7-21-03: Shake & Dive

Monday, July 21 2003

pixabay.com

9:43 pm     Severe lightning & thunder this morning. A couple of very loud strikes made Vince shake & dive for cover. David was up & around but I was still in bed. After the first zap I knew I was wise not to look outside because I’d just get more scared.

Turns out we may have had a power surge, but no damage except a blown fuse in the electronic air filter. Computer & misc are on surge protectors. Lots of rain with the storm – good thing we got all our outside stuff done yesterday.


Stayed rainy on & off all day with warm temp @ 70. I used the weather as an excuse to stay inside and bake a cake and made frosting (both chocolate). Did laundry, general house stuff, finished catching up on my soaps then watched today’s episodes 2-4pm. Gen’l Hosp. is so drama packed lately!

We both hot tubbed today (separately)  to ease the aches from yesterday’s bout with manual labor. Haven’t had a double egg day yet from the chickens. I think Creamsicle is on vacation. Dinner was spaghetti, fresh bread, and a salad made from all garden produce: lettuce, carrots, gr. onion, and cucumber.

David went shopping at Sam’s Club and Kroger.



End of Entry

7-20-03: Carry On

Sunday, July 20 2003

10:07pm  After getting home yesterday, we didn’t even change clothes before we started checking things out in the yard. Picked up the mail from [K&D] and chatted a bit. Then a bit later, [H] stopped by (on his mower, not ATV) and filled us in on the general goings-on. Had a salad for “dinner” @ 9:00, and soon after to bed since we’ve missed it so much.

This morning I let the dogs out @ 7am, with the intent to go back to bed, but it was so nice out that instead I took some pictures outside, then had a bowl of cereal in the sunroom.

Flower Garden

Beautiful morning reflections

Actually I was half way through the bowl when I saw Tessa hovering over something – turned out to be her first rabbit kill. A juvenile rabbit, but dead nonetheless. It was cute, small and still warm, so I carried it out to the north field so the food cycle could carry on. Then, since the cereal was soggy, I gathered up the pertinents and started weeding in the veg. garden.

Basically, the whole day was spent outside. I weeded and weed-whacked the veg. garden, back yard and west field garden. David mowed the front yard, back yard, north field paths, and bush hogged the west field. For lunch I made an omelet consisting of our chicken eggs, ham & cheese, and a side of stir-fried garden red potatoes, garden carrot, and garden dill, with a pinch of rosemary from our former home in WA. It was a lovely meal.

At 5:00pm my tired back told me to leave the field garden & go inside, so I did. Took my first real shower in days, then prepared dinner of BBQ chicken breasts, carrot & raisin salad, and noodles w/olive oil & herbs. Pretty good, if I must say. After dinner I made up a dinner menu for the next few weeks & with David’s help prepared a grocery list for tomorrow.

Now I’m in bed, catching up on my soaps via video tape of Gen. Hosp, and Soap Net for OLTL. I scraped all my fingernail polish off with my pocket knife and made a mess on the comforter. Oh well.

I’m so happy about the way the gardens are growing. The wildflower garden in the back yard is very pretty now, with poppies going nuts and so many colors and sizes of plants. The front yard perennial garden is doing okay, but we really need to mulch so the crappy dirt doesn’t keep packing together. Tired now, time for lights out.

Poppies!

End of Entry

7-19-03: Day 10 of Summer Trip_Churchill Downs!

Saturday, July 19 2003

Day 10 of Summer Trip (Louisville, KY)

2:00pm (102349)
Departing James & Tammy J’s house after a BIG day (ok, half a day).

Last night after meeting & greeting & getting the dogs settled, went out to dinner in Louisville to a place the (other) J’s like. Had a good meal in the outdoor patio, with the locals commenting on the pleasant weather due to the low humidity.

I guess we finally brought someone good weather.



After dinner, home to chat & ignore the TV; lively conversation about dogs and dog training. Around 11-ish, to bed, with us downstairs in the finished basement on a pull-out couch supplemented by an air mattress which led to a few comedic moments…

6:am – We got up, dressed, and pre-packed the truck for later departure. Dog duty was easy here because of the fenced yard. At 7:15am, Jamie took David & I (in his Wave 3 TV Truck) to Churchill Downs to watch the early morning exercise----

SHIT! 2:20pm & just realized I left purse & camera behind at the Joslyn’s. David is NOT a happy camper, and I'm pretty mad at me, too. We’re both very quietly mad…

3:06pm – Been back on the road a while, and I think the steam is subsiding, so I’ll just be quiet and finish my recap. So…

-----exercise riders, and walk around the “backside” as the horse people went about their daily tasks. Jamie knew a few people from his video work for a local TV station, and he knew all the ins and outs of the backside and general workout schedule.

The 'backside' of Churchill Downs

David & Jamie in front of Churchill Downs

The famous Twin Spires, 2003

Another view of the Twin Spires

Tina and David at Churchill Downs

Morning workouts at Churchill Downs, 2003
(Thanks Jamie, for setting me up with this shot!)

Churchill Downs was undergoing major renovations  in 2003.

@ 9:30am we went to breakfast at Wagoner’s Pharmacy which according to Jamie is quite popular with the horse people. Some of the big name trainers life Baffert & Lukas can be spotted there, especially around Derby time.

