An Old Flame

On Sunday we were a part of a fun event at church called "Who's coming for dinner?". The idea was, people would sign up to be hosts or guests, and then the families were matched up and were surprised on the Sunday when they were told who they would be hosting/where they would be going for lunch. We signed up late for the event so we weren't sure if we'd be able to get in. We were fortunate enough to be put on as guests and were able to spend our Sunday afternoon at Ken and Ginny's farm.

It was an absolutely incredible day! Our kids had never spent the day at a farm before (at least not one with so many animals-cats, dog, horses) and they had an absolute blast. The lunch was incredible (Ginny is a world-famous cook---or at least a Zurich wide famous cook), complete with a choice of rhubarb pie, raspberry pie or worms in dirt for dessert. The kids were fascinated by the worms in dirt dessert that Ginny put so much work into.

We had such a wonderful time to get to know Ken and Ginny as well as Phil and Jenn and their kids who were also guests that day. Probably the best part of the day for all of us though, was being able to ride a couple of Ken and Ginny's horses later in the afternoon. I was blown away! I never imagined we'd be able to brush up some horses, get them tacked up and actually be able to ride that day, it was awesome!!

I had forgotten how much I adore horses! Horses were an old passion of mine back in my pre-teen and early teen days (as they are with most young girls). My parents even paid a high price for me to take riding lessons for years. We used to walk into the barn before our lesson to learn which horse we were riding that day and we'd have to go get the horse, brush him/her, pick his hooves, and get the tack all put on in preparation to ride it. Then I would ride for an hour and then have to cool the horse down, brush it again and put it back in the stall. I used to LOVE it. I took lessons with my friend Tina Menhennet and we'd spend our days between lessons making up stories of who owned which horses (we divided them all evenly between us- there must have been at least 30 horses in the stables). We would canter around in her backyard and set up a jumping course that we would complete, pretending we were riding our favourite horses.

So Sunday brought all these memories just flooding back, it was so sweet. It was fun to see Izzy on top of the horses with a big grin on her face, it sent me back in time instantly. My old flame of love for horses was re-ignited and it made me want more :) I would love to find somewhere around here that I could ride once in a while. The only problem is, everyone does Western riding here, no English. I learned English style. I actually used to jump horses, do dressage, and even did some vaulting for a while (gymnastics on a horse). One summer I went to Circle Square Ranch and rode western on some trails, abut I always preferred English.

We were so blessed on Sunday being hosted by the Steckle's. They were absolutely wonderful hosts. I know that the kids had some of the most fun there that they've had this year yet! So thanks Ken and Ginny, your kindness won't be forgotten!!

Love ya,
Mel