Getting creative when there’s nothing else to do

And of course, now that we can’t really travel or do things we are used to: Visiting with friends, happy hour, running races or in groups, horse shows, going to a movie, swimming, etc etc etc…

My watercolour attempt! 

Ian and I have had to get much more creative- literally! We have done a few fun projects, from an Easter gingerbread house to making Sculpey animals, to watercolour paintings. It’s been pretty fun, and I guess, a fun distraction from the things we can’t normally enjoy.

My Easter house- isn’t it fun? I bought like 5 gingerbread houses from Thrifty’s because they were a dollar each, so I used one this year for Easter. My friend even bought me some amazing flavored Peeps from the USA!

Of course, we can get take-out meals, drinks, have a picnic and have done many of these activities throughout the past 3 months as well!

Our sculpey projects- I want to get some magnets and do up the backs of these, they are too cute not to share! 

Lay low

It was chilly for Gidget too! 

We’re firmly entrenched in a deep freeze here in the normally very mild climes of Vancouver Island. And I hate it. So much. I would honestly rather have rain (an unpopular opinion, but rain doesn’t make my fingers freeze walking home, and sit at my office cubicle, freezing my ass off, my pony very stiff for riding, feet frozen, frozen water buckets…I could go on).

Ian syringe feeding the patient.

I wanted to cry walking home I was so miserable- and yes, I was dressed warmly with a winter jacket, hat, gloves and scarf. And I was miserable!! I spent all day freezing and then had a lousy walk home, and then walked my dog, and then went to spend more time at a freezing barn. Luckily the activity at the barn warmed me up and my ride, while painful and frozen, wasn’t too long and I was able to get some chill out of my bones.

Still!

I had a very nice weekend when the weather was good, just before it took a real turn for the worse…Oats in particular was feeling lovely on Sunday, so smooth..Good..Just, amazing. I love his flowy movement! I felt so lucky to ride him Sunday and just enjoy him for his fantastic gaits. I did a lot of running on the weekend, it was pretty mild out except turned cold on Sunday.

Doing good work here. 

Went out for dinner (Dine Around Stay in Town is on right now!) to the Livet. A new restaurant to me, and I really enjoyed the $30 menu that they were offering- it was fantastic and a really decent deal too, for the level/quality of food (charcuterie starter, crispy rockfish main and chocolate-banana bread French toast with currants for dessert). YUMM!!

And best of all, the animal drama that has been plaguing me for a few weeks is starting to resolve, thank Christ. My bunny is on the mend, and eating really well and drinking water too. Phew!!!!!!

On to this week, in which I try just not to freeze. Oats gets ridden by an adult amateur on Tuesdays, so I have Tues/Wed off now. I am going to a hockey game on Wed now too, with a friend! 🙂 And maybe another dine-around event on Friday with my other friends? We’ll see!

All is too much: Weekend recap

Funny, for a not-busy weekend it sure ended up being busy!

The weather was horrendous for most of the weekend. Winds of up to 90km/hr at my house, sideways rain, just so shitty. I went for a run in the AM on Saturday and after 2km of getting blasted backwards and sideways, I gave up after something hit my ear and hurt! I ran more interior routes and then headed home.

Friday we were lucky enough to do some fun Halloween-y activities, like pumpkin carving and making candy apples- the candy apples didn’t quite turn out like I thought (the candy slides off them and puddles on the tray…) Wouldn’t make it again but nice to try once.

We were going to do the big corn maze on Saturday after riding, but the weather was so awful that I ran horse errands instead (hay nets, grain, MSM for Oats). We are rescheduling for next Saturday as the weather has improved significantly this week. Oats was fun to ride on Saturday, can’t even really remember what we were working on (transitions? Probably transitions. It’s always transitions now.). Saturday night was board game night at the Board Game Cafe with the barn girls. Always a great time! 🙂

Sunday Ian helped me move jumps at the barn, a quick ride for Oats focusing on straightness at the canter with ‘small’ canter and ‘big’ canter, and going across the diagonal STRAIGHT (again, a big weakness). We were then off to Cobble Hill to Mile End Farm for his birthday lunch with his parents and a hike and a hot tub.

