Horses and Children

Horses and children, I often think, have a lot of the good sense there is in the world.

~Josephine Demott Robinson

Life: Since summer allows more evening hours and less homework, Ladybug has had the opportunity to work with our horse, Toby a bit more than usual. Unfortunately, we don't get to ride our horses very much due to our busy schedules, but on this morning Brian and Ladybug were very excited to work with him again.

It has been about 3 months since anyone has ridden Toby, so Brian got on first to let Toby get the jitters out before Ladybug got on. Thank God he did, because before he knew it, Toby bucked him off! Brian was uninjured besides sore ribs and some scratches, and he was proud of the fact that he was able to hold onto the reins and got right back on him. All went well from that time on.

After wearing Toby out a bit by working him on the hills, Ladybug took her turn. We took her into our newly fenced off "ring" and she walked him. She is at an awkward stage right now where her legs aren't long enough to use our saddle, but they are a bit too long for the child insert, so her legs look really funky here. Her form looks horrible because of that, but she was only walking and so I wasn't too concerned about it. She did a fabulous job working with him making complete stops and making him wait to go on a click.

After the exercise, Brian took him into the barn to take off the tack and brush him down. Ladybug and he both gave him a treat for his good work. I love the last picture, it looks posed, doesn't it? It wasn't! None of the pictures were! I just kept snapping and I caught a really sweet moment where LB and Brian were watching Toby eating his treat! The one where Toby is shaking his head is funny too because LB just asked him if he wanted a treat and it looked like he was shaking his head "yes" which is why she has a funny look on her face! She was like, "Wow! He answered me!"

About the Pictures: Taken with Canon 5D. The top 4 were taken with fill flash to help even out the shadows. Some converted to black and white while others are layered...a color copy and a black and white copy blended together.

Weigh In: Who are your special animal friends? If you have kids, how do they get along with your pets?

Opening Day at Ripken Stadium

I see great things in baseball. It's our game - the American game. It will take our people out-of-doors, fill them with oxygen, give them a larger physical stoicism. Tend to relieve us from being a nervous, dyspeptic set. Repair these losses, and be a blessing to us.

~Walt Whitman

My boy, Ty enjoying the drinks before the game.

Me, Ladybug, Ty, and Brian

The two page tribute to our neighbor and friend, Jo Ann

Yoga? Stretching? Praying? Raising the roof? Soliciting applause? Not sure what the catcher was doing here...but thought it was a funny picture!

Good to see some players still pray before the game.

Warming up in the Bullpen. 90 feet of speed! Click to enlarge...can you see the baseball in mid-flight? Look for the white dot on the brick wall.

This boy (who was with our group, but I will not name him for privacy) stood at the fence just hoping and praying a player would toss him a ball. He ended up with 2 before the night was over!

The end of the video tribute for Jo Ann on the Jumbotron.

Watching the game from the party deck!

The stretch...the ball is still in the pitchers hand but the batter is already in motion as is the third baseman!

The sunset behind the stadium. The building you see on the right of the image is a hotel that was constructed to look like the warehouse behind the Oriole's stadium, Camden Yards. On the other side of the hotel is a field for the kids' Babe Ruth League. It is an exact replica of Camden Yards!




Life: Last Monday night Brian, the kids, and I went to Opening Night at Ripken Stadium to watch the Ironbirds play the Staten Island Yankees. Our Rec Council buys tickets every year and we go and have a buffet of stadium food while watching the game. Usually our friend and neighbor, Jo Ann, takes care of everything since she is one of the staff members for the Ripken family and the Ironbirds office. Unfortunately, she passed away earlier this month, so that was not to be. The Ironbirds and the Ripken Family (Vi, Cal, Billy, and Elly) honored the memory of our dear friend by having a moment of silence, playing a video tribute on the JumboTron, adding a two page spread in the program, and painting her initials on the field. Our community was touched by the heart-felt actions of the stadium in honor of our friend.

The Ironbirds, who are a farm team for the Baltimore Orioles, beat the Staten Island Yankees, a farm team for the New York Yankees, 2-0. It was a great feeling to see the home team win, especially on Opening Night!

About the Pictures: Taken with my Canon 5D at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen, Maryland.

Weigh In: Do you watch Major League baseball? What team do you root for and why?

Mail Call Sunday- I Wanna Wail... "MAIL!"

