Yet another adventure at the barn

Yesterday was an interesting day! Mum and I went over to the barn to clean the stalls because it was so incredibly hot that the people who own the barn didn't want to clean. So...yeah. We got the fun part. But that's not the exciting portion of the story.

I was working on the last stall on one side of the barn, thinking that that would be my last stall to clean and then I could go fill the water buckets. Cold, sparkling water...!

As I stuck the manure fork into the pile of shavings in a corner of the stall, a small dark dust-covered object launched itself into the air and sailed a few feet to the left. Great, I said to myself, now the stuff jumps away from me as I try to get rid of it. Wait a minute...jumping horse manure? Something's not right here.

I gave a little shriek and stepped back, then forward to get a closer look.

"What? What?" Mum asked, having heard my squeal.

"There's a toad in here!" I answered, bending down to pick it up. As I grasped it, I corrected myself, "No, no, it's a frog!"

I took it out of the barn, after spending a frustrating few moments trying to catch it, and put it in the horse trough. It swam happily, turning from a dust-covered brown speckled thing to a shiny, pretty green frog. It did look slightly dehydrated and hungry, though...poor thing. After a few minutes, I took him/her out and put him/her in a smaller food container partly filled with water. Mum came out to look at it.

"What should we do with it?" I asked, not wanting the kids, the cats, or the horses to kill the poor thing, not after it had survived so much already.

"We could take it down to the stream," she suggested, and so we did. The stream is only a few minutes down the road from the barn, so I wrapped the poor froggy, whom I decided to call Maturin, in a see-through breathable cloth normally used for washing Max, and we drove to the stream.

Maturin croaked desperately as I wrapped it up in the cloth, plainly terrified; poor Maturin! When we arrived at the stream, I carefully dropped it into the water (upside down, more's the pity -- I couldn't help it!) and it floated dazedly for a moment, drifting with the current. That was the last I saw of it. I hope poor Maturin is all right!

Why did I name the frog Maturin, you ask? Well, my first inclination was to call it Francois (sorry, can't type the cedilla in this setup), but then I decided that finding a frog in the stable would be just Stephen Maturin's kind of adventure. How he would have loved studying the frog, sketching it and watching its movements with those cool grey eyes! To tell the truth, after studying it he probably would have stuffed it into a jar of spirits and kept it preserved to look at later...but we won't go there. Another reason to call the frog Maturin is because the name works for both genders -- if a male, it can be simply Maturin or Mat, while if a female, it can be Mattie! Cute, eh?

Ah well, at least poor Maturin (the frog) is happy, I hope. And still alive. After one more day or two in that dry sawdust inside the stalls in the barn, I sincerely doubt it would have lived. Flies there may be, in plenty, but not much water unless Maturin happened to make the lucky jump of the century and land in one of the water buckets. Not likely.

Anyway, in other news, I've been having fun lately! As I said, I got to see Cinderella Man, which I am absolutely dying to see on DVD, and I've gone out to eat with my friend Lea and her friend Ali. We had Indian cuisine -- it was the first time I've eaten that, and I must say it was quite good. I did, however, feel a tiny bit like I had fallen into an Indiana Jones movie; I was bravely eating stuff that I really did not recognise. The fried spinach balls and the basmati pilaf were both good...though again I'm not sure what's in them besides spinach and rice, respectively.

Also, I went to see the hilarious The Pacifier with Lea, who's absolutely in love with Vin Diesel for some reason I can't fathom. (Then again, she probably can't completely fathom why I admire Russell Crowe so much, though she likes him too. )

And, to top it all off, the other day I got hit on by a federal agent!! LOL! It was so funny. He came to the college to interview some people about one of the guys I work with; when I mentioned I knew the bloke that this agency wanted to hire, the agent took my name and began to interview me. He stopped abruptly when I said I'd known Geoffrey for only a few weeks. This was at my first job on campus; he showed up again later at my second job (where Geoffrey works), waiting around outside my door for someone to show up. I paused in front of the vending machine outside the office, looking for a quick and unhealthy lunch (don't condemn -- I didn't have TIME for anything else!).

"That's going to be your lunch?" the forty-ish agent asked incredulously.

"Yep," I answered dryly. "No time for anything else, I'm afraid."

"What are some good places around here to eat?" he asked, and I began to name a few restaurants.

"Have you ever gone to Alligator's?" he asked me, referring to a downtown city barbecue place.

"No, can't say that I have," I answered.

He chuckled, glancing at my right hand, on which I wore an antique engagement ring (a gift from a family friend who is now deceased). "What's the matter, doesn't your husband ever take you out to eat?"

