So......

Finally did some Christmas shopping (online, of course!). The good news is everything has arrived; the bad news is I have to wrap it all up. Oh, well. Much of it is already done.

Sara and I had a riding lesson on Sunday; the temp was a high of 32! so it was only 27 when we went riding. The secret to riding in this weather? Layers, layers and more layers - long johns, riding pants, 2 pairs of socks; long john top, Under Armour, and a nice warm sweater, topped off with a windbreaker jacket; Earmuffs and nice and warm winter riding gloves set off the ensemble. Bella and Smash were not happy to see us coming towards them with halters and lead ropes. As a matter of fact, they took off to the farthest corner of the field as fast as they could find. Sheesh! Bella stared me down, but it did no good. I still took her away. The wind took pity upon us and went somewhere else for the day.

After the lesson I worked on my black and red jacket for some time; got bored with it, and finally did some gift wrapping. Amazingly, by that time it was 5:00. How time flies.

Dave came to my office last week and a woman who does jewelry came for a really mini-craft fair. Dave brought pictures, calendars and some note cards to sell. Peggy had her usual inventory of jewelry. I don't know how well Peggy did, but Dave sold about 6 of his pictures and many calendars and boxes of notecards. The next day several people came by and ordered more pictures from Dave.

Knitting continues on the grey, light pink and dark pink sweater. Fortunately, it's an easy pattern and will be done soon. But, then I have to block it before I can sew it together. Made that mistake before and the sweater was not quite the right size. Grrr! Blocking takes away the urgency of putting the sweater together, but I don't want to make that mistake again.

Finished Cathy's mittens and gave them to her on Sunday. She really liked them. At first she didn't see that I had knit "Rizzo" into each mitten. Then, she got really excited! Glad she likes them.

Top side of Mitten with "Rizzo".

Palm side of Mitten.

Update

It's December, and of course, I haven't done anything about Christmas - decorating, presents, planning the Christmas meal - nothing.

I had plenty of decorations, but here's the story: I donated one garland, one sleigh, two wreaths I made to the office to make it festive. Secondly, I sent some decorations over to Sara's house last year when she moved in, and hmmm, it seems they are still at her house. I'm sure they will all blend in with her purple tree! Don't blame me, I'm not the one who suggested she get a purple tree, which reminds me of:

I never saw a purple cow
I never hope to see one
But I can tell you any how
I would rather see than be one.

I learned that so long ago, I don't even remember when I did learn it, but as the brain does strange things, I haven't forgotten it at all.

Or:

This I learned in 8th grade at Frederick Junior High School (way before Middle Schools). It was next to Frederick High School, which I think are both gone because the last time I was in Frederick, I saw a sign that said, "Frederick High School", which is not the one I remember. Of course, that was only about 40 years or so ago.

The Goops

The Goops they lick their fingers,
The Goops they lick their knives,
They spill their broth on the tablecloth
They lead disgusting lives.

The Goops they talk while eating
And loud and fast they chew
And that is why I am glad I'm not a Goop,
Are you?

Okay, so I digressed a bit here.

Now I know what I'm doing on Friday or Saturday. Going to Michael's and re-stock on ornaments, glue sticks, etc. so I can make myself some new decorations for the house. We need a tree, too, but not a purple one.

So, the weather is slowly getting colder. Sara and I ran a 5K on Thanksgiving Day; it was a miserable weather day to boot. When I got up, it wasn't raining, when I left, it was raining, called Sara, she said it was not raining. But, it did start to rain, again. We got to Towson, it wasn't raining, then it started to rain, then the race began, and it really started to rain. We were drenched through all layers of clothing, and the temp was only 34-35, so we were wet and cold. What a way to start the day. All in all, the day went well after that. In-laws came over, my friend, Betty, came over (with lots of wine!), we ate, and then everyone went home. Good! I was exhausted from the race, cooking dinner and cleaning up. I fell asleep as soon as everyone left.

Horse Show Weekend Update

Let's start with some pictures.







Sara and Smash at the halt.





















Sallie and Moonie in their Intro A test.





















Bella and I at the halt.














Bella giving Smash some advice on the Intro A test.

Bella and I performing the Intro A test.

Sara, Sallie and I signed up for the third in the series of the Loch Moy Short Course event. To recap: I did the first one by myself and placed fifth; Sara and Sallie came with me too the second series: I came in fourth; Sallie got second; and poor Sara was eliminated during the cross country course. We found out later that Satchmo had a hurt back and was not feeling well at all. We all did the third in the series, but I was the only one who did all three. I was very lucky and placed first in my division. Sara rode another horse, Smash, and came in second in her division. Sallie had a good dressage test, but did not make it through the cross country course.

As excited as I was about placing first yesterday, I got an email from Loch Moy Farm saying I placed third overall for the series. What? Get out of town! Never did I think this would be me winning something like that.

MARC Train Update

SooOOoo, here we go, again.

Monday night: Get on the train; at some point before departure we are told the train set is one car short because the usual train set is broken down in Baltimore with no time in sight when it will be fixed. OK, we can deal with that; the train was very crowded.

Next announcement (which I knew was coming): The train is here; however, the crew for this train is going to be late because of the broken down train in Baltimore; they are at New Carrollton and will be here within 5-7 minutes. We have a golf cart at the track where they will arrvive, and it will bring them to track 7. We wait and wait and wait. Finally, at 6:16 (remember, this is a 5:51 p.m. departure) we leave Union Station. By the time I get to Dorsey it is 6:55, 25 minutes late.

