BreyerFest Loot: The First Two Boxes

Second Post of the Day

Three boxes of things from BreyerFest have arrived for me, although the first box was actually not from Breyer.

It was from blog reader Elise who knew that I really wanted this year's Breyerfest mug but that I couldn't get one myself since I was not attending BreyerFest in person.

She sent me the mug, a beautiful sticker (I may put it on the seat of my walker!), some Dala horse cards,

and this lovely Heart Stone. The back reads, "We can only be said to be alive when our hearts are conscious our treasures. Thornton Wilder."

Elise, heartfelt thanks for your kindness and generosity. I am thrilled to have it and the other goodies!

The next box came from Breyer and contained the two items I had bought from the Limited Editions store.

Dalarna! I have loved dala horses ever since daughter-in-love Emily introduced me to them through her home decor.

A three-panel dala horse art display in their home's entryway.

I've left Dalarna in the box as I may gift it to Emily. 

Skogafoss also arrived. I love Breyer's Equestral Crystalworks line and sometimes wish they made them more frequently than just for Breyerfest.

He's beautiful; Kathleen Moody's porcelain Icelandic Horse from 1992

looks great shrunk down and in crystal.

Unfortunately, my third box of BreyerFest loot had a rough trip to Indiana.

Stay 'tooned.

Give Me a "U"!

In honor of Karen Crossley, a Canadian hobbyist and active blogger who passed away in 2020, Jennifer Buxton, Anne Field, and I are finishing Karen's alphabetical tour of her collection. Today's letter is U.

Names that begin with U are few and far between in my collection. I even keep a list of possible names for model horses and even though there are 96 names on it, not one begins with U.

Fortunately, Swedish Canadian daughter-in-love Emily lived in Sweden for a while during college and I named a model horse after the name of the town in which she lived.

Meet Uppsala!

Uppsala is a Lakeshore and has been in my collection for probably almost twenty years. Sculpted by Ann Harris and released in 2003, mine is an early piece that I bought soon after the model was released.

Uppsala has done well at shows, including Breakables, but I only rarely bring him out any more - Lakeshores are sturdy pieces, but I really don't want to risk breakage.

Pony Pals at the Barn!

Music City Son Cole and his family are here for a quick weekend visit and so naturally we had to take some carrots out to the horses.

The horses love to have visitors, especially when they come with carrots or another nibble.

Like dandelions. Aunt Lisa had received a posy of dandelions from her nieces and when she wasn't looking, Hokey snatched the whole thing out of her hand. One CHOMP and it was gone! 

We dissolved into giggles while Pony Pal Kate happily picked her Aunt Lisa another bouquet.

My girl is so gentle with kids and I love that about her.

Pony Pal Susie was a little hesitant to give Abby this dandelion but with help from Aunt Lisa and Abby's gentle lipping, she was eager to do it again. She even devised her own "quick carrot dispenser" method.

Susie would hand feed a couple of carrots and then throw the rest into the pen. Dolly figured out that carrot-feeding strategy quickly and would grab those carrots on the ground as fast as she could.

Pony Pal Julie likes to observe and think - here she's noticed something that she is pointing out to Kate.

Observing Dolly graze.

Sultanna was interested in saying hello, too, so we walked over to the fence by the blue barn to give her some carrots.

The pony pals had never seen a foal before.

And Sweet Girl gave them plenty of opportunity to see one.

Sultanna is a good mama but she is also gentle and loves people. (Unlike Hokey, she did not eat that dandelion bouquet Aunt Lisa is holding!)

Here's another mama, also non dandelion eating, with her youngest offspring. She's pretty proud of him, too.

Recurring Series: Share Your Horse!

Blog reader Emily from New Zealand shares the horses in her life with us today. Take a look at these sweet equines! (And be careful - there is a suspected unicorn among this herd...)

Emily writes:

Firstly Merlin, (the bay mini). He is a rescue pony who I have been helping to rehab and retrain. He is making super good progress and we have recently begun starting him under saddle.

Paddy, (the palomino) is another club pony and I think he might be a unicorn :P He is in his 20s and the sweetest little guy you could ever ask for. 

