WHEW!

Well, I bribed my SIL to come finish decorating my house. So I can relax as far as that goes. I even have my village on display. I was collecting just a piece here and a piece there of village, and then I realized that there were so MANY of them. I had 1 piece of Lenox, 1 piece of Colonial village, and 1 generic. Then I discovered Dept.56! So I thought that was what I was going to continue with until I discovered that I had 1 piece of Santa's Village, 1 piece of Christmas in the City and 1 piece of Dickens village. And there are many more collections. I like them all!

When I lived in Fallon, NV I was only 50 miles or so from Virginia city, which is very historical, and very touristy. I would spend quite a bit of time up there, rummaging through the museums and the shops. There was a complete Dept 56 shop there, so I would go up as soon as they opened in the spring and decide which 1 piece I would buy that year. I loved that shop. If I had to settle on just one collection it would probably be the Dickens Christmas Village, although Christmas in The City comes really close.

I have not bought a piece in several years as I have not had the extra money to do so, and the prices just are not coming down. I think my collection is as done as it is gonna be. I have about 10 pieces that I am finishing myself. They are ceramic, and unpainted, and uncleaned, so they were really cheap. I have 4 pieces of that collection done, but they take forever, as the painting is so tedious. I want to get them as close to historically correct as I can, so I research the paint jobs on each piece I do. I may just get out the dremel tool and the paints and get with it this spring. Yeah, I need something to keep me busy....(snort)