turkey day

here comes the parade of food and family! obviously, if you have seen me lately, there is no doubt that i can find my way to a good meal. especially ever since my brother became a chef, and i have felt compelled to educate myself about food, wine and where what i eat is coming from.  but admittedly, i am a little bit of a black sheep in the family when it comes to food.

let me explain further. there are a few reasons that i don't quite fit in to my little family of four (pre-husband family). first of all, they all have gorgeously thick, wavy/curly hair and i didn't even HAVE hair until i was two, and even though it is thicker than mom gives me credit for, it is super baby fine and straight as a board. so while my mom spends hours a day taming her mane, my dad has no hint of a receding hairline, and my brother literally needs a haircut every two weeks, i am like the little hairless chihuahua in the corner- shivering from cold. and although i am permanently scarred for life by the memory of sitting on the bathroom counter EVERY morning while my mom curled my hair for school and secured it with some gigantic bow perfectly coordinated to my outfit, i now appreciate my genetic anomaly hair, which i can throw in a ponytail without looking in a mirror, or secure into a bun with a pencil, or just wash and then let dry on the the way to work! 

the other reason i am the "weird" one is all about food. my family and family gatherings, both immediate and extended REVOLVE around food and the preparation of it. i love to cook and try new things, but i have to admit, when mom starts prepping the dinner as we put away breakfast, it is sometimes a little too much for me. the smell of a roast being browned at 9:30 am just makes my stomach turn. as i said before, my little brother is a fabulous chef that graduated at the top of his class from culinary school and received several awards. he is amazing! i am far more tentative about food. i have always hated anything orange; carrots, sweet potatoes, anything orange flavored or glazed with orange, cheetos, orange soda... 
i also HATE nuts. they make me cringe. the best way i can explain it is that if i eat one it feels like the inside of my teeth start to itch. mom is famous for putting them in everything good- like brownies and cookies and dips and on vegetables so even if i try to pick around them, i inevitably get that terrible teeth itch feeling when one escapes my careful hunting. so i long ago gave up on eating any holiday goodies at all.  my food hatred also extends to anything that is all mixed up and cooked together with eggs- like, breakfast casseroles. i love bacon, and cheese and eggs, but if you blend them all up and cook them together it makes me want to vomit. i know that this doesn't make any sense, but i just cant handle it. so casseroles in general are usually out for me, although i have learned to like squash casserole over the years, and can probably stomach a few bites of spinach quiche without having a panic attack. i have gotten a LOT better over the years. i used to eat everything out of bowls because i hated when the juices touched each other and i was even a vegetarian for a while, which elicited disgusted responses from my family that were probably equivalent to if i decided not to shower for a year. i also love seafood now, which i spent most of my childhood avoiding- and quickly learned to smell everything that was put on my plate and described as "chicken". still, my family thinks that my food preferences are HORRIFYING. you might as well tell them you don't believe in America or Santa Claus.

mom has FINALLY (i'm 27) come to accept some of my food preferences and on Christmas morning she makes me a little corner of the monkey bread without nuts and eventually gave up on forcing me to eat sweet potatoes or carrots. (sitting at the table and gagging repeatedly when forced to try carrots glazed in orange juice, which is basically the worst combination of foods i can EVER imagine, worked pretty well since i can be overly dramatic when the situation calls for it) even though i still get the occasional eye roll from my family about my eating preferences, i have just learned to make things that i DO like for the holidays.

so while they get all giddy about eating disgusting things like lamb covered with rosemary (eww and eww) and sweet potatoes cooked for hours in cinnamon (eww) and brown sugar and of course topped with pecans (shiver), i look forward to contributing to the Thanksgiving meal in my own way. this year, i am making my customary favorite, green bean casserole- there's just something heavenly about something made with three simple ingredients- and even though my fancy schmancy chef brother scoffs at my delight over onions that come out of a can, he always still eats it, when he thinks i'm not looking. over the years, my sweet aunt sometimes sends me gently worded e-mails about possible "additions" to the green bean casserole, like chinese vegetables, or pearl onions, or mixing the toppings up, and even though i know that she has the best of intentions and has the amazing cook gene, like most of my family, i just cannot budge on that one. ya know, if it ain't broke...

this year i am also making Ryan's mom's recipe for squash casserole- which I LOVE and so does he. since he won't be with his family this year for the meal and there surely won't be any left by the time we get to the in-laws house for the weekend, i thought it would be nice to give him a taste of home. it's harder than people realize to be plucked from your family traditions and get used to new ones when you get married, so i always try to do something special for him- and not so selflessly- that squash casserole is amazing. even though it has vegetables and cheese and eggs all cooked together, there's something about the ratio of all the ingredients that doesn't set off my "mixed up together" food alarm. and i could eat squash every day of the year so it gets extra points for yummy-ness!

