What do you collect... besides plants?

Weird, I know, but I collect lip balms of every flavor. It started with a few that I thought would be good flavors, and then grew. I get bored with the same flavor all the time. It is harmless enough...most lip balms only cost a buck :0)

I also collect a few hello kitty things, even though I'm an adult, lol...sister got me started on that one. I guess if Neiman Marcus sells it for adults in real diamond settings, I guess that makes it ok for me, too. :0)

My hubby collects coins.

What do you collect?

old 45 rpm's from the 50's and 60's and vinyl albums from the same era.

Ancestors.

Be careful what you collect.
Collected human bones. Got some from my victorian great aunts (were from a plague pit in London, England), but also bought others (when it was possible), as used to teach osteology (bones). Being retired from that, I wanted to dispose of most of the bones. Last fall gave some to the local school of dentistry, but had numbers left over. Phoned up relevant government offices and eventually had to leave a message; that I had some human bones to dispose of, plus a suitable explanation as to where they had come from. The message got garbled and truncated to; I wanted to get rid of some human remains.
That night, when we came home, a neighbour said that three police cars had been sitting outside our house for several hours. They had left and told the neighbour they would be back. When the police did return, quite late, the matter was soon resolved. The five officers were very pleasant and were quite interested in forensic anthropology.
The sergeant explained the problem to me. Apparently, people who have murdered somebody sometimes actually phone up to find out how to get rid of the remains! I may not always have acted that smart, but I'm not that dumb!

This message was edited Apr 2, 2009 11:56 PM

Well, waddaya know.
Too Funny Sunny!
I collect stories!
Thanks for yours, I've loving it!
In 1947 my mom was pre-med at Stanford. She had a cadaver. Her parents, my grandparents, were having a dinner party one night. My mom was a "black" jokester... she had a dark side. She was able to take the foot of the cadaver from the lab... to her mother's kitchen ... that night of the dinner party...she excused the "help" and brought the foot 'under silver' to the dinner table. **** talk amongst yourselves.

Good caution, Sunny! LOL

Ditto !

Aguane-all I can say is euw...I would not have been able to eat anything at that dinner party after that

I also remembered that I collect stamps. Not like most people, just collect the stamps off envelopes of foreign seed trades. I find it interesting what stamps look like from other countries.

I forgot one, too. I love watering cans. Don't have too many yet, but given the $$ I would have a ton. Even got some watering can Christmas tree ornaments last year. I hang them around and they get used. I have a ceramic one that has Spanish moss pouring out of it. Weird, huh?

nope...I like watering cans, too. I saw a real cute craft with one, in which they strung clear/blue beads fromt the spout, to make it look like water was sprinkling out, and thought it was very clever.

Great idea. Come to think of it, more people must collect them, because when I see them at yard sales, etc., they want a lot of money for them!

me and dh drink perrier jouet champagne every anniversary i collect the bottles and glasses and there are a few other things i want w the logo.
i also collect those oil bottles with peppers and things in them .

I collect red tabletop appliances and gadgets. One of the oddest or harder to get were egg yolk separator and garlic press. Only thing I'm missing is an avocado scooper in red. anybody seen one?

I also collect red stuffed animals. Oddest ones: a hippo, a bulldog, a cow. They vary in sizes, but very few are "beanie baby" size. On my want list: a duck, a goat, a nice kitty.

I didn't consciously start collecting, but when I looked around and everything was red, then I knew I was collecting, lol

What about subconsciously?

Old Valentine Postcards
It always amazes me when the address is something like Miss Jane Smith, Philadelphia, Pa and it apparently got there!

Santa's hand carved, chaulk, folk art or really any chaulk or hand carved, paper mache, etc. folk art piece.

Missingroseie-
I've heard of chalkware...is that what you mean?

Nery-
I tried calling you...I went to antique mall today, and they had tons of red kitchen stuff. There was one that was called a strainer, but it was kind of a press...reminded me of those lemon squeezers where you press the two sides together, but it sorta squeezed a top piece of metal over a ...well, kinda hard to explain...I tried to take a picture with my camera phone, but it said out of memory, and I don't know how to get it back to being able to take pictuers...

does that sound like an old garlic press? And what in the world is an advocado scooper, and what does it look like?

The had a red scoop that was red handle, and the scoop was shallow. It said 1/4 cup on the metal part...

Seeds, I just sent you an email. You are a very thoughful lassie.

Folks, does this happen to you? if somebody tells you they collect something, then you start looking for that stuff?

here is an avocado scooper. I shall wait until Bed Bath & Beyond offers one in red. but if you see one, LMK!

http://images.homecouture.com.au/products/product_image/chefn_flexicado.jpg

It's crazy because I have all these gadgets and I use the same little paring knife for everything. The only one that uses the gizmos is my hubby. He's an engineer and enamored with tools, so when he's in the kitchen, my kitchen tools get some use, lol.

