It was last Sunday that I wrote all about last Saturday. That day I took pretty easy, getting the phone camera fixed, getting a haircut in the same mall, having lunch at Panera Bread, returning the car, crossing the river on the ferry for the first time in the taxi on the way back to the ship. So glad I found out where it was! Everything is so vague and confusing until you see it with your own eyes. So thank goodness for the cabbie who suggested it.
This weekend started out on Friday night. After finishing Black Beauty in my rack, I decided to go ride the bus to the Town Center Mall after they announced it was leaving in a half-hour from the parking lot. Turned out the other people I work with (who got off earlier) were still waiting for it too. So I joined them for dinner at Applebees (it was also a birthday celebration). Such good food! I had a small steak with veggies and a decaf coffee.
I had come prepared to stay overnight if I decided to plunk down for a hotel... and I'm glad I did. Happened to see on Google maps that there was a hotel just around the corner there... the Homewood Suites by Hilton. Figured it would be super-expensive, but after I showed my military ID, I got $50 off the price, making it very reasonable. Staying in such luxury was so very nice after a solid week on the barge.
Next morning I explored the mall until I could get picked up by the car rental place... got a neat book from B&N about the English Monarchy, and flipped through books about Masonic history and about misunderstood Catholic beliefs. Brief little religion class. :)
Then I got the car, a little red Chevy Aveo... and then returned to the mall for lunch at Chipotle, and a browse through Best Buy for a couple movies to watch. Then I had a walk-in full-body massage that was exactly what I needed. The rest of the day I spent exploring the islands north of the dry dock (on recommendation from the taxi and Hertz drivers I met over the last two weekends), and then picked up a few of the food service people from the ship for a dinner together at Golden Corral.
Sunday was so much fun!!! I picked up my friend and sponsor, Cassie, from the ship and we spent the rest of the weekend together. First to Walmart to get a few things (I bought a cheap fishing pole for the barge), then sushi for lunch (I tried eel! I liked it! We also had shrimp, salmon and avocado.), then back to Amelia Island, north of the ship, to go horseback riding on the beach! What a find that was from Saturday! It was a lovely, hour-long ride on Western saddles. Too bad we couldn't go faster!
There was no plans beyond this, but I had an hankering to see Fort Clinch (a Civil War era fort) at the tip of the island and at the northernmost point of Florida's coast. It was a lot of fun, especially with a friend. A volunteer told us all about the history, and we enjoyed walking the walls and going through the few brick buildings. I loved the detail of the 1864 US flag flying above the compound.
From there we returned to the mall, had Chipotle for dinner, stopped by a sporting goods store, went back to the hotel, went swimming, then walked to a nearby ice cream parlor for a treat, and watched one of the films I bought the day before: My Way (a foreign war film about a Korean runner and a Japanese colonel in WWII... from Manchuria to Siberia, to Normandy, France... what a story!) before going to sleep.
Monday, after breakfast, Cassie got picked up by another Sonar Tech, and I went back to Walmart to get a cheap bike and take it back to the ship. Then I crossed the ferry to get back to them at the beach, and went swimming in the warm Atlantic with them for a short while. Had dinner at the Third Street Diner, on my recommendation (had sandwiches), then went to the movies... I saw The Expendables 2, and laughed my head off, especially at Chuck Norris. The others saw Dark Knight Rises again, and I poked my head in until it was done. We headed back to the ship after a Whataburger for a late dinner.
What a time I had!
This afternoon I got off around 2:30, since it was my early day, and planned on finding a Starbucks for some Internet. Well, the bike had a flat, so I waited for the ship's bus to get me to Mayport so I could get a cab and a bike shop. Unbelievably, it all worked out! Thank you, Lord! Even though the shop I went to was supposed to be closing when I got there. Anyway, found a fantastic seafood grill for dinner, got a book at the bookstore nearby (a compact Nat Geo picture collection) and then biked to the Starbucks down the street... way better than I was planning! :)
Time to get back though!
Jw
Showing posts with label Horses. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Horses. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Recharging
I had the enormous blessing of ten days off from the Navy that I was able to spend with my dear friend Julie in West Virginia.
Friday, the 29th, I didn't leave until 8:30pm, after the dinner with my division in Virginia Beach. Only got as far as Richmond, but it was good I wanted to stop there... a severe thunderstorm came through and sent lots of bolts flying around, as well as a hurricane-force wind... right went I checked into one of the last rooms at a Best Value Inn across from the airport.
Saturday morning, I got a late start from sleeping in and having a good breakfast at the local restaurant nearby. Figured out on Google where a nearby Richmond battlefield was and round-aboutly got there. I stopped practically dead in my tracks before I got there though... there was a little visitor center on the left and a bunch of reenactors on the right. A sub-group of the Virginia National Guard were directing traffic, and I soon found out from the Park Service that this was the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Glendale (part of the Seven Days Battle of 1862). June 30, 2012... and I stumbled right on top of it.
Looked in the museum, which had a great map with lights indicating where the soldiers and battles were. Across the street a unit of Union soldiers held a marching and firing demonstration... and an artillery unit fired a cannon. I got to chat with the artillery men off to the side, tried on one of their wool coats to experience 104 degrees in the sun. Gosh! And when they found out I was military, they invited me to join their group, which meets every month in Petersburg... and helps out with the Monitor/Merrimack anniversary every year in Hampton Roads. :) After this, I went a little north to see Cold Harbor. You could say I had a good time.
Nearly to West Virginia now... about 6pm, I noticed a brown information sign saying "Montecello, Next Exit". Figured they'd be closed, but I tried it out anyway and found to my delight that they stayed open till 7, had one more tour I could just get on, and was free for Active Duty! Wow! It was fabulous to see Jefferson's home. Lots of neat original and reproduction works... loved the wall calender, the bed between the rooms and the working automatic double doors. And what a lovely, green, peaceful place! Saw the tomb on the way down the mountain.
Arrived in West Virginia in the aftermath of the severe storm I had been watching ahead of me for several hours. There was no gas available, I was running out, there were trees and wires down, and to top it all, there was a huge power outage and it was getting foggy. Needless to say, it took me a long time to find Julie's Island. (She teaches at a Baptist School which puts her up on their little summer-camp island in the middle of a river. There's a suspension foot-bridge over to it, and lots of times she sees deer running around. She owns a black lab named Galaxy, and three cats.) So it was a little hot the first couple nights. The power didn't come on until the evening of the fourth.
Sunday, the first day we spent a lot of time at friends of hers house (John and Kris) Found gas at Kroger nearby, ate sandwiches, and entertained ourselves in the evening by singing hymns together... so much fun! I took a good long nap that afternoon, so I was finally catching up! Next day, the 2nd, we went back to her place and went inter-tubing down her river and walked back upstream. I found a clam the size of my outstretched hand... and a weird-looking larvae of a dobsonfly that freaked me out as I picked up rocks. Later on visited Jimmy and Betty (other friends from church) in order to go hiking in the woods behind their place.
July 3rd we watched The Artist in the library and then went to downtown Charleston to watch The Amazing Spiderman. But we were confused about the start time, and ended up seeing the wrong showing, missing the first hour of it. We saw all we really needed to for the story, but it sure felt odd, only at an hour and twenty minutes! On the way back to the house, I thought, gee, why don't we keep driving! So we kept going on 79 north and cut across most of West Virginia, stopping in Clarksburg after some of the most beautiful freeway I've ever seen. We got gas and had some Starbucks Coffee. Yep, we drove 240 miles round-trip for drinks! LOL! When we got close to home, Julie found out from friends that the 4th of July celebration was actually that night! Kept going back to Charleston, and made our way to the riverfront for the West Virginia Symphony and a great display of fireworks.
On our nation's 236th birthday, we went downtown again in the morning, to get some things for the dog at the feed store, and then watch another movie to pass the time... People Like Us won out. Got home in the afternoon, and discovered that the electricity had just been turned back on! POWER!!! We rested in a nice, cool house for the rest of the evening.
On Thursday, the 5th, we went back to Jimmy's house in order to ride horses with him all morning! I had a white Arabian mix named "Doc" with an English saddle, Julie had a paint named "King" with a Western, and Jimmy rode a bay. He has nine in all! They were all very easy to ride, and even though Julie was not very accustomed to horses, we did a lot of trotting, and even some cantering. The trails were great... lots of ups and downs and beautiful woods. It was so fun! Hosed them off back in the stable, wiped the water off with a blade, and with rags. Gosh, they got hot! And then, just as we left, a thunderstorm rolled in and we escaped getting poured on... by the skin of our teeth! Drove over to Walmart on the other side of town in order to pick up food for dinner. The storm had subsided and disappeared along with a stop-sign near Julie's house by the time we returned. Watched Sleepless in Seattle and had a great spaghetti dinner.
Movies, movies, movies at home! On Friday, we relaxed. Little sore from the horseback ride... so after a hot breakfast at home again, we watched The Perfect Man (Hilary Duff, believe it or not), Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen, and then later on with a friend who came over because she had no power, The Prince & Me, and The Nanny Diaries.
