Happy Easter! by Robin Janney

Well, it seems Carol and I have managed to get slightly off our schedule, but it's all good because life happens!

Today is a holiday for many, and at the very least a day to spend time with family.  Rather than have a home cooked meal, some of my family went out for our traditional ham dinner.  Of course, the restaurant is owned and run by some of our family so it's a double bonus.

No matter what you do today, whether you celebrate the Christian holiday or not, I hope you and your family have had a Happy Easter!

Living the Busy Life by Robin Janney

I had to do some  investigating when I saw that our last post was a late one from myself.  I realized late last night that I hadn't done my post last week, and was surprised to see that CP missed her week as well.  I know from her Facebook posts that she's been busy: graduations and weddings have filled her days as well as formatting her latest work Overcoming Sarah into a proper format for paperback.

I think I needed to come up with 2 sets of 3 for this hand...
didn't have the greatest start, but I've seen worse!

Trying to think back on what I did last week to lose track of time and turns.  And I'm not really sure!  Friday and Sunday night were card night at my in-laws.  A while back, my mother-in-law decided it would be a good idea for the four of us to play cards on Friday night.  Sometimes we play just one round, other times we get in two.  Last weekend we played cards on Sunday night as well since the two of us who work had Monday off.  It's always fun, even when the cards don't go my way.  One night we made homemade ice cream while we were playing cards!  Usually we don't have any snacks at all.

Monday was Memorial Day and my side of the family celebrated as usual by a having a picnic.  This year we were at the Waverly Glen park just over the NY border.  My maternal grandparents are buried in the cemetery that borders the pretty little park.  I was trying to stay out of the sunshine because a medicine I was on carried a sensitivity warning, so I didn't get any pictures of the water fall that graces the park...although I still managed to get a slight sunburn anyway!

Then of course it was back to work on Tuesday.  And really it's kind of a blur.  I know I had a doctor's appointment Thursday afternoon, after which we hit the Toyota dealers to ask about a metal piece we thought had maybe come off our truck (it wasn't ours!) and then to step into Mr. Janney's doctors so we could ask about his stitches.  No one ever told us they were the dissolving kind and so that was another relief.

One of my husband's attic finds; he placed it in my computer area :) I love the
creative ambiance it adds!!

There is a yard sale coming up next Saturday and there've been a few days our focus has been sorting and cleaning and deciding what to keep and what to sell...and there'll be more of that this week.

Mr. Janney also took the opportunity to rearrange the computer room one day while I was at work as well - he needs to take it easy still, only 3 weeks after his surgery, but he's getting antsy.  I forget which night we went up to his parents and helped go through their attic.  Mr. Janney found a few things he's been looking for, although I'm still not sure if he's keeping or selling the stand up pin ball machine in the yard sale.

One evening we were called up to help my mother do a quick cleaning job to make room for a new couch in her living room. I think it was the same day as the doctor's appointment because I remember coming home and my smartphone connected to wifi and I had all these messages from people and a bunch were from my mother!  It was a quick job, but still managed to take up a large portion of the evening due to the conversation that took place!

You'd never know a storm had went
through  minutes before this pic.
Stephen Foster Lake at Mt Pisgah State Park

This weekend my husband and I tried to go swimming at an area pool, but the weather wouldn't cooperate.  I'd barely gotten changed into my bikini when it thundered and the pool closed...we had to wait until 20 minutes after the last thunder before it would reopen.  We hung around for a while, and had been in the pool for maybe five minutes before the next storm made itself known.  This time we took off to find a spot to picnic at while it rained.

Our only visitors; they made a little noise but not much.

We found an empty pavilion and hoped the ones who had reserved it for the day had either already come and gone or were coming later...we got lucky, no one showed up and told us to leave.  We ate in peaceful nature, with a gorgeous view and a few animal visitors.  But the threat of more thunderstorm shut the pool down for the rest of the afternoon so our swimming was over.  Which was frustrating because none of my doctors want me walking for exercise and instead would rather I swim.  Which will be hard to do with this being the only free swimming pool that I know of in our area.  The fact that I can't actually swim aside.  At the least, I can 'walk' in the pool without creating stress on my torn foot tendon.

Today we are just relaxing.  My Janney is playing his GTA 5 and Clash of Clans.  I'm catching up on laundry and computer stuff.  What have you all been up to in these past few summer-like weekends?

