Nashville Visit: A "Nap" in the Playroom

In order to have as much time together as possible, Craig, Lisa, and I left home early Saturday morning, arriving in Nashville around lunchtime. Kate's baptism wasn't until later in the afternoon so we had a good chunk of time to spend visiting. We also got to see Cole and Emily's new home.

Emily is Swedish-Canadian and was very close to both sets of grandparents. The decor in their home reflects both heritages.

Swedish Dala horses are displayed in many places. Emily even has a crystal bowl that has them going around the sides - I'd love to find one like that for me!

The girls' playroom upstairs had paintings on the wall of Dala horses.

There were lots of other horses in there, too. And a really comfy looking couch which called my name. Worn out from the early start to the day and 6 hour drive, I lay down and shut my eyes for "just a few minutes."

I was awakened by the feel of things being laid by my head and shoulders coupled with some whispered giggles.

"Grammy! You've got unicorns all around you as you sleep!" crowed Susie.

"And a pica but it's not real. It looks like a guinea pig but it's smaller. They live in areas where the temperature is below 70 or they die. No, wait. Below 78, not 70..." she chattered on.

I looked up and saw Kate standing over my head while holding an American Girl unicorn and smiling at me.

Soon the unicorns that could were lighting up, making sounds, and wiggling, while the others were being described in great detail and held up for me to see. 

It was certainly not the most restful nap I've ever had, but you sure can't beat waking up with grands having tucked you in with some of their favorite unicorns while waiting for you to wake up and play with them!

Shopping for Things You (Think You) Know About

Unicorns are everywhere. You see them on tee shirts, as stuffies, alongside model horses, in movies and TV shows, as Halloween costumes, as cake toppers and cookie decorations, and so on ad nauseam.

So, when the annual community **Jubilee Christmas approached and our church signed up to sponsor six families' Christmases, I looked through what was needed and decided to purchase the unicorn items that the children of those families were asking for. I may not care for unicorns, but I know where to find them.

I started by ordering one of Breyer's Kids' Holiday Grab Bags. As many unicorns as Breyer puts out, surely there would be some in there plus some extra things that I could use for the Pony Pals and Cowpokes for gifts or for donations to shows.

This was all I got in the way of unicorns. (Although the other things in the box were really good items - I was pleased with the value I got for my money.)

Time to head to Meijer and see what they had in the way of unicorns. I took a deep breath and prepared to go into unicorn overload.

Except...

Where were they? I found a few horses and one unicorn and doll that were priced way over what I was supposed to spend. Why is it that, when I don't want to find them, there are unicorns everywhere, and when I am looking for them, I can only find the one?

A coloring book and crayons were on one of the unicorn-loving girl's lists, so I bought those and a Barbie (also on her list) and hoped that that would make her smile Christmas morning.

I finished the two older girls' gifts, then began working on the baby girl's list. Easy peasy - this mom of six is a diaper EXPERT and that's all that was on her list. 

Except...

Boy, howdy the choices! The brands! The liners and the crawlers! Those that soothe and those that keep baby extra dry! The snugglers!  The environmentally sound! Is it any wonder that at this point that I texted Craig and said I had a migraine coming on?

I used Google to make my choice, tossed in a box of wipes, and called it a day.

Who'd have thought that unicorns would be so hard to find? Or that I would have difficulty buying diapers? 

I tell you, I am shook! 

**Jubilee Christmas is a lovely tradition in Lafayette and West Lafayette and sponsored through Lafayette Urban Ministries (LUM). LUM invites families who are in need to sign up for help, and then 45 local churches sponsor those families, do their Christmas shopping for them, and provide a Christmas meal. It's a real coming together for the entire community - all are welcome who are in need or who want to serve. 

Unicorns - Mythical or Real??

If you have been a blog reader for a while, then you know that I really dislike unicorns. Like, REALLY. I'll buy them for the unicorn loving Pony Pals and I do have a few in my collection, but they are not my cuppa Vanilla Coke Zero.

Knowing that, and wanting to have a little fun with me, Denver Daughter Sarah sent me some references about unicorns existing. And not just any references, but references from the Bible.

Numbers 23:22 and again in Numbers 24:8 God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of a unicorn.

Deuteronomy 33:13 His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns

Job 39: 9 Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? 

Job 39:10 Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow?

Psalm 22:21 Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou has heard me from the horns of the unicorns.

Psalma 29:6 He malketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.

Psalm 92:10 But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn

Isaiah 34:7 And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls

Having read the Bible, I had come across those references before, but never had I seen them all gathered together. (It did surprise me, though, to see just how many references to them there were in the Bible.)

I still don't like them. Nor do I take that as proof that they exist, now or in the past.

After all, there are references to dragons in the Old and New Testaments, too, and I don't believe in those, either. 

Take a look at Revelation 12:3-4, 7, 9; 13:4; 20:2 and  Isaiah 27:1 to check out a few of the dragon references.

So sorry, Sarah! Unlike the Cowardly Lion, I am not changing my mind.

 But that was a really nice try and you made your mama smile.

A Pony Pal's Birthday

Pony Pal Mila just celebrated her 6th birthday and our local family gathered together one evening to celebrate. As you might imagine, unicorns were everywhere. 

As was our gift to her. Can you tell which Breyer this is? (There's a clue on the table in front of her.)

It's La Mer!

Only I got the version with the blanket - I knew Mila would love those sequins.

She wanted to know if I could embroider "Bluey's" name on it but I don't think that would work well and declined. 

