2024 year in review

In a post dated January 2, 2024, I talked about how difficult the previous year had been, and my hopes for for the next twelve months. 

I wrote: We're now two days into the new year, and so far it's been fine. Still, I know all the issues that plagued the second half of 2023 are ongoing and likely to intensify in 2024. It's probably going to be a really complicated, difficult and hard year.

But it doesn't have to be bad.

So here's my goal for 2024: I want to get through the year with as much grace and happiness as possible. I want to stay in the moment, appreciate the good things and not get too bogged down in crises that are beyond my control.

Let me tell you: This year was so much harder than I could have ever imagined. 

I usually spend the last part of December recapping my year in separate posts, one for the hobby, one for real horses, one for everything else. I am too messy for that this year. 

I am so very, very messy right now. 

Everything's going here in one giant messy post. The good, the bad and the ugly of 2024.

January was a pretty okay month. We celebrated Olive's birthday, my birthday and prepared for NaMoPaiMo.
 

Erin Corbett and the Volo Artem team bought Stone Horses. It was a big deal for her and the entire model horse hobby.

Closer to home, Seth's Mom officially started hospice care.

February started with a bang. Literally. It was so very scary, but fortunately, no permanent damage was done.

Not entirely unrelated, that was also the month that Karen sold Roy and bought Kaffi.

Ryan and Sarah got a cat. A couple months later, they bought a townhouse. It was a really good year for them.

Olive's feet were pretty sore, so went on lots of walkies. 

The rest of the month was devoted to NaMoPaiMo, which was a big success, resulting in three hundred seventy nine new painted models.

I finished both my official model and my bonus horse, a rarity for me.

March was all about taking care of Seth's parents and emptying and selling their Texas house,

Olive's sore feet...

and BreyerWest.

Truth be told, it was not my best BreyerWest. That said, I very much enjoyed judging the Open Show, participating in the Stablemate Painting Contest and spending time with so many of my friends.

After that, Carol came for a short but good visit.

The good feelings didn't last long. I got really sick.

So did my mother-in-law.

I recovered. She didn't.

April started with a pig and the decision to cancel my planned trip to BreyerFest.

On April 16, my mother crashed her car, necessitating an emergency trip to Altadena for my sisters and me. 

While I was there, I got word that Santana died.

It was a long and exceedingly difficult trip.

I was home just long enough to unpack and repack my bags. 

Then I got on another plane and headed out for a dream riding vacation in North Carolina with my friend, Rachel Fail.

Unfortunately, the dream turned into a nightmare when Rachel's daughter's pony, Razzle, colicked and died.

The rest of May was equally up and down. Olive's feet were better, my mom was doing worse. 

Kaffi suffered some setbacks. Karen bought a second horse.

June began with a really fun trip to Wyoming to attend Anna and Anna's Jurassic Classic Live Show. I judged the Dinosaur Performance and Artist Resin Breed divisions, and we all went to Buc-ees on the way home.

That same weekend, Olive and I took part in a desensitizing clinic and potluck at the barn. She was not very cooperative, at least not until the pig got involved.

Later that week, Olive and Kaffi talked to an animal communicator. It was ridiculous, but also so much fun.

A few hours later, the unthinkable happened.

I've talked about this a lot and  don't feel like I need to go over it again in great detail. Basically, Olive colicked, and we opted to send her to surgery. The procedure was a success. She spent five days recovering in the ICU, then the next thirty on stall rest right next to her favorite pig.

Her five figure hospital bill was paid in full by my incredibly generous and amazing friends, the most amazing gift I will ever receive.

Not only that, I also got a one of a kind Stone portrait model of my best girl out of the deal. 

Olive wasn't actually the only Buxton animal to go under the knife in June. My dear sweet Emma dog had a large mass removed from her forehead. Fortunately, it turned out to be benign.

Here on the blog, July was all about BreyerFest coverage and rehabbing Olive, who had moved back into her regular stall and was positively thriving.

In real life, Seth's severance package had run out before he'd been able to secure a new job, we had no insurance and all the news from California was bad. We had to move Mom from assisted living to memory care. I was extremely stressed out, and the only thing that kept me going was Olive's twice daily walk schedule. We went on sixty one walks in thirty one days. I lived for those walks.

August started out okay. James moved back to Fort Collins to finish his senior year of college, Seth got a job and Olive regained her turnout privileges.

Then mom fell and broke her hip. I bought a one way plane ticket and spent the next two weeks with her. It was another really difficult trip. 

It was September by the time I got home. I was pretty broken, but riding real Olive...

and show planning with tiny Olive helped get me back on track.

Seth's brother and his family came for a brief visit. Gray and Ivy rode Olive. My heart was overflowing with love and gratitude.

My mom celebrated her ninetieth birthday.

Karen sold Bowie.

September ended with a fabulous China turtle painting party at Karen Gerhardt's beautiful mountain home. I learned so much. It was the best kind of hobby day.

Then it was October, my favorite month. 

Despite new issues and another couple of moves for Mom, I was determined to have a good month. Olive and I participated in another desensitizing clinic and costume party, walked to the ballot box and voted with Karen and Kaffi and we went on all the rides. I rode her to the red tree, in the moonlight and together, she and I jumped over Kaffi. It was the best and busiest month of our entire partnership.

On the hobby front, I continued to prepare for CandyLand Live...

and added a very special piece to my collection.

October ended and November started with CandyLand.

It was four days of nonstop fun, highlighted by a performance championship and Best in Show title for little Olive...

and a some wonderful real Olive visits with hobby friends.

Then, almost immediately after it was over, I got on a plane and flew back to California. Thanks in large part to my friends and fellow hobbyists, Corina Roberts and Tara Reich, this trip was better. It was still hard, but not epically terrible.

I got home in time to celebrate our three year Oliversary. I had absolutely no idea it would be our last.

Other November events included a visit from Carol, Heather and Josh's wedding and Thanksgiving.

I spent the first twenty five days of December participating in a hobby advent photo challenge.

During that time, I also saw Olive every day. Because of weather and work, there wasn't a lot of riding. It didn't matter. We had so much fun preparing for and participating in the annual Christmas photo shoot.

Our last trail ride was Christmas Eve and our last bareback toodle was the day after Christmas. On December 27, I played with her in the indoor ring. I told her she was boring because all she wanted to do was come into the middle and stand next to me.

The next morning, we did a little in-hand work in the arena before I put her in the field. "Have a good day," I called after her, as she wandered off to see her buddies. "See you tomorrow!"

Except that's not what happened.

It was the worst possible ending to a most difficult year. I tried so hard to get through 2024 with grace and happiness. I made every effort to stay in the moment, appreciate the good things and not get too bogged down in crises that were beyond my control. For the most part, I think I did a  good job, but losing Olive was just too much.

I am ending this year sad and broken and so very, very messy.