Better Late Than Never - By Robin Janney

And then there is that moment, when you look at the blog schedule and realize..."Oh yeah, it was my week to post something!" and the week is almost over.

I'm usually all on top of that kind of stuff, but even my mother's birthday snuck up on me this year and that's been the same date since before I was born!

Of course, with the pressure on...my mind is completely blank.  But apparently it's been on the blank side all week!

The road goes ever on and on,
down from the door where it began....

But, my trip to my mother's last night gave me a bit of inspiration.  Another thing I have in common with my writing cohort, is photography.  Although I am nowhere near Carol's caliber, I love taking pictures!  My hands are so shaky any more, I'm lucky to get whatever good shots I can.

Lucky shot

With the invention of the digital camera, especially in camera phones, it's a lot easier to take pictures and have them 'developed' than it used to be.  All a girl has to do it point her phone at some pretty fall leaves, click and then upload to Facebook.  Well, if she's on Wi-Fi - it doesn't eat data up that way.

I have two tricks to get good pictures with my cellphone.  One of the things I love about my new cellphone is how quickly it can take pictures.  I can take several in rapid succession; which gives me some great Google AutoAwesome pictures by the way.  So one of my methods is to take several shots all at once and hope one of them is good enough to upload and share.  Sometimes I get lucky with a single shot, if I'm careful to keep my hands halfway steady.

The view out my back door...

The second trick is to use the video setting on the phone and then watch it, pausing at the spots I want and take a screen shot.  That was how I was able to get pictures from out my back door.  I just swept my phone slowly along the ridge, then snapped some screen shots.

I still have to look up to get the view, but it's worth it!

I learned the video trick from one of my husband's relatives while at a family reunion.  It was a large reunion, and there were a lot of people there and I don't even remember this teen's name.  He had commented on my iPhone's  casing, which was 'custom made' as it was pieces from two different sets.

It's a good time of year to be snapping pictures anyway.  Not that there is ever a bad time.  But with the fall colors creeping in, far too quickly, the mountains and the country roads are breathtaking.  So much color here.  I probably have scores of pictures of fall foliage, both in Facebook albums and in physical photographs.

My Jaclyn

I also like to take pictures of my animals.  I wish that camera's on cellphones were more common when my Little Bear was still alive.  I would have so many more pictures of her!  She was a special dog, and I credit her with saving my life during a very dark time in my life.  But that's okay.  It's not just my own animals I'll snap pictures of.  I have no problem snapping pictures of my mother's animals too.

Mother's cat - Fuchsias

My brother's dog Buddy, who is more mother's dog...

Mother's cat is a bit spoiled.  He was named by her one grandson and so his name is a bit different.  Think the color Fuchsia and pluralize it.  We're not sure where he came up with that name, or what it meant in his young head.  But it stuck, even though the cat is clearly yellow and not pink!  And he was male before mother took him to the vet.  And he is most definitely Mother's cat.  He doesn't like her grandsons' playing with him, and will tolerate us other grownups petting him.  He'll curl right up on Mom's lap though and sleep with her through most nights.

I'm not sure what to tell you about poor Buddy.  He was brought home by my youngest brother as a pup (look Mom, can I keep him?), who then later moved out and left the purebred coon dog with mother.  He'll run away looking for his master, even though he loves Mother and is clearly her dog as much as the cat.

Believe it or not, there is a deer in the picture...
All the way down where the sunshine is...
Honest...

As I was leaving my mother's last night, I had my phone's camera open and ready in case my suspicions were correct:  when I walked down to get mother's mail and newspaper, I took my phone with me to grab some fall shots; when I lowered it, I happened to see movement in the distance - a deer crossing the road.  So when I left a little bit later, I was hoping it would still be there when I drove by.  And was I ever right...and then some!  I got a few stills, but then decided that wasn't good enough and switched to video.  They cooperated for longer than I thought they would.




And last but not least, I managed to snag some pretty cool sunset pictures as well.  I'll leave you on that note, hoping you've enjoyed a slice of my life in pics.

a bit of heavenly fire

or heaven's gold, if you prefer

AutoAwesome rocks...

