White Creek Fire Company Benefit Show

     I have had an interesting couple of days. Friday I needed to go to Walmart to get a few things we needed and checked to see if they have the new mini whinnies. They still have the old series 2 ones and I am not interested in any of those. But they did have a stuffed box of unicorns. So I felt up some horses (and that got quite a laugh at the show yesterday) and I found 2 Alborosos and the rainbow chase piece. So now I have a full set plus extras. I was just in it for the fun of the hunt so now I should take photos and list the set. I am sure someone wants it without having to do the hunting. And maybe I should prep some Albies for painting and sell them that way. Prepping needs to be in my near future anyway. NaMoPaiMo is coming after all. 

      I thoroughly meant to come home after the Walmart trip and start cutting out more doll clothes. But then I noticed (again) some neglected cleaning projects in the kitchen and decided it was time to do a deep clean. Because I have time for that sort of thing, lol. Two hours later I decided I could be done with the kitchen and I would do an insane deep clean on the bathroom. Because the dolls can just wait, right? It didn't actually bother me at all. I got so much done on Thursday and if I can manage to paint the gloves for the driving doll today that is another doll all set for TRXC as well. Which I think brings my total up to 20 or 21 but I honestly need to recount. It was nice to do the deep cleans, not the actual cleaning part, but the results. It really does feel good to get projects like that done. 

      So Friday I didn't do a speck of doll work and Saturday Travis, Elecktra and I headed out to White Creek, New York, for the White Creek Fire Company model horse show. My good friend Larry Nichols was co-hosting the show and I said I would come out and judge performance. I have not judged in awhile so I thought it was definitely time. And the drive up was fantastic!

     Not to say that the whole trip was amazing, there were issues. I planned to leave Elecktra's house by no later than 6:20 to make sure I got to the show a bit early. I didn't need an hour to set anything up because I brought food and a clipboard to the show ad wasn't showing anything. But there are people that need to be socialized with and I needed to make sure I had time for that. So I picked Elecktra up at dark o'clock and we headed for the MassPike. I got a low tire pressure light when we were almost there. *sigh* so we made an unscheduled stop at Dunkin Donuts and Elecktra went in to get coffees and I got out my emergency roadside kit (seriously, it is an electric tire pump that plugs into the accessory port in the car. They are amazing and if you don't have one, you should get one) and fixed the pressure on all my tires. Having the emergency pump is great, but it's not super fast. So that took about 10 or so extra minutes. But it worked, no real issues with the car, and we headed off to New York. 

        About half the drive was down the MassPike, which is surprisingly pretty. Even though the fall colors are a bit past their peak, it is still super colorful. And, being New England, there are plenty of mountains along the way. The second half of the drive was all through the country. 

    It was almost challenging to have a conversation because Elecktra and I would be saying things and then stop and draw each other's attention to the gorgeous scenery. My awful cell phone pics are not even a 5th of how great the view was. 

     So basically our trip out to the show was a 2 hour drive, half of it through the country. In the fall. In New England . Worth it. 

        I may have even made the comment to Elecktra that it was worth going just for the drive. I may also have made that up just now, I am not really sure. 
       So when I say that the last half of the drive was through the country I am not exaggerating at all. Waze told me we had reached our destination and there was nothing. Well, there was a house with one car parked there, but definitely not a show hall of any kind. 

      This was the closest thing in the area to a hall, and there were a bunch of cars. I pulled in and called Larry (who came out on the porch to take the call) and I asked him where the hall was. While he was looking at me! I was looking at the nowhere behind us so didn't notice. Anyway, We found it, we weren't late and we went and brought our stuff in and I called Ethan to tell him we made it.

     I also told Ethan about the cows behind the show hall and that I found out Vermont was 3 miles down the road. OK then. If Ethan still ate sugar I would have gone to get him real Vermont maple sugar candy, which was always something he loved. But no more sugar. 

     Since I started deciding I need to be more adventurous, aka, not sit in the house and always stay close to home, I decided that checking the show list on Regionxnation.com would be good. That is how I found WCFC. I guess the show was held last year too. But I don't show mini performance these days, or really halter at all, so I didn't pay much attention. And for some reason I used to think that doing a 2 hour drive the morning of a show was just too much. Then I went to LIMHE which was a 3 and a half hour drive. Everything else is close, lol. I already get up at 5 every day, so doing it on show day is not really that big of a deal anymore. And I wanted to help Larry.

Me and Larry

     I also wanted to make sure I took pictures with people. We really do forget to do that much too often. As evidenced by the fact that I didn't get a photo with Elecktra. I did get one with Travis. Not that I don't have many many selfies with Travis. 

