31 days on the 31st...

Happy New Year!

I hope that 2007 brings everyone joy and that all of your dreams and wishes come true in the coming months.

My New Years resolutions?

Im going to start by getting home first of all... IN 31 DAYS!

Good luck to everyone else with your ACTUAL resolutions.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

What day is it?

Above is the question i have repeatedly found myself asking this week. Time has absolutely FLOWN by for me. Christmas seems like it was about 2000 years ago (ha ha get it?... sorry) and its extremely hard to comprehend that 2007 is just around the corner. Like MONDAY! bah!


All this information means that as of tomoro, there are 32 days until i leave the US and make my ridiculously long, 3 day journey home via LA and Melbourne... ok so its not really 3 days but by the calendar im going to be travelling for three days lol. Unfortunately i miss out on the 2nd of February. So sorry if anyone has any particular attatchment to that date... you will just have to celebrate it doubly for me! te he he.

hmmm so this week i have been painting jump poles. i had a ripper of an idea for a pattern so i set to work straight away and they do look pretty fricken awesome so when they are all dry and perfeted im going to set them up and jump em and take pictures of them so you can all see.... which brings me to my next news that Marieke and Liz may or may not be coming down from Canada for a final visit before i go... so hopefully we can jump the poles and take pics together! yay.

Speaking of riding and such, I have been riding Maple and Cajun in an effort to convince them both that im not secretly hiding a running chainsaw behind my back when i approach them. This afternoon i spent an hour simply atmepting to get on Maple after she knocked me flat on my bum by rearing when i pulled the stirrup down to get on. she also struck out several times whilst rearing and caught my helmet a couple times as well so im really glad i was wearing it. anyways, i caught her and we went into the round pen, where i lunged her for a good half an hour to an hour and then we decided that my face really wasnt that frightening and that we didnt actually need to rearrange it with our hooves. phew. so then i rode her i a round pen (which is a first for me i have to say) and we were all hapy after that (thanks for the lunge tip Mumita). SO she is now sitting in a stall with fresh water and hay which has alfalfa in it (ya... i actually kinda want to eat it myself) and BRAND SPANKING NEW shavings so she should be a happy little pony when i see her tomorrow adn attempt to get on her again. (dont worry horsey people: im going straight to the round pen to lunge first)


Contrary to all of this.... I got on Cajun after my ordeal with Maple and prepared myself for a rodeo ride, and after she established that i wasnt coming off with the vertical bucks, she decided to canter beautifully and after half an hour of work we even managed to get a few flying changes going. whihc made me happy.


Also, i rode Mouse the yesterday which was simply TOO much fun. we galloped around the big ring for ages and then he willingly followed me around the ring as i set up a jump and we jumped about 2ft6, whihc is no easy task after months of sitting in a paddock. I love Mouse.


k well thats all my boring horse news or you all. lol. um, yea. i dont exactly have any non horse related news to tell so i shall leave it there.


Im tremendously excited about coming home. YAY. xoxoxoxxo

Pics are of me with snow (and i have several excuses for my for my frowny face in that one... minus degree weather, 7:30am, sun shining in my eyes, did i metion the miuns degree weather and that it was 7:30 IN THE MORNING?! lol. which may or may not answer one of your questions: i still dont 'do' mornings.). The other one is of Jewel and Cajun (or as Mum like to call her 'Something Spicy') lol Cajun is the one at the back. Jewel has the blaze for those interested.

And so that was Christmas...

... And what did i do?

25th Dec 06

Snow settled on the ground outside, presents unwrapped and exhausted on the floor and around the room, and a turkey feast with a loving family.

Unfortunately, the family isn’t my own but this Christmas has surpassed my expectations and I have had an amazing experience.

This morning I attempted to speak to my family in the last few hours of Australian Christmas. It was great to see everyone via a webcam, however the connection was slightly sketchy and dropped out a number of times before disconnecting all together.

After sitting around for half an hour in the hope that my family might come back
online… I came to the realisation that they were probably already on their way to tuck themselves into bed for the night, so I headed down to the barn. As I opened my bedroom door to the outside, a rush of cold air swept passed me and into my room and I looked across the farm to find no snow, but a white, frosty layer across the ground.

I crunched my way down to the icy barn and gave the ponies a kiss on the muzzle and wished them each a Merry Christmas before I threw flakes of hay at them and began working on the frozen hose. Once the ‘in ponies’ were fed and watered I went back up to the house and had a shower and tried to make myself resemble a human being before I entered the main part of the house to greet Arno’s family.

We then spent hours around the breakfast table talking and enjoying each others company and exchanging gifts and generally have a good time.

After breakfast (which went into the afternoon) we all relaxed and did our own thing until about 5pm, when I helped set the dinner table and Arno’s Aunt Lottie (who is like 80 years old) and I folded napkins until the food came out.

After dinner we all sat down to watch a movie in the living room and by the time the movie was over, so was Christmas.

So that was my Christmas. It turned out to be white after all!

Hope everyone had a great day. xoxo

*Pic is of my new "Anti-Polo" hat and my Polo jumper... just cos i thought i was funny to wear the two at the same time.

Let It snow, Let it snow, Let it snow.

Its Chirstmas evening and its snowing. enough said. Playtime now... writing time later! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

T'was the night before Christmas

'Tis Christmas eve in Australia and the night before christmas eve here.

Hope everyone has a safe and fun filled day, spent with those most important.

