Above are Photos of the Fenders to the Saddle that my slow butt is working on.  The photos of them after they have been dyed is not entirely accurate.  The color is warmer and redder than what it shows.  I am very pleased with the tooling and I am now eyeing my original design for the first mother hubbard saddle that I thought too complicated at the time.  I am going to be redoing the bottom skirt to the saddle.  The reiner has a wider back than what My pattern had been used on in the past and the dye I used on the original skirt was old and craptacular.. so it just needs to be redone.

Also, what I think is important news - I bought an Unpainted Stone Saddlebred Last night.  YEs, this means double bridles and cut back saddles are in my future and I do remember the nice folks that have written me specifically to ask for a saddleseat set ;0)

I haven't yet heard how the Western Show halter will be offered by Rebecca Jann...  Will keep everyone posted.

I am going to try like mad to Donate something to Heather Jackson Lain's Show this year and If the NAN Folks will have me, I'd like to try to donate something nice to NAN.

On an entirely different note.....

Today I am trying to not watch the September 11th Attack Memorials.  It's not that I don't think that they are important. I do. I believe that they are very important and I think it's wonderful of the networks to actually have a heart an show them.  It's that I'm too emotionally fragile to watch them.  I am a "weepy" person to begin with and after the loss of my Dad in June I find myself being in almost constant emotional turmoil.

Part of my psyche that allows in all of the artistic inspiration and ideas is also the part that makes me very susceptible to sad movies, sad shows, and sad news reports.  I found this out the hard way, after at 13, my first boyfriend and I had broken up a month before and our class went on a field trip to see the play "Camille" at actors theater of Louisville.  I'm pretty sure I was the only 13 year old girl crying at the end of the play. (it's basically Moulin Rouge decades before they made the movie)

I distinctly remember the day that the attacks happen.  I had gotten up earlier than usual at 9am for some reason.  At the time I worked second shift and didn't get off of work till midnight so I didn't go to bed until 2am or later.. so 9am was very early for me.  I remember turning on the TV, and was sorta shocked to see what was in front of me.  I hesitated for a minute and but then went to wake up Anthony (yes, we've been together FOREVER.. LOL) telling him that he had to see what was on tv... we just stared in shock.  I watched every minute of coverage I could for the next week - hoping against hope for a miracle that they would find survivors in the rubble... They didn't... As everyone knows...  I feel very deeply for the families that lost their loved ones..

I thought today that I didn't remember what day of the week that it was when the attacks happened... but as it turned out I did. It was a Tuesday and clearly, I'll never forget it.  I think that eventually this day of remembrance should become a national holiday here in the U.S.