A Sweet Little Mystery...

Here are some photos of two little dolls I've purchased at a thrift shop, and a flea market, respectively..
The first has the most amazing costume, with some mysterious items in her headress, and beautiful hand embroidered apron, as well as layers of sewn lace, rick-rack, and other embroidered ribbon..I'm showing lots of views of her in the hope that someone out there in the Interwebs will know where she's from..
Because of her hand-embroidered apron, which looks very much like some other handmade things I have from Hungary, I'm just wondering if that is where she is from...an old Magyar doll from the 40's or 50's???
The second one has her original tag, so I know a bit about her origins..
The company name is Happy Dolls..and the little heart-shaped tag says 'Made in England'..she is hard plastic, so I don't think she was made any later than the 1970's, but I am no doll expert..just wondering if anyone out there knows about these type of dolls..
I tried to capture a photograph of what her tag says, but if it's unreadable, here it is:
"I am a little Welsh girl and my name is Bronwen
I love music, and sing at our National Elsteddfod. My costume is made from genuine Welsh Flannel from Welsh Mills."
She also has a number at the top of her tag, T.78
When I tried to find her on the 'Net, I only found another doll, with the same tag number, but she looked totally different, so must be another version..this company seems to have produced many "International" style of dolls. When I was young (back in the Jurassic Age) such dolls were popular, but I never remember seeing one like this..
I found her interesting for several reasons, not just her "genuine" textiles, which really are quite interesting, but also the position of her stance..although her arms move, her legs do not, and they remind me of nothing so much as a Gaelic dancing pose, such as "Riverdance", if you know what I mean..
Also, her dark hair and olive-toned complexion (with painted blue eyes!) are a real departure from the blonde haired types of images you often see, and, after all, Katharine Zeta-Jones, a great dark haired beauty, is from Wales..
So, this is my little mystery for today..I think I've gone as far as I can to figure out these little women, and must throw myself on the mercy of the Web..if anyone knows anything, would you please share?

This Cynical old Broad...

Was quite moved a few days ago, after she got over the shock of an unordered parcel that was so heavy she could hardly lift it with one hand...
I of course am that broad...
Was nervous at first-Vancouver citified me to the point where I am paranoid about unknown parcels...looked carefully to see if it had my name..it was a professional looking printed label too, so I relaxed a bit, and as I staggered under the weight of it and other parcels, all delivered after the long weekend, mused on who could have sent it, and why I didn't rememeber ordering anything that heavy...
I now do order lots of stuff online, after refusing to do so for quite a while. But nothing that could be this heavy was ordered that I could remember.
Getting senile? It wouldn't be the first time this thought has crossed my mind-I am terribly absent-minded and do sometimes forget things that are a few items down on a list of things to remember, but that's normal...or is it? Well, normal for me...
As I wandered all over my beyond-messy apartment, trying to find my cool little box opener and pattern-cutter that an old workmate in Vancouver had given to me (hey, McBain, hope you finally got to retire too!), I thought about the nature of the unknown. What could be in that box?
Once I finally got it opened, it made me smile. A box of gorgeous, luscious exotically flavoured homemade jams! Zounds, certainly a mistake..but a welcome one.
As I repacked it, preparing to return it to the PO so that it could be sent to it's rightful owner, a tiny white corner of something appeared at the bottom of the box.
I reached in and pulled out a little 3D flowered thank you card, and inside it said

For being super sweet
Someone thought you could use a treat :)

Ah, a sweet mystery to solve! I couldn't even imagine who would have sent me such a gift, or why, since anyone who really knows me would use a few epithets to describe me, none of them being 'sweet' or anything like it....I will admit it here, although even under duress I will deny it later, that a little tear escaped,unbidden...

But! I knew the seller, an online Canadian purveyor of fine jams and jellies on Etsy, named bovinebubbles, as well as soap and cosmetic products, so, thought I could 'coax' it out of her.

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5318323

And, in my usual delicate, tactful jackboot manner, proceded to try and squeeze it out of the cow, so to speak-she tortured me a little and strolled away, her mocking laughter resonating in my online ears.
So there you have it, an Unsolved Mystery of kindness, and still, I am not sure who or even why...but if You Who Must Remain Nameless are reading this, hey, great gift! And even greater sweet mystery, as I lick the mango jam off my sticky fingers and smile beatifically...
Guess sometimes, it's just better not to know...