Bound to Happen

It was bound to happen. When you have balance issues and are cleaning and sorting, with boxes strewn everywhere and barely room to walk between them... That's the perfect set up for a fall.

Not only was I cataloging, labeling, and packing up the sales models, 

I figured I was "in for a penny, might as well go for a pound" and clean out the horse room closet while I was at it.

I began with the boxes that I could reach and  frankly, I was amazed at how many I had squirreled away into that closet. (Apparently, I should run for the "Mrs. Jenga" contest.) The closet is bigger than it looks - it extends behind that shelf of horses and all the way to the door of the room.

I finished with everything on the floor of the closet, then shoved aside the clothing rack of 18th century clothes and hauled the step ladder over to the closet. There are tubs double stacked on the upper rack (the closet is taller than it looks, too), and I was determined to drag each tub out and sort through them for more models to sell or donate.

The more I carried down and out, the more the floor was covered. I knew I was flirting with tripping, but hey, I'm a grown up and I promised myself I would be careful.

I fell. Of course, I did.

I stepped backward off the ladder onto something I'd placed too close, stumbled, and fell. Right into the ladder and painfully sliding across the ladder's steps and other things as I went. The ladder actually broke my fall or else I would have face planted into the closet door.

I ended up with a big knot on my shin, scrapes, and bruising that is fairly extensive. But I am okay; nothing is broken, sprained, or in need of stitching. Truly, I am fine.

As I wrote earlier this month in the blog post titled, "Mama Said" (and Mama was right!) ,

Falling is one of the biggest fears most people Craig's and my age have. And in a sense, it is rather inevitable, whether it's because you slip, take a wrong step, or trip over your pet. It's probably going to happen sooner or later.

Mama was right. Again.

New Fabrics, a Cloak, and Packing Ponies

After fourteen (!!!) stops, my wandering package of fabric finally arrived yesterday, almost two weeks after it had been sent. To say I am relieved would be an understatement.

I spent some time taking photos to post on the Horsiemama's Haversacks & Mercantile Facebook page and thought I'd share them here, too. I'm always on the lookout for unusual fabrics and these fit the bill. (You can find really neat fabrics by doing a Google search looking for local fabric shops state by state. Most will sell their fabrics online.)

Multicolored Dala Horses. These always remind me of daughter-in-love Emily whose father is Swedish and mother is Canadian. She has more than a few Dala horses in her home.

Strutting Stallions (I love the distinctive colors used on this fabric.)

Greek Horses

Mid Century Cut Out Ponies

Retro Circus Horses & Stripes

Liberty Circus Horses

Pastel Ponies (This fabric is flannel, not cotton like the others.)

I'd like to get started on turning these into haversacks, but that will have to wait a day to two - I need to do some more 18th century sewing first. (More on that tomorrow.) Actually, I started that yesterday. I am working on an 18th century wool cloak. Yesterday I asked Craig to take some pictures so I could see how it was going to look when worn.

It needs a fastener on the neck (blue silk ribbon is on order) and some ironing, but essentially it is done. I like the color and I love to sew with wool.

Talk about being cloaked! I hadn't realized that Pepper had joined me in the photo until I downloaded it to my computer!

Truth be told, I am not happy with the back of the hood. It is supposed to be gathered like that with a small hole in the middle, but I want to see if I can redistribute those pleats so that they encircle that small hole more evenly. (Right now, most are on the top.)

Now I'm off to put prices on sales models and pack them for travel. I'm taking them to the March Great Lakes Congress show so I have plenty of time, but they are taking over space in my office that I'd like to use for other things.

Oh, and if you want a haversack from any of those fabrics (or see something in the sales models that you'd like to have), just email me at horsiemama8@gmail.com.

Hope ya'll have a good day!

Blossoming Artists

Yesterday when we arrived at Curt and Vanessa's for dinner, the kids (who had recently taken an art class at the local recreation center) wanted to show us their artwork. These kids blew me away!

Except for the two framed pictures in the center, all of these are by Mila. 

My favorite? The two swans ("Look how they form a heart in the center, Grammy!") And she also informed me that she was no longer into unicorns (although she'd had one with her earlier that day at church); she was now into dragons. You can see many of those on the right.

