Last Friday I went to an estate sale, where I saw a forlorn looking doll sitting alone on a chair, with a reasonable price tag on her bonnet. She was dusty and dirty, and no one wanted her. I picked her up and offered the lady in charge a small bit less than the tag, but was turned down. I put the doll back in the chair and passed her by.
Have you ever regretted a desision so much it burned into your mind? That's how I felt about that doll when I got home. I do NOT collect dolls, but there seemed to be some sort of connection there. So..since husband was about to go out, I asked him to drive by and if that dirty doll was still sitting in the chair, go get it and just give the lady her price.
Being the sweetheart he is, he did just that, and came home with this poor little dirty, waif-looking thing. He had asked the seller about the doll. Well, if you are going to adopt, you want to know some background, right? It seems the doll belonged to this lady's 94 year old great aunt, recently deceased. She didn't know the name of the doll, but her great aunt's name was Adelaide.
So that is how Adelaide was named and came to live with us. She really is quite lovely. She has a cloth body, with bisque arms and legs attached with string from the elbows and knees down, extending to painted and textured shoes and socks. Her hair is blonde, and it seems that some little hand once held a pair of scissor and did some snipping to her hair. What is left of it is deteriorating and comes apart if even lightly touched.
Today I carefully undressed her and washed all her clothes. She has pantaloons with eyelet lace, a slip, a dress and an apron, plus her matching bonnet. A little much for Florida, but it suits her. Her clothes were dried in the sun. Now she smells really nice. She seems happier too. I think maybe her namesake, the real Adelaide, would be pleased.