the last thing i am making this year is a new addition to the family's traditional menu. each person has a few dishes they are famous for and are pretty much required to bring every year, but i added this one to my list since the morning of thanksgiving starts when everyone arrives with  several breakfast casseroles strewn about and some kind of sketchy dead animal sausages that Landon procured from a local farm and then cured himself (props for buying local), i just can't ever trust that what they tell me about the ingredients will be true- therefore better to avoid all-together. for example, i would say something like, "dad, what kind of sausage is this?" and he would casually reply, "oh just regular pork sausage that landon made from a pig he bought and had butchered up in north GA from an organic farm" (thats a totally normal response in my family) and then AFTER i sniffed it and then took a bite, he would giggle and say "actually that was alligator/goat brain sausage that i had overnighted from louisiana from a 96 year old swamp farmer that raises his own goats to feed to the alligators and his wife harvests the seasonings and then marinates them for three years in mason jars in their backyard". im serious- responses like these would not surprise me. i am totally ok with trying new things- and all for supporting small farmers, but sometimes, i just want some plain old carolina pride sausage from publix- is that too much to ask?? every meal does not have to be an adventure for me in order to be satisfying. so i just decided to make some cinnamon rolls last year from a recipe i found from (don't tell my family!) sandra lee's semi-homemade show on food network. they absolutely LOVED them, and i secretly basked in their success even though i didn't mill my own flour to make them or import the sugar from a farm in puerto rico... so they are back on the menu again. even though mom mentioned how delicious they would be with a crushed pecan topping... ugh.

all food issues aside, the thing i look forward to most is the time spent with family. watching everyone gather in the kitchen and cook together all day and share recipes and critiques of foods and wines and restaurants and just talk about life. my family for the most part all have a funny sense of humor. you will get made fun of and prodded for information since we are all nosy, and your thoughts about how cumin can be used as a marinade for whatever will be thoroughly discussed. your dog training methods will be picked apart and i will get ribbed for not believing in "spanking" dogs while house training while meanwhile, my moms cavapoo is off peeing on a rug somewhere even though her method is "clearly" superior... we will talk about everyone's latest interior design choices, and whisper about some cousin's bad wardrobe choice etc. and there will be unceasing chatter and laughter and a beautiful prayer and lots to be thankful for. 

things i'm thankful for this year:

a family that's never dull and full of love

my four legged children and their health and affection

the little barn/farm that i love and hope to never have to live without

the chance to live in a place where i am safe and comfortable

living in a country where i get to be picky about food because there's plenty of it

a great job and the chance to go to school as well

a husband that i love and look forward to making squash casserole for every year

getting to be part of a family that supports and encourages you to do your best in whatever you do 

the generosity of others, both financial and otherwise

traditions both new and old

and lots more...

Happy Thanksgiving!

the police women of dallas

"the police women of dallas" is one of those shows that if you asked on any given day, i may or may not admit to watching- sort of like "dog the bounty hunter"- which is just not really describable in words but totally addictive. so anyway, the other night husband and i were flipping channels and stopped upon this show and one of the police women of dallas was being called out to a code (insert numbers here) which meant that a large group of people were fighting- it turned out to be a large group of "ladies" fighting in the parkling lot of an apartment complex.

this lovely little officer arrived all on her own, before back-up and began to attempt to break up the fight. the women were shouting profanities and spitting at eachother and weave was flying every which a way and lots of words like "respeck" and questions about who "knows" who were being tossed around.... i was scared for this officer. i would much rather try to break up a fight between men than one between a group of enraged women this large!

so after her back-up arrived and she handed out citations to several of the fighters and told them they were getting on her nerves she said the funniest thing i have heard in ages... i literally started coughing from laughing so hard! i can't help but share it and it's probably not nearly as funny if you didnt see the show but here we go!

as she was getting back into her car she said simply, "good Lord Jesus I need a sno-cone!"

and.... scene.

and so it begins!

it seems as soon as fall came, it went. we got about four gorgeous days of fall and then the gray sky and brisk chilly edged breeze of winter blew in. you know they say, "if you don't like the weather in Georgia, wait five minutes", which is partially true and especially confusing when trying to decide what to dress the horses in each morning/evening- or even how to dress yourself! this time of year the back of my car is covered up in boots of every shape and size, jackets, fleeces and t-shirts, because i just never know what i might need! there is my hidden pair of gloves in the console and a trusty flashlight for evening barn chores, since the time change has put us in the dark at 6pm. although i am a summer girl, fall is my second favorite, and i'm feeling a little shorted!

all negativity aside, fall/winter brings the beginning of something else which excites me down to my core and somehow allows me to propel myself from bed at 4am with energy and delight- FOXHUNTING!!!

