Reunited with the Jinxy Cat (and Lexi)

Oh look! It's Ellie and Jinx together again. No- this post isn't a throwback to 2014! Lexi and Jinx moved to our barn back in November and last week was the first time we were coordinated enough to manage a ride together. Not much has changed- I'm still going through my Spring nerves and Jinx is as solid a citizen as ever in his 18th year.

Over the past 12 months my barn family has morphed into a close knit group of Oakland women who regularly meet up to puppy social, host impromptu wine and cheese chats, and are always good for a laugh!

Juicing and Puppy Socials

I've done two rounds of juice cleansing via Pressed Juicery. The first was a 5 day "level 2" cleanse and the second was a 3 day "level 3" cleanse. Level 3 was for the most serious cleansers and wow- I don't know that I could have gone a full five days.

Anyway, when we were at Stanford last week we stopped into an "in real life" Pressed Juicery! I picked up a day's worth of Level 3 cleanse and drank them today along with a giant plate of roast, potatoes, rolls, and butter......so I imagine it wasn't super effective.

Puppy came to work with me today (Ariat is dog friendly) and we scooted out a hair early to head to Puppy Social. Yes- a room full of playing puppies. We've been trying to stay on top of Pep's socialization and go to these things twice a week in addition to a day of training. Unfortunately tonight ended up cancelled due to the Easter weekend (silly me for not double checking the schedule) but we made the most of arriving home early and went to the park with Paul and practiced our "with me" leash skills (Paul calls me a human treat dispenser).

Pepé and Easter

So we got a puppy on Feb 20th- Pepé. As I'm typing this he's lying on the futon in the Den (formerly Paul's office) sleeping and farting away. The smell got so bad that Paul actually got up to leave for a moment. I wasn't willing to step away from the bowl of pistachios I'm working my way through while we wait for our Easter Roast to slow cook.

The reason for the delay was my fault. I was sent to the grocery store and got hung up at Pet Food Express (buying treats which are likely a contributing factor in the gas right now) and hunting Cadbury Cream Eggs. Lesson learned- don't go to the store expecting to get Cream Eggs on the actual day of Easter. And kudos to Safeway for managing their Holiday inventory.

We had a glorious sleep in this morning (back on the futon, which is where we end up after puppy wake up), a walk with Paul & Pepé to Peet's (say that three times fast), trip to the park (x2), and a super lazy afternoon nap.

I think a restful Sunday was exactly what the Doc had ordered going into this week. My Mom is coming to town on Wednesday and I can't wait to spend some QT with her along with ticking off a few projects that have been on the docket for a minute.

Beach Party Horse Show

Oh man! We had SO much fun at Brookside's Beach Party Show in July. Normally it's broiling in Sacramento that time of year, but we actually got hit with some light rain showers on Thursday Pro Day and lucked out with some mild weather for the balance of the week.

Ellie was a good girl and Ted and I tackled our first 2'9" classes- they both did the Derby with Ali. Really it's the relaxed atmosphere that I enjoyed the most- from wearing Hawaiian shirts in lieu of jackets to neon pink braids for Ellie and neon green braids for Ted.

AND Jen and I rented an RV and stayed on grounds at the show which was an absolute blast- cannot wait to go again next year!

Franktown Meadows Hunter Derby

Earlier this summer we took a road trip to see the Franktown Meadows USHJA International Hunter Derby just over Donner Pass in Reno, NV. 

The fences were enormous, the horses were spectacular, and the backdrop was absolutely gorgeous!