I took a road trip this weekend and picked up a traveling companion on my way home.
When I bought my little buddy, the cashier at the antique mall asked if I collected dolls, I laughed and said, “Oh honey, if you only knew.”
No, I don’t really collect dolls, I acquire them to scare the bajeebers out of people.
I’m drawn to “misfit” dolls who are not in pristine condition, so missing limbs, hair and eyes make them even better (I think the little doll head from Toy Story made a huge impact on me!). For the past couple years I have slowly accumulated a room full of dolls in my basement along with life-size clowns strategically placed here and there for more impact. I figure it’s better than rubber snakes, rubber rats or plastic spiders because if a rumor floats around my small town, I’d rather people talk about the house being infested with the weird and unbelievable than critters.
Our house was built in the 1870s, and when you live in an old house, there are some guests who ask to see the basement to take it all in. I say, sure, but you’ll have to use a flashlight (yes, I have basement lighting but flashlights make it creepier). Then I sit back and wait for the screams and by the time they emerge from the bowels of the house I am laughing my tail off. It’s better than anything on Netflix.
Before I left home for the weekend, my son informed me that he might have friends over. Thinking that was code for “party,” I panicked but tried to play it off like the cool mom that I think I am.
I came home and looked over the joint. Like Kathy Bates in the movie, Misery, I would know if something was out of place. Nope, all is well – he must have had a pretty boring weekend. My weekend, however, was anything but boring.
My roadtrip took me to a musical production at the Barter Theater in Abingdon, Virginia, antiquing & car show in Elizabethton, Tennessee and a tour of the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. Whew, I’m pooped and glad to be home again…and play with my new doll (insert sinister laugh here).
