Fav Flight Bag, Non-Fiction

Awareness of the outside world. The Tiffany Problem. Non-fiction that you can’t use in fiction. Tor: Putting the Historical in Historical Fantasy, Walton 2019. Medium: The Tiffany Problem — When History Makes No Sense, Povey 2020. Limited access but interesting example before the cut-off. A search on the phrase turns up other examples.

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A small duffel is my new favorite bag for airplane travel.

When I went to Rochester for a family thing, I took too much. My roller bag is legal but it must be the maximum allowable size. It barely fit down the airplane aisle and was awkward to lift, even though it was only filled with clothes.

(When I pack books as well, my bags can get HEAVY. I used to leave the airline’s warning tag on my luggage handle between trips. But I digress.)

When I went up to Boston for another family thing, I decided to err the other way. Sleepwear, I was a guest in someone’s home, so I had to look decent. My formal outfit. A sweater for warm. The relevant turtlenecks and underclothes. That’s it. One pair of jeans and one pair of casual shoes that I wore on plane.

I loved it.

Things you can do when traveling with a gym bag:

Breeze past the long line of people waiting for their gate-checked roller bags.

Run up and down the hallways of the Philadelphia airport to switch from your delayed flight to earlier flight. Also delayed but earlier from my POV.

Toss into overhead, without whacking people in the seats below or causing well-meaning fellow passengers to jump up and assist. Put under the seat in front if needed.

If the bag looks overstuffed in the photo, most of that is down vest. The joys of traveling from the bottom of the country to the top.

Travel light. Dress casual.

Onwards!
Katherine

Road Closed, Photography

Photos of the outside world. The New Yorker: A Photographer’s Old College Classmates, Back Then and Now, by Eren Orbey, photography by Josephine Sittenfeld, 2017. I like that the photos are recreations rather than duplications, “A red Solo cup has become a crumpled bottle of Smartwater.” [ibid].

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21st Street Bridge
Birmingham AL, USA
April 2024

AL.com: Birmingham closing historic Rainbow Bridge due to ‘deteriorated’ state, Koplowitz 2022.

Technical Details

21st Street Bridge, f/13, 1/100 sec., 20.0 mm, ISO 100. Manual mode & auto-focus. Post production: resized, border, & watermark. No cropping.

Border colors. Gray for project, yellow for Nikon. [Photo Safari The First], [Quarry, Photography, Things]

Onwards!
Katherine

I Owe My Cat An Apology, Other Animals

Awareness of the outside world. “If you want to help your child’s immune system, get them vaccines and a puppy.” Your Local Epidemiologist: Kids don’t need to get sick to be healthy, Kristen Panthagani, MD, PhD, Apr 18, 2024.

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Dogs are fine. Status is quo. [Shifting From Low to High}

Rose took a trip to the grocery store. She was a fan of the in-flight biscuit.

In other news, minions can be slow to catch the message.

Cats have a free choice bowl of kibble on top of a tall, wide box. The height was force of habit. Current dogs don’t have much reach. Wobbly cat gets a bowl of kibble when he goes out to his pen in the morning. Can’t leave food out overnight because wildlife.

His brother – non-wobbly, but equally senior – would routinely go in the pen, eat the kibble, and get locked in. He would sit at the door, waiting to be let out. We would accuse him of making poor life choices.

Me: Silly cat. It is the same kibble. Exactly the same. I scooped it from the bowl.

Cat: Silly human. I don’t like jumping up on that box. It’s high and it shimmies when I land.

Me: Oh.

He now has a lower, steadier box as a kibble platform.

Onwards!
Katherine

Cumulative Effect

Awareness of the outside world. Today is the jog at Rolex. Hey, I’m wallowing in the past over here. I can call it anything I want. [Peregrinatio in Stabilitate]

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Being grumpy today. May want to come back tomorrow.

Let us posit three categories of horse activity.

Well, that sucked pond water! The bad day, however you define bad. Hopping about like a wind-up toy. The aborted lesson. I don’t not mean true disaster. That would be level zero. I mean a bad ride that everyone walks away from.

Hey, you weren’t horrible! The so-so day. Better than it could have gone. Perhaps glimmers of progress.

