Downsizing for seniors

Everyone I know has this problem.  Stuff.  Except maybe my cousin.  She moves too often to accumulate much. Today I stopped at Half-Price Books and bought. . . are you ready for this. . . .Bill and Hillary paper dolls.  At $2.00 it was such a bargain.  I also bought yet another How to draw book.  We must have at least 5.  If books could tell you how to draw or paint, I'd be a famous artist.

We actually thought we were downsizing when we bought this condo in 2001.  And we were, sort of. The problem is it actually has an attic over the garage and storage space in the basement, two storage areas we didn't have in our home on Abington.

Here's advice from AARP on what to get rid of.

Know anyone who collects paper dolls?

Guys and dolls--paper that is

Collecting paper dolls is not something I do, but because I have scanned a few, my site meter shows that sometimes people interested in paper dolls do show up here at Collecting My Thoughts. I have a few of my childhood paper dolls squished into photo albums, and some that belonged to my mother which were cut from women's magazines. Paper doll collectors specialize just like other collectors of Ohio pottery, old quilts, or retro clothing (I seem to have a few of those, too--Hull, grandma's and mine).

Here's a bulletin board for collectors--very interesting to read even you aren't a collector. It's maintained by Joan, who has written a book on magazine paper dolls.

You can always tell when childhood memorabilia wasn't loved or played with--it's still in good condition! The dollies that survived my little girl loving were given to me when I was moving out of that stage, which is also why I have children's glass play dishes. The older ones were all broken or given away to younger children. So it is with these young men. My Mary Martin and Betty Grable and Gene Tierney paper dolls are headless, knee capped, folded and wrinkled. These guys are in near perfect condition (considering their age) and the tabs haven't even been folded on the little boy's clothing. Written on the back are Greg (2), Eddie, and Jerry, but I don't recognize the handwriting. We often renamed the paper dolls, even the movie stars, so those probably aren't the names they came with. From the clothing they came in, I'd guess they are ca. 1943-1946. What do you think?

McCain Paper Dolls

My celebrity paper dolls get a lot of hits. At Illinois Review I saw an item about McCain Paper Dolls.

Thinking about Mom

It's not her birthday; it's not the anniversary of her death; there's nothing going on that reminds me of her. But yesterday I wrote a blog at my church page about her. Today when I was making a dessert, I took special care to use the one little mixing bowl of hers that I have and always try to use even though it's a little small. And now by accident I've found the perfect birthday gift. A book about magazine paper dolls. I don't know why I am always surprised when someone publishes a book on a topic I know a little about, but didn't think there was enough to write a whole book. There always is, because someone collects or saves or archives that topic. How many times did I look at my grandmother's Ladies Home Journal (which went back to the 1890s) only to find the paper dolls were gone. Well, of course! My mother and her sister probably cut them out and played with them. I have a few of them. Based on the WWI uniform, I'd guess these to be 1917 or 1918. The magazines covered by this book are The Delineator, Good Housekeeping, The Housekeeper, Ladies Home Journal, Ladies World, McCall's, Pictorial Review, and Woman's Home Companion, all of which my grandmother subscribed to or purchased. Notice, there's only one outfit for the girl(s)--just guessing here, but they probably played more with the girl dolls and that's why their clothes didn't survive. The toys I have from my childhood are those I didn't use much or love to pieces.