billie hinton’s camera-obscura:
life and lessons on November Hill Farm
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
the ship is on autopilot
One:
After my cross-post from November Hill Press blog, and all the lovely support I got, I am happy to report that I got to the upload phase with the first novel this morning. I pretty immediately got stuck in preview mode though b/c of some formatting issues that have to be fixed, but I can say without qualification that my getting out of my slump is a direct result of comments here last week. So thank you to all who commented. I so appreciate it.
Two:
I am living in a boneyard. Sort of like a Stephen King short story. Bear has managed to locate and excavate every bone that has ever been given to Chase or Kyra since we moved here 5 years ago. Every morning I wake up to find that he has been on midnight digs and brought in more of his finds. There were years when I stepped on stray Lego parts or Playmobil parts and squealed in pain. Now I am stubbing my toes on bones. I had no idea we'd even GIVEN Chase and Kyra this many bones!
Three:
It is another gorgeous day and although I still have a list of things, I have spent time on other things too: emailing my writing group partner for support on the formatting glitch, eating the last piece of Mexican chocolate cake that husband made on Friday, and right now I am sitting here cheerfully typing in this blog post, thumbing my nose at the to do list, and letting the ship sail -- on autopilot.
After my cross-post from November Hill Press blog, and all the lovely support I got, I am happy to report that I got to the upload phase with the first novel this morning. I pretty immediately got stuck in preview mode though b/c of some formatting issues that have to be fixed, but I can say without qualification that my getting out of my slump is a direct result of comments here last week. So thank you to all who commented. I so appreciate it.
Two:
I am living in a boneyard. Sort of like a Stephen King short story. Bear has managed to locate and excavate every bone that has ever been given to Chase or Kyra since we moved here 5 years ago. Every morning I wake up to find that he has been on midnight digs and brought in more of his finds. There were years when I stepped on stray Lego parts or Playmobil parts and squealed in pain. Now I am stubbing my toes on bones. I had no idea we'd even GIVEN Chase and Kyra this many bones!
Three:
It is another gorgeous day and although I still have a list of things, I have spent time on other things too: emailing my writing group partner for support on the formatting glitch, eating the last piece of Mexican chocolate cake that husband made on Friday, and right now I am sitting here cheerfully typing in this blog post, thumbing my nose at the to do list, and letting the ship sail -- on autopilot.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
keeping the ship in balance
It's another gorgeous day and I'm trying to keep the same sensibility I had yesterday - enjoy the day, work on the various projects I want to work on, get things done but refrain from getting stuck in the mode of "have to get these things done or I have wasted the weekend."
It's more difficult because today is Sunday and all the things I didn't get to yesterday are sitting here (figuratively) in front of me today, looking quite pitiful and needy and all seemingly having the exact same amount of "needs to get done" weight.
I feel like I'm sailing a big ship, with lots of boxes that need managing, and I'm running from bow to stern trying to keep the whole thing in some semblance of balance. The key is not to turn the "what's at stake" question into that of the ship sinking (which it isn't) but to make it what it is: this ship is sailing mostly forward, but we're on a somewhat zigging and zagging course.
And as much as I want all the boxes sorted and organized, there are helicopters landing with new ones all the time.
How's that for a nice visual of my to do list?
Things I did this weekend:
-enjoyed the gorgeous day yesterday
-many loads of laundry
-various shopping errands with husband, which gave us some time to ride a lovely country road and chat along the way
-bathed two Corgis and made sure their nails got trimmed (husband does that part!)
-designed book cover for second novel
-reformatted first novel and am very close to being done with that "final edit" I keep talking about
-made sure all humans and animals were fed (with help)
-watched several episodes of West Wing, in which the focus was on how to use the 365 days the President and his staff have left! - inspiring but there are no term limits on my to do list, unfortunately!
Things I have not yet done which I wanted to do:
-finish the equine mineral calculations
-soak some equine hooves
-ride!
-read my Proust pages for tomorrow night's group meeting
-finish clearing the truck side of garage/basement
-change linens on bed
-vacuum
-garden
-do some ant patrol in front pasture
-organize my entire life and save the world (whoops! that is one heavy box - how did THAT get on my ship?!)
It's still before noon on Sunday so some of these things will get done today. Those that don't will not sink the ship, but they will weigh heavy if I allow them to... I'm heaving that last one overboard right now, and that has lightened the load. :)
It's more difficult because today is Sunday and all the things I didn't get to yesterday are sitting here (figuratively) in front of me today, looking quite pitiful and needy and all seemingly having the exact same amount of "needs to get done" weight.
I feel like I'm sailing a big ship, with lots of boxes that need managing, and I'm running from bow to stern trying to keep the whole thing in some semblance of balance. The key is not to turn the "what's at stake" question into that of the ship sinking (which it isn't) but to make it what it is: this ship is sailing mostly forward, but we're on a somewhat zigging and zagging course.
