tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112167252012-01-19T08:43:27.807-07:00Diary of novice (clueless) ranch ownersMonica at Sun Ponyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04866366666888122868noreply@blogger.comBlogger3991100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-12748524716742513972011-07-22T14:37:00.031-06:002011-07-22T16:16:02.367-06:00

Sunday the weather was looking a bit threatening, but after the heat of Venice we were indulging ourselves in the change, certainly. Just a few km up the road from Antonella's is the Canton of Appenzell, and she had mentioned a museum there worth visiting. So we borrowed her bikes and pedaled off, but before leaving she said she hadn't mentioned the cheese factory / restaurant that was next door

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-33928979222734265822011-07-22T13:00:00.000-06:002011-07-22T16:14:57.601-06:00

We left Venice for Switzerland, by way of Milan. Uneventful trip - but I have to comment that those trains are so convenient and comfortable! So smooth. We rather enjoyed our 8 hour trip or so.Suddenly: We ain't in Italy anymore!Antonella's a Brokie we met in Oxford. We were roomies then and we were very much looking forward for a return visit! She picked us up at the train station, and

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-50130264930358637802011-07-09T08:28:00.000-06:002011-07-09T10:32:30.192-06:00

Thursday morning we were up and at 'em, and decided to hop off the Vaporetto at the Rialto Bridge to check out the market and other shopping right there.I especially love the 5-tipped stylus here for making a musical staff!Just half a block from the bridge is the Marcato Rialto - it even has it's own Vaporetto stop. Quite the fish and veggie market! We had quite the chuckle - this little girl was

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-46012485466569364012011-07-08T08:01:00.006-06:002011-07-08T17:13:18.671-06:00

Wednesday we packed up early and hit the autostrada towards Venice. Several hour trip - I didn't see much as I was reading the Venice tour book aloud to Dave. We turned in our rental car, and stashed half of our luggage at the Maestro train station - the one on land that services Venice - and hopped on the next shuttle train out to the city, then the Vapporetto (water bus) down to our hotel.One

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-71361986494751159142011-06-16T13:19:00.000-06:002011-06-16T13:57:25.925-06:00

Back in Florence, at our favorite cafe (partially because it had good food and coffee and on-street seating.... but mostly because we had purchased access to their wireless network the day before.)This day we started off touring the Medici Palace.One enters the palace courtyard through this archway. Marble that looks like flowing fabric never fails to draw me in. I'm fascinated by the

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-3364756177543153892011-06-13T16:01:00.000-06:002011-06-14T16:23:41.365-06:00

Refreshed, on Monday we were up and at em. Of all the places we're talked about driving, we were unanomously advised to stay away from Florence! We were fairly well cowed. But then we looked at our city map, and saw that the main road from Poggibonsi went directly into the south side of Florence, and there were several marked parking areas along it. We decided to chance it that far, and made

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-55195726910525208702011-06-12T09:21:00.000-06:002011-06-14T16:23:26.364-06:00

After saying our good byes to Roby and Stefano Saturday night, we still got to bed around 11 - not late, but we were both worn out from running hard for several days. So the next morning when the alarm went off at 7:30 we shut it off feeling like we deserved a little later start to the day. Well - at 11 when we woke up again - that wasn't exactly what we were planning!Oh well, it was Sunday and

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-55746515525681552822011-05-31T07:00:00.003-06:002011-05-31T07:20:34.131-06:00

On Saturday we were up first thing to leave the castle, and we pointed the car north to meet up with a Brokie friend, Roby, and her husband who so kindly volunteered to play tourist guide for us for a day.I actually do have to extend a special thanks to Roby, for it was in large part due to her prompting that this trip ever got off the ground. Talk, you see, is cheap and awfully easy to spout off

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-62942467592753171022011-05-24T08:00:00.000-06:002011-05-24T08:00:12.696-06:00

Another day, another beautiful ride! Today we would be joined by a new couple staying at the castle - amazingly enough, they were also Australian, and also on a 4 week long honeymoon! Holy cow, we said - is this typical to take a month long honeymoon in Australia? No, they laughed, we just happened to meet two such couples in quick succession.It was so romantic -- Chris scheduled this stay and

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-86875814046211139052011-05-23T08:00:00.000-06:002011-05-23T08:00:00.235-06:00

Knowing that we would not be in shape for a ton of riding, we decided to sign up for 2 half-day tours. Wednesday we met Vicki down at the arena at 10 and mounted up. Since the weather was shaping up to be spectacular, she suggested we take the 'mountain trail' which had nice vistas. We were all for that.I was introduced to Camuso for the day - and we had a great time!Dave stayed with Pabo.

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-31125810702654562202011-05-22T08:00:00.000-06:002011-05-22T08:00:07.077-06:00

One entry on my "bucket list" has been to go horse touring in Tuscany. Well, we aren't getting any younger, so last summer we decided 2011 had to be it. Friends recommended May (over September), so this was the plan. Things were somewhat complicated by the fact this has been the busiest springs we have ever had - we've been working harder than ever at promoting the ranch and trying to expand

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-22340437757350491522010-11-08T07:02:00.014-07:002010-11-08T09:40:14.619-07:00

The equestrian guild has been talking for a long time that it would be so cool to have custom painted banners with which to ride in prosessionals and such. Like our barding and shields, these would have elements of our arms on them - identifying the individual carrying it. Since they are made of silk, they are incredibly light weight and flutter so beautifully. They really add a lovely splash

