This little guy went all the way to Hawaii! Good thing he didn't have swim all the way there!
photo via VintageToGoEtsy
and it came with a little cute story I just love! Here it is:
A friend has a tattoo of a koi on her calf, so decided that I'd give her
a couple of koi in her xmas gift this year. She'll probably wear them,
who knows............ koi don't like to be alone, so I've been
collecting lots to keep them all happy !!!!
Enjoy your weekend !
Aloha
I just love getting and giving thoughtful gifts like this one! Someone must love koi to have one tattooed on her calf and to have such a good friend collect them as part of a Christmas gift is not only cool and thoughtful, but a really good friend!
And since koi don't like to be alone, she's collecting a bunch for her friend. Too bad thus was the last of my koi fish charms.
I have no idea why I started a collection of these back in the 80s and 90s, except for the fact that I've always loved charms as a child. I guess ever since, I moved on from my miniature doll house collection to charms, especially the moveable ones and have two extensive charm bracelets, one in sterling and the other in gold.
In a previous posting from a different Etsy buyer with the cobalt blue koi charm, her story brought back memories of going to visit my Grandfather's friend's Koi Farm in Orange County as a child. Read that story here.
photo via VintageToGoEtsy
Saying Goodbye: My attachments to these koi charms are painless and joyful and I'm not sure why, except perhaps all of the memories in them were joyful too?
I haven' noticed that in some cases, like my religious medals, when I get down to the last 100 or so, I get an itch to build up the collection again! But so far, not with these, but so far I've only found three, there may be more? Knock on wood, instead of tempting fate!
Maybe it's because the "lost" memories that keep popping up from the koi charms are good ones without tarnish or tainted with evil? I have no idea where that came from! "Tainted with evil?" Yikes!
Anyways... going to the Koi Farm as a child triggered another memory of going to another koi farm, pond, lake of the now defunct, Japanese Deer Park in Orange County, California, which as a child we visited often and it actually had two koi ponds surrounded by beautiful gardens, well, one was more like a lake, but most of all the park had "real" Pearl Divers from Japan!
It had all kinds of great stuff to see and do from a deer petting zoo of the sacred deer called "Sika" deer that are known for keeping their spots after growing up to karate demonstrations, dolphin jumping through fire ring shows, riding turtles and bear shows too!
Welcome to Japanese Deer Park! Irashaimase! and welcome to my trip down memory lane!
photo via Orange County Memories, click on the link to see more photos
I remember waiting for the gate to roll open! I can almost hear it rolling open again now! And some people in traditional Japanese dress would wave and say, "Irashaimase!" Just like they do in shops in Japan or some traditional style restaurants still around from the old days here.
Here is the Koi Lake via Image - Archeology.com, see more photo postcards here of many more of the attractions and culture, except no Pearl divers!
Feeding Koi here:
photo via Synthetrix, Photos of the Forgotton
I
don't remember the big green characters, like the one in the background
at all, but I do remember feeding the koi from pellets that came out of
a gumball machine.
Here is a photo, more like what I remember:
photo via Orange County Memories
Here's a map from Synthetrix, Photos of the Forgotton to show the grandeur of this long lost loved park.
Here is a photo of the second koi pond from the park:
photo via Stuff From The Park
photo via Orange County Memories, click on the link to see more photos and read other posted memories in comments!
Bear Show Postcard Photo via Image - Archeology.com
This is postcard picture perfect and resembles exactly how I remember the "Dolphin Show"
Dolphin Show Postcard Photo via Image - Archeology.com
Another show I remember well, a flock of doves crowding all who fed them!
Dove Show Postcard Photo via Image - Archeology.com
I couldn't find any photos of the pearl divers, so here is one from InternationalHarbors :
Sadly the Deer Park closed down in 1975. All the deer met a tragic end, but I want to remember it as a place enchanted with pearl divers and herds of friendly deer, doves, dolphins, turtles to see up close and pet. Hours of walking around and seeing show after show.
I am thankful for it's beautiful gardens with lots of open space to explore and now that I look back amazing structures of Japanese architecture most likely modeled from Nara Deer Park in Japan with combined graphic designs from the American and Japanese 60s and 70s eras!
It's nothing like Sea World or the Long Beach Aquarium today and I can't think of any amusement park in California that comes close to unique adventures in hands on and close up experiences!
What I Learned:
1. When I start one of these posts, I mostly never have any idea where it's going to take me and if I do have an idea I usually end up some where unexpected, like today!
2. I think it's a little odd and weird that I don't have a single souvenir from there! Or at least not one I can remember. I've collected souvenirs since childhood and before that family members gave me souvenirs from all their trips, vacations and even outings to dinner, like cocktail drink mermaids, paper umbrellas, monkeys and later match stick boxes and I've seem to kept many of them, but maybe not!
Even this box, looks vaguely familiar:
3. Now both the above collections from the deer food box photo look extensive and now I'm wondering when something borders on a collection and hoarding! Actually, I know that answer and just forgot it until now. It's a collection if it's organized and brings enjoyment and it's hoarding if it interferes with my life, clutters my life and bogs me down!
4. I need to dig up all the old family albums and find some of these photos of my childhood past!
What collections have you given away, sold or donated only to find yourself collecting them again? I have too many to list, but my most recent one stems from my childhood and it's origami books!
Thank you Etsyian from VintageToGoEtsy for sending me your loveable story and for bringing me back a full load of enchanting memories!
Thank you Etsy for not only finding homes for my hoard, but for bringing me closer to my dreams of a dehoarded life, home, mind and truck!
Thank you US, Ukraine, Canada and Germany for your visits since yesterday and taking part in my HoarderRehab and The Destiny of Things!
Click on the shop names to visit my hoard listed daily: HoarderRehab, The Destiny of Things, VintageToGoEtsy and now JunkDrawerLoveEtsy!
There are about 108 items listed on JunkDrawerLoveEtsy
and will resume new
listings in a few days and will continue to relist 1-2 items at the other shops!
Thanks for looking! Maybe you'll find something to take home and share
your story too!
One last photo and then I'm done!
Japanese Dancer Postcard Photo via Image - Archeology.com
If you look closely at the photo and imagine a huge cat head on on the middle girl, you'll be able to see how I looked each summer during the Obon Dance festival at a Buddhist Temple in Orange County dressed almost exactly like her by my Grandmother!
I still have my childhood pre tied obi with box, available here and kanzashi too, available here! And my lacquer getas from my trip to Japan in the 70s with my childhood tabi socks, here.
Wow, that was fun! I hope you enjoyed it too!
Related Stories:
1. The first Koi charm pendant story that started the rolling out of these memories beginning with a koi farm, here!
2. Another form of relaxation, besides koi ponds for the Japanese culture is an incense burner, read about my Incense Burner Collection, here.
If you are big huge fan of the Japanese Deer Park or a revived one like me, check out this Utube video of someone's Super 8 at Japanese Deer Park, here. You can see the dolphins jumping through the ring of fire and the flock of doves flying through through the show. I've watched it several times expecting to see myself somewhere in it! Thank you PatmanFilms!
"It's never too late to be what you might have been" ---George Eliot
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