If you have snow, enjoy it

No, I'm not choking her. She's on a flexi-leash.

Blu Hors Matine euthanized last month

Every few months I check in on Blu Hors Matine, a favorite dressage horse of mine (as well as a favorite of thousands of others).

Today I stumbled across the bad news that she had been injured in the field and was put down.



After an injury slipping off a trailer, she never reached competition soundness again, and was retired to be a brood mare. It doesn't sound like they know how she injured herself in the field.

Sadly, the quality of the video isn't as good as the one that used to be posted. It's so seldom you see a horse that really seems to enjoy being worked. She was a delight to watch.

Happy Valentine's Day to me, and you, and you....

I understand that some people don't like Valentine's Day. I liked it quite a bit once I was free from the elementary school "you-have-to-give-everyone-a-card-but-you-give-the-homely-cards-to-the-unpopular-people" cruelty aspect of the Big Red Day. Once you grew up enough to be allowed to have real friends instead of popularity-contest friends (were you one of those people who really actually kind of liked the girl with greasy hair and bad glasses, and were ashamed that you didn't dare to show it too much around other people?)---after those days passed away, I found Valentine's Day to be quite fun. Luckily for me (now) my previous-other-half professed not to like Valentine's Day (like many people). Therefore, I'm not wistfully staring at red roses and hearts wishing there was someone to give me some.

What I miss the most about Valentine's Day are the cheap boxes of cards that had puppies and kittens and flowers on them, instead of trademarked cartoon and movie characters.

Anyway, I planned to use Valentine's Day as an excuse to go to my local florist. It's one of the local businesses I never go to because I never buy flowers. This seemed like a good excuse. There was a big sign that they had Valentine's roses by the dozen for a $15.99, so I pulled in.

But when I walked inside, what did I find but purple carnations. In FOUR different shades.

So guess what I got.

Happy Valentine's Day, all around. Here's to silliness.

Post note: OK, now I can reveal that I also Teleflora'd flowers to my mom. I'm not ENTIRELY flower selfish!

Reflection on being snowbound

There is only one thing worse than having to listen to Toyota apologize over and over and over on the radio, and that's listening to a woman sing "If you're happy with your Honda clap your hands."

Craigslist

Craiglist really has revolutionized the home space for people with are broke. I won't call myself poverty stricken, although things are tight. But I do recall when I got my first apartment, and I cruised the streets on garbage night. If you saw a couch--any couch--and you needed a couch, you took it, unless it had been rained on. When you found a better couch, you took that one, and put your current couch on the curb for someone else to take. There were no choices. You were destined to a period in your life where everything you owned was someone else's trash.

Does this bring back memories for anyone who is reading?

Craigslist gives people a choice. Granted, some people are asking what the furniture is worth, which puts it out of the reach of a person on a tight budget. But quite often there are folks who just want stuff to go away. If you are very very patient, and keep your eyes open, instead of being stuck with the couch at the side of the road, you can pick a couch you like.

(Nonetheless, if you are living on ramen noodles, even a $20 couch is $20 too much. That's what Freecycle helps with).

There are a couple of things I've always wanted but that I've written off as being out of my price range---forever. I simply will not spend the money on them, no matter how they strike my fancy.

When I saw one of them on Craigslist today for $25 I had to look three times, absolutely certain the price was wrong.

You do not buy a redwood burl slab coffee table with a driftwood base for $25 unless it has Elvis painted on the top.



Unless there is a couple moving to Georgia who just wants everything to go away.

And it turns out the gentleman had rented my house back in the mid-80s when he was building the beautiful log cabin he now had for sale.

I didn't think to ask him if this table had been here before.

Happy Single Woman's Radio Station

I'm going to start a radio station that doesn't play any "Oh gosh I'm in love" or "Oh gosh I WANNA be in love" or "damn, he's/she's done me wrong" or "aren't children the TOTAL point of life" songs.

I listen to country music. I started this habit about eight years ago when I was trying to stay awake on long drives, because, hey, you can understand the words, and you can also sing along. Unfortunately, 85% of the songs fall into the above categories.

Nowadays, I'm turning it off and going back to modern rock precisely because I can't understand the words on rock songs.

Sadly, my public radio station is fuzzy, or I would listen to that.

I don't have to fetch anyone coffee at work....

....But sometimes I do get to play puppy agent.