Since we're having a preliminary meeting with a real estate agent this Wednesday, it's high time to get going on cleaning out my old room at my parents' house.  Once I actually have a basement of my own, I don't want it to be filled with the unsorted mess of my life from ages birth-to-18.

For the most part, this is a chore in the worst way.  Most of these possessions, left behind through three moves already, are useless to me yet hold some kind of nostalgia that makes me hesitate to discard them.  Occasionally, though, I stumble upon a treasure trove.  Such was the case when I found this:

The Kodak Instamatic X-15.  This fabulous piece of plastic was the first camera I ever loved.  At age five I was gleefully snapping away whole rolls, turning them in to my mom and waiting eagerly for her to return with an envelope full of square prints.  The images lack clarity, as can be expected from the Instamatic's low-quality lens, but they document everyday life through the eyes of a child.  Simple as they are, I love my childhood photos because they are spirited and fun and, well, simple.

Somewhat unfortunately, the Instamatic was never truly mine.  An artifact from her own girlhood, the boxy plastic camera belongs to my mother.

However, there was another forgotten camera after all.  The Focal Micro 110 never got much use from me, perhaps because it used big flash bars as opposed to the more readily available flash cubes (does anyone else remember these?).

I find it especially cool because it slides apart to expose the shutter, and this motion also winds the film...kind of reminds me of a shotgun, in a way.