The Ice Queen’s Coach Arrives in Las Vegas, Guest Photos

Photos by Michelle Duplichien.
Post-processing by me: watermarks, borders & rendering the crowd anonymous.
[List of Michelle’s travel post and cat photos]
Welcome Michelle.
~~~

The winter display in the Conservatory & Botanical Garden at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas. “A horticulture staff of 120 maintains the Botanical Gardens and the entire grounds of Bellagio.” They have five displays per year: spring, summer, fall, winter & Chinese New Year. Conservatory

Winter 2018, Vegas Changes: Bellagio Conservatory Winter 2018 Display “Majestic Holiday Magic”

Year of the Horse 2014, Vegas24Seven.com: Bellagio’s Conservatory & Botanical Gardens Celebrate Chinese New Year
~~~
Because Las Vegas is more than the strip.

 

Michelle, explains, “A thirty-minute drive that included the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area took us from the city to flat desert to mountainous desert to Juniper Pine to snow-covered mountains. Quite a fascinating transition. ”

Holiday Wish

 

Wishing you clear skies, good footing, and time to enjoy the barn.
~~~
On a side note. I’ve never understood the Happy Holidays/War on Christmas dilemma. Putting aside the philosophical, religious, & common humanity issues, there is a practical aspect. Let’s say I am talking to a Christmas celebrator. A week after Christmas the next year begins. Christmas & New Year’s Eve. Two Holidays. I am wishing them Happy Holidays, plural. What, I should wish them a Merry Christmas but a marginal New Year’s Eve? But I digress.

Wishing you a wonderful whatever.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Christmas Gift

Off Topic

 

I can’t buy everyone a book, so the gift is the recommendation.

A Christmas Cornucopia: The Hidden Stories Behind Our Yuletide Traditions by Mark Forsyth (Penguin 2016)
Author’s book announcement, Inky Fool: A Christmas Cornucopia. May I also recommend his blog, Inky Fool. He hasn’t posted often in recent years, but you have the entire archive to enjoy.

In the book, the author raises an eyebrow at both Christmas traditions and what we have said about those traditions over the years. Underneath the deconstruction, he has a deep respect for the underlying spirit of Christmas. The book came out in 2016, but I’ve only just rediscovered it on my Kindle.

The post title is not a cultural assumption. If you celebrate, it is gift FOR Christmas. If you don’t celebrate, it is a gift ABOUT Christmas. Either way, a “Christmas” gift. If that sort of word parsing isn’t amusing, you probably aren’t going to be amused by the Inky Fool.

I have most of this other books, several in more than one format: codex, ebook, audio.
The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language (Icon 2011)
The Horologicon: A Day’s Jaunt Through the Lost Words of the English Language (Icon 2012)
The Elements of Eloquence: Secrets of the Perfect Turn of Phrase (Berkeley 2014)
The Unknown Unknown: Bookshops and the delight of not getting what you wanted (Icon 2014) [What I Want From My Blog]
The Servant: A Short Story (Casey 2015)
A Short History of Drunkenness: How, Why, Where, and When Humankind Has Gotten Merry from the Stone Age to the Present (Three Rivers 2018). For personal reasons [Aftermath], I skipped this one. I suspect it is entertaining, everything else of his has been.

Other Recommendations
For word nerds
Book. Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries by Kori Stamper (Random House 2017). The author’s life as a lexicographer.
Blog. harm.less drudg.ery. As above, I wish she would post more.
Podcast. Fiat Lex: A Dictionary Podcast, By Kory Stamper and Steve Kleinedler. I don’t do podcasts, so I couldn’t say.

For history geeks
Blog. Frock Flicks. “We are a blog and a podcast that reviews movies and TV shows set in mostly pre-1960s eras, primarily looking at the costume angle, but also taking into account history and design in general.” FAQ
I don’t watch enough historical movies to be a true devotee, but what I’ve read, I’ve enjoyed, SNARK WEEK: Stop It With the Skirt Hiking. Gotta love a blog that has instituted Snark Week.

For people who sew &/or are interested in a thrifty lifestyle
Blog. Goodbye Valentino “On August 31, 2011 I gave up buying clothes for a year and vowed to make my clothes instead … shopping for clothes had dominated my checkbook for decades. During my year of sewing I made 64 garments, saved thousands of dollars, and received countless compliments on my clothes from people who did not know my story.” About

For armchair travellers
Land Cruising Adventure Driving around the world in a Toyota Land Cruiser since 2003. Slow travel. It’s a thing.

And finally
Whatever: An Interview With Santa’s Lawyer

Methodology
No horse books or blogs. I’m assuming you can find those on your own. Also, I didn’t want to start naming blogs & leave one out. If I know you, either through blogging or IRL, you have not been included. I’m using the annoy-everyone-equally theory of recommendation.

Any recommendations in return? Always looking for blogs to read.
~~~
While we are taking about blogs, today is my blog anniversary. “The goal is to get back to a place where he likes work & I like him. Buried under 16 months of set-backs is the marvelous mid-life crisis horse who so enchanted me when we met.” [We begin. Again.]

