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This morning I'm at my dad's and working on my laptop, sitting at the same old wooden captain's desk I've sat at since I was a toddler. I look out the large bow windows and can see up the valley my little hometown sits in, though the trees are much thicker now than they were. Hints of spring are in the air. A bit of red on trees. The sun at that unique "spring" angle. Birds in the lilac bush that in a few months will be bursting with blooms.

I'm prepping doll things. Working on convention items. And really, REALLY wishing that I was planning the then-annual trip to the Laurel Highlands Doll Show. It was a rite of spring passage since I first got into collecting (with other people and not in private) in the 1990s. So much anticipation in a time when convention isn't what it is now. When we were all hunting down local shows and planning how far we could go to attend an auction or maybe stake out an estate sale.

The bulk of my shopping this year will be between the Queen City shows (Hi, Margie!) and the NBDCC. But I really wish I could step back in time on occasion when things like a trip to Greensburg, PA (home the LH show) really did kind of mark the beginning of my in-person collecting year.

So if you know of a local show, feel free to post it on this thread and maybe a few of us can meet up at some point.

I will be at both QC shows this year and the NBDCC. I have to skip GAW because of surgery the following day but if you see me out and about? Flag me down and we'll take a selfie for the board!