Grab your favorite beverage.......

Cause I intend for this one to be a long one!

Ok.. As always I'm crazy behind although I have to admit that I've never been THIS far behind before. I have rarely gotten into the studio here lately because I'm just too dang tired at 8pm at night. (I get up at 5am every weekday) I'm going to try to push through that however and spend more time in the studio.

Above are photos of the same bridle that I've been working on FOREVER. I'm almost done now though. One of the reasons why it's going so slow is that I was almost done on the first set when I realized they were too short. I got my reiner from Sarah Rose and remeasured the reins and thats how I figured that out. I haven't decided what I'm going to do with the shorter set of reins yet though. Seems a shame to just throw them away.

The matching saddle to this set will have my first ever actual "Sheridan" style tooling on it. I have been inspired by real saddles as well as the work of Kirsteen Hayley. It will be medium brown and also feature some basketweave. I have an idea of how it'll look in my head.. just have to translate it to actual leather. I also have to redraw my saddle pattern (again.. as usual) because I'm going to be trying out a new saddle tree. I'm going to strive, with this saddle, to make it more realistic than the ones that I've made before. I can foresee more trips to the tack shop..

The western show halter with the Brown Knots and the amber swarovskis sold to Susan Bensema Young. You can imagine how thrilled I am that it will be going into her collection! If you have been going to her site lately, you've noticed the Verizon Pop-up that states that she will need to change her web provider. She is aware of this and is working on a solution, so please don't think that her wonderful website will be going away!!

Speaking of which, I need to update mine badly... it's very out of date by a couple of years.. I'm open to suggestions onto programs with which to do that. My current site is all basic html..

I have taken up yoga and seriously, this has been a great thing for me. I really really enjoy it. The last few minutes of the class where we learn to relax and attempt to clear our minds is a revelation for me. I'm not very good at clearing my mind but I relax more fully each class. It is also excellent for that pesky shoulder of mine. This is kind of like physical therapy in that my arms and shoulder and back get stretched out on a regular basis. I have also plateaued in my walking and weight loss so this is a nice boost to that. (admittedly though I have a major sugar addiction that I'm trying, unsuccessfully, to overcome)


I've backed down the mileage that I've been walking from 4.3 miles every day to 4 or 3.7 miles 3 or 4 days a week. I know that doesn't seem like much but it has helped me be not so exhausted when I'm done.

RJ is three now and a total bundle of energy! He's also learning to read and spell out words and can count well past 30.. This has mostly been because of his own desire and my husbands tutoring. I'm thrilled that he's learned HOW to learn and enjoys it.. I hope that it lasts! ( It took me 30 years to learn that!)

Ok! thats it for now... more soon :o)