I’m pretty hooked on her music right now.  Steve bought her latest album back before Christmas. Since, she’s swept the Grammy’s. (Yet, no one called to ask for our vote!) There are very few female singers I can tolerate. Most female voices I find grating. One of my favorites is Sarah McLoughlin. I also really enjoy Enya. I can take Allison Krauss in small doses. But Adele’s 21 is amazing. She’s got a lower-timbered, almost throaty voice, and really good pitch. Her style falls somewhere between rhythm and blues and pop/rock. For the moment, she has replaced Spencer Day in the CD player. Just for a moment.

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Although the snow piled up to a depth of about 4 inches, the power never even flickered throughout the day and night. Our emergency preparedness paid off!

We got up Monday morning to a cold, but sunny and warming morning. We made it to the barn in the Subaru without mishap. The roads were snow-packed, but had been scraped and treated. The animals were fine. Sully’s rain sheet was stiff with ice, but underneath it, he was dry and toasty (I really can’t say enough good things about that EuroBreeze sheet that cost $35 at Schneider’s!)

It ended up working out that Steve dropped me back at the barn on his way to work, and I saddled the beast and rode around the property in the fresh fallen snow. Mom, Jenny and the kids accompanied on foot.

While the snow was beautiful, ground conditions left something to be desired since it never had a chance to freeze between the rain and snow, so beneath the snow was a hidden layer of slippery mud, and there are a couple of very steep hills on that trek. Sully slipped a few times, but since he was barefoot he kept pretty good purchase. He was very energetic, but listened well. He also seemed to understand I had a somewhat precarious seat since I was wearing my Schmidt coveralls.They’re very warm, but do not allow for any flexibility or range of motion.

We flushed out four does in the back field. I think it’s the first time Sully hasn’t been spooked by unexpected deer, and I know it’s the first time the goofball has tried to chase them as they ran away!

The only real problem came at the foot of the final climb home. I was trying to get him to follow a road (two rutted tire tracks) back up toward the house. Apparently, there was standing water lurking beneath the snow pack. When he broke through and started sinking, he panicked and jumped into the woods, slipping and sliding and scrambling for a foothold. I thought we were goners for a second. Well, he finally found some footing and got his balance back, but we were now in the woods. I couldn’t just ride him on through because the trees were too low and the trunks too close together. Then his lead got tangled a holly tree.

Fortunately for us, Mom came to the rescue. There wasn’t even enough room for me to safely dismount without the danger of sliding under him. She untangled us, and then lead him back down and safely across the water hazard. For all his carrying on a moment before, he put his head down and followed her like a big puppy dog. After all, who doesn’t trust Mom?

When we got back to the house, I decided to extend our ride a little by taking him a half mile or so down the road.

We had a good little jaunt. I used my helmet cozy, my new Mountain Horse gloves, and the fleece quarter sheet. I was so warm, and Sully stayed nice and loose without breaking a sweat.

I got back home mid-morning. I’d been warming up before jumping in the shower when we lost power. It was out for over 6 hours, which isn’t too bad, but I’d already let the water out of the tub. After a walk over to Jenny’s with Blue for a cuppa coffee, I came back home and spent the latter part of the afternoon catching melting snow off the roof in my mop bucket and pouring it into the tub.

So I wrote this entire post out longhand, like, with an actual pen and paper! (I haven’t done this in ages!) My typing is far more legible than my handwriting these days, let me tell you.

By sundown Monday, much of the snow was gone. I did get a couple of pics around the yard and barn first thing Monday morning, and I think Jenny got at least one of me and Sully. I will put them up eventually.

On second thought, I think this post qualifies for a Wordy Wednesday post. Perhaps I’ll get it typed up by then. (I did, I did, I did get it typed up by then!)

While the snow was flying on Sunday, I modified Primal Texas Chili for the crockpot and cooked a small pone of cornbread. I had a VERY happy Steve.

I baked this cheesecake on Friday, and it has been a huge hit.

BOSTON — U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials plan to investigate whether inhalable caffeine sold in lipstick-sized canisters is safe for consumers and if its manufacturer was right to brand it as a dietary supplement.

