We Are All In This Together

Lettering & Graphic Design

 
Update. The Disappearing Post. Short Version. Scheduled two by mistake. Removed one. Saved for later. Long version. Been a while since I’ve had a scheduling error. I guess I was due. Was having trouble with this design, see first attempt, below. Since it was getting late in the week, I scheduled a reserve post to go in this space. Then I came up with this approach. Scheduled this post. Forgot about the other one. Didn’t realize until I saw the email message. I “Follow by Email” so I can see what goes out. Good thing in this case. Took the post down. Put it back in the reserve pile. Will use. At that point, those signed up by email will get notified again. Or maybe not. We’ll all find out together. Sorry for any confusion.
~~~

 
My version of an assignment by calligrapher Carol DuBosch, “I challenged my students to create a square page with the mantra: We are all in this together.” Student work Instagram post.

See also this booklet for an amazing example of creativity with available materials.

DuBosch is the author (painter? creator?) of the previously mentioned The Calligraphic Coronavirus Chronicles [Throw Ink At It].

Process Notes. Computer fonts rather than originally drawn letters. Noticed the “square page” requirement as I scheduled the post. Ooops. My contribution was choice of fonts, colors, & spacing. Wanted to use three complimentary colors. The combination of blue, red, & yellow have their own meaning on this blog [An Attempt To Freeze Time]. So, I went with purple, orange, & green. My first attempt was an exercise in horizontal kerning. I pushed in the letters of the first and last words. The intent was closeness. The result was claustrophobic.

 

 

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott

Moonrats, Fiction Fragment

Words

 
Team Leader: Do you know what a Lunar Liaison does?

Disgruntled Team Member: Yeah, she watches the machinery and obsesses about how much I shit.

Team Leader: “The shitting oversight is so that your colon doesn’t shut down the first time it has to process a steak in earth gravity. But that’s not what I meant. Do you understand her position?

Disgruntled Team Member: Yeah. We pay her. I saw the grant budget. Good wages for a chef.

Team Leader: How have you lived on the moon this long without having a clue?

Disgruntled Team Member starts to object. Is interrupted.

Team Leader: Do you do know that the Lunar Liaison has final authority in any project?

Disgruntled Team Member looks doubtfully at the slight woman in black seated across the table. Her expression is hidden by a pair of dark sunglasses. On the table between the three of them them rests a single screw.

Disgruntled Team Member: Her?

Team Leader: Her. If she says this project is unsafe, we are done. It’s over. We pack up and go back to Armstrong Base. No recourse. End of story. Experiments abandoned. Money forfeit. Good luck getting another lab slot after that.

Pauses. Continues.

Team Leader: As far as you are concerned, she is God. She wants us to drop everything to spend the day looking for the source of that screw, we say ‘Yes, Ma’am. Where do you want me to start?’

Disgruntled Team Member pouts: It’s so tiny.

Team Leader: Sure, it’s tiny. Maybe it fell off the back of a video game. Maybe it holds the life support backpack to your spacesuit. Do you want to take that risk?

Woman in black stirs. Starts to speak. Voice is so soft both listeners have to lean forward to hear her.

WiB: I go to bed running maintenance checklists in my head. I wake up in the middle of the night listening for the water cycler. If it was just your miserable ass on the line, I’d let you implode and write it off as death by stupidity. But it’s not. It’s all of our asses on the line. The airlock blows. We all die. The air handler releases carbon monoxide. We all die.

Disgruntled Team Member looks over at Team Leader. Finds Team Leaders nodding in agreement.

WiB: We are sitting three feet away from the most hostile environment humanity has ever lived in. We are in a tent surrounded by starving bears. We are in a diving bell at the bottom of the ocean. We are in an asbestos cabin under 10 feet of molten lava. You go out there, you are dead in seconds. Is any of this getting through to you?

Disgruntled Team Member: You trying to scare me?

WiB: I don’t want you scared. I want you terrified.
~~~curtain~~~

Time For A Little Smackerel Of Something

Random Images

The world is vast & weird.

 

 
Bourbon Chocolates
Bourbon Truffles
Old Kentucky Chocolates
Lexington KY, USA

The classics. Doing my part to #shoplocal and #supportsmallbusiness during #thebestweekendallyear. LRK3DE

There is a second box of bourbon truffles at the bottom of the pile. I had planned to be sedate and get one of each. However, the shipping was a large fraction of the price. Might was well toss in another as long as I’m paying to have it flown in on fairy wings. Not like I can order more when this is done, either. They stop shipping once the weather gets hot.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

In defense of the shipping cost, the box contained layers of bubblewrap, thermal wrap, ice packs, and under all that, the chocolate. The box was quite heavy. The contents arrived in delightful shape.

