The First

Every collection has its: first!  And “The First” of Lien’s Hippo Collection is a miniature-hippo (first painting, mug, soft toy, t-shirt, chair and what not….. all those will follow in future posts) named after the person who gave it to me: Tante (aunt) Anneke. Of some hippos in my collection, at some point I forgot who gave them to me, or where I found them, but I will never forget this Christmas present. I would have forgotten on which Christmas exactly I got it though, for sure. The fact that I wrote the date on it makes it possible to celebrate on the 26^th of December of this year (2011): 20 years of hippo-affection! Some friends prefer to call it: hippo-obsession or even hippo-madness… they make it sound more like a disease than a hobby….. Well, it can be a bit contagious, I must say. Some friends complained: “I do not collect them, but everywhere I go I find myself looking for them…. “. My auntie only complained about the fact that hippos were not so easy to find. When she did find one, she was always excited. She would call me and just say: “Lien, I found one!”