We are getting ready to head off again.  Well, I am.  Sarah is snoozing away.  I'll give her a few more minutes, and then I'm dumping a cup of water on her head.  I'm hungry!

The bed was very comfortable, and I was actually able to set the temperature on the AC to the perfect temp.  Not too cold, and not too hot.  It sure was stuffy in here last night when we first arrived.

The shower was disappointing, and the tub needs some work.  It didn't drain, so I was standing in ankle deep water. Yuck!  Didn't like that.  At all.

Here are a few more pictures of the lobby.  The coffee here is delicious, but the way!

This is the new friend that I made.  He was very well behaved and hardly made a fuss at all.

The hotel is quite homey, and is designed to resemble a rambling farm house.  Here I am, resting by the fireplace.

There is a porch with tables and chairs just outside the lobby, and I took a few moments to enjoy the morning quiet before journeying off to Bob Evans for breakfast.

So, here we are in Grand Rapids, at the Country Inn & Suites.  I decided to only travel half of the distance tonight, because I get up so early in the morning, and I didn't think I could drive all the way without falling asleep.  Plus, the hotel is cheaper than the one in Ludington.

Since we just found out that A & D aren't going to leave until tomorrow morning, I thought I'd post a few pictures so you could see what the room is like.  No need to get up early now!  The room is clean, but when we first arrived, the door was mysteriously open.  Kind of creepy, really.  Hope nobody is hiding under the bed.

Well, here's the bathroom.  As you can see, the toiletries are rather lacking.  Nothing like the luxury of the Wilshire Grand and all of those lovely lotions, soaps, shampoos, and conditioners.  It's true, Michigan isn't nearly as glamorous as California.

The tub.  So sad.  Only one soap, shampoo, and conditioner.  Notice - just one of each.  The towel is artfully folded, so I'll grudgingly give a point for that.

The sink.  So barren.  It made me feel lonely.  Notice - just one soap and one lotion.  And another artfully folded towel!  Nothing else was on that long expanse of porcelain.

On to the bed.  Lots of pillows, but their presentation is a little lacking.  Don't know if they are comfy or not yet.  Update to follow.

There are many pictures throughout the room, and each is rather homey.  And boring.  Not anything that I would hang in my own place, mind you, but since I need a restful night's sleep, they are more than appropriate.  Kids, don't try climbing the walls at home!

Look!  There is a hole in the wall!  Wonder how it got here.  Hope nothing climbs out of it while I'm sleeping.

There is also a coffee maker, and one, yes, ONE, packet of coffee.  Sigh.  I will be making many trips to the lobby in the morning to get my caffeine fix.

Last picture of the evening - there's a fridge and a microwave.  Like last weekend, it's too bad that I'm not staying more than the evening.  I never have these appliances in my room when I can actually use them!

I rode the new horse on Sunday!  Diesel is a 5 gaited ASB with a few lameness issues.  He was very sweet and very willing to do whatever I asked, as long as I asked correctly.  Getting him to slow gait was a lot harder than getting Cookie to do the same thing.  I never did get him to full on rack, but his trot was nice and smooth (mostly), sort of like slipping on a comfy pair of sneakers.  I really like him.

After, I rode Classi in a full bridle, taking care to not use too much curb rein.  I had a problem getting her to trot, but over all, it wasn't a bad warm up for the show this weekend.

Blondie had the day off, and I turned her out in the round pen so she could run around like a crazy thing.  I didn't think she's have the energy, but she was bucking and running around, kicking up clouds of dust.  When Harley was turned out, he just groaned, sank to the ground, and rolled around a bit.  Silly horsie.

Yesterday I rode Classi, and Jen rode Harley.  We both had a great lesson.  It was very hot in the arena, so we called it quits a little early.  Classi was an angel, except for when the sun came out from behind the clouds, casting a shadow by the back gate.  She spooked every time we went around, but I didn't have much patience for her nonsense, and kept her moving along fairly well.  This was only an issue going the second way, mind you.  Not sure why, as the shadow was the same in both directions.

Jen declared that now she likes Harley, and she was able to keep him in forward motion.  She has a much better seat at the canter than I do, which seems a little unfair, as I've been riding longer than she has.  No fair, I say!  No fair!!

