Disappointing Mixed Messages

I have been waiting for a dress and a purse that I ordered March 13. Yep, ten days before Kalamazoo. A very long time ago.

The purse went on back order immediately and its delivery date has been pushed back twice. The dress arrived but didn't fit, so I filled out the exchange form and sent it back. Weeks went by and finally on April 10 I received word that they'd received my returned dress and that a replacement would be shipped ASAP.

I waited and I waited. And then I waited some more.

Finally, 18 days after being told that my exchange would be shipped, I called customer service and asked where my dress was.

"We don't do exchanges," I was told. "Only refunds."

I pulled up the email I'd received and read it to him, then asked why, if they didn't do exchanges, they'd allowed me to do so AND put it in writing that they would do an exchange and ship it to me ASAP.

The rep couldn't answer my question and kept insisting that they did not do exchanges while I kept pointing out to him that I had been told that they did, had written proof, and that I had been waiting 18 days for my dress.

Tired of arguing, I finally asked if I had received a refund for the dress I had returned. I had. I then cut my losses and canceled the order for the purse that has been on back order since March 13. I'd been waiting nearly 50 days; I'd find a purse elsewhere.

Probably a good thing I did. After I finished our conversation, I went to the business's Facebook page and then their web site. 

Both sites said that the store was closing. No wonder they were not doing exchanges. No wonder my purse was on back order. And why did the rep not tell me that? Why did they email me and say my exchange would be shipped ASAP?

I've bought a lot of clothes and purses from Back in the Saddle over the past fifteen years or so. I've recommended their clothes and other things to horsey friends. I've always had good service and good quality products from them.

Sadly, though, my last order with them was a frustrating one and I have neither item that I ordered. Plus, now I need to find a new purse. Maybe a dress, too. 

Anyone have any suggestions for a good western wear store?

Relaxing & Recharging

Second Post of the Day

When you walk into an antique shop and the very first thing you see is this,

you know it's going to be a good day. That is one of the nicest lots of Made in Japans I've seen in a long time.

I was sorely tempted. I used to have the orange rearing horse but lost it to breakage during childhood. The large bay foal is an unusual scale for a MIJ foal, and the palomino mare was a lovely color.

But, I am not adding to my MIJ collection any more, so I left them behind for another collector to find and love.

A few steps away and there was my second sighting of a HSO. Not something I needed, but it boded well for more finds as I shopped!

No surprise here - these metal clocks and their variations are very, very common. I think I find one every time I go antiquing.

Nothing I collect. (Is that pinto a Barbie horse?)

Whenever I find sculptures like this, high priced or not, I think of the beautiful pieces the artists in our hobby produce and realize just how talented they truly are. (And how lucky we are to have them.)

An odd jointed horse; again, one I've never seen before. (And not one of the Marx jointed horses - too small.)

Listed as a resin piece, but I think it was actually plastic. It did not feel like resin when I picked it up.

An unusual metal horse. It made me think of Dani Boiko and the lovely work she does with chain mail.

This Clydesdale almost came home with me. Look at his beautiful shading!

He was missing a bob and overpriced. Still, I felt badly leaving him behind.

I see a lot of these plastic Clydesdales in harness when I am out looking for HSOs. 

I like the lampshade but those overlong legs on the mare were a deal breaker for me.

Roemer and Pluto - vintage molds but not ones that I collect.

This Fostoria bookend set is pretty ubiquitous. I was given the set as a high school graduation gift and sometimes you can see mine in photos taken in my sewing room.

I don't need a horsey planter, but this MIJ one almost came home with me. When we were kids and collecting "glass horses," Leslie and I prized those who had what we called "arrowhead" stars.

However, the seller wanted $50 for this piece so it stayed on the shelf.

An intriguing MIJ piece - I've got several of these in my collection from childhood, but they are all charcoal colored. Another almost, but $26 to add to a collection I am no longer adding to? No.

A pieced from my childhood glass horse collection, and marked down from $25 to $10. Tempting but no.

A resin horse head bust. Again, I thought of our hobby artists and their beautiful work. This piece can't hold a candle to any of them.

By the time I was done wandering, I'd visited four shops. For whatever reason, lots of HSOs were available which always makes the shopping even more fun. And, I did come home with four new pieces to add to my own collection. All vintage and all Breyer.

Stay 'tooned!

Comment to enter the October Give Away! Entries close Saturday night at 11:59 PM Eastern.

A Day of Shopping

Yesterday Belle and I went shopping to get the things every horse owner needs. Tylenol, bandaids, ice packs  brushes, hoof picks, curry combs, and more.

We shopped for four hours and did we ever have fun! We may even have bought matching cowgirl tee shirts, too. 

