A Ride and Other Happenings

Yesterday I took the horse for a ride for the first time since...well, since late last September. (That ride has yet to be chronicled--suffice to say it was an adventure, to say the very least.) But yesterday's excursion was an adventure of the more relaxing sort.

On the way home from running errands I noticed that the library was having a book sale; instead of stopping with the car I decided to ride downtown with a backpack, load up, and head home that way. Y'know, because that was much easier.

It was entertaining, anyway. Especially since I found out while taking Colletta up that her bridle was broken--the screw that attaches the headstall to the bit fell out, leaving said bit useless. Fortunately, I've ridden Colletta with just a halter so many times that I was able to attach the reins to her halter and ride her downtown that way. And there were only a few funny looks from the local peasants--er, pedestrians.

(I found 4 books for two dollars at said sale, by the by: all old ones and pleasingly vintage to my eyes. They're proving to be worthwhile purchases.)

I would like to point out that riding with a backpack, even if said backpack straps are fully tightened, is not very comfortable with an Aussie saddle. The bottom of the bag kept hitting the top of the seat and it just didn't work very well.

After coming home and ditching the bag, I snagged the dog and headed off across the fields south of town for a couple of miles. Javert kept up for the most part, but he definitely started slowing down by about the halfway point. Colletta hit her stride about halfway but upon getting home she was covered in froth (that hasn't happened in ages, even during the ride last month) and moving rather slowly. My animals are embarrassingly out of shape, to say nothing for myself. <.< >.>

And today it dropped 30-some-odd degrees and it's blowing and raining and miserable and horrible riding weather. Sigh. So much for endurance stuff.

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Speaking of horrible weather, this is the day that we had the dog shaved. To make a long story short, he sheds. He sheds a lot. And Mom, being sick of sweeping up ravenous hair bunnies all the time, requested that he be clipped. 

The result has yet to be filmed. But mere hours after he left the groomer, it started blowing, pouring, and the temperature has dropped from the mid 70's to lower 40's. It's nasty out there. But at least he'll be more inclined to stay home.

Well...that's the plan, at least. 

It's a very sneaky plan.

And...um....it's late, and I haven't done anything noteworthy in the past few days aside from attempt to go Primal again and surf the internet and rouse myself to accomplish some schoolwork. It's been a slow month, what can I say?

Elizabeth Marie ::Senior Pictures::

Last Saturday I had the privilege to take the senior pictures of a friend of mine. I think they turned out rather well...but see for yourself.

(This isn't all the pictures I'm giving her--just some personal favorites. It was rather overcast, so I got to play with exposure and different filters to achieve a warmer or brighter effect. That was fun.)

This was taken outside of an old run-down middle school here in town...the place is a mess, but there's little pockets of interesting-ness if one knows where to look.

A set of interesting doors at the same middle school.

Changing locations to off the square at the 'old jail'. Fun fact: my grandma used to live here because her dad was the sheriff. It's an art studio now, of all things.

If the streets in town weren't paved, they'd all have this brick cobbling. It's interesting to look at, but rough as all get-out.

Trying some different angles...

...and trying out one's modeling poses. XD

Taking advantage of a yard filled with leaves! Thank goodness for church friends and their beautiful trees.

I think this one has almost a washed look to it...not quite like a painting, but somewhat. I like it, anyway.

And this was at the lake. Said lake might not have many redeeming qualities, but it does provide a nice backdrop.

I hadn't taken pictures for anyone for a long time--a poor experience doing wedding pictures has scarred me for life--and it was really nice to get out and take some pictures without a huge amount of pressure or fuss.

(Thought I will never do wedding pictures professionally again. Just sayin'.)

Some Recent Projects

Last week I took off from work. Originally I was supposed to go with Mom down to Florida, but because I'm sick and we didn't know what I had I just stayed home, both from Florida and from work.

(I went to the doctor on Friday, was diagnosed with acute bronchitis, and put in a regimen of powerful antibiotics. Sigh. Mom thinks I'm developing asthma, because in the mornings I cough so hard I can hardly breathe and have to gasp for air. Ees kinda scary...but I have an inhaler for those moments so thus far it's all good.)

Since I was off work all week, I pretty much did nothing aside from piddle around doing this and that. Though I did make pierogis for the first time, and they turned out delicious. They were way easier to make than I thought they would be, too...let's just say the frozen ones will never be an option again. 

I also made a few things for the heck of it--not as much as was planned, but a few things. 

