one a penny, two a penny...

..... okay...  weird.  We always said it that way... and our Mom is English.  It's just that when I was saying it out loud, to no one in particular except myself, I decided to look it up....on Google of course, and in the rhyme, it is actually one ha'penny, two ha' penny.... which is a half penny.  Seems they are cheaper in the rhyme than they are in the song.. which was the next entry on Google.. at "One a penny'  Who knew?  I wonder if they even use half pennies any more... in Canada we are even giving up the penny.

Anyway.... you probably guessed right away that I was talking about Hot Cross Buns.  I made some  yesterday. And, yes, I know they are usually baked on Good Friday.  But, on that day I had company...and I was still not feeling up to par all of the Easter weekend... so I let it slide til now.












But, I had found a recipe that claimed to be great... tasting like Easter buns of old, and I really wanted to try those buns.  It's been a long time since I gave up on store made buns...ick.... they are terrible.  Funny texture... strange flavour... who knows what they put in them.... they get rock hard before they get mouldy.... forget it... I ain't eating those things anymore.

I wanted buns.  So...because I felt more like my old self...I baked yesterday.

May I just say??    

YUM!!

The recipe is in metric measurements...and I was busy trying to convert as I was doing it.... but, want to measure the ingredients a second time...then, will put it on my food blog.  I think it would work just as well for a raisin loaf..... yep...must try that next time.  Why should we only eat yummy stuff once a year? .... must be able to just do crossless buns or bread with the same dough....

late bloomer ....

My "Christmas Cactus".  This plant is pretty funny.  Every year it blooms before Christmas....  in November actually.  Flowers, of course, are then long gone by Christmas.

What now?.... a single guy appeared several days ago.  As I walked past it I was thinking ..wonder why that little nub just didn't fall off when the others did.  And, why haven't I noticed it earlier?  I almost flicked it off and tossed it into the pot as I usually do with the little bits that never become flowers.

On closer inspection... a live one!

And today??

Wow.

I crawled right under the coffee table and took one from the underside .... because to me...that looks more like it should be topside.  Best angle to me... what a beauty!

Maybe the snowflakes coaxed it along.....

typical spring day ...

Well, okay if not totally typical.... it happens.... especially here in the foothills...... and we haven't had any snow all winter to speak of ...so what made us think it was over already?

Some golf courses were set to open today....aha.... that's the reason then.....sure fooled them.  Those "flakes" were so big you could hear them plop when they hit the ground.  Very wet.
And, it's been up as high as +20C some days already...so it won't stay.  The ground is warm inside now... well, a bit anyway.

Oh, well.....it's a good day for staying home and doing some baking .... Apple Streusel Crumb Cakes..... tiny cakes...in muffin cases.  A new recipe from a fellow food blogger ....

I do feel more like digging out the Christmas tree and decorating it for the weekend........ really I do.  It could be fun.  And, it would have the neighbours talking.

My sister has imagination!

Even if I don't have much of it.  I'm not sure if it was always that way or if things got even better in the humour and story making up department after the accident.   She was always more the gentle one for sure.... loved all animals always ...to the point of being dangerous to herself if she decided she had to touch one ..(one of anything) ....and used to love to draw animals...especially horses ... all her childhood....

Several years ago ... I'm not even sure exactly how many...perhaps 10 now... she fell, on some ice, while getting out of her car in the parking lot of the school where she worked at the time.  She awoke with a major concussion.  Bad enough to cause some brain damage.  There were many months to years of agony that ensued while she pretty much rescued and rehabilitated herself from the days and weeks of being almost catatonic on her couch.   The drugs they had her on in the beginning made her reckless and totally forget about consequences..and I worried for her.  Every. Single. Day.  

