Love In The Time Of Cholera (and other things)

I have finally finished reading 'Love In The Time Of Cholera'. It's an extraordinary book, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It's a love story, set during the last century, possibly in Columbia (although I'm not convinced). You can feel the heat, the Catholicism, the oppression. Think 'Evita' in the opening scenes when it's her father's funeral and she isn't acknowledged as one of his children. It's the story of a young man, Florentino Ariza, who meets a young girl, Fermina Daza, and they fall in love, through their letters, which they exchange for two years, but as soon as they meet again Fermina breaks it off, and not long after, marries Dr Juvenal Urbino. (The author uses the characters' full names every time they are mentioned, which adds to the formality and strangeness of the atmosphere). They are married for fifty odd years, and during that time Ariza never forgets her. (The whole point of the book is that it's saying love sickness is a disease like cholera.) After that time, the doctor dies, and Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza get back together. The annoying thing about it, is that the author lists all of the people Florentino Ariza has affairs with (graphically described) over those years, while in his own head, he has kept himself pure for Fermina Daza, because he hasn't got married. One definitely gets the impression that Marquez sees no problem with this, although, I'm sure if it had been Fermina that had had lots of affairs, it would have been considered scandalous.
This book does deal with death, decay and old age, which was a bit too much for me last week when Mr O had gone to Germany to see his dying brother for the last time. I could have thrown the book at the wall (haven't done that since 'Flowers In The Attic'). It is a strangely compelling book, and quite beautifully written. I had to know what happened at the end, and that's got to be the sign of a good book, hasn't it?
So I'd give it eight out of ten, and would tentatively recommend it, but you've got to really want to read it. (ie, I accept no responsibility if you get half way through and think, 'This is total tosh!') As I say, I saw the trailer for the film and was intrigued, but I would find it incredibly hard to turn this book into a film. I am going to watch it one day (alone, during the day!) just out of curiosity.

So, I have finally finished my last little cottage cross stitch. Here it is:





Just to remind you, here are the other two:







I love the fact that they are all slightly different, not just the roofs and walls, but each garden fence is different, too. As you can see, they are all slotted into the sides of my pen pot, and look very cute. I would have liked a long, narrow picture frame, so I could sew all three side by side, to make a little street scene, but I can't find the sort of frame I'm looking for. If you see one anywhere, please let me know.

These are the cards I've made recently. I kept this one simple:


But like this one very much, too.



But I've got to be honest and say the most fun I'm having at the moment is with scrapbooking. Whereas with card making, I still need training in certain techniques, and make the best cards when I copy other people's, somehow with scrapbooking, although I play about with bits of paper for hours, I find it so much easier to put together. There's something about knowing the end result is for you to keep, too. Imagine being able to stroke those beautiful papers for ever! The only limit with this is your own imagination.



I am aware that I am just starting out with this new craft, but some of the pages I've seen in books are nothing short of art. I would love to get that good, one day.

I am learning that good scrapbooking starts with a good, clear photograph, and the challenge is to keep that as the main focus of the scrapbook page, no matter what else you put with it. That is where the skill lies, I think. I'll show you some more as soon as I can, but I'm waiting for some photos to arrive, so I can use those, too.

Scrapbook Success

This will be my last post for a few days, as we are travelling up to Worksop tomorrow to prepare for Daughter 2's wedding on Saturday. I am so excited.
The back lady has been today and manipulated Barnaby. He definitely likes all the pulling and twisting. She had another go at his poll. She said he has probably had a permanent headache for the last six months, poor lad. Anything that improves his quality of life and way of going is good, as far as I'm concerned. I'm thrilled that I'll be able to ride him again by Sunday, I can hardly wait.
But while we're on the subject of weddings, I just wanted to show you the cross stitch I made as a present for the bride and groom.

I am extremely pleased with it, considering how awful the dark green thread was to use. I will always buy my own threads from now on and not use ones that come with a kit. I am pleased that I managed to meet my deadline, too, as I'm still very much a beginner, and it's hard to tell how long a bigger project like this will take.
While I'm on the subject of wedding preparations, this is the card I've made for the happy couple.

I really enjoyed making this and hope they like it. I searched around for an appropriate verse, and was very pleased with what I found. Bear in mind that I've also made their place cards, and you can see I've been pretty busy.
Finally, I just want to show you my first ever attempt at scrapbooking. When I first looked at scrapbooking, I decided it was too complicated and to get to grips with card making instead. Also because our cottage is tiny, and I feel our photos are better off on the computer, where they don't take up any space! But we've ended up with some fabulous photos of Barnaby this year and I'd really like to show them off, so as my confidence has grown with the card making I've been drawn back to scrapbooking, but now with much more of an idea of what I want to do.
So my scrapbooking challenge is that I have to do a page for each month of this year, and it must:
contain at least one photo of Barnaby
the photo must have been taken during the month in question
have a tree of some sort on each page
have either decoupage or a punched image on each page

You will understand about the trees when you see what I've made.



I've decided I'm not prepared to fork out seventeen pounds for a proper scrapbook, and have bought the normal old-fashioned sort. (If it's good enough for Paddington Bear, it's good enough for me!) I've bought the most beautiful papers from My Mind's Eye called 'Wild Asparagus' which are so stunning you can't really fail with them, but to be honest, once I realised what I was trying to achieve, the main paper on this first attempt is by Papermania (I think) which I found in my Christmas stash. It seems funny to think of all that snow now it's red hot and I'm sitting here watching Wimbledon.

The other little, itsy bitsy, teensy weensy challenge, is that for the whole of July, I am not allowed to buy a single thing related to crafting - no cards, no glue, no paper, no embellishments. I am only allowed to use things I already have in my stash. That should be interesting, especially as I have to make a card for the Flower Fairy by August 1st.
Have a great weekend everyone (and pray for sunshine on Saturday!)
Mrs O.

Cross Stitch Bookmark

Finally I can reveal the bookmark I made for Tina, my exchange partner:


So this has travelled all the way to the USA.

