|
Post by jude on Aug 12, 2005 17:08:47 GMT 1
Smuttley, we were sitting further along the hill than you at Gatcombe, towards the finish - but with a good view of the lake. We were there at the same time as you. Good pics, W F-P at the lighthouse one looked more hairy from your angle. We saw the girl go into the crowd too. I think I know who you are - you used to be 'initials' (cant remember which as there have been several on Scary Day and I get them confused) Think you are up near where Honor sold Wenna to? Am I right??? If so, wondered where you had gone to!
Rosemary, so sorry Jacob didnt cover himself in glory this time. They all have their off-days dont they? As you say, quite a trek there and these days they do tend to segregate horses and people. It is a miracle any of us survived old horse shows and gymkhanas before Health & Safety (she says, tongue very definitely in cheek!!!). What a shame you couldnt get to see more of the show. Hope son enjoys his new flat, but I can imagine how much you will miss him.
tl - your Green Cone waste thingy sounds incredible - I have never seen, or heard of such a thing. It will be interesting to know if it works! After the young wrens joining us for lunch the other day we had a nest of young tawny owls last night, all hooting and twitt-twooing to each other and the parents, and flapping into the oaks like giant bats. I stayed out until nearly dark watching them. Is it still light with you quite late/all night? I realised last night how the nights are starting to draw in already - I hate it.
Dont think I am going to get to the emw thing now. I am quite happy to go places on my own and meet new people - but preferably if I have made arrangements to do so beforehand. I dont fancy possibly watching everything on my own, and dont want to gate-crash Lynn & her OH on the birthday bash - I did e-m Lynn yesterday saying to call in here if she gets this far, but think she has already gone as no reply. Ah well - destined not to go I suppose. Pity, but there you are - if it HAD been next weekend, as I thought it was, I would've been spoilt for choice of people to go with. Cest la vie!
A very frustrating morning taking Mum shopping. Aunty has come over with Sis's daughter - who only stayed 2 days and has already gone again. They came up to see us and she was fine, much more diplomatic than sis and easy to talk to (although she is the one who photographed Mum's china cabinet). Dont trust her though. Her sister will be over in a few weeks - now SHE is my Sis's clone so I will avoid if possible! Aunty & Mum still prickly so both in snappy moods and shopping a real chore with them bickering at each other. I managed 1 hour in town as I needed birthday cards & stuff, leaving them in the supermarket. Nice afternoon. I rode CK round the field for half an hour doing a bit of schooling. He is still quite green despite his age, what with 2 summers off with his medical problems, now this summer with his feet. He can be quite resistant turning to the right, it only struck me today when I was circling the cones. Much more groundwork is definitely needed to get him going properly. He was very forward going however, much more so that when shod, when he often went into beach-donkey mode at schooling. He is free in the shoulder and feels more fluid. He always was a nice comfortable ride - slight pony bounce to his paces, but not excessive like many Welsh Cobs can be. He feels even better now and I swear it is because he feels happier without shoes (or just imagination on my part - lol!).
Rain is forecast for tomorrow. A real shame if it does for emw's demo day, and for Lynn on her weekend break. We do desperately need it though, great cracks in the ground again and our stoney top fields are mostly brown and crispy. Despite all this the boys are as fat as pigs and dont really need grass - even if they would dispute that, especially houdini M!
I think this new DG is putting people off posting, where is everyone today?
|
|
|
Post by aberlemno on Aug 12, 2005 19:53:51 GMT 1
Jude - I don't know if it's because it's the holiday season and people are too busy to write much, or whether the idea of being overlooked/looked over so often is deterring people. I shall say more or less what I've always said, and making no identifying statements (one hopes!) It's nice in a way that so many people get pleasure from reading our witterings . . .
Fahly is now healed nicely and any swelling has disappeared, so I think I shall take him on a "flat" ride tomorrow for an hour and see how he is. I couldn't ride him before as his boots might have rubbed the scab over his cut. He doesn't know it yet, but I am about to go out and worm him. The expression he wears on such occasions can loosely be described as "appalled" - so I shall take him out an apple to take the taste away.
