San Miguel de Allende

San Miguel de Allende (which means St. Michael of Beyond) is at about 6700′ above sea level in the middle of Mexico. The town is over 400 years old.  My driver Reyes Ortiz brought me from the airport in Leon to my friend Robin’s house in the Centro of San Miguel where he and Lana were waiting in the open doorway of the foyer with wine and cheese.   It was after midnight and we stayed up a bit talking before going to bed.  I slept on the couch the first night then stayed at the hotel around the corner for a couple of nights.

I picked up a lot of Spanish on my week long visit to San Miguel.  Most people there and on the airline, Aeromexico speak very little or no English. I had a stop over in Mexico City and a Mexican woman there who had been living in Hawaii for the past six years was also going to Leon and seemed to think I knew where I was going.  She followed me, which I was glad about because her Spanish was much better than mine. It was funny because people kept telling us to go upstairs, then to go downstairs, then outside. Miraculously we found our way through which required going through security twice and completing an illness questioner and a claims form. Her flight was earlier than mine so I waited and watched the monitors for a gate number to be assigned.  Somehow I boarded the correct plane and ended up at my intended destination.

San Miguel is beautiful. Every door is solid carved wood. Even the chain liquor store “OXXO” has these grand antique doors.  Robin, Lana and I went out to the mercado in the morning and walked around town buying stuff for dinner and we stopped at an outdoor cafe and had cappuccino and sat with some folks we happened upon that used to live in California. The husband was a local artist and the wife has a daughter who lives in Santa Clarita. Lea arrived after we got back and she and I got rooms at the hotel. Robin knows the hotel owner and talked her down to 200 pesos a night (about $18). I  could see Robin’s rooftop turrets from my hotel window.  Lana made an amazing dinner of chicken, rice and beans with all sorts of spices. I put together a big salad to go with it and we had fresh corn tortillas that Robin bought at the tortillaria. Two of Robin’s friends, Sylvia and Sheryl who are from the states but live in San Miguel now came for dinner also. We had a great time. I went for a late night walk with Sylvia and bought some cigarettes. We walked through a few parks and passed at least 5 churches, all lit up beautifully. There were coyboys on horses in the park who it looked like got pulled over by motorcycle police and lots of people sitting on the benches in the park. I slept very well that second night.

On Friday we did a ton of walking. Robin, Lana, Leah and I took a cab to Cafe Monet to meet with Sheryl and Sylvia and then walked back through the town. Robin who is apparently paralyzed on the left side (though I don’t believe it) can out-walk us all on the rocky cobbles of the town. We stopped at a cafe in the Jardin and toured the Parroquia Church which, I’m told, the artichict designed from a post card of a European church.  Later I laughed when Robin showed me the plain back side of the church, which he explained was because they couldn’t see what the back should look like from the pictures. We came back to Robin’s to rest for bit then I took Leah out to walk around the town. We wandered down streets and alleys taking pictures and it started to rain lightly, which was nice because it gets pretty warm there. We found the Mercado just in time to get under cover before the downpour started.  The rain was so heavy it cascaded like a waterfall down the stairs.  Merchants brought out their brooms and swept the areas in front of their booths clean with the flowing water.  Lea and I waited for a while at the end of the covered area and then made a run for it across to the large indoor Artist Market. Filled with metal art, clothing, ceramics and food.  After wandering around inside for a bit we found a candy shop and tried some things. Lea bought a bag of treats and we wandered back to Robin’s place.

The week went by quickly but it also felt like it was longer than a week because it was so filled with wonderful experiences.

From Robin’s balcony above the street there was always something interesting to hear and see when looking over the edge.  On one evening I heard a car go by and heard beautiful guitar music coming from it. I saw a pickup truck with a man sitting over the back tailgate followed by a steaming food cart trailer. Down the street a neverending group of patrons at the taco stand at the street. Later that night I saw the taco stand gone and a guy in a dirty apron and something on his head standing at the end of the street. Two others stood in the street silently.  All of a sudden a man came out of the left and dumped a big bucket of water almost on the feet of the guy in the apron and all three guys went into action scrubbing the road and sidewalk with brooms.  Then quiet and the occasional person or dog walking down the street.

