There is a Sock in Your Horses Tail!

Saddlebreds are known for many things - one is long flowing tails..but this is not something that just happens on its own. Without care, a horses tail will never be longer than the ground, but with care, I have seen horse tails that drag the ground 8 feet behind them!

Here is how I keep Dominus' tail show ready. First I cross tie the 'beast'! If his tail is dirty, it must be washed and dried before I start.

A long tube sock is used for this. See the E & V hooks? I love them and found them a couple of years ago at ?? (can't remember the name right now!)

I cut the top of the sock in 2 places..

...so I have 2 ties.

This is some Amazing stuff for horse hair. It does not work on human hair, but will get out any knot in horse hair! I always put some of it in his tail before...

..I braid it. The end of the braid is secured with black electrical tape.

I put my hand in the sock..

..wrap the braided tail up..

..and put it in the sock.

I pull 1 tie through the top of the braid..

...and tie it in a knot.

Waa - Laa...There is a sock in my horses tail!

On Pins and Needles!

I hate just sitting and waiting for a hurricane to strike. You know it is coming, but you don't know where it will hit until it is almost too late....Hello Mr. Gustav. One station says you are headed my way, while another is forecasting you will visit New Orleans.Living on a farm has it's own special circumstances. You see, high winds knock out our electricity. No electricity means no water from the well! - Every horse, all 8 of them, drinks no less than 10 gallons of water per day. Battening down the hatches at the farm is a HUGE undertaking too! I will keep you posted.

Oh ~ BTW..it is not helping my nerves that Emily could go into labor any day now!

A Christmas Project

In the late 1980's my husbands sweet Aunt gave these animated Christmas decorations to the girls and they adored them! For several years now, they have stayed in the attic - even through the holidays. I did not have the heart to give them away because of the sweet memories they bring.

Last year I found a magazine that had a Santa Chef used as Christmas kitchen decor. This year I found this picture. It is my inspiration for what I am trying to achieve with my old Mr. and Mrs. Santa.

Here they are stripped down a bit. I took off Mrs. SC's shall and removed the gifts from her hand. On him, I removed the bag of toys and undid his belt, which I can remove completely by cutting the attachment. Each one is about 2 feet tall including the stand.

Here is one of my problems - the candle sticks. I kind of wanted to keep them animated - but if I have to, I will cut the electrical chords since the wires go up into the fake candles.

Also - another obstacle..Santa has on mittens - no hands! Kind of hard to cook in mittens, unless they look like oven mits!Anybody have any suggestions for me?

Tablescapes Tuesday..even if it is a day late!

Welcome to Talbescapes Tuesday hosted by Between Naps on the Porch!(http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/)

Here is one of my favorite Tablescapes.

This is from a small dinner we hosted close to Christmas last year.

My Grandmother - being way ahead of her time, used to collect beautiful hand painted floral dinner plates from their European travels...

..and use them for her dinner parties. My Mother continued the collection..

..and just last month I purchased my first addition to the collection, which is now numbering close to 20!I love these not only for their beauty, but for the linking of 3 generations of our family.

Umm - I'll Call This One ~ Product of the Month!

Okay - with 2 daughters of my own and our first Grandchild being a girl..well I don't know much about baby boy products ...but this one sure caught my eye! It is called The Pee-pee Teepee!


The Pee-pee Teepee Poem
Changing a baby girl is not all glitz and glory;
Changing a baby boy is an even bigger horror story.
You hold his feet in one hand, and the diaper in the other;
The whole time praying, "Please don't pee on your mother!"

Here are a few of my favorite designs...

You have the Wild West Design:


Or Camo would be sheik since Daddy is in the Air Force!..

..but my favorite hands down is the Santa Hat!

Not Sure What to Title This...

I hate the word victim. I understand it has it's purpose and special meaning, but even though everyone goes through things that are bad, we go on, overcome, get over it......well, I am trying to get over the fact that some mean person broke into my car and stole my radio!

Meet Chastain.

Chastain is a full blooded American Saddlebred Horse with what we call "The Hair Gene"! He is the newest horse owned and loved by everyone at Equus Villa. Although he has lived on the farm for almost 2 years, he only became ours about 2 months ago. Chastain has an interesting story to tell:


Chastain came to our farm when a former boarder purchased him at a local auction. The first time I saw him, I knew instantly he was not only a Saddlebred, but by the way his mane was trimmed and the shoes he was wearing, I knew he was a former registered show horse. I was right. The only paperwork he had was a Vet health record. This thankfully had his registered name upon it.

With his registered name, I found out he was first donated to SIRE by a local show barn. Although a kind horse, Chastain is full of energy, so SIRE unloaded him at this auction. His 10 foot long tail had been cut off. Tail's that long can easily be sold for thousands of dollars. Several days after the auction, we discovered he was terribly lame in one of his front feet. He was most likely drugged to mask the injury for the auction.My boarder went as far as sending Chastain all the way up to Texas A&M Vet hospital trying to find out what was wrong with him. The results were inconclusive and the only thing that can help Chastain is to nerve him. Since then, my boarder suffered a terrible life changing tragedy in her life and she signed Chastain over to me. I want to get him nerved so he will no longer feel the pain in that foot, but it is terribly expensive. I have been working hard at trying to get him re-registered into my name, but so far I have not been successful. It would help to justify the cost of this procedure and then I would have the option of even showing him if I so choose.

An Inspired Planting!

Almost a year ago, I saw a picture of a hanging basket that took my breath away. It, or I should say they, since there were many of them at the arboretum where this picture was taken, were big and draping colorful blooms over the edges of the baskets. I knew I wanted to recreate this beautiful picture with plants and baskets of my own. Here is the beginning of my Hydrangea baskets.I chose variegated Hydrangea's since I already own the solid leaf variety and the variegated leaf gives more interest when the plant is not in bloom. I can't wait until next Spring, when I get to see the full results.

..and by the way - the hanging baskets were purchased at Walmart on sale for $5.00 each. The Hydrangeas, 2 per basket, were on sale at Houston Plants for only $3.00 each!

The Rest of Trestin's Room

..If you have not seen the pictures of Trestin's nursery, scroll down 2 posts and check it out. The only thing that was not finished when I did that post were these curtains. Aren't they adorable? You did a GREAT job Emily! The nursery is so precious. Now all we have to do is wait for Trestin to ring the labor bell!

Fall on the Brain!

Has me thinking about adorable costumes...

Crafting projects..

Holiday decorating..

..with a sense of humor...

..and with elegance...

..that lasts through Thanksgiving.

I love Fall!

Getting Ready for Baby Trestin.

This is my oldest daughter Emily and her husband Daren. They are expecting their second baby in exactly one month.

This is their first munchkin and soon to be Big Sister - Madison.

Here is the adorable cake that one of their friends had made for the couples shower. I love the way that the writing is on the side of the cake!

I wanted to give you a peek into Trestins nursery. It is still a project in the works - but it is coming along so nicely! This is the sign that will hang on his door.
This is the Nautica sail boat patterned crib set they chose...okay - so I got to help pick it out too the last time I was visiting!

She found a replica of a ship wheel that looks so precious on the wall! They stained it to match the crib and dresser.

Here is what it looks like hanging above the changing table with 2 sail boat wall plaques.

This is the valence in matching fabric. Emily came up with the wonderful idea to have the curtains (which are not done yet) tied back with white cotton rope! I can't wait to see the finished project.