December 1 - Yuletide Cheer Photo Challenge

First Post of the Day

Today's challenge photo was easy peasy - the first model in my collection. I already had lots of pictures taken of my sweet Brownie.

Santa gave him to me in 1963. I was six years old and Santa had no idea (s)he had just started a collection that would span a lifetime and number in the thousands.

Brownie is what collectors call a Japan china. And while he was beloved (and still is), in the hands of a six year old the breaks came easily.

All those breaks were lovingly fixed by my father using the yellow drippy glue from his workbench. Each of those gloppy lines is a reminder to me of how patient and loving my dad was as he fixed Brownie again and again without complaint.

I memorialized Brownie the following Christmas in a crayon drawing of receiving him on that Christmas Day. That's me holding him and my have-glue-will-fix-him-sweetie dad sitting in the chair.

Brownie even made it into Nancy Kelly's book, Exploring the Model Horse Hobby.

A poignant childhood memory of Brownie is from when I was sick with either the mumps or measles. (I had mumps, measles, and then chicken pox all in the space of six weeks.) I may have been young, but the memories are very, very strong because I was so sick. I remember lying in bed, not wanting to move, and holding Brownie in my arms as I lay there.

Several years ago I received a second Brownie from Heather McCurdy at a Great Lakes Congress show.

She had read Nancy's book and knew how important Brownie was to me. While out thrifting, Heather had found a mint one, bought it, and gifted it to me. New Brownie stands next to Original Brownie in the china cabinet in my living room and is a lovely reminder of the kindness of a hobby friend.

Tomorrow's prompt is "A model from/because of a friend." I may let New Brownie cover tomorrow, too. We shall see.

Stay 'tooned!