What Do I Collect

Day 9-what do I collect. I Googled how many of something constitutes a collection. The most common answer was three. If that is true, I collect a lot of things, like dust bunnies, wads of dryer lint, mold specimens, candlesticks, votives, bird houses, Blue Mountain houses, cake stands, angels, shells and on and on.

I do not just bring shells home from Sanibel.  Mr. L. and I are looking good back there, huh? 

I do have specific items the collection of which is quite intentional. I collect salt and pepper shakers. I chose salt and pepper shakers because they are generally quite inexpensive and often very charming.  I have 93 sets of them. I have antique and vintage and new sets. I have sets that I bought just because. I have sets that were bought as souvenirs from some adventure. I have sets that were given to me as hostess gifts, as Christmas gifts, as birthday gifts, as just-because-I-saw-these-and-thought-you-would-like-them gifts. My niece, Maclellen has made it a tradition to give me sets for gift-giving occasions. I love that.

Simeon painted the ones on the left and Maclellan gave me the ones on the right. Both Christmas presents this year.  MP dictated what colors Simmy could use, as brown is his favorite color and Mellie is not a fan. 

Several years ago, MP and I put up shelves in the kitchen to display my collection. As they began to overflow, I purchased a huge (apparently VERY heavy ~ just ask my son-in-law and nephew who moved it) display case from a local jewelry store that was being remodeled. It is just what I "needed"  (who needs 93 sets of salt and pepper shakers and a place to display them?) for my salt and peppers. It fit perfectly on a wall in the kitchen where a Hoosier (not a real Hoosier) cabinet once stood.  The display case is a better fit, as I do not ram my thigh into it 75% of the time coming from the den to the kitchen like I did on the Hoosier.

As I thought (very little) about this blog I began to peruse my collection.  There are multiple snowmen and amphibious creatures.  I guess turtles and frogs are popular collectables. 

Frogs....I have lots of turtles too. 

I bought these because Jenny, one of  my sweethearts in Minnesota, was obsessed with monkeys. 

Truth be told, there really is not much of earth~shaking (pun intended) significance to a collection of salt and pepper shakers.  So, I  leave you to ruminate on more important matters. 

These were a gift from my friend, Marilyn, a.k.a. TOM.  They belonged to her husband's mother (?), grandmother (?).  I love them because Marilyn and Mark gave them to me, and I think they are so cute.  Perhaps, Mark's grandmother was a Republican.  Wonder what she would think about the GOP of today.

Day 9 (?) I cannot count!! ~ what do I collect ~ check

A little extra:

This is a particularly precious set to me.  My mom's friend, Betty, gave it to her to give to me.  They are very old (the salt and pepper shakers, not my mom and Betty.....well, some would say 91 is old, but they haven't met my mother).  Somehow, the Mama Kangaroo with Joey in pouch got thrown in trash that was being burned.  My sweet daddy rescued them, Mom cleaned them up, and they survived to shake another day.  If one were really philosophical, there would be a deep lesson of survival, or being drawn from the fiery pit, or some such thing.  If you read this blog, and I assume you are reading it at least right now, you know not a lot of deep stuff comes from here.