I have a number of collections. More thanI probably should but I enjoy them. Early October is when I often start
Early October is when I often start hauling out the ceramic pumpkins.
I couldn't get the lid on the pumpkin on the left to sit correctly. I thought maybe I mismatched one top and one bottom when I packed them up last year but to my surprise all the other ones fit just right.
I'll also mix in other real pumpkins and other gourds to decorate.
I enjoy having many collections as I think things in groups make a stronger statement than just a single object. More than one of the same type of item allows them all to highlight each other by showing contrasts and differences. Many of my collections are related to the holidays so October is when my pumpkin collection begins to appear. The jack-o-lanterns will come out next but I usually pack those back up after Halloween. However the pumpkins will remain until very early December.
There are numerous reasons why people collect things. For myself I believe my collections, especially my holiday ones, offer a sense of nostalgia and connection to past happy memories.
When I go shopping I believe there's always the chance of possibly coming across an item which might fit into one of my collections. I love the potential thrill of discovering something that's particularly beautiful and unique to fit in one of my collections.
There is also the act of organizing and curating by collections which provides a sense of control and accomplishment for me. It also offers me a sense of security in what often feels to be an increasingly dangerous and chaotic world.
Carving pumpkins is an early and fond Halloween memory for me. Whenever I cut open a pumpkin now the smell immediately bring me back to the kitchen floor of the house on Stevens. Mom or Dad would cut the top out of the pumpkin and the destinctive smell would hit me. My job was to help scrape out the goop.
I've always wondered how that scent related memory is felt so vividly. According to AI, "Our sense of smell, or olfaction, is profoundly connected to memory because of its unique and direct neural pathway to the brain's emotional and memory centers. Unlike other senses, olfactory signals do not first pass through the thalamus, the brain's main relay station for sensory information. This allows smells to trigger vivid, emotionally charged memories more immediately and powerfully than visual or auditory cues."
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