OWLS ARE MAKING A COMEBACK!

I spent the day Saturday with my 2 daughters and my granddaughter.  During the course of the day there were several things said in conversation that made me think about my grandparents that have gone on to be with the Lord - MaMa and PaPa. They were both so very special to me. I was fortunate enough to live within walking distance of them growing up and, as a result, I spent quite a lot of time with them.

No one could cook like my MaMa and I think she is definitely responsible for the love that I have for cooking.  (And the love that I have for dishes/china.) As we were eating lunch, my daughter was talking about how much she loved lima beans and it reminded me of how much PaPa loved them.  Many a night he would tell my grandmother (he called her "Baby") that he just wanted a bowl of cornbread and "pot liquor".  (For those of you that weren't born in the South, that's what us southerners call the juice that the lima beans were cooked in.) He would crumble up his cornbread in the "pot liquor" and eat it and, I must agree, it was DELISH! That was one of PaPa's favorites.

That conversation somehow led us to talk about MaMa's love for OWLS!  She collected owls and I was blessed to have received a couple of her owls from my Mother on my last trip home. I thought that I would share a couple of them with you.

This one sits on the floor in my Dining Room. I love the way he is so"weathered" looking.  He just looks so wise, doesn't he?

This one is actually a little sachet holder. It has a ribbon on it so that you could hang it, but I keep him inside my china cabinet.

 
This little guy is actually a napkin holder and he resides on my kitchen table all the time.

Over the years, I have added a couple of owls myself and would very much like to collect more. One of the ones that I have added is a Swarovski crystal owl that my husband gave me. He's a tiny little fella, but so pretty, especially when the light hits him.

By far the most special owl that I have been given is this one made out of soapstone.  My daughter and son-in-law brought him all the way from BRAZIL. They got him for me while they were there on a church mission trip. Isn't he handsome!

Faith has decided that she would also like to collect owls.  She also has a couple of MaMa's owls that my Mother gave her. She told me about a piece of owl jewelry that she was hoping to get for Christmas. She also told me that owls were making a resurgence in popularity! They've always been popular with me!

What about you?  What do you like to collect and why?  What sentimental items do you have that belonged to one of your loved ones?