Labor and Delivery

I'm sure I am not the first to link mold cutting and the casting of the first resin to the birthing process. I have never given birth to a human, but somewhere deep inside a voice kept saying "breathe" and "is it almost out?" A picture is worth a thousand words, so without further adieu, here are the photos of the labor and delivery of Affinity:

That's one big block o' rubber! The 'holes' you see are the hooves, the armature pipe, and vents for the tail and head.

 

 Yes, a ratchet had to be involved!

 

It took most of a day to get this far. You are looking straight down to the belly, with the armature pipe removed.

  And....she's out! In pieces, but the mold is finally cut and ready to pour. At this point the only place she exists is in the negative space of the mold. 

Here we are this morning, getting ready for another day of refining details to get her ready for her photo session before the big release on Monday.

Looking back on last year

With the filly in the mold box waiting for a shipment of silicone, I've had a little bit of spare time catch up on other things. One of the things I've been wanting to do is reflect on everything that was good about last year. It is easy to forget that there were many things to be thankful for in a year that was so filled with sadness with the loss of two great friends, one being just a few weeks ago. It is snowing here, a good day to go through photos from the summer.

In July I got to attend the No Barriers summit in Winterpark, Colorado. I had so much fun! It is an outdoor sports retreat for people with disabilities, to give them the opportunity to try new activities and new equipment. Or in their own words No Barriers is a powerful community of modern day pioneers who use the experience of nature to promote innovation, education and assistive technologies that create transformative life experiences and inspire people with challenges to live full and active lives. Well, it certainly did that for me, a few weeks later we went on a pack trip and this time I put up the tent myself, having never put up a tent before in my life:

While attending the Summit I also for the first time climbed up a rope:

And rode an off-road handcycle:

I also got to kayak and canoe, but didn't take any photos as I wasn't sure about bringing my camera out on a lake. I *adored* kayaking, what a wonderful free feeling, and a good workout. Later in the summer Durango's Adaptive Sports Association held a four day women's sports program. I could only spare two days and got to kayak again, and tried waterskiing. Wow, that was something else! I liked flying over the water, but did not like crashing and rolling and having water forced up my nose.

Even though I was introduced to many new outdoor activities, I still prefer my horse for the ulimate outdoor experience. Here are a few of my favorite photos from this past summer:

Above Crater Lake, near Molas Pass

Rocky Mountain Columbines, Crater Lake trail

Above Crater Lake, looking north

Todd and Brush at Crater Lake

Late afternoon sun near Engineer Mountain

Mineral Creek from the top of the drainage near the Colorado Trail

Jypsi and I with Engineer Mountain

view from camp, Pine River trail near Sierra Vandera

Heading home

Sierra Vandera trail

There were a few other wonderful things that happened in 2011, like a great and much needed family reunion, making new friends and reconnecting with old friends, but this post is already getting pretty long so I will leave it at that. I already feel more hopeful about 2112 just by posting this. Now, off to enjoy the rest of my snow day!

Affinity phase one complete!

The clay phase of Affinity, the thoroughbred filly, is complete. She is happily waiting in the mold box for a shipment of silicone. Sometime next week I'll be cutting open a big block of rubber and 'birthing' a new resin! The first casting will be further refined, smoothed, and little details like veins and whisker bumps will be added. If all goes well she will be ready for ordering in a few short weeks, pretty exciting!

Here is how she looked moments before being placed in the mold box: