Now We are Three

We have a new family member, and it's NOT a new grandbaby. Meet Pepper!

 Pepper is a three year old black Lab. She is also a very special girl - a Seeing Eye Guide Dog!

She joined her handler, Sarah, a little over a year ago and has been guiding Sarah around her activities as a doctoral student and pastor in a town two hours away from us.

Me, Sarah, Craig, and Sarah's husband Kevin (who is also visually impaired) circling Pepper for a group hug and photo.

Two weeks ago, Pepper suddenly became very ill and had to be hospitalized. It turned out that she has an autoimmune disease that is very rare in dogs.  Sadly, she would not be healthy enough to guide Sarah every day.

As you might imagine, Sarah was absolutely devastated by the news that Pepper needed to retire immediately. And, even sadder, Sarah was not able to keep her as a pet. My friend, Kathy Nimmer, who is also blind as well as a friend of Sarah's, heard about the situation via social media. She thought that we would give Pepper a good home and, after running the idea past Craig and me, contacted Sarah and shared a little about us, suggesting that Sarah might consider letting us adopt Pepper.

Kathy, her guide dog, Nacho, and me heading out for some fun.

There were four placements that Sarah was considering for Pepper's retirement home, and we were the lucky ones that she chose. To be sure we were a good fit for Pepper (and vice versa), Saturday we drove over to meet Pepper and Sarah. It seemed to be the proverbial match made in heaven,  and we picked her up yesterday and brought her to her new home.

 We are in love with her! She is very dignified when she is working, but take off that working harness and she becomes a great big puppy.

 With a healthy appetite.  

Like any typical Lab, food, balls,

 and people are her main loves in life.

 Pepper is settling in well so far.

She seems particularly fond of Craig and he returns that love. 

Our daughter, Lisa, dropped by to meet Pepper and discovered that Pepper is so strong,

 she can pull a human being across the floor! (And win the rope toy at the same time!)

We love our new family member. And, instead of two retirees hanging around the house, now we are three!

Hay! Here's an Educational Video About Horses

I'm a teacher, so naturally I am always interested in educational materials for kids. So when Pony Pal Cambria's mama, Jessica, sent me this video, I was happy to watch it.

Alrighty then! I know some former students who would have gotten a big kick out of this one. (Hay, so did I! LOL)

A Morning with Pony Pals at the Barn

"Grammy, can we go to the barn and see your horses?"

Who can resist that query? Certainly not me!

Pony Pal Mila had asked me Sunday night at dinner if she could go see the horses, and bright and early the next morning, she got her wish.

Lukie wanted to have a go on horseback, too.

He had indicated that wish very clearly to his mama as he watched Mila ride.

Vanessa walked beside Diablo as I led both kids around - I knew Mila could hang on pretty well, but Lukie is much smaller and can't grip with his legs like she can - they're too short.

He also enjoyed the horses' carrots.

Abby was waiting patiently at the gate, thinking that that carrot was for her.

"Hey! I'm here! I'm waiting! Give me my carrot!"

Fortunately, Pony Pal Mila had another one that she shared with Abby.

We also had a herd favorite with us - apple spaghetti!  

Everybody lined up for that treat!

After her ride and some treat-time for the horses, Pony Pal Mila asked if we could go into the new barn. She loves to see the wagons and carriages that are stored there.  And, she and Lukas love to play in the the indoor arena.

Lukie was playing with the horse ball and got it stuck on top of a barrel. He was too short to reach it and get it back down.

Mila to the rescue!

When we finished in the new barn, we headed back outside to our cars. While Vanessa pulled out a couple of snacks for the kids, Lukie disappeared. Looking around quickly, I saw that he was down by the paddock again.

He'd spied Trouble who was still standing by the fence and had run down to visit him. (Is this a kid after my own heart or what?)

Trouble had a very long stem of grass hanging from his mouth that perplexed Lukie. You can just barely see it in this photo.