AeroShot went on the market late last month in Massachusetts and New York, and it’s also available in France. Consumers put one end of the grey-and-yellow plastic canister in their mouths and breathe in, releasing a fine powder that dissolves almost instantly.

AeroShot inventor, Harvard biomedical engineering professor David Edwards, says the product is safe and doesn’t contain taurine and other common additives used to enhance the caffeine effect in energy drinks.

AeroShot didn’t require FDA review before hitting the U.S. market because it’s sold as a dietary supplement. But New York’s U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said he met with FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg and she agreed to review the safety and legality of AeroShot.

“I am worried about how a product like this impacts kids and teens, who are particularly vulnerable to overusing a product that allows one to take hit after hit after hit, in rapid succession,” Schumer said.

He planned to announce the AeroShot review on Sunday.

Tom Hadfield, chief executive of Breathable Foods, which makes AeroShot in France, said in a statement that the company will co-operate fully with the FDA’s review to address the issues raised by Schumer and are confident it will conclude that AeroShot is a safe, effective product that complies with FDA regulations.

The company said that when used according to its label, AeroShot provides a safe amount of caffeine and B vitamins and does not contain common additives used to enhance the effect of caffeine in energy drinks.

It said each AeroShot contains B vitamins and 100 milligrams of caffeine, about the equivalent of the caffeine in a large cup of coffee, and that AeroShot is not recommended for those under 18 and is not marketed to children.

Meanwhile, an FDA official who was at the meeting confirmed the decision, telling The Associated Press that the review will include a study of the law to determine whether AeroShot qualifies as a dietary supplement. The product will also be tested to figure out whether it’s safe for consumption, the official said.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because that official was not authorized to discuss the matter.

Schumer pressed the FDA in December to review AeroShot, saying he fears that it will be used as a club drug so that young people can keep going until they drop. He cited incidents that occurred last year when students looking for a quick and cheap buzz began consuming caffeine-packed alcoholic drinks they dubbed “blackout in a can” because of their potency.

Pressure from the senator and others helped persuade the FDA to stop the marketing, distribution and sale of these beverages, including Four Loko.

“We need to make sure that AeroShot does not become the next Four Loko by facilitating dangerous levels of drinking among teenagers and college students,” Schumer said in a statement.

Breathable Foods Inc., which makes AeroShot in France, says the product is different from the potent beverages. The company says that it’s not targeting anyone under 18 and that AeroShot safely delivers caffeine into the mouth, just like coffee does.

A single unit costs $2.99. The product packaging warns people not to consume more than three AeroShots a day.

“When used in accordance with its label, AeroShot provides a safe shot of caffeine and B vitamins for ingestion,” the manufacturer says on its website. “Caffeine has been proven to offer a variety of potential benefits for health to individuals when consumed in moderation, from providing energy to enhancing attention and focus.”

AeroShot, the flagship product of Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Breathable Foods, is the product of a conversation that Edwards had with celebrity French chef Thierry Marks over lunch in the summer of 2007.

The first venture Edwards worked on with Harvard students was the breathable chocolate, called Le Whif. Now he’s preparing to promote a product called Le Whaf, which involves putting food and drinks in futuristic-looking glass bowls and turning them into low-calorie clouds of flavour.

Really? Wow. People will buy anything as long as it is packaged right.

12-16 oz ground turkey
12-16 oz ground pork
16 oz mild pork sausage
1/4 c fine breadcrumbs
1 egg
1/8 c honey mustard
1/2 c sweet spicy ketchup (my mom makes this) or sweet tomato relish or barbeque sauce
1 t salt
1 T Italian seasoning
1 T rubbed sage leaves
1/2 t garlic powder
1/4 t red pepper flakes
4-6 strips raw bacon
Additional spicy ketchup or other option
1 c shredded sharp cheese

Thaw meats. Combine meats in a large bowl and mix well. Add next eight ingredients and mix well. Place in loaf pan or desired baking dish (cooking time is reduced by larger, more shallow dish). Top with bacon strips, additional ketchup and cheese. Bake in a 375 degree oven for about an hour to an hour and a half, or until thermometer reads 180 degrees.

Drain off grease immediately. (The sausage makes it greasy.)

