Playing at a Distance

Billy thought Jolena looked sad. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Jolena looked up. "Hi, Billy," she said quietly. She is always glad to see him, but she didn't sound like it today. Billy thought, though, that it must have something to do with whatever was bothering her, not with him. He waited.

"I just found out that my friend Elizabeth is moving away," Jolena said finally. "She is on the Doll Ski Team with me, so I will see her again when we have a competition, but we won't be able to play together anymore."

"That is really sad," Billy agreed. "I'm lucky. Emil is my best friend, and he will never move away, or if he does, I'll go with him, because he's also my brother."

"It's nice to have brothers and sisters who stay with us," Jolena agreed. "I would hate to have to move away from all of you!"
"Do you at least have Elizabeth's phone number or email address?" Billy wanted to know.

"Yes," Jolena said. "I have both of those. I know I can write to her and even talk with her on the phone, but we can't play together."

"Yes, you can!" Billy exclaimed. "I mean, you can't wrestle with her or have a pillow fight with her, but you can play lots of other things with her."

Jolena looked up. "How is that possible?" she asked.
"You can have online play dates," Billy said. "You can use one of the special apps, like FaceTime or Skype," he added, pointing to where The Writer's laptop was.

"Please, Billy, show me how it works!" Jolena exclaimed.

"It's easy," Billy replied. "You call or email Elizabeth to set up a time to get together. Tell her which app you're using and make sure she knows how to use it," he explained.

"Then when the time comes, you call her using the app. It will connect to her app when she answers," he added. "Then you can play. If The Writer will let you use the iPad, you can set it up anywhere. You will see and hear her, and she will hear and see you!"

"That's a great idea!" Jolena exclaimed, looking much happier. "Now, what kinds of things could we play?"
"You're a good dancer," Billy said. "You could dance for her."
"Elizabeth is a good dancer, too," Jolena said. "We could dance for each other!"

"Great idea! Cards would be difficult," Billy went on. "You would both need a deck of cards with all the cards in the same order. I don't see how that could be done." He thought for a moment. "How about hangman?"
"I love that idea," Jolena said. "It would be easy to do. All we need is for each of us to have paper and pencil."

Jolena thought for a bit. "We have some Mad Libs," she said. "I could email her the link to the Mad Libs you can print, and we could take turns writing the words and reading the story!"

Jolena sent her friend Elizabeth an email, explaining what she wanted to do. They agreed on a time.
Jolena asked the Writer if she could use the iPad and promised to be very careful with it. Then Billy showed Jolena how to call Elizabeth using one of the apps he talked about. When he saw that she knew how to do it, and they had Elizabeth on the other end, he went to do boy things.

Jolena and Elizabeth visit online often now. One time Jolena taught Elizabeth how to make a quiche (KEESH), which is sort of an egg-and-cheese pie.

Then they cooked breaded fish in a pan.

They read a book together. The book was called "Little Women," which was the only book they both had, but it's a good book, and they enjoyed it. They took turns reading the chapters. After they finished each chapter, they talked about the story and wondered about what would happen next.

They played with the bear house that Jolena's family had. That was more difficult, because Elizabeth couldn't hold the bears or the furniture, but she told Jolena what she wanted to do with the bears and the furniture. They made up stories about what the bears were doing.

Sometimes they just talked. Elizabeth talked about her new school and new friends she was making. They talked about the school they used to go to together and the friends they both knew there. They talked about ski practice and the next competition, when they would see each other again in person.

Elizabeth's brother, Zachary, sometimes liked to say hello. He had things to talk about, too. He wanted to know about the friends he left behind.

They found out that they could do a lot of the same things they liked to do together when they could be in the same room.

They planned times when they could get together and play a couple of times a week. They were looking forward to when they could see each other for real, but they could still have fun together.
"Next time I see you for ski practice," Jolena said one day, "Let's have a pillow fight!"
Both girls giggled. They had never had a pillow fight before. It would be fun! In the meantime, they had lots of fun things they could do together, even from miles away!

