Under Pressure

I try not to listen to talk radio, but it can be addictive. So, I was listening to an interview with a federal politician the other day, (it could have easily been any politician I guess), and he made a comment that still makes me shake my head in bewilderment. "Canadians have higher expectations from their elected representatives than other countries". I think Canadians (and I could be wrong) want only three things from their elected representatives. Honesty, Integrity, and Common Sense. Apparently, three elusive characteristics. I really should stick to blasting the tunes from the Ipod while at work.

Straw Bale House Update:My camera is broken. No pictures to show, so will have to catch up on those another time.... I've been thinking though... of buying a digital SLR as a replacement. The House is nearly ready for interior wall finishing. We've been working on the balance of the plumbing rough-in. Pressure testing has been done with air and water... and with only a few small hick-ups I think we're almost ready to cover. The house has been left for the weekend under 40 lbs of water pressure.... we'll see Monday how she did.

Floored!

Straw Bale House Update: The concrete staining is complete. I'm pleased with the results so far. The final look won't be known until the acrylic finish has been applied. That will be done after the walls have been plastered.

Stain being applied with a garden sprayer.

Some of the results.... starting to look like stone.

A small amount of clearing is being done to let in some additional light and allow some space for a future paddock (if required)

The sills, window trims and returns are done. Everyone loves the deep window returns in straw bale houses.

Holidays have to come to an end at some point. We ended ours with a short foray into the Okanagan. We've come close on several occasions to choosing a horse (or two) to join our family. Mostly we've looked at and test driven Paints and Quarter horses. As we knew nothing of how to choose a horse.... we've taken a lot of time to educate ourselves. The trip to the interior satisfied our curiosity about the Peruvian Paso breed. Now lets be clear... I've never ridden. This may be a good thing as I have no fear of horses. The Peruvian is on the small side for a horse and has an attitude that goes with being short.... short horse syndrome, if you will. This spirit, is referred to as "BRIO" in the Peruvian horsey lingo. We looked at about 10 Peruvians during our time off (one day at each ranch). All the horses had one thing in common...sweet gentleness and very friendly. At one point we were in a field with several stallions, (which I'm told can be rather foolish), but they were a friendly bunch. The actual pasture we were in, can be seen on this youtube video.
Again, I stress, I've been on a horse very few times and do not know how to ride. I can only make the comparison between driving a car.... most horses are standard transmission with no extra options, A Peruvian horse is an automatic fully loaded. With a five minute lesson, I was riding the smoothest horse in the world. Check out the Peruvian gait on this video. The Peruvian horse owners that we met were just as great as the horses. All the Peruvian breeders know each other and often recommended each other. We've been invited back for trail rides and lessons before deciding on a horse. We'll be taking them up on that offer.
Thanks to:

Leslie at Silver Cloud Peruvians

Rick at Paradise Ranch

Judie and Ivan at North Okanagan Peruvians

Rob at Janice at Del Oeste Peruvians

Rick on Acuario... a champion stallion we got to ride.