Here's the mail
It never fails
It makes me wanna wag my tail
When it comes I wanna wail...
MAIL!!!

~Blue's Clues Mail Song

Welcome to this edition of Mail Call Sunday. I hope you enjoy viewing the postcards I have received this week:

From Taiwan: The sender likes to cook and garden in his free time. The postcard shows the roses in his garden.

From Germany: This 19 year old sender says the alley pictured in the card is only about 5 minutes from her home. She loves taking walks there to calm her mind.


From Canada: This sender works in the health care field but her true passion is wildlife and nature photography. She is also an avid reader.


From Finland: This sender says this postcard shows a local painter's work. She says she often sees red skies like the one depicted in this painting.


And last for this week, from China: This sender says the card depicts a traditional custom in old Shanghai, although she doesn't say what that custom is exactly.


Thanks to all who took the time to write a personal greeting to me! Your cards are very much appreciated. And now for the Journal Jar question of the week:

Do you have a favorite author? Who? Why? Tell about your favorite books as a child-as an adult.

Wow- That is jam packed! As I child I can remember my dad reading me a book about a farmer driving a dump truck filled with animals. I would ask him to read it over and over again. I can't remember the title, but I LOVED that book. It still gives me warm fuzzies when I think about it. As I got older, I loved the books Catcher in the Rye, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Scarlett Letter, A Tale of Two Cities, and any Edgar Allen Poe poem. I also really loved the Little House on the Prairie set (read every single one of them) and the poems of Shel Silverstein.

As an adult, I love Jane Austin books. I think I have read them all and loved every one of them. I guess I would have to say she is my favorite author. I love so many books and authors, it is hard for me to narrow it down. Some of my recent favorites are Water for Elephants, The Pearl Diver, My Sister's Keeper, Icy Sparks, The Glass Castle, Mudbound, The Pillars of the Earth, The Road, The Other Boleyn Girl, The Secret Life of Bees, Atonement...and I could go on and on. See? Too hard to pick just one.

Weigh In: Your turn...what are the top 3 favorite novels you have read recently?

Deception

In complete darkness we are all the same, it is only our knowledge and wisdom that separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you.
~Janet Jackson

Life: I am happy to say that the kids and I made it back safely from our trip to Virginia. We had a blast with my parents and can't wait to go back again before the summer is gone. Thanks Mom and Dad for a great time!

Ty and Ladybug have their All Star games this morning...FINALLY! I am looking forward to see them play. This will be the last event for softball and baseball. We have a break until August when soccer will start up again.

About the Picture: This picture was taken on Father's Day when we went for a bike ride along the abandoned railroad tracks. We came across this amazing, dilapidated old house (those of you who know me well know that I LOVE old buildings). It was very spooky as there were torn sheers in the windows, some windows were half way open, and it was just darn spooky. As I was taking pictures of the house, this old man across the way was sitting on his porch watching us with great curiosity. He seemed agitated that we were there and wanted us to go away. I tried to say good morning to him to start a conversation to see if he knew any history behind the house, but he didn't respond, just kept glaring at us. I took a few more pictures and then left. I am determined to go back there and talk to that old man. I think he must know something about that house since his house is so close to this one.

Anyway, when I came back, I decided to process the image like a vintage shot. The building has to be over 100 years old, so I thought it would be fitting. When I finished processing it, I noticed the face and body (in a tie and suit coat) of a ghost-like man in the upper window. Totally freaked me out! Can you see it? Look carefully at this larger version:



Spooky, huh?

Okay, I have a confession to make. The ghost is not real. I put him there in Photoshop. I couldn't resist. Those windows were calling out for a ghost! If you scroll down, you can see the original images that I used to make the ghostly composite.





















See...windows with no ghosts.


This image was taken through a door window at an old abandoned farmhouse in Virginia last year. I liked the way it turned out and I figured he (whoever he is) would look great as a ghost. So, I cut him out of this image and pasted him on a new layer on top of the original window picture. And there you have it. A ghost in the window ;0)

Weigh In: Do you believe in ghosts? Have you ever had an experience with one?

Virginia Update

Hi Y'all! Still here in Central Virginia, enjoying ourselves and relaxing. Yesterday we took a tour of the Old City Cemetery in Lynchburg, Virginia. It was fascinating...took some pics, so hopefully some time next week I will be able to share those with you.

