What do you collect?

[racer72]

Wifeperson and I were accused last night of living in a junkyard that would make Fred Sanford proud. Our problem, if you call it that, is we like to collect things. We like to visit antique shops, we are avid garage salers, and one collection I have, travel to collectible and antique toy shows.

My personal collections include over 2400 NASCAR diescast and other racing collectibles, everything from a real tire off a Winston cup car to the many 1/64 blister pack cars. I also have a couple hundred skunks, a Crayola crayon collection that includes at least one of every color crayon (standard 5/16 size only) made since 1949 and my most recent obsession, old toys from the 50's and 60's.

The wife was collecting mice before I met her and now has about 500 of them. She recently gave out bathroom a make over and went with a frog motif. Needless to say, it hasn't take long for the frogs to spill over into other parts of the abode. Being as she won't read this, I can say that she collects clothes. Besides using about 3/4 of the closet in the master bedroom, she uses a spare bedroom for a closet too and it is quite full.

Anyone else out there have a collection you would like to share?

[BiblioCat]

I collect old glass milk bottles. I like the little half-pint cream bottles the best. I have about 50 of them. I have about a dozen quart bottles, and about eight miscellaneous little bottles.

I don't just buy them indiscriminately, though; I'm rather picky about how they look, and I prefer certain characteristics in my bottles. I like the ones that have "pyros", or printed words or pictures on them, rather than plain bottles.

I guess you could say I collect books, too. I have lots and lots of books stashed all around. I like to own books I really enjoyed, so I've spent a small fortune on the printed word. :p

I'm not into lots of knick-knacky crap all over the house, though. I prefer simplicity.

[dragongirl]

I collect Barbie Dolls primarly, but also almost anything else, lunch boxes, buttons, and anything else that catches my intrest. I'm pretty sure my husband just collects trash. :p

[Una Persson]

Friends. Enemies too, but mostly friends.

Oh yeah...also minerals and elements, radioactive items, and Roman coins.

[flyboy]

This'll sound stupid, but I just love getting those tourist-trap penny stamps. I don't know what they're called, but you put two quarters and a penny in the slot, crank the handle, and it crushes your penny and puts a stamped picture on it relating to whatever sight you're at. I can't resist 'em.

[Ruffian]

When I was a kid through my mid-teens, I collected Breyer model horses. I had over 200 at my peak period, then sold sections of the collection off each summer to pay for college books, etc. My parents still laugh at themselves--they always used to roll their eyes whenever I'd add to the collection, and just pat me on the head when I'd explain how much they would be worth in a few years. Then I made about $4,000 spread out over 4 years while I sold them! :cool: Turned out I was right, after all.

I kept about 30 of my favorites from that collection, and now sort of collect the Stablemates (they're the smallest models, about 2 1/2 inches long and 1 1/2 inches high--verses the 12" x 10" models I had growing up). I buy one every time I go to Santa Anita and add it to the display case I have. (The others are boxed up).

I also collect(ed) the Hagen-Renaker Siamese Cats. As I now have all the current productions, I'm not actively buying more--although enough have broken tails and chipped ears that I should. (HRs are the little ceramic figurines--typically attached to a square piece of cardstock--you see sold in places like Hallmark.)

I'm not sure if this counts as collecting, but I'd like to have quite a few historical photos of racehorses (including, of course, Ruffian. I just bought one yesterday of Kona Gold, but I had to! He's owned by friends of mine and we've watched him race countless times, been in the winner's circle with him, etc.

I try to keep my collecting ways in check, however--I can't stand clutter, but this tendency gets in the way!

[OxyMoron]

Dust.

[Qadgop the Mercotan]

Dead relatives.

No, really. Only others call it genealogy. I don't actually have any body parts from them. Well, not many, anyway.

[Eliahna]

Teapots. I have three - everyone has to start somewhere :)

Also, children's books. I miss my childhood.

Mr Cazzle collects old computers (http://www.thepcmuseum.com).

[TV time]

Ugly neckties.

I used to hate wearing ties, but an editor told me early on in my career that to be professional, newspapermen should (read "must" in his newsroom) wear them. To make others suffer while I was suffering with wearing the tie, I bought a really ugly one. Friends started giving me unique or ugly ties as part of the joke and now (when almost no newspaperman would be caught dead in a tie) my collection numbers around 500.