I am many hours drive from where she lives.  Accidents did happen... injuries did happen...and years went by... with no help and a lot of frustration.  But... she worked at getting back her lost self.. the brain injury association originally told her she had lost about 50% of herself.  She cried.  She was shocked.  She became totally depressed. I was shocked.  When she could read words on paper again without vomiting... ..she studied up on all of it. She had post-it notes on every available surface to remind her how to live..how to perform daily functions.. to manage to make it through her days.  When she could drive again... more than a year after it all happened.. and even then, without peripheral vision, ... she drove herself to all the hospital and doctor appointments.  We flew, together, to a special evaluation in a nearby big city that should have resulted in some compensation for job loss...she had been head secretary at a big school and could no longer manage that although she tried to go back a few times.  A very trying farce as it turned out...she got nothing...and had to fight in court for another few years for something...  and, on it went...several horrible years....in which she petted, groomed, looked after and in general just hung out with her horses ... crying into their warm bodies and keeping them company, and they became her best and only friends... when all others totally disappeared, save one....

A few years ago...she took herself off all the drugs the doctors had her on.  Against their advice.  Got fed up and just quit cold turkey.  Decided she wanted her old life and self back.  Wanted more than she had.  More energy.  More clarity.  More her.  As much of her as she could get back.  Man... has she worked at it.  And..if you didn't know she has residual brain damage... you would probably never guess.  Of course, there are a few things ..but if you didn't know.....   She seems to have an even better sense of humour ...and is very funny....and her stories and imagination ...  amazing.  

I still think she should be doing some motivational speaking for the brain injury society...or maybe just for the brain injured.  They could use an inspirational thing or two in their lives... and she would feel like she didn't lose nearly as much as she did.  Lost her job,  any benefits, her so-called friends, years of her life ....the list goes on and on, believe me ...... but, she discovered a lot in the process as well and she could pass on that knowledge .. and she sure knows she can hold her own in most situations now.  She's my hero. 

Anyway.... if I can't think of a name for any of my creations...I just show Vikki a photo and she comes up with not only a story,...but a great name too.... 

I showed her my goose in an email ....and she came back with what was happening with her and the little guys right away... here is an excerpt from her letter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 I love the picture where they are all asking her where she has come from and where she got the great bling. It’s like she could have just had a very iffy landing and they came over to see. And she’s saying something like “Whew, made it…that was a close one in all that wind.” “Oh, this stuff...I come from a far off land where we all get “bling” before we make our maiden flight.” “It’s a birthright.”~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WOYWW

She's finished!!  My copycat goosie...... with tips and advice and even the wool !! from my friend Gretel... a world class felter, artist and now... published author of a children's book... Mrs. Mouse's Cupcakes... for which she felted all the characters and even the cupcakes for the photos in the book!
If you live in the UK... ... you could even get in on one of her in person felting workshops!!  And, I'll be green with envy!

If you want to see progression photos from the balls of wool stage to this..... ... just backtrack a few posts... cover your eyes at the bloody one.... hehehe........ ...it happens..... occasionally, if not often ...
Gretel's goose in the background photo ...mine in front.  Think I will name her Gracie.
She is seven inches tall at the top most part of her neck/head area.  How tall is yours Gretel? .

My little guys were impressed by her sheer height..oh, and also her feet.......

Tuffy was hoping she didn't decide to get up and go anywhere........

From Ruggles' perspective .... view of the situation.... and little Buttercup just looks on in awe of the long, lean model on the runway....

Here is how a needle felt begins....  a bag of wool... and there are many types along with a huge array of colours (or you can dye your own ... I've even used Kool-Aid to do that) .... from various breeds of sheep....
Here is the wool Gretel sent me back when I began my project.  She declared that the stuff I was using was never going to work.  hahah....thanks Gretel... for taking pity on me.  I love it.  It's like having a second sister...

You also need some barbed needles to stab, gather and shape the wool into various parts before assembly.  A pen holder like this one is a good idea instead of trying to hold the tiny ends of a needle...just too hard on hands and wrist.  This particular one will hold up to 3 needles... you can also use only two for the smaller pieces or even go down to just one for tiny things or for the finishing ...

This 'copycat' mentality is what got me started on needle felting in the first place several years ago.  Could I make a little bear as cute as Norm was making? the first ones I'd seen .. .. and that I just had to buy on e-bay?... because after the first two I bought  .. the third one got into a bidding war and I paid waaay too much for him.  When he arrived in the mail, I carried him around for a day just looking at him... totally in awe... he was so cute and so tiny ... well, ...that was it.  I was hooked before I even found some wool and needles and tried to make one for myself.  Hahaha... and the first was pretty funny ... looked more like a monkey than a bear..but I finally got him to look sort of okay and was pretty thrilled that I had made my very own little guy.  However, I have to say.....I still want to own at least one of Gretel's creations... yep...I do.

