Vintage Christmas Finds and a Life Update

Time to share my vintage Christmas finds from this year.  All of the ornaments above were found in a $1.99 bag at Sally Ann.  All my favorite types of glass vintage ornaments.  They seem to be getting harder and harder to find - just as Mom and I were saying to ourselves that this year was not looking good she looked over and saw a bag full of these hanging among the other cheap Christmas tat. Frankly sometimes it is a miracle how these survive as so many get crushed over the years. Click on the picture for a closeup of some of the treasures.  If you want to see what I've found other years just type vintage Christmas in the search bar at the upper left corner of this blog.

I was just saying to myself that one of the only things I didn't have in my collection were some Putz houses.  Then on Saturday I found a bag full of 10 Putz houses from the 1970s.  I paid $1.40 for these as it was 30% off a $1.99 bag.  Fortunately they don't look any worse for being bashed around at the Thrift store.  These don't have mica, I still need to find some of those kind that are slightly older but these are still very neat and look really cool with white lights inside of them.  I found a similar listing of these on EBAY for $60 here.

One of the hardest things to find is vintage glass figurals.  I actually thought the ones below were modern until I inspected the cap - definitely old.  That is the whole secret to vintage Christmas ornaments, always inspect the cap.  These were found at a Sally Ann at the tree on the front individually priced (cheaply).  I snapped them all up as obviously they came from one house and were a set.  I've never seen the green elf or the dogs on the balls before.  The santas are common and I have a similar one.  

I spent less than $10 for all of the above, including the Putz houses and bowl of ornaments.  My collection grows organically, not because I laid down a lot of money at an antique shop.  Maybe for something I will never find in the wild...but I seem to find different stuff each year so for now that is the way it will grow.

Now, I have an extremely difficult time leaving any vintage Christmas behind, even if it isn't my "jam".  Reselling some of these pieces more than pays for some of the items I keep and gives me a little extra money in December.  Also, there are many vintage Christmas lovers out there and by reselling a few things I've gotten to meet a couple of really nice ones.  All of the items below have already been sold and were found this season.

My best find.  

The ceramic Christmas tree was sold for 3 times what I paid - and I could have gotten more, but instead sold to a vintage Christmas lover like myself at a reasonable price.  These really aren't my thing, but I did find one last year without the base and it is slightly tilted, a Charlie Brown Tree if you will.  Hubby likes it so I ended up keeping that one.  The aqua blue Shiny Brites are so beautiful - but I have so many better and rarer glass ornaments that I let them go.

It is very likely I will find more this season but wanted to share what I have found so far.  Things are still busy here, I went to 2 parties and to the pub this week with my friend.  I also spent a marathon day yesterday baking fruitcake cookies (my family's favorite) and cleaning the house.  All cards went out on Monday so hopefully, they will get to my relatives in the States in time for Christmas as Monday was the last day to mail them.  Hubby helped me bottle another case of wine; making wine has sure saved us some money this year at $4 a bottle versus $12 or more at the liquor store.

I also went to a job interview.  Yes, it has come time for me to find some sort of casual/part-time employment.  It was always the plan when hubby semi-retires and since this year has been a bit brutal business-wise, the timing is right. Even though business has been picking up we would have slowed it down in 3-4 years anyway as hubby wants to work less that as he is 8 years older than me.   I am going to take my time finding the right job that possibly pays a little more than taking the first thing that comes along.  I have a lot of qualifications for jobs that aren't in our town but that wasn't the deciding factor when we moved here.  Back in September I applied for such a job - but never got even a callback.  I was a little miffed but perhaps I was overqualified.

About 10 days ago I got an unexpected call from the same organization asking if I was still seeking employment on a casual/part-time basis.  I said yes - this job is in a different department and they felt I was qualified to apply for it as it requires a certain skill set and experience level. It even pays more than the other job I applied for.   I think the job interview went well(panel of 3 people) but as this is a large organization they have certain rules they have to follow and I am not sure how many other people they interviewed, both internally and externally.  We shall see.  There are no guaranteed hours  -but - it is making per hour as much money as I was making when I left underwriting in Edmonton so really good money plus since it is casual they also pay 12% on top in lieu of benefits. I really don't think there is a better paying job in this town for me that permits part-time in my skillset, and this would be the cream of the crop.  If I don't get it I will continue to look for the right job.  I should find out by Christmas.  Luckily my work in our company can be done around a casual/pt job.  I have zero interest in looking at fulltime, now or down the road so pretty specific in what I want and it might take a while to find.

Anyway, that's what's shaking here.  My stepson flies in a week today (#3) to spend Christmas with us.  In the meantime. I have more cleaning to do and one final treat to make - Christmas Crack which is really just caramelized popcorn twists - another family favorite.  December can be a weird time for a lot of people.  It can make you blue, it can feel overwhelming and sometimes it can be a letdown. There is so much going on in the world, it is hard not to let it affect you.  I have felt all of those things in previous Decembers - but this year I actually feel quite happy.  I am thankful for all that I have and the people around me.  Life is never perfect, that's not real life - but - life is really good right now and that's the best one can hope for.