tech support

for the new router couldn't tell me why the pc wouldn't recognise the router. i worked it out for myself just now - the ethernet card had been disabled! duh. if i hadn't been so tired earlier in the week, i should have clocked that then.

25 minutes on the phone to india (happily, not at international rates!) and i solve the problem myself. ...

slippy saddle

i don't know why i believed the agent when she said the butt leather wasn't that slippy. it is - and today proved it. we went out to go down the park and then round. to get down the park you go through a gate and down a steep hill.... i really felt as though i was going to slip off! not assisted by molly not wanting to go the way i pointed her. to be fair to her, her feet are a shade soft after the winter and she didn't want to be on the track .. but oh, it was horrid.

anyway, the plan is (in addition to the kerrit's, jean! ) to take the saddle, and the old seat saver off my gp as a pattern, to a leather man on the westgate road (bike leathers, but does loads of other stuff as well) and get him to make me one up to fit. friend says he's very good and very cheap. i really don't want a HM one, as i think there's enough cushion under me with the saddle!

and it's worming weekend - they all have to be in from 10am this morning until monday morning. hoping i can then get molly out 24/7 ....

more ground work again...

she's still being good on that.

i had been going to ride... i had infact been going to put the pelham in and see what happened - but when i looked at it i decided i needed to go look at some pictures to see how to attach it to the bridle, i'm almost inclined to think there's something missing .... so ground work instead. she's now offering me right rein in preference to left. but we still have some confusions.

unfortunatley, plans for next week can't happen re getting richard maxwell out due to it being easter week and other committments his end and at the venue. so it'll be the back end of the month.

but i'm starting to feel better, which is good

and roll on tomorrow night, week off next week, yay.

more fog ....

and i was so tired. you know when you can feel your eyes tiring as you drive home? like that. so i didn't do any work with molly, just came home. plans for the week? what were they!

fog and groundwork

it was misty/foggy all day, didn't really see the sun till nearly home again and it was a bit nippy. decided to do a bit of ground work to see what she remembered from last time; pretty good, really. someone else was having a lesson so we didn't have long, but what we did was good enough.

got my pc back, seems to be working but not recognising hte modem. so the laptop is back downstairs online wirelessly, but the pc is upstairs not online at all. go figure!

very very tired

only 4 hours sleep last night, still suffering from the ailment of last week and overheated .... so mollydidn't do any work tonight, despite the light night and good weather ... i expect yesterday has taken it out of me a bit!

satnav rocks jean! we wouldn't have done anything except sit and wait for the road to re-open, or go back, if we hadn't had it and we found we didn't have the map we thought was in the car!

i think they're excellent!

adventures with a satnav....

we had a good day in york, once we eventually set off. saw the yorkcastlemuseum part 2 (the ticked we bought last march 28th was valid for a year.....) and pottered about. on the way back, we thought we'd go over the tops - north york moors - so set course for helmsley. that was fine. went a new route as directed by the satnav, through Ampleforth where I'd never been and here's a nice view of Ampleforth College from the other side of the hill (it's a famous Roman Catholic abbey & private school)

got to helmsley fine, so the next thing was the helmsley/stokesley road over the top of the moors.

not far out of Helmsely,the police had closed it, there must have been an accident further along. so being clever and having a satnav, we turned off left at a junction that happened to be there, and followed the satnav.

Bit of an error. It was going to take us over the top of a moor, yes there was said to be a road, but the sign said "not suitable for motor vehicles". we thought, well it looks suitable (tarmaced, don't you know) ... went up quite steeply, became untarmaced, got to a gate, sheep on the other side, went through gate, got to another gate ... there'd clearly been other traffic through, but the potholes were looking interesting and we couldn't see how deep they were, so had to turn round and go back, which involved me reversing back aways (happily, it was level, and a gorgeous sunny day) through the second gate, then turning on the field ...

The satnav wanted to take us to kepwick from hawnby, which is fair enough and the track is in fact marked on the ordnance survey as an unfenced single lane road which should in fact have been passable.

should have ignored the last instruction from the satnav where it said turn left, as when we got back to that point, there was a signpost for osmotherley and we went much more confidently that way.

