The smell of horses

Sorry to say today has not been a good photo day. I went to take some photos in my work room and of course the battery went flat. I didn't get good ones of the girls today either. They were very pleased to see me. They are all much fluffier. Fergie looks a little more like her sister Lucy. She is going to be a very tall girl.

 I love horsey muzzles.

 Aria has the most extraordinary hairy ears. The hair is much lighter than the rest of her, so stands out.

 Her coat has really thickened up over the past two weeks. Even though the grass has gone around the gateway in a large patch, the ground was firm and dry. We've had a lot of rain recently, so I was glad there wasn't sticky mud for them to stand in.

 I had a good chat with Viv and found out the story of Oscar's unfortunate failure at the Three Day Championships in Taupo. He had a nasty slip jumping down into the water jump, and regained his footing, but the course looped around for another combination jump back into the water. When he came back in for the second go he was so focused on not falling again that he seemed to miss seeing a wee narrow jump coming out of the water, and when Emily realised he hadn't seen it and was picking up speed to race on, she didn't push him on into it, but allowed him to go past because he could have had a terrible crash. Sensible and safe riding. So he went from second to well down the field. He won last year, but Emily wasn't upset with him because he did everything else so beautifully.

I gave Frank a groom today and was pleased to have time to snuggle up to his warm neck so I could breathe in his wonderful horsey aroma. Frank is Viv's number one riding horse and was heading to the arena for some dressage schooling. He's a lovely boy of unpredictable nature when ridden. He's inclined to see monsters in the bushes when he is feeling a bit fresh. He's a gentleman to handle on the ground. It has been two weeks since I had horse time, so I enjoyed every minute of time on the farm.

Back at home I speedily worked on making another of Gertie's Portrait Blouses. They are great under my cardies, especially with jeans. I'd like them to have sleeves, and was going to try to draft some, but decided that, being time poor, I don't want to be mucking around with a project that may end up lurking in the "too hard" basket.

 I have made two previously. The pattern calls for tucks at front and back instead of darts. This gives a more slouchy casual look through the waist. On my second version I decided that I would try fitting the blouse on my dressmaker's model, Ruby, creating darts instead of the tucks. That had created a great fit that is very comfortable. For version 3, I am using this fabulous fabric with a nautical theme. It will be great with navy cardies and a red scarf with white spots.

 I forgot to tell you that I went to a sale at my nearest scrapbooking store yesterday. They had up to 80% off and it wasn't one of those sales where two things are 80% off and the rest is 5% off. It was a real sale, so I had to be very discerning. Easy to get carried away. I got a few goodies at incredible prices. I love this funny little scrapbook to make up for Miss Dog. I have one for Mousie too (Our Kitty). At this point the camera decided that I had ignored the low battery sign for long enough and died, so sorry, no more show and tell.

I always find it interesting to see what other people are buying, because people have such diverse tastes when it comes to crafting. The Crafty Neighbour and I buy completely different products. I love the vintage styled things, and she is more modern in her tastes. 

Almost time for bed. This weekend has left me with very dry hands (note to self - wear gardening gloves), an almost finished blouse, a good book started, worry about my dear dog best friend, and a craving for more time to create. I'm looking forward to the next one already.