A couple finds

I wound up only going to one antique store; I had other places I needed to go.

First, the Target - going there at 10 am on a Saturday was surprising. I expected it to be slammed, especially a couple weeks before Christmas. It was not. (In fact, walking back to my car, a woman walking up to the store asked, "So, is it crazy in there?" and I said "No, I didn't even have to wait in line to pay" and she cheered).

Got a few staples (more chili sauce, for example) and also picked up my Toys for Tots gifts. This is a thing I do every year: I buy a toy that either my brother or I: (a) would have wanted had it existed when we were kids or (b) is one that still exists from when we were kids that we enjoyed.

This year, I did both:



I would have been ALL OVER Littlest Pet Shop if it had existed when I was seven or so. Small (pocket-sized, most of them), super-cute, animal toys that you can collect: pretty much hits all the points of what I wanted in a toy. And Uno, a game my family spent MANY hours playing when my brother and I were growing up. It's a simple game but it's fun.

I also ran to the bookstore (they had the Christmas edition of Simply Knitting, which will probably be this evening's perusing, and also another big book of British Christmas-themed patterns including a plum pudding tea cozy, so I could not resist buying that. (I don't have a tea cozy and am not sure I need one as I usually make tea by the cup....)

And to JoAnn's, and found on sale two big collapsable (fabric, so sturdy) boxes for holding tree ornaments - so I bought them. I am toying with the idea of using Monday morning on the 18th, before I drive off, to take my tree down (if I can bear to). But I also need to get a bag to hold the tree parts, that might be a Lowe's run. I also got a new pair of small sharp scissors after all the trouble I had last night cutting the felt for Scootaloo's eyes. (I need to find someone who does scissor-sharpening locally).

And to the Ulta - got a hair masque (my hair is dry and brittle this fall, and I am worried I might be developing a bit of a thin spot on top) and also some keratin-infused shampoo. (I know, I know: hope in a bottle but it probably won't hurt. Might not help, but won't hurt)

(And before you ask: I had my thyroid levels tested last go round of blood work and they are fine; I think this is purely environmental. And at any rate, I have no other symptoms of a thyroid problem)

And then to the antique mall. I wound up spending $15 - $5 on two small ornaments:



A wee tiny (like 1" tall) flocked Santa. These kinds of things were super common when I was a kid (we had some fairy skaters like that) and I kind of like having ornaments representative of what we had during my childhood. They had a whole basket of these - some looked older, some were in worse condition, there were a couple of Mrs. Clauses too, but this was my favorite.

And then this:



One of the 101 Dalmations, in a Santa hat. A McDonald's tie-in from 1996 or so when the movie was re-released. (I don't know for sure if this was an official McDonald's thing or of someone just glued a Santa hat onto one of the Happy Meal toys; the fact that you hang it from a hook hooked under the collar (rather than a separate hanging loop) and the fact it hangs unevenly makes me wonder. But at any rate: it's cute, it was two bucks, I like it.

And then there's this.

A fifty-year-old stuffed toy horse. Not in great shape, but I might be able to fix her up:



The tag says "1967 KAMAR Made in Japan" so I know how old it is (older than I am). These "glamour" animals were popular in the late 60s and early 70s - older sisters of some of my friends had them on their dressing tables. They are not cuddly (stuffed with excelsior?) but are still kind of interesting. Sort of a precursor to My Little Pony in a way?

The eyes are kind of trashed - they are flannel, glued on, and they've worn off. I admit, I picked this up - it was $10 - and thought about it, put it back down, and went to the next floor of the mall. I kept telling myself, "You don't need it" and darn it, but by the time I had walked around that upper floor, I had convinced myself, "But maybe IT needs YOU." (I am too good at anthropomorphizing inanimate objects). I am thinking after Christmas, when I have a little time at the start of next semester, I will try cleaning it up (and detangling the long fake-fur mane and tail). I am considering maybe using upholstery cleaner (but testing first, to be sure - I bet that body color might fade). And I'm thinking of tracing the eyes and making new ones out of felt, and gently tacking them on with little stitches over the existing eyes (rather than ripping the old eyes off altogether: the first rule of intelligent tinkering is to keep all the parts)

here are a couple screengrabs (just from Pinterest; it's gotten increasingly hard to do good sourced image searches with that thing out there) showing the horse in two different colors but more-original conditions (mine is missing her nostrils). So I can use these for reference:

I think I've got a lot of work to put in on that mane and tail first...but I like the eyes on these, they look much more "1960s" than I would have guessed from what remained on mine.