Love to everyone, am missing you all.

Merry Christmas.

40 Days to go...

Me in the basement with Saturday night fever...
























Sair and I in the basement




















Ok so we got a little bit... um... happy with the staining fumes. (Izze is "soda pop')



















Maybe i need another new camera. I appear to be wishing death on this one quite a bit as of late.

Staining the wood. Just thought y'all might be missing my butt... so here it is. Would also like to know what happened to my head... lol... must have lost it with my mind few weeks ago

Me outside the Outback steakhouse, with some random about to walk into the shot.

Im apparantly trying to gain a perspective of what its like to be Hay. The horses were willing to go along with the experiment.

Sydney and I sharing a moment.

Polly and I discussed politics for a good hour and finally agreed to disagree. I gave her a kiss to show there were no hard feelings.

I thanked Cubano for his concern over my loose shoelace.

The last week has been quite the hectic pour moi. On Saturday night I visited NYC once again but this time to say goodbye to Anna who left for the UK (via Paris to drop of her dog - its well travelled) today. So hopefully she has a safe flight/flights home to see her family and friends for christmas (yes im jealous). Saturday night was lots of fun, running around NYC with a whole heap of really cool people. It was sad to see Anna for the last time but we are definately going to catch up sometime in the future... eventually.

Sunday was spent recovering from Saturday night (a tres late one) and headed back to the farm Sunday night. The next two days were spent mucking out stalls and riding Iris and Josie before Arno and i took them and 4 other ponies to NJ for a barn to try out. The barn took the two mares along with "Bat Pony" and "Rebel". Wednesday night, Sair arrived and went spent hours upon hours catching up on the last two months... mainly the last two months of her life because the last two months of my life are descirbed as follows: Sleep, eat, muck stalls, eat, ride, eat, sleep, eat, muck stalls, eat, make chocolates, eat, sleep. Rinse. Repeat and do not tumble dry (for fear of shrinking... I dont think i could deal with being shorter.)

Thursday (yesterday) Sair and I tackled the stalls together then rode (she rode Toby and I rode Jewel - when she wasnt trying to kill me). In the arvo, we went shopping at Woodbury Commons (the Harbour town-like mall) and spent forever in the Polo Ralph Lauren store... cruisd around to other shops and then Sair took me to the Outback Steakhouse (america's attempt at "aussie cuisine". ) - which really is a MUST for any Australian tourist... just for the stomach pain from laughing too much. But it was SOOOO much fun.

This morning Sair and I bummed around in the barn and painted/stained some wood Arno asked me to do and then Sair had to leave because she had a 9hr car drive home to Canada. So im back on my own in the barn once again and still having fun. Also: im trying to work a solution to my luggage dilemma. It seems im not going to have much room for my actual clothes, once i fit the 7 polo ponies in my suitcases... hmmm.

Anyways, it seems i have written a lengthy essay on my weekly happenings so i hope no one actualy had something worthwhile to do in the 400 years took to read this... my bad.

ok. toodles. xoxoxoxo

oh ya - FYI... no snow due for christmas day which bites furry butt. nevertheless they are stil promising me snow beofre i leave.... the sky has 40 days to come up wit the goods... otherwise im going up there personally to have a stern word with the clouds Re: the lack of snow here and the lack of rain in Adelaide. catch! xoxo

For The Cricket Fans...

Thought i would share this email i recently recieved. I actually almost fell off of my bed laughing when i read it...


Q. What do Geraint Jones and Michael Jackson have in common?
A. They both wear gloves for no apparent reason


Q. What is the height of optimism?
A. An English batsman applying sunscreen.


Q. What does Ashley Giles put in his hands to make sure the next ball almost always takes a wicket?
A. A bat.


Q. What would Glen McGrath be if he was an Englishman?
A. An allrounder.


Q. What advantage do Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Strauss and Geraint Jones have over the rest of their team-mates?
A. At least they can say they're not really English.


Q. What is the English version of a hat-trick?
A. Three runs in three balls.


Q. What do you call an Englishman with 100 runs against his name?
A. A bowler.


Q. What is the most proficient form of footwork displayed by English batsmen?
A. The walk back to the pavilion.


Q. Who has the easiest job in the English squad?
A. The guy who removes the red ball marks from the bats.


Q. Why is Andrew Flintoff the unluckiest English player?
A. Because he was born in England.


Q. What does "Ashes" stand for?
A. Another Sad Horrific English Series.


Q. What's the English version of LBW?
A. Lost, Beaten, Walloped.


Q. Who spends the most time on the crease of anyone in the English team?
A. The person who ironed the cricket whites.

At Rockerfeller Centre. Apparently (by the look on my face) im wishing death upon the camera.



















The Rockerfeller Centre GE building and the tip of the tree. Also i thought everyone would like to see what was up my nostrils at the time.



















Me with my Conan ticket and wristband

Sitting, Waiting, Wishing...

"Live from NBC Studios in New York.... its Late Night, with Conan O'Brien"

YAY! i finally got to go and see a live taping of Late night with Conan O'Brien and it was everything i thought it would be and more! yay. I have literally just jumped off of the bus and went straight to my room to tell you all that i went to see the show. he he he. Last nigth i randomly went and stayed with Anna in the city so i took my opportunity to go and line up for tickets to the show early this morning and managed to recieve some stand by tickets after about an hour and a half of standing outside Rockerfeller centre on the street. lol the things i do eh?!