For the WOYWW we are supposed to keep our posting short...but, eh..... just wanted to also tell you about my doll making start.  Almost the same thing.  For months I had wondered if perhaps I could make a doll.  One just like "youknowwho"....  and.....  had to give it a try.  Turned out I could.  I did.  She worked out beyond my wildest dreams for a first....and from an online course actually.  How I loved the little personal challenge of the attempt.   I don't think I have much imagination of my own really ...but, I love to try making some of the things I see others doing.

Here's my first doll .... Echlin... from a Sherry Goshen pattern.  Wow... back in '07 already  .... hmmm...time sure flies....

The painting of the faces was the most intriguing part to me.  I'd never tried anything like it in my life.  But, there were about 18 pages of pics and instructions... you just follow along and all of a sudden...a face appears... absolutely amazing to me!  We also made the little chair.  It was supposed to be made by cutting and cleaning a big dirty old gourd.... I just couldn't bring myself to use one.  Instead I just made a paper clay shape over a shallow bowl and went from there. ... lined it with silk and made some flowers from paperclay as well... and voila.  My first doll!  Pretty darn thrilling to me.

If you want to check out blogs of others participating in WOYWW....go to Julia's blog and see our list of bloggers...wow...it gets longer each week....

Frilly dilly...

I got the feet attached...and then did the frilly dilly little thingmebob on one of her upper legs....sheesh.... what a tricky spot to needle felt.  Had to spread her poor little legs a bit to get in there .. poor baby...

Maybe my mentor did her goosie somewhat differently ... maybe she put the frill on the upper leg and then attached the leg? ...I know not.  I am just playing copycat here ... and trying to figure it out for myself without asking too many questions.  That's part of the game, see? .......... I want to know if I can accomplish anything near the original by doing that ... although... as soon as Gretel sees this...she will then let me know if I did it all bass ackward...! Which is a distinct possibility........

Then... took some time out to bake some scones...because strawberries were on sale ...and I had to have some.  Soooo sweet they are too.

And... found a great recipe for Hot Cross Buns....yes, I know ...I'm several days late now.  I was busy.  But...I'm still going to give them a go one day this week to test and taste.

Oh,....and speaking of late.... my doll and bear making buddy, Maggi, came to play on Friday .... and brought me a car.  Well, brought a car for one of the little guys cuz I'm way to big to fit in this little roadster ....

Perfect fit for Scooter...

Time for tea!!

Especially when this happens.   It was a total through and through ....in one spot and straight out the other.  I was sort of going sideways with one good stick .... and all I can say is thank goodness I didn't get any on Ms. Goosie!

If it happens... you have to lick the wool ...hahaha...yeh...your saliva works wonders.  But... hhaakkkk!!  it feels like a cat trying to get rid of a hairball for a minute or two after that .... ptoooey .....

You just have to walk away ...and wait it out til the bleeding stops .. especially with white wool.  And...hopefully you don't leak any of the red stuff before you snatch away the poor aching finger.  It hurts to stab a finger or thumb... almost feels bruised as well as stuck ... it hurts.  Please be careful if you try some felting.

Think it's time to stop for tea and a cookie now.....oh, I forgot to bake any.  Just for that ...maybe I'll bake something next then.....

But, before I did that ...I finished up both wings....and began to add a bit of wool for the leg tops...oh, and... stuck some wire into the feet...

WOYWW

Today I'm "winging it" ...

Hi everybody doing the WOYWW blog hopping.  My desk today is, once again, the kitchen table ..and the dining room table and the...well yehh...as usual at my place ... I've got stuff everywhere as you can see.  But.....who cares?  I'm having some fun.  And, who really cares except me anyway?  Mr. BV seems to enjoy seeing the little creations and appears genuinely interested in what my wools and fluffs are becoming. ...he knows more about dolls and bears than is prudent for a guy to admit most times ..but, it's all good.   He usually has to clear a space for his supper if a bear and bear fur is spread all over the table and he just does it with a grin...  ... this is not quite as messy....hahahha...it's his lucky week.

