Polly (now Carousella) found!

from: Magdalena
to: thetoysociety@gmail.com
date: Fri, Mar 13, 2009 at 6:04 AM

Hi, we found Polly on Sunday. We were the last family to leave the carousel. Polly was renamed Carousella by her new friend, my 4-year old daughter Arte. They now spend lots of time together, they're sisters. Carousella now lives in Morningside and has just gone off with her big sister to ballet class.Thank you for the bundle of joy!

Polly enjoys the sunny day

I delivered Polly to Central Park today. She was left at the Carousel, with a nice view. I'm hoping that she was picked up before the brief shower we had. There were lots of kids around, but, as usual, there was a lot of looking the other way.

A new craft site

I've been sucked in by a new craft site on Marthastewart.com. The crafts editors have a new blog called thecraftsdept.com where they share their activities, expertise and new ideas. I've been trying to upload the video for how to make the sock animals, but no such luck...

Polly

This is Polly. She was created using the Black Apple design at MarthaStewart.com.

Valentine's Day toy drop

Today, I made my first drop for The Toy Society. I hope it will make someone's day.

I left the little bear outside the Rowayton Library / Community Center. Usually, it's buzzing with kids, but today it was pretty quiet, since it was a holiday and the library was closed.

England 08: Hastings

On Day 3, we took the train to Hastings, sight of the Battle of Hastings on October 14, 1066 (lthough it really took place a few miles away in Battle). At this battle, William, heir to the English throne, defeated and killed Harold Godwinson, the last Saxon King of England, and destroyed his army. It was on the sight on a Saxon castle that William built his castle.

Today, part of the original castle still stands on top of the sandstone cliffs near the Channel. You can walk to the top or take the West Hill Lift. Once you get to the top, you have a beautiful view of the English Channel and Hastings below.

The town itself is very much like all of the other seaside towns, full of knick-knack shops and ice cream parlors.

England 08: Brighton, Day 2

On the second day, we visited the Royal Pavilion. In the 1770s, the Prince Regent, known later as George IV, began visiting the town with his first wife, a twice-divorced woman that the royal family never recognized. He converted a "farmhouse" into the whimsical Royal Pavilion, full of orientale splendor. John Nash, the architect of Regent Street in London, designed the palace. (You have to see the website for photos of the inside. Photography is forbidden in most of the great houses because of damage to the fabrics.) The most impressive rooms are the Music Room and Banqueting Hall. There is a 360º panorama of the Banqueting Room. And another of the Music Room. The chandeliers are the most impressive parts of the rooms.

Here is a great photo of the front side of the Royal Pavilion taken by someone else. I only saw the front by bus, so my photo is a moving shot and very bad.

After visiting the Royal Pavilion, we took the Volks Elecrtic Railway to the Brighton Marina. It is the oldest still-operating electric railway in the world. I have a little video that I will post later.