Anywhos, throughout the day i helped Anna with her moving stuff (she is moving back to the UK) and finding flights for her new found puppy friend. success! (trust me its harder than it sounds.)

At 3:30pm I trekked my way across town, back to Rockerfeller centre, where i waited a further hour (this time i could come and go as i pleased) to see if they needed any of the stand bys to fill in. Fortunately for me they did so we were then escorted through the building and through some major security and then into the Late Night studio.

We sat and watched some clips from the show while the set and cameras were adjusted and then the warm up guy came out and began talking to the crowd. He asked if anyone was from 'far away' so myself, and anotehr person (from the Phillipines) put our hands up willingly in response. He then asked me where i was from to which i responded of course "Australia". One person actually gasped at this point so i was a little worried, but continued to listen to the warm up guy and prepared myself for some sort of funny/"witty" insult to end the conversation, as he had done with the others he spoke to in the crowd. He inquired as to why i was in New York and i told him that i was "working" and then after further questioning i revealed that i was "working with horses". each time i answered the crowd seemed to get more and more intrigued so by this time i was getting a bit nervous. Anyways, the 'warm up guy' then asked if we had horses in Australia. I quickly responded with "I think we had 8 at one stage, but im pretty sure two of them just died" (to whihc the crowd laughed and clapped at.) It seems the only response the warm up guy had to my comment was one of his funny/witty insult lines to end our little talk so he (very quickly i might add) added "I bet you've used that line in the bars more than once 'Oh ya we have six horses let go back to your room'..."(his impression of a drunken me). I know at this point everyone was spose to laugh (which they did) and move on, but i may or may not have added "Well it worked on you last week" to whihc everyone laughed and then clapped at and even the guy clapped but then mumbled something about not understanding me and my accent as he moved on to explaining 'the rules' of the taping. ANYWAYS, at the end of his little speech about not having 'cell' phones on etc he asked the crowd to practice cheering (to warm us up) and asked everyone to put their hands together for the 'Australian horse girl' and i got a little cheer all to myself.. so yay or that. anywho thats was my lil claim to fame for the day.

well i guess im guna end this here cos there aint a lot more to tell you about my day other than it was FREAKIN AWESOME. also its kinda late.

Oh yea... for those of you with Foxtel: if i remember correctly the show i went to will air tonight (Thurs night) in Aust on the comedy channel (somewhere around 11:30pm) and i believe they also have a re run on the friday morning... assuming the comedy channel still shows Late Night and still dus it twice a day etc etc. Its the one with Jeremy Irons and Aimee Man (singer). ok bed time.

spreadin' the love xoxoxo

(pics up soon)

Less Mortified...

Okay... so heres the deal. the laptop screen is utterly stuffed. however the laptop itself is going as it was before so i now have a giant ass screen in my room to facilitate my screen needs. The good news is i still have all my photos and music (as long as i have a screen handy). The bad news is that it looks like i will be going laptop shopping when i get back to aust. or have a look at prices here. but it could be fun... so im going to turn this whole thing around and wrap it up and put it under the "positive" tree (oh how nice of me)... Yay for me, im going laptop shopping lol... are they even called laptops anymore? meh! who cares. ok. well im going to bed because this whole ordeal has worn me out.

catch xoxo

Words cannot express...

Ok, so about ten minutes ago my laptop officially died. due to a tangulation in cables, the screen now has a smashed theme desktop and im very very very upset. :( it has all of my pics and pretty much everything on it so im hoping that i can conncet another screen to the laptop and fix the propblem. im now in the freezing cold computer room attempting to disconnet one of the computer screens to take it back with me. wish me luck. hope im back online by tomoro. will keep you updated. *sniffs*

Back at the farm...

So im back from CT. It was an interesting experience to say the least. just did the usual chocolate show stuff but had a five min drive to the hotel rather than the usual 2 hour drive home. The people at the show seemed a little more strange than usual but never the less all characters of their own. One guy tried to sell me a "didgeridoo" made out of bamboo with some weird ass pattern he had burnt into the wood. actually im pretty sure it was just some piping from and old septic system that he had cut up and painted to make them look real. Also there was a candle man from Texas who decided to tell me about how he makes his candles and was... um... kind enough (?) to offer me a job in his booth selling candles... I politely declined (whilst slowly backing away) and walked speedily back to the chocolate booth. Also the man in the booth next to me gave me some goat milk soap at the end of the first day and then a mug at the end of the show. Oh and Olga and I got free CDs from this random piano man. lol unfortunately we didnt sell as many chocs as usual but it was fun all the same.

anywhos, today i got back into the routine of things down in the barn and cleaned up after the mess that was created in the three days that i was absent. Once all that was done i had some lunch and went back down and painted some poles while it was sunny and above freezing and then rode Peach Pie and then Josie.

yea, so that was my weekend. um... oh ya -Sair (friend from Canada) is coming down possibly with Marieke on the 20th December. so that will be tres cool. ok. thats it from me. catch! xoxoxo
(*the pic is the view from our hotel room in Hartford, Connecticut)

Por qué es escrito esto en español?