Saturday morning Julie and I took off for a mini road trip south on 77. The New River Gorge Bridge, built in 1977, is the world's largest, single-span, steel bridge, and the second highest in the US, at 876 feet. After looking at the bridge, we drove the one-way highway down the switchbacks to the river, crossed on a lower bridge, then went swimming in our clothes because it looked so nice and it was so warm. We took the long route coming back, and stopped for dinner at La Carreta (authentic Mexican in Charleston).
That night, we played a bunch of rounds of the Origins game with Julie's two friends who were staying over because of the weather. I didn't think I'd do very well, especially after the first couple hands. The point of the game is to guess the correct origin of a word or phrase while coming up with a bogus one yourself to hoodwink the other players. If you're the person reading all the options, you get points if no one guesses the right one. Later on, however, I scored the maximum 5 points in one hand on the word "hogwash", and ended up winning overall, beating Julie by one point. :)
It was very sad to leave her the next morning, but I waited until after young adult Sunday School at the church. She walked me out to my car and hugged me goodbye. What a miracle trip! It was so very nice!
In Lexington, Virginia, on the way home, I stopped by the VMI campus and saw the George C. Marshall museum for a few hours! Even though it is small, it's very interactive, and tells full story... WWII Army Chief of Staff, Red Cross president, Secretary of Defense, Recovery Plan for Europe, Nobel Peace Prize. And they had a used book sale too... I bought "I Saw Paris Fall" from 1940. Didn't get to the VMI museum in time, but I was able to see Stonewall Jackson's home and cemetery. Lee is buried at the Washington and Lee University there as well, but that and many other things were closed for the day.
But now, back to the Navy, to Duty, and to Norfolk.
Jw
Friday, the 29th, I didn't leave until 8:30pm, after the dinner with my division in Virginia Beach. Only got as far as Richmond, but it was good I wanted to stop there... a severe thunderstorm came through and sent lots of bolts flying around, as well as a hurricane-force wind... right went I checked into one of the last rooms at a Best Value Inn across from the airport.
Saturday morning, I got a late start from sleeping in and having a good breakfast at the local restaurant nearby. Figured out on Google where a nearby Richmond battlefield was and round-aboutly got there. I stopped practically dead in my tracks before I got there though... there was a little visitor center on the left and a bunch of reenactors on the right. A sub-group of the Virginia National Guard were directing traffic, and I soon found out from the Park Service that this was the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Glendale (part of the Seven Days Battle of 1862). June 30, 2012... and I stumbled right on top of it.
Looked in the museum, which had a great map with lights indicating where the soldiers and battles were. Across the street a unit of Union soldiers held a marching and firing demonstration... and an artillery unit fired a cannon. I got to chat with the artillery men off to the side, tried on one of their wool coats to experience 104 degrees in the sun. Gosh! And when they found out I was military, they invited me to join their group, which meets every month in Petersburg... and helps out with the Monitor/Merrimack anniversary every year in Hampton Roads. :) After this, I went a little north to see Cold Harbor. You could say I had a good time.
Nearly to West Virginia now... about 6pm, I noticed a brown information sign saying "Montecello, Next Exit". Figured they'd be closed, but I tried it out anyway and found to my delight that they stayed open till 7, had one more tour I could just get on, and was free for Active Duty! Wow! It was fabulous to see Jefferson's home. Lots of neat original and reproduction works... loved the wall calender, the bed between the rooms and the working automatic double doors. And what a lovely, green, peaceful place! Saw the tomb on the way down the mountain.
Arrived in West Virginia in the aftermath of the severe storm I had been watching ahead of me for several hours. There was no gas available, I was running out, there were trees and wires down, and to top it all, there was a huge power outage and it was getting foggy. Needless to say, it took me a long time to find Julie's Island. (She teaches at a Baptist School which puts her up on their little summer-camp island in the middle of a river. There's a suspension foot-bridge over to it, and lots of times she sees deer running around. She owns a black lab named Galaxy, and three cats.) So it was a little hot the first couple nights. The power didn't come on until the evening of the fourth.
Sunday, the first day we spent a lot of time at friends of hers house (John and Kris) Found gas at Kroger nearby, ate sandwiches, and entertained ourselves in the evening by singing hymns together... so much fun! I took a good long nap that afternoon, so I was finally catching up! Next day, the 2nd, we went back to her place and went inter-tubing down her river and walked back upstream. I found a clam the size of my outstretched hand... and a weird-looking larvae of a dobsonfly that freaked me out as I picked up rocks. Later on visited Jimmy and Betty (other friends from church) in order to go hiking in the woods behind their place.
July 3rd we watched The Artist in the library and then went to downtown Charleston to watch The Amazing Spiderman. But we were confused about the start time, and ended up seeing the wrong showing, missing the first hour of it. We saw all we really needed to for the story, but it sure felt odd, only at an hour and twenty minutes! On the way back to the house, I thought, gee, why don't we keep driving! So we kept going on 79 north and cut across most of West Virginia, stopping in Clarksburg after some of the most beautiful freeway I've ever seen. We got gas and had some Starbucks Coffee. Yep, we drove 240 miles round-trip for drinks! LOL! When we got close to home, Julie found out from friends that the 4th of July celebration was actually that night! Kept going back to Charleston, and made our way to the riverfront for the West Virginia Symphony and a great display of fireworks.
On our nation's 236th birthday, we went downtown again in the morning, to get some things for the dog at the feed store, and then watch another movie to pass the time... People Like Us won out. Got home in the afternoon, and discovered that the electricity had just been turned back on! POWER!!! We rested in a nice, cool house for the rest of the evening.
On Thursday, the 5th, we went back to Jimmy's house in order to ride horses with him all morning! I had a white Arabian mix named "Doc" with an English saddle, Julie had a paint named "King" with a Western, and Jimmy rode a bay. He has nine in all! They were all very easy to ride, and even though Julie was not very accustomed to horses, we did a lot of trotting, and even some cantering. The trails were great... lots of ups and downs and beautiful woods. It was so fun! Hosed them off back in the stable, wiped the water off with a blade, and with rags. Gosh, they got hot! And then, just as we left, a thunderstorm rolled in and we escaped getting poured on... by the skin of our teeth! Drove over to Walmart on the other side of town in order to pick up food for dinner. The storm had subsided and disappeared along with a stop-sign near Julie's house by the time we returned. Watched Sleepless in Seattle and had a great spaghetti dinner.
Movies, movies, movies at home! On Friday, we relaxed. Little sore from the horseback ride... so after a hot breakfast at home again, we watched The Perfect Man (Hilary Duff, believe it or not), Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen, and then later on with a friend who came over because she had no power, The Prince & Me, and The Nanny Diaries.
Saturday morning Julie and I took off for a mini road trip south on 77. The New River Gorge Bridge, built in 1977, is the world's largest, single-span, steel bridge, and the second highest in the US, at 876 feet. After looking at the bridge, we drove the one-way highway down the switchbacks to the river, crossed on a lower bridge, then went swimming in our clothes because it looked so nice and it was so warm. We took the long route coming back, and stopped for dinner at La Carreta (authentic Mexican in Charleston).
That night, we played a bunch of rounds of the Origins game with Julie's two friends who were staying over because of the weather. I didn't think I'd do very well, especially after the first couple hands. The point of the game is to guess the correct origin of a word or phrase while coming up with a bogus one yourself to hoodwink the other players. If you're the person reading all the options, you get points if no one guesses the right one. Later on, however, I scored the maximum 5 points in one hand on the word "hogwash", and ended up winning overall, beating Julie by one point. :)
It was very sad to leave her the next morning, but I waited until after young adult Sunday School at the church. She walked me out to my car and hugged me goodbye. What a miracle trip! It was so very nice!
In Lexington, Virginia, on the way home, I stopped by the VMI campus and saw the George C. Marshall museum for a few hours! Even though it is small, it's very interactive, and tells full story... WWII Army Chief of Staff, Red Cross president, Secretary of Defense, Recovery Plan for Europe, Nobel Peace Prize. And they had a used book sale too... I bought "I Saw Paris Fall" from 1940. Didn't get to the VMI museum in time, but I was able to see Stonewall Jackson's home and cemetery. Lee is buried at the Washington and Lee University there as well, but that and many other things were closed for the day.
But now, back to the Navy, to Duty, and to Norfolk.
Jw
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Horsing Around Again
Last night I was messaged on FB by a friend from boot camp, Laramie Mills. I invited her to church the next morning, and after a moment's thought, to go horseback riding after that. It had been on my mind since coming out here, to go for a trail ride. So I googled it quick and came up with a ranch just 20 minutes northeast from church. Set it up... and it all worked out, even with the bit of rain we had.
