At It Again

REBECCA RIDES AGAIN

Not satisfied with boogie boarding and scuba diving (She recently saw seahorses. -dt), Rebecca decided that she would attempt riding horses while here in Mexico.  Thank you, Tori, for making that recommendation. Hmm.  The friend of one of our neighbors facilitated Mrs.T's visit to one of the stables in the area; there are several.  They even play polo nearby on occasion. 

A couple of other events should be noted.  The puzzle ladies have been at it, plunking pieces down left and right.  We thank all the folks that have donated puzzles to the cause, particularly Helen and Barrie who contributed a puzzle of Ravensburger Castle they encountered on their European River Cruise.  I am giving them a special shout out because, partially due to their splendid reviews, we are going on the same cruise in June.  Hmm again. We may come back with another puzzle.

And the annual Festival of Our Lady of Peace is wrapping up as we are composing this.  Most of you are familiar with the event with lots of peregrinations, entertainment, and fireworks.  Saturday is the final day and will have the blessing of the boats, presentation of the queen, and the final Castillo. (They actually wound up with five of them.  –dt)  It is a big day for our lovely town.

Here is Rebecca's story about some of her activities:

 

 

The word has gotten out.  Evidently horses all over the world know Rebecca is easy.  I have started horse riding lessons in Mexico and it is deja vu.   You might recall when I was riding in Ohio Tori told me to hit the horse and I gave him a little tap and he turned his head and smirked at me.  Well last week in Mexico the teacher told me to give the horse a kick and when I gave him a little nudge he turned his head, and you guessed it, different horse but the same exact smirk!  But nonetheless I persevere. 

The stable here is much more of a rich person's place.  Here a groom leads up your horse, holds the horse's head and tries not to laugh as I struggle to climb on.  I pretend I am rich but I don't think I am fooling anybody.  My horse is a large sturdy black horse named Simon.  He is a little lethargic.  One of the riders told me everybody starts on Simon.  Of course another rider told me he was high spirited and bucked a lot.  I think that was a joke.

 

They have 32 horses and teach English riding and jumping.  I bought a beautiful pair of cowboy boots.  All of the other adults wear very high black boots and stretchy pants which if they even had them in my size would not be flattering to say the least.  All of the other riders I have met are either men, or teenage girls, or young children.  Some of the riders seem quite accomplished.  The men are either friendly or gallant to me or both.  The teacher and the horses speak Spanish but I'm getting along.  I am not at all sure that Simon likes me.  Next week I am bringing him a carrot.  Simon is very good about stopping, but kind of hard to get started.  I have to kick him a lot and yell "VAS!!" which is Spanish for go.  I ride with an English saddle and so far I am doing okay.  (She has not fallen off; no hoof cleaning either.  –dt)

 

The boogie boarding has been a mixed bag recently.  Some days there have been great waves, not too big or too small.  Some days there have been no waves at all; so we walk the shore looking at tide pools and picking up shells.  Getting there and back has been a little complicated at times as we ride the bus.  I need one hand to carry my boogie board, my handbag/backpack is slung over my shoulder, one hand desperately grasps my shorts which are apt to slide down when over my dive skin or my slippery bathing suit, another hand holds the money for the bus, a final hand holds out my old people's card so that I can ride the bus for half price.  This would be easy enough for an octopus.

 

Last week we had a very grumpy bus driver.  (NB: There weren't any waves that day.  –dt) I was the last of a long line of riders laden with various paraphernalia to get on at the beach stop. "VAMANOS!! VAMANOS!!"  - Let's go!, he shouted at me.  I stumbled up the steps and let go of my shorts to hold out the money.  Alas at that moment gravity struck and I almost had a wardrobe malfunction.  "SIENTASE!!" - SIT DOWN!, the driver yelled at me.  A nice lady grabbed my board so I could adjust my slipping shorts.  After lurching down the aisle - the bus was now racing around the mountains at full speed - I managed to nudge a man over so I could sit down. 