What a star! The good day, however you define good. Everyone shows up for work. As simple as schooling rides where small training steps were taken. Would also include the excellent days. Those rides, shows, days that you remember for years and become part of your horse’s personal story.

I think this is one reason I was so reactive during last week’s lesson. [Well, That Lesson Did Not Go The Way I Hoped It Would]

The home team has given us too many bad days and not enough good days. ‘You weren’t horrible’ works as motivation for only so long and then it starts to wear you down.

Have you seen the video going around of Tiger Roll at the Parade of Legends? The horse is hopping up or kicking out every stride. The two – yes two – people leading him do not seem surprised. This is taking place as part of the Grand National, which he won. Twice.

A while back I mentioned Vanir Kamira, a PITA who is a legendary event horse. [Lecturing Milton]

When I say PITA, don’t take my word for it, Eventing Nation: “A Pain in the Arse 362 Days of the Year”: Looking Back on Vanir Kamira’s Career on Her Retirement, Berendt 2023.

If memory serves, there was a ASB mare who left behind a “graveyard of carts” from her training. This tidbit was related at the post-show interview after she won the Five-Gaited Stake at Louisville. I believe it was CH Callaway’s Annabel Allison, although this article does not mention any carts, “mare … took persistence to develop.” Horse Stars Hall of Fame: CH Callaway’s Annabel Allison.

The lows don’t have to be quite that low, nor do the highs have to be quite that high.

Sam had a habit of acting up in the victory pass of our academy classes. One class at North Georgia, there are no photos of the victory pass because he bolted the entire length of the ring. After winning the class. You gotta to give the people something. [The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly, Show Report & Photos, Mid-South Spring Premiere 2018, Riding, photo proof]

I’ve said this before about Milton. “Dude needs to step up.” [Sour Side Up, Milton 2019] & “If one is going to be difficult, it is wise to give the humans something in return.” [Lecturing Milton 2023]

Rodney’s hissy fit and de facto retirement have aggravated the issue. [Rodney Is Sent to the Horse House]

We are a product of our history. My riding over the last too many years has included too much pond water and too much not-so-horrible. It has an effect.

Wasn’t sure I was gonna include this part. Warts & all right? I have not managed a simple walk-trot-canter ride on a horse other than Optimus in a year & a half. That includes the two I care for daily and three horses ridden just fine by other folks.

That’s something to be grumpy about.

I’ve been riding way too long do be doing this poorly.

I did warn you.

Onwards!
Katherine

Day By Day, Virtual Tevis 2024

Awareness of the outside world. BBC: Top US colleges struggle with widening Gaza protests, FitzGerald & Debusmann Jr, 22 April 2024. Lawyers, Gun & Money: No appeasement goes unpunished, Lemieux, April 22, 2024.

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Rodney – 10 miles this week, 18 miles total
Milton – 9 miles this week, 17 miles total
Tuesday 15 April to Monday 22 April

Virtual Tevis Cup 2024
100 Miles in 100 Days
10 April to 21 July

Logistics

Seven morning handwalks, 1 mile each.

Saturday & Sunday, additional afternoon session, 1 mile each. Ride both days.

Rodney & I took an extra handwalk on Monday afternoon. Pretty day & it never hurts to have mileage in the bank.

All walk.

Commentary

We are middle of the pack. So far, 865 entries have put up some amount of mileage! One person about to finish. Drops off into the low 30s by the 100th entry. Run Signup: Virtual Tevis Results

If we can be not last at 17/18 miles, I suspect the IRL endurance riders have moved on to other things, leaving the Virtual Tevis as a venue for trail riders and hand walkers and young horses and older horses.

21 people have logged driving mileage. Milton hasn’t yet, but probably will.

Virtual Tevis Posts [Archives]

Onwards!
Katherine

News From The Nest, Barn Life

Awareness of the outside world. Earth Day.

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The birds have grown and gone!

The soon-to-be graduates.

Timeline

Started at the beginning because I was confused. Scroll down for new pics & nest report.

