A quick trip to England

With the family at Stonehenge, which is surrounded by fields of sheep

 Our family had an opportunity to make a quick trip to England in early December 

and it was fabulous! We fit a lot into one week. Here are some of the highlights. 

Oxford University

Cupid in London

Buckingham Palace

I captured this sculpture from the tour bus in London. I find it very intriguing!

Sculpture in the museum at the Tower of London

I am a HUGE Jane Austen fan. We didn't have much time in Bath, so made a beeline
through the Bath Christmas Market straight to the Jane Austen Center. We grabbed a bite and
did some shopping in the Market on our way back to the the tour bus.

London Bridge

Land of Little Horses

Also during our visit to Gettysburg, we stopped by at the Land of Little Horses. It's a neat place with lots of animals - pygmy pigs, goats, calves, chickens, peacocks, rabbits, turkeys, alpacas, a couple exotic cattle breeds, and more. Lots of equines, from minis to a Shire. They do some breeding, but I spoke to one of the helpful workers (below) and she said many were rescues (all of the dogs were from the local shelter) or were donated.

They had some fun attractions, including a mock western town complete with saloon, general store and country church. Here is Andy in jail. They also had a nice playground that was near impossible to get him to leave.

And of course, the very important pony rides.

Audrey getting and giving some pony love.

They sell feed pellets and nearly all of the ponies
and minis were very good with little fingers. Just look at
that face! Some were quite the characters, banging
and carrying on until they got their hand out.

Audrey fell in love with this big chestnut.

They put on a half hour performance, complete with llama kisses, a piano playing pig and some pony performers. This trio performed at liberty. It was a memorable visit and one I would highly recommend if you're ever in the area.

More Devon Horse Show

I will definitely miss the Devon Horse Show after we move. I have really enjoyed going these past two years. This year, we enjoyed seeing the gaited breeds under saddle and harness. And I met Kathleen Friedenberg, who will be instructing the AAEA sculpting workshop I will be attending at the end of this month.

We also saw the Wells Fargo coach.

I think my favorite was the roadster ponies. Look at that action!

And of course, the all important SKEE BALL!

Memorial Day Cowgirl

We had a great weekend up in Connecticut. Beautiful weather, wonderful people, very relaxing.

We were invited to a barbeque at the home of one of my husband's coworkers. The CEO runs a working cattle ranch in Wyoming and he brought a roping dummy and lariats to the event. Audrey took to it like a duck to water. She was at it for over an hour before the skin started blistering on her hands and I made her stop. Guess what she is asking for this Christmas? I guess if you can't have a pony, a roping dummy is the next best thing!

Boston!

The family spent a lovely day in Boston a couple weekends ago. We walked the freedom trail and saw many wonderful sights from our nation's history. These lovely bronzes were very inspirational and I wanted to share them with you here.

We also spent time on a boat tour of NYC and an afternoon in Cape Cod, visiting the area where my father grew up. It was a quick trip, but nice to spend time with the family and enjoy the beautiful summer together visiting new places before school begins. My classes have started at Villanova University, where I am studying accounting and 3rd grade starts for Audrey on Monday. I will be busy, busy and not likely to post too often, but may have occasion here or there, so don't abandon me completely!

What do Snow, Anniversaries & Websites have in common?

This past Friday was our 10th anniversary. I had made plans to join Jonathan this weekend, go to New York city and see Wicked. Jonathan saw the forecast for a huge snow storm and we decided that it would be best to cancel my trip. (Turns out he was right, that is our car on Sunday morning!). To distract myself, I decided to give the website an update. It has taken me all weekend, but I am very pleased with the new look. Hope you'll agree! Check it out:

http://feldmanstudio.com/

A Dozen Wise Men

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

These were gifts our family painted for grandparents this Christmas. I don't think they'll be checking the blog before then... Everyone pitched in and it was a much needed creative release for me between my Calculus and Statistics finals (2 finals down, 1 to go!). Andy painted the hay for the cradle and the spots on the cows. Audrey painted the donkeys all by herself, as well as the crowns, and helped on lots of others, and Daddy even did most of the camels!