 

Since I had not paid, I followed accepted procedure and passed up my fare.  "Seis" -6, I said, letting the driver know I expected 4 pesos change from my 10 peso coin.  "Seis," said the lady in the seat in front of me as she passed on my fare.  This honor system always works and I had never known it to fail - until this day.  My four pesos did not come back.  Shortly a money collector slouched down the aisle.  (Some busses have an 'assistant' to collect fares.  –dt) "You owe me four pesos!" I accused in Spanish.  "No, you owe me two!" he shouted back.  Usually bus drivers are nice but you meet the occasional grump and they have been known to overcharge foreigners.  'I have a third-age card.  I am half price."  I replied waving my card at him. "Yes, she is old, give her a discount!" said the man in the seat across the aisle. (Her grey mane obviously verifies the fact.  –dt) Thanks, I think.  "You young people should show more respect," said another older lady.  Faced with a general revolt, the driver returned my change.  After a few miles I carefully dismounted the bus holding all my stuff with my right hand and my shorts with my left and slowly but triumphantly trudged home.

 

A few peregrination pictures and a puzzle too:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157650496132145/

 

We hope all of you are warm and safe.

Happy Lunar New Year!

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

 

HEALED

TOTALLY REPAIRED?

 

Below you will read that Mrs.T feels much better.  She will know better after she returns from scuba today, 29 December.  She was not really given clearance by Dr. Victor.  She is probably about 90%+ recovered.  She neglects to mention some other things we did:  the annual Posada at Mary Paz, a large puzzle with Judy, a fiesta for El Buzo, a bronze casting demo, and a visit to the Friday market to see the Aztec dancers.  A small sample of events is in the pictures at the end of the story.  But R is indeed feeling much better and ready to get back to her normal routines.  Plus she wants to add horse riding.  I may see her once in a while.

 

 

I am well.  Thanks in part to all the prayers and good wishes of all our friends my dislocated shoulder is recovered.  I had to wear the sling for three weeks and have ultrasound therapy for two weeks.  At first Dan had to help me dress and eat.  He took this good naturedly and almost seems a little disappointed that his help is longer needed.  (No comment  -dt)

 

When I was younger I took great pride in self-reliance.   But now, Emerson notwithstanding, it seems a lot less important.   Perhaps I no longer feel the need to prove my competence, such as it is, and now I lean towards Williams and am content to rely on the kindness of strangers. (Just wait; one more author reference to go.  –dt)

 

When I was wearing the sling I was amazed to find that all kinds of people took care of me.  One afternoon I was standing - looking perplexed, I am sure - at the light waiting to cross the highway.  The turning lanes in Mexico work differently and I have to think carefully to know when to cross.  "Are you lost, Lady?" A soft voiced Mexican man asked.  "No," I replied.  Are you hurt?" he asked.  "No."  "Do you want to go across the road?" he asked yet again.  "Yes," I replied shyly.  He gently took hold of my undamaged arm and helped me across.  I remembered when I was a Girl Scout you were supposed to do good turns and one of them was to help old ladies cross the road.  Am I an old lady now? (I will not answer that, but her gray hair gives her a certain stature.  –dt)

Another day I was riding the bus and the driver told two teenagers to get up and let me sit in the seat reserved for the disabled.  One time I went shopping with Judy.  We got off the bus at Walmart and were making our way slowly down the steep narrow path from the road.  "Do you need help, Lady?" a kind young man asked, "hold my hand."  "Yes, thank you", I replied and he walked below me holding his hand above  his head as I made my way down.  Men and women, boys and girls helped me on and off the bus.  They held my purchases and occasionally carried them.  "Be careful," they cautioned, "Take your time." 

 

One day I was crossing the road illegally - not at a crosswalk - and got stuck in the median.  A police car stopped and was flashing his lights.  "OH NO!!" I thought, "I'M GOING TO BE THROWN IN A MEXICAN JAIL FOR JAYWALKING!!"  But no, that nice policeman stopped traffic and gestured me to finish crossing with a polite little bow.

