Hippoi Athanatoi

After about a month and a half of no riding, the time had finally come today for the first lesson of the autumn semester. Naturally, I looked forward to it a lot, but I was also (as always) concerned about the weigh-in, given how tight they are with the limits on the smaller horses (including Murphy). Fortunately, I had managed to shed that extra kilo or two added earlier during the summer, so I’m fine for another semester. Hopefully the training I’ve started doing (I am trying out some Pilates, as I’ve seen that recommended for riders before) will help me keep them off even over Christmas.

There had been a few changes in the stables over the summer, as one horse had had to be put down (Aina), one had been sold (Roxette, a small pony who didn’t quite like being at a riding school) and one had been returned as unsuitable (Ikaros, who turned out to have some loose bone fragments in one leg), but the rest were fine. For once, Murphy seems to have gone through the summer without any injuries, and I was very happy to get assigned to him. Even though he did turn out to be extremely dirty.

Still in a mostly unpleasant mood (see previous post), but I’ve been thinking for a while about posting the occasional recipe, and since Elio thinks that our latest creation (he contributed the idea of the balsamic vinegar) definitely is too yummy not to share, here it is. I don’t tend to measure too carefully when I cook, so take my estimates with a pinch of salt. Oh, and using half an habanero with the seeds in does give this dish a fair amount of bite, so if you’re not into that, you might want to use a milder chili.

Warning. Major rant and lots of cursing.

The finalists for the World Fantasy Awards , set to be handed out at the World Fantasy Convention, have been announced:

Seeing the recent article mentioning Westeros in the Onion reminded me of an old Onion favourite of mine. For a long while, it was gone from their website, but now it seems they have their archives in order so that it is once again available.

For anyone with the slightest interest in archaeology, Archaeologist Tired Of Unearthing Unspeakable Ancient Evils is a must read. It has some really hilarious bits, and almost as funny is another archaeology-related article, Archaeological Dig Uncovers Ancient Race Of Skeleton People.

One fanzine ends, and a new one appears to, if not take its place, at least fill in the gap. Heliotrope is a speculative fiction e-zine, created by the good folks at FantasyBookSpot.com. The first issue includes original art, fiction, reviews, and articles (including two by authors Jeff VanderMeer and R. Scott Bakker). It’s a handsomely laid out and designed e-zine, and the content is well-worth reading.

Cheryl Morgan, founder of the Hugo-award winning on-line fanzine, Emerald City, has announced that the publication will end in October. For more information regarding the whys and wherefores, see here.

Well, as the latest issue of Locus has announced this, it seems official. George R. R. Martin and Bantam have concluded a deal to publish a world book for A Song of Ice and Fire, which will provide a great amount of deal about the setting featured in A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, and A Feast for Crows. It’ll be copiously illustrated by some of the best artists in the industry and by some of the fan favorites.

Oh, and George’ll have a couple of co-authors on this endeavor, by the name of Elio M. García, Jr. and Linda Antonsson.

;)

More details—many, many more details, we expect, when we can get them to you.

With just a day left of our vacation, the large pile of books I brought along to read has been significantly reduced. That is, the books are still there, of course, but the amount of reading material remaining is barely enough to last me through the trip tomorrow. Clearly, there is no such thing as too many books to have along for a vacation, regardless of what the weather is like. Both the beach and the comfy couch are great places for hours upon hours of reading.

Four days into our vacation I have already gone through the same number of books. If the stack I brought is to last until our trip back, I may have to slow my pace somewhat. It might slow down of itself, though, as the ones I’ve read so far were some of the more anticipated books that I brought.

The indoor arena (despite the nice weather, we rode indoors since a) they were preparing for the weekend’s competitions outside and b) Spitfire really lives up to his name outdoors) is anything but ideal for photography, but a few came out decently and have been added to the gallery.

After a day’s break, just enough to get various sore muscles to start thinking they’d survived, it was time for the last day of the jumping class. Summer finally returned today, though we still had to jump indoors since they were preparing for tomorrow’s competitions in the outdoor paddock. Too bad, as Murphy could have used the extra space. His mind was definitely already on the month-long break from all work that the horses now get starting this weekend.

Day two of the jumping class, and boy could I feel it in my legs. ;P They objected even before I got into the saddle, and then they really started filing complaints. I think Murphy must already have put on some weight from grazing, because the insides of my thighs felt painfully stretched out. That’s enough whining, though. The weather was better today, still grey but no rain until the end when we let the horses out, and Murphy was fairly eager for another round of jumping.

Today was the first lesson of the three-day jumping class I signed up for a few months ago. Before going, I was mostly feeling like staying at home, partly because I feel stressed this week (since I am trying to decide whether or not we’re going to Sundsvall for 2+ weeks on Saturday) and partly because the weather took a turn for the worse today. However, since I was supposed to get Murphy (barring any of those accidents he loves to have as soon as the summer holidays start ;P), I dragged myself off to the stables. Fortunately, all was well with Murphy, and I had indeed been put on him for the lesson.

Some days ago, when my current Pet Shop Boys mania led Elio to poke around for videos and recordings on YouTube, we came across a little gem. I think he posted it on the boards somewhere in the World Cup threads, but now that both England and Sweden are through the group play, I figured I’d link to it again in support of dear old England. They could use it, after all, even though we made sure to give them the easier team in the next round.

So, here you have it: England, We Can Win It

Now, if England really had had the Pet Shop Boys supporting them with a song, I’d have bet a hefty sum on them as winners already. ;)