Travis and me

      My trouble making friend Laurie stopped by to visit (she always calls ME trouble, lol!) and I think this may be the only picture I actually have with Laurie. I might be wrong. 

Me and Laurie Lape

      I got a picture with Marisa, who is one of my favorite people in the world and I just don't get to see often enough. We need to fix that. 

Marisa Spence and me

     I got a photo with Michele, who I met when I started showing. I don't get to see Michele often enough anymore since she doesn't show performance and I don't show halter. But I have always loved talking to Michele. 

Michele Grieder and me

     I also got this super cute picture with Anne. Model horse shows are pretty much the only places I am not the only Anne in the room! And really, don't we look super cute! I love this picture. And Anne is amazing. When I started showing she was a Breyer dealer. I remember I once went out to her house to look through her stock and see who I "needed" to get as my next performance horse. That was way back when all I showed was OF performance. Travis came with me (we also got lost on the way) and he went up their really high back porch stairs (I am so afraid of heights I could not go up after him) and he went into the house, plopped on the couch and grabbed the remote to watch TV. Anne's husband was very chill about it all but was curious who this kid was who wandered into his house and made himself at home. I think at the time Travis couldn't have been more than 10. If he was even that old. Anne is another friend I just don't get to see often enough. 

Anne Giles and me

      There was a really great spread of food at the show. I didn't eat most of it because it didn't fit in my (or Travis's) food guidelines, but I did have a bit of stuff I should not have had. Everyone who could eat the food said it was really good. And it smelled amazing!

      Sara Parr was judging so I got to meet her. Under normal circumstances I probably never would have met her since I never really leave Region X. She's very cool and I enjoyed talking to her. The White Creek Fire Company show was an all around good time. The show was pretty laid-back and even though I was judging Open Performance and Novice Performance I never felt I had to rush. I could have spent more time wandering around talking to people or going outside to look at the view (or the cows). If all shows were this relaxed that would be wonderful. But It was a small show (and all mini, so everything was small, lol) and that makes for a pretty relaxing day. 

       I finished judging both performance divisions before 3:00 and I hung out just to visit. Eventually we got Elecktra to take this picture of us. An old school picture of a bunch of old school showers. I think I am actually the newest shower of this group, and I have been showing since 2006. I don't remember which of us said we were the OG showers, but it was funny. Only Anne and Michele were showing yesterday but the rest of us do still show, even if in Marisa's case it's not very often. We'll bring her back in somehow...

The OG showers at WCFC

       Travis, Elecktra and I left a little before 6:00. The show went well and was all wrapped up at a very reasonable time. Waze decided we needed to go home through Vermont (it was trying to make me buy Ethan maple sugar probably). That actually made me nervous for a bit because we were in Vermont for a long time. I had Elecktra check the map to see if it was in fact bringing us back to Ludlow. She checked, it was and Ludlow, MA. So all was well and we had some more gorgeous scenery to enjoy before the sun went down. 

When even the highway is gorgeous it's definitely a good drive. 

      Too soon it got too dark to see, though I imagine the entire drive back was wonderful. We spent a lot of time driving through mountains and I am pretty sure we crossed and recrossed a stream. But we only caught some glimpses in the headlights. Some of the roads were sort of narrow and very twisty and got to be a bit annoying in the dark. There was a truck behind me that was not happy with the speed I was driving. Which was still over the speed limit but apparently not enough for him. So I was sort of blinded. Eventually we got to leave them and eventually we ended up in Massachusetts and it was overall a very good day. 

      I love the people I have met through model horse showing. Some of them have become really good real friends outside of showing. Many of them I wish I could see more often. But most of us don't live particularly close to each other so getting together needs more planning. Or a horse show. The definitely enjoyed the show and I would potentially go and judge again next year. I almost never have plans and this is now the 3rd Saturday in a row I have had somewhere I needed to be. Next week is Fall Pony Finals in Stafford Springs where I am also judging performance. Then the week after is TRXC. I also feel like the week after that there is something that came up yesterday. But I can't think what it is. Oh I think there is a swap meet that weekend. I might just go to that. So I am busy busy busy. At least for me. Now today I need to get myself motivated to get Elecktra so I can let her get some more driving practice in. Her road test is on Friday and she should definitely drive more before it. I am a little bit nervous (she already knows because I can't lie to her) because I have not driven with her in a long time. But she tells me she is more comfortable now. I would hope so. Anyway, I may need to go to Trader Joe's for more coffee. That would be a good drive I think.