Saturday came a little too soon.  Once again, I woke up with a headache.  Last year at the same show, I had such a bad migraine that I missed Blondie's in-hand class.  This year, when I woke up at 3AM not feeling quite right, I took some aspirin.  I think it staved off another migraine.  I don't know if it's the hotel or the fairgrounds that is causing this problem.  I'll go with the hotel, even though it is new and very clean - more about that later.

I was going to tail Blondie in her class, so I got to run after her waving a whip back and forth.  Unless she was acting like an idiot, in which case I was to stand back and avoid being kicked.  There were three horses in the class, and Blondie was still being lazy, so M told me to push her forward.  It was way too early to be running around in circles after a horse, and I didn't get any pictures, so I'm kind of bummed about the experience.  Oh, Blondie was so taken with Diesel, the new ASB at the barn, that she was a perfect angel.  He was standing behind us, and she kept giving him coy glances out of the corner of her eye.  Chickie, let me clue you in - he's a gelding!!  Anyway, he helped her win another blue ribbon, so thanks, big guy!

I headed off to Bob Evans for a solo breakfast after that, as my next class wasn't until about 2PM.  It was only 9AM.  I also stopped at KMart - no wonder they can't sell anything - they didn't have much to look at.  I haven't been in one in about 8 years, and I have to say that Target is so much better, there's absolutely no comparison. 

Oh! I forgot to mention the sock dilemma from Friday.  I left my show shoes at the hotel, and since it's about a 35 minute round trip, I decided to just head up to Meijer to buy another pair.  My show boots are very tight, and I need thin socks or they don't fit.  The selection was not the best, and I ended up in the girls department.  What I needed was on sale - 4 pair for 1.99, but I wasn't sure if they would fit.  I bought 2 packs anyway - they fit great!  Now I can purchase cheapo socks for the shows, which get all muddy and disgusting and I don't have to feel bad about them getting trashed.  Yay!

Back at the fairgrounds, I tried to take a little nap while sitting in a chair.  I don't know how D does it - it is so uncomfortable. I gave up and started reading instead, but I was so tired!  I really wish I could afford a little mo-ho so I could take a nap or blog or read at the shows.  Keep saving pennies!

Pretty soon it was time for my driving class.  It was the championship class.   I had a terrible time keeping her straight.  It really looked like I had never driven before.  Don't know what the problem was, either.  Didn't matter, we won!  Oh, we were the only entry.  No matter, it meant that I was able to pick another crystal after the class (winners of every class get to pick out a piece of crystal at this show), and I was able to make another fool of myself in a victory lap.   Walking back to the barn, someone joked that we should leave a couple of blues for somebody else.  I thought that was pretty funny.  Please, somebody else entry CP driving classes! I'm more than happy to share, just so there's some competition.

Then came the looooonnnggg wait until the riding class.  And I do mean long.  Sheesh.  It was the longest afternoon that I recall.  We bridled her just before the class, and then just walked back and forth.  M was helping Liz get Glory ready for the class directly after ours, so A and A2 were in charge of me and Jen.  D was off shoeing somewhere, probably thrilled to death to not have to wait around the dusty fairgrounds.  A2 was helping me, and she gave me some really good advice about how to keep from holding too much curb, which is a bad habit of mine.  We had also talked earlier in the day, and she pointed out how the judge observed the class.  He stood facing one way, and very rarely glanced behind.  He watched two rails instead.  She told me to have Blondie fixed every time we went down the rail he was watching.  Check!

There were 11 horses in the championship class.  Blondie walked better, and I thought she showed better than Friday.  She was pleasant in the line up again, and she backed upon request.  We ended up 3rd, and I was the highest place adult riding.  Two junior exhibitors placed first and second.  All in all, we had a really good show, and I had a great time!

Now, I proudly present the Wall 'o Ribbons!  The first 5 are Blondie's, as well as the "weed", as Dean likes to refer to it.

I stayed at the Quality Inn in Durand, which I believe opened last year.  I like the hotel, except for the headache issue and the difficulty I have getting their wireless to work.  I was never able to connect my Lenovo this time around.

As you can see, there's a mountain of pillows on every bed. Four to be exact. Since I only have one head, I only really needed one pillow. The bed was very comfy.

I really wish that I had remembered that there were a fridge and a microwave in the room. I would have brought ramen for dinner Friday night and yogurt and granola for breakfast.   The free buffet was a bit of a joke, and the only thing that I ate was a toasted english muffin.  With peanut butter.  From a jar of Peter Pan PB.  No bananas, no yogurt, no much of anything.  The coffee was good, and I did help myself to several cups of that.  For as long as I was able to actually spend at the hotel, it was a pretty good value for the money - much better than having to drive from Flint or stay at the overpriced, uncomfortable, noisy Comstock Inn.