Hola hola. Tuve un día libre impresionante en Nueva York. On arrival by train in the city, i caught the "path train" to the WTC and went and saw Ground Zero. For those of you interested its a huge hole in the ground with construction workers and trucks everywhere. I guess you really had to know what it was like with the towers there to appreciate the absence of them now but it was an experience just to see it and see the hundreds of people outside who still put flowers and flags and stuff up on the wire outside. Aaaanyways. Walked from ground zero to the Staten Island ferry and caught the ferry to Staten Island (surprise surprise) and back to Manhattan in order to take pictures of the Statue of Liberty. Once I finished my (below freezing) ferry experience i caught the subway (my new found talent) to Chinatown and spent hour upon hour wandering the streets and being hassled by Asian people muttering "Gucci" and "Prada" and "Channel" under their breaths as I passed by, but it was SO much fun. I then caught the Subway to braodway and walked a couple blocks to Anna's house, where i stayed the night after we had a few drinks at the local club and bummed around a bit. I slept in a bit on Wed morning and Anna and I had brunch at 11am and then walked around Manhattan and went to see the rockerfeller tree and visited 'Staples' (equialent of Officeworks) because Anna needed some work supplies. lol. OOO - i have to add this bit here - Whilst on our walk we ran into Max Weinberg (from Late Night with Conan O'Brien... BIG DEAL in the Dani book lol. he is also known as the drummer from Bruce Springstien's band)... wasnt quick enough to get the camera out but it was still awesome. lol im pathetic anyways - We got back to her apartment and took her puppy for a walk to the Dog run. By this time it was mid afternoon and i ended up hvaing to almost run back to Broadway to where the bus station is. I caught the bus and it was a pleasant ride back. lol

Tomorrow I am going to a chocolate show in Conneticut, but because its a while away, we are going to stay in a hotel there for the w/end. cool yo?! well it should be interesting anyway.

Wow im tired so im guna cruise. Mcuh love. Will post again in like three days when im back from the show. xoxo

Relax...

Alrighty, Its now officially my day off for the next 24+ hours.

After i signed off last time I actually checked the temp outside before going to the barn, and discovered that it wasnt actually -1C... it was -8C. yay for that. This Arvo i rode Peach Pie around and then Iris and then the afternoon was over! It gets dark at about 4:30pm here and mightily cold after the sun goes down.

Going to New York City tomorrow and Arno says that he has an itinerary for me to follow for a 'fun packed' day. Apparently im going to see the Statue of Liberty (finally, after 6 months), the famous Rockerfeller Centre Christmas Tree, and Chinatown and something else which i cant remember. Anyways thats what i think he said. Time will tell.

Well im going to get some sleep before my "fun packed" day tomorrow! lol... hopefully i will have some pics to show and a story to tell at least.

Ps. The pic is of myself (obviously being a dick - something new) and Peach Pie

For the love of everything wintery and cold: PLEASE SNOW...

This morning there was what is known as a 'flurry' of snow during which, Arno came down toe barn on his tractor geared in his snow suit and accused me of doing "The Dani Dance" (dont ask) to make it snow! (No one actually likes snow here lol) Once again, nothing landed and stayed as snow for much more than about 10 minutes. infact im on my lunch break right now and there is perfect sunshine outside... however it is -1C.

The pilgrim salt and pepper shakers have been replaced with snowman shakers and mysteriously overnight, all the coffee/tea mugs in the house turned christmas themed... BAH... so now, rather than my usual favourite 'Dali' mug, to sit at the computer with, i have evil/scary looking snowmen on my cup.. i might actually take a picture of this particular mug because despite its labelled 'seasons greetings', its quite frightening...

Anywhos. it seems i have run out of time because i have to go back down to the barn now, so maybe i will post again tonight after work.

lol - does anyone actually read this thing anymore!? MEH... i can pretend they do.

much love xoxo

C.H.O.C in the U.S.A...

Does anyone else have that song in their heads now? Or for that matter know what im talking about?

So i have resorted to turning the volume on my mp3 player to maximum at dawn and dusk, as Deer Hunting season has officially started. The once quiet and peaceful mornings are now filled with blood-curdling echos of distant gun shots. However it gives me a little peace of mind to know that Arno doesnt hunt, and no one is allowed to hunt on his property. Just hope the deer know that too.

Thanksgiving was and interesting one.... still, no one has told me what we were giving thanks for, nor why we had a dinner to celebrate it, nor why i there were four little pilgim salt and pepper shakers staring at me while i ate my turkey covered in cranberry sauce. I think i managed to put the pieces of the puzzle together though. Alls i know is that there is a butt-load of turkey, ham and cranberry sauce in the fridge.

I have once again managed to put my back out by riding so much so it looks like a trip to the chiro is in order at some stage and a couple days rest form riding. On the other hand, the horses are doing really well. Arno is actually picking up two more ponies today from a farm and bringing them here for me to ride and get into shape before he sends them off to a family who came to camp during mother-daughter week. They are both gorgeous ponies, one of them is Jackson (the little grey pony in some of the pics) and the other is Sir Frederick James Reginald III (aka 'Peach Pie')... lol he is quite the looker of a pony and someone dubbed the poor thing Peach Pie, so we gave him a name that we thought gave him a little slice (sorry couldnt help myself with a 'pie' pun) of his dignity back. Anywhos, im excited for their return.

Am helping Olga with the making of her chocolate and have become a chocolatier... sorry, dont get your hopes up guys, i think this is a profession im going to leave in the US... as much fun as it sounds, its actually really tedious work. But yes i do get to try the chocolate. For anyone who is interested, what im making is handmade gourmet Belgian Chocolates.

