Whenever the kids and I find a red envelope in our mailbox, we grow very excited. Whoops of joy and energetic dances have been known to occur at such discoveries. We look forward to watching sci-fi series (Star Trek) and humorous family flicks. It’s not unheard of, but we generally don’t find racy movies in the mailbox. Given that, I was somewhat mystified to read this blurb on the back of a recent arrival:

[...] a delusional young man who buys a life-size sex doll over the Internet — and then falls in love with her [...]

What??? I cerntainly didn’t order a movie of that type; if I didn’t do it, then Robert must have. Was this an indication he was turning into the proverbial dirty old man (hereinafter, DOM)? If it wasn’t something pornographic, then was it one of those moronic movies about the crazy antics horny young men get up to ? In either case, it didn’t seem like something I wanted to watch.

So, when Robert got home and excitedly popped the disc into the DVD player, I sat back and waited for him to be exposed as a DOM. Well, to make a long story short, the movie wasn’t at all what I expected it to be and my husband can parade around as a sensitive guy rather than an incorrigible DOM (Of course, his character is not that black and white…).

Lars and the Real Girl is the poignant tale of a young man who suffers from a severe social phobia and delusions. Lars believes Bianca, the life-sized doll he bought over the internet, is a real woman and his girlfriend. His family, acting under a doctor’s advice, play along with his delusion, uncertain if he’ll ever be ready to give it up. The community also rallies around him, and before you know it, Bianca has a “life” of her own. She has a job, volunteers at the hospital and goes to parties.

There’s nothing surprising about the plot after you get over the oddness of seeing a grown person treating a doll as if it were real. What makes it one of the best movies I’ve seen in awhile is the phenomenal acting. The actors make this story deeply touching. At times, the tragedy is piercing and other times, a gentle sort of humor shines through.

Why am I telling you all of this? Well, I liked the movie and think you will too, but also because I felt the name of Claire’s new doll needed some explanation. Meet Bianca.

Isn’t she charming? Claire loves her and had an absolute fit when I “borrowed” her for a couple of minutes to take this photograph. As you can see, I’m no born hairstylist. Bianca’s mane is top-heavy and mop-like, but I’m afraid Claire might go berserk if I tried to fix it. Perhaps I should make a hat to conceal her crazy locks. I know that’s what I’d wear if I had hair like that!

Seriously, though, it’s satisfying to make something that’s so well appreciated.

Bianca’s pattern can be found in The Woman’s Day Book of Soft Toys and Dolls. My mother used this book years ago to make toys for me and my brother. She’s the one who first taught me about how a handmade gift is an expression of love. I think of her every time I sit down to sew.

It has grown downright chilly and damp in this part of the world. We’ve been harvesting lots of goodies from the garden: cucumbers, gigantic pattypan squash and these lovely Royal Burgundy beans:

They’re bush beans, which means you don’t have to fuss with crazy creepers, they’re very prettily colored and they taste great. There’s only one downside. They look like this after you cook them:

How disappointing is that? It’s kind of like waking up to find your date from the prior evening wasn’t quite as handsome as all that beer made him seem. Not that I’d really know what that experience is like.

Ahem.

If you really want to enjoy the season, there’s nothing like apple pie. I made this one last night, following a recipe for the crust from Everyday Food (July/August 2008). The crust is the best I’ve ever eaten, but it’s fussy to work with. I’d never use it to make a lattice pie top, for instance. It’d just crumble to pieces and look like a regular mess. However, if you want a crust that TASTES divine, but looks rather humble, this is the recipe to use.

The apples were just right too. I’m not sure what variety they were…just plain little green things (not Granny Smiths), a bit bruised and scarred, but juicy and spicy. Our friend brought them across Puget Sound just for us to try. We counted ourselves lucky to receive such a wonderful gift.

Meanwhile, I’m working on a doll for my daughter. Two funny things about it:

1. Both Sam and Claire were freaked out by its blank face. Using pins to create a dopey smiley face reassured them it wasn’t a scarey monster. (Makes me wonder how they’d react to Waldorf dolls with their blank faces…or, is it something with the shape of this doll’s head?)

2. One of the kids in the neighborhood saw the half-finished doll sitting in my recliner. She wanted to know if I was making The Stinky Cheese Man. That one still makes me laugh. I don’t know if I’ll be able to call it anything else, even after it has a real face and some hair