A Closer Look at Shopping Finds

It took me a couple of days to find the time to sit down and look at what I'd found while out antiquing last Friday, but yesterday I was finally able to unwrap my finds.

I love the old Hartland woodcuts, and have quite a few of them. But I did not have the TWH in cherry.

 Walnut and ebony, yes, but not this beautiful color. Pictures do not do it justice!

 It still has its original footpads, and is in excellent shape with just a few rubs.

 Such a sweet face.

My luck included finding the Norleans Hereford bull.

He is going to be given to my sister as a gift since she is grieving the loss of her favorite cow, Tulip, who was also a Hereford.

 Looks like an old sales tag is still on his belly - $2.49.

Then I found this early bear cub by Breyer. 

It has the round Breyer stamp and no USA.

 It has a few rubs on its coat but is in good shape otherwise.

 The cub is the light brown faced version and it has pink lip liner.

The feet are an odd color and seem to be colored plastic itself and not painted to make them appear brown. I've sent pictures to a friend and have asked her opinion as to whether or not this might be a piece made from colored plastic.

Like the Hereford, the cub will not be staying with me. I'll sell it or give it to GLC as a donation. But the cherry woodcut TWH has found its new home.

Cleaning and Rearranging

The time finally has come where I have added enough new pieces to my collection that I had to rearrange the shelves. (Oh, and dust the horses and those shelves, too. Hah!) That is always a daunting task, but I had models sitting out on my craft table who needed to be put away and I just could not find a spot for them.  The writing was on the wall - it was time to rearrange.

I always take pictures of my shelves before beginning.

 That way, if I have to, I can always put things back the way they were before I began.

It is so easy to forget just who went where and how you were able to play a sort of "shelf Jenga" and get all the models onto the shelves without anyone being rubbed or damaged.

 Since I have been sewing, I had my machine and cutting mat out, but I left them as is. That mat works well in protecting models that might topple.

I really, really would like to get rid of the tiny shelves - they were originally for DVDs and CDs, but I've found them useful for Classics and Stablemates.

This behemoth and the one in the last photo are about thirty years old. They are very sturdy and well built, and while I don't like their color, I have no plans to paint them.

I did not realize that I had this many Hartlands (and I have a tub in the closet full of more) so I decided that I would go ahead and box them up for storage.

 The sorrel Morgan set at the bottom right were my first Hartlands and a gift from Santa in the 1960s.

I decided to keep my woodcuts out on display - the ebony Thoroughbred Mare and Foal, the Three Gaiter, and the Mustang, the cherry Mustang, and the walnut Mustang, Three Gaiter, and Five Gaiter. Everyone else is now packed up and tucked into the closet.

Also packed and put away were my seven Breyer Tennessee Walkers. While I am opposed to soring and padding in real Tennessee Walking Horses, I did not put them away because of what they represent. I just got tired of their tippiness and always having them fall over and needing to be returned to an upright position on their shelf. After trying several different ways to keep them upright, I decided that I was done with that and packed them away.

I just put the last piece back on the shelf a little while ago. Now I am straightening up the boxes and tubs that I dragged out and will take pictures of the new arrangements when that is finished.

I'll post those soon!

Corinne's Turn to Ride

Corinne, who is Abby's "tin" (twin) is five had no hesitations about hopping up on Diablo.

 Tim stayed close for a while and then let her ride by herself.

Like Braden, she was lucky enough to experience Diablo's running walk!

She also enjoyed hunting for flowers in the pasture and around the new barn.

Tim accepted one from her and put it in Diablo's forelock.

And then the sisters got a chance to ride triple! (Such a patient mare!)

Stay tuned for posts about Ian (who is very afraid of horses) and Whitney having their turns for a ride!

Braden Rides Diablo

Monday night Tim met us out at the barn, saddled up Diablo, and let the kids have a ride. (Disclaimer: my helmet got left at home by mistake, but since Diablo is older and very quiet, I let the kids ride anyway.)

Braden has only had limited riding experience, but Diablo was a good beginner's horse and she responded readily to his cues.

Other family members lined up to watch and to await their turn.

Diablo is half Arabian and half Tennessee Walker. At one point she went into a beautiful running walk for Braden - it was so smooth!

 I loved watching her head nod as she hustled around the arena.

She may be the herd alpha and bosses the big boys around, but she's very quiet and gentle with her humans.