My regular readers know that I have been enamored with constructing pine straw baskets. A course here at On Top of the World taught me the basics and I have made quite a few of the little pieces.

Now I have one basket that has been under construction for about four months. I just can't seem to get it finished. Each time I work on it, I do a few rows and then get frustrated and stop. With that kind of progress, the basket may never get finished.This will most likely be my final pine straw basket. There is a wealth of pine straw available to me in our development. All it takes is a rake and a plastic bag and - in five minutes - I would have enough to complete a basket. Plus, I purchased a large role of sinew, which is used to bind the straw together. So, raw material is not the problem. Motivation is.As time goes on, the shelf where I keep my baskets has grown crowded. I have only kept four of my own baskets, but through the years I have found other small baskets to add to my collection.There's a sweet grass basket that we bought at the market in Charleston, SC during the first summer we lived in Pawleys Island. There's an egg basket from Williamsburg, VA that I made from a kit we purchased when we visited during the holiday season a few years ago.Holding the center of attention is a rectangular basket we got in Honduras when our cruise ship stopped there. It was made by folks from the local Indian tribe. There is also a colorful Mexican basket that came from the same cruise.My friends Marge and Rick brought me a cute and colorful basket from a visit they made to Colorado. It was made by an Indian tribe there. Another basket was given to me by a friend from PA, who knew my basket obsession and found a small farm basket in the Amish country.None of the little baskets on my shelf can hold very much. My husband calls them "dust catchers." But, there's something plain and simple about them and I enjoy looking at them, rearranging them on the shelf, and -yes - even dusting them now and then.One of the most recent baskets I obtained is the oldest one I own. I found it in an antique shop one day when our daughter Jennifer and I were 'just looking.' It has a lid with a clasp and- according to the salesgirl - was made during the Civil War.One of the larger baskets holds a number of seashells that we collected from our time in Pawleys Island and during visits to Jim's sister in Longboat Key. The shells from the Gulf are quite different from the Atlantic coast shells. When they're all mixed together, they are quite a variety of colors and shapes.I have stopped collecting blue glass, seal statues, music boxes, and now baskets. There's no more room anywhere for more 'stuff.' However, if I get this last pine straw basket finished, I'm sure I can squeeze one more on the shelf. If not, it will make a nice little Christmas present for someone.If you would like to contact Dr. Smith, she can be reached by e mail at: jsmith1313@cfl.rr.com or in care of this newspaper.