Mrs. Magpie: Collector's Edition

I never set out to be

a collector.....

Even saying the word collector 

brings to mind someone with

a wine cellar filled with vintage

bottles or a man wearing a

monocle, studying his vast coin

or stamp collections....

But somehow, over many,

many years, I have amassed

groups of similar things,

unwittingly cobbling together

my own sorts of collections.

I didn't grow up with

parents who were collectors,

although Mom and Dad

did encourage my brother

and me to start collections.....

stamps and coins {him}

dolls and horse statues {me}

sea shells {both}

rocks {him}

silver charms {me}

I think adults like the idea

of adding to children's collections

as well as the idea that the

collection itself might be 

educational.

Ironically, it wasn't until my

brother and I had left the nest that

 my folks began their own collecting.

They now attend auctions regularly

and my mom is a regular hunter

at thrift shops!

  

While I no longer collect dolls,

I do have some horse and dog

art around our house.  I use that

word lightly, as none of it is valuable

in terms of money.  It simply appeals

to my love of both of these creatures.

And  really, isn't that the 

best sort of collection?

When I travel I like to bring

home a rock or shell and add it to the

ledge in my shower.  It makes me

smile to see that tiny collection

every

single

day.

My dad's parents retired in Florida

and spent hours shelling.  They had

buckets and buckets of shells and

shark's teeth in their little seaside home

and it was always a treat for all of

their grandchildren to visit and comb

through the treasures.

I believe, in the end, it's not having

the things that means a great deal to

me, but rather being a part of the

history and stories that the pieces hold.

Even if I didn't inherit the item, but 

purchased it at a flea market or thrift shop

I love to think about who the previous 

owner might have been and what

 kind of life each thing possibly had 

before it entered mine.

And honestly, if I lost all my collections

tomorrow, I would be sad, but as I often

remind my daughter when she's forced

to tackle her unkept room and make the

tough decisions about what to keep and what

 to set aside for the church rummage sale:

They are things.

The thing is not your health.

The thing is not your loved ones.

The thing is not your past.

The thing is not your future.

It is, indeed, an object.

And while it might bring back a

wonderful memory, the thing,

in itself is not the memory.  Only

our heads and hearts can truly

contain those.

That said, what truly makes a home

welcoming and cozy in my eyes are 

those little things that reveal hints

 about the people that live there.

When you step into our house,

the vintage clocks on the mantle,

the silver plate and tea pots, the

horses and dogs all tell you a wee

bit about the lady of the house.

I wish my husband shared my love

of collecting.  Aside from books that

he has read and enjoyed {and none

of them are rare or first-edition}, his

only collection is kept at his office ~

kaleidoscopes ~  which is pretty cool.

But there is nothing in our home,

per say, that lets you in on who he is.

Except, like him, the dwelling 

itself is solid, warm and handsome.

Like my parents, I have encouraged

both of our kids to start collections.

And similar to us, it is our daughter

who has many different collections and 

our son who has only a few.

The proverb that beauty is in the

eye of the beholder is especially evident 

in the varying objects that people collect.

But whether they be precious, kitchy,

sentimental or simply call to our spirits,

collections are also reflections of some

part of what make us.....us.

Here is a peek at a few more of

the collections that this Mrs. Magpie

has brought home to the nest 

over the years.

Okay, now it's your turn to show-n-tell.

I'd love to peek in your window and

see what you collect.....or to hear what

things you hold dear to your heart.  

So please, link up your collections,

below, and pop back all week to look 

through the other windows with me!

{You know you want to, right??}

The linky party will run until Friday,

so come on in and stay a while!

xx

Suzanne

Also linking up here:

Collections:

1- The first of many tea cups.

2 - Skeleton keys
3 - Boxes
4 - Vintage trophies
5 - Horses and dogs
6 - Travel rocks and shells
7 - Ball jars and silver plate
8 - Ball jars
9 - Tea cups
10 - Walking sticks
11 - Porcelain box
12 - Vintage clocks
13 - Part of my son's frog collection
14 - Hand mirrors
15 - Lake art
16 - Transferware
17 - Planter urns