Hot Dog in the City

Okay, I'm kind of in a posting frenzy and was trying to save this for Thursday but I haven't shown any Java antics in awhile. Who knows, I might get all busy again and you won't hear from me for a month.

We've had a few hot days again and Java needed a cool down. She wasn't appreciating the dirt in her pool however,  or she may just have been practicing her dog paddle, which is kind of hard in such a small, shallow pool. I only put in a couple excerpts. Believe me, this went on for a loooong time.



If you aren't sure what nunchucks are, here's a little demonstration. Rated PG for violence.

More Biking (and lots of eating)

May the holes in your net be no larger than the fish in it.  
~Irish Blessing


Gotta love the Irish. They have the best poems, prayers, sayings, and songs.


I took the day off today. Originally, I was planning on a trip to the state fair. Then I thought I'd rather go on a nice, peaceful bike ride. Then I discovered it was going to be in the 90s today with wind gusts up to 34 mph. 


So a friend and I chose to go on a bike ride on a city trail, thinking it would be shielded from the wind.


We started out on the Midtown Greenway. It runs from West River Parkway (along the Mississippi River) to the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes. Like many bike trails it is built on an old rail corridor.

We didn't ride long before I decided I needed breakfast. A bit off the Greenway, we stopped at Uncommon Grounds and got scones and coffee and a free sample of chocolate cake. Yum!

The owner told me all about the woman who originally owned the house before he bought it and converted it into a coffee shop. He said he found wood in the attic that he made the coffee bar out of, and he assured us that no bike parked at the coffee shop has ever been messed with. I love it when people talk to me like this. It feels like such a privilege to me when people share a part of their story. Plus I just plain find these kind of stories about places and people darn interesting.

After re-entergizing, we rode back to the Greenway until we got to Lake of the Isles.

There are amazing houses around the chain of lakes. 

I loved the horse sculpture at this one. I wonder if it was one of Heather Jansch's driftwood sculptures. I'm not sure the pink flamingo by the horse and on the roof of the house quite fit the decor.

After riding around Lake of the Isles, we started riding around Lake Calhoun. But it wasn't long before I was getting hungry and thirsty again. Did I mention it was in the 90s?


I spotted a Whole Foods, where we stopped for sandwiches and beverages. Have you ever tried this "Unpeeled" stuff? Full of probiotics, enzymes, kombucha green tea (don't ask me), cold-pressed fresh crushed raw ingredients and barrel aged. All I know is that it tasted good with my chicken sandwich.

Back to the lakes and more circling before starting back on the Greenway. We were almost back at my truck but I had to stop for a Sebastion Joe's ice cream cone at the Freewheel bike center. The pavarotti flavor was scrumptious. I'm not sure what it was but it tasted like butterscotch with chocolate chips to me.

Of course, after the ice cream cone, I felt I needed to bike further so we rode to the other end of the Greenway and went a ways on the West River Parkway before turning around and heading back to the truck.

There were a couple long uphill climbs on the return trip and the gusts of wind about knocked me sideways. By the time we reached the truck, my face felt like it was on fire, but boy, I had fun!

However I was covered with a lovely, fine layer of grit from what the wind threw at me. It felt pretty good to wash it off. I suppose a shower would have done a better job, but a soak in the tub sounded so much better. Besides, I hadn't tried out the jacuzzi since I moved in. The bath salts helped soothe some soreness from the bike climbs and a couple bruises from my one spill. I got a little too close to the curb.

I'd forgotten how much I love exploring places by bike. I don't plan on forgetting again.

p.s. I saw a young buck in my back yard this morning. He was small but had a couple branches to his horns so I'm guessing he was maybe two. Between the magic monarchs on Saturday and the buck sighting this morning, I'm feeling four leaf clover lucky indeed.

It's the Little Things

It's the little things that pump you up and it's the little things that can quickly deflate you.

I won't bore you with the tire poppers. They'll work out eventually.

