souvenirs

When we were kids, my extended family used to go on a fishing trip together to some small cabins in northern MN.  Sometimes on the way there or home, if they were crazy enough to choose this route,  my parents would take us to...Treasure City.  It was absolutely fabulous.  The glitz and glamor of Hollywood was nothing compared to the shelves of colorful trinkets, toys, beads, and baubles that were available in this paradise.  (I was always enamored by the old-fashioned moccasins with leather soles and fringe.  And  I once brought home a green rabbit's foot on a key chain that I thought was the bee's knees for the longest time.  Don't tell Elise about that.)

So now that we are about to embark on another family vacation, we have been thinking about what we'd like to  bring home for souvenirs.  We none of us, except Elise, really like to have stuff laying around just to have it.  As we pass through all the gift shops we will likely encounter, what exactly do we want to pay for and bring home?  Here's our list so far:

- yarn, of course  (I made a hat with the Greece yarn--I think about the ocean there everytime I put it on.)
- refrigerator magnet
- T-shirts for Karl, Albin, and Elise
- playing cards (We bought some to play at an outdoor cafe in Athens while it was raining one afternoon.  The tables were covered by a large tent, but it was wet and breezy enough that after a few hands of rummy we gave up and put them away.  Now when we play them at home, they are a fun reminder of that trip--and we all like getting the card that shows the crazy vampire cat.)
- postcards (I hope to send most of these out, actually.)
- Christmas ornament (Our carousel horse from Ohio fell out of the tree last year and shattered.  Sadness ensued.)

In a stroke of good timing, I finally read this article in the New York Times about a woman who downsized to 100 objects.  We don't want to bring anything home that we won't use or love...preferably both....