Alice

Without even realising it, I'd gone & inflicted some kind of gender bias on poor Jarvis! 

Alice is a bit of a national treasure - she was my Mum's doll (her age shall remain anonymous for that reason!), and she was mine when I was wee. She bears the scars of my uncle stabbing her with a pair of scissors when he was a little boy - complete with a plaster to help her get better. I vaguely remember her going off to the 'doll hospital' when I was little to get some kind of malady fixed up, but I'll have to check with mum to find out just what ailed her ;) Anyway, she's a great doll, and before Jarvis was born she helped me with working out just how to get nappies onto a (pseudo) baby. 

A couple of weeks ago, Jarvis emerged from his room cradling Alice in his arms, kissing her on the cheek and saying 'Oh, bubba! Mama, my bubba!'. I felt dreadful - I'd never actually thought about delving into the cupboard of mysterious crap  treasures and bringing her out for Jarvis to play with! Terrible! 

Right now Alice is sitting on my knee (Jarvis saw her picture on the computer and thought she'd quite like to see herself on the screen), after playing a few games with Jarvis, eating some toast, and having her hair brushed & her face washed. He even invites her to take part in his dare devil stunts - and even I don't get to participate in those activities. 

First thing this morning, when he spied the digger out on the driveway (it's all go 'round here, they're replanting a section of the vineyard), he took Alice out & explained the digger to her ('Alice, digger, trailer, wheel, woof woof, mow mow ears (also known as safety ear muffs) tractor), then sat her in the wheelbarrow while they watched for a bit. So lovely!  Gender bias be gone, Alice has emerged from the wardrobe. And, come Christmas, she'll have a buddy called Little Emil ;) And a fab tractor (thanks, one day sales...) with a trailer for them both to ride in. 

Today's photos coming at you from the most ancient digital camera of them all!

I bought this baby in 2002, when I lived in South Korea. It has huge 2mp resolution, 3x zoom, and an actual viewfinder (which would have been pretty helpful in the pentax when the screen smashed...). It actually seems to work better than the old canon, so until the lumix returns from its extended hospital stay (please get well soon, camera!), it seems this might be my photo-taking machine! 

Have a happy day, all!