I have hand-painted ties by noted artists. I have a leather tie that was given to me by tanner. I have a macrame tie made up entirely (pun get it?) of knots. I have risque ties and just strange combinations of colors. I have two ties (antiques) that are so valuable that I have lock them up.

I even get approached periodically to lecture about neckties, their styles, their significance (like women's hemlines, their lengths have been argued to reflect the economy), history, (it is believed the necktie actually began because of Croat soldiers wearing them in Paris and Parisian women thinking they looked spiffy).

I feel like something of a fool. This all started because I didn't even like the stupid things.

[Rysdad]

Agates, and I polish them, too.

[Ruffian]

Oh, I forgot--I also have my accidental collections. These are the items I get as a teacher as freebies from various book clubs, teacher organizations, etc--as well as gifts from students.

To qualify for this involuntary collection, I must have received 5 of each (just to give you an idea of just how many of these I get). Every year, I get at least two:

1) Key chains

2) Coffee mugs

3) Tote bags

4) Little glass roses, filled with bath oils

5) Pencils (I have dozens of them! With all variety of random things printed on them...)

6) Little cheapy 99 cent store figurines. They are beyond hideous, but I always gush for the kids, "Oh, it's so beautiful! Look, the little ballerina is holding a real silk flower..."

Most of these things end up at the yearly garage sale.

[Kat]

Cats (about a dozen or so stuffed cats, one real one :D)
Dragons (a half dozen stuffed, one pewter, one multi-colored candle)
Wolves (one Christmas tree ornament, one blanket, numerous photos/postcards)
Books


That's about it.

[AbsolutelyStark]

I used to collect keyrings... I joined them all together, then put my keys on them. I stopped when they wouldn't fit in my pocket anymore.

[Albert Rose]

I collect love.

I have to give out a lot in order to get it in return, but oh is it ever worth it. Especially when Kat is involved.

And Sheila hair; I also collect white, stringy doggie hair from Sheila P. Albert.

[cagiva650]

I keep stuff I find, usually old stuff that is buried in the dirt around the yard. Found some 'medicine bottles' a buffalo nickel, a 1915 newspaper(wrapped around a pipe in the crawlspace) a St Theresa religious medal and silver spoon when rehabbing an old house. I kept a cheap ceramic bunny that the kids unearthed at our latest house. Its all in old cabinet with other chintzy treasures from decades gone by.

Then the hubby collects modern furniture and motorcycles.

Oh and vintage books too, won't spend more than 5 bucks/book though.

[porcupine]

On every vacation, I try to pick up a small cat figurine. I know - ICK. But most of them are not too cutesy. My favorites are a small silver cat I got at the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, a bronze-ish one I got at a shop outside Warwick Castle in England, and one I got at the shop in the Musee d'Orsay in Paris. I'm not always successful, though. In Prague, no cat was to be found that I liked, but I got a wonderful Moser Crystal dog. They actually had a porcupine as well, but this was pre-SDMB - my sister actually bought the porcupine, though.

I used to buy magnets on all of my vacations (and elsewhere), and friends and family would often bring me one from their trips, so my fridge is covered with them, but I stopped buying them a number of years ago.

[lorinada]

Fossils, mostly ammonites. Only found ones though, not really interested in buying them. Also have a few interesting-looking rocks.

Refrigerator magnets.

Brass items.

Anything old and interesting.

Cats. Real and otherwise.

[CBEscapee]

I have a small collection, around 100 pieces, of small pre-columbian western Mexico artifacts. A few pieces of pottery, 3 sellos (clay stamps) some malacates (ceramic spindle whorls) and a lot of small figurines. Some are estimated to be around 1200 years old and others are from a later era, 1200-1400 a.d..

We found a lot after torrential summer rains eroded a stream bank on the family farm. None are museum quality but they are still very interesting.

[RaCha'ar]

Yixing teapots (http://www.yixing.com). And Neil Gaiman books.

[ringmaster]

I used to collect Matchbox cars. I still have the collection without any additions lately. I now collect music.

[comradegonzo]

Legos. Lots of legos, lemme go have a look around.


