Tack

     Yesterday got off to a really bad start. And you know that days that start badly can often stay that way. First, Travis's bus was 40 minutes late picking him up. The substitute driver that picked him up had to get another kid first, drop them off first, etc. So 40 minutes late picking Travis up, which also made me late for work. Not by a lot, but I was late to 1st period, which then made me feel like I was running to catch up all day. I guess the good part was that the day flew by incredibly quickly. I did have a couple of classes that really tested my patience with the cell phones. I really wish Ludlow would do what Chicopee did and just ban cell phones in school. It is honestly ridiculous how attached people are to their phones. Not just kids, though usually they are the worst for it. Anyway, I made it through school. Travis's bus picks up a couple of kids from LHS so I just wait for him there. So the bus pulled up (substitute again) and Travis jumped out of the can. I told the driver one of the kids was staying for Best Buddies, so she only had the one. She was bewildered and asked where Travis was and why he got out. I said, because he's mine. So apparently there is no communication within or from the bus company. The school called Ethan to say Travis was really late. Because the bus company didn't let them know. The whole system is kind of falling apart. 

     Anyway, I came home to some packages. One of them was a really awesome one from Jennifer Buxton. Repaired tack that comes home is LIKE new tack, isn't it? So I have my "new" tiny pony saddle back. Now I need to see if I can talk myself into finishing my youth doll. Who may or may not fit in this saddle anyway. I have a custom casual doll I built for this saddle, but I think she is the only one that fits this tiny one properly. I have to check. Maybe this weekend. 

     So I opened the larger-than-normal box from Jennifer and was baffled. What was this extra thing? I completely forgot that Jennifer wanted me to make her a doll to go with the awesome side saddle from Darleen Stoddard. Maybe I will do that over vacation. We're almost there. 

     When I unwrapped the saddle I found this tiny flamingo. It made me laugh. This is a very detailed tiny flamingo! I added it to the windowsill over my kitchen sink. There are flamingos in the 2 succulents on there and another free-standing one I got from one of the guidance councilors at school. It has company.

     So it is officially 3 days until April break. I am ready for it! I woke up yesterday morning thinking it was just 4 days, I could do it, no problem. Then yesterday actually happened and sort of derailed that thinking a little bit. Though, like I mentioned, the day did go by very quickly. Now to just go through a few more. I can do this. 

 

OMHPS

     In December, I think, I entered an official OMHPS (Online Model Horse Photo Show) show for performance. I think while the judging was happening I went to the site to check in, but I mostly forgot about it. I got an email at some point recently, from the admin, saying that they needed my address to send me some prizes from the show. I like prizes, even though I definitely don't need more stuff. Last week a package arrived. And it was awesome. There were a couple of blind bag stablemates, these being the two I got. Some stickers, gummy bears that I want to eat (but can't) and a mug. I have a ton of mugs, but I really like this one. I like that it just has the simple horse logo on it. And I do really like the logo. So the stickers and mug can stay. I imagine Elecktra might eat the gummy bears for me. The stickers will become part of my sticker collection and the stablemates will likely go into a batch of things I am thinking of rehoming. I am pretty sure I have a bag of random things that I wanted to offer to a show holder for a pittance plus shipping. It can be hard to gather up a quantity of prizes and goodies for a show. 

    A couple of days ago I was thinking about OMHPS, because I was thinking about the cool prize pack I got in the mail, and I was looking around at the upcoming shows. It IS a cool site, and I do like the platform. It hasn't quite sparked an interest in showing again for me, but I haven't given up on it entirely. 

  

    On that topic, the topic of completely losing interest in something that you loved for so many years, has anyone been there and come back to it? I was an active collector, shower, and judge for 16 years. And now I have zero interest in showing, and also basically no interest in adding to my collection, and it seems really weird to me. I know that everyone is different, but I am curious if others have gone though something similar. 

    Our weather has been sort of getting better a bit at a time. Still a lot of rain in the mix, but the forecast for this week looks warmer. Even with all the rain. Maybe having some actual Spring weather will snap me out of my weirdness. That would be fantastic. I really wanted to go hiking on Saturday, but the weather would not cooperate. It would go from cloudy, to sunny, to downpours, to sunny, to downpour, to sunny, to hail, to thunderstorm... there really was not good weather that lasted long enough to go outside. Maybe next weekend. Four days until April vacation. 