 

Well as I get older I seem to take myself less seriously.  If you can laugh at yourself maybe you can laugh at the world sometimes.  This past week I managed to do all my YOGA exercises sort of, if not well.  I will admit downward facing dog almost turned into downward falling Rebecca, but I managed. (Corpse Rest Pose is R's best yoga move.  -dt ) This week I hope to go diving!  Alex has promised to help me a lot to protect my shoulder.  Today I plan to start making my Buckeye candies.  They have to be ready for the big Ohio State football game on the first of the year. (GO BUCKS!  -dt) If you guys were here I would give you one.  (I will attempt to have some saved for those of you that are 'regulars'.  –dt) As you are not, I wish you the happiest of New Years.  "God Bless Us Every One."

 

Vignettes:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157649592528589/

 

Epilogue:  Rebecca returned from her first after-injury dive not too worn out and in good shape.

 

Prospero Anno,

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

 

Snafu

Flickr did a snafu and did not properly link to the photos in the last email.

I think this will work:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157649798166162/

dt

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

HELLO EVERYONE!

Today is Hanukkah (spelled several ways) and next week is Christmas.  We wish all of you the happiest of holidays including Kwanzaa and New Year as well.   

Especially for our artist friends:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157648598716571/

Snuggle and keep warm,

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

Exciting Events

TV TIME

This installment of our newsletter has several parts.  We hope to send it on schedule – if we have such a thing – that is about the time of the events described.  But if it comes to you well after the events it is because we have been struggling with our internet connection.  About now you are noticing the style of writing is that of the editor, more journalist than storyteller.  The reason for that will unfold below.  And lots of photos.

 

In our last report there was a picture of Rebecca and friend Judy, a.k.a. Dr. Puzzle, working on the first puzzle of the season.  We noted that they were planning a shopping trip.  Indeed, they were not fooling around.  Soon they had bus tickets to Guadalajara and reservations at a hotel adjacent to the famous El Tianguis of Tonala.

 

Although Tonala is a city in its own right, it is known as the shopping mecca of Guadalajara.  The tianguis is a massive, sprawling market that opens on the sidewalks and streets Thursdays and Sundays, everyday leading up to the Christmas holidays.  It features seemingly endless stalls with many of the knick knacks and craft items that we can buy here in Bucerias but at greatly reduced prices because many are made there.  Everyone who stays in Bucerias for a few years makes at least one trip there.  And elsewhere in Tonala there are some really fine shops to buy furniture, lamps, vases, and other furnishings.  It pairs up with Tlaquepaque on the other side of GDL where fine arts abound.  We featured both towns in a story some years back.  So the ladies were off for an overnight shopping extravaganza.  (Ironically as they were completing plans for their trip, another yet-to-arrive shopping companion emailed suggesting the same thing for February.)

 

Meanwhile – actually beginning last year – Don, Judy's husband and one of Rebecca's boogie boarding posse, and a couple of his buddies were planning a deep-sea fishing trip.  They wanted to go out and catch the 'big ones'.  Don and Doug in particular are avid fishermen in their native Canada.  Like all good Canucks, they spend more time 'at the lake' than at home during the summer.  (Don is a catch-and-release person.)  The men did some comparison work and selected a company to take them out beyond the bay into the deep waters where occasionally there are trophy fish.  They got everything in order and were off to the boat early on the appointed morning.  It was no accident that shopping and fishing were scheduled for the same day.

 

Both fishers and shoppers had a good time, but the fishers were probably more successful.  They bought back a good haul that has been filleted and frozen for future consumption.  They had plenty to share.  The shoppers did not come back empty-handed, but not with the bulging suitcases that could have been expected.  Here are a couple of pictures of the catch of the day and more of shopping:

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157647159368004/

 

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157649497928575/

 

 

 

Meanwhile, this intrepid reporter was in downtown Bucerias for the Revolution Day parade.  Like all countries Mexico has its calendar of holidays.  But we rarely put one to waste – days off with parades are always in order.  Fireworks are usually in the program as well.  This year's Revolution Day parade was full of enthusiastic youngsters – girls dressed in the styles of a century ago and boys made up as mustachioed members of Villa's forces.  There were also representatives of many sports groups, schools, and other organizations.  And like all our parades there were a couple of bands and 'dancing' horses.  A few pictures tell the story; the parade made a loop so there may be some duplicates:

 

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157649413657832/

 

 

 

This year our television picture has been lousy, even worse than last year when it was just plain bad.  The picture often has moved in and out of focus and on the good days the 'snow' has been getting close to a white out.  We have been getting our TV service through the cable provider that has a virtual monopoly and made a few people quite wealthy. The signal has really degenerated.

