Goethe Challenge 2011

The last time Farley and I competed at Goethe we completed the 75 mile course. It was my first 75 and I was tired yet elated about the completion and how well Farley and I worked together. The cold beer afterwards was nectar to my body and soul. It was a good feeling.

This year was different as we only did the 25 mile course for several reasons: With Farley coming back from his recent tie-up I didn't want to over do it yet I wanted to see how he was in his performance level (as good as ever), I had told friend and ride coordinator Helen I would volunteer the remainder of the day and that can be hard to do after riding the longer miles and I also don't do well in humidity and it wasn't lacking on ride day. All in all, I made the right decision for the right reasons. We came in 9th place with a 3 hour ride time and a very good card. CRI's were 52/44...nice. Doesn't mean I won't stop worrying when he doesn't drink as often as I think he should but he seems to have recovered which was most important to me. It was still a good feeling.

A few of us dressed for the occasion. That is, we decorated our horses and ourselves for Christmas. Oh sure it was an FEI ride but as AERC riders we thought a little holiday cheer would liven up the place. Debbie and Boomer were bedazzled in red & green glitter with green tinsel braided in Boomer's mane. Come nightfall, battery operated Christmas lights were adorned. You could see the pair coming a mile away. Jody and Stormy aka Snowflake were sporting large snowflakes and silver glitter. Oohs and ahhs were heard all over camp. Farley was dressed in traditional red ribbons with Christmas bells. His bridal wrapped in berries and mistletoe and we both wore antlers. Pictures were taken, fingers pointed. It was fun.
I volunteered, which I like to do when I can, for many reasons...to watch how other horses vet through, learning the ins and outs of timing &scribing, assisting in any way and of course...the jokes, gossip and carrying on with each other. You have the opportunity to learn so much about the folks you have been competing with for years.

We are all so much alike in that our lives cater to the funding of our addiction...horses and endurance riding. And we all seem to have similar "when I first started endurance riding" stories.

Talk to anyone who has been in this sport for awhile and most of us have one thing in common...we over rode our first horse. We were sure that to have a fit horse we HAD TO RIDE miles upon miles weekly and we had to do it as fast as the horse could. Thank you to all of those kind first horses that went the extra mile (literally) for us to get this far.

Many of us try telling new people to the sport that too far, too fast, too soon is TOO MUCH. More often than not, they learn by experience. I think it is because it is a competition and it is assumed we may have an ulterior motive but we don't. We help each other for the better of the horse, for the education of the rider.

What would have been MORE helpful to me as the above is the following:

If you are a female in the sport then at some time you are going to experience the "screaming pee-pees". Sounds funny but this is no laughing matter. The wrong saddle, wrong underwear or just too much friction on your "hoo-ha" and you'll know as soon as you go pee. Trust me, there is no "ha-ha" in a rubbed raw "hoo-ha". LOTS of ointment before peeing and during riding helps this malady tremendously. Seriously.

Our significant others know that any celebrations we do after the ride that involved the "screaming pee-pees" won't be involving the "hoo-ha". NO WAY, NO HOW. Talk to us in about 3 days until then, be one with yourself. For real.

Overall Goethe was a tough course this year. Florida has been in a drought and with that the sand becomes deeper. I always find a flat sand course more challenging than a course through the mountains.

Congratulations to all who completed and to those who didn't, I have no doubt a valiant effort was put forth in both the rider and their horse.

Super Easy and Yummy Recipes

Most of us will be invited to some kind of holiday social gathering with a request to “bring a dish”. Back when I worked for the newspaper each division had a party and I tried to make all of them if for anything, the food! We had some amazing cooks at the paper.

For the time and kitchen challenged I am sharing 3 recipes that have 3 ingredients that will get you rave reviews and more than one request for the recipe. None of these are "my" creations but they have become standard at my house around the holidays.

My Dad and his wife hide their cans of cookies from each other. Dad's wife had thought hiding her cookies in the freezer was safe. Unfortunately for her she was WRONG. Imagine her surprise when she went to snack on her hidden gems only to find out my Dad doesn't mind eating frozen cookies!

