Tricia and I had a fantastic lunch sitting outdoors at a sidewalk café. There were many choices of restaurants and we selected a good one. Tricia ordered the food since she speaks French and I do not. My sandwich was delicious and that is mushrooms that you see peeking out underneath the toppings. Yummy salad plus French fries of course!

After lunch, we caught a train to see the Eiffel Tower. ❤

Getting closer to the Tower!

So massive!

There were a lot of people touring the Eiffel Tower. As you can see, the clouds were dark though the rain held off until later when we left and caught a bus. We were very fortunate not to get wet that day! 🙂

I took several photos from the bus window of Paris street scenes.

The bus was very crowded and I stood for a while which made me glad my hands were free. Look at the amazing architecture! 🙂

Beautiful statue. This photo is odd, I am not certain why there is a black hashed line and figures too. I hope you can look past those images. Interesting though…

We exited the bus and went to the most amazing department store called Galeries Lafayette. Tricia and I stopped to enjoy tea and a pastry and the area we sat in provided this amazing view of the interior of the store. Remarkable! 🙂

The gorgeous domed ceiling of stained glass.

Another view….what a way to shop! ❤

While there, we made use of the powder room and this is the view from the powder room window! I could not resist taking a couple of photos!

A Paris view ❤

Our next stop was a very special church…a blessed place called the Sacre Couer Basilica and dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Sacre Couer is located at the summit of the butte Montmartre and is the highest point in Paris. ❤

This is the view standing in the area leading up to Sacre Couer.

Sacre Coeur. ❤

Another view of Paris.

Tricia with a fantastic view of Paris behind her. 🙂

When we entered the Sacre Coeur, the statue of the beloved Saint Therese, the Little Flower, greeted us. At that point, I experienced what I can only describe as a watershed moment on a spiritual or interior level. It was so powerful and yet so comforting and I knew in my heart that I was blessed to visit this holy place, Sacre Coeur, God is there. ❤

We were able to attend Mass while there and my feet did not touch the ground. There was no thought of taking photos. After leaving the Sacre Coeur, Tricia and I walked the adjacent streets nearby and nibbled on a crepe made for us “to go” and we watched the artists drawing portraits of people posed in front of them. Amazing artistic abilities and so interesting to observe.

We left the Montmartre area by taxi in order to return to the train station on time and catch our train back to London. Once back in London, we caught a train to Tricia’s house and the robust day of our Paris events came to a happy end. A day like no other! 🙂

p.s. I have one more post to make of the heavenly time spent in England. I hope to post it before the Sasha Festival begins. I will try! Thank you for visiting! 🙂 xxx

Brigitte sends Love to You from Sasha Shangri-La

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A pretty post showing Brigitte wearing a summer play frock. Brigitte wants to reach out in love to all of her friends and especially those residing in the UK and Europe. ❤

An indoor photo taken with dim lighting due to three days of rain storms and raining still. We had baseball sized hail hurled at us on the first storm day. A first time for me to see hail that large and formidable. However, we are thinking of you today with a sunny heart and mind and rising above the current events in our world. 🙂

Note: please accept my sincere apologies for the delayed blog responses both on my blog and yours. I hope to catch up in the next day or so. Have a blessed weekend. 🙂 xxx

Happy Father’s Day

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Happy Father’s Day to all of our “fathers” in our lives. Have a blessed day everyone. ❤ xxx

Note: The tall boy on the left is an early cloth doll made by Kathe Kruse and is known as a German grandchild. His name is Freddy. The curly redheaded boy is made of felt and was made by R. John Wright. His name is Scott. The tiny blonde boy is made of felt and was also made by R. John Wright. His name is Cole. Lastly, is the vinyl boy made in 1967 and he is an NP Sasha doll. His name is Finn. I love them all but Finn has my heart completely. ❤

Heaven in England – Part 5

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The Sasha Celebration Weekend (SCW) Findings or also known as “The Loot”

A perfect name tag and the tiny shoes were in our Sasha bags and their Sasha-colored ribbons memorialize the 2nd Sasha Celebration Weekend 2016.

A simply fantastic owl sweater, hat and trousers made by Emma Flood. The display of her hand-made clothing pieces is perfection. 🙂

Diane Duke brought these two amazing mini-Kafee sweaters to the SCW since I had placed a recent order with her. Wonderful in every way!

Colorful and varied tights from Petrana.

Amazing cardigan knitted by Linda Simpson.

Colorful toddler coat by Judith of Dollydoodles.

Pretty play set for Sasha by Dollydoodles.

Red t-shirt by Dollydoodles. The knitted socks were made by Jane Woodward and I bought another pair which I could not locate. I think they are on a Sasha though.