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In a fit of romantic spontaneity, I decided to take Sully out for an early morning hack. Early is when I’m already at the barn to feed him and Chuckles the calf; 7:30ish on most days, except weekends, when they have to wait a little longer. I wasn’t sure how Sully would feel about this unsavory change of routine. After all, it meant he would be denied a morning of hay-gorging and napping. Those activities would have to wait until — oh my gosh — mid-morning!

I did the usual chores, then brought him inside for his breakfast, something I do periodically but not always. When he saw me come out with the halter in lieu of his grain bucket, he casually turned around and walked into the far corner. I whistled and waited, every bit as casual. After a moment of deep thought and a good constitutional, he meandered back to me, stuck his head into the halter and  followed me into the barn with a heavy sigh.

I gave him his grain and his hay net so he could have a bite before our workout. He was a little surly with me, but I spoke to him sternly, in my I-mean-business voice, and he settled.

I took my time getting him ready, bringing each tack item out and allowing it to sit in his eye line for a few minutes before applying it to his person (horsedom?) I even put his polos on all four legs, just to give him time to adjust to the idea that this wasn’t going to be a normal morning. He was cooperative enough.

I longed him a little longer than usual, and to my surprise he was completely attuned to my commands. He worked out a couple of bucks, did his yielding and backing exercises on first command, and I decided we were good to go. It was only 8:30.

Now, for the things I learned.

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Spurs don’t work when evil swine are involved. I suppose this morning was our first trek past them without any company, and apparently, with no one there to impress, well… The more I dug in in an attempt to get forward movement, the faster he backed up. Somehow I finally won, but I’m not sure how. Anyway, we ended up with the evil swine behind us and both unscathed, relatively.

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I can sit a flying spook. Flying spooks happen when you’re loping up the road, imagining that you look like Godiva (only wearing clothes, but the clothes aren’t your typical grubby jeans and horse-beslobbered jacket, rather something white and spotless that flows in the wind like your long, golden locks) when all of a sudden a donkey, who’d been sleeping peacefully hidden in his roadside pasture, bolts into sight. It’s like flushing quail, only way bigger and scarier. Your graceful gallop becomes a panicked leap and spin and before you know it, your mount is booking it back the way he came with a rider (you, in this case) hanging on for dear life and hopefully not squealing like a little girl. I was still aboard, and did get him turned and past the flushed donkey fairly quickly.

I'm fairly certain my form wasn't quite this good. Image via Wikipedia

I can sit a jump. This is a big one. The only time I’ve ever fallen off Sully on the trail was when he jumped a fence rail that he could have easily stepped over but chose not to. That one resulted in Sully standing over me as I lay on my back in front of him. Today, it was a ditch. Not only a tiny ditch that I could have stepped over, but the very same ditch that we calmly walked over just two days ago. Fortunately, I felt him gathering himself in time to anchor my butt in the saddle. He jumped over that thing like it was a 7-foot fence at the World Equestrian Games. Yeehaw. I have to say, it was exhilarating after the fact.

Finally, when one comes in from riding and is stiff and cold, do not try to step over the 18 inch threshhold while holding 30 pounds worth of tack. What MIGHT happen is your toe might not quite clear that confounded piece of wood, sending you falling into the stall and scraping up the entire right side of your body in the process. I can ride 1800 pounds of fresh horse without injury, and then nearly kill myself in the barn afterwards. On second thought, this isn’t a new lesson.

We rode 4.25 miles in 75 minutes. It was a great ride. Spontaneity paid off. This time.

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Here’s an interesting little Valentine’s factoid for you:

Saint Valentine was a Catholic Priest a very long time ago (400 AD? I can’t remember off-hand) who was/is the patron saint of quite a few things, among them holding the very honorable title of Patron Saint of Plagues.

I suppose that just wouldn’t sell very much chocolate, though. Nothing to kill a candy craving like Black Death. Greeting cards, however, could possibly profit. It’s all in the marketing, don’t ya know.

I knew it.

If anyone does see the ad, would you kindly leave me a comment and let me know about it? I am very curious as to why some see it and some don’t. I’m also curious about whether other WordPress users are experiencing something similar.

Thank you for your patience.