Cast--
Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen
Billy: Götz Happy Kidz Lily at London
Elizabeth: Götz Happy Kidz Marie
Zachary: Zachary Jr. of Wisconsin

Can you think of any other games you could play online with a friend you can't be with? (Be sure you get your parents' permission to play with friends online.)

You can follow The Doll's Storybook here.

Do you have questions or comments for us? Would you like to order an autographed copy of one of our books? You can email us at thedollsstorybook@icloud.com.

Note: No dolls were harmed during production of this blog. All dolls shown are Götz Happy Kidz, Classic Kidz or Little Kidz. If you like these stories and are willing, please make a donation of any amount to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital or any organization that supports pediatric cancer research and treatment. We are not affiliated with St. Jude in any way other than these donations.

"The Doll's Storybook" is not affiliated with Gotz Dolls USA Inc. or Götz Puppenmanufaktur International GmbH.
Watch for the next story each Friday afternoon at 1:00 PM Pacific Time.

Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook and More Classic Tales Untold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are available from BookBaby and other booksellers worldwide, such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble. 

Author's page on Amazon. 

Royalties (net proceeds) go to support pediatric cancer research and treatment. If you don't get free shipping elsewhere, buy from Book Baby. Half of the price goes to charity (specific information available upon request). Autographed copies of all three books are available from the author. (Multiple books to the same address have a discount on shipping.) To inquire, email thedollsstorybook@icloud.com.

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Copyright © 2020, 2025 by Peggy Stuart

While the Cat's Away....

"I'm home!" Mandy cried out as she closed the front door.

All the other dolls rushed to meet her. Mariah was first, because she was in the upstairs hall when she heard Mandy's voice.

Jolena was second, because she found a fast way down the stairs.

"The delivery man let me out of the box on the porch," Mandy said. "The ride home in a box wasn't as interesting as the flight to Ireland on a real plane."
Mandy gave each of the other dolls a hug, because she knew they like hugs.

Then she greeted Marmalade, who had heard her voice, too. "I missed you, Marmalade," Mandy told her cat.

The dogs, Pierre and Freckles, were happy to see Mandy.

Of course, Mandy knew Brownie would be happy to see her, too.

Even Cleo would be glad Mandy was home.

"The Writer and her husband will be home in another week," Mandy told the other dolls.

"We're alone!" Billy exclaimed! "What should we do?
"We could do some things we never do when The Writer is here," Emil said with a smile.

"Let's fill the tub with water and use it for a swimming pool!" Jolena suggested.

"We will get to wear our swim goggles," Mariah said.

"We could try on some of The Writer's clothes," Veronika said. "That's always fun."

"Remember when The Writer was out of the house," Jolena asked, "and we found her credit cards in her purse?"

 "We bought a lot of things online," Charlotte said.

"The Writer wasn't very happy with us," Veronika pointed out. "She told us that if we needed something, we should ask, and she would buy it if it was OK for us to have it."

"Anyway," Mandy pointed out, "She has her credit cards with her this time."

"Why don't we have a tea party!" Mariah exclaimed. "We could invite the bears."

"All of that sounds like fun," Veronika said, "but I have a better idea."
All of the dolls wanted to know what Veronika's idea was.
"Let's clean the house again!" Veronika exclaimed. "That was so much fun when we did it before, and won't it be a nice surprise when The Writer gets home!"

The dolls thought about that. 
It would be fun to swim in the bathtub.

It would be fun to try on The Writer's clothes.

It would be fun to buy things online if they had The Writer's credit card.

It would be fun to have a tea party and invite the bears.

The most fun, though, would be to see The Writer's face when she walked in and saw her clean house.

