Saturday, January 16, 2016
Ian Goes Riding
Yesterday, Ian's other grandparents took him to an indoor kiddie play place to give his parents a bit of a break. Baby Mila is a sweet baby, but any newborn is stressful and the parents can quickly become sleep deprived and need a bit of down time. So Nancy and Paul whisked Ian off for an evening of fun.
I must say, I approve of their choice of activity! (Even if Ian looks a bit unsure.)
With some reassurance from Uncle Ryan, he soon was riding high!
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
UPS Fiasco
On Christmas day, Breyer ran a special for Holly and Ivy, red and green decorators on the Flash mold.
I was lucky enough to be able to order one (fingers were crossed for an Ivy, but either would have been fine), and happily anticipated its arrival on December 30, the date I was sent by UPS.
To my dismay, instead of a box that day, I got a revised shipping notice! Somehow the package, which had made it to my town, was then sent to Texas and Missouri before coming back a week after that!
Here's a scan of the tracking information:
I was lucky enough to be able to order one (fingers were crossed for an Ivy, but either would have been fine), and happily anticipated its arrival on December 30, the date I was sent by UPS.
To my dismay, instead of a box that day, I got a revised shipping notice! Somehow the package, which had made it to my town, was then sent to Texas and Missouri before coming back a week after that!
Here's a scan of the tracking information:
The long wait was worth it, though.
I love my Ivy!
And I would love to have more pieces in these colors.
Monday, January 11, 2016
Doing Double Duty
My family isn't overly fond of my model horse collection, and don't find much useful about plastic ponies.
I disagree.
When I am sewing and want to run the ceiling fan, the air currents blow my pattern pieces everywhere.
A Lady Phase anchors those bits of tissue paper quite nicely!
I disagree.
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Mini Me
Big and living or little and plastic or china, I love horses. According to my mother, that love goes back to my toddlerhood. I started riding at ten and got Amy, my first horse at twelve, but I began collecting model horses when I was six. (Santa, you had no idea what you were starting...)
1,000+ plastic, china, and resin model horses later, I still enjoy finding new pieces to add to my collection and love to scope out antique shops, flea markets, and other places looking for horse shaped objects.
My most favorite piece, a Hagen Renaker Designer's Workshop Sherif, that I found at an auction for $4 back in the mid 1990s.
Rumor has it that my mother may have been in collusion with Santa Claus.
(This photo was taken in my horse room which also serves as my sewing room. She and I were sewing a quiet book for my granddaughter, Corinne, and this is one of the pages we were working on. She knitted the snowman's scarf.)
I love to read model horse hobby blogs and especially enjoy those who take their collecting hobby further and make saddles, bridles, and other tack for their models. Some go beyond that and make scenes with dolls.
Over the holidays I had a chance to try my hand at making a doll scene. I have NO ability to create, but I can go to Hobby Lobby and get some dollhouse miniatures or repurpose other things. Here's my first go:
The idea is a living room/sitting room set up. No furniture yet, but I thought this display case looked a bit like built-ins in a home. That was my beginning piece.
The Christmas wreath was one of a pair of earrings that I repurposed (yikes, the things we teachers will wear to bring the holiday spirit into our classrooms!!), and the pot of flowers is from a jump set I had from one of my performance show set ups. The model horses were a gift from a student years ago, and the books (dollhouse props) are miniature classics (Peter Pan, Moby Dick, etc.) The railroad lamp, another dollhouse prop, reflects my own love of trains (I go by train to Colorado and Utah to visit our kids and grandkids).
The doll is an old Brenda Breyer - I hope to sew her some new, more in-scale clothes. And the beautiful sleigh bells are a favorite of mine and were made for me by Jennifer Buxton of Braymere Custom Saddlery - they are perfect replicas of Abby's sleigh bells!
So many things that reflect me and the things in my life are included that I dubbed the scene "Mini Me." And while there is obviously room for tweaking, it's a beginning. Best of all, it was a fun project.
1,000+ plastic, china, and resin model horses later, I still enjoy finding new pieces to add to my collection and love to scope out antique shops, flea markets, and other places looking for horse shaped objects.
She has never confirmed nor denied that rumor.
