Armchair Travel Opportunity, #literarydatesbookclub

Travel

 

Like my annual trips to New York? Want more? Boy, do I have a deal for you.

Lauren at Literary Dates reads books set in New York, reviews them, and then goes on tours around the city to places mentioned in the book. All the fun of New York, without having to take three trains to haul in from Newark Airport.

Last December, Lauren was kind enough to allow stragglers to tag along on one of her tours. Before the trip, we read A New York Christmas by Anne Perry. Places in the book ranged from Fifth Avenue to Hell’s Kitchen to Little Italy. The book was set in 1904. I wondered how Lauren would arrange a tour 114 years later. Lauren and New York did not disappoint.

As with her virtual tours, I learned things about New York. For example, when I hear the word tenements, I think of the Lower East Side & the Tenement Museum. I did not realize that west side of Midtown was “Once a bastion of poor and working class Irish Americans.” Wiki: Hell’s Kitchen

I also saw parts of New York that I had never seen before, for example the Lotte Palace Hotel. I must have been with in a block of the place hundreds of times, yet never knew of its existence. Since the historic mansion couldn’t be changed, the glass and metal skyscraper (backdrop) was plonked on top. At least, according to a passing stranger who saw us admiring the building.

In NYC, you can always find a place to eat.

Established in 1868, the Landmark Tavern was already 36 years old when the book took place. Surely the Irish characters would have eaten there when they were off the page. Top photo taken from across the street and then cropped. Not a good idea to stop in the middle of 11th avenue for a photo op.

Click here for the rest of our tour, Literary Dates: Inspired by Anne Perry’s book, A New York Christmas, Here’s My “New York Christmas” Tour.

Fortunately for Lauren, New York City has a solid place in the literary imagination. It will be a while before she runs out of books. She has already done nine tours.

New York Christmas by Anne Perry
You by Caroline Kepnes
New York, Actually by Sarah Morgan
A Little Murder by Cindy Davis (Non-NYC)
The Appearance of Annie Van Sinderen by Katherine Howe
Modern Lovers by Emma Stroud
I Heart New York by Lindsey Kelk
Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight
Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and The Dawn of the Modern Woman by Sam Wasson. “This book explores all the people involved in the making of Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” Literary Dates: Tiffany’s.

Go check it out.
Literary Dates
From Page to Place
Don’t worry, the reviews and tours are spoiler free.

[NYC Previous Years]

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

This Year with Actual Horsehair, Horses of New York City 2018

Travel

 

 
Last December, lower Manhattan, on an IRT subway and at the West 4th street station. I was dying to ask where they rode. In Alabama, I would have walked up to total strangers; in New York City, not so much. Plus, I was on a tour. More about this tomorrow.


 

Columbus Circle. I was on a bus in the circle. The carriage was merging into the circle. I tried to imagine any horse of my acquaintance playing chicken with a bus.

[NYC Previous Years]
Horses Of … usually has to make do with signs & statues.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

R is for Ribbon

Rodney’s annual I Am Not A Deer tail ribbon. We hope that standing next to the large white blob that is Milton will also help.

The pixelation is more from surfeit of mist in the air than from a lack of resolution in the camera. As you can see from the footing, it’s been wet here lately. And that was after I served the hay halfway up the hill to keep them out of worse.

Did you know that the different colors of flagging tape mean different things? Pink is for temporary survey markings, according to Are You Flagging Tape Fluent? on the Tape University website. Tape University is an online resource for the tape industry. The TU site references the American Public Works Association Uniform Color Code. It’s a PDF, or I’d link to it. Tape University? Tape Industry? APWA? The world is vast and weird and fascinating.

In case you are wondering, I fell down that particular rabbit hole when I went looking for an example of the tape color for the border. I usually use a color from the photo, but the whole point here is to be as loud as possible.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

What’s Been Happening, Kittens

On Instagram, but worth repeating. [November]

This is why I have so many sleeping/resting kitten pictures.

Chat dans une boîte. French
Macska egy dobozban. Hungarian
Ngeru i roto i te pouaka. Maori
Kot w pudełku. Polish
Gato en una caja. Spanish
Cath mewn blwch. Welsh
Fun with Google Translate.

How would sentient cat descendants wash their clothes? Automatic tongues?

Deux chats dans une boîte.
Két …
E rua …
Dwa koty …
Dos gatos …
Dau gath …

Two of the big cats in a rare moment of harmony.

Previous Kitten Report [The Rise of the Cattens]
[All Kitten posts]

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

What’s Been Happening, Jumping!

Jumping Diary

Maybe one of these days I will not feel the need to chronicle every single obstacle I have hopped over. Someday, when jumping is not quite such a novelty. Today is not that day.

Recent jumping history. (I have a recent jumping history!)

