All three of our grand kids play organized sports. So it is next to impossible to find a weekend that they are all available to come for a visit. Which is good and bad. Bad because we don’t get to see them very often. Good because sometimes it’s hard to find stuff they all three like to do.(Brianna is 11, Gaige is 8, and Joey is 4.)
This weekend, Gaige and Joey came for a visit, so it was a real guy weekend.
Before the guy stuff started, we had to feed the kids a snack.
Joey Eating a Snicker-doodle Muffin
Shannon recently posted a photo of Snicker-doodle Muffins she’d made. Hubby decided he’d one-up her by making the same muffins and posting pictures of the boys enjoying them.
Thumbs Up on the Muffins
Of course, he’s got the advantage there since she’s now living in California.
The guy stuff began right after snack time when it was off to Pop’s workshop for some building projects.
Introduction to the Drill PressJoey Drills a HoleGaige Using the Drill Press
Pop did a very good job explaining the safety rules, equipping everyone with safety glasses, and overseeing the tool use VERY closely.
Gaige Showing Off His Boat
Hubby made the boat bases before the kids came. There’s one here for Brianna, too, in case she asks about boat-making when she comes for a visit.
Gluing the MastSeating the MastCleaning Off the Excess Glue
After the masts were in place, it was my job to make flags. A small but important role for G.
Then it was time for the next project.
The boys watched from a safe distance as Pop cut the pipes into the right lengths. I think Gaige was in charge of reading the measurements and quantities from the diagram.
The boys are way too young for saw lessons.
Joey Begins Pipe AssemblyGaige Adding a FittingReferencing the DiagramThe Finished Product
They’re finished! Wondering what it is?
It’s a Marshmallow Gun. You insert a miniature marshmallow, blow hard, and out shoots the ammunition. Joey, couldn’t say “ammunition.” It kept coming out as “Army mission,” which was very confusing for me when, just before they left, he asked me twice, “What about our Army mission?”
Shoot me! Shoot me!
The dogs were actually willing targets. They LOVE eating marshmallows. Joey does, too. I’m not sure who ate more bullets, Joey or the dogs. The boys were a bit dismayed that their ammo kept disappearing.
Joey and His Gun
It took Joey awhile to figure out how to blow hard enough to actually launch a marshmallow, but he did finally get it.
Afternoon Stroll
The boys wanted to visit the caboose, so Pop walked them down to the Greenway. I stayed home to cook dinner.
You won’t see any pictorial proof here, but I did actually do more than take pictures all weekend. I was in charge of food. (I made the best from-scratch pancakes on Sunday topped with homemade whipped cream and strawberries!) But my primary “job” was Lego building. Gaige gets bored with Lego’s. So he and Pop watched a movie or two while Joey and I built stuff.
Not that I am complaining. Quite a few of the bricks in the collection were mine as a kid. The rest were Eric’s. We have a LOT of Lego’s.
G's Project
On the way down, Joey asked Pop, “Are we going to the house with the Lego’s? Or the other house?” When Pop told him the Lego house, he said “Yes!”
Pretzel Baking
Sunday’s project for the boys was pretzel baking.
Joey rolling a pretzel.Gaige with his first pretzel.Joey was quite excited when he "got it" (the pretzel folding technique).I think the dogs were feeling neglected.
Pop made a B-shaped pretzel for the boys to take home to Brianna. Which, of course, meant Gaige and Joey then had to have their own letter pretzels.
The pre-baking pretzel bath.The finished boats.
While the pretzels baked, I had the boys pose for a picture with their boats. Notice their shirts. See how Joey’s looks sort of big and Gaige’s is so small his t-shirt is hanging out of the sleeves and at the bottom? I didn’t realize it until I met Amy halfway to get them home and she asked, “Why is Joey wearing Gaige’s shirt? Hey, wait a minute, what’s Gaige wearing?” Apparently the shirt Gaige chose used to be his.
The Guys
In case you are wondering if Hubby was as tired as he looked in the picture, the answer is YES. 🙂
That picture was taken not long before I headed out with the boys Sunday afternoon.
Now I am anxious for Brianna to come down for her girls’ weekend. I have something very special planned. Something I have been wanting to do that Hubby has no interest in whatsoever.
This has been THE weirdest year for weather. Ever.
Well, at least as long as I can remember.
Yesterday, temps climbed into the low- to mid-80s. And it’s still March.
I decided to take advantage of the weather and go for a leisurely stroll through town.
This is what I saw…
Eastern Redbud in Our Neighbor's YardChurch on S. Third StreetFlower Shop WindowInside the Flower ShopDogwood DuoOur House in the Middle of Our StreetProfusion of PinkPansies
Did you notice that I said a “leisurely” stroll? That means I left the dogs at home.So, when I got back and went to the front porch for a picture of this tree…
… the dogs, and Hubby, joined me.
Belle and MegK and Hubby
Here’s the view from our front porch.
Don’t you just love all the pink trees?
Pink!
Unfortunately, I had to go back to work. It would have been a great day for a motorcycle ride. Sigh…
Every time I walk through town and see this store window, I smile.
I can’t help it.
