Family Affairs

We were sitting around the newest Big Blue swimming pool, so I pulled out my new Western straw hat (complete with Bob, the parrot,  feathers) for Mother to wear yesterday.  She came out for a visit while two of her great-granddaughters from Wyoming spent the afternoon swimming.  This match-up shows the oldest and youngest in our living family.  Mother will be 91 in 12 days while Betsy will turn 5 in late December.

Betsy and Great-Grandma Tibbs having a talk.  At one time, representatives of all four generations gathered around the new Big Blue pool.  Twas a great afternoon for all involved.

My brother Kevin and Mother watching the two young ladies splashing around in the pool.  Definitely a rural swimming setting, along with a barnyard fence that needs painting.

I pointed out to Aggie that she was swimming in the shadows of a special mountain yesterday.  If ya look closely  enough, you can see a few runs on Schweitzer, the mountain in the middle.  Not bad scenery for an afternoon swim in a farm pool.

Meanwhile back in Spain, this morning, Annie has been out doing her touristy duties, enjoying the architecture of Antoni Gaudi in Barcelona. Annie's visit to Spain marks the second for family members:  Mother, Mike and Mary and their daughters, Maureen and Laura toured Spain in the mid-1980s.

Yesterday was a busy day.  Today marks another.  John Fuller will be here in less than an hour to re-set my horses' shoes.  This morning, my sister Barbara took off for a yearbook clinic at Gonzaga University.  


That means that "Limping" Laurie will have charge of two puppies and nine horses.  So, I've offered to help wherever needed.


In spite of her temporary handicap, Laurie still tries to "do it all," but she did say the other day she hasn't quite figured out how to get the bales of hay down from the loft while walking around on crutches.


Definitely a place where I can help.  Laurie has eight more days with crutches and the boot before she goes to see the doctor again.  She's hoping the therapeutic boot will come off and that she can put her riding boots on to prepare for a dressage show three days later. 


We'll keep fingers crossed for her. 


In the meantime, she'll have to settle for watching Olympic dressage, which ain't bad.  One of the ladies on the equine newsgroup put out a link this morning, saying the piece in the Washington Post was the best article she'd ever read on dressage. 


So, I'll leave you with the link and wish everyone a happy Wednesday.   http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/dressage-dances-into-national-spotlight/2012/07/31/gJQAC1arNX_story.html