This Was a Good Plan

     I think I started on this fancy hunter mare shortly after I finished my horse for the Breyerfest Best Customs Contest last year. This time I chopped off her entire neck and built a new one. And then she sat in the closet. For a long time. Yesterday, I decided that maybe it was time to take her out and at least see what I am dealing with. See if I have an insanely long way to go to make her a somewhat reasonable horse. 

     And I decided to do it with a new primer. This is the same brand that makes the Mr. Super Clear which is so great for doing pastel work. This stuff has really good reviews for working with small models, which said to me it was not going to be thick and ruin any details. So it was time to try it out. 

     So I added a couple of layers of primer. And you know what? It looks to me like a horse neck. I need to add a bit of something to the join between the neck and the body on this side, smooth the jawline a little bit more, and smooth out the neck in general. But... it looks like a neck. 

     The other side also needs some smoothing, but I am not displeased with how this is coming along. This side looks like it needs a bit more epoxy and smoothing, but it is one of those things that when I look at it, I am impressed that this is something I did. 

     I am not looking for critique. I'm not even looking for a pat on the back. I am just sharing. I decided I like customizing, though that is something else I don't really have time for, and I am working on something that is new to me and sharing a bit of it. If you like her, I'm glad. If you hate her, that's fine too, she's mine. I used tutorials and reference photos. And I really like her. 

 

The Puzzle Project

     Many of the teachers I have worked with over the years have games and things like coloring sheets for their students. Some people finish their work early, sometimes there is a day when there is not enough time to plan a full lesson (like early release days) and it is good to have things for the kids to do. Especially if you are trying to keep them off their cell phones. Which is very hard. 

     When I took over the teaching this year I got some things to make the class look less like a prison cell, and I picked up some games and other things. One was this puppy puzzle. This was the one that started it all. 

     Several people tried out the puppy puzzle, and one student in particular used it often. So I decided to get a couple more puzzles so there would be some variety. One of them was this somewhat challenging Jurassic Park puzzle. There is a lot of green on it, which makes it kind of challenging to do. I also got an Alice in Wonderland puzzle, that I don't seem to have a photo of. Sadly, that puzzle is missing one piece. It was bound to happen. 

    So then, all of a sudden, those 3 puzzles became very popular with the students. Even though one was missing a piece and it kind of makes everyone a little crazy. Since the puzzles are so cool, we borrowed another one...

    And then, because of what I was seeing with the classes, I had to get more puzzles. I grabbed a bunch from the Dollar Tree, including this cool herd of horses, which has been completed several times. 

     I got this awesome Van Gogh puzzle, which I think has only been done once (it's a bit big). This is the most expensive puzzle in the classroom, but my favorite Van Gogh painting, so it was worth it to me (and from Amazon if anyone is interested). 

     Another Amazon puzzle is this very popular unicorn puzzle. It has glitter in it! This one was been done several times now. 

     The last Amazon puzzle was the cool shark one. This one was attempted only once and was deemed "too blue" which made it kind of challenging. And yes, it is very blue and it is sort of challenging. But over the past 2 days I stole a bit of time (it was in fact my time, lol) to work on this puzzle a little bit at a time. A few minutes before school here, the 5 minutes of cell phone time I give the kids at the beginning of class, whenever I could take a few minutes to put in another couple of piece. It's a really cool puzzle. 

     And it glows in the dark! I conveniently have a closet in my room so was able to get this fantastic photo! I also am again impressed at what the iPhone camera can do. 

     So what is the point in an entire post about some of the puzzles we have in my classroom? Well, it started with one and a small bit of interest. And it has turned into so much more than that. Kids that have not looked up from their phones are now choosing to work on puzzles (yes, sometimes even during the 5 minutes of phone time!). Kids are working together on puzzles, which takes team work to some extent and some problem solving skills. Kids who have never interacted are choosing to work on puzzles together (their idea, not mine!). These kids are talking to each other. With words. 

     There is a lot of talk about how damaging the pandemic and quarantine has been to people socially and emotionally. We all suffered, though the kids who have gone through this did not possess adult coping skills (not all adults did either), for some it happened during a critical developmental stage. For many others it happened during an important transitional phase. Many of my students fall into all of these categories. Anyone who is a freshman this year has not been in a regular classroom setting since they were in the 6th grade. 6th grade and 9th grade are very different worlds. The kids missed out on slightly easing into being semi-adults. They went from being pretty young kids... to high school. It's not really surprising that a lot of them are not adjusting well, are much less mature than kids of the same age were just a few years ago, and so on. 