Item #1: (yet another) denim skirt

I've kinda got these things on the brain. My inspiration was found on Pinterest, but said inspiration was also made out of jersey fabric instead of denim. It still turned out okay. Next time I'll do two tiers of the vertical panels for continuity's sake. Otherwise it's very comfy and I can't wait to wear it more this fall.

All the strips were leftovers from a previous project where I made a blanket for my bed (that cut down on a lot of the prep time), and the entire thing was put together with my serger. I love that thing to death, man. It makes clothing projects go by SO much faster.

Item #2: personal pumpkin pies

Another Pinterest-inspired thing...though I made it with butternut squash instead of pumpkin. And they rather shriveled up upon cooling, to my dismay...but they still tasted deliciously like pumpkin pie. 

Item #3: button earrings

And ANOTHER Pinterest inspiration. I spend way too much time on that website. 

These were taken late at night, hence the mediocre quality...but you get the idea. They jingle pleasantly when I wear them and are just fun.

I've been having fun wearing them, at least. ^-^

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Last Saturday I took some senior pictures for a friend of mine from church--after they're edited I'll be posting them up here. I think they turned out really nice and I can't wait to post them. She's pretty excited about them too (aren't you, Lizard? :D)

Apple Cheese Bacon Pie

And its shadow ilk.

(Pie isn't really menacing enough to have shadow ilk...I just like the phrase. I blame Roommates. But back to pie.)

I noticed that I failed to blog about the pie like I promised, so here's a very late attempt at recompense three weeks after said pie was made. Oh well. 

I heard about this pie while wandering around on the internet a couple of months ago, and the idea of apples, bacon, and cheese all being melded together in one glorious dish was mind-boggling. I know they put cheese on apple pie in Wisconsin and stuff...but cheese IN pie sounds better. And it looked more appealing than a glob of funky cheese sauce.

The recipe called for the apples to be freshly sliced and cooked in a kind of light sauce made from chicken bullion. I used too much bullion, and it turned out rather on the salty side, but oh well.

It looks kinda gross now. But baking reveals a melding of deliciousness and layers that none would imagine coming from that mess.

And a top makes everything better.

I got excited and was taking pictures through the glass door...and looking at this picture I see weird faces in the reflections and I think I've lost it. O.o

I have never been able to cut a pretty piece of pie in my life. Mangling them is my MO, so there ya go.

(MO also stands for 'multifaceted obsessionist', if you were wondering. And it's the first two letters of my name. And...I'll stop now.)

As I mentioned earlier, it was pretty delicious, if a bit on the salty side. And peeling the apples would have been nice. *was too lazy to peel them and would have felt guilty about doing so anyway and being wasteful*

I'll try to make it again sometime. Next time it will be even better!

Autumn

We've had a fire in the stove at night for the past few weeks...the leaves are starting to turn and fall off one by one...the yard has a crisp brown-ness creeping across the soft green grass...summer is fading, and autumn is on its way.

On Sunday I had the sudden urge to go outside and lie under a tree in the yard to take pictures. It's not a very big tree, but from this angle it looks huge. 

The little buckeye tree is a brilliant shade of orange-red--usually it turns brown, so this was a pleasant surprise.

For some reason fall puts within me a desire to get more artsy, to shut up indoors more often and get creative in one form or another. I've got the 'shut up indoors' part down...the 'creativity' part is lacking though. I get distracted easily. >.< The following comic typifies the process pretty well:

Every day. 

But back to pictures!

This is about 1/4 of our woodpile. We need more, but for now it's very nice and neat and has much potential. *nods*

Friday I'm leaving for Florida to see Ben and Wade! Oh, y'know, and my brother and his wife. I guess they count too. ;) I can't wait. So many pictures to take and babies to squeal over! Ees gonna be awesome.

And Wednesday I'm going trail riding with a group of people. So far we have 5 people committed--I've insisted on bringing Colletta, because (a) I hate riding strange horses in an uncontrolled environment and (b) I just prefer her, durnit. Everyone else can just stuff it. XD I can't guarantee a plethora of pictures from that outing, but I'll try to get some before and after ones.

For the past couple of weeks I've been somewhat sick. Well, not like bedridden sick--my only symptom is a dry, persistent cough, and that's been hanging around for almost 3 weeks. I was put on an antibiotic on Saturday, and have been achy/sleeping fitfully ever since, so I'm not sure if the antibiotics made it worse or if my body just decided to take a turn for the worse anyway. Meh. I'm just hoping that it's reduced by Wednesday and gone by Friday. I really don't want to take this down to Florida. *crosses fingers*

And...that's about it. I get introspective and then my mind bounces around to five different topics like a demented grasshopper. You're welcome. 

(I blame Tumblr.)