Goo!

How much goo will they find on my aging bod?

I meet a trainer at the gym today for my "free" measurements. They do the flexibility test and body fat and probably put you on a treadmill to test cardio in some way. It's to get a baseline for where you are now and set a goal for where you want to be. I hope it's not completely demoralizing for me.

Here are my thoughts on that:

I see SO many women who are absolutely beautiful bashing themselves daily. They can't be thin enough or pretty enough or whatever. They see themselves as gross and fat and not good enough. It drives me CRAZY. I hate it. I have my fat days like everyone else and I can get sucked into what the media thinks women should look like, but for the most part I try to love who I am - imperfections, kangaroo pouch and all.

I think that is a testament to society and it's weird wacko messages to women. Look at any women's magazine the next time you are in the store - there are articles on how to lose weight fast and then right below that is a tag line for the best ooey, gooey, chocolate brownies ever! Hello? Can you say schizophrenic?

Look around you. There are beautiful women in all shapes, sizes and body types. Really. Look around without that distorted media image of a beautiful woman. There are maybe what? 3% that have that "perfect media figure". Women are supposed to have curves, we have hips - it's the way we are designed. We are curvy and sexy and incredible. In ALL of our different body types.

I don't care to have a supermodel body and look fabulous in a bikini. I don't want to look like a 12 yr old boy. I don't want to obsess over my weight and write down every little thing I eat or drink in a food diary.

I DO want to be healthy and strong. I DO want to be able to do what I want, when I want without being limited by my body while it's relatively healthy. I DO want to try and keep it healthy for as long as I can.

This is why I joined a gym and why Furry Husband and I try to plan meals and eat more healthfully. It is a work in progress and we try really hard not to beat ourselves up as we deviate from our goals here and there due to life happening.

Anyway - there is my soapbox.

Speaking of soap... as in my little goat milk soap and lotion business.

I called my girlfriend last night to make an appointment to finish up the labeling for my lotions. I feel I can't move forward until the labels are done. I want to market them for re-sale in retail. The labels I created weren't waterproof and didn't look as professional as I thought they should if I wanted someone to buy them in a store. So my side project and start-up business has been at a total stand still. My motivation has plummeted.

I don't want to nag a friend. I know she is busy and has had obstacles of her own to deal with in her life and with her family and yet it's also part business... awkward, awkward, awkward. I don't like confrontation. I made myself call and ask to finish the labels and could we set up an appointment to do so? We did and I'm excited to get moving again. Our appt. is set for Nov 10... and then I can get back to bid'ness with my goat milk lotions and a marketing plan.

I paid the renewal on my trademark name, I renewed my tax license, I renewed my website domain name - even tho' I am really on the fence about my website provider and need to either redesign or close it down and open a shop on Etsy.com... I'm mulling it over. Either way, again, nothing can happen til I get my new labels so I can post pictures of product and begin branding with business cards etc. See how one little thing can cause everything to sort of screech to a halt on a project?

Spectacular! Spectacular!

Maverick - as in the James Garner sort....

Joe Six-Pack and hockey mom Palin....

Gun totin' Palin...

Those fake boobs were amazingly detailed!

Palin "mavericks" hockey mom and Geisha....

Nother pix of Geisha - I think someone left for the hospital after their eye was poked out by the headpiece...

McCain with Palin puppet....

The man in lycra! Brave, brave soul....

Quick Update...

Spectacular! Spectacular! was a lot of fun - people get so creative and BRAVE with their costumes. There is a guy who always dresses in something skin tight and lycra... to me, that is both horrifying AND brave!

Everyone liked my hockey mom Sarah Palin outfit. Tho' I have to say I was less entertaining than normal. The sight and smell of any alchohol was turning my stomach. Sigh. I am NOT the partier I once was. Pictures coming - I don't have them at the moment...

Furry Husband and I drove to the hay field Sunday morning cuz the guy kept telling us we needed to check out the hay before buying. His brother, Jack, is the guy that told us about the hay and usually Jack's word is golden.

We know why he wanted us to come see first.

It had been in the field for a couple weeks and while I don't mind sun bleached on the outside...heavy with moisutre and mold on the inside is not good for our horses or dairy goats. Yeah, everyone keeps telling us to feed cow hay to our goats but seriously people, we DRINK what they make in their udders, and what they eat comes thru in the milk, so if it's all the same, we will keep feeding them high quality alfalfa.