K, well im off to actually go make choc right now. joy joy joy. Much love to all. xoxo

Stating the Obvious...

So I thought i would state the absolute obvious and let everyone know that I have changed the appearance of my Blog. It may change again, depending on how bored I get with it... but yea. Im Bored, can you tell?! Hmmm, well, comments would be 'A'-to-the-'preciated'. have fun. xoxo

Surprised...

Well its been quite a big week for me in the land of growing frosty...ness. I have now resorted to wearing special 'mountain horse' boots (as opposed to my beloved, paint covered wellingtons) in fear of the fact that if i continue to wear the wellies, i might just end up freezing my toes off... literally. Anyways... for those of you who arent aware these riding boots are "special" according to everyone here becasue they insulate your feet... im not complaining cos my feet are toasty warm inside them. Enough about feet.

On the weekend, i was helping Olga with her Chocolate business, aware of the fact that on Saturday night, Liz and her fiance Brennan were coming down from Canada for a few days to visit. So Saturday night rolled around and i went into my room to put my jacket and bag down and went into my bathroom to find Marieke standing in there in a desperate attempt to hide herself lol. it was awesome. Apparently Arno had set the whole thing up just so Marieke could come down and surprise me. Liz and Brennan came too... just so you know! So Saturday night we spent hours on end around the dinner table drinking, eating and being merry. Sunday, i had to go to the chocolate show with Olga again and Sunday night, Arno's friedn Chuck came around for dinner and brought some ducks that he had shot (its hunting season :( *sniff*) for dinner. The girls and i were kinda grossed out by the ducks for dinner but we had a great night. Marieke was also freaked out by 'winning' the contest to find the most gun shot pellets in their duck... the poor thing. Hmm so Monday, Liz and Brennan went out and Marieke and I hung out in the barn and went for a ride and just bummed about. On Tuesday, we dragged Anna up from NYC for the morning and met her new (disabled) puppy. LOL, she rescued it from Argentina, its 5 months old and has a mended broken paw, which looks really painful but actually doesnt bother her at all. Anyways, by Tuesday arvo everyone left and I was once again on my own with the horses but enjoying the peace a bit.

So today I'm back into the routine of things. I rode Iris this morning and had lots and lots of fun

cantering around the big ring doing flying changes across three huge circles... (i made pretty circly patterns in the sand of the ring) well it was fun for me anyways. Then this arvo i stained some boards for the carpenter and then hopped on Josie for a quick burn before it got dark.

Its Thanksgiving tomorrow and i have been invited to 'Thanksgiving Dinner'... would be really nice if i knew what i was 'giving thanks' for... something about Indians, pilgrims and turkeys... I will just smile and nod and eat my turkey when prompted. yay.

Well i think thats about it for now. Im excited for Thanksgiving, and to see some snow very soon. They are all freaking out over here because there is no actual snow yet and normally this place is under more than a foot of snow by now. Im thinkning its the same sort of reaction to the non existant rainfall in Adelaide this winter?? Hmmm, oh yea, some time in the near future im going to NYC for a few days to stay with Anna so that should be exciting too. ok, adios. xoxo

Pictures...

Well this morning i took some pictures that Marieke had originally asked me to take of some of the horses and then i kinda got carried away with being an idiot (which i know is totally unlike me) and i ended up with some of these pics... amoung some normal looking ones... but who wants to see 'normal' photos?! te he he. still having fun (as you can see) and getting excited about coming home. A little over two months left - or 7o something days. well, have fun and stay safe. xoxo

Still going...

Well I don’t really have A LOT to write about at the moment. Not much has changed, but I thought I would post something to make sure you all new that I haven’t fallen off of the face of the earth! Arno and Olga have returned from their honeymoon in CA, which means that I no longer have to drive the big tractor up the scary, muddy hill to feed the horses each morning and Im still helping “Mr carpenter” (think his name is Rosan, but not entirely sure) stain wood for the house, which is extremely messy but fun all the same. Have been riding alot still. Have succeeded in getting Josie and Toby to work very nicely (Josie esp. on the hunt course) and have now started new projects on Cajun and Maple (the one who doesn’t like turning left) Cajun is getting much better but just needs to be ridden everyday to make sure she remembers things (otherwise she becomes a rodeo horse) and Maple, well, she will get there! Hmm what else. Oh – I think Brenna (one of the girls I worked with this summer) might be coming down from Canada this weekend to visit me so that should be fun t catch up with her and have some company around the barn for a few days. Anna is back from Argentina on the 14th of Nov and sent me an email saying that we are sure to catch up when she gets back… and Marieke and Liz are planning to come down for thanksgiving weekend… (which is the weekend somewheres around if not on the 25th Nov.) YAY. Well that’s all the news from me I guess. Looking forward to coming home but enjoying the last few months here. Love to all xoxo

BRRRRRrrrrrrrr...

So today im not big on writing... mainly cos my hands hurt from being frozen (-7C in the barn this morning)... and then burning my finger on the heater in an attempt to warm them. Fortunately i took quite a few photos today and i rekon i can pretty much sum my day up with them so here goes....






Cooookkkke on the waaater... bow bow bow....










My day written out so i dont forget stuff (lol... like lunch?)
And part of my tres messy desk



















I went and annoyed Lotus (and cleaned her leg)










Then i thought All Star would be jealous of Lotus getting the attention, so i went in and gave him a pat... but he stole my beanie. te he he he.

Then i went back and annoyed Lotus some more.

Then i went and checked up on the polo ponies: from left: Tomate (taking a chunk of hay), Cubano and Nene (in front)

After Lunch and helping the carpenter, i rode Josie. The End.

Yay, and that was my day... exciting huh!? lol. ok so maybe i did a little more than that! Te he he he.... hope everyone is having fun. xoxo

Im Amazing...

Well i just thought you should all get your daily fact... nothing much more to say... the title says it all.

HA HA HA HA just kidding! Ive had an awesome week. After hurting my nose, i got on Maple the next day and did some ground work with her and jumped on her and she turned left so i was happy. My nose and face are fine by the way - just had some minor bruises under the eye but nothing worth taking a picture of. The nose is still a little tender but the pain is disappearing as the days progress.

On Tuesday (which was Halloween) I had a day off and got to go to New York City for the day. I ended up wandering around Times Square for most of it, but had lots of fun nevertheless. OH yea! and i got to see the band KISS on the street in Times Sq. so that was fun, but very crowded. Was interesting to watch people walk around the city in halloween costumes and just carry on with their day to day life. not to mention the interesting KISS crowd who were randomly spotted walking around the city after the band made the appearance... It made the day fun. On the way home I got to see the trick or treaters runnning from house to house with their little baskets and bags of candy.

Hmmm, lets see what else is happening in the the world of Dani... nothing new to tell i dont think. Other than Arno and Olga are on their honeymoon which is, umm... nice. And im here doing my day to day barnly routine. OH YEA! IRIS (my fav horsey) came back on Tues, much to my surprise... I guess the barn she went to didnt like her. But thats fine by me! So i have been riding her alot. Oh and we have a carpenter here who i am helping paint/staining wood for Arno's house cos its getting quite cold and the house is nakie, so the carpenter has to work quickly. Getting down to -3C tonight. fun fun fun with the frozen barn in the morning... mmm, numb hands... lol its all part of the wintery fun i guess.

Anywhos. Im guna leave it here. SOrry abotu my random last post... i really was bored. More photos soon... catch! xoxo

I was bored...

Odd Facts about ME
DO YOU SNORE?:	Sometimes
LOVER OR A FIGHTER?:	depends on my mood...
WHAT'S YOUR WORST FEAR?:	Not succeeding
AS A KID, WERE YOU A LEGO BUILDER?:	OH YEA
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF "REALITY TV"?:	I cringe at it... but shit happens right?
DO YOU CHEW ON YOUR STRAWS?:	If im excited / nervous
WERE YOU A CUTE BABY?:	Probably not
HOW IS THE SINGLE LIFE FOR YOU?:	A-OK
WHAT COLOR IS YOUR KEYBOARD?:	Hypothetically? probably black and white.
DO YOU SING IN THE SHOWER?:	In my head
HAVE YOU EVER BUNGEE JUMPED?:	Nope
ANY SECRET TALENTS?:	Well If i told you, they wouldnt be secret.
WHAT'S YOUR IDEAL VACATION SPOT?:	Whitsundays
HAVE YOU EATEN SUSHI?:	Yep
HAVE YOU SEEN THE MOVIE "DONNIE DARKO"?:	Yep
DO YOU GIVE A DARN ABOUT THE OZONE?:	Probably should
HOW MANY LICKS DOES IT TAKE TO GET TO THE CENTER OF A TOOTSIE POP?:	See, before i would have asked what the bleep a tootsie pop was... but now i understand... and the answer... will come to me next time i eat one.
CAN YOU SING THE ALPHABET BACKWARDS?:	I can write it backwards...
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON AN AIRPLANE?:	AH.... .yep, think so
ARE SPEEDO'S HOT?:	Gotta love budgee smuglers
WHAT'S YOUR STAND ON HUNTING?:	THEY KILLED A DEER THIS AFTERNOON :( its sad.
IS MARRIAGE IN YOUR FUTURE?:	Probably
DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?:	Oh gawd no.
WHAT ARE YOU ALLERGIC TO?:	EVERYTHING
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SAID, "I LOVE YOU":	The last time i spoke to someone
IS TUPAC STILL ALIVE?:	Nope
DO YOU CRY AT WEDDINGS?:	BAH!!!! no.... should i?
HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR EGGS?:	cooked preferably... then sunny side up
ARE BLONDES DUMB?:	huh?
WHERE DOES THE OTHER SOCK END UP?:	In Sockland
WHAT TIME IS IT?:	11:20am at home... 7:50pm here
DO YOU HAVE A NICKNAME?:	Yep.... oh sorry, did you want to know what it is?
IS MCDONALD'S DISGUSTING?:	OMG YES
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WERE IN A CAR?:	um... yesterday
DO YOU PREFER BATHS OR SHOWERS?:	Showers
IS SANTA CLAUSE REAL?:	Yes. Except his name is Father Christmas
ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK?:	Nope
WHAT ARE YOU ADDICTED TO?:	Coke
CRUNCHY OR CREAMY PEANUT BUTTER?:	Creamy
HAVE YOU EVER RIDDEN IN AN AMBULANCE?:	Yep
HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU BRUSHED YOUR TEETH TODAY?:	2
IS DRUG FREE THE WAY TO BE?:	Depends what the drugs are for!
ARE YOU WEARING SOCKS?:	Yes as a matter of fact i am thanks for asking
HAVE YOU EVER HITCH HIKED?:	Nope
WHAT COLOR ARE YOUR EYES?:	Blue
WHEN'S THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?:	On Maple, 3 days ago.
DO YOU LIKE YOUR LIFE?:	Yes
WHOSE LIFE IS BETTER?:	I have NO idea.
ARE YOU PSYCHIC?:	I knew you were going to ask that.
HAVE YOU READ "CATCHER IN THE RYE"?:	Actually im about to...
DO YOU PLAY ANY INSTRUMENTS?:	very very badly
CAN YOU SKATEBOARD?:	yes.
DO YOU LIKE CAMPING?:	yes.
DO U SNORT WHEN U LAUGH?:	HA HA HA HA NO... although i have one it once or twice
DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC?:	"In a young girls heart..." now thats in my head... dammit
IS A DOG A MAN'S BEST FRIEND?:	Sure
YOU BELIEVE IN DIVORCE?:	It happens
CAN YOU DO THE MOONWALK?:	Yes
DOES YOUR MOM KNOW YOU HAVE A MYSPACE?:	HA HA HA Not that i know of.
WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?:	Bacon
DO YOU WEAR NAILPOLISH?:	Nope
DO YOU LIKE SOMEONE RIGHT NOW?:	Not right at this particular second in time, no.
WHAT'S THE MOST ANNOYING TV COMMERCIAL?:	I havent watched TV in 5 months... dont talk to me about TV
DO YOU SHOP AT AMERICAN EAGLE?:	Yes
FAVORITE BAND AT THE MOMENT?:	OOO OOO um... i cant remember their name... maybe i will remember after i post this.
Take this survey Find more surveys Bzoink - The Original Survey Site

