Panic, pumpkins and panache
Nov. 1st, 2005 09:37 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
joflasherSaturday - Lots and lots of preparation.
I had done most of the necessary shopping on Friday but there was still some odds and ends to buy ... like big, old fashioned christmas lights and final costume touches. The christmas lights were easy (early marketing bastards) but the costume stuff defeated me. I went home and sent the Boy out while I worked off the built up shopping anger (hate malls, hate hate hate) through massive amounts of cleaning. I cleaned. I scrubbed. I disinfected. The cats hid in fear. Three hours later, I had a spotless house, pumkpin cookies and no Boy. Apparently the two costume props proved to be more difficult than expected. Eventually he made it back with acceptable substitutes for the "real" things.
Then the snow started.
"Boy, its snowing."
"Only a little."
"No, Boy, look, its snowing, really snowing."
"wow, white out. Think it'll keep people away?"
"nah, they're new englanders. Just cause they can't drive in snow won't stop them from trying"
We ended up with about 1/2 inch everwhere and solid white walls of the stuff coming down most of the afternoon/evening. Let me tell you, wiring pumpkins into an apple tree when its snow that hard just isn't fun. Not in the slightest. It was especially bad since the ground was all wet from melting snow and my ladder kept sinking down at inoppurtune times. I did eventually get them all wired fast to the tree and properly lit up without killing myself or shattering any of them. I gave up with all the other outside decorations, though. Cob webs and paper rickrack just wasn't going to survive the weather.
The Boy's costume wasn't quite as intricate as he would have liked. I had thought he knew how to use spirit gum but apparently I was mistaken. By the time I found out he was having issues, he'd used most of my remover just getting beard bits to come loose from his hands. Still, everyone recognised him and he had lots of compliments. I was surprised how many people DIDN'T recognise me. I'll post pictures up sometime this week.
As parties go, it was pretty good. Lots of people came, most were in costume and the two who weren't more than made up for it by carving pumpkins to set on the porch. Noah, Ros, THANK YOU! I would have never gotten them done without your help. I owe you a dinner and it is roasting weather if you ask me.
People stuck around well into the morning and a couple stayed over. Bacon and omlets were vetoed in favor of belgium waffles, Evan style.
Sunday was GORGEOUS. Mid 60's (bye bye, snow) and sunny.
After breakfast and a nap, we got on the motocycle and tooled up to the barn. Took Tisa out on a trail ride, which had good and bad parts. The good part was I opened her up, flat out gallop up a small hill and she came right down out of it as soon as I sat down and said trot. Perfect downward transition, no fighting, no attempts at running away, no yanking at the bit. Smooth as silk and instance response. The bad was that she then realised she was all alone on top of the hill (the Boy stayed at the bottom) and promptly spun around and tried to run back down it in a panic. Yipes! So we were fine galloping, its just being alone she had issues with. I can't blame her, I haven't taken her out by herself all that much this year and its not a skill they keep without practice. Herd animal and all. Still, it was a fun ride and might be the last good one of the season.
We also got to meet my instructors's new horse, which is everything she said she didn't want. My instructor has competed at the upper levels of dressage professionally. She has ridden against Olympic riders. She was Good(tm). Now she is a grandmother and is "taking it easy for a change". She kept saying that her next horse was going to be trained to 4th level so all she'd have to do is put some finish on it. Her last horse was at 4th when he died. She also wanted something fairly small and a gelding. What she bought was a 16.2ish dutch warmblood hunter/jumper mare who couldn't cut it in the A cuircut hunter world. Too much go at the fences, apparently. Very nice horse. Marty is acting like a little girl with her first pony. Its very cute to see her be all twitterpaited.
One thing I don't understand. This is an EXPENSIVE horse, even if it was being sold on the cheap for not being a natural hunter prospect. It had to be at least $10,000, which may be a steal to Marty but not to anyone else. Marty was looking to pay >$50,000 for her 4th level horse and wasn't batting an eye at the price tags. That's damned pricey for the rest of us. So expensive horse. Its feet haven't seen a farrier all summer. I mean, its got boats for hooves. Long toed, curved-up boats with way too small shoes nailed onto them. Its like they decided to sell and just never had her feet trimmed again. WHY? If you are trying to sell a horse, wouldn't you want it to move its best? This girl can barely trot without tripping over herself. I don't get it. Her owners had her in training at some ubber spiffy hunter barn where board is upwards $1000 a month and she couldn't be bothered to get a trim every once in awhile? They spend that much money on a horse and then make it lame through neglect? I just don't understand how some people's minds worked. It'll be interesting to see how she moves once her toes are a real length again.
Monday - migraine. No work for me. Today I get to play catch-up and deal with the post-migraine squiggly eyes. Squiggly eyes make coding fun. Not!
I had done most of the necessary shopping on Friday but there was still some odds and ends to buy ... like big, old fashioned christmas lights and final costume touches. The christmas lights were easy (early marketing bastards) but the costume stuff defeated me. I went home and sent the Boy out while I worked off the built up shopping anger (hate malls, hate hate hate) through massive amounts of cleaning. I cleaned. I scrubbed. I disinfected. The cats hid in fear. Three hours later, I had a spotless house, pumkpin cookies and no Boy. Apparently the two costume props proved to be more difficult than expected. Eventually he made it back with acceptable substitutes for the "real" things.
Then the snow started.
"Boy, its snowing."
"Only a little."
"No, Boy, look, its snowing, really snowing."
"wow, white out. Think it'll keep people away?"
"nah, they're new englanders. Just cause they can't drive in snow won't stop them from trying"
We ended up with about 1/2 inch everwhere and solid white walls of the stuff coming down most of the afternoon/evening. Let me tell you, wiring pumpkins into an apple tree when its snow that hard just isn't fun. Not in the slightest. It was especially bad since the ground was all wet from melting snow and my ladder kept sinking down at inoppurtune times. I did eventually get them all wired fast to the tree and properly lit up without killing myself or shattering any of them. I gave up with all the other outside decorations, though. Cob webs and paper rickrack just wasn't going to survive the weather.
The Boy's costume wasn't quite as intricate as he would have liked. I had thought he knew how to use spirit gum but apparently I was mistaken. By the time I found out he was having issues, he'd used most of my remover just getting beard bits to come loose from his hands. Still, everyone recognised him and he had lots of compliments. I was surprised how many people DIDN'T recognise me. I'll post pictures up sometime this week.
As parties go, it was pretty good. Lots of people came, most were in costume and the two who weren't more than made up for it by carving pumpkins to set on the porch. Noah, Ros, THANK YOU! I would have never gotten them done without your help. I owe you a dinner and it is roasting weather if you ask me.
People stuck around well into the morning and a couple stayed over. Bacon and omlets were vetoed in favor of belgium waffles, Evan style.
Sunday was GORGEOUS. Mid 60's (bye bye, snow) and sunny.
After breakfast and a nap, we got on the motocycle and tooled up to the barn. Took Tisa out on a trail ride, which had good and bad parts. The good part was I opened her up, flat out gallop up a small hill and she came right down out of it as soon as I sat down and said trot. Perfect downward transition, no fighting, no attempts at running away, no yanking at the bit. Smooth as silk and instance response. The bad was that she then realised she was all alone on top of the hill (the Boy stayed at the bottom) and promptly spun around and tried to run back down it in a panic. Yipes! So we were fine galloping, its just being alone she had issues with. I can't blame her, I haven't taken her out by herself all that much this year and its not a skill they keep without practice. Herd animal and all. Still, it was a fun ride and might be the last good one of the season.
We also got to meet my instructors's new horse, which is everything she said she didn't want. My instructor has competed at the upper levels of dressage professionally. She has ridden against Olympic riders. She was Good(tm). Now she is a grandmother and is "taking it easy for a change". She kept saying that her next horse was going to be trained to 4th level so all she'd have to do is put some finish on it. Her last horse was at 4th when he died. She also wanted something fairly small and a gelding. What she bought was a 16.2ish dutch warmblood hunter/jumper mare who couldn't cut it in the A cuircut hunter world. Too much go at the fences, apparently. Very nice horse. Marty is acting like a little girl with her first pony. Its very cute to see her be all twitterpaited.
One thing I don't understand. This is an EXPENSIVE horse, even if it was being sold on the cheap for not being a natural hunter prospect. It had to be at least $10,000, which may be a steal to Marty but not to anyone else. Marty was looking to pay >$50,000 for her 4th level horse and wasn't batting an eye at the price tags. That's damned pricey for the rest of us. So expensive horse. Its feet haven't seen a farrier all summer. I mean, its got boats for hooves. Long toed, curved-up boats with way too small shoes nailed onto them. Its like they decided to sell and just never had her feet trimmed again. WHY? If you are trying to sell a horse, wouldn't you want it to move its best? This girl can barely trot without tripping over herself. I don't get it. Her owners had her in training at some ubber spiffy hunter barn where board is upwards $1000 a month and she couldn't be bothered to get a trim every once in awhile? They spend that much money on a horse and then make it lame through neglect? I just don't understand how some people's minds worked. It'll be interesting to see how she moves once her toes are a real length again.
Monday - migraine. No work for me. Today I get to play catch-up and deal with the post-migraine squiggly eyes. Squiggly eyes make coding fun. Not!
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no subject
Date: 2005-11-01 05:05 pm (UTC)Our 8" left and hasn't come back yet, but why'd it go hit you? :-P
I hope somebody got pics of your tree, because I really want to see it.
(also, stupid migrane.)
Halloweeeeeenies
Date: 2005-11-01 09:18 pm (UTC)Re: Halloweeeeeenies
Date: 2005-11-02 12:43 pm (UTC)