Leaving a Stone

This poor homeowner paid someone a size-able chunk of change to create a custom home that looked like a mausoleum. His wife has spent the last four years telling her friends that the job was unfinished, because she was embarrassed to admit to this monstrosity. 

I saw this as it was being built, and cringed for them every time I drove by. When I was called in to offer some input, I was thrilled. (No need to specify the address, just mention the big white facade on such-and-such a street and I know just the house you mean. It's been haunting my nightmares)

We played around with some sketches, to see how we could make it feel more like the home they wanted and to be sure we understood one another..

It's been fun, watching this come to life, as the puzzle pieces fit together. 

 

I'll hold up templates all day long, until my client understands what I'm proposing.

This shows the completion of phase one. 

Phase two has already begun. You can see that the window surrounds have been torn off too. This homeowner has developed a taste for authentic, natural stone and has turned this project into his hobby and his passion. His enthusiasm is contagious.

 

i-Ride, a "Wide" Horse...

For way too long I was an equestrienne who hardly ever "equestriated":) When I did, it was infrequent, and always in conflict with commitments elsewhere and hard to find a perfect fit. When you're on the rent-a-horse circuit, you have to cobble together the best elements of an imperfect world. Different establishments have different programs, different teachers and different horses.
I've been fighting my way back. Riding is still often in conflict with other commitments but; moment of epiphany here; riding wins, more often than not. I've got two set riding lessons into my weekly schedule and last week, when I showed up early, I was asked to school one of the newer lesson horses to remind him of his manners.

This week, I rode three times as well, and I'm a better, happier person for it!

Mac, pictured above is a large (16h2) quarter-horse, and my most regular steed. He likes humans, has a big bouncy stride and a sensitive mouth; All pretty amazing for a riding school horse, and a tribute to the way the horses are treated at this establishment. 

Mac is a good task-master. If my hands are quiet and my legs are working hard enough, we get cadence and balance, duh! Mac has no withers; the raised area where shoulder and neck converge, so the saddle sits on top of his fully rounded physique and will slip to one side or another if the rider (me) doesn't center properly. It's been weeks since I've circled the arena on the side of my horse, like a limpet clinging to a rock. Progress is tangible and satisfying.