We took a pass on that "deal" and told him his grandson could take it all. We called Chamber's Ranch, another great hay supplier in our area, and they have plenty o' hay so I guess we'll coordinate with with Mrs. Kravitz (the neighbor with binoculars) to use her flatbed and go pick us up some 250 bales o' hay.

Sunday Obama came to Ft. Collins. I thought that was way cool. We couldn't go see him because we had scheduled dinner with our favorite family, The Larsons, months ago. Their schedule is such that they can't cancel and come the next night - not with six children.

And wouldn't you know it, at 3pm, Rosie, our doe kid, decided she was in full blown standing heat. We can't breed her to our buck cuz he is her papa. The farm I am taking her for breeding, SouthFork Lamanchas, is in Lyons which is an hour away.

The Larson family was due between 3 - 4pm and we had food enough to feed 8+ people. No way could I load Rosie into my car and drive her for some bowwww chicka chicka bow bowwwww and the buck of her dreams.

I called MaryLou at SouthFork and we decided to mark it on the calendar and bring Rosie up 3 weeks from Sunday. At least goats are reliable that way - you know if you miss a heat cycle, it will happen again in 3 weeks.

The Larson's arrived and we had great fun catching up and talking goats. They truly are one of those families that make you feel good just for knowing them. Each member of their family is an absolute gem to know - bright, funny, articulate and a good, good person.

I got to work early yesterday so I could hit the gym. Uh, yeah. Forgot my tennis shoes. I can't do anything on a treadmill in funky, clunky, retro gramma shoe oxfords with 2" heels.

BUT that meant I got to leave work early and it was a gorgeous Colorado day... 70's and blue skies. I got home in time to work both my horses... Rosso (the horse pictured above) was pretty hot but settled in and worked well. The pix above is when I first brought him home 2 yrs ago from the racetrack. He's learning it's not all about speed and blowing up. His new job is quite the opposite actually - I gots no use for all that speed and heat - in fact it sorta freaks me out in my little pea brain. Sera was perfect - tho' I didn't ask much of her cuz light was fading and I got all absorbed in picking at the skin fungus on her leg much to her dismay.

I forgot my shoes again today. Lucky me. Furry Husband grabbed them on his way out the door and will meet me at the gym, shoes in toe - er, I mean tow.

Wynkoop Brewery 20 yr reunion....

Furry Husband was part of the original 1988 opening crew at the Wynkoop Brew Pub in Denver. They had a 20 yr reunion last night and we went... $1 beers and a million people from Furry Husband's past. Not only were ALL staffers invited to the event, but any pub regulars were welcome to come. The place was packed! People flew in from Pittsburg, New York, Los Angeles, Sonoma and who knows where else to attend.

Wynkoop original crew photo op

I met Furry Husband when he was bartending at the Wynkoop. I had short, Sharon Stone, platinum blond hair, I was flashing clevage and I told him a dirty joke. He asked me out. The rest is history.

Ever since I've known Furry Husband - he's had women yelling out his name and running up to hug him. What can I say? He's a very loveable guy! I received a couple apologies from women that looked a little nervous after they accosted Furry Husband last night. I just laugh. It's o.k. - if that bothered me, or if I were the jealous type, I would have NEVER made it this long!

Everyone loves Furry Husband. And it was fun hearing about the girls he dated way back when and who broke his little heart... he'd point someone out and I'd think "really? - she doesn't seem like your type!" We are so happy together, it reinforces the idea that everything happens for a reason. After all, if those girls didn't break his heart, we might never have met.

Anyway - you get the picture!

This doesn't have anything to do with anything, but don't you think this guy looks like Dwight Schrute from The Office??

We left before Denver Mayor, John Hickenlooper, showed up - he used to be an owner/manager back in the day. I guess he showed up around 2 AM. Pretty late - or early - depending how you look at it.

I heard Hillary Clinton was having dinner around the corner at The Oxford last night - I guess there were all sorts of those long black guv'ment cars and body guards... Denver was a happenin' spot last night!

Here is part of the beer list from the Wynkoop. How cool is the name of this beer? and how often do you see presidential candidates on the sides of buildings? I felt inspired by it all.

Furry Husband organized breakfast at Dixon's this morning. We woke up at 7am listening to the woman in the room next to us fight with her significant other, Brad. We never heard any responses so it must've been over the phone. "You hate ANYONE that likes me! This happens EVERY SINGLE TIME! Brad, you are such a jerk! No, this is your fault.... YOUR FAULT.... YOUR FAULT!!!"

Good-NESS!

