Lifetime Career Schools

Well, a weekend of foragaing antique shops often turns up unexpected treasures. I picked up a binder of Lifetime Career School Lessons in Doll Repair, lessons 1-60. I would like the rest if anyone knows where I can find them. In an idle moment, I found the group on the web, still. They started in Aledo, IL, with the work of a lady named Ola Finch, at least, the doll course did. I loved reading the material, and I wish someone could send me the tests. I teach blended and online courses, and write them, so I was excited to see them proclaim, "home study is the wave of the future!' Little did we all know.

These are sad dark, days, indeed, when they should be the happy dog days of summer. I didn't get to the pools at all, and I feel that there was no summer, not really. Still, I've pulled out a few dolls that need TLC, in keeping with the themes of one of my conference papers. Today's patient was a Halloween doll, a pumpkin maiden with a styrofoam pumpkin head, papier mached and painted, with a little twig at her crown, and that "O!" surprised look of some Jack O'Lanterns. Her arms and legs are twigs, and her body is cloth, dressed in dyed muslin and calico. She is primitive, and became more so when a fearless mousie got into the storage unit [next to a large field] and proceeded to chew her little face, and it wasn't even edible. I suppose the grunge artist who made her should get kudos. I patched her with play dough, mixed tempera, and painted her to match the shade of her paper pumpkin shell after she dried. Tonight, I will attach her head.

Several other doll orphans received new clothes, or new places on shelves. Then, I write about them. What would we do without hobbies? I don't think I could think at all. Now is the time for cornhusk dolls, and dolls of corn and nuts of all types. I can't see a twig but think of Miss Hickory, or my whisk broom straw families. I found a witch on the flea market trail last week, too. Very large, on a real broom, child sized, with a wire to hang from. I got a lot of pleasant comments carrying her around, but then, I do have the official approved broom of the Salem Witches. I have been grouping pilgrims and Native American dolls, and pumpkins for Thanksgiving, and for some reason, want very badly to decorate for Halloween. It must be in the air.