Chilled...

So if we missed the point of my last blog, it was that im actually on a tropical island off of the coast of QLD... te he he he... ok, maybe not... i may or may not have been very very excited cos it snowed! te he he he. hmmm. FYI... i counted and it snowed 4 times today... but none of it was enough to stay snow for more than 3 seconds on the ground, so unfortunately no piccies of it. hmmm. I rode Josie this morning and she went really really well so im happy that at least some of the riding im killing myself with is paying off just a litte.

On the other hand, I rode Maple this arvo and that was 2 and a half hours of fun... wait... it think the 'fun' word in this case is actually pronounced "TORTURE"... after spending half an hour chasing her around the Hunt course, I finally caught her and brought her in and tacked her up and got out into the 'big ring'. I then discovered that Maple doesnt like to turn in circles to her left... it results in her rearing and bucking and bunny hopping and just generally trying to get whoever is on her at the time, off (in this case being me)... this afternoon, the bucking and rearing gave me one unschelduled dismount, a bruised bum form the uncschelduled dismount, one bruised face (possibly broken nose) from the rearing, and one bruised ego form the whole situation. So once after it took me another half an hour to catch her again... i jumped back on her and got very frustrated with my serious lack of riding ability. - its here that i should point out to my fellow riders that it turns out, that sitting on the horse and crying doesnt solve anythign either! - Anyways i finally calmed the horse (and myself) down and then laughed at myself for crying like a big baby and then carried on trying to make the horse turn left. The end result was one happy me and one unhappy Maple... we shall see what she has planned for me over night when i get on her tomorrow!

Hmm so that was my day... i ended up being cold and bruised but slightly satisfied with my efforts for the day. just waiting for the awesome bruises to come out underneath my eyes now... if they show themsleves i will be sure to take pictures so you can all laugh at me! Currently i just look retarded with one swollen eye... te he he... aaahhhh horses... gotta love em.

Well i hope everyone is having fun at home and are slightly warmer and slightly less bruised! xoxoxo

YAHOOooooooooo.....

It snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed it snowed. But then it stopped :(

5 Months down...

Wow... its officially been 5 months since I arrived here at White Fence Farm... Its strange to think that i have been away from home for that long! Can't wait to see what the next 5 months holds for me!

Today was quite a good day... Arno asked me to ride Toby (who i have renamed Rupert), Cajun and Josie. So this morning, i rode Cajun, who tried to buck me off, and then Josie, who subtly tried to buck me off! Then after lunch, i got to drive the big tractor around the top ring for a few hours and after that, i jumped on Rupert and hooned around the hunt course on him! and that was pretty much my day... it was fun. Also today i found out that my friend Anna will now be in New york until christmas time, (as opposed to leaving today for Argentina for two weeks and heading straight back to the UK) so that means i will get to see her and hopefully go and party in NYC a lil bit!

hmm good times. ok, well im going to head off, but i thought i would let everyone know that im still kicking on over here and having fun! hope evryone is doing the same back home. xoxo

Excitement...

