In the meantime, my pony collecting is keeping me sane (okay, I admit that never have been... perhaps keeping me from going over the edge would be a better description.) They are bright and magical, and give me something to hold onto. And nothing can cheer my day like a good pony find.
I am a collector of many things. But by far my most extensive collection (and the one I put the most time into) is my collection of My Little Pony. I'm not sure how many ponies I have at the moment. I'm perpetually in the process of organizing my collection and should have an exact number... eventually. I'd put the # as most likely 400+ though... not nearly enough! Some people may think that my collection is a bit strange, but if it can bring a little spark of brightness to my life, that's all that really matters.
I'm not quite sure when I got my first pony, it was either '82 or '83 It wasn't the first batch of ponies released, because she had concave feet... Anyway, my grandma gave me Blossom for my birthday, and four days later she gave me the Show Stable for Christmas. Wheeeeeee! I wonder if she knew what she was getting into? Even then I looked at it as collecting ponies, even though I did play with them, of course. They are meant to be played with and loved. I got as many as I could from then on. I had around 60 by the time they stopped making them, which stopped my collection for quite a while. Then one day, it was September of 1996 I do believe, I searched for My Little Pony online... There were all of about 3 My Little Pony webpages out there, only a couple hundred listed on eBay, but my life hasn't been the same since. All those hours spent searching the online auctions, and the swap meets, and the thrift stores... ;)