We were suprised the Marriott hotel's walls were that thin. Tho' we did get a "family and friends discount" for our room, so maybe that is one of the downsides? You get the cheap-o room with paper thin walls?

We got to Dixon's at 9:30. People from the night before wandered in all morning - I think we left during the 4th wave of people seated at our table for breakfast. We laughed and talked and listened to great old Wynkoop stories. On our way back to the car, the Wynkoop was hosting a gorilla run. People paid a registration fee of $100 to run 4 miles and each person was given a gorilla suit to run in. I can't imagine running 4 miles, much less in a full on gorilla suit. Imagine the sweat and stank on those things when people were done. Ewww. I hear they had just over 700 entries...

Tonight we are headed to Spectacular! Spectacular! in Lafayette CO for a costume party with the theme: "Night of One Thousand Palin's". Now that IS a truly terrifying thought!

I am tired, my eyes feel like pissholes in the snow, I never want to see alcohol again...

Guess I'd better rest up for tonight.

oh, and we need to go pick 55 bales of grass hay out of a field this weekend at some point... that is gonna be alotta fun with a hangover... gak!

What happened to Sera's legs...

'Member when I posted about my Ride-A-Test clinic and Sera's hind legs were bandaged? Well, thankfully she is perfectly sound and healing up nicely.

What happened?

Well, we have a back yard with a gravel pathway, goat pen, hammock, bird feeders, picnic tables, and other miscellany you find in a back yard. Horses don't come into the backyard area.

Somehow Sera opened her gate and went exploring one morning... (There is now a lock on the gate to prevent other explorations.)

It was 5am. Furry Husband and I were getting ready to take the dogs on an early morning walk. We let our 3 dogs out to run around, pee, bark, check things out while we got dressed. I was sitting in the living room putting on my shoes thinking - hmmm - it is awfully quiet out there....

I peered out the windows but couldn't see anything in the dark.

Usually once the dogs go out, the goats begin making noise cuz they know they will be fed/milked pretty soon and the dogs usually let out a bark here and there... and it was dead quiet.

Too quiet.

There have been mountain lion sightings in our neighborhood and two years ago a horse was attacked by a lion (horse o.k.). Last year our goat vet called about a goat that had been eaten by a lion in our area (goat not o.k.).

We know they are around and it's my secret fear a lion will show up at our place. We'll go outside and find a lion digging in to a goat - I have a mental image of a picture I saw in a National Geographic magazine when I was young: cheetah eating a Thompson gazelle's belly while the gazelle was still alive, head up and crying. I have this fear we'll go out and find the same scenario - only substitute one of our does for the gazelle and a mountain lion for the cheetah.

My selfish thought is that the woman with pygmy goats 6/10 of a mile from us will be the lion's first stop. Seems pygmys would be easier prey than horses or big goats... not that I EVER want Gina's cute pygmys to be a snack. It's just I'd rather one of her's is taken vs. one of my animals and I know it's mean and small an selfish of me. Tho' somehow I'm pretty sure she'd feel the same way about our place -- that WE were the first stop vs. her's if a hungry lion came around!

Anyway - when I figure I'd better go out to see what is going on out there - if anything - I step out, take 3 steps to the corner of our house. Sera goes galloping past me. WHAT THE?!

She continues around the house and I hear her hit our fence. Forget our morning walk, I think my heart rate skittered right up to 185...

She was probably spooky anyway being in a new area she isn't familiar with and sending 3 dogs out after her, 2 of which are a cattle dog and a border collie. They want to herd and probably tried to herd Sera which sent her right up to and over the edge...

We have a 7 strand, high tensile, electric fence. We lost a horse on our fence in 2003. It was devastating to us. 30 days after we put Louie down because of his injuries, I found Sera. She was exactly what we needed to pour all our love, energy and broken hearts into.

I call her Sera for short but her name is Seraphim because while I'm not religious, she was truly heaven sent. It is amazing we found her so soon after Louie's death. She was sound, inexpensive, athletic, passed her pre-purchase and fit the bill for what I wanted a horse for - Dressage. I never thought I'd have a green, off the track Thoroughbred or a mare. Sera has been wonderful. I have learned a ton on her and from her. I love her very, very much.

The sound of a horse hitting the fence is the worst sound I know.

I ran back in the house to yell at Furry Husband that Sera was in our yard and she just hit the fence. I ran back out with Furry Husband close behind.