now anyone who has known me for a Looooong time knows that I have somewhat of a storied history when it comes to the little creature called the fox. in general, i am NOT.A.FAN. of those sketchy little red or gray creatures that look at you like they are deciding whether or not to eat your brain with a side of fava beans. perhaps its because i was attacked by one of the little buggers that had rabies when i was 12- or maybe it's because another rabid one spent two nights torturing me by hanging out just outside of my townhouse in athens before animal control got tired of me calling them 86 times a minute and screaming in a supersonic pitch to come catch it, or maybe it's because while driving home to the river a few weeks ago one of them watched us from the side of the road and then proceeded to CHASE the car for a minute. it's like as a species, they are out to get me. i used to burst into tears every time i saw one, which totally prevented me from participating in a foxhunt, but now, i've decided that if they are going to spend their little lives chasing me for sport- then i will return the favor!

so I have owned Jazz since last December, so almost a year, and from day one I just felt like she really loved being outside of the arena. little did i know her first mommy spent lots of time taking her on trail rides when she had just come off the track and boy did it make a difference for her. she relishes being "out" so i have been thinking that she really might enjoy hunting. because i don't have a trailer at the moment, all of my plans to take her out hound walking and cubbing before the season "formally" begins, were dashed, so i just decided that she has been out enough with me and in the company of other horses that i trust her to at least not try to kill me in the hunt field. i was little worried about the hounds, but she has been around a few dogs and never tried to bowl them over, which was promising so I took a little risk and accepted the invite to attend opening hunt from a dear friend! my goal for the day was simple: "don't make a spectacle of yourself!"

after a long week of work, she was bathed and braided and the night before the hunt i hugged her neck and whispered to her that we were going to have tons of fun and she didn't have to do any dressage but she couldn't kick anyone or anything. she seemed to agree. bright and early my alarm sounded at 3:30am, which doesn't even count as morning- it's just really the middle of the night, but i leapt out of bed and into the shower and i was at the barn by 4:30 to feed the mares and get everything ready for the day. when we pulled into the lovely Bear Creek Farms, it was chilly chilly chilly, but dry and sunny. i tacked her up and as soon as she heard the hounds her ears perked in that direction as if she knew exactly what they were saying. after about 18 circles around the mounting block, i pretty much just jumped in a heap onto her back and she took off trotting towards the kennels. she was going to like this hunting business i think! i turned her back towards the trailer and the rest of our party and she showed me her distaste for that by throwing one of her crow hopping spinning fits RIGHT as who walked by in his bright red coat? of course, one of our masters. the goal of not making a spectacle of myself was on the brink of destruction, but after a very serious growl at her to "quit" from me- she obliged and decided to behave! she was just excited- as was i!

we paraded behind the masters and the hounds up to the breakfast area and the masters spoke and the hounds were blessed. i sat there taking in the scene- the horses that knew exactly what was going on, and those, like mine that could just feel the electricity in the air, the men on the ground dressed in barbour coats and wellies ready to drive the tally-ho wagons behind the hunt, the pony club kids passing out little shots of hounds blood (port/brandy mix), and the steam already rising from the braided necks of all the horses, and the backs of each of us that were mounted. the hounds pranced around expectantly, watching and listening for the master to cast them off to hunt.

we were introduced to the fieldmasters for each flight. a big crowd demanded at least three, and my orginal intention of just hilltopping to introduce her to hunting was quickly changed as she pranced in place and threw her nose in the air over and over to say "let's goooooo mom". i knew keeping her at a pace that could follow the big drafties and the ponies being led just wasn't fair to her. she was pumped- she was trying to tell me that she was ok, and if i would just let her go 2nd flight where the pace was up, but the jumps were optional- that she could be trusted. so i did. her BFF horse, Ember was going 2nd flight as well, and i can only imagine the cacophony of whinnies if we had tried to separate them! again, "don't make a spectacle" echoed in my head. i was nervous like i hadn't been in a long time. what idiotic human takes a first time hunter 2nd flight? on opening hunt? when EVERYONE was there? me. yep. me.

as first flight trotted off towards the woods and we followed behind she was like a coiled spring underneath me- i could feel her energy and i took just a second to close my eyes and breathe out my nerves. heels down, sit up and breathe....

second flight, otherwise known as first flight- part B, was off! we had lots of good trots and canters and several rather exhilarating full out gallops across the open pastures and hay fields. we never lost sight of 1st flight and we cantered past the tally-ho wagoners, then, as if to show off, she took the bit and dropped her back and we were galloping like i never have before- my half halts were futile and i may have been i daresay, muttering an expletive or two, but not because i don't trust her, but just because i didn't want to be the one with the horse that won't rate, apologetically shouting "no brakes!" as you pass your field- which is a no no! thank the Lord, as the field slowed, so did she. after getting over the initial shock of that gallop which is BIG and FAST and unlike any other horse I have ever ridden, i started to smile because really, it was awesome. one of those moments never forgotten; full of adrenaline and the feeling of a blessing that most people never get to experience, much less on a regular basis.

