Kyra

Here's a recent photo of my horse, Kyra. She's a Friesian/Shire mare who's 10 years old. I've had her since she was about 9 month old. She's an amazing joy.

I have to look at the photo of her because things have been too busy to get out to see her. We've been doing some traveling as well as working like crazy.

Every year I promise myself more life in our life. I remember seeing Buckminster Fuller speak in Vancouver BC at a Habitat for Humanity event in the 70's. He talked about many things but what sticks with me is the concept of making money at a job being called "earning a living" as though your job was the thing that gave you the right to continue to be alive. I wish my brain hadn't been banged up so much as I believe I used to remember more about it. Seeing him is on the Top 10 Coolest Things I've Ever Done.

Enjoying the relationship with Kyra is on there as well. Snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef in 1980. Marrying my husband.

All of these things are about the quality of life. There are times when this quality of life is strained.

This weekend a large number of SCA folk came out to the studio for a Natural Dye Workshop. We got some amazing colors! The event was taught by Bjo Trimble from Griffin Dye Works who is a really cool person. She and her husband John were behind the "Save StarTrek" campaign. She talked some about it this weekend and I soaked it up. I also got her to sign my Concordance. She was impressed that the wheel was still there on the front cover. It's got some use damage, but even when it was new I took really good care of it. It's been boxed up for years along with 4 other boxes of ST stuff. I should think about culling it down to a few pieces that I can have out to enjoy rather than 4 boxes in the basement.

The event was Saturday and Sunday. I am so tired. This was the weekend following our annual camping event in southern WY and largest event our local SCA group hosts. Some years it's been so scary dry up that fires have been forbidden. This year it rained everyday and usually a rather large portion of every day. While it is always wonderful to hang out with our SCA family of choice who are amazing and wonderful people, the weather was draining. I am not good with storms and that is what we had a lot of.

We came home with everything we owned wet and muddy. The studio was full laundry and crazy making. The tent hung out on the porch to dry and to let the sun bleach out the mildew it got from being wet all weekend. I guess the wet is better than the fear of fire so there you have it.

I wanted to get up into the mountains and hang out today. To get up to the tundra and see the alpine wildflowers as this has been such a wet year. Instead I have been able to move from couch to fridge and back again. But this is one of the joys of working for ourselves - we can take a day off from when we have worked ourselves into the ground on the weekend.

The next thing to bubble up is another group we are hosting in a couple of weeks. Then Sock Summit in Portland. Then hopefully putting up produce from the every burgeoning garden!

In September I am doing an intensive equestrian training internship for 3 months. That will consume me fully as it's 6 days a week.

I'm not quite sure how everything is going to get done, but this is something I've wanted to do for a long time and now is the time. None of us are getting any younger.

Not very profound tonight. I sort of have exhausted "flea brain" hopping from thing to thing as it slides into my brain.

Hope you all are having a great summer!