Saddle Up Your Horses...What Horse??!!

The Mister and I attended the Pine Ridge Equestrian Association Christmas party last night. 

They had a DJ and a barbecue dinner. Additionally, there was a silent auction as a fund raiser for two local horse rescue organizations.

Showing some Christmas spirit:

My favorite thing at the party was watching Smores and Butterscotch (Hasbro 'ponies' from 2006) react to the music. They were a hoot to watch. 

The Mister and Dan chat at the table to the left. Dan happened to have a Nichols School cap on.  My dad went to Nichols.  It turns out that Dan's dad was also a student there, and our fathers probably were in the same class! It is such a small world!

The silent auction had over 100 items - most were horse-related, and were donated by members. Some items were new, others were well loved. 

The saddle on the bottom of the rack, covered by the other, was a Passier saddle from Germany.  I used to have a Passier saddle. Out of nostalgia I kept looking at that saddle. I don't have a horse.  But no one has bid on it. Even if I had a horse I probably wouldn't ride it.  But it is only $3.00. I'll put a bid on it and then someone will overbid me. The saddle is in great condition..it is an all-purpose saddle, so it would even be good for trail riding...if I had a horse...and if I chose to ride.  

I now own a saddle!

What will happen next??

Eep Jeep!

We have a Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe hybrid.  Other than our first mishap with the vehicle, it has performed admirably. Well, OK, there was the one time when the engine battery died... but truly, the car has been great. Some weeks the engine rarely runs on gas as we are just toodling along on electric. A few times the engine has insisted on running on gas, even though the battery is fully charged. It seems that the car keeps track of its gasoline consumption, and if gas isn't used for a while,  it will insist that the motor use gas so the fuel does not become stale!

We received a recall notice:

1. Battery Fire Risk (NHTSA Recall 24V-720, expanded 2025):

   • Models Affected: 2022-2026 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe. 
   Problem: Battery cells can have separator damage, leading to fire risk while parked or driving. 
   Action: Park outside, away from structures, and do not plug in to charge until fixed. 

Well, cr%p...so we now have a Jeep that, until a fix is found, can't be used as a hybrid. Additionally, we need to park away from any structures or other vehicles....and our new garage is almost finished. Such irony.

Then, we hear about an additional recall:

2. Engine Fire/Failure Risk (2024-2025 Models):

• Models Affected: Specific 2023-2025 Grand Cherokee 4xe. 
• Problem: Sand from manufacturing left in the engine can cause catastrophic failure, loss of power, or fire. 
• Warning Signs: Engine knocking, warning lights. 

Oh, wonderful, our car can catch fire if it is standing somewhere outside, or it can catch on fire while we are driving it. Not sure I am a fan of either option!

The kicker??? Jeep does not have a fix for either problem yet. 

The Mister had a wee chat with a representative from Jeep/Chrysler today. He was put on hold several times while the rep researched the information and/or chatted with a supervisor. It seems that we may be able to rent a car and be reimbursed when/if a fix is found for our vehicle and it can be repaired. 

Swell!

Plants of a Different Kind

When the Mister and I ventured forth to Grumbles House we picked up a few plants. (Of course we did!) The Mister selected a few succulents and some carnivorous plants, he's always found them fascinating. 

I liked this gnarly-leafed succulent and planted it in my 'succulent rock'.

Then we noticed a few Pointsettias that are quite different from the usual grocery/hardware store variety.

One has much smaller flowers bracts. It is a Princettia.

and the other is the Christmas mouse (perhaps the one that wasn't stirring on Christmas Eve?!) It is actually the Mouse Ear Poinsettia. 

I needed some sort of sun-loving plant to replace those we lost in the garden when we had trees removed, and suddenly the area was too bright and hot for them.  As we wandered through the plants we came across the Chinese Hat plant; "Holmskioldia". We now have two of these ornamental perennials...which could grow rather large if not kept pruned a bit!

I think the Chinese hats are cute as can be, and they bring a spot of color to that part of my garden.

Pretty Bows

I bought some red flocked ribbon to make bows for outside decorations.  I wanted the bows to be consistent in size. Being somewhat handicapped by the brace, and an admonition from my Doc not to pinch anything between my thumb and forefinger, I wasn't sure how best to make the bows. 

I remembered seeing a video years ago about using a fork to make tiny bows. I ventured out to the barn to get a large fork...

I propped the fork up, and followed the tutorial I found online. 

I was able to make 19 bows out of the 75' roll of ribbon. I might get more ribbon and adorn the front fence!

Candles, Carols and Carriages

We went on a jaunt to Floral City Friday evening, to attend the opening event of their "Heritage Days" festival. They call the evening opening, "Candles, Carols and Carriages". It is an apt description.

The Main Street is shut down. Luminaires outline the street, almost as far as you can see. A carriage takes visitors on a ride through town. Different civic organizations offer food, sweets, drinks, carols, music, and children's performances.

We visited the event partly because we wanted to hear the mountain dulcimer players.  The NaturemCoast Dulcimer Players practice nearby weekly. We haven't touched our dulcimers in a year or so...being rather busy with other things, but we both had itchy fingers listening to the group play, and want to get back into it. After the holidays we will join their weekly jam sessions. 

