Virtual Brush Box

Awareness of the outside world. It Just Gets Stranger. Reading bonanza. The joy of discovering a new-to-me blog with an archive that goes back to 2007. Hat tip to M.

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INside each one of us are parts of our family.

Heredity in one corner and habitat in the other corner.

Examining who I came from in the objects around me.

Rows of cards laid on a table for double solitaire.

Inch wide leather straps display a dozen antique horse brasses.

Tankard lettered with my three names if a boy child.

Alice in Wonderland in an edition older than I am.

Now the desk holds my computer instead of legal pads.

Cornflower blue stencils on a vintage CorningWare casserole cook pan.

Exterior things inside my house; internal memories shape my world.

Afterword

Inspired by Micromemoir Marathon, 2. Inheritance. Did not submit. It is not a moment in time and it works better as ten separate sentences rather than as the required paragraph. It is 100 words.

Objects in order: grandmother, grandfather, grandfather, grandmother, father, mother

Did you catch the tricks? Once this post is up, I will leave hints in the first comment. Done, second comment,

Related post, since it is fiction, I did not submit that one either. [The Arrival, Five Minutes of Fiction]

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Them: 14 Inspiring Photos That Capture 50 Years of LGBTQ+ Visibility, 2019.

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Pride Truffles
Li-Lac Chocolates

Is it rainbow washing for the company? The Internet says no. “6. Inclusive and Friendly Atmosphere: The business is openly LGBTQ+ friendly and offers wheelchair accessible amenities, creating a welcoming environment for a diverse range of customers.” Gaia’s Candy: Li-Lac Chocolates

Since the store is in Brooklyn, I would expect they would be held accountable. If & when I get back to NYC, I will check it out. For research purposes.

Is it rainbow washing for me? I don’t feel that I am being performative, but then I wouldn’t would I? To be sure, I will donate donated locally. That way, even if I did it because reasons, someone gets a benefit.

“Amaretto (purple), Caramel (red), French Cream (yellow), Brandy (green), Dulce de Leche (orange), and Mocha (blue).” L-LC: Pride Truffles Box

Process Note

The rainbow is in the wrong order. Discovered to late to fix. You get the idea.

Onwards!
Katherine

Animals of the outside world. What’s the Story, Wishbone? Documentary on the TV show. Do you remember? Website has it available in various ways. I saw it this week on my PBS station.

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When your name is Goldy, you shine.

The original motivation for lessons was to determine if jumping was still viable. The answer is yes. Bopping over jumps is still something I want to do. Plsthx. [The Plan, AHJA Kick Off Show 2026]

So now what? Is there a reason to continue with lessons? We came up with three reasons: one for now, two for future.

Now. It’s lovely to be having fun on a happy horse.

Future One. I am still recreating the wheel. Nothing I can do about that but to keep plugging away. However, over time, I think I am noticing that I am in a slightly better place each time, even if the lessons are once a week. For example, in my most recent lesson, there was a roll top in the middle of the ring. I looked at it. Hmmm. Not now. Not for a long time. But I looked at it.

Future Two. Next Horse will benefit from what I learn riding an experienced horse. There is a good chance that Goldy has forgotten more about jumping than I ever knew.

Future Two a. I’m not just along for the ride. I have to do it right. If I coast around a turn or don’t stay on task around a circle, Goldy will see it as rider error and dump momentum. He can be very generous in what he interprets as a mistake on my part.

Goldy: Oops, we need to stop.
Me: No, I meant to do that. Really.

Once Goldy believes, he’s ready to rock.

Onwards!
Katherine

Horses of the outside world. Congratulations to Double Crown winner Golden Tempo & his entire team.

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Goldy
Rosewood Stables
6 May 2026

What I’m working on this week.

Hands. Working on keeping a contact from the beginning. Previous Horse and I would warm-up on the buckle, at a walk, trot, & canter. I was much better at that than at maintaining a soft communication with the horse. My hands are basically floppy bits of flesh at the end of my arms. Plus, it seems counterintuitive to pick up the reins I am doing everything I can to shift Goldy into gear. However. As with the Saddlebreds, Goldy is happier when I ride him his way instead of my way.

Shoulders. I started working on keeping my shoulders level. I tend to hunch when I’m concentrating and to lean around turns. Shoulder placement is an extension of the work I have been doing on head position. [Gathering The Goldy Dust]

What I got this week.

Horse enthusiasm. I managed to convince Goldy that there was some hope for me. This brought out the forward-thinking side of his personality, including taking a flyer at a fence exiting a line, causing me to emit a small expletive. It was a quite big spot over a small jump. Himself was smug all the way back to the barn.

Rider consternation. We were in the front ring, you can see the road in the photo. A column of rumbling bikers drove by. I came to a halt in the center and watched Goldy carefully for signs of hysteria. He was fine. I obsessed over what the home team would do in the face of that amount of noise and clatter.

I did jump the small vertical pictured.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Michael Harriot calls it 250 Years of White Independence, Insta 5 June. Others are of a similar mind. Nantucket Current: Unitarian Church Cancels Fourth Of July Celebration In Political Protest, Rev. Erin Splaine, May 28, 2026.

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After several years, wildlife has found a way into the treat bin at the barn. Now that they know what lies within, sealing one hole just means a second hole in a different spot the next day.

Sigh.

We will need a new container. Plastic is out. Don’t want glass at the barn. Metal it is. A large coffee can would be great, but they’d gnaw right through the lid. First Horse had a small trash can for feed at shows which would work, but it is either hiding in the basement or got heaved at some point. Probably will have to locate one in the wider world.

Meanwhile, we must remember to take the cookies with us when we go to the barn. On more than one occasion I have had to stop, turn around, go back to house, stock up, resume.

Treats are entrenched in their daily routine. Whether this is a good idea or has gotten out of hand is a separate discussion. The point is, they expect it. The other point is, forgetting is not approved minion behavior.

Rodney: I have performed my task. Where’s my cookie?
Me: Umm …

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Is there a word for massively mis-targeted marketing? Recent mail pile included an expensive non-standard envelope in fancy cream paper. Return address bore a name that I will not dignify by repeating. My thought, I don’t care what the price was, you paid way too much for that mailing list.

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Horses live and exercise within their pasture. Daily access is via sections of wooden fence in certain areas. We step through the horizontal boards. That way, there are no gates to be left open. This is not a viable solution for vet or blacksmith.

For appointments, we bring the horses out of the field and around to the portion of the aisle that is outside of their living area. This space is used for both temporary and permanent storage. Stuff accumulates.

The annoying part of this arrangement is that we have to clean out the aisle every few weeks.

The good part of this arrangement is that we have to clean out the aisle every few weeks.

Onwards!
Katherine

Art of the outside world. The Movable Book Society named their awards for Lothar Meggendorfer. “Lothar Meggendorfer is known as the father of the Pop-Up Book. While many types of movable books came before him, Lothar is credited as inventing the Pop-Up book as we think of it today.” UKy: Richardson Collection of Movable Books, sidebar.

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Modified from the December 2025 project for The Paper Year by Helen Hiebert, shown in The Paper Year Library. Image catalogue is open to the public. Access to directions requires membership.

The original was a tree. I changed it to a cube.

Onwards!
Katherine