Pig in a Cornfield, Christmas card from 1993, linocut and ink wooden spoon print © 2007 by ybonesy. All rights reserved.
My poor mother-in-law. For years and years, she received pig-everything for Christmas. Pig statues, flying pigs, pig art, pig earrings, pig containers. Jim and I single-handedly contributed to at least a fourth of her vast pig collection.
It sat in a corner in her kitchen. The carved pig folk art piece that I thought was so adorable stood on the floor, next to the iron pig shoe scraper. Other pig paraphernalia congregated there, too, as if queuing for entry into a pig convention.
And then there were the two old wooden coke bottle trays whose many stalls were filled with mini-pigs. Plastic squishy pigs, glass pigs, porcelain pigs, metal and wood. She even had half a black walnut shell that someone noticed resembled exactly the snout of a pig and, thus, gave it to her.
I once asked my mother-in-law how she came to love pigs. She told me that she didn’t actually love pigs at all, but rather someone had given her one as a joke. Shortly thereafter the pigs started coming.
Even when she told me this story I blanked out the part of her not loving pigs. Instead I glommed onto the idea that from there on out and forever more, I knew what to buy my mother-in-law for Christmas, Mother’s Day, and birthdays.
It wasn’t until my in-laws moved to a new home a few years ago that the pigs were banished. My mother-in-law made it clear that she didn’t want any more pig gifts.
So far, only one unsuspecting neighbor has given her a pig. I, on the other hand, now take the time to find the kind of cotton or denim shirt that I notice she likes to wear.
I’m sure it was a liberating moment when she finally broke free of all those pigs. I once had a friend who was the sort of person (bordering on insanity) who had a houseful of cats. I get a little light-headed even as I type this remembering how they were darting everywhere in her house…all colors, all ages.
She once told me that people always gave her cat presents, like dishtowels with an embroidered grinning Siamese cat. One time she turned to me and said, “I can’t stand all these cat mugs people have given me. I mean, if I want to see a cat I just look around. I don’t need a ceramic one.” I’ve never forgotten it.
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Egads, you just reminded me that we once gave my mother-in-law a pig oven mitt (I think it was the kind with the little sleeve for the thumb; when you opened your hand it looked like the pig’s mouth was opening).
Interesting that your friend knew better than to amass cat junk yet not the real cats themselves.
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I like the ink color on this print. Always a pleasure viewing your art, ybonesy.
Pigs seem to be popular collection items. My sister-in-law collected them for the longest time. And I don’t remember ever asking her how she got started collecting them. I have to do that. What if she never wanted them around at all like your mother-in-law?
Once she and my brother moved into their new house, I have seen fewer and fewer pigs. I had another friend who collected them, too. But I never gave them to her for presents. Turns out, she moved away and ended up giving me a little 3 legged clay pig that was supposed to be good luck.
The notion of gift-giving kind of reminds me of the Kinds Of Love post (LINK) – are we really giving people the kinds of gifts they want? Or just what we *think* they want? Good post, yb.
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Wow, a story looks so simple, but is it such indeed? I am convinced it has nothing to do with the pigs – with any things, but portrays the heart (by the way, the heart too is unseen at first glimpse)
Merry Christmas!
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thank you for the wonderful story. It has nothing to do with the pigs. While reading your post I have sensed myself looking at the portrait of the heart – it too is unseen at first glimpse. But what is unseen makes us alive
Merry Christmas!
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My sister had a similar problem with raccoon stuff.. A crazy aunt thought she liked them and got one for her every gift giving opportunity!
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something in my pinky tells me you’ll be hearing from alittlediddy….just a hunch. and i know for sure she wants a chia-pig for christmas.
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and also, my whole point in posting was to say i know how your mother-in-law in feels; i was the unwilling recipient of many a collection novelty. i saw a nutcracker once that i thought had some character; this resulted in at least two or three new additions every christmas. i bought a t-shirt with a sunflower on it when i was 14; i came home from school one day shortly after to find my bedroom blooming from floor to ceiling. and let’s not even get started on the nesting dolls.
the ironic part? i adored and willingly collected pigs for years, and that is the one thing every gift-giver gave up on before i could.