Church was really good. Andy, my small group leader (and also the youth pastor), was filling in for Pastor Carl who was at the men's retreat. It was more on the theme from the book we're reading... Truth and lies about the Bible and the gospel. It was very good, and I was glad of Laramie's company, as well as Charly and David who came by themselves and sat in front of us (who I had introduced to this church a couple months ago). And this was "celebration Sunday" meaning a small group fixed a lot of food for the whole church to enjoy after the service; they do it every few months. It was chili (with cheddar cheese and raw onions) along with a wonderful mixed greens salad (avocado hunks provided as well as cherry tomatoes and dressing).
It started to rain while we ate, and I was even more concerned as we sat in the football traffic, trying to get back on the freeway. But I needn't have worried! It stopped when we got further out, and only sprinkled a bit at the beginning and very end of the ride. I was on a lovely bay lady named "Motown" and rode behind the guide's feisty paint, and Laramie's slow-poke who trotted every now and then to keep up. The trail followed a dry riverbed and was interesting and easy to ride. A few flat places and we were able to do a little trot... and Motown's version of a trot was a very short canter... lol. She did it right sometimes too. Poor thing was nearly 20 years old and blind in her right eye. And for all that, she did a wonderful job. Responded wonderfully to leg directions and was a lively, brisk walker, sometimes pulling ahead of the guide in wide places. I loved the view of the hills with boulders (southern cal's mountains), and the dozen or so cottontail bunnies darting and hiding, and the little birds. I'd say it was a resounding success. And I was able to take a few pictures on my phone...
After dropping Laramie back on base, I decided to go to the library. I noticed a blanket donation yesterday, when I volunteered, and picked one up at Target. Dropped it off in the barrel, then did an hour taking care of the DVDs. And I found 3 for myself to check out: a Bogie/Bacall, a masterpiece "Northanger Abbey" and "An Education" (2009, nominated for best picture).
And as I had hoped I would, I was able to chat for a long time with Mom & Dad, and later Julie! I really should call people more often. It's so encouraging!
Then I stopped by Trader Joe's for their seasonal spiced apple cider to contribute to the small group meeting. We all had a lovely time visiting, eating very tender bbq chicken breast and a rice & broccoli casserole, and then reading a few short chapters in "Naked Gospel". It took some time for people to wrap their heads around the purpose of the law to "make sin abound" as Paul wrote. Hey! Even Peter wrote that Paul's epistles were hard to understand. :) And I loved Andy & Kristin's apartment! Very cozy, with plenty of room for us all. I saw Jupiter, big and bright as I drove I-8E on the way there. When I got home, it and the moon were directly overhead. :)
The chat with my Darling was especially wonderful. He is going through a series of messages on giving, and he was told some off-base things concerning "tithing"... and it so happened that the same topic was in one of the chapters we read tonight! How the Lord provides! And we finished the book of Proverbs with the last chapter... and he was so sweet to me!
Jw
Church was really good. Andy, my small group leader (and also the youth pastor), was filling in for Pastor Carl who was at the men's retreat. It was more on the theme from the book we're reading... Truth and lies about the Bible and the gospel. It was very good, and I was glad of Laramie's company, as well as Charly and David who came by themselves and sat in front of us (who I had introduced to this church a couple months ago). And this was "celebration Sunday" meaning a small group fixed a lot of food for the whole church to enjoy after the service; they do it every few months. It was chili (with cheddar cheese and raw onions) along with a wonderful mixed greens salad (avocado hunks provided as well as cherry tomatoes and dressing).
It started to rain while we ate, and I was even more concerned as we sat in the football traffic, trying to get back on the freeway. But I needn't have worried! It stopped when we got further out, and only sprinkled a bit at the beginning and very end of the ride. I was on a lovely bay lady named "Motown" and rode behind the guide's feisty paint, and Laramie's slow-poke who trotted every now and then to keep up. The trail followed a dry riverbed and was interesting and easy to ride. A few flat places and we were able to do a little trot... and Motown's version of a trot was a very short canter... lol. She did it right sometimes too. Poor thing was nearly 20 years old and blind in her right eye. And for all that, she did a wonderful job. Responded wonderfully to leg directions and was a lively, brisk walker, sometimes pulling ahead of the guide in wide places. I loved the view of the hills with boulders (southern cal's mountains), and the dozen or so cottontail bunnies darting and hiding, and the little birds. I'd say it was a resounding success. And I was able to take a few pictures on my phone...
After dropping Laramie back on base, I decided to go to the library. I noticed a blanket donation yesterday, when I volunteered, and picked one up at Target. Dropped it off in the barrel, then did an hour taking care of the DVDs. And I found 3 for myself to check out: a Bogie/Bacall, a masterpiece "Northanger Abbey" and "An Education" (2009, nominated for best picture).
And as I had hoped I would, I was able to chat for a long time with Mom & Dad, and later Julie! I really should call people more often. It's so encouraging!
Then I stopped by Trader Joe's for their seasonal spiced apple cider to contribute to the small group meeting. We all had a lovely time visiting, eating very tender bbq chicken breast and a rice & broccoli casserole, and then reading a few short chapters in "Naked Gospel". It took some time for people to wrap their heads around the purpose of the law to "make sin abound" as Paul wrote. Hey! Even Peter wrote that Paul's epistles were hard to understand. :) And I loved Andy & Kristin's apartment! Very cozy, with plenty of room for us all. I saw Jupiter, big and bright as I drove I-8E on the way there. When I got home, it and the moon were directly overhead. :)
The chat with my Darling was especially wonderful. He is going through a series of messages on giving, and he was told some off-base things concerning "tithing"... and it so happened that the same topic was in one of the chapters we read tonight! How the Lord provides! And we finished the book of Proverbs with the last chapter... and he was so sweet to me!
Jw
Friday, September 2, 2011
Day at the Races
It started off kind of slow... I did my laundry. But it was the first loads of laundry in our brand new washers and dryers! So in a way, it was exciting. Had frosted mini-wheats for breakfast (woke up at 9!) and PB & honey on wheat around 11, and a salad at the galley for lunch.
Thought I had a dental cleaning this afternoon, but it ended up just being the doctor confirming that I needed one. So I was able to take off for Del Mar pretty early, at 2:30. Got there around 3, and the first race started at 4. I asked an employee about which gate to enter (I was in front of the club entrance at the time) and he gave me a free pass to get in the ($6) general admission gate. Wandered into their store to look around, found nothing, and then saw the paddock from a back window.
The rest of the time I spent between the paddock and the front rail of the racetrack, at least for the first three races. I had a hotdog for dinner, then caved in for a giant oatmeal raisin cookie. The next two races I saw from the different levels of the grandstand... and between races I wandered around and looked at all the neat old photos that were displayed everywhere.
I had pretty good luck... 1st race, my pick (#8 Hy Lime Time) got 3rd. 2nd race, my pick (#7 Dance With Gable) got 1st! 3rd race, my pick (#6 Money Lover) got 3rd, except he led the pack until the final stretch. 4th race I got skunked, but my pick (#1 Sabe) led the pack same as above... got 4th or 5th, or something. 5th race I got 1st again (#2 Battle School), but I wasn't paying as close attention. Two 1st's out of five... not bad. Too bad I didn't actually bet on some of them. :)
I didn't watch the 6th and 7th races because I wanted to get back to Point Loma in time for my small group meeting at the Presbyterian church that's starting up again for the fall. We're reading Richard Stern's (president of World Vision) "Hole in Our Gospel". It was a lively discussion to kick it off. And they were all very happy to hear that I was getting married so soon (it is a young married's group, after all). :)
Jp
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Fun With Family
Meg was just at a model horse competition in Arizona this weekend, so her and Jason decided it would be neat to swing by San Diego for a bit these last two days.
They arrived Monday night, we were all rather tired from our long days... and we met up at their hotel on Rosecrans "Cabrillo Inn & Suites". Just stayed in the room... got cards from the store across the street to play Phase 10, and ordered a pepperoni pizza from Pizza Hut online (delivered!). A little relaxing night together.
Yesterday we met up around 3ish (after work) to head out to the San Diego County Fair! It was my second trip, but the first time I only went to the concert. This time there was a horse-jumping show going on all day, so we watched quite a bit of that. Took a time out to go get dinner... I had a burger and more corn-on-the-cob... and then returned for more horses. It was dark when we went to ride the roller-coaster, and everything was beautifully lit up. I loved the little coaster they had! It was more of a windy one then one with big drops... and it was high enough for a great view of the fair. After that was just needed 3 more tickets for Meg and I to ride a simulated hang-glider ride. That was nice and gentle, and also high up.
Fun little visit! I stayed with them in their room both nights.
Jp
They arrived Monday night, we were all rather tired from our long days... and we met up at their hotel on Rosecrans "Cabrillo Inn & Suites". Just stayed in the room... got cards from the store across the street to play Phase 10, and ordered a pepperoni pizza from Pizza Hut online (delivered!). A little relaxing night together.
