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HoofPrints Newsletter
March 25, 2015
Rob shoeing Rocky
ABOUT THE COMPANY AND THIS NEWSLETTER
Farriers Greeting Cards was started by Gina Keesling in 1986 (in a very small way) to provide helpful promotional materials for farrier husband Rob. Along the way we became HoofPrints.com, too, adding a selection of fun horse and dog products geared toward women of a certain age. This newsletter is emailed to subscribers a few times a month, depending on how often I have something to share. Watch for special sales, interesting stories, uplifting quotes and more.
The Aftermath. An Adventure in Remodeling 
Though I am longing to show you a bazillion pictures of the amazingness of the (almost) finished project, (for those just tuning in, we have been in the process of repurposing hand hewn barn beams in a large room in our house) but - I am instead stuck on the wreckage that is the aftermath. Probably "normal" people, when tackling a project of this magnitude, would rent a big roll-off dumpster to contain and dispose of the scraps and trash produced during the construction project. Upon completion, a big truck would come and take it away, and the "normal" home owners would pull up a comfy chair, grab a beer, and enjoy the fruition of the project completed, sans aftermath.

Not us. Since we heat with a wood burning fireplace insert, small wood scraps are perfect for starting and/or reviving a fire, so are worth hanging onto. A few handfuls of dry wood scraps, strategically placed with just two fire starter packets will produce a nice hot fire in a jiffy, withOUT messing with grungy newspaper and trying to split kindling sticks off of the fire logs. As the household record-holder for failed fires, I covet anything that makes this task easier.

This coveting has lead to all available spare space being consumed by wood scraps. Small scraps for fire starting, and large ones, like below, for more significant projects.
Horsey Christmas cards or 100+ pound hand hewn timbers?
Bailey can show you both in the same aisle. The last HoofPrints newsletter here included my unsolicited advice on how to be happy - by cleaning something. Whereupon I bragged about finally getting up the gumption to throw away (recycle) my entire stash of perfectly useful empty horse supplement tubs. Dealing with the aftermath of this construction project is going to require considerably more effort than one trip to the recycle bin.

Which brings us to the latest blog entry: 
"The Aftermath" is here 

The backstory: For years, the HoofPrints order form included three tiny photos of our old farmhouse in various stages of remodel. I have had so many folks mention that they enjoyed reading about the transformation, that I decided to blog about it. The first entry; Fun on the Farm Part 1 is here. At the end of that story, I allude to the fact that there's more in the works.

I am still trying to sort out the best way to make that into a cohesive story - as with all things in life, it's got lots of complicated and interesting twists and turns to the "plot". If I were a fiction writer I doubt I could make up stuff that's any better.

If you missed any entries in this riveting tale, you can catch up using these links:

"Tell them we will take it." A chapter of My Stubborn Valentine is here

"I got this, really. How hard can it be?" Another chapter of My Stubborn Valentine is here

The Epic Mess. Also known as "Fixing the Fireplace" is here

Trials and Strong Backs - An Adventure in Remodeling is here

"No one will ever see it." - Another Adventure in Remodeling is here 

Stay tuned as I use my blog to share stories and pictures from the past here on the farm, as well as current events as we integrate these old timbers into our latest project. You can even subscribe to get email updates as I publish new entries. Details here 

SPRING HAS SPRUNG! According to the calendar, at least.
Make sure you've got a VEST or two on hand for the crazy temperature fluctuations. 

Vests are the BEST! How do I know?
Because I test every product that HoofPrints sells.
 
If I don't like it, then you never see it. And I'm pretty picky about my stuff. I have no tolerance for any garment that can't survive normal laundering. I wash test everything - and if it looks different once it's been washed, we don't sell it. Sloppy seams that look like they'll come out? Axed. Zippers, buttons, fasteners that look wimpy? It's out. If a garment makes the cut, then I have it decorated locally with one of HoofPrints unique horsey logos. They're not the cheapest, but a good quality, long lasting garment trumps a cheap one in my book any day.
 
Gina & Billy Nov 2011
Shown here are a few favorites (both garments and animals). If you click the picture it will take you to a larger version. The fleece Headband is a great little ear-warmer that would be easily worth $9.95 withOUT the spiffy Bucephalus embroidery that makes it stand out as a horsey statement. I like it especially because the black trim on top and bottom has just the right grip to keep it positioned over your ears. And it's the perfect width to fit under a ponytail.

Another favorite is the Zippered BARN Girl hood. It's a lovely celadon green and is super soft inside. We've embroidered it with our intricate logo of a gal struggling with a bale of hay.

Sadly, the heavy vest I am wearing is discontinued so I'll refrain from singing the praises on that one. However, I'd still like to sing the praises of vests in general. Vests are the best because they give you so much more freedom about the arms than a regular coat. Paired with the sweatshirt or longsleeve T of your choice, you've got more options for climate control, too. If you start to overheat (as often is the case with me) you can take off the vest without getting chilled until you cool down. This is not really an option with a heavy coat as then you get too cold. 
Shown at left is the wardrobe staple that's with me as soon as it starts to get cool outside. This soft fleece vest has a flattering, slimming cut and lots of details; zippered pockets, adjustable elastic hem, longer tail in the back for better coverage. With the insanely cold temps we've been having here lately, our 1880's farmhouse has been more than chilly. Pair that with a thermostat war of sorts as propane prices have skyrocketed - and I am throwing vests at everybody in the house. "Here, put this on. It'll solve everything." and it does. Vests are a better solution than piling on another long-sleeve layer. The biggie for me is the collar. If my neck is cold then the whole rest of me is cold. But, being of a certain age - wearing a turtleneck is NOT the answer. Because in 5 minutes I may be overheated. This radical temperature fluctuation is easily solved with the stand-up (or not) vest collar and zipper. In two seconds I can be wearing a turtleneck of sorts - or a v-neck - depending on whether I am chilling or sweating. This fleece vest is only $29.95 - pretty cheap really, for personal climate control. It's available in 3 colors here. ***NOTE - be sure to check the size charts to verify that you're getting the perfect size, and especially note the arm hole measurements. These tend to run a bit on the small side***

It seems dumb to promote a product that HoofPrints doesn't sell (I don't have the space to stock all the sizes) - but if you've not discovered fleece lined jeans, then be sure to give them a look this season. They're the best thing to help you stay warm, and much easier to manage than long underwear. Lots of places carry them, a good place to start is  here
 
The horse I am riding is Billy, he's doing well despite is advanced (and still undetermined) age. Longtime newsletter subscribers will remember the exciting tale of his "discovery", his arrival in Indiana, his accident, and the happy ending here, and all the things I learned along the way here and here ***Please keep in mind as you read these old newsletters that the links/products/sales contained therein may no longer be valid.*** Once a newsletter is archived I am unable to edit it. (solving that is on my to-do list... thanks for understanding) 

The black dog is Bailey, one of a pair of young labs who were dumped here a while back. Thanks to HoofPrints newsletter subscriber Bonnie - she gave the other pup (Ellie) a wonderful home. Bailey has settled in here nicely and continues to amuse with her silly antics, there's a story about her foray into the world of good behavior here 

HORSEwork before HOUSEwork Tin Sign with rolled edges is just 99� here


  
Conflicting advice for Horsewomen  
"HORSEwork before HOUSEwork" vs "Clean Something"
vs Do Little"
 

Last time, I featured an interesting excerpt from Martha Beck's article How to Find the Kind of Joy That Lasts in which she advised folks who were in a slump to Make Something. Since my work here at HoofPrints consists of making stuff nearly every day - and I'm not nearly as relaxed and blissful as I'd like, I came up with my own little offshoot of Martha's effort -
Clean Something. After that, I advised folks to pick something (mess, clutter, etc) that they could manage in about an hour, and TAKE CARE OF IT. Sounds good, huh? And I bet you're thinking that by practicing this regimen, that my house, office, barn would be relatively neat and orderly. I wanted to share, just to set the record straight, that that is not exactly the case. It's so not the case that it made me think of the old Saturday Night Live character played by Chris Farley: Matt Foley - The Motivational Speaker. For those who don't remember, Matt Foley is the antithesis of a good motivational speaker: abrasive, clumsy and down on his luck, living in a van down by the river! There's a good Conan O'Brien interview with Chris Farley that talks about the character here

