Moody January

I de-Christmased the house on Wednesday. It was time, though I don’t have many holiday decorations so it wasn’t a big job. I follow some YouTubers who have gobs of gobs of decorations for inside and out and their houses are so delightful. But I don’t have the space to store vast quantities of decorations and it’s a bit strange when you consider that most holiday decor is only displayed six weeks of the year, at best.

But I am keeping out this worn vintage Polish glass tree topper (a Goodwill find) because I love how the colors sync to the Mt. Fuji painting my dad bought in Japan in the 1950s. He gave this painting to me a year ago because he knew I’d appreciate it. And I do! This was one of the rare pieces of artwork we had in our house growing up. Plus, his dad, my granddad, was from Poland so adding the tree topper to this display feels like a perfect combination.

Weather here in the San Francisco Bay Area has been all over the place and I find it affects my mood. I am thankful for the rain, but the gray cloudy days I can do without. They make me lethargic and I struggle to get motivated to do anything. (Maybe you know the feeling!)

On one of those dreary days I started sorting through a box of “littles” that I hadn’t dealt with yet. These items were of no great value and for most I have no recollection of when/how I got them. I was tempted to throw them altogether in a “job lot,” but inevitably folks come along and ask to buy just one item from the lot. So in the end I went through the tedious process of listing them all separately.

The knit bear ornament (she has a hanging loop) came from an estate sale a couple of years ago. The house was old and large and full of stuff (and people!). But sadly most was priced too high for me to resell. And other things had no price and, as it turns out, the staff wandering around were not allowed to give you a price. Only the head lady could and she was managing the checkout table. So just to find out a price you had to stand in a long checkout line to ask her. It was very frustrating and inefficient. In the end I didn’t buy much.

I also decided to list a few more personal items of somewhat higher value. I adore paisley and this old woven wool shawl/piano scarf is a beauty in good condition. I’ve enjoyed it for years but am ready to let it go.

I also reluctantly listed one of my Margaret Layton paintings. Layton is one of my artist obsessions. I adore her work, but am swimming in art and am slowly letting some pieces go…though with this one I may change my mind!

Thankfully today was a beautiful sunny day. Did some yard work and ran some errands. Found a nice item at my neighborhood thrift store and was so happy…at first! It’s an Anita Nylund (Sweden) ceramic shaker (for $3.89) and cute as can be. Likely a $40-$50 item. Got it home and discovered a long, hairline crack! 😩 It’s so obvious after I soaked it. Well crumpets!!

My husband thinks it is still sellable AS IS. And it may be at some nominal price, but is is worth the effort? I’m just not sure.

Wishing you better hunting than I had!

Karen