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-38042695161304967372010-10-07T08:49:00.002-06:002010-10-07T08:56:41.931-06:00

Note: we're on vacation in WY right now, and I started the vacation blog entries last night... but then remembered I had written these on the drive up. So many blogs...Sunday 9/26 part 2The round pen lesson continued with a riding session. Rich is big on establishing "softness" in what ever we are doing. If your horse is soft - he's pliable, relaxed, and in a mind to communicate. If he is

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-21187368191255915142010-09-28T07:50:00.011-06:002010-09-28T08:22:43.996-06:00

I stopped taking riding lessons back when we determined that Jordan's bum hock was giving him too much troubles to continue without intervention. As intervention (hock injections) were fairly pricey, my lessons funds went into that instead. That must be 8 years ago now. I've been itching to get back into an instructional setting again, but I just don't see having the time to trailer somewhere

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-4537946941485005322010-09-20T07:47:00.011-06:002010-09-20T08:07:25.727-06:00

We had such a great time last Saturday at Artisans Day. Periodically our barony hosts a day for people just to get together to work on their crafts. Some time ago, some of the guys were getting enthused to make an apple press to press cider. Given that this has been an absolute bumper crop for apples this year, their timing was rather fortuitous.We gathered at Thorfinn and Rosalind's home. The

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-53089705342432539082010-06-25T23:07:00.032-06:002010-06-26T06:17:29.923-06:00

Last weekend was our 4th chance to host a large SCA event at our place. For the second year in a row, championship tournaments were held for all 4 marshall arts for which we seek champions every year: Archery, Equestrian, Heavy Fighting and Rapier fighting. It's worked out as a really symbiotic relationship since we think it's fun to have these events here, and our property is one of the few

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-86589268090140472702010-06-12T12:18:00.030-06:002010-06-12T14:47:49.800-06:00

We met up with RouxB in the afternoon. (this is post 2 of 2 for our Boston trip. If you're just arriving, scroll down.)(ack! I'm realizing now I only remember RouxB's screen name, not her real-life name!) LOL -- oh well. We've attended a couple of the same events before, but this was the first trip we spent much time together. Such is the case of the Brokies -- we know literally hundreds of

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-20261545987404348012010-06-12T09:39:00.035-06:002010-06-12T11:50:31.757-06:00

It's been a long time since I've blogged. Frankly I'm feeling the conflict of FB -- posting updates real time, and then when you return home, the trip/event kinda feels like old news. But our trip to Boston was the first in a long while, and I want to linger with the memories, so I figured a blog post (or several) would be worth while.The Brokies struck again with a gathering last weekend in

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-60316231662178544692010-02-18T08:48:00.003-07:002010-02-18T09:10:05.909-07:00

Getting out of town turned out to be probably the hardest part of the whole trip. My work had been driving us pretty hard for a deadline just the Friday before we left, so a lot of things got left for that weekend -- including finances for the ranch. When I looked at the bank account - *GULP* - the news was not good. So I knew on Monday on our way out of town we'd be stopping at the bank.

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-74956437410466188892010-02-02T20:22:00.000-07:002010-02-02T20:22:20.108-07:00

Well I am one day late to hold to the bi-weekly status reports schedule, but this one was truly worth the wait... It's DONE!Last Monday we pretty much finished sewing on our tent, and Rossilin's was down to just webbing loops. Unfortunately I had to travel on business, and Dave had some things going, so after he helped her with the last major 2-person job -- attaching the roof valence, we left

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-12556917074769020302010-01-20T09:22:00.003-07:002010-01-20T09:33:05.482-07:00

While the three of us have been sewing away, it was always aparent that we also had wood working to do as well. We turned to Garin, who made our bed, to enlist his help. Dave and Garin went a couple of weeks ago to buy the hardwood - we're using ash, and then he, Garin, and Kevin spent a day and a half in the workshop. The pavillion has one pole in the center that holds up the peak of the cone

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-87948575879803516092010-01-19T13:27:00.002-07:002010-01-19T13:42:12.045-07:00

After we took our camping bed to NM last October - and froze our little a**es off, we decided that we were NOT going to head out for a week of camping with this bed without first prooving we had enough bedding to stay warm.So... that means testing it. And in representative conditions no less. Last year at Estrella we had frost on the ground more mornings than not, so we know it was getting

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-34923607065155055632010-01-18T16:40:00.007-07:002010-01-18T17:28:06.525-07:00

So, it's been a hectic two weeks, for sure - but we have made a ton more progress on both pavillions! I've been trying to log the hours that we get together to work... and just that hasn't been easy. Looks like the three of us have logged 25 hours sewing - (not counting what we've done individually) and Dave, Kevin and Garin put in 14 or so hours on wood work... Gah - I need to stop thinking

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-24424821283955535122010-01-07T14:56:00.008-07:002010-01-07T16:04:21.681-07:00

It took us 2.5 years to finish enough of the basement for Ginger to move down there, then another 6 months to finish her kitchen and living room. A year and a half later we are very excited to say that the basement has been completely finished!!Last summer the businesses did well, financially, so we set aside some money for some captial improvements. We debated about a number of options, and

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-3929184607733589962010-01-04T13:00:00.002-07:002010-01-04T13:01:29.051-07:00

At LAST!A few months ago we decided to undertake the project to sew a medieval pavillion for taking to SCA events. Actually, we expressed an interest in having a pavillion since our current excuse for a camping tent is just our 10x10 booth tent and it leaves a lot to be desired as a structure to actually live in. Rossilin, too, was interested, because her current pavillion, which I've pictured

