eHow Dolly Visits Central Florida

Here's a list of all the momentos Dolly has collected in her travels:
Apparel and bling: yellow square butt panties; silver lame' evening gown; black "leather" corset (and pattern to make more); "Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, Bayou La Batre, AL" t-shirt; "Kentucky: Where Horses Fly" t-shirt; "20th Annual Labor Day Tournament Moorestown 2009" patch; dried lei; Cape May surfboard necklace; "groovy chick" bracelet; pink hi-top sneakers; pirate ship temporary tattoo. Personal effects: Toothbrush, Dolly's dolly. Collectible tacks: flag (sorry - don't know location); Kentucky Derby Festival 2010 Spring Fever Believer; Baltimore Maryland: U.S. Constitution; and "A" Gator. Ephemera: bookmarks from Ocracoke Lighthouse, Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton, Florida, and of Walter Anderson Art in Ocean Springs, MS; Michigan Lodging and Tourism directory; Grand Haven, MI, Musical Fountain Brochure; postcards from Maine, Rochester - NY, Cape May - NJ, Shenandoah River - VA, NC, FL, Bellingrath Garden and Home (2) - AL, Dauphin Island - AL, The Estuarium at Dauphin Island - AL, Bayou La Batre - AL, Churchill Downs - KY, WI, and Wisconsin Dells - WI; "A Note from Virginia;" Dolly stickers; Wisconsin Budweiser coaster. Lottery: eHow Dolly Sweepstakes lottery ticket. Key chains: eHow Dolly and "Washington D.C. United States of America." Luggage Tag: Providence Hospital Foundation's Festival of Flowers. Magnets: Winston Salem and Kentucky. Collectibles: Smashed penny form Baltimore, Maryland; seashell; "Love" plaque; St. Patrick's Day Irish Flag; collector's spoon from Virginia; Wisconsin beer bottle cap.

US Flag Map Stamps by original_designs
Browse Flag day Postage

I wore a black shirt with green, glittery shamrocks on it. Not to be outdone, Dolly dressed for the party too. Her full-length dress featured shamrocks on a white background. Her sash says "Kiss Me, I'm Irish" and the ribbon around her neck is fastened with a shamrock pin. I think she was hoping to WOW the leprechaun.


Plaid Shamrocks St. Pat's Day Tees and Gifts by naturetees

We took the golf cart over to the village center in Solivita, the retirement community that I live in. Dolly wanted to drive the golf cart and demonstrated that she could fit on the steering wheel if only I would take care of the foot pedals. It didn't sound safe to me and besides, Florida requires a driver's license for driving a golf cart on a public road.

I placed three leprechaun figures around the patio plants for the party. Dolly took to this light-hearted fellow. Maybe it's the freckles or else she hopes some luck will rub off on her.

I talked her into waiting for tomorrow. Too windy today and we don't want to use them all up before Monday's party.

Monday is our St. Patrick's Day party for the neighbors. The cleaning lady is coming today so that's one thing off my party prep list. Dolly helped me sort out the decorations. Don't know how much Irish is in her background, but she was singing along with "Danny Boy" as we decorated the house.

We were scheduled for golf again today. I offered to try smuggling Dolly past the golf ranger, but she didn't like the idea of hiding under a golf towel in the golf cart. Instead she opted for lounging on the lanai. Another sunny day, and the warmest in months at 80 degrees.

When we returned from golf, we plunged into washing, drying and folding clothes. Then we made a blueberry buckle (sort of a coffee cake). I was a little concerned that Dolly's vinyl dress might melt as she kept a close eye on the baking project. I should have ordered one of these aprons for her.


Aloha Dolly Tour 2009 by DianeCass


(check the photo gallery below for pictures and commentary about Dolly/flowers/laundry)

We were going to plant some flowers but ran out of daylight. We'll save that project for tomorrow, when I'm home all day.

We were scheduled for golf, so I got Dolly set with a club, her own golf ball, score card and a sun visor.

She seemed to think we were going bowling, though there were no thumb and finger holes in the ball. No problem, since she has no thumbs and fingers anyway. She asked me where she should mark her strikes on the scorecard.

It turned out that the golf course would only allow two people per golf cart. I told them that Dolly was actually a mascot and not a person, but they wouldn't let us take her along. Dolly overheard what I said and I think was a little offended by the "not a person" wording. Oops.

Anyway, she had to stay home while I golfed. I scored 97 for 18 holes and the temperature was around 71 degrees. It's too bad that she missed seeing the egrets, herons, and multiple alligators on the golf course. Probably she saw the same things in our backyard though. There was a turkey in the backyard this morning.

She's here! I got back from my eye check-up and shopping to find her sitting on the doorstep around 4:30. What a bad hostess I am.

I took her out to the lanai right away to get some sunshine after her travel time. Seeing the lake, she wanted to take a swim until I pointed out the alligator sunning on the opposite bank. I gave her a tour of my flowers so there would be photos for the calendar. Then she relaxed at the bistro table clasping an empty wine glass. I think she was ready for happy hour to start.

I convinced her to wait for dinner time, so she's keeping an eye on my husband while he's getting dinner ready. That gave me a chance to sneak off to the computer to send all of you an update.