Collections

I collect. A lot. All sorts of small collections.

Darth Vader is the subject of one of my main collections - I have several small pieces, including the Pez dispenser and a relatively small solid brass keychain (serious blunt object!). I did, however, resist the pinata I saw a couple weeks ago. Ok, I did get the Vader head bank...

I do have one largish collection, though: rosaries. I fell in love with rosaries long before I became Catholic (fyi, I now consider myself ex-Catholic). There are around 60 in the collection. Different beads, different medals. Some (many) I bought; some I made. Short rounds of beads called chaplets. Full rosaries (the "normal" is only a partial one) with fifteen decades (the longer strings of beads, 10 each actually) instead of only three. Of course since Pope JP II added the Luminous Mysteries I guess a "full" rosary would be 20 decades.....

Poker chips from casinos my son visited on bowling tournaments. Thimbles. Japanese netsuke (small wood or, in one case ox bone, carvings, usually only a couple inches tall). Auburn University t-shirts. Bobbleheads of the popes (JP II and Benedict; haven't really looked for one of Francis).

Of course my truly largest collection is the one most in flux: books. I have some fiction but not a lot (ok, excepting the JD Robb In Death series, of which I have all 40-something) (google it, if you like murder and romance combined it's a hit), Most of my books are the non sort. I suppose you could call it eclectic.

Want to know about the Catholic Church? I have books for that. Henry VIII? Gotcha. Genealogy, including the genetic sort? Boy, have I got you covered. Plagues, the Civil War, writing, photography, knitting.... And a book called That Book - totally useless information.

My son used to call me the Queen of Useless Information.

Why do people collect? Sometimes I just like the looks of my collections. Sometimes I can't resist adding to my collections (mostly books!). Sometimes they act as visual triggers for memories. Sometimes they fill a hole....

What do you collect? Why? I think looking at the things we collect tells us about ourselves: what feels good for us to have, what pleases the eye...

Gotta run - need another book!!!