9 random shoeboxes between 3 floors
The following ziplock bags:
Most of a Space Shuttle/launchpad
Several sci-fi submarines
Most of a large blue/white/clear orange starship
A Trojan Horse built for extra-credit in Latin
Some basic bricks
A hospital
2 medium-sized pirate ships
2 Mercury-ish rockets
All sorts of random Technic stuff that I regret buying
Thomas the Tank Engine, and track/transformer to run him on
Whats left of the ancient Egyptian set I recently used for Thomas
A pizza place
Several mostly assembled castles, along with a Viking ship
A big box of small cars, planes, and helicopters


Surely I've left something out

Also Final Fantasy soundtracks

[shawa]

I collect cheap plastic snowdomes from places I travel to. Some of them I need to replace because for some reason the water eventually starts to evaporate.

[AbbySthrnAccent]

Antique bookmarks, I only have a few, but I like them very much.

[Essured]

I used to collect shoeboxes.

I always thought they'd come in handy one day... When I put my stuff in storage for a year, I had to throw them out.

To stop the addiction re-occuring, I don't buy shoes anymore (being poor helps) or if I do, I make sure I put the box in the outside bin that day. If I leave it inside overnight, I know it'll never leave the house :D

[Cartooniverse]

Gosh, where to begin? Like many people with an irrational fear of being alone, I compensate by surrounding myself with collections of things to bring comfort and order to my tattered existence. To wit:

153 old Mad Magazines.

A few old still cameras, from the 1920's-1940's.


Old fountain pens. I used to collect them with great zeal, and only buy really cheap abandoned ones at flea markets and junk sales and then buy replacement bladders and write letters to friends with them. Then I got a computer. ;)

Embroidered patches, but only from jobs or situations I've been in. Film industry and EMT-related stuff.

Fat Cells. :rolleyes:

Cartooniverse

[Seven]

Studio gear (http://www.tictokmen.com/ttmc) - Old keyboards/drum machines, etc.

I also have a small collection of computers, but I'm running out of room so I need to get rid of them. Well,. most of them. I'm keeping the ones I have the boxes for (Vic20, C-64, TI-99, and a couple others). But do you know what a pain it is to move an IBM system/34? The thing is like a million pounds.

[vivalostwages]

Music boxes, about 30 or so at last count.

Sugar wrappers (and the wrappers from salt, pepper, or cream--I'm not choosy): nearly 1600 last time I checked.

[Merhouse]

Oh, wow...

Like Cartooniverse, I certainly have collected more than my share of fat cells... actually, I'm happy to know I haven't completely cornered the market ;)

But as for things I've actually wanted to collect:

Matchbooks from places I've been, although those are almost impossible to find today, and

Coffee mugs and/or beer steins from places I've visited. When the pictures are put away and the bills are paid, looking at them on the fireplace mantel brings back fond memories...

Oh, due to the above, back to things I seem to collect whether I want them or not, dust bunnies :)

Mike

[shimmery]

Cool-looking tags (like from clothes).

A few years ago my mommy gave me a tag from her jeans that was one of those tags you're meant to keep (that have keychains on them) and then when I moved into my new room I started hanging them around my window (for decoration)... now I have 80+, I've had to move to the door frame.

When I was little I used to collect those little puffball things with the feet you stick onto your desk.

Oh yeah and upon preview, Merhouse reminds me that I collect matchboxes (especially if they have pretty matches with colorful heads (like the pink ones I got in St. Martin)).

[anenquiringmind]

Swarovski Crystal

Royal Doulton Lady figurines

Nothing else matters

[Flamsterette_X]

Ah, collections! Well, I collect certain special coins.. I presently have more than $55 in coins and bills of varying denominations. They have to be pre-1970, though.. unless they're foreign or miscellany! For example, I have an Australian halfpenny from 1950, and an Australian 20-cent coin from 1969. I even have Canadian nickels from 1940 and 1957.

As for what else I collect: I have nine Bathroom Readers, all of the "Outlander" series by Diana Gabaldon, plus lots of other books on various topics. Don't worry, because I too have spent a lot on books! (especially within the last couple of weeks)

Also, I have stickers, a fair number of CDs, and a lot of info on people! Saves time remembering when peoples' birthdays and stuff are when you have it on a huge database on the computer, LOL.

I definitely collect friends! :) Handy to have around, as you don't know when you'll need 'em! :D (used to collect a lot of them on ICQ, but recently deleted almost half of my list since I don't talk to them anymore.. last time I added someone was in mid-January)

Inadvertently, I collect a lot of dust, as well. Probably a lot of semingly useless stuff, too.