Saturday, November 24, 2018. Milton jumped a cavalleti on the line. [A Small Jump Forward]

Saturday, December 15, 2018. We deliver a new jump to Stepping Stone Farm. [Rollerskates for Grandma, Milton’s New Jump]

Sunday, December 16, 2018. Rodney over the SSF jump. [What’s Been Happening, Rodney, no media]

Saturday, December 22, 2018. Milton over the SSF jump. [It’s Not All About the Ribbons, Riding Recap 2018]

Sunday, December 23, 2018. Milton checked out Falcon Hill Farm. While we didn’t leap valiantly over any obstacles, it was still a big day for the lad. He’s never been in a ring with that much visual stimuli. So much to look at! He thought the purple jump blocks were the absolute limit. Next time, NBD. [Enough Retrospection, What’s Been Happening, Milton, no media]

Wednesday, December 26, 2018. Milton over the SSF jump multiple times. Unlike Rodney, Milton utterly failed to get torqued out about it. A future hunter? A jumper who conserves his energy for the big moments? [Enough Retrospection] Went over to get a ride in before the predicted deluge.

Saturday, December 29, 2018. Milton back to FHF for jumping exercises. He did a series of 6(?) trot poles that elevated his trot to the point that I felt it in my back. Then we did a two-pole canter exercise. There may have been one or two elevated strides/low hops over the poles as we sorted ourselves out. [Enough Retrospection] Took advantage of a break in the gloomy, misty, wet weather. Not the five-day deluge that was predicted but enough wet to require a covered ring (SSF) or top-flight footing (FHF). Otherwise, we are stomping around in the squish (home).

And that’s where we are. Basically, two crossrails. Nothing to make Phillip Dutton tremble in his stirrups. Gotta (re)start somewhere!

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

What’s Been Happening, Driving

Driving Thursday Resurfaces

 

No driving, but driving progress.

When last we spoke about driving, we had a busted cart and a horse who hadn’t driven in a while [We Say Goodbye to Driving Posts, For Now in October, with brief reappearances for show posts Lights-Camera-Classes in October & Once More Into The Cart in November]. Now we have a semi-assembled cart and a horse who doesn’t remember a thing about being a driving horse.

We gave up on finding a cart. My driver kept finding the perfect cart … in the UK. In the US, it was all pony carts. So we ordered new shafts and the various crosspieces that one replaces when one is replacing the shafts. Coach Kate brought them down as far as Tennessee. I drove up to fetch them. It was cheaper. Ninety-six inches of wood costs more ship to than it does to buy.

Driver spent the holidays putting together the 3-D puzzle that is our new cart. Fortunately for me, he counts working on the cart as driving, so I got to spend the holiday period riding Milton.

We brought the cart into the field to test-fit the space between the new shafts.
Us: Milton, this is your new cart.
Milton: What’s that? Why is it near me? Get it away from me. Agggg, it touched me.

No worries. We will recapitulate the steps we took when we introduced driving the first time. Then we will have Coach Courtney help hitch. It’ll come back to him.

You may be wondering how we will balance Milton’s activities. Should we work in the backyard? Ride or ground-drive? Should we go to SSF? Ride? Long-line lesson? Drive? A combination of the above? Should we go to FHF for a jump lesson?

I have no idea.

No worries here either. We will let Milton tell us. I think it is fairly clear by now that we can be accused of many things, but not of pushing our horses.

Kitty Photobomb

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

What’s Not Been Happening, ASB

Adventures in Saddle Seat

 

Between the ears at Stepping Stone Farm. Sam wants to know why we are standing about rather than getting a move on. The boards with holes are for cornholing. I know, right?! Down here, cornholing is a beanbag toss game played by everyone from kids, as here, to professionals, complete with an association and a championship that appeared on ESPN. I am constantly startled to hear people use this term in polite company.

Anyway.

Finally had another saddle seat lesson. First once since the end of November [Second Day]. Because we have one vehicle, I have to wait for the other driver to be home before I can go to SSF, at which point we take Milton over. We’ve tried Milton and Saddlebred in the same visit, but the schedules don’t work out.

Which leads to the current situation:

1) I squeeze in a lesson when a show is imminent.
2) In general, Sam and I have a good record together.
3) In specific, I am leading or tied in all of my divisions for this year’s Winter Tournament. This is mainly due to advanced riders not showing at one or both of the shows so far. Still, a lead is a lead.

Which means it’s hard not to think about winning, both the classes at the next show and Winter Tournament as a whole. Enthusiasm is good. A focus on results is not. I can’t control who shows up. I can’t control which Sam shows up. All I can do is ride well, or try. So that’s what I focused on in my lesson and will attempt to remind myself of as the show approaches.

Meanwhile, my inner competitor ignores this blather. She is marching up and down, beating her fists in the air, chanting rib-bons! rib-bons!

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott