Virtual Brush Box

Awareness of the outside world. YouTube, Obama Foundation: President Obama’s Full Remarks at the Obama Presidential Center Grand Opening Ceremony. In talking about America’s 250th, he does an excellent job celebrating the founding of the United States as an experiment in democracy while also acknowledging that we have not live up to the promise.

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What do you remember?

I hereby invite fellow bloggers above a certain age to tell us about what they have seen over the years.

It could be a small thing. The fact that checks came with the year partially preprinted, i.e. 19_____.

It could be a big thing. In the early 1990s, I was working at a book store that supplied books to local universities. One term, Marx was required reading for Political Science classes. Next term, Marx was being read in History classes.

There is nothing special about my life, other than that every life is special. I’m not talking about socially significant events that get recorded in history books. I want to hear the things that we used to consider normal that have since disappeared. Or, perhaps how historically significant events impacted your life.

Everyone has a story to tell.

What have you seen?

Previous Posts

[Witness to History, Sociology in Joke Form, Non-Fiction]

[Witness To History, Show Memories]

[Witness To History, Years Ago In The Emergency Room, With Apologies]

“Before gay marriage, I was able to quip, ‘It’s okay, my husband can tell the difference.’ The implication being that if I had a husband, I must therefore be a wife.” [Hello Sir]

‘There used to be a place to show Thoroughbreds. It was called the hunter industry.” [Get Off My Lawn, And Take Your Warmblood With You]

[Problems That Younger Riders Have Never Had To Worry About, aka The Boot Jack List]

[Digital Killed the Party]

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Short conversation with photographer Shaun Botterill. The Guardian: From developing photos in a toilet to a viral Messi shot: 40 years shooting the World Cup – video, Hosted by Carly Earl, 30 Jun 2026.

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Monthly 5K

Beeswax Creek comes in from the left to join the Coosa River, June 2026.

The road from the parking lot/boat launch to the point is paved but closed to cars, flat, mostly straight, and shaded. Mentally excellent. Superior strolling characteristics. Physically, my joints remind me that I don’t see tarmac much these days.

Took trail loop on last half mile for variety. Surprisingly hotter on path. Close? I had to slow down to watch my footing? Small twiddle at end to complete mileage. I thought about just letting it go at 2.9 miles. But. Well.

Map & numbers from Strava.

Other Activities & Overall Health

Swim, yes. Not often, but did occur.

Biking, no. Wrist ready. Did not have suitable day. Why wrist for biking? That’s the hand that operates the brake. [Doctor’s Appointment, Wrist Update]

Middle of the month taken out by suspected diverticulitis flare. Not too bad, but it killed my energy.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Patreon, this ecommerce life: “History’s greatest thinkers… with AI”.

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Went to look at a horse.

Not our next horse.

Points for trying?

Small progress. Horse was a Standardbred. Did not dissuade us from thinking that the breed would fit in well around here.

Small downside. Word tangle. When I reach for the word STANDARDbred, half the time my brain retrieves SADDLEbred. If I had both in my life? Never get it straight. As it is, I have to concentrate when I want “sidesaddle” instead of “saddle seat”.

Onwards!
Katherine

World Cup Wednesday. Mascot Hall of Fame: FIFA Mascots – 1966 -2026.

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Goldy
Rosewood Stables
27 June 2026

Item one. “Wrists are fabulous.”

Item two. Coach Deana keeps telling me to change things about how Goldy is going. As if I have any control over my reality. At best, I get a vote.

Item three. Learned my lesson last week and got Goldy in gear on the flat. Nice forward canter. I was almost willing to jump at that speed. On Goldy. Over a low fence. Almost. But still, progress.

The only bobble was that Goldy did not get the “almost” memo. When we started jumping I had generated more horse than I was ready to deal with. Goldy kindly dropped it down a gear. Not all the way back to grandma mode! Inner hunter rather than inner jumper. What a star.

Overall. Under the weather the week before. Canceled Thursday lesson. On Saturday, did better than I expected. Had energy once I was in the saddle.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. ANN: Vietnam’s mountainous communes record zero maternal deaths after four years of intervention, March 25, 2026, Hat tip to G.

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{Backstory. Each morning, people & horses go on a unmounted, off-lead team walk in the pasture.}

Temps over 90 degrees all week, with worse humidity. We have entered the time of year when we walk first thing in the morning or not at all.

Since other barn minion has to report to work, walking in the morning is always the case during the week. Weekend protocol varies. We’ll go through phases when we stick with a routine and get up early regardless of the day. Other times, we have been known to sleep in on the weekends. Relatively speaking. Feed time approacheth.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. NASA: Fly with Nancy Grace Roman. Add your name to the NGR Telescope. Deadline 12 July 2026. Launches 30 August 2026. Am I a sucker for a well-done PR campaign? Absolutely. [Welcome Mat/No Welcome Mat]

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Back in September, I said the horses were getting different feeds, despite both of them being Thoroughbreds. [Feeding The Same Breed]

As of now, the feeds have diverged even further.

Milton gets three types of pellets: Purina Equine Senior, Outlast, and a local alfalfa pellet. He gets no grain. None. Nada. “The ears were earier. The kicks were kickier.” [Feeding]

Rodney gets grain, not pellets. He has never done well on dense the little bits of nutrition. At least, he gets as few pellets as we can manage. Even this grain has a pellet component.

Mostly I feed on auto-pilot. This one gets this. That one gets that. Occasionally, I look at the buckets and am amazed how diametrically opposed their meals are.

The rest of the roster, while I’m at it.

Milton: tumeric supplement, Outlast, as mentioned [Weighty Considerations]

Both: beet pulp, yeast, salt.

Why so many additions? From my pellet rant. “Everything in the English world is tuned to Warmblood these days … Why shouldn’t this apply to feed? Therefore, we are having to retune our feed back to Thoroughbred.” [Feeds and Breeds]

Onwards!
Katherine

Art of the outside world. Artst: 10 Most Famous Square Paintings.

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Dunno if this is of interest to anyone else, but I am fascinated.

First row. Reduce square by 50%. Place side by side. Fill in from there. Repeat, adjusting for 1/2 squares.

Second row, Reduce square by 50%, Place in corners. Repeat.

Third row is first row turned 90o.

What I find interesting is how differently the eye – at least my eye – takes in the panels in column two. In the second boxes of the first & third rows, I see a two-toned square. The middle box in that column is all about four blue squares. The differences are there in column three, but less noticeable. By column four, I need to search for the differences.

Also, interesting. Originally, this was just going to be one set of four panels. Since I was rough drafting with pen & paper (I do occasionally), my first iteration of the second square was by drawing an X from corner to corner, then filing in the result. An X is the easiest way to manually divide up a square. Had I been on the computer, I would have reduced the square by 50 and duplicated it, as in the second row, and then left it at that. I would never have realized how much the results vary between the two methods.

Same gallery, with edges around the boxes. Not as much effect as in prior design. [Nine Patch Redux]

Inspiration, “Draw your first panel.” DAY 1: FOUR-PANEL JUMP START!

Given the color choice, this was probably drawn around the same time as previous blue squares in 2024. The original plan for today did not eventuate, so I called up one from the vault. [Nine Patch Redux]

Same prompt as used in 2026. This four-panel must be the one I couldn’t remember over on that post. [Sunrise Sunset Cartoon]

Onwards!
Katherine