Yesterday we met up around 3ish (after work) to head out to the San Diego County Fair! It was my second trip, but the first time I only went to the concert. This time there was a horse-jumping show going on all day, so we watched quite a bit of that. Took a time out to go get dinner... I had a burger and more corn-on-the-cob... and then returned for more horses. It was dark when we went to ride the roller-coaster, and everything was beautifully lit up. I loved the little coaster they had! It was more of a windy one then one with big drops... and it was high enough for a great view of the fair. After that was just needed 3 more tickets for Meg and I to ride a simulated hang-glider ride. That was nice and gentle, and also high up.
Fun little visit! I stayed with them in their room both nights.
Jp
Saturday, September 18, 2010
One Day, Back & Gone, Two Days Alone With Mom
First day "back" (Thursday) I slept in a good bit (and I needed it!) and then took off on a drive with Meg to visit a couple on Camino Island that were interested in taking my horse (they changed their minds today). But we had a nice drive together... that and lunch at "Duck-In Burgers" :) Mom trimmed my hair when I got home, and I squeezed a shower in before she and I took off for a night at the Seattle Symphony. It was a tribute to the music of Paul McCartney, and sounded like fun. And it was! The words were a little hard to hear at times, and I'm unfamiliar with them, but the music as you all know is swell!
And Friday morning (yesterday), Mom and I went on a two-day trip out to the Washington peninsula... the very north-westernmost tip of it... to the Makah Indian Reservation. We saw the museum there when we arrived at 4pm. Fascinating! A mud slide had buried a 500+ year old Makah village and preserved countless artifacts that even led to the restoration of fishing rights for the locals. The museum had hand-carved canoes and lots of original pieces of tools, art, weaving and toys that told a rather thorough story of the people from Washington.
From there we drove out to the short hike that would take us out to the very tip of Washington at Cape Flatterey. The view was as fabulous as I've heard it was... and better than any picture could show. Although we saw lots of sun on the 4-hour drive over, the rain hit when we got to the trail. The trees covered us most of the way while we were hiking and we were able to see quite a bit when we got there, but when we left the rain and clouds had descended on us. We decided it wouldn't be worth much to get a motel in one of the tiny Indian towns, so we drove back to Port Angeles and arrived around 9pm. It was straight to bed for us both!
Today (Saturday) we took our time getting up and happened across a silly old movie on the Fox Movie Channel while we were packing up. Then we had an *outstanding* breakfast at the cafe next door... I had corned-beef hash, eggs with cheese and a small pancake. Mmm! Mom and I dawdled around Port Angeles, exploring and going back to that small research marine life center we went to last September! This year they had a Giant Pacific Octopus in the tank that used to have a Basket Sea Star. It was fun to look in again, and I got a couple more pictures. We had gone to the same "Crab House" restaurant for lunch on the way over, yesterday, so for lunch today, we went to the Mexican restaurant we had for dinner last year... :) and it was still good!
Sitting at the ferry terminal waiting for the ferry, Mom read the Bible and when we got on (since we had a good place to look outside) we stayed in the car and sang a couple hymns out of the hymnal. :) Overall, I'd say I'm having a good send-off.
And I am finally back from a whirl-wind, fun-filled, beautiful summer that I will never forget.
Jp
PS... Mom had a double feature from Netfilx at home, both with Claudette Colbert and Fred McMurray: tonight's surprise delight was "No Time for Love"... hilarious and fun, but the title didn't make much sense.
And Friday morning (yesterday), Mom and I went on a two-day trip out to the Washington peninsula... the very north-westernmost tip of it... to the Makah Indian Reservation. We saw the museum there when we arrived at 4pm. Fascinating! A mud slide had buried a 500+ year old Makah village and preserved countless artifacts that even led to the restoration of fishing rights for the locals. The museum had hand-carved canoes and lots of original pieces of tools, art, weaving and toys that told a rather thorough story of the people from Washington.
From there we drove out to the short hike that would take us out to the very tip of Washington at Cape Flatterey. The view was as fabulous as I've heard it was... and better than any picture could show. Although we saw lots of sun on the 4-hour drive over, the rain hit when we got to the trail. The trees covered us most of the way while we were hiking and we were able to see quite a bit when we got there, but when we left the rain and clouds had descended on us. We decided it wouldn't be worth much to get a motel in one of the tiny Indian towns, so we drove back to Port Angeles and arrived around 9pm. It was straight to bed for us both!
Today (Saturday) we took our time getting up and happened across a silly old movie on the Fox Movie Channel while we were packing up. Then we had an *outstanding* breakfast at the cafe next door... I had corned-beef hash, eggs with cheese and a small pancake. Mmm! Mom and I dawdled around Port Angeles, exploring and going back to that small research marine life center we went to last September! This year they had a Giant Pacific Octopus in the tank that used to have a Basket Sea Star. It was fun to look in again, and I got a couple more pictures. We had gone to the same "Crab House" restaurant for lunch on the way over, yesterday, so for lunch today, we went to the Mexican restaurant we had for dinner last year... :) and it was still good!
Sitting at the ferry terminal waiting for the ferry, Mom read the Bible and when we got on (since we had a good place to look outside) we stayed in the car and sang a couple hymns out of the hymnal. :) Overall, I'd say I'm having a good send-off.
And I am finally back from a whirl-wind, fun-filled, beautiful summer that I will never forget.
Jp
PS... Mom had a double feature from Netfilx at home, both with Claudette Colbert and Fred McMurray: tonight's surprise delight was "No Time for Love"... hilarious and fun, but the title didn't make much sense.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Spiders - 1, Jen - 0
Yesterday I spent a couple hours at the Everett Naval Station running and swimming and generally getting very tired... which is a great feeling. I remembered how I hate running, but not as badly when I don't have to go over the same ground six times (on a 1/4 mile track). After a dinner of leftovers back home, Mom and I relaxed and watched "Houseboat" 1958, with Cary Grant. Another fun romantic comedy; it's sort of like the Sound of Music, but without the Nazis.
Next morning I woke up wide awake a quarter after 4am after a bad dream where I kept running into spiders in the house. I had to screw up the courage to kill them, one by one. I think the total was eight or nine of them... anyway, spiders are one of my ridiculous fears. Makes no sense, but there you have it.
Never did fall back asleep. Read in Psalms, thought about lots of things, but never did relax enough. I heard Dad get up around six, so I got up to eat breakfast with him. Forgot Friday's are his Men's Bible Study/breakfast at Denny's day, but he invited me along anyway. It ended up being him and just one other friend. Small world... this is the guy who was recently widowed and has found a new wife through some church connections... and she's from Moore, OK (just north of Norman). So we talked about lots of things... :)
Not too long after getting back home Mom & Dad were going to take off for a weekend trip with my oldest sister's family. The Pup was going too, and he figured it out too soon, so I took him on a series of two long walks to get him relaxed enough... LOL
Once they were gone, I was alone for the first time in a *long* time. I hardly knew what to do with myself. Did a bit of laundry, then a couple tasks at the grocery store, then took myself out to lunch. And it was here that I figured out my problem. The ice water gave me shooting pains up and down the left side of my face. Two of my teeth had somehow become hyper-sensitive. The best I can guess is that I cracked them a little while I was worrying about killing spiders.
Back at home even luke-warm water gave me a similar pain. So we'll see how this goes. I've never had anything like this before, and I just happen to be between insurance policies at the moment.
My big event for the day was a trip up to ride my horse in Carnation. I was surprised to see Meg's car there when I arrived! Her and Jason just happened to be visiting at the same time. So we were able to take the horses out on the trail a bit. Roo was really a pain though. He'd just stop and then refuse to go on, or turn and refuse to turn back. Just my luck with horses :) It's because he hasn't been ridden in so long.
But we had a wonderful visit with our friends... and Meg and Jason went out to dinner with me afterwords and we had a good visit ourselves.
Jp
Next morning I woke up wide awake a quarter after 4am after a bad dream where I kept running into spiders in the house. I had to screw up the courage to kill them, one by one. I think the total was eight or nine of them... anyway, spiders are one of my ridiculous fears. Makes no sense, but there you have it.
Never did fall back asleep. Read in Psalms, thought about lots of things, but never did relax enough. I heard Dad get up around six, so I got up to eat breakfast with him. Forgot Friday's are his Men's Bible Study/breakfast at Denny's day, but he invited me along anyway. It ended up being him and just one other friend. Small world... this is the guy who was recently widowed and has found a new wife through some church connections... and she's from Moore, OK (just north of Norman). So we talked about lots of things... :)
Not too long after getting back home Mom & Dad were going to take off for a weekend trip with my oldest sister's family. The Pup was going too, and he figured it out too soon, so I took him on a series of two long walks to get him relaxed enough... LOL
Once they were gone, I was alone for the first time in a *long* time. I hardly knew what to do with myself. Did a bit of laundry, then a couple tasks at the grocery store, then took myself out to lunch. And it was here that I figured out my problem. The ice water gave me shooting pains up and down the left side of my face. Two of my teeth had somehow become hyper-sensitive. The best I can guess is that I cracked them a little while I was worrying about killing spiders.
