Dogs of Our Lives: Pen Pals, Pepper, & Peeps

A few days ago, I got a call from Sarah LaRose, the woman Pepper had guided prior to retiring and coming to live with us. That's not unusual; Sarah calls once in a while to say hello, ask about Pepper, and share what she has been doing.

Like Kathy, Sarah is a very active woman. She has a doctorate in Divinity, is a minister, teaches university classes in Hebrew and Greek languages, translates those languages for others, does public speaking, and is an author. 

When Pepper came into our life, it was an unexpected transition, both for Sarah and for Pepper. Pepper had collapsed one day while working. Realizing that the collapse meant something was seriously wrong, Sarah immediately raced her to a specialist. 

In doing so, Sarah saved Pepper's life. She nearly died and was ill and in the vet hospital for several days. The diagnosis was a severe Addison's Disease crisis and Pepper had to be retired from guiding immediately. Thanks to a recommendation from Kathy who is also a friend of Sarah's, we were selected as Pepper's retirement home.

Me, Sarah, Craig, and Kevin LaRose doing a group hug with Pepper in the middle of us.

Sarah missed her Pepper, and so I started writing pseudo pen pal letters from Pepper to Sarah (which were very much a precursor to the current iteration, Dogs of Our Lives.) The letters helped Sarah stay in contact with Pepper and reassured her that Pepper was adjusting, healthy, and happy.  

Currently Sarah is working on another book, one that includes traveling and working while being assisted by the dogs who have guided her.  Naturally Pepper is included.

Sarah and Pepper as new partners at The Seeing Eye in 2017.

While we were chatting, Sarah asked, "I was wondering if I could include some of the pen pal letters Pepper wrote me after she went to live with you in my new book. They helped me so much after losing her, and I'd really like to share some of them."

That admission that they had helped her brought tears to my eyes. The fact that Sarah gave up Pepper because she put Pepper's health first and at a tremendous cost to herself... well, I can't imagine what that was like. I told her to use the letters as she wished.

And then Sarah shared an amazing story about Pepper with me, one I had not heard before. "She is a brilliant dog," Sarah said after concluding the story.

I'll share that story next, but in the meantime and just for fun, here is one of my favorite pen pal letters "written" by Pepper for Sarah. Enjoy it, and stay 'tooned! 

---

Thursday, April 9, 2020

Greetings, Mom!

I am so excited. Easter is coming, and Lynn said that the Easter Bunny is going to bring me an Easter basket! Even better though, the Peeps for my basket are already here! Last night Lynn took me out to do my business and we could hear the Peeps calling to me from the woods!

I tingled all over withe excitement and asked Lynn if we could go and get those Peeps. I really wanted a purple one, but you know me, I'd settle for pink or yellow or just about any color. Lynn started laughing (she does that a lot) and said, "Oh, Pepper! You big goof!" (She says that a lot, too.)

Lynn explained that there is a difference between Peeps and spring peepers, and that what we were hearing were the spring peepers. I responded that I don't mind if my Peeps talk; I am sure that talking Peeps are just as good. (Maybe a little more expensive, but I'm worth it, right?) But then Lynn told me that the spring peepers were really frogs that were talking to each other in the woods.

Frogs?? FROGS?? Eeew! Why are there frogs in the woods! They're supposed to be in ponds and creeks. And why are the frogs talking? Are they telling each other where the Peeps are hidden? Even worse, are they eating my Peeps?

Mom, I am so confused and could really use your help. Will you please talk to Lynn and tell her to let me go to the woods and get the Peeps before the frogs eat them all? I would really appreciate it! (You know how hungry I can get.)

Wags and licks,

Hungry for Peeps Pepper

Collections Within My Collection: The Kazari-uma/Japanese Battle Doll Horse

Pieces in my collection that are one of a kind are grouped in what I call my Outliers collection. Today's piece is definitely an outlier.

In 1974, my dad showed me an ad in the newspaper about a collection of horses for sale. He offered to take me to look at it and buy some pieces. It was a good find -  I got an HR Adelaide, HR Amir (small), a neat Hartland Saddlebred, and this oddity:

I'd never seen anything like it - it was lightweight and seemed made of paper mache with a costume made from fabric covered wood.

It was very unusual and I have kept it in my curio cabinet ever since.

Only once have I seen a reference to it in the model horse hobby - Linda Walter had the same piece and a picture of it was published in an old hobby magazine that I came across years after the publication date. But there was no identifying information with the picture in the article.

Fast forward to a few years ago. I was noodling around on Ardith Carlton's site, Vintage Custom Model Equine Center. She and Corky Visminas have exciting plans to build a museum for model horses in Michigan.

Ardith had lived in Japan and has long been fascinated with its culture. The VCMEC has a second component, a link to Spa-Kun, the Society for the Preservation and Appreciation of Kazari-uma Ningyo.

Never having heard of Spa-Kun, I clicked on that link, and suddenly discovered the identity of my model. He was a Japanese Battle Doll Horse!