(This photo was taken in my horse room which also serves as my sewing room. She and I were sewing a quiet book for my granddaughter, Corinne, and this is one of the pages we were working on. She knitted the snowman's scarf.)
I love to read model horse hobby blogs and especially enjoy those who take their collecting hobby further and make saddles, bridles, and other tack for their models. Some go beyond that and make scenes with dolls.
Over the holidays I had a chance to try my hand at making a doll scene. I have NO ability to create, but I can go to Hobby Lobby and get some dollhouse miniatures or repurpose other things. Here's my first go:
The Christmas wreath was one of a pair of earrings that I repurposed (yikes, the things we teachers will wear to bring the holiday spirit into our classrooms!!), and the pot of flowers is from a jump set I had from one of my performance show set ups. The model horses were a gift from a student years ago, and the books (dollhouse props) are miniature classics (Peter Pan, Moby Dick, etc.) The railroad lamp, another dollhouse prop, reflects my own love of trains (I go by train to Colorado and Utah to visit our kids and grandkids).
The doll is an old Brenda Breyer - I hope to sew her some new, more in-scale clothes. And the beautiful sleigh bells are a favorite of mine and were made for me by Jennifer Buxton of Braymere Custom Saddlery - they are perfect replicas of Abby's sleigh bells!
So many things that reflect me and the things in my life are included that I dubbed the scene "Mini Me." And while there is obviously room for tweaking, it's a beginning. Best of all, it was a fun project.
Monday, January 4, 2016
A Gift for a Granddaughter
Mila Jo Isenbarger, our twelfth grandchild, was born at 4:20 this morning.
Like any good grandmother, I began her training early...
... and gifted her with a pink stuffed pony!
Welcome to the world, sweet Mila!
Saturday, January 2, 2016
A Sunny Winter Afternoon
The horses were gathered around the stock feeder munching on a fresh load of hay when I arrived to visit this afternoon. The feeder is on the west side of the barn, and while it was chilly outside (35 degrees) the weak sunlight took the chill off a bit.
Abby did her usual soft nicker when she saw me and stretched her neck out to me.
I love how the sunlight is streaming over the horses in this photo. That's Abby, Hokey, and Trouble.
Another shot of the sunlight, this time on Trouble.
We've only had one significant snow this winter, but we have had rain, just like we did in the spring and early summer. The pastures are wet but not soggy or frozen, so with that and the milder (for an Indiana winter) temperatures, it hasn't been a hard winter for the horses.
Keeping my fingers crossed that that continues!
Abby did her usual soft nicker when she saw me and stretched her neck out to me.
We've only had one significant snow this winter, but we have had rain, just like we did in the spring and early summer. The pastures are wet but not soggy or frozen, so with that and the milder (for an Indiana winter) temperatures, it hasn't been a hard winter for the horses.
Keeping my fingers crossed that that continues!
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
The Wabash River Floods
The home I grew up in and where I had my first horses is on the Wabash River. Talk about a wonderful way to grow up - horses, a beautiful river, living in the country... I was fortunate.
But living on the river posed some unique challenges, one of which is occurring right now.
This gate and pasture are on the property adjacent to ours. All through junior high and high school I cared for the horses our neighbors owned and kept here. More than once I had to cut fences to rescue horses when the river came up quickly and the gate was underwater.
The neighbors no longer own horses and have donated this land to Niches, a land trust that preserves pockets of land and ecosystems in their natural states.
Another view of the neighbors' old pasture. The black marks on the tree trunks are actually a good sign. They're water marks - wet places that show how high the water was. The fact that they show indicates that the floodwaters are receding.
Sure am glad I don't have to fight that water and muck to feed horses today!
But living on the river posed some unique challenges, one of which is occurring right now.
Flooding.
A river or creek over its banks is very, very dangerous. The current is fast and often carries debris such as uprooted trees and other items it has swept away. And sometimes the current is not going in the normal flow of the river due to the topography of the land it is flooding. You can get caught in a cross current before you know it.
I know this road very well - that's my parents' property on either side of it, but there is no way I would drive through that water. I could see there was a cross current running across the road. The drop-off off the sides of the road is about three feet; if I got caught in that cross current and went off the road, I could be in real trouble.
Sure am glad I don't have to fight that water and muck to feed horses today!
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