Someone at OpenDiary challenged her readers to pick 10 things that represent them. She mentioned using a photo album or scrapbook, or some such, but because I’m a purist I’m eliminating those as possible choices. If you feel like playing along, please leave a comment or trackback ping.

1) A fountain pen. My favorite one is green and blue glass, with a metal nib. It represents words and writing, and my fetish for pen and ink.

2) A cake of rosin. Because it represents not just my cello, but also the work involved in learning to read music, and sing, or play an instrument. On a broader scale, it also represents my love of music.

3) Black western-style boots, which I’ve owned since I was 18, actually. They represent my new life, here in Texas, and also my love of horses, even though they’re not really riding boots.

4) The jaws of a baby white shark, that I’ve had since a trip to New Jersey when I was 12. A slightly gruesome object, I guess, but an important one. They represent my love of the ocean, and the danger inherent in taking nature for granted. In a more abstract fashion, they represent my hot temper.

5) A red candle in a glass and pewter candle holder, the flame for the people I love whom are either no longer within visiting distance, or no longer alive, the concept of a candle, as functional art, the color red for power and prosperity, in my personal interpretation, not based on any specific spiritual leaning.

6) My wedding & engagement rings, for the obvious, my committment to Fuzzy, and for the less obvious, the tiny sparkle of the diamond reminds me that good things come in small packages (trite but true).

7) A stuffed Winnie-the-Pooh that I’ve had for almost thirty-four years now. It stands for innocence lost, delights treasured, and the pleasure of imagination.

8) A small rubber duck. This represents my self-indulgent side – bubble baths, pedicures, and foofy hair salons, but it also represents my love of whimsy.

9) Bubbie’s quilt. My step-grandmother hand stitched this for my mother, as a sort of wedding gift, and when my parents came to visit this year, they gifted it to me. It represents the tradition of fiber arts in my family – my maternal grandmother never stopped reminding us that ‘a gift of the hand is a gift from the heart’, as well as the notion that families don’t have to be made only of the people who are connected to you by blood. It also represents my appreciation for history. Quilts are stories, as much as books are.

10) A black velvet beret, with a diamond poodle pin on it. It represents my love of hats, and the concept of having personal style beyond whatever is in fashion. Someone once said, “Blessed are those who know how to accessorize.” Hats are my favorite accessory. This hat, though, brings us back to my love of words, because I started wearing it when I was a kid, and wanted to be Jo March, up in her garrett, eating apples and scribbling madly.