I am trying to get my garden sorted out before the autumn monsoon. I have decided that if it's over 2 feet tall, then it's going to be ruthlessly rooted out (unless it's a rose of course). I can't be doing with stuff that falls over and needs staking (I make an exception for Foxgloves) or that spreads like wildfire through the beds.
I also need to move my entire winter muck heap, which should be fun. Barrel of beer and a spade anyone?
We have lots of trees around our house and in the autumn we too have Tawnys talking to each other. Since they are just the other side of our bedroom window, they seem to talk quite loudly!
What a shame you have decided not to go to the EMW demo. I'm sure you wouldn't be totally ignored by all and sundry if you DID go you know. Especially if you put a name-tag on yourself (in case you got lost, of course) and wore pink binder twine - that mark of the DG Beast!
My goodness, I'm glad I don't have your family to cope with. Your mum and aunty will be so much happier when all this visiting is done and dusted.
Smuttley - fabulous photos - you've got a better camera than me (not difficult mind!) They look so professional. Mine are always just a second too soon, too late or a picture of my thumb . . . That narrow fence in the lake looked a bit hairy. Was it problematical?
I'm hopeless at remembering people - go on, give us a clue!
Rosemary Hannah - I couldn't see your photos I'm afraid. Don't know if it's my computer or yours that we can blame.
I was thinking how I would be when all my children had flown the nest. Although Keith and I are busy people and have lots in common, I know I am going to be absolutely BEREFT. You must miss yours all so much. How far away from you will Duncan and his partner be living?
How is George behaving these days? Any news on "that" problem he had? How much longer does he have at school?
tl - your Green Cone sounds wonderful. The best I've ever had for composting have been a tidy heap (hum, easily improved upon) and a big barrel on a tipping mechanism - not a lot of use really.
Has your weather improved yet? Did the slugs ever grind to a halt? It's our local show tomorrow, but I don't think I will go, even to spectate. I'm trying to save money, and you "know" who will win before they even announce the class to go into the ring. Jim (local alcoholic) came round selling raffle tickets today, but I only bought a pound's worth, as I have more than a small suspicion that this will be his beer money and the raffle stubs will go in the river as he drives over it!
What did you have for tea in the end? I did a lovely lamb curry tonight.
Off for my bath now.
|
|
tl
Grand Prix Poster
Posts: 2,680
|
Post by tl on Aug 12, 2005 21:23:20 GMT 1
Hi folks. An all shades of grey day,but dry with it.The hills of Hoy are very black looking and that means only one thing.Rain tomorrow! It's big Show Day and a couple of hours of decent weather would be nice. Such a lot of time and effort goes into preparing for these things, and a deluge always keeps the less than stalwart away.
The Green Cone is a digester! It has a basket structure on the bottom which has to be sunk underground.The cone element,which is quite easy on the eye,sits above the surface.There is a starting agent,after which it should be able to deal with potato peelings,etc.etc.smallish bones, dog and general waste.The council have a quantity to hand out,and are hoping to gain valuable feed back from people at a later date.Domestic waste is a huge problem for an island community,so it will be interesting to see how efficient these things are. OH has put it together,now all we need to do is to choose where to site it. The garden is looking better now we have less slitherers about the place,so I have given up on them for a wee while.If they start appearing in any quantity I shall be hard on their trail again.
At the moment I seem to have a mental block in the cooking departrment.All meals have become difficult. Am I the only one with this problem? Total loss of inspiration:I think it's a summer thing! It was pork tonight,nice, but not exciting.OH enjoyed it though, so I suppose that is all that matters.
Rosemary I do sympathise with you.There is a real sense of loss when the fledglings flee the nest,and there's no preparation for these things,but then that's parenting all told. None of it is easy!
We used to have lots of Tawny owls about the last place.I love them and enjoy calling to them. I used to be able to fetch them in from quite a distance. We had a pet one once.I think I've mentioned her before.Fabulous creature until it came to a shower.No sooner in, than her head would pop under the curtain.Frantic readjustment of the temperature and an instant icy cold drenching whilst she pottered round about your feet.She liked to be blotted dry too.We had her for quite a long time.
