The Candy Corn Challenge (with Apologies to Dr. Seuss)

Out of the thousands of blog posts that I have written, the candy corn challenge is my all time favorite. I tried to repost it here but the formatting is problematic.

So, click here to go over to the Horsiemama blog and read it. I think you will be glad you did.

Happy Halloween!

Horsey Halloween Decor

I did not put too many decorations out for Halloween this year, but what's out are things that I like.

With a little help from Mila (the musical sewing machine and the pairs of Stablemates), the upstairs overlook and playroom has a bit of a Halloween vibe. I like Ichabod and Crane (and love the book even more!)

The player piano gets used often enough that I don't like to put too much on it. Less is more when it comes to decor on that piano!

Cryptic is my favorite Halloween horse of all time. Oh, how I wish Breyer would do more of the "headstone horse" look on other molds.

Illuminati looks neat whether it is lit up

or not. 

I had to change the batteries in him this year but the result was worth the fuss.

While I don't care for the Mustang Mare mold, I do love classic literature, 

so buying Nevermore was a no brainer. (I'm not a fan of Edgar Allen Poe's works, either, but I do think he was an incredible talent.)

The decor may be minimal but what's out makes me happy and that is enough.

Happy Halloween!

Pokey, the Picket Fence, and a Poor Idea

Yesterday when I looked at those photos of the family bell, I noticed the picket fence in the picture and another set of long forgotten memories came flooding back.

That picket fence enclosed a small dog run. Access to it from the yard was through a very tiny gate. (You can glimpse it between the two trees.) Getting a mower between the posts of that little gate was difficult and frustrating. So, my dad used a different kind of mower.

Pokey.

Pokey was small enough to squeeze through the gate and into the dog run. Even better, he was too small to jump or step over the fence. So, we would bring him up from the pasture, lead him through that little gate, and he'd spend the next couple of hours happily "mowing." Win-win for us and for Pokey (Me leading my sister Jenny on Pokey at her birthday party.)

One day, though, it inspired a not-so-good idea. Pokey was in there munching and I got the bright idea of seeing if I could get Pokey up the porch steps and into the house. (I was seventeen and should have known better.)

No one else was home, and so... up the stairs he went and through the door into the back foyer. And then I heard the crunch of gravel as my mother drove up the driveway. I began hurriedly backing him out but she caught me with Pokey half in/half out of the house. Needless to say, she was NOT happy.

Amy and Pokey

Ask me then why I did it, and I would respond, "I don't know." Ask me now, and you would get the same response. I truly have no clue! (When a student would give me an "I don't know" response, I understood - sometimes you do things and don't know why!)

Pokey in his late thirties.

The story of me bringing Pokey into the house is a favorite one of my kids and grandkids and they enjoy having me recount it just as much as I enjoy retelling it.

I'm glad that little white picket fence prompted those memories.

The Family Bell

There has been a little more weight in the trunk of my car for a couple of months now. It's so heavy, I didn't even remove it when I packed for The Feast of the Hunters' Moon or the Great Lakes Congress show.

It's the bell that hung outside the back door of Morainewood, our home on the Wabash River.

I have no idea how old it is - it was there when we bought the home in 1970.

Thanksgiving 1970. Leslie on Pokey with (left) our great Aunt Clara, Great Uncle Howard, and (right) Mom and Grandma Martin. (Owner of O'Boy, the circus pony.) Check out my mom's hands - she's got a couple of apples for Amy and Pokey!

My siblings and I used to roam all over the place - down along the river, up in the woods, and go way back through the ravines and creeks of the moraine we lived on.

When she wanted us to come home, Mom would ring that bell and the sound would travel long distances - no matter how far we wandered on horseback or on foot, we could always hear it. (Look between the two trees in the middle and you will see the bell.)

I can still hear its beautiful sound calling me home. So when Leslie found it tucked away in her barn and asked if I wanted it, of course I said I did. I'm not sure what I will do with it, but in the meantime, a very important piece of my childhood resides in the trunk of my car.

And I am happy that it is there. In a way, it still calls me home.

