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. ❤

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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!

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View of the train station from our window. 🙂

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

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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.

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Places to rest and reflect nearby.

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

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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. 🙂

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The River Seine. ❤

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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.

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

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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!

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

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Getting closer to the Tower!

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So massive!

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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! 🙂

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

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

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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…

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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! 🙂

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The gorgeous domed ceiling of stained glass.

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Another view….what a way to shop! ❤

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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!

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A Paris view ❤

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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.

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Sacre Coeur. ❤

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Another view of Paris.

imageTricia with a fantastic view of Paris behind her. 🙂

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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. ❤

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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”

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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.

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

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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!

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Colorful and varied tights from Petrana.

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Amazing cardigan knitted by Linda Simpson.

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Colorful toddler coat by Judith of Dollydoodles.

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Pretty play set for Sasha by Dollydoodles.

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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.

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

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

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

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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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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………………………………

 

 

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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!

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Close up shoe photo.

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

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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. 🙂

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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. ❤

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Janet’s outfit that she wore at the SCW.

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Lovely steel blue corduroy dress by Irene and leather shoes.

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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. ❤

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A close up of Janet and Fergus. ❤

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

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A close up of the ostrich. 🙂

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

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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! 😉

 

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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

 

 

 

 

Heaven in England – Part 4

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The Sasha Celebration Weekend (SCW)

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We arrived at Eastwood Hall on a beautiful day!

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Janet looks very happy to be there!  The trip from her house was an easy one. 🙂

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A strange photo but I love that tree in the distance.

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The lobby where we entered already shows signs of a special Sasha event.  Theresa was already very engaged in wonderful decorating of Sherwood Forest and a few merry men.  She was also providing friendly car services for travelers. 🙂

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Lovely program for the SCW. I managed to get it home without folding it. 🙂

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A wonderful time ahead for us all.

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I was so very happy to meet Kendal after years of writing back and forth on blogs, it was a dream come true for me.  I was thrilled to have a part in setting up Kendal’s Sasha brood display. ❤

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Kendal and her lovely daughter Chon.  Many thanks to Chon for her super assistance in bringing Kendal and her stunning Sasha dolls to the SCW and helping to unpack and display them.  So beautifully done! 🙂

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My photos were taken at different times during the set up of the Kendal’s Sasha Brood.

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Little Miss Nobody, I think! 🙂

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Clarise or Gertie 2. ❤

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So many stunning, gorgeous Sasha dolls.  I was in Sasha heaven’ ❤

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Miss Lippy looking quite wonderful and I really liked the special pine cones Kendal placed here and there.  Lovely neutral and yet natural display background for her Brood. ❤

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Fabulous no navels 🙂

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Clarise or Gertie 2.  Wonderfully painted by Janet. ❤

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It was wonderful to see Kendal’s studio dolls to include her studio bebe plus her lovely course doll. 🙂

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Eastwood Hall tree

While walking around the premises with Janet, we came upon Dee and Paul taking photos by a fabulous tree that I had noticed through a window while walking inside of the Hall.  I asked Dee if she would take a tree photo for me since I had left my phone/camera in the room and here it is!  Thank you Dee!  What a fabulous tree! ❤

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Lovely antique paper dolls donated by Ann Chandler for a silent auction.  So nice to see the cake pops again! 🙂

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A beautifully wrapped present from Kendal to me.  Thank you Kendal! ❤

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Inside is a wonderful box of chocolates with Gertie’s photo on the box top. How thoughtful! 🙂

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I love this box and will keep it with my special Sasha gifts. ❤

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The chocolates were delicious and Rick enjoyed them too! 🙂

imageA photo of the instructions to assemble the marionette in DollMum’s workshop.  The plastic lid was a work surface to use glue when needed.  I loved having the detailed instructions which gave me confidence that I could do it however, I still needed some individual attention from DollMum and she graciously provided me assistance.  Great fun and Finn loves the marionette! ❤

I was able to make a quick Sasha mask and to sew a button on Jane’s knitted bag but do not have photos of them.  Sadly, I missed Emma’s shoe workshop and Judith’s play mat workshop.  All of the workshops were wonderful and many thanks to all of the ladies for donated their time and talent to conduct them. 🙂

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Not the best lighting but some random photos of the dolls in the back of our meeting room.

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My Gertie dressed in a new outfit made by Janet.  I think it is Dee’s wonderful Jamie next to her on her left and Ann Chandler’s Rachel on her right side.  The beautiful brunette Gotz girls holding the marionette belongs to Janet. 🙂

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The Sherwood Forest display early before everyone arrived.

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Janet made these fabulous course doll outfits and you may recognize my Mary who is Maid Marion above.  I love the costumes!

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Peek-a-boo, I see you there among the leaves! 😉

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Janet’s brood. ❤

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I think most of these lovely children belong to Diane Duke. 🙂

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Congratulations Jonny!  He won the last raffle item which is a fantastic customized Sasha by Janet.  A wonderful way to end the raffle time which was all very enjoyable.

I think everyone there won a prize or two and it was such fun to watch the happy faces of those while they were selecting their prizes.  I loved that time together. ❤

I realize now looking at my photos and comparing them to other blog posts that have already been posted about the SCW, that I certainly have some major gaps in my coverage of the events.  I think I was so very focused on meeting everyone and enjoying the time together, that I did not always think about the camera.  I hope you have enjoyed seeing these photos too. 🙂

I had the very best of times at Eastwood Hall and experiencing the events of the SCW.  I will always remember my special visit to Nottingham and meeting so many of my dear Sasha friends. ❤ xxx

note:  I will post photos next on the blog of the sales room purchases. 🙂