7.7 miles today

I would not have gone that far and would have done the 6 or up to 6.5 miles faster but they are putting water in the ditch. First day. I failed to make Ole come to road 4 and go over the culvert. Silly me believing he would/could come across. He likes to play in water but he is a very weak swimmer. So I ended up going to road 8 so he could cross on that culvert and then coming 1/2 mile to the utility road alongside the highway so I wouldn't be taking Ole through the backyard that bordered the ditch on my (homeward) side. There was a string of trucks coming down road 8 too. Shade was acting a bit goofy so I got off and led her after back tracking to a spot to get off the road when we met the first one. I didn't get to work until after 2pm. Yuck going to be a long day. I must try to get in to work earlier tomorrow as a snowstorm is forecast to come in tuesday night.

I need a hardier dog, but since that won't happen I need to make arrangements to trailer out and ride longer distances with hills on the weekends! But I do feel like Shade can handle the 3-day ride July 2-4 if I keep up my end and get some miles on her and she does not get injured.

9 miles saturday 5 miles sunday

Ole and I are wimps. We were both pretty tired sunday morning, after just a 9 mile ride yesterday. And Ole didn't go the whole distance but being a dog he may have gone that far checking out stuff. Ole got hot and dry again but I was prepared with a plastic dish in my camelback and the water bladder full so it was easy to give him a drink after I had turned around and got back to where he was trailing along. A little water perked him up and he went the longer way home with Shade and I instead of taking a shortcut. Then he was dragging again at the corner of our road so I offered him another small drink and led Shade the rest of the way. She was really good for eating the whole ride instead of just at the start. I hope that carries over to competitions.

Later on sunday I rode Shade and Ponied Sadie and we went 5.3 miles. Ole came too. I rode to where he could get down to water but the dumb dog didn't go down and wet his paws. Oh well he made it home and was a good couch potato the rest of the day. Sadie had some Ayrab moments. Finally some proof that she is arabian LOL.

Saturday afternoon after I recovered from my ride I cleaned Cindy's stall a bit and then let her out with a halter and lead dragging to eat grass. She is BETTER. I was coming with a curry and she thought I might put her back in right away so she went trotting a bit. VERY carefully thank goodness and didn't seem to aggravate the injured tendon. I have been applying microTek, trying to get her skin back to par after all the rubbing from being in wraps for almost 4 weeks.

It worked out well that I didn't get any riding plans made for today. Mom and dad ended up borrowing my p/u and trailer to go to a little trail ride at her riding instructor's barn. Dad found out there are shorts in his trailers wiring. Drained his p/u battery overnight from having the trailer plugged in. Well I am tired and the toothbrushes should be well sterilized so off to bed.

Well it was a wonderful morning.

I rode Shade 6 miles, the temps and wind were decent. I took off my windbreaker before I got on I was feeling so warm. I didn't really miss it but it was borderline a couple of times when the breeze picked up. Clouds rolled in around noon so having my schedule was such a blessing. I was on cloud nine, thinking that if I couldn't afford to go to rides anymore I wouldn't miss them all that much I enjoy just riding my girl at home as much as going out somewhere. I do really like having the endurance ride factor though, its is a great excuse to go ride when I would wimp out or feel too busy, and to leave Mia at home because I need to condition not just piddle and Mia does not NEED walks when she has ~ 5 acres to patrol every night. Heh that sounds so martial like we make the dog do patrols. She does go around the yard, although not to the pack of the horse pens where the dog proof fencing is a few times a night. I know this because she barks as she does it and I hear the ones I'm not sleeping through. Funny GP dog and her instincts. I took her and Ole for a walk yesterday so she is not deprived of outings either.

Well I am feeling better and getting a few things done after I took sudafedPE and generic alleve, better living through drugs baby! They are kicking in fairly quickly so that is good. I just hate getting enough of an allergy/sinus attack that I need to take the pain reliever as well as the decongestant twice in one week. But really May probably is my normal allergy month. This year some things bloomed really early with our mild spring, then we had a strong rain Apr 22-23 that must have washed all pollen away and a few cooler days and now those flowers must be producing pollen again.