Orchard Dedication at The Farm at Prophetstown

Last week, our family's orchard was honored by The Farm at Prophetstown when they dedicated their new heirloom orchard in our orchard's memory.

It was a sunny but chilly evening, but my siblings and I were all in attendance.

Steve and Jenny walk through the orchard checking out the varieties of apples.

Many were varieties that were familiar to us - our orchard was planted in the 1920s so its varieties would all be considered heirlooms now.

A ceremony was held with apple snacks and cider offered to all in attendance.

And a special plaque that is now posted in the orchard was shared with us.

That's when I got teary - I had not realized that something would be in the orchard memorializing our orchard.

Bill Hoover, the Purdue Forestry professor who spearheaded the project also spoke about the process of getting the Prophetstown orchard planted and producing.

And he and Leslie did the ribbon cutting.

It was quite a night for my siblings and me - our orchard was a family project and many, many hours were spent together working in it.

Thank you, Farm at Prophetstown. Our parents would be very honored to know that your orchard was planted in memory of ours.

More blog entries on the orchard:

The orchard in spring

High winds hit the orchard

Apple varieties for apple spaghetti

The barn fire

Great Lakes Congress Show: Saturday

The doors to the show hall opened at 6:00 AM and people began hauling in tubs of models shortly after Liz, Sam, and I arrived.

Since I had set up the Mercantile the night before

and unpacked and organized my models, I was in good shape.

The photo booth, ready for pictures.

The show is held in a community center that can host simultaneous events (a stamp show this time) and sometimes visitors wander in. 

My sales were brisk - I'd brought five tubs of haversacks and pony pads to sell and came home with two empty tubs.

Competition was fierce in the China and OF Plastic divisions.

I'd kept my show string small - seven chinas and sixteen Breyers.

Classes were huge so any ribbon was a compliment.

Ribbons are recycled and it is always fun to see the shows they were originally for.

Finding a Great Lakes Breyer Registry ribbon (the forerunner of GLC) made me smile. Kerri Gerhman started that club when she was a sixth grader. (Go here to read the history of that show.) She got a kick out of seeing one of her show's old ribbons.

Selling and showing at the same time kept me hopping.

While I did not miss a single class (a first for me), 

I didn't take as many pics of people and models as I normally would. I just didn't have time. (Although I did get to talk to a lot of folks.)

At least I remembered to get a selfie with Liz as I was preparing to leave.

Now I am home and am slowly unpacking and updating inventory on the Horsiemama Mercantile page. Unless I can rearrange something on my calendar, this was my last show of the year so there is no rush to replace the inventory I sold. 

Having said that, I did just get some new fabric in and another fabric store I frequent is have a really good sale, so...

Great Lakes Congress Show: Friday

After stopping to get gas and then to pick up some treats for the GLC staff, I was on the road to Huntley around noon on Friday.

I'd succeeded at car Jenga plus I had some room left over to tuck in those purchases and a few snacks for me.

GLC has begun letting showers unload and set up the evening before the show and I wasn't the only one who took advantage of that.

Marilou Mol, past Region 8 representative and past NAMHSA vice president.

Liz and her husband Sam have been setting up GLC shows together for years and have it down to a science.

An extensive raffle is a hallmark of a GLC show - there is something for everyone!

Although this raffle donation sure was a first. It was macabre enough that, despite the rainbows, it was perfect for a Halloween show.

It go a lot of attention, too. (Inside was what looked like a child's tee shirt.)

The rings with their awards, judges' clipboards, 

NAN cards, and judges' gifts were ready to go.

Liz does six of these shows a year; I don't know how she does it!

Marilou Mol, Linda Jensen, Mary Jo Nerly, and Liz Cory.

It took me over a hour to get the Mercantile set up and my horses unpacked. Liz finished setting up at about the same time, and so we locked the show hall and then went out for dinner.

I stayed overnight in Liz's guest room and went to bed early - I was tired due to the long drive and we had to open the show hall at 6:00 AM the next morning.

Show pics coming tomorrow. Stay 'tooned!