I really enjoyed making it and will make another one for me soon. I was so pleased to find the red aida, which is quite a rarity now, I'm told. If you know different, please let me know, as I'd love to have quite a bit of this.
I thought I'd make a card to send with it, and found some perfect papers in my magazine, Papercraft Inspirations, to use, all with a sewing theme. What are the chances of that?
I made this one to send with the bookmark:






but I also like this one:

Unfortunately, because it's a square, it wasn't long enough to house the bookmark.

And this (drum roll) is what Jaimie sent me, also all the way from America:




Isn't it beautiful? I sure hope she likes mine, now I've seen this, what a talented woman (multi-talented as it turns out). I am so blessed, though. I can't wait to do another exchange. I am pleased that I can take on something like this and work to a deadline, because when you're new to something, it's hard to tell, isn't it? I'll show you my latest project again tomorrow, so you can see how I'm progressing.

Have a great day, everyone!

Busy Bee

Just popped in to say that I have been busy on the craft making front. For the first time ever I'm going to have to show you a work in progress (WIP) as this cross stitch is not going to be a two minute job. This is for Daughter 2's wedding. The bottom section was really tricky, one of those where you do two stitches in one colour, then two in another colour and so on, which is why I'm making myself sit down for an hour a day to work on it.




I've got all the top section to do, finish the border and do all the back stitch, so I'd better crack on if I'm going to finish it by the end of the month. Now I'm beginning to wish I had a separate craft room as I have to pack it all away in between sessions. It would be bliss to leave everything out.


I've been having a fantastic time making cards. This first one was my first foray into my Kate Knight papers which were free with my magazine. I felt they were quite a sophisticated paper and required a sophisticated treatment, so here it is:


The two little birds in the oval have glitter on, just to give a little bit of sparkle. I so wish I had a Cuttlebug. It's on my Christmas list, but it's killing me to have to wait that long!
And now for the card I've really loved making. It is my first go at a shaker card. I don't know if you can see, but there are little tiny flowers inside the baby's bottle. This was my first go with a white gel pen, around the top of the bottle. I love the effect. I have got a 'thing' about newborn baby cards, so expect to see several more.

I am really pleased with this one. The idea was in a magazine I bought when I very first started card making, and wouldn't have had a clue how to do it back then, and wouldn't have had the tools either. I made it a couple of days ago, and love it. There are little tiny green gems in the centre of each flower. I stamped each flower, then painted them with my water colour paints before cutting them out and using sticky fixers to give them depth. I made a mistake because I forgot to put the strip of ribbon on and tuck it round the spotty paper before sticking it down. I went to the craft shop yesterday and found some self-adhesive ribbon, (what a godsend!) which worked out much better anyway. I am going to make another one for Missis' mum's birthday on June 10th.








And finally, on a bit of a spree yesterday, I spotted this box in W.H. Smith and couldn't resist it. Obviously it will soon be full, but the drawers are really handy.





This is the top:




I mean, it's got cupcakes on it, I'm hardly going to resist that, am I? Do you like it?

Happy blogging, everyone.

Fence Judging

I've been meaning to show you this all week:






It's the apple blossom on the driveway. I'm so pleased it's here at last.

We spent all day on Sunday at Holme House Farm, fence judging for the showcross competition. Tessa came with us. She classes herself as an official. It was incredibly windy all day, so I was holding my binoculars and clutching my hat at the same time. We worked with two new liveries for the Pairs and Novice round. Basically, we watch what's going on on the cross country course and dictate the scores to them and they write eveything on the score sheet. They've never done it before and worked really well. The Pairs class is fairly slow, as both competitors have to jump the showjumps, then come down onto the cross country course, but when the individual classes start, the competitors come thick and fast, so as soon as you've seen one horse get home you start on the next horse going out. We can see most of the course, spread out below us, but then the competitors go into the next field and the judges in there relay information back to us on the walkie-talkie.
We fence judged last year, and I had no urge to jump the fences whatsoever, but this time I realised I really fancied having a go. They have put a water complex in, which looked really good, and extra jumps in the far field, plus a gate that you have to open and close. We might have to go over for a bit of a session. Lorna lets us have a go as a thankyou for fence judging. Zak would love it and it would be very familiar territory for Barnaby, so we'll see.
It was lovely to see old faces again, we had a good chat with Sue and Nigel who came to write for us for the Intermediate and Open classes. It was great to see Morag and John and Lesley, Sue and Lorraine and Clair and Paul. It's great to see how much some people are progressing with their riding, too.
There are some sad things going on, though, like Bill's Henry being put to sleep, and John's lovely mare, Snip. You could see he was still distraught, poor man. I do hope he finds something else to ride, but it's difficult when you've had a relationship with a horse like that. He said he has gone back to playing golf. I can imagine people at the golf club asking him where he's been, and him wanting to say, "I was having an adventure back there for a while..."
I am sad about Henry, too, he was a magnificent horse. It was him and Harry that guarded Barnaby when we turned him out with his broken pedal bone. When we put Barnaby in the bottom field for a few months, it was Henry who greeted him when he came back, "Oh it's you, where've you been, you scruff?" Two bluff old coves together.
We got home earlier than usual, as normally we pop in to see Daughter 2 on the way home, but the Flower Fairy has got chicken pox, so we thought we'd better give it a miss. The poor little mite sounds as if she's covered in spots from head to toe. Good job it's half term now. When we did get home I looked in the mirror and my face is bright red from windburn. Good grief.

