Friday, June 15
Jun. 15th, 2024 12:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gottawonderToday I am grateful for:
Overall nice weather. We did have a burst of rain around 5 pm, but the rest of the day was nice.
I got up in good time, did my animal care chores, and met up with D at the park down the road to walk.
How NICE it is to have a person in my life besides my Sweetie to go for a simple walk with.
We walked for quite a while, and chatted about this and that, nothing too dramatic, which is nice.
Her puppy had a good time, sniffing all kinds of things and rolling in the grass. For a puppy, she is very quiet and gentle. I think this was a good choice for my friend, who hasn't had a dog before.
I got home with enough time to let everyone out into their pastures and have a snack before I went to see River.
That's when it rained.
When it was done about half an hour later, it was quite lovely again.
River was plastered in mud when I got there. He likes to roll. I didn't even try to get him clean, just wiped off the worst of it where the tack sits, and didn't worry about the rest.
It's become a bit of a source of wonder at the riding barn; his love of being dirty.
We worked on our freestyle, and he had good energy today which is nice. His breathing is often better during rainy stretches because it cleans the air and it's cooler.
I worked on what I might add to the freestyle to make it fit the length of the song right to the end, with not too much slack.
I am a bit anxious about not knowing whether we will be working in the outdoor arena on the day of the show, or in the indoor arena. It makes a LOT of difference in how the freestyle will fit the song, because in the outdoor arena, there's more space, so our circles will be bigger, but also harder to control without the arena walls.
I haven't even been able to work in the outdoor arena to practice for that possibility because of the rain.
Overall, River did well today.
I came home and my Sweetie got home around the same time, and we walked around the pasture with Roxy, and I led Wonder to give her some stimulation. It was a very nice evening after the rain, but the mosquitoes are starting to appear.
We also looked at the garden, and a few things are emerging now.
Then we came in and watched some "Justified". I'm enjoying it, and my Sweetie seems okay with it. It's not SUPER smart, but it feels very "Elmore Leonard", and it's enjoyable.
Uganda is land locked, but has substantial coastline along Lake Victoria (the largest lake in Africa). Uganda pretty much "sits" right on top of it.
"Uganda is named after the Buganda kingdom, which encompasses a large portion of the south, including Kampala, and whose language Luganda is widely spoken; the official language is English. The region was populated by various ethnic groups, before Bantu and Nilotic groups arrived around 3,000 years ago. These groups established influential kingdoms such as the Empire of Kitara. The arrival of Arab traders in the 1830s and British explorers in the late 19th century, marked the beginning of foreign influence. The British established the Protectorate of Uganda in 1894, incorporating various kingdoms and setting the stage for future political dynamics. Uganda gained independence in 1962, with Milton Obote as the first prime minister."
In a world with many awful, horrible tyrants, Uganda actually had a NOTABLY HORRENDOUS tyrant in charge from 1971 to 1979; Idi Amin. If you're interested, the film "The Last King of Scotland" was about this dictator.
The issue of Democracy and a safe and stable government has continued to elude Uganda. The supposedly have "elections, but "President Yoweri Museveni has ruled the country since 1986 and he was latest re-elected in January 2021 presidential elections.[72]". Human rights issues are tremendous here, and there are anti-gay bills that entrench the discrimination against the LGBTQ community, as well as criminalize pretty much everything to do with the LGBTQ community.
There is a great deal of pressure to change this attitude from...pretty much the rest of the world.
https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/04/04/uganda-court-upholds-anti-homosexuality-act
Uganda has two mountain ranges, one on it's Eastern border, on the Western border. The south is dominated by Lake Victoria, and the many islands off the coast. Within Uganda are several other large lakes and lots of marshland, and a lot of forest (home to many primates including gorillas). The whole country is about 900 meters above sea level.
This lush beauty brings many tourists, a strong section of the economy.
There is economic activity in the export of coffee, sesame, tea, mined metals, concrete, as well as an oil industry. Once again, there is such a thing as "jobless economic growth" that leaves a lot of people very poor.
A big chunk of the economy comes from money sent home to families from Ugandan people who live and work elsewhere.
About 36% of Uganda's people are VERY VERY POOR, and tend to live in rural areas living from subsistence farming.
"Uganda is richly endowed with abundant energy resources, which are fairly distributed throughout the country. These include hydropower, biomass, solar, geothermal, peat and fossil fuels."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uganda
https://youtu.be/bUVHrX_WmcQ?si=QaVeB43U-Ohp9FNQ
Overall nice weather. We did have a burst of rain around 5 pm, but the rest of the day was nice.
I got up in good time, did my animal care chores, and met up with D at the park down the road to walk.
How NICE it is to have a person in my life besides my Sweetie to go for a simple walk with.
We walked for quite a while, and chatted about this and that, nothing too dramatic, which is nice.
Her puppy had a good time, sniffing all kinds of things and rolling in the grass. For a puppy, she is very quiet and gentle. I think this was a good choice for my friend, who hasn't had a dog before.