A nice end to a nice weekend. Couldn’t ask for more.

When I was a God

From watching Futurama last night, and it was a surprisingly introspective episode. I know, right?

Dad, daughter and horse.

My family has come and gone (not for good though, they will be back forever in a few months!) and I tried fairly hard to be reasonable and not too snappy, though you always hurt the ones you love, the hardest…Oh well, I was better this time than others, and maybe in the future I will be better and more understanding.

We did a ton of activities, so many activities! From walking in Witty’s Lagoon, to hiking Mt. Doug in a dangerous windstorm with my mom, visiting the farm, to happy hour with my parents, to watch a winning Royals Game this past weekend, swimming, seafood feast, Mexican food, Beer & Fish night, live music, riding my horse (just me this time since my mom broke her arm really badly last time!), to looking at houses and them eventually buying one! I was exhausted!

Maybe all of that was why the half marathon wasn’t the ‘winningest’ of my races, but hey, you gotta live your life, right?

And I try to make sure I live EVERY MOMENT OF IT/

But yes today my legs finally feel like they belong to me, and not some sad broken wooden puppet! I have been a bit burned out, a bit tired but not as strangely tired as last week, so that is a win for me.

And how is Mr. Oaty? He is going great, I’m the one that is moving stiffly and hobbling! We had some really excellent lessons last week in both dressage and jumping, and then Saturday my parents came to watch him go- he was lovely.

Monday I rode, after we had the race on Sunday and wowww….It was pretty awful. I was moving stiffly and barely managed a 10-15 minute ride. To be fair, the hardest part of the ride was tacking up, bending down and walking to the arena.

Tuesday I tried again and was a bit more successful- we worked on two jumps on the diagonals, and I was quite strict with myself about straightness. We halted after the one diagonal line on and off, trying to keep Oats working with me and not anticipating the turn, as I LOVE to.

Today, time off from riding and give my legs a chance to rest up for tomorrow!

 

Wanting to do more

As I mentioned yesterday, Oats and I were supposed to have an adventure this past weekend that didn’t pan out (fortunately!) but it’s awakened my thirst for more.

Now I’m scanning the horse boards online looking for horse shows or clinics or anything cool to do with Oats. Yes, I’m getting- bored- ?? Or just antsy to go and DO something at this point?!

Part of me is like, whoaa, hang on. You have 3 races coming up on back-to-back weekends in a row. Wait and see what your energy is like from those and then get back to me about wanting to spend the $$$ and time getting your horse out to places and events.

The other part is like, hells yes I want to go take Oats places! $$$ and time be damned! I also happen to have a bad track record of over-scheduling myself and running myself ragged physically (no joke, I actually got ‘exhaustion’ this fall?).

First race (Harriers 8k) is this weekend. After that, we shall see!

I also have a dressage lesson tonight, and my flat rides lately have been very frustrating. Not scary, just frustrating. Makes me want to strangle my pony, who I know is only trying his best. So….yeah. Should be interesting.

 

End of an Era

That’s right, the venerable old gym at my undergrad university is going the way of the dinosaur…And we were invited, as alumni, to watch the final game!

Vikes B-Ball

I am not a big sports-watcher but the women’s basketball was actually pretty fun, and it was a nice activity to take part in on a Valentine’s day.

We were ‘VIP’ and that made it even more fun- drinks, pizza and snacks. Yes!!

And of course, the Vikes wiped the floor with their opponents- a cool 30-point spread, but the game was pretty back-and-forth until the last quarter. So that made it even more fun to watch!

Good bye old McKinnon- may you live on in the memories of former Vikes!

(Yes I am a Vikes alumni as well- I was involved in varsity rowing for a brief period time. Not so coincidentally, I quit rowing that year as well! haha).