And so to today. We woke up at 7.50am, which for Mr O is his first and only lay-in of the
year. We got Zak and Barnaby in and tacked up, then set off on a mega-hack. I had to ride Barnaby in his double bridle, as he's made it clear he doesn't like the pelham and my new dutch gag hasn't arrived yet. I have to say, this is the best ride I've had on Barnaby so far. I don't know if it was the double bridle or just his good mood, but he was very responsive and very well behaved. I soon got used to two reins (I have used a double bridle before) even though one is plaited and quite chunky. I wouldn't want to do it without gloves on.
We rode down to the park and had a canter across the grass, slipped out through a gap in the wall and cantered across the field, then a bit of a mystery tour to me, as I've not been this way before. We found a new bridleway that led through some trees with fields on the right (with lots of horses that decided to follow us) and a river on the left. I was impressed.
Then we got to Ogston Reservoir from a completely different direction to last time. It was brilliant. We went off to search for the third bridleway and couldn't find it. We ended up riding through a village where they were just getting ready for their Well Dressing festival. I have always wanted to go to one of these. The horses weren't frightened by any of the goings-on, the ice cream van or the bouncy castle. I wish we'd brought some money. I was really thirsty by then, but an ice cream would have done just as well.
We rode on and on (and on) until I stopped a couple of women and asked for the quickest way back. They gave us directions and on we trundled. We weren't lost, but goodness knows where this bridleway was. We never found it and must have added five miles onto our already long journey. It was a relief to get back out onto the main road and turn down to Ashover. I think we must have done between fifteen and seventeen miles all told, but it was a good ride and very warm. We'd worn our jackets as it looked like it was going to rain when we set off, but I was hot by the end of it.
We got back and washed the horses down and turned them back out. They only took a few strides before they started pawing the ground. Their knees buckled and they hit the dirt and went down for a roll in the dust. By the time Barnaby stood up, he was black. Marvellous.
And since then, frankly, I am prepared to spend the rest of the day relaxing. I have done quite enough for one weekend. Actually, I am half way through a cross stitch for Daughter 2's wedding. I have bought an embroidery hoop, which is making my life a lot easier. I have bought a kit in Hobbycraft, and I have to say, the threads are very cheap and keep knotting all the time. This is the last time I'll buy a kit, I'd rather find a picture in a magazine or book and buy the threads myself. I'm constantly panicking that I'll run out of thread and not find a perfect match for it to finish off the design. I have until the end of June to get it finished, so I should have it done in time. I will show you as soon as I can.

Politics - the Art of the Possible!

Unless you've been living in a box in a field for the last six weeks, it can't have escaped your notice that we are in a countdown to an election.
In days gone by I have been very politically active. When I lived in London I lived in the house of the Conservative Sub-Agent for Putney. I put leaflets through letterboxes and canvassed people on their opinions and which way they were likely to vote. It was very interesting and you had to be quite brave, even in a Tory stronghold, but I found more and more that I wanted to say to people, "Vote for Jesus, it's the only way we're ever going to make the slightest bit of difference." I've met quite a few MP's and on the day of the election, the house was used as a headquaters for people to drop in during the day. I was there doing some calculations when suddenly the light was blocked from the doorway. I looked up and realised I was in the hallowed presence of... Jeffrey Archer. He'd just dropped by to rally the troops. A hush fell on the company present. He was a really nice bloke, actually.
Some years later, when Mr O and I had met and married, daughter 1 rushed in from school one day and declared that we must all 'vote for a conservatory.' Mr O and I heartily endorsed this and were disappointed that the election came and went, but no conservatory was forthcoming.
The same daughter also came in one day singing, 'Golden Brown' by the Stranglers, but she'd misheard and thought it was 'Gordon Brown, texture like sun...' I wish I'd trained my children to listen better.
They obviously get it from me. A while back I was listening to the radio when the newsreader declared that Dale Winton was going into hospital for a heart operation. It was only when they described him as the former president of America I realised she had actually said it was Bill Clinton.
All I really want to know is, will the Conservatives repeal the Hunting Ban? Yes there are more important issues afoot, but as a country loving girl, this question is close to my heart. I read on another blog that the Tories don't consider this a vital issue, but to many in rural areas, it certainly is. I can't find anything on the Conservative Manifesto, (a bit wishy-washy all round, really) nor any update on the Countryside Alliance website, so I am in limbo. It's easy for anyone in opposition to make promises, isn't it? None of the debate clips I've seen, or interviews I've heard on the radio show any of the 'Big Three' committing themselves to anything definite or explaining how they're going to pay for the changes they're going to make. Roll on next Thursday, I'll be glad when it's all over.

It's been a strange week on the domestic front. With no horses to muck out, I feel the rug has been pulled from under me, a bit of a limbo there, too. I decided by Tuesday that my day must still have some structure to it, so I have made a rule that I have to be out of the house by 8am to let the chickens out.
I must digress here to tell you that I have no idea at what age a cockerel reaches the age of sexual maturity, but all I can say for certain is that it's around six months of age. The poor girls only come out for breakfast and George is haranguing them. They get to swallow two pieces of corn, and then they are launched at. George's idea of romantic courtship goes along the lines of, "Brace yourself, darlin'!" and the job is done. Although his actual performance in this area requires a bit of polish, I believe I am to assume that we are now the proud possessor of fertilized eggs. Pongo and Missis are picking up an incubator (for a mere one hundred and twenty pounds) tomorrow.

My next job is to skip out all the stables, and make night feeds up, as the horses still seem in need of a little night-time sustenance. Unfortunately, no sooner does the job of mucking out cease, when the job of poo-picking the field begins. I have taken charge of field maintenance this year, and have said that for now the horses can have use of the entire second field, but once the haylage has been cut, they can go on the third field, but the second field must be blocked off, thoroughly poo-picked and left to recover for a few weeks before they have it back again.
I go out at 4pm and get the horses in, and go and poo-pick again while they have tea. I'd much rather poo-pick than muck out. Tessa comes with me, and usually one or other of the cats. They lay in the sun and supervise the work. Cats are good at that.
On Wednesday I went to get the horses in and Fudge was waiting for me at the gate. Barnaby was strolling down. I got Fudge in and came back to the field to see Barnaby trotting up and down the fence line looking agitated. When I looked across I could see why. Lindy had decided to take a short cut and had jumped the dry stone wall. Unfortunately he'd jumped into the wrong part of the bottom field and was separated from the others by the electric fence. I decided I'd have to undo the fence to let him through, but if he came too far down he'd realise he could just walk round the manege and escape to freedom. Barnaby was still running up and down. Fortunately for me, Lindy was so confused he decided to jump back over the wall into the middle field from whence he'd come, and run round to the gate with the others. Crisis over.
I am going to ride in the mornings, which will give me a chance to put suncream on Barnaby's nose before putting him back out in the field. Then I'm going to do the (dreaded) housework for the rest of the morning, and hopefully get some crafting done in the afternoons. It should work out quite well.
There has been a hold-up on the manege because the fibre that has to be rotovated into the sand hasn't arrived, and of course they can't put the rubber on top until that's done, so none of us can ride in it yet. I know Missis was really looking forward to it, so she'll be gutted, and I wanted to have my first go at jumping Barnaby this weekend, so that won't happen either. Never mind, can't have everything.

