Tom and Carolynn Leach live in a museum, of sorts.
Their 3,800-square-foot house overlooking Lake Chickamauga is a living diary of the couple's past. From wall to wall, floor to ceiling, they have on display hundreds of items collected from as many as 70 countries where they have lived or visited during their 35-year marriage.
"We collect because we like it and it's fun," Mrs. Leach said. "It all brings back such good memories. But we really didn't pay much for anything we bought. We bargained for most everything. Nothing is perfect, but everything is interesting."
The Leaches met in Italy. Mr. Leach, 68, is retired from the Air Force. Mrs. Leach, 67, taught school for the U.S. Department of Defense.
Their shared passion for collecting includes everything from signs, furniture, textiles and tools to jewelry, photographs, family heirlooms and a farm wagon.
Yes, a farm wagon they use as a couch/bed in their den.
"The wagon was hauling manure at the time we bought it on a farm in Turkey," Mrs. Leach said. "I bought it from the farmer for $120 and cigarettes. I typically bargain for things I buy, but I didn't for this because it was being used. They needed the money to buy another one. When I bought it, it was encrusted in manure, but I did see some paint on the sides of the wagon."
After cleaning it, the Leaches discovered beautiful seaside landscapes painted on the wagon's wooden sides.
"It really is a piece of art -- a big piece of art," she said.
Mr. Leach said he and his wife love flea markets and yard sales, "but these days we look more than we buy."
They've also reached a point where they're "starting to pass down some of our things to family members," he said.
Among their most prized possessions are items family heirlooms, including a functional spinning wheel, complete with yarn, that belonged to Mrs. Leach's great-grandmother, and a family Bible dating to 1817 that belonged to Mr. Leach's great-great-grandfather.
"I also have my great-great-grandfather's school slate from 1806," Mr. Leach said. "These are the type of things that we want to pass down to family. To us, they are priceless."
The Leaches believe that if you buy something you should display it.
"Why leave everything stored?" Mrs. Leach said. "Get it out and enjoy it."
Even her jewelry is on display.
"Why not? It dawned on me one day that if I can see it, I will wear it ... and it's all beautiful," she said.
Among the memorabilia the Leaches have on display:
* Family postcards dated in the early 1900s
* Church pew, Greece
* Nomadic rug, Istanbul
* Spiked dog collar, Turkey
* An old menu from a restaurant, Barcelona
* A brass shoeshine stand, Greece
* Oxen yoke dated 1906, Portugal
* A canoe from the 1930s converted into a shelf, Nashville
* Wedding mask, Ghana
* Page from a 200-year-old choir book, Spain
* Parlor stove, 100-years-old, Istanbul
* Baby's cradle from the Black Sea area