Sera was in our front pasture. She was still up and she was running. My panicked mind thought - that is a good sign, that is a good sign, that is a good sign - over and over. I grabbed a halter and went to the pasture to catch her. When I did, I looked her over and it seemed that she was o.k. except for her hind legs. I walked her into her pen and Furry Husband held her while I looked closer.

The fronts of both cannon bones on her hind legs were sliced but no joints were involved and there were no tendon injuries or other punctures, slices or cuts. She must've hit the fence full force cuz she did have line marks across her chest and forearms.

She was shaking and scared and you could tell her back legs hurt like a muther... she kept lifting them and holding them up... first one and then the other.

I called our vet and made plans to bring Sera over in 30-45 minutes. Give everyone a chance to calm down since there was no serious injury I could see. Sera was also acting a bit colicky and we weren't sure if it was because she really WAS colicking from eating something wierd in our back yard or if she was acting odd because she was so freaked out and scared.

Furry Husband and I threw a blanket on her because she was shaking so much and watched her. She really did seem to be o.k. and working out of the shock/fear and colic like behavior.

We trailered her over to our vet where she was evaluated - she never did colic thank God! She was put into stocks, drugged, her legs cleaned, stitched, stapled back together and bandaged. She was on "stall" rest to prevent any stress on the skin so it would adhere better and begin healing.

With any injuries on the lower legs, you have to watch for proud flesh and I did at every bandage change. Her right leg began to develop a bit of granulation that looked like it might develop into proud flesh so we started putting some panalog ointment on. That did the trick and her legs have continued healing with no further signs of proud flesh.

However, her white leg developed a skin fungus or bacteria from being bandaged so long. She can't wear a bandage any longer so the skin funk can dry up and go away. I soak and scrub that leg with some betadine scrub now and again to loosen the scabs from the skin fungus/bacteria and I think the skin funk is going away. I can't do it daily because it is really drying to the skin.

I need to do it again soon but it isn't fun for anyone. By now, Sera is so sick of me dicking with her leg that she is not very compliant. She hasn't taken any pot shots at me which is good but she doesn't make it at all easy either. And I have to be aware that she COULD take aim any time.

When I have to clean her leg, she is pissed, I am frustrated but it HAS to be done. I can't give up - if I give up when she's being a complete ass, she will know all she has to do is act up for me to leave her damn leg alone. Poor Furry Husband watches and worries that I'm going to get my fool head kicked in like a melon...

The cuts are almost healed - they are much smaller, scabbed over and she is probably really glad she doesn't have to wear those damn bandages anymore. I am really glad she is o.k. and is back to being my big, beloved, red-headed mare.

Butternut squash and shallot soup

Oh - and since Furry Husband and I are trying to live a healthier lifestyle than we did in our 20's... we have a subscription to Cooking Light and sometimes there are such good recipies in there. I feel I have to share this one.

We made this butternut squash and shallot soup last night - MMMMM!

4C of peeled and 1" cubes of butternut squash
4 large shallots washed and quartered
1 Tbl of olive oil
1/4 inch of ginger root peeled and in thin strips (we used jar ginger already peeled and ready to use)

Put all that on a baking sheet mix it up so the oil coats everything, sprinkle with salt and bake at 375 for 50 minutes.

Take it out, cool it down for 10 minutes.

Get out your blender, put 1.5 C of chicken broth and 1/2 of the squash and shallots you just baked and puree. Pour that into a pan on the stove top. Repeat with the other 1/2 of your baked squash and shallots with another 1.5 C of chicken broth... heat your pan up on the stove top to a temp you like... serve with some pepper and chives on top.

It was so tasty!!

I have NEVER EVER in my whole life ever had butternut squash until last night. When I went to the store I had to ASK someone which squash was a butternut. I saw some lady sort of smirking at my dilemma once someone pointed out which squash was a butternut.

They had a whole bin full of "seasonal squash". Dude. I know spaghetti squash and I'm reletively sure what an acorn squash looks like - an acorn right?? But if you've never cooked it or used it... how the heck are you supposed to know which one of the 65 varieties in the "seasonal squash" bin is a butternut anyway??


Sheesh!

Does in heat....

Winter is settling in, it is cold and windy today. We bedded down all the quonest hut houses deep with straw so the goats have nice warm spots to hunker in against the inclement weather.

We are still watching the girls to see when they will come into heat for breeding. If you told poor Furry Husband 7 years ago he'd be watching goat vulvas for signs of estrus, he would have laughed you out of the room!