Peeps in Bloom
DeJaVu is a brand-name and vintage clothing consignment store for women and children at 43 Main Street in Oldtown Warrenton.
Strolling through town, looking at the various window displays, reminds me of when I was a kid and my mother, grandmother, and I would ride the bus into downtown Baltimore on the day after Thanksgiving. We would go to the shopping area on Howard Street, where the big department stores used to be, and see their holiday window displays. We shopped, too. I remember eating lunch at the restaurant inside one of the stores, Hutzler’s maybe, and thinking it was THE coolest thing.
Spring always makes me think of my grandmother. She loved flowers.
I’ve been enjoying watching all of the various colors emerge around here. The Redbuds are blooming. So are the Dogwoods.
Lots of the white-flowering trees are shedding their petals. In spots, it looks like snow.
Spring Snow
Culpeper Street
Flowering Tree
Culpeper Street, looking toward Main
As much as I love Spring, I hate the thought of Summer’s arrival. I hate the heat and humidity. I really don’t like to sweat.
I guess you have to take the bad with the good though, right?
Now that the workshop is finished, Hubby has started his first real project.
He is building cabinets for the closet in our bedroom. It’s a walk-through closet (the idea of which we hate) between the master bedroom and bathroom. The builder installed shelves that were of shoddy construction and poor design. Plus, despite having a tile floor in the bathroom and hardwood in the bedroom, there was carpet on the closet floor.
The whole closet was just dumb. So Hubby is correcting it by building cabinets. We’ll still have to walk through the closet to get to the bathroom, but it is sure going to look WAY better when he is finished.
Step one of the closet project was buying the lumber. He got it a month or so ago. Wood needs time to acclimate to its surroundings (adjust to the humidity level).
Hubby with his pile of lumber.
As you can see in that picture, he bought lots of lumber. The darker wood (from his hand down to just below his hip) on top is soft maple. He’ll be using that for the cabinet faces. The lighter lumber at the bottom is poplar. He’ll be using that for one of the closet drawers and another project.
He purchased rough, unfinished lumber. It is WAY cheaper than buying finished wood, especially when you get into hardwoods.
The lumber most of you are probably used to seeing is the finished, dimensional lumber sold at places like Lowe’s, Home Depot, Builder’s Supply, etc. The most-common size of dimensional lumber is the two-by-four.
A two-by-four, which is sold in various lengths, actually measures 1 1/2 inches tall by 3 1/2 inches wide. It is sold by and referred to as its nominal or starting size. The finishing or smoothing out of the wood takes an average of a quarter inch off of each side.
How do you take a quarter inch off? Sanding is one way. But that would take a LONG time. When you need to flatten, reduce the thickness of, and create a smooth surface on a rough piece of lumber, you use a plane (when done by hand) or planer (when powered by electricity).
While I was away on my girls’ weekend at the end of February, Hubby spent the weekend making sawdust. Literally.
Hubby running a piece of unfinished lumber through the planer.
Get this… he filled NINE, 42-gallon trash bags full of sawdust.
Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of those bags filling about a quarter of our garage.
"Ze Planer, Ze Planer!"
It takes multiple passes on each surface of the wood to get it to the right smoothness/thickness. But even just one pass makes a huge difference.
A side-by-side comparison.
You have probably figured out that the board on the left is after being run through the planer while the board on the right is the rough wood.
Like most people, I’m more used to seeing the finished stuff. When Hubby showed up with trailer full of rough lumber, my first thought was, “What’s he doing with that junky wood?”
Finished vs Unfinished
There’s the same wood from a wider angle.
Rough lumber is much thicker than the finished piece.
In that last shot, you can see how much thicker the rough wood is when compared to the finished piece. The vertical piece of wood upon which the rough lumber rests, which is 3/4″, is an example of the thickness Hubby had to take each board down to.
Scroll back up to the first shot of Hubby with his lumber pile and perhaps you can imagine how he ended up with NINE bags of sawdust.
What does one do with nine bags of premium sawdust? You could take it to the dump, or you could do the responsible thing (like Hubby) and give it away.
Another unique aspect of horse country is that sawdust is actually in huge demand. Farmers use it as horse bedding. Perhaps other large animals need it, too? Not sure. What I do know is that the lady who responded to Hubby’s ad on Craigslist for free sawdust was THRILLED. Turns out she has some young sons in 4H raising chickens, and chickens love sawdust. Sawdust isn’t cheap.
It was a win-win situation. We got our garage back and she got plenty of free sawdust. She called a couple of days later to report that her chickens, which hadn’t laid an egg for months, were now laying in the sawdust.
Next time we amass a collection of sawdust to share, she’ll bring us some fresh eggs in trade.
Step two of the closet project, which I’ll address in the near future, is demolition.
Any idea how long this entire process is going to take? Let’s just say we’ll be living in a construction zone for a while.
Our move from Maryland to Virginia in late 2011 didn’t take us far geographically. But sometimes, I have to say, it feels like we moved to a different country. I grew up in Baltimore City. I was raised in a blue collar family. I can’t imagine growing up in horse country. It’s hard enough to try and picture growing up in a small town like this, but to grow up on a horse farm like this? Truly unimaginable.