Confessions of this Married Writer by Robin Janney

My first confession is that I've been a slacker this week.  I haven't posted on my own blog, and have put off working on this post until today.

The three day weekend last weekend had a lot to do with it, because my husband had all three days off.  And let me tell you, there is no getting any writing when he is home.  Not because he bothers me, just because I set it to the side so I can spend time with him.

Clare Dunn opening for Parmalee

Saturday, we decided to go to the Kiwanis Wyoming County Fair even though we knew it meant sacrificing our grocery money for the week.  Thankfully, it didn't matter because we had enough already so that it wasn't an issue (although I did have to end up using my change to buy a loaf of bread). My husband has such a good heart; one of his co-workers has been down in the dumps so my husband decided to invite him to go with us.  I walked waaaaay too much on my foot that won't heal, even sitting down on benches here and there.  But I got to eat Triton pizza and later had homemade ice cream.  We ran short on time after the concert, so we missed out on funnel cake this year.

One thing I like about this fair is that their concert area is in this little bowl in the land.  They fill the bottom part with chairs, but they let people bring in their own chairs and sit on the side of the banks for a cheaper price.  It used to be $5, but this year it was raised to $10.  Still a good deal.  Three years ago they had the Roots and Boots Tour: Aaron Tippin, Sammy Kershaw and Joe Diffie.  Unfortunately, there was a bad thunderstorm that blew up and rained us out an hour into the show. :/ That didn't happen this year with Clare Dunn and Parmalee. While it sounded to hubby and me that their sound was off (screechy) we still enjoyed the songs.

Parmalee

The second coming?

Oh, there they are!

Sadly, sitting on the bank means that the pictures my phone will take are less than stellar.  But that didn't stop me from taking them.  :)

Which leads me into another confession I guess.  I love taking pictures.  Which is something my husband finds amusing, unless I'm trying to take a picture of him.  The handsome lad doesn't like his picture taken because he thinks he's ugly!  It's far from true, but sometimes how we view ourselves isn't anything close to how others view us.  Neither view is 100% accurate, is it?

But as long as I'm not aiming at him, he doesn't care.  In fact when we were in the fair's southern field, about five minutes too late for the Big Cats show, he laughed when I pulled my phone out to capture what pics I could of the gorgeous animals.  "I knew that was coming out!" he said.  Even though we missed the 'show' we still got to see animals we'd never seen before. It was quite exciting.

Meow Meow

Meow

Meow Meow Meooooow!

What can I say?  The majesty of these big cats speak for themselves. Though caged, they still have this regal bearing that says: "I'm only tolerating this because you're shoving chunks of meat through the cage to me."  I can only hope that when they're not on the road being shown, that they have a bigger home than the cages we saw.  Part of me hates that they're caged, but another part of me recognizes that without the cages, I would never have been able to see them.

Well, that covers day one of the three day weekend, you say.  What about Sunday and Monday? you ask.

Sunday, I still wasn't feeling well from a stomach bug that had been bothering me for over a week and from overdoing it at the fair (I didn't even mention the Tough Truck Competition because I didn't get pictures).  So I pretty much bummed it.  All I really remember doing is a lot of reading.

Which leads me into confession number three.  This should be no surprise to any of you readers out there.  I have more books than what I know what to do with, but that doesn't stop me from buying more.  From the library last week, I picked up two paperbacks for fifty cents a piece (and am eyeing more): The Stand by Stephen King and The King of Torts by John Grisham.  I've never read any of Grisham's books, and while I've read some of his short stories, I've never read a King novel either.  I'm usually hesitant about trying out authors I'm not familiar with, but I've been feeling the need to expand my horizons recently.  For fifty cents, you really can't lose.  AND, while at the fair, I picked up two more!  The Green Mile, another Stephen King, and Vision In Death by J.D. Robb.  I love love love the book stall at the fair! :)

And that's not all.  I recently bought Breathe of Dawn by Kristen Heitzmann.  I don't read Christian fiction much anymore unless I want something light to read because much of it lacks a certain energy.  What I've read of Kristen's has that missing energy other works seem to lack. I've been trying to read that at the same time as reading The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan, but Shadow has been demanding my full attention.  Sucks me right in, every time.

