Update: Bonsai, Max, Live Show, oh my!

Once again I've stopped blogging.  I've been...  "quietly busy" with several odd things.  I plan to get back into blogging, starting with this post: an update of sorts.  I'm really hoping to get back to daily posts, I do have a lot I could talk about, but... depression has been kicking my butt lately and whenever that happens, it seems the blog is the first thing to be neglected.  I'll try to do better.

Yesterday morning, I laid out some horses...  more on them in just a bit, after the other updates.

I've been keeping busy with Bonsai.  Here's a quick picture I took in the middle of a "change pot" operation during class recently.

Bonsai tools and trimmings

I'd like to do a dedicated post about my Bonsai trees, I've got SO many more than the last time I talked about them.  (back when I had 2 or 3...  now there are probably close to 20)

The big news is that our dog Max is no longer "bionic".  He had one last surgery, to remove all of the rods and pins, a week ago.  He's been doing well and can even get up and around the house all by himself.  He still can't do our full flight of stairs, but that's about it.  He may never be able to do them again, we'll see.  Most exciting is him being able to go outside, go to the bathroom, and get back into the house - all under his own power!  My aching back appreciates that development most of all, after about a month of carrying his back end outside for him a few times a day.

Max likes to "make his bed".  He does not like having his picture taken.

My garden here is nowhere near the size of the garden we had in South Dakota, this is the extent of it so far:

Along with a bunch of potted plants:

And most of the Bonsai collection (a few favorites are in the Studio window):

More big news, which I promise will be talked about more is...  I'm considering a live show entry!  By proxy...  Which live show?  It's a surprise...  ha.  Where all this stands is: Currently I have confirmation from a wonderful friend that they will show for me and now I am wondering if I have the guts to actually enter...  :(  Stay tuned.

In the meantime, here's my initial excited cut of possible horses to send.  All customs, one resin, mostly minis...  four classics.  All of the customs are done by me, except "Ashley", the grey Arab mare in the top left.

If you have a sharp eye, you might notice that half of them are unfinished (or even unstarted).  As usual, I'm hoping a deadline will push me into customizing mode.  I'm not sure yet which of these I should enter/try to finish to enter - or if I even have any business entering anything (!) so we'll see...

Right now I'm thinking I'd like to focus on finishing the classic foals and the resin (trotting pony on a base, in the center-ish of the picture).  I have a couple of other resins I could try to finish, but that one is already prepped, so she won out.

On a side note, until I laid out this little herd I didn't realize how many black/black and white customs I have done.  It is one of my favorite colors/color combinations, so I guess it's no surprise.  I do have a TON of fresh new paint after making an order a while back,  Now I just need the guts to sit down and get to painting.  *gulp*