Back at home even luke-warm water gave me a similar pain. So we'll see how this goes. I've never had anything like this before, and I just happen to be between insurance policies at the moment.
My big event for the day was a trip up to ride my horse in Carnation. I was surprised to see Meg's car there when I arrived! Her and Jason just happened to be visiting at the same time. So we were able to take the horses out on the trail a bit. Roo was really a pain though. He'd just stop and then refuse to go on, or turn and refuse to turn back. Just my luck with horses :) It's because he hasn't been ridden in so long.
But we had a wonderful visit with our friends... and Meg and Jason went out to dinner with me afterwords and we had a good visit ourselves.
Jp
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Perfect Day #1
Because of the late night, a late morning followed. I think it was after 10 when we met up; Mike picked us up at the motel and we crossed the freeway to head to The Cracker Barrel for a bountiful breakfast. I was approached by a very cute little girl who admired my "Don't Tread on Me" t-shirt. She wanted to know where I got it, and I think she was disappointed when I told her 'Boston'. I got it for mere historical reasons when on my tour of New England, and I forgot that lots of people here are *big* fans of the Tea Party thing. :)
Meg and Jason had stuff they needed to do, so Mike and I dropped them back at the motel and we went back to his house to take care of the animals before we headed over to the Museum of Art on campus. Parked across the street at a garage, and the heat (around 110 in the shade) made us dash in as quick as possible. I've never really been an art gallery person, so I wondered how much I would appreciate it. There were a bunch of modern pieces at first, so much was lost on me... :) but then there was a French Impressionist collection that was stunning, along with eighteenth century furniture and decor to compliment it. I also enjoyed more of the European works... one in particular. A girl with a basket by a river in the morning. Can't remember the artist. Darn. We were nearly the only people in there, although it was free admission week. The museum guards outnumbered us and were sometimes helpful and once a little over-zealous: "please don't touch the wall". lol
Down the street from the art museum is the Museum of Natural History. Also on free admission day, this place was packed! And we bravely walked from the car to the AC relief inside. :) Much of the first exhibits were geared towards children, but I really loved the complete dinosaur skeletons. We could view the giant Apatosaurus in the face by taking a glass elevator to the next level. They also had the world's largest Triceratops skull. Wow! Obviously, they had a lot of Native American history, which was neat, and then we finished through the temporary exhibit focusing on chocolate. As Mike said, not too sure what that has to do with natural history, but it was interesting nonetheless.
At this point we were requiring rest and some food for sure. Picked up Meg & Jason for a nice lunch at one of Mike's favorites, La Baguette, a local bakery and cafe. Mmm... quiche. We relaxed so much here that by the time we were done it was close enough to time to get ready and leave for horseback riding. Thunderbird Stables, just east of Norman (and near Lake Thunderbird), let us four go out on the trail ourselves! It was nearly an hour's ride through shady trees and near ponds. We saw white-tailed deer and lots of wild turkeys. Speaking of wild, they gave me a horse that would lead, but also one that would *not* stop. I did everything in the book... reins, knees, slapping, yelling, speaking softly, patting the neck... and I've never felt more helpless in my life. The only time Buzz stopped was to eat grass whenever he wanted. After I relaxed and just rode with it, the horse did plenty of eating so that everyone could catch up. And Meg had the time of her life. :) She loved her horse and was able to do practically anything she wanted with her. Even though things were a little unexpected, I enjoyed myself heartily, and I think everyone else did too. It was a marvelous suggestion, Mike! :)
What a full day - and we weren't done yet! A brief attempted nap was undertaken before we headed of to dinner. We were treated to the cute little Italian place we enjoyed last year: "Othello's" at Campus Corner. As at lunch, Mike and I were on the same page and had the same thing. :) Simple and delicious, a perfect portion of meaty lasagna. Mmm... again.
And then, we headed over to the law school to log onto chat (using multiple computers). I love chatting in person! :) By log-off time, we were all bushed and went our separate ways.
Three days left?! Neat!
Jp
Meg and Jason had stuff they needed to do, so Mike and I dropped them back at the motel and we went back to his house to take care of the animals before we headed over to the Museum of Art on campus. Parked across the street at a garage, and the heat (around 110 in the shade) made us dash in as quick as possible. I've never really been an art gallery person, so I wondered how much I would appreciate it. There were a bunch of modern pieces at first, so much was lost on me... :) but then there was a French Impressionist collection that was stunning, along with eighteenth century furniture and decor to compliment it. I also enjoyed more of the European works... one in particular. A girl with a basket by a river in the morning. Can't remember the artist. Darn. We were nearly the only people in there, although it was free admission week. The museum guards outnumbered us and were sometimes helpful and once a little over-zealous: "please don't touch the wall". lol
Down the street from the art museum is the Museum of Natural History. Also on free admission day, this place was packed! And we bravely walked from the car to the AC relief inside. :) Much of the first exhibits were geared towards children, but I really loved the complete dinosaur skeletons. We could view the giant Apatosaurus in the face by taking a glass elevator to the next level. They also had the world's largest Triceratops skull. Wow! Obviously, they had a lot of Native American history, which was neat, and then we finished through the temporary exhibit focusing on chocolate. As Mike said, not too sure what that has to do with natural history, but it was interesting nonetheless.
At this point we were requiring rest and some food for sure. Picked up Meg & Jason for a nice lunch at one of Mike's favorites, La Baguette, a local bakery and cafe. Mmm... quiche. We relaxed so much here that by the time we were done it was close enough to time to get ready and leave for horseback riding. Thunderbird Stables, just east of Norman (and near Lake Thunderbird), let us four go out on the trail ourselves! It was nearly an hour's ride through shady trees and near ponds. We saw white-tailed deer and lots of wild turkeys. Speaking of wild, they gave me a horse that would lead, but also one that would *not* stop. I did everything in the book... reins, knees, slapping, yelling, speaking softly, patting the neck... and I've never felt more helpless in my life. The only time Buzz stopped was to eat grass whenever he wanted. After I relaxed and just rode with it, the horse did plenty of eating so that everyone could catch up. And Meg had the time of her life. :) She loved her horse and was able to do practically anything she wanted with her. Even though things were a little unexpected, I enjoyed myself heartily, and I think everyone else did too. It was a marvelous suggestion, Mike! :)
What a full day - and we weren't done yet! A brief attempted nap was undertaken before we headed of to dinner. We were treated to the cute little Italian place we enjoyed last year: "Othello's" at Campus Corner. As at lunch, Mike and I were on the same page and had the same thing. :) Simple and delicious, a perfect portion of meaty lasagna. Mmm... again.
And then, we headed over to the law school to log onto chat (using multiple computers). I love chatting in person! :) By log-off time, we were all bushed and went our separate ways.
Three days left?! Neat!
Jp
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Horsies & Things
Woke up about 9. Today so felt like a Saturday! I suppose that's partly because my Dad's taking this week off work as well. We played a backgammon series... and I won :) The slide-show for the wedding arrived today, so we all sat around the computer and enjoyed it (lots of cute pics of the two of them growing up). At 11, Meg and one of her bridesmaids (who flew in last night) and I drove out to our friends house in Carnation. I drove separately, because I knew they'd be staying much longer than I wanted (they're still not home now). So on the way I stopped at Panera Bread in Redmond. Classic salad and a turkey sandwich with an apple side. It was a quick stop; I got to our friend's house just 10 minutes after them. I mostly just did horses outside, but they did things like work on flowers and hair inside (wedding stuff). Roo was a darling! He let me pick all of his hooves without a fight. Sure, he tried to pull back on the problem one, but I've learned to put my knee in front of his leg so he can't wiggle out of it. Picking his hooves has helped my self-confidence, I think, muscling around someone *much* bigger than myself. :) lol
I didn't stay too long, just enough time to brush & pick both of them, saddle and ride Roo for a few rounds in the pasture and then let them both eat the tall grass outside the pasture for 20 minutes or so. They're so funny when you let them out! They never go more than 15 feet away from the gate because all they care about is the grass, so they don't even need lead ropes! :)
When I got home, we decided to watch "The Inspector General" (Danny Kaye) from Netflix. So goofy! But it was classic. Loved the ending. Mom and I had a bit of leftovers for dinner, and then I helped her make the egg salad for sandwiches at the wedding. I think it was 3 dozen eggs... that was a lot! Didn't have much cleaning to do today, since Dad volunteered to vacuum the upstairs (I did the stairs themselves last night). So all I did was sweep the kitchen after Mom gave me a haircut. It's been just over a month since the last one and it had grown out at least an inch. So much nicer.
It was just about 9pm, so I decided to run around the block across the street until I wanted to quit. Kept on telling myself "one more lap" until I did 1.5 miles. No idea about the time, but I tried to sprint the corners. After 3 tall glasses of water I went back outside and sat on our front steps... my favorite place on clear nights for thinking and praying and (quietly) singing. Then a long shower. And now it's time for bed.
