The Kangaroo Cloth

I have discovered that linen tea towels are just the best to keep in my grooming kit. I use them as a finishing rub on a clean horse to bring up the shine, I use them to dry bits, wipe noses, hold muddy hooves while I pick them out -- they're incredibly useful and the best part is: swish 'em in a little soapy water, rinse 'em at the tap, hang them on a bush or railing to dry and half an hour they're ready to go again, perfectly clean. They don't hold dirt!

The first one I ever got was printed with kangaroos.  (Mine doesn't say Mackay at the top, but otherwise is just like this one.)

So what does this have to do with me making things? Well, I'll tell you -- I've made an addition to slang! Because this first towel was printed with kangaroos, I called it my "kangaroo cloth" and I'd often be digging in my bag saying "Where's my kangaroo cloth?" or "Let me get that quick with my kangaroo cloth," as I'd go to wipe something up.

Apparently someone overheard me, and didn't realize that the item was so named because of the animals printed on it. To be fair, I refer to all my tea towels as "kangaroo cloths" now, because it's kinda catchy. Maybe that day I was using my "Landmarks of Great Britian" one so they missed the association. At any rate, I heard them in the barn aisle asking someone to hand them their kangaroo cloth!

Suddenly I realized that this is how it all starts and twenty years from now, some kid might be standing in another barn aisle, looking at the rag in their hand and asking someone, "Why is it called a kangaroo cloth?"

So now you know.  Because Wenny invented the phrase!

See, now, everything worked out!

Okay, I seem to be going through a bit of a phase here, folks, so you're just going to have to bear with me on the saddles a little bit longer. But I had to share this happy news with you all:

I found a buyer for the mechanical pony saddle!

Well, that's good news, I hear you saying, I guess, but it's not happy news. I mean, It's just selling a saddle. Isn't that kind of what you expect to do? What's so great about that? 

I found a buyer who was looking to replace her childhood saddle that she had lost in a house fire. I told her I had one she might be interested in, but it was purely decorative. She asked for a picture and when I showed it to her, she texted back "Perfect!!!!!!!"

Seven exclamation points, you guys. Seven. 

I made me so glad I had decided to go ahead and fix it up anyway, despite possible collector value being lost by my efforts. I didn't do anything that couldn't be reversed; just put on saddle strings and conchos, made new stirrup leathers (using the original diamond spots so they matched the rest) and added my newly-made-but-matching stirrups with tiny tapaderos.

Want to see the final result that pleased my buyer so? Of course you do. So here it is:

So stinkin' cute. I'm thrilled that it's going to a home where it will be treasured. And like one of my friends said "You're giving memories!" Ah, it just warms the heart.