 

The programming never has been spectacular, but it has been adequate.  As we have related in the past, we had channels in Spanish, in English – sometimes dubbed, sometimes with subtitles – a German channel, and movies sometimes in other foreign tongues.  And for a while we had several music stations. You notice the 'sometimes' because we never quite knew what we would be getting.  The 'TV Guide' that listed the programming was often not working and valueless when it did, only showing what was on at the moment,  There was no feature to see what was going to be shown more than an hour in advance.  To its credit, last year for some unknown reason the cable had the Big Ten Network and we saw numerous Ohio State basketball games.  We don't sit around watching television all day, but we needed to make a switch and started investigating alternatives.

 

Strange as it might seem, except to Canadians, for some oddball technological reason folks up north of the US are able to use one of their satellites to receive programming down here.  Many places have sprouted dishes that provide Canadian programming.  Our fellow owner Randy had installed such a dish and generously suggested that perhaps our solution would be to piggyback off his system.  And it happened that he had a spare unused receiver.  We just needed to contact the folks that installed his system and see what could be done.

 

Joannes, our condo administrator and another neighbor, gave us the number of the installation person.  We called and set up a date for him to come.  We have become accustomed to some schedule 'slippage' here – not unusual up north as well – and so we were not too shocked when the date and time for the tech's appearance had come and gone.  Another call, another time, and another no-show.  But wait, it is after sundown and we get a call that he is outside our closed door.  We let him in and he was ready to go to work in the dark.  We knew this was a bad idea. We explained what we wanted, Mrs.T doing much of the talking as his English was not up-to-speed.  Naturally he wanted to look at the dish.  Fortunately Randy was at home and could tell him where to look.  But we needed a key to gain access to the area where he could get on the roof.

 

And then the big crash happened.  As she was calling to see if Joannes was home and could lend a key, Rebecca stumbled in the dark and fell.  The tech tried to catch her but she went down in a heap, whacked her head, and dislocated a shoulder.  Pain.  When we got her on her feet, R's arm was hanging like a broken Raggedy Ann doll.  We got her to a chair and bound her arm to her body with a beach towel.  (The tv guy was able to get on the roof and determine that he could hook us up to the dish but that he would return in the daylight the next day.)

 

Time to telephone Dr. Victor.  Yes, he was at the clinic.  And yes we could come right over.  Randy was kind enough to provide transport and we were at Clinica Santa Rosa in a very few minutes.

 

Dr. Victor took an x-ray and confirmed the dislocation.  More importantly there were no fractures.  Having watched a few too many ER shows, Mrs.T thought he would just yank her arm back into place and we would be off.  But Dr. Victor thought it would be much better if she would be out cold so as to be relaxed.  Although his anesthesiologist was available, R had recently eaten so fixing it that night was not possible.  We would need to come back in the morning the next day before any eating or drinking.  Dr.Victor gave her some pain meds and bound her more professionally than the beach towel.  And he asked what date we had returned and why we had not come to say hello earlier.

 

So just before 6am we were in a taxi returning to the clinic where Dr. Victor was waiting.  The anesthesiologist came in shortly after our arrival and R was taken into the clinic's operating theater.  She was in there a bit but everything went fine.  She was a little dopy for a while but in much less pain.  In the pictures you will notice she also has quite a shiner; maybe I should have put some frozen fish on it.  Unfortunately she needs to wear the sling for about three weeks; it should be off in time for Rita's holiday visit.  SCUBA and boogie boarding are off limits for a while.

