What a Caper!

This weekend I was in my first horse show in I think 15 years. I rode a horse named Caper (What a Caper is his show name) and he's an 18 year old American Saddlebred.

Caper is an old man, but he loves to show. As he's rocketing through the in gate, you can feel his energy surge, he gets his head set, and you're in for a fun ride.

I won both of my classes: A showmanship class and an equitation class. 

It was a great weekend!

Crap! I just used tape in a vacuum!

I will tell you all about my jaunt to N.C. soon ... but it requires the uploading of video and pictures and that takes time.

Instead you get snarky scientists!

I should have been a scientist, at least one that is interviewed by the Associated Press. Those science guys are snarky!

A recent article about tape being used to make X-rays was very interesting considering all the wonderful things it could me for, er, science.

My favorite part though, was when the reporter asks if there are any health hazards related to using tape and the newly (sort of ... Russia, do you always have to weasel your way into science?) discovered rays.

The scientist explained that the X-rays are only developed when done in a vacuum. Said scientist then is quoted as saying, ""If you're going to peel tape in a vacuum, you should be extra careful."

Should have been a scientist. They would have thought I was hilarious.

Farmer's Market

Today I dragged Jeffrey (and my friend Julie and her husband Jack) to one of Tucson's ephemeral farmers' markets.

They pop up on weekends and have confounding formulas about where they will be and when. Like, for example, the merchants will be there every third Sunday of the month if there is a full moon and it rains a 1/10 of an inch within two days of the scheduled appearance and the month has to have a E in it. Or some other confusing thing that makes it impossible for me to remember to go.

But the one at St. Philip's Plaza is every Sunday from 8-noon. I can remember that. Mostly because the swanky shoe place is there and they open at noon. 

So we popped over and meandered around, bought locally roasted coffee and bell peppers and sampled localish goat cheeses. 

Several things about this particular market stuck out for me: An inordinately large population of standard poodles and Italian greyhounds shopping around with their people, apparently people who like McCain were not invited (the parking lot, as Jeffrey pointed out, looked like that of an Obama rally) and rich people are not always really bright. I had the following conversation with a woman with a very expensive handbag at the goat cheese booth:

Me: "Man, I wish they'd brought the goats. I would have liked to have met them!" 

Rich Lady:  "But would you still be able to eat the cheese?" 

Me: "Why not? Um, I like goats!" 

Rich Lady: "Oh yeah. They don't have to kill them for cheese."

Me: "Nope. But that would suck if they did." Awkward silence. Then just crazy giggling from me and lady who then realized she should have paid attention in preschool. Sigh.

Then I had ANOTHER awkward conversation at said booth with ANOTHER fairly well-kept looking woman about goat's milk:

Me: "Yes, I have heard that people who are lactose intolerant to cow's milk can have goat products."

Woman: "It's more than just that. Insert Earth mother bullshit propaganda about cow's milk and digestions, etc."

Me: "Whatever. I can have cow's milk with no problem so I don't really care. I really like ice cream."

Woman: Dust cloud where woman was once standing leftover from her marching away in a huff... and I'm not really even sure why she was mad at me. I mean, I was BUYING goat cheese. 

Here's a picture of Julie and Jack enjoying goat cheese samples (from very happy alive goats) far away from crazy people. OK, chica in the blue tank top hangover combo might have been not normal ... but I guess Julie didn't get drawn into a convo with her ...

On Saturday Jeffrey and I did a little gardening and added spinach, sugar snap peas, cabbage, onions, cauliflower, lettuces, and some pansies to the garden row. We also ripped out the remaining tomato plant. Now that the weather is cooling down a bit we can plant more than squash. Hopefully it grows! 

Sunday at Sabino

The monsoon season in Tucson is over and the wind is beginning to bring cooler air in ... and making my skin really, really dry (thank goodness for Aveeno).

We actually opened the windows up in the house for most of Sunday. The wind outside, not always great for contact lens wearers, created a really pleasant cross breeze in the rooms and we didn't need the air conditioner until the early evening when it gets a little toasty right before the sun begins to set. 

 

It was so nice, Jeffrey put off studying for a few hours to go enjoy the weather with me up the street in Sabino Canyon. There were a lot of people with similar ideas and the pathways were packed with Tusconans with weird hiking hats, poles, gallons of water strapped to their backs, and all kinds of gear. Jeffrey and I felt maybe some were a bit over-geared.

Absolutely a gorgeous start to the day. There was still water in the canyon but the air was crisp and dry. The kind of day that makes you happy to be living in such a beautiful place.

Eric's New Online Shop

My brother Eric has put some of his photos on wares at CafePress.

Check out our new mini mogul's stuff!

I Like Carrots Modifications

Instead of doing work or practicing knitting, I thought I would take some time to play with my blog's look.

Dots! 

Also, I've added a blog roll (if you don't see your blog here, it might be because I don't know the URL anymore ... gabel group, Lena's baby blog ... I will add it if you will give it to me again.

AND introducing (trumpet noises!) a poll. Because everyone likes a poll, right? I don't know what good it will do, but it will be fun to test out.

Also, for those of you who don't know what a twitter update is, those are from my Twitter site where I often post up little bits of fun during the day because it's easy. If you want to see the other end of the conversation, go to Twitter and sign up for a free account and start following people. It's fun and you can lurk. (and it might curb the panicked emails from my mom who only saw me telling Snaps -- my brother Eric -- that I was sorry and she assumes the worst ... he was just sick ma!)

Craftiness Part Deux

Today was my first beginner knitting class.

My mom and I tried to learn to knit several years ago. She has since made a sweater. I think I used my needles to stake a plant.

I sucked at it. 

My fingers aren't generally that nimble. I have trouble with some fine motor skills and when it came to knitting, I would brain the concept down to the fingers, but it was like a game of telephone: The message somehow became altered and knitting was not possible.

But I thought I would give it another shot. I looked online and tried to read the diagrams, but it was about as helpful as an IKEA instruction sheet.

I went online, did a Google for "knitting classes in Tucson" and came across Purls Tucson and they had tons of classes.

So I signed up.

The class was great. 

Instead of it being a bunch of white hairs, the instructor was cool and didn't yet qualify for anything with an AARP acronym. Her assistant was a twenty-something manchild who looked like he should be doing something much more masculine than knitting but who is apparently an awesome knitter (and I heard him talking to some of my classmates, and he was a great teacher. His mommy should be proud.)

And ... I knitted!!!

Also, I finished my lunch bag right before I (possibly) broke my sewing machine!



I bought a rotary cutter and mat ... these are excellent inventions. If you ever make anything with fabric that requires cutting, buy one. And the cutters now come in pretty colors. So you get innovation AND cuteness. Awesome.