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YB, I am QM’s sister-in-law who is the pig lover. I couldn’t believe it when I saw this post! I started collecting them in 1979. Every gift I was ever given was “pig anything”! (tacky or not!) Friends & family would buy them for me for any reason. I must have received hundreds over the years! I still like them & have kept most of the very special ones. QM once gave me a very cool pig bird house when she was here & I refused to put it outside for fear that it would get ruined. It still hangs on a wall in my kitchen! I have pigs from across the world & unfortunately had to pack a lot of them away when my husband & I left a very large farm house to move into our current home, which is not small at all, but in no way could I display them all. I love the linocut card! These days I tend to lean toward the antique pig stuff. What QM might not know is that in my family I am also known as a monkey collector! How funny is that! Well, I could go on & on & after all I am a “babbling brook”! I will never tire of pigs or monkeys. (However, one can only have so many pairs of pig slippers, etc!) My love of pigs is one reason our camp was named “The Lazy Hog Inn”. Thank you so much for this post! It made my day! Always…D
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I must know if Scaramastra had that feeling in one of her her little piggy toes or pinky toes! She now has my curiosity aroused! As for the Chia Pig, I dreaded the year they came out with that one! If I know you & you got me one please include the gift receipt! D
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Scaramastra, the nutcracker collection, I’m trying to imagine it? How many different kinds of nutcrackers can there be? 8)
The Chia Pig cracked me up. And the nesting dolls. I read these last few comments out loud to Liz just now and we had a good chuckle. We’ve been baking tonight and just got back to checking the blog. (HMMM, cherry almond oatmeal cookies and maple-ized walnuts and pecans. Rocks tomorrow.)
D, I had no idea about the MONKEYS. My goodness, I bet my brother is quite happy that monkeys and pigs don’t mix! I loved it that you had the pig birdhouse in the kitchen when I was visiting in November. Sweet!
OKay, be on the lookout for a Chia Pig. I just know someone’s going to get you one now!
Tomas, Merry Christmas to you! Thanks for stopping by.
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D, by the way, where are all the Monkeys? I don’t remember seeing any when I was there. Or was I just not paying attention?
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LB, what did your sister do with all the raccoons? We used to have one out in our backyard here. The neighbor Herb told us he and the raccoon had an understanding – he fed him twice a week. And the raccoon left his garbage cans alone. 8)
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Mine was cats..everything for Christmas had cats. I finally drew the line the year I got a toilet bowl cleaner with the brush hidden inside a long feline body with diamond eyes…
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Although I love monkeys and apes, never mentioned it to anyone for the reason that I never wanted others to give me monkeys of all sorts. A friend bought herself a little ceramic rooster 40 years ago and was thereupon suddenly beset with roosters given by friends and family, and not only on special occasions. She was overwhelmed and crowded out by roosters, perching on every horizontal surface in her house. Finally she got fed up with dusting these and retired them to the garage or took them to the swap meets in her town. Pigs are such amazing animals, so a pig mania I can relate to. Your lino pig is a lovely, jolly sort – nice print, ybonesy! G
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suburbanlife, don’t think I haven’t admired your your icon from the first time I saw it! (I have!)I wish I knew who you were because I have a box full of coconut monkeys I could send your way! Also, pigs are amazing animals. We once had a small pot bellied pig named Molly. She was the smartest pet we ever had! D
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Such a fun thread here from yesterday.
Tomas, wonderful that you saw an allegory here. I value your capacity for seeing the unseen. I do think there is a message around understanding what people really love, as QM mentioned.
My sister-in-law collects everything-rooster and loves it. She even has a stuffed rooster ala taxidermy.
Once you’re tuned in to someone’s love of something, it’s fun to be on the look-out for unique versions of that thing. Even nowadays, my husband and I will see a pig we’ve never seen before and one of us will wonder aloud whether we should buy it for Jim’s mom. Nah, the other will say.
D, I’m glad this post made your day. And, every time I see a unique pig-thing, I’ll think of you.
