21.11.09

My Place & Yours....

....'My Collection'.


a) Isn't that just the best theme?!
b) How great is Kate for choosing it?
c) Are you playing along, with Pip?
d) Does "junk" in general count as a collection....?!



I love stuff.



We have an agreement, do stuff & I. It "is" & I collect it. All of it. I could fill this blog, day after day, post after post, with things I "collect". I could bore - uh... entertain you, for hours, regaling you with stories of things I've "collected" in the past.



"Hoard" is perhaps a more.... fitting word. And I don't rightly know why I do it. My Mother does it. My Gran does it. I don't know fo' sho' but I'd bet my Great Grandmother did it.



Probably about the only time I'm grateful that we've moved so much these last few years is when I am trying to make a dent in the "clutter". Each move saw me jettison various odds & ends that I thought I'd never be able to live without. Some of those things I don't regret - like VHS tapes I couldn't play, other things I do (I really, really do....) like my complete set of Frankie issues 1 - 14.



My collections seem to just creep up on me. I get a little something here, a little something there, and then, suddenly, there are too many somethings for it to be a coincidence any more.



Atari games.
Toys.
Handbags.
Hats.
Teapots.
Converse Sneakers.
Cookbooks.
Children's Books.
Viewmasters.
Records.
Pyrex.
Pin Up Girls.
Board Games.
Anything Really.





I have always felt I was born too late. I feel I should have been living it up in the 50s, the 60s or the 70s at the very latest. As such I am drawn to anything old, anything vintage, anything "retro". That is why I have rusting tins that used to contain sticky tape sitting around the house. That is why I have boxed opera binoculars sitting on my counter top and that is why I am going to die, without a doubt, under a pile of Australasian Post magazines that fall on my head when I'm 83.





Having said that - about being born too late - I do have a great love for a lot of things from my childhood & I have been squirreling so much of it away that one could perhaps stage an episode of ALF or Punky Brewster in my house without having to bring in many props.




I don't think I could ever channel my energies into properly collecting anything, let alone one thing only. I can't see me keeping anything in "mint" condition - I love to use everything I have & enjoy it (or now, in the case of the books & toys, let Punky enjoy them). Nor can I see me on an endless quest to find the perfect green Bakelite radio (although if I happened upon it, I wouldn't say no...), or parting with too many dollars for it. I just LOVE going to an antiques & collectibles store & seeing half my house in there with price tags up to a hundred times more than I paid. I love seeing things that are (apparently) worth a small fortune that I picked up for $1 because I liked the look of it.



I just wouldn't be able to commit to a one obsession obsession. There are too many gorgeous things, cute things, nostalgic things, NECESSARY things out there, to stick with just one....!










(.........and don't even get me started on RED things....)

30 comments:

  1. I understand completely.
    OK, you have a fraggle rock wooden puzzle?!! Now I want to come over and look at all your stuff :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I so get where you are coming from. I love all your crazy and wonderful collections and i want to see the red one!! Can you do a seperate post on that one please??? xo ps. is there any chance of Fraggle rock making an appearance on Go? I'm loving the shows they are putting on lately.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh I love it that everyone is totally Fraggling Out! That was the thing that really jumped out for me too! I love Fraggle Rock! How ace are you? Extremely ace. That's how ace. You have lovely bits and pieces Miss! You do! (Esp Punky)xx

    ReplyDelete
  4. I can so relate - I can't walk past a secondhand shop or antiques place without just "having a look" - don't start me on red either!!! Love your post!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great post! I especially love that you play with your collections/coincedences. Pretty please let us see the red collection.

    ReplyDelete
  6. oh my lol its possible that we have been related in the past.

    Our brains seems to work the same greatness. i too love red, hoarding (but I try to do so in an organised fashion), rusted tins, teapots...

    I do like your style Vic. Excellent!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ha, I read that Kate's choice was collections and I have never played before and thought I would this time, anyway, the dilemma- which collection- so, go you, nicely covered- a selection of collection! Naughty Amelia Jane- my 7 year old is reading my copy as we speak. Did you ever get into 'Milly Molly Mandy'? She rocks! You 'need' some old copies of MMM for your childrens book collection.
    I am very interested in how Tracy does her collecting in an 'organised fashion'- tell more Tracy!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Viewmasters!!!
    I'd forgotten all about them but now I'm having a flashback to my own childhood... thanks for the ride :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. way too cool! your house looks like it would be a blast!

    ReplyDelete
  10. You have all the stuff that I covet! I love anything vintage or retro that I remember from childhood.... the good ol' days!

    ReplyDelete
  11. ooooh, can I come over and play... you got cool stuff!!
    :-)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh I love red things too! Your collection of board games is excellent. Perfect for rainy days.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh, the Punky one is either going to adore- or intensely dislike- her genes when she feels an overwhelming, inexplicable and totally irresistable urge to start collecting any purple and orange striped crocheted toilet roll holders that she comes across in her life...

    ReplyDelete
  14. Inspector Gadget?! Fraggle Rock?! Yogi?! Gasp! So jealous! (don't even get me started on the teapots)

    ReplyDelete
  15. aye, aye captain. clutter sails my boat too. but sometimes i pine for the minimalist approach

    ReplyDelete
  16. A woman after my own heart - great load of stuff!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Well, i'd like to see your red collection too! lol. Cool boardgames. :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. HOW PeRfEcT another CrAzY collector of EVERYTHING just like ME..i'm LoViNg your StUfF!!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Love this post, and I love stuff too! You put into perfect there are too many wonderful things just to stick to one.

    ReplyDelete
  20. You have collected some great things there Vic. I love looking at them all, they bring back a few memories of the olden days as my little girl would say.(lol):)

    ReplyDelete
  21. Oh I love your collections ... yeah me too I only skimmed the surface ... isn't it fun :)

    ReplyDelete
  22. I think your teapots and my mugs/cups should get together. Love your collections!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Viewmasters and Fraggle Rock ... you are my hero!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Fraggle Rock rocked, that was an all time fav. I had a thing for those little builders, how cute were they ? I just wanted a whole shoe box of them under my bed.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Looks like there are a lot of us Collectors of everything out there! Well done, love all your bits!!!

    ReplyDelete
  26. such a great post and lovely collections, I am collector but same as you I keep using things, many little collections at home I didn't photographed...
    I love all the board games, they are soulful!
    x

    ReplyDelete
  27. I hear you on being born in the wrong era.. I still have my little rainbow brite fluffy toys too - I have the white one twink!!! I remember going a roadtrip when I was little and my brother was squwishing it's face against the window and he smeared some red off it's nose..I was devastated..funny. I also collect teapots...how many do you have?

    ReplyDelete
  28. those tea pots are adorables!oh please show your red collection too :)

    ReplyDelete

Let's have a chat. And a biscuit. And some tea. And another biscuit.

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin