I ran into another case of buyer beware last week. And I fell for it completely.
Look at this horsey Lego set.
Honoring the Budweiser Clydesdales, it came across my Facebook feed. I immediately took a screen shot and sent it to our family GroupMe chat.
"Please, please, PLEASE someone get this for me!! My birthday is coming up." (Not until the end of August, but still...)
And then, I got the bad news. It was not an official Lego set.
It was the 5 digit number on the box that was the definitive proof. Even though the set had the official red Lego label on it, it was not a Lego product, it was an imitation.
I am disappointed, but I'm also glad Kyle checked it out for me. Yet another case of buyer beware raising its ugly head.
And then, look what appeared in my social media feed yesterday.
I'd get that in a heartbeat for several family members! But no number appears to check for authenticity, and, even more telling, there is no red Lego sign on the box.
Eight years ago yesterday, I retired from teaching. It was earlier than I'd wanted, but my health was tanking.
It was a wise thing to do - in those eight years I've had five major surgeries, a precancerous mass on my pancreas removed, a year and a half of hemiplegic migraines (which stopped as suddenly as they began), and more. Honestly, there have been days when I have been very, very grateful that I was retired and not having to worry about my students.
Local schools finished up yesterday and I felt a little blue that I was not at Hershey, standing on the sidewalk, and waving goodbye as the kids left for summer break.
This is a Hershey tradition that I loved - eighteen buses full of kiddos chugging past
while the entire staff stood outside waving goodbye to each bus. (It took four videos to capture it all!)
A fellow staff member had suggested that I make a video of my classroom before closing it down so that I could always remember it.
So, just before the kids came in for their last day and began helping me remove posters and projects, pack up books, and take the room down to four walls, desks, and chairs, I grabbed my phone and filmed it as it was.
I am glad I did - looking at it yesterday made me smile, cry, and remember some awesome times with students. Good memories.
On that very last day of teaching in 2018, my students had surprised me with this video - each one had written me a note and then one girl and her mother had spliced them all together along with photos from our classroom web site into a video message that I treasure to this day. (And it ends with Abby!)
I pulled up that video yesterday and watched it with fondness and (no surprise) a lot of tears.
Thanks, folks. I love you, too. (And your video still makes me cry.)
The fourth graders in my classroom are all graduating from high school this weekend and the fifth graders just completed their first year of college, gap year, or employment.
Congratulations to you all and best wishes for a very bright future. I hope it's so bright that you'll need to wear shades, just as you did in the video!
Enjoy these updates on Breyer happenings, Nash, me, and more!
The BreyerFest Warehouse Sale
Last week Breyer announced that a warehouse sale of items from past BreyerFests would be held sometime this week. It dropped at 2:00 Thursday afternoon and by 2:02, the one thing I was mildly interested in was already sold out.
Other things did not sell as quickly and for the most part, social media posts expressed disappointment at what had been offered. Out of the 35 offerings, I already had the 9 I'd most wanted. I looked at it all a couple of times and then moved back into the sewing room to work on the quiet book.
As of this morning when I took those screen shots, 10 of the 35 have sold out. Apparently I am not the only one who didn't find anything that they needed.
Buenos Aires, Third Release of the Exotic Destinations Series
Buenos Aires, the third release in the Exotic Destinations series was offered on Monday.
With a paint job designed by Lesli Kathman and on the popular Smarty Jones mold, my guess is that this will be a popular and coveted piece.
Screenshot from Breyer's web site.
There are 600 pieces available at a purchase price of $199. Entries closed last night and winners will be contacted in the next 24-36 hours.
I entered for him - I like polo ponies and while that is not an Appaloosa pattern that he sports (it is a manchado pinto) it is close enough and I really like it. Still, that price point makes me a bit leery. Much as I love my collection, $200 is a lot of money. We shall see.
Here There Be Dragons Dogs
Nash is still grieving Molly's passing but we see signs of normalcy surfacing . He spends every day with us right now, instead of the Wednesdays/Fridays routine we were on when Mama was with us. (Gosh, I'm welling up with tears as I write her name. I miss her so!)
But there is still some sadness, some loneliness, that you can see in his body language. He's a joy de vivre kind of dog, and for the most part, that's missing. However, there are signs that he is doing better.
Lying on my feet? That's Pepper, not Nash.
But wanting to also lie on a pillow while he lies on my feet? Oh, that's very much our Nashie-boi.
Hogging the best sun puddle in the house? Nashie-boi!
Don't worry; Tammo got it back and has Nash's favorite toy, too.
Ready to join me for an afternoon nap? Oh, yes! Not that there is any room for me like that. Someone is going to have to move so I can lie down, too.
Normally when I find a model tipped over, I'm not too happy.
But this is a sign that Nash and Tammo got rowdy together on the upstairs overlook, and I am fine with that. (Besides, that's my carpet herd Man O'War and he's already been through a lot of play time with me.)
Here there be dragons dogs and those dragons dogs were clearly happy.
So am I.
A Gift from Belle
I don't talk about it much, but in November, 2024, I started working on my health and losing weight. It's been a year and a half, and I am at goal.
I am really happy about that.
I have been going through my summer clothes and nothing fits. And honestly, I am not a shopping girl. I have never been someone who wandered the mall or did a lot of clothes shopping. (Antique malls and shopping for HSOs? That's different!!) Add in clothes shopping and using dressing rooms while using a walker, and it's pretty intimidating to me.
Luckily there is online shopping and I am looking for things now. There are also friends who surprise you with gifts.
She and her family were at my Kentucky Derby Watch party and she was wearing this shirt. I complimented her on it, and she asked my size and said she'd just order it for me. Except that when it arrived, she would not accept any money. "It's a gift!" she declared.
Thank you, Belle. I love it. And now we can twinsie together!
A Quiet Book Sneak Peek
Jessica just sent me a few things to use for the quiet book.
She's a dental hygienist and sent me a pack of baby toothbrushes, two carrot appliqués,
and an apple appliqué.
I'll be working on the page for those today. Any guesses as to how they will be used?
My mother was quite the seamstress and made all our clothes when we were young.
How about those pom poms?? Leslie and I thought we were terribly fancy.
Both of my grandmothers sewed, with Grandma Martin being a real whiz at clothing and especially costuming.
My aunt and uncle ready to perform for a Red Feather Service Association fund raiser in 1950.
Grandma Honeywell did gorgeous embroidery, crochet, and other fine handwork.
So, you might think that I had the sewing gene, too, right?
Well... maybe. It wasn't very evident at first. But everyone has to start somewhere.
I began when I was about 8 years old, making blankets for my Breyer 5 Gaiter who I'd named Sham
and a cheap, nondescript plastic Quarter Horse named Apache Joe.
I took scraps from my mother's sewing basket, cut out rectangles, embroidered their names on them, and added yellow wire closures. I still have them and smile when I realize I'd inadvertently done those blankets in Breyer's company colors!
When I was 15, my best friend Shelly was already a very good sewist.
Shelly (right) and me in high school, twinsing. We were unrelated, but shared the same last name and loved to dress alike.
We both did 4-H, but she was in Clothing Design and Construction and got to dress elegantly and model her creations onstage at the fairgrounds during Fair Week. Meanwhile, I was in Horse and Pony, wearing dusty jeans and boots, and shoveling manure in the livestock barns!
I started playing around with fabrics and my mother's old Singer sewing machine and, with advice from Shelly when I got stuck, began sewing my own clothing. I never had a sewing lesson, not from either of my grandmothers or my mother, but I learned the basics by trial, error, and practice and discovered a life long love sewing.
Shelly is a master quilter now.
She hand stitched every piece of this quilt. Isn't it gorgeous?
Because I helped her a bit with the horses on that quilt, she made me my own quilt block and sent it to me as a surprise. It hangs in my tent for Jolis Chevaux.
As a young mom, I sewed all my maternity clothes and the kids' baby clothes, continuing to sew for them on into high school for Prom and then weddings.
So, when Breyer asked me what I wanted to teach for BreyerFest this year, my mind went back to my own beginnings. The blankets for Sham and Apache Joe. Some fairly spectacular fails when I made a dress or two for me. And so on.
I felt it was important that any beginning sewist who watched whatever I presented would not feel overwhelmed and could complete a successful project. That they might feel encouraged to continue on their sewing journey. That what I taught included lots of sewing hacks, tips, and general how-tos that would be helpful to them.
I rewatched my 2026 seminar yesterday for the first time since I submitted it in April. I think that there is something for everyone but especially for those who, whatever age they are, are learning how to sew.
I hope it encourages them to keep at it and that down the road, some of them will be part of the hobby sewing community and knocking our socks off with their creativity in pouches, aprons, pads, blankets, and more.
Just before I went to bed last night, I did one quick last check of my social media. And there it was - finally! The my-lips-are-sealed project that I had worked on for several weeks in March and April!
Early last August I was contacted by Breyer and asked if I'd like to participate again for BreyerFest 2026 and if I did, to submit some ideas as to what I'd like to teach.
I really wanted to provide something beginner sewists could do. We all have a beginning point, but sometimes we compare ourselves to the more accomplished and experienced artisans and quit before we begin.
So I pitched that idea to Breyer with my reasoning that I felt it was important to have something beginners as well as more experienced sewists could do, something that would be useful, that was fun to make, and wasn't too hard that they would be disappointed in the results.
Breyer agreed, and so...
I clicked on the links and noticed that one of the pattern sheets had not been uploaded, so I will contact Breyer and make sure that that gets posted, too.
Now that the virtual workshops have been announced, I'll share more about mine, how Lisa and Jessie both helped me in its production, and more.
Saturday was an exciting day for Lisa - she was selected and recognized as one of Purdue University's Golden Hammer Educators!
Needless to say, it was a very big honor! There was a brunch held with Purdue's First Lady, Dr. Kei Hui, and several Deans where the honorees were recognized, given tickets for the football game (and their guests, too), and an appearance on the Jumbotron during the game where the sold out stadium of 61,000 applauded her and the other recipients.
A goodie bag full of lots of Purdue swag was given out during the brunch.
My degrees may be from Big Ten rival Illinois, but I'll wear a Purdue tee when they honor my daughter!
And I'll make sure everyone knows who I am related to!
Craig's degrees are from Purdue so his wardrobe is full of Purdue shirts.
He, too, made sure everyone knew who he was with!
This young girl attends the school where Lisa teaches. She was not one of Lisa's students, but she was so excited to see Lisa and kept coming over to talk to her.
Dr. Kei Hui, First Lady of Purdue and an advocate of Education, spent the day with us. She was laughing here because of the sign behind her.
She jokingly invited two of the Golden Hammer's sponsoring Deans to come up and cover it up so it "doesn't spoil everyone's photo opportunities."
Brunch over, the honorees went with the Deans and Dr. Kei to film their Jumbotron appearances to be played later during the game.
Craig and I had some time to wait, and as we walked around through the crowds, the Purdue Band came marching through and into the stadium. I happened to be seated in my walker right where they were marching and had a great view of the band.
If you watch to the end (it's 2:00 long) you will see this come through!
The World's Largest Drum! Not gonna lie - it's on my bucket list to drum it some day! I was SO close to it this afternoon!!
So was Lisa! She was on the field with the drum - lucky girl!
Dr. Kei Hiu stayed with the honorees and was happy to take selfies with them. Here they are pre-game while filming their Jumbotron appearances.
And here it is! (1:10)
I did not stay for the game for a couple of reasons as my back was hurting (we'd taken two cars thinking that that might happen.) But the game was televised so I was able to watch from home.
A shot of the sold out stadium of 61,000 people with the Jumbotron in the end zone. (The domed building to the left is Mackey Arena, Purdue's basketball arena.)
Purdue won the game 0-28 which was icing on the cake of a wonderful day. (Can you see the drum down there?)
Congratulations, Lisa! You are an outstanding teacher and you have taught me new teaching skills when watching you. This honor was very well deserved and as Dr. Kei said in her remarks,
"Teaching is the one profession that creates all other professions."
