Researching & Writing & Cleaning & Cooking, Oh My!

Currently I am doing research for a couple of upcoming blog posts. One pertains to Breyer and other advent calendars that we have used, past and present.

I get to open the first door of the 2024 calendar in only five days and can hardly wait!

The other? I've been going through my collection and looking for B stamp Breyers.

And in so doing, I've come across some things that make me smile.

Like this Rearing Stallion in alabaster. Some have been found with a B stamp but mine did not have it. However, what he had was an unexpected treasure to me.

His old tags from when Music City Son Cole was little and live showing with me were still on him!

Oh, my heart! That tag is never being removed! A year ago I gave Cole back an early Lady Phase that had been his and he'd said he wanted for his girls.  I plan to ask him if he'd like this one, too. 

As I checked pieces in my collection for that elusive B stamp, there were also some things that dismayed me and made me sad.

It was very hard to photograph, but my carpet herd Clydesdale Mare, Whippoorwill, seems to have some plastic disintegration starting on her near hock.

A Breyer Western Horse from my collection mid-disintegration. Poor boy, I finally had to throw him out. She will eventually look like this.

Knowing that one of my childhood pieces is starting to deteriorate was saddening but not really a surprise. What was surprising is that I have not found any others with signs that their time on my shelves is drawing to a close. (Grateful!)

(Kirsten Wellman did several well-researched articles on Vinegar Syndrome, shrinkies, and oozies. Worth a read!)

The advent calendar post is scheduled to drop on November 30th, and the B Stamp possibly the day after Thanksgiving depending on if I can finish that research.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, things are ratcheting up here for the big day. I've got carpet cleaners coming today, the sheets in the guest bedrooms are clean, the bathrooms are all cleaned, fresh towels are out, and the house is just about ready to go. The grocery shopping is done, too.

Today we move on to cooking prep.  Here is the most up to date menu and info about the day that I just sent out to those who are coming:

Craig & Lynn: turkey, gravy, dressing, mashed potatoes, butter, cherry pies, spiced peaches, olives, pickles, traffic jam, paper products

Leslie & Rick: pumpkin pie, whipped cream, cheese

Jenny: green bean casserole

Steve & Cindie: asparagus casserole, beets, O'Rears' rolls, pumpkin butter

Lisa: cheeseballs & crackers, corn casserole, apple butter

Reminder:  

~ Come any time after 11:00 and cheeseballs and nibbles will be available. We will eat at 12:30 or close to it. Dogs welcome as always.

~  I have a lot of serving spoons in my kitchen drawer that have accumulated from family gatherings over the years and are not mine. Please check and see if any belong to you while you are here.

~ Last year someone brought their own containers to take home leftovers. (I think it was Jenny.) That was so helpful! If you can do that, that would be nice.

~ Feel free to stay and socialize, play games, etc. We have a couple of new ones that are easy to play and really fun. Football will be on, too.

~ Open kitchen when you get hungry (if??) later in the day. Help yourselves.

Off to get ready for those carpet cleaners to arrive. There are umpteen million doggo toys to pick up courtesy of Tammo. Although he will start getting them out as soon as I put them in the basket. Silly boy!

Dapple Grey Shrinkies

I have been aware for some time now that, at least in my collection, some of the dapple grey models shrink more than their counterparts do. (Shrinking is called "vinegar syndrome; go to this excellent article in Kirsten Wellman's blog for more information.)

Since that article was written in 2013, we have learned more about shrinkies and more have been found in people's collections, including mine.

I took some photos of some of my dapple grey shrinkies so that you can see them in comparison to their non-shrinky counterparts.

 The Sears Holiday Catalog 1987 Special Run Graceful Mare and Foal set is very common.

And the American Saddlebred, produced 1987 - 1988 is notorious for shrinking.

The 1987 Black Horse Ranch Special Run (second from left) has a reputation for shrinking but so far, so good. But there is one that is shrinking - look at the blue roan on the far right. He is from 1990.

Notice how all those models share the same year of production as well as the same coloring? I find that really interesting and would like to do more research on dapple grey models produced at the same time and see if they have vinegar syndrome, too. (The paint colorway may have absolutely nothing to do with the tendency to shrink. Still, I find it interesting!)

This shrinking Belgian is a special run from the 1979 Model Congress. Others from the same run were sold through mail order companies, with leftovers being released in 1984. This is a little early for the shrinky period, but then, shrinkies can be found all the way back to Breyer's earliest pieces.

 I love Breyer's Running Mare - such a sweet little mare, and this color is especially pretty on her.

You can see that she is beginning to distort as the plastic changes. So far, she is not oozing. (Something that often happens with shrinkies.)

 Her foal is becoming distorted, too, and I had difficulty getting him to stand as a result.

 I finally just laid him down for his off side photo. His soft grey coloring is beautiful, albeit a little yellowed.

This shrinky has really yellowed! (Yellowing can happen to all models, not just shrinkies.) I should put him in a sunny window for a while.

No distortion shows yet which I'm glad for as the Five Gaiter is one of my top three favorite vintage molds.

As far as I can tell, this boy has not begun shrinking, despite being one of the Black Horse special runs, many of whom have had heavy shrinking.

I hope he will beat the odds, but I think that they are stacked against him so I keep an eye on him.

This is the 1979 Congress special run. He's clearly shrinking, but I don't see any distortions or leaning yet.

While I do collect vintage molds, the Belgian is not a favorite - that too short off front leg has always bothered me.

Such variations in the dapple grey coloring! And all lovely in their own way.

Tomorrow I will feature another shrinky, one from Breyer's earliest years.  He's so bad he gets a blog post of his own!