A Little Horse Therapy

Today will be a tough day for me - it is the day that teachers go back to work, and I won't be joining them.

I retired earlier than planned because I was having health issues and didn't feel well much of the time,  and it was absolutely, without a doubt,  the right decision. But my heart is still in the classroom with the kids.

Me last May, leading the last day of school parade for retiring staff and 5th graders who were leaving for middle school.

I have several things planned to take my mind off of what is happening back at school - a dentist appointment (that'll distract just about anyone!) and then some barn time with my girl.

 There is something about just being with her that makes me feel as though all will be okay.

And it will be; I just need to adjust to my new normal. Glad I have my girl to help me through it.

An Unusual Kipper

I was cruising eBay last week when an unusual piece popped up on my "You might like this" feed. 

 A flocked piece, clearly meant to be Thelwell's Kipper.

I thought his price was high, especially for an unknown-to-me model, but there was a Make an Offer button, so I did and ended up winning him.

My new Kipper arrived yesterday and he is clearly not the cheap trinket I thought he might be. He's fairly light as most cheap plastic pieces are,  but there is a better quality to him in the details.

I quite like him and am glad I took the chance. Having said that, though, I cannot find any information about him. I am going to post him on a Facebook group or two and see if anyone can help me figure out who manufactured him, when he was made, etc.

Definitely the Second Guide!

Now that I have retired and have time, I have been helping my dear friend, Kathy Nimmer, with some of her speaking engagements. She has needed me to be her driver to a couple of events, and yesterday we went to a school district in another part of the state where she spoke at their back to school meeting for faculty and staff.

 When we travel together, my role is to get her there and back, and then act as a second guide (Nacho being first) as we go through the buildings, parking lots, and crowds. I show her the stage and podium configuration, point out any possible tripping or bumping hazards, and just keep my eyes and ears open for things she might need to know about but cannot see.

I was really needed yesterday.

Another dog was present in the role of comfort dog, and he was jumping and pulling at his leash trying to get to Nacho. His owner said she wanted her dog to meet Kathy's as it would calm him down, but Kathy declined as Nacho was working and has been trained to ignore other dogs when wearing his harness.

But the other handler brought her dog over anyway. (This is Nacho using Kathy's leg as a pillow while she speaks. It was so cute, I had to get a photo of it!)

Afterward Kathy, who I think was pretty frustrated that her request to keep the other dog back was ignored, stated that she knew I would have let her know had the comfort dog become aggressive toward Nacho. (My role is pretty broad as I travel with her!)

 But Nacho is so beautifully trained that he's pretty unflappable and the meeting of the dogs went okay.

Afterward delivering a very motivating speech, Kathy took me out to breakfast at a little cafe in town. I had a delicious cup of hot chocolate!

 Also joining us were two of Kathy's favorite teachers from the Indiana School for the Blind, her piano teacher on the left, and her science teacher on the right. They were amazing ladies and the same caliber of teachers as Kathy.

I enjoy traveling with Kathy, and especially the drive there and back to wherever we are going - we talk and reflect about school and education, and I give her feedback on how her speech went.

Kathy and I have co-taught in the classroom many times, and so it is nice to still be able to associate with her, albeit in a very different role as her driver and guide. However, I will NEVER be the caliber of guide that Nacho is. It is amazing to see him help Kathy negotiate safely around obstacles and people.

A Horsey Experience in Tennessee

I got this photo yesterday from my daughter-in-love, Emily, with a text that said, "We thought you would like the shirt that Kate is wearing!"

 I sure did, and the shorts, too! (I'd love a pair like them myself!)

Cole and Emily live near Nashville, Tennessee and recently spent some time at the county fair.

 Kate watched the ponies but did not ride.

But Julie, her big sister, did!

Look at her smile! And Cole's, too! He's not really a horse lover, but he did come to model shows with me when he was in elementary school. I still have some tags on models that he filled out - they make me smile and so I leave them on.

I am always glad to see family members getting horsey experience. Trinity and Mila seem to really connect with horses; my fingers are crossed that Julie and Kate might, too.

They're Ba-ack!

I sent some pieces out for some repairs or minor touch ups in April and they arrived home again this week.

 The shading on this Circus Pony is incredible! His free hind leg had broken - now it is good as new.

His full sized Designer Workshop counterpart had a break in the same place that someone had repaired a couple of times before I got him. The repair artist had to soak it in several different solutions to remove the remnants of that old glue before she could fix it.

