I completely forgot about every single one of those toys until you mentioned them. What great fun they were! I think the part of my brain that wasn't busy imagining all the time enjoyed getting used for once!
I'm torn on thanking you for this piece as I'll now spend the rest of the day wondering where my Illya Kuryakin doll went landed. I know I didn't toss it.
My cousin had those mice homes, and my grandma made miniature hand-braided rugs for them. She made me similar rugs for my Barbies. I still have the rugs.
It has such a lovely ending — when Dickie sees his grandmother smile and assumes it’s because of his music, when she’s really been thinking about how (almost) everyone at the party is there because of her. I like that neither Cate nor Lydia is particularly likable. And I think I loved A Southern Family even more.
Since leaving the world of rock bands and its attendant equipment mania, I have cultivated an indifference to personal possessions that I don't need for work. They could all go up in flames right now and I would just feel even more unencumbered. But if I'm honest? I would really like the blood-red '67 Mustang back.
The funny thing is, I am the NON hoarder in my family and I am beginning to prepare myself to downsize in a few years, moving to a smaller place after my kid goes to college. I think I will be ready to let go of all my toys* by then, but, man, culling the art is going to be extremely challenging.
(Not Doodlebug, though. The irony is that Doodlebug, who had been missing for two years, was found again when I started going through my toys to take photos for this piece. I almost cried from happiness. He is now sitting in a Fiestaware eggcup on my desk.)
A museum may want them! Our local museum has a bunch of 80s toys in their archives and I imagine some of my things will end up offered there, though maybe not accepted.
Bear in mind that I’m an AVAM docent who started collecting visionary art in my 20s because it was affordable. Found these on eBay almost 20 years ago.
My grandpa had that Labyrinthspel. It was only brought out for grandchildren's visits to his house in Hagerstown. I remember it had such a delicious woody smell. Is that weird?
And Creative Playthings! I would pore over that catalog--I don't even know how I got it--and long for the Scandinavian dolls who had blonde bob haircuts and stern faces. But those were for girls whose moms wore clogs and did pottery and had macrame wall hangings.
You brighten my day every time I see “Shaved Meats” in my list. I also loved Labyrinth as a child and it was my sole claim to fame! And I reveled with you about the melted Barbie head. When I discovered that my older sister’s Barbie’s limbs were held together by rubber bands connecting them through the body, the carnage I produced with a good pair of scissors had me punished for centuries!
That was a great game. There was one in the living room at The Mayflower Inn, where my grandparents stayed for visits, before they retired and moved to our little Connecticut town. I loved it. The modern version is pure junk!
I always feel a certain small joy when your pieces appear in my Inbox. Thank you!
What a lovely thing to say. Thank you!
I completely forgot about every single one of those toys until you mentioned them. What great fun they were! I think the part of my brain that wasn't busy imagining all the time enjoyed getting used for once!
I'm torn on thanking you for this piece as I'll now spend the rest of the day wondering where my Illya Kuryakin doll went landed. I know I didn't toss it.
My cousin had those mice homes, and my grandma made miniature hand-braided rugs for them. She made me similar rugs for my Barbies. I still have the rugs.
LOVE this story and the footnotes are the best <3
A feast today. Thank you.
The Labyrinth, yes! And the Moonshot, a classic. My claim to fame was the Bongo Board! I love your work, thanks for sharing.
OMG I'd completely forgotten about that Labyrinth toy. My favorite, too, though I wasn't nearly as good at it as you. x
I lent a friend my copy of A Mother and Two Daughters and she never returned it. It’s decades later and I still haven’t forgiven her.
It has such a lovely ending — when Dickie sees his grandmother smile and assumes it’s because of his music, when she’s really been thinking about how (almost) everyone at the party is there because of her. I like that neither Cate nor Lydia is particularly likable. And I think I loved A Southern Family even more.
Beautiful and fraught.
Since leaving the world of rock bands and its attendant equipment mania, I have cultivated an indifference to personal possessions that I don't need for work. They could all go up in flames right now and I would just feel even more unencumbered. But if I'm honest? I would really like the blood-red '67 Mustang back.
The funny thing is, I am the NON hoarder in my family and I am beginning to prepare myself to downsize in a few years, moving to a smaller place after my kid goes to college. I think I will be ready to let go of all my toys* by then, but, man, culling the art is going to be extremely challenging.
(Not Doodlebug, though. The irony is that Doodlebug, who had been missing for two years, was found again when I started going through my toys to take photos for this piece. I almost cried from happiness. He is now sitting in a Fiestaware eggcup on my desk.)
A museum may want them! Our local museum has a bunch of 80s toys in their archives and I imagine some of my things will end up offered there, though maybe not accepted.
I never had art to cull, which I can see would make a difference.
Bear in mind that I’m an AVAM docent who started collecting visionary art in my 20s because it was affordable. Found these on eBay almost 20 years ago.
My grandpa had that Labyrinthspel. It was only brought out for grandchildren's visits to his house in Hagerstown. I remember it had such a delicious woody smell. Is that weird?
And Creative Playthings! I would pore over that catalog--I don't even know how I got it--and long for the Scandinavian dolls who had blonde bob haircuts and stern faces. But those were for girls whose moms wore clogs and did pottery and had macrame wall hangings.
You brighten my day every time I see “Shaved Meats” in my list. I also loved Labyrinth as a child and it was my sole claim to fame! And I reveled with you about the melted Barbie head. When I discovered that my older sister’s Barbie’s limbs were held together by rubber bands connecting them through the body, the carnage I produced with a good pair of scissors had me punished for centuries!
I love the fact that you used the word 'doted.'
That was a great game. There was one in the living room at The Mayflower Inn, where my grandparents stayed for visits, before they retired and moved to our little Connecticut town. I loved it. The modern version is pure junk!