If you count the International Painting Party year - and I mostly do - this will be the tenth NaMoPaiMo. It's been a good ride, but a long ride. I can not promise I'm going to do this forever.
Forget all the things that are holding you back. Now is the time.
I've written a post every day but one this month, but there are always things that get left out. Before this space is completely overtaken by NaMoPaiMo, I want to share a few odds and ends from the first month of 2026.
In response to the post about Olive's Sage's chicken feet, Darleen Stoddard shared this photo of her and good mare, Hope. She says, I also could not resist the chicken feet. Sadly, they turn to the side if you trot with them on.
Although James was in the spotlight, I also got to shout Hurray! Hurray! when Ryan came over to help me launch the NaMoPaiMo website.
I made him take a picture with Baby Olive, but rest assured, I will be the one painting her.
I think I mentioned that we've had a lot of boxes at work?
Most of them were filled with the same old stuff, but there was also this very unusual Stubben girth.
It's designed to be used with a liner, which is sold separately. We didn't get the liner, just the girth.
The big storm that blanketed more than half of the country in snow and ice mostly missed us. We had a very cold weekend, but less than an inch of snow.
Between NaMoPaiMo, work and the frigid temperatures, Sage mostly had last week off. Today, I did sit on her again. Hopefully, by the time we get to February's mish mosh post, we'll be doing a little bit of independent riding.
I'm usually the photographer at the barn, but Giselle's friend, Jess, showed up with a serious camera and took this photo of Sage. I love it!
In less good barn news, Kaffi continues to have occasional, mild colic episodes. It's frustrating and stressful for everyone and really not fair to him.
In addition to dealing with all that, Karen also said goodbye to her one of her English Setters. It was very unexpected, and my heart breaks for her and her beautiful, Tallulah.
Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention - even briefly - the absolute horror show this month has been on the national level.
I am grateful to everyone who has spoken out against this very unAmerican regime, and that includes Breyer, who issued this statement of values earlier today.
They also participated in the National Shutdown Day. Bravo!
January is almost over. One more day, and then it's NaMoPaiMo!
Even though (most of) model horses are painted with brushes, as a hobby, we go through a lot of spray cans.
photo by Stephanie Blaylock
And those spray cans can cause a lot of trouble.
photo by Katie Breneman
Katie Breneman writes: Just a friendly reminder as we approach the starting day, keep your primer can far away from your sealer! Every year I feel like someone grabs the wrong can and puts primer over their hard work. It’s so devastating! So please do yourself a favor and move the cans, mark it with tape, or anything else to prevent this disaster. Can’t wait to see all your pretty ponies!
photo by Elizabeth Hart
Here's how Lynn Cassels-Caldwell addresses this issue: As soon as I open a new can of spray, I *always* write what it is on the top of the can with a sharpie. That way, when I grab a can I will immediately be sure of what it is (because spraying primer instead of sealer once was enough!). I write it on the side opposite to the nozzle, so I have to see it before I actually start to spray.
photo by Lynn Cassels-Caldwell
Tina DeCaussin takes this one step further: I write on the can what they are, I also add the date I bought it on the can. Helps weed out old cans that may cause trouble. I also add my initials, since I do travel to a friend's for art days.
photo by Tina DeCaussin
Of course, not all issues are due to mistaken identity. Earlier this month, Corina Roberts ran into an unexpected issue with her Stone Horses Bunny custom. She writes: I swear by Dullcote. When I sprayed my Bunny and she came out glittery. I never thought it could be the Dullcote. I repainted her. And then again and again. With gel medium in the paint. With a color that has more opacity. No matter what, there was glitter. I cleaned my room...I thought the original culprit was a brush with mica powder in it...no. I finally sprayed the belly of a black horse that's never been sealed. This dullcote is full and I mean full of glitter.
photo by Corina Roberts
Fortunately, this story has a happy ending. Upon the advice of several hobbyists, Corina contacted Rustoleum via their web form. A representative got back to her within two hours and in less than a day, an order for four replacement cans was on its way to her.
photo by Corina Roberts
That's a good after-the-fact resolution, but of course, it's better to avoid the problem altogether. To that end Jaime Castleman recommends the following: I use a black spray painted model as a "test" model. Before I spray anything on a horse I am working on, I test it on the black model first. This will stop accidental primer events and lets me know if my sealer has gone to crap, starts spitting specks, going on too thick, etc.
Jaime's test model, almost time to spray him black again!
Thank you, Katie, Lynn, Tina, Corina and Jaime. Your sage advice has almost certainly headed off at least one NaMoPaiMo disaster!
When Ryan and James were very young, they were regular attendees at our local library's weekly Book Babies program.
Every Thursday, the librarian in charge greeted each child with a personalized version of this song.
James is here today!
James is here today!
We're so glad to see him here
We're going to shout hurray! hurray!
That was, of course, a long time ago. Now both my kids are grown and gone. I try to see them regularly, but due to conflicting work schedules and overall busyness on both our parts, I had not seen James since Covid Christmas Eve.
Last night, as I was driving home from work, I got a message from Seth saying, "James is in the house." Immediately, I started singing.
James is here today!
James is here today!
I can't wait to see him there!
I'm going to shout hurray! hurray!
He stayed overnight and part of this morning, a short but perfect visit. After he left, I made a quick trip to the barn and then drove into work.
I generally like my job, but the last week has been a lot.
Ugh.
Today's shift was especially grueling.
I am sore and exhausted and behind on everything. I did not write the post I planned to write this morning, and I have not looked at the NaMoPaiMo website or Facebook group in nearly twenty four hours.
Every year on the NaMoPaiMo Facebook page, someone - or more accurately, several someones - writes words to this effect: I really want to participate in NaMoPaiMo, but my life is so busy right now. I just don't have enough time.
I get it. Time management is a struggle for many people, myself definitely included.
I completely understand how a busy person could think they don't have time for NaMoPaiMo.
And perhaps you don't, at least not in the traditional I'm-going-to-take-this-horse-and-spend-an-entire-month-painting-it kind of way.
But here's the thing: You don't have to do it that way.
In 2024, Celeste Alvarez-Plitz did not have time for NaMoPaiMo. She signed up anyway.
She started painting at 9:23 PM on February 29.
She finished a couple hours later.
The tight timeline and additional challenges made things a little crazy.
But she had fun, and her horse turned out great.
Win-win.
There are so many ways to participate in NaMoPaiMo. If you want to paint a masterpiece, we are here for that. But also, we're here for all the other, less intense painting experiences, including a last minute, two hour horse painted with just four colors of paint. NaMoPaiMo is truly a Choose Your Own Adventure kind of even. There's no way to do it wrong, except to not do it at all.
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