It’s the 5th Tuesday! (It’s also the last day of 2019! Huh?) That means you get to learn 5 more things about me. I was debating which kind of thing I wanted to share about today, but decided I’d share something that most of you don’t know about me. I’m a collector. Of some things. But what?
Welcome to the post where I share 5 things about me as a Collector!
Patches and Pocket pulling bags from my drawer
I’m the kind of person who wanted to keep everything when I was young. And I mean everything! Scraps of this and that, pictures, you name it. If I thought I might use it someday, I wanted to save it. (Hey, don’t blame me, I got the trait from my dad!) But I’ve grown older. I still have a box of bits of this and that which my niece loves to dig through when she’s going to make a doll dress or a card, because you never know what you’ll find in BehBeh’s box. But I collect a few other things as well.
1. Books– This one was probably a given, right? I mean I’ve already said that I have over 800 books, so you’d kind of expect that to be in my collections. I like old books, new books, paperback, hardcover, big or small, real books or kindle books (though I’d rather have them real). I just like books.
2. Hats– Yes, I love hats. I don’t wear them much, but I do have over three large boxes (think paperbox size) that are full of hats. I had so many that I had enough for all the widows and their secret sisters (around 25 of us) to all wear a hat for our special lunch. I have hats in all sorts of colors. You need a hat? Just ask!
3. Bags– I don’t know what it is about bags, but I like them. I have some I use regularly, and some that only get used once in a while. I have Large bags, and small bags, and middle size bags. Actually the bottom drawer of my dresser is full of bags. And I did clean it out this year. I had to move two bags to another place so I could fit a new one in. If we’re going somewhere, I probably have the right size bag for the trip.
4. Calendar Pictures– My love of these pieces of paper started long before my passion for writing began. I just liked pictures on calendars. So I saved them. And saved them. Some have been the inspiration behind short stories and even some novels that I’ve written (Through the Tunnel, The Unexpected Request, and the first Graham Quartet book to name a few). Now at the end of every year I collect the old calendars, save the pictures I want, and file them in my file box. Yes, I do have a file box, and the picture are sorted by season, animal, and miscellaneous.
5. Stuffed Dogs– I love dogs. But I don’t have time or money to keep a real one. (Or a good place to let a big dog run.) So I have the next best thing. Stuffed doges. My collection actually started 23 years ago when my brother gave me “Patches.” (The dog on the left in the picture.) Then I got Penny, Parka, Prince, Peanut Butter, Pippin, Piccadilly, Pocket, Pal, Passepartout, Paiute, Polly, Police Chief, Private Bobby Perks, Preston, Princess, and I might be missing one or two. Oh, yes, Johnny Reb, and Dixie are my only dogs with names not starting with “P”. 🙂 And yes, I know each one’s name. My nieces and nephews love to get the dogs out and play with them, or sleep with them when they spend the night.
So there you have it. You now know more about me than you probably cared to know. 😉 Are you a collector of anything? Anything besides books? If so, what? Would you have guessed I collected those things? I hope you have a wonderful start to the New Year!
Bags are definitely my weakness! Shoulder bags in particular… Any time someone offers me a new one, I can pretty much guarantee I’ll find a way that it’s different from anything else in my collection and I might need it someday. 😀
I also collect calendar pictures, although I’ve never based a story on them. I have a goal of using them in craft projects someday, but we’ll see if that actually happens. And don’t get me started on random odds and ends!
Oh, and I’ve started collecting postcards and magnets when I go on trips, even if it’s just to a zoo or something. It helps that they’re both inexpensive and don’t take up much room. 😉
Another bag and calendar picture collector! 😀 You should try writing a story from of of those pictures.
Oh, I like the idea of postcards and magnets. Fun way to keep track of the places you visit.
It’s so fun for me to learn random things about other people;) I was thinking that I don’t really collect anything, but with a simple glance at my desk, it’s obvious that I collect notebooks. Any kind of notebook. I cannot help myself. Some I’ve had since I was a kid and they’ve never been written in because I think they’re too pretty to mess up. HA!
That’s great! Notebooks are fun! And I can totally relate to not wanting to write in it because it’s too pretty. 😉
STUFFEDDDD ANIMALSSSS!!! There’s no rhyme or reason to what stuffed animals I end up with (although I adore teddy bears) or what their name may be, but stuffies are the best.
When I was younger I obsessively collected porcelain dolls and the result is now I have an entire trunk full of them…how Rough-and-Rowdy (…..me) played Civil War with them and only completely shattered two is beyond me… 😂 There was a lot of duct tape involved.
I have some other random stuffed animals (possum anyone?) but dogs are my favorite. 🙂
Those poor dolls! 😉 I never was that interested in porcelain dolls. Too easy to break and mess up. But I loved baby dolls.