I had an errand or two to run yesterday and I also had to pick Rick up from the bus station, as Doug has been out of town and won’t return until today. On the way to the bus station, I stopped at a local antique shop. Actually, it’s a barn and there are multiple dealers there, including my friend Sydney of Fox Run Antiques. Same place where I found the egg cup cubby. Happily, I ran into Sydney and had a nice chat with her.
I hadn’t been there for a while and I’ve been on a search for some more vintage Christmas. I found two more putz houses:
The green house was made by the Dolly Toy Company, which I referenced the other day.
They were modestly priced at $4 and $5 each, which – for fairly well-preserved vintage – is a good deal.
Then I found another bluebird ornament!
You might remember that I have another bluebird ornament, slightly different in design. It has a “thumbprint” indentation. This one does not. Both of them have the same style of bluebird. It was only $3. I had a brief fantasy of slowly collecting bluebird ornaments and having a whole tree of them, with a bluebird tree-topper. Wouldn’t that be fun? But, since it’s taken me several years just to find two of them, that seems unlikely. If you ever see one, let me know!
With tax, $13 for all three. You can’t beat it.
We had some snow overnight, but it’s just a coating and I can see some of it melting already. Because it was rain transitioning to snow, it was a wet snow and it’s currently coating all the tree branches. Very pretty.
This is my favorite kind of snow because it’s pretty, there isn’t much of it, and the driveway doesn’t need to be shoveled because it stayed wet. If we had this kind of thing all winter long, I’d be fine.
We finished Season 3 of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel the night before last and now we’re watching it over again, which is what we did with the two previous seasons. Excellent. Brilliant. A heads up on upcoming series: Schitt’s Creek returns to PopTV and the CBC in early January and Grace and Frankie returns to Netflix in late January.
Thank you for your kind comments yesterday. I knew you would understand my sadness. Frankly, if you didn’t understand, you would most likely have left this blog long ago because I’ve never hidden the way I feel about these things. I try not to be judgmental – it’s a constant struggle because I’m only human – but those who think of animals as expendable and as beings we shouldn’t concern ourselves with are not going to be my pals. Likewise those who berate me and tell me I shouldn’t waste my worry on animals and, instead, worry about humans – as if caring about one automatically rules out caring about the other. That’s a false dichotomy.
Having ‘dominion’ over animals means caring about and for them. It doesn’t give us free rein to slaughter them or abuse them or hurt them. And I don’t believe we are ‘superior’ to them – far from it.
Happy Wednesday.
Have you watched The Kominski Method on Netflix? It’s hilarious.
Oh yes. We saw it last season and watched the newest season several weeks ago. Lots of fun! Thanks, Kathy!
I am very much enjoying all your lovely Christmas posts. It feels as though I don’t have a moment to breathe (let alone comment) leading up to Christmas this year. At work we are preparing for an important trial in January, so it’s all hands on deck at the moment. Thank goodness for my daughter and her “Christmas spreadsheet”.
FYI – with reference to yesterday’s post, my daughter’s big orange rescue cat is named “Cecil the Lion”.
Love that name, Barbara. Take time to breathe, my friend! xo
Three years ago, my 17 year old great nephew was driving on a two lane road in Michigan. He tried to avoid hitting a deer, swerved, hit it and slammed into a tree. He was killed instantly. None of us will ever get over this senseless tragedy. Our deer population in Michigan is also suffering from wasting disease and hunting is way down. None of us can figure out how to save the deer and protect our drivers. In Michigan alone, we had 60,000 (yes thousand ) deer related accidents last year.
to nancy …
condolences to you and your family on the loss of your great-nephew. much too soon.
wish that number (60,000) was a huge typo.
too much sadness.
stay safe and hope you feel better.
kathy in iowa
ps: i used to live in some very big cities (like denver and minneapolis), but after school – for a job – i moved to and spent six hard years in a very small town surrounded by basically nothing. i did a lot of driving early in the morning and late in the evening for that job (ugh). some co-workers who’d lived there all their lives told me to get “deer whistles” put on my car. i figured they were joking and making fun of a “townie”. they weren’t, of course. deer whistles exist. i never put them on my car, just tried to be careful. but because i still do a lot of driving early in the morning and late in the evening and think a lot about pain and how to prevent it, claudia’s post yesterday has me re-thinking that choice.