This DW Two Bits is now retired from the show ring and will enjoy life in my china cabinet. He seems very fragile, more so than any other Hagen Renaker I have owned. Despite being well packed for the last show I took him to, his leg broke while being transported home. Another time, a tiny piece flaked off his ear for seemingly no reason I could see. Both are now repaired, and I will not risk any more damage to him.

 The black marks have been removed from this piece. I tried a Magic Eraser on a model once and not only did the black mark come off, but the paint, too! And the same thing happened when I used toothpaste. So when I got this lovely decorator, I chose to have a professional remove those marks.

I made the same decision with this foal, too. He looks much better.

I have had mixed luck sending models out for repair. Currently I am waiting on a resin that has been with the restorer for almost two years. Another one did excellent work, but there was no communication and I did not know when my pieces would be finished and returned. She is also very, very difficult to get a hold of as she travels a lot. A third person that advertised repair work did not communicate and had my pieces for a year before sending me a surprise box in the mail.

This time the communication was better with this repair artist than the others, and while the turn around time was longer than stated in emails to me, it was only two months longer, not enough time for me to begin worrying if I would see my models again.

I would use her again, and already have one piece to send off, this Circus Pony which arrived broken a few weeks ago. However, she has said publicly that she is taking a break from repairing models, so I am not sure if she will accept more work from me.

I will ask her, but if she really is no longer accepting work, then I am back to square one and looking for someone who does excellent work, communicates well, and completes the repairs in a reasonable amount of time.

Distractions from a Disaster

Our daughter, Jessica, and her family live in Lynchburg, Virginia, the site of terrible flash flooding this week that happened after they received an unheard of six inches of rain in less than a day.

Jessica shot this video from her balcony - the little stream behind her home had turned into a raging river that was bringing trees downstream and took out that fence.

She and her family are safe, but because there was so much flooding and an uncertainty if a dam would hold...

 ... (which would've flooded the city under seventeen feet of water in seven minutes if it broke), she stayed home with her children yesterday instead of going to work. Jessica kept in touch with me as the disaster progressed, and had some time to send me a couple of photos she had taken recently which served to distract both of us from the uncertainty and concern about what was happening in her town.

Lynchburg, Virginia is very horsey (Sweet Briar College and other horsey places are located there) and so it was only natural that when Cambria and Titan's Montessori preschool recently had a career day, some three day eventers were invited to come!

 Such a beautiful saddle! (That's Cambria on the far left.)

 I always wanted a nameplate for the cantle of my saddle but never got one.

 Titan tries on the safety vest.

 And so does Cambria.

Cambria got to model the stock, too! (Goodness, she looks like her mother, right down to that gap toothed smile!)

Swapping photos and texting kept both our minds off the disaster that was unfolding around Jessica yesterday.  The dam held and as far as I know, there has not been any loss of life. Property damage is a different story, however, and clean up will be expensive and take a while.

More rain is expected today, so they are not out of the woods yet. In the meantime, I will continue to stay in touch with Jessica as she rides (haha!) out the disaster.

BreyerFest Loot and Good Friends

I am lucky to have good friends, and one of them is Liz Cory. Knowing that I have not been feeling well for about a year and was not up to BreyerFest, she did some pick ups for me.

Sierra Rose, Winner's Circle Autograph Adios, and Straight Bet! And she tucked the program in for me as well!

The PAM and Adios are vintage molds which is the focus of my collection. But I love the new Duende (Spanish Stallion) mold so I asked her to get one of those if she could.

The BreyerFest model I am REALLY in love with, though, is the Pacer. I love him so much that I got two of them!

This is the one from Liz that I already have in hand. Just look at that color!!

(Photo credit to Identify Your Breyer.)

The other one, from Susan Bensema Young, will be coming in the future.

So why did I get two of the same mold? Well, there are several reasons.

One reason is because this is absolutely the best color on the Pacer that Breyer has ever done. (At least, in my opinion.) Plus, this gorgeous color is on a vintage mold.

Secondly, my sister, Leslie, has a passion for standardbreds and has owned several - the breed always makes me think of her. She uses them at The Farm at Prophetstown where they are ambassadors for the breed. I can't help but link my sister and the Pacer mold together.

But most importantly, Sue's horse was a kind and thoughtful surprise - she had an opportunity to get one, and knowing that I love vintage molds coupled with her own love of tack making, Foiled Again in his green halter was the perfect find! Sue's thinking of me when she was in the midst of model horsedom's biggest event touched me, so when she emailed me from BreyerFest and asked if I wanted her to get it for me, my response was a resounding YES! 

I love my models and collecting them, and all the facets of the model horse hobby. But even better are the good friends you make within the hobby. Thank you, Liz and Sue!