This Is Where I Decided To Begin

Snowmen.

Big and fluffy ones.

Teapots and tealights.

Salt and pepper shakers and teeny, teeny tiny snowmen.

And teapots and tealights, which is sort of funny when you think about it.  Lighting a candle or filling one with hot tea, but I like it.

This is a Mary Engelbreit set, a salt and pepper, teapot and sugar/creamer.  I'll bet you didn't think I was a Mary Engelbreit girl, did you?  All those dots and flowers and checks.  Well, here's the deal.  She is a little busy for me.  I have a couple of things around, but in my usual decorating you won't find a lot of it dripping off the shelves.  Except at Christmastime.  That is when my inner Mary gets realeased.  You'll love how I share that over the next week or so, but today is snowmen.  They come out with the Christmas decorations, but stay out for the duration of the winter, along with my snowflake stuff.  As collections go, mine is pretty modest, I mean, there are a few more than what are shown here, but not a lot. I haven't gone all hoarders with it.  Not with these.  The Mary Engelbreit set is my favorite.  There was a set of mugs that went with it, the Let It Snow mugs, and I don't have them yet (yes, I said yet).  I always thought I would be able to get them on ebay someday, but it appears the availability has dried up.  I will keep looking, though.

 

This old snowman is the most precious of the collection and lives out year-round.  My mom-mom, my mother's mom, had a snowman like this one that she gave to my mom.  It was a treasured holiday decoration that I remember her taking out every year.  I don't know the history of it, but I think it was some sort of "bonus with purchase" gift that she got, but that is just a guess.  It is a sugar/creamer, the bottom being the bowl that holds sugar and the top section is the creamer that is filled and dispensed through the top-hat.  It is extremely rare to find one with the shovel, which acts as a spoon, still intact, and this snowman is in excellent condition.  How do I know the comparative condition of these old snowmen?  I have owned a few since my mom made it her mission to find one for each of her kids.  And her sibs.  And her grandkids.  And any future progeny.  Or not, because I think she has made it her mission to own every one of these that still exist.  Woe to you if you are bidding against her on ebay.  You.Will.Lose.  The upside to this is I have been able to trade up to a snowman in great condition with a shovel.  Who knows how many snowmen are out there, and at this point, who knows how many are at my mom's house.  The last count I heard was a number over twenty.  That does not include the ones she has given to us kids and her sibs.  Yes, I know.  There is a television show about people like her and don't think I haven't been taking a critical look at how the crazy has been passed down.

Do you have a snowman collection?  Check this out.  Who knew?  I'm off to read..... 

So it began today and this is where I decided to start.  This is going to be fun.

2010, five.  There is a fine line between collecting and crazy and it might be a tight-rope walk I balance. Or not, we'll see. 

Comments

[Laurie]

S'funny. I read recently that people under the age of 40 are not collecting. That the 'value' of our collections won't hold because there won't be a market for it.

I don't believe it. I think they are just late to the party.

[Carole]

Love your snowmen - I think we even have a couple of the same ones. I have lots of them and I used to leave them out for the winter but these days I pack them up when I pack up Christmas. I just want to be DONE with it all at once.

[Geri]

Wonderful collection! My collection was started by my students. I received a few as Christmas gifts ( the soft cuddly kind) and left them in the classroom through the winter. Slowly more and more showed up. The eventually made their way back to my house where they spent the winter in my kitchen. Last year they hid on me. Couldn't find them anywhere. This year they're back and will stay up through February at least.

[Vicki]

There's an 18-foot snowman been in our local news lately -- there's even a Facebook page -- I've sent you an invite. ; )

My mother told me the other day that she needs to add on her to house "for more storage." Holy.holy.holy. Yeah. I definitely know where it came from -- and a double-whammy because my dad's mom was pretty impressive in her collectibility, too (weird stuff, tho).

XO!

[margene]

The snowman collection is a perfect winter decoration and they're wonderful shown together. At least you know when enough is enough. I've seen it in you and that you know when to stop.

[Kathy]

Those are super cute and I think it's great that you enjoy them all winter. As for collections, I love them. I have a collection of pitchers, of antique cross-stitch samples with "home" themes and other things. . . :-)