Have just looked it up on the ordnance survey online map to see, and we didn't in fact have too far to go (but for the scary looking pothole!). so one day possibly on our holiday or over easter, we're going to go to kepwick and walk to where we had been and see.

so i rang from the top of that moor to have molly brought in; plan had of course been to get back and do it myself! but i clearly wasn't going to make it....

back to it

the weather having improved!

20 minutes in the arena; by the end she was really losing it (well, starting to) and didn't want to go any direction i wanted her to; but one of the others was going out on a hack so i went out with her as far as the ford, then turned round. Possibly shoul dhave gone on, but she'll have wanted a canter up holme hill and i don't like holding people back! and that was the good bit, and we got some nice trot steps coming back. and she went back to the arena without arguing, so that was good.

rest of the day - expensive! partners birthday present. went to camera shop to decide on camera, happily partner content with camera i wanted to buy her. wanted to use my credit card, which i can only use online as i have never known the pin number. got home. ordered it ... website in fact didn't let you buy on line and pick up in store, only order online and buy for it in store. so i had to go back to store (22 mile round trip, dammit) that i knew had it in and get it on my debit card. ah well. and had to fill up with petrol (gas, jean ...LOL) and the price of that has rocketed as well.

my friend in yorkshire texted me .. her horse won a dressage test last night with 78% WOW is all i can say.

an away day tomorrow for partner's birthday, york, usually good value for money for a day out. so molly gets another day off, but we have light nights from tomorrow night on....

looks like

the weather is starting to improve. molly's been rugless again yesterday/today; not totally warm (jean, send some of yours this way please!) and is warm. plenty of haylage of course helps!

here's a photo from where we were sitting wednesday:




this was taken with myphone, 2mp, without the light on ... the light effects were really good, the green/blue made you think of bluegrass country! which was clever.







partner's birthday sunday so have to go shopping tomorow for present, think i know what to get but she needs to look at it (new camera required...)

don't know how much work I'll be able to give molly what with that, the hairdresser and the usual weekend chores.... but at least the clocks go forward saturday/sunday so we get lighter nights from now to october...

vaguley disappointing

and not just because i was not well and probably shouldn't have been there (turned out partner could have had a colleague have the ticket .... )

the singing was of course excellent.

but it was a proscenium stage, so flat, and even with the tv cameras projecting the stage onto tv's either side, there was not one close up of her. close ups of everyone else, but not of her. now why would that be?

and she does talk a lot. she quoted a review from manchester the night before, the reviewer had said she talks too much. hello, she does. I dunno, if I go to hear dolly sing, that's what i want to here.

we got jolene, 9 - 5, little sparrow, coat of many colours, like that, plus some covers of some 60's stuff (Those were the days, my friend, amongst them! which got us all singing along of course!)

even partner is now prepared to concede vague dissatisfaction.

but hey, for a never to be repeated event..

the silly thing was, we had an excellent sightline to the stage. but guess who forgot binoculars. duh.

edited to add: whilst I knew she was wearing white the first half, I could only see what it was etc. when reading tonight's paper ...

dolly parton

we have tickets for tonight at newcastle arena. hope i'm ok for it (had to come home early and go see gp today .....) but i'll have to be, partner will NOT be impressed if i don't go (partner's birthday present to self...). and as partner says, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. was a bit hacked off all the people giggling when i said, I like her anyway!

so i was able to bring molly in myself tonight, having originally asked friend to, but that was good as the temperatures are rising again and i had to change her rug. she might go without again tomorrow, will have to see what the forecast is, but it is improving again all the time.

hardy TB

i was deceived by the glorious sunshine this morning into not putting rug on. oops. it snowed in teh afternoon and of course i was 25 miles away at work. Molly was warm; not as warm as she couldl have been but no way cold. i put the fleece cooler on as she was also a bit damp and standing in she's more likely to cool if damp, and put a couple of extra slices of haylage, but she'll be fine. She will be getting a rug the rest of the week though .... it's forecast to get a bit worse.... so there'll be no work done either this week. but i reckon if i'd left her rugless and unclipped this winter, she'd have been fine

and we can't repeat the ride we did saturday morning; they've ploughed the field up. they're supposed to be leaving riding strips round the outside of crop fields, but someone forgot to tell the ploughman that....

