Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Pictures of my completed ISE3 scarf

Cutest puppy ever! This is Dusty, our Australian Shepard/Lab mix. She turned 4 months old on the 19th.


Here they are finally. Knit from Jo Sharp dk wool in rust. It turned out lovely if I do say so myself.

Good day yesterday

Horse Stuff
Worked with Rio the last couple of days. Yesterday, she was like a different horse altogether. Calm, collected, attentive....I could hardly believe it was her. She was okay on Friday night--not great. She was still walking away with me upon mounting and was pretty pissy with Dancer in the arena. Last night--totally different. I worked on the ground with her a bit--the usual exercises. Then I worked on her bending at the neck without moving.
I read some articles yesterday about establishing dominance and being the "herd leader". I tried some of the tips. Afterward, for about 10 minutes, I walked around the arena and she followed me and mirrored my steps exactly! That was really cool. She was licking her lips (a sign of submission) and even stopped when I did. Not sure what button I pushed, but I will try some of the same things next time.
When I went to get on her, she didn't take one step. Even after I was on, she waited for my cue. She was quiet and responsive in the ring and didn't put her ears back at Dancer once. She was relaxed in the cross-ties and seemed as content as can be. Hmmmm.
Knitting Stuff
Mailed my ISE3 scarf to my pal who lives in Canada. I really have not "connected" all that well with her as her answers to my emails have been, well, rather short--not very chatty. From her blog, she seems to be into knitting and seems to have a good personality. Maybe she isn't a good email communicator-oh, well. I sent her a message yesterday that her scarf was put in the mail on Saturday, October 14th. I would have thought she would have gotten it by now. I keep checking the blog to see if she posts that she got it.
On the flip side, my pal who is knitting from me has been great. I have heard from her several times. She has finished my scarf and mailed it off. She told me today that it should take about a week since she is in another country...how cool is that? (okay, I just said cool twice this morning..how very valley girl of me). I keep checking my mail everyday with my breath held.
I joined a mitten swap, too. I have not been assigned my pal yet but expect this will happen any day. I guess I need to practice before I make some unsuspecting person the victim of my first pair of mittens. At least I am somewhat better than last year at knitting.

Friday, October 13, 2006

My very first post!


I figured I should just get rolling on posting rather than waiting to get the format perfectly. I look at all these other blogs and wonder how in the world so many people have figured out to do so many things with their blogs.
Updates in the world of riding: Rio and I attended a horsemanship clinic earlier in the month. It was really helpful for me but now I have even more doubts that I am doing ANYTHING right. I will keep practicing my new "tools" and see if she gets better. Her vet diagnosed her with "heel pain" another name for anything related to issues with the navicular bone. The farrier came today to see if evening out her hooves would help any. It will require a little close watching to see if anything else might need to be done.

On the knitting front, I finished my scarf for my International Scarf Exchange pal. It turned out beautifully. I will post pictures once I can figure out how to get the new pics off of the camera. My next project is Forbes Forest Scarf from Scarf Style--having problem with the chart on this one.