Mage Ciera without her armor

Monday...well, uhm, see this is a hard confession.  I'm not the level of gamer that my hubby is.  Not much for Xbox, although I can play a decent game of Halo Wars (better if he's on too giving me 'orders') and I like Hexic (think Bejewled Blitz).  But I love the online role playing game RuneScape.  Monday, hubby was on his account and well, I can't exactly let him get too far ahead of me now can I?

Sitting in the same room, on separate computers, it's not uncommon for us to ask each other "Where are you?"  We had our characters in different places in the beginning, but ended up in the same dungeon room killing zombies and crawlers. And picking up whatever loot the other players let go.  I leveled up my Herblore almost ten levels by cleaning the herbs left behind by other players' kills.  They snooze, they lose.

Just like in real life, somehow I ended up making sure hubby, or rather his character, had enough to eat.  Those critters fight back, and if you're not paying attention you can kick the bucket.  And then he needed bowstring for a bow he wanted to make and he was going to buy it from the games "Grand Exchange" and I'm like, "No, no, no!!  I have some I can give you!  Don't buy any!"  Apparently he's forgotten where the flax fields are and how to make bowstrings.  Just a silly game, but it's fun and relaxing (except when others don't play nice).  As I was reading the Wikipedia article I linked above, I was amused to discover that there has been three fantasy novels written based on the game.  Why not?

Tuesday is a bit of a blur.  I didn't do much of anything fun.  Dishes.  Which is five minutes on my feet, and ten off, which can make doing dishes quite the ordeal if I've let them pile up like I did over the weekend.  I'm so bad.

Today, my mother and I went on a road trip of sorts.  My foot doctor has ordered Orthodic inserts for my shoes and the place he sent me to is in Johnson City, New York.  It's roughly an hour from my home, traffic and road work permitting.  Road work did not permit today and I was about fifteen minutes late.  :|  For an appointment that maybe lasted fifteen minutes.  If that.  All he really did was take down my info, look at both my naked feet and them make impressions of both in blue foam.  I get to go back in three weeks.  Praying that my insurance covers it, because otherwise that'll be a nice bill of $420!!  Yikes!

After that, I decided to splurge a little and take my mom out to eat.  I found a Friendly's to stop at.  Which the booth mom and I sat at had mirrors behind my mom, so out came the phone again to take pics.

Trying not to laugh too hard at me

My mom...I <3 her...

Food was good, the sundaes even better!  They give you these huge plates to make you think you're getting a lot, but you're not really.  You're just getting a normal portion.  I can't say the same about the five scoop sundaes we had.  Those were niiiice...

Those are the best confessions I can come up with.  Not exactly earth-shattering, or entirely shocking in same cases.  But enough to let you know what this crazy writer has been up to recently.  I'll be getting back on the ball tomorrow and back to proofing book number two.  I'm getting so itchy about wanting to release it!  But I can't yet, not until I weed out as many typos as I can find!  And touch up a few weak spots.  Once I've finished my present going through, and have made all the corrections, I'm going to upload the file and get my proof copy and then read through that one to make sure I've gotten as much as I can...again!  I'll never be 100% satisfied, but I'll reach the "confident enough" level after I've done that much.

But I'll leave you with a teaser of the cover as I ask you, "What did you do for Labor Day?"

Coming soon, I promise!!

Family, Babies and Painting

I had a busy weekend.  Correction, Sunday and Monday were busy.  Saturday was busy in the catch up on laundry kind of way.  Nothing exciting there, although I did get to meet some of the new neighbors as I gave them a ride into town.  Not having a vehicle is a pain, and it is something I remember well so I'm more than willing to help people out.

An older pic of Oneida Lake, NY.  At sunrise no less.

Sunday I joined my mother and my youngest brother for a road trip to Syracuse, New York.  I'm not sure why we say that, because we actually go above that city to a little country area just outside the village of West Monroe.  I used to really enjoy driving or riding through that city, this country girl who secretly loves cities was always so impressed.  Now, after seeing New York City, Syracuse kind of pales in comparison.  My brother and I had good conversation on the way up, including a run down on the Hunger Games as he knows nothing about them and hasn't seen the movies.

Because of the side trip into Cicero for the church service we were attending, I missed my favorite bit of scenery anyway and that was going across the bridge over Oneida Lake.  It scared me as a child, but that changed the older I became and the vast body of water fascinates me.  I had been planning on video taping it this time as we crossed it, but I failed to let the driver know and by the time I realized we were taking a different route there was no point in speaking up.

