Treasures

my friend's collection of beach finds

Do you collect stuff?

Our kitchen windowsill is lined with things we've found on our property: shapely sticks, pretty rocks, old pennies and other interesting artifacts of what and who used to be here.

My mother collected teapots of all sorts, and pretty china cups and saucers. She kept the cups and saucers in a cabinet but the teapots showed up in all sorts of surprising spots in her house.

My friend Paula collects Fiestaware pitchers. They have their own shelf, where they're lined up and ready for precision pouring. My sister-in-law Rebecca collects dishes, too, of all vintages. She mixes and matches for an artful table. Yesterday, Virginia posted a wonderful photo of her friend's collection of bells, beautifully posed in a glass-front cabinet.

When I was a kid I collected plastic horses. Later it was green glass. Now it's antique bottles. At the moment they're in a storage box, but I'll find a spot for them eventually. Or I'll collect something else.

John says he wants to collect vintage Hot Wheels, but I like to think he's kidding.