Virtual Brush Box

Awareness of the outside world. Joined Costco. Company policies matter.

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In my lesson before the show, I was completely out of breath after a lap or so of canter. Not merely winded, but actively puffing like a steam engine. Not good. [Days With Diego]

Walking is going well. Everything else, not so much. I plan to work on that.

Daily Mile

29 1/2 walks out of 31 days.

Missed for snow day. [Winter Weather]

Missed the day we took Milton over to the vet clinic. [Milton Arranges A Spa Stay]

Half day when afternoon walk was not happening. Too busy being amused at the horses to remember to finish on my own. [Horse Zoomies]

Monthly 5K

Drum Rum. Separate post since it was IRL. [Sauntering on the Streets Walk Report] & [Feet On The Street Photo]

Other Exercises

Watch this space.

Other Walks

Catching up since previous one-mile post. No fixed plan for these. Walk when I am out & about and find myself in a suitable place. [Picking Up New Places]

November 2024 Sidewalk Celebration

Calera AL
November 2024

On sidewalk entire time, except at beginning and end when I had to cut through parking lots.

December 2024 UAB Hospital District Inside & Out

6th Avenue South
from UAB Hospital Concourse
Looking east toward 19th street
December 2024

December 2024. Started on upper right of map. Wandered back & forth along interior walkway. Exited, left of map. Returned along the street, straight line through center of the map. Photo from crossover on right.[Following The Signs, Walk Report, UAB Hospital Concourse]

January 2025 Coffee Break Interlude

Interlude = a walk in pieces

Downtown
Birmingham AL USA
January

Or in my case, hot chocolate break. Was at art museum, A. Walked over to coffee shop, C, 0.65 miles. Pause. Walked back, 0.45 miles.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Two horse blogs with driving. A Collection of Madcap Escapades: Driving Photos & Cob Jockey: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie….

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Tried, once again, to heave myself over the seemingly insurmountable hurdle of finding a hunter/jumper lesson.

No dice.

Stopped by barn to chat with folks. Wanted to explain self in person. Gate closed. Drove up in case of proximity sensor. Nope.

Well, that’s disappointing.

Went back later, after school hours. Maybe they close in the middle of the day. Despite cars in the parking lot and riders in the ring, gate was closed. Widget next to gate is a keypad, not intercom. You must have the code. There is no way to contact those inside.

Hard not to feel frosty vibes. If you’re not us, we don’t want you here.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Speaking of outfits. The following was written by a convention for their cosplayers. I think it works as a rule for a wide variety of situations.

Most importantly…
A. Have fun.
B. Don’t be a jerk.

Iron City Comic Con: FAQ, What are the cosplay rules?

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Last year, I took advantage of being dressed up to do an Outfit Of The Day. [OOTD, Selfie Photography]

This year, a quasi-OOTD.

My new shirt for the ASHAA Year-End Awards banquet. [The Red Queen]

Most of the rest of the outfit was a repeat from last year.

Pant & shoes, bracelet, belt. [OOTD reposted photos]

Different socks, not very exciting.

Different necklace. Doesn’t go with this shirt, but the saddle seat banquets are the only occasions I have to wear it. Had for 10 years now. Still find it pretty as a piece of art. [Saddlebred Fancies]

Probably done buying spiffy riding shirts. After the banquet, I wore lasts year’s shirt once. My need to dress as a DQ is limited, or, more accurately, nonexistent. [Other Barns]

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Included here because we can’t seem to shake the myth. “My dad was born in Montana and he’s the reason I know a cowboy always owned a hat but probably not a gun. I know that right after the Civil War there’s a good chance a cowboy was Black. I know he was young, in his early teens to barely into his twenties. Cowboying was a hard life and most of those boys moved on to other work when they could.” Imperfect Patience: Cowboy Mythology The author has more to say about those who created the mythos.

“The stereotype of the heroic white cowboy is far from true, however. The first cowboys were Spanish vaqueros, who had introduced cattle to Mexico centuries earlier. Black cowboys also rode the range. Furthermore, the life of the cowboy was far from glamorous, involving long, hard hours of labor, poor living conditions, and economic hardship.” LOC: The American West, 1865-1900.

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Lami-Cell Wide Relief Gel Foam Half Pad
Chick’s Saddlery

An overly optimistic soul in this house who is not me thinks that a gel pad might help Rodney’s back. A sample pad was borrowed and tested. Went well enough that we bought one to give it a go.

Another hypothesis is that his feet have been the problem all along rather than his back. Now that his feet are stronger, Rodney might have less anxiety under saddle. [Setting A Shoeing Record, Again]

Or both.

We shall see.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Motto: “No Mail, Low Morale” Women of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. “The 6888th left the United States on February 3, 1945.” Wiki: 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. That was 80 years ago today. I learned about the 6888 from the Postmarks & Paperbacks virtual discussion of One Woman’s Army: A Black Officer Remembers the WAC by Charity Adams Earley on 27 January 2025.

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Scale to weigh Milton’s hay. Digital scale gave up the ghost. Went with mechanical this time. [Weighing Meals]

Onwards!
Katherine

Art of the outside world. World Ice Art Championships. Ice Alaska Photo Gallery.

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Legend

Upper left. In the absence of flags, the languages of Alaska. “Using spelling for each Indigenous Alaskan language—in that language.” Alaska State Legislature: Alaska’s 23 Indigenous Languages, PDF. All are official languages of the state. Alaska Public Media: Bill adding more Indigenous languages to Alaska’s official list becomes law, Larson, September 4, 2024.

Lower left. Colors from the flag of the historic Russian-American Company. NOAA, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries: What Was Russian America? Roth 2023. A store by the same name currently operates out of Sitka AK.

Small inset, lower left. Colors of the current Hudson’s Bay Company representing the historic HBC for Wrangell AK, “The only city in Alaska to be ruled by four nations and under three flags: Tlingit, Russia, Britain, and the United States.” Travel Wrangell: The Early Days.

Upper Right. Colors & shapes from the flag of the United States. USA.gov: The American flag and other national symbols

Lower right. Colors & stars from the flag of the State of Alaska. Alaska Historical Society: Benny Benson: An Alaska Kid Who Made History

Inspiration

Currently ettending UChicago Graham School, Alaska: Indigenous, Russian, American.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Pick two. High services. Low density. Low taxes. Seen on the Internet as a Venn diagram wherein the center does not exist. Apologies for not noting the source.

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Photo by True Speed Photo, repost. [Feet On The Street]

As of 08 December 2024, I have been including alt text for my blog images. For example, the alt text for yesterday’s image, above, is Photo of person walking. Alt text is used by screen readers, as a text display if the image does not load, or if the reader has blocked images.

This is the best definition I found, “Alternative text is a textual substitute for non-text content in web pages.” WebAIM: Alternative Text. Page also has advice on choosing alt text.

BTW, I tried to run their accessibility evaluation on the blog, but it turned up an error message. Since my posts are mainly lumps of text, I figure it can’t be too impenetrable.

Do you add alt text? Do you use alt text?

Onwards!
Katherine