Monday, December 14, 2015

WELL, HELLO, DOLLY...YOU’RE LOOKING SWELL, DOLLY!






When I was a child I loved my many dolls.  My doll family was a family filled with relatives from various walks of life. Each got on magnificently with the other. Nary an angry, nasty, jealous word or thought passed between them, nor an ill-considered judgment made. Relatively speaking, my dolls had more relatives than I had.

They could very well have had more clothes than I possessed, too. However, I never did a count, although it was my responsibility to tend to their vast wardrobe. My dolls had outfits to suit all occasions.  I was their willing handmaiden. Never did I complain, nor did I ever go on strike or ask for a pay rise. The love I felt was payment enough.

I confess, however - like many nannies of celebrities - I did sleep with my dolls, female and male alike! Each had its turn; often more than one at a time! It was difficult to choose. I managed a  ménage à trios, tripled or quadrupled or more, expertly, night after night! I loved my dolls equally. Each was unique in its own way.

No tantrums were thrown by them or by me.

Topsy held a special place in my heart. Topsy was a black doll. In these days of political-correctness gone overboard I’d probably be frowned upon for christening my beloved Topsy, “Topsy”; but Topsy was her name and I loved her dearly.

Golly gee!  I also had a golliwog. He sat proudly on my pillow. His sunny broad smiled brightened my bedroom. Wally the Golly was always immaculately dressed, with not a hair out of place. Never was Wally seen without his bow tie.

From memory, I didn’t have a teddy bear; not even Winnie the Pooh. Perhaps I did, but I’ve buried the memory. I do now have a couple of teddy bears sitting on my sofa...it’s never too late!

At the tender age of five years I inhabited a bed in, what was then known as the Glandore Hospital, in Gympie. While held captive in one of the rooms, a masked doctor audaciously removed my tonsils and adenoids!  I slept throughout the procedure so why was he scared to show his face??!!

To appease my indignity I was fed junket and ice cream.  Weird as it sounds, back then when I as young I preferred junket over ice cream.  Some tastes have changed through the passing years - even if the weirdness hasn’t.

Here’s the drum - these days I can’t let a Peter’s Drumstick go by un-licked, especially the chocolate ones - and the vanilla. 

Having shown bravery without complaint during my ordeal of being force-fed soft, sweet desserts after I was kicked out of hospital - not because of misbehaviour - I was a shy, quiet child (I couldn’t kick up much noise and fuss with my sensitive throat, anyway) - Mum and Nana had a surprise for me.

My face lit up in delight when I received my unexpected gift.  She was clad in a white, flower-embossed voile dress.  I christened her “Diana”. Tall for her age, with auburn ringlets falling softly on her shoulders, Diana was a beautiful addition to my doll family.  With a single blink of her eyes, she stole my heart.  I would’ve given it to her freely; she didn’t have to resort to theft. I’d not have thrown a wobbly.  Breaking from the normal, Diana became my favourite doll.  However, for the sake of harmony, it remained my secret.  Diana achieved a major coup to have climbed to the elevated position because I adored every one of my dolls unconditionally; but atop of Everest Diana sat. The Queen of the Dolls, she reigned supreme, but fairly!

Years later, in a delusional, misguided moment of generosity I gave Diana away to someone I thought would love her, but I was to learn the recipient was incapable of recognising appreciation if it stood, neon-lit, in front of her!  Diana probably ended up in landfill. 

Well, hello, Dolly...it’d be nice to have you back where you belong...

Down the track my Nana and Mum gave the rest of my dolls to a local charity with the condition they’d be given to children who had little in their lives.  Their kind gesture pleased me...and, no doubt, the young recipients. 

Love passed on...happiness continued...as both should...and this certainly is the Season to rekindle those emotions....but let's not stop here...let's try to remember to be kind and caring throughout each year....

Pistachio Ice Cream: Whip 1-1/2c cold whipping cream until fluffy; add 125g vanilla junket and 1-1/2c cold single cream slowly; add 1/2tsp corn syrup, or to taste; add 1/2tsp almond extract and a few drops of green food colouring (optional). Line metal 9x9 pan with plastic wrap; pour in mixture; freeze 4hrs; then put scoops into blender/processor and whip; at the end stir in1c chopped or whole unsalted pistachios; freeze overnight.