for the rest of the hunt, she was a star. she was bombproof and stood at checks- only her nose flicking to remind me not to forget the rein stops for a running martingale next time, and she was sound and surefooted and smart. she got the idea about going when everyone goes and stopping when everyone stops. she popped over the big log with glee and jumped ditches and crossed water without a second thought. she is one hell of a hunt horse in the making because the has that 'thing' they need- it's a safety and a fifth leg that kicks in when you need it. instead of me riding her, we were just there together and i knew the move she would make before she made it and she read my mind before i gave her the aids. our big flight was full of lots of green horses and inexperienced hunters- we were cut off and passed and bumped into and hounds were running underneath and along as we got the scent of a coyote and they worked the woods we were in. the footing was dodgy sometimes and deep other times and wet and muddy and dry and hard!! it was everything in one day- and nothing overwhelmed her.

as we galloped up a clay trail in the woods, the land changed and became steeply banked with wet Georgia clay on each side- the trail dictated the we be in single file and then out of nowhere, a little horse came up beside us and cut right in front. we were easily at a good hand gallop and there was a crowd behind us too that prevented us from slowing. my mind thought, "there's no where safe for me to put her, we are about to crush a quarter horse!  it was one of those moments when my human brain did NOT know best and many years of riding left me with no good answer. in a split second as all of this was racing through my brain, all i could imagine happening next was us getting pushed sideways into the slippery clay banks on each side of the trail, her slipping and then... i just gave her the reins and she saved my butt- as i was being stupid and panicky she just took one big stride and jumped UP to the top of the big clay bank and rounded the turn and found a spot to parallel park between a big grey and the little quarter horse. that bank was huge and i have no idea how, while at a gallop, she jumped up and moved laterally all at once, kept her footing and kept us safe. all of that happened in probably a total of 5 seconds, but in my mind, it was slow motion. as the field slowed to a trot i rubbed her neck and told her "thank you". i was useless to her and she saved my butt. she has that 'thing' that makes a great horse- a lifetime horse that you can always trust. even when she is crow-hopping and spinning to argue her point with me- i can always trust her.

we finished the day and although i thought after about 30 miles she might be tired, we galloped (she decided to) across the polo field back to the trailers and when i turned her out at home she trotted off while flipping her head and celebrated herself with tail flagged to take a tour of her pasture and find a suitable spot to roll.

jazz has a boo boo

and not of the halloween sort of boo :(
poor little pony
i will be cleaning this and caring for it incessantly this week! it's in a tricky spot to keep clean and free of debris and i don't want her hoof to get infected!
she and ember are in today, out of the rain and because of her boo boo. she is not going to like being in for long! wish me luck!

Tuesdays with Jazzy

The chance to ride seems elusive lately! Whether it be work or school or home life or even barn chores getting in the way, I absolutely relish my three little rides a week right now. The weekends have been crazy lately and this coming weekend will make three in row out of town!

My work schedule rotates as follows, one week I work Mon, Tues, Fri and then next week I work Wed, Thurs, Fri. Back and forth... So my "off" days are filled with errands and chores and grocery shopping etc. but also are my barn days. This past Tuesday I went out to the barn about ten in the morning after getting some house cleaning done- which is torture for me- I don't understand why I would rather clean up horse/chicken poop than fold laundry and I know it doesn't make sense, but anyway, I bribed myself to do housework with the promise of a barn afternoon.

The weather was gorgeous. One of those fall days that literally makes you feel guilty if you spend it inside. When I arrived and rolled down the windows to say hello to the mares as I drove down the driveway, they trotted to the gate to greet me- which makes me feel very special. Jazz is NOT a super affectionate mare. Geldings tend to be more affectionate, and Ember is pretty affectionate as far as mares go, but Jazz distributes her love as only she sees fit. Today she immediately lifted her head at the sound of my voice and trotted to the gate to greet me with Ember following behind- so there my therapy began.

I know I don't have human children, but I absolutely do know how amazing it feels to be loved by another being. The fact that Jazz is rather picky about who she loves and how she shows it makes me feel even more special. When I first got her, I waited MONTHS to hear her nicker at me when I approached her. She still doesn't do it regularly, but her and I have a connection and she has funny ways of whispering her affection.

So I let the mares into the small paddock area around the barn to eat the "good grass" while I cleaned out stalls and tended to the chickens. Both of them immediately headed towards the hay storage because they are lazy and opportunistic and yummy hay is so much easier to eat than actually having to make the effort to graze! Busted...

