Yeehaw

Well just a little bit of a yee haw.  Marla and I started our horse riding course on Wednesday.  We went out to Connect and Ride to get started.  Last time Carmen said to come a little later - the week before we were really early.  This time she said we were a half hour late.  So next week we are going to get there 40 minutes early and see how that works.

We got out to the stable and the first thing we did was to go out to the paddock and get our horses.  I got a brownish gold mare named Sam and Marla was to ride a little gypsy horse named Vixen.  We put the halters and leads on them and brought them down to the stable.  Once we 'tied' them up to the fence we gave each of them a good brushing.  Then we scraped down their hooves.  We put on their saddle blankets, saddle pads, and got the saddle up.  Sam stands about 6ft high and it is a tall lift to get the saddle up on her.  We don't use a halter with a bit in it - the kind we use is called a hackamore.

We went out to the riding ring.  I was able to stretch up my stirrup and get my left foot in, I work my steeltoed boots rather than cowboy boots but they were just a little too wide.  Sam goes forward with a little click of the heels and a 'che che' sound.   "whoa" stops and sometimes goes into reverse.  To go left hold the reigns a little high and to the left, right goes the same way.  Actually the hard part was dropping down out of the saddle.  Rather than staying in the stirrup I take both feet out and slipped down to the ground.

The horses get another brush down and clean hooves.  I felt a little bad for Sam because I am so big but felt totally awesome that I am small enough to be able to ride.  Even if it was just circles in a ring, it felt great.

Bleh

I was so sore.  I woke up feeling really stiff, sore and generally yeechy.  Not only that, I was waking up at 6am on a day when I could be sleeping in.  But first lets go back to the out of Stomp.  It was a really good out.  The show started at 7:30pm and we were ready to take down the show at 9:30pm.  Our guys were expecting a three hour out, instead we had them out the door with the truck doors closed by 11:30.  We give good out.

Colin and I were doing a whole bunch of cleaning up.  There was a ton of sand and dust left from the show.  But we did our best and left the theatre cleaner than when we found it.  So I wasn't that hard worked from the night before.  And I happily went to bed before 1am.  So what I am doing up at six.  Well I am feeling really bad.

On the sideboard by my bed is my bookcase, alarm clock, a glass of water and two tylenol t-3s.  They are a pretty heavy duty pill that I have used in the past to help recover from surgery, cramps, and other bad stuff.  So I took them.  Within a few minutes I was rolled up in a ball on the floor.  I totally hurt.  I had not experienced pain like this since my surgery.

I was trying to decide if I should let it pass or go to emergency.  Emergency would mean waiting a couple of hours to see what is going on and I could do that or wait and see.  I elected to wait and see.  I felt terrible for two hours and it passed.  I guess the issue really lies with taking the NSAID.  The T-3 may have been too much.  So I think I will stay away from them.

As the day progressed I got better and was happy to spend quality time with Marla.  We watched the Labour Day Classic game between Saskatchewan and Winnipeg (why isn't it Manitoba?).  The Roughies won and the day is good again.

Its Showtime

It has been a busy week.  The national touring company of Stomp is in town and I have been working backstage on the crew.  Eight shows in five days is a bit of a tear up and really messes with the exercise schedule.

But going back a little further, I have completed my Ceramics course at University.  I got my usual mark, B+.  I am okay with that and will keep at it.  I was thinking that I may take the follow up course in January.  But I am also toying with the idea of taking the semester off.

Anyways, back to Stomp.  It was a really good show to work on.  The road crew was a fantastic bunch.  Graham (the head carp) and Sam (head props) were the guys that Colin and I worked with the most.  Doing props for the show is a nice active job.  The performers were also nice to work with.  They were funny and polite which is always a plus.

My eating has been a little all over the place.  Mostly because of working this schedule but also because I am drifting a bit.  I am being led astray by some of the 'treats' around the house.  So the best thing is to  get the bad stuff out of the house and stick to the good stuff.

The pear tree's fruit is ready.  It is really nice to go out into the back yard, pick a pear, brush it off and enjoy a healthy treat.  They are very sweet so it is a good thing they are small.

I have been pre-reading for my fall UVic class.  This time around it is Russian History.  I think it is going to be a lot harder getting the names right.  But I am ready for a challenge as much as I am ready for a holiday.

With Classes this summer and shows in September, Marla and I haven't been able to get away.  We are in serious need of a road trip but I don't see any available time until late September or early October.  Even a trip to Portland would be a good break.

But now things are on the way to returning to normal.  Two shows today and an out.  Horse riding on Wednesday and maybe a photo shoot for Camosun, UVic on Thursday and a concert on next Sunday.

Whew.

An evening with Ty Cobb

Well today was a fun day.  Chris, Precious and I had a nice morning walk along the ocean.  The weird part was that the Map My Walk app only measured half the distance and all the time.  So where I think we walked about 8km we only walked 4.  Still it was a nice walk.

I came home and Marla and I watched the Blue Bombers lose to Hamilton TC.  Then we watched a really good game between Saskatchewan and Edmonton.  I can say it was a good game because the Riders won.