We saw parades, fireworks and lightening storms.  I had Mango Margaritas, delicious meals, and conversations beyond this world.  It was so wonderful to spend time with my friends Robin, Lana and Lea.  It’s like we’ve known eachother forever (which we have).

Time to go home. Robin and I waited in the foyer for the shuttle I arranged but it didn’t come.  The times were off  so I took a cab to the airport. I was raining and got dark as we got into the city. I conversed in Spanish with the driver who lives on a ranch outside of town.  In the dark and rain he couldn’t see well and nearly ran into a central divider on the freeway where it split two different ways.  It happened in slow motion, and like Neo plucking a bullet out of the air I gently moved his arm with mine and we bumped back onto the highway avoided the wall by about 10 feet.  I think he was about as rattled as his suspension. I arrived on time and got up to my Gate and found the same woman waving to me that I had met on my way down. She was on her way to L.A. now to visit friends then return to Hawaii. She wrote down her name and phone number and told me to call when I came to Hawaii or San Miguel next time and she could get me good rates at the Hotel chain she works at.  She works for housecleaning in Kaanapali, my favorite snorkeling spot on Maui.  My friend Gloria picked me up from the airport and we got back to my house around 1am. She slept in the guestroom and we had coffee in the morning and walked around the garden which has grown since I left.  Stan, my neighbor, was also out enjoying the morning after his 4 week trip by boat from La Paz to San Diego.  It’s good to be back.

To Catch up

It’s been so long since I’ve writen here. I write more in other journals about my journey which right now has more spiritual significance than anything else.  I feel like I’m learning so much now and in the past few months.  I really love living on my own and have nothing but love for Paul and graditude for all I learned from him.

As of late I keep busy with work, I’ve learned more patience than I knew I had and more fufillment in even the most mundane things.  I spend plenty of time with friends, new and old and am so filled in my life with graditude.  I have my down days but I think there’s a purpose to those as well and underlying them is a knowing that I will come out of it again.

This weekend I spent getting some work done. I’m still trying to catch up with my books as I had my computer crash and had to switch to a new bookkeeping software. I’m almost done entering the last 6 months worth of accounts but would like to get some timesheet data squared away so I can bill clients.

I got thrown off of Jerry a couple of weeks ago when he spooked at a cone I was carrying in the saddle. It was a pretty hard landing and I cut my elbow on a rock and cracked my iPhone.  Of course I was pretty bruised and sore but I also did some damage to a tendon or something in my leg where it connects to my hip.  That took a bit longer to heal but since I found a new technique for helping it along and not to reinjuring it it’s now almost 100% again.

I accidently deleted a bunch of client files on Friday and am working today on recovering those. I would love to clean the kitchen floor and get some other house cleaning done today also.  We’ll see how it goes though. I had that goal yesterday but other things came up.  I had a lovely evening with Bela and Bettina next door. We played guitars in the library and drank champaign then sat out in the early evening under gray clouds and it started to rain.  Bela cooked an amazing dinner as he always does and we had Ben and Jerry’s chocolate ice cream for desert.

I could not convince Bela that “Revolver” is a great movie. He can be pretty stubborn sometimes. You cannot judge that movie by appearances because it’s all symbolic. But it appears to be some action adventure movie. They do explain what it’s about around the middle of the movie and then it all comes together and you want to watch it again.  It’s basically a movie about becoming free of ego and what we create in our own thinking.

I have a couple of trips coming up and got my passport.  I’ll be going to San Miguel de Allende, an old cobble stone town with many missions and churches in the mountains deep in Mexico, and Oregon this summer for the Country Fair and to see friends I met in Maui, one who came down to visit about a month ago.  I love meeting new people and finding friends I didn’t know I had.  The good ones are precious gems I treasure whether I see them rarely or all the time.

Day Tripping

With no real plan other than to see the ocean and have sushi for dinner Bettina and I set out northbound.  She offered to pay gas and buy dinner if I drove.  I LOVE this arrangement! Our need for gas gave us reason to stop in Carpenteria where we saw a museum, consignment shop and quilt shop on the same street as the gas station. I found a beautiful pair of tall suede boots for only $30.