If you want to check the progress... check out the previous postings.... if you just want to see today's happenings... that's fine too.

Got one wing on the go .... and dug out some wire for my lovely big feet after Gretel mentioned it will be helpful in maintaining some balance with the height of Ms. Goosie.  She's long and lean, like a runway model.
She will be a bit top heavy though, even if she doesn't have a big head... it's just her height don'tcha know? ...  more ungainly than heavy really.  Oh, and that beezer .... I forgot, she does have a pretty big beak doesn't she? ........

If you want to see what other WOYWW participants are up to...hop on over to Julia's blog and check out the dozens...well, it's actually up to over 150 already today....  ...

... and after clearing spaces for grub.....we had a lovely, healthy soup I simmered all day.... with some home made toast.  Trying to make sure I am eating right to speed along the healing process .... I don't think it's working really, but I love making soup and definitely enjoy the eating part... ...

And, hey!! lookie there.... Blogger put back the little golden pencil edit tool.... thanks blogger!  It was difficult as all get out to find my way back to change a letter or two after publishing and re-reading my post and discovering my boo boos... .....

Feet first ...

I don't know what happened... I just picked up the coloured wool instead of white I guess.  Funny how it goes.  Yesterday, I do remember thinking I was going to make arms next ..er ...wings, ... then, all of a sudden...feet were in my hands.

Looking at them next to the photo.... perhaps I might make them a bit larger...but, I will determine if they look a good size next to my own goosie.

Happily...that sharp edge happened quite easily.  Much easier than I thought it could.  So.... I'm happy with them thus far... maybe add some wisps and make them a tad larger...but, other than that, some final tidying up .... figure out how to attach them .... with a bit more white upper leg it looks like from my photo...hard to see behind the wing there.... make a green scalloped bit to represent some frilly knickers... and then...on to the arms.... er ...wings.......

... and while goosie and I were playing in the kitchen.... my wordesk is my table most days...I did manage to bake some bread as well....

