Cookie Cutters and Stars

Twinkle, twinkle little star,

How I wonder what you are.

Up above the world so high;

Like a diamond in the sky.

Twinkle, twinkle little star,

How I wonder what you are!

My mother once told me that she imagined that the stars were little pinholes in a big blanket covering the earth, and the light on the other side was shining through them.  I have always had a fascination with stars.  I even took astronomy as an elective in college, thinking it would be the most fascinating course in the world.  It wasn't.  It's nothing like looking at the sky and dreaming.  It's about numbers and elements and drawing circles on a chalkboard with a piece of chalk and a string and about wondering when the spittle was going to form in the corners of the professor's mouth - which it always did before the end of the hour long lecture.  He tried to kill the stars for me, but I managed to hold on to them and resuscitate them.

Linda at Teacherdance has a collection of star shaped cookie cutters.  Her picture of the cookie cutter jar, got me to pull out mine and check for stars.  I have three as you can see in the photo.  In my cookie jar picture, I have the matching heart cutter for one of the stars she has.  Love those green handles!

Though it looks as if I might collect cookie cutters, I don't really.  I have a set of the 12 days of Christmas figures cookie cutters....hmmmm.  I haven't seen them in years.  I wonder where they went after the fire?  Guess I'll be hunting them down.  I haven't thought about those for a long time.
Anyway.  Collecting.  I've tried not to collect lately.  At one time, as a young girl I collected porcelain horses.  I got good at gluing their legs back on.
Then I collected gum wrappers, to make those long chains to see how tall your husband was going to be.  I think Tim is taller than as far as I got.
For a while in the 70's and 80's we collected real live horses on our mini-farm.  We had 10 at one time... bought high and sold low. 
I collected Cabbage Patch dolls when they were all the rage.  They were going to be very valuable someday, especially if I didn't take them out of the boxes.  MIB.  Yup.  Paid $32 each for them way back in the 80's.  I can sell them today for $30 each.
I guess I have never quite gotten the hang of collecting and cashing in.
I have a fairly good collection of The Night Before Christmas books stashed away for grandkids.  I started collecting when my kids were born.  I'd read them one of the books each night leading up to Christmas.  I loved the different styles of illustrations.  I started with one book a year, but by the second year, I was buying at least two.  Didn't take long to build up a good assortment.  As the years went by, I'd have to start reading earlier and earlier.  They got a bit tired of the story mid November.
I now collect anything thistle patterned, as that was my maiden name (my poem and picture of Thistles by the Sea).  I have pins, pendants, cups and saucers, mugs, trivets, butter molds, an old hand-carved cedar chest, and anything else I can lay my hands on.  But most of it is packed away.  As much as I love collecting, my passion for dusting is equal and opposite.
Here are the few items that I will allow into the light of day and the load of dog and cat hair.

Now I'm trying to collect my memories.  

They can be stored in particles smaller than dust.