JUMP!

Mata Hari is coming along so well with her jumping!  These are relatively small jumps but just the same, she's doing GREAT!

Mudding

A couple of weeks ago I noticed the toilet upstairs seemed to be leaking a little.  After asking Scott to check the seal on it, I came home to discover a totally gutted bathroom.  Apparently it was more than a little leak.  Ahem.

Before he left for racing Labor Day weekend, he got the green board put up so I could spend MY weekend taping and mudding.  Not that I have ever actually done this before but isn't that what YouTube videos are for?  

My first piece of tape.  Not bad.

First corner.

And done with the taping!

Obviously not an exciting photo subject but I sure have learned a few lessons along the way now that I'm done with the 2nd coat of mud.  I've worked with plaster before but this stuff is a little different.  I was also about 20 years younger (where did THOSE years go???).  My right arm is going to fall off.  Seriously.  Who stole my shoulder joint and all the muscles that support it?

Something about a barn...

There's something about a barn early in the morning...it's peaceful and relaxing.  I was sitting here listening to horses eat their grain and all was right in the world.

A little later, I let these three out of their paddock to head out to the green grass and had to laugh that all three immediately stopped at this feed bucket that belongs to an elderly horse that seldom finishes all her food.  All three had to check it out to see if she had left anything for them.

Way too comfy...

Abby doesn't get up on the bed too often in the summer but apparently the brand new down comforter was irresistible.  She does look pretty darn comfortable.  An old dog deserves to be comfortable, right?

Now what?

Yep.  It's an old door.  A very old door.  Original to the house actually so probably about 1923...and apparently people were much shorter then since it's quite a bit smaller than the door next to it.  

There are so many cool things that people do with old stuff on Pinterest and I find this lovely old door in my basement and just stare at it and go, "now what?"  I guess for starters it should be cleaned up a little along the bottom where it appears a dog or something tried to scratch it's way through the door.  It's also not exactly "square.  The bottom edge is quite a bit shorter on the right side - maybe by a good inch or more.  Maybe a coffee table?  With some industrial type black iron legs?

Smelly stuff

I really like those little plug in things that make the bathroom smell good.  Face it, I have two males in the house and bathrooms can smell bad.  What I don't like is paying for them when they only last about 2-3 weeks.  Yeah, I know, that's how they make money.  I just don't want it to be MY money.

So off I go to Pinterest to figure out how I can make my own or refill the dang things.  And there are ways to do it but all of them just looked a little too complicated for me. I like easy.  Then I stumbled on these little gel things that definitely looked easy and could be put in small jars.  I have those.  I have lots of jars of all sizes from when I used to be Mrs. Granola and canned my giant organic garden to feed my babies (who were not wearing cloth diapers).  I miss my garden...

But back to the smelly stuff.

I was at Meijer the other day and wandered into their craft area and found these candle scents for $0.99:  Lemon Verbena and Basil something.  I like those well enough so I bought them.  I think I have a peppermint or something around here as well...anyway, I followed the two step directions that included gelatin and skipped the food coloring in two of them since I only had red (where does that stuff disappear to?).  Now to let them sit for 24 hours to solidify.  I had to put a sign next to them that says they are NOT to be eaten.  Gotta warn Motocross Boy/Man.  

My nose is having sensory overload now...

A Sunset Ride

Equestrian Girl has a JOB!!  As in one that PAYS MONEY!!  Yes, this is quite exciting though it does mean that she is quickly learning what "long day" really means.  Yesterday after working 8 hours she made it home for a quick rest, dinner and then we headed back out to the barn to ride Mata Hari.  She'd had Wednesday off so skipping another day for a horse in training wasn't really an option. It was a beautiful evening if a bit humid...

They worked long and hard at the trot and the work is paying off.  They look lovely!

This little horse has a BIG canter but its so clear and rhythmic.  She's found her balance now and they are working on straightness.

 Ah this just makes me so excited to see what Mata Hari is becoming!!

This makes me happy too.  They have a love for each other that is pretty special.