 Bettina purused the fabrics at the quilt shop and we drooled over yarn but restrained ourselves from buying any since our last wool purchases still await the needles. We visited the museum which is small but beautiful. Antique toys, saddles, and chumash artifacts fill the small rooms. It smells of wood and old things in a good way.  A beautiful old lady worked there and we chatted for a bit. She used to own a cabin in Frazier Park and wished she still owned it for her grand kids to visit.

After Carpenteria we took a short detour off of the 101 to Monty Robert’s,  ”Flag is Up” farms. A place he designed while still in grade school. It’s lovely with lots of broodmares and foals in the many pastures. We saw a fearless fawn near the entrance which reminded me of the part in his autobiography where he talkes about a deer he rescued and trained using the same body language he uses with horses. The deer bacame tame and somewhat of a guard dog to Monty and followed him around everywhere.

We continued north to San Louis Obispo and parked the car. We walked around town a bit and found one sushi resturant called “Shins” but the place was sticky and we left. We walked up to the north side of town to another place called Yanagi Sushi on Marsh and Toro street. This place was good. We sat at the bar and talked to the young Japanese sushi chef who made us a special shrimp dish that was his own recipe and design. We left full and walked back to the car. 

On our way back home we stopped near pismo beach to walk down to shell beach and watched skimboarders glide over the sand and into the waves. A rainbow formed a circle around the sun as it began to set. It was quite warm and we sat for a while just listening to the ocean waves and taking in the beauty.

It was a perfectly beautiful day!

 

A Momentary Bubble

drifting on the breeze, fearless and fragile

floating along appearing solid and agile

was a captured breath within a thin veil

ephemeral beauty in a moment of eternity

a surface of ever-changing twisted light

a spectrum of color formed from pure white

in the world the time must pass

because what is held cannot last

a dance only lasts the length of a song

from when it was started it doesn’t seem long

no more could his form be held

a final breath the wind exhaled

the bubble burst, a broken shell

released from the skin that had captured him

now free he joined the breeze who once carried him

cry not tears of sadness but of joy

for remember he was more than a boy

a moment of truth was reflected

a temporal moment of beauty projected

and from where he came he is returned

in his memory we have learned

what we keep is what we share

in his light remembered here

Spring

Spring is here but it’s still getting very cold outside in the early evenings.  I just got in from pulling weeds in the garden and trimming the little plum tree in the front and my fingers are frozen.  I have many plants that came back from last year including lavander, rosemary, sage, parsley, oregano, and icelandic poppies.  I need to prep the soil to plant the airloom potatoes and garlic I bought over the winter.  I’m not sure if I’m late planting them or not but we’ll see how it goes.   There are so many weeds coming up already it’s amazing.  The poppies are coming up on the grapevine (I-5) and it’s going to be a spectacular year for them I’m sure.

A Perfect Trip

I set off for Maui for a couple of weeks to clear my mind and heal. I went alone and with no plans other than to snorkle as much as possible and see Paula Fuga play in Lahaina on the 27th, which is why I chose Maui. I choose the days and length to stay based on the cheapest tickets ($444 round trip) and I booked a private room at the North Shore Hostel. From arrival to departure I was so blessed with good friends that I had never even met before. I had so much fun and was so taken care of. I never had to worry about making a plan or how things were going to happen because it all worked out better than I could have imagined. Everyday I was snorkling, hiking or going on some other adventure around the island with new friends from far away places. I couldn’t have asked for a better trip and more wonderful people to come along my path. I am so very grateful for this experience and being able to just trust and let it happen perfectly.

Trip Log:

I arrived on Maui around 10:15pm on 3/18 and got a ride to the North Shore Hostel from one of the guys who work there, Garrett. He used to live in the states and moved to Maui from Colorado after having worked on a Cruise Ship and deciding that Maui was his favorite. He now works here at the hostel for free room and also works at a cafe on the same block. He gets time off to snorkle and enjoy the island. 

