One Less Pony Girl

Like the rest of the world, I've been reading and mourning and trying to understand what is happening in America when 20 innocent children are gunned down in their school one Friday before Christmas.  This evening I opened the newspaper to read a short synopsis of the shattered lives that are no more.  While all the losses are tragic in themselves, one  in particular hit home, the story of six-year-old Jessica Rekos.

.....she loved all things equestrian. She watched horse movies, read horse books, drew pictures of horses, wrote stories about horses.  She asked Santa for new cowgirl boots and a cowgirl hat.  And her parents had promised her a real live horse when she turned 10.  (WSJ)

 

That description could have been me or most of my horse crazy girlfriends growing up.  Just think of what this lovely young child is going to miss - the pony she would have loved as much as her parents; the sight of her pigtails flying out from underneath her hard hat as she canters around the ring in her first horse show; the long summer days at the barn with her pony when there's no place in the world she'd rather be.....the tragedy of it all is just too immense and just too senseless. We need to change our world.

 Musiccitysarah.com photo

A Half-Price Horse for Christmas

New Vocations is one of my favorite charities and they do such good work rehabbing horses off the track for resale.  They screen their buyers carefully so that the horses have good homes and there are stipulations about reselling them too.

In December the horses are half-price which means you can get a really good deal on a quality off-the-track thoroughbred horse.  What a great Christmas present.

Cat in the Bag can be yours for less than $400.  Click here for additional information on this young mare.

This Smarty Jones son has been adopted but is he not the cutest thing you have ever seen?  Personality plus for sure.  Smartacus is his name.  So cute!!!

Game Prospect would make into a nice hunter for a small rider (she is 15.2) but look how cute she is.

You can find more information about this cute mare here.

Most of the horses are in Ohio, Pennsylvania or Kentucky.  

What to Wear for Christmas Cocktails, Part Two

Now that we are really getting close to the big day I thought I would create a dressier holiday outfit for a more formal cocktail party.  I would love to host a really chic cocktail party over the holidays one year (maybe in 2013), but that takes a lot of work.  But here are a few additional holiday dressing ideas just in case you have one more party and nothing to wear.


Saw this adorable dress in a catalog at my mother's house and thought that if I had a party to go to.......
It's from Coldwater Creek and it's on sale here.

It needs the right shoes and bag. I love this one from J McLaughlin. 

There are two shoes that would look good with this dress.  I think I like the open ones better.  Both are from Kate Spade.

I would go vintage for jewelry. This is fantasy?  Right?  Old is my favorite. They don't make this stuff like they used to.  Either of these would work.  I would not do earrings with this dress. Enough going on already!

You need a coat, it's cold outside.  This one from Milly is fab:

I love to dress up and maybe next year I'll host a formal cocktail party and require that everyone dress, like they used to! 

Vintage Cocktail Linens

I love old linens, especially ones that are made so well that you could not possibly afford to replicate or buy it today.  And with Ebay and Esty, finding these treasures is a lot easier than going through antique stores.   Just to prove my point, I pulled just a few samples from the 100's that are out there right now. See what I found!

These linen cocktail napkins are probably from the 40's or 50's. Love the border in light blue.  These are from Ebay.

Look at the detailing in this one!

These are fun for the holidays!

Roosters were really big at some point and there are tons of these out there.

Again, great detail!

If you want something new, with an equestrian flair, then you can buy there here.

 

Here are some additional new ones. Love the deer.  You can buy these here.

Some additional photos from Pininterest:

I love the idea of sipping cocktails in a warm paneled room out of an art deco glass with fine old linens.  Just timeless! 

Two Great Christmas Books

I love getting books for Christmas and there are two that I like to give as presents, one is famous, the other is not. 

Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory" was originally published in Mademoiselle magazine in December 1956 and was reprinted in The Selected Writings of Truman Capote in 1963. It was issued in a stand-alone hardcover edition in 1966, and it has been published in many editions and anthologies since.

The largely autobiographical story, which takes place in the 1930s, describes a period in the lives of the seven-year-old narrator and an elderly woman who is his distant cousin and best friend. The evocative narrative focuses on country life, friendship, and the joy of giving during the Christmas season, and it also gently yet poignantly touches on loneliness and loss. Now a holiday classic, "A Christmas Memory" has been broadcast, recorded, filmed, and staged multiple times, in award-winning productions.  It makes a great gift to give at Christmas.  

The second is a lesser known book that was written by Janet A. Martin called The Christmas Swap.  I bought this book last December at an adorable store near Charlottesville.  It was published in 2007.

Here is the synopsis of the story for you:

When his wife tosses Frank Midland out of his farmhouse the weekend after Thanksgiving, he meets two friends at a diner and discovers that they, too, are banished from home by busy women already preparing for Christmas. The men hatch a plan to swap wives for a day to teach them a lesson in perspective. But in the six weeks before Christmas, the wives vow revenge with a plan of their own, and the entire community of Clearview, Virginia becomes involved. Meanwhile, a devious developer threatens to ruin the town center, a mysterious stranger appears and reappears, a savvy newspaper photographer aligns with a talented seamstress and her physically challenged son, and local citizens are spellbound by reports of an illusive and rare white fawn. As the Swap moves forward, plans go awry, secrets are spilled, and lives are transformed, while Frank and his friends discover surprising lessons in perspective they had never imagined This book is about love in all its wondrous variety of husbands and wives, parents and children, people and animals, citizens and their community all tied to a small town struggling to preserve its rural soul.