 

Hairball under chair
To illustrate, I'd like to show you a picture of the rather bizarre "creation" I discovered the other day. I dropped something on the floor, got down on my hands and knees to retrieve it, and this caught my eye - it was directly under the center post of my office chair. It was fairly big, and perfectly round, I was immediately horrified as I thought it looked like a giant spider egg case. It was only less horrifying, once I picked it up and realized it really was just a giant hairball. A hairball that had survived the vacuum (yes, I DO vacuum) because of the fact that it was tethered TO THE CHAIR by a single long hair, so each time the chair got moved, the hairball stayed exactly underneath it, picking up my hair and Lucy's hair for who knows how long. Ewww. Of course, I then did what everyone does these days. I took a picture of it and shared it on Facebook
(with apologies to members of the family who do not find any humor in a dirty house - and sorry Mom and Dad - you paid for a college degree so I could write about hairballs on the internet...) 

 

I guess this oddity is no surprise, considering where I live. Alexandria's brief claim to fame 20 years ago was a giant hairball found to be blocking the sewer, causing the previously unsolvable flooding problems. The hairball made national news - on David Letterman even. My employer at the time RAM Graphics printed t-shirts in it's honor and it was star of the town's parade.

So, you've been given advice to Make Something by a nationally known PhD, to
Clean Something by someone who's harboring a giant hairball under her chair, Now, here's one telling you to Do Little:

"It's a testament to the powerful insight of creativity that one of the biggest keys to deeper communication with all beings - be they four-legged, two-legged, winged or gilled, or even hidden aspects of ourselves - is summed up in the name of one of the most celebrated animal communicators of all time: Dr. Dolittle.

The good doctor was created by writer Hugh Lofting, who had such great fondness for animals that he invented an inquisitive veterinarian who embraced the task of learning their language. Lofting wrote over a dozen books celebrating the exchange of thoughts and ideas between humans and animals, thus inspiring many readers to regard the furred and feathered in a very different way.

Although Dr. Dolittle is fictional, it's intriguing that Lofting chose that name. For central to effective communication with animals is the realization that there is little we need do. In fact, the more we scurry around trying to do this or that - buy a book! take a workshop! buy a universal translator device! - the more we tend to negate our innate abilities. Thus, we further remove ourselves from a genuine and personal deep-down connection with all life.

The Taoist sage Lao Tzu puts it this way: There is no need to run outside for better seeing, nor to peer from a window. Rather abide at the center of your being. Search your heart and see: the way to do is to be. Exactly!

On the other hand, if we don't do things, how does anything get done? It's cool and smart in a Zen-like way to say that all will get done when we learn how to 'be', but how does this work, really? How can we learn to talk with animals without 'doing' anything? What does finding ourselves through be-ing actually entail?"

Read the rest of this fascinating article by Dawn Brunke here

HORSEwork before HOUSEwork tote
ON SALE! 
HORSEwork before HOUSEwork Big Burlap Tote
 
 The cute little TIN SIGN with the same phrase was a big hit, so I've added HoofPrints own specially designed Burlap Tote - to carry all your HORSEwork supplies! This bag is sturdy and functional, right down to the jaunty button closure. Thick cotton rope handles are long enough that you can carry this as a shoulder bag. It measures a big 13" tall x 17" wide by 5" deep, and is made of natural jute fiber burlap.

One of the best parts is the PRICE! Regular price is only $14.95 - which is a deal, but for a limited time I've marked these down to just $9.95!
 
