The Give Away Winner & a Little More

I want to start with an apology - I left a very big Brighty spot off yesterday and I was pretty smack-the-forehead chagrined when I realized it. So, to rectify that, a huge thank you to those of you who contacted me to wish me well or prayed or sent good thoughts my way. That was very much appreciated, and truly, a Brighty spot in my life.

I spun for the February Give Away winner this morning.

Congratulations to the winner and if you didn't win, there are ten more Give Aways coming up to enter!

I sometimes have little things that aren't enough for a complete blog post, but knit together nicely for one. Here are a couple of things I thought you might enjoy.

~ Often we share about finding HSOs (horse shaped objects) in the wild, but yesterday I found a Breyer collector in the wild!

I had gone shopping for candy and cards to send to my kids and their families for Valentine's Day, and the woman checking me out commented, "I like your jacket."

I was wearing a BreyerFest jacket at the time. (Photo by Breyer) Then she continued.

"I collect Breyers and I also enjoy customizing." I think my jaw had dropped at this point and I was wondering, "Why have we not met before?"

We chatted model horses until another customer needed to check out, but I got her name (Shelby) and plan to go back with some hobby information for her. She is not (yet) connected to the hobby on social media nor has she ever been to BreyerFest. 

I went home and spent a good chunk of time packing those cards and Valentine's Day things I was sending to my family. All those boxes are going out today along with the book to our Give Away winner (on top of the stack.)

~ I've mentioned before that Hawkeye Sarah is a wildlife photographer. Here's a recent video that she took from her truck as she drove through a bison preserve.

My guess is that the cow has learned that there is salt on vehicles in the winter. I'm not sure I'd be as calm as Sarah as the bison licked away - I'd be hoping against hope that she did not use those horns on my car!

~Yesterday I had the opportunity to watch Nacho, my friend Kathy's guide dog who is now retired and living with her parents. I love Nacho. When he was guiding, he was in my classroom many times as Kathy and I did a lot of co-teaching together.

I was privileged to watch him guide many, many times and he is incredible at any and all challenges.

He is happy in retirement, but he's slowing down some and his face is getting whiter. (He probably looked at me and thought the same thing.)

 

This is the dog who guided Kathy to 275 speaking engagements (in just one year!) all over the United States when she was named the 2015 Indiana Teacher of the Year and then as one of four finalists for the National Teacher of the Year. He can (and has) handle New York City, Chicago, LA, and our biggest cities, travel on planes and subways, and keep her safe while he does it. 

When Kathy met Dolly Parton and received her Chasing Rainbows award, Dolly also honored Nacho for his service with a rhinestone collar.

Dolly Parton gives Nacho his rhinestone collar starting around 7:00. (I know I've shared this several times before but I also happen to be a Dolly Parton fan, too!)

Nacho is the best of the best when it comes to guide dogs, and it will always be a pleasure to spend time with him like I did yesterday. But for the first time ever, I felt the passing of time for him and that made me a bit teary. (For more on Nacho, just do a search - I've written about him many times.)

Speaking of dogs, Nashie and Molly are spending today with us. That always livens the house up for us! I never get as much done as I normally do (and Pepper never gets as much sleep, haha!) but it's going to be a good day.

I hope yours is, too.