Stuff I love

I tend to be a rather practical monkey. I'm not one for decorating simply to have my walls covered. When I buy "art" it tends to be functional (i.e. pottery). And despite having so much "stuff" that I'm often tempted to walk through my home with a large trash bag, I do have quite a few items I love.

Mostly, the stuff I love (the inanimate sort) has an attachment to someone I love. Here are a few examples:

* Dishes. I have three complete sets of dishes. I have the boring, white, cheap corelle that Phenom and I bought when we didn't have any matching dishes. I see them as part of the growth of our relationship. I have about 15 place settings of fiesta ware with all sorts of serving platters, bowls, and whatnots. Once we bought our home, my human family sorts decided I should have a proper set of serve ware and for years, it was the "go to" gift for me. Lastly, I have the dishes Phenom's mother gave to me before she died. They aren't real "china" . . . she collected them over a number of years through grocery purchases. But, they are pretty in an old fashioned sort of way, and she so wanted to give me something before her death. I see the gift of these dishes as acceptance of my place in her child's life . . . and an expression of her affection towards me.

* On my mantle, I have a crystal vase with about a dozen peacock feathers and mardi gras beads in it. The vase was a gift from a good friend's parents. . . who became our friends too. The feathers and beads were in the floral arrangements at our 10th anniversary party. All around good memories of love and affection and friendship and good times in that vase.

* I have a birthday card, split and framed. This card was the first card my favorite child sent me and has her very childish handwriting in it. I know, someday, it will embarrass her to see it displayed in my home, but I love it and her.

* Water color paintings by the Old Woman. The Old Woman illustrates wildflowers for a hobby. She makes quite an academic study of the plant from root to seed. She insists that it is only a hobby and has always refused to share her paintings. One year, she told one of her children he could select a painting for a birthday gift. He took several, and I managed to talk him out of three of them. I love these paintings and have them beautifully framed and displayed in my dining room . . . a place of high honor. And, what's more, I know that someday they will be one of the very few links I have to the woman who quite literally saved my life.

* The Old Woman's locket. When the Old Woman was a girl, her mother died. This locket was the last gift she received from her mother. She gave it to me when I was about the same age she was when she received it. It is art deco in style and, of course, has tremendous sentimental value.

There are many more items that have become physical manifestations of the love and affection I share with particular humans. By the time I am a very old monkey, my home will be filled with tokens of love . . . isn't that how it's suppose to be?