 

A couple of pictures of the injured one:

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157649482849021/

 

 

 

After we returned home and one more call we got the cable tech to show up and wire us up.  With Randy's assistance and a stable internet connection we were able to contact the satellite folks and get our box up and running.  Now we have a wonderful picture, too many stations to list, and a guide that is actually useful.  We are going to be more Canadian than ever.

 

Many thanks to Randy for his help through these travails.  Thanks also to D&J for the roses.  Now if we can get the internet working.

 

 

Gobble, gobble and keep warm up north.

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

 

Warm and Sunny

Ah, fresh tangerines and strawberries

 

As most of you know we have decamped from the north and have installed ourselves in The Winter Residence.  Turnaround took less than a week.  And it was not too long before Juan Carlos came by in his truck with fresh strawberries and tangerines.  The tangerines are simply splendid – sweet and juicy.  And we have already had fresh-squeezed oj from Mary Paz several times.

One of the first things we always do is purchase pesos for our phone; we have a cell specifically for Mexico.   Of course the first call was to Alex, R's dive buddy.  She has already been out with her fish friends and expects to go again next week.

Mrs. T gives a brief synopsis of the summer and our first few days south:

 

Now is the summer of our discontent made glorious by the sun of Mexico.

It was a pretty hard summer for me.  First I fell off a church pew.  (Those of you in a certain art organization will know where the pew is.  –dt) Then I was cured of bursitis in my shoulder by the longest needle in the world.   After that I fell off a horse.  (A previous installment -dt) Next I strained my other shoulder by overuse of my new chainsaw.  Finally, I had a rather large mass removed from my breast - not cancer, thank God.  (As The Voodoo Doctor had told her.  –dt)

After all that I am ready to relax lethargically in our Southern home.  (a.k.a. The  Winter Residence.  –dt) Most of our stuff has been arranged to its approximately correct locations.  We have bought a few basic supplies at Mary Paz.  I think Judy (Dual degrees in shopping and puzzling –dt) and I have created a monster because often when I want to buy something Dan says, "You and Judy can buy that at Sam's Club."  (Actually except for things in jumbo sizes I prefer shopping at the aforementioned Mary Paz, one of the best minisupers in town.  –dt) The thing is now he has broadened his sights.  He no longer wants large-sized mouthwash and toilet paper.  Now he wants a big screen TV. (Why not?  -dt) I guess I don't mind as long as we can take a taxi.  If he thinks I am lugging a 60 inch TV home on the bus he is seriously deluded.  Hurry Judy, Help!! Help!!

Judy has come and we went on a major supplies expedition - no TV.  But, alas it was not an unqualified success.  In all fairness, Judy warned me that those hot dogs looked pretty small but they were so cheap I bought them anyway.  When we got them home it seemed as if they had shrunk even more.  They were the skinniest hot dogs I had ever seen.  Still we thought we might as well try them how bad could they be?  Well, REALLY, REALLY BAD.  I took one bite and chewed and chewed but the bite would not come off.  I think the casings are made of heavy plastic.  Dan was not to be defeated by a mere tube steak.  He got a serrated knife and chopped the durn things to bits.  He proceeded to eat them and pronounced them "not too bad."  Well good for him because I am not going to eat them.  I told him he didn't have to eat them either but now he has a plan to uncase them and cook them in a casserole or something.  Hmmm?  Not only that, but the potato chips I bought, because they were cheap, taste funny too.  Not as bad as the hot dogs, but neither greasy nor salty nor anything bad for you.  Just to tell you how bad they are we have had the bag for three days and it is still half full.  They are mostly tasteless. I think maybe I got zucchini chips by mistake. (The backstory here is that Mrs.T has been known to inhale a pound bag of chips in just one or two sittings. –dt) I guess the moral of this story is you get what you pay for or don't pay for, as the case may be.

