I have an odd hobby.  Not so much weird as unusual.  Lots of people have odd hobbies – or so it seems to those who don’t share their interest: war trophies, Princess Di memorabilia, bug collections, etc. But mine is unique among people I know. Yet it gives me pleasure, takes up a fair amount of my mental time and space, and has driven me to new levels of creativity that I haven’t found in my writing.  Every couple months, I rotate the décor in my main bathroom according to themes, primarily seasonal, ethnic and cultural — everything from Venetian Carnival to wildlife and marshland. A travel brochure in a bathroom; a booth at the world bazaar. Something to look at while toothbrushing or on the pot.

It started, I think, with a change from the generic color-matching décor of the house we bought in 1994 to something more holiday and Christmassy.  The bathroom is a sandy/beige color tile with hunter green wallpaper with tiny white flowers. This we inherited from the original owners in very good shape, except for the tell-tale nail holes where they had hung their pictures, etc.  There is a HomeGoods store in our town which goes mad with inexpensive holiday decorations. After decorating the living room and kitchen areas, it was easy to spread into Christmas towels and a Rudolph wall hanging. And a small snowman.  Then I found, by accident, a Christmas-themed shower curtain, and I was hooked.  A couple candles, star-studded cup and toothbrush holder – the room was transformed.

Halloween came next – a fun holiday when you have small children, and so many easy decorations to put up.  That was a natural, especially after I found a shower curtain with some cheerful pumpkins.  I simply took down the old pictures and dry flower ornaments from the wall, and replaced with cats and ghosts in the same nail holes. Easy.  From there, summertime and the sea, then France, Ireland, Chinese New Year, the American southwest, Mexico, Africa.  Armenia, my husband’s background, was a challenge; and French Canada, I had my doubts. A few hockey sticks, the red maple leaf, a printout of my ancestor’s genealogy, a beaver and a canoe – voila!

The principles are simple: inexpensive, lightweight items, easy to hang or place on the toilet tank, and not breakable, except when I ventured into decorative plates and plate hangers. Items from thrift shops, Homegoods or ebay, if necessary. I have good luck at the annual “baggage sale” at a local assisted living, where many professors and world travelers have come to retire.  As close to authentic and/or homemade as I can find. The items from Japan, for instance: a Noh face mask, a nori curtain, a hand fan, chopsticks and holder, all Japanese made. Ireland – a dish towel and tea cozy that I picked up on my trip in 2005. One of the most fun items is a shower curtain with Mexican lottery cards – beautiful illustrations with the Spanish word for each object.

Why? I think to share the world with my children. To make a sense of occasion. To learn and study, and to have fun.  A substitute for travel, or way to display my travel experiences? I don’t understand myself exactly why I do it, and I admit it smacks of the eccentric.  For a person who tends to examine her motives quite closely, I don't get this irrational drive, this quest. In honesty, I don't get too passionate about much, perhaps from my legacy of early loss, and learning not to hold on to things. But just when I think I have no real yearnings, I find myself on the hunt for a Navaho wedding pitcher or a French fur trade cross.  And when I find it, the excitement, even while I smile, recognizing that it's a bit silly - for a bathroom, for heaven's sake. Still, maybe I like the idea of that mysterious force that moves me, recognizing there are still parts of my heart unplumbed.

No one sees the decor but us and our occasional guests. None of the things are valuable, and most will eventually be donated or given away. I think, perhaps, I’m coming to the end, as there are not too many other themes that call to me, and my attention now goes to other things. But for a time, decorating the bathroom was my great pleasure and my odd hobby.