Oh, and before I forget, this is my latest little cross stitch effort. Only one more to go.

Have a good weekend, everyone.

Home Front

Don't you just love it when nice things come through the post? I give all the bills to Mr O, and keep all the goodies to myself! It is catalogue season, so my new Robinsons and Ride Away catalogues have arrived. They sell horsey stuff, and I promised myself I wouldn't look, but the pages have been calling me, calling...

I actually need a pair of green jods, as the ones I have are fading fast. I have had them since my college days, so they've done really well. Unfortunately green seems to be out of fashion at the moment, and I can't find any anywhere. I want bottle green, not khaki, and not the slightly gruesome pea green ones on sale at Thomas Irving. Thank goodness they didn't have my size. We went in looking for jods for me and came out with a jacket for Mr O. How did that happen?

We've had some entry forms through, one for the Barlow Hounds Hunter Trials and one for the Chatsworth Sponsored Ride. I'm not sure if we'll do the Barlow Hounds, as I've done it twice already. It is good fun, though. I was exhausted walking the course, let alone riding it. Mind you, Max wasn't as fit then as he is now.

We will definitely be doing the Chatsworth ride, though, as it's a superb place. All four of us did it last year (Pongo and Missis came too) but they will be on holiday this year, but we'll still be going. And if we have to gallop blindly past Chatsworth House, well we just do.

I've found a very good website at Framecraft who sell lots of things like trinket boxes, rulers and keyrings that are suitable to add cross stitch designs to. I ordered a pen pot and a paper block. I've been stitching a little cottage, which I finished yesterday, and it's the perfect size to go in the pen holder, like this.

There are two more cottages to do, so I'll do them next week and put them in the other two sides. As I said before, I've got a thing about houses (and architecture generally) and I think it will take a while to get the whole 'Home Sweet Home,' theme out of my system. I may as well indulge it for a little while longer.

-O-

Just to re-cap, for people who are new to my blog: We came here originally to do Missis' horses two days a week while she was away. At that time there was another woman here as well, and we were going to split the work between us. This woman complained constantly, and in the end Pongo and Missis asked her to leave. Before they did so, they obviously came to me and asked if I'd be able to do five days a week on the rare occasions it would be required. Bearing in mind we only had 2 horses here, and so did Missis, I said yes. Four horses is well within my capabilities.

Then last November the whole family went away for a weekend, so Mr O and I did the horses (by now increased to six). We thought that was fair enough.

Then this year we've had the stint where the whole family went to London for two days during half term, so I did all the horses. Then Pongo and the children came home, and Missis flew on to America, but Mr O and I mucked out that weekend while Pongo was in bed. Hmmm. Then Mr O had a week off work, and helped me muck out for the whole of the following week, do you remember? So altogether I did nine days without a break (although I realise I had help for the week Mr O was off.)

During that week, as well, Pongo seemed to be under the impression that I would have his children every day after school, even though he clearly told us he didn't have any clients in the afternoons (he is an accountant), so he could come home. He seemed very put out that I had a dental appointment one day and we went to Worksop on another day, but I don't drive, so couldn't waste an opportunity of Mr O being home on a week day, to take me.

Bear in mind, we don't get paid to do any of the mucking out or childminding, and we pay a decent rent to live here, we aren't staff, we are tenants.

So last week Missis mentioned that she'd be in Canada this week, which is fine, I don't mind doing Monday to Friday, even though I don't have the strength to ride my own horse once I've mucked out all six stables every day. Then she let it slip that she wasn't coming back until Saturday night. I discussed it with Mr O, who wasn't happy at all. He works five days a week in his own job, and quite rightly, I think, doesn't see why he should work during his time off. I think this is going too far as well. If we agree to do any more weekends, Missis will think we're obviously willing and start asking us all the time. We are Christians, and not shirkers, and quite willing to go the extra mile, but enough is enough. I lay awake three nights in a row, worrying about how I was going to tell her.

In the end I approached her on the last morning, and said, "Let me get this clear. Are you assuming we will do the Saturday as well?" She said she was. I told her we had plans to go out (which we do) and couldn't do it. She was fine about it actually, and said she would get Pongo to do it (because I can tell you now, my days of mucking out his horse while he lays in bed are well and truly over. I wouldn't even do that for Mr O unless he was ill!)

She did mutter to herself, "and if they (the horses) don't get done for a day, it doesn't really matter," which was either her attempt at making me feel guilty or an open acknowledgement that her husband is so idle he may not even do it. But the constraints of her job are her problem, not ours. I skivvy for no-one.

I also made it clear that I have not agreed to have the children every night just because she isn't here. At the end of the day, I am not their mother, or even grandmother. And again, I do it out of the kindness of my heart, I don't get paid. I asked her to get Pongo to decide which two days he wanted me to have the children. On Sunday I asked them which days they had decided on, and Missis said that I would have them Monday and Friday (not 'could' I have them) and her dad would have them Tuesday and Thursday and Pongo would have to have them on Wednesday. If I hadn't mentioned it, though, they would never have brought the subject up and just hoped they could have dumped on me as usual.

I am glad we've cleared the air about it, though, as I'd spent several sleepless nights worrying (when, frankly, I could have just prayed about it and left it in the Lord's capable hands, more fool me!) Bearing in mind that the showing season starts at Easter, there is very little chance that we would be available for mucking out at the weekends now anyway. Thank goodness the horses go out soon, and then I am as free as a bird. I can't wait.

But it's not all doom and gloom. One bit of very good news is that Missis has booked a company to come and build a manege. They are coming on April 12th. This will transform everything. I am so excited, I can't begin to tell you.

There are other things afoot here, but I can't tell you about it until I know for certain. I promise not to keep you in suspense any longer than I have to, but I have to stick to chronological order here, so that everything makes sense. All will be revealed in good time.

