Where's the romance?

Today on the way back from the barn, we saw a bear!  I was driving down the road that leads to the highway, a road that winds through some still-forested hills, but which is flanked by plenty of houses as well.  We turned the corner and there, lumbering across the road, was a black bear! It walked into the forest and vanished from view, but after my initial "Whoa, cool!" reaction, it occurred to me that I wasn't really psyched about riding my horse on trails that might also be used by bears.

Oh, and then we saw a wild turkey.  But it was no bear.

This weekend we went to our friend Mike's family compound on Lake Winnepesaukee.  There were eight of us all told, and we had a great time splashing around in the lake, as you can see!

Could this look more bucolic?  These are the docks in front of the main house, where we stayed.  Naturally, all the New Yorkers were astounded by all this nature.
This is one of the boat houses across the cove.  We spent all of Saturday here, sunning on the dock, swimming in the sandy, shallow part of the lake, playing water frisbee and generally feeling like an outtake from an '80s reunion movie.
Swimming, paddle boats, and beer? What could be better? Well, we sank the paddleboat the next day (turns out the hull wasn't as seaworthy as we had originally thought), at some risk to Mike, but everyone (and the boat) were eventually returned to dry land.
Gordon and I paddled the boat back to the main house (ferrying the leftover beer).  You can see what a beautiful day it was...and how intent Gordon is on captaining our listing craft.

Last but not least, enjoy this series of action shots from our short motorboat ride the next day, as a storm was rolling in.  The lake got a little choppy, and it's amazing how much bounce and splash results from a four-inch wave!

Check out this cool little doodad: A site called Wordle will take any selection of text and turn it into a collage for you. I tried it with today's Dead Guy blog post, and this is how it looks:

http://wordle.net/gallery/The_Editor

Alas, I can't figure out how to include the picture here...

Whaddaya know, it's still hot. But not nearly as bad as last week, at least. Rode this morning and could still breathe at the end of it. We walked around the barn a bit after we finished up, visiting the cows in the back and looking at the summer camp next door. Sean was unfazed by all of it, but also frankly uninterested, as it involved me still sitting on her. She likes the end of the ride, when she gets a bath followed by a handful of peppermints (her favorite).

I'm now watching a documentary about Gavin Menzies' book, 1421: The Year the Chinese Discovered America. I haven't read the whole book, but I'm watching the show because one of my former bosses at Bantam originally bought that book, but then cancelled the contract because she felt the research didn't hold up. (The book wound up selling to Morrow and having some success on the shelves, I think, but the doc is essentially debunking Menzies' claims.) I find myself wondering about the actors in this program who are recreating ancient Chinese audiences with the emperor. What do you suppose it pays to show up, put on elaborate court robes, and "look on in disapproval" but say no lines?

Tonight Gordon and I are joining some friends for dinner at a Peruvian place (mmm, ceviche) followed by our favorite improv troupe, Baby Wants Candy. This is the group that does an hour-long improv musical based on a suggestion from the audience. (We'll have to think of a good title.) They have a four-piece band onstage that plays various "Broadway-ish" music, and the actors have to make up the songs, the choreography, and try to carry the story forward. I don't think I could do it for real, but I often find myself in my seat thinking, "No, a better lyric there would have been, 'So you can see that I'm/atoning for my crime...'." I'm more of an improv kibbitzer, I guess.

We're getting excited for our trip to New Hampshire next weekend--we leave Thursday night right after work and then head up to Winnepesaukee (which I suspect I'm misspelling). Our friend Mike is hosting us at his family's lakefront cabin, and we'll swim, grill, play poker, read, and generally lie around with six of our friends. Mike is also determined that we stop at Friendly's on the way--I think he's as excited about that as he is about the trip. Friendly's always reminds me of my mom convincing us she had magical powers when we were kids: we would go out to Friendly's for dinner, order our food, and wait. And wait. And when we had waited as long as we kids could stand it, Mom would tell us, "Watch. I will light up a cigarette, and that will make the food come." And you know, it always did.

It's hot. Hoooooooot. Hothothothothot.

I rode this morning, and will do so tomorrow as well, at 8:30 to beat the heat, even if it does mean getting up at 6:30 on a perfectly good weekend.  But by 10am today the barn was scorching, and the temp is up to 95.  Eccch.