hilarious

film we've just seen. Hot Fuzz. highly recommend it.

as for the molly mare; everything was being blown horizontal today, and i got the rug back on her just before it started snowing (she was warm, but wouldn't ahve been if she'd got wet!).. think she was pleased about that. forecast to continue really cold and the wind chill is horrendous. euch.

just found

baby barista - see the bottom link- very good! not that i'm a barrister, i'm a solicitor so instruct barristers - this is excellent, whether it's fiction or not!

rode

before the gales.

it was windy - but we didnt' notice it down at theyard, it was only as we left that the wind hit us! had a nice ride. four of us out; at one point all 4 horses were moving as though their legs were going through glue, very bizarre!

molly was very good; towards the end she was marching on ahead along the road no bother - then the others wanted to go along the field instead, and we had a tro. she did her usual sewing machine trot but then started to relax into it and i felt as though i was getting the rise right.

personally i could have done with continuing along the road, for the benefit of molly's feet (they need road work!) but one of the people doesn't do roads very well....

i was pleased with both of us, i have to say! and she's very good about going under the railway bridge (east coast main line) where some of the others don't like it...)

then went up to meet a work acquaintance for lunch, planning a conference for a year come may (i.e. may 2008!). glad to get him to the point, we've been meaning to do this for a coule of years (already did three) but last year someone took the wind out of our sails by borrowing our format for an identical conference aimed at half of our audience! pah. then went to buy a friend a haybar and back to teh yard, when it was time to bed up and bring in (possibly a bit early, but it was starting to spit on to rain, and the wind got a lot worse). meant to go to the pictures but time allison had visited her mother we were 10 minutes late...

much as i like a lie in

i dislike intensely mucking out at night around the horse..... ah well, can't have it both ways. kirsty offered to turn out this morning and i fancied an extra 1/2 hour shut eye. dind't get it particularly, but did stay in bed the bit longer....

will have to think of putting rug back on; not usually advisable, but they're forecasting snow....

a long way

for a site visit, well two actually. but i was impressed, 2 hours 20 there, not much more back, i was very lucky with the traffic! and my satnav rocks - got me to two obscure locations no bother at all. much easier than forever stopping to consult the map when you are getting near, especially in these days of yellow lines all over (that's to stop us parking jean!). But not enough tea; no one one offering a brew (mind i don't know if i'd have said yes had it been offered.... but it's polite to offer!)

turned molly out this morning, and was in time to muck her out tonight.. not something i normally do in my suit!

had planned to go see caroline but that went pear shaped .. they had no signal for their mobile phone so didn't get my call ... ah well, next time. but i always reckon visiting friends is even better when soemone else is paying the travelling expenses!!!

late from work

not a late meeting, just late out, then had to set the car up for tomorrow's long trip to the other side of the pennines! fill up with petrol, jet wash, like that. so molly got her tea, and i put up tomorrow's tea and haynet ready. shan't have time to do more than turn out in themorning, friend is bringing in tomorrow night as i won't be back till late....

only just cooking my tea now at 9pm (althought partly that's for other reasons!) griddled chicken...

felt better

as soon as i got on i felt better in terms of my riding position, so spent time thinking about that.

also thinking about whether i could feel which diagonal i was on in trot, when we got to it.

and some time getting molly to listen to the leg - turns on the forehand, which she does wonderfully in hand when i don't want one!

by the end she was doing that really nicely left, but not so nicely right (now there's a surprise!)

got on the horse!

felt like weeks since i'd been on Molly although it was probably only a fortnight. all that groundwork, whilst it was successful in itself, has left me forgetting where i was supposed to be. still, with the weather improving i should be able to get back into a routine .. alternate, i always found useful, or even a three activity cycle - flatwork, groundwork, hack...

anyways that's for later inthe year when we get proper light nights.

i felt as though i couldn't get my leg right at all. and she was no way going straight. that was probably down to me, but she was mithering on at the bit from the off which didn't help. i did about 20 minutes or so in walk; she's forgotten what little she had learnt about moving away from the leg. then when someone turned up (i knew this person was stll to arrive, herpony was still out!) i did some trot work and felt i was starting to get it in terms of a low rise and not bouncing. we started off with me on the wrong diagonal everytime, but in due course got to me on the right diagnonal from the off. and almost got some sitting trot back.

need to work harder on the legs

need a lesson ....

a good drying day

but that as all that could be said for it; certainly wasn't a good riding day! i don't think anyone rode, the wind was so bad. i'd thought if it dropped later i might .. but there's no signs of it. ah well, the laundry is done and dried and the kitchen's a lot cleaner than it was...

haven't tried the moulded panels on the saddle yet, that was going to be for this weekend...hope i get the chance through the week...

what was that

about riding on saturday?

car to garage. partner picked me up. took her home, wrapped parcel to post, post office, yard. muck out etc; wait for farrier. farrier late. rashly let other's go first, had to leave money with farrier and come away. no sign of partner. back to garage paid for car left hers there came home, partner appeared. we found carpet man had been this morning supposed to be this afternoon ... happily, came back! back to garage, waited for carpet man, had brunch (bacon butties, done in baguettes in my case with cheese, yummy ...). went to feed store for haylage & feed. filled car. man said what's there is all we have left for the year in haylage..... went down, unloaded car, decided go back and load car again; did so via garage for fuel as had none. back to yard unloaded more haylage. bedded up etc. put haylage in for night, made up feed. by this time totally frozen - howling gale - and starving; horse brought in and i came home.

it's true what they say, the best of the weather is in the morning, and if i hadn't had to take car to garage.... but there we go. better luck tomorrow i hope!

definite progress

tonight she offered to go right at a point when i was asking for left. progress, i should say so! not totally consistent yet and i think we're still a tad confused as to what means go forward and what means turn in and stand, but i cannot believe how well this way of training is working.

excellent!

and she was warm when i got her in, and shedding huge amounts ...

rug off

molly was SO warm, i took the rug off. she'll get filthy (stable is on rubber matting with one bag of shavings and of course the field is still muddy) and i hope i don't regret it, but she's shedding so much, it's so nice through the day (UP TO 54 F forecast for tomorrow) she'll be melting and i don't want an overheated horse!

didn't do anything with her - apart from anything else, was still in my work kit! and that doesn't work, really!

and i'm still pleased about last night, it was good...

and more yay

not having done anything with molly since what, wednesday was it? i didn't know what to expect. borrowed friend's rope halter and 12' rope with leather bits on the end, as used by e.g. maxwell and others.

we got right rein trot, with practically no argument whatsoever. I didn't have to spend any time at all moving her legs.

yay.

so after confirming that she would do it by having her do it again, i stopped.

and i now see why those ropes are £20 - that'll be about $40 US jean i expect ... very heavy in the hand, make a satisfactory noise when circled, much easier to use altogether.

and shedding? she's shedding .... it's amazing how easy it is to forget how horrendous the spring moult is between one year and the next!

the pc's at the office, our IT chap said he'd look at it for me

another oddity; the hub would never work on the pc, works perfectly on the laptop. go figure!

mad march gales

as if we hadn't had enough in january and february... more today. lovely morning at work looking at it, if cold; by this evening, not. so i did that rare thing, groomed without then doing any work! still a bit tired from the weekend anyway,

recovering from yesterday

the trouble with a bad night is it takes ages to pull back together ....

the plan was to ride this morning, given the weather's nice and forecast to rain this afternoon.

but soo tired still, and for same reason my shoulders are hurting which means i need to wear my neck collar a couple of nights probably (although it's been all this stress of things going wrong, i expect!). got to the yard ... no one was riding. lots of hangovers, i wasn't actually yawning when i got there but was time i left, you know how catching it is.

so i thought leave it to later .... if it doesn't rain and i feel better, then maybe.

there's never a huge amount of point doing anything when you're not well, and i can't go out on my own yet .....

