Low standards perfect

Several years ago, Stealth's owner, Diana, asked me how he'd behaved on our most recent ride.

"Oh," I told her with a happy sigh. "He was just perfect."

"You always say that," she said. "How come he's never perfect for me?"

I laughed and replied, "I have lower standards." 

Today, I took Olive for a ride with Therese and Karen.

She was perfect.

She was so confident through the berm, I asked if we could ride home through the river bottom.

No problem!

I was so proud of her.

She was just perfect.

But also, I did step off of her twice.

There's a new swing set at one of the houses we pass by, and children were swinging aggressively. That was a lot for a little mustang, and she got stuck. The same thing happened when we passed the golf course porta potty.

Both times, I dismounted, led her past the problem spot, remounted and then continued on as if nothing had happened. 

That's probably not most people's definition of perfect, but I have low standards. Good girl, Olive. I think you're perfect.

Moving out

A couple nights ago, I was reading a book in bed, with all three dogs cuddled up around me. Ryan came in to say goodnight, both to me and to the dogs. He spent time with each one of them, scratching ears and rubbing tummies, all the while telling me about his day. He does this often, and I really love it.

Except now I have to say, he did this often, and I really loved it. 

As of yesterday, Ryan no longer lives in my house.

He's a twenty two year old college graduate with a good job. He's ready. I'm not, but he is.

Seth is in Texas with his parents, so for the next week or two, this nest is really empty. It's a weird time, and I am feeling all the emotions: happiness, sadness, love, loss and, above all, pride.

Introducing Spaetzle

Here's the newest member of my painted resin herd. This is Spaetzle.

Spaetzle is a customized Ilona Himmelmann Dotty resin. She was a gift from the German hobby community, and was presented to me at a NaMoPaiMo prepping party in January 2020.

I cleaned up the area behind her ears to make a little more tack friendly and gave her a tummy tuck.

Then I handed her off to Angelo Žunić, who added feathers to her cute little feet.

I started painting her during this year's NaMoPaiMo and finished earlier this month.

It's a simple paint job on a humble little resin, but I am enamored with her.

She's perfectly positioned to interact with so many of my props.

I foresee a million photos in her future.

Thank you again to all my German - and Austrian! - friends. I hope we will meet again, and when we do, perhaps we can share a plate of spaetzle.

Spaetzle, part two

The day after the German NaMoPaiMo party, Carol and I drove about an hour southeast from her home in Stuttgart to Hohenzollern Castle.

We parked the car and walked to the footpath. 

The sign wasn't kidding. It was definitely steep, with stairs.

As we climbed, the castle began to emerge from the fog.

It truly felt like something from a fairytale.

Jennifer at the castle gates.

We spent some time wandering around the courtyard, taking pictures of the castle,

the view...

and...

each other.

I also took pictures of the castle horses.

This one was in the Chapel.

Then we stood in line for the tour.

Photography is not allowed inside the castle, so I don't have any pictures of the interior. That's okay. I more than made up for it with my outside photos. Aside from owning a horse, a long European vacation was right at the top of my lifetime bucket list. I wanted to remember in every single moment.

Then, after it was all said and done, Carol and I visited the castle restaurant, and I checked off the newest item on my European bucket list: I ate spaetzle.

I am so thankful I got to take that trip. I am so glad I got to taste the spaetzle.

Spaetzle, part one

I spent most of January 2020 in Europe, and during that time I attended two NaMoPaiMo prepping parties: one in the Netherlands and the other in Germany.

photo by Helena Ruppert

The German party was held at the Himmelmann family home in Gauangelloch near Leimen.

We gathered together in a second story room...

that overlooked the horse pasture.

The party began with introductions and an exchange of gifts.

photo by Kim Brandner

I gave out medallions, t-shirts and Mini Whinnies.

What I got was so much more.

photo by Helena Ruppert

The biggest item was a Dotty resin, sculpted by Ilona Himmelmann. I was thrilled.

photo by Kim Brandner

Once that was done, we got to work.

And while we worked, we talked.

photo by Kim Brandner

Eventually the topic turned to food.

I was asked which German foods I'd tried, and I had to admit that other than a gas station schnitzel and German Mexican food - which is really, really, really not like American Mexican food - I hadn't eaten anything I couldn't have bought in the United States.

I'm sure you can imagine how that was received. Immediately, I had a whole list of foods that I absolutely, positively had to try before I went home, and number one on everyone's list was spaetzle.

We talked about spaetzle for a very long time, and by the end of the party, two things were abundantly clear: First, I needed to go to a proper German restaurant and try some spaetzle.

Second, my new little Dotty pony had named herself.

To be continued.