Week of HORRORS!

What a frightening week! It all started Saturday with the Halloween Gymkhana at the barn!Angelie on Sophie, Eva on the ground, and Sarah on her horse Barbaro, all watching the barrel races.Fast!!!Slow!!!! That's Kenny on Beau. Doesn't Beau look good for 22? He & Kenny are a good pair.Angelie on Sophie. Sophie is a Halflinger. Halflingers are light draft horses, not generally known for being barrel races. Thus the walk around the barrels.Andrea on Lexus. Andrea doesn't know that Halflingers don't do barrels. Neither does Lexus!Kenny, Beau and Kenny's dog in a quiet moment between classes.Little Louie is the son of Luis, the man who feeds and cleans. He's such a doll, and a good little horseman! He doesn't have a horse, so Marcie loaned Silhouette to him. We dressed her up as a cow, and he's a cowboy for the costume contest.Lisbeth, his sister, idolizes her big brother!Ranger got his feet done during all of the ruckus. He was supposed to be a zebra. I was going to paint stripes on him with white body paint. I was going to be a lion, but I didn't think it was wise to take him out with his injury. So, we'll do Halloween next year.This was Hippie Horse--check out the tie-dye socks and the Peace stickers all over him!Of course, he wasn't feeling very Peaceful!What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas.There's always a vampire and a bat around somewhere!

The bat even tried to fly!Alice, what are you and the White Rabbit doing?Just in case, the Lone Ranger and Tonto were there to save the day!

Wham! Pow! Bang! Dana and BATMAN!!!!Holy Capes, Batman!Close up of our cow and cowboy. Note the horns!Um, enough said. Poor Beau. Blue eye shadow? Lipstick? No wonder Mike is laughing!Cinderella with her Pumpkin Coach, and her ugly stepsister complete with a rat. Note the cheese!Pepperoni or veggie? Thick crust or thin? Sara and Barbaro are making dinner!Desperate Horsewives....Beau and Trish. Yes, that's a raspberry robe on Beau! They won SECOND PLACE in the contest! Hippie Horse won first, and Dana & Batman won third. Congratulations, Trish & Beau!Marci and Betty. Betty has a Halflinger and a mini. Both are trained to drive, and Betty zips around the property and onto the nearby trails in her cart.

It was snowing on the way to the airport Wednesday. I thought that the way the snow adhered to the poles was interesting. Looks like someone went a little nuts with icing, doesn't it?This is what the dungeon looks like. This is underneath the airport, underground. The ramp level is next, then above that is the concourse. No. Really. Pink velour? To wear on a flight? Why?Greg, don't read this part!

This is a bad day. Notice the difference in power settings between the left and right engines. This is a failure of the left engine. It was the start of my flight day Wednesday. It didn't get any better.The last flight of a United 737, from Chicago, as United has retired the entire 737 fleet. They went to Denver, then SFO or San Diego. The Captain retired that day, too. He's only ever flown the 737, and told UAL that the last day of the 737 would be his last day with the company. Tailwinds to you, Captain!Another bad day. See the ice? This is considered moderate icing. We had anywhere from 1-2" accumulating.Then my anti-ice systems failed. That's not good.We landed safely after declaring an emergency, though.

Then I got home to this! That lump is my tree. That's my truck, too.Look at the pile on my fence--almost 10"! Brrr....I have to head out for another fun day of flying, leaving in about an hour. I went out to the garage to get my snow shovel and guess what? It's frozen shut. Adversity breeds genius, however, so I had to improvise. Did you know that a MOP does a great job sweeping off a truck? It also doubles as a decent snow shovel. Who knew? I'm going to keep one in the truck, because you can stand far enough away to get snow off, and not get dusted!

Send warm thoughts!

Clinics, cuties, charity and fantastic art!

I went to Mark Rashid's clinic at Bernadette's, in Littleton, last week. I was still on crutches--and I should be back on them, but more on that later.

Mark brought some new ideas about softness, as well as continued with his established ideas of better communication with your horse. He brought up a good point for riders--there is a difference between how soft you WANT to be, and how soft you CAN be. What that means is that although you might want your horse to move out at a thought, or a breath, you might have to use leg, or even a tap with a crop to get the movement. Sometimes the softest you can be is all out, and sometimes it's a whisper. Horsepeople forget that in our quest to be super-soft--that sometimes "soft" doesn't look like it.

I didn't get any good pics of anyone at the clinic other than Ring, Mark's dog. She's a darling, isn't she?I finally had my yard sale last weekend. I sat out on the retaining wall with a book and a cup of hot tea, enjoying the sunshine. Temps were brisk, but bearable, and it was very relaxing. I didn't sell much, so all of the stuff went to Goodwill. Getting rid of the excess STUFF in my life feels so good, so freeing.

How long do you keep things around in case you "might" need them, or "might" use them again? What is the longest something has been packed away at your house, in a closet, or attic..for just in case? If it left, would you miss it? Would you even know it was gone? Have you kept stuff out of guilt, because someone gave it to you? Do they remember that they gave it to you?

I certainly don't remember every gift I've given, and I hope that if I've given you something that you don't cherish or don't use, that you will set it free--give it a new life somewhere else. Take the charitable tax deduction--that's a gift that gives twice, isn't it?

Trish & I went shopping last Saturday night. I was still on crutches, so Trish was my sherpa. We bought boots for winter. You should have seen how funny it was to try on boots without bending my leg at all. Trish and the shoe salesman put them on and took them off for me. I'm not certain if I felt pampered or pathetic, but we did find some cute boots!

I spotted this little girl at the Disney store. Isn't she darling? She perfectly matches the doll, doesn't she?

