TheMcKeeSpot is a blog by Steven McKee. The purpose of this blog is for me to explore things that interest me as I plan for my next 50-plus years on this planet. Starting out, I am writing about my family and activities, but as time progresses, it will be about anything. Stay tuned, check in often and enjoy the ride.
I can’t believe that 2024 will soon be over and 2025 will be upon us. I will soon be another year older. I will be 64. I am entering what I often refer to as my third act on this planet. Sadly, I am still working. But, I am pretty sure that this will be my last. As I no longer enjoy it, I am finding getting up every day a difficult task. The reasons that I worked so hard are gone. The enjoyment I once felt is just no longer there.
Wow! Thanksgiving came and went. And in typical fashion, I spent the day doing chemistry, creating yet another tasty meal. One thing that I have
learned over the years is that cooking might be easier if I have the proper tools. Must have been the wine that got me through the day. So for Christmas, I splurged and bought myself all new pots and pans for cooking. That certainly came in handy when I cooked the Christmas day meal. Over the years, I have found that I certainly let food dictate elements
of my life. Certainly a possibility for when I retire is to combine food with travel, besides other themes.
I also found myself more in the Christmas spirit this year. I do not know why! I decorated both inside and outside the house compared to other
years. Pretty sure that I was not dreaming of a White Christmas. After all, how many people celebrate Christmas with a display that includes an inflatable Grinch. Added a few new nutcrackers to the collection and the kids got me a new ornament for the tree.
I sit here this Sunday morning. I am enjoying my first cup of coffee. The mug was made by my daughter. I am also savoring a Nonna Randazzo’s King Cake from New Orleans. This delicious treat is a Christmas gift from my sister. Son got me a coffee roaster and beans that I will soon have to
try. And I have always wondered if one can grow coffee beans in New Mexico? An entrepreneurial twist to retirement? If anything, I certainly need to get to Mardi Gras sometime.
Having wrapped up a weeks vacation over Christmas. Getting ready for a second weeks vacation over New Years. Not much planned with the kids off from school and home. Roman stayed behind in Colorado for daughter’s Christmas break from college. The weather has been great. It is getting into the upper 40’s during the day. There is no sight of snow on the horizon. I have found myself sleeping in until 6am instead of my normal 3am start of the day. Soon the sun will be up, expected to reach the low 50’s today. Will take Jewel out for her morning walk shortly. As the year ends, trust all is well with everyone. Soon 2025 will be upon us. Let’s hope that it is a better year than the last.
I find myself up early this morning, Sunday, September 1. Tomorrow is Labor Day and it still remains one of the holiday’s that we actually still get as a paid day off.
I personally wish that they would make the election day a holiday so people would vote. Democracy can be fragile without participation by the people who it is supposed to represent. And while this election is probably the most important to a long while, I fear for our fragile republic and its future. The world remains and evil place. Lawlessness is up in our country and there is clearly one choice if we want America to continue.
On most days I get up early, usually around 3am to get ready for work. It’s a routine that includes some morning reading and taking Jewel for a walk. She likes the ritual of about a 1000 steps around the block. But by the weekend, I find myself awake at 3, if not earlier but tend to lie in bed until 4, maybe 5, and sometimes 6am before I get up to start the day.
Religiously, I am in bed by 9pm. However, there are times when I find myself falling asleep on the sofa before that time…
But this isn’t a post of my daily sleep habits. It is probably more that I found myself on the computer and needed to swage my guilt for not writing much this year. And if you check, it has been many months since I last posted here. It was May 5th to be exact. I have thought that I’d find some time, just about every weekend, to post something. Alas, I have not. In my last post, I wrote that my daughter and her horse were returning from college. Well they returned for the summer, and have returned to college for her sophomore year. And not to be outdone, my son has been about a month into his junior year in high school.
Oh to be young and carefree again…
As for I, well I am now 63 and wrapping up my 34th year of employment. I certainly don’t believe that I will continue working past December but still, I wonder if I actually will pull the trigger and retire.
