VCB 15: Stop setting the house on fire

Today I am going to tell you 10 things I would save from a fire or rather because I will probably lump more than one object together I will imagine I have ten trips back into my house. Of course if I had ten trips worth of time the fire was probably small enough to start with that I could have put it out...I am a bad person. By the way these sort of 'what would you save' questions come up so often. Someone really needs to stop setting my house on fire, imaginary flames or not. It just isn't pleasant.

Today's blog is inpsired by this week's theme on fiveawesomegirls who were one of my first ever Youtube subscriptions. You can view their channel by clicking here.

1. The first thing I would grab would be my pets. I have two cats called Millie and Lucy and while I would like to believe they would exit their house of their own accord but they are pretty dumb. I have seen Lucy jump into a glass window face first. And oh... Millie on catnip. That girl has a drug problem. I think she definately needs assistance if there were a fire. She would be running back in screaming "not the catnipppp".

Side note: I am assuming my parents would be able to leave and I am therefore not using them in my list. But if they are around they can help me move my stuff. We could save my material safety net of a list in like 5 or even 3 trips! Team effort people - team effort.

2. My giraffe. When James first visited England in Sept 2008 we went to Cambridge. There was a market in the square and one of the stalls had handmade wooden giraffes (and other animals) that fit together. We bought them as a present to ourselves and now when we are together they are. And when we are apart we keep our giraffe on us so we are not alone.



The above picture was taken just after we got them. On the right is Berty and on the left is Gerty. I currently have Gerty sitting right in front of me. I hold her when I get sad or feel lost. It reminds me I do fit somewhere - I am the perfect fit with my Berty - James.

3. The Buffy box set. Having had the box set on my birthday and Christmas list since it was available I finally got it on my 21st birthday. My friends Michelle, Paul, Karen and Kimberly and my aunt Sue and sister Charles all picthed in to buy it for me. The are pretty awesome present buyers - for my 18th I got a free trip to Disneyland. They spoilt me.

4. Now if this list were in any kind of order then the Harry Potter books would have been first on my list. I don't have a fancy set (although I really want one) or anything; I just want to keep the books that changed my life. I want to keep the tatty, battered paperback Philosophers Stone which I have read so many times that the spine is scuffed at the edges and the binding is broken at the front of the book.

If I only had one trip (lets assume my cats did manage to work their way out by themselves) then I would take only the Philosopher's Stone book. I only need to look at it and I want to read it. In fact I have picked it up now and I think I may have to have a read. It is like a comfort blanket I guess.

5. My Snoopy collection would be a must to save. Unfortunately over 200 books and 200 objects I am probably not going to manage it all in one trip let alone 10. SO if I had to be ruthless I would chose Slide, Charlie Brown, Slide. This book has no monetary value, but its sentimental value makes it priceless to me, much like the Harry Potter books.

Slide, Charlie Brown, Slide was the first ever Peanuts book I purchased (or first I remember buying). It was the start of a huge collection although I do not have anything of great value. I do have a first edition hardback of 'I never promised you an apple orchard' but I don't think it would fetch much. I could write a while blog on the sentimental value of Peanuts memorabilia and what the strip means to me so I won't go on about it now.

The other two things Peanuts-wise would be a framed newspaper article and a limited edition Peanuts painting my parents bought me in the US. The article is from 12 December 1999, the last day that a Peanuts daily appeared in a newspaper. The clipping isn't the actual strip, it is an article about Charlie Brown's impact on the world. It is called 'Good Grief, the ball game's over'.

The painting, as I said is limited edition and is the next best thing to a Schulz original. After he died there were a very few artists across the US that became 'official' Peanuts artists. I have an original piece of art which depicts Snoopy kissing Lucy Van Pelt on the nose. It is a limited edition of 500 and I love it. It will be where everyone can see it when I have my own house.

6. I am going to put two different things together here although there is a link. James and I own a 15th scale model version of the Delorean from Back to the Future 2. It lights up and makes noises and we absolutely love it. It currently sits on my wardrobe in its box but when we have more space I am sure it will be on display for all to admire. The thign I am putting with this is James' diecast collectable Tardis. It tooks us quite a while of searching in various geek shops to find a good one that wasn't also a cookie jar. I couldn't leave it behind. (If you didn't get the link - it is that they are both time machines... and really nerdy).

7. Going back to Hogwarts for a moment (Gotta get back to Hogwarts, gotta get back to school. Gotta get back to Hogwarts, where everybody thinks I'm coooool*) I would take my Harry Potter Hogwarts Express sign. It hangs from ceiling above my desk in my roomand says 'Hogwarts Express Platform 9 3/4' and I love it. I bought it from Whimsic Alley and if you want your own you can get it from here.

Oh and since I am taking the Hogwarts Express sign I musn't forget to take my J.K.Rowling letter. It is only an automated response but it says Owl Post on top which makes me so happy. I never sent Jo a letter until the day before the 7th book came out when I thanked her for everything she had done for me. Although I know she will probably never get to read it the letter is a reminder to always tell people how much you appreciate them.

*If you don't get this reference you haven't lived. Click here.

8. The next things is a caricature that I had done in Trafalgar Square, London when I was 10 years old. I love it so much and it is great to have a piece of original art as a memory rather than just photos. We got it done when I went to stay with someone I met on holiday.

I guess it also a reminder that deep down I am a confident person. When I was a child I would make friends in a snap on holidays such as Lisa, who I met (I think) at a Butlins in Margate, Kent. It was Lisa who I stayed with when we got our caricatures done. Looking back it is hard to believe I had the confidence to stay with a random family for 2 weeks without my parents! But then I can't believe I flew to Portland by myself last year either!

9. The achievement of mine I am most proud of is getting my degree with First Class honours. I would rescue two things to mark this achievement. One is my dissertation. Of course I have it on file in about 20 different places (Seriously - I was so scared I would accidentally delete it that I really did make that many duplicates) but I only have one printed and bound version. It has a plastic cover and a black hardback and looks fancy. It makes me feel smart.

I would also grab my actual degree which is framed and in our hall. This could be replaces I guess but it would take effort and it would just be easiest to take it. I could grab my dad's honorary doctorate as well. I'd feel bad if I saved my little ol' bachelor's degree and not his fancy doctorate. (By the way when we took this to be framed the framers accidentally tore it. They felt terrible and arranged for another one to be sent from Canada at their expense!)

10. The last thing I would save would actually be something for James. For his 30th birthday I got him a book signed by Harlen Coben, his friend and best-selling author. I knew that his friendship with Harlen meant a lot as he developed a bond while he was in Iraq. I emailed Harlen via his website asking if he could sign a book expecting to hear back from an agency administrator in 2 weeks. Harlen replied personally within a few hours (this is so impressive - seriously... best-selling authors must get tons of emails) and was more than happy to.

I think the fact that I got the book for James means a lot to him, and reminds me how amazing my boyfriend is to be respected by a famous author.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: IS THERE ANYTHING IN YOUR ROOM THAT YOU WAKE UP AND SEE EVERYDAY AND IT JUST MAKES YOU SMILE?
My answer: I love waking up and seeing my wall behind my bed. It has a Star Trek poster, my Hogwarts Express sign, a Back to the Future poster, a Hogwarts emblem poster and my giant collage of pictures from my Portland trip last year. It makes me happy. Of course the best thing to wake up to is James who I get to see NEXT WEEK!