[Another Primate]

Flexible Flyer sleds. I've had mine since I was five (1959) and my folks were so swell that they took it with us in our move from Connecticut to southern California. I took it with me when I got married and moved to Oregon in 1973. It's the fastest thing on the hills -- my true adventure-friend.
A few years ago, I busted a side rail (fancy that -- a sled built for a five-year-old supporting a wild, now-overweight, adult for twenty-plus years, then busting! Grr.) So I started viewing sleds on eBay.
Have a mess of them now. Most were overpriced but there's just something about an auction... (I'm better now.)
Stopped about a year ago, for good. I'm satisfied, and repairing my original.

[CrankyAsAnOldMan]

Well, frogs. Both my husband and I like frogs, so we have them all over our house. Frog candlesticks, frog bookends, etc. Our collection got unwieldy so we've been much more selective lately.

I also used to collect vintage children's books written by Mrs. L.T. Meade.

Now, I collect antique oil cans. Not the branded ones like pennzoil, but the ones with long necks in copper and brass and other metal. It gives me something to look for when we're in antique shops (we go in them to look for antique tools for the husband).

[Kat]

Originally posted by AlbertRose
I collect love.

I have to give out a lot in order to get it in return, but oh is it ever worth it. Especially when Kat is involved.

Huh? What? :confused: :confused: :confused:

[I]What's this? Is this that "flirting" thing that everyone talks about? Or is he talking about someone else? Should I check his past posts to see if his SO is named Kat? Will I look stupid or just clueless if I make a comment? [/inner thoughts]

*wanders about aimlessly, bumping into furniture*

[Bedrosian Bixby]

I collect small empty boxes. If it looks cool, I'll stick it on a shelf somewhere. I've got a little box made from bannana leaves, some with oriental designs, a leather box that some cologne came in. All sorts of odd looking boxes.


In hindsight, I'm a big dork. Kind of like Steve Buscemi in Ghostworld, only less cool. :(

[Typo Negative]

I have a small but expensive collection of Major League Baseball authentic jerseys and T-shirts.

[Kilt-wearin' man]

Blades. Swords and Daggers, mostly, plus some antique hunting knives that belonged to my grandfather. I have a not-too-shabby collection, hasn't really grown much lately, but in the future I plan to have "one of each." I avoid the stupid "sure to be a collector's item!" blades and concentrate on reproductions of actual historical pieces and/or styles.

I guess you could call my Nigel Tranter novels a collection - I'm trying to get my hands on everything he's written. But that's just because I like the novels and I'm interested in the subject - Scottish history.

[Mr. Duality]

Wind-up toys. The cheap plastic variety which can be found at garage sales.

Also bootleg concert tapes, mostly Grateful Dead.

[Duke]

Playing cards. I don't know how I started, but I've now got over 300 decks of varying provenance. Among my favourites: a deck from c.1870 from New York State; a 1915 deck from the Fred Harvey hotel chain, which shows pictures of "the old West"; a 1950's Mexican deck which depicts bulls and famous matadors; and at least one deck from every casino on the Vegas Strip. I also have cards from at least 25 countries, from Iceland to Libya (!). It's a surprisingly inexpensive hobby too...the most I've ever spent on cards was $25 for a mint-condition C&O Railroad double-pack.

[Lisa Ann]

Originally posted by AlbertRose
I collect love.

I have to give out a lot in order to get it in return, but oh is it ever worth it. Especially when Kat is involved.

And Sheila hair; I also collect white, stringy doggie hair from Sheila P. Albert.

On purpose?

:)

I collect my Chow Chow's hair. I am crocheting a lovely Bear scarf.

And I collect dog Beanie Babies and Buddies, but not as actively now, as it got out of control.

[Gatopescado]

i collect kooky motorcycles, but have started to sell them off. tired of rolling them around the garage and hearing the fork seal leak. just keep the ones i ride, now.

used to collect coin, till my crack-head neighbor stole them for dope money. can't bear to start again, cause when i think about it, i get violent.....

now i collect tamiya F1 kits in 1/20 scale. always convince myself i will have time to build them, but i know i never will. they look good even in the box.

also collect old tin signs to decorate the jumbo garage. i stick them to the sides with these killer magnets i get from work. you can move them around or take them down, change the look. the kookier the better. my favorite is the old motorcycle signs. got 1914 indian, nortons and vincents (reproductions).

and tools. gotta collect tools. then you need toolboxs to store them. then theres...........

god, im a filthy pack-rat!