I’m going to get deer whistles for my car and for Don’s. I didn’t know about them until someone told me about them the other day. If there’s anything I can do to save the deer and to save myself, I’ll do it.
Heartbreaking. I’m so very sorry. I know that people are also killed trying to avoid not only deer, but other animals, in addition to people and cars. All of it is tragic. Bless you and your family.
I had never heard of a putz house until your blog! they are so sweet. I’ll have to google them.
Thank you, Tammy.
I do so love your new putz houses…such great colors. Isn’t it funny…you get two of something, and we think we have a collection. But, it isn’t a collection until we have three, according to the experts. I could see your white tree decorated in vintage bluebird ornaments…wouldn’t that be lovely?
Today is tree day…finally. Looks like we’ve got our work cut out for us. Enjoy your afternoon! ;)
And now I have seven! The white tree in bluebird ornaments would be lovely!
Have fun with your tree, Donna!
what sweet additions to your collection (and great prices, too)! glad you had a nice visit with friends, too.
love the idea of a tree having lots of one kind of ornament (like your bluebirds). also those that are a mish-mash of family love and history. mine is the latter, forever.
glad you had a better kind of snow and not inches and inches of it.
thanks for the tv recommendations.
agree with what you said about animals, people, loss. hope you are having a better (take-it-easy) day today.
kathy in iowa
Beautiful bluebird ornament. So unique. You make the most amazing finds, Claudia! I’ve never seen these anywhere…
Some fun bargains for you, Claudia!
I’m going to go cuddle with my three rescue cats now. I adopted them as adults, including the handsome all-black boy cat. The kittens were getting plenty of attention, so my daughters and I decided that the adults deserved a good home too. They make me feel I’m doing a small part in being kind to all creatures.
We adopted Cecil as an adult cat. He had been homeless and starving for a time and became sick and matted. No one wanted the cat whose coat had been shaved and had a list of health issues. When he met my daughter at the shelter, he rolled on his back in a gesture of greeting and she said firmly “this one”. I am happy to say he is now a healthy boy with a gorgeous long orange coat. Go rescue cats!
Barbara, Aw! Cecil sounds like he is very social. We were only going to adopt the two girls, but I could never resist a black cat, and when I found out he had been fostered with the sisters and got along with them, I said, “I’ll take him, too!” And every day, I’m glad I did!
yes, they do! thanks for giving them a loving home!
kathy in iowa
that goes to wendy t., barbara w. and anyone else helping animals.
may all the good you do come back to you!
kathy in iowa
Hi kathy in Iowa, thank you! My kitties let me know every day that they appreciate me. We have a mutual admiration society going on. My cats are definitely not stand-offish.
Good for you Wendy! All three of our dogs were rescue dogs. We wouldn’t do it any other way.
Your new finds are delightful and I hope they helped lighten your heavy heart. I think our hearts are especially charged at this season. Things that would make us sad on a good day make us even sadder.
We got that sprinkle of snow too. It’s pretty — and low maintenance!
Hugs to you,
j
I agree. Emotions run high, don’t they?
Thanks, Jeanie!
Happy that you found two more Putz houses. You are beginning to have quite a collection. That bluebird is gorgeous. Enjoy.
Marilyn
Thank you, Marilyn! They’re fun to collect.
Love your new Christmas finds. The Putz houses and the blue bird ornament. I love how vintage is so perfectly imperfect. Hugs!
I do, too. Thinking of you my friend. I hope things are calming down a bit. xo