Uption!

I had my riding lesson on Monday morning as usual. Max was impeccably behaved, but quite lazy, then Rosie started getting the fence poles out, and Max said, "Oh, jumping - why didn't you say?" and rocketed over every single one of them. I was thrilled with him, but even more so that my confidence has really come back. I was my old self again.

If you have a BHS (British Horse Society) instructor, they want you to approach the fence in 'the jumping position' which I absolutely refuse to do. It means you've leaned forward over the horse's neck, which is only really needed at the moment of suspension, not several strides before, and certainly not when you take off, otherwise you have thrown yourself forward just when the horse needs you out of the way, so he can lift his front end off the floor to perform the jump. You don't see John Whittaker doing it, do you? When he does, then I will, too.

I tried to explain to Rosie that's it's daft to fold so much over such a small fence. Then I lost the ability to speak english. I wanted to say, "If the fence had more height, it would be worth it," but could I think of the word 'height'? No. So I said, "If the fence had more 'uption'." Uption?! Where on earth did that come from? So that is my word for the day. I teach english as a foreign language, you know, so I am allowed to invent new words! Have you ever done that?

Missis and I hacked out together on Tuesday. Missis was on Lindy. He and Max are quite good buddies. Lindy led all the way round and spooked rather a lot, especially at one crucial stage where we went into canter on the verge, which made Max swing off the verge and trot up the road instead (on the right hand side of the road). Max was very good, actually and didn't spook at anything, but he was put off by Lindy's spooking.

We did a big ride together on Wednesday. The horses had obviously discussed it, and Max led all the way round. I am so proud of him. We trotted up the mega steep hill out of the village, and neither of them made it very far without huffing and puffing. I do think Max could have gone further. He is fitter than Lindy at the moment. It was a lovely ride though. I love it when Max leads or I ride him on my own, as he has time to look about him, which he really needs to do. When I follow Mr O we don't get much time to stop and enjoy the view!

I didn't ride on Thursday, as I was extremely tired (explanations to follow) but today I got up, put jods on and decided to ride... Barnaby.

He was unusually well behaved when I groomed him and tacked him up. I think he was enjoying the attention. He wanted to text Mr O and say, "Dad, the bally groom's going to ride me! When was this agreed to?" I am just 'the little woman' to him.

I took him down to Jolly Farmer's, but Lucy Goosie came out to say hello to him. He stood perfectly still soaking up the blatant adoration, (and me basking in the reflected glory) and even allowed her to kiss him on the muzzle, virtually unheard of. Normally if I do that he says, "Mum! Not in front of the other chaps."

We rode up Jolly Farmer's driveway, where his geese decided to attack us. They charged in formation, honking and flapping, beaks in the air, looking quite aggressive. Barnaby just stuck his chest out and said, "Bring it on!" They got very close then suddenly changed their minds and realised they had more important things to do and waddled off, muttering. I must be prepared for that next time, as Max will probably turn and run.

Barnaby isn't very supple at the moment, and there was some huffing and puffing, but he did some quite nice 20m circles in the end. We ride them in both directions on various sized circles as it helps to supple them, and make them bring the inside back leg underneath themselves, which makes them work the muscles along their neck and backs. He has a long way to go. He's not ready to do a 15m or 10m circle at all.

Then came the glorious bit where we decided to have a canter on the way home. He extended into a gallop and away we went. The sensation of galloping that horse is like nothing else. I am usually Joan of Arc going into battle. Charrrrrrge! I slaughter a few of ze engleesh, and then we pull up. Time to go home, with me grinning like an imbecile. I am auditioning for the role of The Village Idiot.

I have been busy on the crafting front, too. I have finished my last little cross stitch card, which is quite cute, and now I'm doing three little cottages. Houses generally fascinate me, so doing some cross stitch houses feels like just the right thing t do. I've made a card for someone special (but I can't say who at the moment!)

and this one for my lovely aunt:

And yes, I have finished the scarf for Hallington Fox. He is very proud of it.

I found the casting off very easy. Now I'm just going to knit some squares to practise knit and purl stitch. If I have enough I'll sew them together to make a blanket for Tessa. I'm not baking much at the moment as Mr O has given up all sweet things for Lent. It seems a bit mean to tuck into a giant sponge cake in front of him. I have bought some icing nozzles and bags which I'm dying to play with. I've given up chocolate, as you know. So far, Missis has brought us some back from America, I've had a box in my anniversary present, a box for Mother's Day and a box for my birthday. They've gone into storage (sob!) I don't think we'll be getting each other an Easter egg this year. And I was so looking forward to tucking into a chocolate bunny!

The Cure-All

Finally, I've found it, the cure for all my ills. It's scientifically proven and medically tested. You don't even need a prescription. What is it, this amazing wonder drug? It's commonly known as ...

a lay in!

yes, I've taken one yesterday and one today, and I feel like a completely different person. Who would have guessed the powerful, healing properties of

sleeeeep

I haven't had a lay-in since the horses came in in November, I've just mucked out, ridden, shopped, cooked, cleaned and ironed ever since, and I think I've been suffering from exhaustion. It's amazing what a bit of sleep can do to restore you physically and mentally, isn't it? That's why the 'I'm selling Max,' scenarios have crept in again. It all got a bit too much. Sorry if I've been a bit down. I knew I had to do something so I asked Missis if she would turn my horses out along with her own, and I would 'appear' when I was ready. What a blessing. This may have to be a regular thing, to get me through the rest of the winter.
It's also about habit and routine, I think. We did so little riding over Christmas because of the snow, that I've just got used to mucking out and going indoors, and I've had to make myself get back into the horsey habit. I have to say, a lack of facilities and having no one to motivate me doesn't help, either.
So I lunged Max on Wednesday, as you know, and rode him yesterday. The reduction in feed really seems to be working, and he was a lot calmer. He had a good look round at things, but didn't do anything dramatic, and worked extremely well in the school, which cheered me up enormously.
I've been busy indoors, too. I've finally finished the little cross stitch bear for Mr O's valentine's card, which looks like this:





The back stitch took ages, but was well worth it. I'll add some wording on the front and inside, but not too much, to detract from the picture. Can't wait to give it to him. I am also well under way with the christening present, but very nervous about the actual sewing part, but maybe I can do it, we'll see.
I set myself a challenge this month, to make a banoffee pie, as I had it in a cafe last year and thought it was gorgous. As I was eating it I thought, 'surely I could make this?' and so set myself a challenge to make one this month. I consulted the oracle (my sister Lorayne, maker of all things nice!) and she said to go on the Nestle website, where a fool-proof recipe awaited me. (What's she trying to say?!)
So I ordered all the ingredients in my weekly shop, and yesterday I set to.
First I had to make a biscuit base like you do for cheese cake, with melted butter stirred in. I have seen recipes where you make a pastry base and bake it blind, but phooey to that.
So here's my base.