This was the first time I've attended a church service in I don't know how many years.  Well, there was my sister's baptism last summer but that wasn't a "normal" service so I don't know that it counts.  There was music that time, but no sermon as they had people give testimonies instead.  It was ok. This past Sunday was ok as well, although it was different.  I'm not precisely sure how the Vineyard churches operate, but instead of having a different pastor for each church and a different message each Sunday, they stream the head pastor in from where ever he's at.  I'd never experienced something like that and I'm still undecided as to how I feel about it.  Not that it matters, it's not my church.

We were there to support my cousin Lawrence as he dedicated his youngest two children to the Lord.  An act that maybe took two minutes.  I wasn't timing it, honest, as I was too busy fighting with my iPhone so that I could snap a picture!  It kept telling me that I didn't have enough room in memory!  What?  I just deleted pictures not that long ago!  I've had problems with my phone ever since I upgraded to IOS 7; I really need a new phone to go along with the software upgrade!

From left to right: Tim holding his son Gabriel; 
Serena and her nephew Alex; Leland;
Rebecca holding niece Paige - being dedicated; 
Lawrence holding daughter Hailey - also being dedicated .

Standing up with my cousin Lawrence as godparents for the little girls his wife left behind was his twin brother and sister-in-law, Leland and Becky and their oldest sister Serena and her husband Tim.  I have to be honest, the entire custody issue with Lawrence and the little girls confuse me somewhat, but I'll save that until my joint post with my cohort next week.  CP has it started already, and I'm supposed to provide the logical perspective since I don't have children of my own.  Trust me, I heard all about how I need to catch the baby germ while visiting my family!  That post should be up some time mid-week of next week.

We spent the day with my New York relatives, eating up popcorn and looking at the Tim and Serena's pictures from their mission trip to Haiti.  They went in January while their home state of Indiana was getting a blizzard.  Of course, they had stories to go with most of the pictures.  Even pictures that had been lost were mentioned - like the little boy who wouldn't let them take his picture until he had bathed and put on his good clothes, even though bathing meant he had to draw the water from the village well and heat it as well.  The things we take for granted here in the US!

It was late when I arrived back home, after 11pm and I was ever so glad that Monday was another "dark day" and I didn't have to be up at 4:15 the next morning.  As tired as I was, I stayed up until midnight watching WatchMojo.com videos on YouTube while waiting for Mr. Janney to come to bed.

Painting black on black...

Since I didn't have to work on Monday, I decided to help Mr. Janney with his latest project with the welder.  Painting a twenty foot trailer.  Black.  On black.  He had already done the undercoat and was ready for the first layer of regular paint.  There was no way to tell where we left off painting when we renewed the paint on our rollers except to remember where we had stopped.  It was a fun challenge, to be sure.

I enjoy working with my husband.  It's something I miss from when we used to work at the Daily Review together (where we met).  Part of me regrets that we changed employers, but we have to do what pays the bills the best.  And where I'm at now does pay better, even working four days a week.  They're hoping the market is changing so that we'll start working five days again.  As long as our daily hours go down so that we're not working 9 or 9 and half hours I'll be okay with that; we've worked 9 and a half so far this week and my body is telling me all about!  That extra half hour may not seem like much, but it does have an affect.

I'm going to eave you with a short short video of my cousin Serena blowing bubbles for her son Gabriel and her niece Hailey.

What about you readers?  Do you like to travel?  What's the farthest you've ever traveled to spend time with family?

Controlling The Speeding Conveyor Belt by Robin Janney

I watched a very encouraging video Sunday by +Bonnie Andrews on her blog Hobby to Hot!   The video link will take you there.  I loved the I Love Lucy reference, I don't think there is a person alive who wouldn't know the chocolate factory scene Bonnie referred to where Lucy is frantically trying to keep up with the chocolate sweets that are coming at her.

Sometimes I doubt what Bonnie claims, that I'm the one in control of the speed of that conveyor belt...you know the one.  Instead of chocolate bonbons coming at us, we get: schedule changes, plans thrown out the window because someone else wants to do a different thing, illnesses - either our own or a friends or worse, family, you name it and it'll fit on this list!  Bonnie was very right when she said that no one is exempt from the "busyness" of life!

