Lauren leads the charge this week on Throwback Thursday Memory BlogHop and challenges us to think about the things we collected as children and on into adulthood. Click on the link to read the rules and join in the fun.
Today’s subject: Collections
I grew up in a family where money for nonessentials was rare and money rarely trickled down to the children in the family. Our disposable income usually came from collecting returnable pop bottles for the 2¢ deposit or collecting bottle caps that would serve as a way to get a free ticket to the movies.
My first collection was a collection of broken glass collected from the streams and creek beds where I lived. These simple slivers of sparkling glass were like gold to me. I have written about collections before, and my love for these broken shards of glass was part of that post. If interested, you can read more here. It is the one thing from my childhood that was lost over the years and the one thing I wish I still had. That’s how special it was to me.
I have had periods of collecting items over the years, but most collections were short-lived as I moved around and had less and less space to display anything I might collect. I still have a few collections tucked away.
The first time I met my current husband’s mother, we went on a trek to antique stores in Maine. She collected cobalt blue glass and she was in search of antique cobalt blue luncheon plates. This is where my love for cobalt blue glass originated. I have antique bottles, ornaments, antique eyeglasses with cobalt lenses, snuff bottles and miscellaneous other items. They are currently boxed away as I have no place to display them. Also boxed away is my small collection of poison bottles and perfume bottles.
Hubby and I started buying Christmas ornaments from our travels. Over the years our friends and family members have added to our collection of ornaments. They all adorn our Christmas tree every year and it brings back so many joyful memories. I have a few my sister made me and one my great aunt made which are very special to me.
I have a small collection of art supplies – paints, markers, chalks, pencils, watercolors, sketch pads, canvas, brushes, and miscellaneous, but these are consumable items so they do not hang around forever.
When I was taking lapidary classes, I started collecting rocks and rock slabs to cut into cabochons. Sadly, the teacher and friend I had passed away and the school no longer offers classes. The equipment to cut rocks into cabochons is specialized and expensive, but I hold onto the rocks in hopes I will have the opportunity to do it again in the future. I have a connection to materials from the earth that I do not have with commercial items.
Our house is full of books – mostly hardback first editions. We downsized a lot when we moved, but we still seem to have books tucked away in every nook and cranny. Our walls are adorned with artwork we have collected during our marriage. There was a time we frequented Plein Air events and often bought paintings. They all hang on our walls and I love the emotional response I get from looking at them. I have a few favorites and they would be the last pieces I would ever part with.
I know as soon as I end this post I will think of other collections I have, but since these are the things that rose to the top, this is what I will feature today.
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