Lukie's art wall was next. He only had three paintings on the wall - cherry blossoms and a mountain, a butterfly on a flower, and a barn "with no horses in it, Grammy."

The cherry blossoms with the mountain in the background was lovely and my favorite. He said he liked it best, too.

Ian only had one painting, a wolf. He said it had taken him a long time to do so he'd only completed the one painting. I'd say it was worth all that time!

Clearly Curt's kids have some talent. But even better, they are enjoying the process of creating and then the joy of sharing. And how interesting that you can trace the artists' loves through their work. Case in point, the shift Mila is making from unicorns to dragons in her art.

As I thought about this, I pulled up an old blog post from July, 2019 where I had traced my love of horses through my own drawing and pictures, Tracing that Horsey Love Through the Years. 

Check it out - it made me smile and I think you will, too.

 

Probably 3rd grade, 1965.

Winter Hodge Podge

I've mentioned before that I keep a file of ideas for future blog posts. Sometimes I end up with a lot of mini topics that are too short for a stand alone blog entry. That's when I combine them into one and title them a mish mosh or a hodge podge.

Enjoy today's hodge podge. 

Wouldn't you know it - just a few weeks after I bought Breyer's Unicorn Advent Calendar,  Breyer announces that next year's Mini Whinny HORSE advent calendar will be a new one!

 Unlike in the past where the same Mini Whinny horse calendar was offered for three years.

I knew I was taking a chance by buying that unicorn calendar but honestly I doubted that Breyer would offer a new horse one and that I would be safe in purchasing the unicorn one. Ah well, maybe a Pony Pal or a Cowpoke would like that one for next December because you can be sure I will buy the horse one when it is released.

The below zero temperatures we had earlier in January thrust up the east slab of our patio causing my horse head fountain/planter to tilt as it straddled the place there the two slabs meet.

Temperatures are now above freezing and the slab has settled back down, with the fountain/planter returning to a more level position, too. 

I find shifting ground fascinating. Our Great Blue Heron statue in the stepping stone garden also is an indicator of the ground shifting.

We have to be a little careful when this statue leans as we don't want any wild animals digging underneath it. My huge goldfish, Miss Moment/Fishy, was lovingly buried below  it after she died. I've already reset the statue once this winter; looks like I need to again.

Ever heard of Blue Ridge Pottery? My Grandma Honeywell had a beautiful set (see below) and my sister Leslie collects it. (Photo from VintageVesselFinder on Etsy.)

This was my grandmother's set - so pretty! And 100% handpainted.

I don't know a lot about Blue Ridge Pottery, but generally I can recognize it when I see it. So, when I am scouring antique and thrift shops for HSOs (horse shaped objects), I check out any Blue Ridge pieces that I spy.

Like this pink berry dish I came across the last time I went thrifting. It had the look of Blue Ridge Pottery, and sure enough, when I flipped it over,

I was right. This piece came home with me and you may have already spied it in pictures taken while I sew - it sits on my sewing table and is great for holding pins and small notions. 

Holding Feast buttons that my mother drew.

Speaking of sewing, I have been waiting for ten days for an order of fabric to arrive.

It made it to Lafayette January 23 but then it was sent on to Spring Green, Wisconsin. It sat there for several days before being rerouted. Currently tracking says it has arrived at a "USPS facility, United States" with no indication where that facility is located. I sure hope it gets here soon!

Having said that, it is winter and there has been a lot of snow that could be impeding its progress. Iowa has been hard hit, and Hawkeye Sarah sent this text describing how a family from her church is getting groceries.

I guess I should not be surprised that horses are being used to pick up groceries. Iowa got absolutely walloped by the storm we had ten days ago or so.

Sarah's truck on a plowed road near Kent Park in Iowa. (Gotta get out there and photograph those snowy owls!)

Our snow has been gone for a few days, but we have had a lot of rain. Look at this unusual stone I noticed yesterday in my stepping stone garden. Isn't it pretty?

Craig found this stone in the field around us when our neighborhood was first being built.  

I'd never noticed this color before - normally is is a grey like the other field stones that surround it. For some reason, this lovely color came out when a cold rain was falling. I smiled and just had to take a picture.

