Category: Uncategorized

I found a Treasure at the Trove

    Before I reveal my awesome find, a shout out to one of my readers who sells pieces at The Trove in Old Saybrook (you know who you are – don’t want to reveal your name if you prefer privacy)  Is that your toy stuffed horse on wheels I almost bought? (black, very worn and much loved)… would love more info on it if so.

     So the Mr. and I took a ride yesterday to browse The Trove, and as soon as I stepped inside the back warehouse/shop… there he was.  I had been looking for him for years… and immediately I said out loud…OMG! There he is!!….  to which the shop owner was a witness and  The Mr. knew immediately this wasn’t a good sign as far as he was concerned…

  He’s not subtle. 
     I love the antique toy horses in all their forms and as a child, wanted anyone I could get my hands on.  One friend had the bouncy horse and another had poncho, the ride along… I asked for a ride on those ponies any chance I got.  I had my own collection of Breyer horses, and they sit in a barn in my basement today. 
    So.. most antique rocking horses, if you can find them, are expensive.  I was thrilled to see the sticker price for this fella and they gave me 20 percent off.   I wasn’t sure if this was an authentic older rocking horse, but it sure looked like it had all the right qualities.  When I got home I found out it’s the real deal, and I got it for a fantastic price.   I had planned on restoring it.. as in stripping it down and repainting, etc…. but when I found out it is actually an 1890’s horse, I just know I really shouldn’t strip it.  The real horse hair tail will need replacing because it fell out in my hands this morning, (rot) and his ears are missing so I will find grey leather and give him new ones, but that might be the extend of my restoration plans other than soap and water before I bring him in the house.  On the fence about  just what I should mess with – replace the tack, leave it?  add a mane, leave it bare?  Any suggestions appreciated…. any antique  rocking horse experts out there? 

  I found this one below for sale here in Connecticut, believe it or not…  and it’s in far worse condition for five times the price.  Same maker for sure… yet that information isn’t available, there are no stamps or identifying labels on these horses.

http://www.rubylane.com/item/707339-RL1116/Antique-Carved-Rocking-Horse-c-1890

KMax comeback and About That Quarter Horse

   
      My daughters show horse, Max, had colic surgery five months ago.  If the horse survives the colic and surgery, the recovery is a long process. The cost of colic surgery nowadays can be upwards of $12,000. and some folks opt to put the horse down simply because of the cost, let alone the recovery process.  We had medical insurance on Max, so we proceeded with surgery, even though he was 19 years old.  Max has done very well, thankfully, and at the five month mark, K can begin to ride him again – just a ten minute walk at first, building up to regular work routine within a few months.
 
      On Saturday we took a walk around the ring. I expected him to be jumpy, spooky, high as a kite after such a long hiatus.    Nope – he showed his quiet well behaved nature through and through –  I loved this horse before for taking good care of my daughter in the show pen, and I love him more for coming through this ordeal like the super trooper that he is.

     Max will be 20 years old this spring, so we’re not returning him to show.. he’ll live an easy retirement life here on the farm.  Oh, how I wish all horses had such luck.

     Both Max (left) and Opie (right) are Quarter Horses.  It’s my favorite breed and I’ve owned several over the years – the main reason is their temperament.  There are always exceptions, but the quarter horse is known for their steady, quiet, good natured no nonsense work ethic.  They have been bred over the years so that there is a wide variety of body types – Opie is old school – I call him my cow pony – he’s short and stout.  Max is taller and more refined, you can see it particularly in his head and neck, although those big ears are a throwback to… something else entirely.     His build makes him more versatile for different jobs in the show pen – he was ridden both English and Western and carried it off pretty well.

  P.S. … although it’s not the quarter horse culture way – I strongly recommend helmet wearing at all times when riding, no matter how sturdy you think your horse is.   Too many very seasoned riders have suffered dibilitating TBI’s from falls off their horse –  I discovered my helmet was taken over by mice in the tackroom, I’m shopping for a new one today.

 It’s a beautiful thing –

Words of Wisdom for 2016

  A friend sent this to their Christmas Card recipients  –  I’m sharing with you because I think most of what I read is  pretty accurate.   These are some of the  words left by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, a  well known motivational speaker who passed on this year.

1. Cooperation is healthier than competition.  If you’re always in a hurry, always trying to get ahead of the other guy, or someone else’s performance is what motivates you, then that person is in control of you.

2.  If you love people you don’t try to change them.  Love is the ability and willingness to allow those that you care for to be what they choose for themselves without any insistence that they satisfy you.