Naturally, if her brother was getting another horsey visit in, then Mila had to join in as well.

They gave Trouble some final pats and then Vanessa bundled them back into the car and headed home.

We've already set next Tuesday for our next visit.

Hobby Ephemera Treasures

Nancy Kelly, author of Exploring the Model Horse Hobby, brought me four boxes of research materials when we both attended Nancy Falzone's gathering of early hobbyists in September. Knowing that I was working on writing about our earliest hobby history, Nancy generously found room in her car for the boxes and passed some very early model horse history items on to me.

What with working on Susan's quiet book, a visit from Horse Buddy Trinity and her parents, and the October GLC show, I only just got around to digging into them this week. And what a treasure trove I found!

There were lots and lots of pictures from early shows, including at least one of Ellen Hitchins. 

Simone Smiljanic's stable advertised in an early hobby publication, too. Look at those beautiful old Hagen Renakers! I love how she named the Large Amir "San Dimas."

 A fun article from a 1975 hobby magazine from Liz Cory who mentions in the second sentence that she had found the hobby the same way that I did - by an article about IMPHSA in the October, 1970 Horse and Rider magazine. (I am going to pass this on to Liz the next time I see her.)

This 1973 piece of ephemera is a good example of the use of carbon copy paper for producing hobby publications. (Sometimes the carbon paper was red which was very difficult to read.) Editors would type each page with 4-5 pieces of carbon paper, retype the same page again on another 4-5 pieces of carbon paper, and continue doing so until they had enough copies of that page so that all subscribers would get one when the typing was finally all done and the magazine could be assembled.

Have you noticed how print intensive the pages are? It is because we did not have the use of copy machines and had to type and retype - we would cram as much as we could onto one page. (It also cut down on paper and mailing costs, too.)

A few lucky editors had access to ditto machines and would use those to produce their club magazines.

 It made me smile to come across one of the items that I had sent Nancy when she was doing her research. This page from the June, 1970 Horse and Rider shows a beautiful Zara being used as a trophy for a show. It also shows the Pen Pals section, which is where I connected with early hobbyists Beth Dickinson and Susan Seese. (I am still in contact with both of them!)

This old newspaper article documents some of the hobby's beginnings in England.  There is no date on it, but a cursory look makes me think this was written in the 1980s. I will look more carefully another time for clues as to when it was published.

I have always wanted a Julip from England! I was intrigued to see that the author was British and writing for an American non hobby magazine, Arizona Horse Connection. I wonder what the story is behind that?

 Western Horseman did an article on Virginia Orison, a woman who sculpted trophies as well as model horses. Teresa Rogers just wrote an entry about Orison's horses in her blog, The Model Horse History Project. Teresa knows her stuff - if you aren't reading her blog, start now!

I won my share of goldfish at old carnivals, but can you imagine winning a horse? Revell offered a "Palomino Show Horse" to the winner of this promotional. In my experience, Revell horses were not seen in the early hobby as much as their tack was, but we would use those saddles since tackmaking was in its infancy in the late 1960s/early 1970s. That sure has changed over time!

That was just a glimpse of what Nancy passed on to me, and it was only the first box. I have three more boxes to dig through. And since I am reading the old articles and looking at photos of old hobby friends, it is going to take some time for me to go through each one.

That is a task that I am very much looking forward to!

Bonus Post - Getting Slimmer

On January 16 of this year, I decided to make a final stab at losing weight. I was at my all time heaviest and had just had a family Christmas celebration where I could not participate in many of the festivities because I simply did not feel well.  My joints hurt, my body ached, and I tired very easily. 

Christmas Day, 2018.

In January, I joined Tara Oliver's thirty day challenge on Facebook.  Tara is a long time horsey friend who is also a health coach. She suggested that participants take some photos of themselves to use for comparison as their weight began to come off. I'm glad I followed her recommendation - I look at these two photos and they really do show how far I have come. And no wonder I did not feel well!