On the docket today is heading out to Church this morning and then we have someone stopping by for a visit this afternoon. After that we will hop into the car (Pepper, too) and go over to Local Son Curt's home for dinner. (We get together as a family two Sundays a month for dinner.) In between those plans I'd like to do a barn visit with Abby and the herd. 

It's gonna be a good day.

A Busy Day Completing Projects

It took me all week, but I've finished the cleaning, culling, and reorganizing of my model horse collection! 

Having finished the shelves in the horse room, I moved into the sewing room early in the afternoon. I was determined to wrap up this project and move on to organizing and photographing all the sales models I'd sorted out.

Just as I did in the office, I left one shelf open. The shelf underneath it has three shelf eaters, models I like to keep close to the sewing table. I use them to ensure that my XLT (extra long traditional) haversacks will fit the models they are intended for.

I always keep a shelf open in my office directly behind my desk chair, too. I use it to photograph sales models (such as the Chevaliere on the left), setting up scenes like the Mini Whinny Advent Calendar, etc. Via Latte is only there temporarily. I will be moving her into the sewing room where she will go with the other three shelf eaters that are used for fitting haversacks.

Craig helped me put some finishing touches to the horse room and the sewing room.

He hung this Christmas gift from my friend Kathy over the door of the office. I can sit here at my computer and see it every time I look up.

This painting of Mary, Joseph, and the boy Jesus, a gift from Local Son Curt and Vanessa, was hung on the wall between his office door and mine. 

And then he hung this clock, a gift from him, over the windows in my sewing room so that all I have to do to tell the time is to glance up.  (I much prefer a clock to a watch or using my phone. Often my hands are full of fabric and pins and a glance up is much easier.)

Of course, yet again I had a little help from my friends. The girls followed me back and forth from the horse room to the sewing room all day as I worked. (Nash did the same with Craig.) Despite Mama's propensity for heavy shedding, I relented and let her stay while I worked. She just wanted to be with me and I didn't have the heart to make her leave.

One last thing I got done yesterday was that, believe it or not, I finally took our Christmas tree down. The ornaments have been put away for weeks; I just hadn't disassembled the tree and put it into its box, a ten minute job at most. Why had I left it on display? Well, I love its colored lights, and have been plugging them in as soon as I got up in the morning and leaving them on until I went to bed. They are cheery during these drab winter days, so why not leave the tree out?

I do still have my mother's Nativity to put away. That's a different story - it big, it's breakable, and it's heavy. I am definitely procrastinating this job. And while Craig would help me in a heartbeat, because it is so fragile, I prefer to do it myself. I've got lots of experience packing china models and since this Nativity means so much to me, I want to pack it up myself.

A little help from your friends is good, but there are some things you just need to do yourself.

Caught Kissing an Old Friend

I continue to work my way around the horse room, cleaning, culling, and reorganizing. I'm making progress and finished two more shelving units yesterday.

Craig popped in late in the afternoon and took some pictures of the process.

I was working on my Man O'War conga, which includes one of my carpet herd models. I have three of the original Man O'Wars and he is one of them. I got a little cocky and said to Craig, "I know my carpet herd members so well, I can pull them off the shelf without even checking their tags. Wanna see?"

And I pulled the middle horse of the three off the shelf.

Bingo! There is my lovely Man O'War from 1968, still with me and staying with me for life.

I think I startled Craig when I kissed it, but I explained that all carpet herd members get a kiss when I put them back on their shelf. (Often when I pull them off, too.)

Gosh, the memories those carpet herd pieces bring back! I had a green bareback pad for him that my early hobby friend, Sue Seese, made me. I still have it in my box of early tack that's stored away for safe keeping.

Never has it taken me so long to dust my collection, but it's not just because of the number of models. A lot of it is simply enjoying interacting with some old friends and checking them to see how they are faring as, like me, they age.

So far, we are all in pretty good shape.

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FOR SALE: 1990s Misty in box, $25

The clear plastic on the box is yellowed and there is a small crack on one side in the seam. (Hard to photograph but see picture below.) Hooves are pinker than those on my other Mistys.

A 1996 Breyer catalog and a JAH flier came with her in the box and are still in there.

The hard to see crack which doesn't photograph well. Small, but there.

Interested? Contact me at horsiemama8@gmail.com.