Random Happenings

We've been pretty busy over the last few weekends but I haven't taken too many photos.  Here is a random collection of the few shots I did manage to snap!

 

Matthew trying not to knock over the Jenga tower at one of our game nights.

 

We did a moonlight horseback ride with some friends and neighbors over the July 4th weekend at a hunting club a few miles away.  It was dark for the ride of course, but here is a photo of the cookout we enjoyed beforehand.

 

I've still been harvesting lots of delicious produce from our garden and this is what I have been taking to all of the cookouts we've been attending - a homegrown veggie tray! (My grandma made the basket too!)

And my lunches have been very healthy.  Caprese salads, lots of yellow squash and cucumbers, and even a few cantaloupe.




















And last but not least, the one and only photo I took during Cecilia's brief visit!  Matthew and I played an exciting game of Omega virus with the girls.

Horse Trailer

 It took several weeks, but our new horse trailer is finally clean enough that I feel good about posting photos of it on here!  I spent many hours scrubbing the black streaks off of the outside and then polishing it with wax.  Here is a during photo to show how bad the streaks were. 

 

We also pulled out all of the mats in the horse area and took a power washer to it. 

 

All clean and shiny!  The passenger side.

The rear.

 

The driver's side, with awning extended.

 

This trailer has two doors on the back, one into a small tack area and one into the horse area.

 

A better view of the horse area (already dirty again from hauling a horse!).

 

 

The "camper" part of the trailer, also known as the dressing room, had some cabinets already installed when we bought it.  Here is a photo I took the day that we bought the trailer.

 

While we were trying to fix one of the connections on the outside of the trailer, we ended up having to move the cabinets on the inside and discovered some water damage.  The lower cabinets were not salvageable but we'll save the upper ones.

 

Behind the cabinets, once we removed the wall.  We will be doing some wiring work before replacing the lower cabinets.

 

It's pretty much a blank slate inside now!

 

The new hose connection and electrical connection (photos taken before washing and waxing!)

 

The only other thing we have fixed so far is this little dent in one of the fenders.  Here's a before photo.

 

During.  We had to remove the wheel, beat the metal back into shape, and then install a new marker light on the fender.

 

After.  Not quite as good as new, but once we replace the black trim it won't be very noticeable.  And all of the lights are now working!

Footgolf

Last weekend Matthew joined a footgolf tournament with two other friends, Edward and Justin.  They played on a local golf course that has recently added footgolf holes and tees.  Despite the heat, they enjoyed themselves and ended up tying for first. (Edward is the course record holder and regularly plays soccer so they had a distinct advantage!)

 

There was some shade along the course.

 

The Team.

 

Jamie (Edward's wife) and I went along as spectators and photographers.  We mostly stayed in the shade and on the cart!

Garden Goodies

Our garden has started producing quite a bit of delicious produce over the last couple of weeks.  Here is a more recent photo of our raised beds.

 

The lettuce is almost done for the season, but before we left on vacation I was able to pick a five gallon bucket to take with us!

 

I also froze over 20 packages of broccoli before our trip.  That should last us a while!

 

And when we got back, we had these beautiful cucumbers waiting for us. Next up: pickles! (Luckily I left the garden set up with a timer for watering because we didn't get any rain while we were gone)

 

Just when the salad fixings start ripening, the lettuce stops; but I have managed to make a couple of completely homegrown salads.

 

Our horse pasture has also been growing this spring.  We finally planted grass seed and spread the fertilizer a couple of weeks ago.  The horses have been enjoying their fresh grass!

 

And here's a shot of the first (that we've seen) venomous snake on this property - a copperhead.  Rabi didn't notice it as we walked down the driveway.

Vacation

Matthew and I spent the last two weeks on a hectic vacation that took us around the Midwest and back.  We started off by driving ourselves, all four horses, and one cat to my parents' place in Tennessee.  After three days there, we left the animals behind and headed towards Cleveland for my college roommate Sam's wedding.  On our way to Cleveland we stopped in to visit my alma mater, Ohio Wesleyan University.

 

I had to take a minute to sit in these very familiar chairs in the science center.

 

And a token photo in front of the sign.  A few things have changed, but mostly it still looked the same.

Next, we finished our drive to Cleveland for four days of activities and wedding celebrations.  I spent Friday with Sam and her family while Matthew toured a company for work and then went golfing.  Saturday included another bachelorette celebration, the rehearsal, and the rehearsal dinner.  Sunday was the Big Day and then we stayed for Monday's open house party at Sam's parents' house.  We decided to use Airbnb for accommodations during our stay and it worked out perfectly.  It sure was a hectic few days though and I don't think that we went to bed before midnight any night!

 

Here is my favorite shot from the Big Day.  I still have to finish editing the rest of the hundreds of photos that I took.

 

The only photo I have of both of us, taken at the reception.  I was a bridesmaid and Matthew gave a swing dance lesson before the reception.

 

After the wedding festivities, we drove back to Tennessee and continued our vacation.  We spent most of our time riding, hiking, and playing golf.  Here are a couple of photos of my mom and I out riding.

 

Matthew also rode with me one day on Rabi.

 

The mountain laurels were gorgeous during our whole trip, but especially so on this little hike we took at Pogue Canyon.

 

And finally, another exciting part of our trip was buying a new (to us) horse trailer!  I found it near my parents' house, on craigslist, and it turned out to be exactly what we wanted.  We also managed to have a gooseneck hitch installed and sell our old trailer during our vacation, I guess it was meant to be!  The new trailer desperately needs some cleaning, so I will post more photos after I have washed it.

Mighty Eighth Gala

The Saturday before we left for vacation, Matthew and I joined some fellow swing dancers to perform at the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force during their fundraiser gala.  We dressed in 1940s attire and helped welcome guests to the event.

 

I was going to make myself a dress but ran out of time, as usual, so I bought this one at Goodwill a few days before.  I think that it worked out well!

 

We started off dancing at the entrance while people were arriving and then later moved inside where a live big band was playing swing music.

 

Taking a break while the guests eat dinner.

 

The whole group, a medley of three different swing dance clubs.