Nice View

The view from the top is pretty sweet this afternoon.


The saddle is very comfortable for me, and I know Aristoitle is comfortable because he offered to canter! Initially I think he anticipated discomfort since his other saddle is too narrow and doesn't allow for him to move comfortably. We walked around the arena several times, then trotted, played the sideways game, bending games, and backed up. While we played the games his head was up and he was bracey but the more I walked around and asked him to bend the more he began to relax.

The next time we trotted his head and neck came down and his trot was relaxed and comfortable. I continued to do trot, walk, halt, back transitions keeping things light but maintaining his concentration on the games. We also played "put your nose on it" :) he put his nose on the mounting block in the arena, and then on the carrot stick which was standing upright inside a traffic cone.

If a horse could turn into a relaxed noodle Aristoitle was well on his way to that state of mind; he was yawning, blowing his nose, and yawning again. I asked him to canter on our last lap around the arena, and he took off on the correct lead even though he was a little rushed. I'm not worried about the canter, he'll get it, he is getting it already.

Ta-Da!!


My Christmas present arrived yesterday. To write that I'm happy would be a huge understatement. :-D

A grocery-story





It was another kooky weekend at the store as usual. To spice things up a little bit our system went offline for awhile disabling the debit payment function. Everyone coming through my line took the glitch in stride and was cheerful in spite of the general slowdown the problem caused with our registers.

The parade of diverse personalities in the store is always amusing to me. I never thought about things like this when I was a shopper, but now that I work in a store I notice all the different ways people go about finding their groceries. For example, we have the High Maintenance shopper: this particular woman invariably comes in at 8:30 P.M. (after we have been wiped out by earlier crowds) and then whines to us that we don't have such and such cheese.. "every time I come here you are always out." Yesterday she needed organic broccoli florets "you don't have any in your frozen section." After spending 5 minutes in our freezer sans jacket, I found the case of broccoli and handed her a few bags. She excitedly pumped her fist in the air saying, "yes!"

She was happy. I was cold.

... And there were 3 bags of organic broccoli florets in the freezer section when I got there to restock.

Next come the File Cabinet shoppers, labeled for the way they like to rifle through the bread and bagged salads, as though they are looking for last year's income tax statement. File Cabinet shoppers often leave the products helter-skelter as though a tornado passed through the area. Fun!

My [ blank ]Sent Me With a List shoppers are often distinguished from other shoppers by the way they walk around as though lost in a corn maze, looking at their grocery list as if it were a compass, and frequently bumping into things/people because they are lost and looking at their list while walking. Approach MBSMWL's with care -they often startle easily but follow calmly when being led to the product they are looking for.

The Regulars are great shoppers. They know where everything is, they know the staff, they can help the My [blank] Sent Me With a List shoppers. They go in, get what they want, don't get upset if we are out of stock on an item (this goes along with being a regular) they say hi to us, and get out. Yippee!

Undecided shoppers cause snarls at the check out line as they ask you to check the price on certain items, then ponder whether or not they will be buying the product. Many Undecided shoppers push the envelope when it comes down to commitment to a purchase. All items will have been rung up and totaled, then they decide they DON'T want the item. Managers need to be summoned and voids are made. "Tick tock, tick, tock Clarice" ... I keep a fast pace here and you are throwing a wrench in my game.

Tell Me How To Bag It Yeah c'mon let's go -tell me where to put your eggs! I have fun with these people and tell them that I get my kicks putting their chips, berries, eggs and other crushables at the bottom of the bag. This usually causes them to stop back seat bagging and smile. Phew!

After 3 or 4 hours at the register I can't wait to get on the floor, away from the numbers and organize a section where the High Maintenance, File Cabinet shoppers who have bumped into the MBSMWL's and Undecided/Tell Me How To Bag It (bad combo.) have shopped. Really!



Interesting Sculpture


I got an email from a friend last night who included some photographs of artist Jennefer Maestre's work. Her sculptures have great lines, texture, and I think you will agree that they are very imaginative.