My small room has just a bed and chair and closet. My window faces a building and the smell of fresh baked bread comes wafting through my window in the mornings from the bakery next door. I have a bed, chair closet, night stand and lamp. It’s simple and has everything I need. The living room and kitchen are shared as well as the four bathrooms. There are about 15 rooms here I think. 

Yesterday I woke up and worked on some updates for one of my clients. I met Emilie, who is from France and going to school in Eugene, OR. We got along instantly and decided to go snorkling together. Garrett told us about “Black Rock” up on the west side of the island in Kaanapali. We took busses up to Whalers Village and looked for a place to eat. It’s kind of touristy mall with a couple of very expensive resturants. We went down to the beach and I got my first welcome back to the sand and beautiful Maui beaches. Some guy form Isreal selling mineral salts insisted on massaging our hands with the stuff even though we kept telling him that we couldn’t afford the stuff and were just looking for a cheap place to eat. I think he was just flirting with Emilie. He was very persistant, but finally did point us in the direction of a woman who could recommend a cheap place to eat. She recommended a place back on the highway so we walked back up to the 40. The place was a sports bar on a golf course and didn’t look enticing to either of us. The girl who recommended the resturant mentioned that there was a fruit stand a couple of miles up the road so we decided to hitchhike up. 

Off we went with our newely soft hands and one shiny thumbnail (The isrealy guy tried selling me a nail buffer for $17 dollars after we assured him we weren’t going to buy the mineral salts for $70 bucks). It was raining a bit but so nice and tropical. It didn’t take long for us to get a ride. The guy who picked us up was from the mainland and lived on Maui now with his family, he excused the banana peel and baby stuff in the car. He said he knew where we wanted to go and took us into a little town between Kaanapali and Kapalua to a Fruit Stand/Healthfood Store. It wasn’t what I had expected but was perfect. They had a great selection of hot food and soups. We had purple potatoes, curried rice with carrots, veggies, carrot ginger soup and free samples of bananna bread. 

We ate then headed back to Kaanapali to find Black Rock. Another nice guy picked us up who worked at one of the resorts and had been snorkling at black rock. He took us to a path where we find our way to it. We ended up on the north side and I went in the water but just found sandy bottom. Apparently you can snorkle out around the bend, but because Emilie didn’t have fins we decided that wasn’t a good idea.

We hiked around and found the path where the people jump off of Black Rock and the perfect snorkling area. We weren’t jumping so we hiked around some more and got some advise from a local who worked at the hotel. We had to go up to the eighth floor acroos the hotel through the lobby and down to the first floor. This brought us out in the resort beach and the perfect spot for snorkling. There were tons of fish and Emilie found a giant sea turtle. I hung out with the sea turtle and watched him eat seaweed moss off of the rocks while a colorful little fish gobbled up the bits he missed. He was so graceful and beautiful. I chased after some other fish and then rested floating on my back in the water. We laid out on the beach for a bit before getting dressed and packing up. I took video of the cliff divers doing flips into the water. We saw whales very close out spouting and diving and one last wave of a tail before we left. 

Two people who gave us rides said that if you go out and listen underwater you can hear the whales sing. I didn’t do it this time but definately want to come back to this spot. Next time I will go out beyond the rock and around the front. This resort has a beautiful swimming pool that snakes around a little island under bridges and with a water slide and jacuzzi. We decided we should come back to that later since it was getting late. We hitch hiked back to Lahaina to catch the bus which takes about 50 minutes to get back to Wailuku. We were early for the bus so we walked around town. We’re both on a tight budget so just window shopped mostly. I just bought a banana and a postcard for my mom. It shows an arial shot of a beach on the other side of the island and the store owner showed us where it was on the map (”Big Beach” and “Small Beach”). We went to FoodLand on our way back to the hostel and bought groceries. It was dark by the time we got back. I made dinner and slept really well.

— 3/20
I bought a baguette today and Emilie, I setup a picknic in the yard under a great banan tree. We had bread, butter, Cheese, and straberries. Efrat, a woman my age from Tel Aviv came along and I invited her to join us. I found out does programming work and project planning. She also rides and trains horses and her first horse was also named Jerry. Efrat’s friend from Romania, Christian, who also lives in Vancouver now came in later that day and rented a car. They took Emilie and I to the Needle in Iao Valley and to Swinging Bridges where we hiked for a couple of miles and went skinny dipping in one of the pools. It was devinely refreshing after the long hike. We were hoping to get to a larger waterfall, but it was late and we turned back at the dam. We ate dinner at the Thai restraunt up the street from our Hostel.

—3/21
Emilie and I went down to Kihei by bus and walked to the beach to meet up with Efrat and Christina at Mokapu beach. We snorkled and I heard the whales singing which was pretty amazing. We could see them off in the distance. After that they drove us down to Ahihi and the end of the maintained road on that side. We stopped for fresh coconut milk and ice cream. And found a rental stables where we pet horses and talked to the owners. We took photos on the beach at sunset. Efrat drove us up back up to Kihei and we had drinks and chips at a Mexican restruant before our bus came. Emilie and I caught the last bus and ended up missing our transfer bus to get us from the Mall back to Wailuku where the hostel is. We called the hostel and asked if there was anybody there willing to pick us up. A super nice guy named Jay who had a convertible rental car came and rescued us. He was there on business and the car only cost him $15 bucks a day because the check engine light came up on the economy car he had originally gotten and the convertable was the only other car they had available. He got the price by bidding on the rental car a week earlier on priceline. He was happy for any excuse to drive it. Emilie sat in the front and I watched the stars on the way back.

—3/22
On Sunday Emilie and I went to Hana with Efrat and Christina. We went on a three hour horse back ride up the side of Haleakala. Our guide, Kioni, a native Hawaiian who’s family owns land there taught us about the native plants and history of the land. I got to ride a spunky little Appaloosa and it was a lot of fun. He invited Efrat and I to come back after he got off work to go for “a real ride”, not just walking, which would have been fun but we went for a long hike instead. We hiked to the seven pools, the ocean cliffs, and then up through a bamboo forest two miles to a giant waterfall. We had seen the waterfall from the end point of the trail ride. We all went under the falls which was so refreshing after the two hour hike. We got back to the car just as it was getting dark. I got to drive back to our hostel since Efrat doesn’t see well to drive in the dark. It’s about a 2-3 hour drive all twisty and about thirty or more single lane bridges. A lot of fun but they didn’t let me drive it fast We told bad jokes and sang songs to entertain ourselves since there is no radio signal on the road. Emilie and I had a simple dinner back at the hostel. So far I have only eaten at a resturant once. I’ve been very good about not spending a lot of money. Yesterday was the most expensive day with the horseback ride and gas money.

—-3/23
Garrett, from TX, who works at the hostel took Emily and I to Mokapu beach in Kihei then out for fish tacos afterwards

—-3/24
I hiked with Emilie up to Ioa Valley from the Hostel and to the Museum gift shop. We bought small local grown bananas at a fruit stand on the way up (2 Apple Bannanas and 2 Chinese Bannanas for $2). On the way back down we saw a accident where a truck that had been going extremely fast flipped over. We had seen the truck driving about 15 minutes up the road and when we got to the scene gave police a statement. The guy was banged up and bloody but seemed like he would be ok. And the baby who wasn’t in a car seat seemed completely unharmed. An abulance came and took them off.

—-3/25
Went to Lehaina with Emilie, Efrat, Garet, from San Luis Obispo, Autumn and Jaimason (from Portland, OR). Garet drove since he had a rental car and we all squished into the car. It’s about thirty to fourty minutes away. We went to black rock to snorkle and snuck into the jacuzzi and pools at the Sheraton. We ate at “Aloha Mixed Plate” and had three dollar Mai Thai’s for happy hour. I had Mahi Mahi, rice and coconut shrimp. It was an outdoor resturant near the water. Very beautiful and fun. We drove down to the other end of front street in Lahaina and got ice cream and milled around. We walked up the towards Hard Rock Cafe and stopped in at Galleries along the way. Coming out of one Gallery I saw the Isrealie guy that tried to sell Emilie and I some ridiculously expensive dead sea salt scrub on the beach on our first day out so I introduced him to Efrat, who is also from Isreal and they hit it off right away. They spent the rest of the evening together with us. I made it down to Hard Rock and bought two tickets to the Paula Fuga show. One for me and one for whoever was going to give me a ride there. So far I hadn’t found out who that would be though. We ate out at the “Cool Cat Cafe” and the hamburgers were very good but they didn’t come with frys. A Hawaiian played ukelele and finished the song off with one of my favorites, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”. I listened to Efrat and the Isreali guy speak in Hebrew and had to imagine the conversation they were having which I shared with Efrat later and we laughed about it. 