If you're one of those folks who struggles to make a gift wrapped package look nice... here's the perfect solution. Just put the gift in this bag and voila - it's "wrapped" - and the recipient will think you've went above and beyond in both your thoughtfulness AND cleverness! To order click here

Clean Up CLOSEUP
Clutter busting continues at HoofPrints
My efforts to clear the warehouse (and my house- house) of accumulated oddball products continues to gain momentum. I've written about it before. The point continues to be, sometimes the space becomes more valuable than the items that are occupying it. So this is where most places say... "our loss is your gain!" Well, check out this super-cheap stuff and BUY IT. And your gain will be my gain, too. Because I need that space on the shelf.

The Half Price Page is here - check this often as they're one-of-a-kind things that will sell quickly and be replaced with whatever else starts to get on my nerves. I am currently going through a large stash of samples* - so many wonderful things, it's hard to choose just a handful for the catalog. And the rest have got to go! Only one of each available so act fast if you see something you like.

*A note about the samples - Someone made a comment on the HoofPrints Facebook page that the samples are free to me and implied should thus be priced accordingly. Just to set the record straight - I pay for almost every sample I acquire. Occasionally an author or publisher will send me a book unsolicited, but I prefer to buy these anonymously so if I review and don't think it is a good fit for the product line, I don't feel guilty about not including it.

Half Price PRINTS are here - there are a lot of lovely prints languishing in drawers here that really should be hanging on folks' walls making them smile and beautifying their homes. Fall/winter is busy season here and I don't encourage print sales then - I don't have the extra time it takes to wrap these carefully for safe delivery. Now that Christmas is past, I've marked them way down now to sweeten the deal.

Half Price JEWELRY is here 
The more I got to digging, the more I found. Jewelry doesn't take up much room - suffice to say there is a LOT of lovely stuff that needs to find a new home. Then there's that whole problem I have with the beads. It's getting worse. Stay tuned for details on that.

Half Price Books & Magazine Back Issues here 
This represents a major turning point for HoofPrints owner Gina Keesling. This treasure trove of magazine back issues has been lovingly collected and hoarded for many, many years. It's getting to be a space problem, keeping them all stored AND due to the sheer volume of them, along with my busy schedule, they rarely get any attention. But even now, as I go through them to write sales descriptions, I am feeling sad at the prospect of letting go of this vast collection of pictures and articles about all the things I love - Horses, Dogs, Farriery and Blacksmithing, The West, Pretty Western Clothes and Jewelry, Awesome Country Homes, Recipes for Hearty Food, Healthy Living, Spirituality and more. I'll do my best to mention the content that stands out to me in the descriptions. Prices on these back issues reflect the fact that I am still very much in love with them, however they are at or below what the publishers are charging. The current sales list is small, but I'll be adding more as I am able; going through these is a slow process, as you can imagine, I get sidetracked frequently by all the fascinating content that lead me to hoard these in the first place. 

The Closeouts Page is here
It features overstocks, items that are being phased out - still lots of good deals to be had there, too.

In This Issue
Here's what we talked about last time
What Did I Miss? graphic
Last newsletter is here
ALL newsletters are here
NEW - IMPROVED

Horse Woman's LONG TALL LIST of things to do here
GET READY FOR SPRING with these fun horsey T's
3 horsey t-shirts
3 Springy Horsey T-shirts less than $15 each here !
Woman's Place Is On A Horse Gift Bag
Metallic Pink Bag
This metallic pink gift bag is sturdy, durable, and UNDER $4.00! It measures a handy 9 "x 4" x 12" (not counting the handles) When I posted a picture of it on HoofPrints Facebook page, a customer chimed in: 
"I love this bag! It's just the right size for my lunch, or shoes + a big bottle of my favorite flavored water. And, since I carry a giant tote anyway, it takes up no room to have it folded and available when I need it, Plus -- it's pink; what more needs to be said?"  
To order click here