It’s not that I have a complete picture as to the future, but I am sure that I cannot continue working very much longer. Management sucks and therefore work sucks. The small victories that keep me moving along are few and far between. I need to feel progress. I need to see progress. Putting in the long hours, only to see very little in return is very damaging to my psyche. I mentally cannot take much more of it.
Sadly, I still work more hours than I am paid. How foolish is that!
I describe my mental base at work as a sort of PTSD because it is actually debilitating in many ways…
It’s not like I have detailed plans for after the daily work effort ends. I have some ideas about things to do to keep my mind and my body active. I’m just not sure if it will keep me active seven days a week. After all, one can only read so much, walk so far, work at the stables so long, plan for and invest in the future.
In planning space for retirement, I have planned for at least another 30 years…
And then I think about travel, I think about where I would go, camping, fishing, hiking. Places to go. People to see. I believe that I still have much to offer, and much more to do. And then I think about my kids and the fact remains, their future will probably NOT be better than the future my parents left for me. It is those thoughts that make me think about working longer, making more money, investing for their future.
Yes, it has been several months since my last post. I admit that I am lazy. It isn’t the thought that I don’t have ideas to expound upon, or that I don’t have time. I am lazy, or at least that is what I said in a recent survey as I logged into to write this post.
Much of my life has changed since that last post. I still work but think more and more about retirement. Since that last post, I have taken two weeklong vacations, in what has been about three months. Oddly enough, both were trips back east. No procrastination there. Planned weeks, even months in advance, budgeted and paid for.
Daughter has been off to college now for a little over two months. That was some time away from work. Of course, we had to make some fun time for son so that he wasn’t left out of this life changing event for all of us. To accommodate this change, I assumed the morning duties for feeding the horses (soon to be only the horse, but more about that change in a moment). This didn’t cause a significant change in my schedule, as I was always awake early. Just less time to procrastinate getting ready for work.
Of course, son is now 16 and the fact that his older sister is not around, introduces change in his life and how he handles school, work around the house, etc.
My first trip was planned for late August through early September as a return trip to New Jersey. The purpose was to catch Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band playing at the Meadowlands. And while I was there, connected with my friend from college and visited places that I checked out when I was there two years ago for Pearl Jam and the Sea Hear Now concert festival.
So here it is. I offer you Change, in pictures…
I originally planned to see the September 3 show, but, as fate had it, and luck on the part of my friend, managed to see the September 1 show as well. Some overlap in the song selection, but well worth the added expense of the extra ticket.
All I can say is that when I am 73, which is over a decade away, I hope that I look that great and can move that well. Outstanding performance. Played all of the old stuff, some newer things, and after 3 hours for each performance, I was happy to have been there.
And in typical nerd fashion, I also went to the beach, if only for a little while. No swimming, but sand and surf. No shorts. No tan. Just some quiet, barefoot in the sand and water. Water was warm but there were no lifeguards and so there was no swimming. Some people just relaxing in chairs.
The second trip, which just concluded a few days ago, was for Fall break. The local school has changed the calendar here and now has more breaks as they take longer to complete the school year. In this case, we took son to New York City for the week.
Ate too much food, visited the 9 11 Monument and Museum (right when they had their first pool jumper) and the MET, to name a few places (besides shopping). All illustrated in the photos below…..
Yes, I left New Mexico to see Native American Pottery in addition to the silver pottery from the middle 1700’s from America.
LEGO Steve from the New York City trip. One of the few souvenirs that I purchased. The other was a replica of the Wall Street Bull, and some books from a real bookstore.
Along the way, there were a few smaller trips. Took daughter to college, went to Amarillo (for work) but had a field trip to the Cadillac Ranch. All captured in pictures…
The picture above is the family, walking to our cars to say goodbye after we dropped daughter off at college. She is in Colorado so it’s only a seven-hour drive.
I painted the Zia on the car at the Cadillac Ranch. Found it interesting that there is so much paint on each car. Doubt that it is there should I return after a few months.
And finally, we said goodbye to Ruby, who left for a retirement ranch in southern Colorado, only 6 hours from here. I end this post with some photos of packing Ruby up for the trip.