I let the chickens out and marveled for a moment at how big they are getting. A mere six weeks ago, they were tiny tiny little balls of fuzz that we had to hand feed and now they are big and pretty and full of personality. They have been handled daily since hatching so they are very friendly and anyone who tells you chickens don't have personalities doesn't have chickens! They are quite individual, some are adventurous and some are shy, some are cuddly and some standoffish. Now that they are teenagers, they are testing their wings out and when I let them out they scurry out of the pen and flap and fly a few feet before finding a butterfly to chase or a yummy bug to eat. They also have started following me around- which is cute and also a little annoying. They usually just follow me outside, but today they were following me into the stalls and getting under the wheelbarrow and I even misted a few of them with the water hose- much to their delight it turns out!

We still have to thin our flock and as soon as we know exactly who are roosters, we will have to give them away or sell them- and I am already preparing myself for this. Buddha is def. a rooster- and has a bit of a tude and is literally the ugliest chicken I have EVER seen. He gets uglier by the day! I'm pretty sure Goldilocks is a rooster as well because he practices cocka-doodle-dooing even though no sound comes out. That would leave us with six- which is a pretty reasonable number, so I'm praying those are the only two roosters! See buddha- the ugly one front and center:

Back to Tuesday... after the chickens were out playing and the mares were munching on hay, I went about my chores. Jazz came in her stall for a few minutes to hang out with me and Ember inspected the chickens as always. I groomed Jazz as she ate and was proud that she's getting really good about tolerating all my fussing over her while she eats. She used to spin circles to avoid being brushed but I stopped currying her and she's much more into the grooming now. Grooming a horse is a relaxing process. I know every part of her and it's nice to know that she's ok and healthy and even her funky fungus on her cannon bones is going away. She turned to me and flapped her lips along my shoulder and breathed that big sigh out- which means she's relaxed and happy- as was I. The chickens threatened to come in her stall with us, but no one was brave enough to come in with the big horse for their dust baths. Ember stood outside the barn door softly nickering to Jazz to make sure she wasn't planning on going anywhere. After I finished doing water buckets and shavings and hay and cleaning the chicken pen I decided to ride. I put Jazz in the cross ties and Ember put herself in her stall so I closed her stall guard to keep her in while we rode.

*Disclaimer- Riding alone is not a great idea, let me just throw that out there. I do it often because it's a necessity and I also am very cautious. I wear a helmet, proper boots, gloves etc. EVERY time I ride. I check my tack before and after every ride- it's just second nature. I do it to my friends too and if I ever come ride with you or watch you ride I will check your tack and fix your keepers and probably look at the billets on your saddle- I don't even realize I'm doing it. So I feel fairly confident that I won't faceplant into the pasture due to some tack malfunction. Horses are inherently unpredictable but not inherently mean, and after riding for a long time, especially the same horse, you begin to learn to feel their mood through body language. Horses often give a rider AMPLE warning cues before they act naughty.*

I know Jazz well and I know exactly what she does with her body before she bucks (she shortens her neck and stride and coils her hind end underneath me) and often before she decides to increase our pace (hollows out her neck and stiffens her shoulders). So I feel FAIRLY confident that if she does misbehave, I am capable of handling it. So I ride alone, and even though I wouldn't suggest it, there is something about the feeling of just you and your horse that is peaceful and exhilarating. We birdwatch and I talk to her and she flicks her ears around alerting me to the animals and sights around us that I don't notice like she does. She tends to know my moods and she knew Tuesday that I needed a good gallop. After some trot serpentines and nice canter work from her, she picked up a canter and pricked her ears and said "let's go mom". So I indulged her and just sat in two point and grabbed some mane and let her go- as her back stretches and drops into the gallop, her neck lengthens and those ears are confidently pricked, but still flick back to listen to me. We did a quick lap around the pasture and ended our ride with a long walk. Both of us breathing audibly. I dropped my stirrups and lengthened my reins and just enjoyed the weather and the breeze and the sweet smell of horse and grass and closed my eyes for a minute. As I reached down to pat her neck she headed back to the gate looking forward to dinner and joining Ember in the barn.

I untacked her in the aisle crossties and she stood still without being tied, rubbing her head on me as I walked by asking for a scratch and a treat. I whispered to her that I loved her and thanked her for a great ride and always taking care of me. She put her head on my chest and paused for a moment.

You can't pay for therapy like that. Between the cooing and chirping of happy chickens, and the sights and sounds of the barn, and the feel of a horse galloping beneath you- there just isn't anything better. Even with the tremendous amount of work the barn requires, I always leave there relaxed and refreshed, and thankful for the opportunity to enjoy a simple Tuesday afternoon- picking up poop and riding my horse.

catching up

Wow- what a busy fall! After the fabulous AEC's weekend, it seems like everything has just been a blur of activity! Still waiting on that fall weather though since it's about 86 degrees F outside today, but I did already get out some of the fall decor for the house and do the fall table settings. I need to re-vamp my pumpkin topiary that I made last year as it got damaged in the attic and change the bed linens for fall- but it's still too warm to put up the summer comforter!

