Merry Christmas!!!

 Hello Attic lovers!

Today I have a few pics, snapped rather quickly, of some of my favorite Christmas Tree ornaments! Now, I actually have hundreds of ornaments (I'm a bit of an ornament junky). I have so many, in fact, that I can only display a fraction of them on my trees. But these always make the cut, so I thought I'd share them with you!

These next few are all blown glass ornaments from Germany. ...and they all came from Epcot! You see, on a lot of our WDW trips, we nip into the Christmas store in Germany and pick one of these up. First, we have a small candle that clips to the branch...

Next is a calendar that features not only Christmas Eve, but also Christmas Day!

And this is one of my wife's favorites. A delicate peacock, complete with real peacock feather tail!

And a Christmas cookie saying "Merry Christmas!" (It's in English on the other side)

And a feastive little star!

And, of course, the Big Man himself! I realised that even though we've had this one for quite a while, I never bothered to translate the text. Here's what it says:

Christmas wishes

I wish you for Christmas Day

the best that there can be

Health, happiness, contentment

for all eternity

Now I got this guy at Hallmark a couple of years ago just because I liked him. It would be cool to get Bob Gurr to sigh it, but I never will, lol!

And I bought this one for my wife. I bet you can't guess what her favorite Disney attraction is, can you?

And, finally, I just picked this up at the local Aldi. The "Aldi Finds" aisle is notorious for grabbing extra cash out of pockets. This lights up in different colors while the tree turns. Did I need it? Nope. Did I buy it? Yep.

So there you have it! 

Here's wishing you and yours the merriest of Christmases and the most joyous New Year!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Penning a Quick One

 

This week I'm featuring an item that is about as close as I'll ever get to Disneyland's Club 33! This pen comes from there! 

These were used to sign bills, etc. in the exclusive club. I say "were" because they no longer use pens with this logo, apparently. The new logo is script saying "Club 33." So, someone would have actually had to have gotten this pen directly from the club in Disneyland.

Alas, that "someone" isn't me. I got this off of eBay several years ago. I did check out the old front door to the club a couple of years ago when my daughter and I went to Disneyland, but that is as close as I've ever gotten. 

Still, it's a cool memento to a place I'll probably never go. At least I can dream!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Time for a Tuneup

 Hello Atticites!

This week we're featuring an item that has been in the family almost a hundred years! 

This is my great grandmother's Seth Thomas mantle clock. Specifically, it's a Seth Thomas "Plymouth" miniature steeple mantle clock made in Thomaston, CT between 1933 and 1935. It stands about a foot tall and is covered in a plastic substance called "adamantine." Interestingly, it's one of the last Seth Thomas clocks with this finish. In the late 30s, they switched over to real wood finishes. 

In function, it is a seven day clock, meaning a wind a week will do it. It strikes the hour and once on the half hour. And until this week, it totally did not work. Oh, you could wind it snd it would tick along for a minute or so, then the "tick-tock" would become a "tock-tick," and then a "tock-tock-tick-tock." Then it would just give up. 

Fortunately, we have a clock repair shop in town that is highly reputable. In fact, they've been around since 1969 and have fixed thousands of antique clocks. Unfortunately, the price of fixing those clocks ain't cheap. So, I put it off and put it off some more. For years, in fact. Finally, I got up the nerve to take it in.

Upon getting an estimate that was just south of $400.00, I hesitated. But my wonderful wife pointed out that it had been my great grandmother's clock and so it would be worth it. So, I bit the bullet and went for it.

In about three weeks I got the text that it was ready. It was, in fact, not "just south of $400.00," having made the trip all the way there. I picked it up, placed it on the mantle and fired it up. I got a steady "tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock," and it didn't give up! 

As it turns out, the clock shop replaced a lot of the worn cogs, straightened a couple of warped parts, replaced the brushings, polished everything, and gave us a one year warranty, so it was actually worth it. 

Now it's sitting on the mantle, happily ticking away. I hope that somewhere my great grandmother (whom I never met) is smiling.

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!