At the hostel some of us stayed up late to play “Imagine If” with the manager Scott. It was a lot of fun.

—-3/26
Today I went with Garet, Efrat, and Emilie up the coast to “Jaws” and the most popular windsurfing spot in the world. We watched wind surfers jump off of waves and sail through the air. The wind was so strong some were flying. There are also surfers in another section. We then went to drop Emilie off at the airport to return to Portland. I’m sure I’ll see her again. We became such good friends here. She invited me up to Eugene and I would love to go and see Cougar Hot Springs again. Also would like to go to the Oregon Country Fair in July. 

We came back to the hostel and Efrat packed for her evening flight. Garet and I walked up the block to the “all you can eat” sushi place. It was good. Only $10. Then Efrat and I went for a hike from the hostel up to a cross on the mountain and beyond. The hill is steep, like going up stairs. It’s 1.5-2 miles fromthe hostel to the top. Got some great pictures where you can see both sides of the island.

Played “Imagine If” again with Scott, Avi and two college girls Christine and Mandi after quite hours.

—–3/27
Autumn and Jamison found us a ride to the Paula Fuga show with a guy they met hitchhiking the day before. Tavish, who is also from Portland, loves music and was wanting to hear some live music. We left in the morning and went snorkling at Black Rock again and soaked in the Jacuzzi, then drove up to Honolua Bay. We stopped at the health food store and picked up some stuff then ate at a great little taco stand in Honokowai and I had a fish taco. Paula Fuga didn’t actually come on until midnight after the tow bands opening for her. It was a great show though, she played three songs I hadn’t heard before and covered the Redemption Song by Bob Marley with Mike Love. It was just her and Mike playing music and she said that they will have a new album coming out soon.

—-3/28
Everyday here I have spent in the mountains or at the beach on alternate days. Today is the first quite day. I’m doing laundry and cleaned my room. Watched a movie with Scott, Avi, and another guy in the livingroom and took a nap. Autumn and Jaimason left this morning and we plan on seeing eachother this summer at the Oregon Country Fair or they may come down for a visit. I went for a walk around Wialuku and later met some girls from China at the hostel. They gave me tips about going to China and Hong Kong. Shenzhen is the place where Bela is working and I will be visiting first. I couldn’t pronounce the name correctly, the language has so many suddlities it’s very difficult. They suggested I just bring some picture cards to communicate. LOL!

—3/29
Met Katie who is in the army and on vacation from Iraq. She drove Avi (from Alaska), Garet (from San Louis Obispo) and I to some beaches in Kihei for snorkling and swimming in the waves. It was a beautiful day. We burried Garet in the sand and mad sand sculputures. We stopped for lunch on our way back.

—-3/30
Last day in Maui. Avi, from Alaska and I took a long walk in the morning almost across the middle of the island while waiting for Scott to get off work. Scott invited us to Ioa Valley for a hike. We found a pool and went swimming and ate a coconut that Avi brought and opened with his knife. It was the best coconut ever. We ate the whole thing. Then we went to a windy beach and stopped at the health food store. I bought a banana for breakfast which I ended up forgetting at the hostel. 