Soy Junket: Grab l litre soy milk. Soak 4tsp unflavoured gelatine in 1/2c soy milk. Heat 1c soy milk until nearly boiling; add the gelatine mix; remove from heat; stir until dissolved. Put rest of soy milk in bowl; strain the hot mix into it; mix in 1/3c condensed milk. Cover; chill overnight to set; it’s meant to jiggle when “set” and will break into curds when eaten; serve with caramel syrup – bring to boil 1-1/2c brown sugar and 1c water; simmer 10mins on low.

Strawberry Ladyfinger Dessert: Place 1 packet sponge fingers split in half lengthways in single layer in 13x9-inch dish. In saucepan bring 150g strawberry junket and 1-3/4c cold water to boil; cook, stirring 1min; cool 4-5mins. Fold in 2c sliced fresh strawberries; spoon over the sponge fingers; spread gently; cover; chill 3-4 hours. Spread with whipped topping; garnish with strawberries, if desired.

Wobbly Spiced Junket with Roasted Rhubarb: Warm 600ml milk to body temp only; stir in 1tbs sugar, pinch nutmeg and 1/2tsp cinnamon; add 1tsp junket/rennet powder; pour into 4 individual ramekins/cups; chill 2hrs. Cut 4 rhubarb stalks into 2-inch pieces; place in baking dish; drizzle with 2tbs honey; cover dish with foil; cook in preheated 160C oven, 20mins or until soft. Serve chilled junket with warm rhubarb on the side.

40 comments:

  1. ok, now I am singing that song. lol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And what a wonderful rendition you are giving, Linda!

      Thanks for dropping in. :)

      Delete
  2. Children have a rare ability to shift between the real world and imagination. I never had dolls but I had plastic cowboys and indians that became actors in my fantasies. By our bed I still have my childhood panda bear. He never had a name but he was in my cot before I could walk and he has never said a bad word to me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey there Yorkie....when I was a kid I always wanted to win one of those giant pandas a the "knock 'em" stalls in side show alley are the annual Gympie Show. I never did. I doubt anyone ever did. I'm sure the same panda is still doing the side show alley circuit today! :)

      I still love pandas...the real ones and that damn stuffed one I could never win!

      A child's imagination is a wondrous thing. I hope the children of today and the future never lose that power.

      Thanks for coming by. :)

      Delete
  3. I remember Carol Channing in Hello Dolly, but forgot what it was about exactly! Your foods are fabulous as usual. Merry Christmas.............

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dolly was a matchmaker in Yonkers, New York, Sandie. In the movie version of the Broadway stage musical Barbra Streisand played the part of Dolly (the role Channing played on Broadway). Gene Kelly directed the movie. Here's a piece of trivia for you...

      "The plot of "Hello, Dolly!" originated in an 1835 English play, "A Day Well Spent" by John Oxenford, which Johann Nestroy adapted into the farce Einen Jux will er sich machen (He Will Go on a Spree or He'll Have Himself a Good Time).

      Thornton Wilder adapted Nestroy's play into his 1938 farcical play, "The Merchant of Yonkers", which was a flop. He revised and re-titled it "The Matchmaker" in 1955, expanding the role of Dolly, played by Ruth Gordon. (Ruth Gordon was in "Rosemary's Baby" to name just one of her movies...a wonderful actress).

      "The Matchmaker" became a hit and was much revived and made into a 1958 film of the same name starring Shirley Booth (Booth was in the movie "Come Back Little Sheba" that also starred Burt Lancaster and a young Terry Moore).

      "Dolly", the story of a meddlesome widow who strives to bring romance to several couples and herself in a big city restaurant also features prominently in the 1891 hit musical "A Trip to Chinatown."

      The role of Dolly Levi in the musical was originally written for Ethel Merman, but Merman turned it down, as did Mary Martin (although each eventually played it). Merrick then auditioned Nancy Walker.