mmmmm...nothing better than home baked bread.   Haven't been doing any for weeks with the stupid ribs ... hurts to knead, even with just my left hand, and really, one hand is not enough to do a decent job of it. .... besides... my head just hasn't been in the game.  I'd probably forget yeast or something equally silly.  Today I feel almost human again though ... ....wheeeeee.... if this keeps up.....I'll be DANGEROUS!!!   Oh, please!!

````````````````````````````````````````````

Giveaway !!! Not on this blog...yet....but, sometime in the near future..... when I hit a round number of comments or something....

Mary Ann, a fellow maker of cute things..... is offering a chance to win one of her sweet little mousies!  Hop over to her blog for your opportunity.   I know...it lessens my own chances...and I reeeeelly want one of those little mousies...but, sometimes good karma does happen.  I guess.  Well, not often, but, ...sometimes it must......

Sunny Monday..

Didn't have too much opportunity to work on little goosie over the weekend.... and just got kind of tired of stabbing away on her beak and not getting it quite perfect.  It has to be pretty darn perfect to even come close to a Gretel goose... so, for a change of pace, I made her a little collar instead, and stitched on some pearls that she sent me.  Hard to tell in the photo...but, they are different colours... pastel greens, one almost pinkish and some white... I liked that they had big enough holes to accept a needle.

Now... she is definitely a she....

The eye is just a test eye at the moment (they are various sized beads on pins and I love them ..use them all the time with the bears)  to give me an idea of placement ... and later in the day...I did get around to more stabbing on her beak....and got it a better shape and looking more how I want it....

She's coming right along.  Guess I'll move on to wings next....  and then ...those big feet.  They will definitely be a challenge.  Can you see the absolute sharp edge on them?  Not easy on wool.

Stay tuned.....

Now what?

Totally new pages for composing posts??? ...arrgghhh!  I hate change.  I like constancy and the ease with which I am used to doing things. Give me my old stuff back blogger.  Including that little golden pencil so that I can click on it to edit old postings.  I'm not all modern like I pretend.

Gee, thanks so much everybody for your good wishes and the commiseration.... it felt pretty darn good.  I do think I am on the road to recovery now.... I managed to stay vertical all day yesterday ... didn't feel the need to get horizontal til bed time ..which I think is a good thing.  I even went along with Mr. BV to check out the cabinet shop ... we are trying to get organized for a pretty big renovation.  Yes I know ...  those of you who have been reading this blog for awhile will be groaning...  because you know that we have been renovating for oooh..... uh.... OMGoodness is it 25 years?! aacckkk!!.... ourselves and also with contractors ... so... this, hopefully, will be the last big push and it will be done.  Once and for all the rest of my time.  Please.
I absolutely love the names of paint colours... Willow, Silver  Moss, Grey Slate.  Eventually it may not be one of these ...but, perhaps something similar... or I may do cream and go with greenish walls.... who knows?  It's all still up in the air....

We've had lovely snow white cabinets (for 15 years now) that we built ourselves...well, Mr. BV did most of it...I was the gopher, second pair of hands, hold this, hand me that  ..etc... hey sounds like more assisting ..hahah...always handy to have an ex dental assistant around the house.  So, this time we are going for some colour on them.  Then, more colour decisions...walls..... and if we change the kitchen...what about the rest of the house? ...see how it goes?  No such thing as a simple reno.  There just isn't.

Hey they still look great in a photo...ignore the backsplash... no tiles and crappy glue all over the drywall... but, it's time for a change for a few reasons.

So, with real interfering from various angles ... there was not much time to work on any stabbing of fluff for my "goosie" ...but, I did decide after stab number 4,952...that the beak just wasn't going to get any smaller ...and that it was about 2 sizes too large for her dainty little head.  So... back to grabbing some more beak fluff...a smaller hunk this time... don'tcha just love the scientific terminology? ... sounds like the old days at the dental office...   "Hand me a little blob of cement will ya Veronica?"  .... and now I have a beak that I think is a better size.  We'll see when I finish working on the end of the head where the beak will attach.  Want to get it just right.

And...I did stab a bit of the dark green stuff in order to get a collar started.  Actually just stabbed a bit to see if I could get a long flat thin bit sort of made up... then I guess I will attach it to the neck and try to figure out how Gretel makes it look like it is not actually attached... but, just put on like a collar would attach.  She has a great knack... have you checked out her felting?  Get over there and do so.  Immediately.   Oh, and...prepare to be blown away.

WOYWW

I'm just barely getting back to the land of the living... after weeks of bronchitis and serious sinus infection and coughing so hard I've damaged tissue in the breast and rib areas.  I feel hard done by (what a whine hey?) as I never even usually get colds....ever !!..... but, finally I've given up fighting it on my own and am taking antibiotics on the insistence of my doctor.

Two days of that and my gut hates it... nausea....but, I persevere ... as I must.  A big sinus infection has lodged itself and won't be shaken without them it seems.

Today ...I am trying to also get back to WOYWW...(check it out here) and this is the bit of fluff that I did some half hearted playing with yesterday and today.

I began the actual shape weeks ago...before we went off to Portugal....but, am refining it and almost have it where I want it now.  (I hope to get some more Portugal photos on here soon too....) I'm trying to only play for a short time each day to ease my wonky elbow back into things.  Man, what a wreck I am for somebody who bragged how healthy she was and who seemed to think she was pretty amazing....sigh ..... right now I feel crappy.  Yep...that's all I can say about all of it.

Anyway... back to fun and fluff ....

My attempt to make a Gretel Goosie.... with fluff that she actually sent me so that I would have the real stuff instead of the rather stiff and fuzzy stuff I was trying to use.  It just wasn't going to make the same goose at all! This wool is soooo soft.  Thanks again Gretel... hope I can do a good one and make you proud.  I know at the moment it looks a bit more like the Lochness Monster...but, trust me...it'll be better later...... honest......

