What Do You Collect? (besides dust)

 

I am somewhat famous for my collection of cat “stuff” and am rather proud of it.

Marv has been collecting militaria for years and years.

My son-in-law collects Coleman lanterns.

 

I know there are a LOT of collector groups in this world. I wanted to see what kind of unusual or odd collector groups there are. There weren’t that many actual groups. I mostly came across individuals that collected odd stuff. And yes, I know “odd” is up for interpretation. I have never understood toy collectors that never take the things out of the package. What’s the point if you can’t play with it? I remember the Beanie Baby craze and I got a few of those (cats, of course) and the first thing I’d do is cut the tag off. My friend who collected them as an investment was horrified.

 

Bagpipes? Really? This is a group and the record holder has 105 of these suckers. I’m glad he’s not my neighbor.

 

TV and movie related board games. I love board games and have a lot of the usual ones. The only one I have to fit this category is one based on the movie It’s a Wonderful Life.

 

Slinky collection. A woman had 1,054. I think it would be cool to go someplace historical, like the Lincoln Memorial and set them all up in a line of the top step and then start them all going down.

 

Now, I try not to judge, (but I will, trust me) but there is a married couple who have a collection of 240 “love dolls”. Ahem. Life size. They like to dress them up and even take them on shopping trips. I guess it would help if you’re driving in the carpool lane…

 

I’ll close with what I think is one of the weirdest: Nicotine gumball. ABC. It took 6 years, 95,200 pieces of gum and weighs 175 pounds. But the guy DID manage to quit smoking, so good for him! That’s his picture at the top.

 

Un-Perfection

 

Human perfection is unattainable. Ponder that. Some people come close in certain areas, but no one hits the bullseye every single time. Get used to it. Embrace it.

 

In a lot of my altered books I have illustrated the following paragraph. I don’t know who originally wrote it:

 

“I’m not a perfect girl. My hair doesn’t always stay in place and I spill things a lot. I’m pretty clumsy and sometimes I have a broken heart. My friends and I sometimes fight and maybe some days nothing goes right. But when I think about it and take a step back, I remember how amazing life truly is and that maybe, just maybe, I like being unperfect…”

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

 

Another concept of un-perfection is the Japanese idea of wabi-sabi. It’s a relaxing acceptance of the transience of nature and life. It favors the imperfect and incomplete in everything: pottery, architecture, flower arranging, art.

Wabi – the elegant beauty of humble simplicity.

Sabi -- the passing of time and subsequent deterioration.

 

Nothing lasts forever, enjoy it NOW.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

 

Then there’s this post from Facebook that smacked me in the face the other day. When Sarah and Lia were up here at Easter, I was whining about how I didn’t have any talents. Both of them are fantastic artists. I can MAYBE manage a recognizable stick figure. I love music and singing, but am totally awful in the singing department. I can play the piano fairly well, but not up to MY exacting standards. Here’s what the post said: (The capitalization is mine)

 

“Destroy the idea that you gotta be good at artistic things to enjoy them, that every hobby has to become something you’re so good at, you can monetize it. THAT IS A LIE. Sing off-key, draw poorly, write badly. LIFE IS MEANT TO BE ENJOYED, not monetized. You are not a product.”

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

 

I CHALLENGE YOU – (and myself)

Write down things you enjoy/love doing, no matter what level of competency you’re at.

DO THEM. HAVE FUN. ENJOY YOURSELF.

 

100 Books – part 2

 

 

 More from the list of books everyone should read in their lifetime.

 

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

When I was in grade school, my mom bought a set of illustrated classics for kids. One of them was about Sherlock Holmes. I absolutely loved that book and went on to read all the Holmes books and stories that Doyle wrote. I will add to this list with a couple of Doyle books that are not a part of the Holmes writings.

The Lost World – An expedition to the Amazon area discovers an island inhabited by prehistoric animals and humans.

The Mystery of Cloomber – Very moody book about a retired general who is fearful and paranoid and haunted by his past. Lots of dark atmosphere. I loved the book.

 

Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll 

I don’t care how old you are, if you haven’t read these books READ THEM! The poetry alone is worth it.

 

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Only this book was on the list, but everything Agatha wrote should be read. And I’ve not only read it, but seen at least 3 adaptations for movie or TV. (And they were fine, but the book is better)

 

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl

Once again, all of Dahl’s children’s book are worthy of being read. But the Charlie books are big favorites with me. The movies were good, and I enjoyed both Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp. But read the books as well.

 

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

I did a book report on this one a while back. Great read that really brings you the feeling of the early 1900s. Haven’t seen the movie.

 

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

This entire series is fabulous. IMO they should be read one right after the other. L’Engle was a wonderful writer. Deliberately did not see the movie because of some of the things I head they’d done to the original book.

 

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

This was really a fantastic book that I thought would be good to read to Lia. When reading it again after so many years, I realized that this is a book that needs to be SEEN rather than just heard. So much fun visual word-play that just doesn’t come through vocally.