The Tyranny of Trivial Pursuits
The Books: I began buying old books at thrift stores when I was about 13. The first one I bought, a green-leather covered school edition of A Tale of Two Cities, cost about 25 cents but the value plummeted when I turned to my favorite page and found someone had removed the section that began “T’is a far far better thing I do….” My personal library has grown so big that I have boxes in my basement waiting for the bookcases I dream of building someday. I have a tiny children’s book with my grandfather’s name scrawled inside and the date 1890. I have my high school English book with my name scrawled inside and the date 1964. Asking me to cut down my book collection is like asking me to sever a digit or remove a friend’s name from my address book. I finally had to implement a rule: I have to get rid of a book to get another one. That rule was pretty well sabotaged this summer when I teamed up for travel with daughter Megan, who didn’t become a librarian because she likes to alphabetize. Her book collection already rivals mine and currently is housed in a stack of plastic milk crates. I’m not sure she knows that I have boxes of her books from toddler-to-teen stored in the attic of our shed.
The Bookmarks: As a teacher, I could justify buying books on our travels instead of the usual tourist gewgaws . Problem, of course, is that suitcases get REALLY heavy and, well, there’s that old problem with storage again. Just never enough bookshelves. So, I began shifted to collecting bookmarks instead. Easy to carry, fit in a drawer, cheaper, most tourist sites have them. I have everything from a pressed flower bookmark from Bronte Parsonage to a tongue dispenser painted and inscribed “Mom” to the special yearly photo bookmark of the “Distinguished Literary Ladies,” my book club. II probably have 100 of them by now—many of them gifts—but I still haven’t figured out how to display them. And I still use scraps of paper, Kleenex, and grocery store receipts to mark my place in the stacks of books by my bed. Where are those pesky bookmarks when you really need them.
The Christmas Decorations: Now that the weather is starting to change, it’s time to think about the approaching holiday seasons. My garage shelves have boxes labeled for each holiday, but Halloween and Thanksgiving are just the warm-up for the Big One. The day after Thanksgiving I start removing the whatnots from my curio cabinet shelves and the china cabinet. I pack up the coffee cups and dishes, and start converting my house into a Christmas Wonderland beginning with the Angel Advent Calendar. Out come my precious collection of crèches, the Prescott Christmas mugs, the book table edition of A Christmas Carol, all the introduction to the main event, the decorating of the Christmas tree with all the hand-made and unique ornaments, including Queen Elizabeth, four of the wives of Henry VIII, and the stuffed mice hand-made and embroidered by my sister-in-law 40 years ago.
My Name is Carol, and I Am…A Collector.
Megan:
Has been struck down with a sore throat, chills and 102 degree fever. Will update again when feeling better.
The Christmas wreath arrives from OR so we can put it up the day after Thanksgiving. While Kevin is home, we go buy a tree from the Boy Scout tree lot and start putting it up while we still have a 3rd pair of hands. Bob keeps muttering about needing two more trees so we can use all the ornaments, but we never give any away.
ReplyDeleteHope Megan feels better soon!