Cast--
Veronika: Götz Classic Kidz Vroni
Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015
Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen
Charlotte: Götz Happy Kidz Anna in Paris
Mariah: Götz Happy Kidz Mariah, "Chosen" from My Doll Best Friend
Billy: Götz Happy Kidz Lily at London
Emil: Götz Happy Kidz Emilia
Marmalade: Purrrfect Cats from KTL

Note: No dolls were harmed during production of this blog. All dolls shown are Götz Happy Kidz, Classic Kidz or Little Kidz. If you like these stories and are willing, please make a donation of any amount to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital or any organization that supports pediatric cancer research and treatment. We are not affiliated with St. Jude in any way other than these donations.

"The Doll's Storybook" is not affiliated with Gotz Dolls USA Inc. or Götz Puppenmanufaktur International GmbH.
Watch for the next story each Friday afternoon at 1:00 PM Pacific Time.

Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook and More Classic Tales Untold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are available from BookBaby and other booksellers worldwide, such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble. 

Author's page on Amazon. 

Royalties (net proceeds) go to support pediatric cancer research and treatment. If you don't get free shipping elsewhere, buy from Book Baby. Half of the price goes to charity (specific information available upon request). Autographed copies of all three books are available from the author. (Multiple books to the same address have a discount on shipping.) To inquire, email thedollsstorybook@icloud.com.

<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/19832501/?claim=j3fj3mbb8kt">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Copyright © 2020, 2025 by Peggy Stuart

A Letter from Ireland

Dear family,

My flight to Ireland (AYE-er-land) was pleasant. (Not every knitter gets to fly in The Writer's knitting bag.)

The plastic bag was to protect me from the rain, because they have a lot of rain in Ireland. I'm a doll, and I don't want to get water inside my head, because it could give me silver eye. Real children should never wear plastic bags over their heads. Real children don't get silver eye, so they don't need it, but you can't breathe with a bag over your head, so it's dangerous. It's good I don't need to breathe. 

We flew over some land covered with snow and then the ocean. The Writer held me up to the window, so I could see. 

The writer said Ireland is close to another country called England. She said that was where the English language started. (I knew that, of course. I read a lot.)

The sun was shining when we landed in Shannon, but it was raining by the time our ride reached the hotel. I was glad I had my boots and umbrella. 

Shannon is the town where one of the main airports in Ireland is located.

We went hiking in one of the big parks. We could hear a cuckoo bird calling from a long way off. It sounds just like the little bird that pops out of the clock in the hall to tell us what time it is. There were lovely yellow bushes everywhere. The Writer said they were gorse bushes. (Gorse rhymes with horse.)

We took a ride in something called a jaunty cart. It's a nice way to travel, but it doesn't go very fast. That gives you plenty of time to look around. A horse pulls the jaunty cart. (A gorse doesn't do anything much besides sit there and look pretty, so a gorse pulling a jaunty cart would be really slow!) There were lots of jaunty carts on the road, so we decided that a lot of other people had the same idea we had.

I discovered that there are a lot of sheep in Ireland. Sheep make all that yummy wool, which is where a lot of knitting yarn comes from. I think sheep are my favorite animals, other than cats, of course...and dogs...and horses...and goldfish.

We have been seeing the sights, too. That's called sightseeing (SITE-see-ing). Sightseeing is when you go to places you have only read about. 

Ireland has some great castles you can visit. We went to see Blarney Castle. It was built in 1446, which was 574 years ago. That's a long time, especially in doll years. It was built long before there were dolls like us.

Of course, one of my favorite things about the trip was visiting the wool shops. Those are what we call yarn shops.

The writer told me I could buy something, and she would pay for it. I picked out some nice yarn to bring back with me.

This is the yarn I picked out. It will keep me busy for a while.

The pubs in Ireland are very nice. The word "pub" is the short name for "public house." That's a place where human people go to eat and drink. It's like a restaurant (REST-uh-rahnt) or a cafe (keh-FAY). They have drinks for grownups, like wine and beer, but they also have drinks for everyone, even children and dolls, like tea and soda. You can even get milk!

