Friday Foto

What I didn't post for Sunday Stills - Easter...

I'll make you a deal

I just love bargains! Don't you?

Some time ago, I signed up with Sonic Drive-In (a hamburger place) to be texted on their special specials. It amazes me, this world we live in and the miracle of technology that we use on a daily basis.

Well, this morning, my cell phone went off as I was driving to work. It was a call from Sonic. I got a text telling me that the Breakfast CroiSONIC sandwich was just 50 cents between 8 and 9 AM. As I was on time for work, maybe even early, I thought it would be a great idea. Since I was saving so much, I went ahead and bought a caramel Java Chiller coffee too. I'm sure that is exactly why they run these kinds of specials because they know people will spend more money once they're there. It's getting them there that counts.

Anyway, I kind of expected a little egg biscuit like their dollar menu chicken sandwich. No! This was the full sized sandwich: egg, bacon, and cheese, all on a croissant bun. And the Java Chiller! I took a sip and it was awesome, all ice-creamy and caramel coffee flavored! Not a bad breakfast for 3.25! Mmmm, I decided to save the frozen coffee for the office as I snacked on the sandwich.

When I got to work, I grabbed my purse from the car and carried in my Sonic bag with my half eaten sandwich, a bottle of water, and the Java Chiller. As I rounded the corner towards my desk, the bottom fell out of the styrofoam cup and it all dumped right onto the carpet, a frothy, creamy, white coffee mess! Oh no!! I don't know if I was more upset that I wasn't going to get to drink my heavenly coffee delight or that I had an incredible mess to clean up. I immediately knelt down to try to stop the damage and that was a mistake! My knee just doesn't bend that way yet. Ouch!! So I stood up and hustled to the Ladies' room and grabbed a fistfull of paper towels. I realized that that wasn't going to pick it all up so I went hunting in the little kitchen area for a towel that I could sop up and wring out. I found a brand new sponge and some carpet cleaner and I started cleaning up. I did manage to clean all of it up, hopefully, because it's going to smell sour if I didn't, with all that ice-creamy coffee on the carpet.

What really bugs me is the styrofoam containers they use. The landfills are filling up with them. I often buy fountain drinks in the styro cups and it's great for keeping cold drinks cold. I'm not so sure about hot drinks though. I've read that the styrenes leach into hot drinks. But anyway, when the cups break, and they do, it is certainly a mess! I've punched holes in cups just putting them in or out of the car cup holder. And then it's like the hole in the dike. Sugary liquid pours out all over everything, as I try to plug the hole up with a finger pressed against it, until I can stop the car and dump out the liquidy contents.

Don't you just love a bargain, but hate those styrofoam cups?

I'll make you a deal - song: The Candidate, artist: David Bowie, album: Diamond Dogs outtake

Sunday (4/4/10 Easter)

Today's Sunday Still's challenge was Easter.

What are they looking at?

A colorful pinwheel! And, with the wind we were having, it was spinning and spinning!

Doesn't Yalla! make a crazy little bunny?

Happy Easter from all of us!

Some cat was layin' down

I recently had a photo session with Terra, on my bed. She is so full of catitude, especially when I pull out the camera.
Kind of like, "That's really embarrassing, you know!"
"I'm not liking this one bit."
"What's that, over there?""If I pretend I'm sleeping, will you go away?"

"Ah well, I can't stay mad forever...
especially when you dangle strings over my head."

Some cat was layin' down - song: Starman, artist: David Bowie, album: TRAFOZSATSFM

Jesus and Pontius Pilate

Since today is Good Friday, I wanted to share these videos.

"My God, why have you forgotten me?"

"Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit."

Friday Foto

Friday - song: Friday on my Mind, artist: David Bowie covering the EasyBeats, album: Pinups

Not expecting morning sun

Yesterday was the last day of March.

It sure went out like a lamb after coming in like a lion! We've been having 70-80 degree temperatures the last couple of days.