And just like that…she was gone. Roman misses her very much and so we have had to spend some time consoling him. Our last report indicates that she has made friends and loves the open fields of the ranch.
Summer has arrived in New Mexico. It is getting hotter, and there is less rain in the forecasts. Little to no humidity. Most of the snow has finally melted, unless you venture north. The mountains in southern Colorado still have a fair amount of snow. The occasional breeze only serves to bring some cool air or kick up a dust storm. But as the pictures below attest, the summer sky is very blue.
For me, it’s time for the evening grill, a cold beer, or even an occasional walk around the neighborhood. It’s also time to work around the stables, bale hay for Roman and Ruby, or otherwise mow the weeds. That said, I really want to get in a summer hike and to do some car camping.
Work this summer is concentrating on putting up a new fence around Roman’s paddock. He pushes over the current fence in order to get to the green weeds in the ditch next to his paddock. So yesterday I started the fence replacement. This involves getting posts, digging post holes, and burying the new posts in cement.
The design is to continue the fence along the ditch and connect Ruby’s paddock with Roman’s paddock. Construction uses pressure treated wood, and then wire to keep the horses in. As you can see, one of the horses just loves to gnaw on the wood. So, we will have to treat it with some red-hot chili powder solution.
Early into the effort, we have drilled the holes about two feet into the ground. My friend Louis has a tractor with a post hole attachment which makes the dig very easy and fast. Going down two feet, into the tuff could take a day for a single hole if one were to do it by hand. Not very fun! However, the eight post holes only took a little over an hour. Thanks for the help, Louis.
Then it was time to mix the cement. Each post took over one 60-pound bag of cement to fill. It was hot, no clouds, no help. Just me and the wheelbarrow. But by two in the afternoon, it was 84 and all of the posts were placed. Where is that occasional breeze?
Progress with several posts buried in cement into the ground on the southeast side or Roman’s paddock. By this time, I think I had about 6 bottled waters to keep hydrated. And of course, lots of sunscreen given the hot sun pounding from above.
The fence finally starts to take shape with the cross pieces. But by this time, I was tired. My aching body is drained, as the sun was beating down from above. Also, we did a terrible job spacing the posts and so I will need to make a return trip to the local ACE store in Los Alamos get longer 2 x 6 boards in order to complete the fence.
Roman will be out of his paddock this upcoming weekend and so hopefully I can finish the project. Two other projects are on the books for the summer. The first is to replace the deck to the main barn and to spruce up the area. Then comes a general replacement of weather damaged boards on the main barn and two sheltered stalls for the horses. Also need to work on the steel sheeting for the roof and walls of the buildings. The main barn needs some stucco repair. Perhaps if all goes well, we can be painting by fall.
I cannot believe that we have entered the month of May. Allergies are bothering me to the point where I need to take the usual drugs in order to get through the day. The first several months of this year have just flown on by. We have already passed Cinco De Mayo. I have had another birthday, 62, and find myself still working. March flew by like a lion. The weather is starting to improve, yet a couple of weeks ago we had snow. Soon it will be summer, and the kids will be out of school for the summer.
Tis a typical Sunday that I find myself up somewhat early. Having tea and breakfast. Laundry is done. The dog is fed. Need to take some items to the recycling bins (glass and cardboard boxes). Vacuum cleaner needs to be run; a general spring cleaning is necessary. Yard needs to be cleaned up, especially since Jewel uses it a lot. Virginia creeper runs amuck along the once fence. If I don’t thin it out, it grows across the canopy of trees and slowly kills them. My backyard is a mess that is in need of some revitalization. I think about it every year but never really get any backyard project started. Yet it is time to plant the tomatoes in the deck box.
Ditto with the projects at the stables. Some of the wood in the buildings needs to be replaced. The wind can blow quite excessively, causing damage. The fence needs replaced in areas; a good coat of paint would improve the aesthetics of the place. Alas, soon it will be time to cut the grass, bail hay for the horses, and in general, try to keep up with the chores.
Soon I will find myself at the high school graduation. I cannot believe my little girl is 18 and a senior. Seems like it was just yesterday when she was doing little girl things. Where did the time fly? Soon it will be off to college and then taking care of the horses while she is away. Son will have wrapped up a very difficult freshman year. What will we have him do this summer?
