Cheap entertainment

I think that we spent a total of $20 yesterday and we definitely got our money’s worth.

Sydney had her ride.  She’s looking quite the horsewoman.

That is she and the Stableman, Steve.  Steve is apparently also Mr Fixit around here…all 97 pounds of him.  That helmet that they’ve humiliated the poor horse with is supposed to be on Sydney’s head when she rides.  Everybody under 18 has to wear one.  She hates it, so of course, I think it’s a great safety rule that must be followed.

Yesterday, there were 16 year old twins on the ride that are staying in the main lodge, one girl and one boy.  The girl is supposedly going to come down and help curry and saddle this morning.  Steve said that if she did, Sydney’d have to teach her.  I’m pretty sure that Syd popped a vest button about that.

She gets two and a half hours of horse time every morning, first thing, and she is very, very accomodating of whatever we want to do after that.  We joked that she’d need to be patient with the girl.  Sydney would be working after a full breakfast, but the girl might only have had a pop-tart.

After that, we made sandwiches and went to the lake.  There is a very rocky shoreline and one area where there is a sandy beach.

The water was wonderful and not too hot…but warmer than the pool here at the lodge.

We got there just before noon and got a terrific spot, with a covered picnic table very near the car and kept wondering why there were so few people there.  There were only a couple other cars in the lot.  We swam and I spent some time in the sun…slathered in sunscreen, so you can only really tell I was in the sun in the spots I missed.  They swam and the dogs…well, we would have likely stayed all afternoon, except for the dogs.  Anytime another dog got there, Mable had a fit, pulling and baying.  And, Bella whimpered the whole time.  I could only control Bella while Sydney swam if she sat on my lap, covered by my shirt, with just her head peeking out so that she could see “her girl”.  When I tired of that, I made Sydney take her, which meant she wasn’t getting to swim.  When asked why she wasn’t swimming, she said that I wouldn’t let her because of the dog.  My reply was simple.  “I don’t babysit.  Remember that when you’re thinking of having teen sex.”

Around three, we came back to the cabin and I quilted.  Rob has taken the camera on a walk with the dog, or I’d show you the quilting so far.  It’s working out terrifically and I’m thinking of taking my 301 to class next weekend, just to show that it’s not the machine that makes quilts.  It’s the practice.  The machine just has features to help overcome hurdles.  I think the only two things I’ve missed from my big Bernina, Evelyn, a vintage machine herself, is needle down and the knee lifter for the presser foot.  Things that I can do hands free on Evelyn require that I stop and use my hands on the 301.  But, other than that, it’s just the skill of getting the quilt to be where it needs to be under the needle and even a ten thousand dollar sewing machine cannot do that for you.  Well, I guess there are computerized long arms that can do that, but not a domestic machine that I know of.

Back at the lodge, Sydney went to the pool for over an hour and Rob and I just hung out and listened to music while I quilted.  Then, I cooked pork chops and hamburgers on that horrible little grill…I cooked two meals so I didn’t have to deal with that thing again this week.  We had dinner and watched a movie and then, it was time for bed. 

You know our theory that a tired beagle is a happy beagle.  Well, I think we tired miss Mable out yesterday. 

She slept from the time we got to the cabin until we got up this morning, barely getting up to go outside for walks and to eat.  I think she enjoyed her little jaunt to the beach.

Today, we’re still in discussions about what to do.  I think that soon as Syd goes to the stable, Rob and I might take a walking tour of the historic homes district.  That’s one of the things we didn’t do last time that I want to make sure we do this time.  Or, we might go to a working grist mill.  You just can never tell about us.  There’s also discussion of trying another cave.  (I won’t be asking questions about whether that’s what we want to do again.)  I think that because our fireworks plans got cancelled, we may have a very low-key day.  I could do that.

I’d love to be getting more quilting time.  I’m very excited about what I’m getting done.  But, given the choice between sitting a quilting and enjoying the vacation with family, I’m pretty much going with the family thing.  Who cares if I finish this quilt on the mountain.  Just getting it started is enough.

The property on the other side of the lodge is for sale.  A little stone house with several acres and a shed out back that would be perfect for a quilting studio (and would have to be because the house is tiny).  Sydney could work at the stables.  Rob could be Mr Fixit for the lodge and I could cater breakfast for the guests and clean rooms.  We’ve worked it all out.  Well, except for medical benefits, but if we were living the dream, we’d never get sick, right?

A fantasy is a wonderful thing.

Lane