An early night I think,we shall have to be up and about sharp for the showing classes. Have a lovely weekend everyone.
|
|
|
Post by rosemaryhannah on Aug 12, 2005 22:30:58 GMT 1
No doubt about it, this site puts me off. For a start, I find it very hard to read as the text expands to the natural size of the pictures. so it spreads across more than one line. I mean - you can't see a whole line of text at once, and for me as a dyslexic that is just impossible. I now know how many read this and that inhibits me. And I can't get photobox to show up my pictures - at best they are the 'thumnail' size and the minuite I stop having them open in a browzer window they vanish. I suppose this relates to my use of Firefox, to which these heavily Microsoft dominated pages are hostile. And I'm feeling horribly grumpy anyway - not least as plans to make up the 'wedding' skirt have bitten the dust as the blessed local selling fabric and habadashery is shut ... heaven knows why! Shut till Monday. Wish now I'd got what I needed in Glasgow instead of trying to support local businesses!
I shall make the bag instead but it makes me very cross.
George has a year to go at school - he will leave after his standard grades (=GCSE, more or less) - and, no, still waiting!
tl, if I said pretty please, and emailed them to you, would you be kind enough to post my pictures - I'll send them from my Yahoo addy, as it works better for pictures. sorry, incompetence but I don't have half a day to give to sorting out the problem!
Jude, do go - Lynn is not the kind of person who would feel gatecrashed, or make you feel that way. She is so lovely! She is very unassuming an the true Scots way, with the real Scots virtues of modesty and hospitality.
Before next year, I will need to think of a way of getting Jacob to cease, desist, and generally stop pawing when I stand and hold him. Nothing I have tried so far has worked even a little bit. Sigh. He does not do it when tied up here at home. It is just out when I stand and hold him.
|
|
|
Post by aberlemno on Aug 13, 2005 7:21:20 GMT 1
Morning Rosemary and all
It's not easy when you have to keep shooting the page back and forth I agree. I am such a nincompoop that I don't even attempt to post photos. I shall just rest on my laurels as a domestic goddess (HAH!) I can imagine it plays havoc with your dyslexia though.
At least we can contact each other with personal notes now, if anything really dire is happening we don't care to discuss "over the garden fence", but I agree, it is not easy to be totally relaxed when you have a huge crowd hanging on our every word. There we are girls, we should come out in paperback!!!
You must we wailing and gnashing your teeth because the local haberdashery shop is shut - again. You were waiting on them for something before, I seem to remember. I must admit, I would be somewhat inclined to buy everything at once and have done with it, but then we live 10 miles from any proper shops (I don't count the "local" PO's 3 or 4 miles or so away in various directions). What is your bag like - shape, decoration etc? I had to give up with the idea of making mine to sell, as they were far too labour-intensive, which I knew anyway, but then I had a couple of remarks (one from a friend and another from a stranger) which put me off totally, so that was that. The girls still love theirs though.
Apart from clicker training (which I am sure you will have tried) I don't know what to suggest about Jacob's pawing. Have you tried backing him up if he does it when you are holding him? When Maggie went away for schooling, she came back with the annoying habit of pawing her stable door for attention/food etc which she learned from the pony in the stable next door to her. Fahly has since picked it up too, and I try not to give any response whatsoever when they do it, since that in itself is a "reward" for noticing it, but it DOES annoy me. In his defence, if I growl "that will DO" to Fahly, he stops and looks innocent!
tl - MORE rain - and on show day too. How annoying for all concerned. Our own local show seems to have suffered regularly in that department in recent years, yet it's the May Bank Holiday and when we first moved down here, May was the most reliable month for good (and indeed, quite often HOT) weather. Will you be going anyway?
I do like the sound of your Digester. Alas, it would need to be elephant sized to cope with my garden waste right now, as I am removing wheelbarrows full of the stuff where I am clearing up before the winter. I had a whole barrow load of Golden Rod last night (THAT'S coming out totally, I've decided) and 5 barrow loads of Lady's Mantle leaves, weeds, overgrown briar rose branches, and the achillea ptarmica and michaelmas daisies which have invaded over HALF the main flower bed now and are being ruthlessly removed now.
I had to smile at your Tawny Owl who liked to take a shower with you! Shades of the shower curtain in Psycho there : ) Plusrider's Maine Coone kittens enjoy the shower too!
