Category: Life

Minor Emergencies

So about 11 am I notice that my critter-sitter, also known as R, had just left a message for my cell phone.  Unfortunately, the routine that I use to check messages while in the US did not allow me to pick it up in Canada.  This wouldn’t have worried me so much but my critter-sitter wasn’t supposed to try to reach me except for an emergency.  After several failed attempts at using the cell phones belonging to me and Jack I started begging cell phones from friends here at the convention.  (We left one very elderly dog at home and horses are ALWAYS an emergency waiting to happen.) I finally got hold of my friend D who boards my mare and asked her if she knew why my critter sitter had called me.  (The friend D who boards my mare has what is essentially our medical power-of-attorney for our critters so I knew she would know what was going on.)  D assured everyone was fine including Rion who was playing in her back yard and that R was there.  It turned out that Indi (a very sweet, older grulla gelding) had decided to play with the hydrant in D’s barn the previous night.  He had never, ever done this before.  In fact, no horse had done this for over a decade, which is why there wasn’t a safety fastener on it.  It was quite a stretch for Indy to reach the hydrant and flood the barn.   When D got to the barn in the morning, all the horses but my mare were up to their fetlocks in water.  R was calling to find out where we keep our Shop-Vac, so she could take it over to help the clean-up process.  I don’t know if she ever found it, but D reports on Facebook that her barn has been cleaned up.

It’s always something.

My Sister, Caroline, and I

Full Size 900×1163

…a few decades ago. I don’t remember having this photo taken, though I do remember it was at the impetus of of our step-mother, Betty. I think it is the only studio photograph of me, and certainly the only professional one of my sister and I. Until I scanned the photo, I didn’t realize how scuffed the plastic covering had become. I am afraid I would damage it if I tried to remove the covering, which is held on with rivets.

Stuff

Good stuff today:

I freecycled the feather bed (six responses within an hour!) today.  I also got the office / guest room set up, which is part of the project which has eaten my life recently. The Collie seems less stressed since things have become a little more settled.

Bad stuff today:

The damp spot under the third bathroom in our house was not just a damp spot.  Although the damage doesn’t look as severe as it might have, things will need to dry out for a while before we can make a complete assessment.  Home ownership is such a joy!

The puppy thinks I am paying far too much attention to the house and not to him. Puppy has spent a lot of time in time-out today.

Brunch

Jack and I had been wanting to go out to eat to celebrate my birthday, but we were having schedule conflicts. (Our birthdays and anniversary all take place between June 3 and June 13, which seemed like a good idea at the time, but makes it difficult to schedule three separate celebrations.) While I was researching what was available in Monument, the town to north of us, I came across the Mozaic Restaurant, and remembered seeing it on the side of the road going toward Palmer Lake.

I don’t normally do buffets, because it seems like too much food, but I do like brunch occasionally. Jack doesn’t like brunch, because he sees no point in getting up in the morning on a weekend unless he is going to play golf. However, since it was my birthday, he agreed to brunch this morning.

The Mozaic has a fabulous view of the Front Range, looking south toward Cheyenne Mountain. On the opposite side the hill slopes up to the Santa Fe trail and the red rock formations which common to the Palmer Divide area.

The dining room took full advantage of the view and had what our server called a water feature.  I would have called it a fountain, myself.

The food lives up to the setting, and there was, of course, too much of it. It had both breakfast and luncheon items, including sliced prime rib, Belgian waffles, and cooked to order omelettes. I had a hard time deciding what I liked best, though the salmon frittata and cheeze blintz were both very good. The bison short ribs were also excellent. Jack made a strategic error and got an omelette. This left him too full to try much from the luncheon selections.  Poor Jack.