Sunday, May 30, 2010

THE PARTY - Phase One

I hardly know where to begin. My head is spinning, my hoofs are aching and I have indentations from my crown but we emerged victorious at the end of the day. The sun shone, meat tubes were barbequed, baking was sold by the tonne and the silent auction drew them in like moths to a candle. Tickets were sold for various contests and my army of volunteers kept smiling throughout. I think the woman may have been grimacing from a touch of navicular in both her trotters, but I will graciously call it smiling. And Primrose has such a fetching new hat creation that she won the hat contest!

Short of flogging Herself, I can extract no further typing from her palsied hands today but I just want to say we made $4,000. 00 for Sheila, so the PrimRose donkeys will be assured of hay for the next year. That is more than double what the humans were aiming to raise. The first pictures are rolling in, thanks to Gazelle, who tirelessly shot photo after photo for hours on end. She has graciously given us a link so I may share them with you: www.picasaweb.google.com/gazelle600

I have known Emi (human to Mosby horse) all my life and I cannot tell you how much time and effort she put into this event. She is a small person with a huge spirit and an even greater love of donkeys. Thank you Emi, for holding the fundraiser at your beautiful property, for all the organizing you did, all the money you spent, and for giving and giving and giving on all levels, always with a cheerful smile. You are much loved by your many friends and family of all species and greatly admired by this small donkey.

19 comments:

Finn the Wonder Pony said...

Oh Sheaffer,
The party looks like so much fun! Congratulations on such an impressive sum raised for the wonderful PrimRose Sanctuary! How lovely PrimRose herself looks in her fetching hat. Jonathan Cupcake, however, looks like someone just showed him a mirror... a teeny bit put out maybe? I simply must lobby our woman to bring us next year~! It looks like so much fun, enough grass for several more equine guests, don't you think? Not sure about the hat thing tho... Pnut & I may have to put our collective hooves down on that one...

Buddy said...

Hay Sheaffer - WOW - looks like a grand time was had my all. Love the crown. Miss Primrose is stunning in her hat. Looking forward to more pictures and more narrative about the party.

$4000 - WOW - thats ALOT of money for Primrose - the event was a huge success. I hope you got my card and the measly check mom sent for Primrose.

I was there in spirit.

Your fren,

Gazelle said...

Hi Everyone,
The Donkey Party pictures are all posted to the Picasa Album now. If you've already visited please come back. There are now just over 100 photos to see.

Just one little problem ... My software thought it would be hilarious to scramble the sequence so the Album is in a bit of a jumble at the moment. I'll get in there tomorrow and reorganize and reorder them and add some captions so you know what you're looking at.

It was GREAT day, but Sheaffer's Woman has been so busy thanking everyone else she forgot to give HERSELF a pat on the back, so here's one from me.

Lydia, your networking and organizational skills are phenomenal, not to mention your undying sense of humour. No wonder people enjoy rallying to the cause with you leading the charge.

Gayle
P.S. If there's a Third Annual Event, Bunny wants to know if he can come too ???

Buddy said...

OK I saw all the pics - thank you for sharing.

So Sheaffer - who is the little girl with the cute hat giving you hugs? Can she come and see me?

Your fren,

Gale said...

How WONDERFUL to read about the great celebration and see photos of all the participants! Gazelle did a marvelous job. The only thing better would be to have been there in person.

I'm stuck on the name Jonathan Cupcake...can't stop saying it! And Primrose's hat is perfection.

Sheaffer, you are the prince...oops, I mean king...of fundraising.

Cngratulations to all who made this such a success. Wow!!!

billie said...

Wow!! Congratulations on a huge success, Sheaffer and Company! How wonderful that your celebration does such good for other donkeys.

billie said...

Just went to see the photos - what a party! Sheaffer, did you really not eat the cake???

I loved seeing you indoctrinate so many young humans into the world of donkeys.

Had I been there I fear I would have lost all my money to the beautiful items in the silent auction and had to hitchhike home!!

ponymaid said...

Finn my fine pony friend, you would have loved every minute of it! Jonathan's hat was but a passing fancy - he modelled it but it was soon put back in it's hat box and he got down to the serious business of socializing and eating. He is 32 years old and a seven hand ball of fire.

Buddy, thank you so much - yes, I confess, the lovely PrimRose has stolen my heart, something that has never happened before. Your cheque has not yet arrived but believe me, there is no such thing as measley. It is all part of raising such a large amount for such a good cause and is much appreciated.

Gazelle, you saved the day! Thank you for the wonderful photos and for sharing them with us all. Your praise of Herself is very kind - I related it to her grudgingly because afterall we don't want her head to swell in all this heat. She's is still jibbering about auction-related matters but hopefully it will calm down soon and she'll stop clutching me in a vise-like grip and lavishing praise in my ear at 82 decibels. Do you think Mosby liked his 35th birthday gift? I found it a bit over the top but he seems pleased to be called a rogue stallion...

ponymaid said...

Buddy, that little girl is called Sabrina and she is remarkable. Her hat must have taken hours to create and we have asked her to wear it again next year, possibly with new vegetables. She brought me a bag of donkey cookies and even graciously removed some carrots from her hat so I could sample them. I will tell her that she is invited to Nevada - with her hat of course.

ponymaid said...