I'm trying to soak up some A/C before heading out to Brooklyn, where I'll join Ray and Shannon to watch the Belmont on TV...and hopefully see our first Triple Crown winner in 30 years!

And somewhere in there I really need to do some editing...

Hooray for a holiday weekend with nothing planned!

I had a full day yesterday...got up at the crack of dawn to go out to the barn with my friend Diane and meet a new horse.  It looks like I'll be leasing this mare (named Sean, which seems a little too human to me) for the summer so that I have something to ride.  She's built like a skinny little Thoroughbred, though she's actually a Holsteiner--a far cry from the Percheron crosses I've been used to of late.  Nevertheless, we seemed to fit OK and had a nice first lesson, and this will be an opportunity for me to get back to riding 3 days a week, so I hope to see some real improvement in my skills.

Following our ride, Diane and I returned to the city and headed out to the Horse exhibit at AMNH (tickets courtesy of my hubby).  It was an excellent exhibit, I thought--lots of great artifacts like ancient Persian stirrups, a horse-drawn fire engine (complete with ceiling-mounted quick-closing harness!), and the trophies that Citation won in the Triple Crown.  There were also skeletons, videos, and various riding equipment.  Attendees seemed to be of two stripes: horse fanatics who knew half the stuff already, and longsuffering companions who were good enough to listen to disquisitions on the Godolphin Barb vs. the Byerly Turk.

In addition to the main exhibit, we had time to take in Sea Monsters, the latest IMAX film (assembled by Gordon). I suppose it was kind of dumb, but I loved it!  It was about giant ocean dinosaurs living in the vast inland sea that used to be the plains States.  (Turns out Kansas used to look like the Caribbean.)  We followed the life cycle of a ...dalysaurus?  I forget, because the film just called them "dallys" for most of the story--from its birth in the shallows, where it chased giant nautiluses (nautilii?) and piranha-shaped fish, to its migration out to open sea.  All of this stuff was CGI-animated, interspersed with live-action recreations of fossil discoveries, but the CGI made it possible to "show" us the giant ancestor of the great white shark eating a wayward dally...and then being snapped up by an enormous tylersaurus in turn.  (Apparently irony also dates back to the Cretaceous period.)  Diane dozed off in the middle, but I liked it--recommended for nerds like me and dinosaur fans under 10.

We also went through the "butterfly encounter," which was one of those greenhouses filled with free-range butterflies that can land on you.  Now, I know butterflies are beautiful and harmless, and I enjoyed looking at them through the glass as we approached the entrance.  Turns out, however, that once I'm inside the butterfly house, all of them just look like Big Flying Bugs Who Will Land on Me OMIGOD GETITOFF GETITOFF.  I managed not to kill any of them, but it was all very creepy and I won't be going back.  Sorry, butterflies.  It's not you, it's me.  (Except for the huge Atlas Moth, which was the size of my hand.  Atlas Moth, it's definitely you.)

At this point, we'd done a lot of walking, and had been up for quite some time, and were ready to call it a day.  I walked to the train, which arrived almost immediately, and I thought, "Ooh, I have good train karma today!"  Which promptly ended my good train karma.  Changing at 42nd, I just missed an N train, and then had to wait for 3 other non-Astoria trains before another one showed up.  It chugged along incredibly slowly, but I was in no hurry, so that was OK.  Upon arriving at Queensboro Plaza we sat in the station for a minute...and then five minutes...and then the dreaded announcement: "This train is going out of service.  Last stop.  Everybody off."  I hate this announcement, because it usually means waiting around for ages while the MTA workers get their stories straight.  Sometimes the train is then brought back into service, which is almost more annoying.  Either way, you're standing on an overcrowded platform getting no information.

But that announcement was followed by an even worse announcement: "Due to a switching problem, there is no Astoria-bound train service."  And that was it.  No "wait 15 minutes," no "there'll be buses."  Just "we dunno."  Sigh.  Those of you who've ever been out to my place know that Queensboro Plaza is just close enough to walk home, but far enough away to be a long, unpleasant walk.  And I was still in my paddock boots from this morning, having forgotten to throw a change of shoes in with my change of clothes.  So off I trudged, apparently with a sour look on my face, because some guy in a garage said to me as I passed, "Oh, mami, you tired, huh?  Just remember God loves you!"  Um, thanks.

