November 2024 - Thankful and Sad All at Once

Thankful and Sad. This is a hard month, not just because Mom's birthday is in November, but I hate November, December, January, and February in general because of the holidays and so many deaths that have happened in my life in the winter months. 

November 1st I worked then drove down to Denver for the model horse show. My Hotel was great. 

November 2nd was Candyland live show - see the blog HERE!!! 

And some of my favorite pictures from the show of my models!

Second Place Amateur Artist Bay/Brown

Second Place Blanket Appaloosa Medallion

Third Place Custom Appaloosa

Third place Breyer OF 51-500 made

Second Place Dog Class

Second place Cat class

Second place CM Mini Chestnut

Second Place Hartland

Second Place Other Make

Second Place Anything Goes Performance

November 5th - Election Day. This election is so important and I voted. 

I spent the evening away from watching the election information as the stress was really overwhelming for me. I was going to do a Diamond Painting Fall Magnets activity at the Y, but just decided to stay home and watched fun movies and shows and hoping this election would keep friends and family safe. 

November 6th - sadly I woke up and lost a lot of friends, people that I had known for years. I am sad to see that the US chose hate. I can only hope it's not as bad as I think it will be. 

It was also sad because my friend Morgan lost her dad that day too 😢 Clark was was well educated and funny. 

This year has been very hard on Gen X parents. 

November 8th - I did a sit-a-long with Rocky Mountain National Park. I am grateful for the experience to learn about ROMO more. 

Then I got a massage at Elements of Touch Spa in Estes Park. They are amazing and you should try them if you are in town whether on vacation or a local. 

November 11th - I did a 3-D printing training at the Library, I had done it a couple of years ago, but was never able to get time and wanted a retrain. 

It was fun, but my project was to small as we had limited time and it fell apart 😞 That was a good learning experience overall. 

November 12th - I had a dermatology appointment. I have been skin cancer free since 2011 and I take stuff very seriously. I had a clean bill of skin health and I am so grateful! 

I had planned to do a Glass Fusion activity on November 13, but I ended up not attending because I got stuff in the mail and went home and redid my whole model horse show tote system! Almost every model has a pouch with their name on it now and I got very little sleep because YEAH ADHD!!!  

November 15th - I did a pamper myself spa day - wax, reiki, and facial and then I drove to Loveland for the night and saw THE WILD ROBOT and RED ONE. 

I absolutely loved both of them. The Wild Robot was amazing and fit so much with my thoughts on tribes - your tribe is so important and the people you love don't have to be blood to be your family. I will have a blog on tribes later. 

Red One - I could relate to Cal Drift's perspective and even Gryla's perspective on Christmas - punish the naughty,  and by the end I too saw what St. Nicholas could see, and for the first time in a long time, I can say that I feel the spirit of Christmas. 

I spent the night in Loveland because I didn't want to drive up the canyon in the dark and I went shopping the next day. I swear the store was PACKED at 7:30 on a Saturday morning, but every one was SO NICE, like they were trying to prove they weren't like the person elected as president with his hateful rhetoric. People held doors open, laughed, and smiled as we tried to negotiate our carts through the aisles. No one was rude or pushing to get in line. It was one of the nicest shopping experiences I have ever had and restored a little bit of my faith in humanity. 

November 18th - I did a laser printing training at the Library, I had done it a couple of years ago, but was never able to get time and wanted a retrain. It was so fun and I loved how my bookmark turned out! 

I didn't get a shot of it in the laser though. 😞 I was talking too much! haha

November 22 - I drove down to Loveland and saw Gladiator II. It was a good movie. 

After the movie - I used my AAA Roadside for the first time. My truck's check engine light came on and she was pretty sluggish. Got a tow to my mechanic and the driver was excellent. 

November 23rd - Mom's 75th birthday - see my blog here. I also read a great book told from the Native view of The Day of Mourning or what we call Thanksgiving. See my blog here. 

For the first time in a long time, I picked up a model and actually painted on November 24th. Using just  Sharpie Acrylic Markers - I painted this little Micro Mini Whinnies 1:64 scale Breyer model. Not bad for a new medium.

November 26th - Got the truck back from the shop - bad air filter and mass air flow sensor, then got oil change and that as well. All good now. 

I do have to say that Synchrony Bank SUCKS. I have had a card for 10 years. I paid it in full and then went to charge something today and got a decline. Believe me I was terrified, thinking something had happened. Well it had. Synchrony Bank had dropped my limit to practically nothing. I am really angry. I have had them cancel a card randomly in the past too. 

November 27th - I went to a Friendsgiving and I was going to bale because it was dark and I couldn't find it, but I was convinced to keep trying and I am so very glad that I did - it was WONDERFUL food and great people to talk too! 