simba

in one piece

first thing this mornig (well, not quite first thing .... this was about 0730 i think) up our maple

i think this has been my busiest blogging day yet...

always on broadband

i'd wondered, when i went to broadband, why everyone wittered on about always on internet connections, because i certainly didn't have on.

turns out, that's because of the modem that came with the subscription.

the new modem is always on ....

so i'm going to have to be really on top of updating security software (happily, it does it automatically)

comments

always have the time on them, but never the date.

i was struck by this having gone to beckbrook to see if victoria has anything to say for herself yet. she hasn't, but the comments are all on the one post and there is no way of telling that in fact they've been added many months later.

generally speaking it doesn't matter; but in this case, it certainly does! and i wonder if there's anyway of resolving that short of actually putting the date in ones comment...

tired

which isn't surprising.

i do have time and daylight to do something with molly, but don't think i've really got the brain power after the hour i got up this morning.

the car is probably the fan switch, booked in for next friday.

the pc will have to wait for the man getting back to me

partner had me out choosing carpet for spare bedroom.

hot in the car, cold out

tired.....

so am having a cuppa to pick me up then will go down and bring her in and feed her

oh, and the other job for the day was to buy haylage for molly and a bag of feed for queenie; i need to go up this weekend, but that's waiting for tomorrow now.

and the weather has been rather good .. lots of sunshine, and the only rain was before dawn. so the washing's on the line as well....

testing new modem with laptop

at the crack of dawn (well earlier, i got up at 0430, overheating ...) my pc crashed.

i moved the laptop upstairs, but found that the software i'd thought i'd downloaded, the modem driver, hadn't downloaded properly and there was nothing there. major deprivation moment.

had to buy a new modem.

rather think the pc is totally stuffed. went into set up 4 times, but it would not recognize the main hard drive (i have two, but the one that wasn't working was the one with the os on ...)

so i won't have to ask to borrow anyone's pc to post ... and won't have to post from work, which is seriously frowned upon ....

what a day...

firstly, when i came down this morning, Simba was hobbling about on three legs; so clearly the usual routine to get ready for work, etc, went out of the window as he had to go to the vet. I thought he'd broken something..... got there well before they opened, having dropped partner off to collect her car from where she'd left it for her london trip, and made it work for 10.

then in the afternoon had to go to our other office. i'd forgotten about the horrendous road works to get into redcar (well, they were a lot worse this week than last anyway) and whilst sitting in the traffic jam the car overheated.

so had to rearrange the client who was due any minute; didn't know how long i'd be sitting there.

walked along to garage on corner next to road works, who really unhelpfully said " we all finish at 5 and the lads are on their last jobs" ... essentially, f*** off; I shall ensure I tell everyone about that lack of service! the fact that my car was not the make of car that garage sells really should have been irrelevant, but I don't suppose it was.

by the time i walked back to the car it had cooled down enough to be nursed round to the office (switching it off when the traffic wasn't moving, i was still in the jam!). left it in the car park with the bonnet up; one of the lads had a look, we decided there was loads of coolant, so goodness knows what's going on.

then came home early. decided to come home before going to yard, on principle that i could use partner's car when she came back from vet with simba. She'd decided to go visit her mother (who's in hosptial; this morning she'd said she wasn't going to...)

Simba hasn't, apparently, broken anything, just realy severe bruising. but has to go back monday 4 pm. partner will have to do that, i won't be able to ...

so after all that, despite the nice weather this evening (cold but dry and no wind, and we are, apparently, expecting a full eclipse of the moon) molly just got her tea and i came away....

and brought a load of work home ot make up for this morning and to get it done.... forecast to rain sunday. but was due to go to see queenie this weekend, now car has to go to garage in the morning if they'll look at it...duh.

yay

one full circle in trot right rein... result!

first attempt she'd gone right, then turned back when i started saying good girl and she realised what she'd done.

second attempt, yay hey.

did by applying gentle pressure in a rightwards direction, then when she'd turned her head that way slightly touched the end of the rope to her right shoulder.

and then we went back in. and she got two polos, one with her head at the girth left and the other ditto right.

nice ideas jean ... it's really only an issue in the arena.