Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Pretty Pond, Pretty Kitty

We are currently staying at Jeff's mom's house in upstate Pennsylvania.  It is a beautiful place, complete with a pond.  This was during sunset, last night, on the far side of the pond.



In addition to the pretty scenery, there is also a pretty kitty to be found here.  My beloved little "Kitten" - now dubbed Patches, by Jeff's mom and step-dad.  I was quite anxious to see if she would remember me, or hide as she has always done whenever strangers appear.

I'm very happy to report that she remembered me!  She greeted me with excited tail shaking and requests for vigorous chin scratching.  I in turn greeted her with happy tears.


We will be here for a few more days.  Tomorrow I have an exciting side trip planned.

Also tomorrow: I have a scheduled blog post full of Bo spam, from my most recent visit to see my boy.

Monday, April 24, 2017

Motivation Monday - Create a Vision

I was already way behind on blogging before this trip and spending a month on the road has left me even MORE behind.  I'm actually not struggling much with motivation these days, what I have is more a lack of time to get much done (and a limited amount of supplies *wink*).  I'm already eager to return home and get back to work, fueled by things I learned at BreyerWest (more on that in other posts coming soon) and after inspiring visits with family and friends.  In the meantime, I present a (short) edition of Motivation Monday.  As always, I hope you have a great week!














Saturday, April 22, 2017

The Trip So Far

I have several more in-depth posts planned, but I thought I'd post a quick summary of the great adventure so far.

First up was BreyerWest in Albany, Oregon.  The first day was the Open Show; here's my table, complete with a display of horse-shaped-objects from Japan.


That night was the Swap Meet!  I had taken a selection of laser-cut things, along with saddle pads, CM SMs, my first ever Arabian presentation offerings, and a few other random things.


The next day was the A Good Vintage show, I entered a bunch of my oldies and won a few tiles!


After BreyerWest, I flew to Rapid City.  While there, I visited a few friends, including Paula, who has Friesians!  I watched her take a lesson on her newest horse, a Friesian cross mare named Lexi.  After the lesson, Paula asked if I'd like to ride.  Yes!


Then it was on to Aurora, where I visited my friend Heather for a couple of days and then went to see Jennifer,  That visit was filled with foal visiting:


a trail ride (!!):


and a fun day of models and tack making!:


Next up it was on over to my hometown, where I stayed with my Granny for a few days.  I also visited with my dad and Grandma (his mom).  I got to see their family cabin up in the mountains.  It is beautiful up there.

After Colorado, it was down to Arizona where I saw Bo and his friends.  This is his best friend, Houdini.


A few short days later, it was off to Texas!


There, I reunited with Jeff.  We did a bit of sightseeing in Texas and then went up to Arkansas to see my daughter.  


We had a good visit together, including a whole day spent making mosaics and going to the Little Rock Zoo.

The very next day, Jeff and I set off for Virigina.  I was feeling depressed and drained from the emotional goodbyes (again) of Granny, bo, and my daughter, all one right after another.  Jeff asked me if there was anything I'd like to do along the way to Viriginia.  I did some research on the road and decided that the Memphis Zoo sounded neat.

So, we ended up going to two zoos in two days.


We have been in Virginia for a couple of days and are already packing up to move on.  That's been the theme of this whole trip, for me anyway.  

Today we set out for Pennsylvania.


There may be a stop at Chincoteague and Assateague islands on the way...




Sunday, April 16, 2017

Trip Check In

First off: Happy Easter!

I am finally stationary for more than a few hours, somewhat rested, nothing else going on for a bit, AND have Wi-Fi.  So I figured it was way past time for a quick check in.

I'm a little over halfway done with the Epic Tour of the US.  Two days ago, I reunited with Jeff in Texas and we are now in Arkansas for a couple of days.  It was good to see Jeff again after a few weeks on my own, touring the western half of the US.  It's also really nice to not be the only one doing all the driving - hence the reason I am sort of feeling rested, finally.

The great picture upload, sort, and edit has just barely begun and I wanted to share this picture first.  It's my handsome Bo boy at his vacation home in Arizona.  I took a bunch of pictures of him and also my friend took several pictures of us together on my last morning there.  Stay tuned for some Bo spam!



There is SO much that I want to share about the trip so far, and it's not even over yet.  I may have a month or more worth of blog material to wade through and compile.  For now though, I just wanted to say "hello!".