This summer, I have taken a vow of sorts to do things that I want to do. Camping and other weekend getaways. Get to the gun range and target practice. Hiking and yes, some fishing. I want to sit under a tree and read books, to go to fancy restaurants, waste hours in bookstores, drink wine and visit microbreweries. Long weekend trips to visit friends, museums, art galleries.
Some of the planning is coming together for summer concerts. Robert Plant and Alison Kraus in Taos, Bruce Spingsteen and The E Street Band, and perhaps even Pearl Jam.
Yet I need a new iPhone, put the car into the garage, what else?
Well it’s a nice day and so I might as well see what I can accomplish. Until next time.
OMG it is Easter. No colored eggs, no chocolate’s or bunny paws around the house. Not even reservations for brunch. I did sleep in till 6 this morning, went to feed the horses and get some coffee at the local gas station. No Starbucks for me today.
It’s been a little over two months since my last post. Lots going on in the world. Russia decided to attack the Ukraine. I think Putin is trying to use war to restore Russia’s prominence in modern times. I think he is just wasting time. Biden is still running the US into ruin with the misery index at 12% (and rising). Worst president in American history. He should be impeached for his lack of action on the southern border alone! Hopefully come November, we can fix his sorry ass to a single term and get our country out of the ditch it finds itself in. Never heard so many lies coming from an administration that supports America last. The New York Times wants to end our beliefs in God. I am not a religious person but God does more than politicians do to help mankind. Sorry NYT, but there is more truth in the pages of the Old Testament as opposed to your Sunday edition. Elon Musk wants to buy Twitter to save free speech. I am pretty sure that the marshmallow and snowflake crowd will not support this because they do not like speech that while it is the truth, is considered vial and hateful. It is time the the participation trophy generation grow up.
With the COVID pandemic reduced to a reoccurring illness much like the flu, I think we are returning to a new sense of normal. The economy appears to be running even with inflation. The new normal is that there are plenty of job opportunities. Wait, are we not raising interest rates, inflation is near all time highs and economists are predicting a recession!
What do I mean by a new sense of normal. Well today we spend more time in lines waiting for service. I have spent more time in lines waiting for picking up a prescription, getting money from a bank teller, fast food, or getting in to see the doctor. This is the future America. Longer lines, and longer waits. We will no longer be separated by differences between the rich versus the poor. The rich will just end up paying more to not wait. As for the rest of us, bring a book as the lines and the waits will be longer in the future. I expect many more positions will be replaced by automation, or services to do your daily things. However, is it just me or has the postal service improved in terms of delivery. Amazon Prime and next day delivery is something that I have yet to experience!
As spring comes to New Mexico, we are reminded of high winds and the start of fire season. Ruidoso, a small town in the southern part of the state, lies in the mountains (much like Los Alamos), and yet has already experienced several deaths, houses and acreage burned with the first forest fire in the state, Or is it the second as fire burn east of Santa Fe (west of Las Vegas) in the Hermit’s Peak area of Santa Fe National Forest?
For me, these fires are the result of a lack of proper forest management. Sorry, but a controlled burn is not proper forest management. I remember Cerro Grande! We should be going into these area, reducing the brush and trees, actually using annual cutting of areas to manage the thickness of the forest and using the proceeds from selling the wood to defer the costs.
Closer to home, I continue to work. That said, I see that I am fairly certain that unless things change for the better, I will not be working much longer. The management team at Los Alamos is the most disingenuous of teams that I have ever experienced. They need to be replaced. Do not see that happening and so maybe it is time for me to call it a career and finally move on to the next stage of my life.
Our beloved dog Jewel may have a torn ACL. Earlier this week, she started limping and favoring her right hind leg. Upon closer inspection, it did not appear to be causing her too much pain and so I finally made our belated annual visit, Overall she is fine, put on a few COVID pounds (or is it table scraps), and is confined to rest for a few weeks to see if that doesn’t improve things. Otherwise we return for x-rays and probably surgery in a few weeks.