The historic Duval-Metz house is built in 1863, considered to be the oldest remaining and continuously occupied home in Citrus County, is decorated and open for tours.

The Heritage Museum is also open. 

My favorite display were some antique toys on a low table, inviting children to put away electronic toys, and enjoy playthings of days gone by. Ummmm, those were toys I enjoyed playing with as a kid!

...just goes to show that I, by virtue of my DOB, have acquired antique status as well!

A Different Sort of Bondage

Friday, Dec 5 finally came. I have been counting down the days. This was my scheduled date to have my cast removed. 

Anticipation.....

Then the Doc was behind schedule.

The waiting room was packed with not-so-happy patients.

One hour stretched to two, but I wasn't gonna leave. I was looking forward to this date for two and a half weeks (4 1/2 since the surgery).

The cast came off!

A new form of bondage went on - and still the thumb is not to squeeze anything with any force. I can touch my fingertip for exercises ONLY. The splint may be removed for showers..or during PT/OT.

But, it's all thumb's up from here. I'm making progress. The pain I experience now is far diminished from that I had before, even when resting. It's all good news!

Thursday Things

I had a wonderful Thursday morning.  I w quite content to be working in my sewing room. A friend teased me, saying I was probably going to complete a project I received in my Jenny's Countdown to Christmas box this morning. I told her it was highly unlikely as I currently had three projects "under my needle"!

 

This was my sewing desk around 11 AM (It doesn't look much different a day later!)

I am working on the 2nd clue of the Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt. Now and then I am sewing pieces for a table runner that I was gifted in my "Jenny Box". I often begin and end a run of chain piecing by putting together odd scraps of cloth that I later turn into a quilt. These pieces are called "leaders and enders". I discovered that I have a plethora of Christmas fabric scraps, so I have a Christmas quilt in the making.

My sewing was interrupted by my hubby calling and saying he'd be home shortly and that he wanted to go to lunch at my favorite place in Dunellon. Of course, that meant we had to shop at Grumbles House!

Grumbles House took me on a time travel jaunt.  They were selling hanky cards:

I often got one of these from my grandmother when I was little. 

Seeing them brought back such sweet memories of her.  

We picked ups few plants...more about those later. 

Wordle Wow!!

Wow! I was in shock. It was akin to hitting the jackpot (but not worth anything monetarily!)

I have been using HASTE as my starting word for the online Wordle puzzle game for years. I knew that word had not been used by Wordle before, so I figured one day they would use it. Yesterday was that day!

I will have to pick another start word that hasn't been used before.

Competition for the Squirrels

As fall arrived I began to notice our busy squirrels. The dogs notice them as well, and enjoy the sport of chasing the  critters around the yard. 

In addition to the usual grey squirrel, we have fox squirrels. These fellas are amazingly long; long in body and in tail! 

We have plenty of trees, both oak and pine, and the squirrels love gathering seeds and nuts. 

But, they have competition:

 The girls 'graze' under the trees finding acorns to eat. I can hear them cracking the shells. Occasionally they spit out some of the shell, or maybe the little acorn 'hat'. 

Acorns aren't good for dogs...but try telling that to Corgis!

Christmas Countdown - Day 1

 You may recall that I posted about receiving the Christmas Countdown box. It's a thing for me, and my BFF. Each year we order the box, and each day before Christmas, beginning today, we open a gift, especially for quilters, curated by the Missouri Star Quilt Company. We chat with each other while opening each package, then later we might visit the official site for opening the countdown box gifts to hear more about the gift and perhaps some instructions. 

My box was not touched until this morning, when I opened the carton to remove the pretty box.

Jenny Doan is the personality of the Missouri Star Quilt Co., 

a family run business in Hamilton, Missouri.

Each box contains a card from Jenny. 

Here is the first gift:

It's a fabric panel and a pattern showing how to cut the panel 

to make a wall hanging or a table runner, or both!

I think I might be working on this today!

It's time to get busy!

Oh, Deer!

I guess the inspiration came when I got this hanging out for fall decorating. 

 I made this a few years ago:

I have an abundance of scraps, and following my surgery, 

realized I could make a background similar to the hanging, even one handed. 

I put a backing on my long arm sewing machine, followed by some batting. 

I began placing scraps on the batting, overlapping the edges. 

Then I sewed vertical and horizontal lines to hold the fabric pieces..

Having decided I would put a deer head on the fabric, adorned with bells,

I found this embroidery design:

I "auditioned" several fabrics for the deer cutout. 

I sketched the deer head, ironed on a fusible backing,

and had a friend cut it out. The Mister is left-handed.  I can only use my left hand.

Neither of us could use my right handed scissors!

I used the cutout to plan where to put bells hanging from the antlers.

I added a border, ironed on the deer and added bows and bells to the ribbons. 

...and what makes me so proud of this piece? 

I could not grip anything with my right hand, except between my fingers. I could not use my thumb, or pinch anything between my thumb and fingers on my right hand.  Most all of the work was accomplished with my left hand. I did the hand sewing with my left hand (with plenty of needle pokes on my right fingers!)

But, I finished it, and I'm happy to hang it up as a Christmas decoration in our home.