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-68722760390820944742009-12-29T14:45:00.000-07:002009-12-29T14:45:00.245-07:00

So there we were, coming home from NM, loaded down with a camper on the truck and pulling a 4 horse trailer, when we taken surprise coming over Raton Pass and hit snow in Trinidad! I called Phyl, as we'd arranged, and she sounded a bit concerned... Do you want to stop? Or just head home? Well, home involved 4 additional hours of driving, at night, in the dark and snow. We weren't all that fond

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-46395559313631009772009-12-28T15:03:00.000-07:002009-12-28T15:03:00.703-07:00

A couple weeks ago Dave and I joined a friend and trekked down to southern New Mexico for an SCA event. Katharyn had invited us - actually invited us and a horse to go down with her, since she was going to have an open space or two in her trailer. I hemmed and hawed about it for a long time, and finally fessed up that trailering horses for so far was freaking me out. Not to mention that it's

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-1381369796476495452009-12-19T10:34:00.003-07:002009-12-19T10:54:12.209-07:00

So - Dave has joined the SCA Choir! He's been singing with them for a few months and had been putting a lot of effort into it. I giggle when I catch him practicing their pieces sitting at the computer, for they have a great tool that plays the selected harmony part and presents the lyrics in time as well. But he's really starting to hold his own, so to speak, so good for him. It isn't easy

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-54022105398074514672009-12-15T13:31:00.002-07:002009-12-15T13:31:00.145-07:00

In my last post about Gibraltar, I mentioned our new waterers. We came across this product, "Whisperer Waterers" a few years ago at the Stock Show. We were intrigued for a couple of reasons. Maintaining stock tanks, year round, are a bit of a hassle. They need to be dumped periodically to be cleaned, and in the winter you have to install heaters, otherwise they freeze solid. It was really when I

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-18820312718774262302009-12-13T18:53:00.015-07:002009-12-14T15:35:13.878-07:00

Isn't it? Well, regardless, I indulged yesterday, and but good. :-DThe last few equestrian tournaments I've ridden in, have been awkward in that I keep riding different horses. Certainly it's a challenge that many riders face - needing to arrange access to horses, but for me it's been particularly frustrating, seeing as how I HAVE horses...Just before the Champions tournament in August, Jordan

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-81618836170634098602009-10-18T12:34:00.003-06:002009-10-18T12:49:26.743-06:00

Sleeping, that is. :-D We got the bed yesterday and are just tickled pink with it! Here are the pieces it disassembles into – headboard, footboard, 3 rails and a set of slats which are joined together by a strap of webbing. And, assembled! Seriously this takes about 3 minutes. With mattress...And, made up! It is gorgeously made. Jeff (Lord Garin) used beetle kill pine and clearly strategized

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-82733023330747197172009-10-16T15:24:00.011-06:002009-10-16T16:11:14.021-06:00

Seriously, odds and ends here. Not much of one thing been occupying my mind of late, thus I haven't blogged. In fact, yikes - if I don't post today it will be more than a month, so you get this: odds and ends.Couple of things have been a-brewing on the SCA front (alas, not of the mead variety, though speaking of mead I have volunteered to help with next spring's International Mead Festival to be

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-17939265579466630922009-09-17T14:20:00.008-06:002009-09-17T14:40:44.871-06:00

Back when I was a new volunteer at the Colorado Horse Rescue, I recall feeling resentful when a horse was adopted and left. Of course that was silly, and selfish - but at the time I was reveling in getting to work with horses again after quite a dry spell and I wanted them ALL.Once I got involved with the adoption committee, however, that attitude quickly changed. It was suddenly so aparent

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-91510568192656659962009-08-17T11:49:00.000-06:002009-08-17T11:54:22.273-06:00

Most of this year the Equestrians have been working towards the jousting type activities (working with the tilt, the double quintain, etc). So this past week we figured it was time for something new. And new it was!Mounted Crest Combat (ohh, ahh!)Every rider affixes a crest to their helm, and the goal is to knock off your opponent's crest using boffer (foam covered) swords. We used fencing

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-65159901544911509852009-08-09T16:22:00.001-06:002009-08-09T16:22:01.026-06:00

After San Fran, our return trip was accented by a stop at the Grand Canyon. Not only had Joe never seen it - but I was astonished to find out that Dave never had either! The boy grew up in SoCal, and never made it over. So it was high time for a visit.One of our first views: (again, can click to get larger pic)Prior to the trip, one of Lydia's things to do was to get up to see the sunrise

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-78011244976592739152009-08-08T14:03:00.001-06:002009-08-08T14:03:00.879-06:00

Continuing the story of our Vacation (part one below)...Sunday morning was low key. The hotel was in Fisherman's Wharf, so we strolled down there for a while. By now we all had our trademark sweatshirt purchases! At noon we had plans to meet up with other locals for Dim Sum - and had a grand time of it. We were in the neighborhood, so afterwards stopped in at:That night Dean took us to North

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-53623571477587942372009-08-07T13:56:00.003-06:002009-08-07T14:01:54.132-06:00

A few months ago friends and we were lamenting not having gotten together for a long time. Dean, whose been back in San Francisco for over a year now, suggested we could come and stay at the hotel he works for. And voila, BART - the Big Ass Road Trip - was born.Lydia and Joe live in Illinois, Terry in Detroit. Lydia and Joe were interested in driving through the west, since they hadn't spent

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-23969037094640460732009-07-10T16:52:00.014-06:002009-07-10T17:20:23.161-06:00