—3/31
Avi and I shared a cab to the airport, he was taking a flight out of Oahu later that evening and decided to take the early flight to Oahu with me. We got to the airport super early and had to wait while the airport opened up. Once we got through the gates we stopped for coffee / juice and sat in between gates where there was an open area to see the sky and sunrise. We were watching the birds and talking when I decided we should see if the plane was boarding yet. We went to the gate which was just through the open doors and found out that the plane left one minute ago! It was just so funny that we got there so early and then still ended up missing the plane. We laughed about it and the woman was able to get us onto the next flight and didn’t charge us. I wasn’t sure if I would make my flight to LA now but it didn’t matter because I’m totally trusting that everything works out perfectly now. Avi and I sat together on the flight in the same row was a Hawaiian guy from the fruit stand in Ioa Valley who I met twice before. Once when Emilie and I bought fruit and then again at the accident scene. He told me that the guy might have had internal injuries but he hadn’t heard anything more about it. He had checked the truck and found no baby seat and for that wanted to punch the guy that was driving. Avi carried my pack running though the terminal to the other end. Thankfully I made it as the plane was still boarding. I arrived in LA and took a cab to Michelles house to pick up my car. 

What a perfect trip!

Photos

My Mustang Jerry Garcia

Jerry Garcia was born in the wild in 2004 and captured by the BLM when he was about three months old. He was given to me by some dear friends up here who I met when I offered to work at their rescue ranch just to have some time outside with horses again. I grew up around horses and hadn’t had any in my life since I was a teen. 

 

They named their mustang rescue ranch Jerry’s place after their favorite, the strawberry roan with a parrot lip and a personality everyone fell in love with. I would always ask them when they were going to sell me Jerry, but knew they were planningn on keeping him forever. They had Jerry for 3-4 years before one day when I was down visiting them with friends they announced that they would give me Jerry. I hadn’t worked for them in about a year and couldn’t believe the offer. I felt like I was dreaming and it seemed too good to be true. The gift of Jerry has changed my life. He is more than a horse or a pet, he is a friend and I LOVE him so much. 

 

I’ve had Jerry now for just over a year now. For the first year I was out at the stables five days a week spending time training him and working with him. My friends at the ranch had already done a great job with the ground work though and getting him ready for a rider. He had only been ridden three times though and the second time bucked the person off. 

 

I’ve been patiently working with him using natural horsemanship techniques. He’s incredibly smart and a quick learner. It’s been a huge learning experience for me. I had a trainer come and help me work with tying and trailer loading but the rest I have been doing on my own. You have to be very creative with a horse as smart as this. Trying to get him to understand what I want him to do is pretty much the only barrier since he is so willing. I know if he’s not doing what I want, I’m just not asking in a way that makes sense to him. Through body language and energy level I’m able to communicate with him and am still learning new ways to convey concepts to him. Getting impatient or frustrated never ever works to get results. Being a flight animal and very sensitive to energy he will shut off the thinking side of his brain with anything other than gentle patience and you can see him start to get frustrated and confused. 

 

It’s always a thrill when I’m able to get him to understand a new concept and once he gets it he doesn’t forget. It’s like it clicks in his brain and he understands what I want from him and is willing to do that. Now I go out three to five days a week. It’s harder in the winter with the snow and mud, but I always enjoy seeing him, letting him out, brushing him, feeding him, working on some training or bonding, and just being around him.  It’s very theraputic.  I’ve ridden him many times in the round pen and in an arena but haven’t taken him out on the trail yet. He bucked me off once when I started him cantering and luckily my horse trainer friend was with me to get right back on him  (don’t want him to get away with ending a session like that).  Since then I’ve cantered him again with good results. He’s still getting used to a bit, and I’m training him to be sensitive to body weight and touches more than using the bit to control him.  

Every time the weather is good now I’m dreaming about the day I get to ride him out on the trail.  I’m excited but need to spend more hours with him under saddle so that he can fully understand what I’m asking from him before putting him into a new situation. Until then I take him out for hikes and ride in the enclosed areas.

2008 Review and Welcoming the New

Well, it’s been a very long and eventful year. Things are coming to an end now and I am grateful for that.  We accomplished a lot this year and had a lot of struggles, all worthwile and leading to something better.

The year began with snow and lovely friends staying with us. Then the incredible gift of the horse I love, Jerry. I will always remember the moment they told me I could have him. I never expected that. That completely changed my life. It seems like it was much longer than a year ago.  Paul traded in his Z4  for the M3 and I spent five days a week spending time with Jerry, training him, walking with him, loving him, and trying out saddles. The year was filled with visiting family,  seeing friends – from childhood best friends to new friends I can truely call blessings, so many wonderful people I will never forget.