Note: Professional actress portrayed in photos is not the actual star of this blog.  Just a representation.

Oh, this isn't edited either.  Please deal with it, and if you email mistakes, I'll probably fix them.

The internets are not cooperating, so these will all be posted on Sunday.  Here's the show adventure from Friday:

The driving class was uneventful.  Blondie was the only horse in the country pleasure.  Naturally, there were three horses in the show pleasure class.  One horse classes are a total bummer, so it figures that we were in it.

During the warm up, she was so lazy and slow.  She refused to hold her head up, or even trot.  D gave her a good crack with a riding whip when we ambled by, and she picked up the pace a bit, but she remained rather lethargic during the class.  No matter!  We won any way.  Oh, that's right, we were the only entry.

The riding class was a blast.  M had called earlier to ask if I wanted to ride her.  I wasn't sure, but decided that it's about time I started taking a few risks, so I said sure.  Then I started having second thoughts the minute I hung up the phone.  Blondie can be an incredible lunkhead at new arenas, and I don't like riding her in a class unless I've had a trial run.  When I got to the fairgrounds, I discovered that Jen and Sammy were in the same class, so I felt a little better.  I would just follow Sammy in, and it would be like a riding lesson back home. 

Since Blondie was already warmed up from the driving class, we waited until the last minute to bridle her.  I just wanted to pick up a canter on the left lead, and she picked it right up.  Then it was time to go in.  I saw Jen head up the drive into the arena, and got Blondie trotting to follow her in.

The class seemed like it went pretty well.  We had a bad moment when Blondie started trotting instead of walking.  My hands were too busy trying to get her head set, and she got all flustered.  I had her walking by the end of rail, where D happened to be standing, and he told me that were were ok, just keep riding.  Then it time to canter.

In the line up, Blondie behaved herself and backed right away, slowly and almost like she had manners.  It's one of the first times that she stood quietly and didn't make a fuss.  When they announced the first place number, I couldn't believe that it was mine.  It didn't even sink in after they called her name.  I sat there in disbelief.  Holy shit, we finally won a riding class!  One with six other horses!  I still don't really get it, because it wasn't the best she's been, but M said that every time we passed by the judge, her head was up and she was doing exactly what she was supposed to be.  When we cantered, it was in a slow little ball.  So yay, Blondie!  Thanks for making it look like I knew what I was doing.

Unfortunately, there wasn't anybody to take a picture, so here's one from the last show.

Had to eat at Wendy's twice today - YUCK!

Oh, yea, I'm too tired to proofread, so just deal with the typos!

see more crazy cat pics

While at first it didn't seem very warm yesterday, I soon learned how wrong I was.  It was overcast and so humid!  Once Jen and I started lugging tack down to the other barn, the humidity made it a little uncomfortable.  That and Jen's phantom spider, that she swore was lurking in her helmet, ready to gobble her up, and causing her to throw her helmet in response.  Dude!  The plastic cracks if it hits the cement!  The purple spider helmet will now be kept in the safety of her car, where the terrifying arachnids can't get their clutches on it.

Classi got the lesson started with a bang, spooking at the far end.  Why?  There was a ridge of light colored dirt that she was sure was going to eat her.  Or cause her to tumble off a cliff to her death.  I don't know what, but she was acting suspiciously like Blondie.  If they weren't in different barns I would have sworn it was a conspiracy.

With M's help, I was able to get a couple of things accomplished.  I was able to get Classi's mind off of the dirt pile.  I was able to get her to set her head.  And best of all, I was able to get her moving in a nice, collected trot.  Despite the troubles she gave me, it was the best I have ridden her all summer.  Too bad she is going home in two weeks.

Did you miss me? Things have been quiet on the horsie front, and I was only able to ride once last week.  That's not such a bad thing, because it was so hot and humid.  The Wednesday lesson was cut short because of the humidity, but I think that it affected me more than Classi.

During the group lesson we did the usual w/t/c, and then we lined up in the middle and each of us worked a pattern so the horses could cool off.  The pattern was really hard, and Blondie would have had a rough time doing it, but Classi tackled it like a champ.  We were to trot a diagonal line, stop.  Pivot and canter on a diagonal line.  Stop, back three steps, walk up three steps.  Pivot, canter on the incorrect lead.  Stop.  Pivot and trot another diagonal line, showing two changes of diagonal.  So, in short, we created a diamond shape.  The backing up was the hardest thing for Classi - getting her to stop at the corners of the diamond was hardest for me. 