I think I’ve mentioned a time or two that Warrenton is in Virginia’s Hunt Country. But I’m not sure I have ever explained exactly what that means.
He looks a bit nervous, doesn't he?
Hunt Country isn’t where they shoot lots of deer or other wild game. It’s where they practice the sport of foxhunting. (If that is a sport.) That’s where a pack of hounds chases a fox (or other prey) across fields, through woods, over streams, etc. The hounds are followed by people on horseback. Here’s a link you can follow if you’d like to learn more about foxhunting.
It takes some pretty talented riders to keep up with a pack of hounds. To prove just how good, they have races. Most folks know these as steeplechase races.
Apparently, the term “steeplechase” was born in Ireland way back when one guy said to another, “My horse is faster than yours and I can prove it.” Steeples were the tallest, most prominent structures in the countryside, so they raced from one steeple to another. What do you do when there are no steeples? You just pick a couple of different points on the map. That’s my guess as to where “point to point” came from. The folks at Fox Hunt Virginia say…
The name “point to point”, which clearly alludes to the points of steeples, was coined in the 19th century and was initially synonymous with steeplechase. There is still considerable overlap between the two names although “point to point” is now usually reserved for races that are run across country and steeplechase usually refers to races run over prepared tracks, with fences and water-jumps which mimic the natural obstacles. Most point-to-point courses are on ordinary farm land, although some courses are placed on the inside of professional courses.
I guess they would know. If you would like to learn more, the Fox Hunt Virginia site is an interesting read. There’s another curious fact from that site, which I feel compelled to share before moving along…
Although we are talking about the sport of foxhunting, in reality the quarry pursued by a pack of foxhounds includes other animals. It’s perfectly legitimate for hounds to pursue red fox, gray fox, coyote, bobcat, and even black bear. The choice of quarry is a decision made by the hunt staff and is largely dependent on what is available in any given area. Out West coyote are plentiful while foxes are scarce.
Point to point races are a big deal around here. Really big. There are lots of very large horse farms in Fauquier and surrounding counties. Some date back to the 1700s. Many are adjoining, and quite a few have entered into agreements to preserve their land forever. Many of the largest farms have conservation easements, which allows for agricultural use of the land but prohibits development.
I’ve been itching to attend one of these events to see what it’s all about. There are races, sometimes more than one, every weekend. As luck would have it, the Warrenton Point to Point, which was VERY close to town, happened this past weekend.
How close? It was at the Airlie Center, a very large old farm on the outskirts of town that was turned into a conference center fifty years ago. In the image below, which is a bit hazy, you can see the Warrenton water tower. As always, click on the image to get a better view.
Look closely and you will see the Warrenton water tower (center of frame).
It was very exciting. To me, anyway. And I took quite a few pictures so y’all could share in the excitement.
Overlooking the tent area, paddock, and landowner park from atop the hill.
The first race was scheduled for 12:30. I got there around noon, before many of the other attendees. More and more folks poured in as the day wore on.
Tailgating is a BIG deal at these events.
The premium parking spots are atop the hill where one has the best view of the course.
This group of folks even brought their own cocktail tables, complete with tablecloths.
I didn’t want to be too obnoxious and take pictures of the various food and drink spreads, but it was impressive. Top shelf liquor, fine wines, gourmet food, you name it. And you should have seen the food in the officials’ tent!
As interesting as all of the was, the main attraction for me was the horses.
The first race.Horses jumping one of the hurdles.
I watched the first race from atop the hill. Then I went down to the horse area for a closer look.
From what I could tell, folks are free to roam around pretty much anywhere anywhere. Within reason of course. I didn’t try walking through the middle of the course or anything, but I did spend some time strolling among the area where the horse vans were parked.
Cooling off.
That gorgeous animal had just run and was about to get a cooling bath.
I watched the activity for a little while, but when I heard the call for “horses to the paddock” (where they have to gather pre-race), I made my way over there.
Getting ready for the next race.Meg of My HeartSwell Party
It was really quite interesting standing within feet of the horses and their handlers as they prepared for the race.
Twojohnsandajack, the #2 horse, was in the lead when this picture was captured.
I can’t remember whether the #2 or #3 horse won, but I do know Meg of My Heart did not finish in first place.
The third race.
I went back to the top of the hill to watch the third race. The weather was gorgeous. Mid-70s and sunny.
One of the race officials.
After that race, I headed back to the vans to get some more pictures.
Preparing for race number four.I just loved the coloring on this horse, named Go For Green.It's a dangerous sport, for the riders as well as the horses.Horse racing's equivalent of a pit crew.The fourth race.These horses seemed pretty evenly matched.See Go For Green jump a hurdle.
I left after the fourth of nine scheduled races. I’d been hoping to get a bit of riding in myself that day. (No, the short 4.5-mile ride to the event site didn’t count.)
It really was an interesting day. The point to point races are just one of many horse-related pursuits happening around here. Polo season starts mid-May. There are a variety of horse shows going on from now through November. Plus I think there are hunt clubs in the area that have scheduled hunts just for fun.
Do you think I should try to capture some more horse-related images to share here? Or have I already given you more than you cared to see?
