Driving
Awareness of the outside world. Dueling chyrons. CNN, ‘Biden speaks out on Trump’s Big Lie’. Fox, ‘Unhinged Biden goes on tirade against election fairness measures.’ The words may not be verbatim. I was too mesmerized by the difference to think of taking a photo. You get the idea. It’s not just what you say, it’s how you say it.
~~~
This year’s membership brass from The National Horse Brass Society (UK).
Horse brasses float in a sea of topics that fascinate me, but that I never get around to doing anything about. I feel mildly guilty about this. I should fish or cut bait. Not leave so many loose ends flapping around.
Each year, I join the NHBS. I get the membership brass. I hang it up. I write a blog post. And that’s about my level of commitment to the topic or the club.
The newsletters arrive. I ignore them, both digital and dead tree. Oh, I enjoy the newsletters, both the content and how the club feels slightly different than a US club would feel. A slim, brown mailing envelope arrives with foreign postage. I think ‘Oh, goody. I’ll read that.’ And then I put it aside and never do.
Other interests that hover at this level are beads, stamps, Geocaching, The Braid Society (also UK), Postcrossing, and so on, and so on. I jump in, poke around, find a way to wedge it into the blog, and wander off. I’ve even had to stop myself from buying new LEGO sets when I have so many unbuilt ones.
Today is the first day of Virtual Breyerfest. I sense model horses slipping into the loose ends category. I will “attend” this weekend’s festivities, walk the virtual 5K, and then probably not think about plastic ponies until next year.
And that’s ok.
At least, I’m trying to tell myself that.
I’m trying to give myself permission to do as little or as much as I feel inclined. First do no harm. If I want to join, get the horse brass, and then ignore the rest of it, who am I hurting?
Anyone else’s brain work this way?
[Bold As Brass, National Horse Brass Society 2019, 2020] with links from previous years.
Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine
Virtual Brush Box 
I look at the membership fees as charitable contributions. It makes me feel good and… sometimes I’m amused by the goodies. But, as time goes by, I’ve dropped back to donations only, no goodies please. What am I to do with the accumulated piles of past “gifts”?
I went through a period of collecting horse brasses. I walked the Cotswold Way with my husband and we often stopped at small antiques shops. I love the history of them and they are easy to carry. Eventually, you started to be able to buy them online and that kind of ruined it for me. Part of the fun was seeking them out and finding them in unexpected places. Must have close to 50 of them!
I must remind myself than small donations count and that simply increasing the membership roster can be helpful.
I got into it ’cause I inherited the dozen or so that my grandfather had. I really ought to get organized and figure out what they are.
The walk sounds lovely.