World, Writing, Wealth discussion

Collecting is probably still very common among humans. Yeah, I know stamps and post cards are kinda out, but some other things might still be in.
Do you collect (and renovate?) old cars, private jets, remote control flyable planes, books, Van Gogh's paintings or replicas, marriages, good memories, anything else?

I think I collect weeds. This is a remarkably effortless hobby, since I don't have to do anything, other than clear up bits of my property to make room for fresh ones. And they keep coming with remarkable ease.

DOLLS! (From collectibles to playables)
BOOKS! (Mainly antiques)

I collect reprints of Victorian era house plan catalogs. I am fascinated by the intricate details of the elevations and floor plans.

As I have no garden, I do not - unlike Ian - collect weeds. However, books seem to fulfill that function for me... As soon as I uproot one, another seems to take its place! This seems to happen on my Kindle as well as in real life.

I also love bikes. I have a wonderful old racing bike and am thinking of collecting more old steel-framed machines; they're wonderful to ride. Unfortunately I'm getting older and will eventually not be able to ride them!

And I seem to be accumulating laptops. This is not an accident; we throw away a lot of computers because their software is "no longer supported" when they will run perfectly well on Linux.

Weed, dolls, books, stardust, house plans, bikes and laptops - Diverse collections, so far!

Pretty sure there's a difference between collecting weeds and collecting weed :)

Been collecting comic books since I was 11. I'm now 35, which some people say is too old to be collecting comic books. At least, that's what I think they're saying; I can't hear them from inside the fort I made out of all of my comic book boxes.

What do I NOT collect? *groans* I like...well, I need a larger apartment! -Jen from Quebec :0)

Scout wrote: "Pretty sure there's a difference between collecting weeds and collecting weed :)"

-:)

J.D. wrote: "I can't hear them from inside the fort I made out of all of my comic book boxes...."

Don't give them your cell phone number

Jennifer Lynn wrote: "I need a larger apartment! -Jen from Quebec :0)"

Maybe a museum would be better?

We'll ask Ian to share some weed with us out of many he collects -:)

Nik wrote: "We'll ask Ian to share some weed with us out of many he collects -:)"

What would you like? A solanum species to poison your neighbours? Something harmless like thistle? I also have some weeds that need an axe taken to them, if you want something more sizable :-)

Ian wrote: "What would you like? A solanum species to poison your neighbours? Something harmless like thistle? I also have some weeds that need an axe taken to them, if you want something more sizable :-) ..."

Thanks god, no need in poisoning anyone, but rather in entertaining. Other than poison, all sounds like an excellent variety and multiple choice -:)

Certainly choice. Interestingly, some of the more troublesome weeds in NZ are plants introduced as decorative pot plants by early settlers, or as something to remind them of home in England. They took off and are real pests. (Some animals, too, like rabbits.) I am not sure why anyone would bring something like dock, though.

A few years ago, a new vine showed up in my yard. I work in my yard a lot, and this was something I'd never seen - wasn't even sure it was a weed at the time, so I let it grow, as it had flowers on it. Big mistake. A year later, these vines were growing in all the beds in the neighborhood and were very prolific. Besides putting down roots every foot or so, they produce berries that the birds eat and then spread everywhere. I began to notice them in yards all over town. I identified the plant as skunk vine (so named because of its foul odor when you pull it up), a vine introduced into my neighboring state of Florida in 1897 as a potential fiber crop. I've mostly rid my yard of these vines, as have my neighbors, but every now and then I see one of them peeping up through my shrubs. I go into killer mode and immediately pull it up by the roots. Moral of the story: if you see a plant you've never seen before growing in your yard, pull it up immediately!

Time for updates: any new exhibits or collections? -:)

I inherited my grandmother's collection of antique jewelry. I've spent a lot of time cleaning it up, most of the pieces are 19th century.

I collect coffee mugs from places I have been including states I have visited here in the U.S. and tourist attractions. I have over 200 total.

Holly wrote: "I inherited my grandmother's collection of antique jewelry. I've spent a lot of time cleaning it up, most of the pieces are 19th century."

Must be some real treasure, well preserved!

Marie wrote: "I collect coffee mugs from places I have been including states I have visited here in the U.S. and tourist attractions. I have over 200 total."

Nice! I collect t-shirts from different countries. Have about 80 out of 195. A way to go -:)

You can collect things inadvertently. I have several bags of coins: small change that could not be spent and is inherently useless, but sometimes it gives a clue to something. I seem to have a strangely large number of spare Spanish pesetas, but only three Soviet coins that total a few kopecks. (I must have been either a more assiduous spender there, or a kopeck could buy something.) No Brazilian coins from my time there but a 50,000 Cr note slipped through.

Ian wrote: "... or a kopeck could buy something..."

Yes, it could! A cup of soda from a machine cost 1 kopeck, a phone call of maybe a couple of minutes 2 kopecks and with 3 or 5 you were a king, being able to buy kvass and take a ride with any transportation from tram to subway -:)

Yes, I seem to recall using hardly any kopecks to get a ride from central Samarkand out to the market places on the old silk road. I had to pay real attention to my surroundings when starting so I knew where to get off on the way back :-)

Nik wrote: "Marie wrote: "I collect coffee mugs from places I have been including states I have visited here in the U.S. and tourist attractions. I have over 200 total."

Nice! I collect t-shirts from differen..."

Very cool, Nik! Do you wear them or just hang them up to admire them? :)

Thnx! Wear those I like. Others were bought just to expand the collection or brought by friends with a wrong size -:)

Nik wrote: "Thnx! Wear those I like. Others were bought just to expand the collection or brought by friends with a wrong size -:)"

Very cool! :)

I collect small boxes and sea shells and interesting rocks.

Scout wrote: "I collect small boxes and sea shells and interesting rocks."

That is cool, Scout! Have you been collecting seashells for a long time? I have loads of seashells that I have been gathering from beaches since I was a kid. What kind of rocks do you collect? That sounds like an interesting collection. :)

I have shells that I picked up on the beach when I lived on the Atlantic coast at 13, those I found on vacations with my parents, shells I've picked up since on the Gulf Coast, and those friends have brought me. They're in prominent places around my house, and they make me happy. My rock collection began with my dad bringing me a chunk of rock - "fool's gold." He brought me rocks from his travels - amethysts, geodes, rocks with fossils. When friends travel and ask me what I want them to bring back, I always tell them to pick up a rock.