more holiday shopping on November Hill - day 2, with more Charlie Brown

Love love love the Charlie Brown Christmas Show dance scene! In the spirit of music and dancing,  here are a few links to some terrific music:

A few years ago I bought the original Vince Guaraldi Trio Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack at Starbuck's. I think I listened to it all of that year - I love the songs. And guess what? You can still get it! CLICK HERE for one buying option.

Yesterday the lovely Anna March posted her first Aural Fixations post on The Rumpus. Anna's writing paired with an amazing songlist is gift enough, but I found two new artists whose work I immediately snapped up on iTunes:

Ruth Brown's songs - Ms. B's Blues: Essential Recordings and in particular the song "I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town" - LOVE it!!




And an old friend who is an incredible singer/songwriter with a new CD out, Lynn Blakey and her Meadowview.

Here's a live version of the song Immigrant Heart, which she plays and sings with her husband Ecki Heins:



If you love Lynn's voice as much as I do, check out her work with Tres Chicas and Glory Fountain too.

november hill holiday shopping - day 1 with charlie brown christmas

 I love the Charlie Brown Christmas show, especially the music! And now, day 1 of my holiday shopping guide:

If you're looking for a few books to add to your collection this holiday season, or to give as gifts, I highly recommend the following:

Ten Thousand New Year's Eves by Dawn Deanna Wilson:  I loved this one so much I wrote a blurb for it - it's a wonderful book and perfect to buy now and save for your last read of 2011.

 

Lessons in Forgetting by Malaika King Albrecht: Her poems put us at windows into the moments shared by mothers and daughters dealing with Alzheimer's. Gorgeous and poignant.

 

Night Swim by Jessica Keener: This debut novel is available for pre-order and will be a gorgeous book to read moving into the new year. Keener creates a story that is its own song, hitting every note perfectly.

quick end of November catch-up

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving here on November Hill, and this week have gone from balmy to downright brisk outside. Yesterday morning the geldings and Redford were galloping wildly, and Keil Bay was doing his huge floating trot, which always makes me stop and watch. There is simply nothing more beautiful than Keil Bay doing that trot. Unless it's Salina walking out of the barn looking like a 4-year old, or Cody doing the "power canter" that embraces energy and collection at the same moment, or the pony at full gallop, or the donkeys doing almost anything at all.

We had the chiropractor here after the gallop session and Cody was again almost completely clear. He's beginning to enjoy the chiropractor almost as much as Keil Bay does, which is wonderful. It tells me his muscles and joints are feeling better now that we (knock on wood) have his PSSM symptoms under good control.

Keil Bay had a pelvic rotation, but otherwise was clear. He groaned with pleasure as she went along his neck checking for issues, and closed his eyes in what looked like a meditative state as she stretched out his front legs.

Salina was a handful! She's been on the Previcox for nearly a month and we are seeing her younger mare spirit rise up again. She had a very obvious to the chiropractor hip issue and seemed to know that it was going to be a big adjustment - so we marched up and down the barn aisle a few times until she settled down and allowed it to happen. The moment the adjustment was done, she relaxed from head to tail, and had the most enjoyable chiropractic exam she's ever had. It was wonderful to see.

I'm en route to the periodontist today to get my teeth cleaned after the fairly hideous staining that has resulted from the post-laser gum surgery antibiotic rinse. There have been years of my life when this would have completely freaked me out, but after the November we've had with horses the fact of stained teeth just hasn't seemed all that important to me.

The gum surgery went well, I was actually cheerful during the IV being inserted, due to two very amazing pills. I've made it through the soft food for 22 days regime. And hopefully this afternoon will have a more normal color of teeth!

On the "working on it" side of things, we have a pony who needs more hard work (he's his usual very chubby self this season and grumpy as a result) and a donkey with two ouchy front hooves. Here's hoping we move into December with good solutions for both of them.

Starting tomorrow I'm doing a series of November Hill gift idea posts for the holiday season - including gifting oneself with something special if need be! You'll see the gift I gave to myself for going through with all this dental work after dreading it for two years. Stay tuned...

giving thanks 2011

It occurs to me that there is no better way to get silver of hair (and simultaneously rich in heart) than living with the antics of equines. I'm grateful for this herd of six who each bring something very special to my life:

Keil Bay: reminds me that dreams come true.

Apache Moon: lets me live the dream of little girls and painted ponies and who knows? maybe grandchildren and ponies one of these days! I used to have the Thelwell boxed set. Now I live with the real thing!

Cody: brings sensitivity and the path of opening oneself up, lengthening one's stride, stretching and using those tight muscles we all have.

Salina: offers partnership and a deeper knowing of things. and models how to be a grand old lady.

Rafer Johnson: shares his open heart and steadfast spirit and sweet kind eyes to make every day something special. the words wise and lovebug come together in Rafer Johnson.

Redford: brings a sense of the unexpected to nearly every moment. his place in the herd is always changing and morphing and it's a wonder to watch that process as it happens. he sparks so many things for us.

And, reliably, there go the donkey alarms. Music to our ears here on November Hill. It's feeding time! It's Thanksgiving Day!

Enjoy, and thank YOU for stopping by.

the third thing (seniors giving me silver hairs)

This morning Keil Bay's eye was wonky and when it didn't respond to my wonky eye protocol I called the vet.

3/4 inch scratch right across the cornea.

The Big Bay got a shot of Banamine, eye stain,  super duper eye ointment that needs to go in every 4 hours, and no sedation because he is a remarkably cooperative horse when something is wrong and he needs fixing.

He cried green tears and gave the vet a nuzzle at the end of it. I saw the scratch and for about one minute thought there was actually a splinter embedded in his eye. The vet seemed remarkably nonchalant for such a thing, but I was very relieved that I had totally mistook what I saw!

I have maybe 30 new silver hairs and now that the third thing has hit, we are ready to move on. Cold weather, hot weather, flies, ice in troughs - I swear I will not complain. Just healthy equines and pure boredom of routine days. That's all I ask for.

Send him some healing energy. He's in a fly mask in November!