I got home with enough time to let everyone out into their pastures and have a snack before I went to see River.
That's when it rained.
When it was done about half an hour later, it was quite lovely again.
River was plastered in mud when I got there. He likes to roll. I didn't even try to get him clean, just wiped off the worst of it where the tack sits, and didn't worry about the rest.
It's become a bit of a source of wonder at the riding barn; his love of being dirty.
We worked on our freestyle, and he had good energy today which is nice. His breathing is often better during rainy stretches because it cleans the air and it's cooler.
I worked on what I might add to the freestyle to make it fit the length of the song right to the end, with not too much slack.
I am a bit anxious about not knowing whether we will be working in the outdoor arena on the day of the show, or in the indoor arena. It makes a LOT of difference in how the freestyle will fit the song, because in the outdoor arena, there's more space, so our circles will be bigger, but also harder to control without the arena walls.
I haven't even been able to work in the outdoor arena to practice for that possibility because of the rain.
Overall, River did well today.
I came home and my Sweetie got home around the same time, and we walked around the pasture with Roxy, and I led Wonder to give her some stimulation. It was a very nice evening after the rain, but the mosquitoes are starting to appear.
We also looked at the garden, and a few things are emerging now.
Then we came in and watched some "Justified". I'm enjoying it, and my Sweetie seems okay with it. It's not SUPER smart, but it feels very "Elmore Leonard", and it's enjoyable.
Uganda is land locked, but has substantial coastline along Lake Victoria (the largest lake in Africa). Uganda pretty much "sits" right on top of it.
"Uganda is named after the Buganda kingdom, which encompasses a large portion of the south, including Kampala, and whose language Luganda is widely spoken; the official language is English. The region was populated by various ethnic groups, before Bantu and Nilotic groups arrived around 3,000 years ago. These groups established influential kingdoms such as the Empire of Kitara. The arrival of Arab traders in the 1830s and British explorers in the late 19th century, marked the beginning of foreign influence. The British established the Protectorate of Uganda in 1894, incorporating various kingdoms and setting the stage for future political dynamics. Uganda gained independence in 1962, with Milton Obote as the first prime minister."
In a world with many awful, horrible tyrants, Uganda actually had a NOTABLY HORRENDOUS tyrant in charge from 1971 to 1979; Idi Amin. If you're interested, the film "The Last King of Scotland" was about this dictator.
The issue of Democracy and a safe and stable government has continued to elude Uganda. The supposedly have "elections, but "President Yoweri Museveni has ruled the country since 1986 and he was latest re-elected in January 2021 presidential elections.[72]". Human rights issues are tremendous here, and there are anti-gay bills that entrench the discrimination against the LGBTQ community, as well as criminalize pretty much everything to do with the LGBTQ community.
There is a great deal of pressure to change this attitude from...pretty much the rest of the world.
https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/04/04/uganda-court-upholds-anti-homosexuality-act
Uganda has two mountain ranges, one on it's Eastern border, on the Western border. The south is dominated by Lake Victoria, and the many islands off the coast. Within Uganda are several other large lakes and lots of marshland, and a lot of forest (home to many primates including gorillas). The whole country is about 900 meters above sea level.
This lush beauty brings many tourists, a strong section of the economy.
There is economic activity in the export of coffee, sesame, tea, mined metals, concrete, as well as an oil industry. Once again, there is such a thing as "jobless economic growth" that leaves a lot of people very poor.
A big chunk of the economy comes from money sent home to families from Ugandan people who live and work elsewhere.
About 36% of Uganda's people are VERY VERY POOR, and tend to live in rural areas living from subsistence farming.
"Uganda is richly endowed with abundant energy resources, which are fairly distributed throughout the country. These include hydropower, biomass, solar, geothermal, peat and fossil fuels."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uganda
https://youtu.be/bUVHrX_WmcQ?si=QaVeB43U-Ohp9FNQ
no subject
Date: 2024-06-16 03:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-06-16 06:50 am (UTC)I had a group of friends like that in my 20's, then we moved to Wyoming. Then it took me a few years in Wyoming to get a small group of friends like that, then we moved AGAIN, and here I just haven't made those kinds of connections.
As a woman, I think it's good for me to have a "woman" friend or two.
no subject
Date: 2024-06-21 04:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-06-21 09:30 am (UTC)Those are important relationships, but they're a little different. You're friends TOGETHER, but having a personal friend where you do things just the two of you, is another kind of friendship.
I know that this woman is experiencing a great deal of change in her life, as her husband of many years died recently. I know what my Mom said about becoming a widow, is that you are now a single woman among all of the couples you used to be around with your husband, and all of a sudden those relationships change.
Granted, she is old enough that there are likely other women her age that are in the same situation, but in general I know that she's looking to find friends and stay socially active.
I like having some outings with a woman friend where it's just us. I appreciate that especially for when my husband works away from home.
My husband has guy friends, and they do some things as "just guys", and I know that it's good for him too.
no subject
Date: 2024-06-21 11:58 pm (UTC)