As I participated in the challenge, I learned about Optavia, a program that grew out of the old Medi-Fast diet, and after consulting with Craig about the costs, decided to take the plunge. 

I'm now down 80 lbs and feeling so much better. Lisa and I recently went shopping so that I could try on clothes as none of mine fit any more. To my surprise and delight, plus sizes were way too big and I had to try on regular women's sizes.

This is a size Small sweater!! I had grabbed the wrong size and put it on, thinking it was a Large. It was too small for me, but not uncomfortable. I bought it in a Medium.

Lisa insisted that I try on these size 12 jeans. They are skinny jeans and supposed to fit close. The 14 fit better, but I was pleased that I could get a 12 on!

I came home with three tops, two pairs of jeans, and a dress. (I love that you can see Lisa in the mirror!)

Me wearing my new clothes at the October GLC show.

At my heaviest, I wore a 22/24 plus size and a 2x and an occasional 3x depending on the cut of the item. To be out of plus sizes and wearing size 12-14, M, and L was a thrilling experience. It was also a sobering one - I had never thought that I would lose weight. I'd been trying for years, only to lose twenty pounds or so and then regain them. I repeated that loss/regain cycle again and again and again.

Wearing that sized M sweater and my new jeans yesterday while I meet Pepper, a dog we may adopt.

Last week I saw my doctor for a check up and asked her what she felt my target weight should be. Having had pancreatic surgery in August, I have been in recovery and was not able to diet for about three months. I was ready to resume Optavia (and very pleased that I had maintained my weight loss by eating healthily while in recovery. I had not backslid!)

Wearing a twenty-five year old sweatshirt from my University of Illinois days. I'd kept it for sentimental value, never expecting to wear it again!

Dr. Knutson looked at my BMI, bone structure, age and other things for a few minutes and then gave me her recommendation of the weight she felt would be healthiest for me. I was stunned that I was only 25 lbs. away from that goal. I've already lost 80 lbs. Losing 25 lbs. is very, very doable. I left her office feeling light hearted and motivated.

My new goal is to have lost those last 25 lbs by January 16, 2020, a year from the date that I began my health journey. I suspect that I will hit that goal well before that.

I can do this! And this Christmas, my family will see a mom/grandmother who can fully participate in the festivities.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

All in the Family

Recently my cousin, Mary, posted some photos of herself and her brother, Bobby, from when they were in elementary school. They were waiting for the school bus in front of their home in Elkhart, Indiana.

I smiled when I saw this one, and then I caught sight of the horse on Bobby's lunch box and my smile got even bigger.

How cool! And lucky Bobby! Was that Davy Crockett? Daniel Boone? Some other famous hero from the west?

I may not be sure who it is, but I am sure that that is the kind of lunch box I would want, even today!

Buys from the Antique Shops

These pieces made the cut, so to speak, and came home with me after my trip antiquing with my daughter, Lisa.

 A very early Pacer with a black halter.

 He has some wear but his color is lovely.

 No USA mark.

 A B stamp Overo Paint from 1979.

 There are three different patterns on the Overo Paint; this is the first and oldest one.

The B stamp.

I also picked up this Ceramic Arts Studio piece which is a copy of a Hagen Renaker Masterson piece.

I will probably use this as a show donation in the future. Often that is why I buy HSOs and DSOs. That way pieces that I may not want to have in my collection but that are collectible get into the hands of someone who values them.

This Japan china horse is fairly common

but its face was so sweet that I had to bring it home. Probably another show donation.

An old Gobel lamb with crazing will also be a show donation.

But the Mortens Studio Boxer pup is staying with me!

Mortens Studio pieces are difficult to find in good condition - they're plaster over a metal armature and very fragile. This pup is in excellent shape and I am fond of Mortens whether they be horses, dogs, or cats.

It has been months since I had last gone antiquing; these finds make me glad that I decided to go.