Worst laid plans

"James took the job in Wisconsin," I told Carol during one of our weekly calls. "I'm so happy for him."

Then I paused and added, "This is probably just me dreaming, but I hope he asks me to help him move. I would love that so much."

A few days later, I got this text.

I was delighted, but played it cool.

I let him do a little more persuading.

Then I was all in, planning routes...

and making suggestions.

As the departure date drew near, my excitement turned into anxiety. Part of that was Emma related.

Emma with the toy I bought her at the Denver Dog Fair

Mostly though, I was worried about James' preparations, or lack thereof.

Let's be clear, James is a great kid and one of the smartest people I know. He can do calculus in his head the way the way most people do arithmetic. That said, there are whole classes of things he's at which he's less adept. Rather belatedly, it occurred to me that trip planning might be an issue.

After an anxious night's sleep, I asked Seth, "What if he hasn't reserved the moving truck? What are we going to do?"

As it turned out, that was not the problem. 

Seth and I got up bright and early on departure day and made the one and a half hour drive to James' apartment.

From our text conversations, I knew James was not entirely packed and ready to go. However, I assumed he was at least close-ish. 

I was wrong.

I was so very, very wrong.

Seth and I took one look at that apartment - the posters were still on the walls! - and knew James and I wouldn't be leaving that day. Instead of driving to Omaha, we pivoted to an all-day, all-night marathon of cleaning, packing and purging.

Did I mention this was a third floor apartment? 

After eighteen hours and at least fifty apologies, I told James it was okay. Things happen and we would get through. 

"However," I added. "I am absolutely going to roast you on my blog."

He nodded and said, "That's fair."

At the twenty hour mark, we conceded defeat. There was no way we were going to get all that stuff into the truck. James called 1-800-got-junk and scheduled a pick-up.

Those guys were so great. Not only did they get rid of all the extra stuff, they also brought donuts and helped us finish packing the truck.

Twenty eight hours after my arrival in Loveland, we were finally packed and ready to go.

No one has ever been so glad to move out.

We grabbed the animals, climbed into the truck and headed out to Wisconsin.

To be continued.

BreyerFest Youth and Children's Show performance

There have been a lot of big model horse shows in Lexington this week, and I've been enjoying the parade of pictures from all the various show halls. This group was taken by Angelo at the BreyerFest Youth and Children's Show earlier today. These are the most amazing entries. I absolutely love the enthusiasm, creativity and solid execution. Great job, kids!

BreyerFest Thursday

Yesterday was the unofficial first day of BreyerFest, and for all us sitting at home, the FOMO is real. Thank you to everyone who has posted photos from Lexington, and especially Nancy Kindraka for this wonderful firsthand report of all the Thursday happenings!

BreyerFest Thursday

by Nancy Kindraka

Up bright and early, ready for the show! And this was the last time my hair was fully down. Stupid humidity.

I spent most of today volunteering at the Resin Renaissance show. 

It went great, except for the fact that the AC was unable to cool the room. It was hot.

Robbie and I managed the raffle. There were a lot of nifty items.

Working with Robbie was great.

There were eleven of these Poet micros in the raffle, each painted by a different artist.

I tried to win these fun pouches but alas, I did not.

The show took up most of the day. I found it to be quite enjoyable to observe the show without having to stress about showing my own models.

Afterwards, I changed clothes and headed to the Griffin Gate for Stone's welcome party. They ran shuttles between the two hotels, which was marvelous!

Riding in style!

The welcome party was nice, and I enjoyed everyone's pirate and nautical themed costumes for the costume contest.

I bought one of Shauna's poop pucks at Stone's marketplace. I love everything about it. (It's too much to explain. Ask me in person.)

Then it was back to the Clarion for some room shopping.

My shopping list is very short this year, and I'm not having much luck. Still, I really enjoy the entire Clarion experience.

Finally, I wandered the Artisan's Gallery. This piece is a fantasy entry for the Best Customs Contest. It's really unique and impactful.

I enjoyed this glow up of Smoky...

and this performance entry.

This was my favorite: A glow up of Patch, on the Rugged Lark mold. It's so good!

Larkie is a favorite of mine, but he's a very wonky mold and a perfect candidate for the Glow Ups category. He looks fantastic! The original is in the box.

A few weeks ago, the artist, Laura Skillern Sailer, posted some hints as to which model she had used for the glow up. I was the first to guess it correctly, and today I claimed my prize. It was thhe perfect ending to the first day at BreyerFest!

Thank you so much for sharing your day with us, Nancy! I hope you enjoy those chips, and I look forward to your Friday update!