Alright, so much for regular “diary” entries!! I have been horribly remiss. Not that I’m writing ground breaking, earth shaking stuff here, but I was hoping to add entries a little more regularly. Life has been hectic, and my computer time has been limited at home. My dear boyfriend has been hard at work in the evenings, and I don’t feel it necessary to interrupt his productivity to “blog!” My evenings have been busy too though – I’ve been thoroughly occupied with a knitting project. It’s my first “non-scarf” project – a baby blanket (NOT for myself!!!) knitted on the diagonal. It’s coming a long, and is quite pretty, but knitting up 180 (!) stitches is taking up lots of time. Pictures to follow…

I’ve been getting out to ride quite regularly and to visit “my” horse a couple times a week besides. He is such a lovely boy and has a great desire to bond. The days that I just go out to “hang out” and play, he is SO responsive. I’ve been doing some “horse play” games, loosely based on Parelli natural horsemanship. It tells a lot about his personality. I think he really enjoys working, and once he’s warmed up and “on” he is very receptive. The other night we played a bit of “yo-yo” where I would drive him away, and then beckon him back. Back and forth we went, and he seemed to really enjoy it. We also did some amazing free lunge (without a lunge line “at liberty” in Parelli terms). I directed him by pointing in the direction I wanted him to go, drove from his hind end (by clucking and driving with my eyes – looking directly at his hind end) and he took up a 20 metre circle naturally. It was so amazing. When I dropped the driving, he stopped, turned, and faced me – as if to say “okay boss, what next? I’m listening” It was spectacular! I’m curious to see how our next ride goes after that session. I’m afraid I’m bonding to him at a rapid rate – great for our riding relationship, but it will be tough when reality sets in and his owner either a) decides to start riding again or b) sells him. Wish I could figure out how to get that money tree growing…

Went to a fabulous restaurant last night – “Mezza” – it’s a tapas style restaurant serving Lebanese food. It was amazing. The flavours were wonderful and the food was freshly prepared and beautifully presented. It was obvious that the kitchen staff took pride in their job. It was my first time eating true Lebanese food, and I would go back in a heart beat!