(If you Google any of these recipes you will most likely find a pictorial demo if needed)

Mint Oreo Truffles

(You will need a food processor or blender and wax paper)

1 bag of mint Oreo cookies (or any other flavor)

1 block of cream cheese, softened

1 package of white chocolate or regular chocolate bark

Crush cookies until fine. Mix crushed cookies with cream cheese. Roll into small balls. (I have a melon scoop that makes the perfect size)

Melt chocolate bark per package directions in a bowl big enough that you can dip balls into. (Refrigerate the balls for about 15-20 minutes if they get too soft before dipping into chocolate)

Roll balls into the chocolate using a fork, tap fork on bowl rim so that the excess chocolate can drip off, then let harden on wax paper.

Once set, place on serving tray or store in covered container

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

(You will need wax paper)

1 Box of Ritz crackers

Peanut butter (smooth)

White chocolate bark

Place a dollop of peanut butter between 2 crackers making a sandwich. Make the sandwich so that the flat side of the cracker is on the outside. Do this with the entire box of crackers.

Melt chocolate bark per package directions in a bowl big enough that you can dip the sandwiches in.

Dip sandwiches in melted chocolate with fork, tapping fork on bowl rim allowing excess chocolate to drip off, place on wax paper to harden.

Once set, place on serving tray or store in covered container

Onion Dip (hot)

2 Cups of sliced onions (Vidalia or Spanish or a mixture of both)

2 Cups of shredded Swiss

2 Cups of Mayo

Mix together in oven proof casserole dish and bake in preheated oven on 350 for 20-30 minutes. You want the top to be brown and bubbly.

Serve warm with pita chips and/or tortilla chips.

Three recipes using three ingredients which I assure you will get you rave reviews.

Just Three Words

I have been saying in my house for years that we could make lots of money in the music industry if we could come up with the right combination of just three words.

Like A Virgin, Red Solo Cup, Someone Like You…Just three words incorporated with a few lyrics have made the writer and singer of that song LOTS of money.

One day I hope to figure out the money making combo of just three words, One Day Soon. But for now lets discuss what we can do with just three words that can make a difference today.

Just as just three words can make someone cash rich, they can also make someone emotionally rich.

I love you, you are smart, I need you, don't give up…

Just three words can bring comfort, strength, encouragement. Just three words can give us emotional support when we need it most.  When we are physically impaired or mentally drained, hearing just three words can help us through the rough time.

Many combinations of just three words lets us know that someone cares, someone loves us or someone needs us and we feel better emotionally and in turn we feel richer because of it.  

When on the receiving end of just three words, we find the strength to carry on. Finding the right combination of just three words enriches the giver too.

No real money involved with just three words in this scenario yet they have a great deal of value…sense of worth.

Let’s take a moment to come up with just three words to encourage a friend, a co-worker, a child, a parent... anyone who needs to hear them.

You might find out that they… Really Appreciate You.

Change

This is the time of year when most of us are excited with the holidays…the cookies, the big meals, the gift giving and party going. We also get ready for the coming of the New Year where we vow to make changes…lose weight, quit smoking, etc.

There are plenty of advertising campaigns to fuel the fire.

And with the thought of change we assume, at least I assume, it will be BETTER. My boss calls me a Pollyanna. I call her other things but that’s a story for another time.

Many of my friends are going through changes right now. No reason to wait for January 1. Some of the changes I feel will be good while others…I don’t know but I hope they work out for that person how they wanted, needed.

Me? I am about to make a change. I don’t know if it will be for the better.

I am selling a horse I absolutely adore. I rescued him 3+ years ago from a terrible situation, lame and 200+ pounds underweight. I paid the $$ the seller was asking and brought him home. For 6 months I allowed him to be just a horse. To eat, to run, to be. He needed it.

It took him 3 days to realize his pasture was bigger than a 100 x 100 foot lot, under a busy interstate and that there weren't 12 other horses to share it.

He’s big now. You’d never know he was scrawny. Close to 16 hands and 1100 pounds, he is a power house. I get mesmerized every time I watch him trot across the pasture. He is my dream horse.

Most days he trots down the trail effortlessly. You have no idea how much ground you have covered until you realize nobody is behind you. On other days he Piaffe's down the trail, or goes sideways, or up or backwards…More than 4 horses just blows his mind. I don’t know why.

But, with his change for the better, he has become too much horse for me. He is competitive, and he needs to work daily. He isn’t dangerous he’s just silly and with his size it scares me.If I were young and full of P&V this would be a non issue. I have ridden that type of horse before and enjoyed it.

Now, not so much. I don’t have the ability to keep his body and MIND focused daily.  He needs a job and a rider who can bring out his full potential. I truly wish it was me.