3. Ignorance is not bliss.  The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t know anything about.

4. You are not a victim of the world.  How people treat you is their karma: how you react is yours.

5. You find yourself in solitude. You cannot be lonely if you like the person you’re alone with.

6. Rejection makes you stronger.  Be grateful to all those people who told you no. It’s because of them that you managed to do it all yourself.

7. Self worth cannot be verified by others. You are worthy because you say it is so. If you depend on others for your value it is other-worth.

8. You don’t attract what you want in your life, you attract what you are.  If you’re obsessed with defeating the other guy and winning at all costs, then you’re guaranteed to attract the vibrational equivalent of this thinking into your life – even if you do yoga and stand on your head chanting mantras every day.

9. There are no limits to what you can achieve – you are a no-limit person.  when you argue for your limitations, all you get are your limitations.

10. Heaven on Earth is a choice you must make, not a place you must find.  Loving people live in a loving world. Hostile people live in a hostile world.  Same world.

11. All that you need is already within you.  You have everything you need for complete peace and total happiness right now.

12. There is no end to personal growth.  Individuals who use self labels are stating “I’m a finished product in this area and a I’ll never be any different.  If you’re a finished product all tied up and put away, you’ve stopped growing.

13. Follow your heart and you will be successful.  Doing what you love is the cornerstone of having abundance in your life.

Christmas 2015

    There were a few meltdowns and a squabble or two… because I do keep it real here. But all in all it was a lovely Christmas –  some friends and some family – we were here, together, sharing  laughs, enjoying some good food, and many thoughtful  – useful- gifts were exchanged.

      Right this very minute at 7 am on the 26th the mister is  heading outside to take down the outside lights (he can’t help himself).. but I love our tree so much I told him it’s staying for another week. It’s been up since Thanksgiving weekend.   Meanwhile our 93 year old neighbor has just put her tree up with the help of her sons and she will enjoy it through January.   Which camp do you reside in? The early bird or the last minute into the new year Tree People?

      I hope your holiday was a joyous one in the ways that you like to celebrate with the people you care about. May we all be blessed with a healthy, happy, politically and mentally sane 2016.

A bag of split peas

       I rushed through the isles grabbing this and grabbing that while trying to remember what my Dad needed at the -home- and what my family needed at the homestead.  I felt the usual irritation rising at the prospect of another visit there to drop the stuff off, which was probably driving the rush down the isles (it wasn’t necessary, the hurriedness…. nor was the irritation if I’m being truthful).  I pulled into a checkout line and flipped through the e mail on my phone until it was time to unload the “stuff” onto the belt. I did it with stealth speed, true thing.

      Then I noticed her.  An older woman who looked like she had seen hard times for sure.  She held a single item in her hands, a bag of split peas.  If I had bothered to look around just a little, I would have seen that she had been behind me.. with one item. Although she was waiting patiently, I surely would have let her go ahead of me, had I noticed anything besides my own hurriedness  in that few moments.  When our eyes met, I apologized for not having realized she had just one thing and I surely should have let her go ahead of me.  She was kind with her response, indeed.  No irritation in HER stance.   I had the cashier add her one little bag to my total and said Merry Christmas.  I almost felt foolish doing so, but let me tell you …..

  It may as well have been a bag of gold.  Her eyes lit up as if she could not believe her good fortune at having a simple bag of split peas paid for by a stranger.

One.. Simple.. Little.. Thing.

She has no idea, but she taught me something and she made my day.  Hell, she made my Christmas.  Her face.. her gratitude.. over something so.. little!…

And just like that, my day was turned around.

It’s All Good.

Randomocity

  So tempted to talk about the pathetic list of presidential candidates and their debate behavior, but none of us need another one of those rants right now, do we. Something that irks me more than even Donald Trumps in-your-face obnoxious behavior?  Get religion out of politics.  It does not belong there.  Your religion is not my religion is not their religion. Any of your religious beliefs should not hold law making or program cutting weight.  Enough said.

 
     We’re having a Christmas Eve gathering here of family and friends, and I’ve been making batches of cookies to set out as a big platter with the desserts.  Two new fun things I tried, and they are no bake .. so easy to make, pretty .. and most importantly delicious.

Christmas confetti Truffles….  recipe HERE.

Chocolate covered oreos with crushed candy cane topping.   No recipe. All you do is buy a package of oreos, two bags of Hersheys Special Dark Chocolate chips for baking, etc.  and crush some candy canes. Melt the chocolate in a pot or the microwave, dip the oreos in the melted chocolate to coat them and place on wax paper, sprinkle with the crushed candy canes and allow to dry and harden before putting in tupperware in freezer or refrigerator until ready to serve.  THEY ARE DELICIOUS!