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I think we watch too much television, play too many video games and spend far too much time on the computer and need to read more books, enjoy the silence of nature and the goodwill of family and friends.  Bless all those people in CT who had their lives upended today, again, by gun violence in America.  Pray for all of us please today!

The Most Famous Unknown Chestnut Mare - The Unbelievable Sargeant Reckless

Alongside Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Mother Teresa sits the relatively unknown Sgt. Reckless - a horse that was so heroic during the Korean War, the US Marines officially promoted her to Staff Sergeant - an official honor never before or since bestowed upon an animal. She was not a mascot. She was an official military officer.  And she was as well known as Mister Ed, Seabiscuit, Rin Tin Tin and Lassie in the 1950's.  She was named as one of Life Magazine's 100 most heroic people in a 1997 commemorative edition.

Reckless' decorations included two Purple Hearts, Good Conduct Medal, Presidential Unit Citation with star, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal, and Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, all of which she proudly wore on her scarlet and gold blanket.  Sadly, today she is all but forgotten.

During one battle for the fight for Outpost Vegas in March 1953, she carried more than 9,000 pounds of ammunition up to the firing sites (386 rounds), walked over 35 miles up steep mountainous terrain with incoming ammunition exploding at the rate of 500 rounds per minute and shielded four men from gunfire.  There was so much incoming and outgoing firepower that the rounds were hitting each other mid-air, causing aerial bursts that looked like the Fourth of July. She carried ammo up to the guns and wounded soldiers down the hill to safety. She was wounded twice but never stopped.

Reckless was recruited into the Marine Corps in October of 1952 by Lieutenant Eric Pedersen.
Pedersen first laid eyes on the small Mongolian mare at the Seoul racetrack and used his own $250 to buy Reckless from a young Korean who was in dire need of money.  The Marines took her back riding in a small jeep trailer.

During the first few nights with the Marines, Reckless was tied in her bunker. This didn't last long as she was soon given free rein to roam around. She visited the Marines in their tents and even spent some restless nights with them. They would just move their sleeping bags to one side or the other and make room for their new friend. On very cold nights, the Marines would invite her into his tent to sleep standing up next to the stove. Sometimes she'd even lie down and stretch out.

Reckless was taught how to take cover while on the front lines and how to step over wires. When tapped on the front leg, she would know to hit the deck or get down. The training proved invaluable on many occasions. Reckless was taught to head toward a bunker when incoming rounds hit behind the lines. "We'd get incoming there too, and they'd [the enemy] lay it on you. If Reckless was back in the back, she'd go to a bunker. All I had to do was yell, "Incoming, incoming!' and she'd go."


Reckless was promoted twice.  A 19-gun salute accompanied her second promotion ceremony in 1959, when she was promoted to staff sergeant. She was retired on Nov. 10, 1960, with full military honors, according to an article in The San Diego Union. The article also stated that Gen David M. Shoup, then-Commandant of the Marine Corps, had issued this order: "SSgt Reckless will be provided quarters and messing at the Camp Pendleton Stables in lieu of retired pay."


On May 13, 1968, the Corps lost a dear friend with the passing away of SSgt Reckless. Some reports state she was 19 and others say 20 when she was injured and had to be put to sleep. 

In 1971 Reckless was again honored when the First Marine Division Association erected a memorial at the entrance to the base stables at Camp Pendleton. On Nov. 10, 1989, the first race at Aqueduct racetrack in was named "The Sgt Reckless" through the efforts of former Marine who worked at the track and the secretary of the New York Racing Association.

Leatherneck file photo 

PltSgt Joe Latham was Reckless’ trainer. He taught her to step over wire, how to get down during enemy fire and other means of staying alive.

Leatherneck file photo

Reckless delivered ammo to the recoilless rifle platoon’s firing sites. She would be led a few times and then could make the trip to and from the ammo dump by herself. During just one battle, she made 51 trips under enemy fire, most of them by herself. She was wounded twice but didn’t quit.

The photo below is of Reckless appearing at the Bohemian Club in San Francisco (it appeared in the Saturday Evening Post).

Wow.  Talk about an unknown hero.......................
 Visit her website at www.SgtReckless.com for more information. There is also a great video on YouTube.

Inn and Tavern Signs of the Times

Between 1750 and 1850, more than 50,000 inn and tavern signs were produced by American painters, offering a rare glimpse today into the visual language, life, and the culture of America in its infancy.  You can still find these lovely works of art on the market and thanks to the Internet they are much easier to find today.  Antique dealers are a great source and the rarest can be seen in museums like the Connecticut Historical Society's Collection.

This sign, dated to 1823, is one such example.  The term "resort" was still new when Jared Carter first advertised his establishment.  It implied destination rather than just necessary accommodations.  (photo is from the Ct. Historical Society web site).

You can sometimes find old signs in antique stores at a reasonable price.  We found two (one in Maryland and the other in Virginia) that decorate a bath room and the entrance way to the barn). 

This is a great way to decorate a farm house, a den, a study, even a kitchen and add some history at the same time. Here a few examples I found:

Here is a pub in England with the signs in tact:

Some of these signs probably made it over from the "old country" but they are just as lovely. Have a great Tuesday!