Wife of Craig, mom of Sarah, Jessica, Kyle, Lisa, Curt, and Cole, mom-in-love to Todd, Andrew, Vanessa, and Emily. Called Grammy by JC, Jayci, Trinity, Cambria, Titan, Braden, Adelaide, Cory, Whitney, Melissa, Ian, Mila, Lukas, Julie, Kate, and Susie, and Great Grammy by Elsie Mae. Black Lab Pepper rounds out the family!
It's show day! And I am ready to go and even had a spare hour to write.
Setting up the show hall on Thursday meant I could relax Friday. It also means that this morning I am not frantically doing last minute preparations. I don't think I have ever been so relaxed before a show.
The dogs know that something is up and are watching me carefully. But Craig will be home with them all day and so they won't be too lonely.
The Dan Messner building is decorated for Fall and looking better and better every time I see it. Brooke and Tom are working really hard - yesterday Tom took me into parts of the building that haven't yet been restored and the difference is jaw dropping.
I gasped audibly when I saw these original windows - they will also be restored to their former glory. The tin on the walls and ceilings will be restored, too.
Brooke and Tom did not charge me anything for the use of the building. So, to thank them for their generosity, all the money from the raffle and any donations are going straight to them. I really do support their cause in saving, preserving, and restoring the Dan Messner building.
The Dan Patch Show is only one week away! And I have been very busy with final preparations for it.
So have Brooke and Tom - the Prairie Victorian/Dan Messner building (left) is really starting to sparkle! (Photo by Brooke.)
The swag bags have been filled. I wish I could show you what's in them, but some folks who are coming also read Horsiemama and I want them to be surprised. (I did take a photo; maybe I'll show it after the show is over.)
This is a fun show so the classlist is not your usual live show set of classes. I'm judging and I told folks that for the most part, I would look for the piece that best describes the title of the class. The judging will probably be tricky as a result.
I have a big bag of rosettes that someone gave me a while back and I was delighted to find four complete sets of champ and reserves for the show.
Between leftover ribbons from past shows, donations, and adding in ribbons I've won myself in live shows, I have plenty to cover the classes.
I purchased these Collecta by Breyer pieces as prizes for the two divisions of the show,
but then I ended up creating four divisions. At this point, I am undecided as to how I will use them.
There are lots of donations for the raffle.
All proceeds from the raffle will be given to Brooke and Tom to use as they continue their work on restoring the historic building.
The show also features a swap meet, a brief talk by Brooke about the building's history and connection to Dan Patch, and a Toilet Paper Derby!
Craig, Mila, Emily, and Lukie in our family Toilet Paper Derby last summer. I learned a lot by watching the one we did at home - roll the paper, don't pull it, no lifting the paper off the table, and have a well balanced Stablemate!
I am so excited about this show and can hardly wait for next Saturday!
There is so much going on around here; I need to write a second mish mosh/what's doin' post this month. (Or is that the third??) Five topics that are not big enough for a solo post, but which work together when brought into one.
Ella Noise!
Most people from Illinois, including my own children who were born there* pronounce the name of the state with a short e, not an i: "ellinois".
And so, when Ella Masar was playing soccer for the University of Illinois, the crowd would chant, "Ella Noise! Ella Noise!" to cheer her on. She's gone on to play professionally including on the US National Team, and now is coaching the Chicago Stars as well as is an assistant coach for the US Women's National Team.
The Chicago Stars recently honored her by posting a milestone memory on Facebook. It was one I did not know.
Look closely and you will see that both Curt and Cole took notice of the post, too.
*Sarah was born in Michigan but came to Illinois when she was two. Yep, she pronounces it, "ellinois," too! (Craig and I do not.)
The BreyerFest Blog Series
I knew it would take a lot of time and research to write this series, but never did I think it would be this involved! I have so much to share and BreyerFest is rapidly approaching.
(Whoohoo! I've been waiting for a chance to use this clock again!!)
One post has been started but is so long it needs to be split into several posts. The original outline I'd made for the project is not even relevant anymore and needs to be redone. I was planning to go year by year, but there's simply too much to share. (Not that I am complaining.)
Here is a sneak peek of something I found as I went though boxes.
Early NAN cards! Look how they were typed out and signed by the show holder. That would have been a lot of work to do, and then the show holder would have needed to sort them all and mail them to the entrants.
These two models were not entered in the 1995 NAN show, and I had put their cards away when they expired. A piece of historical ephemera I am glad I saved.
Happy Trails V Update
The pony party isn't until November, but I am still working on it when I get a moment. A Facebook page is up and people have been invited.
Swag bags for the entrants to be filled.
Happy Trails has always been simply a fun show/pony party, and the fifth one will continue that tradition.
The difference is that it is being held in the Dan Messner building (breeder and first owner of Dan Patch) in Oxford, Indiana. (About ten miles from me.) I am so excited about that opportunity and to be there and share the Dan Patch sites with hobby friends!
Tim's Tornado - an Update
It's been confirmed, it was a tornado that took out Tim and Loni's trees.
It passed right alongside their home and luckily was an EF0.
Our vet is also out by the barn, and as I was driving home after Pepper's appointment Friday, I got some photos of the damage. It was sobering.
One side of the road as the tornado approached the Gibbs' home.
The hole in the tree line is where the tornado plowed through after crossing the road. Tim and Loni's home is just to the right.
If this is what an EF0 can do, I'd hate to be hit by a stronger one. The Gibbs were very lucky. (So were the folks who lived on the other side of the road. Their trees were badly hit, but the house, just out of range of the pictures, did not sustain any damage.)
Hard to Believe but True
Craig looked at me yesterday and said, "This is unbelievable!" He had just gotten home from a funeral in Illinois for a friend, checked his email, and discovered notices of the passing of two more friends.
Truth be told, I had not shared here on the blog that we'd lost three more friends since the passing of Alice, Bob, and Neil.
Tom worked for Craig when we lived in Illinois. He'd been battling cancer for several years.
Ann Taylor, who volunteered with us down in Indy. She also had been battling cancer.
JoAnn Guntrip, a church friend, who died of old age at 94.
The notices Craig received were for people I did not know, but still... I've lost six friends within a month, and Craig has lost eight.
"I have never lost so many friends in such a short amount of time," Craig continued, still shocked to have returned from one friend's funeral only to get the news that two more friends were gone.
Maybe it's the stage of life we are in; the time when you and your friends are getting older and life is growing short. Regardless, we are saddened by so many losses and are hopeful that the tide of passing friends will slow down.
And on that note, that's the mish mosh happening for now!