You have to put it in the fridge to chill for twenty minutes (while you do some cross stitch or something).
Then you open a tin of Carnation caramel and pour it on. (It was more blob it on, but still). Yes I have also seen recipes where you heat normal condensed milk with brown sugar, but time is of the essence here. Spread the caramel out with a palette knife.
Then whisk up whipped cream, fold in sliced banana and spread that on top of the caramel. (Stop drooling!) Then decorate with sliced banana and a dusting of cocoa powder. Lorayne said she just slices some bananas and puts them on the caramel base, then puts the whipped cream on top, but I've got to tell you, I think this version is much nicer. This is how it looked in the end:




Let's just say we had a fairly big slice each! That's all I'm saying. It was gorgous, though. In fact the rest of it is still in the fridge and I can hear it calling me - caaallling. Back soon.

Spike The Cat

It has poured with rain all day today. Missis kept her horses in. Barnaby looked at me as if to say, "Don't even go there," so I turned my boys out. Zak and Max were joshing each other as they ran up the field side by side. Then they both stopped suddenly, saying, 'Where the heck's Barnaby?' He was behind them, scoffing as much haylage as possible before anyone noticed. By ten o'clock, Barnaby was looking over the gate, saying, "For goodness sake woman, when are we coming in?"
Yesterday I accidentally trod on Tessa's foot as she was behind me when I came out of the stables backwards, pulling a full-up wheelbarrow. She lay on the sofa with me later on, and was struggling to get up, pawing away on the leather, until I realised I was laying on her tail and trapping her.
Today I was mucking Barnaby out, shoved the fork in and poked it straight into Tab, (cat) who had sneaked in and buried herself without me knowing. She ran off, but wasn't yelping. We managed to catch up with her and feel her all over, and fortunately she wasn't wounded. I felt terrible, I adore this cat. I did go and find her later and apologised profusely.
Then later I fed Climb (Tab's sister) stepped backwards and trod on her paw. What is the matter with me? The chickens see me and squawk, "Run for your lives!" and dash off in the opposite direction. Can't think why.
I've done all of Mr O's ironing. It took me an hour and a half. By the time I'd finished I didn't have the strength to do mine. It's amazing what you can decide doesn't need ironing when you put your mind to it.
I've finally had time to make a sponge cake with my new rubber tins (!) Lorayne said not to forget to increase my quantities, and she's right. I normally do what we call 6, 6 and 3 ie. six ounces of flour, sugar and butter, with three eggs. I increased it to 8, 8 and 4, but it still only just filled the tin. I'm going to have to go to 10, 10 and 5 next time. That's nearly half a dozen eggs in one cake! It made a lovely sponge, though, but cooked much more quickly than normal. I was lucky to catch it before it burned, as usually I can just put my timer on and leave it, but I could smell it was ready. I didn't have to grease or line the tins either, and when I turned them upside down, the cakes just fell out. Amazing. I put jam in the middle and dusted the top with icing sugar and it's gone down a treat.
Aren't a lot of blogs utterly beautiful? I have just found one called Marmalade Rose where she has invited people to commit to twenty minutes of crafting every day for a year. Pop over there when you get time, it's a lovely blog. I have joined the 'Twenty Minuters'. If you have ever watched Black Adder Goes Forth, you'll know why the title makes me laugh. I shall tuck myself away amongst the truly talented and hope nobody notices me. But at least it's a start, isn't it? I don't need much motivation actually, I am finding it totally addictive. You know I am doing a little bear which will be made up into a valentine's card for Mr O? I sit here sewing it secretly in the afternoons, and can hear Mr O pull up in the car. But there's time for a few more stitches before he walks in. Two more stitches. I can't put it down. Tessa stands up, stretches and walks over to the back door, wagging her tail. One more stitch. The back door opens. I shove the cross stitch back into my little tin, slam the lid on and walk slowly, slowly into the kitchen. "Hello darling, how was your day?"

Birds of a Feather

It's funny, you know, but before Christmas I really felt a word from the Lord. Not one of those earth shattering ones that you know you will have to stand up and say in church, but a quiet whisper, a hint, a clue, just for me. I felt the Lord say that this winter wouldn't be all about horses, and that I would need something else to do. And not something that required tonnes of commitment (like a college course) but things I can pick up and put down at will, without affecting anyone else.
So I think it was an instinctive response to that, that made me look into all this cross stitch and card making, not to mention blogging. And then, as you know, it began to snow, and I've hardly ridden since. To be honest, if I'd known, I wouldn't have bothered clipping Max and when the farrier came he could have taken Max's shoes off, and I'd have roughed him off for the winter. Never mind.
Maybe it's just part of learning how to live in the country. I need something to pick up and put down at will because I go out in the morning to turn out and muck out, go out again at twelve to get the horses in, and go out again at three to put night haynets up and feed round. I do go out again at six or seven, just to check everyone's okay. So something like cross stitch is ideal, although I then have to learn not to treat my proper job as an interruption to the things that were only meant as distractions in the first place!
By which I mean, that I am enjoying the cross stitch so much I don't want other things to get in the way. I finished another one yesterday, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It was by far the hardest one I've done so far, quite a challenge. When you look at it you'll wonder why, because it's such a simple picture, but the back stitch was so hard. It's the first time I've done back stitch that didn't go from square to square, but halfway up the square. I'd decided these first few projects would be for training purposes, but as I've worked on them I've got quite attached to them and don't want them to go wrong and be ruined. Anyway, here is the finished product, and I can honestly say that I learned a lot this time.

