Wednesday, December 31, 2008

It's the Little Things That Count

I've clearly been a pretty unsinspired blogger lately. I could offer a variety of excuses: The Holidays made me do it, No Good Books, Blah With Life, etc. None of them are really true, and I think it's just that after forcing myself to write every day for a month, when most days I didn't really want to, I still needed a break.

But I decided to post today, to close out 2008, and also to share with anyone who may read this blog a new favorite site of mine!

I love collecting stuff. I always have. I have a collection of mid-twentieth century salt-and-pepper shakers. I have a collection of gargoyle figures. At my parents' house, I have stored away my collection of wooden Welsh love spoons (mostly bought in the Wales shop at Disneyworld). I have a very small collection of clocks made by the Telechron company. I get a lot of this stuff at a huge flea market in my area, often for very cheap (I estimate that I have about 30 salt-and-pepper shakers, and I probably have only spent about $60 on this collection).

But when I'm out there, I often see lots of other cool stuff that I wouldn't know quite what to do with. Sometimes, one of the tool vendors that my dad likes to check out will have a bunch of rusty old nails in a very cool box. There's another vendor that always has a huge box of greeting cards from the fifties and sixties. Or, mixed in with a bunch of costume jewelry on the dollar table will be a name tag with an interesting logo. I usually pass this stuff up, thinking "What would I do with it?"

Well, the Tikiranch knows. You take it home, dust it off if need be, and post it on one of the coolest websites ever. I came across the Tikiranch about a year ago, via Bighappyfunhouse (another favorite of mine) but I've recently become semi-obsessed, adding it to my daily blog rounds and now, to my sidebar. I even love the name, "Tikiranch," evoking as it does a bunch of tiki gods wearing cowboy hats and roping cattle. The site is very simple, but it makes me happy every day. The stuff he finds is aesthetically pleasing, definitely, but I also see a deeper message, of finding value in the small stuff. Most people who bought them new probably threw away the box that these gloves came in, even though it's got a cool look to it. It's inspired me to think a little differently about what's trash and what's treasure, and to try to enjoy the small things as much as Tikiranch does.

But if you just like looking at cool old Santa stuff, this is also a good site for you. Check it out, as my New Year's gift to all of you...you won't be disappointed!