Chevaliere, the 2023 BreyerFest Volunteer Model

Several boxes were waiting for me when I got home from Utah, including one with my volunteer models from Breyer.

This year's model is Chevaliere, a sunfaded black, bay, or red roan snowcap Appaloosa done on the Croi mold.

Although I am not a fan of the mold, I do like Chevaliere.

Appaloosas are my favorite breed, and black is my favorite color for horses.

Chevaliere came in sunfaded black, bay, and red roan Appaloosa, and I received two of the black.

I will be getting one more and I'm hoping for the red roan although I will be happy with either.

I may trade one of these for a red roan but that person is still unpacking from BreyerFest and wants to be sure she still has it.

I've been fortunate to receive several volunteer models over the years.

I gave the light version of Ben Nevis to a friend who really wanted him but kept the dark bay.

Zeitgeist is my favorite. She is simply stunning and she is on one of the newer molds that I really like.

Generally when you volunteer, there is no remuneration, and it is nice that Breyer offers its volunteers something for their time. Thanks, Breyer, for gifting your volunteers with these beautiful pieces. 

Sarah's Masters Graduation

Second Post of the Day

Hawkeye Sarah received her Masters degree this May from Colorado University's School of Public Health. 

She already is a nurse, a doula, a breast feeding educator, a high school health and social studies teacher, was director of Health Education for Aurora, Colorado Public Schools for 5 years, and is now the state expansion director of Healthy Birth Day in Iowa, an organization that works to increase the quality of the health care for new moms and their infants and its program Count the Kicks, a stillbirth prevention campaign.

Sarah has always been an advocate for maternal and women's health, and this degree will increase her knowledge base and allow her access to more opportunities to continue her work in women's health.

Having received my Masters when I was her age, I know how difficult it is to work full time, care for a family, and go to grad school all at once. It is TOUGH.

Sarah, you did it! I am so very proud of you. Congratulations!

A Girl Like Me

A train brings together people from all walks of life, and usually when you are on a long train trip, the passengers get to talking and new friends are made. Our trip to Utah this summer was no exception.

Kevin, a young Amish man, was traveling with a large group of extended family members. His seat was across the aisle from us, and he struck up a conversation with Craig and me. One of his daughters was quietly sitting next to him, and suddenly she pulled out a container of Stablemate sized plastic horses and spread them out all over the pull-down table at her seat.

As you might imagine, I was suddenly quite distracted from the conversation!

Long story short, I explained to Kevin and his wife Marlene the I was a collector and asked if they would let me send some models to their daughter when I got home.

Why? Because their daughter was a girl like me - at her age, I, too, would have had some horses on the trip with me.

And, I had a lot of Stablemates and could certainly spare some for a girl who loved horses as I did.

Kevin and Marlene shared their address with me and this box is going out in today's mail. I won't be there to see their daughter open the box, and there will be no photos due to their religious beliefs, but that's okay.

This horsey girl will know how their daughter will feel when she opens them.

And that is enough for me.

I've Waited Decades!

 Thanks to Liz Cory, a model I have searched for for DECADES is now in my collection.

Yesterday I mentioned that I had two friends coming through town who I would be meeting for lunch.

Those friends were Liz and Sam Cory. 

They were on their way home from a family camping trip, and Liz was bringing me something she'd found at BreyerFest for me.

A vintage alabaster 5 Gaiter with black eyes! I have the red eyed version, but I did not have the black eyed one.

I had literally been looking for this piece for several decades and I had not found one that was in good shape and for the right price.

As an added bonus, this model came from my friend Simone Smiljanic's collection! She and I became friends in 1970 and were still corresponding frequently when Simone passed away in October, 2021. Needless to say, I am thrilled to add a piece of hers to my own collection.

I'd like to come up with a name that pays homage to both Liz and Simone. Any suggestions? Please put them in the comments!

Liz and Sam, it was so good to see you and to get a moment to have lunch and catch up. And thank you so much for finding my new 5 Gaiter. I am absolutely thrilled to have him!

Glimpses of Family Fun

Getting out to the barn right now is proving difficult! Two family members are in town, friends are coming through today and will be stopping by, we take Kyle to the airport in Indianapolis this afternoon, and then I will be volunteering in Indianapolis for most of tomorrow. 

The BreyerFest models are opened but not yet photographed, and between lots of rain and all the busyness, I have not gotten to the barn since I got home Friday night. I know Abby is in good hands, but I miss her and want to see her. Fingers crossed that I will make it out soon.