Today we spent the whole day at Smith Mountain Lake swimming. We all are sporting a nice tan now. The sliding board into the lake was a hit as was the diving platform. The kids miss their Dad, as he is the one who usually takes them out in a canoe or kayak. I just don't have the stanima to row everyone very far.

I tried to post some pics from my phone, but couldn't figure it all out. I can post from my phone, but still haven't mastered the whole pic thing. I can't wait to upgrade my phone so I can do all of those things with ease, bgut it is not to be so for right now.

The kids and I will head home tomorrow. It was a very fast trip, and it seems like we just got here, but the kids will try once more to have the All Star game this Saturday, so home it is. I hope we can make it a little faster than than 6.5 hours, but we'll see.

Wish me Godspeed on my way home!

Can't wait to be back to regular blogging soon. Miss everyone!

Hugs,

We Have Arrived!

Well, we made it safely to my parent's house in Virginia.

All went well besides my estimated trip time of 5 hours turned
into 6.5 hours due to bridge construction, a new route that was less
confusing but more time consuming, and some road repaving.
But we are all well, which is what matters.

The only strange thing that happened is we had 4 truckers blow their horns at us in a friendly way. You know...beep...beep! At first I thought there might be something wrong with the car, but that didn't seem to be the case.

Perhaps the truckers were smitten with my new shiny cute as a button Ford Flex named Daisy. Perhaps they were flirtimg with Daisy'driver...moi! All I know is that the kids had no part in it...I made sure they were NOT soliciting honks from the big rigs.

Anyway, I am updating this from my phone and my thumbs are starting to kill me.

Till next time!

xoxo

The Most Civilized Conveyance

The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart.
The Red and the Green
~Iris Murdoch

These pictures were all taken while riding the bike trail (literally...I was pedaling and shooting at the same time! Nothing like shooting from the hip!) on Father's Day. We had wonderful weather and a perfect trail. More about that later. I didn't have time to post the enlargements, so please just click for a larger format.

As you know, the kids and I are off to Virginia to visit my parents. We are traveling today on a 5 hour journey (not biking...we are using the nightmarish form of travel known as the automobile ;0), so please send us safe thoughts and prayers for our trip. I am a bit nervous going that far without Brian.

I will not be posting the rest of the week as I didn't have enough time to pre-post anything. If I have down time at my moms, I will swing by all your blogs to say hello! Otherwise, I will be back late Friday and will probably need till Monday to start posting again.

Have a fabulous week and weekend!

This is How Fast Summer is Going By:

I just can't seem to catch up! Hopefully I can post a nice long post later on today...no promises, though! I am packing to head out of town first thing tomorrow morning (Brian is here, so don't think about robbing my home ;0) and we have an Ironbirds game to attend tonight. Ach! So much to do, so little time.

Catch up with you all in a bit.

Mail Call Sunday- World Events

I don’t think I’d continue to take photographs if I couldn’t format them as postcards, if I couldn’t write on the verso of the image &, especially, if I could not put them into the mail, using a variety of old postage stamps. The photograph has become for me a two-sided affair. Otherwise, my pictures would be living half a life. To fulfill their usefulness, pictures need an occasion & a recipient.
~Paul Vanderbilt

Welcome to Mail Call Sunday where I (and others) share the little treasures that graced our mailboxes this week. I hope you enjoy these cards I received from Postcrossing:

From Alberta Canada: On the back of the card- The Canadian Rockies; Maligne, Jasper

From Finland:

From Malaysia: On the back of the card: Journey through Malaysia and savour the best of Asia's culinary fare. From the spicy to the succulent, this food paradise offers an assortment of delights to tempt your palate.

From Finland:

From Germany:

Today's Journal Jar Question is: What do you feel has been the most significant world events that has taken place in your lifetime and why?

Well, the "why" part has me stumped because I could write books on "why" these events were important, so I will just list a few huge events that took place during my lifetime:

~ Watergate and the resignation of Nixon (1974)
~First flight of the space shuttle (1981)
~Tearing down the Berlin Wall (1989)
~cloning of sheep (1997)
~development of computers for personal home use
~widespread availability of the internet
~September 11, 2001 terror attacks
~War on Terror

Weigh In: What are some significant world events that you remember that I may not have listed here?



P.S. Happy Father's Day to my dad, my father-in-law, and to Brian! I love you all and hope you have a wonderful day!