Paula invited us over to her place to help celebrate Susan J's birthday.  It was a nice gathering of people.  We didn't eat anything there because we were going over to John's Place to watch a one man show about Ty Cobb.

My eating was pretty good at John's.  I caved and had a little of their bread.  Each time we go there I have a smaller amount.  I tried their Southern Fried Steak but could only eat about a third of it.  It will reheat okay.

Tomorrow is a rest day.

day by day

I had a rough weekend.  I felt like I had a kidney stone coming on.  That sharp pain in my back is very familiar.  So I decided this would be a good time to get rid of some of the lab requests I have stockpiled and go get my blood tested.  Yup, I am anemic - again.

Aside from the stabbing pain in my back every now and then Marla and I had a great time being artsy craftsy in the afternoon.  We went downtown to see the Fibrations show on the lawn of the St. Ann's Academy.  It was all really interesting.  Marla got to try out spinning - It is definately a learned skill.  I don't think she will become a spinner but she had fun.

It was also nice bumping into a bunch of people who we know.  Dallas from the gardening crew and Susan B among a whole bunch of other Camosun retirees were there.  Something I really liked was all the bright colours of the wool and the fabrics. 

Monday was a bit of a down day for me.  I did a few kilometre walk but for the most part I just hung out with Marla.  Any day hanging out with Marla is a good day.

I spent a lot of time doing my homework, I have a presentation for Tuesday to do.

Tuesday,
Well my presentation went very well.  I was very comfortable and worked my stuff.

I walked home from the University 8.1 Kms  and on this very hot day it was a really nice walk.

In the evening Marla and I went down to Centennial Square to check out the food trucks and the start of the fringe.  It kind of sucked, so we went to Shari's Halibut House for fish and chips.  But instead of Chinese food we actually had fish and chips.  It was okay, but felt kind of manufactures.  I think I prefer Brady's.

We came home and ended up giving Precious a bath.  She is really good in the tub.

putting one foot in front of the other

I was up early, about 6 and thought this is a good day for a walk.  My friend Christopher was busy this morning so we couldn't do our usual walk.  And Precious the Pooch has a sore foot, I think she has pulled a muscle in her foot, so I decide that today I would go solo.  I started my walk about 8am after my usual breakfast and headed off into the Victoria morning.  Best of all, I was walking with my new shoes.  I am back in Aasics - my favourite style of shoes and a little smaller now - I can wear size 11s.

My normal walk is to go from home to downtown Victoria and see the Inner Harbour.  It is about five kilometres away and it is a really pretty walk.  The walk was really nice, except I forgot my water bottle, and when I got down to the Inner Harbour the Dragon Boat races were underway.

I walked all around the Inner Harbour and continued through James Bay to the breakwater at Ogden Point.  It is quite nice walking out on the breakwater now with the railings up on it.  I didn't think I would like them but they are quite nice.  And it does open the walkway to people with physical challenges.

From there it was the usual trail that Chris and I take out to Beacon Hill park and what was once the world's tallest totem pole.  By the cricket pitch and up to the Christ Church Cathedral.  Finally I scooted over to Chinatown, through Fan Tan alley and then retracing my steps to home.

When all was said and done I walked 21.4 Kms or half a marathon.  I did it in just under four and a half hours and when you discount the twenty minutes when I watched the dragon boats, I think I am in good order to do the Goodlife half-marathon in October.

It was a pretty good walk and I felt great after it.  The rest of the day was wonderful.  I hung out with Marla and we watched two CFL games.  Both games were awesome, but best of all was that Saskatchewan won in the final plays of the game.

I had a good day.

I think all I do with my blog is catch up

So it has been three months (May some time) since my last blog.  Here I am and it has been quite a summer.  Looking back, shortly after the Burton Cummings concert in Bow, Wa, Marla and I caught the Golden Princess to Alaska from Seattle.  It was one of our best cruises we have ever been on and I promise I will write about it at another time.  It was an awesome trip.

I started with doing a week's run of Beauty and the Beast at the Royal on follow spot.  It was a very good show and it was just too bad that there was no advertising for it and the audiences were very small.  Then it was working at the College for a photoshoot and a video shoot.  It was nice working there for a while.  I even came back and worked for a while filling in as an AV Assistant.  

In July I was back in University - this time taking courses in Ceramics AE303A.  It was an Introduction to Pottery and I really enjoyed this course.  Opportunity knocked with another course.  Sylvia Hosie was going to teach her last beginner tap course.  I am finally small enough that I cannot hurt myself or others so I decided to take it.  It was a hoot.  Sylvia is a wonderful teacher and I had a great time.

Most of all I just enjoyed the summer as it raced past at lighting speed.  Marla and I took in some festivals (the Car Show, and the Buskers) but also we just enjoyed each other.  I puttered around the house.  Got used to my new MacBook Pro.  I walked - a lot.  Marla worried that I would wear out Precious going on these 10, 15 and 20 km walks from home to downtown.  

So in a nutshell - that was my summer of 2013.  So far it was a pretty good year.  Now if I can just keep remembering to write in my blog.