      Eventually, he hired Carol Channing, who then created in Dolly her signature role. Director Gower Champion was not the producer's first choice, as Hal Prince and others (among them Jerome Robbins and Joe Layton) all turned down the job of directing the musical.

      Hello, Dolly! had rocky out-of-town tryouts in Detroit and Washington, D.C. After receiving the reviews, the creators made major changes to the script and score, including the addition of the song, "Before the Parade Passes By". The show was originally entitled "Dolly, A Damned Exasperating Woman " and "Call on Dolly", but Merrick changed the title immediately upon hearing Louis Armstrong's version of "Hello, Dolly".

      The show became one of the most iconic Broadway shows of its era, the latter half of the 1960s, running for 2,844 performances, and was for a time the longest-running musical in Broadway history.

      During that decade, ten "blockbuster" musicals played over 1,000 performances and three played over 2,000, helping to redefine "success" for the Broadway musical genre."

      So there you are...some bedtime reading for you! :)

      Thanks for coming by. :)

      Delete
  4. I didn't have many dolls and all of them suffered a terrible fate when my brother was studying the French Revolution. Guillotined. Every last one.
    I did however have (and still have) two bears and pink puppy. Pink puppy was washed so often he is now a soft cream colour - but still much loved.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey EC...my older brother and a couple of his mates used to play cowboys & indians and Graham, said brother, would hang a couple of my dolls by the neck on a tree in the backyard with me screaming on from the sidelines! lol

      Big brothers! Harrrummppphh! :)

      Thanks for coming by. :)

      Delete
  5. Oddly enough, I wasn't terribly fond of dolls as a youngster, although I was given tons of them... still, I did have a couple of favourites as a child: 'Mr. Henry', a rag doll my mother had made, and 'Baby Kissy', a gift from a favourite uncle.

    Mr. Henry was washed to rags by the time I was 7, Baby Kissy didn't survive the onslaught of my daughter's love, lol.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Jacqueline...lots of little girls weren't overly fond of dolls, but I wasn't one of them. I loved mine. I created a whole fantasy world around them.

      Thanks for coming by...take good care. :)

      Delete
  6. Remember to be kind and caring all year, hear, hear!!
    When I was a very little girl, I took piano lessons. In our recital, we also had to do some singing and dancing. The older girls sang "Hello Dolly" and the younger girls, like me, had to walk on stage like little dolls and to a little dance in a stiff manner. Gee, I was REALLY good at dancing in a stiff manner! HA!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ahhh, dear! I can picture your recital, Kay! The things we were made to do when we were little! Hahaha!

      That's where your son get his musical talent from....see...you hadn't thought of that, had you? lol

      Thanks for coming by. :)

      Delete
  7. I loved all my dolls when I was a girl. They all had names and personalities. When I turned 12, my girlfriends moved on to play more grown up games, I felt a loss, because I had not grown up like them and did not want to give up my pretend family. I put them all away the next year when I discovered boys.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Arleen. I'm with you...all my dolls had names and personalities, too.

      And, also, I remember the day when the make-believe stopped. The sudden realisation struck out of the blue one day when my very best friend, Rhonda and I were playing one of our many imaginative games (usually based on a film we'd seen at the previous Saturday's matinee). It struck hard and I wasn't particularly fond of that realisation...it was as if my childhood years had to be packed away...

      Thanks for coming by. :)

      Delete
  8. Reminds me my childhood. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey there Lux...I hope you enjoyed the re-visit! Thanks for coming by :)

      Delete
  9. Are those images of your dolls or googled images?
    The dolls clothes are gorgeous. I love the golliwog. I always wanted one. My sister had two and wouldn't share. I had one of those walking-talking dolls, she was supposed to be a bride, but her dress and veil (both made of tulle) were pale blue instead of white. I rarely played with her, but eventually noticed her dress was dirty, so when the latest of dad's girlfriends had the washing machine going, I put the dress in too. Needless to say, it came out a wreck.
    I've never eaten junket, we had custard or ice cream.
    I didn't get my tonsils out until I was 19, then instead of ice cream I was given toast :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi River...they're googled images; and yes the clothes are beautiful. Amongst the clothes I had for my family of dolls were some left over from when I was a baby. I used to love dressing my baby dolls in those clothes.