I wish everyone a very happy holiday surrounded by loved ones.

New Member of the Family!

Our first family pet, Chloe! We adopted her at our local Petsmart from one of the local shelters this past Saturday. Jonathan picked her out and even picked her name. She has the best personality and everyone is adjusting to each other as well as a three year old boy and five month old kitten can be expected to. She manages to disappear and sleep for hours at a time - what would that be like?! It's a decision that's been in the making for months (years, really) and now she's here! Welcome home, Chloe.

The Sunroom Project

I am a very project-oriented person, I think that is partly why I was so drawn to our house in the first place. There were so many projects to be done. The latest was just completed today!



We had a 20-something year old hot tub in a vaulted sunroom right off the master bedroom. We had someone come out twice, but never timed it right so he could figure out why the GFI electrical safety was tripping. Basically, it never got hot enough to use before it shut itself off. Anyway, my husband made the big decision to have it removed when he found someone related to someone he worked with who was right for the task (and it saved us a little from having it "professionally" done by the spa people who we'd already paid plenty to just show up at our house twice and never solve anything, but I digress...).


Sunroom/Hot Tub Before:

After the tub came out, the real work (for me, anyway) began. There were cracks in the walls from the moisture over the years that I repaired first and gave the room a going over with paint. Then the old tile had to come out, especially since there wasn't any under the spa. So I rented a tile stripper. If you've never used one of these, consider yourself lucky. This was the worst part of the entire project. I guess we had thicker tile than usual, since it was non-slip and all. All I know is it took much longer than expected and I had the bruises to show for it when it was all said and done. Then of course, there is still thinset left behind, which is what secures the tiles to the concrete. So I rented a floor grinder. Not so bad after the tile stripper, but I did leave alot of swirl marks in the concrete. And of course, it doesn't go all the way to the wall, so I had to buy a little angle grinder. Nifty little tool, but even more swirl marks.





Once the floor was cleared and cleaned, I stained the concrete. There is this really cool semi-transparent stain I wanted to try that is supposed to help the finish look like natural stone. Unfortunately, the gallon I bought was more pink than tan, so I ended up getting a solid tan color instead. While I'm happy to have pink walls in my daughter's room, I don't think I'd like it so much on my floor... Oh, and I got to install a new fan, too! All sorts of firsts with this project.




Today everything came together and I moved in the furniture that Jonathan picked out and put in the new plants and pictures. Now, we can finally enjoy the view of our lake. (and I have to get back to studying Calculus...)

Pony Rides & Petting Zoos

The kids and I had a great time at Prairiefest, which is Oswego's summer fair. The highlights were the *free* pony rides and petting zoos (one with "exotic" animals and one where you can enter the pen).

Andy enjoyed his first ever pony ride, laughing out loud spontaneously as we went round and round. His poor pony looked pooped. It was *hot*!

And of course, Audrey gravitated to all things equine and made good friends with this furry fellow.

Like mother, like daughter

Audrey had her dance recital this past weekend. It wasn't her first, but she doesn't remember the one when she was three, so she was a little worried. She did a beautiful job. :)

For those that don't know, I graduated with a degree in dance from Brigham Young Univsersity. My emphasis was ballroom with a touch of modern dance. Being back stage with Audrey helping her get ready brought back a flood of memories. I loved performing. Seeing Audrey all dressed up and ready to perform made me a little misty eyed.

Art and Chocolate

My dear husband was so thoughtful this Mother's Day. I have a weakness for chocolate and when he saw these artistic chocolates, he knew I would love them!

They are Godiva's G Collection. The tag reads "the fusion of art & chocolate." How neat is that?! They really do remind me of gem stones.

They're so pretty we haven't even tried one yet!

:D

Audrey meets Pal

Audrey joins me at all the local model horse shows. This past weekend we had the pleasure of attending Show for the Cure, where I also had the privlege of judging the china divisions. And while we were there Breyer's mascot, Pal, stopped by and we got to say hello and snap this picture.

Audrey is my little mini-me. Here's a picture of her painting at 4 years old.