How quick an evening meal do you want? Left-over chicken pieces in a tin of Campbell's Condensed Chicken soup make the base for a pie, or with a cheesy scone topping, or poured over rice or pasta. Add some bacon bits if you like. Or sausages popped in a dish, with a tin of chopped tomatoes and some fried onions, and casseroled in the oven. Add a tin of cannelini beans or any sort of beans come to that, to make it more substantial, or towards the end of the cooking time, a small tin of baked beans. Or a Mince cobbler with onions, tomatoes and/or mixed veg and a cheesy scone topping. Any help? I must confess, I'm a bit of a bung-it cook myself, and am now teaching the girls to be the same : )
|
|
|
Post by jude on Aug 13, 2005 10:11:34 GMT 1
Aberlemno, so glad Fahley's swelling has gone down again. All these problems seem to have been triggered by those b*****kids, as I dont think he had puffy leg problems before did he? Are you sure we are going to GET the winter monsoon this year? They have forecast rain today, but no sign of it here at present. I've just looked at the BBC & Met office websites and they say rain for a bit, but I am not holding my breath. Have you got your hay sorted yet (I am worrying, on your behalf over your hay, lol)
tl - OH would love your digester thingy, it sounds wonderful. I do wish Hereford would issue such things. They now have a box scheme in Ross where you have to seperate and put washed cans etc for recycling, but we dont get such luxuries up here in the sticks. I am so envious of your tawny owl, I dont remember you mentioning her before, so am assuming it was when I was off-line for a couple of months when Explorer was hi-jacked by the porn virus (wonder if the net nanny will change porn? interesting to see)
Rosemary, having said I have had no trouble with the page fitting I then did have with the last page and the wide pics. As you know I use Firefox too - but I havent had any problems with this new DG. I initially couldnt get it to open different scary day pages in a new tab if I clicked on the drop down page number under the topic, but it will do it if you click on the black arrows for 'forward' and 'back'. I am finding it easier than using Explorer on this new site (which I did at a friends the other day), as then you loose everything if you go back a page to look at what people have said - which I can do in a new tab without loosing stuff. I have very similar feelings about the new DG to you and tl! CK will paw sometimes - usually when shut in or tied up for longer than he feels is necessary. I tried a Richard Maxwell (possibly Monty Roberts too) thing on that ie tie a square of wood just above his knee which will then clonk on the knee if they paw - then by association they are supposed to think 'oohh my knee gets a clonk when I do that, better not then'. I only did this when I first got him, although he will still do it sometimes. Like Aberlemno I ignore it, or growl at him which will stop it. It isnt that bad or irritating though. That is obviously not any good when you are holding him at halt though, as he couldnt wear it all the time as he wouldnt want to walk! M is a real monkey for pawing, similar to CK as above, but also he has to put his big hooves in everything (remember the feed bowl glued to his leg? well, it didnt put him off!) For the most part I ignore or growl NO at him. He did start to paw when you are holding him, and sometimes when grooming - which I felt was dangerous as he caught me a couple of times (he has very strong legs and a high reach).although not aiming at me - just impatience. Occasionally he will fidgit backwards and forwards and try to snow-plough away from what he is tied to, especially if CK isnt in sight. I just stand back and let him finish, then calmly go on - and as I use my voice a lot with all of them, they all definitely understand 'NO!'. However, because of the safety angle (mine - I'm only little and dont want big legs flying round my head) I have used a rather old fashioned cure on him which perhaps I shouldnt put here, despite hopefully no Nasty Anons anymore. Lets just say it works and I rarely have to reinforce it - lol!
Well, havent gone to emws do, regrettably. Shame I wasnt able to contact Lynn beforehand to make proper arrangements to meet etc. as I think she had already left when I e-m her on thursday. Trouble is, it isnt close enough to just pop-in as it took me 1 1/2 hours to get there last time with traffic on the minor roads. Hope they all have a good time anyway.
Have a nice weekend everyone X
|
|
|
Post by esme on Aug 13, 2005 10:49:36 GMT 1
Okay then, having tried this board when they were testing it, it all seemed lovely, but then I suppose that was because hardly anyone was posting. Now it really isn't so good, I rarely look at other threads as they aren't so readily displayed to catch your eye with the title and anyway it does take a longer time to read through Scary Day, which was taking a while anyway! Still guess we're stuck with it now and it may deter the nasty anons!
