Pregnancy is Magical.

Pregnancy is truly magical.

Prayers and thoughts

I do not know how to react when someone asks me to pray for something. I am even totally averse to the phrase "keep [x] in your thoughts" because it's the same damn thing, just couched under non-denominational wording to make us all feel better. It feels really dishonest to respond to this without saying something that would probably offend the other person, although perhaps, in the circumstance, it is better to be dishonest. Maybe I could be if I was given a minute to think about it. Dishonesty is just never my first reaction. In this particular situation, my usual response is to smile sheepishly or ignore the statement.

Horses.

My old horse died this weekend. I don't know of what, but I assume colic because he was prone to colic and he  was only 18. I had sold him to a girl, about 7 years ago and he was much happier with her than he ever was with me. She didn't have anywhere near the amount of pressure I had to "make" him be the right horse and was able to get along with him at the level he was comfortable at. I made a mistake with him trying to make him into a 3'6" horse - he clearly had the talent and ability but zero interest.

I put him up for sale with the idea that I would turn around and buy the jumper I wanted but he was fairly unsaleable due to all the surgeries he'd had. So I settled for selling him for next to nothing to a girl who loved him and kept him forever and took such good care of him that it was the best possible scenario. It's bittersweet because he was supposed to be my gateway to actually being competitive and not having to worry about where my next mount is coming from or where my current mount is leaving (e.g. Ruby left and now I have nothing at Casey's except ponies, ponies and more ponies). Here I am, 30 years old, still clinging on to this goal that, for all the effort I have made, I still feel further away from than ever.

Townes for the Baby

I decided to try an experiment. Different people have told me that playing music to the baby while she is in the womb won't necessarily make her smarter, but it may make my life easier after she's born. This is because of a current theory that suggests that mimicking womb conditions post-partum will help the baby feel relaxed. Apparently some people call the first three months of the baby's life the "fourth trimester".

So. I decided to pick Townes Van Zandt because from song to song, particularly the early stuff, his "sound" isn't much different but he was really prolific so there will be lots to choose from that I won't be sick of. I play a lot of Townes. I also chose one song ("Fare Thee Well, Miss Carousel" see above) to play a lot to see if that makes a difference.

I realise that the subject matter of most of Townes' songs are, well, depressing and maybe this isn't what I want the baby to have molding her formative years. But I really don't think it matters - all the literature says that reading anything to your baby from the beginning is helpful. So if reading depressing Russian literature or articles on the subject of genocides or anything from the Ithaca Journal to an infant is okay then music from a depressed, mentally ill, alcoholic and cocaine addicted song writer is probably fine too.

A Transit of Venus

Today I went to the Fuertes Observatory and watched Venus pass in front of the sun, despite the clouds.  It was so cool!

A strange person took Ken's special sun-watching glasses without much explanation. He just walked up and tugged them out of Ken's hands and then said,

"He's really excited about looking."

We looked confused and desirous of clarification.

"You guys have more than one."

And then he walked away and handed them to a small child. I'm not opposed to sharing things with small children, but it was a very odd way of handling the situation. He literally pulled the glasses out of Ken's hands before saying a word.

Blender coveting

Here's a thing that I covet:

A non-crappy blender.

Right now, we have a shitty, shitty, $25 blender from Wegmans with no lid (we use a small plate instead) because Barnaby chewed it up when he was a puppy.

It doesn't really blend things all that well besides soups.

My friend Laila bought a fancy, 'spensive, blender a few years ago: she told me she knew it was kind of a lot of money but she was sick of crappy blenders. ME TOO. But I still can't justify spending that kind of money right now. So, I'll just have to covet and dream about making green smoothies that are actually smooth. 

List.

1. I packed a bag for the hospital. Jeeves sleeps on it a lot. I don't know why.

2. Ryan finally figured out what to do with those dry fava beans we have that refuse to cook. He made felafel. It was yummy.

3. I bought ice lollies to go to the hospital with us because every thing I read suggest them. However, there is a catch. If I know there are ice lollies in the freezer, I will eat them. So, I didn't want to buy them too soon. However, I'm trying to "be prepared" so I did want to buy them. I ended up buying 2 boxes, raspberry and mango. I thought, if I eat 3 of each, I'll still have a whole box for the hospital. I just ate the seventh one.

4. Barnaby spent two days vomiting foamy yellow bile occasionally. As he was due for some vaccinations anyway, I took him to the vet. He's fine. Then, that night, I got in to bed. Turns out, he'd been sick in the bed. I found that out after I got into bed.

5. I heard a funny story at the place at which I have been volunteering. I really can't go into detail because it's not appropriate to post online, but I will say this: it involved a "bag of wigs".

6. The baby is due in less than a month. I have been so tired and frustrated and in pain (my feet are rebelling against any form of use) that I am much less "ready" than I was 2 weeks ago.

7.  Sometimes the fear of anxiety-induced insomnia makes me dread going to bed. Also, now, the fear of dog sick in the bed.