He is kind, he is inquisitive and he would be the most liked boy in school as he can be very charming.

I need the nerd.

With the New Year I hope to give this horse the opportunity he was bred for with a rider who can bring him to his full potential. And hopefully that will be the best change for both of us.

(To a special friend: You are Smart, You are Beautiful, You are Important.)

because i love you...

I was visiting a friend that had a beautiful note hanging on her fridge. It was written as wedding vows from the groom to his wife to be. It was cute and sincere and honest and besides, saying "to have and to hold" seems archaic.

I have been married a long time and the romance has certainly ebbed . Warm flannel and big tees have long replaced the silk and lacey nighties. Shaving...please! Still, I liked the sentiment of the verse so I wrote a version that works at my house and reminds the little Mr. how much I still love and appreciate him.

"i will feed the dogs. i will say tater tots instead of fries because you like those best. i won’t ask you to rub my feet. i won’t be rude to your tastebuds by adding mustard. i will eat the black olives when we make a supreme pizza. i will kiss you even when your beard is scruffy and it scratches my face. i’ll try my hardest not to get annoyed when you don’t do something my way. i will only try. i will clean the toilets. i will let you hold the remote. i will be proud of your accomplishments. i will ask you to check my tire pressure. i will let you stack the hay. i will bring you a glass of sweet tea afterward. i will demand that you kill all the icky bugs. all of them. i will kiss you goodnight every night.  i will always love you."

Glitter and Glue

I am married to a very good carpenter.

This obviously means that I have things that need to be repaired by a carpenter.

For some reason he becomes oblivious to the broken wood fences or warping bridges that need mending once he crosses the threshold to our home. And he prefers that I do not fix them as he is “getting to it”.

For Thanksgiving we had the pleasure of having several children at the farm. As we went up to the horse pasture to feed the horses carrots and pet their fuzzy noses one of the youngsters couldn’t help but notice that the board that the horses were leaning over was “rotting”.

Why yes Virginia it is.

Do you know what that sweet child said to me? That I could repair the fence with…Glitter and glue. Well, I’ll be! We discussed that for additional support that duct tape should also be a part of the repair.

6 years old and is knowledgeable about all things duct tape and that it now comes in array of colors including zebra. Awesome.

This week I will be repairing the fence board. I have made a big sparkly green bow to hang on it once the glitter and glue dries.

Thankful

It’s that time of year where most of us start the annual frenzy known as the “holidays” or in most cases, the “holi-dazed”.

I can’t say that I get frantic but I do enjoy the entertaining, cooking & the decorating part of it. I LOVE having people over to the farm and I LOVE cooking and I LOVE making the place look nice.

Call me Martha.

It’s also the time of year that I stop and reflect. My Mom used to come to our place for Thanksgiving. She enjoyed doing absolutely nothing. I didn’t have to take her shopping or to various tourist sites, all she really wanted to do was be with us.

 I miss my Mom and I am thankful for the times we shared together.

I am thankful for my family and that we like each other. I think loving people comes easier than liking but in our family, we genuinely do like each other. Most of the time. J

I am thankful we have been blessed with senses of humor and good health. It gets us all through the tough times when they come.

I am thankful that I have enough property that we can feed my family from it. So far 3 deer have been “bagged”. This provides meat for us through the winter and into spring. I wish I was a better gardener so the land would provide us more. Truth be told, come July, I could care less about a garden due to the heat.

Therefore, I am thankful for Publix, produce markets and friends who can take the heat.

I am thankful for my friends. Based on my Facebook page there aren’t many but they are diverse. Smart, funny, rich, poor, some are dramatic while others are wall flowers. Each puts a smile on my face and keep me centered.  As a Libra, I CRAVE balance.

I am thankful for my menagerie of animals. 3 horses: Farley, the nicest horse on the planet, Trooper, the goofiest but kindest and Super Sonic who IS.ALWAYS.HUNGRY. He’s still as gorgeous as the first time I laid eyes on him a dozen or so years ago. At 21 he doesn’t act or look his age.

The dogs…Luther a standard poodle that we rescued from the shelter and a dachshund named…Weiner. They bring joy to our lives each and every day.

Like turkey, stuffing and pecan pie…my life has been sweet and savory.

I am blessed and I am thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving.

I am a Blogger. How hard can it be?

I have been prodded by friends that my stories should be on a blog. I have explained numerous times that I don't own a computer and was clueless on the initial steps to create a blog.