But I made it home and promptly ran myself a bath, tossing in an "Ocean Breeze" bath fizzy for good measure.  Turns out that turns the water a deep teal, but doesn't smell like much.  But it meant I could spend the evening playing "Sea Monster" in the tub :).

Today is basically the opposite of yesterday, as I am sitting here still blogging in my pajamas.  (But according to this morning's NYT Magazine, that's clearly the way of the new generation, so I feel hip, if unshowered.)  Hope all of you are enjoying equally decadent holiday weekends.  Back to bed!

My week has been very busy with various sorts of shopping.  The primary sort is for books...but this time I actually got them!  My last cocky deal-related post was premature, as it turns out, because only one of those four deals actually came through.  I was beginning to develop a complex.  But this week I bought 3 books, two of which are quirky little originals I thought I wouldn't be allowed to bid on.

One of them is set on a ranch in eastern Washington, and opens when a riderless horse appears out of a snowstorm on the heroine's land.  She saddles up and goes to look for the fallen rider, who turns out to be an Mexican ranch hand on the run from immigration.  The two of them start up an unlikely friendship that blossoms into romance--and there's tons of horsey stuff to keep me happy.

The other is a novel set in Brooklyn, and is about a single mom who discovers an ATM that gives her extra cash, with the onscreen admonition to "Use It Well."  How she spends it, and what that does to her life, is surprising...particularly when she has to figure out what to do with a $10,000 bill.

The last was the easiest deal, because it's the third book from an Irish author whose first book, PACK UP THE MOON, has just come out in the U.S.  It's doing very well already, especially at Target.  Of course I'm happy when any of my books do well, but it's always a plus when you love the book, and this one is special.  I recommend it wholeheartedly.

The other shopping was for Gordon's birthday, and was slightly less successful.  He asked me for a car converter for his iPod, but he wanted a very particular kind...which they don't make any more.  So I got the slightly different kind, and will have to exchange it if it doesn't work.  But I think I've been to every Best Buy in the city--all of them are equidistant from my office, it seems, and I have time to hit only one in a lunch hour, so it was taking forever.  Amusingly, at Thursday's Best Buy, they clearly used to carry the item but had sold out.  The sales clerk helping me told me there were still some in the Chelsea store, and to help me, he ripped the plastic tag with the SKU number off the wall!  It's in my purse now, and I'm sure I'll forget all about it until I replace this bag and think, "Did I steal something from Best Buy?"

OK, I'm off to complete my glamorous week by cleaning my disgusting house.  I've crossed "cat box" and "sweeping" off the list, but have been utterly unable to face "laundry," "wash kitchen floor," or "work room."  Where's a fairy godmother or a magic broom when you need one?

I've just returned from Colorado Springs, where I was attending a writers' conference this weekend.  The area is beautiful, and it was sunny and clear all weekend, so we had amazing views of the mountains (including not only Pike's Peak, but also Cheyenne Mountain, under which they keep NORAD).  I didn't bring my camera, since generally pictures of writers are not very interesting, but I wished I had when we went to visit the Garden of the Gods.

But if I had brought my camera, I could have shown you views like this:

There are these sandstone ridges that just rise straight out of the ground like spines, and some fantastic rock formations.  The middle one above is called "Kissing Camels."  Can you see them?

There's also this one:  

There are a number of rocks like this, but this one in particular was precariously balanced at the entrance to the park trail.  (It's not technically balancing anymore...they had to shore it up with concrete.)

The conference was good, and I met some fun new people.  Not sure any of the pitches I heard will be earth-shattering, but a good time was had by all.  Especially last night, when all the faculty hung out in the bar until 2 in the morning.  I regretted that a bit when I left for the airport at 4:30am...and thus am going to bed now.

Guess what I saw at the museum tonight?

I really have to get a camera phone. (This is a re-enactment.)  Gordon and I were walking back to the museum parking lot after having been out with some friends, and we noticed a couple of people standing in the driveway.  I looked back to see what they were looking at, and out of a trash can popped a huge raccoon!  I was shocked to see nature in the city like that...although I suppose the Natural History Museum is the appropriate place for it.

We backed away and left the raccoon to his takeout.

I kept hearing this song on a particular "Scrubs" episode (OK, finding it on TV probably reduces my hipness quotient).  Every time I hear it, it makes me cheery...so I finally bought the album.