Christmas 2018 Wrap up

Hope everyone is having a very 

merry holiday season.

I thought I should round out the year with

at least one post for December.

It was a pretty good month overall.

Let's take a look at a few new finds

on the little round table. 

Sam and I found this awesome 

battery operated snow globe at Kohl's 

by FAO Schwarz. 

image source

It lights up and a little motor 

inside creates a snow storm.

The lighted houses and little 

snowman is just so charming.

Plus, having something special from 

FAO Schwarz really notches up 

the Christmas nostalgia.

When placed in my vignette, it's almost like 

Santa has a personal magic globe 

to peek in on the village and 

check out the weather for the night.

Next we have a new Hallmark ornament

called "Santa's Christmas Train Musical Ornament

with Lights and Motion".

image source

 There really is a lot of motion!  

The train, the handcar, the elves, 

the package delivery, the reindeer and sleigh,

Santa's head and arms all move.

The lights flash and music plays 

"Jolly Old Saint Nicholas"

Santa blows a train whistle and 

moves the train controller.

It really is magical.

It really goes well with the 

Toymaker Santa Ornament series

that I've been collecting from the start.

2018 toymaker Santa

 Now we go out front to see

the new "RING" doorbell

my folks sent us as a Christmas gift.

 It's pretty nifty.  

It certainly records all the action out front 

and makes our phones ring a little

wind chime noise, and I mean ALL

action!  Our house sounds like a wind tunnel

with chimes going off all the time.

I've been tweaking it to be less sensitive

so still a work in progress.

Now a bit of bad news.

My dream car, the 2013 Red Scion XB 

was rear ended by a motorcycle this month.

I was in front of him in steady rush hour traffic

then suddenly there was an abrupt stop because of a 

traffic light waaaaay up there.

I stopped in time and two beats later my back window 

exploded.  I was not injured.

 The motorcyclist got a concussion and was 

taken away in an ambulance.

 The insurance company said there was $7,500 in 

damage and that was over 65% of the total

cost of the car. 

State law says they have to total it.

 They gave me over $11,000 for it.

Thankfully my dear ol' dad helped make my 

Christmas merry and bright when he

added to the insurance money and after

a whirlwind car search Sam and I found

a 2019 metallic red 

(they call it a scarlet ember tintcoat) 

Nissan Rogue SV with the 

"Sun and Sound Touring Package" upgrade.
That comes with a large moon roof 
and 9 Bose speakers. 

 Plus fog lights, mud guards, floor and cargo mats,
a first aid kit, and a chrome rear bumper guard.

It even has a heated steering wheel!

Plus a complete driver's assist safety package. 

Which means auto braking and steering when needed.

It sure has a lot more than my Scion ever had,

but I sure do miss my little XB.

Big thanks again to my dad!

We bought it December 21st right before Christmas.

I'll need to think up a 

Christmassy name for it.

This year I moved the Becky Denny Retro Santa 

candy dish to this little accent cabinet.

And filled it with Santa hat Hershey Kisses

I think it fits in quite nicely.

Right before we took the tree down this year

I put away my "grandson proof" LGB train

and had a little fun with my 

Aristo Craft C-16 2-8-0 locomotive.

It sure is a pretty engine.  Sadly,

Aristo Craft is no longer in business.

My guess is the rising cost of production 

and the fact that there's almost no interest in

electric trains by today's young generation.

There's just no competing with smartphones.

Here's a shot of our little Cher bear 

and her squeak toy Christmas present.

She's good at looking innocent.

till you get too close.

That's a wrap for December 2018

Thanks for stopping by

and Happy New Year!

Turkey Plate 2018

Sam and I found this year's turkey plate...

get one here

 It's from Williams Sonoma and called 

"Harvest Pumpkin Turkey Salad Plate"

The best part, we got it on sale for $11.17

down from $15.95.

It's one plate from a large line 

of "Harvest Pumpkin" dinnerware.

It is really a gorgeous collection.  

I told Sam we should have waited and made this

our Thanksgiving dinnerware.

But I say that every year. 

We also saw this next plate at Pottery Barn

but they were sold out of everything turkey.

get one here

It's called the "Botanical Harvest Turkey 

Salad Plate".

They only had one set of four assorted bird

plates left.  No single turkey plates available.

Oh well, maybe next year.

Thanks for stopping by

and happy hunting.

Quoth The Raven "Well Hello There!"

Some time ago I acquired a conspiracy 

of these beautiful raven statues from 

the "Victorian Trading Company"

They are now discontinued,

I am glad I got them before 

they faded away. 

This year I decided to nestle them

into the country vignette going on

atop the kitchen cabinets.

They bring just a little foreboding to the

Halloween atmosphere in the kitchen. 

They even startled my 4 year old grandson

when he saw them for the first time.

I told him to keep an eye on those pesky ravens,

they may try to swoop down and snip off his nose!

Boy did his eyes get big!

Thanks for stopping by and

happy haunting.

Target Halloween Find

Look at this nifty bat platter

I found at Target.

get one here

It's large, a whole 17''wide, from their 

Hyde and Eek! Boutique collection.

And at only $10, it's a pretty nifty price too!

I plan to hang it on a wall during Halloween.

I've always been a little short on bats

so this will be a nice addition.

I want this "Black Cat Candy Bowl" too

from the same collection.

get one here

Also only $10!

But Sam asked where I would put it 

and I couldn't answer. I have a ton of

candy bowls in the Ozark collection

and no place to put another one.

😿 

Target has a lot of great things 

this year for Halloween!

check it out here

Some really great animatronics too. 

 The sad thing is, at least in my experience, 

they seem to wear out so fast and

may not even work next year. 

get one here

So I tend to shy away from things 

that move with tiny plastic motors.

You however, may have better 

luck then me.

Update: 10/11/2013

Here's my bat on the wall. 

I think it looks FANGtastic!

 I had to find an extra large 

plate hanger with rubber tips

and bend it a bit to get it a good hold 

on such a large platter.

 I also had to change the

nail on the wall to a picture hook,

but the results were worth the trouble!

I'm EEK-xtremely happy!

Thanks for stopping by

and Happy Haunting!