No advacado scoopers, this was a traditional but shallow scoop.

There was a funny cake cutter that look like the old afro combs, lol...

There was also a red syrup pouring thingy, egg beaters, one of those old glass "pre-tupperware" containers, a red thingy for mixing your flour with your butter(forget what these are called), a red metal four sided cheese grater, match holder/striker, etc.

You know in Mckinney they have a fantastic three level antique mall, that puts my local one to shame. It has a basement and two stories. I ALWAYS find something there I "need". They also have an old fashioned soda fountain shop on the street level. Across the street is a quaint little restaurant that has the BEST coconut cream pie.

I'll have to take you there for shopping and lunch.

Yes, chalkware (plaster of paris). Not the big items --the carnival giveaways (do you remember those??) but the smaller pieces. Then came stuffed animals and away went plaster of paris - (a poor man's replacement for good ceramic pieces.) I do remember the bigger pieces - prizes at the feasts etc., in NY when I was growing up. Fond memories, along with those dolls on the stick...stiff fancy skirts - MAGIC for this little gal. Wonder why they put those dolls on a stick??

I'm REALLY trying NOT to collect anything else. I hae teaups. lots of gardening products (whether i needthem ot not), flower pots, buddh statues.

I LOVE teacup sets. You may be interested in these, or maybe not, but I just recently found a great excuse to unbox them, and keep them out all the time!

I went and bought some pretty decorative shelves, and now they are going to go up on the walls :0)

I found a lady that makes "inserts" to go inside your teacups, so that you can grow things like african violets, or sinningias, or...

Here are the inserts:

and then how it looks inside the teacup

that is the cutest thing ever . i wish i didnt kill house plants. i have one sinningia left thats doing well in my fairy terrarium .

not a collector,unless it would be fine crafts pottery and original prints.

Dana-
I always kill houseplants, too. I just simply forget about them, and concentrate only on the outdoor ones.

But, if it is in glass, or in a self~watering pot, it stands half a chance :0)

I didn't think I collected pottery, but now that I think about it, I guess I do...I love a good piece of pottery or ceramics. There are so many neat glazes out there.

One of my favorite pieces of handmade pottery, is my butterbell. The artist copied a vintage pattern from the early 19th century. The bells these days don't have the holes in the bell, which is important. That helps the water fill in at different levels, as you use the butter, instead of just trapping an air-bubble, and growing mold!, euw.

The whole idea of the butterbell is to exclude all air, so that it doesn't have to be refrigerated...

oh wow thats pretty and my dh would love that . we fight over the butter . i throw it away when he leaves it out and he constantly leaves it out because he hates it hard. he swears that butter can be left out . lol

yes butter can be left out just not near a sunny window or a hot spot on the counter. I have done it w/ no adverse consequence but generally I refrigerate.

Ha-ha-ha...

Yes, that is the wonderful things about these. Nice soft butter. It can be left out, because the butter is submersed in water, which traps out all the air. Without air, it cannot sour, and grow mold. It is what they used back before iceboxes, and refrigerators.

They are wonderful!

Last year, I found a local potter, and had around a 100 of these made. We gave them to our clients and family as gifts. I was sure to have the potter make the holes in the bell, too.

That blue speckled one is not from a local potter. He was an artsy fartsy guy up north, and I paid a fortune for that one, lol...because he signed his name is on the bottom, I guess, lol...

If you find a local potter, they should not cost more than around $40, maybe even much less.

You should have one made for your hubby!!! Is his birthday coming up?...anniversary?

My dad said "it changed my life", lol...he always hated scraping stiff butter across his toast, and ripping his toast. He was very almost emotional about it, lol...

Nery-
we must have been typing at the same time...

How long can you leave it out safely?...hours, a day?

I always toss mine if it gets left out too long, for fear of getting sick

I knew it could be kept at room temp but didn't have "hard" data on it. I found something. Euwwww, mold not being a safety issue, but it is a gross issue, no?

http://chefliving.com/default.aspx

I also remember that when my grandparents lived in FL, they refrigerated butter in summer and kept it at room temp. in winter.

i throw away anything left out over night . for some reason i think the night brings germs or something lol.

night kooties....

haha i cant let dh see that link he will say i told you so .

If I leave the butter out overnight, I don't mind putting it back in the fridge the next day.

My deal is with powder based drinks, Koolaid, the adult diet ones, etc. Hubby leaves the pitcher out and for some reason I can't stand it and pitch it, even is the thing is almost full. Now why is that?

maybe because sugars feed bacteria?

lol i have a deal with powdery based drinks too . but mine is .. have you noticed how they stain what ever they touch for days . especially crystal light . well im afraid it will stain my teeth red lol so im paranoid to drink it .

lol taylor now she really will freak out about it . those 2 words feed and bacteria sound so gross together .

I'm laughing hard.

Dana has red teeth, Dana has red teeth.