In the meantime, here are a few photos from our trip west to visit Mountain Mama Jessica and her crew.

We went several times to her favorite drink shop, Fizz. It serves carbonated drinks that can have flavors and whipped cream added.

Painting a rock to add to Roscoe, the snake the community was forming together to commemorate Orchard Days in Santaquin.

What a clever way to bring the community together while connecting them to the area's heritage!

Jessica, Cambria, and Titan walking the length of Roscoe and planning their own additions to him.

This beautiful painting that seemed to glow with light was part of a mural in the local history museum.

After rehearsing  5 - 6 days a week for ten weeks, Cambria and Titan's dance shoes were shredded and full of holes. The result of all that dancing and practicing, though, was a top notch performance by the cast. I'll do another post or two on Matilda soon.

Titan's performing days were not over after the final performance of Matilda, though. He's recorded a couple of songs for composers in Utah, and another composer who'd seen him perform in Matilda approached Jessica and asked if he would record a song she had recently written.

After doing some background checking, Jessica asked Titan if he was interested in singing the song for the composer (he was), and he was in the recording studio the following week.

That's just a glimpse of some of the things we did together during our trip. I will write some more on Matilda and I have a lot of new models to share, too.

Stay 'tooned!

Home!

We are home. After another 30 hour train ride coupled with a four hour car drive, we arrived back in West Lafayette Friday evening. We are exhausted and moving REALLY slowly, but we made it back safely.

Hawkeye Sarah drove an hour and a half to one of our train stops just so she could wave at us for a few minutes. (Only passengers boarding or getting off could get off the train at that stop.) We loved seeing her and waving at her as we sat on the tracks and really appreciated her undertaking that three hour drive just for less than five minutes with us. 

Then we were off again and heading home!

On Saturday Barn Buddy Kelsey and I met for lunch so I could pick up my BreyerFest models. I didn't have time to open any of them and am looking forward to looking at them later today.

I took a very quick nap after lunch and then Craig and I hopped back into the car and headed to western Indiana. Teacher Daughter Lisa's friend, Frank, was in town and so we met them at The Beef House for dinner Saturday night.

The Beef House, Covington, Indiana

As we drove, we began receiving tornado warnings from back home in West Lafayette. An especially scary alert pinpointed the rotation right over our neighborhood! Beach Son Kyle (who had been unable to go with us) was in our home along with Pepper and we were very concerned about their welfare. (They sheltered in place for about twenty minutes and were fine.)

Just as we were moving, so were the storms and so the tornado warnings kept coming as the storms came along behind us. And right after a new warning went out for the area we were driving through, we spotted these menacing clouds next to us.

Fortunately no funnel touched down on or near us although we did have heavy, heavy rains. (3-4" across the town.)

Craig and I drove home and found that our home had not sustained any damage, Kyle and Pepper were fine, and that despite having had a tremendous amount of rain fall, nothing had flooded. We were very grateful.

What a welcome home from our trip to Utah!

As to what happened to the blog in my absence? Well, I continued to have difficulty accessing it as we traveled. I thought I had fixed those issues, but they returned the next day and I never was able to get through to the draft pages again. I am home now and back on my desktop where I usually work, so there should be regular, daily posts from now on.

Stay 'tooned!

Sort of Horsey

We have been in Utah for almost a week and life has been consumed by Matilda. 

I did spy these two Breyers in the playroom and snapped a quick picture. Both models were gifts from me.

I suppose I could count riding the "iron horse" as something horse related. We rode the California Zephyr out to Utah - a thirty hour trip!

Here we are crossing the Mississippi River from Illinois into Burlington, Iowa.

There are short stops and long stops as you ride the train.

You can step out and stretch your legs at the long stops.

But long stops aren't the only place where you can move around. You can move from car to car

and spend time in the Lounge car, too. It has a cafe as well as tables where you can play games and squishy chairs you can sit in and watch the scenery roll past.

I do fine until the train begins the climb into the Rocky Mountains at Denver.

Those heights and the drop offs outside of my window make me feel green. 

Still, the scenery is beautiful. This mountain had a huge wildfire a year or so ago. That's the Colorado River.

Another mountain with wildfire damage. That's I-70 or I-80 the tracks are running alongside. Not sure which.

After 30 hours on the train (along with a 4 hour drive to Galesburg, Illinois where we boarded), it's nice to de-train and stay in one place. And to have three performances to look forward with family members made arrival even better.