Shingles

Second Post of the Day

I have shingles.

Again. 

For the second time.

Despite being vaccinated.

It's very, very rare for this to happen to someone who has been vaccinated, but there is a reason it has.

In 2019 when I had pancreatic surgery, I also lost my spleen. The mass on my pancreas was so large it had involved the spleen and so it, too, needed to be removed.

Thus, that surgery left me highly immunocompromised. The spleen plays a pivotal role in immunity, and when you no longer have one, you are at a much higher risk for infections and illness.

Earlier this week I noticed that my body was hurting under the waistband of my jeans. I didn't think too much about it - random hurting is nothing new. But two days later it was burning and becoming very painful. 

A check in the bathroom mirror showed an elongated red rash wrapped around my side at waist level. And, it was in the same place that I'd had shingles the first time. With the discomfort, pain, and burning plus the red rash in the same place (a common sign of a shingles recurrence), I was pretty sure that I had shingles again.

Craig took some photos of my side and I sent them to my doctor. In less than an hour, the diagnosis was confirmed and I was headed to the pharmacy to pick up several medications.

So, how did I get shingles not once, but now twice, despite having been vaccinated?

My primary care physician, Dr. Kengari, explained it to me.

"You had chicken pox as a child, so the virus that causes shingles in is your body. As immunocompromised as you are, the virus can break through the vaccine. But, the virus is still affected by the vaccine. Your rash looks a little different as a result." (My rash is not as blistery and weepy as shingles normally are.) 

So, in other words, I have shingles but I am lucky in that the vaccine is moderating it and tamping it down. While it hurts and burns, it is nothing compared to what I know it can be. (I watched my mother and my grandmother go through bouts with shingles. It was not pleasant.)

I've started the meds and am feeling better. Wearing nightgowns that hang from my shoulders keeps the pressure off the rash at my waist. I'm not contagious and can go out in the community if I wish. (Um, I'll put my jeans back on for that! LOL)

My plans for today are to continue to sew and to work on Christmas gifts while I heal. It's cold outside, so I may even drink some hot chocolate. (Do I have any marshmallows?? Better check. They're a hot chocolate essential! LOL)

Wish me luck, stay warm, and stay 'tooned! 

Horses (Mostly)

First Post of the Day

It's not often anymore that I have lots of horse photos to share, but today I do.

This photo of Abby crossed my Facebook feed yesterday as a memory.

Such a pretty girl. Look how her ears are up as she keeps an eye on what I am doing. That was my Abby!

Cole sent this photo of Julie and Kate going for a recent ride.

I'm not sure what the occasion was.

A Girl Scout activity? A church youth group one? Regardless, it looks like fun! (The Grammy in me would prefer they were wearing helmets...)

Jessica sent me this photo of friends of hers, knowing that I'd enjoy seeing it.

Why yes, Jessie, yes, I did! xoxy

Friends of mine from the living history community got married recently. I made his white shirt; she made her dress. Isn't that a beautiful picture!

Leslie on Beau, a horse she once owned. The photo was taken in her pasture. (Tim owns that saddle now and uses it on Eazy.)

This last picture was also taken in Leslie's pasture just a few days ago. 

Two does grazing in her pasture. Isn't that neat how they are mirror images of each other? I told her that this would make a great Christmas card.

I miss having lots of opportunities to take horse pictures and then share them here. However, next week I will be checking on Belle's horses. She's traveling, and while Tim will still be checking them daily and she doesn't really need me to do that, I suspect she is simply offering me an opportunity to be with horses.

I'm gonna take her up on that, too.

Stay 'tooned!

Deck the Stalls

My Deck the Stalls holiday Stablemates arrived a few days ago. Collectors Club members got early access and could buy up to four of them, and they sold out quickly.

I bought my allotment of four, hoping I would get a good assortment and certainly not all the same thing. 

You know, harking back to the time when I got six, SIX!! Breyer holiday blankets.

My most wanted piece was the Mini-Neva,

and luck was with me.

I've always liked Neva; that glossy deep midnight blue with the contrasting pearly white is beautiful.

Put that coloring on the Stablemate Fighting Stallion mold and I am all in!

Mini-Zugspitze was the one I was hoping for next.

Silver filigree looks good on the mini Theo mold and he is a glossy, too.

I did get a duplicate - Mini-Benasque. He's a glossy blue filigree and that blue is nice and dark.

I did not want Mini-Courcheval; I did not like the color on the original Courchevel, and I do not like the color nor the mold used for Mini-Courchevel.

I am really happy with what I got and will keep them out on display for a bit.

My extra Mini-Benasque is for sale for what I paid for him - $24.99 plus shipping. Email me if you want him at horsiemama8@gmail.com.

Another post may be coming today. If it's not up by 10:00 Eastern, then I will post it tomorrow.

Stay 'tooned!

Breyer Has Been Busy!

Heads up! Breyer has released Georgina, the last piece of the 2026 Premier Club, and she is lovely. I like the dynamic mold, I like the color, and I like Georgian Grandes, the breed she depicts.