[Jonathan Chance]

Originally posted by flyboy88
This'll sound stupid, but I just love getting those tourist-trap penny stamps. I don't know what they're called, but you put two quarters and a penny in the slot, crank the handle, and it crushes your penny and puts a stamped picture on it relating to whatever sight you're at. I can't resist 'em.

They're called 'elongated coins'. Or 'squished pennies in the vernacular.

I've got hundreds.

I also collect old diaries and journals.

[Zappo]

Shot glasses: it started as a way to get cheap souvenirs from places I'd been, but now I've got over 200 and the collection is still growing.

Car literature: Brochures and stuff that distributed at dealers and auto shows. I'm in the process of amassing a collection that goes from the mid '50s up through today.

Car dealer items: things like signs, data books, and so on that are used and seen in car dealerships.

Cars themselves: I'm getting better. Right now I only have three, and two of them are daily drivers. ;)

Zap!

[käse]

I collect slow message boards.

I've got quite a few of them.:rolleyes:

[DocCathode]

Besides comics(I think it's 16 boxes of 500 each now) and toys ( the toy collection is roughly equal to everything else I own combined)-

Old computers and vidoe game consoles-Intellivision, 2 Atari 2600's-one a late model it's half the size, numerous Commodore 64's and C-64 games and accessories, a Commodore Plus 4, Milton Bradley MiniVision hand held game, A few pong clones, NEC window portable(It's a big LCD screen with a stylus), a closet full of old PC stuff, and my Father's Northstar Horizon.

Bats-numerous Bartok's(the albino bat in Anastasia), inflatables, plush's, and one real bat in a jar of formaldehyde

Interesting lights-plasma ball, spinning LED array, lightning bulb, a mushroom lamp, etc.

Weird blades-wavy blades, a knife with a home-made lucite handle, a blade set in a pool cue handle, a metal batarang, a Klingon batleth

Mannequin parts- just 2 styrofoam heads, and two cardboard shirt chests right now.

Puzzles-not jigsaws-Rubik's cube, square one, blacksmith's puzzles, sliding tiles, etc.

[cmkeller]

I collect comic books - especially Legion of Super-Heroes, and I also collected the recently-completed Starman series.

I maintain a collection of at least one baseball card (or, in six cases, photographs) of every person who ever played or managed for the Kansas City Royals. I also collect the Royals' yearbooks.

I also have a collection of pictures of every professional baseball player whose last name began with the letter "X".

[WordMan]

Books. First Editions. Mostly Literature after 1950, but also some earlier, and some Sci-Fi and some Detective. Pretty heavy duty - this stuff is not cheap. Some highlights include Dune, Hound of the Baskervilles, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Native Son, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, A Farewell to Arms....you get the idea

[cainxinth]

i collect mp3's.

My music collection is my pride and joy. At the moment i have close to 12,000 songs taking up about 60 gigs of hard drive space. I am constantly downloading and ripping new discs though and i expect the collection to double within the next two years. if you'd like you can see it here (http://www.geocities.com/cainxinth2/music.txt)

note to mods: linking to txt files does not constitute remote loading.

[Tinkertoy]

I collect Pins and Booches I have about 600 so far.
I find them at yard sales, thrift stores, flea markets and EBay.
I'm also cheap so none are very valuable, but I wear one every day.
I also collect Mystery books I have over 3000 of those. Again nothing very valuable, but I've read about half so far.

[Jonathan Chance]

Originally posted by cmkeller
I maintain a collection of at least one baseball card (or, in six cases, photographs) of every person who ever played or managed for the Kansas City Royals. I also collect the Royals' yearbooks.

I also have a collection of pictures of every professional baseball player whose last name began with the letter "X".

You've got a picture of Joe Xavier? Wow! Last I heard he'd left AA to play in Italy. But that was 10 years ago. Baseball America used to have a 'Joe Xavier Watch' column just in case he got called up.

[tigergirl]

I hate to admit it, but i do collect fridge magnets BUT only the square ones with a little thermometer on the right hand side. I only have about six at the moment, but they all show different temperatures :rolleyes:

[Angel of the Lord]

I collect boxes. Pretty boxes. Like, the ones made out of wood or bone or stone. I have about 12 right now, but only maybe half of them are in my dorm room. I also collect rocks.

And yeah, I've heard the "box of rocks" comment before. Shaddup.

[Mr2001]

Movie ticket stubs and debit card receipts.

