Friday I went on an excursion with people from the hospital to one of the local horse farms, Darley Stud. It used to be known as Jonabell Farm and was owned by the Bell family. In 2001 it was bought by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum of Dubai. He and his junior wife, Her Royal Highness Princess Haya bint Al Hussein, daughter of King Hussein of Jordan, are both very involved in horses. He owns farms throughout the world dedicated to breeding and racing thoroughbreds. She rode for the Jordanian show jumping team in the 2000 Olympics.
We took a tour bus out there (it's off Harrodsburg Road, not far south of Man O'War Boulevard). There were cushy seats. I'd never been in one before, but I kept forgetting to step down to the ramp floor and hit my head once on the overhead bin. I had a window seat, and as we were going down the road, I saw a stone tower.
Now, if you've ever played Call of Cthulhu, you will recognise that stone towers are essential to summoning Yog-Sothoth, an Outer God which touches all space and time. So, what can I say, it's fiction, but it was the first thing that popped into my head. Then we started to turn into that farm, and I was like, neat, we get to see the stone tower up close. I thought it might be a folly, but apparently it's an old water tower. Here is its entrance:
and what the tower looked like from the side:
Here's a picture of me against a bookcase of bound Blood-Horse Magazine issues (must remember to take off my glasses when using the flash, as I have Transitions lenses). It's not a great picture (note to self, get a hair cut so I have some shape and body, and don't look like a member of a religious cult), but there you go. Also, don't wear black when you're going to pet horses--you just get hair all over you.
I really need to learn to smile in photos. Gods, I look hideous.
We also saw the grave of Affirmed, the last winner of the Triple Crown--in 1978. He was euthanised in 2001 after a serious bout of laminitis (the same problem that led to Barbaro's death) and buried whole at the farm. No horse has been able to attain the Triple Crown since he won 30 years ago. He was known for his rivalry with another great horse, Alydar, who came in second in each of the Triple Crown races after Affirmed. Here's Affirmed's grave:
So that was the trip to Darley. We got to see their prize stallion, Street Cry, pet a pony and a tamer horse, tour some of the farm, and go to a barn. Oh, and they fed us breakfast. Not much for a vegetarian, but what I could eat was good, and the hot chocolate was to die for.
Once we were back at the hospital I actually worked on my vacation for five minutes to submit a report to the national Reach Out and Read organisation. Those reports are necessary for us to receive funding for our early literacy programme, and that was the last day to submit.
I went to a friend's and we watched Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day. It was excellent: wonderful acting, beautiful costumes, 1930s ambiance, and a plot that went at a good pace without a lot of unnecessary stuff thrown in. It was, in a word, charming, and it left me feeling good all day, even though I had to work four hours at the store. After work we watched the premiere of 'Sanctuary' on the Sci-Fi channel. It's filmed entirely against green screens with computer-generated sets. I liked it, meaning it will probably not last.
Saturday involved a 10-hour shift at the store, 3 1/2 of which I was by myself and had to deal with a major problem outside with a line in the store. Enough said about Saturday. Oh, and I only got 3 1/2 hours' sleep because I worked on game notes into Sunday morning.
Sunday I picked a friend up at 7 am and we went on a big grocery run. Then there were the game preparations, and then the game. I really enjoyed it. It was downtime, but I got to finally strike back at the creatures who are killing my character's family one-by-one on the full moon. She still lost her brother, but three of the creatures are dead, too, or at least will be once they get taken away in body bags and dealt with.
Today was work at both places, and then 'Heroes'! It really is one of those rare shows that only gets better with each new episode.
Okay, that brings me to now. I need to go on to bed. Have fun, thanks for reading, and I'll try to update as usual tomorrow. At least I have Tuesday and Wednesday off from the store. Yay.
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