Okay, I need to admit something to you. I'm addicted. To hippos. I first got one for my Mom as a paperweight for her office desk (she works at a doctor's office). Then I got her another, in a different color, with a "cheeky" smile. They are funny! Then it sort of cascaded to a herd. Mom has about 6 (I think) or more on her desk now, and she says the patients and co-workers play with them all the time. Yep, I can see that happening. Because I started my own collection here. They're made of soapstone, and actually come from Kenya. I put mine originally up all around my kitchen cabinets, and I think it was 16 that looked down on me every day from those perches. Now I've got a bigger herd (I think it is now 42 in the herd), because Mom's coworkers want some too. So I've been shopping. The people in Indiana will have an invasion soon, with smiles and giggles being passed back and forth as they each enjoy a hippo or 3 on their desks. I've been packing up things in my house lately, but wanted to gather all the hippos into one spot to carefully wrap them in tissue/bubble wrap before putting them in my trunk to take to the USA. They've been sitting on my cabinet for 2 weeks now. They're just guarding the place, making me smile. And occasionally I think they wink and grin at me.
(p.s. I also got Emilee Hopson addicted. She bought 3 on Saturday when we went shopping for those shoes I mentioned in the next posting down... I have no fear of spreading my addiction!)