And as much as I want all the boxes sorted and organized, there are helicopters landing with new ones all the time.
How's that for a nice visual of my to do list?
Things I did this weekend:
-enjoyed the gorgeous day yesterday
-many loads of laundry
-various shopping errands with husband, which gave us some time to ride a lovely country road and chat along the way
-bathed two Corgis and made sure their nails got trimmed (husband does that part!)
-designed book cover for second novel
-reformatted first novel and am very close to being done with that "final edit" I keep talking about
-made sure all humans and animals were fed (with help)
-watched several episodes of West Wing, in which the focus was on how to use the 365 days the President and his staff have left! - inspiring but there are no term limits on my to do list, unfortunately!
Things I have not yet done which I wanted to do:
-finish the equine mineral calculations
-soak some equine hooves
-ride!
-read my Proust pages for tomorrow night's group meeting
-finish clearing the truck side of garage/basement
-change linens on bed
-vacuum
-garden
-do some ant patrol in front pasture
-organize my entire life and save the world (whoops! that is one heavy box - how did THAT get on my ship?!)
It's still before noon on Sunday so some of these things will get done today. Those that don't will not sink the ship, but they will weigh heavy if I allow them to... I'm heaving that last one overboard right now, and that has lightened the load. :)
Saturday, October 09, 2010
wonderful opportunity to join Sylvia Loch's Classical Riding Club
She's currently offering New Members to the Club a FREE six-month trial Membership.
Access to extensive Library and Newsletters
Members Noticeboard
Horses for Sale
Events
Trainers Directory
Horse Directory
Members Directory and much much more.
Please visit the Website for more information. www.classicalriding.co.uk
I'm thrilled to share this exciting news - and I just joined. Let's get a US group going and maybe we can end up meeting once or twice a year to talk/ride/enjoy the company of like-minded horsefolk!
Access to extensive Library and Newsletters
Members Noticeboard
Horses for Sale
Events
Trainers Directory
Horse Directory
Members Directory and much much more.
Please visit the Website for more information. www.classicalriding.co.uk
I'm thrilled to share this exciting news - and I just joined. Let's get a US group going and maybe we can end up meeting once or twice a year to talk/ride/enjoy the company of like-minded horsefolk!
Friday, October 08, 2010
"famous dressage trainer" served by US Marshalls at WEG
Why?
He has not paid any of the $500,000 judgment which was first rendered by the Federal 9th District court, then upheld by the 6th Circuit, the second highest court in the US. The US Marshals did not depose him but rather delivered a Notice of Deposition, Request for Production of Documents and Interrogatories, as well as collect any cash, jewelry, personal property on his person. Today, the amount of monies owed is in excess of $900,000 given 10 years of interest. He was deposed the following day in Lexington. His home in FL was transferred to his then-girlfriend (with whom he has a child) one day before the emergency order was registered in FL in the year 2000.
For more info on this case, go HERE.
It's generally true that our behavior speaks volumes about us as people, and all I can say to the people who follow this man's training methods is this: look at how he lives his life. A lot of us believe that how we ride our horses speaks volumes about who we are as people. We know how he rides his horses. If that's not revealing enough, this, as far as I'm concerned, tells the rest of the story.
Why do I care?
It bothers me deeply when people who have great influence use it wrongly, for their own gain, and further, use animals as the means to their greedy ends.
That people fall for it upsets me more, as it seems indicative of some of the craziness in the world we live in today.
There's nothing I can do about it, except write about it and hope that when people read, they look at all the pieces they can find, and manage to put together a complete picture for themselves.
And maybe use it as a measure for themselves and their own dealings in the world of horses.
He has not paid any of the $500,000 judgment which was first rendered by the Federal 9th District court, then upheld by the 6th Circuit, the second highest court in the US. The US Marshals did not depose him but rather delivered a Notice of Deposition, Request for Production of Documents and Interrogatories, as well as collect any cash, jewelry, personal property on his person. Today, the amount of monies owed is in excess of $900,000 given 10 years of interest. He was deposed the following day in Lexington. His home in FL was transferred to his then-girlfriend (with whom he has a child) one day before the emergency order was registered in FL in the year 2000.
For more info on this case, go HERE.
It's generally true that our behavior speaks volumes about us as people, and all I can say to the people who follow this man's training methods is this: look at how he lives his life. A lot of us believe that how we ride our horses speaks volumes about who we are as people. We know how he rides his horses. If that's not revealing enough, this, as far as I'm concerned, tells the rest of the story.
Why do I care?
It bothers me deeply when people who have great influence use it wrongly, for their own gain, and further, use animals as the means to their greedy ends.
That people fall for it upsets me more, as it seems indicative of some of the craziness in the world we live in today.
There's nothing I can do about it, except write about it and hope that when people read, they look at all the pieces they can find, and manage to put together a complete picture for themselves.
And maybe use it as a measure for themselves and their own dealings in the world of horses.
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