November 28th - Turkey Day - this was a harder day than I thought it was going to be. I had plans with a neighbor and had to cancel because I wasn't feeling well. I just felt off all day - starving, but not hungry, happy, sad, mad, tired. I slept a lot and finally I realized - I missed calling mom. For the last twelve years, until June 12, 2024, I have called my mom every morning. This Turkey Day hit me hard because both her and my step-dad are gone and I missed them talking about their plans and things. I have always worked Thanksgiving except last year and this year, and I felt lost, and alone for the first time. It was rough. 

November 30th - I worked Friday to make up for not having the holiday time I needed for Thanksgiving, and then today - I went downtown. I missed the tree lighting and the parade, and just wanted to see town in the snow. It was fine until around noon when everyone came out, but it was a well needed walk and shop through Estes just to feel the vibration of the town. I am so happy I did it. 

Native American Heritage Month - Keepunumuk Weeachumun's Thanksgiving Story

 

I decided as a way to keep myself knowledgeable and learn about different cultures and people, that I would choose a book or two each month depending on the month. 

I decided this on November 15, and as if to point me in the right direction, my Instagram popped up a shared story from a friend about a Native American children's book regarding the Thanksgiving Story. 

I ordered it from Amazon on 11/19 and even though I have Prime - they don't like to be quick about things I swear. 

When it arrived, I couldn't wait to read it. 

The art work is amazing. They give a translation and pronunciation of the Native language used. 

The story talks of how the Wampanoag tribe showed the Newcomers how to grow the plants corns, beans, and squash, which when planted together help enrich the other's growth. 

The harvest time came - what white people call Thanksgiving and many Native tribes call the Day of Mourning - and the group feasted for three days. 

It's called the Day of Mourning because of the disease and death the Newcomers brought to the Native peoples.

The book includes a map of where the Wampanoag Tribal lands were located, as well as a history of their story telling tradition, their feasts, the idea of giving thanks, as well as a recipe for Nasamp (a traditional Wampanoag dish).

It was a lovely and interesting book and I truly suggest reading it, no matter your age. It's the other side of the story that we are not taught in schools or the every day world. 

Remembering my Mom on her 75th Birthday

 

November 23, 1949 my mom was born in Emporia, Kansas. She was the youngest of four children; the oldest child my Aunt Bonnie, then two brothers, then mom. 

I haven't found any childhood pictures of mom - there's one here of her in High School, one with Grandpa at Basehor house around 1975, Old West Portrait with me when I was around 10, and one of her and her Corgi Jo for a couple years ago. 

These are various picture of me and mom and mom and Kenny

A picture of mom with Great Grandma Dillion and Uncle Gene, and then her with each of my cousin Teri's children, Rylee, Kasey, and Kristopher. 

Mom and Teri with horses Aspen (black) and Molly (buckskin), Mom with her cat Wrigley, and two pictures of mom with her dog Beth when they came to visit in 2015. 

Beth - mom's service dog, Mom driving her Miniature Horse William, Mom and Wrigley sleeping, and two pictures of mom and her friend Pat Sorrels. 

Mom after her bi-lateral knee replacements, me with mom and Beth, Mom with Beth, Mom tracking with Tony and me and mom with me on Aspen and Mom on Robin

Me and Mom, This is the only childhood picture I found of her with her dog, Mom with a model horse shower at the show she judged the dog group and then mom on Robin. 

She loved showing dogs. She started in Shelties and went to Pembroke Welsh Corgis, Australian Cattle Dogs, and English Setters, with a whippet or two here and there, a chihuahua or two, chinese cresteds, smooth fox terriers, and a husky. 

She raised Appaloosa horses, Quarter Horses, and Miniature Horses. 

And she raised cattle, chickens, cats, and goats. She loved animals and often said it was sad that people weren't more like the four leggeds. 

She taught 4-H dog show and obedience for years in Basehor, Tonganoxie, and Valley Falls. She was a vet tech, bank coder, and worked in the tech industry when computers took up whole rooms. 

She showed dogs and horses and she loved her home in Valley Falls. 

She traveled the US a lot when she was younger and I was very little showing dogs at various shows, and vacations. Some of her favorite trips were Colorado, California, and being an Elvis fan, she went to Graceland multiple times. 

She was a cancer survivor. She had Stage 4 Cervical cancer and beat it. She had a bi-lateral knee replacement, and kidney disease that she fought the hard fight for several years before succumbing to renal failure and a stroke in July, 2024. 

She was a fierce friend and loved her family. She will be greatly missed. Happy 75th mama. I miss you so much.