Billie, I did not care for the cake - it may be called carrot cake but had little to do with actual carrots as far as I could tell. Many of the other equines did try it and quite liked it. The woman says I am a gastronomic reactionary and I say "absolutely". Team R&R would have much enjoyed themselves and I imagine Redford would have offered to rassle Ben and Jerry, who are closer to his age and who wore coloured hair gel in what is left of their manes. Next year I hope to see a gigantic migration of blog readers at the grand "do". Donkeys and other animal family members in tow, of course.

Gazelle said...

Sheaffer, I think Mosby LOVED his B'day Present. It's MUCH better than the original idea we were pursuing. As long as I've known him (which must be at least 15 years now) he's always been a very "manly" gelding and as you know he still shares his paddock with a small harem of his very favourite mares.

As for the gift being age-appropriate, as far as Mosby is concerned 35 is just a number. Right, Emi ?

billie said...

Sheaffer, I once made Keil Bay and Apache a carrot cake for their birthdays and they snorted and rolled their eye whites at me and backed away as if I were trying to sneak vermifuge into them! It was very upsetting, as I had worked hard and put real carrots into the cake and on top! I learned my lesson though. They prefer the more traditional equine fare. Around here, nothing beats a birthday tub, which is normal breakfast or dinner but garnished with apple slices, carrot slivers, oats, and hand-picked spring delicacies arranged nicely around the perimeter.

We humans seem to need the cake and icing! I hope The Woman is recovering from all her hard work making this happen for you - her treasured friend.

What are Jack and Molly and Doc saying about the event they did not get to attend?

ponymaid said...

Gale, one of the few things missing was you (and the woman's brain, but that goes without saying). Jonathan Cupcake was named by the ladies who volunteer at the sanctuary because he is so diminuative. In fact, he has a will of iron and spent much time trying to drag humans into Mosby's barn, simply because he was told it was off limits. I do wonder if he's a relative of Jack's...

Dougie Donk said...

What superb pictures of an absolutely wonderful event.

Dougie is glad to have contributed in a small way. I will do my best to manage his forlorn hopes attending in person one day, with the consolation prize of some extra carrots in his evening meal. However, I suspect it may be some time beforehe forgives me for not supplying an airline ticket.....

ponymaid said...

Gazelle, he does look quite pleased, doesn't he? And he does still enjoy a well-turned fetlock...Like those humans who stay stuck at age thirty nine, Mosby will be forever four going on five.

ponymaid said...

Billie, there was much consternation amongst the rest of my herd because I was away for so long. Doc was even more upset than Jack and tried to drag me into the paddock between the rails before the woman could unlatch the gate. Next day he wouldn't let me out of his sight and insisted we do mutual neck scratching for hours. When I would try to leave, he'd tuck me into his side like a mare with a foal. Very strange and somewhat unsettling but he is an emotional horse. Jack just beamed all day and didn't let me out of his sight. I think you are wise to stick with the traditional birthday tubs - that icing gave me quite a fright - it looks alarmingly like vermifuge.

Dougie, you were here in spirit - when the auction winners were called out, your name rang through the air as "Dougie Donk of Scotland, donor of a set of four donkey figurines". You have turned this into an international event and we thank you.

Ben said...

Scheaffer:
What a marvellous time! Gerry and I have just managed to recover. It was so splendid to see you and Primrose again, Not to mention Russell and Jonathan. Sheila and the people from the sanctuary were such a welcome sight as well. They give me hope for the human species, although I still question the barn man's genus. With all the hooting and screetching, I see him as a cross between a moose and an especially large and annoying crow. The Emi lady seemed to be everywhere at once as well. I think she must have hidden super powers. Fortunately she uses them for good. Your owner as well was quite a force to be reckoned with. I am so grateful that these humans took the time to help less fortunate donkeys. I am still in a bit of a daze from meeting all the people, Gerry on the other hand seems to be in a daze from eating all the carrots. I fully expect his eyes to turn orange.
Take Care my friend
Ben

BumbleVee said...

Congratulations everybody!! ... a lot of work by everybody paid off and looks like you all had some fun.

I, myself would have loved a slice of carrot cake...my fav..... even without icing! Not that I worry about it being anything but icing....

The pics were great.... such a lovely sunny day... and I especially loved the little blondie too... the perfect age at which to teach kids about kindness to animals..... and hopefully they will all teach two friends.....

ponymaid said...

Ben, are Jerry's eyes still of orangish hue? He must have x-ray vision by now. It was quite the confluence of good will and determination to help donkeys, wasn't it? I too have my doubts about our humans at times but they redeemed themselves on that day. Emi says we are aiming for $8000.00 next year, which would be double this year's funds but I suspect we would have to employ much more forceful tactics much further afield - bank robbery, for example. I'll leave that to you and your brother, shall I?

BumbleVee, you raise a very good point. Amongst other things we hope this sort of event will raise awareness amongst the younger set who will eventually need to take over this effort. The woman says you would have loved the cake - I find it highly suspicious.