Biking at the Retreat 2

I had so much fun on my last adventure that I decided to do it again. I rode part of the same route but when I got to the old house in the pasture I saw another road and was game for the adventure to see where it would take me.

This entry way was intriguing to me.

This road had trees that made a canopy over it too!

This road had a LOT more hills than the one I rode the day before. I was almost regretting my decision to take it but the reward for climbing a hill is the going down on the way back!

Found some old cars in a pasture.

pretty road

I love this part of the road.

I passed the entrance to a couple of ranches.

After this ride I was ready to "Wait-a-Bit"! LOL! This was the name of the cabin I stayed in during the retreat!



Have a good one!

Biking at the Retreat

I've been riding my bike for two months now. I started out riding 5 miles and it took me almost 30 minutes. I am now riding 12 miles in an hour. I'm not setting any world records (not that I was trying) but I feel pretty good about my accomplishment! With it being so hot I am riding in the morning before work. I have enjoyed some beautiful sunrises!

I've lost some weight but I don't know exactly how much and I've also toned up as my pants are getting really baggy in the seat but my stubborn spare tire is being very reluctant to let go!

I really enjoy the peace and quiet of the trails and seeing God's creation everywhere I look. It's also nice to not have to dodge cars!

Last weekend I went to a scrapbook retreat celebrating Cat's Creations 10th Anniversary. I was going to be there 4 days so I decided to take my bike. The road that runs in front of the park is a narrow 2-lane very busy road with no shoulders and I felt it was too dangerous to ride on so the first day I rode my bike I rode in the park. Needless to say I was bored with my route by the time I was done! The next day was Sunday and I figured that the road wouldn't be as busy so I decided to give it a try. I then got the idea to just ride the road until I got to a side road. It was a great plan and much safer!



I always love how the rays of sun shine through the clouds.

I liked the clouds over the tank.

My ride started on a gravel road but turned into pavement again. Again I liked the clouds and the farm land.

This picture doesn't really show the slope but this is a great downhill run!

Pretty flowers along the way.

Sights like this are becoming fewer and fewer. I was pleased to see it!

This tree is to the left of the above photo. I found it interesting.

I really like how the trees cover the road almost making a tunnel.

These cuties came to the fence to see what I was doing.

I had a wonderful time seeing the country side and got my 12 miles in to boot!





Have a good one!

This and That

Wow! I'm not sure where the time has gone but it has! I knew I was behind blogging but I didn't realize it had been 3 weeks since I last blogged!

Remi has come and already gone again and has started school. We won't see her until Christmas. Of course the girls spent the night a few times but we were unable to ride horses. It was just too hot.

The girls also wanted to do some crafting!

This picture I posted on Facebook and this is what Vanessa said "That is a Vanessa face. Oh my, if I haven't ever seen it, I see it clearly now. Scary.  

I took the girls with me to feed and a little thunderstorm was just to the North of us giving us quite an electrical show! Unfortunately it didn't rain here but got close enough you could smell it!

I saw this little guy on the wall of the stall.

One evening I went by to visit the girls. They wanted to play makeup.

Kennedy wanted to paint my nails so of course I let her.







Have a good one!

On a Card Making Roll

I am co-leading a Bible Study class for women on Monday nights. We are doing the study "Crash the Chatterbox" by Steven Furtick. It's about learning to stop the voices in our head that keep us from hearing God. You know those voices....you have them too...like "that was stupid", "what were you thinking", "you should have known better", "you're not smart enough", "you're not pretty enough". We have the largest group ever since I've been doing this. There are 22!

In today's world of texting, email and social media sending cards and writing letters is getting to be a "way of the past". I thought it would be nice to send a card to the ladies in the group with either a scripture or encouraging word that they could keep and refer to when ever they needed it.

This card is made from scraps of an older Authentic line. I do not remember where the stamp is from but I really like what it said!

This one is really similar. I just turned the strips the other direction.

This is from the same line of paper. I cut out two butterflies and stacked one on the other to give dimension and put dimensional squares between the wings. I tied floss around the butterflies making a body and antennae. I don't know where this stamp came from either. I also like what it says.

I really liked how this one turned out.

You can't tell it in this photo but I put chipboard behind the middle diamond to give dimension

I cut these oddly shaped flowers and layered them for dimension and interest then popped with dimensional tape.

This paper is also an older collection from Authentic.

Have a good one!

My Cowgirls

Remi is back for her last 3 weeks of the summer.  As soon as she saw me she hit me up about riding Clyde by herself again. I think I'm making a Cowgirl out of her!

Friday, Vanessa worked and Keannon was heading back to work so she had asked if I would like to watch the kids. After Vanessa got back I took the girls to ride.

Remi did a great job of making Clyde go where she wanted and could make him stop. She looks like a natural!

Remi wanted to switch and ride Diamond. I felt comfortable with Kennedy riding Clyde as he is good to follow Diamond or any horse for that matter. I thought we'd walk around the pasture.

After riding the girls wanted to comb and "fix" Clyde's hair. Remi knows how to braid and put three braids in Clyde's mane.

While Remi worked on the front end Kennedy worked on the back end.
















Then Kennedy wanted to help Remi.

Here's the finished product!




Have a good one!

Ridden for the First Time

Friday night I receive a text message from my trainer Jordan:

Jordan: "Ok tomorrow is D day...I'm gonna step up on Dixie"

Me: "Woohoo! I'll be praying!"

Jordan: "Yes I'm pretty excited!! I will let you know how it goes."

Saturday about 4pm I get this picture along with a message:

 Jordan: "I got my friend on her so I could get pics to send you!"

Wasn't that sweet of him?!

 

Here his friend is applying pressure with the reins to see if she will "give to the bit" or give into the pressure. It's this part of training that makes the horse responsive to you.

Doesn't she look great?! Jordan said she did really well for her first time with a rider. He also said she was gonna be a really nice horse for me. I asked how much longer he thought he would need to keep her and he told me he wanted to make 100% sure that I could jump on her and go for a trail ride without any trouble. Believe me, I SO appreciate that!

I was so excited and proud of her progress. Jordan was too! He said He was so excited that he wanted to ride her in the pasture that day but his friend told him he would be dumb!

I can hardly wait to get her back. I have so missed her! The boys are going to be excited too! It has been good for them too that she's been gone. They have become better pasture buddies. Not sure how that will all work out when the "girl" comes home. We'll see.

I couldn't wait to share my excitement at Dixie's progress. It won't be long you'll be seeing me ride Dixie!

Have a good one!

Sky Full of Color

Usually when I have an evening activity I feed horses before but it has been so hot that I've been waiting until dusk to feed horses. Wednesday after services, I head out to my truck and as I usually do I looked at the sky. It looked to me like it was shaping up to be a pretty sunset. I waited to take a picture until I got to the horses.

It was so fun to watch the sunset change colors.

The colors are brilliant and intense!

Then the colors begin to slowly fade.







Have a good one!