Virtual Brush Box

Awareness of the outside world. T-shirt, “Harriet Led, so Rosa could sit, so Ruby could walk, so Kamala could run, so Ketanji could rule.” From LA Blue Dot in GA, @namwella on Balloon Juice: Sunday Morning Open Thread, Laurie, November 5, 2023.

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New feets. Women’s Muck Muckster ll Slip-on Shoes from Duluth Trading Company. For morning horse walks so I do not get my toes soaked with dew, nor have to stomp about in rubber boots.

While I was there, winter hat, gloves, wool socks, & leggings (fingers? the pile is sitting on a store display and I am keeping it from slipping off). Props to Duluth for pockets in the leggings. Actual pockets that can hold things, not sad excuses for decoration. Quickly becoming a fan of the Duluth aesthetic. [I Am Vast, pants], [Farm vs Outdoor, coat]

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Christmas?! Already?!?! Over the weekend, I noticed a massive uptick in red & green commercials and movies. I guess holiday season is now the day after Halloween rather than the day after Thanksgiving. November must be so pissed, A Bitter November. A repeat link from last year, but on point. [The Non-Illustrated Month, November]

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The National Academy Championship Horse Show this year was helmet positive. In Adult WT, 6 of 7 riders wore helmets. In Adult WTC, 4 of 5 riders had helmets. All the academy kids worn helmets. It was required. Adults were highly encouraged.

“HEADGEAR: Safety helmets are the ONLY acceptable headgear. ASTM/SEI Certified helmets are required for children age 17 and under when mounted. Helmets are highly encouraged for all riders.” NACHS: Attire

Woot!

What a change from when I rode in 2014, less than 10 years ago. That year, of the 7 riders in Adult WTC, I was the only one wearing a helmet. I was trailing the pack. It was suggested that my look might go over better without a large, dark blob enveloping my head. To her credit, Coach Courtney didn’t even bother to suggested this to me. We changed my look a different way. [Show Report]

At this year’s show, the suit riders in the Alpha class still wore the tradition saddle seat derby. I don’t know how this correlates with the above rule. Oh well. I’ll take the progress on offer.

Props to EventMixLive for the livestream of National Academy.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. NPR: These American birds and dozens more will be renamed, to remove human monikers, Boyce, November 1, 2023.

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Back when Mathilda was elderly, I spent many months, maybe over a year, serving lunch. That meant I had to be around here at mid-day. When I was first at Stepping Stone, I had to be done by 1 in order to come home to serve lunch.

Deja vu all over again.

Both Rodney and Milton get lunch.

Rodney gets put up. They both eat. Sometimes Rodney stays in until dinner. Sometimes he comes out. Depends how much napping he feels like doing.

Rodney gets lunch because, except for a brief period, he’s always been hard to keep weight on. He goes in the stall because otherwise Milton eats all his hay.

Milton is on a diet. Even more so than usual. We think part of his crankiness might be low-grade stomach discomfort from over-eating. (Shrug. It’s a theory. We’ve tried everything else.) Since he will not self-regulate, we make sure he only has access to the amount of hay on his meal plan. No eating of Rodney’s leftovers. He also gets hay split into three servings under the theory of little and often.

One side effect of this is a very, very clean floor in the run-in shed. Milton tracks down every stray wisp of hay.

Both seem to be doing well with this regimen. Rodney has some weight. Milton does not. Milton might (???) be in a better mood. Enough progress that we will stay with it for the foreseeable future.

Rodney is elderly enough that one doesn’t feel that one is signing on to do this forever.

Milton is 15. This could go on for a while.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Young John Larriva. Artist recommendation from A, who knows more about art than I do. (Granted, this is not a high bar.)

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[Fractal Alphabet]

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. NYPL: Honoring Indigenous Peoples: 20 Recommended Reads, Baumann, 2020.

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First Saturday of the Month. State of the Blog. Ticking along. Nothing profound to say. [Archives]

Instead, things for you to read and folks talking about things for you to read.

A Blog About Clothes

Modern Girl, Vintage Style. A short blog about sewing vintage clothing. Author also writes Thoughtful Equestrian, wherein she has recently survived a long road to debut at Third level!

The joys of the Internet, where you get invested in the achievements of strangers, TE: Third.

Blogs About Books

Several blogs from people who write about books, weighted heavily towards science fiction & fantasy. Listed reverse alphabetically, because reasons. [A-list, note on ordering]

Tor.com: Reading the Weird. Subtitle, Each week, authors Ruthanna Emrys and Anne M. Pillsworth get girl cooties all over weird fiction, cosmic horror, and Lovecraftiana.

Tor.com: Jo Walton Reads. Description, what it says on the box.

Novel Gazing Redux. Subtitle, Speculative Fiction and Randomness.

The Land of Nowhere. Subtitle, half-open intervals. Description, the 20 most recent entries are Wednesday Books with one non-book post.

Gambits and Drafts

Alter S. Reiss. Subtitle, creating Critical Essays. Description, on Patreon with a Join For Free option.

A book post from a general blog, js_thrill: Future is Female (volume 1) Retrospective Thoughts.

Update. Else-wheres-whens-whys. “Hello! I’m Dylan, a reader, writer, and sometime editor of fiction and poetry, particularly of the SFF and experimental varieties.” EWWW: About

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside horse world. Nationals this weekend. Living 50 Plus: Holding the Reins: Horse show created by Morgan County woman has raised $755,000 for St. Jude’s, August 10, 2023. [Nationals I Have Known], [Nationals I Have Known, As Seen From A Cart]

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Walking – New Place

1.24 mile walk
Patriot Park
Homewood AL, USA
October 2023

Walking track is 0.3 mi & 500 steps. Pacer: Patriot Park

Daily walks continue with the horses in the morning. [The Morning Constitutional], [Sunrise Stats]

Walking – Monthly 5K

First 5K since Sulky Sprint in July. [Two New Places]

Because I managed to miss 5K walks in August & September, I went to a local park for an easy stroll on a flat, paved walking track. Wasn’t a piece of cake. It was more difficult getting started than I was expecting. The first mile was the hardest. The third mile was the easiest. By then it was downhill, so to speak.

Signed up for a virtual medal as motivation. I will count each 5K toward the total. Adds another layer of incentive to get out and walk the 5K each month. I chose NY Challenge with Conqueror Challenge. If the question is when will I get back to NYC, the answer is not soon. [Mood On Monday, When?]

Biking

Once. A short proof-of-concept ride. This is my bicycle. This is how I make it go. Checkmark.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. DST. Fall back Sunday morning. Various factoids, timeanddate: What Is Daylight Saving Time? Buckle and Hocken. “When Germany first set the clocks forward on April 30, 1916, it became the first country in the world to use DST on a national level. However, the town of Thunder Bay in Ontario, Canada implemented DST as far back as 1908.” ibid.

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Updated Now Page

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November 2023

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Last Month [Q&A, State of the Now]

Onwards!
Katherine