After 10-ish we headed to the Kentucky Derby Museum and were joined by Betty and Sam. Had a wonderful time browsing the gift shop (some pricey Slew posters) and viewing all the exhibits. Saw one of the horse “stand-ins” for Seabiscuit in the soon to be released movie.

After a few hours we were saturated with horse racing info and ready to go. So, back to the house after a brief driving tour of Louisville, rounded up the dogs and everything except my purse & camera, and departed with talk of seeing each other again since we’re only @ 5 hrs. apart.

4:20pm – near Cincinnati, OH – (102468) Fuel & potty stop. $25.68, 19.8gal, 297.8 miles. 

@6:20pm – Near Columbus, took exit and walked & fed dogs by roadside.

7:38pm – (102654) Arrived Home!

End of Entry

7-18-03: Day 9 of Summer Trip

Friday, July 18 2003

Day 9 of Summer Trip (KOA to Louisville, KY)

10:00am (102196)

Departing KOA. David got up @ 6:30 with the dogs. When he let them in the tent their feet were soaked from the wet grass so I wouldn’t let them climb on the sleeping bag. Tessa was not pleased, and Vince was stunned. I’m pretty sure Pav cursed at me.

Anyhoo, I got up and prepacked while David was in the bathroom. Also I set up breakfast preparations, and when David returned he poached eggs and toasted bagels over the single-burner stove while I walked Vince & Tessa. Terrific breakfast!

David has always been an excellent breakfast cook

Tent, sleeping bags, and clothing were damp from humidity & dew, so we had to putz around a while waiting for things to dry out.
- Nearby houses good candidates for my book
- Received compliment from tenting neighbors on our good, quiet dogs.


@1:00pm – 4:30pm
Arrived Kentucky Horse Park after some scenic driving as inspired by info from the Visitors Center in Richmond. Found shade for the dogs out in the empty back nine, then had a great time walking around the facility.



Saw live examples of many breeds of horses, from miniature to draft, including a few I’ve never heard of. Saw 28 year old *John Henry in his stall & I told him I had just been mentioning him to Britta during our horse racing discussion.

Famous Racehorse "John Henry", 28 yrs old in 2003

John Henry....enough said.

Also a terrific museum of horse history with interesting text, displays, and pictures. Tried to restrain our intake of racing info, since we plan to visit the Kentucky Derby Museum tomorrow with David’s cousin, but it’s so hard to turn away from a picture of *Seattle Slew, Affirmed or Secretariat.

Secretariat

FAQ, the ol' fashioned way

very informative chart...

...to an extent.

Man O' War--you should read about him!

Seeing *Man-o-War’s statue was fun, and David took my picture with it. Departed toward Louisville & *David’s relatives around 4:30.

5:50 
Arrived Jamie & Tammy J’s house in Louisville, KY  (102339)

Jamie, Tammy, Betty, Max and Sam pulled in the driveway minutes later, just arriving home after a visit to Pittsburgh.

*John Henry, Seattle Slew, Affirmed, Secretariat, Man-o-War: In a nutshell, 5 of the most awesome racehorses ever. All have a special place in my heart, and Seattle Slew played a large part in my original move from Ohio to Seattle, WA! But that's a different story...

*David's relatives: Our trip plans included staying with David's cousin Jamie and his family, and his mother, David's Aunt Betty, who just happened to be visiting that week.

End of Entry

7-17-03: Day 8 of Summer Trip

Thursday, July 17 2003

Day 8 of Summer Trip (North Carolina to Kentucky)

8:52 am 
Departing House (1017240)

Had a busy morning packing up, cleaning & vacuuming, loading the truck, prepping the dogs, and closing down the house. The humidity is gross. David says “standing still makes you sweat”.

9:30 – fuel stop  25gal, $35, 444.8 miles (101760)

@11am – rest area near Winston Salem. Humidity level much, much lower!

1:10pm – arrived “Biltmore Estate”. Beautiful weather. (101962) 238 miles from Dad’s house.

1:20pm – departed "Biltmore Estate” due to $36 per person ticket price (restrooms were free, though).

2:40pm – (102020) Crossed into Tennessee, stopped at Welcome Center for dog potty break. HOT!

4:28pm – (102133) Into Kentucky! Headed for the KOA in Renfro Valley where we’ll tent overnight & hopefully swim in the pool.

5:05pm – stopped in  London, KY for fuel & dinner to go. Lasagna from Fazoli’s.  (102171 $34, 25.6gal, 410 miles)

5:40pm – Arrive KOA in Renfro Valley (Just 1.5 miles past the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum).

Setting up camp at the KOA

Tent camping with three dogs is interesting...

7:45pm – We ate, set up the tent, visited the camp bathroom and store, played with the dogs, and now we’re relaxing in our chairs. The dogs (mostly Tessa) have a yearning to be where their ropes won’t go, but they’re finally settled down. The sun is also settling down behind some trees, and the heat with it. We’ve got a few citronella tea lights burning, & two layers of spray on our sweaty skin. 

Note: started the outline for *my book during the drive today – I really think it’s going to happen!

*my book: Eleven years later, here in 2014, I guess it's okay to reveal my book idea since I haven't gotten around to writing it yet. It's all about--no, wait, let me think about this. I think I'll write a separate blog piece. It's so hard to give away a good book idea! 

End of Entry