Jennifer Scott sculpted her, and I like Jennifer's work, too. Very much. (Screenshot of Breyer's ad.)

She also sculpted the Racking Saddlebred/Hamilton, another mold that I think is very dynamic and beautiful. 

The new Peruvian Paso is Jennifer Scott's work, too. (Photo from Identify Your Breyer.)

I hope Breyer has contracted Jennifer to sculpt more molds - she is quite talented and I like her sculpting style.

Georgina will ship with the club's annual free Stablemate, Slebi, a crossbred Akhal Teke done by Leah Peretz. (Photo from Breyer's ad.)  

Reaction is mixed about her but that may change when she is in-hand and folks can examine her better.

NOT shipping with anyone's order for a while is the very popular Stablemate, Brumby.

I am loosely tracking his sales, and several who had planned to order him along with Georgina have been disappointed. For the fourth time that I am aware of, Brumby is sold out. But, he's not on the retired list so I am sure Breyer will restock him yet again. Keep your eyes on Breyer's site - they don't announce when he is back in stock and you will need to watch for his reappearance.

Breyer also announced a drawing for a new factory custom.

It's the vintage Brahma Bull mold that is now a steer and has been polled. (De-horned.)

The tail has been changed, too, and instead of hanging and attached to the right hock, is now swishing.

Collectors Club members who want him must enter to be drawn by the end of the day 11/15. His cost is $1600. I like him very much and hope he comes into Breyer's regular line-up, but I am not entering the drawing.

Speaking of Collectors Club drawings, my Deck the Stalls Stablemates have arrived. 

As most collector's do, I felt the bags before opening them, trying to guess who I had gotten. I was sure I'd gotten four Mini-Zugspitze or four Mini-Benasque because they all felt like standing models. Was I right?

Stay 'tooned!

A Wave of Nostalgia

Not only are there orders from the Feast that I need to make, but remember how I said I only sew for family and very close friends?

When we gathered Sunday night for dinner, Lukas brought me this stuffy and asked if I would fix its ear that was hanging by only a few threads. "It's a favorite of mine," he confessed a bit sheepishly.

Of course I would fix that for him! I know he's had it since he was a preschooler and could tell that he was a little embarrassed that he still sleeps with a stuffy, but this Grammy just happens to have three of her favorite childhood stuffies tucked away in her closet.

Meet Ginger, Kitty, and Teddy.

These are the oldest things left from my childhood.

Henrietta, who I remember pulling around with me everywhere, is also in the closet with those stuffies.

After taking the pictures, a wave of nostalgia washed over me. I gently picked up Ginger (my favorite of the three) and cradled her close for a few moments. Just as I had as a very little girl. She felt so familiar, so right in my arms.

And that's when the tears began. Surprising, but then again, maybe not. My parents are gone, but these toys connect me back to my earliest days and memories.

Kitty and Teddy got hugs, too, before I carefully placed them back on the closet shelf, and Henrietta received a pat as I set her next to them.

And then I quietly closed the closet door.

I understand, Lukas. I understand.

At the Machine Again

Second Post of the Day

Shoowee! I'm done making beeswax ornaments. More than five pounds of beeswax and three major pouring days led to 173 blackened beeswax ornaments.

Saturday's pouring results in the dining room - finished and ready be packed into protective mini tubs.

They have all been counted, the ones for family gifts have been wrapped (a job in and of itself), the inventory spreadsheet is updated, and I won't open their tubs again until I do final prep for Kalamazoo in early March.

I'm checking it off the prep list and moving on to something else (you can probably guess what) and so, with apologies to Willie Nelson,

At the machine again!

I can't wait to get back to the machine again,

The life I love is sewing fabrics for my friends,

Just can't wait to get back to the machine again!

Several weeks ago I was so tired of sewing that I welcomed the break for attending The Feast of the Hunters' Moon. That break from the sewing machine led to two weeks of unpacking, recovering, and completing the beeswax ornaments for the holidays.

But, I did come home from Ouiatenon with several orders.

~ 3XL trade shirt in orange block print  fabric, bone button closures

~ M trade shirt, navy block print fabric, 3" added to length, sleeve buttons

~ L trade shirt, multi colored block print, horn or bone buttons

~ XL bedgown, blue block print, domed or gold sleeve buttons

~ 3XL shortgown,  pink block print fabric

This last order is going to be tricky. The woman wanted a specific pattern but I would need to make some adjustments to it for fit. I wasn't comfortable with doing that, especially since she lives several states away and I can't fit the shortgown to her in person.

So, we've compromised on this pattern, and I am going to send the size measurements to her and have her tell me which size she wants me to make. 

Not only am I getting ready to resume sewing 18th century garments, but I had a recent sewing request from someone close to me, and it led to a (tearful) walk down memory lane for me.

Stay 'tooned!

And the Winner Is...

First Post of the Day

It's time to spin to win! Let's find out who is the winner of the BreyerFest dust blanket!

 Congratulations! Please contact me with your choice of blanket and I will get it to you.

Thanks to all who entered! And if you didn't win, there will be another give away in December.

Stay 'tooned!