Well the US elections are over and as usual lots of people I voted for lost.  Sigh.  The good thing is being in Mexico we are spared many of the obnoxious TV ads.  We saw a few for Connecticut and New York when Dan watched the New York channels.  I figure they were all the same anyway so you could just take out one local name and substitute another, e.g., "My opponent voted for gun control!"; "My opponent voted against gun control!!"; "My opponent has a nephew getting food stamps"; "My opponent is a Nazi, a communist, a Christian, a Jew, or all of the above.": "My opponent mooned his high school Latin teacher at a toga party!"; or whatever.  We didn't get many election ads from New Jersey; I believe that the block captain came around the week before the election and told you who you will vote for or else he will break your knees. (R has watched one too many episodes of the Sopranos.  –dt) I sent in an absentee ballot before we left for Mexico.  Vote early and often I always say.  Isn't democracy wonderful!?

 

Only a couple of pictures.  Although the ladies seemingly are doing a puzzle, they are actually planning a shopping trip to Tonala.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157648773771048/

Anyone know the orange fungus/mushroom/??

 

Hope you folks up north are enjoying the first visit of the Polar Vortex.

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

 

Mrs.T's Latest Adventure

Rebecca Needs a Better Seat

 

In about a month we will be down at the Winter Residence.  The leaves are just beginning to change and we have been close to having frost on the pumpkins.  So departure is getting close.  I am almost packed and even Mrs.T has started to gather things.  The muse has not written anything lately because we have been busy with art events, she has been tending to her forest garden, and she has been riding through the forest in our UTV and her new chainsaw.  Additionally R has had a few minor injuries, one of which is described below – and others noted in a previous posting - that have set her back a bit.  Writing has been down on her list. 

 

The chainsaw is a big deal.  It has a longer bar and uses a 40v lithium battery which gives it more oompf and a quicker recharge.  Mrs.T feels almost like a full-fledged woodswoman now.  Recently, however, she overdid it and strained a shoulder.  She has had to admit that she is no longer a teen.  (I am not sure the picture of Mrs.T with her chainsaw will come through.  -dt)

  

The glass working season has been over for a bit.  Additionally our co-op studio Glass Axis, www.glassaxis.org, is in the process of relocating.  So Mrs.T felt the tug of a long-desired hobby to indulge in – riding horses.  Below she gives a thumbnail description of some of her exploits in that arena.  She has made quite a bit of progress and is definitely competent.  However, Mayor Mink need not fear that she will be assisting him anytime soon.  On to her story:

 

 

 

 

"Well, it was bound to happen," one of my friends told me.  And I suppose she was right.  I fell off the horse.  It was not Bet's fault.  I was not paying attention.

 

But to start from the beginning, I have been taking horseback riding lessons.  This is something I have wanted to do and when my puppet making class was canceled I decided now was the time.  Tori, an artist friend, has a small stable on her farm and gives lessons, even to fat old ladies.  Dan and I visited the barn to look the place over.  I brought carrots.  I was introduced to the horses and patted their noses.  Dan watched from a safe distance.  There were two very large horses -Belgians; their names were Jack and Jewel.  I gave them carrots and Jewel smiled at me.  There was a beautiful but excited horse named Hazel.  I gave her a carrot.  Tori is still training her.  There was a pretty little horse, whose name was Sassy.  After I gave him a carrot he bowed.  Then there was Bet; after I gave him his carrot he rang his bell.  Bet would be my training horse if he was willing.  "How do we know if he is willing?" I asked.  "Well since you are a little heavy it might be hard for a horse the size of Bet to carry you; if Bet is unhappy you will probably ride Jewel," Tori explained rather diplomatically.  "How will you know," I asked.  "Bet will give a big sigh and look at me with sad eyes," Tori replied.  I understood immediately - I have used the same method on Dan many times. (Yes, R is a master of the doe eyes technique.  –dt) Last we met Lena.  Lena really liked her carrot.

