OK, honest scraps it is

I can't remember what I've said before in these things, so how about this: if I repeat myself and you're the first to catch me, I'll mail you a prize.

1) I have a tattoo of a rearing horse, on my hip. I got it last May, and I love it. It's done in a Japanese ink-brush style, so it should look even prettier as I age and it fades. The rearing horse reminds me of Champ, but it also reminds me to never give up. Horses rear when they're being obstinate about something, and I'm pretty obstinate about life. These last couple of years have been pretty terrible (with some pretty wonderful bits thrown in for variety) and when I'm vaguely tempted to curl up and cry and feel sorry for myself - I remember my tattoo.

2) I am a hell of a cook, if I do say so myself. My greatest culinary accomplishments are in pastry - I've made (from scratch, of course!) sweet puff pastry, beef Wellington, croissants, pain au chocolate, and the kind of strudel that looks like it's wrapped in phyllo dough. If you ever want to learn to make pastry, you need this book. Rose is a fantastic writer and teacher.

Oddly, I hardly ever follow recipes anymore except for sweets. I read about food and cooking science all the time, so I understand the basic chemistry that's going on in most things. My husband and some internet friends help me out with flavor combinations, but I'll usually just have a vague idea of "what's for dinner" before I get started. Asian cooking is my big weakness, so it's usually my first choice in restaurants. Even if I can't quite make fantastic pho or a great curry, I can definitely buy one!

3) I have atrocious and wide-ranging taste in music. I love classic rock, punk, country, some rap, alternative rock, 80s - if I can pound my steering wheel and sing along very loudly, it's on my iPod. I get really strong memories connected with songs, too. I can tell you exactly when I first started listening to almost all my favorites.

4) I am extremely allergic to poison ivy. I know exactly what dormant poison ivy vines look like, too - when I was 10 or so I used these big hairy vines to help climb a tree in the woods. You guessed it. I had blisters over the entire surface of 8 fingers. It was excruciating and totally gross. I am quite sure I'll be allergic to poison oak, too, and I'll need to do a lot of research on it if we go to Reno.

5) I never wear sunscreen or bug spray. Yall can commence lecturing me now, but it shall roll off like water on a duck's back. I really really hate the way stuff like that feels - all oily chemically poison for bug spray, and just greasy nasty goo for sunscreen. Also it just never occurs to me to put some on until I'm half a mile from the barn, on my horse, wearing a tank top.

6) I have an enormous (4" x 1/2") scar on my knee. When I was about 11, my next door neighbor / BFF and I were out in the woods exploring, and I gashed it open climbing a barb wire fence. I walked home gushing blood and was quite delighted when my mom almost fainted. I tried to console her by telling her it was a nice new fence, not a nasty rusty one that was going to give me tetanus. She wanted to take me to the doctor and get it stitched up, but I pitched one of the biggest fits of my LIFE and won. It probably would've healed better, but oddly it never hurt much so I walked on it too much and kept ripping it open.

7) I am left handed, except with scissors. I cut right-handed, and I can't cut left-handed even when I try.

8) I am pretty solitary. If my husband dies, I don't think I'll ever marry again. I can't fathom starting over with someone else, and I don't mind being alone.

Well I can't think of anything else. :( That's a lot of tidbits for me to pop out at one time! I need to go to the gym, which is honest but not new. I know I'm supposed to pass this on, but I am late to the game and I'm not sure who HASN'T done this yet. How about I update my sidebar this evening?

One thing

Here's one thing you might not know about me:

We might be moving to Reno, Nevada!

Husband's interview went very well, and we're both pretty hopeful that he gets an offer. The co. said it'd be 2-3 weeks before they let him know, so we just have to hang in there a couple more weeks.

If not Reno, the next two most likely offers are Cleveland, OH, or DC area (NoVA). Both of those are nice places to live and I'm sure there's nice horse bloggers and pretty parks and stuff, but I'm way more amped about Nevada. Husband is too!

In horse news - earlier this week, I bathed Dixie til we both lost patience with the whole exercise, and she didn't look much better after than before. Then I fussed over her mane and tail and combed them out. As soon as I turned her out, she had a very satisfying roll in the dirt. Sigh. Today I went and brushed her til she shined (mud/manure spots and all), then rode for a bit. She was pretty good, but I think she's coming in to heat so she wants to roll every single time we halt.

This space NOT for rent

I didn't mean for this hiatus to go on as long as it has. Here's the short version, for now:

Dixie is pretty fantastic. She's gotten steadily better (calmer, saner, more willing) over the last two months til now there just isn't much to say. I go out to visit. She screams hello, runs up to see me, and tosses her head at me just to let me know she's the Queen Mare. Then I saddle her up, and she only pins her ears very briefly every couple minutes - she doesn't stomp or paw or wiggle around. I take her out to the arena, either indoor or outdoor, and she stands calmly while I bring the block over and climb on. Then we walk or slow gait around. There's not enough room in the arenas to really get a faster gait going, sadly. She stops without fussing, and she bends nicely into turns unless there's something interesting to look at on the outside of the circle. Grass or hay on the ground is WAY more interesting than me, but I can get her attention back most of the time. When I can't get her attention back, I can thump her in the ribs with my heels and she does not freak out or get mad, she just swivels her ears back like "oh you're serious? Ok, I suppose."

It's all very interesting yet very boring.

And we're getting ready to move. I hesitated to say anything here - it's not like my husband's workplace knows I exist and reads ever word I write, but blogging things can have unexpected ramifications. However, he's blogging about looking for work now, and it's obvious that layoffs are imminent, so I might as well explain things here. The Columbus security market is still really soft, but it's picking up in several other parts of the country, and he's applied for jobs in really interesting places. Wherever we go - and yes, there's one place in particular we WANT to go - we're going to settle in for the long haul. Hopefully by this time next week he'll have an offer from The Place We Want To Go and I can tell yall about it, but I don't want to jinx it right now!

I think Dixie is due for a spa day. She is disgustingly grungy and she smells horrible. I will bathe her and take Glamour Shots of her and post it this week. Til then - I rode last week and made my beloved photographer come take a few pics. These will tide you over!



I even rode her bareback for a couple minutes! Isn't she beautiful??



Anyway, hang in there and I'll be back to writing about my Pretty Pony and mah dawg and my crazy life real soon, I promise!