Jp
I didn't stay too long, just enough time to brush & pick both of them, saddle and ride Roo for a few rounds in the pasture and then let them both eat the tall grass outside the pasture for 20 minutes or so. They're so funny when you let them out! They never go more than 15 feet away from the gate because all they care about is the grass, so they don't even need lead ropes! :)
When I got home, we decided to watch "The Inspector General" (Danny Kaye) from Netflix. So goofy! But it was classic. Loved the ending. Mom and I had a bit of leftovers for dinner, and then I helped her make the egg salad for sandwiches at the wedding. I think it was 3 dozen eggs... that was a lot! Didn't have much cleaning to do today, since Dad volunteered to vacuum the upstairs (I did the stairs themselves last night). So all I did was sweep the kitchen after Mom gave me a haircut. It's been just over a month since the last one and it had grown out at least an inch. So much nicer.
It was just about 9pm, so I decided to run around the block across the street until I wanted to quit. Kept on telling myself "one more lap" until I did 1.5 miles. No idea about the time, but I tried to sprint the corners. After 3 tall glasses of water I went back outside and sat on our front steps... my favorite place on clear nights for thinking and praying and (quietly) singing. Then a long shower. And now it's time for bed.
Jp
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Sailors, Horses and Historians
or, "What I did with my weekend".
Saturday morning my legs were very, very sore. I got up around 8:00 or so and spent most of the morning setting up my Facebook group for Navy things. I don't know if it was a good idea to do is so far in advance, but I've already been sitting on the idea for a couple months, and I want to see everyone get in it before I go. I think it was a good thing.
My big plan for the weekend was to go horseback riding. I mentioned this to Mom the day before and she also wanted to go so she could measure two of the girls for the wedding (she's making their dresses!). And then suddenly Meg was free because her (almost) other half was suddenly busy... so she came along too! She and Mom took care of the measuring while I got the horses ready... Rooster was such a brat! It took me five minutes to pick one back hoof! (it is the one he's usually bad about, so I wasn't too shocked or anything). But it doesn't make sense. I do it just like all the other ones and Meg says he's been doing it just fine for her. Who knows.
But the day was just lovely! Even though there were a bit of hazy clouds, we could see the freshly-snow-dusted Cascades magnificently. All I needed in terms of the temperature was a thin sweatshirt... and it was beautiful fun. We only saw a few butterflies and robins and sparrows on the ride, but when we were leaving in the car we encountered a doe on the road.
Sunday morning I actually slept in for the first time in weeks! I did wake up for a moment early on, but I didn't wake up until 11:20... and I don't think I got out until 11:50. Aaaahhh! So nice!
For most (the rest) of Sunday I went through some stuff that was stacked on my floor (after lunch of course). My quest to clean up took me through old course packs from college history classes, photo albums, letters from recruiters from when I was 17, scrapbooks I had slapped together with stuff from Jr. High, High School and so on. Goodness gracious. Lots of memories. I got stuck in there practically all night.
I felt really bad about missing the church service I had wanted to go to... and we watched a stupid ol' modern movie after I discovered that fact. I don't much enjoy modern movies compared to the neat older ones I've been treated to lately. It was entertaining to a degree; it was "action packed" for sure, but that was pretty much it ("Wolverine" 2009, Hugh Jackman). Modern screenplays make me cringe. Afterwords, I went back at my room and all the history surrounding me made me forget all about it.
Jp
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Just a Plain Old Nice Day
Sleeping in this morning was really nice. Really! Even if it was only until 7:15. Gosh!
After a really nice late breakfast with all four of us here (which is a rarity), Meg and I took off to Carnation to our friend's house. Meg prepared another model horse show with her best friend (who is now here, back from Mexico) and I spent most of the time out with my horse. This is the first time I've ridden in months! It was so fun. He remembered to obey me! I remembered what to do! He was a darling. We rode around in the ring for awhile practicing turning (after I had removed the little rocks in his feet - and he was very nice for that even!), and then I took him out of the pasture and down the gravel driveway a ways. This he was very nervous about because he doesn't go *anywhere* without Molly, his companion horse. He didn't buck at all though... and he even did what I said. What a good boy!
So, here I am, back at home after a lovely little afternoon with my sister and my horse... and I hear the Huskies lost terribly again. Hmm. Just like old times :)
Jp
After a really nice late breakfast with all four of us here (which is a rarity), Meg and I took off to Carnation to our friend's house. Meg prepared another model horse show with her best friend (who is now here, back from Mexico) and I spent most of the time out with my horse. This is the first time I've ridden in months! It was so fun. He remembered to obey me! I remembered what to do! He was a darling. We rode around in the ring for awhile practicing turning (after I had removed the little rocks in his feet - and he was very nice for that even!), and then I took him out of the pasture and down the gravel driveway a ways. This he was very nervous about because he doesn't go *anywhere* without Molly, his companion horse. He didn't buck at all though... and he even did what I said. What a good boy!
So, here I am, back at home after a lovely little afternoon with my sister and my horse... and I hear the Huskies lost terribly again. Hmm. Just like old times :)
Jp
Friday, August 21, 2009
The Rest of the Day
Horseback riding after work! It was just for a couple hours, but it was great to be back in the saddle again! The weather was perfect for riding... as mentioned earlier... it was cloudy and cool and oh, my gosh! I wore a sweatshirt! Gosh! That was nice!
We rode out to the overlook (of the Cascade Mountains) and ate lots of blackberries at various times. The horses must have been confused at how many times we stopped, and got on and off. But oh! On the way back, we saw a red-tail hawk flying away from us... and then he perched in a tree not far off, we rode up to him and stopped, and after a moment, flew away again, deeper into the forest. Now that's even cooler than seeing the coyote we saw a few months ago.
And for most of tonight, I am by myself! What a change!
Yesterday I started reading in Mere Christianity again, and am amazed at how clear and concise it is... If I can stay awake, I might read some more of that, I think.
How I do love Fridays.
Jp
We rode out to the overlook (of the Cascade Mountains) and ate lots of blackberries at various times. The horses must have been confused at how many times we stopped, and got on and off. But oh! On the way back, we saw a red-tail hawk flying away from us... and then he perched in a tree not far off, we rode up to him and stopped, and after a moment, flew away again, deeper into the forest. Now that's even cooler than seeing the coyote we saw a few months ago.
And for most of tonight, I am by myself! What a change!
Yesterday I started reading in Mere Christianity again, and am amazed at how clear and concise it is... If I can stay awake, I might read some more of that, I think.
How I do love Fridays.
Jp
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Horsin' Around
It's good to be back home and sitting down after a day or two of rushing around!
Yesterday rather wore me out: getting done with work about 12:30, then eating a quick snack for lunch (while beating my dad at backgammon again), doing the dishes, cleaning my room for my ritual 'put everything away from the week' day, taking the trash downstairs, going through junk on my desk and the like. By the time I got done, I realized I hadn't really laid out my plans for my trip to San Diego next week, so I worked on that until it was time to rush off to Seattle for the opening reception for our photography class... my parents, sister and aunt came, and then a friend of mine showed up later as well. It was great to see everyone from class again, and to hang out and chat.
Afterwords, I rushed home again, got myself together, took the dog for a quick jaunt, then rushed off again to Carnation to spend the night (and today) with my sister at our friend's house. Even though I was driving around 10 o'clock at night over 2 huge hills and 10 miles of country roads after that, I had a glorious drive, singing my lungs out with Jennifer Knapp's "Kansas" with the window down, the AC on, (it's been kinda warm here) and my left leg up on the dash... gosh, that's fun! (I just had a similar experience driving home! except this time I could enjoy the lush green fields and golden sun resting on the fir trees and farms. :)
Anyways, when I finally got there last night (at 10:30) I saw a doe along their long gravel driveway! Too bad I scared her! And when I got in the house, we finished watching the TNG episode she had on, then played Phase 10 with Toy Story 2 on in the background. I had forgotten how much I loved that movie! It's too good! I wonder if the new one coming out will be any good?
I then lay down on the couch (where I slept) as I was just plum tuckered out. I held the one puppy that kept crying in order to calm him down... awwww! there's nothing like holding a little guy in your hand! :) Later after the little guy got put back, I only woke up once or twice before getting up for good at 8:15. A definite improvement over Wednesday night!
For breakfast, we had fresh eggs from the chicken pen and toast, and then played another game, and then took care of the animals. This entailed feeding the horses, taking the two goats out to graze on some weeds, scrubbing the algae out of, and filling the water buckets for the goats and the two dogs in the dog pen, catching the one dog after he got out and went for a romp, and finally watering the horses. About three hours or so... yikes!
