tchotchkes

What a bizarre spelling for a slang term coined in the late sixties (according to the online dictionary anyway). My own mother had never heard the term before.

tchotchke- an inexpensive trinket, souvanier, or ornament.

There, now you know too.

The whole point of this, though, is that I like the idea of having a "collection" of something. Only, I don't actually collect anything. I like the clean, streamlined look and a collection of things doesn't fit in with that look.

Maybe someday I'll collect strange African tribal masks or Itallian carnavale masks. Those are things you can hang on walls. They aren't inexpensive though, so they don't fall under the catagory of tchotchke.

I once admired a womans collection of elephant figurines and discovered that an elephant with a raised trunk signifies good fortune and happiness. I wonder why that is.