[cmkeller]

Jonathan Chance:

You've got a picture of Joe Xavier? Wow! Last I heard he'd left AA to play in Italy. But that was 10 years ago. Baseball America used to have a 'Joe Xavier Watch' column just in case he got called up.

Yup, he was the most recent - and the impetus for starting the collection. I have every card of him.

I also have pictures of Alfred Xavier (Phoenix, Arizona State League, 1930), Ramon Xiques (various D-level teams, 1951-2) and Charles Samuel Xiques (Cocoa, Florida State League, 1954).

As far as I can find, they're it. Since Joe Xavier left the American professional leagues in 1990, there hasn't been anyone new to add to that collection of mine.

I wonder if he could have made it as a scab in 1995...

Chaim Mattis Keller

[Jonathan Chance]

I'm sure BA would STILL throw a party for him.

And there's always Tampa. I think *I* could play for Tampa.

[cagiva650]

Oh Yeah and I also collect "wheat back pennies" they date from the mid forties or so and earlier.

[Politzania]

My main collection is hedgehogs & porcupines - something unusual enough that I feel excited about a new find! Most of the collection is figurines, but I also have brooches/pins, postcards & stamps, various garden implements.

The prizes of my collection are the two hand-carved items -- Hedgehog Huddle (6 hedgies facing one another) and Curiosity (a hedgie peeking down over the top of my monitor). Thanks, Dad!

Running a close second are the figurine & cup of Porky Pine from the Pogo comic strip.

I also collect squashed pennies - mostly from Disney World (one of the cheapest souvenirs there at $.51) and Camp Snoopy (Mall of America, Minneapolis).

Oh yeah - I do the dead relatives thing too -- but only on paper.

[Lok]

Comics, lord only knows how many now, books, SF & Fantasy mostly, with a few 1sts and foreign editions of certain writers. I was collecting the Star Trek CCG, but it got to be too expensive this last year with the economy. I also collect places, trying to go someplace new every year.

[anenquiringmind]

Swarovski Crystal

Royal Doulton - lady figurines

[agentfroot]

pez dispensers (i have around 90), anything having to do with velma from "scooby doo," and i have old collections of stuff like shells and rocks.

[brachyrhynchos]

Pencils. Currently, my favorite is from the Newseum in Arlington VA. Since I also use them when recording data, I've got a good excuse to stop at the gift shop.

I also collect anything corvid. Statues, pins, prints, and books, especially children's books. My favorite is Aldous Huxley's "The Crows of Pearblossom." It's a wonderful story about a married crow couple, trying to have kids, but Mr Snake always eats their eggs. Mr Crow foils him by planting fake clay eggs, which causes Mr Snake to writhe in pain after eating them. He ends up stretched taut between branches and Mrs Crow uses him as a clothesline to hang baby crow diapers. Heh.

[Shirley Ujest]

Fridge magnets of places I've been.

Souvenier spoons ( I stopped a few years ago when I realized I never wanted to display them on a rack. I hang mine on the Xmas tree, always a conversation peice.)

Tea pots. Nothing special. Just what catches my eye at antique places. My favorite is a an ugly brown shell teapot that says "florida" on it. Paid .25 for it at a garage sale.

Matches of places I've been and places my friends have gone. don't even think of striking one of these matches if the power goes out. Cheap and easy to pack.

Children's books nothing in particular, just lots of them.

Beer posters Not really a collector. I stole them from a brew-ha-ha beer fest years ago and cannot bear to part with them. Great art work.

Movie Posters Left over from my days working in a video store. Cannot bear to part with them.

Evening Bags All are from my mom, but these things are just so cool and conversation peices for the nights I go out hobnobbing with the Queen.

[Kepi]

My partner and I collect old postcards, especially those from the 1930s-1950s. We focus on cards from our hometown, Fort Worth, and from other places that have some significance to us (Texas cities such as Galveston, Lubbock, Dallas; places along old Route 66; Pittsburgh). Right now our collection numbers around 1000 cards.

I also have a collection of snowdomes from different places I've visited, but they are packed away somewhere in a box from my last move. And like Shirley, I have a collection of about 50 or so movie posters left over from my days of working in a movie theater.

[booklover]

Depictions of snakes/snake figurines--have to be realistic, not cutesy.

Books--lots of children's, esp. fairytales.

Boxes--small, decorative type.

Also, gymnastics memorabilia & videotapes.