Beanie Babies! Now there’s a throwback :) I always wondered what those kids *did* with all of them. Table linens, cookbooks, and charcuterie items seem like lovely and useful things to collect! Any good humour book recommendations?
Well I guess I have rather a juvenile sense of humor so a bit embarrassed to admit them! but…Awkward Family Photos (x3!), Signspotting x2, Grumpy Cat, Cake Wrecks, Dog Shaming. Please don’t cancel me now 🙏🤣🥹
That Gladwell quote got me. I'm exploring more commonplacing just in my general writing. You have to be so patient! But I think it's going to be worth it to learn...
It’s been crazy to me to look back over the years and begin to see threads… some which I’ve written about and others which I think are still incubating (to mix my metaphors!)
I used to look down on ppl who would buy 2 of the exact same toy, one to play with and one to remain untouched and hopefully and become more valuable over time, for selling. Also collection’ evokes visions of BeanieBabies!
Truth be told, I collect beautiful table linens, cookbooks, and charcuterie items. Also humour books.
Words, quotes, memorable phases - my journals are full of them over the years. I still have the bulging A4 folder, begun when a young teenager, of more.
Books - series, or everything written by a particular author, vintage hardbacks, books with eye catching covers, books books books.
And teddy bears. Just because.
As a child/teenager in the ‘60’s, I collected, as did my friends, stamps, including first day covers (when I had my first child, the collection sold for enough to buy a pushchair) Robertson’s china golliwogs, Armada paperbacks, and autographs. Later, blue and white china.
Now - decluttering as we’ve retired and downsized.
Wow! How do you make your decisions about what to let go of? The more I’ve had to move, the more I’ve found myself getting a bit stricter about what I’m allowed to keep.
If I’m honest with huge difficulty! And several I let go I’ve had to buy again as I couldn’t live without them.
But now, I’m looking at books and asking, will I read it again at least once, in the years I’m privileged to have. And the answer, now, is easier. Still hard though - most of what I’ve learned is from reading; books help define me, what and where I’ve lived ….
The reality is that even with most of them piled sideways (ugh) there just isn’t enough room to keep them all or energy to dust them! It’s still hard to let them go but Ziffit has been expanding my bank account nicely ….
"Books help define me" - I feel this way too. And then I try to remember that if it has formed me, the work was done *in me* and so I carry it with me interiorly. It doesn't *always* work to let it go, but sometimes it helps!
Thanks for reading and taking time to comment! What a beautiful idea to have a picture that inspires writing: I have words strewn about/ pinned up, but I really like this idea of letting visual art be a part of the process, too. I might need to order some postcards...
This was so relatable! I've been collecting words since I was younger, too! I also started intricately citing my collection because I never remembered where I gleaned something. Happy to meet another word collector! 🙂 Happy finding (and using!) your collection.
I am a fellow collector of words! But apart from books and letters/journals, I did adore Playmobil as a child and amassed quite a large collection. My mum kept most of it and now my daughter plays with it!
Beanie Babies! Now there’s a throwback :) I always wondered what those kids *did* with all of them. Table linens, cookbooks, and charcuterie items seem like lovely and useful things to collect! Any good humour book recommendations?
Well I guess I have rather a juvenile sense of humor so a bit embarrassed to admit them! but…Awkward Family Photos (x3!), Signspotting x2, Grumpy Cat, Cake Wrecks, Dog Shaming. Please don’t cancel me now 🙏🤣🥹
I’ve never heard of these but they sound fun!
That Gladwell quote got me. I'm exploring more commonplacing just in my general writing. You have to be so patient! But I think it's going to be worth it to learn...
It’s been crazy to me to look back over the years and begin to see threads… some which I’ve written about and others which I think are still incubating (to mix my metaphors!)
I used to look down on ppl who would buy 2 of the exact same toy, one to play with and one to remain untouched and hopefully and become more valuable over time, for selling. Also collection’ evokes visions of BeanieBabies!
Truth be told, I collect beautiful table linens, cookbooks, and charcuterie items. Also humour books.
Words, quotes, memorable phases - my journals are full of them over the years. I still have the bulging A4 folder, begun when a young teenager, of more.
Books - series, or everything written by a particular author, vintage hardbacks, books with eye catching covers, books books books.
And teddy bears. Just because.
As a child/teenager in the ‘60’s, I collected, as did my friends, stamps, including first day covers (when I had my first child, the collection sold for enough to buy a pushchair) Robertson’s china golliwogs, Armada paperbacks, and autographs. Later, blue and white china.
Now - decluttering as we’ve retired and downsized.
Wow! How do you make your decisions about what to let go of? The more I’ve had to move, the more I’ve found myself getting a bit stricter about what I’m allowed to keep.
If I’m honest with huge difficulty! And several I let go I’ve had to buy again as I couldn’t live without them.
But now, I’m looking at books and asking, will I read it again at least once, in the years I’m privileged to have. And the answer, now, is easier. Still hard though - most of what I’ve learned is from reading; books help define me, what and where I’ve lived ….
The reality is that even with most of them piled sideways (ugh) there just isn’t enough room to keep them all or energy to dust them! It’s still hard to let them go but Ziffit has been expanding my bank account nicely ….
That's a good criterion!
"Books help define me" - I feel this way too. And then I try to remember that if it has formed me, the work was done *in me* and so I carry it with me interiorly. It doesn't *always* work to let it go, but sometimes it helps!
I love that painting by Carl Larssen... and have the postcard to inspire me while writing! Thanks for this lovely, inspiring post.
Thanks for reading and taking time to comment! What a beautiful idea to have a picture that inspires writing: I have words strewn about/ pinned up, but I really like this idea of letting visual art be a part of the process, too. I might need to order some postcards...
Yes, do! It's also a reminder of a lovely holiday we once had as a family in Sweden (but didn't get to visit Larsson's home, alas).
This was so relatable! I've been collecting words since I was younger, too! I also started intricately citing my collection because I never remembered where I gleaned something. Happy to meet another word collector! 🙂 Happy finding (and using!) your collection.
Thanks, Ashley! Lovely to meet another collector :)
I am a fellow collector of words! But apart from books and letters/journals, I did adore Playmobil as a child and amassed quite a large collection. My mum kept most of it and now my daughter plays with it!
How fun to have something to hand on to the next generation that your daughter can enjoy, too!
(My own collection of journals is getting a bit unwieldy but I couldn't possibly part with them...)