"It's so easy Grandma can do it"...Good Lord, alright then, here I go!

What's funny about starting a blog is that it is not unusual for me to try something without knowing the first thing on how to do it or having all the items one may need to do it. In this case a computer. Nope, don't own one and my phone is an "old fashion" cell phone.

Old fashion cell phone... now that's funny.

Let me refer to the following:

I owned a 72 Cutlass , I was young and had no money and it needed a tune up. I asked the local auto parts guy if I could do it and he says "sure...it's easy, anyone can do it." So I purchased the stuff I would need saving me $20 and went home to tackle my first and only tune up. He was right it was easy. I had everything off, replaced and went to start the car. Hmmmm, it didn't turn over so I tinkered with the spark plugs and other things. DEAD. Not leaving the driveway. It was towed to the mechanic who thought it naive and girlish that I would even attempt to get under the hood. $150 later, it was running swell. 
Lesson learned. I am not good with anything mechanical to this day. Hot glue and duct tape, I'm your girl!

When I bought my first NEW vehicle, one of the very first Jeep Scramblers on the local lot, it was a stick shift. The salesman said "it's super easy to learn how to drive a stick." I believed him and I bought it having a friend drive it home. Ummm, not so easy Mr. Salesman. Is it supposed to sputter and stall?? I lived in Ft Lauderdale where they have multiple draw bridges. How many times would you like to guess that I stalled on those? Eventually I became a whiz driving that Jeep and had the best time doing so but not before having LOTS of people cussing me. OFTEN.

Which brings me to " mud bogging". Way dirtier than "blogging"! If you own a Jeep it's just about against the law not to go mud bogging. I decide how hard can it be? I went through several mud puddles getting absolutely filthy and having the best time and then one day I sunk the Jeep. SUNK.IT. And I was alone. And I was in the middle of no-where. I walked out of the forest which now houses the Sunrise Musical Theatre and probably a 1000 other things but back then, it was a big open dirt road next to lots of woods. I flagged down a tow truck and convinced him it would be a great idea to pull me out. So we head out to the woods, we get closer to the Jeep and HE.SINKS. Oh Crap. He is a whole lot of not happy. I got lucky when two other mudders came out and they got me out and then we sped out of there like bats outta hell leaving a very irate tow truck driver trying to explain to his employer how he got in that predictament. GOOD TIMES.

I started at a young age believing I could do just about anything if it looked simple enough or the salesperson said I could. Ask me about the time my Dad said when we moved to California we could walk to Disneyland. (We couldn't and I found out about quicksand)

When I started riding with Southern Trailriders I was missing a few things...a horse, a saddle, a trailer, a clue! The last time I rode a horse was when I was 13. And I really thought I KNEW how to ride a horse then.
Maybe not so much in today's standards but I was fearless like a 13 year old and had a blast riding any horse I could. I have several stories recounting that which I will save for later. Trust me, they are funny. Now. Not so much then.

2 of my most recent attempts on trying things: riding the Tevis and trimming my horses hooves.

With my work week cut to 4 days and no raise in 5 years, I was looking for ways to save $$$ and although my farrier doesn't charge a lot for trims I thought it was high time to learn how to do it myself. Of the two horses I trim, one is retired and the other thinks he is. So I asked Larry "Is it hard?" And you know what he said? "Nah, anybody can do it!" He told me the worse I could do is bleed them, take off too much heel, too much toe, too much off the sides, leave the toe too long or just plain lame them up good. Which I have.
But they end up walking pretty good after a day or two. :)
It's been a year now and I think I have knack but I am no way ready to quit my day job! And he should charge more because it is a hot, dirty, hot job. It does keep the Holy Rollers away though as I look like I have been baptized in the lake of muddy waters when they come and I am under a horse.

Tevis. People plan for this ride. All year, most folks, all of their lives. They train for it, they study for it. They buy the DVD's, the books and watch YouTube and dream of the day they have the right horse. Me? I say "sure I can go with you!" How hard can it be? Well, as long as you don't fall off the mountain, sink in a bog, slide off the swinging bridge, make it up Cougar Rock, up the canyons, down the canyons or get stuck riding alone in the dark on the CA loop...it's not hard at all. :) Finishing is the hard part. I didn't. But I'll try again.

All of this brings me here. Writing a blog. I don't have a computer. My grammar skills can be lacking. Time might be tricky too.

But hey..."it's not hard at all, anybody can do it!"