      Diana was a walking doll...I guess that's one of the reasons I was so thrilled with her. :)

      Wow! Fancy the hospital feeding you toast after you'd had your tonsils removed! That's not very good forward planning on their part!

      Thanks for coming by...and stay cool tomorrow. I saw on the weather reports that it could reach 39C down your way. Take it easy. :)

      Delete
    2. We got to 41.1 and in one of our northern suburbs a street surface melted! They showed it on the news. 42C tomorrow :(

      Delete
    3. Yes, I've been following it on the news, River. I don't envy you... and more to come, too, I've just heard now on the early morning reports. So stay in that air conditioned room...and just read and take it steady...nothing is worth pushing yourself for in those temperatures.

      Delete
  10. You had great love and affection for your dolls. Many hours passed away it seems.
    I can only remember having one doll, not that matters...just saying.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi there Margaret...my dolls were my favourite people...my dolls and my cat/s.

      Thanks for coming by. :)

      Delete
  11. Beautiful childhood memories.

    The two pair of socks shown are my only wild socks. I do not wear them in public only on cool nights.

    Thanks for your kind comments and visits.

    Have a blessed week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Gail...childhood is so special...and it should be for all children...if only it was - for all children.

      Thanks for coming by. :)

      Delete
    2. I agree childhood should be magical. I tried to make it that way for mine and others.

      I recycle many things. I have to and want to use all we can.

      Delete
    3. And you do so well at it, Gail. You deserve to be commended. :)

      Delete
    4. Thank you. I hope you get a break from the heat soon. I would gladly share my water. It's the life of this valley.

      Delete
    5. Thanks for coming by. That tree will stand longer than me I imagine.

      Have a blessed evening.

      Delete
  12. It is nice to think of passing the happiness of your dolls along. I am sorry to hear that Diana ended up with someone unappreciative. That kind of churlishness never stops aching, does it? A pity it has to overshadow the memory.

    You always do such YUMMY desserts. I confess I never liked junket, but the strawberry ladyfinger dessert is amazing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey there Jenny. To be honest, I've not had junket in years and years...I probably wouldn't like it now, either. I should try it and see what I think about it!

      Thanks for coming by. :)

      Delete
  13. Many things struck me whist reading this post and the comments. One being that, apart fro YP, I'm the only male commenter: perhaps it's the subject matter.

    It will come as no surprise that I had no dolls but I did have a teddy with the incredibly original name of....Teddy. I didn't have as a child and I still don't have a developed imagination when it comes to story-telling or anything like that.

    Whilst I know the song Hello Dolly) I realised that I have no knowledge whatsoever of the musical.

    One lives and one learns.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Graham...I don't know why some males would shy away from responding to this post. Why the mention of dolls would put the fear of God into them, beats me. Are they fearful of their masculinity being questioned? lol

      Young boys, too, had their favourite toys, whether they be trucks, cars, cowboy outfits, Thomas the Tank Engine etc., etc. et al...and their imaginations that turned them into the Lone Ranger or The Phantom...or a fireman...wherever their minds led them.

      I also played with some of my brother's toys, although he never played with any of my dolls, other than, a few times, hang them from tree limbs when playing cowboys and Indians, as I mentioned in another comment above.

      Often I was a gun-toting, whip-cracking cowgirl! :)

      I find it difficult to believe you didn't have a developed imagination as a child...I know you have one now...perhaps you were just a late starter! :)

      I'm also surprised you don't have much knowledge about "Hello, Dolly!" It was such a major hit in its time.

      As you say...one lives and learns...that's more than half the fun of it all. Thanks for coming by. :)

      Delete
    2. I was lying awake in bed this morning (very unusual for me I rarely lie awake in the wee small hours) and thought about your comment about imagination. I really don't have much of an imagination. I don't see music as stories or pictures or events. I don't retain images in my head and writing stories (as compared to writing factual stuff) is something I find exceptionally difficult.

      Delete
    3. I think you're selling yourself short, Graham.

