Vintage Christmas Ornament(s) Lost - January 2022

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Hard to put away all the Christmas stuff without a few glitches, right?  This year, we lost a number of our vintage glass ball Christmas ornaments.  Most of them were common ones - just a single color.  But a few of them were these more interesting ones - with writing/stripes/what-have-you on them.  

I posted some photos of a good haul that we picked up at an Estate Sale in Elmhurst back in 2016, but I don't think the one in the photo (below) was from that group.  That same year (2016), I bought another set of vintage glass ornaments (in these nice cardboard storage boxes) and *those* blue ones were some of the ones that shattered this year.  

One of the things that I'm trying hard to focus on in 2022 is the notion of 'stuff'.  I read this post from Jason Kottke that references a Wired piece from Paul Ford titled:  A Grand Unifying Theory of Buying Stuff.  After reading those posts - the line about not 'buying stuff for my stuff' stuck with me.  It also made me go into my closet and realize that - as we go to the third year of COVID - things that I haven't touched since before March 2020 can just go.  They can go to a new home.   I've made bags of clothes.  And cleared out my office closet of things and cords and containers that I haven't used in years.  "but...one day, I *could*" was what I told myself.  That day isn't coming. 

However, vintage Christmas ornaments MIGHT be the exception.  We've gone through a thinning process on much of our vintage Christmas collection over the years.  And have stopped buying much of anything vintage Christmas.  It might also be the exception to my Collecting Mantra - which posits: "It is enough to enjoy the existence of things without possessing all of them."  

I don't need to possess ALL of these ornaments, but with a few broken ones, I now can say:  I NEED a few of these.  I've slowed down in terms of going to Estate Sales (I still go from time-to-time, but my Saturday mornings are more full these days).  

When I do go, I am focused on a few things:  gardening-related items.  glassware.  furniture.  And...now,  I think finding some vintage ornaments will still be something that I can bring home.  Both, because they have a degree of utility.  And...they conform to the 'buying stuff theory' above.  It isn't stuff for stuff, right?  Or...is a Christmas tree the 'stuff' that craves more 'stuff' like ornaments?  I guess rules are made to be broken.

Location: Downers Grove, IL, USA

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