So today i got up at 6:30am and stumbled my way down to the barn and did my barnly chores and then caught two polo ponies, brushed the copious amounts of mud off of them, hosed their feet off and loaded them into the trailer with Normandy (who is a school horse). Arno, the Korean guy (aka "C.S") and myself all hopped into the truck and made our way to Arno's Arena Polo(which is really indoor polo). We arrived there at approx. 9:30am and i took CS out for a lesson (on Normandy) before the polo match and then we went to watch Arno play his match at 10:30am. It is quite a fast little game i have to say... the 'field' is a small dirt indoor ring with the garage doors a each end use as goals! After Arno played his first 'chukker' (the polo equivalent to a footy quarter. kind of...) he called me over and told me to get on his horse because i was going to help out in the next chukker!... (you should all be informed that I have NO idea how to play polo!) Anyways, with that, he jumped off of horse, shortened the stirrups and began to walk toward the exit (to get his other horse) and yelled out "have fun kid" as he disappeared down the barn way. So I got to help out by picking up the balls for few chukkers, which is ALOT harder and lot more scary than it sounds, but it was SOOOOOO much fun cos i got to gallop around on the polo ponies and get to be in the action without the pressure of actually playing! lol anywhos, im now known as "arno's kid" in the (arena) polo world. As you can tell by the way i have rambled about it, i had alot of fun! te he he he. Yea, so after the games finished Arno swapped my ball 'picker-uperer' (thats what i like to call it anyways) for his polo mallet and let me 'stick and ball' for ten mins and gave me a mini polo lesson! Well anyway, i really hope that he plays more arena polo this winter (he was 'filling in' to show the beginners what its like out on the actual pro fields!) because i thoroughly enoyed it today!

In other news i have 4, maybe 5 horses leaving the farm tomorrow. Normandy, lil Porkchop, Donald, Hopscotch and possibly Iris (sniff sniffz). Also the Korean man leaves early tomorrow aswell. So that leaves me and Friday (the cat) in the barn (hence the pic)... oh, and a few horses of course. Te he he he. K, well i should really go and get some sleep... because i have to be in the barn in 9 hours.... BAH! HA! love to y'all... have fun, be safe....xoxo

Letting everyone know....

Wow, so mum just left the farm to head to the airport to begin her journey home. The last two weeks have absolutely FLOWN by! Its actaully really weird to think that i won't be seeing her for another 4 months. And i have to say that it is as equally weird to think that when i get home i won't have seen you all for 9 months... its a scary thought but an exciting one all the same. Anywhos, so im once again alone in the barn (te he he) and have many-a-thing to do... Im currently working on a pony called Hopscotch, because he is going to another kiddie farm and he has some personality problems that need sorting out. Also about to start riding Toby, who is a mustang that Mum convinced Arno to keep... so now i have to ride him pretty much everyday! I other horsey news... Lotus aka "Lolita" (my very injured lil polo pony) is doing very well and it looks as if she will make a full recovery over the next 6 months or so.... yay for that. Well I hope mum is enjoying her trip to NYC and has a safe return home... thats about it for now. Have fun. xoxo

On Tuesday mum and I caught a lift with Arno to spend the afternoon in New York City! Braving the wet and cold weather, we started out at Zabaars (famous deli in NY) and then headed to the (recommended by Arno) American Museum of Natural History... which was a lot more fun than i had anticipated i must say! Mum and I wandered around the museum for a few hours and admired the large dinosaur collection... which blew the pants off of Adelaide Museum's little dinosaur section! (te he he) Anywhos, I decided that there was only a certain amount of walking around and looking at dead things i could take, so we headed out on the streets for an (unscheduled) visit to Central park before we jumped into a cab and headed to Times Square! Mum and I spent ages wandering up and down broadway and 42nd St. and in and out of stores, taking in all of the lights and sounds that Times Square had to offer. We then had dinner in a small Italian restaurant and headed to the Hard Rock cafe for dessert... where we also had our picture taken infront of the wall of guitars! After filling ourselves up with too much food, we jumped on the bus for the three hour journey home which was also a welcome nap! well, thats about it for now me thinks... its Mum's last night tonight so we are having a party with Arno and Olga and some Korean dude that is here for the B&B... fun times. ok, have fun and stay cool. xoxo

Cold weather and Riding pics...

Another cold one last night, getting down to -2C... when i got down to the barn this morning, some of the hay was frozen... rather than just gaining a layer of frost overnight. Mum and I did quite a bit of riding today. This morning Mum rode Normandy and I rode (my new fave) Iris and took them out on the hunt course for some jumping excitement. After lunch i jumped on problem pony 'Jewel' and mum gave me a lesson in schooling her, as she tried to buck me off in protest of the rather large whip i was using! unfortunately for her, she was unable to buck me off so she had to put up with me on her back for about an hour! - fun times.

hope everyone is having fun and being cool. love y'all. xoxoxo




Me riding Jewel













Iris - on the hunt course















Mum and Normandy on the Hunt Course














Iris and I on the same jump














Iris and I warming up on the log jump














Mum warming Normandy up in the ring













The frosty.... nay, FROZEN hay this morning

One more picture... grr

well im being stubborn.. the puter had a lil spit at me before and wouldnt let me post this pic of Falcon in the paddock this morning (for unknown reasons) so im posting it in a separate lil thingy all to its self... ha ha ha ha... beat that mr computer! (guys... ive actaully lost the plot!... dont worry, i'll find it again soon)
hope everyone is safe and doing well...
xoxoxo

Pics of Ma and I...

As promised: more pics of this morning!...




Mum riding Josie (not a pic from this morning but oh well)












Mum this morning with the frosty tyres

me pointing (with enthusiasm) at the frosty tyres

Porkchop (eating his breakfast happily) before mum and I started pestering him

Mum with Porkchop

Me on Porkchop

Melting ice from the top of the water trough

Me and Falcon (one of my injured polo ponies)

Me kissing Falcon (he doesnt have a mane incase you are wondering)

Mum kissing Falcon (everyone loves Falcon! te he he)