While having the log burner installed, all the furniture had to be removed from the lounge. Finally, it’s all now back where it belongs.
When putting everything back, I began to pay particular attention to some of my ornaments, I mean, we live with these items day in day out, but do we ever really look at them, or see them properly? After a while most of our bits and pieces fade into obscurity, where we give them nothing more than a cursory glance while dusting them….if indeed we dust at all! My mother never dusted a single day in her entire life….she always said it was like shovelling snow while it was still snowing! Me though…yeah…I’m a tidy freak and a duster! Anyway….not only do I dust, I also observe my treasures, to the point where I think I’m energizing them….
it occurred to me that some of my favourite pieces are downright odd!
Obviously I must be fond of masks! These were picked up years ago at a flea market.
I purchased these two in Venice over twenty years ago.
And here’s the thing…..I SWEAR that they’re developing eyes and are watching me. The eyes are hollowed out so the white wall behind them should be visible! On candlelit evenings I sense the eyes moving and the laughter lines creasing!
The same happens here….I begin to imagine pale eyes flickering in the depths of this Greek helmet my father bought me thirty years ago.
Still on the subject of eyes, I firmly believe that the little brown owl on the right has eyes that swivel in different directions! Oh yes!
As for Nefertiti, she can be a rather chilling presence at times, especially when the candlelight catches that hard stare, and….. her necklace has been known to glow, along with her headdress.!
These eyes don’t move, they just stare more intently!
Bastet occasionally delivers a slow blink but generally remains serene, after all, she is the Goddess and mother of all cats and animals!
At times I fancy I see a claw twitch….
I love this lamp, it seems so very primal somehow, and the odd little figures dance, separated from their heads…
Many moons ago, two chaps hired a van and made their way across the Middle East buying up odds and ends. Many of those items, including this birdcage-candle holder, winged their way to me. This was ancient and rusted fifteen years ago, but it’s still going strong. It has the STRANGEST smell though, of incense and spice….and other delightful, mysterious fragrances, I often wonder who had it before me, I often wonder if it misses home.
You just GOTTA love my old shoeshine box….right???
And my Middle-Eastern wooden eel?
Two miniatures, the little donkey and camel are amongst my prized possessions, they were given to me by my mother many, many moons ago…..the box behind them warrants it’s own post!
So, there you have it, some of my favourite lounge oddities, the rest of the house is much more bizarre!
And Finally….
from my familiar and I, Curly Cat, Happy Halloween!
What a good idea to write and show your collection of ornaments etc! It is so interesting how different people have different things. I’m very impressed that you are a tidy and clean living person – it is a very healthy thing to be! I aspire to be clean and tidy…. the spirit is willing but the flesh horribly weak…..
Hope you had a groovy Halloween…… Curly is looking particularly lost in thoughts…. hmmmmmxxxx
Thanks rose. Hahahaha…..I’m not really that tidy and clean, I am forced to do it as the diggy dogs create so much dust as they are always running in our sandy soil which gets everywhere and dog hair is everywhere too!!! Every item of clothing worn in this house sports dog hair!!! I do it though, through GRITTED teeth! Hope you had a grooooovy halloween too! Yes, Curly seems miles away….xxx
You do have some interesting pieces. That Middle East candle holder is gorgeous!
Thanks Susanne….that lamp does cast a lovely glow….it certainly has personality!xxx
I love the terms ‘oddities’, and ‘cabinet of curiosities’, and the like. They make me feel like I want to know the stories behind them, and search for treasures amongst them. You have a wonderful collection of very meaningful items and why wouldn’t the eyes follow you around? You are quite fascinating! 😉 Happy Halloween to you and yours, not forgetting Skull Duggery!!
They are wonderful words aren’t they, the images they conjure! Oh!?! Moi? Fascinating??? How lovely it is to be thought fascinating. Sadly I’m not….at all…but now a gal can pretend eh? Thanks Glo.xxx
Our ornaments are about our identity, don’t you think? They are part of our history and who we are … I especially love your fabulous lamp!
Oh yes, they certainly are about our identity! That is such a funny lamp, whoever thought that GREEN could work? Thanks Gilly.xxx
Happy Halloween! You do have an interesting collection of oddities. It’s nice when an object provokes a little sense of mystery.