My shopping day wasn't over when I got home. The last offering of the 2025 Vintage Club had dropped!

Pioneer is the Western Pony done as a clock to pay homage to the original Western Horse clock.

The annual free Stablemate, Man O'War, will be shipped with Pioneer. Mine is ordered and should be here soon. (Photos by Breyer.)

And, I found another shipping notice when I got home. My maple cakes have shipped and should arrive tomorrow. Part of me is so excited to check that off the Feast prep list, while another part of me is thinking, "How am I gonna stay out of those for the next three weeks??"

Trust me, I'll figure it out. Hah!

The Great Lakes Congress Show: Shopping!

Second Post of the Day

In addition to showing and socializing, a model horse show is a great place for shopping. And it didn't take me long to reach my own self-imposted limit of spending. (In case you are wondering, it was 6:30 AM when I hit that limit.)

It's all Liz's fault, you know.

She put a couple of Hagen Renaker Circus Ponies out on her sales table.

All were from Nancy Falzone's collection. Nancy is a long time friend and I love it when I get to purchase pieces from her collection. And circus ponies? My favorites?? How could I resist? I bought all three of them.

Besides, variations!! (The blue one that I just bought is on the far left. Look how dark it is!)

Now I have enough plus a few extras so that "when the time comes," each grandchild will be able to choose one to remember me by. (Not that I'm done looking for more circus ponies to add to my collection.)

Continuing the "blame Liz" theme, the next time I walked past her table, she'd put out this piece.

A Stablemate Fighting Stallion for a very reasonable price!

An offering from the 2022 Stablemates Collectors Club, of which I am not a member (because, dontcha know, I don't collect Stablemates) that is a shrunk down vintage mold (which I do collect!) Add him to my stash, Liz, and we will settle up later! (She was busy making her own pile of haversacks on my sales table at the time! LOL)

Like I said, it was 6:30 AM and I'd hit my spending limit. But I could still walk around and look, right? And of course, then I found something else I wanted, something I'd been looking for for years.

The 2001 Jingles Holiday Pony with Sleigh. Still in box! The price was a little higher than I wanted to spend for the piece, but I figured it would not hurt to look at her. (Photo from Identify Your Breyer.)

I received permission from the seller to open the box and immediately out wafted the smell of vinegar. My heart sank - that smell indicates that the plastic of the model has begun deteriorating and the model is shrinking or will begin shrinking soon.

Even worse, as I pulled her out of the box completely, tiny pieces of foam insert clung to her and would not brush or pull off. The owner began working on the foam with a fingernail, then thought better of that and got a wet towel. I watched her work for a bit and she gave me a lowered price for the piece, but sadly I knew that I would not be buying that model. As I walked on, the foam was still stubbornly stuck to the model.

I was done buying new pieces for my collection but that didn't mean that someone might not give me one.

Chris Wallbruch donated all these minis to the Youth Show  and when that show concluded, had Liz put everyone's names in for a drawing for those still left. One by one we were called up to choose a piece. (Thanks, Chris!)

When my name was called, I snagged the Hagen Renaker Dalmatian in liver. I have strong mama-memories connected to Dalmatians and I don't have the liver version of this piece.

As a child, Music City Son Cole was enamored with Disney's 1964 movie, The 101 Dalmatians. ***

As such, he had Dalmatian everything - clothes, stuffies, toys, even a sleeping bag. I also bought him several of the black Dalmatians that Hagen Renaker made that were kept with my chinas. (He even had what he called a "Dalmatian horse" that now resides with him in Tennessee as a treasured memento of his childhood.)

This piece is staying with me unless he tells me he'd like to have it. Until then, it's a nice connection to Cole, to Chris, and to the GLC show. 

Liz also gifted me with some GLC stickers before the day was over. I found a great place right away for one of them.

The seat of my Rollator! Works for me!

There are one or two more things I'd like to share about the show and they will be in tomorrow's post. Jennifer Buxton, this post will have the story I thought you'd enjoy! (Although if you've already talked with Tiffany, she may have already shared it with you.)

Stay 'tooned!

*** While the 1964 movie version of Dodie Smith's classic, The One Hundred and One Dalmatians is good, the book is FANTASTIC. Chock full of that droll British humor and with many characters and incidents that the movie left out. I read it aloud one summer to Cole and Curt, and I'll never forget the evening both boys were rolling on the floor laughing at what I'd just read.

There's also a sequel (The Starlight Barking) which is quite different from the first book and is almost a science fiction story. Both versions are in this book and in unabridged form with Dodie Smith's original texts. Don't miss out - read the book!

Midwest Model Mania: Shopping!

If seeing your friends is the very best thing about a live show, then shopping at shows is the next best thing - at least, in my opinion. But believe it or not, I didn't buy a single thing at Midwest Model Mania!

