Setting up housekeeping for Barbie

Our granddaughter Emily is coming to spend the night with us. Her granddaddy wanted to know what we were going to do. Very simple, I told him, we're going to play Barbie!

Barbie was a very big (and new) item when I was a little girl. I had several Barbies and Kens. Looking into the boxes I have left, I have three Barbies and two Kens. They're in good, if loved, condition and have original clothes. I wish I still had the wardrobes which my sister and I hand-sewed, but either those things were tossed or my sister has them.

However, Barbie needs now, and needed then, all sorts of accompanying items. At my house she had an apartment which lined one wall of my sister's bedroom. The rooms were divided by pieces of paneling and the floors were a strip of linoleum from the house's new addition. My mother made beds from cigar boxes and we bought a kitchen and a car.

Barbie had it all--and I still have a lot of it.

So to celebrate Emily's visit, I dug it all out and cleaned it up. The beds are gone, but the kitchen is still in remarkable condition for something approaching 50 years old. There are dishes for the dishwasher, groceries for the refrigerator and staples for the pantry. I'm going to let Emily arrange all that.

Here's a look at the kitchen:


And a closer look at the oven. See the turkey? It's on a rotisserie. I replaced the batteries, but it won't turn although the flashlight bulb which makes the elements glow is lighting, so I know current is getting through. I'm going to work on it.



Finally, no self-respecting girl would be without a convertible and here's Barbie's, complete with personalized plate.



Once I get Barbie and Ken in shipshape, I'll post more photos.