Dave and I met a gentleman a few weeks ago at a fair we held a booth at. He was representing a super fantastic Debt Reduction Program, helping you to pay down your debt much quicker, thereby eliminating a lot of interest that you otherwise would have paid.I said - but how can you pay down your (mortgage) faster without either refinancing (not an option for us) or paying more principle (also,

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-77248091943671181132009-07-08T13:58:00.015-06:002009-07-08T15:35:23.119-06:00

Last week was Glory War - our barony's biggest annual event. A camping event up in Wyoming, it is our version of the War we went to in Arizona last February. Of course 1/10th the size.We didn't attend Glory last year - I participated in Coursers and Quivers in August, and we hadn't branched out to anything else much before that. (OK, this makes me laugh -- I hadn't even attended a populace

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-10154540509040575722009-06-29T15:14:00.005-06:002009-06-29T15:24:16.915-06:00

Through most of May and much of June, we had some crazy thunderstorms roll through daily. The typical CO thunderstorm hits about 4 pm, drops a little bit of rain here or there - frequently you can look around and see 3 or more 'cells' of rain as the clouds roll on eastward.These were crazy storms - full on pouring rain and generally rained solid for as far as you could see. We had a few weeks

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-18171303944849087172009-06-26T15:59:00.001-06:002009-06-26T16:00:04.224-06:00

When we planned out this year's practices for the equestrians, there were many contingencies we had to account for. And the schedule that we ended up with, to some respect and with the benefit of hindsight... now makes me wonder just what we were thinking!Working with the guild head from last year, we had some ambitious plans. We wanted to host a collegium - a much more detailed practice that

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-53040385278516747582009-06-26T12:57:00.002-06:002009-06-26T13:04:33.806-06:00

Lots of folks have been asking how Dave is. I guess that must be good news - he's recovering well enough that we are no longer focusing on the recovery. He's getting around very well, and more or less isn't encumbered by his incision any more. He's doing PT twice a week and exercises the rest of the week, and the therapist says she's pleased with his progress. I think in the next week or so

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-14685802760275377172009-06-15T11:31:00.001-06:002009-06-15T15:30:01.007-06:00

GAH! It's June and we're scrambling/begging/borrowing anything we can to obtain some irrigation water since the days are getting hotter, the skys are nothing but deep blue, and the fields are starting to bake. Except that... they aren't.Much to the contrary, this year it has been raining like mad for weeks, nay months, on end. We had very little snow early in the year. So much so we were very

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-5112217340584679392009-06-01T12:13:00.002-06:002009-06-01T12:28:16.356-06:00

So the facebook updates for the first few days were all that I could keep up with, then we went totally dark over the weekend as I pretty much just shunned our electronic lives. Not a bad thing every once in awhile. But, am back to the real world today and it feels like time where an actual update, with actual information in it, is due.Dave had surgery - a diskectomy to remove the herniated

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-9699633032606682862009-05-26T15:53:00.009-06:002009-05-26T16:22:34.775-06:00

This past weekend we attended another camping event - and took Jordan with us. This was the first time we'd taken a horse away overnight, and it was also a fair haul at 1.5 hours away to Byers, CO. So I had a number of things on my mind just for that aspect.Well, I have to say Jordan was a perfect gentleman the entire trip. Loaded and hauled perfectly. Got out of the trailer, took a look

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-88868193993671910952009-05-19T23:13:00.000-06:002009-05-19T23:23:06.454-06:00

Ten years ago David was volunteering at the Longmont Humane Society, and we had just moved into our first home with a yard. He came home one day telling me about a nice dog he'd met. I asked him yesterday what attracted him to her? He couldn't say exactly - "she was just so darn cute". Apparently we have the same taste in dogs. I remember going to visit her after work the next day. I got there

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-32231366492147200242009-05-10T13:32:00.010-06:002009-05-11T09:23:49.872-06:00

This weekend I hosted the first of what I hope to be a semi-regular occurrence - a workday for the Equestrian Guild to build equipment and tools that we need/want to play medieval games.Cecelia came out and she and I had a great time - messing around with power tools. Yeah.I've been thinking a lot about how to built a Tilt -- the fence that separates jousters from each other. There are a number

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-50081678827665426992009-05-04T11:49:00.010-06:002009-05-04T14:42:52.931-06:00

I've often said that owning the ranch has opened up many opportunities to do things that we never would have had otherwise. Yesterday is a shining example.One of the first improvements we made on the property, 4 years ago, was to install pasture shelters for the horses.Over the years we've put quite a bit of energy into promoting better grass growth in the pastures. We've come a long way - we

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-47824053168771001652009-05-04T11:34:00.003-06:002009-05-04T11:36:51.531-06:00

Dave's surgery will resume on May 27th. We're not terribly pleased by the date: the first time around we could schedule 2 weeks out. Now for some reason it's 4 weeks out. But, it's scheduled. Yea.Meanwhile, we've been getting ALL the productivity we can out of Dave before he's laid up with recovering. ;-D You should see what we did yesterday! That'll be another post, due shortly.