I know that Bonnie is right of course, that I'm the one in control of that conveyor belt.  I can't control what comes at me, but I can choose the rate at some of the things headed at me and how I respond to them.  As my husband would be glad to testify, I don't always handle sudden changes with sugary sweet aplomb.  Sometimes I really get downright bitchy if something takes me away from what I had planned.  When I want to write, that's all I want to do, but sometimes life has other ideas.

There are ways I can control this better though.  Less time on Facebook would be a great place to start. Even though it can be a great source of humor, it can also be a time waster.  I could work on blog posts on my phone app while at work, or play my games at work so that when I get home I'm ready to focus on what I need to do.  Communicating better with the husband is always a must, as he does have a habit of changing what I have planned.

As I'm writing this, and thinking things up on the fly, I'm not sure how to handle the laggy computer.  This is the number one reason why I work with my phone or a book next to me, so that I have something to do while the computer catches up to me.  The only problem with that is I get caught up in the book or the phone and forget to check back on the computer and loose precious moments.

But as a death in my husband's family, my family now too, reminds me - some moments are more precious than others.  I don't have to post to my blog everyday.  And even if I don't get time on my story logged on the computer, I can always write it freehand or makes notes for later.  Nothing has to be lost.  As much as I love to write and read, time spent with loved ones is more important.  So maybe my husband sidetracking me last weekend is an okay thing.

Because the belt doesn't always have to go fast.  Life is meant to be enjoyed.  So if you're feeling overwhelmed, take a moment to look at what you have going on.  See what you can slow down.

I'm going to leave it at that for now.

A Weekend of Horses (and Hockey) by C.P. Stringham

Monte Nicholas and Nancy Epler shortly after closing the
sale on their new horse farm. (Photo courtesy of Rockin' N)

Busy, busy, busy...
As most on-the-go families can attest, weekends are a huge juggling act of accommodations.  Within a forty-eight hour period, we attempt the near-impossible feat of fitting each activity into some form of itinerary that makes everyone happy.  Between our work and school weeks, we find ourselves living for the weekend—AKA: our not so leisure leisure time.  This past weekend, while jam-packed, was incredibly satisfying.  We spent hours at a nearby horse farm and even managed to squeeze in a hockey game on Saturday night.  How can you go wrong with horses and hockey? 

Monte Nicholas and Robin Muzzy, riding Jean's horse,
Smarty, chat during a break. 

    

Horse heaven...
Our friends, Nancy Epler and Monte       Nicholas, recently began living their dream of owning a large horse boarding and training facility.  The former Round Top Stables, located on Wolcott Hollow Road in Athens, PA, is now called Rockin’ N Stables & Ranch (Click on name for link.)  Nancy and Monte are no strangers to the horse world.  For them, it has been a lifelong love—both of their fathers were horsemen so you can say it’s in their blood.  In business for a little over four months, this horsepower couple has already built up a great client base and a good reputation.  From my outside perspective, they have reached this early success, in part, due to their willingness to network with fellow trainers and barns.  They understand how important it is within our small horse community to build friendships and collaborate.  The other reason for their success is due to Monte’s training skills.  Many of the barns in our area have hired Monte to come in and break their young horses and desensitize them.  While the words break and desensitize may sound harsh to those outside of the horse world, they are anything but.  Especially in Monte’s capable hands.  While he demands respect from the horses he’s training, he also treats them with respect.  When he introduces new horses to situations, he doesn’t force them to do it in a heavy-handed manner.  Instead, he works on the horse’s natural curiosity to lead them to the end desired result.  My family and I have witnessed him work wonders.

Since Rockin’ N’s opening, they have hosted three well-attended riding clinics.  Each clinician featured has been brought in from other established local barns.  Patricia Ross (my children’s riding instructor,) of Foxwin Farm LLC (click on name for link,) presented the first clinic at Rockin’ N during

From left to right: The clinicians Pat Ross riding Foxwin Jericho 

"Tank," Richie Fisher judging a 4-H show at 

Alparon Park, and Robin Muzzy, Carolyn Mosher,

and Jean Lindsey with Craig Cameron (second from left.) 