My friend Andi has put together a book called "Oregon's Living Legends." It documents Oregon's wild horses, of which Ranger is one. She's got stories and submissions from a lot of owners, including me. Her friend Michelle is doing the artwork. The piece below is one of the really special ones--look at the two horses on the right side of the painting. Look familiar?

Yes, that's Ranger and his mama during the round-up.

Andi & Michelle have worked really hard on the book. If you'd like to order it (Ranger & I will be in it), it's $50 and available at www.oregonslivinglegends.com

Speaking of being on crutches again, I went back to work on Sunday. Bad decision. I didn't take into account that there are THRUST LEVERS in the middle of the Thrust Lever quadrant (it's in the center pedestal between the two pilot's seats, and we actually have to climb over part of it to get into our seats!).

That meant that I had to either somehow swing my leg up and over them, then maneuver it below the instrument panel, or bend it in front of them--and that wasn't happening.

I also didn't take into account that I would have to be using toe brakes, and that they take a lot of quadricep strength. I don't have much quadricep strength in my right leg, because the muscle and tendon are damaged. I gritted through it, as I usually do, but realized last night that I WAAAAAY overdid it. I opened the cut again, and my leg is pretty sore & swollen.

Wish I still had those crutches....

Tomorrow is the Halloween gymkhana and costume contest at the barn. Kenny is riding Beau for the Gymkhana, and Trish is going to enter him in the costume contest. We'd better pick a costume, I guess!

After that, Margaret, Trish and I are going to see a horse in Sedalia. Margaret is looking for a nice quiet gelding for VRH.

Ranger had his second sound wave therapy on Tuesday. He'll have a re-evaluation for lameness in mid-November. I sure hope that the therapy has been working. I don't want to think about the choices I'll have to make if it doesn't.

Teamwork

Sunday was a pretty funny day. I was still on crutches but decided to try to walk Ranger without them, just limping along. I made it about 200 feet before I faded.

Dana was walking with me. She had carpel tunnel surgery recently and has pins sticking out of her wrist under a hard cast, so she was hurting too much to hold his lead rope.

Priscilla drove up in her truck and offered to walk Ranger, but with a condition--I had to drive while she sat in the bed of the truck, holding Ranger's lead rope. You see, Priscilla fell off of her horse 6 months ago and broke her back, so she can't risk being pulled sideways. Facing him from the bed of the truck doesn't place any risk on her back. And I can drive because I don't have to bend my leg, just my ankle.

So, there we were...me driving, Dana riding shotgun because her legs worked (just in case Ranger got loose) and Priscilla sitting in the back, handing mouthfuls of hay to Ranger, who thought the entire setup was great!

The wounded leading the crippled...now, THAT'S teamwork!

Stitches came out yesterday and I'm allowed to go off the crutches. I hobbled around pretty well yesterday, and today I'm just limping. I'm pretty sure that I can go back to work on Sunday...we'll see!

SNOW? In OCTOBER?

Yup, that's what it is: SNOW!!!! Cold, white, accumulating SNOW!!!! And it's not even the middle of OCTOBER!

Here's my backyard and garage wall. Pathetic front yard that still hasn't been roto-tilled nor sodded...check out the new spruce. More pathetic un-sodded front yard. Note my lovely new pine tree.

On the brighter side, I saw my doctor yesterday. She recommended heat, now, to break up the hematoma. I also saw my acupuncturist, and she treated the leg. The swelling and pain are down significantly today! I can almost walk on my leg! The doctor wants me to stay on crutches over the weekend, then try going without on Monday. She also wants me to start stretching and bending my leg on Monday, too. Stitches can come out on Wed or Thursday. I can go back to work when I can bend my leg at least 75% of normal. I can get about 5% right now, which is better than it was mid-week--I couldn't bend it all.

Ranger is going back for a second treatment on the 20th. I'm supposed to be working, but another boarder is taking her horse to the clinic, and offered to take Ranger with her so that I don't have to take that trip off. Wow, what a godsend! The people at my barn have really stepped up to help out. There is a contingent who offer to walk Ranger every day, so he's been getting his 10 minutes daily. I'm so humbled to have so many nice people--some of whom barely know me--helping out just because...

Stay warm! I'm making chili later if you want to stop by!

Getting My Kicks

Wow, San Francisco Bay is gorgeous at 6am, isn't it?

You can see the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and the city. I love the way the light plays in the air and on the water.I went on a date to a wonderful Cuban restaurant on Friday, then out to the First Friday Art Walk. This is Rik Sargent's water sculpture. The entire world can be captured in one drop of water, and water flows throughout everything. He captured the universe in this piece!It's made of a soft, moldable clay that never dries. The world never ceases to change; neither does the sculpture.There is a weird disco bus that parks on the street. People go inside to dance. I went inside to check it out, but the music is beyond me, so I only lasted a minute.This crazy float hosted people in all sorts of costumes. It was pulled by the POS truck that you can see...and it promptly broke down in the middle of the street.We discovered this artist at the back of a basement workshop. Her name is Susan Koalenz, and I LOVE her work! Isn't it vibrant!?!This is my favourite piece!

As everyone knows by now, Ranger has an owie. He broke the sidebone in his left front foot. I was showing someone the injury on Saturday and I don't know if I scared him, or if he was hurting, but he wheeled and kicked me. Now we have matching injuries. Nothing was broken, but there are a bunch of stitches under that bandage, and a softball shoved under my skin. My jeans were completely soaked in blood; Ranger went almost to the bone. I'm on crutches and off work for a while. Judging from how difficult it is to walk three days later, I'll be out of commission for a while.

OUCH!