Trolls

In the early 60's I fell in love with the ONLY dolls I ever ended up actually PLAYING with: troll dolls. Putting aside the obvious psychological hook of that admission, troll dolls were unique, cute and cheap enough that, with an artfully timed & crafted begging episode, I might actually get my mom to buy one for me every so often from the Sav-On store toy aisle. Eventually, I even managed to get a troll doll house as an xmas gift. It was a vinyl house-shaped suitcase-like thing that you could store them all in as well. The vinyl was decorated like a cross between a cottage & a cave and had a built in table on the inside. I LOVED it. I can still remember the intense smell of the vinyl when I unlatched the top & opened it up. Mmmm, heady stuph!
I had only one friend who loved trolls as much as I & we made clothes out of felt & fabric discards-- you only needed a snippet of cloth, they were so small. (Wherever you are now, Anne T. C., a blessing on your head!) When I think of the hours we spent living vicariously through our troll dolls...! HA! Thankfully, we had that as an outlet-- or today we might really & sincerely be... well, WEIRD. ;-)