Tuesday night: Get on the train; we have a full train set with 5 cars. We depart Union Station, go at a reasonable speed(we did slow down a few times, but what else is new?) to all the stops EXCEPT Dorsey. After Savage the train does a 5 MPH trek to Dorsey. No announcement why we are so slow, but we all have ideas:

1. Switch Problem
2. Signal Problem
3. Track Work
4. Freight Train in Front of Us.

We trudged along from Savage to Dorsey for 25 minutes! It should take only about 10 minutes to get to Dorsey. Again, 6:55 p.m. by the time we get to Dorsey, then there is the drive home. By the time I get home, change, eat dinner, it is almost 8:00 p.m. What a way to spend another short evening before I have to get up and go again.

The reason for the slowness? TWO FREIGHT TRAINS, NOT JUST ONE!

Oh, wait! Yesterday the train was 7 minutes early in the a.m. to Union Station, then the train home was 25 minutes late - Subtract the 7 from 25, which gives me a net time of 18 mintues on the train! It works mathematically, right? However, I think being delayed far more outweighs the times of being early. I think I'm still in the hole here regarding time on the train.

Oh, yes, I will continue to ride MARC. I am a captive audience because I know I will never drive into D.C. every day and battle the traffic on the highway and the traffic in D.C., which can become a parking lot at a moment's notice.

Good thing I can read, knit, listen to music or nap. However, sitting on the train for over an hour can be cumbersome and tiring. Many times I think I should just stay on the train because it's not that long before I have to get back on it. :)

Halloween Horse Show

Sara, Sallie and I participated in a horse show on Sunday. We were able to dress up; here's my skull and roses jacket that I wore. Unfortunately, my "Pinney" covered up the vest I had made.

Sara dressed up as Amelia Earhart.

Bella's Saddle Pad with skeleton, who lost a leg somewhere along the way. The skeleton, not Bella.

Part of the cross country course. Very pretty.

The water event.

The weather was perfect - not too hot, not too cold. We all had a great time. And we're going to do it again in two weeks. We must be gluttons for punishment.

Update

As you know, I finished the Kimono shawl a few weeks ago. Finally have pics:




































































Don't understand how this works sometimes, but anyway.........

Sara, Sallie and I are gong XC Schooling tomorrow in preparation for the show we are doing on October 31 - Halloween. In that vein, I made a skull/roses jacket that has a semi-tuxedo look to it. Also made a skeleton vest to go with and am using a skull and cross bones saddle pad for Miss Bella.

Sunday a.m. I am running a 5K - gotta keep the exercise and goals going or I'll become a blob. Fortunately, this race is at Long Gate, so I don't have far to drive and it starts fairly late - 9:00! usually these races start at 8:00, but there will be lots of the day to go afterward.

Dave is going to a wedding at the Willard Hotel tomorrow to photograph, and we are hoping that it will be a good experience for him. He is helping out another photographer, and so far some pictures will be taken at the Willard and at a few of the monuments! Dave was told he will be there from noon to midnight so he'll be quite tired on Sunday.

I have so much leave accrued that I am taking Fridays off for the next five weeks so I don't lose any of it. Today is the first day of my Fridays off, and I'm so confused. Last night I kept thinking it was Friday because I'm so used to working a five-day work week. It does feel nice not to have to have gotten up and get dressed, drive to the station, sit on the train for who knows how long, etc.

Baby blanket was completely tossed. I did not like the way it looked, so I changed patterns AND got new yarn. I'm waiting for the yarn to come in so I can start anew.

One mitten is finished for riding instructor; now, on to the task of the second one. I have cast on the second mitten, but have only a few rows of the ribbing done so far. Do you know how difficult it is to cast on, then divide the stitches onto four needles and start knitting while on the train? And someone sitting next to you keeps bumping your arm? Well, I do. It's not easy, but in the name of knitting, I persevered.

Yarn Crawl Tomorrow!

OK. I don't really need any more yarn, but it's an excuse to be with friends and have a nice day together. However.......

As you know, I was commissioned to knit a baby blanket; the pattern was great if I used only two colors as required by the pattern; I wanted to use all "baby" colors, and attempted to do each repeat in a different color. Unfortunately, only the original blue and white looked really pretty. I would have continued in just those colors, but my client wanted all pastel colors in the blanket. Looks as if I'm going to have to go to a varigated yarn that has the pastels in it, and I will have to use another pattern. Drat! But, to paraphrase those Project Runway contestants, I can't send anything to a client that I don't like. I must be true to myself as a knitter!

Riding lesson on Sunday; probably more flat work as I need that just as much as jumping. Next Saturday, the 23rd, we will be going XC schooling in preparation for the show on October 31. Sara, Sallie and I are going together for the show and XC schooling. It will be nice to have other people come with me this time.

Ran on the TM yesterday, and wore myself out! I'm still tired, but since I won't be doing any exercise until Sunday, I'm debating with myself about going to the gym today and at least getting my heart rate up today. Definitely not in the mood.

Status: Finally on the last few rounds of the first mitten for Cathy. Then, I do the thumb and then get to start the second mitten. It's a good thing I started this project back in June; it's October now and the first mitten is not even done!