Jewel waiting for the Vet to check her out.
Better start saving my pennies because I am guessing that orthopedic surgery for a dog isn’t cheap.
Speaking of saving pennies and inflation, I have seen it in several examples of late. My family container of Oreo’s went up in price and there are less cookies. It is clear that my pizza, whether it is Domino’s or Papa Murphy’s, is using less ingredients. And I swear that the size of a medium or large is shrinking. And the Domino’s delivery charge went up. But my best example of inflation is with Banquet chicken.
I love fried chicken.
The box of frozen chicken was the usual amount, at $8.49 a box. However, I was surprised to open it up and remove only four pieces of chicken, not the usual six, seven, or eight. I previously wrote about inflation on October 6, 2019 and there commented on oreo’s, ritz crackers and a few other things. At least the chicken pieces were the same size. But if I was complaining about inflation in 2019 when Trump was President, just think how bad it is under Biden.
Not sure which is cheaper, hay for the horses or Doritos?
No, I didn’t feed Roman Doritos. But it certainly looks like he is interested. Recently we had to get delivery of hay for the horses. With the price of gasoline and diesel increasing, the cost of hay will certainly increase. I was able to get a nice mix of Timothy/Brome from Northern New Mexico (second cutting) delivered. Our normal deliveries from Southern Colorado, also Timothy/Brome, do not start until July. With two horses we are eating more and were running very low. I am glad that I was able to get a delivery. And the horses appear to enjoy it and do not notice a big difference.
Ruby and Roman this Easter morning before feeding. A beautiful spring day in New Mexico.
But it has been very windy and I have had to make some emergency repairs to the roof on the barn. Hopefully they will hold until I can make permanent and replace some rotted wood. This time, I think we can apply some paint to the wood instead of just letting it weather naturally. More work for me and son to tackle as spring turns into summer. Between the roof, the deck, the barns and the fence; I probably will need to work throughout the summer to pay the bills.
Son and daughter waiting for Dinner one afternoon at Denny’s. Today’s kids are glued to their iPhone’s and mine are no different.
The kids had late March/early April off for spring break. Daughter went to check out some colleges in Colorado. That prospect alone should make me think that I need to continue working for at least several more years. Son spent the week home with me as I worked and he played video games. He just wanted to rest from school. I am sure that he is anxious for the COVID years to become a memory, albeit a bad memory! However, we did sneak away to Albuquerque for a day to enjoy all the big city has to offer.
Son and I managed to get away for a day during spring break where we spend several hours at Dave and Buster’s for lunch and arcade games.
Daughter is growing up too fast. Yesterday it was driving lessons. Today it is the prom. Son is finishing up middle school; not sure what the summer will bring. As for me, I managed a return to normal by spending a recent afternoon in Santa Fe dinning at Red Lobster. When I first got to New Mexico, it was a monthly ritual that I looked forward to. With the kids, not so much. Still tastes good and something to look forward to in the years and decades ahead.
Returning to normal. I made it to Red Lobster. Yes…seafood in the Southwest.
And saving the best for last. I am looking froward to seeing Pearl Jam sometime this summer. While it has been about 8 months since Sea Hear Now 2021 in Asbury Park, NJ. It will be good to hit the road to explore some new place over a long weekend. There I will get to enjoy great music, take in some sights and sounds, enjoy food and rest from the hustle and bustle of life.
And saving the best for last. Pearl Jam will kick off a North American tour in early May and I have tickets for one…and maybe four shows.
I am still contemplating a return to Sear Hear Now 2022, where Green Day and Stevie Nicks are scheduled to appear. Until next time. It is mid April. I will turn 61 soon and so I want to wish all of my friends, relatives and colleagues (Scott, John, cousin Mike, and Jim…Happy Birthday).
Yes, I am writing this posting a few days after Thanksgiving. It has been a quiet but busy morning for me. It has been a month since my last post. I have, unfortunately, been too busy with work. COVID continues to make the new normal less normal. The world has become a very strange place. I am afraid that the planet that I leave for my children will be far worse than the planet that my parents left for me.
