Have I lost my mind?

That is, of course, a rhetorical question.  I don't want a bunch of people leaving comments saying "yes, you are" hahahaha.  I just bought a bunch of stuff on Rio Rondo to make model horse halters.  Yes.  I think I must be insane.  Hahahaha.  I've always wanted to make my own and after a blabber posted a tutorial on her blog, it doesn't look so hard

The lead rope might be a little more difficult but I'm sure it can be figured out.  It would be easier (smarter) to just buy the Breyer ones, but I only like the teal colored one and despise pink so if I can make my own then I can customize the colors more to my tastes.  Plus, in the long run, making them myself would be cheaper, I'm sure.  I hope.  Hahaha

Today the Powerball lottery has reached $600,000,000 and has the potential to be even higher before the drawing.  Usually my mom and I just get one set of numbers each but mom wants more than one set today.  So, after I finish my laundry I need to go to Circle K for lotto tickets and also swing by the post office to get a money order for the model I want.  I'm going to bite the bullet and buy a Kalahkaari.

There seem to be more people looking for him than are on the market and it's not likely I'm going to find one for much less.  He's in good shape, too.  I was going to buy one a few days ago but there seemed to be more and more flaws the more we corresponded.  I've never paid this much for a model and from someone I don't know so I'm a bit nervous.  If she'd agreed to Pay Pal I'd have more of a recourse if something happened, but she wants a money order.  I hope my nervousness is unfounded.

Happy Saturday!

Just Because It's Friday...

I decided I "deserved" another Stone Pony.  Unfortunately, the one I wanted most...She Loves Me (see "well phooey" post...She Loves Me is the first horse pictured) sold out and is no longer available on the website.  Sweet Emotion, however, which was a close second, was so that's what I did.  I bought Sweet Emotion.  There were still a couple of more that interested me, but I really like the color on him.  He has a dorsal stripe on his back.  Like my other Stone, Speckled Jelly Bean, Sweet Emotion will have to get a more manly name.

It's a good thing I don't think I deserve a new horse every Friday because I'd be perpetually broke, but I'm excited to have this guy join my herd.  Hopefully he'll arrive quickly.

Happy Friday!!!!!!!

New Horsie!

I have two Breyer dealers located not too terribly far from where I work.  Both are accessible during my lunch break, but one moreso than the other, but the further one away is the one I prefer to give my business to.  They've been around since at least the early 1980s and it's owned by a husband and wife and they try to get all the current models and accessories.  Yesterday I decided to go to the closer store because I was in search of the 3 pack of nylon halters

and I could've sworn I'd seen them at KidStop before.  I only really like the aqua-colored one in the middle, but I wanted them to see the size of the jump rings to decide if I want to try making my own halters.  So, I go to the shop and walk to where the Breyers were and even though I was looking for something specific I still have to see what models they had.  They don't always have the most current ones, which is a good thing sometimes if I missed out on one from a previous year or something.  Well, I looked at one shelf and then down and nearly squealed with delight when I saw...

Marwari!  I have been after this guy since I saw the pictures of the 2013 back in November, I think it was.  The Doll House had gotten a shipment in when he was first released in January, but has been unable to get any in since then and while I was on the list of calls when it arrived, there were more people wanting him than they had models so I missed out.  He's been available online, but I've read there's been problems with the mold so I wanted to make sure I could inspect mine first.  They only had one and fortunately he was in good shape so I snatched it up then went on to look for the halters.  Alas, they had none but I did end up getting 2 of the Stablemate Mystery Foal sets.  Mostly for one of the adults of each set. 

Sorry for the crappy photos.  I used my Kodak C182 camera but with one of my cats right behind the boxes I didn't want to hurt his eyes by using the flash.  I'm not usually a fan of sets with foals, but there's no way to get the paint  or the dapple grey without getting the whole set.  No biggy.  The foals are pretty cute!  Back to the Marwari, though.  Of course I had to take some photos, but the kitties weren't being very cooperative with me and kind of photobombed

Now that I have the palomino Marwari I really need to get me the 2012 Collector Club Kalahkaari

I had the opportunity to buy one a couple of months ago, but decided I didn't want to because he's kind of expensive.  Now I realize I have to suck it up and pay the going price if I want him and I really do because they seem to be becoming less available on the secondary market.

Time to get to work!