I remember that after another couple games, lunch, and Muppet Treasure Island, (we wanted to stay inside from the blistering, cloudless sky for a while), I took an hour nap on an armchair. Gosh, did that feel good! After waking up, we went for a little horseback ride, only on the trails close to the house. We turned to circle around instead of going on to the power lines, and since this meant we were going back to the house, the horses charged ahead when we asked them to run. Roo broke out into a canter immediately! LOL! We were flying! And although short, it was great fun! What a lovely day! Back at the house, it was one more game and then here I am.
(sigh of contentment)
Jp
Yesterday rather wore me out: getting done with work about 12:30, then eating a quick snack for lunch (while beating my dad at backgammon again), doing the dishes, cleaning my room for my ritual 'put everything away from the week' day, taking the trash downstairs, going through junk on my desk and the like. By the time I got done, I realized I hadn't really laid out my plans for my trip to San Diego next week, so I worked on that until it was time to rush off to Seattle for the opening reception for our photography class... my parents, sister and aunt came, and then a friend of mine showed up later as well. It was great to see everyone from class again, and to hang out and chat.
Afterwords, I rushed home again, got myself together, took the dog for a quick jaunt, then rushed off again to Carnation to spend the night (and today) with my sister at our friend's house. Even though I was driving around 10 o'clock at night over 2 huge hills and 10 miles of country roads after that, I had a glorious drive, singing my lungs out with Jennifer Knapp's "Kansas" with the window down, the AC on, (it's been kinda warm here) and my left leg up on the dash... gosh, that's fun! (I just had a similar experience driving home! except this time I could enjoy the lush green fields and golden sun resting on the fir trees and farms. :)
Anyways, when I finally got there last night (at 10:30) I saw a doe along their long gravel driveway! Too bad I scared her! And when I got in the house, we finished watching the TNG episode she had on, then played Phase 10 with Toy Story 2 on in the background. I had forgotten how much I loved that movie! It's too good! I wonder if the new one coming out will be any good?
I then lay down on the couch (where I slept) as I was just plum tuckered out. I held the one puppy that kept crying in order to calm him down... awwww! there's nothing like holding a little guy in your hand! :) Later after the little guy got put back, I only woke up once or twice before getting up for good at 8:15. A definite improvement over Wednesday night!
For breakfast, we had fresh eggs from the chicken pen and toast, and then played another game, and then took care of the animals. This entailed feeding the horses, taking the two goats out to graze on some weeds, scrubbing the algae out of, and filling the water buckets for the goats and the two dogs in the dog pen, catching the one dog after he got out and went for a romp, and finally watering the horses. About three hours or so... yikes!
I remember that after another couple games, lunch, and Muppet Treasure Island, (we wanted to stay inside from the blistering, cloudless sky for a while), I took an hour nap on an armchair. Gosh, did that feel good! After waking up, we went for a little horseback ride, only on the trails close to the house. We turned to circle around instead of going on to the power lines, and since this meant we were going back to the house, the horses charged ahead when we asked them to run. Roo broke out into a canter immediately! LOL! We were flying! And although short, it was great fun! What a lovely day! Back at the house, it was one more game and then here I am.
(sigh of contentment)
Jp
Sunday, June 28, 2009
A Big Little Horsie
Per request, my sister's little champion from the National Competition in Portland this weekend. Wow! We were all surprised! This guy is three inches tall, but it's all heart. LOL
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Untitled
Yeah, I couldn't figure out what to name it.
Yesterday after work... had to work a little late because I woke up a little late...
It's been that kind of week... late to bed, early to rise makes me unhappy and late, I surmise.
And after work I was so relieved that I didn't have anything to do, that I worked on going through stuff in my room. Programs from shows I saw last year... getting them ready to be slapped in a book so I can go back and look through them later... I found a copy of the letter I wrote to Amanda Naughton... gosh! it was a pretty nice letter! If only I didn't expect her to reply.
And then our family took Dad's mom and sister and brother-in-law out to dinner at Denny's so everyone could finally say goodbye to Zac, because he leaves for recruit training tomorrow evening. (sigh) I know that I'll most likely cry, but I hope it won't be as bad as it was January 11. Gee, I still remember the date...
When we got home, we watched "The Counterfeit Traitor" with William Holden from 1961. Wow! Good movie! An American turned Swede oil businessman is coerced into spying against the Nazis for the Allies... and it gets really good!
And although I had to get up just after 7 this morning, I stayed up til midnight goofing around on Facebook. Gahhhh! When will I learn?!
My sister and I had to get up early because we needed to go pick the horses' feet before the farrier arrived at 9. It was my first time watching the farrier do the trimming and shoeing... it was very interesting.
Afterwords, it was so cold and rainy (biking got cancelled) and my fingers were pink and my toes freezing (and they were uncomfortable to begin - Roo stomped on the little toes of my right foot while I was picking his back foot - and it left a dent in my GI boots for a moment), so we left. We went over Tolt Hill into Redmond, had a fabulous lunch at our mutually favorite lunch place, Panera Bread. Then we went to Value Village (I found some amazing shoes! and a large plastic frill-necked-lizard, a species I have adored since I was a kid - holy cow! it's so cool! it's like life size!), and then Half Price Books for a quick look-around, and then Tree Top Toys, where I bought a Carnegie dinosaur. We went home for a while, and then went to Fred Meyer to get an alarm clock for me, so I can get up this week. And while we were there, we looked at the toys and I found an extremely cute stuffed horse that looked exactly like Thunderhoof! LOL! Very fun day with my sister!
Jp
Yesterday after work... had to work a little late because I woke up a little late...
It's been that kind of week... late to bed, early to rise makes me unhappy and late, I surmise.
And after work I was so relieved that I didn't have anything to do, that I worked on going through stuff in my room. Programs from shows I saw last year... getting them ready to be slapped in a book so I can go back and look through them later... I found a copy of the letter I wrote to Amanda Naughton... gosh! it was a pretty nice letter! If only I didn't expect her to reply.
And then our family took Dad's mom and sister and brother-in-law out to dinner at Denny's so everyone could finally say goodbye to Zac, because he leaves for recruit training tomorrow evening. (sigh) I know that I'll most likely cry, but I hope it won't be as bad as it was January 11. Gee, I still remember the date...
When we got home, we watched "The Counterfeit Traitor" with William Holden from 1961. Wow! Good movie! An American turned Swede oil businessman is coerced into spying against the Nazis for the Allies... and it gets really good!
And although I had to get up just after 7 this morning, I stayed up til midnight goofing around on Facebook. Gahhhh! When will I learn?!
My sister and I had to get up early because we needed to go pick the horses' feet before the farrier arrived at 9. It was my first time watching the farrier do the trimming and shoeing... it was very interesting.
Afterwords, it was so cold and rainy (biking got cancelled) and my fingers were pink and my toes freezing (and they were uncomfortable to begin - Roo stomped on the little toes of my right foot while I was picking his back foot - and it left a dent in my GI boots for a moment), so we left. We went over Tolt Hill into Redmond, had a fabulous lunch at our mutually favorite lunch place, Panera Bread. Then we went to Value Village (I found some amazing shoes! and a large plastic frill-necked-lizard, a species I have adored since I was a kid - holy cow! it's so cool! it's like life size!), and then Half Price Books for a quick look-around, and then Tree Top Toys, where I bought a Carnegie dinosaur. We went home for a while, and then went to Fred Meyer to get an alarm clock for me, so I can get up this week. And while we were there, we looked at the toys and I found an extremely cute stuffed horse that looked exactly like Thunderhoof! LOL! Very fun day with my sister!
Jp
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Weekend
Friday evening, I took the dog for a walk along the Sammamish to take more pictures... but taking care of a dingo can get in the way a little... "Spiffy stay! Spiffy staaaay!" as he tries to chase a bike. I got a couple, but there weren't many birds on the swift moving river anyways. Afterwords, I dropped by Half Price Books to pick up a present for a coworker.
Saturday I slept in!!! But I had a terrible dream... so I was feeling out of sorts all morning. Did a little cleaning up in the back room, and I had quite a headache and I felt as if I might be starting to get sick. So my sister and I went horseback riding in the afternoon, and boy! was that what I needed! Got away from the city, enjoyed the country and got back in the saddle! Even though Roo bucked a little, it was still a lovely ride. The weather was perfect, and we had a wonderful time. And then in the evening, chat was hysterical. Producing discussions out of us while we obtained to sing in the moon... All with pendants and pennants and Patty Puke. LOL
Today I managed to stay pretty relaxed. Had a great sleep and a long shower. Family and friends came over around noon or so for my nephew's third birthday party, so it was wild and crazy for a time, and then everyone left all at once, except for my brother (he's been delayed again and again and is still with us until the middle of March). Spent the evening washing my bed and converting my RAW images and talking on the phone with a dear friend. And then everyone came back again and we watched a little more Dick Van Dyke. I don't feel like I'm getting sick anymore (knock on wood) and I think I might be ready for another long shot... um, week.
I thank the Lord for watching over me!
