This & That December 2024

It's December. The holidays are here and so is my last This & That for the year.  The last one was sooo long that I thought I'd better catch you up before the year ended. 

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Thanksgiving was lovely with lots of laughter, food, wine, and Moscow Mules!  This time they were Cranberry Mules.  Just like the Apple Cider Mule I shared about a month ago, except substitute cranberry juice for the cider.  Delish!

Rosie decided on a more sophisticated look for the holiday and was thrilled to be wearing her new hat - a yard sale find!

Rosie has been pretty quiet lately and if you don't know about her, she has her own page at the top of the blog.  

October and November were unusually mild this year.  The leaves on the trees really didn't know what to do and since the weather was warm, there was a fabulous estate sale nearby.  The property was large and included a house and an old hair salon.  Both had a very strong mold smell coming from them, so I stayed out!  However, the back yard contained two semi-trailers and a few open sheds filled with 'treasure'.  

The first thing I spied was a galvanized coal scuttle.

Can't you see this filled with pine boughs, white lights, and a pretty bow?

I also found this:

The vision I have for this is fruit or flowers hanging in the kitchen.  

They both got a good scrubbing.

For now, they are in storage.  I just don't have the space for them right now.  That will change - stay tuned!  

Next, I found these pulleys:

Aren't they beautiful?  The man running the sale looked at me and said, "Look, I don't know you from Adam, but you look exactly like this girl I know.  I actually thought you were her at first."  

He must really like her because I got the two galvanized pieces for $15 and the pulleys for $10 each!  

I also bought this pretty little jar.

It looks like a bell and Google Images tells me it's a bell.  It had a glass bottom, so it's a jar - one dollar!

I also found a few treasures on Marketplace.  

The mother of pearl spreaders were the first to catch my eye.  I also loved the bakelite knives.  Yes, I did test them and they are bakelite!  The gold pieces and the fondue forks just came along for the ride, but you couldn't beat the price of $5 for everything.

These individual salt & pepper shakers also came up on Marketplace for $5.  

The box was smelly so that was tossed immediately and some of the silver tops were corroded.  A little vinegar and warm water helped with that!  I have a few ideas for them, so stay tuned!

I also found these Christmas tree candle holders.  I'm pretty sure they're not vintage, but they are nice reproductions.  

I even found candles for them! 

My favorite find so far is this little candy dish.  It was $3 and I think it's so pretty.

After doing some searching online, I discovered it's the Golden Maize pattern made by Sebring Pottery probably in the 1930's.  It's also worth a good bit more than $3 so I'm pretty pleased!

My latest find on Marketplace?  These three little trees:

They're not vintage, but they're nice reproductions.  For $5 each, how could I go wrong?  Especially when I turned the larger one over and saw the original price tag of $31.99!  I gave the two smaller ones to my daughter to add to her collection.  

I've shared some projects over the past few weeks.  

The Ruffled Christmas Tree

Crushed Glass Christmas Trees

Glass Bowl Christmas Tree

I've also been working on some felt ornaments.  Most of the patterns were created with my Maker on Design Space and I drew a few things free-hand.  

This little house is one of my favorites.

I also created these wonky little houses from leftover fabric.  All of these were designed and cut on Design Space.

  

The original intent was for them to be bookmarks but as I looked at them I thought they could also be ornaments.  

I usually have a lot more going on at this time of the year, but with all the issues with my ears - hearing loss, eustachian tube dysfunction, tubes in my ears - I've been a bit overwhelmed.  Happily, I can report that the tubes seems to be doing their job.

I had my follow-up a few weeks ago and even though I was prescribed antibiotic eardrops for a few lingering issues, everything looked good.  My ears will never be what they used to be, but I CAN hear again.  Fingers crossed the recurring ear infections will be a thing of the past!

So here we are in December.  I have one or two more projects in mind and we'll see if I get them done in time to share with all of you.  I've done some shopping, some wrapping, and some decorating.  

How about you?  Are you ready for Christmas?