Have a Happy New Year - Best Wishes from Ishi the Pistachio Loving Cat

Good morning, Tina here.

Ishi and I are just planning on kicking back tomorrow night, enjoying a DVR'd Christmas movie on TV, and eating us some pistachios.

Ishi loves pistachios. If he hears the bag open he comes running. There's no hiding them from him!

I have to shell them for him, he has a hard time waiting.

He will eat four or five, then he's satiated for the moment.

When he is done, he tops it off with his favorite beverage, ice water fresh out of my cup.

He has strange tastes for a cat.

Have a great New Year's Eve, and we'll see you next year!

Shiny And Brite

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas, full of blessings ...

....and all that is "Shiny" and "Brite".
Happy Holidays from the Gold Country Girls!

(P.S. I think I might be taking a little bit of a blog break.
 This season has just taken a lot out of me.
But I'll see you all in 2016!)

A Little Christmas Decor

Today, I am wishing you a very Happy Christmas Eve, and just sharing some of our Christmas decor.
My photos are not very good, but I have simply run out of time, so they will have to suffice.
The top of the piano, below looks prettier at night with tiny blue lights  but hopefully you get the general idea.....

The lamp and the piano both belonged to my mother-in-law and have been here in the house for decades.
Here's a close-up of my little tree decorated with my collection of vintage Christmas bells:

I don't have enough light in this house, so I had to take my little bird tree outside to take these photos!

(That little red guy you see at the very top in the picture above was a gift from Lori, so he gets the "prize" spot!)

I love these little birds, collected over quite a few years:

My lady on the mantel has simply donned a "crown" of sorts:

A vintage "stained glass window" brightens up a bedroom window:

And my wonderful vintage angels in the fireplace.......

Last of all, our little tree in the living room. Some day, I still hope to have a BIG white Christmas tree.

Because I need WAY more room for all of my vintage ornaments!

Have a wonderful Christmas Eve, everybody!

A Christmas Troll Tale

Good morning, Tina here. I am getting some help from some little Christmas dolls this morning, they offered to help a bit around here for the holidays.

The trolls have begun by decking the halls,

They are not very silent tonight,

They are rocking around the sparkling glass balls,

And enjoying the snowy twilight.

They are baking for Santa and some of his elves,

And caroling merrily too.

They are peeking out windows in spite of themselves,

To see Santa Claus coming through.

Their message is floating note by note to your ear...

Merry Christmas dear reader, and Happy New Year!

A Vintage Christmas Collage

Today, I have another collage I made when I was a little girl.
I actually remembered making this, and I recall being very proud of my creation at the time!
When I found it - saved in Mother's things along with other old schoolwork;
 I was so very happy to see it again:

A little girl with her new doll on Christmas morning.
That's it for today, just another happy little scene, created by me many years ago.

A Wise Man Makes An Unusual Discovery....

I set up a few objects next to our fiber optic tree in the guest room window.
I have chandelier prisms hanging in the window and mirrored "disco ball" ornaments on the tree because I wanted as much reflection as possible - and the prisms are "rainbow-makers" all around the room when the sun shines through.

It occurred to me when I looked at it afterward that the mirrored tree and the glitter disco ball orb were somewhat reminiscent of the Trylon and Perisphere from the New York World's Fair in 1939!

 Or maybe it's just me, but it seemed the Wise Man noticed it, too:

Very cool deco-style artwork here, by the way.....

Betsey Clark At Christmas

This sweet Betsey Clark image is from a 1980 Hallmark calendar I found in my files.
"At favorite times
 we always find
 favorite friends
 are kept in mind":

And I also found some adorable unused vintage Christmas cards -
"Christmas Is Sharing":

"Christmas Is Giving":

And, last of all, I wanted to share this vintage wrapping paper, below.

 Although it isn't Christmas-themed paper, it was so cute that I felt the need to include it in today's post!

Whether you are keeping "favorite friends" in mind while wrapping gifts,
"sharing" the warmth of a fireside while stitching up a patchwork quilt,
or "giving" a friend a hand with their ice skates,
I hope you are finding time to enjoy the Christmas season!

I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas

"I want a hippopotamus for Christmas,
only a hippopotamus will do..."
But only if it's one like this:

Or this:

Or this:

Or this:

(And only if Santa can find me one in a different color!)
"No crocodiles or rhinoceroses
I only like hippopotamuses
And hippopotamuses like me too!"

The Woodmans Trim The Tree

I introduced you to the Woodmans (Arthur and Ethel) back in this post.
They helped me out with some tree-trimming the other day....

We also wrapped this wooden mug tree/stand thing with a red tinsel garland, and hung some vintage ornaments on it:

You know, I really appreciated the help....

(And this is one of my very favorite little vignettes I created this year.)

Besides, I'll take any help I can get when it comes to decorating!!

More Finds For Christmas

As usual, I have been finding things at the thrift shops.
Today, we have a round-up of Christmas items.
I couldn't resist this little Ford truck, and when I brought it home, I had the perfect vintage tree to throw in the back:

This Santa called out "Hello, and Ho, Ho, Ho" - and I had to bring him home:

These gift tags aren't so very old, but they're a lot cuter than a lot of the new ones you will find today,
and you can't beat the packaging :

I love these Noma Italian Style tinsel sunburst lights, but I wish I knew how to make them "non-twinkling"!

I couldn't believe I found three of these vintage (Made In Japan) Santa head mugs at the thrift store that sells their mugs for ten cents each!

An adorable Raggedy Ann planter for Christmas:

A fragile mercury glass reindeer, and the Santa on his back is actually a vintage pin:

The brightest and cutest book, "Santa's Paint And Color Book:

And another adorable vintage book with Santa:

Two sweet angels, A vintage Peanuts "Christmas Is Together Time" book, and another Peter Pauper Press book, "Christmas Tidings":

And I also found a set of four of these vintage Santa coasters:

Straight out of a vintage Helen Gallagher-Foster House catalog!

One more thing - I found a brand new, with tags Christmas shirt in my size for two dollars!

Guess what I'll be wearing on Christmas Day??