Evie in Horse Heaven

Today was Evie's first horse show! All the horses were beautiful, it was a hot, un-offical beginning to summer.

Momentum

Well, ya' know how once things gets going they really go? That has been our house since Friday. I got my wringer washer, I am giddy with the fix-er-up possibilities. Evie is back to log rolling after a long hiatus. We planted 7 tomato plants at our community garden and shopped at two farmers markets. I ran a quarter marathon today in a faster time than I dreamed I could (58 minutes at 10K, 1:04:17 for the total!). This afternoon we washed horses for Evie's first horse show tomorrow. I had two hours where there was nothing I absolutely had to do and a neighbor was taken away in the night with a likely pulmonary embolism. We are waiting for news, waiting for tomorrow, making spring rolls for dinner.

Like keeps rolling along, good or bad--thank goodness.

Brakes

I really do need to learn how to use the brakes on my life. I ended up heading to bed like a grouchy louse at the end of the day because we had a meeting in the evening, still haven't folded the laundry etc. etc. Thursdays are always busy and Fridays I work so we are on the super coaster part of the week once again. . . brakes . . . brakes.

Most of yesterday was lovely. We observed the four baby robins who are living in the crook of one of our drain spouts, then we drew their picture. We watched a fascinating program about the lateset theories regarding the disappearance of "Atlantis."

We rode our bikes to get fancy duds for Evie's horse show (thank you Goodwill), and he horsed around in the backyard.

Yes, those are more pictures of our laundry.

Exhaling

Yesterday was a gorgeous day! I put the screens on the windows, planted some of my great-grandma's rhubarb (procured on the KS trip), moved some hostas and fed the birds. Evie putzed in the yard, we hung quilts, played "Madame Rosmerta's Culinary School" and animal shelter/vet. In the afternoon we went to play with friends (Spontaneously! So unlike me!) Evie and her two friends made an extraordinary circus and laughed and laughed. The two mamas caught up and solved all our current problems (ha!)

Today I will be taking possession of an old wringer washing machine! It is missing parts but it sure is cute! (it was free of course, I am often teased by my friends for "never paying retail.") I found directions online about how to hook the motor to a bike to power it by pedaling. We just happen to have numerous motors laying in the basement because Scott always says "never throw out a perfectly good motor." He also says, "Pizza is like Christmas decorations. There are no bad ones, just some are better than others."

Today is laundry day so you all will undoubtedly be treated to pictures of "the pink load"--again. I can't help it, I love my laundry on the line! I am starting to think of all the house projects I want to do this summer. We have lived here 11 years now and it is time to start some serious maintenance--I think I have a lot to learn.

Home Sweet Home

We are back from our WHIRLWIND trip to Texas. We stopped in Kansas to visit my grandparents and celebrate my grandma's birthday. My uncle went out of his way to make the 4 hours Evie had to play an animal-filled extravaganza. She rode my grandpa's horse, cleaned a saddle, fed the horse, drove some cattle to a new pasture, saw week-old kittens, met some goats and a dog--she was in heaven. That night we went to my Aunt and Uncle's Bison Farm for a family reunion with some distant relatives who had gathered to celebrate the passing of a great aunt who was an extraordinary woman.

We stopped at a place called Rock City and explored some amazing limestone concretions that had eroded out of the ground.

The wedding wasn't our cup of tea but we smiled, met the groom and left.

Oh so much driving, grateful for my parents (not just because of the driving), happy Evie was content--so glad to be home!

Horsin' Around

Evie and I spent the weekend at a Mother/Daughter horseback riding camp. I hadn't been on a horse in 15 years! We had a lovely time and finished out the weekend with a party with my mom. We are leaving tomorrow for a wedding in TX, Scott can't come which means we will be apart for our anniversary (Sat, same day as the wedding). It should be a fun time, road trips are always good for few laughs.

As we were packing I realized that the books Evie reads are now of interest to me. So, except for a few magazines I just plan to read what she brought! There seems to be a real lack of new, quality literature for excellent readers of Evie's age. It seems to be assumed that at age 8 one is able to read short, formulaic series books. The good stuff seems to have much older protagonists or plots. Don't get me wrong, there are tons of great books out there, it takes more searching than it should.

Not much time to blog lately, still hanging our laundry, still watching Dancing with the Stars, still planting flowers--all for now!

Real Life

Yesterday was supposed to be a quiet day at home. One of our cats appears to have injured herself and was not improving. We decided to take her to the vet, I was worried about a urinary tract infection or a hip fracture. There were x-rays, there was waiting, there were exams and there were sedatives (for the cat, not us). We were there for over 2 hours. Towards the end of the visit Evie asked our vet if she could come back to see the x-rays. "Absolutely!" was the enthusiastic reply so we got a tour of the operating room, the x-ray machine, the computer programs, an explanation of how the back room works and we got a thorough explanation of what we were seeing on Gertie's x-rays.

We left with pain meds for our cat and smiles as big as an ocean, Evie because she got to see into the world of the profession to which she aspires and me because my little girl is IN the real world.

Ms. Frizzle's words come to mind almost daily, "Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!!"