Thanksgiving was typical for me. It represents an annual treat where I get to practice chemistry in the modern sense. I get to cook. I get to enjoy wine. Wine for me; soda and water for the kids. But they like it that they get to drink out of wine glasses. I get to sit around the dinner table with my family. And for the most part, they put down their phones and iPad’s for eating and conversation (although they sneak a glance now and then). So true for this year as in previous years. It has become my annual tradition since the divorce.
Thanksgiving 2021
The kids basically came over for dinner and desert, and like that, they left. I find it troublesome that I do not get to see them as much but after all, they have their own life.
Now that daughter can drive, she comes and goes as she pleases. On this day, she arrived after son, coming from the stables after feeding Ruby and Roman.
Friday was spent doing some reading, cleaning up around the house. Watching some movies. And of course, eating leftovers.
Saturday was football. Ohio State lost. Penn State lost. All of the teams that I was routing for…lost.
Kinda spent Friday and Saturday as a couch potato. Maybe more like the “I want to be alone because the outside is such an evil place”. Didn’t even go for my morning walks the whole time I was off from work. And it shows that I have eaten more than usual as I have managed to put about 5 pounds on. Need to work harder on the whole diet routine because I have plateaued and cannot get to my next target. Jewel is bothered as she didn’t get her morning walks. She was usually sitting on the sofa next to me, but this morning I think she went back to bed. But tomorrow the routine of the work week will resume, and she will get her time.
Outside it is cold, as the mornings I find myself awakening to temperatures in the 30’s. The cold part of fall has arrived in northern New Mexico, as has some snow, especially in the upper elevations.
Spent this morning without coffee. That is something I will have to rectify shortly. But I managed to make the annual family calendar. It is a photo montage of the year in the life of me and the kids, and the dog and the horses. I usually get a couple extra so that I can send out as Christmas presents to the immediate family. For me, most of my Christmas shopping is done. Started early because of the whole supply chain delays.
Several weeks before Christmas, and just like that, it will be another year at work has past. I need to figure out that whole retirement thing and get on with it.
School will soon be over for the kids. It is still not normal either. Everybody wears masks. Everybody is vaccinated, and I have had my booster. And yet it is still there. The e-mail about the COVID case at school. The need for testing as you have the symptoms of the common cold. Influenza is making the rounds this year.
Today was orientation for my daughter, who is going into 9th grade. After a morning orientation for her, a one hour orientation for the parents, I had to double check her registration since she was out last week. The main office had no idea what we were talking about. After a few phone calls and questions, we were able to get things taken care of so she can start school tomorrow.
First up was to pick up her Chromebook. Let me say at the outset that I don’t think highly about Google. It is clear that they have a monopoly on the internet, and want to take over computers and phones and manage your house. That’s too much control and they really need to do a better job at privacy and protection of personal information. I’ll save that for another time.
Next up was to gather her textbooks. They were closed. So since we had time before lunch and to get son squared away, we stopped by the office to make sure she was registered correctly, and check out her locker and walk around the campus so she understood where all of her classrooms are housed. The campus has multiple buildings.
It was there that she zinged me. I asked if they could help me with my PowerSchool log-in. I was having trouble and could not get in. PowerSchool allows me, as the parent, to check grades, her assignments, and a bunch of things. I commented that we didn’t have these issues when I was in high school 40 years ago. Her response was “well father, back then they did not have technology”. I turned, laughed and. Said “yes, we had typewriters”.
That started a whole conversation about how stressful things have become for kids. The assistant, who was younger than I said that “back then, we didn’t have to worry about things because if you did something stupid, looked bad, whatever. Today it is photographed and on the internet”. My response was, “that was true, but I can find photos of me that would fit these characterizations”. She was right, it wasn’t that they didn’t exist, it was that they would be available for all to see, instantaneously, today because of the internet. In my age, I still had control of the media, who could see these things, so on and so forth. Today everything is instantaneous. That is why today we must have instant satisfaction, instant gratification. No patience. In my day, we had to be patient Time was our friend.