Lastly the ridden photo is me on my friend's gelding who is a giant teddy bear. There are a lot of other horses and ponies at the club but these guys are the only ones I have good photos of at the moment.

Thanks for sharing your photos, Emily! And when you get good pics of the others, I'd love to do a "Part 2" about you.

Want your horse(s) to be featured? Send some photos and a little write up to horseimama8@yahoo.com. We'd all love to see your horsey friends!

Horse Hair Furniture

Daughter-in-love Emily and the girls were visiting the James K. Polk home and museum in Columbia, Tennessee when she texted me this photo of Pony Pals Kate and Susie.

"This couch is upholstered with horse hair!" she texted. "Had to take a picture to show Grammy."

I did not know much about horse hair in upholstery fabric so I did a little research. It has been used for centuries but was especially popular during the 19th century when James Polk was President of the United States. The hair comes from the manes and tails of living and deceased horses and is woven with cotton or silk.

It's used rarely if at all anymore as it has been replaced by polyester fibers. As one article stated, "Horse hair is no longer used in furniture for the same reason that automobiles replaced horse drawn carts. Something better came along."

Actually, I'm kind of glad that it isn't used much any more - it's not not my cuppa hot chocolate.

Riding Hokey on the Fourth of July

Music City Son Cole and his family came up from Nashville to spend the July 4th weekend with us. One of the things Pony Pals Julie, Kate, and Susie most wanted to do during their visit was ride the horses.

So, early Saturday morning we headed out to the barn. We had quite a crew: Teacher Daughter Lisa, Local Son Curt, Vanessa, Pony Pal Mila with Cowpokes Ian and Lukas, and Cole, Emily, and their family.

Since I was horse wrangling, I didn't get any photos, but Vanessa did and put together this video. The horsey part is the first part and goes to 2:30; after that it's just video of our family enjoying the holiday. I don't know how to clip someone else's video down (or even if that's possible)  so just ignore the non horsey parts.

To help you identify who's who, Lisa is wearing a white blouse, Curt a gold Purdue tee shirt, Cole is wearing all black, and Emily has a blue tee. 

Hokey was an absolute gentleman with the kids and we had a terrific time, although Pony Pal Susie was a little disappointed that there were no pigs. (How she got the idea that there would be pigs is beyond me!)

After our ride, Pony Pal Kate enjoyed helping me fill the trough and while we waited, Aunt Lisa snapped our photo since we were both wearing horsey tee shirts! 

Missed Post

Sorry I did not post anything Sunday - Craig and I made a quick trip to Tennessee for Susan's baby blessing. (This is counting as Sunday's post; I'll post another one later this morning for Monday. It's about Stud Spider variations.)

 Normally when I travel, I write posts ahead of time and then schedule them to be published the dates I am gone, but I did not get Sunday's post written before we left.

I had made Susan's blessing dress and it was a real treat to see her wearing it.

I tried to get some pictures of it where you can see its length and the scalloped hem, but it just did not happen. This picture sort of shows the back and the next, the front. (Key words, "sort of." Haha!) But you can get an idea from these last two photos.

Cole, Pony Pals Julie and Kate, daughter-in-love Emily, and Susan.

Now, on to finish that post about Stud Spider variations. It will be posted in an hour or so. Stay tuned!

A Horsey Experience in Tennessee

I got this photo yesterday from my daughter-in-love, Emily, with a text that said, "We thought you would like the shirt that Kate is wearing!"

 I sure did, and the shorts, too! (I'd love a pair like them myself!)

Cole and Emily live near Nashville, Tennessee and recently spent some time at the county fair.

 Kate watched the ponies but did not ride.

But Julie, her big sister, did!

Look at her smile! And Cole's, too! He's not really a horse lover, but he did come to model shows with me when he was in elementary school. I still have some tags on models that he filled out - they make me smile and so I leave them on.

I am always glad to see family members getting horsey experience. Trinity and Mila seem to really connect with horses; my fingers are crossed that Julie and Kate might, too.