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YB, thanks. I really wish I had to room to display all my pig things, but alas, my husband drew the line when we moved! I must truly be blessed with loved ones because I did receive hundreds of them! D
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I was remembering last night how much I used to love each Christmas season shopping for unique snow globes for my niece who collected and loved snow globes. (She also happened to collect monkeys.) It was a highlight for me to see her eyes when she saw whatever snow globe I managed to find. One had strips of iridescent material inside the globe, swimming in the liquid and glimmering eerie green and blue and silver. It was cool.
For a while, Dee collected horse things. She has a lot of horse stuffed animals. Jim loves bikes, and he has enough little bikes that you could almost call it a collection.
I gravitate toward repetition in certain things, like retablos or Spanish colonial folk art, in general. I had a big collection of Mayolica pottery from Spain, although about 8 plates broke during the move. But I don’t seem to be a collector of anything really. I wonder if some folks tend more toward collecting than other folks. I’m thinking of people who love chihuahuas, for example. That’s the only kind of dog they’ll ever get. Maybe I’m too mercurial to commit to something enough to collect it.
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D – it sounds like you need a special pig room for your collection. My mother-in-law has some of her pig collection hanging out in her laundry room or the area where her freezer is, as I recall. I don’t think she threw away the collection at all. She just stopped giving it a front-and-center place in her home.
Your comment raises a point, too, about couples and how one might feel about the other’s collection. It’s a fine line. I’ve not yet exhausted Jim’s capacity for my religious and other Latino folk art, but I get the feeling that were getting close.
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QM, the monkeys…you will be seeing one soon! The monkey thing happened when I was 4 years old & took my fathers car for a short drive in a picnic grove below our house! I blamed it on this God forsaken ugly monkey that I carried with me everywhere, much like a security blanket! D
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D, your stories are amazing. You should start writing them down…oh, I guess you are writing them down. You were driving at 4 years old? I can’t wait to hear the whole story of the security blanket monkey. Do you still have that monkey that you carried everywhere with you?
H and G, I read your comments about the cat toilet bowl cleaner and the roosters last night before bed. You should have heard my laugh cackle out into the Solstice darkness. Thanks for sharing!
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QM, alas I wore that poor ugly monkey to shreds. I did however find the very same monkey at a yard sale over 20 years ago & I still have it. The lady I purchased it from cried when I went to pay her. She explained that it was her eldest son’s monkey when he was a child. He lost his life while in the Viet Nam war. I didn’t want to buy it anymore, but told her my story & she gave it to me She told me she knew it would be going to a loving home. I cried with her & left. As for red Ravine, it is a site I visit no less than 2 times a day. Is there a rehab center for this kind of addiction? D
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I am quite thankful the year of the pig is almost over. I’m sick of seeing pig statues, toys, candy, calendars, etc. The new year will bring in year of the mouse/rat, I can deal with that a little better.
I feel for your mother-in-law.
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Egads — your poor ma-in-law is right!
For my wife its flamingos. Fortunately they are mostly confined to her bathroom — although a few are creeping out, elsewhere into the house.
I like your linocut of a pig.
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This is so funny. Good for her that she finally drew the line. My husband has gotten a series of “pig” gifts from his friends and brother over the years: a pig mug, a few miniature pig figurines out of various stones. I didn’t encourage it at all. I couldn’t see the appeal of “a lot” of one thing. But I love your linocut. I must admit that the shape of that pig is very elegant and appealing and…good thing the copyright in printed prominently.
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I hadn’t realized this is the Year of the Pig. There are a lot of good links on this, but this one (http://www.chineseastrology.com/wu/pigyear.php) talked about the effect of the pig year on other signs of the Chinese zodiac. I also didn’t know that Pig was the last sign of the Chinese zodiac.
Flamingos, eh? I like those pink plastic ones that people put in their lawns. I also like flamingo outdoor lights. Those are fun. (But don’t buy me any, anyone ; – ).
Tiv, how did your husband get started with his mini pig collection? That’s what I’m always curious about. Is it self-declared or has someone assigned it?
Thanks for the comments on the linocut. In scanning it, I felt it could have used a few more lines here and there, but for whatever reason — probably because with linocuts, once you get to a certain point, it’s actually scary to make those gouges — I didn’t go further. The corn looks more like cattails if you ask me.