Rosemary, Daniel is the same age as George it seems, not an easy age either is it, hormones aren't just limited to teenage girls are they? I know Daniel is actually very good compared to a lot I have heard from, but clashing with his father now over things and "getting lippy" it gets harder to squash. Also, as mentioned before, he really hates school and getting him back there in September will be awful, never mind getting him to knuckle down to doing some work and getting through the exams with some reasonable grades! As for pawing the ground (Jacob not your son!) I had been told to back them up etc to bring them back into line so to speak. Mr. B started doing it yesterday when he was tied up on the yard, not something he usually does actually, so I grumpily shouted "Beckham! You can stop that now, I don't like it, you don't do it so don't start now" He looked at me with an equally grumpy face and stopped, changing to a sulky face there after. That is my equivalent of horse whispering but it's full volume in case he didn't hear!
Mega pooey day yesterday horse wise. Long story re loading and lorries (old DG and the Little Blue Beckham Box) but we were very kindly offered a lift in someones trailer, they took him out on his own last Sunday, drove around for 20 minutes and he was brilliant, excellent and happy. Loaded up with the friends horse yesterday and drove off to have a jolly (me in car with friend, daughter following in car) and he wouldn't settle, although they were both eating hay, but Bex kept pulling faces, stomping and kicking the back of the trailer (me cringing in car and friend stressing over damage to her trailer and upsetting her horse). Then just as we are going along a by-pass with traffic passing us Bex, for some unknown reason, tries rearing up, the car felt like it was about to go backwards, everything rocked and was very scary! Daughter at the rear phoned us in a panic and we turned round at the next roundabout and headed for home. Everything seemed to settle down and friend almost decided to turn round again and carry on. Luckily we didn't as my daughter called again and said that Bex was definitely unhappy, ears flat back and unsettled. Back at the yard, opened the box to find friends horse had a cut lip and was bleeding and Bex had cut his hind leg, and grazed the inside of his top lip and gum and was also bleeding! Mega mega stresses from both friend and daughter, horses were both okay, superficial wounds, hosed and treated but now we know we can't accept a lift with them and hopefully we haven't upset the other horse for his travelling life! I'm taking up knitting!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jude I suggest you change address without leaving a forwarding one for your sister and offspring! Dole out Rescue Remedy in Mum and Auntys tea, you don't need to tell them and have a large few dollops yourself! Families, who invented them? We also have to attack our garden again soon, but it's all in flower at the moment, with loads of Asters about to burst out and prevent anything being dug up until the autumn and then it's a major job. Maybe we could form the IHDG gardening circle and all go round for picnics and bbq's getting the jobs done en masse?
Ooh, got to go, someone at the door - will be back later!
|
|
|
Post by Smuttley on Aug 13, 2005 11:51:49 GMT 1
Hello scary people, Yes, Jude, I'm 'rl' (though the 'L' wasn't actually a surname initial - long story lol)! We wandered all round the course, so I have loads of pics from all the jumps, and some nice ones of our 1yo gsd who was very excited as it was his first 'big day out' with us, but he behaved wonderfully. Aberlemno, it is a nice camera, it actually belongs to my OH but I love using it And my secret for getting nice pics is to take loads - then you usually get a few nice ones out of them L) Well I'm off on holiday today, back home to Scotland for a couple of weeks - can't wait, I really miss it! Have to take my son for his riding lesson first though, he wouldn't hear of missing it! I guess he takes after me in that one
|
|
|
Post by rosemaryhannah on Aug 13, 2005 11:58:50 GMT 1
Apart from clicker training (which I am sure you will have tried) I don't know what to suggest about Jacob's pawing. Have you tried backing him up if he does it when you are holding him?
That is what he wants. Yes, if I watch him and push him forward and back, he does not do it. But he does not WANT to stand still. He wants to walk forward and back. It does stop the problem, but …. You have to keep him pretty much on the move. That he does endlessly and happily. He is an energetic horse. His big complaint against showing is that walking in a ring is boring. The slowest pace he likes is a trot, really. He tolerates walk if a- hacking or b- he thinks it might change into trot or canter.
