Update on Sears Charm School

In case you missed it in the comments of this earlier post about the Sears Charm School, reader Stacye just sent along a great link to a recording of "interview" about the Sears School for Young Charmers from 1967...listen to it here.

They mention a tote bag to "carry your shoes" (heels), and anything else they might need to bring to class, a basic make-up kit, charm bracelet when they graduate (They have a party!), and the booklet (maybe that's the one our original Sears graduate was looking for) which "they can refer to at any time." The Charm school representatives say their students can come back at any time after their course for additional help, I guess.

Sounds like such fun! :)

R.I.P. Rose Grotke

My grandma, Rose Grotke, lived to 97 and a few days. I am across the world but wish I were in Buffalo right now. I love you, Grandma. Rest in Peace.

Hello from Australia

After about 32 hours of missed connections, running through LAX, and the long flights themselves, I landed in Canberra, Australia, yesterday. Now it's Saturday morning and I'm feeling a bit more refreshed after a long night's sleep. It's sunny and warm here. I'm here for a 5 day meeting starting Monday at the National Library of Australia (pictured above). Hope to walk around town today and see some sights - it's like the D.C. of Australia, federal buildings and museums. I already spotted a used bookstore. Just need to be careful not to weigh down my suitcase too much!

1902: The Ping Pong Craze!

I spent the morning cheering on marathoners as they crossed the finish line of the National Marathon in D.C. I was waiting with my friend Molly for our other friend Jocelyn to finish her run (apologies if I'm not using the right marathon lingo!). Anyway, she done good and I admire her for doing such a thing. I can barely run to the bathroom, let alone down the street! Let's just say I never really learned to run or do anything much athletic thanks to the twisted Florida educational system that allowed me to take marching band instead of physical education in junior high - I guess they thought the marching counting as physical enough activity? I regret it now, but at the time I was thrilled to not have to spend an hour in the gym each day, particularly since I was shy of changing in the locker room.

So, in the spirit of physical fitness today, and all of those fabulous runners, I bring you something from a relatively new digital resource provided by my employer, the Library of Congress, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Browsing the newspapers in Chronicling America can be a lot of fun for someone like me, particularly if you use silly keyword searches (try searching for "hair care" (just look at this example), "etiquette boys" (led me to this great page of ads), "dancing girls" gave me this result, among others). And a search on terriers (near and dear to my heart), gave me these two pages: The Society Women and her Pet Dog.

Sorry - almost forgot about to the athletics! I particularly enjoyed this page, sent to me by a friend who works on the project: The Ping Pong Girl in Training. Now that's more my style of athleticism.

Miss Abigail at the Arlington (Va.) Public Library, March 8, 2pm

I'll be speaking on Saturday, March 8, at 2:00 pm at the Arlington Public Library in Virginia, in the Central LIbrary Auditorium. See the flyer.

Here's the blurb:
Arlington Writes: Miss Abigail's Time Warp Advice on Dating and Matters of the Heart

Take a step back in time as Miss Abigail shares words of wisdom from her collection of about 1,000 classic advice books in a quest to solve modern-day dilemmas. Abigail Grotke, a Library of Congress digital projects coordinator, advice blogger and historian of the art of personal guidance, has collected books from 1822 to 1978 that cover the age-old topics of dating, love, living together, marriage, health, beauty, puberty, sex, etiquette, housekeeping, home economics, and home repairs. Grotke has spent years scouting used book stores and thrift shops to locate these treasures of self help. Learn about how she's built her collection and get time-tested advice to the lovelorn. Refreshments will be served. Books will be available for sale and signing. For more information, please call 703-228-6321 or email Deirdre Cross, or see this calendar listing.

If you're in the D.C. area, please stop by!

It's not pornography -- it's etiquette!

This article is great! And they are digitizing them! Can't wait.

Thanks for the tip, Jurretta!

Happy Valentine's Day! Happy Quirkyalone Day!

Ah, it's the day of love and roses (for some people at least). This is the first time in a long time that I've had a valentine of my own, but my heart is still with the Quirkyalones (not just for singles, mind you!). That said, I'll try to offer a little bit for everyone today...

Digging into the Miss Abigail archives, here are some tips for:

~~ those seeking some Love Advice
~~ those trying to make love happen in a variety of ways
~~ those all alone but not necessarily minding it

That should cover it, don't you think?