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-29121693627790318842009-04-30T16:23:00.005-06:002009-04-30T17:20:18.360-06:00

So, the bad news is I'm seeing red, and no doubt my blood pressure is through the roof.The good news is that this is all over stupid bureucratical BS rather than Dave's actual health. We spoke with the Cardiologist this afternoon. Nice guy. Really - personable, seemed to take an interest in his health... Only didn't quite grasp the purpose of our visit. A month ago when Dave saw him, they'd

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-89864366144882046242009-04-24T10:32:00.003-06:002009-04-24T10:37:23.927-06:00

So the cardiologist called this morning. Make that A cardiologist - the doc Dave usually sees was not available for some reason. The nurse started out saying things were fine to proceed with the surgery, and was going on to say she'd contact the orthopedist's office to tell them that when she paused. And then said -- No, no, sorry about that, the doctor has changed his mind. You need to come

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-21091732215700068232009-04-23T09:12:00.008-06:002009-04-23T11:10:31.626-06:00

I knew Dave Cullen has been running ragged for several weeks now, doing all the press for his new book, "Columbine". I knew this because I have been helping him by updating his website, but being able to get a hold of him to find out what needs to be done next has been a challenge.But as the frenzy winds down, he's blogged about his tour experience -- and it made me guffaw. Then chuckle; shake

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-20606029267243808292009-04-23T09:08:00.001-06:002009-04-23T09:11:55.291-06:00

So, on Tuesday's pre-op exams, Dave's EKG aparently warranted his cardiologist's sign off before the orthopedic surgeon would proceed. So the surgery was cancelled to be rescheduled. I've been putting off posting here, until we knew more... a day and a half later, we still don't know any more except that no one seems to be able to actually communicate with anyone else. Last news we heard,

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-38887590953308064602009-04-17T20:30:00.003-06:002009-04-17T20:50:02.746-06:00

Last year at this time Dave's back/sciatica started giving him a lot of pain. We were concerned what this would mean for our trip to England in June, so he excellated his visits to professionals. He had been working with a couple physical therapist and a chiropractor, but finally an orthopedist took some images of his back (duh - good idea) and found a herniated disk. Actually, thinking back

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-29067153298947805862009-04-11T08:05:00.016-06:002009-04-11T13:56:37.725-06:00

A few days ago I was discussing a new book I'd just started reading. It was one I've been anticipating for a year or so. Not because I'm a big fan of the topic, for in fact I was somewhat nervous about the topic. No, I've been acquainted with the author for about 3 years and it's been really interesting to see the publishing world from the author's point of view. It's his first book, and anytime

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-85260718985599741462009-03-20T07:22:00.001-06:002009-03-20T07:53:22.320-06:00

Ack -- Sorry for the delay in posting this final entry, but I wrote all of the previous posts in a flurry of productivity thinking that surely I'd have time to finish this last one before the schedule warrented it's posting. Yeah. This is the last of my Estrella tales - hoped you all have enjoyed this little tour. Never fear - our next three weekends are full of SCA events, and I'm pretty sure

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-47568943064607115792009-03-12T13:06:00.000-06:002009-03-12T13:06:00.626-06:00

Understandably, a part of recreating another time or place, authentically, involves adopting the mindset of existing in that time/place. A class was offered on just this topic at one of our big annual events last fall, which Dave and I attended. It was an eye opener. Admittedly, going into the class we didn't even know what a medieval mindset meant. But it came clear quickly, as the instructor (

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-58234565768208643062009-03-08T09:22:00.003-06:002009-03-08T09:22:00.803-06:00

As I mentioned in the last post, there were no battle scenarios at Estrella for the forth martial art - Equestrian. In general the equestrian group is far behind the others in terms of prevalence, participation and representation, throughout the SCA. Which is ironic, because really horses played a very large role the middle ages, so to have them segregated in modern day events is disappointing.

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-16128577688402023932009-03-05T09:22:00.003-07:002009-03-05T09:22:00.541-07:00

Once the business of muster is completed, the troops line up to march out to the battle field. Lead, of course, by the crown, and our way cool war-drum wagon.Some of our barony's contingent:Once on the field, the groups huddle, put on the last of their armor, get a last strategy talk from their commanders. Each battle has a scenario, such as the following laid out in the War Treaty for this

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-38722424061366225532009-03-02T08:30:00.007-07:002009-03-02T08:30:00.537-07:00

About 8 am every morning we were greeted awake by heralds walking through the camps calling the troops to muster. About 9 typically troops gathered in their camp and walked to the kingdom muster area, where they would then be addressed by the crown and lead to battle.As our camp neighbors are a group known for their drumming, our local group got to be led to muster by the war drums that also

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-17300680387027300302009-02-27T14:56:00.007-07:002009-02-27T16:01:15.688-07:00

Well now, looks like I may finally have found some time to adress these long over-due posts about war. This has truely been a month of constant this or that going on; I'm looking forward to March. Oh yeah, that would be tomorrow. :-\Anyhoo -- where to start? I guess the easiest is with the reason we were all down in the desert for a week of close quartered camping revelry: War.Why war? Well

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-32813593736176958362009-02-15T12:21:00.002-07:002009-02-27T18:00:31.115-07:00

Note to self: next time we go to war, bother to dig out a watch. This digging for the cell phone in your pouch all the time is annoying - made all the more so once the batteries died. ;-DWe're back in the car heading back to the future. We had such a spectacular time! The weather could not have been better. Well, those who were there for the deluge that came down Monday night, flattening nearly

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-26220260210013919292009-02-10T20:52:00.002-07:002009-02-11T07:23:28.142-07:00

Well, if work hadn't suddenly crashed down on my head like a ton of bricks, I would have mentioned this before now. As it is, I'm probably am only going to get a bare minumum post up now and you'll all have to wait until we return to get the full story.We're going to War. Tomorrow.:-DThis week is one of the SCA's three largest events held annually. This one, Estrella War, is held in Arizona and