      Perhaps you've just not given it enough thought...you're too busy doing other things. But like with everything....once you start...doors will open...doors to your imagination...and bit by bit you will "see" music as stories, pictures etc. Take time out to sit...quietly alone, if possible...put some music on...of choice...whatever genre you enjoy....clear your mind...and see what happens. You might be surprised. :)

      That you laid awake thinking about this...is a clue that it is possible....you just have lost the key to the door....perhaps you don't even need a key...just push gently on that door...and you never now where it will lead you.

      I'm sure the path will be full of pleasant surprises. :)

      Delete
  14. Replies
    1. Awww...come on now, Mr. Ad-Man...you played with your toys when you were a little boy...and I'll bet your imagination ran wild. From what I've noticed you've still not harnessed it!

      Thanks for coming by. :)

      Delete
  15. I'd love that ladyfinger dessert. Yum. I haven't heard the term junket - is it like pudding?

    Well loved dolls - such a nice story.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey there Lynn...fancy you not having heard of junket! Below is a description of it...I doubt it's as popular these days as it was when I was a kid...but the info below should give you a pretty good idea of what it is. It was popular in the US, too, apparently.

      "Junket is a milk-based dessert, made with sweetened milk and rennet, the digestive enzyme which curdles milk. It might best be described as a custard or a very soft, sweetened cheese.

      To make junket, milk (usually with sugar and vanilla added) is heated to approximately body temperature and the rennet, which has been dissolved in water, is mixed in to cause the milk to "set". (Temperature variations will inactivate the enzyme in the rennet, causing the dessert to fail.) The dessert is chilled prior to serving. Junket is often served with a sprinkling of grated nutmeg on top. For most of the 20th century in the eastern United States, junket was often a preferred food for ill children, mostly due to its sweetness and ease of digestion.

      The same was true in the United Kingdom where, in medieval times, junket had been a food of the nobility made with cream, not milk, and flavoured with rosewater and spices as well as sugar. It started to fall from favour during the Tudor era, being replaced by syllabubs on fashionable banqueting tables and, by the 18th century, had become an everyday food sold in the streets. In the United States, junket is commonly made with a packaged mix of rennet and sweetener from a company eponymously known as Junket."

      Thanks for coming by. :)

      Delete
  16. Cowboys and Indians were more up my games alley.
    Hopalong Cassidy would never have kept up with us
    as we raced our horses up and down river gullies.
    Tarzan and Jane was pretty popular too - oh those
    wonderful serials that were on pre the main show at
    the picture theatres in the 1950s.
    Unfortunately our family games of tree swinging came to
    a tearful end when my sister missed a branch and ended up
    in the pig pen scaring the living daylights out of the tow
    pet sows! Naturally I go the blame for her inability to grab the tree branch - but after a 43 mile car drive to the
    Mungindi Hospital where she got it put back in place and with her plaster - I have a suspicion that she enjoyed all the attention, whilst I was in disgrace.

    Ah that Peter's chocolate cone - I am at war with W/worths up here - they have taken the Boyensberry ones off the shelves - yet down south all stores have them.
    The manager of my W/worths is going to look into the matter and I will be watching him like a hawk!
    Cheers
    Colin

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ahhhh...weren't they great games, Colin. What ever movie we'd seen at the Saturday matinee, we'd re-enact it up in our backyard, over and over again. Gene Autry was my favourite cowboy when I was little...then I progressed onto Audie Murphy...but my heart still belong to Gene, really! And Tarzan was wonderful to emulate. We had two big camphor laurel trees in our backyard...they got a good work out, too. And after we saw "The Greatest Show on Earth" the tall gates under the front of the house became our trapeze etc. The wonder of it all...they were days of innocence and so much fun!

      We built tree houses in those trees in the backyard, and luckily the fate that befell your sister didn't befall us!

      I was broken-hearted when Peters stopped making Heavens. I used to love them; so now all my concentration is put upon the chocolate drumsticks and the vanilla drumsticks. They're only ones I eat...and Peters is the only ice cream I eat. I love the flavour of Peters. (I had a chocolate drumstick this afternoon....I have a pile of them in my freezer)! lol

      Thanks for coming by and stirring up some good memories. :)

      Delete