      My point in all this is parts of the kids are broken, though some have been dealing with it much better than others. And somehow, forcing them to get off their phones and do puzzles has resulted in some healing. REAL social interaction, not sending a Snap (is Snapchat capitalized? I am apparently too old to know this stuff), or just following someone's stories. But actually sitting together and sharing stories. Just like the olden days, lol. 

     Things are still not perfect, and I don't know how long the puzzle obsession will last in my classes, but I am working hard to keep it going. My BFF, Crystal, is going to give me some 3D puzzles she has hanging out in the house. I picked up a few more from the Dollar Tree yesterday (I need an intervention!) and I have been spreading the word to other teachers about what I am seeing with the puzzles in my classes. It sounds like a couple others might try getting a puzzle or two. And that will be perfect. Then we can do a puzzle swap and keep things fresh!
 

Finished!

       I have been working really slowly on dolls lately, or I guess I can say, really slowly for me. But I am working on them, a bit at a time. Sometimes working on bits of several dolls at a time. I did finally manage to get this western pleasure doll (commission) finished. She was fairly close in the photos I shared yesterday, but now she is totally complete. The bits of bling really brought everything together. I still really love how the back of this coat turned out!

     I designed the paintwork sample of the Lena doll, though the factory sort of did whatever they wanted it seems. Still, she is a different face, and that is really exciting! If we can continue to get more and more different doll heads just imagine how much more fun using dolls can be. 

     In puzzle news, the panoramic countryside puzzle was finished the other day. It's not a large puzzle, that is a copy paper box top, but it is definitely different. One of these days I will need to pull all of the puzzle photos into one post. They have had some really interesting outcomes. 

    So today is Friday, and early release. So short classes, which, I am giving everyone a makeup day, even though term started a week ago. They can finish things they haven't gotten a chance to, fix things that need fixing, or work on puzzles (or color, play games) if they really have nothing else to do. But the classes are short, the day will likely go fast. 
 

Western Pleasure

     I have been working away on a new western pleasure doll. She is the first doll I am making on the new Lena doll, from KC's Galloping Gals, and I think she will be fantastic! It will be so cool to see a different face in the show rings. I had a wide variety of reference photos to choose from and ended up basing this design vaguely off of my favorite of the designs, with some artistic license thrown in. 

     This doll still needs bling, and a head, but I think she is coming along really well. I like both the front and the back designs of this coat. I might like the back a bit more... but maybe not. I usually like one side more than the other for some reason.

     Yesterday was another rough day at school. I have been going over basics that the kids need to build a foundation for any higher math. Working hard to teach it and to make sure that they are learning it. And you know what many of them are doing? Cheating. Using photo math, copying off each other, sometimes looking up the answers online. Not only is that incredibly frustrating to me, but it isn't doing them any favors. I don't care if they get the wrong answers. I want them to try. I want them to learn. I want them to use the notes that I am constantly providing for them. I want them to ask for help if they don't understand, or accept help if it is offered. I want them to not argue with me when I explain how to do the work. Seriously, I had a kid arguing with me because it appeared to him that there were different rules for different problems (there were not). 
      I am glad that Travis gets dropped off at LHS and I can just meet him out front when I get out. It meant that after my crap day I got a hug from one of my favorite people with no wait time. It meant that I had a really pleasant person to ride home with, who could also remind me what day of the week it was. Now I know that I only have 2 days left until the weekend. Which means only 6 school days until April break. I think I am going to do quite a lot of nothing during break (lol, OK, sure). 

Customer Photos

      The other day, Christy Greene sent me a series of amazing photos, including this one. She was still tweaking this entry, but I think it is super cool! I love really clever uses for horses!

     This past weekend Christy Attended the BVG Live show in Jackson Michigan. The horse from the above photo also went into reining. This is such a cool entry!

     Christy was also showing another horse (Dreamer, I believe) in western. This lovely trail entry...

     Pleasure entry...

and natural trail (?) entry, all did quite well. 

     Dreamer got reserve champion in western and then overall reserve for the show! Great job!

    Congratulations on your placings Christy! And thank you for allowing me to share you photos!