We'll be leaving Chocolate on a 2 yr. lactation cycle this year and see how that works out. It will be GREAT to have milk all year long but I wonder if I will miss my 3 month hiatus from milking when we normally dry the does up and let all their energy go toward the new babies forming in their bellies.

The other day we thought Spot might be in heat... we took her to the buck pen and put her in with the wild man, our buck, Mario.

She was NOT in heat. She ran around fast as she could, eyes bugged out, mouth open and tongue sticking straight out squallerin' - with the buck close behind making his plea of love.

She would run into his house, he'd follow and all we heard was banging around... Furry Husband went to see what was happening in the house...

Spot would simply lay down.

Well, I know I should work with the buck more, but I didn't want to go in because he is really stinky and dirty from his rut to attract the females. If you don't already know, bucks pee all over themselves to make a lovely "stank" that only does find attractive during breeding season. If you have to handle a buck during breeding season, you end up with that "stank" all over your clothes and hands. They also make noises like rapid fire machine guns, eject their tongues from their mouths and flap them around, stick one front leg out and stomp it stiff legged on the ground... they really are "interesting" to watch when breeding season rolls around. The Larson family has a buck that sounds EXACTLY like Chewbacca when trying to attract females.

For all the reasons listed above I decided to try a different tactic to get Spot the heck outta there.

She was in the quonset hut laying down protecting her "goods" from Mario.... I called out "Spottie, Spottie, Spottie!" She came running out of the house - buck close behind, right to the gate that I had open and out she ran! Good girl! Who says animals don't understand?! I slammed the gate closed in the buck's face and Spot was saved! Poor Mario.

We put her back in the doe pen where she ran all around pell mell, happily cavorting and glad to be back home free from that randy ol' buck.

And so, the vigil of goat hind ends and wagging tails (signs of does in heat) continues...

Commitment...

I went to the Partners Mentoring Youth meeting Wed. night. THREE hours long. Oh man, it is hard for me to sit still after a full day at work sitting behind a desk. I was crawling out of my skin by the time it ended. Personally, I think they could shave the training down to two hours but for the most part it was good.

We went over insurance and liability - like children under 12 need to ride in the backseat of your car, wear seatbelts at all times and there was a list of activities that were frowned upon. Things like rock climbing, roller blading, white water rafting and horse back riding.

I'm pretty into self-preservation and don't participate in most activities where I might sustain an injury. Well, other than the riding I do but I know my horses aren't so child friendly. They are a bit too opinionated and young for any children to be crawling up on them.

I thought the best part of the training was when we each received a piece of paper with a situation/problem common to the program. We read the situation aloud and discussed how we would handle it. Things like the child wants you to spend more money than you budgeted for your outing, they aren't there when you go to pick them up, they don't return your calls - stuff like that.

Now that I've completed training, they'll call me in a week or so to match me up with a child.

The most important thing I took away is that I am only there to provide some consistency, fun and an opportunity for a child to get out and see different lifestyles/cultures for a short time each week vs. the difficult family situation they are in. I don't have to step in and save the world so that was kind of a relief for me. I'm still nervous about it.

My gym time with M (of Big M and Little M) was interesting. The women's locker room was bigger than our house. I could get lost just changing my clothes! M is very gung-ho and wants to meet every day during the work week... I'm a little skeptical that my motivation won't last that long???

Furry Husband was showing some interest and another girlfriend of mine, Karen, belongs to the same gym and goes religiously so I should have plenty of support to go.

M salsa dances and there is a work out class called Zumba (yes, the gym lists it in bold and italics). I guess it is a salsa dancing type o' work out.

M has rhythm and can move her hips. I do not and cannot.

I look like Elaine in Seinfeld dancing.

M wants me to come to Zumba with her. I'll go but I'm making her sign a waiver first... that she will still talk to me and be seen with me after witnessing my utter lack of coordination.

I'll take Furry Husband with me this weekend to discuss couple rates and hopefully sign up to sweat, move and lose my roll, which I've named, Sheila by the way. (Think Australia - kangaroos - joeys and the pouch I now have. ) Something so prominent should be named!

During my college years, I had a crazy roommate named Ellie. Ellie once named a zit on my chin Janet cuz it was so big and stayed there for so long.

We are gonna pump you up!

My girlfriend M (of Big M and Little M) is gonna meet me at the gym today. I've been dragging my feet about joining. She belongs and I'll go as her guest...

Thank God for Tweeners....

Tweeners. People who aren't as old as their parents and not so young that they are still in school.

