A Domestic Detail

Dear Diary,

Memories can be collected in images or things, like this antique ivory cricket cage I got in China in 2002 and the many rocks I collected along the way.  I always seem to bring a pretty one home.  But what does one do with a box of rocks?  Yes, I could scatter them about the garden but instead I made a cairn of them.  Now, before you praise my rock balancing skills, I must admit, these are glued in place!  I occasional get a cricket in the house and if I can capture him, I put him in the cage with water and a leaf for an hour as the Chinese believe a cricket on the hearth will bring good luck to the house.  I, of course, then release him.  A friend bought me this iron cricket, with movable legs, to stand in for the real thing.  She died not long after she gave it to me so it is a memory of her that is always there.  Yes, I have lots of memories around the house.