Two pairs of much needed handsome trousers and a lovely sweater made by Lorraine.

Gorgeous smocked dress and pinafore for a Studio or Course doll and made by Marilyn Hotchkiss. They fit perfectly!

Lovely smocked goose dress for Sasha also made by Marilyn Hotchkiss.

Upon my arrival at Janet’s house, she had ready made several wonderful outfits that I had requested. This outfit worn by Gertie was made by Janet to include her knitted stripy socks.

Close up view. I think this outfit is perfect for Gertie to wear most days. 🙂

Janet made this outfit and Gertie wore it to the SCW.

Janet made this lovely Maid Marian outfit for my course doll, Mary.

Janet made these lovely pieces to go with Mary’s original dress.

Gwennie is modeling her “new” Sasha original tagged dress and the wonderful knitted cardigan and hat made by Janet.

A close up photo of my Gwennie. Thank you dear Janet. ❤

Brigitte is modeling the new cardigan and matching beret for us today. Janet knitted them for us.

I could not resist adding Janet’s Studio Doll Project book to my cherished Sasha book collection. ❤

Well, you might be asking, did you buy a Sasha doll. Well, yes I did and I am so thrilled to add this precious girl to the Sasha Shangri-La family. I am happy to introduce…..drum roll please………………………………

Please meet Janet a very lovely side part brunette NP made in 1967 and with non-falling hair! She is wearing a new outfit and her Rosie Bloom shoes were selected by me at the SCW raffle. Fabulous shoes! Her dress was donated by Jackie Kraemer and was also selected at the SCW raffle. While visiting with Tricia afterwards, we noticed the sleeves were a bit big for these petite girl. So, Tricia created juliette-styled sleeves by sewing gathers in places. I love the look, thank you Tricia!

Close up shoe photo.

Close up photo of Janet. Who is that? Tucked under her arm???

It is Fergus and a simply wonderful bear. Fergus was a gift from a dear Sasha friend and given to me at the SCW. I love him!!! Janet immediately bonded with Fergus too and they are now inseparable. Fergus has helped her adjust to her new home. 🙂

I saw Janet on the first day of the SCW but the owner was unsure about whether to part with her. On the last day, Sunday, the owner brought the doll over to where Janet and I were sitting and we both were admiring the doll. I shyly asked if she had decided whether to part with her and she said yes! So Janet came home with me to join our Sasha family. I did rename this lovely girl because Janet just seemed like the perfect name for her. ❤

Janet’s outfit that she wore at the SCW.

Lovely steel blue corduroy dress by Irene and leather shoes.

Janet’s drawstring travel bag was gifted by the previous owner and it is the softest linen with hand embroidery to include a heart. Just so wonderful. ❤

A close up of Janet and Fergus. ❤

After returning home, we unwrapped Finn’s ostrich marionette and we were so happy it made it back in one piece. Well designed DollMum! 🙂

A close up of the ostrich. 🙂

A beautiful outfit by Frances Tricket I selected at the raffle.

A thoughtful gift from Kendal and I think I did see her passing these out to the group. Bronson has his eye on these toys! 😉

Gifts from Janet and she picked them up at the pound table during the SCW. Very nice vintage handbags!

As a note, I packed for this trip very lightly. I had one carry on bag and one brief case which served to hold the dolls and my handbag items. I did this because I had a very tight connection in the airport coming back which would not be possible if I had checked luggage. I proceeded by looking up on the internet how to pack for 10 days using carry on luggage and it really helped to downsize and pack properly. However, once I added the lovely new Janet, my Mary that had been staying with Janet since I adopted her from Shelly’s site, plus all of the items above, I no longer had room for everything. I left Mary with Tricia who will bring her next month to the Festival. Mary is happily visiting with Tricia’s doll family. Also, I left a couple of purchases and some clothing at Janet’s house and some items at Tricia’s house too. I was prepared to mail them back to me but Tricia and Janet have room for these things since they want to have room for their Festival purchases that must return in the luggage. At the end of the day, it all sorted out nicely and I was able to catch that plane out of Boston on the way home. 🙂

Janet waterlogue

A waterlogue image of Janet for you to see. Thank you for visiting Sasha Shangri-La today and the next post will cover the amazing trip with Tricia to Paris, France! 🙂 xxx

Sasha Shangri-La

Ginger's Sasha Sanctuary

Author Archives: mountainmullins

About mountainmullins

Heaven in England – Part 7 (last of the holiday posts)

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Heaven in England (Paris) – Part 6

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Brigitte sends Love to You from Sasha Shangri-La

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Happy Father’s Day

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Heaven in England – Part 5

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About mountainmullins

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