I drove to a local antique shop yesterday; a little treat for myself after a tough week. I chose this shop because my friend Sydney, of Fox Run Antiques, had posted on IG a few weeks back that she had some putz sheep in her booth there. Sydney has booths at three shops I frequent, and her booth at another shop is where I found the egg cup cubby cabinet. Sometime I will walk around the cottage and note the items I’ve found in her booths. There are several.

By the way, I took photos of a few of my favorite items in the shop, which is called Clinton Shops, and they’re on my Instagram Stories for another three hours or so.

When I first found her booth, I didn’t see the putz sheep, and I was ready to kick myself as I thought I’d waited too long. But then I found them in a small glass cabinet. I stood there for the longest time, looking at each one, examining every detail, contemplating which one I’d eventually choose. I walked away. I came back. I walked away again. Then I made my choice. It was this guy:

He’s so fluffy! And he has his original bell.

He has a sweet face. Often, vintage putz sheep, which are quite fragile, have some imperfections or damage. There is missing paint on one of the eyes. The ends of the ears have broken off.

That just makes them more precious to me.

Sometimes the coat is matted after years of use, but this one isn’t.

As I said on Instagram, the problem is that I want to rescue them all. I was surprised by how many were still there. They need a home! I can’t afford to rescue all of them, but maybe a couple more? This is the way I am, as you know. That’s why I have two rescued dolls sitting on top of the cabinet in the office. I couldn’t bear the fact that they didn’t have a home.

Even if I rescue more of the sheep, I’ll feel bad for the ones I leave behind. I guess I’m a little crazy that way.

Here he is on the shelf. You’ll note that the sheep on the left is newer – you can tell by the look of the wool used for his coat. I’ll take a picture of the entire shelf later today. Right now, all the sheep are lined up, but my dream is to have a whole flock of them, filling up the entire shelf.

I got a few other treasures, all of them $10 or less.

Another putz house. I love the front steps! This one has a back stamp on the bottom:

Manufactured by the Dolly Toy Company, Tippecanoe City, Ohio. That company started out as the Dolly Folding Kite Company in 1923. Then it became Dolly Kite and Toy, and eventually Dolly Toy Company in 1951. They started making these houses and indeed, whole holiday villages, in 1952.

I long ago sold my collection of Fiesta. I retained several pieces at the time, pieces that I couldn’t bear to give up. Lately, I’ve been missing my Fiesta and earlier this year, I acquired a compote from one of my readers – the exact same design and color I used to have back in Cambridge. Yesterday, I spotted the vintage salt and pepper shakers in yellow – only $10 – so I grabbed them.

I’m only interested in the original colors – the original line – not the more recent lines. I’m a purist about Fiesta. Of course, I can only buy smaller pieces. I only have so much room here. That gives me an idea: I’ll share pictures of the pieces I didn’t sell back in the nineties. A future post!

I’ve just started collecting butter pats in the past few years. I have maybe 11 or 12 of them, but this is the first transferware butter pat that I’ve found. I love brown transferware and this is a lovely design. It was only $3! Butter pats are a great thing to collect if you live in a small space and have limited room. (I think I spy a potato chip crumb on the pat!)

A lovely couple of hours at the shop. I’m so glad I took the time to visit. An antique shop and/or a book shop are my favorite places to grab some quiet ‘me’ time.

I also put up the outdoor lights yesterday. I love them.

I’m taking it easy today, as I’m really exhausted. I think I’ll hang out here and start to decorate the dollhouses.

Happy Saturday.