     

  An update on my father – He has settled in to nursing home life as well as can be expected.  He did take a fall a few weeks back and cracked his hip – was walking around unassisted with his door closed, two no-nos they have asked him not to do and he fell into the door.  A week later after pin insertion surgery at the hospital, he was back at the home and is once again not listening to care instructions.   He complains constantly about the food, which is actually very good considering it’s a care facility – and when I bring him something different to eat it’s not the right thing and he would rather have had something else.  The something else is not right the next time.  

I have stopped getting angry. That’s a big step for me.  Finally I see that all his issues have nothing to do with me. You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.   It must be very lonely, living in a self that is so –  self centered.  I am glad I don’t know what life is like for someone who doesn’t look beyond their own being, their wants, their ideas… to the vast and interesting and enriching world and relationships that are before us all.

His loss.

 I’ve been running a lot of errands for the holidays and this… this is the face I get when I walk out the door with my Jeep keys in hand….

 Frasier is my rescue dog. I’m telling you.. there is no greater love.  

 Speaking of which, we’re holding an adoption event in Cromwell, CT this weekend for two dogs that have been in a CT shelter and now foster for a while.  We’d love to get them a home for the holidays at last.  If you’re local and interested, go meet Dottie and Nanny  this weekend!

Boys in the Trees

   If you’re my age or older you’ve  probably sung along to at least a few Carly Simon tunes in your younger  mad-love angst-ridden years.  I’ve always loved her music, and that of her famed ex-husband James Taylor too.   Until now I only imagined what their (story-book?) life must have been like as a couple and always thought it a tragedy that they weren’t able to keep it together for a long and at least sometimes happy marriage.  Having never really delved into the whys of their break-up, I just enjoyed the music and hoped for a reunion someday, if not as a couple, then an extremely talented duo who’ve brought so much soul to  music over the years.  One of my all time favorites is a concert Carly gave on the Vineyard Haven docks, Marthas Vineyard.  Not just because I love that island with all I’ve got, but it was her best most natural performance in my opinion, in a place she loves and calls home.  You felt it if you were watching.

   I just read Carlys newly released memoir, Boys In The Trees –  what  in my opinion appears to be a thoroughly honest, (sometimes embarassingly so!)  heartfelt account of her life story. That era was just before my coming of age so I wasn’t fully aware of the movement in the music world back then, but.. wow.    To say I had no idea is an understatement… and for those who want to read it I won’t spoil your read by putting the contents here.  Some of the artists are still entertaining today, it’s an interesting look back.

  Two things I can tell you without spoiling too much.  James Taylor does not speak of or to Carly Simon.  He pretty much “erased her”, in her  words in interviews, after their early 80’s divorce, although she only eludes to this in the book.   She treats him fairly here, but honestly.  Which is to say she doesn’t sugar coat their problems at all –  hers or his.   His heroin addiction since his teen years and chronic infidelities made him pretty much non-present in their ten year marriage and he owns up to it in subsequent interviews too, so it’s not bull.  Her anxiety and  insecurities stemming from the non-approving relationship she had with her father made her disfunctional and accepting of really poor treatment and low self worth, which ruled the landscape of her life for so very long.

      While it’s clear JT suffered depression and the ills of a substance abuser, I still can’t help but like him a lot less now.   Hard to believe the man who wrote and sang so many soulful songs of longing and caring and love and loss is the one who now thoroughly cuts out such a significant partner of his earlier days – one who stood by him when he needed love most.  His children should matter to him more than that.   He actually describes himself as a self absorbed artist who wasn’t fully present for his first set of kids or his first marriage.    

    I guess some habits never die.   You’re so vain, James, and the song wasn’t even about you.

Santa came to town….

  I’m going to share with you some photos from our local Chamber of Commerce “Christmas at the Farm” event yesterday at Parmelee Farm.  Santa came for a visit, and I have to say, one of the highlights of my holiday this year is  getting to take some of their photos.. their reactions were priceless and all over the map… it brought all the  – childhood awe- of the holiday front and center – I don’t know about you, but the jolly old fella scared the crap out of me when I was young.  My son wanted nothing to do with him either, although we admired him from afar and always made sure to leave cookies and milk and grass and treats for the reindeer come Christmas Eve.

 Do you recognize this guy talking to Santa about predicted  flying sleigh travel weather for Christmas Eve?…. I’ve gotta tell you, considering he’s from one of the biggest political dynasties of our time, you’d never know it.  Ted Kennedy Jr. is one very warm and down-to-earth person who really gives a damn about the average Joe, and especially those with disabilities.  It’s refreshing, just that.