Besides, there are the pumper uppers to compensate:

My son commented on my new Facebook photo with a simple "You're pretty". (big Maery smile).

Other people's comments, notes, and cyber hugs have given me renewed energy.

We are getting new software at work to do my job. That will give me a great opportunity to learn something new.

Luke is getting along well with his new pasture pal. And I am enjoying my boarding comrades.

The weather has been awesome lately. A lot less humid and cool enough to shut off the air conditioning and open up the windows. I don't get the frogs and coyote sound effects in my new neck of the woods, but there are crickets and dogs barking, and cat fights, and traffic noises. Okay, not so great, but just having some fresh air circulating makes me happy.

And with the great weather, there has been much outdoor activity.

Saturday, I took Luke to the Sand Dunes State Forest for a trail ride. We haven't gone trail riding since moving and I wanted to get both of us out before we go on a full-fledged camping trip. After two hours of riding, I was thinking I might need a seat pad if I'm going to last through 6-8 hour trail rides.

We started down a trail lined with pine trees. I felt like I was in a magic monarch wonderland, there were so many butterflies flying around Luke and me. I tried to take a photo, but every time I pulled out my camera they disappeared. It was kind of like I was only allowed to witness and remember the magic, but I couldn't turn it into a photo. That was frustrating but only added to the moment.

You will have to settle for this photo of the path.

The mosquitos were bad. If you click on the photo, you can see better how many mosquitos are on Luke's face. It surprised me as there was a healthy breeze.

It was good being out riding the trails again and taking a mental health break for both of us from the ring work.

The biggest challenge of the ride was putting the trailer back. There are three boarders with trailers and mine is normally in the middle. I tried for an hour (or what seemed like an hour) to put the trailer back into the middle spot. There was no one there to direct me. I finally gave up on that and parked on one of the outer edges and wrote a note of apology. I'm sure I'll get better at this eventually.

Saturday evening there were burgers and beers with friends. Nice!

I found a helmet I loved so much on line that I called around and Friday evening I drove an hour across town just to get it. It's called "Nutcase". Fitting, isn't it? The logo is a bit off - "I love my brain". I'm not always loving my brain or at least the way it thinks sometimes, but I'm working on that.

This helmet makes me actually want to wear a helmet! I wonder if I could use it for horseback riding too?

After my Sunday morning walk with Java. I rode about 7 miles to run some errands. It was mega windy out so that was as much as I could take.

The rack and basket on the back of my bike came from Ramsey Bicycle, where I bought my bike several years ago. I can't wait to use it for groceries or a trip to the library! That's one of the good things about living closer in town. I can bike to so many places instead of taking a car. Good for my bod and mind.

Did I mention that I love Ramsey Bicycle? They put the rack on for me and gave me a little bell for my handlebars. They are really good to their customers. So few businesses are so personable and helpful. It does make for loyal customers.

In other words, it was a great weekend! I'm learning to enjoy the moments, spend more time enjoying life, and not work so darn hard all the time.

In the words of Dr. Seuss:

Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite.  Or waiting around for Friday night or waiting perhaps for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil or a better break or a string of pearls or a pair of pants or a wig with curls or another chance.  Everyone is just waiting.  ~Dr. Seuss

No more waiting.

Feelings, Nothing More Than Feelings

My friend Sue had a post today that made me happy that she's in the place she's at, hopeful for the possibilities, but sad that I'm so far from that place. The posts conversational comments hit a known truth that I want to avoid. I can't rush and force my way out of the way I currently feel.

I've been through divorce before. This is not like what I went through then. And that's part of the problem. I don't know what this is, so I don't know what to do with it. I think it's more about my age and that I've done nothing but fail at stuff for 50 years now. My life feels like failure and waste and like it's too late now.

"It's never too late" sounds like something people say. There are certain things that it's too late for, like making it onto the olympic equestrian team, having another child, or celebrating my 50th wedding anniversary. I know there are miracles, but seriously. Life is what it is.