An example of another Japanese Battle Doll Horse from Google Images. Note how similar it is to mine.

The web site includes some information on these interesting pieces:

In a tradition dating back to the 16th century, the Kazari-uma is part of the array of warrior dolls and tot-sized battle gear displayed in the homes of Japanese boys every May 5 (which until 1948 was called Tango no Sekku, or Boy’s Day; it’s now the holiday Kodomo no Hi, or Children’s Day). 

Ranging from Little Bit size to about 18 inches at the ear tips (in general, the bigger the horse, the older it is), most Kazari-uma are white and made of touso (a wood-based composition material) or paper mache, covered with either keuesaiku pasted-on silk-fiber hairs or chirimen cloth, and given glass or crystal eyes and a rooted hair mane and tail. They’re then tacked with lacquered wood, brocade and fringe, and are sometimes graced with rider dolls.

With decreasing living space an increasing issue, though, the Kazari-uma has unfortunately become a luxury option for Japanese families today—and antique Kazari-uma that were once heirlooms now find themselves in secondhand shops and online auctions.

My piece is bigger than a Breyer Classic but smaller than a Breyer traditional. I have kept it in one of my china cabinets to protect it from dust and damage,

but despite the good care,  it is beginning to show signs of age and deterioration.

It's been in my collection since 1974 so it is at least 51 years old; I should not be surprised that it is starting to break down.

I will keep it in its cabinet and check it periodically for more signs of aging. It's a pretty cool piece to have, especially knowing what it is. 

There is some big news for Pepper coming up soon. Stay 'tooned!

Collections Within My Collection: The Chinese Connection, Part 2

The terra cotta military horse is not the only Chinese piece in my collection. This next piece arrived in a similar manner, albeit from a different university professor.

This friend spent a lot of time teaching in China and Taiwan during his tenure as a professor here at Purdue. He was retiring and, with his wife, was preparing to move away from Indiana. In going through their things, they came across several gifts that he had received from leaders in China.

My friend texted me and asked, "Would you like this?" while sending me a photo of a lovely gold rimmed horse plate. Of course I said I did!

She did not know much about it except that it had been a gift and was from the National Palace Museum.

Anyone else see an old 45 RPM record instead of a plate? I do!

Since my friend did not know much about the plate, I have been doing a little research on it.

It helped that it came with a small information card. The artist painted the original painting sometime in the 18th century and was actually an Italian who had come to China as a missionary.

Then, my friend texted me again and said she'd found something else that was mine if I wanted it.

A very pretty jade horse.

With roots tracing back to the Tang dynasty, jade horse carvings echo the cultural legacy of the horse including being the bearer of good fortune. This is part of the reason why horses or horse emblems were seen as blessings or signifying peace.

And, since jade was extracted from mountains and riverbeds, it symbolized a way to ascend beyond the earth into heaven. 

Jade can be quite valuable and as dark as this piece is, I think it might be worth more than my friends realized when they gave it to me. 

Table from The Natural Gemstone Company.

Another friend of ours is a jeweler and I intend to show him the jade horse and get his opinion. If it is worth some money, I'll let my friends know and ask if they'd like to have the jade horse back.

I have one more piece to show you, but it's not actually Chinese, it's Japanese.

Stay 'tooned!

Collections Within My Collection: The Chinese Connection, Part 1

When the word "china" is mentioned in the hobby, the usual association made is Hagen Renaker and other model horse pieces made from the medium of china. But there is another, far more broader application of the word.

China. As in the country. 

Thanks to the generosity of friends, I am fortunate to have some horsey pieces in my collection that actually are from China. The next day or two I will share those as we take a look at that collection within my collection.

The Chinese Terra Cotta Horse

The story of Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang and his terra cotta army is fascinating. When he was buried, an army of 8,000 life-sized soldiers, horses, and more were made out of terra cotta and placed in his mausoleum to protect and guide him into the afterlife.

All the more incredible, the pieces were different from each other, with individualized faces and positions.

During the years we were at the University of Illinois, faculty member friends of ours went overseas and spent a year teaching English to Chinese students.

While there, they visited the site and brought home this replica of one of the horses as a gift for me.

I'm not quite sure what the piece is made out of - it may even be terra cotta.

That isn't a shadow making the one side look darker than the other; it really is.

And it isn't dusty, either. It's finished to look as though it is.

 

The base is very rough underneath and I have wondered if those are fingerprints that you can see.

As I compare the marks to my thumb, I think it is possible that they are.

The Chinese Terra Cotta horse is one of the more unusual items in my collection of horses and horsey items. And it was the first of several from China. After we came back home to Indiana and Purdue University, faculty members here also brought me some horsey things from China.

I'll share some more tomorrow.

Stay 'tooned!

Short & Sweet

Short and sweet today. I have church, a baby shower for a former student, and then a family get together for dinner this evening. 

~ I decided not to buy the Janome sewing machine. Essentially I'd be buying it because it has a horse on it.  Not the best reason to spend that kind of money even though it is a quality product.