Chocolate is always welcome. Even more so when it arrives to cheer you up on the same day your horse blows a tire. Rodney had neatly removed his left front shoe. Yeah, the other one. [Ride or Not]
 

 
My admiration for OKC is not new. Photo from 2017 of my white truck with the image of me making the shot in the rear window. [2018 The Road Leads to Lexington, 2017 7 Ways To Dodge Nostalgia, in 2014 OKC was not open late and I had to settle for books Logistics]
~~~
❤ x 32

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott

Strolling Along, Walk Report, La Jolla Shores Virtual 5K 2020

Fit To Ride

 

 
The 2020 La Jolla Half Marathon & Shores 5K
Virtual 5k
Chez Moi
Saturday, April 25, 2020
Time – 1:11:54 minutes
Pace – 23:10 minutes per mile
No placings

 

 
Screenshot from the Map My Walk app. Nine laps around the pasture is exactly 3.1 miles. Convenient. The notch is where I had to go around the downed tree [Memo].

Rough calculations had suggested that I would need to do 10 laps. I was happy to find out that I only needed nine. Why?! The distance was unchanged, 3.1 miles. The number of laps was irrelevant. Yet, it felt “shorter”. The brain is weird.

I had planned to walk on Sunday, the day of the original run [Virtual Bling]. Weather was more conductive to walking on Saturday.

I occupied myself by texting/chatting with friends (waves hi!), although my conversation descended into emojis and grunts after a while. Otherwise, I alternated a lap of listening to an audio book with a lap where I let my mind wander. For listening, I had an interesting, educational, non-fiction book lined up. Instead, I reloaded False Value by Aaronovitch (Daw 2020). I don’t know about yours; my concentration is shot these days.

My time was glacially slow. Almost 18 minutes longer than last time [Walk Report]. In my defense, I had a lot more turns, particularly around the tree, more hills, and off-road, so I couldn’t march along as one does on asphalt. Mostly, there were no crowds to get swept up in. Left to my own devices, I puttered along. I strolled. Enjoyable; not speedy.

No medal yet. All of the packets they had planned on handing out now have to be packed and shipped. Per email, “Your race packet, which will include your race shirt, medal, and souvenir cinch bag, will be mailed out beginning the last week in May. With the volume of packets to be assembled and mailed and while navigating supply chain delays and social distancing guidelines for workers, we ask for your patience as we navigate this process. ” While I’d love to have the bling in my hot little paws, I’m cool with that.

Since this should have been XC Saturday, I represented. LRK3DE
 

 
I had planned to trim my face out of the photo. I decided that you might not hate how I look as much as I do. Those jowls!?! To quote from, So You’re Feeling Too Fat to Be Photographed… “You’re the only one who notices. The rest of us are too caught up in loving you.” Or at least interested in what I look like.

 

 
16 years ago? Yowza.

From the Bookcase
Found two semi-related books, Timescape by Benford & Rainbow’s End, which reputedly have segments set at UCSD in La Jolla. Downloaded samples but never got to them. See above re concentration.

Update. Swag arrives, [Bringing Home The Bling].

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott

Wither Wednesdays?

Adventures in Saddle Seat

Enjoy the ride.

 
Had a pondering post planned about how to continue Saddle Seat Wednesdays in the absence of saddle seat, including an extended riff on blog approach as metaphor for life, i.e. holding onto the past vs. living in the moment vs. diving into the future, and an analysis of how these positions are not inherently good or bad, but are a matter of perspective, i.e. respecting tradition/hidebound vs. zen/stagnant vs. visionary/delusional.

I can’t even.

Here. Have a photo of a pretty ribbon and trophy. ASHAA High Point from last year. Not mine. I am caretaker until the owner can collect.
 

 
Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott

Saddletime, The Sequel

Horsekeeping

Lucky enough to have a horse.

 

Staring into the depths, wondering where the time goes.

 
We have decided that it is okay to ride our horses quietly in the backyard. Other people have made different decisions.

However.

Just because I have decided to ride doesn’t mean I get to ride.

Let’s go to the tape.

A few days of riding [Why Is This Hard For You, I Mean, Yay Progress].

~~~ flipping of calendar pages ~~~

L’affair du feet. Milton [Behind Bars, Alternate Explanation, Shoeing at a Social Distance]. Rodney [To Ride Or Not To Ride, The Question Is Irrelevant]

~~~ flipping of calendar pages ~~~

We are now halfway through the month.