I also included Breyer's latest catalog in Bluey's box and Mila stopped opening gifts and began browsing through it, pointing out future models she'd like to have. (That's my girl!!)

Vanessa redirected her back to opening her gifts and sure enough, more Breyer unicorns were in those wrapped packages.  These are from Aunt Lisa, a horsey girl herself and not a unicorn fan either, but someone who loves Mila and is willing to buy her unicorns because that's what she likes.

If you think about it, that's how a lot of collections begin, so I'll keep buying Pony Pal Mila unicorns as long as she wants them.

Ubiquitous Unicorns

Unicorns are absolutely ubiquitous. (Gotta love alliterations!) I have lost track of the number that Breyer has produced and is currently marketing, there are so many.

I find them as I shop for fabrics for Horsiemama's Haversacks & Mercantile,

and this unicorn disliker has to admit that some of those unicorn fabrics

are pretty darn cute!

Unicorns are deep into our culture, and if you are a teacher, you are sure to encounter several unicorn themed items (clothing, shoes, hair bows, books) every day.

My friend Kathy ran into the unicorn phenomenon head on while guest teaching a group of first graders. She was explaining the harness that her guide dog, Nacho, wears when he is working. 

As I said, unicorns are ubiquitous!

Holiday Horsiness: Gingerbread Unicorns (and Baby Yoda, Too)

Craig and I have our tree up in the living room, but we haven't decorated it yet. Still, there is one ornament already hanging.

A pink pom pom pony with bead hooves and googly eyes that Pony Pal Mila made for me a week ago.

I returned the favor yesterday. I am making all my grands and children ornaments on my embroidery machine as early Christmas gifts. It's been taking forever as there are 30 people on the list but I am nearing the end. 

I found this sweet gingerbread pony for the Pony Pals, but when I finished it, I thought that the blaze made it look more like a unicorn than pony. 

I started experimenting with gold and silver thread and even changed the body color so that it was no longer a gingerbread pony or unicorn.

Local Son Curt and his family got unicorns for the gals and Baby Yoda for the guys. Each one of my children also received Santa's magic key - a reference to the (very) old holiday special, Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. In it, Grover and Kermit ask kids how Santa gets down the chimney, and one little boy responds, "He uses his keys, his Santa Claus keys." That is quote is still heard when my family gathers.

I dropped by Curt's Saturday afternoon and gave everyone their ornaments. Their response was worth the hours and hours it took me to make them.

December 6 advent calendar surprise is a bag of little Mini Whinney sized grain bags!

Horse Shoes/UNICORN Shoes

Horse shoes. (Not to be confused with horseshoes.) I have two pairs of them, shoes that have a horsey print, and I happened to be wearing them while watching Cowpoke Ian play in a soccer match. 

Pony Pal Mila was enchanted when she noticed.

"Grammy! I have my UNICORN shoes on! And you are wearing your horse shoes. We're alike!" she cried. "Well, mine are UNICORNS and they aren't horses, but we're still alike," she rattled off before running out of breath.

Naturally we had to take a photo of our feet in our respective UNICORN  and horse shoes. (Mila always stresses the word "unicorn" when she says it. Makes me laugh.)

She even borrowed my phone so that she could take a close-up of her UNICORN shoes.

Cowpoke Lukie didn't want to be left out so he came over, plopped his croc on my foot, and Mila snapped away some more. (I checked after I got home - she took a whopping 70 photos!)

She also took this selfie of the two of us - to me, it captured the joy of sitting outside on a lovely autumn afternoon with family while watching my favorite sport. 

And having matching (sort of) shoes? The cherry on top of a beautiful day.

Scale

Scale is important, whether you are working on tack for a 1:9 doll, setting up a scene, or buying props. It is also important when you are sewing.

I am working on a haversack donation for an upcoming photo show. I spoke to the show holder and asked for suggestions as to her preferences for color and any motifs that she'd like me to use. She sent me some links to fabrics that she liked, I ordered one of them, and took it from there.

Big oops! when that fabric arrived, though. I hadn't checked the scale of the fabric before purchasing it.

The scale of the printed unicorns are just too big for a haversack. While I might be able to juggle where I cut so that most of one unicorn is centered on the back, doing that would create a lot of wasted fabric, something I am not sure I really want to do.

Online fabric sellers almost always have a yardstick or ruler to give you an idea of the scale. It's my goof -  I totally forgot to check that.

Had I been shopping in person, I would have known immediately that the scale was too big, but due to this pandemic, all my fabrics have been bought from online sources for the past six months. (The other thing I check is whether or not the fabric has a one way pattern, like this one, or not. That makes a difference in how many haversacks you can cut from a yard of fabric. )

Since it's a good quality fabric, I am wondering if I might be able to make something else from it as a donation. It's pretty, too (if you like unicorns...) And, if I have any remnants left, Pony Pal Mila just might get a pillow.

Lesson learned: never forget to check the scale of the pattern on the fabric.

Okay, So I Caved

Tis the season to see lots of holiday items in the stores, no matter where you shop. Monday I was in JoAnns getting some notions for a project I am sewing and I spied a big bin of wrapping paper that was on sale.

Yep, those are unicorns pulling Santa's sleigh. I stood there and thought of my Pony Pals who love everything unicornish, and since I knew this would be the perfect wrapping paper for them, I caved and put it in my cart.

Pony Pal Kate actually loves bunnies more than unicorns, so I also bought two rolls of bunny paper for her gifts.

I will have use up all that unicorn paper up quickly - if I don't, no doubt someone in my family will wrap MY gifts with it. And that would make me say "No! No! No!" instead of "Ho! Ho! Ho!"