My Christmas Wreath

My sister-in-love, Cindie, has a tradition of making me a horsehead wreath for Christmas.

 She brought this year's incarnation over this afternoon.

It will be up until Valentine's Day, at least! I really like it.

A Dickens of a Carriage Ride

Lafayette designates itself as the Christmas Capital of the Midwest. December is a festive month with the largest Christmas parade in the state, the Purdue Christmas Musical Show, McCord's Candies (which makes and ships homemade candy canes all over the world), and today's Dickens of a Christmas festival.

All of downtown (whose buildings are old, original 1800s-style architecture) is turned into a Victorian town with strolling carolers, an organ grinder, a brass band playing Christmas music, and a re-enactment of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. We decided to head downtown this morning with our kids and grandchildren.

We had a super time watching the organ grinder...

... and listening the the brass band...

The candy canes were yummy and it was fun watching them being made.

I didn't think the day could get any better. But then I spied this:

 A horse and carriage coming down Main Street!

I went over to say "hello" to the horse, and the driver invited us to go for a ride. It turned out that free rides were being given all day long.

I wasn't going to turn that offer down, so Jessica, Cambria, and I climbed into the carriage and away we went through downtown Lafayette! (I love the look on Cambria's face!)

 My view during the ride.

 Curt and Ian took the next ride.

I filmed their ride - that's Cambria wailing because she wanted to go again. Likewise Ian cried when his ride was over, too.

There was also a team of Clydesdales pulling a buckboard that could hold more people. I'm glad we got to ride in that beautiful carriage. For me, it was the best part of the day!

Thankful!

I am thankful for many, many things. But here's something for which I am especially grateful.

Abby! 

(I need to get her a selfie stick for Christmas...)

Buggies and Wagons and Buckboards, Oh My!

Tim purchases old wagons and buggies and restores them. Some he sells, others he keeps in the new barn by the indoor arena.

Today I went into the workroom to get a salt block and just had to take a few pictures of the ones currently parked in the barn aisle.

 There's a whole row of them!

 Some of quite unusual or rare, like this 1822 paddy wagon.

It has been borrowed by museums and other places for festivals and the like.

 He's restored and repaired all of them.

 Some are still works in progress. 

The paddy wagon is my favorite, although I am awfully fond of the sleigh that Tim is working on in the shop. I'll try to get pictures of that next time.

Downsizing Fun

I don't collect customized Breyer models, although I do have three early 1970s ones (Pace's Hi Hopes, Scojeadon (I think that's her name), and Midwest Tumbleweed, all by a woman named Sherry Cook.)

And, there's this guy:

 Champaign Toast made by Tiffany Conwell (Purdy) in 1995.

 She brought him to the third Lincoln Land Live (a model show I hosted back in the mid 1990s) and I fell in love with him! After the show, I purchased him and have owned him ever since.

He's a nice piece of hobby history, and Tiffany has gone on to become one of the top artists in the hobby.

But, as I said, I really don't collect the customized Breyers - I prefer the original finish, and the vintage ones at that. I am also downsizing my collection (well, in SOME ways I am... haha!) So, when I was cleaning out my hobby closet over Fall Break and found Champaign Toast tucked away in a box, I thought about who I knew that might enjoy him, thinking that I would just surprise someone with an early Purdy custom.

Jennifer Buxton, came to mind. She is a very good friend of Tiffany's. She's also the one who made me the miniature halter with Abby's name on it as well as a set of sleigh bells that are my real-horse bells only downsized for model horses. Jennifer's tack is the best of the best, and she's also a genuinely nice person. Who better to surprise than her?

So, I popped him in a box and shipped him off last week.

 

(Picture of Jennifer by James Buxton and used with permission.)

Jennifer was so excited to receive him! I am delighted he has gone to her.

Circus Pony Pin

Besides my wedding rings, this pin is my favorite piece of jewelry.

I found it at a junk shop in tiny Gilman, Illinois back in the early 1990s. It was missing a few rhinestones and the pin was broken, so I sent it to an acquaintance, Nan Wagner, and had her repair it. I wear it often and it makes me smile every time.

I've never seen another one like it until yesterday. I was doing a search for "circus pony" looking for something else, when to my surprise, an image popped up of a similar pin. I followed the link to this:

1940s Enamel and Rhinestone Figural Circus Horses Brooch

Presenting a rhodium-plated beauty . . . two circus horses in colored headdress. One is enameled black with white accents; the other is fully rhinestone'd, with black front stockings. The back is bright silvertone and very smooth, typical of the quality figural pieces made in the late 1930s and early 1940s. There appears to be one small stone missing; if I can find a perfect match, I'll pop it in for you. Minor loss of enamel on the rear horse's headdress; other than those items, this dynamic horsey duo is in excellent condition. Measures just shy of 3" across. Unsigned.

Circus Pony Pin $75 from Retro Jewels on Ruby Lane, Gaithersburg, MD

Mine has a goldtone backing and is stamped with a manufacturer symbol...

...an "MB" on the front leg of one of the horses.

I'm thrilled to have found some information on a pin that appears related to mine, and  plan to keep my eyes open for more.

Photo Shoot

Here are some of the pictures of Abby that were sent to North Salisbury Living for the article they are doing about her.

 My daughter-in-love, Vanessa, took them for me as a surprise for Mother's Day.

 I love Abby's "Egyptian" eyes.

 She loves to have her itchy spots scratched!

 I also am fond of the black spots on her upper lip.