Our 50th Valentine's Day

Our 50th wedding anniversary is in November this year. Yeah. Hard to believe. 

I don't feel as old as I thought that other 50th anniversary celebrants were in the past. (50 years married?! They had to be ancient! ) 

But here I am, almost there.

It was when I was trying to take a selfie with some of my Valentine horses (or at least, those that are red and pink) when I realized that that also meant this was our 50th Valentine's Day together.

And that begs the question, how do we celebrate that day? 

We are in a stage of life where we live a happily quiet life. We are blessed in that we don't need anything. Neither of us wants to travel as our bodies hurt and my walker is an added complication even for just running errands around town.

Going out to dinner or cooking a special meal? While we can and do cook and eat out, we have to be careful. We are both diabetic and I have been working to lose weight. I have lost 50 lbs over the past year. 

(Hah! Another 50 celebration - pounds lost, Valentines, and wedding anniversary! And, it's the 50th anniversary of the Kalamazoo Living History Show! 50 must be my lucky number for 2026.) 

In the past we have given each other "service coupons" such as giving the other time off when it was their turn to clean the bathrooms or vacuum, cook dinner or clean up after it, and more. But we don't cook much anymore (Sunday dinners with family are an exception) and when our bodies began hurting too much to keep our home clean, we hired someone who does that for us. 

Anymore, we both prefer simple over elaborate. Sitting together and holding hands while we watch a show, playing a favorite card game together, exchanging cards with special notes written inside. Laughing together at the antics of the family, be it kids and in-loves, grands, or dogs. And more.

Whatever we do to celebrate doesn't matter as much as that we are together and still happy after 50 years of being each other's Valentine.

 And, that we'd both do it all over again in a heart beat.

Happy Valentine's Day, Craig! I love you! xo

50th Anniversary: Happy Hobby Anniversary!

It's October and this is the month that I celebrate 50 years in the formal model horse hobby. Note that word, "formal." I actually began collecting in 1963 at the age of six when Santa brought me my first model horse.

Brownie, still in my collection, is a battered, much loved, and much repaired MIJ china pony. Santa had no idea what (s)he was starting.

My collection of "glass horses" (as Leslie and I called our chinas) grew and a few Breyers were added in as well. Two of my friends at school, Bobbie Sue and Carol, also started collecting, and we'd spend summer afternoons and winter Saturdays at each other's homes holding model horse shows and making tack. (We used felt, old shoes, and plastic covered telephone wire.)

It wasn't until October, 1970 when Horse and Rider magazine arrived in my mailbox that I discovered I wasn't alone. The very last article made me gasp -  there were other collectors out there! 

I immediately wrote to Ellen Hitchins, joined her club, and began photo showing my models and meeting collectors across the country. I had found the fledgling, newly organizing hobby and it was absolutely wonderful. These were my people!

Fifty years later it is October, 2020. I had big plans to celebrate my golden hobby anniversary - I was going to center this year's Happy Trails show with classes, prizes, and gifts all themed around my 50th. I'd spoken to the folks at Great Lakes Congress and was planning a special collectors class to be held at their October show that I would judge and give prizes for. And, I'd hoped that I would be able to do something at The FAMulous Collectibility Show, too. The pandemic put paid to all that. 

But I'm still celebrating, and if you are a blog reader, you get to celebrate with me. I'll be writing blog entries about my journey through the years in the hobby and I will have some surprises as well, including a few give aways. Details about those will be coming soon. 

I'm excited to look back on my time in the hobby, and tracing my model history from its roots as Pawnee Stables to Windsong, from photo showing to live showing, and through all the things that happened along the way. 

Saddle up with me and enjoy the ride!