Growling does no good. Tapping the knee does no good. He makes a game out of it. He does not really mind being hit a bit – not as long as it is not brutal, as that is better than just standing still. He can play – ‘I’ve got faster reactions than you!’ which he rather enjoys. I said to Duncan: ‘Tell me he is not just a dull personality less horsey!@ and D replied: ‘That is definitely NOT his problem!’ I can try the wood – not sure how you tie it on?!
He does not do it in his stable. He does not do it tied up. He just does it when held in hand.
Esme, you are telling me … I resort to bribery. I got this confounded bike, the one still broken, and that did some good. I am now offering to replace bike with something else. He is going for a stereo and … a wardrobe for when he leaves home after this standard grades to set up home with his girl friend. Is this latter a sign of maturity? It works within reason. I had to resort to a separate bribe for maths – a gold chain and bracelet. Bracelet now adorning girl friend. For all his failings it must be said he adores his girl, and treats her like highly expensive china, with the kind of chivalry I though might be dead. The other day they were discussion what would happen to George/her when the other could no longer care for them at home … nursing home or euthanasia. Youth is a wonderful thing.
Oh tl – the owl, bless! How lovely! We have them here in our valley – they hoot up and down at night, and very occasionally on walks we find a newly fledged one pretending it is not there, very hard! When we moved in, Angus and Mum and I and Ruth and Beatrice (twins on the way!) Ruth and Bea complained terribly about the monsters. This is a large house and we offered the usual: ‘There are no monsters!’ but they were no comforted. Then one night my Mum was reading a bedtime story and Ruth cried out: ‘Listen, the monster!’ and outside came the ‘Quick, quick’ of a hunting Tawny. Poor kids! All was explained and they quickly related it to the much-loved owl who was afraid of the dark, but …
We have had rain, but it was much needed, as all the grass had stopped growing and parts were burned off.
Jenny, I am planning a ‘take’ ion a 40s style handbag, a very ladylike affair, but created in my blouse fabric and hopefully beaded. What the heck did the b*****s say? Here on Buchanan Street in Glasgow (THE shopping street there, all the posh shops!) we have a shop selling (for a fortune!) splendidly individual and eccentric bags!
|
|
|
Post by aberlemno on Aug 13, 2005 17:32:21 GMT 1
Back on here for a little treat, whilst I am waiting for my bread to rise. I have already made butter (in the freezer now), cheese scones (so I could use up the gorgeous buttermilk) and got stripey horse in early because it has been pouring steadily half the day, and after a break of a couple of hours, began again. He HATES the rain - it goes in his ears he tells me - and he would rather be steaming under his fleece cooler in the stable with a good feed. Quite . . .
It was our localest show today, and the pour souls up there must have been going round like drowned rats in a quagmire. I was not at all tempted to go up there and paid my friend Barbara (who has a rug cleaning/repair business) a visit instead. She has told me she has so many rugs in for cleaning and repair there is a waiting list of 6 to 8 weeks now, so I shall have to pop up my heavyweight rugs next week before they are needed. It does feel quite autumnal today and has done on and off this past 10 days or so in fact. What comes from having an early spring. Poor tl you have just gone from winter to autumn without a break.
Just a little blip of (possible) genius Rosemary. Have you tried the Australian method of getting a horse to concentrate on you by taking a little bit of skin on his shoulder and twisting it, not very hard obviously, just sufficient for him to sit up and take notice. Reggie Summerhayes used to use this method with a horse that jogged. Worth a thought as it would distract him from pawing, without giving in to his "I want to move" campaign by rewarding him with movement?
As for my bags. Well, one lady on another DG I visit was very scathing about people who sold their crafts at craft fairs when they were just "hobbyists" and could undercut the "real" crafts people because they had no overheads to speak of - and various other comments in a similar vein. Someone else said I might have to take out insurance in case someone or someone's child managed to detach something from one of my bags and put it in their mouth/choked on it. Someone else, a friend, criticised my designs, so that pulled the rug out from under my none-too-confident-to-start-with-feet and I put everything on hold. . . G hasn't used the bag I made her yet with the beaded dragonfly on "It is for a special night out" but Tam has used hers and loves it.