My Grandmother on my fathers side passed away this year and I feel a sorroful memory for the struggles she had to go through. I will remember her creativity and her constant strive for making things better. There were a lot of things she taught me about myself, and things I still am learning to understand. 

Paul and I reached our peak of worldly gains this year I think, ending it off barely making the bills, due to some changes in work arrangements. Regardless, we are happier than ever and are coming through fine. Things will get better in that area and I am not worried.

The end of this year has been all about repainting, organizing, and getting rid of stuff. It feels wonderfuly freeing to simplify. We had a community garage sale that started the quest to clean out our storage. We’ve taken truckloads and carloads of stuff to the local animal shelter thrift store. We packed up the non-essentials which Paul is hauling out to our place in Missouri now and I’m realizing how little I actually need. I remember when I used to travel with friends with nothing but a sleeping bag and some clothes. I got to the point where I really wanted a pillow, such a luxery! As Bettina says, it all starts with the pillow, then you need a bed, and a house to put it in. It all gets very complicated from there. Haha! But really it doesn’t need to be complicated. I remember my youthful travels with nothing but pockets full of faith and I know am always ok as I always have been. I joyfully take a step into the unknown, knowing only that I will be carried through each moment and taken care of.  These things I see now are temporary, and my peace lies in letting go of the past, not fearing the future, and giving all to the present in each new moment. This is me welcoming the New Year and a new world of unimagined posibilites.

A bit of Wisdom

I had my dental surgery yesterday around noon and it went much better than I thought it would. I don’t remember the surgery since I was out It took about 40 minutes and we decided to go ahead and remove all four wisdom teeth. I had a bone graft placed in one area where the tooth was horizontal under the bone. All four were completely impacted. He did an amazing job and said it went perfectly. I had a lot of fear for years about getting this done, but have been working on letting go of fear and trusting that things will be taken care of, as they always are. 

I thought I would be really out of it but was well enough to eat within a few hours and kept ice on it. I spent the day watching old movies in my cozy end room. I had a vicoden several hours after surgery and one before bed around 11:30, but have yet to have any pain at all. This morning I just took the antibiotic, vitamins and advil.  The doctor warned me that I could feel worse in a couple of days and may have some bruising. 

I’m going to take it easy today, Just working on painting a few more trim pieces in the living room and some wood that Paul cut to fix my stool. He’s out spreading road base next to the house with Terry right now. He got most of the rest of the trim put up yesterday. After this winter storm I’m going to go back out and calk the trim and nailholes and throw one more coat of paint over them and they we’ll be done painting finally!

Finger wisdom

I found out from the orthepedic surgeon last week that I broke my finger. The tendon pulled a small piece of bone when it was twisted. It doesn’t hurt, thank God. I went for physcal therapy today to get it to straighten back out.  She did ultra sound in water to make the tendons more flexible and it also has the effect of making you feel where the break is, which was an interesting sensation, sort of like a hot needle in the bone. The therapist had great sucess in making my finger much straighter. She says one more session should do it and then I just need to do some exercizes with it. I will likely have to have my wedding ring reshaped to fit the joint though which may not go back completely.

We had a lovely Thanksgiving. My Mom and Glen came up early and then my Uncle Mike & Nzinga came up later and spent the night. We had a blast. I ordered dinner from Boston Market and made some fresh bread. It was pretty good though I’m really looking forward to actually cooking. Hopefully for Christmas if we’re at home.

I’ve scheduled an appointment to get my wisdom teeth removed this Friday.  Paul will take me to the dental surgeon up in Santa Barbara. He only wants to do two at a time. They are going to put me under anestesia. Joy. I assume I’ll be out of it for a few days after so I have someone helping me with work stuff. 

We’ve finished painting the house and are only working on trim now. It looks soooooo nice. I’ll post pictures when we’re done. I’m juggling a lot this week with work, the horses, and painting. It gets dark sooo early, it really sucks. Maybe I’ll start painting some of the trim in the living room like I did last year. We’re replacing all of the trim around the windows and some on the main part of the house. It seems like there is always more to do. I would really like to get it done this week and get some Christmas lights up. It’s going to look so beautiful.