A few years ago I found a wonderful and very sweet vintage music box Christmas carousel at a favorite thrift store. If I am remembering correctly the place where I found it is no longer there, but it was one of the places where I used to go and find all sorts of beautiful treasures. The year that I found the carousel I posted a video of it on Instagram, and then each year afterward for some reason, though I kept it out year round, I didn't find the time or the place to play and post it again.
This year, right before Christmas, I decided to move it from its year round place and move it to the table to see if it was still working. I wasn't sure if it had batteries or how it operated because when I had originally found it, the mechanism was turning and music was playing and I hadn't checked to see how. This time, when I turned on the on switch, nothing happened, and so I started looking for the place where batteries might go. There was a little door on the bottom that had a screw in it that looked as if it might house batteries, but the writing on it was so tiny and difficult to read I had to get my flashlight out and the magnifier on my phone camera to check for sure.
The words were still difficult to make out, but it seemed like I saw something that said batteries, so I tried to open up the screw on the cover of the case. It was very difficult to do, and though I tried for quite a while it seemed as if whoever had used it last had made the screw impossible to open, and so I decided to break open the hinges on the little door as carefully as possible in hopes that I wouldn't ruin it entirely. It took me a while, but I was able to do it, and when the hinges were finally broken away and the door was open, I saw the batteries inside that were needed. They were a size that I didn't have any extras of, and because of the schedule I had over the holidays it took me a little while to go find them at the store. When I finally did it was well into January, but I decided to post a video of it playing anyway because it was so joyful and sweet.
There is something about music boxes that always makes me happy, and the ones that turn are even more special. My grandmother loved music boxes and my mother loved carousels, so this very sweet design with its German Christmas songs made me think of both of those wonderful women and all the sweet and joyful times we had together. Christmas has always been a special time for me and this year I have allowed myself to take time to savor it for a few extra weeks. It's coming up to my birthday and the Christmas decorations at YES Gallery are still there. I was thinking today that I might leave them until the end of the month this time, and as I was on my way home a saw that some neighbors still have theirs up too, so maybe the ones I have still up are bringing joy to other people too, along with the sweetness of the vintage holiday memories that I have from years gone by.
