A fragmented day – difficult to determine what to write about because so much happened. So I will write about some of these things.

The Muskox Farm

I proposed to Vickie T that we take a day and go into the big city – so this is what we did. I got up before dawn – holy crap, it was dark out. And I met up with her at the muskox farm where she was finishing up a project. As she worked, I watched the muskox play. The yearlings in a nearby pasture were extremely energetic. Two were playing with a stick. One was head butting a post. And two

others were head butting one another. Then the hay truck came rolling in. The young muskox all ran over to it and began pawing at the bales that had been tossed on the ground. Amazing to watch, for I didn’t know that muskox could be so lively.

Shop Until You Drop

We didn’t do much shopping because neither Vickie nor I are big time shoppers. Plus, I don’t have much money these days. I did purchase socks for my mother at REI and a set of colored markers for me at Office Dept. Then, later in the day, we went to M Bar D where I purchased a mounting block. I deliberated for some time about purchasing it. It was on sale, which turned out to be the deciding factor. This was a significant investment – we use a kitchen stool that I found at a yard sale many years ago. I’ve been quite happy with it. It’s good to have a mounting block because this reduces back stress. On the trail I usually stand upside of Raudi or use a stump. At home, I use the mounting block or this big rock we have in the yard. We routinely have riders come to visit, so this will come in handy. I want people to be safe. Mariann Stoffel’s having fallen down and broken her leg while at a clinic at Bernie Willis’s place still bothers me. Just don’t want this to happen here. Pete doesn’t feel as strongly as I do, that is that we need to have a new mounting block – but I am now feeling as I write this that this was a very good thing to do.

I am Becoming a Horse

While at Home Depot, the clerk (when I went to pay for the colored pens) remarked to me “I have horses too!” I asked her how she knew this and she said that she could smell them on me. Seeing my look of embarrassment she then said “That’ okay. I love the smell. I used to work with horses.” Oh oh. I had put on clean jeans actually showered, knowing that I was going to be interacting with retailers. What I think this means is that I’m slowly becoming a horse. And, oddly enough, it does not seem to me to be all that unlikely.

Movie Review: Into the Woods

Between store visits we went to see the movie “Into the Woods,” starring Meryl Streep and Johnny Depp. This one is a must-see movie. I hope soon, to go and see it again. It’s a movie musical, one in which the story line partially revolves around a handful of fairy tales: Cinderella, Rapunzel, Jack and The Beanstalk, and Little Red Riding Hood. How amazing, that someone was able to push the fairy tale genre in several differing directions – we tend to see them as being set in stone – we think that they are what they are and that is that. The song lyrics were extremely well crafted – the word play was phenomenal. I now have to go back and see this movie again. There were also two endings – in most fairy tales there is just one ending. It makes me feel good to know that there are creative minds out there and that they’re able to use their imaginations in a way that both brings people joy and changes their world view for the better. It truly is a remarkable movie. Right up there with “Hugo” and “The Incredible Life of Walter Mitty.”

The Bookshelf

I got home – earlier in the day Pete had gone to town to purchase wood. We are making a trade. Red Horse Press, our publisher, is publishing Bill Schmidtkunz’s book in exchange for his building us some drawers and cabinets. This will be by the front door, where we keep the recycling bins and Pete keeps his tools. It’s the cubby hole area under the stairs. It was my idea to put shelves in this area. It’s a real space saver.

Pete also decided to build us some bookshelves, upstairs, adjacent to my upstairs workspace. He wanted to put this shelf lengthwise, in between our bed and my desk. I at first wasn’t too keen on this idea because I didn’t want to see this space get cut in half. I’m a big room kinda gal – the more open space, the happier I am. This is why I badly want to move into Michelle Prevost and Gary Bennedetti’s place. (They are now living in Wisconsin). But we don’t have $1.5 million lying around.

Putting the shelves where they are now would divide our already small upstairs. Uh uh, I thought. Pete began working on this project earlier this evening. It’s not done, but the divider is up. Amazingly, it’s not all that bad. I feel like I’m in a horse stall. I know without looking sideways that there’s a partition to my right. Though I’m not looking at it, I feel its presence. It may actually make it easier to get work done. I will in the next few days move books onto the completed shelves. Maybe I am morphing into a horse.

Next: 3. 1/3/15: Spirit Animals 3