We went to Canadian Thanksgiving and it was very nice! A full on Thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings... TWO turkeys, yams, potatoes, green bean casseroles, stuffing, pies and lots of wine. My crab rounds were a hit and properly scarffed.

Furry Husband and I didn't really expect to know anyone there. We know the neighbors, but also knew they would be busy entertaining and preparing the meal.

We were SO relieved when we walked in and saw E & S, this couple we met the last time we were invited to the Canadian's house. They are probably 10 yrs younger than us but they are no longer in school and they are not in the older crowd either. Tweeners. We clung to each other the whole afternoon.

E pointed out the woman carving the turkey. Her glasses were down on the end of her nose, she had white Albert Einstein hair and a lot of implements in her hands ... she thought the woman looked like a mad scientist. She DID look like a mad scientist! And she was going after those turkeys... woman got every ounce o' meat and skin off of those carcasses...

At one point I walked across the kitchen where the Canadian's wife introduced me to "mad scientist", Mad Scientist didn't stop carving, chatted with me for a minute, flipped the turkey over because she saw a scrap of meat to be extracted and I felt some hot piece of bird or fat or juice or giblet hit my neck.

I backed away and STAYED away from Mad Scientist and her wild meat flinging turkey destruction.

I was home yesterday celebrating "Columbus Day". ?? Don't ask me! The guv'ment gives it to us and any day at home is better than a day at work! I taped and mudded the headers over our windows in the living room and bedroom. We had new windows installed almost 2 yrs ago and I've been meaning to get to it.... well, now it's done. Big ol' pat on the back to me!

Will be a good winter time project to get those rooms painted.....

.... in the next 5 years or so. No rush or anything!

Rainy Day...

It is a rainy, cold day. It is grey and misty and drizzly and COLD. I cleaned our house, washed all the windows (on the inside), colored my hair (red), picked up my new glasses at Pearl Vision, went grocery shopping and witnessed a 4-5 yr old boy having a complete and total melt down the entire time I was in the store.

No matter where you were you could hear this kid screaming. Produce, dairy, frozen foods, bakery, deli... screaming. My eardrums ruptured and my ears were bleeding by the time I made my escape.

At one point I had to be IN the aisle with the screamin' mimi... this old man came marching resolutely into the aisle, marched right up to the kid in the shopping cart shaped like a car - stooped down and said in a loud, grumpy, old man scraggly voice - "HEY! YOU ARE DISTURBING AN ENTIRE STORE FULL OF PEOPLE!" The kid's screaming went up three more octives and he threw his lego toy at the old man.

The lady with the demon child practicing to be the next Rob Zombie, mega-death, heavy metal lead singer, stormed past me and whispered, "asshole". Then two other ladies in the aisle began clucking like chickens and their feathers were all ruffled... "oh, can you imagine?!" "as if that poor woman isn't embarrassed enough" "been there and done that with MY kids" "I can't believe that man!"

I'm sorta thinking - if that was MY kid, I would at least remove it from public. Like why does everyone else have to be subjected to your kid's meltdown ?!? Seriously.


Once I got home, put cotton in my ears to stop the bleeding, I planted wine bottles. I got a great idea from a girlfriend about using wine bottles as a fun border. I've been asking Furry Husband to save all the wine bottles and I planted them this afternoon. I think it will look great once the border is fully in. And while I'm at it, why not KEEP planting them? Heck, who needs a yard? In 2 yrs I bet I could cover every square inch of our entire yard with wine bottles and be done with landscaping forever!
I also wove some more wicker into our gate.

We won an hour long consult with a landscaper in a silent auction a few years ago. She came over and gave us some ideas for our place. Furry Husband and I are slowly and I mean SLOWLY chunking it out. Damn plants are pricey!

One of her suggestions was to weave some willow branches in our gate. After two years of looking for willow branches... where in the hell do you find them? cuz I never did. We even have a good friend that runs a tree surgery business. I kept telling him if he was ever going to trim a willow tree to give me a call. Never happened.

However, he did find a wicker chair making kit in the garage of his business that had been there for years... he gave it to me and I'm slowly weaving it into my gate. I think it will look good once I'm done. Tho, by the time I get done, the wicker will probably have disinigrated and I'll have to begin hunting for willow branches again.


The house in the background is where Canadian Thanksgiving will occur tomorrow. I'm gonna make some toasted crab rounds... baguettes sliced into 1/2 inch rounds, spread with some creamy crab concoction and baked til golden.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving everyone! What do you think we'll be eating?? Canadian bacon?? Molson beer??

