Back in May, I featured a Mother's Day tribute to my Mom here, so it's only fitting that this month should bring the same for my Dad. Dad was always fixing stuff. When I was little, it was out of necessity as you didn't just trot out and buy new at Wal-Mart whenever an item broke. Heck, he'd get other folks' old, broken stuff, fix it up like new, and that's what we'd use. The world would do well to do a little more fixing these days, too.

Anyway, shown above is me and my dad - many more years ago than I'd care to reveal . Behind us is a spiffy red 1935 Chevrolet pickup, which at that time was approaching 30 years old. Back then, old stuff wasn't cool like it is now. It was just old stuff that you used until you had the means to get NEW stuff. This was Dad's daily driver. He drove it when he went on repair service calls for the farm implement dealership that employed him at the time. He repaired the truck, too. When the motor went bad, he replaced it with something with "a little more power". He often took his hemi-powered pickup to the Saturday night drag races.

Eventually, Dad left the farm equipment company to start his own business. He and Mom operated a New Holland dealership for years. The old Chevy was parked in the barn - having been replaced by more modern service trucks. Dad continued to fix things - servicing the farm equipment that he sold,  later restoring old tractors, then old cars. He has a real knack for making tired old vehicles young and new again, and he amassed quite a collection. In all the years, and all the projects I've seen him complete - I don't remember EVER seeing him rushed, or upset or stressed about them. What an inspiration. The amount of work done was monumental as most of these cars and trucks had to be completely disassembled, etc. One project car he bought was literally apart - with all the pieces (that they could find) in crates and boxes. It was a rare convertible Ford, and worth the effort as it was a show-winning beauty when complete. And he and mom don't just park these and admire them - they DRIVE them to the events they participate in - some as far as the west coast.

When my son Jordan was about 11, he and Dad started restoration on a 1952 Ford pickup that was to be Jordan's own. (Mom's theory was that a newly licensed teenager would be a more careful driver in a vehicle that had had so much time and work spent on it.) Weekend after weekend, Dad took this capricious youngster on a journey of patience, perseverance and learning - away from the TV and the video games. The completed truck has gone on to win multiple prestigious Dearborn Awards, but more valuable than that is all the lessons Jordan learned along the way. Thanks Dad!

All fall/winter we take calls from budget-minded farriers and other equine professionals - trying to decide if it's worth the cost to send Christmas cards to their clients. If you're one of those - now might be the time to reconsider.

Anyone who has been getting this newsletter for very long probably has noticed that we aren't doing big sale promotions every time you turn around. We pretty much need to sell everything at regular price in order to stay in business. We are not Wal-Mart, and we hope that low prices are not the reason folks shop with us.

However, when we DO have sales, I try to make them memorable. And this one falls into that category, I hope. A special reward for those out there who are clever enough to anticipate how many cards they might need at Christmas time, AND organized enough to REMEMBER that they've already purchased them and WHERE they put them. That's not me. But I know you folks exist - I've heard stories...

This sale ends June 30, some of the card designs are low inventory and will NOT be reprinted, so make your selections early. To see them click here.

Shown here is one of our Christmas Cards that marked a historic moment; #CIB is the first card we've ever done that has NOT had a horse, dog, or something farrier-related on it. But I saw this lovely picture of a barn in the driving snow at night - it made me shiver with thoughts of the days that I know are coming. The shot was taken by Christina Handley & Laura Cotterman - and I knew it was perfect for this wording:

Also, PLEASE-PLEASE-PLEASE read carefully the wording options available for the insides of the cards when you order. The website defaults to withOUT "thank you for your business" - but some cards are ONLY available WITH this option, so if you click those, that's what you're going to get. You're Supposed to Have A Button Nose, Rejoice! and Peace on Earth are 4 examples of cards that are ONLY available WITH thank you. To get started click here