Jp
Saturday I slept in!!! But I had a terrible dream... so I was feeling out of sorts all morning. Did a little cleaning up in the back room, and I had quite a headache and I felt as if I might be starting to get sick. So my sister and I went horseback riding in the afternoon, and boy! was that what I needed! Got away from the city, enjoyed the country and got back in the saddle! Even though Roo bucked a little, it was still a lovely ride. The weather was perfect, and we had a wonderful time. And then in the evening, chat was hysterical. Producing discussions out of us while we obtained to sing in the moon... All with pendants and pennants and Patty Puke. LOL
Today I managed to stay pretty relaxed. Had a great sleep and a long shower. Family and friends came over around noon or so for my nephew's third birthday party, so it was wild and crazy for a time, and then everyone left all at once, except for my brother (he's been delayed again and again and is still with us until the middle of March). Spent the evening washing my bed and converting my RAW images and talking on the phone with a dear friend. And then everyone came back again and we watched a little more Dick Van Dyke. I don't feel like I'm getting sick anymore (knock on wood) and I think I might be ready for another long shot... um, week.
I thank the Lord for watching over me!
Jp
Friday, October 17, 2008
Crazy Fridays
I have been running all day... I'm about to blink out, but I wanted to get this in today's column.
I woke up bright and cheery for Jazzercise, but managed to get there 6 minutes late (no biggie - all I missed was the warm-up song). Then headed off to work for 4 and a half hours (a half to make up for leaving early to make it class yesterday - Thursday traffic is always worse for some reason). In class yesterday we talked all about F-stops (which stands for Function - Stop Plates, BTW) and shutter speed. Our assignment this week is to take portrait shots on a whole roll of film and switch up the F-stops and see the results when we process it at the next class.
After relaxing for a moment at home which included eating lunch, playing backgammon and naming the new family car (my parents just got a new one too), Meggan and I headed out to Carnation to ride our horses. We had a lovely time and the horses had a great workout. We trotted and cantered quite a bit compared to what we usually do. We even persuaded them to cross a little creek (they are deathly afraid of stepping in water). It was great fun! I love feeling Roo's power when he canters. We also go very fast. :)
We got home about 7pm and then went out to dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant. From there I headed over to Seattle to play at the rally for the OSU game tomorrow. I needed to return 'The Women', pay Alex for the Mellophone shirt and pick up my present from Rachel, from her trip to Germany - a Reichsbanknote for 1 million marks, from 1923. The rally was good and the t-shirt is funny, but I wasn't able to get very excited about it, probably because I'm so tired. I suppose that's how it goes.
Anyway, 4 pm kickoff tomorrow. Homecoming. Oh Boy. I won't be too surprised if our record after the game is 0-6. Gosh. Even worse than 2004. I didn't think that was ever possible.
Jp
I woke up bright and cheery for Jazzercise, but managed to get there 6 minutes late (no biggie - all I missed was the warm-up song). Then headed off to work for 4 and a half hours (a half to make up for leaving early to make it class yesterday - Thursday traffic is always worse for some reason). In class yesterday we talked all about F-stops (which stands for Function - Stop Plates, BTW) and shutter speed. Our assignment this week is to take portrait shots on a whole roll of film and switch up the F-stops and see the results when we process it at the next class.
After relaxing for a moment at home which included eating lunch, playing backgammon and naming the new family car (my parents just got a new one too), Meggan and I headed out to Carnation to ride our horses. We had a lovely time and the horses had a great workout. We trotted and cantered quite a bit compared to what we usually do. We even persuaded them to cross a little creek (they are deathly afraid of stepping in water). It was great fun! I love feeling Roo's power when he canters. We also go very fast. :)
We got home about 7pm and then went out to dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant. From there I headed over to Seattle to play at the rally for the OSU game tomorrow. I needed to return 'The Women', pay Alex for the Mellophone shirt and pick up my present from Rachel, from her trip to Germany - a Reichsbanknote for 1 million marks, from 1923. The rally was good and the t-shirt is funny, but I wasn't able to get very excited about it, probably because I'm so tired. I suppose that's how it goes.
Anyway, 4 pm kickoff tomorrow. Homecoming. Oh Boy. I won't be too surprised if our record after the game is 0-6. Gosh. Even worse than 2004. I didn't think that was ever possible.
Jp
Friday, September 12, 2008
What a Day!
Today I crawled out of bed just in time to make it to Jazzercise at 6am. This was my first Friday class in a long time, and I always love Mary's sessions! She's the teacher on Fridays. I got to work early, since Friday hours are 8am to Noon, and started by scanning my co-worker's data books. I finished my how-to guide that I was tasked to write this year that goes through and explains all my job functions in one of my departments, and my boss was impressed with the format I created for it. She paid me the ultimate compliment by asking me to proof-read her paper for her class she's taking (she's finishing up her bachelor's of business degree). I love helping out and I hope my comments helped her, although I only had about 15 minutes to give them. Work is fun when most of what I do is write... I'm going to miss working on my assignment, even if it was only a technical report. Anything is better than processing an already processed Usage Change Request.
When I got home, I ate a quick lunch and then my sister and I headed out for Carnation to ride our horses. We tacked up and went out for a short trail ride. Roo was wonderful with his new shoes, until he decided to hop around weird and hurt his back leg again. I think he pulled it when he does those little dances when he freaks himself out. Oh, Roo. We did some trotting and unexpected cantering, so that made things exciting. We also had an issue with standing still when I was re-mounting, but we got through it alright. I love riding out there! It makes me feel like a country girl for a little while at least. It is a nice respite from the city.
After we finished riding, we were invited into our friend's house for a few games of Nertz (Dutch Blitz, with regular decks), none of which I won, but some I did well on. I played the exact same number of cards as Susan did on several hands. That was a little extraordinary. When we finished, I took the opportunity to lay down on the couch for a moment while everyone else talked. I was wiped out, and I fell asleep for a while. It was most refreshing! When I woke up it was time to go home. We stopped at McDonald's on Redmond Ridge, and I had a Big'n Tasty, a small fry and a dollar side-salad. By the time we got home, I had just enough time to change my burnt-out headlight and take the dog for a walk before it was time to run over to the University for the first rally of the season.
Natalie, Erik and Alex were already there when I pulled into the Husky Union Building parking lot. It was a great revival of fun, as Natalie was wearing her t-shirt that I found for her in China, along with a bright purple wig. Oh my! What a good time was had by all! There were at least 15 mellophones there, including 4 of the 5 new rookies. I was able to meet them all, and it looks like they'll have a great section this year. They made very slight changes to some of the choreography this week during drills. Natalie said it was the hardest drills that she ever had, because this time they're not doing Band Day tomorrow, but doing a regular marching show for halftime instead. It sounded like it was intense! I can't wait to WATCH the halftime show for the first time in FIVE years. Ahhhh. I was also able to get my hands on a free parking pass for tomorrow, so that was nice too. The rally started at 8:45 and finished up at the regular spot in front of Suzzalo Library on Red Square at 10:20.
Beat the Sooners tomorrow!
Jp
When I got home, I ate a quick lunch and then my sister and I headed out for Carnation to ride our horses. We tacked up and went out for a short trail ride. Roo was wonderful with his new shoes, until he decided to hop around weird and hurt his back leg again. I think he pulled it when he does those little dances when he freaks himself out. Oh, Roo. We did some trotting and unexpected cantering, so that made things exciting. We also had an issue with standing still when I was re-mounting, but we got through it alright. I love riding out there! It makes me feel like a country girl for a little while at least. It is a nice respite from the city.
After we finished riding, we were invited into our friend's house for a few games of Nertz (Dutch Blitz, with regular decks), none of which I won, but some I did well on. I played the exact same number of cards as Susan did on several hands. That was a little extraordinary. When we finished, I took the opportunity to lay down on the couch for a moment while everyone else talked. I was wiped out, and I fell asleep for a while. It was most refreshing! When I woke up it was time to go home. We stopped at McDonald's on Redmond Ridge, and I had a Big'n Tasty, a small fry and a dollar side-salad. By the time we got home, I had just enough time to change my burnt-out headlight and take the dog for a walk before it was time to run over to the University for the first rally of the season.
Natalie, Erik and Alex were already there when I pulled into the Husky Union Building parking lot. It was a great revival of fun, as Natalie was wearing her t-shirt that I found for her in China, along with a bright purple wig. Oh my! What a good time was had by all! There were at least 15 mellophones there, including 4 of the 5 new rookies. I was able to meet them all, and it looks like they'll have a great section this year. They made very slight changes to some of the choreography this week during drills. Natalie said it was the hardest drills that she ever had, because this time they're not doing Band Day tomorrow, but doing a regular marching show for halftime instead. It sounded like it was intense! I can't wait to WATCH the halftime show for the first time in FIVE years. Ahhhh. I was also able to get my hands on a free parking pass for tomorrow, so that was nice too. The rally started at 8:45 and finished up at the regular spot in front of Suzzalo Library on Red Square at 10:20.
Beat the Sooners tomorrow!
Jp
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)