Dogs and Cats...

I went to our local humane society the other day to drop off a food donation. I shoulda given the food and left. Instead I went in to see the dogs and cats - there were two dogs I would have taken and at least 15 cats.



I kept having to tell myself I'm doing my part with the 5 cats and 3 dogs we have... still. They are awful CUTE!



It's supposed to be crappy weather this weekend so I'll be indoors making some feta cheese! Also, our neighbors across the street invited us to Canadian Thanksgiving on Sunday. That should be interesting, eh? Maybe I'll rent some Bob and Doug Mckenzie movies to practice my speech patterns.


Our last boy goat will go to his final place this weekend. gulp. yup - he'll be butchered. We aren't eating him, someone is trading us some home grown beef for our goat kid. I know this has to happen and I can't keep them all but it is hard and sad for me. I wish I were tougher that way. I know I'll be sad about it this weekend. On the other hand, I know he will have had a good, happy life up to the very end... and if it bothered me that much I guess I'd be a vegetarian, wouldn't eat or drink any dairy products, wouldn't eat eggs, wouldn't wear leather etc. etc. etc.

Coma

Do you think it's possible to quietly slip into a coma from boredom and not some type of brain trauma? Would anyone in my office notice?

Halloween Party

We are invited to Spectacular, Spectacular! which is my friend, Steve's, costume party on October 25. His invite simply says, "Be brilliant." with an RSVP and a number.

Last year we got the invite and we were both confused. Be brilliant? Brilliant how? What does this mean?!? We are definately the type of people that need a little more instruction than "be brilliant.". I know, we are unimaginative, simple, country rubes.

I called to RSVP and was told there will be a Sarah Palin look-alike contest and Steve is passing out buttons that say, "Night of a Thousand Palins".

I thought of a brilliant costume for furry husband ... he's gonna go as Joe Sixpack!

He HATES dressing up for halloween. I make him play anyway. I try to find costumes that would be more Furry Husband friendly and don't involve tights -- no Robin Hood costumes, that sort of thing.

He loves the Joe Sixpack idea. He can dress like a manly-man, wear a name tag "Hello, My Name is...JOE" and carry a six pack o' beer. There are no wigs, tights, makeup, uncomfortable or restrictive clothes and very little effort.

You can steal my idea if you want, just as long as you aren't going to Steve's party. Otherwise, I'll have to lock you in a closet til the party is over...sorry, I can be a touch vindictive that way.

Shhhh! She's sleeping....

I looked out and saw Chocolate sleeping on her house this morning...

I snuck around the house to get another picture but she woke up...

And poor Spot... still never been on a spool even. She is standing on a cinder block step wondering how in the heck a goat is supposed to get up there anyway....

Clinic Day!

Today I took my mare Sera to a Dressage clinic. It was a "ride-a-test" clinic where we each rode a test and then worked with the judge to have a lesson after our test to improve things that would make our tests better, our horses better and us, as riders, better.


It started last night with a theory session. We watched Reiner Klimke on Ahlerich perform the famous Pas De Duex with Anne Grethe Jensen on Marzog, discussed the USEF rule book and discussed questions people had given prior to the theory session.


I got home too excited to sleep. I love Dressage, it's theory, principles - really everything about it. I was raised Catholic and went to all girls Catholic school so I can say this... it's like if you want to be a good Catholic and go to heaven you have to study your bible and work really hard to follow the Catholic doctrine and church teachings as close as you possibly can...


I don't like organized religion so much and I stay pretty far away from it these days for reasons of my own. I'm only using it as an analogy. Dressage to me is like my religion... I work really hard and want to be the best I can be. The USEF Dressage rule book is my bible and I worship at the alter of the horse!


It was a beautiful day outside - cool and overcast but not COLD - no wind and no rain. I rode Second Level Test 1 and it was my first time riding Second Level but my trainer Rex said I was ready to move forward. I was her only student to ride Second Level - everyone else rode Training or First Level - so yeah - no pressure or anything!

I watched the other rides during the first 1/2 of the day, went home over the lunch break to get my mare, Sera. Back to the clinic to saddle up, warm up and ride my first Second Level test.

We did well - I know our simple changes aren't good but the rest of the test went well. We actually ended up scoring a 66.8% which is an AWESOME test score! Even with our bad simple changes... Sera can get tense in her neck and jaw and this is our biggest issue. In our lesson after the test we worked on getting Sera more through and relaxed which then helped us to work on our simple changes. We got a couple really really NICE simple changes!