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nutcrackers come in all different colours and kinds….for example, where one dons a red hat, another a white; one a blue vest, one a green. the possibilities are oh-so endless.
so, yes, i am sure you can imagine the collection.
if there were an icon here that depicted ‘rolling eyes’, this is the point at which i would insert it.
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I have no great fondness for pigs, but I was greatly taken with the illustration for this post, I must admit.
I have some friends whose last name is Henn, and who have declared that they will shoot and eat the next person who gives them a chicken-related item as a gift.
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LOL. And can you imagine the jokes they get? Those poor souls. I was trying to think of other last names that might result in gift collections;Crane was the only one I could think of. I’m not very creative this morning.
scaramastra, on the nutcrackers, I’ve seen those ones with sweater vests and little black hats. Yes, I’d take a pig any day over a gentleman nutcracker.
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Portland used to have a mayor named Vera Katz, and I often wondered whether her home was a feline shrine.
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Oh — and (duhhhhh!) my mother’s maiden name is Fox. My grandmother had many little fox things in her house, though she wasn’t nearly as inundated as the Henns … foxes are harder to find than chickens.
So the next time my mother’s unwed sister visits Portland, I should totally take her over to my friends’ place, so there will be … are you ready for it? A Fox in the Henn house.
Oh man. That was so bad. And yet completely real.
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This is interesting, ybonsey, because it’s the inside story on how a pig fetish that was not came to be. I do love your lino cut, though.
I’ve always thought it would be fun to have a pig for a pet if I lived on a farm, or if I lived on lots of land.
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(still groaning over here on the Fox in the Henn house epiphany…)
Oddly enough, one of my Christmas cards was a red fox trotting through snow. As I looked at it I had that same thought — you don’t see many fox things.
I think of pet pigs the same way I think of pet pygmy goats. If they could stay small, I’d love ’em. (Although, the goat wouldn’t be allowed inside.)
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Well, YB, you might not then be shocked that J & I also received a pygmy goat baby as a wedding gift at our reception from a brother & sister-in-law & their family! This was a hoot for all. Of course it was when we lived at the farm. Thier youngest son named her Marryme. We had her for many years & when we moved into our current home our best friends took her so she would have room to roam. We just visisted with her last night! D
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Holy moly! I know I shouldn’t be shocked, but that’s just a bit too coincidental! But I bet you’re not into ferrets, right?
And does Marryme have a potbelly now?
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No ferrets for me! Marryme is a bit pudgy but even though she is fully grown up, she is still only the size of our yellow lab. D
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What a great story! And a great print.
For me, it is frogs. I speak French so I must love frogs, right?
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I like this print. I visit here often, but I am usually a silent visitor. I am somewhat nervous about commenting on here with all the wonderful writers. I am a painter, not a writer, so please forgive any spelling and grammar errors. That does not excuse me, but I am hoping some of you will have pity on me. So please do not hate me for this…..
It is funny how things get started. Once my ex and I went to a dear friends home for dinner. She made a delicious meal, and a cheese cake for desert.
My husband was polite and ate some of the cheese cake telling her that it was good. Truth be none, he really did not like cheese cake at all. Of course, you can imagine the rest of the story.
Over the 13 years we ate a lot of meals there, and she always made him a different kind of cheese cake. He never had the courage to tell her. I am ashamed to say I never told her either, because I happen to love cheese cake (how selfish of me).
I do not miss him at all, but I do miss those cheese cakes!
~~Namaste~~
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Namaste tambien. So glad you commented. (I make spelling and grammar errors all the time, btw.)
You know, cheese cake is one of those acquired tastes, I think. Kind of sour, and the texture. I empathize with your ex. Although I remember when The Cheesecake Factory first came out. There were a few places in Albuquerque, and my friends and I, who were 18 and on our own for the first time in our lives, used to love it.