When you drink a toast in Ireland, you say, "Slánte" which means "health." To drink a toast, you gently touch your glass or cup to someone else's and say "Slánte." I think you say it like "SHLON-sheh." At least that was how it sounded to me.

I've been pretending to drink the lovely local tea with milk. I have my tea with something called "soda bread." It's tasty. I like the kind that's brown best. Sometimes it's still warm from the oven, with butter on it.

Some people bring musical instruments to the pubs and play for everyone. 

Sometimes people get up and dance (or pretend to dance, which is easier for me). I watched the human people dancing and pretended to dance the way they did.

Ireland has a special holiday we also have at home. It was St. Patrick's Day. That's when people in Ireland celebrate (SELL-uh-brate) the man who brought the Christian religion to Ireland. That means they do special things to remember him, like have a party or a parade. There are people of all religions in Ireland, but a lot of them are Christian. St. Patrick's Day is celebrated every year on March 17. Everyone wears green. I wore green almost every day anyway. I knew I would need green clothes in Ireland! People keep telling me I look Irish.

Much of Ireland is very green. I think green is their favorite color. It is an island, so it is surrounded by ocean. Sometimes the ocean is green, but often it is blue.

The seaside towns are so pretty, and there are lots of boats. 

Some of the people who live close to the ocean make a living catching fish. They catch the fish to eat or to sell to other human people to eat. (Don't read this part to Cleo!)

Today is our last day, and it has been very exciting! We stopped in a pub for tea, as we have done every afternoon. It was raining (again). When we came out, the rain had just stopped and the sun had come out. There was a real rainbow!

I've heard that leprechauns hide their pots of gold at the end of the rainbow, so I went to look. The part of the rainbow that touched the ground ended by an old fence. I was very surprised to find a pot of gold-colored yarn!

That was not what I thought a pot of "gold" would be. I wonder where the leprechauns hide their other colors. I didn't take any, of course, because it didn't belong to me; it belonged to a leprechaun. We shouldn't take things that don't belong to us, and besides, I am a guest in their country.

Our return trip may be delayed because of flight cancellations (KAN-suh-LAY-shuns). That means the airline couldn't fly as planned. The writer said that she can ship me home in a box, but it may take a couple of days. That's OK, because my new knitting wool will keep me cosy. See you soon! (If The Writer's flight is cancelled, we may have the house to ourselves for a while.)

Love and XXX,

Mandy

P.S., The Writer says not to worry if she can't get a flight home just yet. She will stay in Ireland and work on the stories by email with Mariah. Mariah and Billy can decide what photos to take. The Writer will come home when she can, but we should please stay out of trouble!


Cast--
Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015
Marmalade: Purrrfect Cats from KTL
Cleo: Herself

You can follow The Doll's Storybook here.

Do you have questions or comments for us? Would you like to order an autographed copy of one of our books? You can email us at thedollsstorybook@icloud.com.

Note: No dolls were harmed during production of this blog. All dolls shown are Götz Happy Kidz, Classic Kidz or Little Kidz. If you like these stories and are willing, please make a donation of any amount to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital or any organization that supports pediatric cancer research and treatment. We are not affiliated with St. Jude in any way other than these donations.

"The Doll's Storybook" is not affiliated with Gotz Dolls USA Inc. or Götz Puppenmanufaktur International GmbH.
Watch for the next story each Friday afternoon at 1:00 PM Pacific Time.

Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook and More Classic Tales Untold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are available from BookBaby and other booksellers worldwide, such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble. 

Author's page on Amazon. 

Royalties (net proceeds) go to support pediatric cancer research and treatment. If you don't get free shipping elsewhere, buy from Book Baby. Half of the price goes to charity (specific information available upon request). Autographed copies of all three books are available from the author. (Multiple books to the same address have a discount on shipping.) To inquire, email thedollsstorybook@icloud.com.

<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/19832501/?claim=j3fj3mbb8kt">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Copyright © 2020, 2024 by Peggy Stuart