Ryan and i have been busy almost every weekend and i have completely forgotten what it's like to sleep past seven a.m.- sometimes being a grown-up is no fun!

The doggies are doing well and I sent a DNA test off in early September to see if we could get a better clue as to Doodle's breed identity. We always said she was lab/weimeraner and boy were we surprised to get the results back! Turns out, she is (in order of greatest to least percentage): Labrador, Rottweiler, Mastiff, Greyhound! She of course just looks like a ginormous lab with a super long and powerful tail that we have nicknamed the "weapon of mass destruction". That tail is responsible for a myriad of broken glasses and candles and the reason I didn't even bother to get a coffee table for years! Finally, a dear friend from Savannah who was redoing her house showed us a coffee table she was getting rid of and we brought it back to the house where it looks great! I used the last of our Pottery Barn store credits (still had them left over from the wedding!) and got a great wrought iron candle holder that has proven to be "tail proof" since it's so heavy! I tell you what- toddlers have nothing in the destructive department when matched against Doodle and Rylie Boo! Our house is super dog proof now and pretty much everything we own is anchored into place somehow. It's funny to think about how many of my interior design decisions are based on the four-legged children! I think I could seriously host a show on HGTV about pet friendly and safe interior design for those of us that refuse to make our houses LOOK like dogs live there.

I planted the outside garden for fall and decided to do deep purple and white pansies against flowering kale- the green leaves with the purple veins. Ordinarily I plant based on what is indigenous, drought hardy and edible, but I cheated a little this year since the pansies aren't indigenous. The kale is edible, although too pretty to eat and the pansies are cold hardy and look pretty on a salad plate- so I let them in the garden. Plus- they are cheap and easy and I was going for effortless this year. Rylie Boo subsequently dug up most of the pansies while I was on the phone the other day and after threatening her with euthanasia, i planted them again and all but one seems to be ok.

It's almost time to bring all the succulents in my container garden in for the winter which is a huge pain, but some of them have gotten really big and pretty over the summer and I HATE to see them get cold and mushy in winter and lose them. I have a ton of extras right now because the pots are literally overflowing so if anyone wants to start a succulent garden- let me know and I will send some starters! They are really fun to grow! My herb garden has gone by the wayside except for the cilantro and lemon thyme. The basil kicked the bucket early this year with some sort of brown creeping wilty disease and the yellow tomatoes got too wet and the roots rotted which was sad because I was looking forward to those!
Oh well, I've learned for next year!

As far as the biggest member of the four-legged family is concerned. She is doing well. She could be doing fabulously, except for that she has gotten more time off than I care to admit lately. School is very much demanding this semester since Anatomy II is basically insane and my family violence class is requiring lots of research and paper writing. If there were a degree in procrastination, I would have a PHD, so waiting until the last minute to do everything like blogging for example, overwhelms me a bit lately and then I spend about four nights in a row playing catch up and getting no sleep! Awesome right? What good habits!

Back to Jazz, when i do get to ride her, she is amazing and forgiving of my inconsistent schedule. We did a hunter pace recently down at Bear Creek Farm in Moreland, Ga and she was great. The next week we schooled cross country and Chattahoochee Hills and that was lots of fun. She made her disdain for one particular jump abundantly clear, but thanks to my lovely trainer, she changed her mind later! She is great in water and off/on banks. She also doesn't mind ditches, although I didn't find one that doesn't seem too imposing at Chatt Hills- she schooled the Poplar Place Farm one with no issue. As far as flat work goes, we are looking for a dressage trainer. We miss our old one very much but he won't make the trek to the new barn and since we have no trailer- alas we are stuck there. There is a trainer close by which might work out, I just haven't had the time to go watch her teach/ride and after all the crazies I have met in the past, I am wary of anyone new before I check them out! Canter work is our main priority right now. We had a few weeks where she started 'rooting' at me in transitions and when I wanted a stronger contact and she was also missing her leads- which was strange. So I had her teeth looked at and floated and voila! the rooting went away overnight. There's no telling when the last time she had dental work was- on the track maybe? She tolerated it but OMG she makes the most human faces sometimes and was very clear that she was "over" having someone stick their entire arm and a rasp in her mouth! Her little attitude is hilarious though and something I appreciate about her even though it's sometimes tough to deal with. She is VERY, let me say, expressive and even though her self expression is sometimes totally naughty, it's clear that this mare is intelligent and athletic and that, to me, is priceless.