~ Thursday's spinal procedure, a bilateral sacroiliac joint injection, can have some side effects, and this time I had several. I felt my legs go weak while I was still on the table and a few hours later, a bad headache came on. I'm better now, and the injection has worked on my back pain, but I do still feel a little weak. If I don't perk up in the next hour, I may do Zoom church instead of attend in person.

~ Despite the headache and weakness, I am still working on the quiet book and other projects. There's a bed in the sewing room, so if I need to, I lie down. (And then get joined by Pepper, Tammo, and even Nash if he's with us at the time! So much for taking a break!)

Hopefully tomorrow I will be feeling better and have more to share. 

Stay 'tooned!

 

The Arabian Costume Connection

 Second Post of the Day

(The irony of writing back to back about two friends named Kathy is not lost on me.)

Earlier this month, the son of my dear friend, Kathy Bateman sent me a box of tack and props from her collection. I was glad to have them and looked at every piece.

Kathy had made most of the items during the 1990s and they are excellent examples of tack making from our hobby history. 

Western tack made by Kathy and in the collection of Kay Biberstein.

I contacted Ardith Carlton and Corky Visminas who are working to open a model horse museum in Wisconsin, told them about Kathy's tack and props, and asked if they might want them for their museum.

They did.

And so I sorted it all into bags, tucked in some photos of Kathy at shows, and will ship it out today.

I did keep a couple of things - a stone wall Kathy had built, a saddle blanket, and three "silver" trays she'd won.

And, an Arabian costume with a story behind it, one that is intertwined with our friendship.

It's an early Tiffany Purdy piece. In the mid 1990s, I held a show called Lincoln Land Live, and it was Tiffany's very first model horse show. Boy howdy, she knocked everyone over with her creativity and talent.

She had with her a gorgeous Arabian costume, and both Kathy and I asked her to make us our own Arabian costumes.

Mine was purple, green, and gold,

and Kathy's was maroon and silver. We both won a lot of ribbons with these costumes.

Since Tiffany has gone on to become a well known person in our hobby who is still creating in a variety of mediums, I probably should have included Kathy's Arabian costume in the box I'm sending to Ardith and Corky.

But I couldn't, at least not yet. The memories wrapped up in these two Arabian costumes are just too strong a connection to Kathy. 

They represent and remind me of so many fun times we had together, be it traveling to BreyerFest, showing at NAN, or just packing our tubs in the back of her truck and heading down the highway at 5 AM to go to a show.

Maybe down the road I will be ready to pass it on. 

But not yet. 

A Sneak Peek

First Post of the Day

Here are a few sneak peeks of Kathy's big night in New York City. I think she looks beautiful.

I love that Tate is lying behind her, ready to guide her when she needs him.

American Federation for the Blind President Eric Bridges presenting Kathy's award. I am going to ask Kathy what the Braille part says.

The teachers and students from the Indiana School for the Blind who came as Kathy's guests.

When Kathy was the Indiana Teacher of the Year in 2015, she met these women, all of whom were their state's winners that same year. They have been friends ever since.

 The AFB will post more pictures soon and I'll share those then. 

In the meantime, Kathy is visiting Guiding Eyes for the Blind where her last three guide dogs have come from. She is meeting Tate's puppy raiser and his trainer, and then doing some other things there as a guest.

It was from reading their post about her

that I learned the AFB's president's guide dog, Trent, came from Guiding Eyes for the Blind, too.

Finally, Kathy is going on a road trip to see Niagara Falls and other sights before coming home. I can't wait to hear all about it when she gets back next week. 

Another post is coming. Stay 'tooned!

A Cool Auction Find

A few years ago, Marilou Mol and Linda Shawhan teamed up together to sell Reta Muellemann's  collection after she had passed away. They are two well known ladies who are trustworthy and describe the auction pieces and any flaws they might have very well.

While I'm not sure they are actually doing this as a business together, they now are selling models from other collections and have become an excellent resource if you are looking to buy a well presented and curated model horse. (Or a few more. Ahem!!)

Twice a week they post assortments of models that they are selling for other people. One auction ends Thursday nights, the other ends Sunday nights. I look at both auctions every week, and have bid on several pieces, especially for the Thursday auctions. 

Last week, this Schleich Falabella pony popped up.

I wasn't particularly interested in it, but it had two auction buddies that I very much was.

Talk about doing a double take when that photo popped up!

They looked like the Hartland Mustang that had been shrunk down into Tiny Mite size.

I already have a sample of every Hartland Tiny Mite mold in my collection

and so I knew these were copies, not Hartlands. (Which is how they were advertised, too. As copies.)

Still, for only $5 for the trio, I placed a bid and won.

I find copies intriguing and have others that I have snagged while out thrifting.

Like this Durham Metal Hagen Renaker Morgan Stallion copy that is a pencil sharpener.

It's actually quite lovely and I keep it on my office desk and use it whenever a pencil is dull.

This knock off Hartland pair will go on the shelf with my Hartland Tiny Mites. Despite being copies, they are a bit of hobby history and are a fun addition to my collection.