 

I was ready to start.  After I explained that I was not interested in showing or jumping but only in trail riding we set up my first lesson.  "How about you Dan, would you like to try it?" Tori inquired. The answer was a very definite NO.  (I bear no antipathy towards horses and I like Tori very much.  –dt)

 

So I started riding.  I rode Bet who did not complain about my weight.   Perhaps it had something to do with the carrots I brought every time. (Bribery works well even with animals.  –dt) Bet is a very smart horse.  He might not have complained about my size, but whenever I did something stupid he turned his head around and looked at me sarcastically.  I took to mumbling to him, "Am I doing this right?"  When he did not give me the LOOK I was usually okay.  I think Bet really likes me but he thinks I am rather slow.  There are three ways you can talk to a horse: you can use words, you can use your legs and feet, or you can use the reins.  Unfortunately when you are a beginner your reins may say one thing while your legs say something else.  Generally beginners tend to use the reins while good riders use their legs.  I think Bet is kind of like Dan, in that he knows what I mean most of the time, even if I don't say it right.  Dan often shouts at me, "That's not what you said!  Say what you mean!"  (This is probably an accurate statement, although the boldface is not necessary.  –dt) Perhaps it is just as well that Bet can't talk human.  Or maybe Dan thinks he is a training horse when in reality he is just --- but I digress.

 

As I improved Bet raised his standards.  He will no longer do what I want unless I tell him correctly.  In fact sometimes he just won't do what I tell him.  He knows I am easy.  "You have to make him do what you tell him. Hit him!" Tori said.  So I gave Bet a fairly hard pat; I didn't want to hurt him after all.  "He didn't even feel that; hit him with your whip," She said.  I got the whip and gave him a light tap.  Nothing.  "BET" Tori called warningly from the other side of the ring, he immediately started walking at a fairly fast speed.  How embarrassing!  About five minutes later Bet stopped again.  He turned his head around and smirked at me.  I was fed up!  I picked the whip- and gave him a smart crack on his rear.   Bet looked shocked.  "Well that got his attention," Tori exclaimed as Bet immediately moved out.  He behaved very well for the rest of our lesson.  (I firmly recommend that Mrs.T refrain from using the same method on the editor – although she undoubtedly would like to.  –dt)   

 

I have gotten a lot better.  I can make Bet go forward and backward, left, right and around in circles.  I even bounced around a lot in a trot.  I guess the trot bouncing was when Tori decided my seat needed some work.   Rather a personal comment don't you think?  So the next week I rode on a dressage saddle.  I usually ride on a western saddle which sort of surrounds you.  A dressage saddle is just a little lump of leather and you have to hold yourself on with your legs and your, ahem, seat.  Well I did it.  I stayed - or maybe I should say swayed - in the saddle in a more or less vertical position approximately on the center of the horse.  I was so proud – not to mention sore in the thighs.

 

The time came to dismount.  I had gotten pretty good at this. You stand on the left stirrup, hold on to the mane and, swing your right leg over the horse, pull your left leg out of the stirrup and jump down.  Simple - in a western saddle.  But I, you will recall, was not in a western saddle.  When you stand on the left stirrup in a dressage saddle, the saddle slides around the horse and you wind up lying on the ground.  A second later the horse puts his nose in your face in amazement - or you might think amusement - as if to say, "What are you doing down there?"  Well I wasn't much hurt except for an enormous bruise on my thigh and since purple is my favorite color that was not so bad.

 

I am back riding and having a great time too.  But I am keeping a wary eye on those dressage saddles.  (ST, I doubt R is ready to challenge you in the ring.  –dt)

 

 

Mrs.T failed to write about her most recent lesson.  She finally went on a trail ride and had a wonderful time.  However, Tori made the 'mistake' of asking something about wildflowers.  The lesson extended for another hour+, but Tori also enjoyed herself.

 

Here is a picture from the Lazy A Stables – of Blue Rock - Facebook page:  (use Ctrl+click)

 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=579858648791451&set=a.292911737486145.61452.100003019638896&type=3&src=https%3A%2F%2Ffbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net%2Fhphotos-ak-xpa1%2Fv%2Ft1.0-9%2F10565033_579858648791451_5711723382169863190_n.jpg%3Foh%3Daa1144e54e6b86f7b6c4d483ec88f168%26oe%3D548F5FAD%26__gda__%3D1422291989_4ed955c28636eae0f57ab4a409e89802&size=960%2C960

 

 

We are excited about a visit from some friends from that great country up north from whence our cold weather comes.  We hope they are up to a ride through the forest on the UTV.

 

Best wishes to all,

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com