But as always, I'm too short on time to be this philosophical, so this will be brief.

I did manage to ride Luke for a bit today. It wasn't as magical as my lesson last weekend but it had it's moments, and the only goal right now is to have more moments and moments that last a bit longer each ride. Hmmm... There might be a broader application for this moment stuff.

Luke had some advice for me.

Don't isolate yourself.

There are friends around if you look and let them be near.

Stop looking behind you and thinking about the past.

Take care of yourself by eating right. Better yet, eat with a friend.

Get outside and do something. Get some exercise.

If you can't feel it, just go through the motions, until the feelings return. 

Take your time. Be patient. Even when it seems impossible.

Feel the Rhythm

Saturday morning, I went to my friend Sue's, where she and other artists had set up their work for an art show. I wish I could show you photos of the cool stuff there but, alas, I sent my camera to Canon for repair right before I stopped at Sue's. You'll just have to check out her art blog to see some samples. She also recently painted her studio and that's pretty cool too.

I couldn't stay at the art show long (just long enough to buy some earrings), before I had to run to the stable bearing gifts of humus and flatbread. Okay, not gifts, but my portion of the potluck lunch we were having between the morning and afternoon clinic rides being taught by Mary Beth Williams.

I didn't ride until 1:00, right after lunch, so I didn't eat much. I was pretty nervous and didn't feel like eating anyway.

I haven't had a lesson for eight years, while the other riders are actively competing in dressage and eventing with horses actually bred for that sort of thing. Enter Maery, with her jeans, Wintek saddle, and quarter horse Tennessee Walker cross. Don't get the wrong idea. My fellow riders are not snobs and do not look down on me. It's probably more a me looking down on me issue.

If you're not interested in horse stuff, you might want to skip the next 4 paragraphs as it gets kind of long.

Anyway, I told Mary Beth I wasn't showing and had no plans to.  I merely wanted to help Luke be more balanced and comfortable for his sake and mine. Mary Beth agreed with me that the Tennesee Walker was causing part of the problem. The Walker can add a nice lift and lightness to a trot, but can add extra beats you don't want to the canter and the trot can switch to gaitedness when switching gaits or when Luke gets unbalanced or nervous. I also said that I couldn't take up much contact with the reins as that would make Luke throw up his head, stiffen, and start gaiting.

I was hoping Mary Beth could explain to me what was going on and give me some exercises to fix it. What she did first was have me shorten my stirrups and work on staying farther forward in the saddle, while keeping my feet farther back. I ride the way I do as self protection from the pain in my knees, hips, back, and shoulders, but it turned out that I could do what Mary Beth asked without causing pain, at least for an hours ride anyway. She also had me shorten the reins so I felt like I was practically down to the bit. When I would ride past the mirror, I could see the position was not as extremely forward as it felt. And the thing is, the switch was magic.

It helped free up Luke's back and he looked and felt awesome! I didn't recognize my little oddball horse. Of course, we have tons of work to do. The Walker does make it hard to do a 3 beat canter so I'm just supposed to mainly work on setting up for the canter and only do a few steps of canter, then back to the trot, as the first few steps of the canter are okay. I was told the point was to build muscle memory of the right way to move and prepare him for additional canter work.

I learned so much in that one lesson, like turn, then straighten, turn, then straighten (all done very subtly). That helps with Luke leaning inside or overbending. And the same applies with leg yielding out. I was doing too much too fast. And we worked on getting a couple steps of faster trot to get his back legs going, then back into slower (not slow) trot. We even got some hesitation in his trot where it felt so light and cool.

Can you tell I'm really happy with my one lesson? Now if I can just pull off the same thing on my own.

I finished off my Saturday by going to an after art show gathering. There was food on the grill and four different groups played on a stage in the woods with the river flowing behind the musicians. And boy was the river flowing, fast and high, with all the rain we've been having. It was a wonderful way to end the day.