Yes, it’s always lovely to have a story or two attached to objects. Thanks Jennifer.xxx
Good morning Snowbird,
Your comment left on my blog made me smile this morning. So many people make the mistake of thinking Leeds castle is in Leeds………….it is in Kent, close to my home.
It is next to the little hamlet of Leeds Kent.:)
Have a great Sunday…….hope the sun is shining.
Hahahaha…..what a dope I am!!! Struth, I was wondering how I managed to miss those ground given how often I visited Leeds!!!xxx
Over the years we can (and do) collect all sorts of gifts, ornaments, nick nacks … I do change ours around from time to time.
We do have one owl, one beaver and one teddy bear mug that do like sitting together on a side table … each have their own story and part in our life, it’s things like this that make our homes.
Be very interested to hear the story behind that box …
Happy Halloween and a Mia-ow to Curly!
All the best Jan
It’s lovely how our bits and pieces carry so many memories of people and places, that’s what makes them so special. Now that box is a good yarn, I must post on it one fine day! In a nutshell, however often it’s given away, it always returns! Thanks Jan.xxx
I’ve had acquaintances ask, from time to time, “What style have you chosen for your decorating scheme?” After I stop laughing, I say either, “Ecletic,” or “intensely personal,” depending on my mood. Truth to tell, I don’t have a “style.” But when I look around my place, everything I see carries a memory of somewhere else, or a person dear to me. It never would make one of the glossy magazines, but it’s my nest, and it’s feathered just as I like.
Yours feels much the same to me, although I have African masks hanging rather than Venetian. I like Bastet and the birdcage candle holder especially. Wonderful, they are.
Hahaha…..we have having no style in common then! I too go with what I like and it has to be something that interests me or as you say, carries a memory of a place or person…..I doubt I’ll make it into any mag either! Thanks Linda.xxx
You like all these eyes watching you? You are never alone in your house. I too have masks from Venice.
I have a friend whose mother gave her a rather bizarre housework tip. She said: ‘ When you take your knickers off at night, dust round with them before you go to bed.’ Personally, I prefer dusters.
Lol….the eyes and I have jelled! We live in harmony!
ARGHHHH! WHAT a tip!?! You and me both re dusters!!! That one will certainly haunt me for a while!!! Thanks Chloris!xxx
I am sure some of those eyes were on me as I was reading your post………..spooky.
I love your shoe shine box, fabulous.
I have given a lot of my ornaments etc to charity shops. Collected over many years they became more trouble than they were worth. Like you I have to dust (wish it was different)
As I walk towards the crone, I can think of better things to do with my time.
Love seeing your displays………..must say something about the woman 🙂
Ahha! So the masks have found another to follow….
I have really streamlined my ornaments too, they do build up and just become clutter! I loathe dusting, I think my mother was right. If I didn’t have dogs I doubt I’d do it!
Walking towards the crone…I LOVED that! Thanks Cheryl.xxx
Those oddities, as you call them, look like beloved treasures from many years of adventures, clogged full of wonderful memories! That birdcage candle holder is just so lovely. You made me smile with your mother’s attitude about dusting 😉
Yes, all my oddities are beloved treasures, and are certainly full of wonderful memories of places and people. The birdcage is one of my favourite pieces, it really does throw out the prettiest light and patterns, and has that delicious smell of the mysterious Middle East.
My mother was a one off, she didn’t really believe in doing any housework….I do have one memory of her brushing but that’s the lot! Thanks Anne. xxx
It’s that time of year when candlelight enhances those treasures you call ‘oddities’ and also
plays mind games as you sit of an evening in your cosy living room. Happy weekend!
This is the perfect time of the year for candlelight and getting comfy and staring at things!!! Yes, it’s certainly all mind games!xxx
I dust when it piles up and I can write my name. 😉 I swore I saw someone watching me the other day but it was a big pile of laundry. Maybe it was getting ready to yell, “Fold me!”
I once had a friend who not only would write his name in my dust, but would date it, as well. That’s just cruel, don’t you think?
Struth!!! That IS cruel!xxx
Hahahaha…..oh, laundry is the worst! I ignore mine! I have to dust though, three dogs covered in our light sandy soil is a bit of a nightmare, it simply gets everywhere!xxx
To you and your beautiful familiar…..I love all your oddities….especially of course Bastet…and I love the quote from your Mother re dusting – or not dusting:)
I love to see the things people collect, it says a lot about them. I can imagine your room candle lit with all those eyes following me…..Happy Halloween:)xxxxx
Thanks Janet. I think we too have similar tastes in things, the more interesting the better! My mother not only not dusted, she didn’t believe in doing housework at all, and we all survived!
