20 Jan 2021

There was a post on Facebook a while ago, asking people to reply using the line “Hi! My name is * and I have a lot of…..”

I know I have written previously about various collections my Dad and subsequently other members of my family had, but it was long enough ago that I can barely remember so I’m hoping you won’t either.

I immediately knew my answer to the Facebook post, if I was so inclined to contribute. I generally don’t. I think about it, I have a mental laugh at myself, and then I move on. It’s my modus operandi for life.

If I was to write something it would be along the lines of “Hi! My name is Heather and I have a lot of playing cards and squirrels”. Of course I have a lot of other ‘lots of’, but those were the ones that jumped out at me.

The playing card collecting commenced many many many years ago. Whenever we travelled somewhere I would buy a set of playing cards that featured that particular area. They were my go-to holiday souvenir, and over the years I have amassed an absolute sh**load of playing cards. Whether it was an Australian holiday or something a bit further afield, souvenir playing cards were purchased, much to the dismay of the domestic finance director. They are not cards to be used for playing cards, but for display purposes to demonstrate how lucky I have been to travel places.

I now, of course, have WAY too many cards to display anywhere. They occupy a shelf in one of the bookcases, and my ultimate plan is for, at my funeral, everyone who shows up gets to take home a pack of cards – whether they want one or not. I’ve stopped collecting cards, by the way. My travel souvenir nowadays (travel is a thing we used to do a year or two back – you may remember it) are reusable supermarket shopping bags. They are useful, they strike up conversations in supermarkets, and they fold neatly into a box close to the front door.

The squirrels originated from our time living in the US where I fell in love with squirrels. My backyard visitors got fed, got photographed (a lot), and had a Facebook page dedicated to Cyril McSquirrel – who was of course over the 18 months possibly about 20 or more different squirrels. I accumulated a number of squirrel trinkets and toys, door stops, nutcrackers and bowls in the shape of squirrels because I was apparently not allowed to bring a real one back into Australia. Quite frankly though, I think Cyril would have got on like a house on fire with my canine squirrel impersonator.

If I was to start a post like the FB one that I won’t contribute to, but will write about, I’d want to know what you have lots of, but also what you have only one of.

I only have one armadillo.