"You've Been Outbid"

Probably the three worst words a person can see when bidding on something on ebay.  Either on Friday or Saturday I came across some auctions for models at only $5.99 each that were in good shape and nobody had bid on them yet.  They only had about a day and half left of the auction so I went ahead and bid on them.  But I only bid the minimum amount.  I know I probably should have bid higher and considered upping my bid a couple of times, but then I started doing some research (should've done that first) and realized that what I thought were 3 Lady Phase models was actually one 1 Lady Phase (the original), 1 on the Stud Spider mold and 1 on the Ideal Quarter Horse mold.  They were all very nice models and since Lady Phase and Stud Spider are my favorite two, I wasn't too terribly disappointed that I'd goofed.  They were only $6 each so what's the problem?  I also wouldn't have been too terribly upset if I'd gotten outbid...or so I though.  I checked on the auctions this morning before work and have been outbid on 2 of the 3.  There was still time left to bid again, but I decided not to.  If I end up winning the 3rd, great.  It's the one on the Stud Spider mold.  If not, I'm fine with that, too. 

On MHB there's a thread that's been going on to show your best model horse photo and there's been some good ones.  One by blabber "la cazadora"

and one by blabber "lora"

I love the realism shown in both, especially the second one.  Well, last week I was able to contribute finally, and I hope to again in the near future after my trip.  But as you can see, mine pales in comparison.  It's not even in the same league!  hahaha

Oh well.  A couple of people said they liked it because of the lighting.  Hopefully I can come up with something better in Las Vegas next weekend.  I'm going to drive out to Valley of Fire State Park.  I just need to decide which horses to take with me.  Probably only 2 and I think my Mesteno has to be one of them.  He'd be perfect.  Then, probably a paint.  We'll see.

Anyway, yesterday was Mother's Day.  I took my mom to breakfast then my brother made us a nice dinner.  He gave her a nice gift basket full of things he'd put together and I felt kind of bad that I didn't get her anything, but if you ask her what she wants she'd say nothing and you can only give someone so many wolf t-shirts.  Hahaha.  While at breakfast, though, there was a couple at a table near ours and they spent almost the entire time on their cell phones.  It was kind of sad actually.  Especially since it was an adult couple, probably in the 30s or 40s.  Younger people I can almost understand.  They walk around carrying their phones their hands because they can't miss a single phone call or text.  I think they want people to think they're more important than they really are, but that's just my opinion.  Personally, I don't think anyone (except maybe a doctor) is so important that they need to constantly be on their phone or have it constantly out and available.  And they certainly don't need to bring it into the bathroom with them while they carry on a conversation, but that's neither here nor there.  I've declared two times that are digital free: when I'm having breakfast with mom (either at home or a restaurant) and dinner.  I have made an occasional exception during breakfast out when I want to take a picture to send a friend in Utah, but that's rare.  I don't answer texts and my phone stays in my pocket.  At dinner, my phone and my iPad are on the counter until dinner is finished and the dishes are put away (unless someone else is doing the dishes that night).  But that's just me and I know many people don't do that unless it's a parent setting the rules for their children.  And that's fine.  I'm not criticizing anyone for what they do, just saying what I do.  hahaha.

Well, I'd better get some work done today. 

An Afternoon To Remember...

Okay, if you've seen this on Blab or FB then you might be getting tired of it, but I can't help it.  What I experienced yesterday was truly wonderful and I can't stop talking about it.  hahahaha.

So yesterday, I had the day off so I went in search of places to take pictures of a couple of horses.  Model horses, that is.  I already knew the lakes at Papago Park weren't going to work so I went driving around the park for desert-y places and came across the backside of the Desert Lives exhibit at the Phoenix Zoo.  It was well-populated...

I'm really kicking myself for not having my bigger camera (I considered bringing it but didn't think I'd *need* it) with the zoom lens, especially with what I encountered later, but all I had was my little Kodak C182.  Mental note...whenever I have a day off and I'm wondering around the city, bring the big camera.  I was pleasantly surprised, though, by the quality I was able to get with the Kodak.  The closer-up photo has not been cropped at all...that the reach I was able to get.

After taking those photos I continued on my search for a place to take pictures.  Everything around the park, however, is brown and kind of dead, but I did find a spot...Diamondot Buccaneer was willing to model for me.

Nothing too stellar, especially compared to some of the ones I've seen on Blab, but...

Next I decided to try Saguaro Lake and headed north, but then decided the Verde River might be good...and closer.  Problem was, I couldn't figure out how to get closer to the river.  I went to the Ft McDowell Indian Reservation and found the river, but getting to the river's edge itself was difficult.  I spotted a sign for some kind of cowboy adventures place so I did a u-turn and went back, but as soon as I turned down that road I encountered 2 signs:  No trespassing and River access closed.  :(  No fair.  As I sat there, trying to figure out what to do I spotted objects moving across the road about 200 or so feet ahead of me.  My first thought was cattle, but then I quickly realized it was the wild horses that live in the area.  Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera ready and I had big trucks coming up behind me and while they had no problem going around me, I didn't want to block the road and I didn't want to get into trouble for trespassing.  Off to the right I noticed another dirt road.  Not as good as the one I was already on, but outside the area with the 'no trespassing' sign so I figured I'd be safe.  I headed off on that road and eventually came to a spot where they were passing by again.  The first three stopped and looked at me for a few moments then trotted off.  They are definitely not used to humans.  There were probably 6 adults plus a weanling and a foal that was maybe 3 months old.  They didn't stick around long for me to take pictures and this is where I really wish I'd had the zoom lens, but I was able to get a few before they crossed in front of me and out of sight.  I tried to catch up again, but I encountered a dry wash that was pretty deep and the road was already pretty dicey I decided not to go any further.  I sat on one side of the wash and waited for them to pass by again, but they must have turned "upward" and went north.  Oh well.  I need to get my mom's Jeep, which has 4 wheel drive and go looking again.  Or go stake out a spot on that road that's out of the way of the trucks and wait.  hahaha.  There's water near there so they probably visit often.  Anyway, here's the less-than-stellar pictures.  I'm glad to see that they seem to be in good shape and are getting enough to eat.  I'm guessing, though, that people on the reservation maybe put food out for them, which is nice.

weanling?

Interesting color

Pregnant mare :-)

Well, phooey!

This morning I had the sudden urge to buy a pony.  Not a real one, of course, but a plastic one.  Just a very strong urge.  So I went to the Stone Pony website in hopes of adding a 2nd one to my herd, but every single one I wanted was sold out.  Every.  Single.  One.  I think I remember reading on MHB that they did that because there's a thing going on that Stone is doing and all the horses will be there for sale.  I hope so because there were some neat looking ones and for a somewhat affordable price.

My favorites:

There's not a huge difference between them, I know.  The top one is a darker color and the bottom one has a different tail.  He also has a dorsal stripe.  I just LOVE their faces.  And this one is really starting to grow on me

My main concern is that because they're already a limited quantity item, they'll sell out of all 3 of them since they're the ones I want the most.  Well, there's others, but there's no way I'm going to pay the price they're asking for

Aren't their colors just YUMMY, though?

Oh well.  It's just as well I can't buy any of them right now.  I'm going to Vegas in 3 weeks and need money for that.  I still need to decide what hotel I'm staying at, although it looks like it'll be MGM.

I hope everyone has a good weekend!

New Stablemates

Every year there's an event in Kentucky called Breyerfest.  It's held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington and is basically a huge party for lovers of the plastic ponies.  I've always wanted to go, but Kentucky is a looooong ways from Arizona when you don't like to fly all that much.  Next year (2014) is the 25th anniversary so I'm trying to get myself psyched for going then.  I almost got to go this year by flying to Dallas and meeting up with a couple of people from Model Horse Blab and driving with them to Kentucky, but they're going to be gone longer than my schedule will allow so I can't go.  Bummer.

Anyway, yesterday it was announced the release of 4 new Stablemate models specifically for Breyerfest.  They do that every year.  Release special run models.  The color is unique to Breyerfest but the mold is often one they've had before or one they plan to have in the future.  Occasionally, if you're unable to go, you might be able to find someone who is going willing to pick stuff up for you and that's where I find myself.  I'm not a huge collector of Stablemates....I have a few...but a couple of these little guys are really cool and I want them.  Bad.  So I posted a "want ad" of sorts on MHB looking for someone willing to pick me up the 2 I want.

The other 2 are okay-looking, but not near as cool as these two and I could totally see me conga-ing both of them.  A conga is when you have a bunch of the same mold in different colors.  I have a small conga of Lady Phase models and even smaller ones of a few others.  Lady Phase is my biggie, though.  Hopefully I'll be able to find someone willing to do a pick-up for me and for a reasonable exchange.  I would pay for the 1 day tickets to get them, plus a little extra.  That reminds me, I have to change my ad.  I put I'd cover the cost of the horse, but the horse is free with the ticket.  d'oh!

Keeping my fingers crossed!