Christmas Trees

We have a pretty awesome situation for Christmas trees now. In the past, we put them in the playpen so that they would be harder to reach and nearly impossible to completely knock over. It worked okay. We couldn’t use the playpen at all for a couple months and we only used our small trees and not the big one, but with very curious small people, it was the best way to do it.

Auction Trophies

Let's look at some of the great things Betty and I unpacked from Grandma's auction last October. Some of them I bought on purpose, some came with other things I bought, and some things I really am not sure about. We did end up with everything that didn't sell or was left behind by people. But that doesn't explain some of this stuff.

This right here is the crowned jewel of the collection. WHAT THE HECK IS IT? It doesn't photograph so well, but what it is, clearly, is a blue hand holding a blue cornucopia. And it is maybe a vase. Or a shot glass. I'm not really sure.

I love this thing! I love it more every time I see it. I did not know it existed and did not buy it on purpose, but it is amazing. And it begs many great questions.

What made someone decide to create this piece? Was it originally part of a set? Am I missing a foot kicking a turkey, a knee squishing a squash, and an elbow balancing a pilgrim hat? Because I'm pretty sure it would be in a Thanksgiving themed set. And WHAT IS IT? Vase? Shot glass? Seriously, someone tell me which thing it is. I don't drink alcohol much, so that probably makes it a vase by default.

Lunchboxes and Irises

So, I know what you're thinking. "Boy, those wrestler action figures sure looked sharp up on that decorative railing. What would visually compliment them best?" Well, if your guess is my lunch box collection, you are absolutely correct.

And yes, those wrestlers do look sharp. But someone needs to tell the Bret Hart twins and the British Bulldog to stop jumping off. That ledge is not a turnbuckle, and no is getting clotheslined today.

Anyway, my lunchbox collection is now lining one wall of the former sewing room/current play room. Except that it was never intentionally a collection, Karl and I just had some cool lunchboxes growing up. Plus a great Dark Crystal lunchbox we found in high school. And later some awesome Muppet ones, and it's hard for me to pass up Muppet merchandise. And I got a great Beatles one as a gift. (Don't tell Karl I took his lunchbox. He might not actually know. I don't really want to give it back.) (Don't tell him that, either.)

Wrestling with Interior Decorating

Still limited on how much stuff we can move over, but that's okay today. I'm working on decorating. And then unpacking the rest of the board games and random art supplies. Which kind of relates to decorating, right?

So, Grandma was a china painter and had many china painting friends. She has many places and furniture items around the house that were dedicated to her vast collection of china. We weren't able to keep all the china in the family. Not even the things she made, which is yet another sore spot for me, so we'll keep going with this story. Now I have a dilemma called, "What do I put on all of these shelves made fairly specifically for plates?"

We did buy as much of the china as we could, and some of the plates will be displayed somewhere in the house, but these shelves seem to be too out-in-the-open and too narrow for highly breakable things. The girls are careful, but things get thrown around once in a while. And this room is currently the front runner for where my awesome Dr. J foam basketball and hoop set from the 1980s is going to go. But it's okay, I have a great idea.

In sixth grade, I went through a WWF (now WWE) wrestling faze, as all young girls do. And as I've gotten older and had time to look back on those months fondly, I've bought a few of my favorite characters as I've seen them and been able to afford them. (They're a little pricey for something that is not a Muppet or a Beatle.) And guess what! They can mostly stand on their own! Sort of! So guess who's going up on the railing.....