Fun Friday.

We've had a day of sunshine and showers or rather not showers but major cloudbursts.

I got to the stables this morning and found that for a change I was to ride Cody an intermediate level dressage horse. That made me try very hard to sit up tall, something that's not so easy with my shrinking spine. Later in the afternoon I had some nasty twinges, not in my lower back but higher up. I must do more exercises to strengthen those muscles as well as remembering to straighten up. It's galling to think that at 5ft 7ins I'm shorter than I was at 10 years old. No wonder I slouched as a teenager.

Back to this morning's lesson - there were eight of us in class which included May the new horse that we have to give plenty of space to until she gets used to all the other horses. (She also tries to bite her reflection as she goes past the mirrors.) It was the boss teaching us today and we worked on leg yielding and turn on the forehand. Cody knows what to do so long as you give him the right aids and I didn't seem to be getting too many corrections which must be good.

 

My first stop after the stables was Hahav to donate a few things. There I found something I've been looking for for some time, a new high stool to use at the computer. The old one has its seat scratched to bits by Speedy and the bar to put your feet on is coming away. I was happy to find this one for £12. There were two stools but the seat was badly damaged on the other one.

Town was very busy. What is known as Factory Friday in Devon is called Fun Friday here. People finish work early and go into town for a drink with their friends and colleagues before the Christmas holiday. Sometimes there's a Wild Wednesday as well if Christmas Day is later in the week.

I had my detailed shopping lists and got everything including packs of the cheap vegetables. 5p carrots and parsnips at Morrisons, 15p potatoes at Tesco's (I was looking for and found cooked chestnuts in Tesco's) and 5p shallots at Lidl. You could only buy three packs of the shallots which is a shame as they can be chopped and frozen uncooked for future use. 

After a rest at home I decorated two Bara Briths with marzipan apples and made some Christmas bark. I'm feeling super efficient at the moment.