Kirsten is an 18-inch tall girl from Sweden who grew up on the American Frontier in 1854!
Unfortunately, after the last 152 years, her elastic has grown a bit weak.
I noticed Kirsten was sitting down a lot more than she used to. "Kirsten," I gently said, "I think you might need restringing." (Many thanks to Taffy Cheerful for the guide!)
"What?!" Kirsten cried.
"It means the elastic that holds you together inside has gotten a little old," I said. "But I can make it better!"
"No!" Kirsten cried, getting to her feet. "I'm plenty tight! Look!"
"Raise your arm higher," I said.
"I don't want to," Kirsten said.
She tried to flee, but I scooped her up and put her on the ironing board...
...look how loose and floppy her legs are!
I sat her back up.
"What happened?" Kirsten asked. "I think I nodded off there."
"I need to restring you, Kirsten," I said.
"Noooo!" Kirsten yelled.
"I spent enough money on the supplies; I'm doing it," I insisted.
Kirsten ran away and hid...
...and would have succeeded, if her legs had been tighter! But they gave out...
...and she fell right down!
"I'm restringing you," I insisted, though Kirsten struggled.
"Don't put me to sleep!" the poor girl cried. "I'm scared! What if I never wake up?"
"You'll be fine, I promise," I said. "But you don't want to be awake while I restring you. It's kind of violent."
"I can take it!" Kirsten said. "I'm strong!"
We argued for a while, until Mini Nellie cleared her throat.
"Miss Cheap Lady, Miss Big Kirsten?" the little doll said. "Maybe I could read to Miss Big Kirsten. That might distract her while you're working, and then you can both be happy."
Kirsten hugged Mini Nellie. "Yeah, let's do that!" she said.
I hesitated. "Well," I said, "as long as you promise to tell me if it hurts too much. I can just tip you over and put you right to sleep if you scream, and then you won't feel it. OK?"
"I won't scream!" Kirsten said.
I showed Kirsten all my supplies, so she wouldn't be scared.
"What's the water for?" Kirsten asked. "It's dangerous to get your dolls wet, you know! Except Mini Kit; she could use a good dunk."
"It's so I can restring you and not have to stop and get up if I get thirsty," I said.
"And what's the big clear bag for?" Kirsten asked.
I didn't have the heart to tell her it was for her stuffing, so I whispered the only emergency use I could think of.
"Oh. Back where I come from we would've had to go to the outhouse for that," Kirsten said knowingly. And she settled down while Mini Nellie started to read...
I was very surprised to find this stuck inside when I started work on Kirsten!
That shows that Kirsten is a very old doll. And very special (though I knew that already.)
There was a long and gory procedure, but I don't think you need to see it. Once, I thought I heard Kirsten screaming, but it turns out she was laughing. I've been watching some Futurama DVDs, so Kirsten very nearly decided to try to recreate that show's head in a jar effect. Luckily, Mini Nellie kept her in line.
And then Kirsten was all restrung and strong again!
Look how her arms and legs can hold a pose!
"My braids are still floppy," Kirsten said. "Are you going to restring those too?"
I didn't even dignify that with a response.
But look--Kirsten is super-strong now!
Of course, now she can probably bully me into buying her more clothes. Darn it.
(There is a VERY hidden file here called 2veryfloppy.jpg. If you must see one of Kirsten's peach-colored inside cups, you can probably locate the file yourself by using your keyboard, but I'm not linking it because it's very graphic!)
On to 6.22.06