I spluttered for a moment, then recovered, laughing. "I'm not married!"

Apparently this was just the answer he wanted. Pleased, he inquired, "Oh, do you want ME to take you out to Alligator's, then?"

Don't, for the love of Heaven, ask me what I said next, because I honestly do not know. Somehow I extricated myself from the situation and went on with my work. He came back later to talk to my co-workers and I must confess that when I saw the edge of his trench coat swing into view, I fled like a scared rabbit, dashing down the corridor to hide in someone else's office. "Ahhh! He's here again!"

You must be thinking I'm a sheltered little ninny who doesn't know how to take a compliment. Well, you're right. I'm not making any apologies. Too bad for Mr. Forty-ish "I've-Travelled-the-World-So-I-Am-Irresistible" Agent Man.

Anyway!! This was a long post, eh? Kewl. I haven't written so much in a long time. It's therapy. Now if I could only transfer this energy to my fanfiction writing and my novel, life would be sweet. Have a swingin' day, y'all!

Whew...summer's here.

And that "whew" was NOT a sigh of relief and enjoyment, let me tell you. Rochester has two seasons, I'm afraid -- cool and filled with precipitation, then hotter than all get out and dry as a bone. (Are bones dry? I guess that would depend on if one is dead or alive.) These two seasons seesaw back and forth with the regularity of a moth's fluttering, especially around this time of year. We have had nice cool weather with exciting and beautiful thunderstorms for a few weeks...but now we get another dose of the scorching heat. I have been soooo thirsty today it's not even funny. In fact, I'm going to get a drink of water (with ice -- can never have water without ice. Thanks, Lyssa, for getting me hooked on ice! LOL!!) right this moment!

OK, I'm back. Ah, water. That makes me think of a movie I saw part of today...The Quick and the Dead. No, I didn't watch the whole thing! I fast-forwarded through most of it, thank you very much. I only pressed "play" when I saw Cort's (Russell's) face on the screen. My goodness, but he is purty, ain't so?

Anyway, there was this one part where Cort is chained up to the well or whatever in the middle of town (you'd have to see it to understand, and I really can't recommend the parts that don't feature Cort), and Herod (the bad guy, or one of them) has put a glass of water just out of Cort's reach. Cort's trying so hard to get it -- brushes it with his fingertip -- then knocks it over and the water goes flowing out and soaks into the dust. Cort looks at it longingly and touches his tongue to his upper lip.

Oh, oh, oh....poor Cort! I felt so bad for him! I love my water and I can't go for very long without it. An icy water bottle accompanies me everywhere I go. I can't even comprehend what he must have felt. I vow I will never drink another glass of water without thinking of that scene...

And this brings me to Russell's other movie I saw recently...yes indeed, Cinderella Man!! I finally got to see it! Lea and I went out the other night and we enjoyed it very much. Can I say that again? We enjoyed it very much!! The language was completely unnecessary, but other than that, what a fantastic movie! It should get a Best Actor/Best Picture nomination at least, but I don't know if that will happen now. We'll see. I hope it does! It should! It's such a sweet and powerful story. I'll try to write a detailed synopsis later, and I'd love to include a piccy or two. (Am I allowed to do that? Is that hotlinking? As you can tell, I'm still completely computer-illiterate.)

Got to run for now. :)

P.S. Can't I just go visit John Biebe in Mystery, Alaska for the next two or three months until the heat subsides? The temperatures there would probably be a comfortable 50 or 60 degrees....sigh...

More news

Yes, before you ask, I do know about what's going on with Mr Crowe right now. He was arraigned (or something -- I don't know any legalese) on charges of second-degree "assault."

And what was his "weapon" of choice? A telephone. Yes, that's right, folks, you read this correctly, a TELEPHONE! You know, that infamous, murderous, lethal device used to choke off the life of so many innocent unsuspecting victims...

Good grief. What a joke. So the concierge at Mercer's couldn't protect himself from the big bad flying telephone? Poor baby.

Now, I will admit that was a childish thing to do. Mr C was upset because he couldn't phone home to Oz to call Dani and Charlie, and the concierge was giving him fits -- that's the explanation. But throwing things is never a good OR an effective way of dealing with one's problems. Trust me, I know, I've done it. Yes, Russell has some growing up to do. But so do I. Don't we all!

He has the reputation of being a "bad boy." (Just for the record, I really HATE that phrase.) How did he get that reputation? Would he have had it if he was a nobody back home and didn't dwell in the public eye? I think not. He would be considered pretty normal. Big and scary and intimidating, maybe (and he can't help that), but normal. ;)

If you were to live the life of a big star and deal with everything that that entails, can you honestly say it wouldn't change you? Stress you out? Make you do crazy things?