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-76239126435985336032009-02-09T11:29:00.002-07:002009-02-09T11:42:08.684-07:00

Snickers is settled into her new life pretty much like a champ. The one exception is when Ginger is out teaching riding lessons, she can't very well have Snicks underfoot, so that is one of the rare times she leaves her home alone, downstairs. She most certainly prefers to be out and about, and barks her little head off at these times.For a lot of reasons we wanted to get Snickers and Cisco and

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-26292661791791553732009-02-05T13:15:00.006-07:002009-02-05T13:22:35.011-07:00

This video was produced by the SCA group in Austin Texas -- as a teaser trailer for this year's event. They equestrian guild there is rather advanced in the games we play (in the last 30 seconds of the video). It's just too cool not to repost:More on the Lysts at Castleton event

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-70991408577504102922009-01-26T11:15:00.011-07:002009-01-26T14:08:49.769-07:00

This past weekend we splurged and took a little ski vacation to Winter Park with my sister Phyllis and Mike. Ginger owns a swanky vacation condo right at the main base area, and agreed to let us use it for half of the normal rental fee -- since that is what she normally collects after the management company takes their slice anyways. So it was a deal. Still a fairly pricey deal, but it is just

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-54842123961133018012009-01-22T11:17:00.003-07:002009-01-22T11:24:03.674-07:00

Below is the video that Heath directed for Ben Harper's "Morning Yearning". It's a beautiful song, and it is captured with incredible artistry in the video. On this day of thinking of Heath and all that he brought to us, I'm struck with a yearning I fear will never fade. And so as it does in so many ways, his art is best left to speak for itself.Thank you, Heath.

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-61549751104502451412009-01-13T16:06:00.007-07:002009-01-13T16:54:12.358-07:00

Though a google search just now didn't uncover any fantastically supportive articles that this has been one heck of a windy month on the Front Range -- it sure seems like it's been the worst ever. A friend had a gasp/laugh when she commented upon my continued bitching about the wind -- have you lost any more fences? Well, no - it hasn't been THAT bad, I said. It's only been in the 30-40 MPH range

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-78730008840280294572009-01-07T09:43:00.006-07:002009-01-07T10:27:44.584-07:00

A few months ago Ginger received an unusual call; one of our very good kennel customers had been taken to the hospital and no one was available to care for her dog. Ginger immediately went over to pick up Snickers to bring her here. After that incident, we learned that Judy was very ill, and it wasn't long before she took leave from work -- meaning that we didn't see Snickers as a regular day

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-34168291060993448092008-12-30T16:21:00.005-07:002008-12-30T17:46:14.065-07:00

Anyone hear of the hurricane force winds we had last night? OMG, we heard them, alright. ALL NIGHT LONG. Shaking the house, and when my radio alarm went off this morning I couldn't really hear it over the racket the wind was making. I've seen reports of gusts recorded at 98 mph - within 10 miles of here.I was so concerned all night about the horses who are currently shut up in their pen and

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-65309074268164505302008-12-20T13:25:00.005-07:002008-12-20T13:51:47.800-07:00

Just a personal joke there. I've always thought a dog wash should name itself this. (Little homage to AC-DC) Anyways, I guess here's my chance - for as of yesterday, technically, we can offer dog washes in the kennel!Let me back up -- Dave, Ginger and I attended a seminar a couple of weeks ago about how to increase your kennel revenue, without expanding your capacity. They were all about

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-12540579306275701022008-12-18T08:00:00.001-07:002008-12-18T08:00:00.409-07:00

Just about a year ago we joined up with our neices, Kelsey and Sara, to see Fall Out Boy in concert. See them we did. Hear them -- not so much. (grrr) The acoustics in the venue were so poor we will never see another concert in a stadium that holds thousands of people.So when we heard FOB was coming to town again our ears were cautiously pricked. When we heard they were coming to play in a

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-56029963687822150202008-12-15T14:44:00.003-07:002008-12-15T15:15:34.989-07:00

It's time for those night-time Parade of Lights again, and after taking a few year hiatus from them we decided to join in the fray again this year. Fortunately it wasn't horribly cold, but as is typical the day Dave was set to build the framework for the float was notably cold and snowy. Ah well. He and Parker put together the frame inside the horse barn so it wasn't terribly

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-49577494709982740992008-12-05T11:08:00.010-07:002008-12-05T11:57:20.857-07:00

Deotrich, our barrony's resident armoring guy, happens to be a metal worker and has a fully equipped metal working shop at home. So he regularly hosts armoring sessions, for folks to get together and work on their armor.For the past few months, they've shifted focus a bit in that the group decided to fabricate some kits, from which introductory armor could be fashioned for purchase by people

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-71733526051419076062008-12-04T07:13:00.000-07:002008-12-04T07:13:01.053-07:00

The folks from whom I ordered my jousting helm said that it would ship in 4-5 weeks... 10 weeks to the day, I received it. Huurm. The good news is that that day was Monday of this week, Dec 1. Woot!My first reaction was -- holy heck, this thing is HEAVY. They are listed at 8 pounds. And that is with 16 gauge steel. In fact, the equestrians are only required to have helmets of 18 gauge --

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-60733387708411824202008-12-03T10:22:00.000-07:002008-12-03T10:22:00.219-07:00

Quickie post with some memorable pics from last week. Alas, these all seem to be from the same group of dogs - aparently I only had the camera out (and the sun was out at the same time) when I was with them. Oh well.I personally prefer what we call the 'Slow' playing group - those of the small dogs and / or slow moving dogs that don't play aggressively. The faster groups just take a lot more