My next project is a little bear with a love heart, but I may use it as a Valentine card for Mr O, so I'll have to work on it while he's at work, and just read and blog in the evenings, as I don't want him to see it, do I?

One of my other challenges was to photograph the robins that come to the bird table, and I'm pleased to say, here is at least one of them. I put it off because I don't think sitting outside in the snow waiting for an opportune moment is going to work. Mr O took a few through the kitchen window that came out fine, so I had a go today, and this is what I got:

Cute little fellow, isn't he, in his red waistcoat?

I have noticed daddy blackbird has arrived at the bird table, obviously trying to find out why BFMB is spending so much time here when she should be at home ironing. He obviously thought he'd stumbled on an 'all-you-can-eat' table and started tucking in. There must be ten birds dipping in and out at the moment. I don't mind, everyone is welcome.

We drove to Stable Mates. There is snow everywhere, and it's hard to see where road ends and pavement begins. You can't see the road markings either, which makes it feel a bit surreal. I bought myself a pair of the SSL boots that Mr O bought last week. I have worn them today, and they are amazing. I wasn't sure what to make of them, because they feel like smooth polystyrene (like styrofoam cups!) but I only had one pair of socks on and my feet were really warm. They are for riding in, too, so I'll give them a go, as I get cramp in the winter when I ride. I am usually ok on the ground, but in the saddle, as the cold air can flow round my whole foot, terrible cramp sets in.

We went to Tesco as well (needs must, n' all that). Everyone was in wellies. It was like being in Canada. I don't know if that's what influenced me, but I ended up buying huge Scotch pancakes, cream and maple syrup, which we had for supper. The maple syrup was gorgous - I've never had it before, but will certainly have it again.

We were late getting up this morning and hadn't finished doing everything before it was time to get ready for church, but Missis said she would finish off, so we could go, which is fantastic. The beds were done, and so were the haynets, so she only had to do waters, but as it turns out she brought the horses in at twelve as well, which is a real blessing.

We set off, and the snow was scudding across the road, making it very slippery. It was like someone squirting water from a hose at the car. It's getting a bit 'Arctic-like' for me.

The service was wonderful. I'm still not well, so I decided not to stand up, but just to sit down and enjoy it. We are very blessed with good musicians, and the worship was excellent today. Jim McGlade is our pastor. I love listening to him, firstly because he was born in Belfast, lived for many years in Canada, then spent several years in Dublin before coming to England. I've been trying to work his accent out, and I guess the nearest voice would be Liam Neeson. It's like having Aslan explaining things to you! The second reason, is obviously that his preaching and teaching is excellent. Both last week and this week he's said things that have applied to us. Sometimes after a service I'd like to go into a little room and spend some time really thinking about what's been said, not just rush home and carry on with life. I might spend my Monday quiet time on that.

And Mr O has spent the entire afternoon watching the most dreadful films he could possibly find. One was 'The Mouse That Roared' with Peter Sellers in it (can't criticize a man from Portsmouth, can I? My aunt used to be his cleaner!) and now we have 'Monte Carlo or Bust' with a very young Susan Hampshire (and Tony Curtis et al). These are just the sort of films I can't abide, but listening to the variety of accents is fun. I am amazed that there are so many television channels, and this is the best he can find. Tessa is curled up next to him, in total agreement with his choices. She likes something interesting to sleep through.

Hats Off

I do not go outside now unless I am wearing thermal leggings. They go under jods or my jogging bottoms. The jogging bottoms are four pounds each from Quality Seconds, and are perfect for days when I only muck out and don't get to ride. I can wipe my hands on them and not care. I have to wear a thermal vest. Then a polo neck, then a sweatshirt, then a jacket. Soon there will be a waistcoat under the jacket. By February I will have a minimum of six layers on, and struggle to get on my horse (and struggle even more to get off).
But my trademark, as always, is my hat. For some reason I cannot find a sensible hat. So in desperation I am wearing a pink pom pom hat, with tassels. Why? I am forty-two. I look like a frozen Scandanavian pixie. In fact, what I really look like is the suicidal mother in About A Boy. No wonder she felt suicidal, walking around in a hat like that. They looked good in the market stall, where there is no mirror. This is not a coincidence. If you could see what you looked like before you bought it, the crafty stall holder would never make any money.
But now we have managed to go one step further than this. We have bought those fluffy trappers hats. I already have one of these, and the only reason I can get away with it is that it has 'Joules' on it in large writing on the back. Horsey people are so blinded by the word 'Joules' that they fail to notice I look a complete and total prat in it.
But this new trappers hat is khaki, and has fur in all the right places. In fact, you don't notice until you wear it, but they've added two extra flaps of fur, totally unnecessarily, one on each side of your head, that look like little ears, so you end up having a distinct resemblance to Deputy Dawg. Not a good look. I don't normally wear these hats anywhere except on the farm, but as it's so unspeakably cold, I wore one yesterday to town in desperation. This was fine until we stopped in the car at the traffic lights, and people crossing the road kept bumping into each other as they were staring through the windscreen at me as if they couldn't believe their eyes.
Mr O turned Barnaby out this morning, who reared up, turned round, and ran back out of the field. Mr O managed to catch him down by the white gate at the end of the drive, and put him back in the field, closing the gate properly this time, before undoing Barnaby's head collar. I led Max out and he stuck his nose in the snow and snorted it (it is white powder, after all!) The next thing I know, his knees had buckled and he went down for a roll, right there, on the yard! He was laying there, making snow angels, legs in the air. Then he stood up and shook himself and went off to the field as if nothing unusual had happened. The three horses went careering round in the snow, being very silly, rearing up at each other and cantering off.
It has snowed all day, but the electricians still turned up to finish off installing the lights in both barns. I am amazed. We made them cups of tea to keep them going. We mucked out and did all the chores, then got the horses back in by 11.30. They are coming in earlier and earlier each day, but there's no way I'm going to be able to keep Barnaby in all day. We had to pick their feet out as they were filled with rock solid ice. The electricians had to switch power off in our house while they made adjustments to the board outside, so we sat here freezing to death.
We have been to see Avatar. It is extremely good. We didn't see the 3D version, but even the normal one was excellent. It is obviously a take on the Amazon Rainforest, and the ore they go to mine is called 'unobtanium' which I thought was hysterical, but apart from that it was very enjoyable, and sucked you into the story, as the script is a bit weak at the beginning. It was very 'circle of life' but I guess that's all part of that culture. The graphics are stunning. I would definitely watch it again. A guy called Sam Worthington is the star, and I've got to be honest, I've never heard of him. He looked like a slightly chubby Ben Afleck. It turns out he's in Terminator Salvation, which we'll be watching over Christmas, and he's Australian. Interesting.
So this afternoon has been about finishing my second cross stitch, which I am very pleased with. It says it is an Anniversary Pig, so you could put whatever number you wanted on it, but I have decided to use it on a card for Caelan's first birthday, so I have put a 'one' on it.