Horse Lovers Bible
Horse Lovers Bible
Leather bound Bible is gift boxed - it's the bestselling NIV version with additional 12 pages of horse photos accompanied by inspirational thoughts and scripture verses.
Bible Pocket Partners
Bible Pocket Partners
31 days of meaningful devotional pages - perfect for cowboys and cowgirls of all ages! HoofPrints Christian products are here 
DRESS UP YOUR VEST Horsey Zipper Pulls
Zipper pulls
A great way to dress up any jacket, sweatshirt, or purse. Order  here
HALF PRICE
Best-Selling DVD
Buck DVD
This is a great DVD - there's a lot of wisdom here, and I'll even forgive him for saying that it's a bad idea to train with treats. (hey, no one can know EVERYTHING!)
The Buck DVD is here
I Make Horse Calls Books

"I was so grateful for the care the gentle senior student took with Pischka that day. ... I will not forget the thoroughness of that student, and would emulate her when I entered practice. I would never dismiss an owner's complaint, because I remember how I felt when vets dismissed Pischka's illness, never trying to find out what made Pischka so sick." -from Horse Calls, available here
The Doctor is In Horse Thermometer
Horse Doctor Thermometer
Measures a big 17" tall and under $15.00! Order here
This Hug's For You

Equine Sympathy Cards here
Courage doesn't always roar...
Courage Pink Mug
sometimes courage is that quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "i will try again tomorrow." To order click  here
Silver Dog Whistle
Dog Whistle
Solid Sterling Silver Whistle on waxed cotton cord here
Farriers Traveling Desk

Corral your paperwork on the road! And it's HALF the cost of the previous version here
Customer Favorite:
TUFF CHIX GLOVES

"Best. Gloves. Ever!" ~HoofPrints customer testimonial. More info here 
Bomber Jacket
~ $10.00 OFF! ~

MORE ABOUT THE JACKET: This one's not really suede of the genuine leather persuasion, but you'd never know by touching it. It's made of a high-tech polyester fabric, velvety mocha suede on the outside, cushy oatmeal-colored sherpa fleece on the inside. The two layers are bonded together so this fits like a dream. Smooth, warm, comfortable. How could it get any better? The fabric is 4-way stretch, AND it washes up great with no special coddling in the laundry. Two-way zipper unzips from the bottom for freedom of movement. Zip pockets hold all your stuff without being bulky here
Message

I LOVE hearing from customers. You can contact HoofPrints owner
Gina Keesling via email at [email protected]
 
Find us on facebook
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Be sure to LIKE our facebook page - it's where we announce special sales, breaking news and everything else we find interesting. To see it go here
 
Share our emails
Viral marketing... it sounds bad, doesn't it?
You can ask my husband - a frequent topic around here is that of forwarded emails - and the psychology behind them - just WHAT prompts people to decide; "I am going to send this to everyone I know!".


We receive a lot of them. Some are pretty good, and others are dumb. Dumb in a myriad of ways...  Alarmist email rumors that have been around forever - that folks keep sending "just in case it's true" Pictures of someone's butt (or worse) - don't even get me started about the firecracker butt - but at least that one was timely when it showed up around July 4. Christian messages that are uplifting - until you get to the end and you're threatened "if you're not ashamed that you love Jesus, forward this - if you are, then delete." Pictures of cute puppies and kittens (awww)

I enjoy writing these newsletters - and sharing all this stuff with you all. But the fact is, it's also a way to help us stay connected with customers and sell products during the time between catalog mailings (which is only once a year) So I really, really like it when someone new stumbles upon the newsletter and is excited to "discover" our company and the products we offer.

In all my efforts to make the newsletter interesting and forward-worthy - it never occurred to me to JUST ASK you all to send it! Duh. Sometimes the obvious is elusive, I guess. So here goes - my request to ask you to forward our email newsletter to your horsey friends.  All we ask is that you please be judicious and only send to folks who might be interested. Otherwise we are no better than the "firecracker butt". Click to get started. (please note - using this form does NOT subscribe anyone to our list - it is a one-time only forward)