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-11605680777183965412008-12-02T21:49:00.007-07:002008-12-02T23:04:38.864-07:00

It astonished us that we never filled to capacity over the holday last week. We've filled up for every Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday since we opened -- even our very first holiday season. This year - not to be aparently. We eventually got to 70% full.Ginger's family had planned a reunion at her mom's place for Thanksgiving, so of course we'd told her she should absolutely go and we would

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-81609711923223338012008-11-17T07:26:00.008-07:002008-11-17T08:09:36.800-07:00

(click for bigger images)The organizer for this weekend's SCA event and her husband real quick like built this drawbridge to be part of the equestrian challenge. It was fantastic! So much so that when the competition was over and the course was opened up to let us all just play - most of us went back for the photo op. Heh.(Ohh, and we finished my lance this weekend - complete with the leather

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-12603722579127189982008-11-12T08:15:00.001-07:002008-11-12T08:15:00.776-07:00

Sunday this past weekend once again found me in front of the sewing machine. Not, this time however, working on anything medieval. No, this time it was something utterly mundane. I was working on a problem we've had in the kennel for a long time, but have never found a solution.The kennel has 6 aisles of kennels, 3 on each side, running perpendicular to the center aisle. When we let dogs out,

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-60789125367088784262008-11-10T12:47:00.005-07:002008-11-10T13:02:19.153-07:00

So there's this group out there promoting the act of blogging, and has thus issued a challenge to folks to blog every day in a month. The month of November, actually - so they are well on their way into this challenge -- amusingly called Na Blo Po Mo. (National Blog Posting Month)Now, exactly why they think it's a good thing to encourage daily blogging, I'm not all that sure. And the thought

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-69273315395233230882008-11-03T07:55:00.000-07:002008-11-03T07:55:01.398-07:00

The Dark Knight (for any of you have been living under a rock) is the latest Batman movie that came out in July, staring Heath Ledger as Joker. You can imagine how highly anticipated it was amongt my cronies, being Heath's last completed role. (We're now eagerly awaiting the release of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus -- which he was shooting at the time of his passing.)Anyways, I'd mentioned

Monica at Sun Ponyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04866366666888122868noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-7300252306641658852008-10-28T15:03:00.007-06:002008-10-28T17:48:55.018-06:00

Seeing as how I've become incredibly conscious of the fact that about ALL I have posted this summer has been SCA related, I decided I needed to do a non-SCA post first. (There are more waiting in the wings too... to be posted soon)Anyways as I alluded to the Fun Show was a good day for everyone this year. A very LONG day, but then that was to be expected. I groaned when I realized that we were

Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16803400693301500933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-79874110238543839802008-10-20T08:10:00.002-06:002008-10-20T08:24:54.932-06:00

This weekend was the annual BCHA Fun Show, to which we take riders to show. Last year was nearly an utter disaster, as we'd unwisely planned for ALL of our lesson students to come to the show - and ended up with 50 students in that session!!!This year we were far more strategic in asking folks to sign up for the show in addition to lessons. This way only the kids who really had an interst in

Monica at Sun Ponyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04866366666888122868noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-63488766373367987782008-09-19T11:33:00.006-06:002008-09-20T17:49:25.892-06:00

This weekend I got to attend my first big SCA event! Unfortunately David was still in California visiting his parents, so I attended alone. The Crown Tournament was being held in Canon City, where Phyllis lives, so it was pretty much a no brainer to go down and visit them and attend the event. So much of a no brainer, in fact, that I never got around to asking anyone what a Crown Tournament

Monica at Sun Ponyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04866366666888122868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-60773663647953412832008-08-08T17:30:00.003-06:002008-08-08T17:32:00.136-06:00

Just a quickey to link to our local newspaper which ran a story on the Coursers and Quivers event last weekend on the front page this week!Berthoud Surveyor

Monica at Sun Ponyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04866366666888122868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-37576301528765717462008-08-06T17:22:00.002-06:002008-08-08T17:25:33.284-06:00

Unser Hafen, the SCA barony to which we belong, held their Archery and Equestrian championship tournament at our place this last weekend. The archery tournament took place in the morning. I saw a bit of it, Dave and Phyl watched a bit of it. (And then a whole bunch of other things happened to drag us away from it) They shot from several different distances at targets. These happened to be

Monica at Sun Ponyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04866366666888122868noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-56612971254471037212008-08-06T16:10:00.002-06:002008-08-06T16:27:41.713-06:00

As we were sitting at dinner Sunday night, me rushing because I had to leave for the airport in 30 minutes, Mike commented "Bet you wish you didn't have to rush right off now." And Phyl countered with "I think there are a number of things today Monica wishes went differently."Boy, howdy. Did I ever. It's a long story that actually began Saturday. Or weeks ago if you want to get honest about

Monica at Sun Ponyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04866366666888122868noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-28861101164742064382008-07-30T19:34:00.006-06:002008-07-30T20:22:21.380-06:00

Mostly. Its taken me all week, but I'm calling the blanket part done tonight -- WOOT! "Barding" is the term for the horse armor and covers that we try and mimic with our costumes today. I was having a ROTTEN time finding any information about medieval horse costumes on the internet -- boy, did that get easier when I had the secret code word 'barding' to search for.And yes, it has been a

Monica at Sun Ponyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04866366666888122868noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-72360377075792265562008-07-25T09:13:00.004-06:002008-07-25T09:13:01.808-06:00