It was a really wonderful day. I was with good people, good horses, I rode well and enjoyed my mare immensely. What more can you ask for?

Oh - in the pix below she has hot pink bandages on her back legs...she, uh, had a bit of an accident about 6 weeks ago and cut up the fronts of her back legs up going through a fence. (another story another time!)


She is sound but they need to remain covered while the healing continues. The skin is too new and pink and soft and we are trying to prevent scarring... they are healing up very nicely so don't worry! I got the go ahead from my vet to ride her again a couple weeks ago.


Now here are the pix of me and Sera... oh, and I'm also old and I have a belly roll... dunno what happened to my 20-something semi-flat tummy - but it is LONG gone... so y'know there is that.



The judge in blue - does she look tough or what? Her nickname is "The Colonel"... Next to her is Elizabeth, who owns the barn we rode at. Thanks Elizabeth for the use of your beautiful place! Halt at X

I'm trotting...I'm trotting...I'm trotting.... Nice day - big arena - you can't see my roll when I'm that far away! Working with The Colonel after my test...

My trainer, Rex, warming up for her test...

Good girl Sera! I love my big red-headed mare!

No shady secrets in MY background!

A lot of good businesses in America have policies in place to give back to the community. I want to follow the same good business practices while I'm gearing up to begin a business, so I signed up with Partners - a youth mentoring program in Ft. Collins that is similar to Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

I filled out an application and had to go in for a confidential interview where they ask deeply personal questions about your life. Then they submit your fingerprints to the FBI for a background check and they send reference forms to 3 people you know asking why those people think you'd be a good candidate to mentor a child.

I hadn't heard back from them and thought maybe they found something in my past that even I didn't know about! Background checks are wierd. I don't know about you, but I begin to feel really paranoid when I am under the microscope.

I seriously begin wondering if there is something in my past that I don't know about... like in the soap operas... maybe I was in a coma for 3 yrs, was used as a surrogate mother, had a child without knowing, and some nurse at the hospital harvested my baby and has been raising it, unbeknownst to me, somewhere in New Jersy.

Maybe I'd been hit in the head during some sort of drug bust and I'm living a false life in the fog of amnesia while my first husband, a Columbian drug lord, has been combing the world looking for me!

I thought it was odd because my job with the Federal guv'ment requires me to have a background check.... so I'm thinking - wow. They found something even the FEDS don't know about me!

Well I got a letter the other night and I opened it suspiciously thinking - "well, here it is. This is where they will tell me what horrible thing they dredged up from my life that even I don't know about!"

Nope. It was my letter saying I'd been approved for the program, I need to attend a 3 hr meeting and then they'll match me up with a little girl. * GULP *

I'm nervous.

First of all I HATE meetings. What can they talk about for 3 hours?? I keep telling myself that I'm giving back to the community... I'll be making a difference. The commitment is 3 hrs a week for a year. It doesn't sound like a lot but I know some weeks we get SO busy and I worry that somehow I won't be able to make the commitment. And what if I get a child who is way more than I can handle? I don't have children. I have goat kids, horses, dogs, cats... animals that I can squirt with a water when they are bad or put them in a kennel or hook them up to a lunge line and work the bejeezus out of them... and last time I checked, people sort of frown on treating human children that way.

My meeting is October 15 from 5:30 - 8:30 pm. Wish me luck!

The last time I volunteered for anything, it was shortly after the Columbine incident. There was an outcry for people to be more involved and to volunteer to make a difference in Colorado. I volunteered to work at the House Rabbit Society. Yes. The House Rabbit Society or HRS. I'm telling you - I REALLY like animals. I was in my 20's and was working in the high tech industry and wanted to connect on some level back to animals....

For about a year I'd drive two times a week to the HRS president's house, decend into her basement filled with probably 30-50 bunnies of all ages. I fed them and cleaned cages....

One day I looked around and thought, "I'm not helping anyone in my community. I'm in some crazy lady's basement with a bunch of rabbits! How is this bringing good into the greater community, much less the world?!? OMG - what the hell am I doing here?!"

Somehow I think working with a child might be a bit more helpful and contribute to the greater good of our world!

Rico Suave'

Mojo was laying on the kitchen table this morning... Mr. Rico Suave'... showin' off his big ol' nipples as if everyone wants a piece of him....with a big piece o' litter stuck to his nostril! *snort*