This is more the size of tiny guys I am used to making ...  hahha... only as big as a beak..... and how do I get that beak smaller...?  I'm stabbing away and it isn't happening... maybe I'll have to try again with a smaller piece of fluff.  Or, maybe I'll try squeezing it a bit and stabbing more and even some on the long angle of the thing...yeh...maybe that'll work.

I've only ever tried tiny bears, hippos and one mouse and erm....what else..? ...... well, that's it really.  Kind of got stuck on bears I guess.  It seems because I am used to making them of fabric...I can get a pretty good little face on a needle felted one too.  Well, I think that's the reason.  I can actually almost 'see' a little head shape taking form before I get too far along at all with the stabbing of the wool puffs.... and I like how they turn out for me.   This is Scruffy.  He actually won an award at a pretty big local fair .... at our Stampede...which is world famous...

They all begin the same though....huge puffs of varying types of wools.... stabbed thousands of times with a barbed needle til they become the desired shapes.  My pen tool will hold up to 3 needles ...or as few as one.... and gives something better than the skinny tip of the needle to hold onto while working on a piece.

If you'd like to try your hand at needle felting, there is lots of stuff online to check out.. and if you'd like to play WOYWW ... come on... do it.

Bright straw..

that's what I like to call the colour of this grass.   It's actually Pink Ribbon Grass ...and in summer it is lovely deep green with a light pink center area....

I leave it most winters ....so there is something interesting in the yard even in the snow.  I cut it back in the spring.

This year there was hardly any snow on it..it remained in perfect shape.. .and now... no snow for a long time except last week and a bit yesterday...but, it's all melting quickly.  Lovely days this week again temperature wise... and this looked so pretty from the window.

PS....just out of curiosity....what became of the little gold pencil that used to be at the bottom or our postings on the blog page?  So we could click on it to change something?  When did that change?  I liked it.  How do you go back into a post now to add something without having to scroll through dozens on the edit page? .... how? .....

Friday flowers....

......taken over and through fences of various gardens in Entroncamento on our walks about town on days we actually stayed home.  We put in a lot of miles ....same as last year.... but, this time even stayed away for days at a time.

Who can conceive of being able to grow Bird of Paradise in their backyard when one lives in Canada?  ...hahahha..... they would be covered in snow if they bloomed at this time of year anyway.  Well, every year with the exception of this one.  No snow and temperatures of guess what, today?   a great summery type golfing day here at +14C (courses won't open til end of April ) ....sunny and blue....sigh..... how I wish I wasn't coughing too hard to go outside.  I would surely wet my pants half way 'round the block if I went for a walk.

My sister mentioned that these are definitely not the golden years...not even remotely close to resembling the silver ones either ....she was thinking probably closer to rust and corrosion would be more like it if one tried to describe things.  Yep.  I feel exactly like a rusted out old car body.  Look like one too for that matter.

So, instead, I send flowers..... check out  Susan's header and pics on her post .... beautiful... and Sylvia's too....alway so lovely ...  I saw several blogs with flowers earlier today whilst trying to keep myself occupied and in a position that least initiates coughing.  Because it reeeellly hurts!  Which totally negates lying down....drat.  I just want to lie down and go to sleep for about 4 days right now........

Don't know what these actually are ..but love the watermelon colour....

update:::   some say it is quince....... okay then, we'll go with that.

And, finally, some blossoms above the hillsides of grapes at one of the Port quintas we visited.  The blossoms were alive with bees.... buzzzzzzing......... I thought I was very brave leaning right into the tree.  Of course I didn't think to zoom in......sigh.... shows how light headed I was already.  Hahahha...what an idiot...

Lipstick and White Linen

This afternoon I actually put on lipstick and some lovely White Linen body cream after my bath.  Got to try to make myself feel much better than I do.  Been having uncontrollable coughing fits that got to be a bit scary.  And, of course, they finally took their toll.  Ribs or tissue is now painful...but, today finally I am saying I've rounded a huge corner.  No coughing fits today.  Thank goodness..

Word from the doctor is .... bronchitis and severe sinus infection.  Gee... already knew that.... especially from the gunk I am blowing out...oh, sorry who wants to hear about that .. if you were drinking tea or having a nibble...sorry.

This is ridiculous. The cold didn't actually go away.  It just got progressively worse after the one day I almost fooled myself into thinking I was feeling a bit better.  Silly me.  I probably should have just succumbed. Or at least one of us should have. Gone to bed and moaned our way through a few days and told the others to go on without us  But, no....not any of us ..... Nope.  Instead, like somebody on holiday and be damned if a cold was gonna keep us down....onward we went.  I kept thinking and saying 'intrepid'; mostly to myself, but was really and truly thinking the other "i" word.  You know the one.  Idiot.

First to Porto, where we made things worse I'm sure and by then one or two of the others had a cough too. Walked by the river Douro after dark ...yeh..really good for us all.....like I said...we were nuts.  It was pretty though....I don't remember much...but, I've got photos to prove it....thank goodness.

We even walked across that lower footbridge to the other side and up and down hill and dale over there in the neighbouring town called Vila Nova de Gaia.  More on all of that for another post.
``````````````````````````````````````````````````
For now... it is Thursday.  And that means there is Equine Therapy happening at the centre.  My friend Maria volunteers here..... I thought it would be just a little place known to locals and I tagged along on one of her days.  WOW!  It is a world class training centre!   Who knew?  It has it's own site where you can view the beautiful horses trained and raised on the quinta.  What an amazing day it was.  I hope I was not so very contagious that I passed on my illness to any of the little guys and gals having fun at the riding ring. I did not stand beside them too long and was out and about taking photos and looking at the other horses and land and stalls and exercising areas etc...and getting a slight shock before I realized the rope I was holding was a lightly electrified enclosure.... sigh....   Good luck everybody on not getting my plague.  Please all be healthy.