After seven years, the blog is going strong. Still looking for my mid-life crisis horse.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Low Key Photo Challenge, Holiday

 

Captain Nutcracker by Breyer. From Carousel Tack Shoppe, cleverly displayed next to the check-out counter.

Process Notes
Taken with phone. Brought big camera to barn. Planned to hang ornament. This set-up caught my eye, after Milton checked the ornament for treats, but failed to do so photogenically. Not enough hands to do with big camera.

Thus the formal period for the Low Key Photo Challenge ends as it began, with my phone camera. “Mission success will be defined as at least once a month for six months.” [Inaugural Edition]. Check. Nine posts in five months, at least one per month.

(Honestly, I didn’t realize I was a month short until I read this post after it was published. Sigh. Oh well, I’m calling it half a year and declaring victory. As I said earlier [Dabbling], I’m trying to reduce the number of arbitrary requirements that I impose on myself. This is not a new phenomenon [Where Do We Go From Here? 2012].)

I’ll stay with the photo challenge, but in a more relaxed fashion. As in, when the mood strikes or when a good idea occurs. Or, when it goes viral and folks are clamoring for weekly challenges. A dog can dream.

Procedure for Low Key Photo Challenge
1) I post photo(s) on a given theme.
2) You comment below with a link to your photo(s) on that theme.
3) We all click over to see what you have.

That’s it. No prizes. No rules. No submissions. For more explanation, [Inaugural Edition]

Previous Challenges
August [Hello!] [Labor]
September [Toys] [Travel]
October [Books] [Hay/Street Art] [Rain]
November [Costume]

Update

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Rollerskates for Grandma, Milton’s New Jump

In our family, rollerskates for grandma is giving an item that you plan to use. Well, Stepping Stone Farm has its first jump. My amazing carpenter chose to make short standards so that a) we could lunge over them and b) any weenie, teenie jumps I eventually take would look more impressive.

We bought two sets of one-handed jump cups from Dapple Equine as a test run before we invest in them for home jumps. Listen to me. Talking about jumping at home. As if that is gonna happen any time soon. Am I optimistic? Or delusional? Where is the line? But I digress.

Onwards! Upwards!
~~~

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Let The Festivities Begin, SSF Christmas Party 2018

Can you imagine! Coach Courtney called me a saddle seat rider! The nerve! As part of the year-end wrap-up, she introduced the National Academy Team [Show Report]. She started off by saying that I ride in another discipline. Then she said I was really a saddle seat rider! How dare she! It’s not like I’m at the barn often. Er. Or that I show a lot. Oh. Or that I have been a jumper rider in this decade. Well. Or an eventer in this century. Nevermind.

Happy barn party season!

Tree at Stepping Stone Farm.

Gifts ready for dirty Santa. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Coach Courtney announces Tommy as one of the new leases for next year [Party Horses].

Meg rescues me from a selfie with the World’s Greatest Horse [Thoughts]. Note the victory vest [More Loot].

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott