Last summer, my best friend, Carol, retired from the Air Force.
Since then, she's been traveling almost non-stop.Living the dream.
Last month, Carol boarded a cruise ship in Miami and rode it all the way across the ocean.
There were stops in Ibiza, Marseille and Cádiz.
There was also a horse in Cádiz.
The dream.
The cruise ended in Barcelona. Carol spent a day or two there, then got a plane and flew to Stuttgart, Germany, where she lived from 2018 to 2021.
She told me that while she was there, she planned to see our friend, Kim Brandner. "Oh!" I said. "I really hope you do that. Let me know when that happens and take lots of pictures."This morning, my phone pinged at 4:27 AM. Mercifully, I slept right through it.
By the time I woke up a couple hours later, my phone was filled with pictures.
The first batch was mostly model horses.I messaged Carol immediately.
She was still at Kim's house, so I got the whole virtual studio tour.
So fun imagining the conversations that went with some of these pictures.
Heh.
Wanna peek inside this cabinet?
Here ya go!
Kim and her daughters are all accomplished painters and longtime NaMoPaiMo supporters.
Request granted.
Beautiful!
There were a few more hobby related pictures...
Then Kim, Kassandra and Carol went outside to see the real horses.The big bay is Wega vom Ehlershof and the pony is WeHappy von Marschhorst.
Carol was sure to let me know that Kassandra was one who typed the names into her phone. Those spellings are correct.
Somewhere around this time, we abandoned texting in favor of an actual phone call.
After that, Kim, Kassandra and Carol left to pick up Yara and the four of them went out for ice cream.So disappointed it wasn't spaetzle.
What a fun way to start my day. Thank you, Carol, Kim, Kassandra and Yara, for including me.
Someday, I hope we can all do it again with me also on that side of the Atlantic!
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That circus horse medallion! Do you know who makes it? I'd love to get one!
ReplyDeleteI asked Kim to tell me about the circus medallion and this is what she wrote:
DeleteThe circus horse medallion is the Canterbury medallion sculpted by Kylee Parks for Studio Thornrose's 2025 Medallion Creativity Challenge.
The stylistic art design is based on the Regency Period of history (1795 to 1837). For the Challenge Artists could enter a paint only division or customization division and paint with additional sculpting or other enhancements added.
I went with the Open customization division and transformed Canterbury into a 19th-Century Circus horse with hand sculpted Tack and circus princess. The background of the medallion got a antique look with Diamond-pattern, crackles and Patina in the color and I added old tickets. The Offside is decorated with decoupage.
To complete the setup I made a circus tent shadowbox with air-acrobats and lighting.
And I’m still very honored that it became the champion.
Welll--you know me by now! Ha! Oh Wow!! How I wish I could travel as Carol does!! Ohhh to see all these different countries/cultures!! Now--this is a retirement well spent!!
ReplyDeleteAs usual--I'm curious about the horses!! I absolutely *love* "WeHappy" ( what a *great* name!! You don't mind if I "borrow " it for one of my models, do you?? Heh!!) Is "Happy" an American POA, a British Spotted Pony or another breed altogether?? Is there a reason for the length of their names?? (Is it a breed registration requirement??)
OoohWhee!! I'd like to have your friend Kim's blank resin cabinet!! Unlike her, I'd have to commission someone to paint them for me! I'm never gonna be brave enough to try NaMoPaiMo(even the amateurs are better than I am!!)
I do like that dark blue roan appaloosa resin!! Do you know what he is called??
I think the Appaloosa is a customized Stone ISH. The body looks the same, the head and neck are obviously different.
DeleteAs for the real horses, registered names are long. I don't know/can't remember what breed WeHappy is. However, I'm quite sure she isn't POA. That would be unlikely in Germany, plus they tend to be bigger and more horselike. WeHappy is all pony. All cute, too. And of course, I love her name.
As for NaMoPaiMo, no artistic talent is required. Truly, it's an event for everyone.