Lane Arrives

Sunday, was a trailer day. Carrie hitched up the truck and we drove over to Sarah's rescue.

Carrie took a moment to say hi to Maya and give her some scratches.

The point up the trip was to pick up Lane.

His front feet were in rough shape and he was in need "of a full restart" post racetrack. 

Sarah walked him back on the grass instead of the gravel to save him some pain (Side note: Alex helps out at the rescue! First time I'd seen her in a long while).

Lane seems to have a good personality. He loaded up without issue.

He wasn't happy about the trip, but it was a short one ("The last time he was in a trailer was when they pulled him from the kill lot," Carrie said).

There was a minor hiccup with offloading. One of Lane's feet caught and he was sure he was blocked. Carrie had to make him walk forward and straighten out.

It went smoothly after that. He was curious and a little worried about being somewhere new.

Our horses were just as curious about him.

We stalled all the boys for introductions. Lane got to touch muzzles with Eddy.

He had to say hi to Ernie down the way.

Carrie let Lane out to explore after everyone got acquainted. He went out and explored the fields on his own.

And he was running back in full speed when he noticed too late that there was a fence in front of him. Nothing to do, but go over!

He didn't clear it either. Carrie had to do emergency repairs (and saw skid marks from the aborted brake attempt!).

We'd just let Eddy out to join him and he looked very confused.

Lane integrated fast. Maybe it's because he's the bottom of the totem pole.

Carrie really likes his personality so far. She gave him a bath and came inside saying he was a "love bug."

Lane will stay with us short term. The goal is for Carrie to restart his training enough that he can be rehomed successfully (like Huck). I don't know how long that will take, but I'd assume at least a couple of months.

Busy-ish

Shane's most important chore is cleaning cat litter.

It's not because he does a phenomenal job. It's because I don't want to do it.

Shane scratching up the refrigerator and being tasked with litter was a parental coup!.

At least I don't have to mow anymore. Carrie has claimed all yard duties.

Except weeding. She shares that one.

We haven't been super ambitious while Shane's been out of town, but we have taken care of some stuff. Cleaning is ever present. I worked on dishes and laundry this week. Carrie pointed out some weird smudges on the walls near Shane's computer.

I honestly have no idea what they are.

It's probably safe to blame Shane. I'm more curious as to what they are than motivated to fix it. The bathroom sink is a higher priority...when I get around to it (I'll spare you a picture, but something is growing....yuck!).

Carrie's special project this week was the gate (again!).

The original installers clamped down too hard and warped the gate.

Over time, it's bent and it hasn't been opening correctly.

Carrie did a quick-fix, but we  may have to replace it with something lighter in the future.

It's a good example of how something simple turns out to be anything but.

We cleaned up most of the mess from the microburst, but got a surprise when we opened the trailer.

The winds and rain plastered mess to the ceiling.

We discovered it Friday morning when Carrie and Barbara went on a trail ride.

Carrie wants to get back to working Lily and get her used to going off property.

It gave me a chance to work on some blogging and writing while the house was quiet.

If we had more ambition and energy, there's more we could be doing. I'm hoping/expecting more of my drive to come back once school starts, so I'm not in a hurry to light any fires. Shane's loving life with the fam in SC. He'll be back before too long!

Exercise Progress

I feel good after working out. I like the results, too.

So why is it always so hard to start? I know that it will pay off, but it's like pulling teeth! I'd say "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak," but I always feel like it want it to be done rather than to do it. This guy puts it well: "Don't let your feelings dictate your actions. Let your actions dictate your feelings."

I wish self-discipline alone would be enough to drive me on, but it's not. Results help, too.

I believe in working out. I know it's good for me and I feel better for it....., but data: Quantitative data. 

I didn't keep notes in April when the newbie gains were quick and evident, but I do now. 

Progressive overload is a core concept of training. Keeping a log keeps me accountable and helps keep me motivated. I wish I took a "before" picture back in April (but the last one of those I took was a couple years ago!).

My workouts have progressed from once or twice a week to about 4 hours split over 4 workouts each week (2 upper and 2 lower body days with rest in between).

I bought protein and more equipment.

I was worried about modular weights in general, but they've been useful so far. At some point, I may need to get a bench and the up to 70 lbs expansion set, but I want to use what I have for longer. 

I've attempted to do some running, as well. 

And yet my weight has gone up.

Usually, I weigh between 155-160 lbs each summer morning (as opposed to 150-155 lbs during the school year). Mornings are typically when people weigh the least.

Now, I'm weighing between 160-164 lbs after waking up (Averaging 162 and change!)

Hopefully, it's muscle!

Thanks to being a wrestler, I've a lifelong habit of tracking my weight. I never cut much and wrestled near my walking weight, so where I wrestled helps chart my growth.

9th grade: Started wrestling around 109 lbs, got the flu, lost 6 lbs, and wrestled 103 lbs afterward!

10th grade: Wrestled at 112 lbs.

11th grade: Wrestled at 119 lbs.

12th grade: Wrestled at 130 lbs.

I didn't worry much about weight after wrestling, but I know a few data points.

Around 22 or 23: I did some weight lifting and hit 160 lbs at one point.

Around 25 or 26: I competed at a BJJ tournament at 148 lbs if I recall correctly. It involved some minor cutting, but only water weight.

I was training BJJ sporadically when I dated Carrie and probably weighed in the lower 150s when we married.

Since then, my weight has remained mostly stable, but that's partly been due to changes in my diet rather than exercise. I used to love sugar in my tea....gone. I used to eat out a lot more.....no longer. I pay a lot more attention to what I eat now than I did a decade ago (All part and parcel with getting older).

It's been easier to keep up with an exercise program without school. I wonder how much of this will change once I start!

Loki's New New Trick

Loki's the smartest dog I've ever owned. He wants to be trained. So Carrie taught him to jump up on command.

It helps that he loves the treats she bought.

This has been a thing for about a month (even if I'm only posting it now). It started when Shane crawled into a box he'd made for the cats.

Carrie stepped on the flaps, so he couldn't escape. Then she called Loki over to help weigh it down!

You won't see photo evidence of me helping, but know that no dogs were flipped and no boys escaped under my watch.

Loki jumped up for Shane, too! 

The one problem Loki has is with "Down." He thinks it's part of "Lay Down!"

We've kept the box around just because of the trick. I'm worried it's going to break one day, but it's held steady so far!

RIP Skunky

I regret to say that I found Skunky dead on the bridle trail. 

I'm not certain how Skunky died. There were no obvious signs of blood or trauma. A predator would have tried to eat Skunky. I haven't spread manure with the mower on the eastern section of the path this week, so I know I didn't run run her over. Skunky was just outside the ladies' pasture, so Eowyn or Abby could've stepped on or kicked Skunky (either by design or accident). Then maybe Skunky could've crawled outside the lines, but I cannot say for sure.

She will be missed. I thought it was fun to keep an eye out for Skunky when doing chores. 

Childless in Charlottesville

With Shane out of town, Carrie and I got to do some date type things. We went to see Black Widow at the Alamo on Monday.

Grandma has a 6th sense and likes to call when we're there.

We enjoyed the movie, but it was far from the MCU's best. The interpersonal interactions made the movie while the action sequences felt like the lowpoint. If not for the spoiler filled post-credits scene, I think the movie should have been released prior to Endgame. When Shane's old enough, we'll probably show him the movie after Civil War and YouTube the final scene after he sees Endgame.

Carrie's been longing for a good bowl of pho for a while. We walked from the Alamo to Chimm's, but it was closed! We picked the one day of the week they shut their doors.

However, there was an alternative. John McM had mentioned how cool the new Dairy Market was the last time we got the boys together. They had a Chimm's there, too. 

There was some construction in the area back when when I worked at LMA, but a lot's happened since. A lot.

The Dairy Market was an upscale food court.

Carrie got her pho and was ecstatic. It was just as good as she'd remembered!

We got ice cream from Moo Thru for dessert, because why not? It used to be only a Hwy 29 treat.

Errands on Wednesday were the next big date. Most people wouldn't think of that as fun, but I like moving around and going places (Especially with Carrie!). I downloaded some Audiobooks to subject....er, broaden Carrie's literary horizons with.

We tried to go by the Dairy Market again, but the parking lot was full with multiple cars circling for someone to leave. Carrie was upset, but it led us to a new spot.

For years, I've teased Carrie about "Let's go there!" I'm more fond of buffet sushi that she is ("Quantity can be a quality of it's own!" -Me*), and I'd never been. Carrie had and thought it was lackluster. 

She agreed today, though. It took me by surprise....much like the Monkey Roll surprised her! Carrie loved it. She'd never had fried banana in a sushi roll.

Carrie said the restaurant had changed considerably since she'd visited. "It has been 6 years and a pandemic.." she said.

I'd give it 4.5 out of 5 for what it is. Buffet sushi tends to have more rice to be more filling with less filling! I've eaten much better sushi, but what we got for what we paid was awesome. 

Except for the philly rolls. I swear the chef must have laughed when I ordered those. There were solid chunks of cream cheese.

"Ha, ha! It's all you can eat, but let's see how much you can eat after eating half a bar of cream cheese, ha ha! And don't forget the waste fee if you don't finish, ho ho!"

I skipped dinner.

Carrie went on a few riding trips to a friend's farm, as well. It's the most I've seen her leave the house in a long time!

I did my own solo trip when I recruited Scott for Trivia on Tuesday night. We won! It was only our second night back out! Too bad the victory picture was blurry.

It was a close win! Everyone's contribution was critical. Scott knew what a dromedary vs a Bactrian camel was, Fabrice had heard of OPI from a random YouTube video, I recognized Air Bud, and John handled music. Scott and John already knew, but Fabrice and I learned that graham crackers were invented to help remove impure thoughts. We, also, learned we should tag any unidentified rap song as Fetty Wap's Trap Queen (It's shown up and stumped us two trivia nights in a row!).

Other than that, we've spent a lot of time at home. I discovered a new series on Netflix that was a huge hit with Carrie.

It's amazing how close to a disaster some of our favorite movies were behind the scenes. We've learned about Home Alone's near cancellation, Ghostbusters nearly being Ghostbreakers, the two different Marty McFly's in Back to the Future, and how Jurassic Park pioneered CGI in movies due to a stubborn programmer who disobeyed his boss. Carrie's seen more than me (It's what she does).

Typing with Pets

I moved my computer back outside the bedroom as an experiment. Part of it, was I felt bad for Loki. He sleeps against the bedroom door when I disappear.

Now he sleeps underfoot.

There are problems, though.

Max is the lesser offender. She'll leave once I push her away a few times.

Aria won't. She'll walk on the keyboard and demand love.

The good news is, there's a rhythm to it. I'll get harassed when I first sit down, but then it's time for cat naps. That leaves me free to type...until they wake up!