It always fascinates me to discover what people save and collect. Perhaps it is just a dysfunction of mine... but I love the whole psychology behind it. Shows like "Clean House" and "Hoarders" are a guilty pleasure of my TV watching time...
One of the things my mother and I have been doing is going thru clothing and personal items of my dad's... and packing up some things that might be beneficial to someone else. And in the process... I am re-discovering weird and wonderful things about my dad. For example... he loved to dress well. Not that he was vain or anything... far from it. But he had a certain pride in his appearance and liked to be clean, and pressed, and presentable. ((None of this ... shorts hanging out of his pants... which are down to his knees... kind of thing like you see some people dressing like.)) He had a ton of ties. He used cloth handkerchiefs. His socks matched his outfit. He actually shined his shoes. Yah, I know.
And it got me thinking about what we all collect and save... and how it reflects on our personalities so very strongly. I would not classify myself as a hoarder... but there are certain things that I can't get rid of either. I know... shocking. I have a deep love of fabrics and threads and buttons and such. I am sure this comes from my grandmother... who not only could sew anything she laid her eyes on... but often did. I keep old books. I justify keeping them to myself by saying they are reference material for art... but in reality... I just love old books. I get this from both my grandmother and my father. And I am obsessed with little bits and bobs and little anythings that I can potentially make into jewelry. I can't help it. My daughter jokes with me that it is because (in the Chinese zodiac)... I am a dragon.. and dragons love to hoard all kinds of shiny things... and she very well could be right. Who knows where I get that from... but it is definitely ME.
*photos by Elaine A. Russell