Russell Crowe, whether you love him or hate him, is talented, and he's an "actor's actor." He acts because he loves it and he is darn good at it -- NOT because he wants fame and adulation. And when the news media and the populace at large all start treating him as if he does, he naturally gets upset.

All this to say...don't judge him (or anybody else, for that matter) by the measure of your own life and personality. At first I was tempted to do just that, much as I admire him, but then I got to thinking.

Normally I wouldn't throw a telephone at anybody no matter what they'd done. I'm not a violent person. (Actually, I'm nothing but a little mouse, but we'll leave that discussion for a later date. No, I didn't intend for that first statement to be taken literally.)

However, if I had to live the life Mr Crowe lives, Heaven forbid and the Lord protect me, I would go absolutely insane. I think in that case I could become a violent person very easily. I've had little tastes of mild fame for various reasons, and I can honestly say that I hate it.

I've been sorely tempted to bash people over the head numerous times. But I can't and I won't. For one thing I'm not brave enough, for another thing I'd have to deal with the repercussions.

Bottom line? It's ridiculous. The local TV anchor looked as if he wanted to burst out laughing while he delivered the news. Imagine -- the concierge can go home and regale his family and friends with the story of how he survived a Perilous Encounter with "Aussie bad boy" Russell Crowe, who in a moment of frustration tossed a telephone against the wall, which rebounded and hit the concierge's face. It's just amazing the concierge lived through that. Gosh, the sheer bravery of it all! I'm speechless.

This was more of a vent than a post, wasn't it? Sorry.

I will leave you with two quotes:

The first is Latin, and I don't know who said it. "Ira furor brevis est" -- anger is brief madness. (I could point out the fact that the first word of this sentence is also Russell's middle name, but somehow I don't think that would help my case any.)

The second is from country singer Brad Paisley. "When you're a celebrity, it's 'adios, reality!'"

And now I'm going to go to sleep. :)

I can't think of a title.

Why does each post on a blog need a title? Hmmm. Haven't figured that out yet.

Anyway! I'm having a very happy summer so far. Not only have I been out riding Max on the trails a lot lately, but also I've discovered how to make an avatar, have created a small (very small) website, and just got a new TOFOG CD in the mail! I won it on eBay for 99 cents! Huzzah!!

The CD is "Other Ways of Speaking," and it's great. So far the title track is my favourite -- it's beautiful. Russell's voice is of course amazing, and there's a nice background of strings -- a trio or quartet. Nice. I also like "Painted Veil," and then there's "Never Be Alone Again," which Russell sings with Chrissie Hynde. Their voices blend well together. I have no idea who she is, but I'll find out. ;)

"Cinderella Man" came out yesterday! No, I haven't seen it yet. But I really want to! I'm going to see it with Lea, a friend of mine, on the 10th. Can't WAIT!!! A new Russell Crowe movie...! *sigh*

Would you like me to talk about something else now? I'll bet you would.

Hmmm...what to talk about...

Do you remember how I played in a trio for an Easter concert? I've played in it again in another programme last Sunday, and will be playing this Sunday as well. It's been fun! I wonder if Mr Crowe has kept up with playing the fiddle at all...

Ahem! Yes, I was supposed to be talking about something else, wasn't I? Well, let's see. I was out planting little maple trees today. I dig them up in the neighbors' woods (shhh! don't tell!) and plant them in our yard. That might not sound very exciting, but I risk life and limb to do it. (Get it? Limb? Ha, ha, ha! Oh, now that's a pun that Captain Jack Aubrey would appreciate, yes indeed.)

Where was I? Oh, right, life and limb. How am I risking life and limb to replant maple trees? Two words...POISON IVY!! I have never seen so much poison ivy in one place in all my life as I have seen in the neighbors' woods. I suppose I shouldn't call it the neighbors' woods anymore, as they have been booted out by the owners of the house (they were renting). The people who own it are, alas, quite nasty people. At least, the woman is. The man and his dog have been very agreeable.

But I won't complain about the people who own the house next door. After all, why should I really care? I have two whole acres to myself and I intend to make good use of them. I will try to post a picture soon of how my cabin is coming along. Basically, all it is is trees stuck upright in the ground. Those are the main supports of the walls that will be there someday. I haven't quite figured out what the walls will be made of yet or how I will put it together. (Plan ahead? Me? Naahhh...)

As I saw on a T-shirt recently, "Fresh outta small talk!"

Got to run! More later!! :)