I'm glad George and his girl-friend are still very much an item and a "forever couple". If he is intending to move in with her soon after leaving school, he will have to get himself growing up a bit smartish, as it's one thing to live at home and have a steady girlfriend, and quite another to have to juggle rent money, clothing, leisure money, transport AND put food on the table for two of you. A wardrobe sounds like a sensible thing to ask for, but perhaps a fridge might be more practical?!!! You can, at a push, do without a wardrobe after all : ) Do you have house-clearance auctions on the island where they might pick stuff up 2nd hand (house clearance stuff mainly goes for a pittance around here).
Smuttley - have a lovely break up in Scotland and send it my love. Which part do you hail from?
I hope your son enjoys his riding lesson.
Esme - I'm getting used to the Board now, and in some ways it is better than the old one - certainly great because there are no plonkin' idiots on it - they used to send my blood pressure soaring sometimes, they were such prats.
I'll get a barrel of beer in and a few bottles of wine, make some home-made sausages and bread, and you can all come down to mine and sort the garden out. Oh, and if anyone has a head for heights, we'll dangle you from the roof so you can clean the windows I can't reach. Several need scaffolding to reach, so stay dirty. This isn't your conventional detached, you understand.
I'm sorry your son isn't looking forward to returning to school either. It's a difficult age isn't it? My son is 14 now and just starting to get hormones and drive us all potty. He is happy at school though, so that's something.
Yikes - Becks certainly didn't sound happy in the trailer with the other horse. I wonder did they just not get on or was he unhappy about which side of the partition he was on or what? I haven't dared to drive mine with a horse up yet (terrible admission to make) but hope to soon, just up the road a bit for a different ride homewards. We have very steep hills, single track lanes with passing places, and some pretty nasty bridges to negotiate. If I wanted to go left up the valley, for example, it is too tight a turn to go left with a trailer after the bridge, so I would have to drive to the main road, turn right, take a right turn further along and approach it from the opposite direction and a 10 mile detour!
Jude - have you had "our" rain yet? I do hope it by-passed EMW as that would be dreadful for her on her special day. I hope that it held off long enough, and rained sufficiently on us (the unjust) that the "just" go off without any.
I'm such a technophobe I don't even know HOW I view this board (or others). What an admission to make!
Gotta go and feed mum now. Back later. J
|
|
|
Post by esme on Aug 13, 2005 18:35:35 GMT 1
Rosemary and Aberlemno - the trouble is with sons, I find, you just can't help but love them though can you? Drive you up the wall, have you in tears and tearing your hair out, but you still just want to mother them! Daughters now... you have to toughen them up from the outset, set them up to be women and show them how the world really runs! Sorry terribly sexist or something there and I do expect Daniel to do stuff around the house, in fact he helps out more than his sister half the time and certainly his room isn't as bad... yet.... as hers always is.
Missed out somewhere on your bags Aberlemno, and being a bag-aholic would be very interested - I have been spending hours on eBay looking for carpet bags, Samantha hates the one I got, but I love it cos it's different. Ignore the jealous old bats that don't want you to do well with them, maybe even look into a basic insurance for people suing you for other people hitting them over the head with one of your bags or choking their child with various parts (or someone elses child for that matter... the niece and nephew!!!!) We could set up a complete DG accessory shop here with you and RosemaryH couldn't we - The Complete Brides Mother/Going Away Outfit/Special Occasion/Anytime ensemble!
BTW tl, I saw these digester things advertised by out local council once and thought they looked brilliant but the OH was fretting about rats and wouldn't try it because you could put food scraps in it too - are these the same things and what is your opinion of the rat possiblity?
Update on the trailer incident - luckily our friends horse loaded and travelled fine today, had a lovely hack and came home again. Dear Beckham spent the day in the field playing hooleys with another horse and making his hind leg swell up and look poorly - oh well we were going to miss the show tomorrow anyway as he had done in the transport!
