Jim's wake

I'm not going to lie: Last weekend was rough. If I had to do it again, I wouldn't change a thing. 

Still, the fact remains: that was rough. 

Because of this, I wasn't going to blog about Jim West's wake and memorial service. There's only so much sadness and heartbreak a person can take, and I was way, way over my limit.

Now that a few days have passed, I've reconsidered. For one thing, people have asked. More importantly, though, I think Jim deserves to be in the spotlight for at least a little longer. 

So...

Last Friday I drove to Colorado Springs with Heather and Josh. We checked into a hotel, then headed to Jim's wake, where we were joined by several other model horse hobbyists.

There were lots of hugs and tears...

but this was a proper wake, so there was lots of laughter and booze, too.

photo by Heather Malone

Everyone had a Jim West story to share. Jim touched so many lives.

One of Jim's youngest astronomy friends circulated a card for everyone to sign.

Reminders of Jim were everywhere. There were telescopes, men in kilts, Legos and, of course, a web cam.

Although this was a sad event, it was also a pretty good party. I'm sure Jim would have approved.

I love you guys

I am really, really, really frustrated with the model horse hobby as a whole today.

However, I am not frustrated with any of these people.

These people rock.

Thank you Yashka Hallein, Sandy Sandersen, Teresa Buzzell, Heather Malone, Carra McClelland, Collyn Richmond, Karen Gerhardt, Teresa Fedak, Jane Schneider, JerryLynn Rice, Dana D'Ippolito, Vicky Kitzman, Fabian Rodriguez, Heather Roell, Dayle Steinke, Beth McCarley, Jennifer Selsted, Jennifer Scott, Regan O'Keefe, Melissa Addison, Nancy Dement and everyone else (I'm sure I've forgotten someone) who makes Colorado the nicest place to collect and show model horses. I love you guys!

So much happy

A few years ago, the kids and I drove to Colorado Springs to help Jim with NAN tags.

After several hours of hard work, we took a break, and Jim sent Ryan to the basement. This was not a punishment. Jim's basement was chock full of awesome. 

Ryan reappeared about five minutes later with an expression of dazed wonderment on his face. He stood in front of Jim and I and said, "So. Much. Happy."

That really pleased Jim, and he repeated those words several times over the course of the day.

In a few hours, I'll be heading down to Colorado Springs again, this time to attend Jim's wake and memorial. I know there will be a lot of tears, but I hope there will be a lot of happy, too.

As much as anyone I've ever met, Jim was "so much happy."

He was the kind of person who never met a stranger. Everyone was a friend, pretty much immediately. He had the rare ability to always make people feel better about themselves. He was smart, funny, generous, loud and obnoxious, all in the best kind of way.  

As sad as I am to say goodbye, I am equally grateful for having known him.

Clear skies.

Hobby friends

If I ever had any doubts, this week has been a reminder that horse friends are the best friends. This is especially true when the horses are of the small, plastic variety. Model horse friends are the most awesome friends of all.

One of my best hobby friends, Teresa, came for a visit Saturday. As usual, she didn't come empty handed.

Every single thing she brought was photo worthy, and rest assured, I did take a lot of pictures of the Corbett pirate saddle. 

For the purposes of today's post, however, I'm going to focus on this little guy.

This is Purdy Fluffy. He is a portrait model of Teresa's beloved and much missed Flick. 

He was a gift to Teresa from Tiffany Purdy, who is, of course, one of the best and most talented people I've ever had the pleasure to know. It's possible that I may have had a teeny tiny part in this exchange, but mostly, this was Tiffany being awesome. 

I don't really "do" minis, but I love this little guy. Not only is he awesome in his own right, he is also a wonderful symbol of hobby friendship and generosity.

In case I haven't said it recently, I really do love and appreciate my hobby friends. Thank you, everyone, for being so awesome. My life is much better with you in it.

Pictures from yesterday's ride

If I hadn't already had plans, I would have spent all of yesterday curled up in fetal position and crying online with my hobby friends. 

Instead, I drove to Carol's house, and together, we went to the barn.

Carol rode Sweet Pea... 

and I rode Santana. 

I won't say this was the best ride of my life. Despite the beautiful weather and good company, it was impossible to stay in the moment and be happy. I spent most of the ride talking about Jim, and more than a few tears were shed. Fortunately, Carol has broad shoulders.

And you know all those memes about how horses are better than therapy? Well, it's true. Santana is the best therapy ever. 

We rode home under a beautiful, clear sky.

Thanks to Carol, Santana and Sweet Pea for making this sad day a little more bearable. 

Jim West

The model horse hobby lost one of its brightest stars today. There are no words to describe the enormity of my sadness. Clear skies, Jim.

Foal update

The barn owner asked for some updated baby pictures, so I rounded up an assistant and headed out to the barn.

We were hoping for some actions shots,

but at first... 

we got a little too much action. 

Yippee!

Eventually, however, they began to settle... 

and we got some nice shots. 

Snorty babies. 

Kenlyn Gold Standard.

Kenlyn Katrina. 

Kenlyn Khool. 

Kenlyn Sundance Kid.

Despite my best efforts, I didn't manage to get a good individual picture of Kenlyn Sir Galahad, but he's front and center in this photo.

Since we didn't want to leave them in a snorty and excited state, we spent some time loving on them before we went.

"Goodbye, Gold. See you next time." 

As always, it's been a real pleasure watching these babies grow up. I can't wait to see what they look like in another couple months.