The Corday Project

I had a new story idea yesterday when I was watching a history video.  It won't be a novel - just a historical fiction short story :)  I call it, "The Corday Project."  (Not the real title, of course.)  I'm hoping it doesn't die.

So, I present to you....


A fanatical pressman who lusts for blood....

And his murderer.

These are real people.  

That's all you get! 

Adieu, mon ami.  *wink wink*

P.S. This is my 100th post! 

The Amazing Day Part 2 (Saddled Again)

This here was before JoinUp - but it was not really relevant to the subject of Part 1.  So anyway, here are some...er....semi-adorable photos of us.  Unfortunately, we're not all there at once because...well, Gorgeous George can't hold the camera.

I also forgot to say that if you're interested in trying JoinUp, check out From My Hands to Yours and Shy Boy from your local library - both by Monty Roberts.  The former is the instructional book, while the latter is a story about how Monty trained a mustang with JoinUp.

Oh, and no, Shelby and I are not fighting - I just didn't want Indy to lash out at Jake again :)

---

So.  On to Part 2 of The Amazing Day.  Shelby persuaded us to ride up to where I work at Health Directed Riding.  I had gone up early that week to ask if we could use Sue's (fake name) arena.  My stable has an arena too, but it doesn't close and there's a board that sticks out so that if Indy got too near to the rail at one point I could hurt myself really badly.

So we went to Sue's.  NO major mishaps! We didn't go faster than a walk, but Boo did not try to run at all and Indy only spooked once at a squirrel.  ("SQUIRREL!!...I HATE squirrels..." - Up)  Sue had two little girls riding that day, so her barn was warm and cozy and there was hot chocolate in the feed room.  First we did barrels and discovered that Boo must have had some sort of barrel racing career at some point.  He whipped around those things like there was no tomorrow.  Indy is not so good at barrels and I'm not either, so we just did them a few times and then rode around the rail.  Boo was getting super excited and bucked again, so we walked around for a bit and decided it was time for a break.  

We took off the horses' reins and went in for hot chocolate.  After that, we rode around some more and set up the jumps.  (FUN!) Sadly, I don't have any pictures because bringing my mom's expensive Canon to Sue's on horseback would not be a very smart thing to do.  But anyway, Indy jumped - pretty well, considering that the pole was just on the ground.  Jake jumped - as always.  And Boo - Whisper was just going to walk him over the pole, but he took off at a canter and leaped over that pole as pretty as you please.  It was Whisper's first time jumping, too.  She said she just sat there like a sack of potatoes, but it was to die for.  

So we all had to try jumping Boo.  Shelby went over and then it was my turn.  At first, I was not taking control and Boo was sidestepping and gave a little mini-buck.  But I got him turned around and we headed at a slow canter for the "jump".  I was not ready when the "jump" loomed up in front of me because I had been holding Boo back and I was not really in sync with his canter, but I managed to somehow fall into the jumping position and went over.  I felt like I was going to land on my nose, but I went over.  And ya know what? It was so fun! It was awesome! We were all super happy.  :)

After that we hung out in the barn with the horses and three of those caramel apple lollipops...but soon, we had to saddle up and head for home.  

That ended the real part one of the Amazing Day, but I didn't have room for it in the last post.  So anyway, Shelby got picked up and Whisper and I attempted to write a snippet with our Hearts Unbroken characters.  But we were too tired and didn't have enough time.

After Whisper got dropped off at the stable where I was going for a hayride with my youth group, I headed for the bonfire.  

I'll do a post on why I love my church some other time.  But for now I'll just say that I love my youth group because its very brotherly/sisterly.  For the most part, everyone talks to and teases everyone.  There's nothing odd about a boy opening a door for a girl or anything like that. 

I sat with my friends Demetria, Pheona, and Alex, and we had a lot of spirited discussion about fashion, books, the whole shebang...these are my "girly" friends.  The ones I talk about Pride and Predjudice and cute sweaters and skinny vs. boot cut jeans with.  We even talked about blogging and attempted to explain it to a clueless male standing nearby.  (I'm teasing.) 

The hayride itself was loads of fun.  If it had gone all night, it would have ended too soon.  Everyone was throwing hay and stuffing it into hoods and jackets...there was hardly ever a moment when someone was not being pulled or pushed off the haywagon.  My friend Pheona and I were invincible :)   

Right at the end, Alex realized she had lost her phone and a whole bunch of us went tearing back down the path with her to look for it.  Someone called it, so everything was okay.  (Phew) But by that time, the wagon had already gotten to the stable yard.  Guess what? There was NO hay left on that wagon except from where the adults had been sitting.  

After that, it was back to the fire for more....spirited discussion.  :)

Then my dad came to cart me back home, and....The Amazing Day was over.  

Naturally, the next day after church I had a case of the blues, not to mention a sore shoulder and neck.  

I wonder why? We got to my stable at about 10:45 and got back to my house around 4:30.  That's six hours at the barn, and at least four of those were spent riding.  And then the whole pushing/pulling hayride thing.  

Thanks for reading!

Love, Ellyn

   

  

     

The Amazing Day Part 1 (JoinUp)

Saturday will go down in history as one of the best days in my life.  Or at least in my fifteenth year.  :)
My friend Whisper came over and she rented Boo for the day.  At first, things were not so fun...because of his personality and his lack of exercise, Boo was behaving like a spitfire, bucking with Whisper aboard.

Whisper wanted to try riding Indy, so we switched horses.  I rode Boo back and forth along his non-panic zone of the pasture.  I know it probably wasn't the best thing for Boo's discipline.  But it helped him calm down.  His back was really hollow and tense when I mounted, but as I walked him along the fence and back, I felt it gradually round.  His canter is really nice.

But meanwhile, Whisper could not get Indy to ride away from me.  I think it was because he's used to me, she wasn't wearing spurs, and he doesn't like to leave his equine pals.  But anyway, then my friend Shelby showed up and saddled up her trusty mount Jake.  Whisper and I switched our not-so-trusty mounts again and we were all staying in the safe area of the pasture, but then Jake bucked.  Jake is rotund and I've never, ever seen him buck before.  We all were kind of shocked, but kept on milling around in pointless little circles, wondering what to do.  Then Shelby brushed by Indy on Jake and Indy bucked.  He's only bucked twice with me on him, and he never bucks when Jake's close to him.  Curiouser and curiouser!

It was drizzling by this time...the day was gloomy and cold.  We took off our saddles and decided to try out the JoinUp technique by Monty Roberts on the horses.  I've been doing this with Indy with good results!
Boo, the one who had started all our trouble, was up first.

JoinUp is a technique where you show the horse who is the leader of your "herd" - you - and then invite them to join up with your herd.  We were doing a rather clumsy version of JoinUp, which I felt kind of guilty about.  But it worked! I'll just try to keep learning more about it for next time.  What you do first is keep your horse moving, chasing him in a hostile position with arms spread out and your eyes wide and on his eyes.  There are more specific movements, but I don't know those yet.  *humiliated face*

Here's Whisper and Boo on the move.

Watching Boo go was fun.  Shelby and I stood with Jake off in the corner watching him buck and gallop in circles.

Whisper - exhausted.  She is waiting for Boo to join up with her, and questioning my wisdom at making her run so much in riding boots.  :D  This is the second main step of JoinUp.  When you see your horse making certain signs - sniffing the ground, pricking an ear toward you, and licking his lips - you stop, standing at a 45 degree angle to your horse.  Lower your arms to your sides, bow your head (which Whisper is not doing), and wait.  

It took Boo about three or four tries to JoinUp with Whisper.  When Whisper stopped, Boo would stop and watch her.  When he turned his attention away from her - to our tack in the corner, the other horses, whatev., Whisper started chasing him again.

I don't have a picture of the actual JoinUp, but it was really cool.  I kept whispering (unnecessarily) "Wait...wait...wait...." and Whisper just stood there while Boo turned and slowly walked over to nudge her shoulder.  *squeals* It was a Great Moment!!

After that, we tried it with Jake, but something went wrong along the lines of communication.  I feel bad - Jake did not understand.  We thought the signals were not good enough for him or he is too domestic or something...but Shelby and Jake made up and so they won't feel left out, here's an adorable picture.  :D

Next, Indy and I were called to the limelight.  I was hoping he'd choose to join up with me right away so I wouldn't have to go through the whole process with him again, but it was not so.  He went to visit Boo and the pile of tack in the corner.  He needed to choose me.  I got running.  Unfortunately, Boo wanted to come with.

The above photo is how most of the session went - me going crazy (check out the hair) and Indy just kind of standing there.  Finally, he began to move.  

  

But we had just too many distractions in the pen with us.  Like you know, hay....

...And Whisper holding the camera.  He didn't want to follow her commands while she was on his back, but here, well...that was different.  

This photo makes me laugh.  You can see the disgust on Indy's face.  And I'm dying over there - extremely out of breath! :)

Indy needed as many tries as Boo.  Each time I stopped and turned to let him Join Up, he either started eating or went straight to his pals in the corner.  Finally, I added one more step to my "come and join up with me" pose.  I dropped the reins I was using to make him move away.  That did it.  I could tell by the "stand still" look on Whisper's face.  I waited until I felt Indy's muzzle touch my shoulder and then I turned around and rewarded him with a rub on the forehead and many hugs :)

That was the beginning to our amazing day.  Part 2 will come soon :)  

    

  

 

Tag Part 2

Nela's questions...


1. If your writing a book what would be the title, plot, and characters? 


Oh goodness.  I'll just pick one and try to keep this short.  
Title: Seaspear
Characters: Ren (pro.), Grailyn, Merriam, Cyrus are just a few
Plot: Two words: Magic.  Spear.  
Ha ha ha....


2. What animal would you prefer to be for a day?


Horse - I'd love to gallop and buck and rear! :) Yeah, I guess you wouldn't want to ride me :)

3. Did you ever have a baking disaster? (like the cake didn't turn out right, or the cookies were too thin, etc) If you did, what happened? 


You know what, I don't think I have! Except once I cracked a bad egg (a fertilized one) and I couldn't look at eggs for a week.  :(


Oh, and also, I just remembered when my friend and I were about 12 or so, we were going to make oatmeal chocolate chip cookies but we decided we didn't want the oatmeal, so we left it out.  :P 'Nuff said.  

4. Whose you favorite Christian singer?


Britt Nicole!!

5. Tell about your favorite birthday celebration that you've personally experienced.


On my 13th b-day, I had my one and only friend party! It was great and loud and noisy.  :) My favorite celebration of someone else's would probably be those of my friend Whisper, Pheona, and Alex.  (fake names)



6. What is something you've done that you never thought you'd do?


Become loud and crazy! I used to be deathly shy....but when we switched homeschool co-ops when I was 11, I was determined to make a new impression.  Now I can walk into a room of people I don't know at all and have a fabulous time instead of hiding in the corner ^_^



7. If you could add any person to Mount Rushmore, who would you add and why?


Robert E. Lee.  I did a report on him a few years ago and he is now one of my heroes! Even though he fought for the South, that's really only a first impression.  People in the North often treated slaves worse than those in the South.  Lee's men adored him and he treated them like a father.  Besides, he had an awesome gray horse named Traveller ;)



8. If money were no obstacle, what would be the perfect birthday gift to receive?


A horse trailer or a barn.  But a laptop would work too.  :)






Lily Litten's Q's.....

1. If you could marry any male book character, who would it be?

Mr. Darcy, hands down! (from the Keira version :D)

2.  What book character is the closest to your personality?

Oh...*fidgets* Ahh...*bites nails*...

I'm thinking....

Harry from The Blue Sword.  She's really tall, reads too many fantasy books, and...there's  a few more similarities, but you'd have to read the book.

Also (I know everyone says this) but Elizabeth Bennet.  I'm always laughing but I make judgments way too fast.

3. What is your favorite Disney movie?

If it's an OLD disney movie, then Beauty and the Beast.  If it's a new one, I love the Narnias.

4. Are you a spender or a saver?

xP Lately, I've been a spender....

5. If you had a $10,000 shopping spree to any store, which would you choose?

A horse store! Woot!

6. Who is your favorite Disney princess?

Belle!!! She's so spunky and brave and I wish I were more like her... I took a quiz once and I got Snow White :)

7. Describe your favorite piece of jewelry (or show a picture!)

It's a square piece of picture jasper on a plain black cord....it's shiny, smooth, and looks like a desert scene with a slate blue sky and sagebrush.  I LOVE it.  

8. If you were a color, which would you be?

Blue.  I took a quiz on that too.  :) 

Sometimes calm and cool, other times rip-roarin'!

Thanks for the tagging fun!

Tagged!

I've been tagged by Marie! I have to answer these eight questions she came up with and then come up with eight of my own for whoever I tag to answer.  

1. What is your favorite Winter accessory?

I used to wonder what all the bother was about scarves, but now I really like them.  And I absolutely love boots! Winter boots or fancy boots, any kind of boots...especially pairs without heels.

2. How do you like to spend your Winter weekends?

Writing! Or going out to work hard shoveling snow and freezing my face off and then coming in for a mug of hot cocoa.  :) So cozy.  :) Overall, I just like being holed up with my family.

3. List your top 3 favorite things about the Winter season.

1.  Christmas!

2.  Cuddly sweatshirts

3.  Sledding

4. What is something new you'd like to try this year?

My friend Angela wants me to try downhill skiing - I don't.  :) I would like to learn how to make a fire.  I'm sure that would be useful.   

5. If you could spend your Christmas abroad, where would you go?

Personally, I would NOT want to spend my Christmas abroad, away from my family and the lovely ice and snow of the North.  But if I did have to pick somewhere, I'd go to Ireland.  Ah, yes.  An Irish Christmas!

6. Your favorite historic monument and why?

Ugh, I DID have a favorite! I know I did...but what was it??

I think it was the Liberty Bell...lol

Anyway, when I got to see the Liberty Bell this year, it was way cooler than anything I could have imagined! If I closed my eyes I could picture it clanging up in Independence Hall...

It was Independence Hall, right?  ;)

7. What museum would you most love to visit?

Probably some sort of Revolutionary War museum! :)

8. If you won a shopping spree tomorrow, which store would you want to spend it at?

Ooh! Wow....does the Mall of America count? ;)

Well, I'd probably use it at a big tack store.  *eyes light up*

Ok, here are the questions for YOU to answer.

1.  What's your favorite article of clothing you own and why?

2.  Have you ever ridden a horse and what was your reaction?

3.  Do you ever imagine what kind of people animals would be? If so, what kind of person would your favorite pet be? :D (I love doing this, it's so much fun)

4.  What's something that would win me your heart? (Mine is sour candy :))

5.  If you could have any celebrity live next door to you, who would it be?

6.  What are five must-haves in your dream house?

7.  What's your favorite part of your room?

8.  If you got lost at night, would you rather be in a huge, loud, riff-raff city, or on a lonely country road in the middle of bear country?

Odd questions, no?

I tag:

1.  Nela from Beloved Star

2.  Manda from Manda's Messages

3.  Elránia from Elven Elránia and Her Horse

4.  Sarah from Cowgirl for Christ

5.  Tessa Emily Hall from Christ is Write

6.  Emily Ann from :) My World :)

7.  Kiki from Letters of my Life

8.  And....Lily Litten from Snatched from the Wind!

Happy answering! ;)

Love, Ellyn

Image of America

During History today, I came across this little song that (supposedly) Andrew Carnegie's parents sang to him when he was a boy.  Anyway, I really liked it.  I wish some politicians would read it over and reconsider some of their programs. :P

It makes me sad that America is not like this anymore.


To the West, to the West, to 
the land of the free,
Where the mighty Missouri
rolls down to the sea;
Where a man is a man if he's 
willing to toil,
And the humblest may gather
the fruits of the soil;
Where children are blessings,
and he who hath most
Has aid for his fortune and 
riches to boast,
Where the young may exult
and the aged may rest,
Away, far away, to the land
of the West.


- From History of US, volume 8 - pg. 13

I Think I'm In Love...

With the adorable little chestnut fellow in the foreground! It's Indy, of course...

Been a long time since you've seen him around here, eh? He's with his friend Boo in this photo.

I was feeling mad, slash depressed, slash bored yesterday, so my dad persuaded me to go to the stable.  It was a good time to let go of my irritation over the chapter I'm supposed to be writing, my family, and my own irritating thoughts of irritation! Horses are the best therapy.  Except for time with God, of course.  It sounds so wrong to say "Except for God", doesn't it? :)

Indy and his friend George are as "thick as thieves", as they say.  I'm not so keen on George myself.  He's extremely big, playful, and pushy, and he picks fights with the other horses all the time.  He does have an adorable poofy and wavy forelock and big, liquidy brown eyes, but it's hard to see whether the good outweighs the bad... Yesterday, I was riding Indy bareback, walking him around with just a halter and rope.  His ears pricked up and I heard the neighbors dragging this big trailer out of their garage.  Indy just stood there.  *proud smile* But George heard it, spooked, bit Boo, and when Boo bit him back, he bucked and galloped as fast as he could straight toward Indy.  I was already sliding halfway off my chestnut's back, but I changed my mind and held on.  Indy, I trust you, I thought, hard.  

George slid to a dusty stop about three feet away and still, Indy just stood there looking at him.  Phew...Thank you, Indy.  

Here's another one of Georgie resting.  :)

Love, Ellyn