I am getting a new project at work. Totally new, looking at some CO2 data instead of my GPS projects. Its good to be busy, keep me away from the political blogs somewhat so I wont get all depressed and a few months more job security is a very good thing in this crazy economic time. But I hope I am not spreading myself too thin, and really getting into jack of all trades but master of none of them territory.

Whew, found my purse

I looked for 10 minutes this morning and finally just grabbed checks from the box to pay the chiro thinking I must have left the purse in the office. I do that about once a month. But I had not. When I got to the office no purse and I remembered I had put cards to mail with intention to get stamps and addy labels from the house and mail them today. No I don't think I'm having early old-timers, my mom called me 'absent minded professor' when I was 10. Anyway I was looking again at home and beginning to think I must have left the purse in the bathroom at the office and a janitor turned it in even though there was no note or email and finally I found it hiding almost under the vacuum cleaner cover. Mom bought one of those cutsie vacuum doll covers several months ago. I usually leave my purse in the porch but I took it past the doorway and then dropped it by the vacuum last night.

Meh, only went 5 miles tuesday morning

It has slipped into wednesday so I should go to bed soon. Not only did I not trailer out and ride 15+ miles but the wind was so intense I shortened my morning ride at home from the 7 miles I thought I'd do before I stepped out the door to only 5 miles. Shade was a trooper. Wimpy Ole was bouncing around to go but he went out about 1 mile and then I didn't see him so I think he went home after chasing prairie dogs for just a bit. He was laying in the grass near the gate when I got home.

The regime and some DNC committee are PUSHING this meme of "we have our boot on BP's throat" over this oil spill. Good grief, that is not imagery of goading BP to clean up as quickly as possible,pay costs of cleanup undertaken by the U.S. governement etc , its imagery of killing them while they are down and the Dems are embracing the imagery for their campaign fund raising ads and things. I knew the Dems are anti-business (except for fascist gov/bus partnerships) but I still naively thought much of the horrible policies were the Dems not understanding they were injuring productive businesses. How do they think the world can function without any businesses? Everyone knows how badly the government running commerce model worked in the USSR and China. I think they blot it out because China went to the "You can have capitalism as long as the commie party retains all this power model ???. I should be enraged at OUR regimes response to the oil spill, the attempted Times Square bombing and general crap but I just feel tired. Must snap out of it and at least donate to a conservative again this week, but right now will toddle off to bed.

Maybe his name is really Houdini?

Boots slipped his collar yesterday and hid it somewhere to make sure it stayed off. Well we don't need it to keep track of who he is in a one cat household, he just better not slip outside and get lost. Of course cats that wander off around here are more likely to become a coyote meal than get scooped up and taken to a shelter.

I'm bummed, my planned trailer out ride is canceled. My friends horse threw a shoe yesterday and is a bit off today. The wind is so strong I don't even want to ride out from home before going to work either but since I DO still want to do the full 3 days of Shamrock I had better cowboy up. Shade will feel that she is having to do 90% of the cowboying up, well maybe not, she is not bad about wind if its not cold and it is pretty warm today.

I'm so lazy about writing

Catch up day. I rode 7 miles on saturday. Shade felt great after she warmed up. I set up to trailer somewhere and meet my friend to ride tomorrow. Worked about 6 hours on sunday. Stopped at Walmart for lemon tea. They only had 4 boxes left and I was so bummed before I spotted them and wondered if they were going to stop selling it that I bought them all. I had planned on stocking up with at least 3 boxes. Target doesn't carry the lemon flavor anymore so I have to get it when I'm at Walmart. While I was there I bought a new sports bra, another item that I cant find models I like at Target. I am so happy I don't need $$ brands like title IX.

Took the dogs for a walk sunday before I left but they didn't get much exercise. I spied someone else walking their dogs just a 100 yds after parking the car and letting Mia out, so got a twine around Mia, turned around and we went across the road. Mia was done after just a short ways on that road so back into the car. The other dog walker turned west on the main road so I went back down the utility road but Ole was just fixated on the chow so I didn't even let the dogs out, just drove them home at that point. I bought Boots some food at Walmart, he is eating dry food better, I bought him a small bag of dry so it would be fresh to the bottom of the bag, but he was eating some of the old stuff while I was gone.