Supernatural drinking game

Supernatural has recently catapulted itself into my top five all-time favorite shows. It's in with rarefied company:

1. Firefly
2. The X-Files
3. Buffy
4. Twin Peaks
5. Supernatural
(Um, yes, I'm a bit of a sci fi nut.)

During my last couple of runs, I've been hashing out a Supernatural drinking game. It has kept me occupied (and occasionally giggling) for three miles at a time. Here's what I came up with:

• Dean or Sam props open the Impala's trunk with a shotgun: drink!
• Dean and Sam sleep on the floor of Bobby's living room, even though he's got, like, 15 bedrooms: drink!
• Somebody's cleaning a gun: drink!
• Somebody calls somebody a "douche": drink!
• X-Files reference: drink!
• Car porn: drink!
• Evidence of John Winchester's general suckiness as a father: chug!
• You think the writers can't possibly find a way to make Dean feel worse about himself, but then they do: chug!

Willow is doing just super. She's off my hand! Hallelujah! And she's starting to give at the base of her neck instead of mostly just at the poll. I've been really working the carrot stretches with her to loosen up her neck. After each ride, I have her stretch in both directions towards her hip and in both directions down and past the front leg, and I also have her bring her head down and between her front legs, and chin to chest.

Yesterday I tried for some more flying changes, and got her to change in front once. Several strides later she corrected behind as well. Today I introduced shoulder-in in canter, and she did great. We also worked shoulder-in to travers to shoulder-in in trot. All this is so much easier when I'm not holding up her front end.

Creepy neighbor guy

About six weeks ago an older fellow moved into the apartment across the street from my backyard (I'm on a corner lot). Every day, from sunup until well past sundown, he sits in his lawnchair and stares across the street into my backyard. Until this started, I never realized how much I enjoyed my backyard, which used to feel very private. Now, I cringe every time I go out my back door. My carport is in my backyard, so he watches me every time I come and go. I've started leaving out my front door when I go running, because I really don't like him staring at me in my running clothes. I can't believe he doesn't get bored sitting outside with nothing to do but stare for twelve hours a day. He's not doing anything illegal, so I guess I just have to put up with it. But if I go missing, tell the police: creepy neighbor guy did it.

DC would have been a lot of fun if I hadn't been sick the whole time. I had laryngitis the last three days, which makes trying to interact with the public all sorts of fun. I did get to meet Malcolm Gladwell, which was cool, and I acted as bouncer at the insanity that was his 45-minute booksigning. It's amazing just how many people are utterly oblivious to the 500 people in line behind them, and think they'll just stop and chat with the author for a few minutes. Well, not on my watch! (I still had my voice at that point, and used my cool but threatening tone.)

Of course I had to have my picture taken with the cardboard cutouts of the Obamas.

They were very busy cutouts; I swear all 16,000 conference attendees had their pictures taken with them. I did have one actual, real-life celebrity sighting: Debbie Phelps, Michael Phelps's mother. She is, like, three feet shorter than her son.

I've been on Willow twice since I returned. Today's ride went very well. We worked on canter lengthening and counter-canter serpentine. I think at this point we could really rock first level.

I'm a skittle

These two videos make me giggle helplessly every time. Yes, I have the sense of humor of a twelve year old.

I had an awesome lesson on Willow yesterday. We have another tomorrow, and then it's off to D.C.!

Upper Trestle Falls

Last weekend a friend and I hiked to Upper Trestle Falls. To get to it, you have to hike about a mile and a half up the side of a mountain. (The next day, my buns let me know they are not made of steel.) I would have gone three times as far to see these falls, though. They are just gorgeous. Completely secluded, and something about the deep canyon setting made everything feel prehistoric. I kept expecting a brontosaurus to wander by. The first photo (i.e., the good one) was taken by my friend, who had a nice digital SLR and a tripod. The other two are the result of my mediocre point and shoot. As you can see, the trail actually takes you behind the upper part of the falls. Neato!

Thursday's lesson got shifted to this coming Sunday, and then we also have a lesson on Tuesday. Willow's going to think she's at boot camp. (But then I'm off to D.C. for a week, so I think she'll live.) Tonight I believe I got an on-demand flying change. I had thrown in a few attempts randomly during the ride, and got the usual step or two of trot before the change. On my final try, she gave a huge lunge, and by the time I got myself back upright I realized she was on the new lead. And I don't think I felt any trot. In any case, I praised her up and down for the effort and called it a night.

Tomorrow I'm scribing at a local schooling show. Four hours of intro- and training-level tests, here I come!

Ireland watch begins

My friend Lynda and I have decided we're going to visit Ireland next spring. She's been there before; I have not. In 1990 and 1994 I spent a few weeks in Nancy, France, and while there also made short trips to Berlin the first time around and London the second time. My passport has long since expired, so I wrote away to Nebraska and requested my birth certificate, and Lynda and I trooped over to a photography store and had our passport photos taken. All that's left is for me to go to the post office and turn in the application. I needed to renew my passport anyway, because I may be going to Vancouver in February for the Winter Olympics.

Lynda and I are going to sit down in front of the internet tomorrow and start narrowing down where we want to go. We're planning on ten days and two separate locations. Most likely coastal. We're looking at smaller towns, and I'm interested in horseback riding on the beach at least once. Ireland is quite horsey. It's all very exciting.

I had a super lesson on Willow tonight. She's starting to understand how to keep her weight shifted back without constant reminders. I can't tell you how much my triceps appreciate it when she stops leaning and pulling. Trainer Leslie said we're just about ready to stop focusing so much on the basics and start adding the movements to move us up the levels. Hooray! June is a lesson-packed month: I have another one in a week and then another the following Tuesday. Then I'm off to DC for a week for a conference.