Ha, I love your last line! I take it the cheesecake-baking friends went with him when you two parted? 😉
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If anyone is looking for a pig collection, my mom just redid her kitchen and has over 300 pigs in her collection that she is doing away with! Pig cookie jars, canisters, pot holders, ceramic figurines, giant ones, smalls ones, just about any kind of pig you can think of. We have pictures of the collection. It’s worth a couple thousand at least but she is willing to part from it for a fraction of that. If you are interested please email me and I’ll send you the pictures of the collection! monroetruck318 at america online
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not interested in adding to my pig collection. i didn’t have one until very recently. My pig came in a white elephant exchange. A white elephant is where you wrap something unwanted and then everyone picks a number, and you either draw a gift from the pile or you steal from someone before you. so gifts get swapped, you don’t always end up with what you picked, and the range of gifts are interesting to say the least.
i received my pig like a sample of sourdough amish friendship bread. People make a starter, feed it, and pass along a starter to someone else. so i got a pig starter. and they ARE trying to start more pigs…
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reccors62 If you are who I think you are you should post a picture of your white elephant pig !!!!!!!!!!!!!
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reccos62 — before you know it you’ll have a brood! I’d love to see a photo of your starter pig.
Lee – good luck on divesting your mom’s pig collection. I’m sure there’s a market out there — eBay, I bet. If you pass through here again, I’d love to know how your mom is taking the parting with her 300 pigs. And will anything replace them?
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reccos62, aren’t those White Elephant exchanges a blast? Hey, if you do get a photo of your “starter pig” let me know. Maybe we can get it into Fllickr and on to red Ravine. (The readers are wanting to see it!) Well, assuming your two pigs aren’t working TOO hard at starting new pigs. 😉
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Ok, I have this feeling somehow that I might be the guilty pig starter gift giver. MOM, I am shocked that you would suggest the photos be posted! !!!!
The white elephant exchange is a hoot! More families should try it! I received a bottle of “Stay Young” pills. Directions are to take 2 daily for 40 years. I am a bit
skeptical as they look & taste like jelly beans!
If those pigs show up at next years exchange I truly hope not to be the recipent! D
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[…] Christmas. For details of the White Elephant ritual, I refer you to the comments in the pig post, On Collecting Pigs Against Your Will (Comment 42 and on). Do you have any Christmas presents you’re going to return? Ties, […]
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I came here because Tomas mentioned it in a older blog entry. I’ve read a lot, but not all of your posts. I love this story, I have a dear friend who does pigs and one who does turtles. The turtle is her totem animal, something about the shell, the hardness and the protection, but also the separation. I always wanted something, but could never figure it out: owls, frogs, pelicans??? Another friend got a folk art goose with a long skinny neck, truly one of a kind, because she loved it This unleashed a frenzy of all kinds of “cute” geese, not one of them folk-artish, or skinny-necked. She finally had to get tough with her family and friends. Thank you for this story and for Red Ravine and all of that, too! June
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See, that’s one of the things about collecting something. If you like whatever thing it is BUT also have a certain aesthetic relative to what you have in your house (like your friend had with folk art), then it makes it hard for others to give you something that you’d actually want to display. I’m like your friend. It’s not just the thing; it’s everything about it.
BTW, I had a reverse sort of experience for a work holiday white elephant exchange. We all brought gifts for blind exchanges; you could either bring something silly or not. I choose to bring a small shrine painted colorfully — it was a piece of Mexican folk art. It was simple and tasteful and something I thought was wonderful. The exchange happened during a holiday party in Oregon, btw — which I thought would be even better. Bring something unique to the people there. BTW, people got the chance to steal others’ gifts.
So, a woman picks my package, puzzles over what it is, and since she doesn’t know that it came from me, turned to me and said, This is awful. The night wore on; we were a big group. No one ever stole her/my gift. I picked a cheap picture frame that had hearts on it and said Friends. After the exchanging and stealing ended, I went up to the woman who picked the folk art gift from me and said, Hey, wanna exchange? Her face lit up and she said YES! So I got my goofy folk art thing back and never had to divulge that it was me who gave it.
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[…] -related to posts: haiku 2 (one-a-day), Poem For The Trees (Keepers Of The Light), A Few Of My Favorite Things, On Eating December Snowflakes, Tamales — A Christmas Tradition, Merry Merry, Happy Happy, A Partridge In A Pear Tree, A Christmas Gift From Dad, On Collecting Pigs Against Your Will […]
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