  Have I told you lately?… just loving this season for so many reasons.  Those kids above? yeah. That.  Why do we forget it?  Let’s not…  And Liz Jones?  I just received your lovely note, thank you.   This post is for you –


 Susan Branch Christmas Art

Decked again…

   We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and  I hope you all did too. Come friday, as promised, I hauled Christmas out of the basement.   I even trekked out to the grocery store forgetting it was THAT DAY…. and boy let me tell you… if you’re one of those who enjoys Black Friday Insanity…. I just don’t get it.  People lose all sense of – sense- from what I can see. Everyone looks stressed and in a hurry, piles of “stuff” are being sifted and sorted and tossed, you have to park two miles from where you’re actually shopping (well it seems like it) …and … the crowds!!!….Took me fifteen minutes to get past the outlets, just to DRIVE BY them!  There were four cops on traffic duty too where there normally are none. One of them was my nephew, waving the traffic by as I hoped he wouldn’t be hit by one of the impatients.

     So ….Christmas at our house this year – I left some things down in the basement and bought a few new things just to change it up some.  If I were very wealthy I would change the whole theme every year because there are so many ways to decorate and I love them all!  (almost).  My grandmother had a large white christmas tree she put in the bay window for all to see – one year she had all red decorations, another it was all blue.  Sounds gross, right?  It was just gorgeous.   For years now I’ve tried to soften the tree with pastel glass ornaments, I do love them… but… when I decked the tree this year with all that pastel.. it just didn’t say Christmas.  I took a step back… had the men folk come in and give their opinion.. and asked.. what’s missing??… what .. is … missing?

     The husband said – to me…  Christmas is GOLD and RED and GREEN.

     That’s it.

      (Lord help me)  I could see his vision.  And the garland looked like it was strangling the tree, truth be told.   Off came the pastel stuff and the garland with the choke-hold, and I had a field day with GOLD and RED and GREEN.  I sprinkled red berries among the branches too.  While a real tree is ideal, with four dogs who might drink the poisoned water from a real tree (pesticides) , we fake it.

   Pardon the crap photos… I’ve gotten lazy with the iphone.

 

Chocolate covered oreos… is there anything better?….
We’ve changed up the furniture in the “keeping room” of This Old House…
The kitchen table used to be up against that window.. 
(hence the light fixture in weird location) 
and those chairs were next to the fireplace.
We switched them and love the flow of the highly used
living space now and those chairs actually get use. 

Mantel simply decked this year… and lit with tiny white lights at night
 Kitchen window
I’ve got a thing for old fashioned bottle brush trees…

Notice the two automatic foot warmers installed at the 
base of the bed. 
The kids did the outside this year….nice job, guys! 
Since it’s the season where folks return to their roots to
visit with family and friends…  Our sons GF was out on the eve before Thanksgiving
catching up with  friends who also hale from this area. 
Guess who they were chilling with…
If you aren’t a music fan, that’s Nick Fradiani  (last year American Idol winner) 
on the left, our Kenz, one of her friends, 
and are you a Patriots fan?  Camille is a former Pats cheerleader 
and Gronk’s current GF. 
I love Nick… after all he’s been to and through, he’s still just
a down to earth  home town boy.  Way to go, Nick. 
 Happy Holiday Season, All. 
If you’re posting your holiday stories, traditions, decorations,
leave the link to your post in the comments section.
I’d love to share it – 
P E A C E

Of Turkeys and Trees

   I do love Thanksgiving, the sentiment, the food, and I don’t want to be one of those who skips right over it because of the importance of being thankful .. grateful…  But my truth is it marks the beginning of  the Christmas season I love even more.
   I love holiday lights on a hushed snowy night.  I love seeing candles in my friends and neighbors windows.  I love christmas cookies and christmas trees and ornaments and wreaths on doors and Charlie Brown specials on TV – I love finding or making meaningful or useful gifts for my family.  I love trying a new recipe and making some of the old favorites.  I love finding silly things to put in the kids stockings (they are 26 and 19 and I still stuff their stockings)    I love that my kids love our traditions and I hope they keep them through the years and pass them down  in whatever ways hold the most meaning to them.  
    Some of you may think I’m missing the most important thing. The reason for the season in the first place.  Well, I’ve made no secret of the fact that I am not religious.  What I know is that I don’t know, and so I go about this holiday in the spirit I think it is intended whether you are a religious person or not… the spirit of caring, of giving, of sharing, of hope and joy and a wish for peace and good will toward all.
      This week I will gather with family and we will eat and laugh and drink and probably bicker as well.  But we will be together – Amen.
     Come Friday – I’m hauling out Christmas.  

     Happy Thanksgiving, all –