|
|
wills
Grand Prix Poster
Posts: 4,657
|
Post by wills on Aug 13, 2005 19:30:42 GMT 1
Finally i made it back! These last few days have awful, well first of all my mum went away for the night, my brother didn't come home and the dogs had recked it! They had ripped up the carpet chewed up towels and eaten cables, so safe to say my mum was raging! I went to Mid - Argyll Show today with my friend, she did really well and got M&M champion on her welsh D cob, will try and post a piccie of her later, i managed to throughly embarrass myself, by tripping up in the LR showing class, though we still managed to get placed 6 out of 14. So with my leading duties over, we went for a wonder around the show ring, when all off a sudden everyone started shouting and running, one of the highland bulls had got free, it charged through the clydesdales and one of the stallions broke free and it also managed to break the trailer! LynnG: Yes he belonged to one of the girls bf hes lovely, there was some lovely clydies there today and a lil foaly well it was really quite big! None of them were as gorge as Dusty though! Is that by any chance a glimpse of Apollo in the piccy of Armbro ? Glad hop a long is doing well, How is Clara? ellie x
|
|
tl
Grand Prix Poster
Posts: 2,680
|
Post by tl on Aug 13, 2005 19:38:44 GMT 1
Tired and weary.Show grounds entail such a lot of walking.A good day though.It rained fairly comprehensively through the night and was still at it first thing.Faired up into the usual greyish sort of day with just a hint of occasional blue.Cool,so good for the horses. My friend had a great day.Her youngster behaved herself and won her class.That was her first outing. The stallion won his class and went on to get the reserve ticket.Can't do much better than that! It's the riding of the marches tomorrow.Foggy and dull just now so we shall see what the weather's like before we turn out.Hugely popular occasion,with over 100 riders taking part.Not a lot of use if they are obscured by mist and we can't see them!
What happened to the photographs Rosemary? I sent you an email last night and we were expecting them to be waiting when we got home.
Short of shuggling your fellow about,or giving him a good swearing at at home I can't recommend anything that hasn't already been said.Can tell you that it's a familiar T shirt,and is usually worn in the ring when little can be done until you get it sorted!
Mrs.Beak was adorable.The trips to the butchers raised eyebrows: a little bit of that,a little bit of this,amounting to little in real terms to make sure that it was fresh. The meat purchases amused me for a long time.In the end I had to confess what these small portions were for.The butcher was a good soul.
Sounds as if your garden is undergoing complete reconstruction Aberlemno.OH wants some of those red hot pokers,but I'm dashed if we can get any to grow.Probably far too much salt, that is the usual problem. Thank you for your suggestions.I am very much a bung it in type of cook,and, find it is usually successful.I find my intake is very much less throughout the summer months,consequently I lose interest and impetus. OH dosn't take too kindly to that.He's a meat and three vegetable,and pudding man, but no cook!
Hello again rl.I liked your photographs,excelent action shots.Mine today were pretty naff.Baby was too hyped up to stand still for more than a moment,and I didn't have an opportunity to get more than one shot of the lad.Some days are like that. It was VERY crowded.
Oh dear Esme,I hope there's no lasting damage done.Transporting is fraught with difficulties,you have my sympathy.Breast bars are our families bete noire.Even the outside quick release jobs arn't that good under pressure,and it's no use being without the Allen key! OH got involved in a rescue operation shortly after we arrived here,the horse was over and in an awful panic,and the home team had a youngster go over last year. Neither occasions were funny! I hope the leg goes down soon.
Low cloud is trailing along the hillside,and the waters like steel - is there any other colour than grey?
|
|
|
Post by esme on Aug 13, 2005 19:45:18 GMT 1
tl - very quickly before I sign off for the evening. There are no colours apparently it just how we see them (I still don't believe these scientisty people) so actually you can either choose grey, in it's many and varying shades or..... you can halucinate! Paint the sky any colour you choose, grow pink grass, purple trees and... oh hang on, that should spook the horses! Sorry, it's just grey then. Will keep working on the weather for you, maybe we'll get you an Indian Summer for a few days before lights out?
Night night all xx
|
|
tl
Grand Prix Poster
Posts: 2,680
|
Post by tl on Aug 13, 2005 21:42:53 GMT 1
Thanks for that Esme.Keep working on it please.As far as a rat problem is concerned I don't think so. The bottom half has to be properly sunk into the ground and needs to be installed on a gravel base to allow for drainage.The worms can work through the basket type structure.The top is completely solid,slippery, and I doubt that it's cone shape will make it climbable of even the most agile rat. We intend to give ours a whirl. I think a lot of people will fall short of sinking it in, it needs a large hole.If that is done correctly I am hopeful that it will work.
Strewth Wills, some day you've had!
|
|