It’s time to change the school decorations to an autumn theme. I made a lot of paper cutouts and autumn paper cuttings on Cricut. On the podium, I created an autumn landscape, and above the tables in the hall, I hung paper-cut decorations and a garland of leaves, apples, and pumpkins.

This year’s Children’s Book Week at Mariya’s School is dedicated to the past. And I was asked to decorate the entrance to two classes as a medieval castle, and on the stage I tried to decorate the class in the style of an old Dutch school. I liked the result, the children and teachers did too.

I’ve long wanted to buy myself a doll in a wheelchair with a ramp. Mostly because of the wheelchair. Because lately I haven’t been in a hurry to buy blonde classic Barbie dolls for my collection. But today I got a good discount on this doll. To my surprise, this girl with “limited abilities” turned out to be completely flexible, like my yoga practitioners from the 100 poses series. It’s a bit ironic, if you compare her to the other static dolls in the Fashionistas series. She is wearing a light-colored striped blouse with ruffles, stretch blue jeans, and white sneakers. She has sunglasses and yellow watch on her wrist.

The doll itself will go to my niece, who has already broken her blonde yoga Barbie. I hope this doll has a happier fate. And in a wheelchair, we’ll have our fake Teresa sitting on Krutonozhka’s body—she really can’t stand on her own because of her loose joints.

Today I bought a chubby Barbie doll with pink hair on sale. She is wearing a purple sweater, jeans, and yellow moccasins. The set included a ginger cat, a guitar, a sticker-covered suitcase, and travel accessories: a neck pillow, a cosmetic bag, a water bottle, a toothbrush, and toothpaste, a phone, headphones, pink sunglasses, and a camera.

My colleague and friend Danita invited Rostik and me to celebrate her fiftieth birthday. We really wanted to go, but the girls got sick, and until we get the results of our coronavirus tests, we were forced to stay home in isolation. But I prepared a unique gift for her—a crocheted doll (a miniature copy of the birthday girl). The doll plays the role of the winner of Mrs. Woerden 50th competition. I worked on it for a week, sewed her a set of lace lingerie, crocheted a dress, made sandals, decorated her with earrings, a crown, and a winner’s ribbon. The doll held a bouquet of dried flowers in its hands. And also designed the box with her new logo. Danita was delighted and said it was the best gift she had ever received. I liked the result myself, and my colleagues also noticed the resemblance to the original.

Here she is unpacked after vacation, and I finally got around to photographing my new little Moana from Mini Disney Animators. I bought it at Disneyland. Inside the red suitcase were foldable paper decorations with a wave, palm tree, and boat. A piglet, a rooster, a turtle hatchling, a palm leaf, and the heart of the goddess Tofiti were also in the set. The doll looks just like my first little Moana, but they have different hairstyles. The new doll has lovely curly hair, a short cut, like the first doll. I am so happy that I managed to find and buy a new version of this wonderful little thing, and even with all her friends.