We have been to drop off the family's Christmas cards. Lisa has given me a lap light, which is brilliant, it made it much easier to see the holes in the fabric. She says I am not to do it too late at night as it's very bad for your eyes. She's not kidding. She's also lent me two books on cross stitch that are absolutely brilliant. I am dying to go back to the craft shop and buy loads of stuff now. There are so many things I could be doing.
I'd better go now to make the jelly for the trifle for the party tomorrow night. I spoke to Lorayne and she said all her friends are making Black Forest Trifle. You just put chocolate swiss roll in a dish, pour on cherry pie filling, top with chocolate custard and put cream on top, so I am going to make that as well.
And what is so sad, is that I have brought Max's stable rug in to warm in front of the fire so that's it's warm and dry before I put it on him at night. It's like warming your child's towel on the fire while he's in the bath. Too much?

The Way Forward

I have decided on a new way forward for Max, as I am not riding him enough. If it is foggy or icy first thing in the morning, he can stay in until 12 o'clock at the latest. If the fog has not lifted by then, he must be lunged, and then turned out. I know this may reduce his turnout, but as it's knee deep in mud out there, he'll be better off indoors, in the dry, with more regular haylage than he'll get out there anyway.
If it's nice, I can ride as early as I like, once he's digested his morning feed. If it's raining or windy, he must still be ridden.
I ended up lungeing him yesterday, as it was foggy all morning, with no sign of lifting. I took him into the lungeing pen, which is just a ring of grass, and of course, being a poor deprived boy who is wasting away (his words, not mine) he wants to scoff the grass, so I have to hold the lunge line up high to keep his head up, and tap him up occasionally with the whip. He bucked, bronked, kicked, cantered and was generally bonkers. Let's just say I'm glad I wasn't on him! He did settle down, but he definitely still has loads of energy, even if his fitness has dropped off slightly, but as I was grooming him, I noticed the muscle at the top of his thigh is rock solid. I love my beautiful boy.
I've been to Pets at Home today, and ended up buying a Christmas stocking for Tessa, but I've hidden it, and she hasn't seen it yet. It'll be a surprise. She has to have something to open, and it is not only Christmas, it's also her birthday. She'll be nine. Imagine having a dog who decides to give birth on Christmas Day, it must have been pandemonium.
We have done the last bits of shopping today, but more importantly, I have been into my local craft shop in Chesterfield, Arcade Crafts. I warned Mr O I would be some time, and that he would be better off going and doing some shopping by himself. As it turned out I was at least half an hour. I wanted stuff to make Mr O a card, but also things to make my youngest grandson Caelan a card to celebrate his first Christmas. There is so much to choose from, it's so hard to decide. I have to concentrate on keeping to one colour scheme, so everything matches when I come to put it together at home. In fact, concentrating is the thing, and I can't with Mr O standing in the corner, trying to make me hurry up.
We went to the Post Office to post some cards and Lorayne's parcel. There was a woman in the entrance way asking everyone what they had come for. I thought, 'Isn't it obvious?' She gave me a ticket and told me to take a seat and my number would be called. "No need to queue," she said. "What?" I'm British. It's my job to queue. It's my right, my heritage. I am being deprived of part of my national identity. Everyone was milling about, not knowing what to do with themselves. We kept an eagle eye on the board, waiting for our number to come up. When it finally arrived, 'Number 1o1 to cashier J please,' I nearly shouted "House!" I was so excited. If you go to the desk opposite to fill a form in and your number is called, without you realising, you miss your turn and have to take another ticket, so it pays to be alert. Quite an extraordinary experience.
The whole point of today, was to relax a bit so I regain some energy. When we got back from the shopping Pongo said he needed to get all the straw bales off the wagon and up into the hayloft, so I have lifted 138 bales of straw. Drew loaded them onto the tractor, Pongo drove them to the hayloft, Mr O off-loaded them, and I stacked them up. I must be a lot fitter than I give myself credit for, as I looked at them and thought, 'I can't do this,' and then did it!

I have finally finished my first ever cross stitch. I am thrilled with it. I know it's very simple and basic, but I did it, and I'm very pleased with the result. Cross stitch is a bit like sex, isn't it, an awful lot of hard work, for something quite nice at the end. The hardest part was putting white thread through white fabric, whilst sitting up in bed with a white duvet in the background. My eyes were actually flicking from side to side, trying to focus.
I forgot to say: Missis has been in Poland all week, and brought me back a gift. She gave me a little package, and inside, carefully wrapped in bubblewrap, were two tiny glass chickens. They are so small, I wouldn't be able to photograph them to show you, yet they are perfectly coloured, incredibly detailed, and even stand up on tiny glass feet. I have wrapped them back up and put them in my desk drawer over Christmas, as I'll have to think carefully about where and how to display them, as they'll be easily damaged.

When Barnaby comes in at night now, he rolls in his stable and starts rubbing his rug along the wall, because he is too warm and needs to have a good scratch. We have to take his and Max's rugs off for half an hour after their tea, so that they can do this, then they have their pyjamas on. Barnaby will actually nudge Max on the bum until he turns round and they mutually groom for a while. They both seem to find it deeply satisfying. Who am I to comment?