Outside of husband and our little four-legged children family there have been some interesting developments! My talented brother who was executive chef at a little place called Ziba's- had a large disagreement with the super flaky/sketchy/unprofessional owner and left. I am proud of him for sticking to his beliefs and refusing to cook crap food for no money so he immediately got snatched up by the folks over at CRAFT on Peachtree. CRAFT is a Tom Collichio restaurant so I imagine he's learning a ton about the industry there. He is working with another chef at the grill at CRAFTBAR downstairs (the upstairs is more formal) and he is turning out some great dishes and covering as many tables as the upstairs where there are 8 chefs on the line. Go Landon!
We went the other night and he sent us some delectable fried quail as a starter. The skin was perfectly crisp and there was almost a sweetness and smokiness to it along with that salty crunch of the breading. Then we had my favorite- roasted brussels sprouts with bacon and some conglomeration of herbs I couldn't identify. The pork belly dish is sinful and delicious and although I would never order it at a table full of women who will pretend that it's all fat and they just. cant. eat it... it's mouthwatering. Then he sent sweetbreads from the upstairs menu and although I have enjoyed them before when they were fried, the texture and prep on these was more than I could handle since we had just finished studying all the functions of the thymus in anatomy. It's just hard to eat something you've dissected in lab class! Mom got the foie gras, and although still a organ meat, that one I could handle! It came with apples and so I got a bit of the foie and bit of the apple and added a bite of the brussels sprouts and I was set. It was awesome.
As if the scenery on my table wasn't delicious enough, in walks Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman with his cute wife and little girl and I was honestly a bit starstruck. I am not a celebrity obsessed twenty something at all and the likes of popsugar and perezhilton don't do much to keep my attention- unless Lindsay Lohan gets arrested- because that's hilarious, but let me tell you what, I have always had a thing for Ryan Reynolds and he is even better looking in person! What a lucky woman Charlize Theron is! If I had consumed about two more glasses of champagne he might have gotten a hug! But since I have always had ZERO ability to flirt and often become speechless in the presence of those I find extraordinarily attractive, (you should have seen me try to muster out a hello to William Fox-Pitt) I sat quietly at my table and just stared at him like a total creepster! Luckily for me, he couldn't see me looking at him! Again, I'm proud of Landon for turning out food that movie stars who are in town will come to eat twice in one week!

Mom is currently on crutches with a broken ankle and just got rid of her hot pink cast. She fell off her wedge flip-flop and subsequently the "circle of trust" which is what we call the brick patio at their house trying to play with her dog (Remy- the standard poodle) so she has been hobbling around for weeks now. They are building an addition on the house too and trying to pack it up while she's on crutches so things are crazy at home. I drove in last weekend to find a red clay hole that a Tahoe could fit in at the front of the house and then was greeted by Bella (moms Cavapoo) who was dyed the color of red clay- so I can only imagine how she came to be that color and how much fun it is to watch a clay covered dog run into the house when you are stuck on crutches and can't catch her before she tracks in mud and leaves all over the place. An old friend aptly nicknamed my parents Bob and Martha as in Bob Vila and Martha Stewart and mom especially lives up to that stereotype. Sometimes she even makes Martha Stewart look lazy and laid back so being on crutches and not in control of her domain is bound to be stressful! I LOVE my mother more than anything in this world and if you ever need something done quickly, efficiently, beautifully and correctly- she is your woman. But I think I would rather climb mount everest in a bikini than be nurse/organizer/packer/dog wrangler (which is what dad is doing) to my mom- cuz she runs a tight ship! She has even taught herself to drive left-footed which is scary, but further explains her inability to keep still!

So that about wraps up the last two months- oh- except for that my beloved Volkswagen CC is no more. I didn't need the sports car speed and I do need cargo room! The CC could only fit about 4 bags of Seminole horse feed in the back seat and two bags of Equine Pine in the trunk and Ryan threatened to kill me if I tried to put hay in there- so I gave it up. I was going to get a truck and had been dreaming of white F-150's with matching white horse trailers in tow, but man- trucks are more expensive than I'd bargained for, so I got a very useful white Ford Edge- which is a little SUV. I am going to wait a few years for the truck and hope that maybe Ryan will get one instead so I don't have to drive it every day. I drive a TON of miles a week so I need something more fuel efficient than a truck- unless of course I can charm some Saudi Prince with an oil well and preferably a Thoroughbred breeding farm into giving me rights to them both.
That plan seems unlikely at best so the Edge will do just fine for now!