Today, time isn’t a factor because everything happens at the speed of light. We do not have the time to appreciate the finer things, to contemplate what we are doing, to venture down a road that is a bad decision and contemplate our actions.
We need to start thinking for the long term. Contemplate before you act. Stop and smell the roses. Enjoy those moments. I enjoyed mine today. Not to be outdone, son also got to meet his teacher and we checked out his classroom. He will also do well this year I am certain. His teacher is the same teacher as my daughter had when she was in 6th grade. She had fun. I am hoping the same for him.
Tomorrow is the day before the first day of school. Daughter has a morning of orientation and registration. Son has an afternoon meet and greet with his teacher, and a haircut and a fitting for glasses. I cannot believe that summer is over.
Where did the summer go? I had plans for weekend trips and camping with the kids; quiet excursions to coffee shops to read and to work on the stable. I did none of this.
For daughter, much of her summer was spent riding and not doing much of anything else. Riding did not fill her day, nor did she ride everyday. The rest of her day was spent drawing, listening to music and computer games with her friends. As for the riding, she would work harder and ride daily as time got close to competitions. She competed in several events this year, from The Eventing X Games at Goose Downs, the Coconino Horse Trials and the USPC Championships Central Region. She placed individually and as member of a team in some but not all of the competitions.
She was part of the Southwest Pony Club team and they managed several first place finishes last week at the USPC Championships (photo above) Riding will continue with the start of school and so we shall see how things go for the rest of the year.
But school comes first and in the case of daughter, she will be starting 9th grade. My teenager is starting high school.
For son, he spent much of the summer in several week day camps. They included art camp, two weeks of hiking and nature camp and two weeks of a computer game programming camp. The summer art camps were not as good as the school year Wednesday art camps, and we still had problems with him being challenged at the schools and being bullied. Still, he had a good summer, with four of his pieces getting into the end of year art show at Fuller Lodge (photo lower left). Unfortunately, he spent too much time on the computer playing games, but let’s hope that 6th grade will temper his game playing as school becomes more challenging for him.
I think if you ask him, his best day of the summer was when I took him to Dave and Busters for the afternoon (photo upper right). I had fun as well.
Summer is almost over. No trips, concerts, or even weekend getaways for me. I find myself still in my funk and think I need to just get away from work for awhile. Or perhaps a major change.
Two very long and tiring days so I am combining them in today’s post. As I write this, today is Monday July 8th. I have taken the day as vacation, knowing that we would be very late in getting back. I know I got to bed sometime after 1 am this morning.
To add insult to injury, I got up about 6:30 am. Wide awake, I went and fed the horse. A horse that I think is happy to be home.
To recap the weekend. Daughter unfortunately fell off her horse during show jumping. This eliminated her from the competition after a reasonable dressage score. Her weekend of eventing was over. So much in preparation comes to an end in the matter of moments.
The photo above is of daughter warming up in dressage. She then went in and scored well for her forth try at this level of competition. Typical issues are documented in the judges scoring sheet; needing to be fluid and bend more with the horse. We were pleased with her showing.
Show jumping was later in the day. Her practice jumps in the warm up area were great, but there was a long pause between warm up and her ride. She was able to start and cleared the first jump but lost balance on the approach to the second jump. Enough said.
Cross country was yesterday (Sunday). Had she competed, it would have been very late in the day (later than it was). The course was very tough, poor footing in a few places and many refusals at the jumps for many riders. Several riders fell during their rides. In fact, daughter’s trainer who was also competing, fell during a jump in the middle of the course. After she was checked out at the urgent care (concussion), we packed up and headed home.
But the sky was still blue.
The ride home was equally troubling. Motorcycle accident in Arizona; slow traffic due to road construction in New Mexico. It was a long day. We switched trailers at Goose Downs around 11 pm and managed to get Ruby unloaded about 12:45 am this morning back in her own paddock.
I find myself writing this post at about 8 am Monday morning. I am very tired and need to get some more sleep. As it is, I never sleep well on travel in hotels. Not that I sleep well at home, averaging 4 to 6 hours on a normal day.
Long weekend with the kids. Great time had by all.
TheMcKeeSpot. 