It was raining this morning when I reached the barn.  The photographer guy that I met at Woodward Camera was there with a friend, and they were doing a barn shoot.  They are going to come out again when it's not raining so they can get some outside shots.  It was kind of weird having their flashes go off while we were riding...

Blondie was so good, until M shook some baby powder out to get Ritz's attention.  I didn't even see that she had the container, but all of a sudden Blondie spun out and wouldn't go forward.  I tried to turn her where I wanted her to go, but she started to fight, so I looped her in a circle and made her stay on the rail and trot past the light patches of dirt.  It wasn't a big deal, and it reminded me that I have made tremendous strides in my riding. 

Oh!  Today is the 3rd anniversary of when I started taking lessons!  It should be a holiday!

Next weekend is the Schwartz Creek show, and the weekend after is Ludington.  Classi is going home from Ludington.  It sort of bummed me out today when I realized that I'll only be leasing her for two more weeks. And A thinks that she has her sold, so yet another horse will pass through my life like a ship in the night. 

I must be nuts, because I'm looking for another horse.  It has been fun leasing Classi, but the summer is almost over, and she'll be going back home.  So, I have scraped together every last penny I can find, and I'm in the market for another pony.

Last night I looked at another Saddlebred. He is a 6 year old gelding, 17 hands, and he's used as a lesson horse at another barn.  D & M had him for a week's trial, and yesterday morning, someone called the owner and made an offer for him.  I had first dibs, but I had to make up my mind in a hurry.  I hate that.

First glance at Nemo didn't make any impression other than thinking that he's freaking huge.  He's bigger than Harley, but a lot more gangly.  M pointed out his flaws, including how parrot mouthed he is.  We saddled him up and she got on first, so I could see how he moved.

He is certainly not an object of beauty, and as she put him through his paces, M told me what she liked or didn't like about each of his gaits.  He canters downhill and is kind of clumsy.  Then she complained about how slippery my saddle is!  I told her it would give her better balance, which is what she tells me when I say it's slippery.

Then it was my turn to take Nemo for a spin.  He is huge!  I really had to stretch to get my foot in the stirrup.  He didn't move too badly going the first way, but when we turned and went the second way, he got kind of scrambly.  It felt really weird, like he was trying to trot and canter at the same time.  After a few times of that, I decided that he isn't the horse for me, and I told M to have the boss find me a nice Morgan.  There was one at the show on Saturday that caught my eye, but he is sadly way out of my price range.  I still have lots of time, though.  My goal is to find something by the end of the year.

Since I am on horsie hiatus until Monday, here's a quick post of life to the moment -

My new hobby is playing with my new HE washer and dryer, which Dean seems to think is really weird.  If you are going to spend that much money on appliances, you should enjoy them.  I haven't had a new washer or dryer, ever, and it's a little exciting having my own stuff, instead of someone else's hand-me downs.  I purchased the GE Profile washer and dryer, in the champagne color.  That's another thing he doesn't like about them, but I argue that if they are going to be that expensive, they should at least look like they are made of gold.  And since he told me to get whatever I wanted, he can't really complain.  I would suggest that you not purchase appliances at Lowe's - they were such a pain to deal with.

Jen and I had a good time at Anime Expo, at least until Jen got sick.  We went to lots of panels, Jen took a bunch of pictures, and we walked, a lot!  We were even able to play DDR without waiting in a huge line.  I don't know if that means the game isn't as popular, or we hit the arcade at the right times.  Travel days sucked, though, and between the bomb scare at LAX and all of the flight delays and plane hopping, I am not looking forward to flying again.  It's awful, and the airlines couldn't care less about their rude employees or lack of service.  I was joking that pretty soon they will charge extra for you to actually sit in their uncomfortable seats on the planes.  I wonder what the surcharge for that would be?  50 bucks, or else you have to stand in the cargo area and hold onto a railing the entire flight?  Or they will start charging for you to use the scary restrooms.   Yeah, now there's a thought.

Oh, and I still don't have my PC back.  It's supposed to be finished by Monday.  Somebody is never allowed to touch it again!  Good thing I have a laptop, or I would have torn my hair out...