Life settled into an "empty nester" routine during the 2010s. We were back home again in Indiana (funny how often you can slip that song title into a sentence!) and I was an experienced teacher and no longer spending countless hours grading and preparing lessons. I finally had time to return to live showing.
I went to Indycon, Pat Reed's long running show in Indianapolis, a time or two. Pat and Michelle Evans, both long time hobbyists, have been friends since I went to my first Indycon in the early 1990s.
Pat in 2019 at Happy Trails, my in-home live show and pony party.
The factory for Stone Model Horses is just an hour or so north of me, and I went to several of the shows they sponsor up in Shipshewana. Me with Michelle Evans at a Stone Country Fair in Shipshy.
In the early 2010s, Denver Daughter was Corn Fed Daughter (her own self description) and living in Iowa City while her husband was on staff at the University Hospital.
Laughing Bear Live, a benefit show for Lynn Fraley who had been diagnosed with breast cancer, was held in Cedar Rapids, just a few miles north of where Sarah lived.
I combined a visit to Sarah and her family in Iowa with that show, and invited Horse Buddy Trinity to show with me. Shortly after that, they moved to Aurora, Colorado and now live a mile or so from where The Jennifer Show is held. I hope to combine a visit to Colorado with an entry to that show the next time it is held.Breakables at BreyerFest was another show I attended.
With my kids all grown and gone, I could afford to go back to BreyerFest and other shows that required that I stay overnight.
Meeting up at BreyerFest with long time friend Cindy Neuhaus and looking at one of her Lakeshore Raku pieces.
BreyerFest 2012, Best of the British hat contest.
Great Lakes Congress, October, 2015.
The NAN cards were accumulating and with some trepidation (could I even compete at such a show?) I decided that I would return to NAN. I hadn't been since 1997!
Because of some family plans, Craig and I made NAN 2014 a day trip. I took a few chinas and we drove down in the morning, showed all day, then returned home that night.
I was pleased I'd gone - I won two reserve national championship (NAN cookies) despite bringing such a small show string.
It was great to have time to show again, and I am lucky that Indiana is in the middle of some very active show areas - Chicago, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. But as happy as I was attending shows, I still felt like something was missing.
In the next 50th anniversary post, I'll write about what that was and how I found what I was missing.
The winners of the embroidered blankets will be announced in a blog post later this morning!
