The Oddball Shelf

Want to hear something sentimental?
I am so in love with one square foot of our house. This little wedge of a shelf.
Because these are the records-the music that seems to be constantly streaming from our speakers- that are the soundtrack for this blip in time. Where my children are little, Oliver eats from a high chair tray, and we are a tight knit club.
This precious square foot belongs to our "oddball collection". Which consists of children's records and the old timey music I like to listen to during breakfast/playtime/lunch/dinner prep/and let's face it, just about whenever Kent isn't around and a lot of times when he is.
The records themselves for the most part aren't too valuable, but the memories are.
Late Winter breakfasts and crafty afternoons listening to Cinderella, Snow White, and that scratched up Winnie the Pooh. (big hits leading into and surrounding our trip to Disneyland).
Dancing in our jammy jams in the kitchen to both sides of Benny Goodman*, Oliver popping berries to the beat.
Italian dinners to the accordion tunes of the French/Italian Hits record, (which has grown very familiar, as Italian foods happens a lot around here, and isn't it so fun to match food with music?) 
Which also explains why Zorba the Greek is so close to the top of the queue.  I crave Greek food in the Summer, and have been really into making Tzaziki sauce lately.
Hank Williams when my mom visited, Big Foot** at game nights,  Edith Piaf when I'm feeling dramatic, and wait, why is Simon and Garfunkel on my side? (I call this shelf mine)...Oh yes, because we have two, and the spares end up on this shelf too.
Our photo albums hold a big portion of our family history, along with our book shelves, but I don't want to forget this little shelf.
I get a feeling that someday my heart is going to ache for the sight of it.


*The sweating was so profuse, I skipped the gym that day.

** Our family GEM, that deserves it's own post.