I was amazed at yesterday morning's moonset. Isn't it gorgeous?

Recently, I wrote about my new barn residents.

Well, yesterday was a sad day. I found one of the crows dead in the barn. I don't know how he died but I will certainly miss him as I'm sure my horses will too.
He was laying right under his roost. Did he take a deadly fall perhaps? The horses were out of the barn all day and no one will tell me what happened.I didn't know what else to do with him so I laid him to rest out by a little yucca plant. All in the circle of life, I'm sure he will be gone by morning.

Not expecting Morning Sun - song: Get Real, artist: David Bowie, album: Outside extra

Shopping for Girls

Yesterday was very chilly in the morning so I wore a big heavy sweater to work. My coworker saw me and said, "Do you know it't going to be 80 degrees today?" I said "no" and thought, uh oh, I need to go shopping! I like to make a game of shopping for cheap outfits so I was totally up for the challenge. So, on my way to class, I swung by Big K for a quick shopping trip. I wandered through the clothes racks and then headed over to the sales rack wondering if I'd get lucky. I glanced through the clothes and grabbed this blouse. It's business-like and although it has long sleeves, I knew it would be cooler than my sweater. Do you like it? It's got a herringbone design to it and it's made of stretchy material. Actually, it's kind of wrinkled in the photo because I wore it all day long. Oh, and there are three buttons on the cuffs. I just rolled the sleeves up and only buttoned one back down. Guess how much it cost me?This shirt was cheaper than I usually pay for my lunch and I'm really cheap! It only cost $2.99!! What a bargain, marked down from 19.99. I love a good buy, don't you? AND, the whole shopping trip took less than 10 minutes. I wasn't even late for my class even though I ran to the bathroom and changed first!

Shopping for Girls - song: Shopping for Girls, artist: Tin Machine featuring David Bowie, album: Tin Machine

crowning his tangled hair

Sunday was such a nice day that I didn't want to waste it.

I spent at least an hour grooming the horses, knocking dirt clods off and pulling out loose hair. I can't say the horses loved it the whole time because I used the shedding blade and I'm sure it hurt them some, especially with the solid mud packed on, but I think the hair was pulling out pretty easily and they appreciated the "scratch". Only Scout is still mud caked now because he didn't want to stand still for the grooming session and I didn't feel like haltering him up. I didn't get to Annie's dreadlocks either. I think I'm going to need to wash her mane to loosen those knots up.

I groomed Yalla! throughly and noticed that she is finally starting to shed her baby hair. She is just like her mother because she loves grooming and all kinds of attention. She stood as close to me as possible while I groomed Annie. She kept blowing in my ear and nuzzling my hair. She loves to get full head hugs. She is such a lovey little horse. As I was grooming the horses, the area turned white.

And guess what? I saw white hairs on Yalla!

Well, they're actually Nadia and Annie hairs. She's still brown all over. She was standing so close to me that she got covered in hair. I kept having to pick loose hairs out of her eyes as well as mine. Notice her thick mat of baby hair. I can't wait to get rid of all that and see what she looks like underneath.

Then I decided to try riding. My knee has greatly improved from last weekend. There is still some swelling and sometimes I get a dull ache but overall, I'd say it was on the mend. I thought about riding bareback but I figured that riding with a saddle would be easier. Once I got up there, I figured, I'd just stick my leg in the stirrup and everything would be fine. My knee doesn't hurt at all, if I don't move it around.

But getting up there was tough! I had to stand on my bad leg and then somehow my knee twisted a little and boy, did that hurt! And then, once I was up there, I didn't know what to do with my leg! I couldn't bend it to get to the stirrup so I just let both legs dangle in front of the stirrups. And it hurt! But I thought, "I'm up here, I might as well ride," so I did. We rode around the 'back forty' of the neighborhood. I only walked but Nadia pricked up her ears and strutted along. I just love her perky little walk. Meanwhile, back at the barn, the three horses were neighing and running around. Hah, I got all the horses exercised at one time! It was getting colder and my leg was kind of numb so I didn't notice the pain so much after that. I only rode a about a half an hour or so, but hey, I did it!

Can you see the loooong hairs hanging down on Nadia's chest and between her front legs. I pulled out so much hair that I thought she might look bald but I guess not, huh?

Crowning his tangled hair - song: Ballad of the Adventurers, artist: David Bowie

What the f..?

It's back! Yalla!'s special "star" in the shape of an f is coming back!

"Hey dirty," part III

I couldn't skip Scout now, could I? Here he is at what may be his dirtiest. Look at those legs. He has black socks!


But hey! The farrier came today so his hooves got cleaned and trimmed. ;)

All the horses were well behaved for him, including Yalla!, and he said that in spite of the many cases of thrush he's seen this winter, my horses were all healthy with no signs of it. I do believe Arabians have exceptionally great feet and strong legs. Even Scout is 1/4 Arabian.

"Hey dirty" - song: Candidate, artist: David Bowie, album: Diamond Dogs extra

"Hey dirty," part II

Doesn't Nadia look cute in spite of her brown mane and long shaggy fur?

She is very filthy and shedding like crazy. Pictures just don't do it justice.

"Hey dirty," - song: Candidate, artist: David Bowie, album: Diamond Dogs extras

Going, Gone

Laura Crum's latest equine mystery book entitled Going, Gone, is an excellent read. Going, Gone is a book that you won't want to put down until you finish reading the very last sentence of the last page. Still, you'll want to slowly savor every single word of her picturesque descriptions and poignant anecdotes. Laura's love for her literary family and knowledge of horses shine through in this book.

This book, eleventh of a series, continues in the life of her main character, Gail McCarthy, a retired veterinarian, wife to Blue and mother to six year old Mac, as she plays amateur detective and solves murders and other crimes in a horse related world. Going, Gone places Gail and her family on a horseback riding, camping vacation that quickly turns sour when Lonny, her old friend and past beau is arrested for the double murder of his girlfriend and a livestock auctioneer. Gail cannot believe he is guilty and sets out to find the truth with the help of another old friend, Bret, who is now a local sheriff. There are many sentimental moments as she reminisces about the past and lots of nail biting suspense as she races for her life.

Here is a photo of the author, Laura Crum, on one of her horses.

Sunday Stills (a Day in my Life (3/28/10)

Ed, at Sunday Stills, gave us the task of describing our typical day in only four photos. Here are my selections:

Every morning I feed my horses. I have four of them. Scout is out of view along with the rest of the piles of hay. I always spread the hay out in 5 or 6 piles so that if a horse gets chased away from one pile and he/she can go on to another, kind of like musical meals.

Five days a week, I go to work here in my little office. I think working people spend more time at their workplace than they do anywhere else in their life, even sleeping. But I love my huge computer screen. It's big enough to view several full pages at a time. I usually keep the blinds open so that I can see outside although I never open the door itself.
I am always, always, always driving. I typically drive 60-80 miles or more every day. I like to drive my little Hyundai Accent, Sally, so that I can get better gas mileage, about 36-38 mpg. I go to work, school, the grocery store, movies, etc...through a long, beautiful, winding canyon down the hills to the city and up the hills home again.
My dog, Buddha, and my cat, Terra, can't wait to climb into my lap each evening as I lounge in my recliner and do homework, or watch TV. My laptop is currently out of action but here is where I like to surf the net too.
It's hard to really go into what I do in a day with only four photos but you get the idea...

Check here for more Sunday Stills.

Sunday - song: Sunday, artist: David Bowie, album: Heathen

"Hey dirty,"

Today is "dirty" Annie day. Oh my! Just look at the clay beads in her mane.

I'll be posting more "dirty" photos soon, so stay tuned...

"Hey dirty," - song: Candidate, artist: David Bowie, album: Diamond Dogs extras