(Photos courtesy of Pat Ross, Caitlin McBratney, 

and Jean Lindsey)

the grand opening event.  Pat is a Morgan Horse breeder and dressage instructor with over fifty years of experience and a recipient of the prestigious American Morgan Horse Associations’ Masters Certificate for her “long-standing commitment and involvement with the Morgan Horse.”  She and Monte covered basic horsemanship and training tips with an emphasis on communication and partnership-building for horse and rider through fun group and individual activities.  Their second clinician, Richard A. Fisher, instructed participants on barrel racing and horsemanship.  Richie is the owner and founder of Fisher Equestrian Center and is known throughout the area for his involvement working with 4-H exhibitors by presenting clinics and judging shows as well as training and instructing for novice amateur, amateur, and open showing.  
This past weekend, Rockin’ N hosted an Ultimate Trail Challenge clinic instructed by Jean Lindsey with the help of Carolyn Mosher.  Jean got her start as a young teen under the guidance of Dick and Tete Burleigh of Burleigh Quarter Horses and has since been a clinic student of Craig Cameron, Joann K. Long, and Denny Wilcox.  With her former AQHA gelding, Light Brunch “Leo,” Jean won numerous circuit championships and AQHA Region Five Regional Experience Championships.

Sydney and Leah lead the way as Nancy Epler and Carney follow while
Jean Lindsey has fun during the Ultimate Trail Challenge. (Photo courtesy
Lea Halderman)

My oldest daughter got to participate in two out of three of these clinics.  She lives and breathes horses.  As a non-horse owner, the generous and kind-hearted folks in our horse community help to indulge her obsession.  For this past weekend’s clinic, Jean offered her the use of her three year-old filly.  Needless to say, she had a smile plastered on her face the entire time her butt was in the saddle.  Everyone knows what an honor it is to use one of Jean’s well-trained babies. Sydney was on cloud nine.

Part of the line up during the Ultimate Trail Challenge

As a spectator, my heart literally gushes over with love and admiration while I’m at these events and I witness the teamwork and camaraderie taking place between participants.  This clinic was no different.  Take fifteen riders and fifteen horses, all with their own unique personalities and experience levels, and put them into an indoor arena with obstacles and sensory hazards and you’d expect chaos, but that wasn’t the case.  Through careful planning by Jean, Carolyn, Monte, and Nancy, the clinic was a huge success for both participants and those auditing in the spectator section.  Advanced riders honed their existing skills and knowledge base and novices made giant gains by meeting new challenges.  It was great visiting with old friends and leaving the event having made a few new ones.  Nancy and Monte assured us they are working to bring many more of these wonderful events to Rockin’ N. 

Sydney riding Chief and Mackenzie riding 

Nancy's horse, Carney. (Photo courtesy of Rockin' N)

My daughters get to reap the rewards of being Pat’s lesson students and riding and learning at Foxwin Farm while also enjoying our friendship with Monte and Nancy where they can ride at their farm as well.  Friday night was spent at Rockin’ N while Pat and Monte worked with one of the young Foxwin mares and Sydney got to ride Jean’s AQHA palomino filly, Leah, around the arena while Jean and Carolyn set up for Saturday’s clinic.  On Saturday, we attended the clinic as a supportive family while Syd participated.  Rounding out this great weekend of horse time, both of my girls returned to the barn on Sunday afternoon and rode two of Rockin’ N’s lesson horses.  The greatest part of Sunday’s ride for Sydney?  Talking Monte into letting her ride with an English saddle on his Western gelding, Chief.  Who knows, maybe by summertime, Monte will get into the hunter/jumper spirit and he’ll buy a pair of jodhpurs or breeches for himself—but I wouldn’t count on it.

                                                                                                   Bring on the hockey!!

Syd, Viv, and Mackenzie waiting for the game to start.

Facing off..

During our weekend of horsey Zen time, we fit in an Elmira Jackals game on Saturday night.  Our local ECHL hockey team hosted the Wheeling Nailers.  We had excellent seats right on the glass and loved every minute of checking, hooking, and slashing—and a fight or two.  Although the Jackals lost 1-3, the girls left the game upbeat with the give-away prizes they were able to grab.  Mackenzie even got to take home one of the game pucks after it managed to squeeze between the glass and the net and landed in front of her. Thank you, My Gal Friday, for sharing your tickets with us!