Now- for a little fashion pet peeve. OK- I know the equestrian look is in and everyone everywhere is shimmying their legs- whether twiggy or cankle-y into a pair of riding boot look-a-likes. Now those of you who know me well, know that I used to be a faithful disciple of J.Crew but have fallen off the back of their antique Range Rover complete with handmade pic-nic set since they have apparently forgotten the value of the PB&J and switched to a caviar only diet. I'm just plain MAD that the quality and tailoring of their clothes/shoes/jewelry has become truly laughable, while their prices have almost tripled on everything they sell. The first strike for me, was when their jeans started falling apart after one season of regular wear and the sizing became inconsistent, the second strike was when I bought my second pair of their suede driving mocs and the sole fell OFF after I stepped in a puddle with them on, the third strike was today and let me tell you it's a big one! I was surfing for boots when a picture of some Aigle jumping boots with brown tops popped up. J.CREW is selling Aigle jumping boots as fashion boots which is funny because they are hideously uncomfortable but then I noticed they were marketing brown topped boots to women! What?!! Women DO NOT wear brown topped boots. Men wear them! Women ONLY wear them as part of a hunt staff uniform and even that is rare since women traditionally wear patent topped boots. So Dear J.CREW, before you decide to try to steal something that is equestrian looking for the sake of fashion- please do your research. Maybe the fact that those boots only really come in men's sizes when you order them from Aigle is a clue?
Honestly, I'm sure some innocent little fashionista is purchasing these- and when she sports them with her outfit for steeplechase- everyone is going to make fun of her. Well at least everyone who has any clue about horses is going to laugh at her because wearing those boots is about as appropriate as a man wearing a bounce minimizing sports bra during a a sand volleyball game.

Cheers for fall and cooler weather and appropriate steeplechase footwear! E.

Be VERY afraid....

(cue music from JAWS just before attack in your head....)

Two things everyone should be scared about- oh wait, maybe just two things I am scared about... the American Eventing Championships and polish chickens. Yep thats it. I mean, why worry about the economy, politics, health care, the meaning of life, paying bills and finding a suitable career when you can distract yourself by worrying about the AEC's and chickens? That's my view on things. I am in fact, such an efficient procrastinator that instead of worrying about things that actually matter- I can create OTHER things to worry about first! Should I put that on a resume?

Anyway.

Why the American Eventing Championships? Well, here's a little background. Deep in the woods near Fairburn, GA is a gorgeous farm owned by eventing olympian Carl Bouckaert called Chattahoochee Hills Eventing or Bouckaert Farm.

This farm is hosting the AEC's this year and I have somehow volunteered myself to work there. I did this way back in January and have been working as the Chief Cross Country Fence Judge all season long. That very long title is really just code for "the one who makes sure the fence judges have everything they need and don't say anything crazy on the radio and is the liaison between them and management" There are also other duties like making packets and checking over course maps and making sure riders know where to go and helping catch loose horses etc. So at the other events this year all went well. I drove around in my spiffy, yet painfully slow little golf cart and juggled a few radios and everyone got their job done and had some fun watching great rides! Maybe that's because I am very well trained and highly efficient- or maybe it's because there were somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 riders at the other shows. Now, at the AEC's there are 700ish riders! (Cue JAWS music again) ummmmm OMG? 700? What? Yes, not kidding.

This farm is gorgeous and well manicured and well staffed but that amount of horses and riders- plus sponsors, spectators, staff, trainers, grooms, dogs (which everyone brings, but that's another blog) is a TON of mammals in one area. I am quite afraid of how this is all going to come together and though I have great faith in the staff and volunteers I am working with- the logistics of how this is all going to flow is frightening. We will of course be running multiple phases simultaneously and that means there are potentially HUNDREDS of riders mounted and traveling to/from barns and competition areas any given time. I'm envisioning I-285 on a Monday morning in the rain, but with horses AND cars AND golf carts AND people all at the same time. Are you sweating yet?

This all goes down Sept. 9-12 so pray for me and pray that all the horses and riders stay safe and that there is no 'road rage" of any sort anywhere in the vicinity. Pray that the competitors are patient and respectful to the volunteers and that they remember they are working their butts off out of the kindness of their hearts. Pray that the volunteers and staff remember that the competitors worked SUPER hard to get themselves and their horses there and expended and great deal of money in doing so. An atmosphere of patience, respect, and good clean competition is my wish for the weekend! So no more worrying for me now that it's all off my chest... on to the chickens!

Have you ever seen a polish chicken? Well here are a couple for your viewing pleasure:





We will have 25 chicks arriving at the farm next week- they are set to hatch next Wednedsay and will be overnighted to us as soon as they are vaccinated. I have been waiting for them for a week already and I feel like it's been a year. So maybe I will admit I have an overwhelming maternal/nurturing instinct- hence my job as a nanny and my studies to become a nurse and my love of animals- although it hasn't yet made me want to have children of my own. I am already almost brought to tears at the idea of any of the chicks not surviving the trip or getting eaten by predators once they are on the farm. Needless to say, these are not meat chickens, they are for laying eggs and as a farm fashion accessory only but already my level of worry over them is a little extreme. Husband had to tell me to stop talking about them already so I turned to the blog. I am realistically not knowledgeable enough to raise 25 chicks so I have been researching the topic relentlessly- hopefully to ease my worry, but chickens are a pretty vast topic so it hasn't worked yet! My next blog will undoubtedly be chicken introductions and pictures- so stay tuned! If you want some eggs- you know where to find me.