If it could be this quiet every day, then my only complaint would be the lack of space. Well, that and the weather. Just when summer finally arrived, we slipped right back into winter. It’s been in the 60s and we’ve even had some rain. It probably won’t warm up again for another week, but we’re still saving money because it hasn’t gotten cold enough to need the heater fired back up. I’ve been sleeping at night too, when it’s coldest. I’m just using the electric portable heater for now.

Got a surprise win, though it was just an anime DVD. Neither of us was interested in it, so it went straight to my unwanted wins pile.

I looked out the kitchen window and already I can see she’s starting to pile more bags up back there, and I wonder this: if Bill hadn’t come around when he did, how far would she go with this stockpiling thing? How many bags would end up back there? And what is so hard about bringing them to the dumpster? She does know she’s allowed to use it and she used to use it when we first moved in, so why she would refuse to put them in there after Bill spoke to her about it is beyond me. I guess it’s just a Western thing. Ask or tell a Westerner to go right, they go left. At least she’s quiet other than the occasional door-slamming.

Ok, now for the surprising news, then I’ll get to Denise, the mannequin. I was looking out the front window when I saw a snake a few feet in front of the truck! I got good pictures of it. It was about 3’ long with diamondback-like markings and a tail that tapered off to a skinny point like a king snake. Because it had no rattle or triangular head, I’d say it wasn’t poisonous. It was so brave when I walked up to it. Birds were curious about it, but wouldn’t get any closer than a few feet. It moved very slowly towards the road and I thought it would be dumb enough to go into the street and get killed, but instead it went around the side of the truck facing the street and curled up in the grassy area between the road and the utility pole. I caught the mailman and warned him about it in case it is harmful. I asked, but he said he didn’t know what it was. I’ll bet the guy’s gonna be really paranoid from now on. You could tell he was scared, but not Tom and I. We’re probably the only two crazy people here that went looking for it and taking its picture. He didn’t see it because he was still at work. It had moved on by the time he got in. He’ll still have to watch out for that and the ants she brings in when he mows. I never thought I’d see a snake smack dab in the middle of the city. I joked about feeding it any mice the filthy slob may also bring in, and as Tom pointed out, that may be why it’s here. I know she had mice when we first moved in because Bill told Tom he set up traps in her little dump.

Denise came Friday, the same day Rebecca, who I’m really glad I didn’t get, would’ve arrived. Denise isn’t quite as nice as Ashley, but she’s really close. When I first pulled her out, I thought her face was kind of plain with what we both agreed was one weird eye color. It was like a cross between gold and olive. I don’t know what the hell it was, but very slowly and carefully, I redid her face and can’t believe how good it came out! I was worried until it was done because it wouldn’t have been that easy to fix had I fucked up. I thought the lips were light pink, but once again, what you see online isn’t necessarily what you see in person, depending on how different people have their computer colors and contrasts set. It almost looked like she didn’t have any lipstick on at all, so I used pink chrome nail polish to make the perfect shade of shiny light pink lipstick that goes great with her overall coloring. Then I took a brown eyeliner pencil and darkened her eyes. Like it or not, after trying all the wigs on her, I could see that she was definitely meant to be a blond. She looks best in the blond wig, as well as with her eyes darkened. Usually, the brown eye/blond hair combo doesn’t look good, but she looks great with it, plus the pink lips. The long layered wig she enclosed is a darker shade of blond than the yellowy blond wig, which is the one I’ve got on her now. Its fine, wispy strands look so pretty against her hot pink top.

She looks a little younger than Ashley. Ashley looks to be in her late 20s, but this one looks like she’s early 20s, maybe even around 18.

The only thing I don’t get is why they didn’t bother putting bottom eyelashes on her. No big deal, cuz it’s something I can always pick up for next to nothing, though it is weird. And why is it always a case of overkill on the eyelashes they do put on them and regular dolls? Not even mine are that long! I might trim down the top ones, though they look good from a distance. They didn’t even put blush on her, but that’s another easy thing I could do myself if I wanted to. She’s almost as pale as Ashley, but she’s not as shiny and so I think that looks more realistic. Her feet are a little better detailed, too.

I polished both her finger and toenails in purple chrome. She doesn’t have pierced ears, so she’s not wearing any earrings. Just a necklace, bracelets, and a beaded ring that came with one of the dolls. Ashley’s gold pumps fit her better, so she’s wearing them. I figured they were both a size 8. I think that’s pretty standard for mannequins as is the 3” heel height. On Friday I’ll be getting Ashley shoes in black. I may get either wedges or wide heels like dancing shoes tend to have.

She was hard as hell to dress because most of the tops billow out in front what with the way she’s sitting hunched over. She might be slightly skinnier than Ashley. Her arms and fingers seem to be. Anyway, I decided she looked best in a purple skirt with pink and gold and a short-sleeved pink half-shirt.

Fortunately, she’s just as light as Ashley at just under 30 pounds. I think the reason I thought she’d be heavier is because of the 41 pounds she was listed as being at a site that was selling her with a seat. Well, that seat would’ve added weight. Perhaps they really are both fiberglass, though they sure seem like some type of plastic.

She’s sitting in the living room by my computer in the plastic lawn chair that was first my office chair and then the kitchen chair. I could roll my new office chair into the kitchen if I really wanted to, but until we have a real dining table, I just eat at my desk. She freaked Tom out a few times till he got used to her presence when he came out of his room and into the kitchen. From there you can see the back and side of her and it looks just like a person’s sitting there. Ashley, who’s now in the bedroom, did that to me too, at first. They do look very lifelike! If someone had shown me pictures of these mannequins 5 years ago and told me that one cost just under $300 and the other just over $200, I never would’ve believed it. Getting one for under $450 was unheard of and the faces sucked. The bodies were always pretty realistic, but they simply didn’t have the faces they do now.

Sometimes it’s the outfits you least expect that end up looking the best on them because you just can’t tell what looks best till you try it on them, but I was right in assuming Denise wouldn’t look as good in swimwear being posed the way she is.

I’ve turned into such a mannequin junkie and I cannot get that Asian one out of my mind or the one that looks downward! They were really beautiful and would cost about $500 together like these two did. If I got them I’d want to see close-ups of the faces first, and it wouldn’t be till sometime next year.

I both love and hate this house. I hate it cuz it’s so small, tilted, old and ugly, but I love it because it saves us money.