I rather like the thought of all those eyes following me!xxx
Cool helmet and masks. I think things tend to look odd when they are new, then normal when they are familiar. Removing and then replacing these items made them new in your eyes again, at least for a while.
Thanks Jason, how very true, moving items around does lend them a fresh pair of eyes!xxx
Wonderful to tour with your treasures and hear their stories, Dina! I really love the statue of Bastet and the birdcage…well, and the Greek mask, and owls…and, I guess, ALL, especially Curly!
Thank your for this wonderful treat! Happy Halloween!
Thanks Kitty, I think Curly beats them all….hands down! I think you and I have similar tastes in ornaments! xxx
My! My! What a Super Collection you have…so diverse…eclectic and extremely fascinating. Yes, all of them have some special meaning/connotation for us…as for your penchant for masks? Well….they would start staring back at you….that makes me wonder why? Analysts have strong views on our penchant for masks…. Lovely post D! Thanks for sharing…and… Have an Enchanting Halloween! Hugs!
Thanks Bushka. I do find masks fascinating, there is always something so mysterious about them and their place in history. I think almost every culture has used them. xxx
Curl get all my appraisal 🙂 what beautiful eyes he has!
I do love to guess about the different stories behind each object… I still collecting few things when I get the occasion to travel.
Actually is really very little things… when I compare with all the stuff I use to put in my suitcase when I was working for Swissair!
Most of my odd collections are being given away… a bunch of books still in the attic inside carton-boxes… few other things are in the cellar…
But for me too, every little souvenir has a story to tell (and many of my short tales are connected with something I got from around the world).
Dera Dina, have a lovely Halloween :-)claudine
Curly does have such strange pale eyes, they are really special and unusual! I always love to hear the stories behind things too, our collections could fill books! All little pieces in our lives.
I love to bring a little momento home after travelling, it keeps the memories alive. Thanks Claudine.xxx
What a wonderful collection! I just dust when it’s raining and I can’t be in the garden! I too love owls and my collection is growing, I get given them for Birthdays and Christmas as well as buying them myself. I think my ornaments are what I have brought back from abroad, presents from family and items that have been passed down the family from many years ago, they all mean something. Love your cat’s eyes!
Thanks Pauline, oh I agree, housework should only be done when it’s raining or too dark or cold to go out! Our ornaments do represent our lives for sure. You must post re your owl collection, it sounds lovely!xxx
Love your post (as always) I must have a trip your way one day soon.
Marian ~x~
Thanks Marion, yes, we’ll all have to catch up!xxx
That’s all very spooky.
When I was teaching I painted some figures on the entrance porch wall and people sworethat the eyes followed them as they crossed the entrance from one side to the other.
Eeek! How VERY odd!!! How I would have loved to have seen them.xxx
Love your oddities. It is fun to have such to remind us of trips enjoyed, different cultures…
I nearly fell out of my chair laughing at your Mother’s line about dusting. I will have to remember that. I am the middle of the line duster. I dust when it gets VERY noticeable. Have a great Halloween.
Lol….my mother didn’t really believe in any type of housework! I have to dust, three dogs racing around full of our sandy soil makes a veritable mess! xxx
A most enjoyable post and lovely pictures. I especially like the owls, which are such fascinating birds.
Thanks, and to you too. xx
Thanks Flighty, oh yes…I’m a huge owl fan too!xxx
I’m not sure I could hang masks which develop eyes, very odd indeed. I think they’d put the chill up me. You do have some lovely curios though, love Bastet and your little camel and donkey, they’re much more to my taste. Happy Halloween.
Lol, masks are not everyone’s cup of tea! My daughter hates them! Thanks Jo.xxx
Goodness you do have some oddities – my ornaments look positively boring against yours, although I’m not much of a one for knick-knacks like you say they require too much dusting. It’s the same with pictures isn’t it. You hang them on the walls and there they stay and you begin not to notice them. When we were decorating the living room and all the pictures were taken down and cleaned, they were re-hung in different places and I noticed them once more. I think though that it is the personal touches that make a house a home. Lovely picture of Curly.
It’s a good idea to move pictures around, I may give that a go! Oh yes, it’s certainly the personal touches that make a home! Thanks Elaine.xxx