~~~ flipping of calendar pages ~~~

A chance to ride. Callooh! Callay!” Milton lunges. Rodney walks. Practices a few super soft walk-trot transitions to instill the idea that one can trot repeatedly without stress [Libations]. Trots two or three circles at a mild shuffle.

~~~ flipping of calendar pages ~~~

A day of storms. Milton thinks some of the bangs are a little too close. He is not wrong.

Next day, everyone exhausted. Milton visibly tired. Rodney does not look as worn out but didn’t get any sleep either. I crash so hard during a nap that husband wakes me up for status check when I haven’t moved in 45 minutes.

~~~ flipping of calendar pages ~~~

A chance to ride! Callooh! Tack up. Ca – what? You’re feeling awfully good today, Rodney. Perhaps we have found the limit to feeding green hay [Recap Hay Snacks]? Crisp spring day. Light rain. Truck delivering hay to cow field next door. Uh-oh. This counts as breaking news on Cow TV [Diet Secret]. Rodney is riveted. Once he gets hooked on cows, his brain leaves the building [Holiday Rides].

Riding slides further down the probablity scale. Let’s do our walking first. Hand walk to corner of field [Progress]. Give him a chance to settle. Or not. Walk. Stop. Stare at cows. Walk. Spook. Stare at cows.

Come back to ring. Milton lunging. And stopping to stare at cows. And then lunging. Rain increases. We stand next to ring. Rodney paces circles around me. Ground crew finally realizes he is outvoted 3-to-1 and gives up any hope of working today.

Tired of dealing with this nonsense, I untack Rodney. Let him go. Carry his tack back to barn. Rodney ping-pongs around the field. Strafes us as we walk back. Milton is unpleased at being strafed. Get to barn. Untack Milton. Cue wild horse rodeo routine!

Well, at least they are pretty to look at.

~~~ flipping of calendar pages ~~~

Rain. Epic, even biblical, amounts of rain. Horses remain dry in run-in shed. Footing impossible.

~~~ flipping of calendar pages ~~~

Mildy rainy day, with lighting just often enough to keep us bottled up in the house.

~~~ flipping of calendar pages ~~~

A simple, quiet walk around the pasture. That would be good, yes? To maximize success, we walk around the field once in hand. Rodney spooks at the sound of Milton lunging. As we get back around to the ring, the truck drives into the cow field. Really?! Not for weeks and now two rides in a row?

Decide to get on. See how it goes. We walk a few hundred yards, nagging every stride to keep his attention on me. Reach the corner. Get off. This is not fun.

~~~ flipping of calendar pages ~~~

Warmer weather. Always good for Rodney. Heat his back. No cows. We achieve walk poles and – be still my heart – a line of two trot poles.

Have a chat with the lad about increasing his level of sangfroid. Yes, we are doing something that might, maybe, someday, eventually, grow up to be consider jump schooling. That is no reason we need to behave as if we are entering the ring for a jump-off at the Garden.

It is pointed out to me that I need to be the chill one. I need to convince him to relax. People who know me IRL are shaking their heads at their screens right now.

We trot. I talk. Really, actually talk out loud to him. It helps. “Be cool, dude. When you get to the endzone, act like you’ve been there before.”

This works! We do the four exercises in a row at a calm trot. Yah!

~~~ flipping of calendar pages ~~~

Off. Or off-ish. Not even unsound, just careful about how he places that right front foot. From being barefoot? From stomping flies? From being composed of spun sugar and sensitivity? Who knows.