Sunday, I was in heavy camera withdrawal. I mean the above narrative would have been a whole lot more interesting with photos! Right? How am I supposed to go for 3 weeks or more without photos?!

So I bought a little Nikon Coolpix and took a few photos of Java, one of my favorite victims, I mean subjects.

And this.

I went for a walk with Java and came home to find my front door's window shattered. It's double paned and the breakage is on the outside. There's a screen door outside this door. I don't get what did this. It's so spider webbed that there's no obvious start point for the breakage. Temperature's in the 90's? Java jumping on the door inside weakened it and there was spontaneous breakage? 

I don't know. And I don't like "I don't know" with stuff like this. So tape is protecting the glass until I get someone to put in a new door (pronto) without such a big window (or maybe no window). 

A security system is soon to come.

May the Road Rise to Meet You

The weather here has been hot and humid. I hate humidity. Besides making you feel swampy as soon as you step outside, it brings on migraines for me. So I've been pretty miserable all week, until last night anyway, when some cooler, dryer air moved in.

But when I rode Luke yesterday, it was still humid and he was not very enthusiastic about moving. Next Saturday, if things come through, I'll be riding in a clinic where I board. I mainly want help with figuring out why Luke won't canter to the right. He's never been very balanced or strong going to the right, but now he just won't stay in the canter and it feels all wrong. I think he's cross-cantering but I need a second set of eyes and another opinion on how to fix it as nothing I've tried is working.

Luke has a new pasture pal.

But he is currently keeping his distance and is way off to the left. The gray horse in front of Luke is in another paddock.

With all the rain, heat, and humidity, the bugs are doubly bad this year. Luke is trying to pretend to be a fly so maybe the real ones will leave him alone.

I went to the annual Irish Fair at Harriet Island today. I mainly enjoy going to hear the music and watch other people listening to the music, especially the uninhibited little kids, who dance with utter abandon. I wish I could have photographed some of that but parents tend to get a little freaked out when strangers take pictures of their children.

I did capture this one little girl. You see a lot of River Dance hair at the fair, since many of the girls perform at the event.

And there was this girl, who was running in circles with her dog.

There was a bagpipe competition.

And a hurling demonstration.

I tried for a little artistry in my photographs. I liked the look of the lines of the speaker towers against the sky.

And the sun peeking through the clouds.

And the city skyline on the other side of the Mississippi River.

And, well, this is my camera acting up again.

I think I need to send the darn thing in to Canon this time, for real, for repair. Even the non-modern art photos are just plain blurry.

But like I said initially, the main reason I like attending the Irish Fair is the music. The first group I saw was called McInnis' Kitchen.

My favorite group of the day was the two men in Reverse Cowboy. Besides great music they included a bit of humor that brought a smile to these Irish eyes.

The High Kings were the biggest act and have a lot of videos available on YouTube.

So just in case you like Irish music and dance like I do, I've included a couple videos from the High Kings -- the first is music, the second is drum and dance.

Enjoy!

When Being Told You're Hot is Not a Good Thing

The week has been going by at the speed of light. I've been super busy at work and trying to take care of personal business after work. Never enough time.

This afternoon, I got a call from Terry, the guy working on refinishing my table. He was wondering when I was going to stop by and pick up my chairs. I bought 4 chairs from another guy that works at the refinishing shop for cheaper than it would have been to repair my old ones. It's been ungodly hot here all week -- 90's and super high humidity and the furniture shop doesn't have air conditioning so understandably, everyone wanted to go home. The only thing holding Terry back was me.

So I stopped there as soon as I could and loaded up my chairs. I'm going to repad and reupholster the seats in a black material. I haven't picked it out yet.

I'll do my old, rickety chairs in the same material so I can pull them out to use when I have more than four people over for dinner. Although I just read that it's the cool thing to do to upholster your chairs in a variety of non-matching materials. We'll see...