The weekend before last we finally got a time when some new friends from the SCA could come over and bring some of their games equipment and we could practice. Since this was outside the official SCA boundaries, Carol suggested we invite some of our riders to join us and try it out. Ginger talked to her camp councelors and 4 of them decided to join us.Other than being hotter than blazes, the

Monica at Sun Ponyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04866366666888122868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-6872188427636716082008-07-23T14:05:00.005-06:002008-07-23T21:12:06.014-06:00

I really didn't think that joining the SCA would immediately put me into crafts mode nearly so deeply! Shortly after attending my first practice I came home and fashioned two swords out of 1x2s and some dowels. It took me several weeks to actually complete them -- and they are still awaiting paint even now. But it turns out that you can get a heck of a proto-sword by just cutting a tip into

Monica at Sun Ponyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04866366666888122868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-24513952086993698892008-07-21T14:25:00.001-06:002008-07-21T14:25:15.532-06:00

Flew into Seattle this week (last week by the time this posts), and for the first time ever, I think, our flight came in from the South. Right by Mt. Rainier! I was working -- writing blog posts as a matter of fact. And just happened to look out the window and saw this! Nice day for it. :-)

Monica at Sun Ponyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04866366666888122868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-22941371075596697772008-07-18T00:01:00.000-06:002008-07-18T00:01:00.548-06:00

Original art by my incomperable friend, Ruth, with whom I will be seeing TDK on Saturday!!! SQUEE

Monica at Sun Ponyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04866366666888122868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-6004480864189238202008-07-17T17:34:00.000-06:002008-07-17T23:05:10.646-06:00

And so off we were to Chepstow. As we were in a bit of a time crunch, we didn't really want to stop at a pub for lunch so we had asked for directions to a market as we left Cosmeston. Oh -- it's very simple, just go out and turn left... Uh Huh. We messed it up somehow and ended up threading our way through the industrial underbelly of Cardiff. LOL -- now we KNOW why Kate had suggested we not

Monica at Sun Ponyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04866366666888122868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-77815847240383953732008-07-16T08:03:00.005-06:002008-07-16T08:09:32.429-06:00

Thursday was our last day of touring, and still had several things we were interested in seeing, in addition to making it back to the London area by about 7. One of our Brokie friends had invited us to spend the night with her before we had to fly home - which of course we eagerly accepted! She was due home from work 7ish, so that was our target. After negotiating a bit, we picked 2

Monica at Sun Ponyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04866366666888122868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-50523975397879987332008-07-15T15:21:00.005-06:002008-07-15T16:41:15.657-06:00

After leaving Carrig Cennen, we pretty soon found a pub for lunch. And got another lesson in Welsh: F's, in Welsh, are pronounced as a V. Therefore, this brewery is 'VelinVoel'... NOT Feeling Foul. A good thing to know when visiting Wales. ;-D Also, it's a pretty good brew!This dog is clearly a resident of the pub - it didn't take us long to learn his name was Alex. Actually we learned this

Monica at Sun Ponyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04866366666888122868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-25726379125198405182008-07-14T20:39:00.001-06:002008-07-14T20:43:39.975-06:00

Hey all - Looks like I took a Sunday off yet again, but yes I'm determined to get this post up for Monday, if later than usual...After leaving Y Nueadd we were headed for Carreg (Castle) Cennen. These ruins are actually on private farm land and is run by the family who owns the farm. Hows that for bizzare! There are so many castles in Wales that the care and maintenance of some of them have

Monica at Sun Ponyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04866366666888122868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-78301750617511575132008-07-12T11:00:00.003-06:002008-07-12T11:00:00.981-06:00

Getting back in the car we headed to Brecon - the 'gateway to the Brecon-Beacons national park'. We'll, we'd been in the national park nearly all day, and didn't actually find the town that fascinating. Did have a tourist information office though. And a nice gift shop where I spoke with the owner's 10 year old daughter about the pronunciation of "Sun Pony" in Welsh - because the owner himself

Monica at Sun Ponyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04866366666888122868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-67879205157860343672008-07-11T11:00:00.000-06:002008-07-11T11:05:14.788-06:00

Our next stop was at Tretower Court and Castle. Thought this was a really interesting place - the main attraction being actually the Manor House, rather than the castle ruins next door. But our first order of business was Lunch, none the less. In general we saw very few other tourists when we were about, though in fact a tour bus did pull in here before we were gone. But we frequently felt we

Monica at Sun Ponyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04866366666888122868noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-68585467853446669242008-07-10T11:00:00.000-06:002008-07-10T11:00:00.796-06:00

Nearly.Monday evening we made to Ross on Wye and felt that was a good place to stop. The Wye river is the boarder into Wales, after all, right? So we'd made it! Nearly. Turns out the Wye river is the boarder into Wales down south around Monmouth. Meh. We got there the next morning. ;-DWe were pretty much bushed, needed to plan out a bit about our next phase of the trip, had some post cards

Monica at Sun Ponyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04866366666888122868noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11216725.post-88707628426538937862008-07-09T11:00:00.004-06:002008-07-09T11:00:00.624-06:00

Monday morning I awoke early and decided to write a blog post since folks weren't yet stirring in our room. Soon, though, I recognized voices in the court yard of the YHA, which was right outside our window. Dragging our butts out of the room we grabbed breakfast and went out to join them. Many of the people not staying at the YHA had come over. It was a gloriously sunny morning. (too sunny,

Monica at Sun Ponyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04866366666888122868noreply@blogger.com4