20 March. Took photos. This one was not posted, shows location.

POST Wed 10 April. First nest photo. Because of post, went to look at nest. [Wordless Wednesday]

Wed 10 April. Took more photos, wrote up post for Monday.

Thur 11 April, too dark.

Fri 12 April. Photo, one chick, kinda sorry looking.

Sat 13 April. Said hello to head & yellow beak peeking over rim of nest. We both retreated. Sooooo tempting to keep checking. Due to location of nest, that would be too intrusive.

Sun 14 April. Was over in trailer area doing something else (dog poop). Saw bird fly out from under the overhang. Go mama (or papa). First time I’ve seen an adult bird near the nest. Peeked in. Entrance area is wider? Counted three beaks. Retreated.

Later, second sighting of adult on my way from barn to house. I don’t go near the trailer but I swing around the cars instead of taking the direct path and cast an eye over as I go by.

POST Mon 15 April. Second post, two nest photos from 10 April, outside & inside with blurry beaks. [Baby Birds, Barn Life]

Mon 15 April. Photo. Every time I look, more beaks. Zoom in to see their wittle faces.

Tues 16 April AM. Peeked in. I think I see beaks. Possibly positioned to indicate bigger birds? Didn’t use a light. Didn’t want to wake them up.

Wed 17 April. Morning check. Left nest in the dark. Saw two sleepy beaks.

PM. Photo, moved camera back to mitigate flash. Didn’t seem to wake them.

2nd photo. When I said I thought the nest was pile of sticks leading nowhere, this is what I meant. Also under the overhang. First attempt?

Thur 18 April AM. Dark. Spotted one beak. Bigger?

PM, Dark. 2 two yellow smidges, i.e. beaks.

Fri 19 April AM. Two beaks. Eyes. Motion! Unfortunately, it was from me saying hello & front beak ducking down our of sight back into nest. Left.

PM. Photo. Zoom in, three sets of eyes.

Sat 20 April AM. Bird face looking back at me over threshold of nest. Another in background.

PM. Photo. So tempting to go closer with the flash. Peeked in. Bodies definitely taking up more space in the nest. Halfway up the side of the cavity. Photo at top, same time, no flash.

Sun 21 April AM. Bigger. Two sitting up high enough to see paler feathers on lower half. I made a surprised, pleased squeak. They hunkered back down. I left.

AM. second look. Dark. Sleeping bodies? Need to remember to have my glasses on.

PM. Empty. Moved in for close up once I realized there were no birds to disturb. Fly with joy my feathered friends.

Onwards!
Katherine

Designing With The Crossword Puzzle Grid, Graphic Art

Art of the outside world. Sheet music portraits that play as music. Sympawnies. Sales page but a good way to see the images. Music available on YouTube: Sympawnies by Noam Oxman. I know zip about music & am impressed. I suspect if you actually understood what was happening, you would be amazed.

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What can be done with a crossword grid as inspiration?

My Ideas

Weaving, white as weft, black as warp.

LEGO tiles.

Anything with fabric.

What Others Have Done

Puzzle as portrait. Ken Knowlton Mosaics: Will Shortz (NY Times Crossword editor) Portrait as puzzle, ACPT: Mosaic Puzzle.

Go to the 2024 tournament page. 46th ACPT. Scroll down to Videos, Reels and TikTok. Click, Wirecutter: Favorite Pencils and other Crossword Gear. Continue as Guest. Enjoy the crossword-themed items throughout the video.

Xword Info: Grid Art.

Crossword puzzle shirt. Male Pattern Boldness: Michael’s Crossword Puzzle Shirt REVEAL! 2014

Crossword puzzle dresses. A Dress A Day: 4 Across: Prepare for Roasting 2007, ADAD: More Stunt Dressing: Crossword Dress #2 2008.

Crossword Fabric Design. Puzzling: Crossword fabric 2012. Make your own. “This is particularly necessary if you want to have British-style crosswords on your cloth, as most crossword fabrics feature the more solid white American-style grids.” P:Cf

Crossword puzzle book. Anna Shechtman: The Riddles of the Sphinx, Inheriting the Feminist History of the Crossword Puzzle (Harper 2024), Okay, not design, but I always give space to books.

Onwards!
Katherine