When I picked up the chairs, Terry gave me a bottle of water and a CD of his band. It's all soothing instrumentals that helped calm my work-frayed nerves on my drive home. The band will be playing at the upcoming state fair so maybe I'll see them there too.

Today, the new owners of my old home forwarded some mail to me. They put three pieces of mail into another envelope. Two were just notices from the post office to confirm my change of address. The third was a plain envelope with just "Mary" written on it.

If whoever wrote it would have just left it at how hot I am, that would have been okay, but it got very raunchy towards the end.

Is it threatening? Probably not. I doubt this person knows where I moved to. They don't even know I changed the spelling of my first name. But they do know my first name. So I'm assuming this is someone in the old neighborhood. Someone that I shot the breeze with. That I perhaps considered a friend.

So the hard part about receiving this is that perhaps it is further evidence that I have trusted people that are not trustworthy.

I'd like to know how you tell the difference? Do you just assume everyone is not what they appear to be?

I'm trying not to let my old garbage blow this out of proportion. It's really not a big deal.

But it feels icky and invasive.

I wish people wouldn't do stuff like this. Rather than being afraid, like I might have been in the past, I'm just plain angry.

I would have liked to have just enjoyed this day because of the happy feeling I had when Terry gave me his CD. No one has the right to make me feel otherwise.

So I boiled up some cabbage and served it with a little olive oil, dill, salt, and pepper for dinner. I ate the whole thing.

After all, I'm a single gal. I can now eat cabbage without worrying about who I offend.

It could be a good line of defense against stalkers.

Getting My Affairs in Order

Some friends are trying to organize a horse camping trip before the summer ends. "Go on a horse camping trip"  has been on many a New Year's resolutions lists and is also included on my "things to do before I die" list. If 2010 is the year my horse camping dream comes true, there's a good chance that I'll take it off my list of the worst years ever.

Speaking of things to do before I die, I'm still on my quest to get all my affairs in order. A person has to be prepared at my age, especially considering that stress is supposed to shorten your life.

I received an e-mail from one organization questioning one of the forms I sent in, specifically asking for additional information on my contingent beneficiary, Justine. The frightening thing about that is I don't know anyone named "Justine". Does Justine perhaps work for the bank?

Remember my frustration with the DMV over my driver's license? The next day I was called and told they were correcting my license and I would receive it in 3 weeks. Well, they corrected my name but didn't do the change of address I asked for. I called and asked if they could take the address correction over the phone or if I needed to go into the DMV office again. Of course I have to go in again. I WILL NOT be going to the same office that has screwed up my license twice.

And when I tried to vote at the primaries this evening, they wouldn't let me because I didn't have a utility bill with my new address on it. Bringing in a letter from the county confirming my homesteading wasn't good enough because state law requires a "utility bill" and nothing else will do.

In other words, as I try to get all my affairs in order, I am discovering that the people working for financial and government organizations, the ones handling our investments, benefits, savings, social security, personal records, etc. are not very detail or quality orientated, nor practical, nor just plain, old adequate. They are perhaps, in fact, dare I say, sloppy and incompetent.

Okay, that's an over-generalization because I know people who have or are working for these types of agencies and are now ticked off at me.

Still, I'm beginning to think that the people who rebel against society, build compounds, and bury their money in the back yard might be on to something.

Java's Pool

Poor Java. She's gone from this.

To this.

She tried to make do with some rollicking splashing.

And tried flattening herself to get her whole body in the pool.

Wow, man. Bummer.

Back to splashing.

It was in the 90's today with about the same reading on humidity scale. Technically known as "can't breathe" weather. I'm looking at the current temperature online and it says 89 F with a real feel of 105 F. Yuck!

Thus the pool. Which we both used to cool off in.

Nice foot stool.

Also put up a bird feeder with some peanut butter suet that Java was very interested in.

All that activity was followed by some quiet contemplation where Java is imagining her fence and being chainless.