Give me an "I"

Last month, the model horse blogging community lost one of its own. Although I never had the pleasure of meeting Karen Crossley in person, I'd come to know her through her words. She felt like family, and her death hit me hard. I think about her every time I check my Blogger reading list.

Last November, Karen launched an occasional blog series in which she introduced various members of her herd from A to Z. 

The last post in this series was dated July 8, 2020. The letter was H.

This was such a clever idea and it makes me sad that Karen wasn't able to see it through to the end. In her honor, Lynn Isenbarger, Anne Field and I have decided to finish it for her. Every couple weeks or so, when one of us is feeling uninspired, we'll write a post introducing one of our models, I through Z.

Today is my day. The letter is "I" and my model is Ichabod.

Ichabod is a Breyer Donkey #81. He was sculpted by Chris Hess and was produced from 1958 to 1974.

I received my first Breyer on my fourth birthday, and by the time I was seven, I was an avid collector. I memorized the manuals that came with my models, and I knew that the Breyer donkey had been discontinued for several years. I also knew there was one for sale at the little gift shop inside the office at nearby Eaton Canyon Riding Club. With my birthday approaching, I made sure that my mom also aware of those facts.

"He's so rare," I told her. "They don't make him anymore. They haven't since 1974. This is probably the only chance I'll ever have to get one."

I must have been persuasive, because this is what I unwrapped on my eighth birthday.

And that's not all. I got a Brighty, too.

Here they are together in 1977... 

and again in 2020.

Ichabod isn't my only "I" model, but he was definitely my first, and I am happy to share him with everyone today. Thank you for the inspiration, Karen. We're going to do our best to do your series justice.

Good mail day

I've really enjoyed receiving donations for my show, but today both mailboxes were empty. That was unacceptable, so I logged onto Etsy and bought myself some printable mail.

I love buying printable downloads. They are cheap and perfect for those times when you need something right now.

Since I was on a roll, I also bought an Amazon box printable. 

These are so cute. I really like the detail of the Amazon tape and address labels.

If you are also in need a pile of tiny boxes, you can buy your own printables here. Or you can enter the Pandemic Performance Panorama online photo show and hope you get lucky because all these boxes are in the prize pile!

Almost wordless Wednesday

One of the Denver Zoo's newest residents is Kylo, the baby zebra. The first time Mary Jo and I went to the zoo, he spent most of our visit sleeping. I was hoping for a little more action this time, but when we got to the zebra enclosure, he was, once again, laid out flat on his side. We almost kept walking, at least until we saw his ears pop forward and his eyes blink open. Here's a set of pictures documenting the asleep to awake transition. enjoy!

Back to the zoo

When Ryan was a tiny baby, I joined a "play group" run by one of Seth's co-worker's wives. Cheryl was one of those type A super moms who knew the answer to every baby related question, and for the next two and a half years, she was my mommy mentor.

Ryan and James with Cheryl's kids, Billy and Elizabeth at the National Western Stock Show

Cheryl and her family moved to California in the fall of 2002, but before she left she did two last things for me: she signed me up for a MOPS group and bought me a membership to the Denver Zoo. I only attended the MOPS group for a little while, but I used the heck out of that zoo pass.

For the next couple years, Ryan, James and I went to the zoo several times a month. It was one of the few places that appealed to all of  us. I liked the animals, Ryan loved the train and James was all about being outside in a sea of other children. Those were good times.

As the kids got older and busier, our zoo trips became less frequent. Eventually I let my membership lapse, and our visits dwindled to once a year, then every other year and finally not all. The last time I went to the zoo with one of my kids was 2016.

This year has been all about staying home and not doing things, but strangely, it's also brought the zoo back into my life.

For the second time in as many months, Mary Jo and I visited the zoo last weekend. 

With all the new restrictions and safety precautions, it's a very different experience than it used to be. There are no crowds, no train, no carousel. Young Ryan and James would have hated it, but it suits me just fine at this stage in my life.

Mary Jo and I spent a pleasant evening walking around the zoo and admiring the real
animals...

and checking out the newly installed Lego animals.

 These are placed throughout the zoo...

and some of them are really fabulous.

 Mary Jo liked the Chameleon best.

I was most enamored with the zebra. 

Now this is a Lego kit I would buy for myself!

After we'd walked the loop, we retired to the beer garden for a socially distanced meal...

 and live music. 

As much as I miss the Before Times, I have to admit that I am really enjoying this new zoo phase. I am already looking forward to next month's visit!

More prizes

Today I received three boxes of prizes for the Pandemic Performance Panorama. The first was from Layla Bakhtiari of Quantum Horse Ranch Studios. She sent two copies of her brand new Frey medallion. Thank you, Layla!

Melanie Miller also sent a pair of medallions. These art finish Valentines are almost too pretty to paint and are just perfect for performance showers. Thank you, Mel!

They say that good things come in small packages, and that was certainly the case for box number three. Look at all these amazing things from Anna Helt of Dreamflite Design!

Offerings include three racing number cloths, a Western saddle blanket, CollectA size sports medicine boots and two stablemate scale halters. Since mini scale photography is not my forte, I'm using Anna's picture of the Western show halter.

There was also a lovely stablemate scale stable blanket...

and an absolutely wonderful CollectA Morgan scale hackamore. I didn't have a horse that fit this, so it's being modeled my Husband bust from the first Jennifer Show. Doesn't he look great in tack?

Thank you so much, Anna!