If you are a fan of Ann-Margaret’s SpecialTea Shoppe on Facebook (and, if you’re not…then, why not??? c’mon over and join the fun!!) then you saw this cute guy earlier today and my mom’s message about him.  Well, today is Tuesday so it’s my turn to blog, and I am going to tell you a little story about this cute SNOWMAN.  My Auntie Kay (yep, my mom’s sister…she luvs for me to call her this!!) just adores LOVES snowmen!!  I mean this is a woman that has a SNOWMAN TREE…yes, you heard me right…a tree with nothing but snowmen on it!  And, there are some of the cutest snowmen you have ever seen on that tree!  Some of them are chillin’ on the beach in Bermuda shorts, and some are dressed up in cute dresses with lotsa bling! She loves snowmen so much that she even leaves some of her favorite ones out year round! My mom and I are truly amazed at all the unique ones she has collected over the years…and, well, we have our eyes on a few each time we go to see her, but we’ve been good and left them behind when we left.  Can’t say that I will continue to be that good…just sayin’…if you hear of some coming up missing I don’t want to hear about it! teeheehee

So, onto the story…My Auntie Kay had spotted this beautiful piece in the Old South Antique Mall in Dothan, Alabama several years ago.  One day my mom just happened to be in there and saw this and knew my sister would love it so she called to tell her about it.  Auntie Kay told my mom that she had seen it the week before and fell in love with it and was planning on getting them to hold it for her until she could get back to the store.  So, they chatted and decided that my mom would go ahead and get the window (yes, this design is painted on an antique window) so my sister would not have to make a trip to Dothan.  My mom buys it, and they help her load it in her car.  She is sooooo very careful with it and even puts some blankets and towels around it to protect it during the ride home (still wondering why she had towels and blankets in her car…hmmm…oh, yeah, probably because she had been hauling some other  great find around at some point! More stories for other days!!)

Let me just tell you that when my mom put the window in the car all of the area around the snowman just looked a little frosted because of how the artist had done the painting.  It DID NOT have the cracked “icy” look to it that you see in the picture!  When my mom arrived at our house and had Poppy help her take it inside…well, she almost had a major heart attack!! All of these little fine cracks were running all over the glass!!!  I think she may have cried…ok, she wanted to!! 🙂  I do recall her asking for us to get her some oxygen!  Of course, it would be much better if we had a “before” picture, but we don’t so you will just have to use your imagination with me here!  The only thing we could determine was that there had been a crack in the glass that  my mom and Auntie did not notice, and during the ride home the crack began to spread inside the glass…you cannot feel the cracks you see, as it is a double window so it is as though the cracks are inside which gives it the really pretty snowy/icy effect.  However, it was not supposed to look like this.  My mom hated so to have to call to tell my Auntie about this because at the time she was thinking that it was ruined, and that Auntie Kay would be so disappointed.  But, when she saw it she actually loved it!  Then, we all began to breathe again and decided that yes, it really does look like a real winter’s night, and it has the most beautiful glistening effect when it is all lit up.

So, can we just say that yes, there usually is…

a SILVER lining to every cloud

you can always make LEMONADE from those lemons

you may choose to view the glass as HALF FULL rather than half empty

and, usually if you look really closely, you will find some good tossed in there with the bad.

Do you have something you love to collect? Something special you look for each year to add to your Christmas decor collection?  Of course, Auntie Kay is always on the lookout for cute snowmen, and my mom and I love trying to find cute Westies at Christmastime and any time!

What is your favorite thing that you love to pull out first each year when you begin decorating????

Leave me a comment below, and let me know! I love hearing from you!!

Until next Tuesday….

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