That doesn't mean I didn't come home with new models, though. In the weeks before the show I did some trading of Horsiemama merchandise with folks who were also going to be at the show. We brought our trades with us and then handed them off there. (Always good to save on postage!)

The Indian Pony is one of my favorite molds, and usually I already have those that I find at shows, antique malls, or flea markets. This matte red dun piece from the 1988 JCP English Horse Collectors set is one I did not have.

I also traded for this lovely dark bay Proud Arabian Stallion. He has an unusual textured coat and very high dark socks. 

Teresa Rogers sent Marilou a huge box of mini Hagen Renakers as a donation. Marilou used them as door prizes and I received Baby Caterpillar. He will go well with Caterpillar Pa that Kristina Lucas Francis sent me last year.

A tiny piece is missing from his propeller, but I don't mind a bit. 

Here he is with Kaleidescope to show how small he is.

I also sold quite a bit of merchandise during the show. To my surprise, the big seller was pony pads. I only had three left when the show was over. I sold a lot of haversacks, too, but I was pretty sure that that would be the case - nearly selling out of pony pads was unexpected.

With three boxes and two totes fewer than when I started, packing to come home was not quite the Jenga that it was to get to the show. 

That wraps up my coverage of Midwest Model Mania. Next up? Some of my BreyerFest models have finally arrived.

Stay 'tooned!

A Gold Tooth and Some Retail Therapy

As I thought, yesterday was hard for me. And I was right, the dentist appointment sure proved to be a distraction!

I never, ever thought I would see the day when I would hear too much horse talk. But I reached my limit yesterday. The dental hygienist was new, and she was a horse lover. She was also one of those people who keep up a constant patter with very few breaks in her side of the conversation.

She caught sight of my horsey tee and the chattering began. Going into full chat mode, she cleaned my teeth, stopping to sit back, talk some more, and then getting back to work with her tools. It took forever for her to finish.

I needed x-rays, too, and the talking continued through that process. She took one x-ray, then sat back and chatted for a while, then took another... and on and on. I'm usually pretty easy going, but it was a little too much. (I doubt she will be there very long if she is that slow and bends patients' ears as she did mine.)

When she finally finished, my dentist came in and advised me that I had a broken filling, a cavity, and that the tooth with the broken filling needed a crown. Not just a porcelain crown, but a GOLD crown! (I suddenly had visions of myself as a pirate.) It was not welcome news, but I trust my dentist, and am now scheduled for the two step process of getting a crown and having that cavity filled.

While the dental appointment had certainly been distracting (and even disconcerting), I still was feeling sad knowing that my teacher friends and counterparts were all in meetings discussing the upcoming school year, having lunch, and going on without me. A heavy cloudburst as I exited the dentist's building did NOT make me feel any better.

The rain was a problem. I had planned to go visit Abby, and I did not want to stand out in the rain with her. (During the hot summer, the horses do not mind a refreshing rain and often continue grazing out in the pasture instead of coming into the barn. Me? I prefer to stay dry!) So, I decided to go to a nearby antique shop while I was on that side of town.

Retail therapy is always a good idea.

The first thing I saw as I walked into the shop was a red transferware plate. My daughter, Lisa, (who was off with the other teachers that morning) has been looking for four dinner plates in that color. She had found two, but we looked together all summer and only found blue, green, brown, purple, and black plates. (Apparently red is the hardest color to find.)

A flurry of texts back and forth confirmed that Lisa wanted the plate, so it came home with me. I also found a vintage book about Helen Keller that I bought as a gift for my friend Kathy Nimmer (she has a machine that reads books aloud to her), and then two huge Melbaware drafters in harness! (Pictures coming.) That successful trip sure took my mind off of what I was missing at school!

I had been practicing retail therapy for a few days via eBay, too, and when I got home, I had some boxes to open. After BreyerFest, most people do not have much money to spend, and so it is a good time to shop eBay and look for models that people are selling in order to recoup what they spent at BreyerFest. There are lots of good deals to be had.

 I got a Diamond Jubilee 60th Anniversary Horse for a terrific price.

And this early Western Horse in alabaster with snap saddle! Both pieces were in excellent shape and very affordable. (Both photos are by the sellers and from the eBay auctions.)

So, I ended up getting through the day with only a few more moments of sadness. I have to admit, it was nice not to feel the stress and pressure that going back to school brings, and to have the freedom to go shopping when I wished instead of having to wait until I was off work.

It was a day of baby steps as I adjust to my new normal.

Spring Break Shopping

It's spring break, and like many people, I went and did some shopping.

But, I didn't go to the mall.

I went to the tack shop!

A new lead rope for Abby (in orange, of course) and new leather work gloves for me!