Summer sluggishness and looney times

Okay Mother Nature, the constant 80 degree weather is getting very annoying! Granted it is nice for me priming a bunch of bodies, but it isn't fun working in a fast food restaurant in this weather. Not to mention how hot vehicles can get....ugh. Once the summer solstice hits I will be eagerly counting down to winter.

 

Bengal babies have been liking it.

One plus side to the warm weather is being able to catalog my models when I'm not at work or being lazy. It's nice knowing that I'm three quarters of the way done, and that much closer to getting a number of how many horses I have. I have found some I even forgot I have! Storage has taken its toll on at least one of my larger models, which I am really attached to. Goffert, my first Traditional scale model, has developed seam splits on his back and where the plastic holds the metal stand in his leg. When I packed everyone away last summer he only had a hoof rub, so finding him in this new state has had me bummed out of photographing the others lately. I have decided that once finances are kinder to me that I will look for another and give this old friend of mine a new life to the best of my abilities.

If that happens sooner than later, I might end up overloading myself. For some silly reason I thought it was a good idea to multitask with projects. So far the count is at Bengals Find Me Tasty (acrylics), a G3 Arabian Stablemate (acrylics also), a G2 trotting Stablemate foal (who I decided to do in pastels), a cantering Stablemate foal (who is being done in eye shadow to see how different it is from pastels), a G1 Arabian Stablemate (in resculpt stage),  and G1 and G2 Thoroughbred mares being primered for who knows what. I might have lost my mind. Big. Time.

 

And I don't know why I am using this to represent my loss of sanity but I'm going with it.

One crazy week

Well life threw a few twists. The weather has been causing my nerve endings and other neurological tweaks to go haywire to the point of my non medical remedy for my sleep seizures to not work. I've thankfully gone three nights without one, but very exhausted nonetheless. I ripped my pants picking up Snoopy (the 18 pound bundle of ornery at the shelter), and he seemed to find it amusing.

 

Here he was telling me that he had nothing to do with it.

Work was bustling like crazy, I thought I was going to have dreams of all the customers who were saying "We're from Fairbanks!" "Do you have a Fairbanks special?" "Why don't you guys open an Arbys up in Fairbanks?" (There was an Arbys in Fairbanks, but it got no business at all so it got shut down), and then the good 'ol "I'll have (insert multiples of 10) roast beef sandwiches/sliders." I'm still not sure what in the world was going on to have alot of people from Interior Alaska down here, but it was nuts. With how often we get asked for a Fairbanks special, which is something we stopped doing 8 years ago, I have strongly considered doing a group of decorator custom stablemates and call them "The Fairbanks Special."

I have also managed to create jeweled Egyptian Arabian halters, nothing too fancy but they turned out way better than I expected. Honeysuckle and Sundown really like them.

 

Honeysuckle's bald face does not like my camera at all.

Spot also gave us a huge scare. She started acting lethargic and uninterested in everything, and the Bengal kittens were watching over her intently. Because she's the leader of the little "colony" and was showing a great deal of weakness, Bear kept on attempting to attack her but was foiled by DeEtta's speed and Gizmo's size every time; so my service animal in training decided to be Spot's body guard. We started to get worried when she stopped grooming herself and was turning down the offer of treats, and started wondering if she needed a vet visit on Friday.

Between Friday night and Saturday morning things took a very bad turn. Spot had been sleeping on my bed since Wednesday by DeEtta's beckoning so I got used to sleeping like a corkscrew. Around the midnight hours going into Saturday I woke up to a very upset and distressed DeEtta who was mewing up a storm and worriedly mothering Spot with Gizmo sitting on the floor upset also. I turned on my light and found Spot bleeding all over my bed and herself and barely responding to the Bengals. Fast forward to a few hours later and we had the vet telling us she has pyometra, basically the cat form of endometriosis, and they were giving her a very small chance of survival. For those who don't know what pyometra and endometriosis are, and are too lazy to look, they are basically infections of the uterus and are very life threatening.

The vet told us the recommended choice was surgery that had a 30% chance that was out of our budget despite getting paid the day before, and there was a smaller chance with how weak she was of it being successful. She did give us the option of trying antibiotics, but told us it had just as much of a chance of being successful, but was way cheaper; so we took that route knowing that if she wasn't better in 48 hours we had to take the sad route of euthanasia. Saturday was still scary with her, but Sunday morning we found her eating and moving around. Since then she's been improving wonderfully, and is strong enough to not need a guardian kitty and swiftly reminded Bear of her place. She still seems a little tired, but I don't blame her. Here's to hoping the next week goes smoother!

 

Sunday night she was being herself trying to make Jason stop playing Division.

Feline shenanigans and a scary little machine

Last few days have been a hit and miss with my health, and the antibiotic was wreaking more havoc than the sickness, but I am still alive! And let's just say there were a couple kitties that kept sticking close to me, so I caught them in their "natural habitat." Please forgive the horrendous photo placement.

   




Gizmo was "helping" me braid...

    

I was also front row to a Bengal battle! DeEtta was having a good time lounging back, even while slapping Gizmo's paw.

I love this shot, it shows how close in size they are. Gizmo still has more muscle tone than DeEtta.

I also started working on my pony pouches again, and with a new method. It is definitely one that I'm still trying to figure out, and it has bite. So far it has pricked my innocent thumb and nearly mangled a piece of material. Who knew a handheld sewing machine could be so scary....it took me an hour to make one pouch for one stablemate. One. Hour. I would be better off hand sewing them unless I can get better at not getting attacked by the machine and making giant snarled messes somehow. It would be nice to get the pouches made for at least the stablemates so that they can quit chafing against each other in their storage tote. One step at a time, or else I will trip and fall.

 

So cute, but also intimidating...

And don't forget, tomorrow is pi(e) day!!

My new pretty and ideas abound!

So much for posting my new addition the other night! (The bengals can be very demanding and giving me no choice but to step away from hobbies.) I've always had a soft spot for palominos, and finding this family arabian mare from the 70's-early 80's in rather decent condition didn't help. I think I'll name her Honeysuckle, not fully decided on it yet.

 

Not too scuffy, and a lovely color.

Also got around to picking up one of my ongoing projects last night, an alabaster unicorn on the running stallion mold. I'm on the fence about if my modifications will make him look better or worse...

(I would put a picture here, but the ways he looks right now is a bit creepy and also constitutes as nightmare material, no joke. I recommend not cutting off his mane and ears and placing him in a spot where he's constantly watching you.)

Some mornings start earlier than I would like, so I use the time to rake up ideas. Today's inspiration was a scene for a performance class, but not your typical "this horse is a badass winner in the arena." More like the riding academy horse who isn't in the mood to run the course, or the stud who breaks his form while being judged in halter because there's an irresistible smelling mare nearby that he wants to meet. That's right, the arena bloopers. For some reason my brain exploded with ideas that would be easy and amusing to replicate, and it is something I sure wouldn't expect in a show if I was a judge. Not only that, but it can be a drag being serious and trying to replicate something and achieve 500% success. Got to find humor and keep lighthearted in life to try and rise above the negativity.

 

Not gonna lie, that's another nightmare piece.

In the next installment of this mess of my thoughts, I will introduce a part of my collection that always interests me and keeps me learning new things!