In Search of ...

Mar's Court of Fey & Humans, BJDC Austin 2010

Fantasy & Faerie ... Mar's dolls wear OOAK clothing designed & sewn by Lady Fayre ... We spread the word about Sarah's lovely clothing at the convention. Alas, we didn't have any clothing for sale this year. Hopefully, we can create the stories for the court -- and keep them going longer than the "Cerberus Academy" series that we posted on Mariann's site ... if I can access the NTXBJD page this weekend ... Otherwise, you might see them on "Dancing Doll Cats."





Colette & Namu, Halloween 2007

Dolls ... There's a dearth of brick-and-mortar shops for the intrepid doll collector. Most of the doll shops from the 90s have closed; 1 still exists as an on-line presence that appears at the Canton Flea Market ... but the others? They have melted away -- and, no, Googling them on the Internet doesn't help since the updates never quite appear. Still, we can call and check to learn whether the store actually exists. After all, the British Emporium won #2 British speciality shop -- and it was the only brick-and-mortar shop in the top 5. Mariann loves to browse on the 'Net, but I like to see (and touch when possible) what I'm buying ...



Cool Weather ... That won't materialize until Monday, or so the weather gurus tell us. Now I know why the rich "snow birds" travel up and down the East Coast ... The heat hasn't slowed the kitties down, except for Skittles who watches the younger ones zipping around from a safe perch. As you can guess, Joy and I are feeling the heat ... and yet we're planning a "road trip" to Fort Worth in search of a doll shop.





School ... It's almost that time of year when the little ones return to the supervision of their CTUs (classroom teaching units). Luckily we did some summer planning, so English II has a battle plan ... although the DISD curriculum people may not like our taking their "managed curriculum" and tweaking it to our liking ... The first story is a lame one about a shy boy deciding whether to pursue a fish or a pretty girl; you can imagine how intrguing inner city kids would find THAT plot. We chose to begin the year with "The Monkey's Paw." Zombies can be a teacher's best fiend -- uh, friend. I still lurk in the upper halls of SHS, my home away from home. My previous abode for over 20 years was RHS, on the other side of I-35 ... the differences between a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood and a mainly Black 'hood would startle the young whitebread boys in the English Dpt. ... When they complain, some of us -- who HAVE taught in the real 'hood -- just laugh and shake our heads. But the battle of education begins for real on August 23, so we'll have to enjoy the last weekend of vacation, even if it IS way too hot to think straight.





Still More Dolls ... Grapevine, Grand Prairie, Duncanville, and Fort Worth -- the city of Dallas is big, but I guess it just doesn't feel much dolly love ... except for twice a year when the vendors pull out their stock at the anime conventions. In 2 weeks, we'll see what new surprises emerge from the other collectors in the area ... Hopefully, we can put on a show (shades of Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland) that's sure to please.

Dance Quote:
“God is a DJ
Life is a dancefloor
Love is the rhythm
You are the music”
- Author Unknown