This huge Stallion... called Pino... was pounding his front hooves on his stall door..trying to get some attention... then grabbing his blanket from way outside his stall door...and trying to unlatch the upper lock...they have one placed on the lower part of his door just because he can..... and in general being waaaay too frisky for my liking.  I have been bitten twice before by horses...(I still love them but I am a bit wary nowadays) and know what it feels like so I wasn't going to even try pet him when we walked one of the handicapped kids up to his stall.  Maria was too brave for my liking and it made me nervous. ...she petted his nose and he did try to nip on her....he bared his teeth and nipped at her plenty of times and in general made a nuisance of himself...and was doing a lot of very frisky hopping (hopping as in how very BIG guys do if ya know what I mean)  around in there .... and then.....


suddenly..........this....

 

Little Joao stood close to the stall door and just raised his hand ....no words at all...just raised up his little hand........

That big horse just became a gentle giant.

This my favourite photo of them... I love it.

The kids were having their ride around on a very gentle much smaller horse in the arena...but, Celine, the trainer and manager of the quinta was training one of the big horses while they were doing so.  I am betting that if that horse gets to the top rings nothing will startle him in his beautiful routines.  The kids were busy doing what kids do and of course, it included a bit of squeaking and giggling and nonsense.... especially since somebody new was there.  Me.  Even Celine had to ask for a bit of respect for her horse finally...and then all went back to more or less normal humdrumming .....

Here she is on one of the horses in training...

Meanwhile on the outside of the ring...the kids were having their fun...... and standing very close to that very low barrier you see in the background...under two feet high I would guess..we stepped easily over it... .... and the horses are encouraged to use the whole arena... sometimes actually brushing you with their tails if you stand too close.

Kids riding around the outside ...Celine in the centre again.....

I think this one tells it all.  Celine. Slim and wiry as a whip.....master horse trainer.... looks like she means business doesn't she? ...

hello blog buddies...

I've run away for a few weeks...  ....to Entroncamento, Portugal ....  same little town we visited last year.  It wasn't planned and was last minute, but we decided to come anyway......

Yep...we've run away...so don't have access to my own computer...and I wanted to post a photo...but, am having trouble figuring out how I did it last year....hmmm... so, you might not see any Portugal for a week or so... oh, hey.... there it is, finally, at least I found one from last year that I could move around.... this is from a seaside area called Peniche.

Poor Mr. BV had a terrible time with pain in his sinuses on the descent into Amsterdam....and it didn't really go away til we got to Portugal.... and I got off the plane with a sore throat and it escalated into a rotten cough and lots of nose blowing .....and then?  I gave to everybody else.  Bad me.... .... second cold in as many months after not having one for 17 years....horrible.... and, now I am quite a bit better and everybody else is down and out with it...... not good at all.

Not quite the fun start we expected on what should be a good time in Portugal.... but, somehow we have still managed to put in lots of miles and see lots of country and taste some Port in Porto, the city of port.  Later today, we are headed for the Algarve.... if everybody feels up to it.....