Sunday, November 13, 2005

Music, My Sister, and much more

It has been a busy couple of weeks. Much to do, but all good. One of the best parts was that my sister, Donna, was down from her home in Shutesbury, MA. She works in the admissions office of Hampshire College. I hadn't seen her for a long time. In fact, I think it had been about 1 1/2 years since we had been together. We had a great time. Mom spoiled us with our favorite dinners. We sat around and laughed a lot. We went to Claire's horse show which deserves a little more comment, so I will do that in a minute. We had a picnic in Pisgah National Forest, where we are blessed to be adjacent, on a beautiful fall afternoon. And, we went to the Orange Peel in Asheville, NC to hear the Del McCoury Band.

A little more about the picnic. While we were there, Campbell worked on pulling a tooth that was in desperate need of coming out. The permanent tooth was already coming in. It was quite a production. It took about 30 minutes of shaking and crying and procrastinating. Isn't if odd how a kid can take a spill on a bike or get a big gash on his head in a football game, but can't pull a tooth that is dangling by one little thread of skin. The picture is of my mom trying to talk him into letting her get hold of the tooth. There were tears involved to be sure.

Earlier that morning we had been at Claire's horse show. Let's just say that there was little to celebrate. Her 13 year old attitude was showing for some reason unknown to any other living creature and she came in last place in every event. The judge even told her that her riding was not bad, but she acted like she didn't care at all about being out there. Attitude! It is so important!

Speaking of horses. Thanks to Claire and Campbell's grandfather, Poppi, Claire is now the proud owner of a horse. He is a very sweet 6 year old who was given away because he wasn't wanted. He has been the center of our world for the past couple of weeks and it has been a good thing for everyone. Campbell hasn't asked to watch tv or play video games and both kids are getting along really well. Tempers seem to flare when there is no physical activity and they spend too much time indoors, so the fresh fall air has been great emotional therapy. I have even riden him a couple of times. I am not too secure on a horse, so my rides are sometimes short, but I am working on getting the hang of it. The horse is now spoiled rotten. He seems more like a big dog than a horse. He gets excited to see someone coming and he is very at ease with people around. You should see him eating dried corn on the cob. The funniest part is the neighbor's dog, Rex, standing underneath to get the kernals that drop.

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

My Addiction

I have become addicted to pottery. I am taking a class, and I can't get enough of it. I just love it! If I could, I would quit my job and make pots. But, I am not that good and would be very hungry. The studio is the Carwile-Dodson Studio for Pottery Instruction at Mud Dabbers. Check it out!