Obviously I’m late for my entry for today’s #AtoZchallenge2014… (and it’s only Day 3!). I meant to work on it last night, but was too tired. Plus I didn’t have a topic. Then I didn’t have time today before I left for school, and when I got home I essentially fell over into a coma, waking only when hubby roused me for dinner.

Suggestions for topics from my friend Guster include:  “carnivorous… coniferous… cellophane… cello… cha-chas… crack… cucumber… collarbone… cummerbund… catch a falling star… comic books (my c)… bad words beginning with c…lol… can of soup… conviviality… contentious… construction sites for burying the bodies… collider as in Large Hadron… cats… clapping one’s hands… chicken… cork…”

All of which are great words, but other than cat, I truly didn’t have much to say about them. (Burying bodies is best left to other writer friends, such as A.J. Aalto.) (Bad words that start with the letter “C” was quite tempting…) And yes, I could wax poetic about cats, how there’s nothing like a purring kitty sitting on your lap and looking up at your adoringly… but… cat is pretty obvious, what with me having two of ’em, and also that I could easily become a crazy cat lady if my husband wasn’t around to stop me.

My friend Phyllis was so excited about “C”, and also wanted to help me in my search for a topic, so she suggested these options on my Facebook page: “Champagne? Critters? Cricket? Congestion? Constipation? Constellations? Corn? Cabbage? Cantankerous? Confetti?”

Again, great words, but who wants to hear about constipation or congestion? Cricket goes back nicely to cat, as that’s the name of one of my fury felines. As for cantankerous, yes, well, I am feeling that way, but I shall power on, and give you the topic I finally settled on for today…

C is for Collections

I mean to take this picture while the sun was out so you could actually maybe make out a few things… but I was either at work or sleeping, and I dislike using the flash on my camera, so there ya go. If you *must* see this image larger, feel free to click it.

Bet you didn’t see that one coming!

It’s always interesting to me what people collect. Obviously Guster (and a lot of people) collect comic books. Some people collect bird figurines. Or newspapers. Or stuffed pandas. A quick google search shows a very odd assortment of odd collections, including one of (I shudder to think) navel lint.

If you’ve read any portion of my blog, or know me at all, my collections will probably not be surprising in any way, but who knows. I could be wrong about that.

• books. Obviously, my largest collection (and the biggest pain in the arse to move). That photo there shows you just a small portion. The rest are in boxes, plus there’s a huge TBR (which means “to be read” for those unfamiliar with that lingo) pile in the attic. I also collect author autographs, but those are inside the books, so you can’t see them, and I’m too tired to take and upload more photos.
• art. A few of the objects de’ can be seen in the photo as well. Generally, I collect original art, most of which I buy directly from the artist… or have given to me. I have small items, like the green pottery turtle on the top shelf of the right-hand bookcase, and large items, like huge paintings.
• stamps. You can’t hardly see it, but on the bottom right shelf is a book with what appears to be an orangy spine… that is my stamp book. I got it when I was 10 or 11. We were living on St. Thomas, and the Woolworth’s had a fire, then a fire sale, and I got my stamp book. And I’ve been collecting ever since. Stamps are small pieces of art, windows into that country’s soul… I have some from Argentina. China. Denmark. France. Germany. Great Britian. Netherlands. Poland. Thailand. And of course a bunch from the good ole U.S. of A. …and lots more countries. Last time I counted (which was well over a decade ago!), I had more than 4,000…
• pens. I’m just a pen snob. I like all kinds of different colors, weights, etc.
• postcards. Another small piece of art. I have old ones. New ones. Silly ones. Postcards from all over the world. I’d tell you how many I have, but the collection is in a (very heavy) box in the garage… and I don’t feel like digging it out. I just know it’s a lot.
• art supplies. That, I suppose, sort of goes without saying, as I am an artist. I have beads and fabric. Paper. Old photographs, Glue. Canvas. Paint. Tape. A laminator. Old magazines. Dried flowers. Miscellaneous found objects. Rubber stamps. Various craft scissors. Paintbrushes. Ribbon. Yarn.
• antiques. This is sort of a joint collection with my hubby. We both love antiquing and checking out old junk, and occasionally we purchase a piece of furniture (we prefer classic looking) or art (the more hideous, the better) or smalls, like the lovely silver scissors hubs bought me for my birthday one year. We even have a bed frame that is so old that it was before there were standardized mattress sizes. I looked it up once, and if I remember correctly, that means it was probably created in the late 1800s. And of course I can’t forget my antique typewriter… every true writer needs one.
• magnets. I just threw that one in there to see if anyone was paying attention, tho I do actually like magnets… they are tiny pieces of art. That stick to things.