~~~ flipping of calendar pages ~~~

The bucket. The foot. The soaking.

~~~ flipping of calendar pages ~~~

There goes April.

Update. Rodney ended the month by pulling his LEFT front shoe.

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott

Whither?

Training Journal

If you’re riding a horse, you’ve already won.

 
A Enter Spooking wrote a post for posterity, recording the moment, “Because it’ll be interesting to read back in the future … I wanted to continue documenting some of this craziness.” AES: The New Normal

I am about to do the same. This may not interest anyone other than my future self. Mostly my thoughts about what the future holds. Things I would say if the question came up in conversation. If I had conversations with anyone outside the household. Yes, that does include conversations with my cats.

So. This is a record of my thoughts at the moment. I wonder how they will look in a month, a year, five years. Ridiculous? Prophetic? Pessimistic? Optimistic? Time will tell.

Now
We have elected to follow a strict interpretation of “Stay home, except for essential activity.” The chef stocks up once a week at a grocery story. In the last few weeks, I have gone out for banking (drive-up), pet food, horse feed, and one trip to the barn [Thing].

In truth, not all that much different from my pre-lockdown lifestyle. I didn’t get out much. Not that I like it, but I am used to it.

Limited Turnout
As AES says, none of this is news. Y’all are getting the same info I am. From what I understand, testing and tracing would allow society to loosen up to some extent. What I would do, in order of increasing personal involvement.

First to come is schooling Rodney at the various facilities that we visit. As I mentioned, this falls easily into the See No One, Touch Nothing category [Lemonade]. We are often at the barns when no one else is around. If we do see folks, we exchange waves and brief chats from at least 10 feet away. We’ve even pondered a primitive sanitary arrangement with a bucket, shavings, and lid. We already bring our own water. We would never have to go near the barn. So, trips to the round pen at Stepping Stone Farm [Old Arena] and the jump course at Full Circle Horse Park [Super Duper] would be first out of the box.

Next, would be riding lessons with our horses. As above with the addition of a person standing in the middle of the ring. We have built-in social distance. As long as ground crew remembers not to wander over to kibbitz. Do you know how disconcerting it is to have instructor and ground crew in a huddle laughing together? I’m sure they are not talking about me. Not at all. Not in the slightest.

The next level of engagement would be riding lessons on school horses. Ironically, I have more of my own gear for saddle seat than I do for jumping. In either case, school-horse lessons would involve entering the barns, sharing equipment, getting near people. Maybe everyone else remembers to stay far enough apart. I could see myself falling into non-social distance habits quite easily.

Driving lessons for Milton are about on this level. Everyone stays far apart, except for hitching, which is where we need Coach Courtney’s help.

My other two regular pre-virus activities were dance class [Waving My Arms to Music] and tai chi exercise class. Both take place in large rooms and could easily be limited to a pre-determined capacity. On the other hand, they are a) within enclosed spaces and b) filled with heavy-breathing people who are expelling those pesky droplets with more force and sending them a lot farther than 6 feet, I can only assume. These would be the last activities back on my restricted schedule.

Those are the things on the top of my mind at the moment. I have other parts to my life than horses, at least a few. I have friends. I would like to see those friends. I didn’t do this often enough in the before times. Also club meetings, church, volunteering, dental appointments. The paraphernalia of life.

When will all this happen? Weeks? Months? No idea. Wouldn’t begin to speculate. Depends on how well/quickly we implement test & trace. It is startling to consider how long it may be before I can give a friendly hug to someone other than my husband.

Status Quo Ante
Again, from what I understand, life as we knew it doesn’t return until we have a vaccine, natural extinction of the disease, or a failsafe treatment.

Travel and vacations are right out. The last place I want to be is in the enclosed space of an airplane bringing the germs of three airports – at least – to my mother. Even with test and trace, do you really trust the process to be that foolproof?

Mass events are a no go.

“The Safra Center report and others, released by both right-leaning and left-leaning groups, broadly recommend a similar path forward: While certain nonessential businesses may be allowed to reopen in phases as COVID-19 testing and tracing is ramped up, bans against mass public gatherings — like concerts and sporting events — should remain in place until mass immunity or a vaccine is developed, which is expected to take at least another year.” Boston.com: The 2020 Boston Marathon was postponed due to the coronavirus. Could it be canceled altogether? DeCosta-Klipa, April 23, 2020

It is easy to see such a ban applying to marathons with their mass starts and crowds of spectators or to football games at stadiums with seating capacities of 100,000. The article above says that Germany is banning gatherings of over 5,000 people through October. Later in the article, a 50-person limit is discussed.

How would this apply to horse shows?

Horse shows are like golf tournaments. The activity itself is isolated. Out there on the fairway, you are yards from anyone. What about the start and finish? The scoreboard? The pro shop?

Horseback riding is an individual activity. Dressage riders, jumpers, and barrel racers are alone in the ring. Even in a group class, no one wants to be within six feet of another horse’s hind feet. What about warm-up? The in-gate? Narrow barn aisles? The concession stand?

I can envision logistics for golf and horse shows that would keep everyone apart. Would we remember to adhere to the new behaviors once we were back in places that are so familiar? Do we want to take that risk?

Speaking of risk. All of our opinions may be irrelevant. Scientific statements may be irrelevant. Political posturing may be irrelevant. If a restaurant/golf course/horse show arena opens, a customer gets ill, and that customer sues the company for providing an unsafe space, will the company be covered under their business policy? If the insurance companies say no, then opening ain’t happening.

Even if horse shows were available, would I go? I don’t know. I want to go. Don’t get me wrong. We all know I love me a horse show. But just because they have them, doesn’t mean I have to attend. Although I have no desire to get sick – I am a whiny princess when ill – I’m not as worried about catching it. Perhaps I should be. I’m more worried about being an inadvertent vector.

I have no answers. I don’t even have terribly original questions. I’ll be the first to admit that it costs me nothing to sit over here on the sidelines and pontificate. I’m not the one who has to think about canceling the Boston Marathon for the first time in a 100-plus-year history.

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott