LemmonBuggParty

I have always loved horses. I learned to ride when I was in elementary school. I am not sure why I stopped riding, but I have picked it up again here and there with my longest stint as a wrangler for a summer after college. While perusing the local listservs (that might be another blog entry!) I noticed a post about very reasonable horse back riding lessons. So I called.  I think we are doing something based on a 4-H program but whatever and however it worked out, it has allowed me to introduce riding horses to the boys.  The horses we are riding(I rode briefly on Tuesday) are Icelandic horses and very different from horses I have ridden before.  They are four and five gaited which means they have extra speeds. I am used to walk, trot, cantor, gallop. The horse we rode this week is a champion horse that came over from Iceland about a year ago. She is five gaited. Apparently their top speed is 40 miles an hour!  It was a sweet but short ride. William ...

 Lovely Thanksgiving Dinner with Maureen and Chris Dant, neighbors two houses down. A lovely table and roaring fire! Black Friday Hike! Boys in their day-glow orange - need the hunters to see us! Amazing Tree  Out to get our tree! Is this the one? I think this is it! Add caption It was a lovely setting and even more amazing that we cut our tree down and I mailed the check to the name on the poster! Trimming the tree

Thanksgiving is almost upon us and I have spent the evening baking brownie bites, chocolate chip cookies with espresso powder and for the first time, I made pecan pies from my grandmothers recipe.  Tomorrow morning will be for the turkey and the preparing of the asparagus casserole, another recipe that I remember so fondly that my grandmother used to make. When I think of Thanksgiving, I immediate think of going to my grandparents in NC. I can't think of a Thanksgiving we didn't spend with them. I can still see the buffet set with all the wonderful food at my Great Aunt's house in Monroe, NC. We would drive up to Southern Pines, NC to see my grandparents and then drive over the morning of Thanksgiving to be with all those in Monroe. There used to be a parade that we would go out and watch right outside of the house. I think my memories of the parade are intertwined with the photos I remember seeing of me and my brother watching it. For dinner Jim and I were at the "k...