Catching up...

First and most important, is the new header for my blog.  Its a painting by Leslie Anne Webb.  I first saw her work in Truckee several years ago; since then, I've admired not only her art but the work she does.  She's a dedicated horse activest for whom I have the utmost respect.  I e-mailed her to ask permission to use this  work as my header and she couldn't have been nicer.  Please visit her website.

Saturday was spent all day in Reno...well, it felt like all day.  First we watched a friend for an hour at the World Championship Weight Lifting event at the Peppermill.  A good friend of mine had  a very apt comment: "Who decided that weight lifting was a spectator sport?"  I enjoyed the 30 seconds of watching our  friend; I did not enjoy the 59 minutes of watching the others!

Then it was off to my sister's in Carson to pick up a quilt from a new customer, Judy, and then back to Home Depot to buy fun stuff for the yurt.   Two hours later we left Home Depot with kitchen cabinets, a kitchen sink, a small refer, a toilet, wall sconces, a ceiling fan, stain for the concrete floor and wood to build the walls with.  

I worked on two quilts this weekend and was *this close* to finishing both of them.  Both had pantos and in my second to last row on the second quilt, I forgot to change my stitch length back after basting the sides and bottom.  I completed that whole row at 5 stitchs per inch instead of 11...so this afternoon was spent frogging....

Here's a photo of the one I finished...I used Shooting Stars panto on this Victory Quilt.

Draw a Pig

Yep, that's what I said...draw a pig!!  Click here and you can draw your very own pig which will then be analyzed to tell you specific personality traits...  Go ahead--I dare you!!

Socks & Kate have Adventures & The Yurt has Walls

We ended up having four days off this weekend and decided to make Kate and the yurt our main goals.  First up...Kate.  We rode her three times this weekend and each time were more and more impressed with her.  Her third ride was our usual four-mile loop that is a pretty easy trek.  We do have to go past three neighbors houses on the way home.  The middle house has vehicles and wood and all sorts of scary things...she didn't even care.  In fact, the only "excitement" was when Emma and Bailey whinnied to us from across the meadow.  She was very excited, calling back and starting to trot.  Usually, trotting entails a bit of encouragement with a crop!

Kate was so great on Thursday and Friday, that I rode her on Saturday.  I really thought it would be weeks before I got on her, but she is the most solid, green-broke horse ever!  I can't wait until she's figured out the program; she's going to be phenomenal!

Here she is with her saddle on, ready to go.  Isn't she cute??

Friday morning we said a tentative goodby to Socks.  He is going to live with Jenny in Garden Valley; if things work out, that will be his new permanent home.  Jenny is looking for a horse to give her confidence, Socks needs a home where he'll be ridden and not have to do endurance rides. 

I thought I was fine with him leaving, until we turned the corner and Jenny came out clapping her hands together, excited to see us arriving with him.  I know that he and Jenny will do great together, but its still bittersweet.  Socks is such a great horse with a huge heart...I'll miss him.

The yurt insulation and walls went much faster than we'd anticipated.  This picture shoes how the insulation comes in pieces (wall piece, window piece, repeat). 

The yurt totally totally wrapped with insulation.

A photo from the inside.  The  "walls" are white and with the wood, it looks so clean and nice.  Hard to tell from the photo, but that window looks out on the pasture where the ponies are...a perfect view!

Almost finished.  The exterior is done, we just have a few screws to put in at the bottom. 

Hopefully, next weekend we'll make a quick trip to Reno and pick up supplies for staining the floor and the few items we need for the inside.

Quilting in the Round...conclusion

This is it; my customer's Hopi Quilt is finished.  Lots of agonizing and planning went into this one and without my friend Shannon's help, I'd still be agonizing.  She helped me alot with design ideas and inspiration and although I didn't do exactly what she'd do, I still think it turned out okay and my customer will  be happy.  Take a look...what do you think??



(if you'd like to view it larger, just click on the picture)

And the back... (hard to see the quilting)

Beautiful Morning...Poor Emma

Went down to feed this morning and the sun was just coming up and hitting the valley floor. This is a shot of our neighbor's house, he's directly across from us and I really hate him in the morning. There's nothing better than sitting on your porch in the early morningsun while you drink that first cup of coffee. But, alas...we get the afternoon sun, so I spend alot of time jealous of his location. On the other hand, though, late summer eves find us on the porch enjoying a margarita in the sun, while he's in the shade.  Guess you can't have everything.

As the title indictes..."Poor Emma." We went down to the pasture Friday morning and she came bucking and kicking out of the trees headed straight for us. When she got close, we saw that she'd somehow managed to take a 6" circle of hide off her butt. It looked awful; no blood, just alot of weepy, naked skin. I have no idea what she did. I've walked the pasture looking for a clump of hair to no avail.

Since Friday afternoon, I've been washing it gently with betadine and applying a topical antiseptic; she isn't pleased. She's been tolerating the doctoring, only tucking her butt under her and trying to move away but never even offering to kick me. She's a very good girl.