Happy Valentine's Day from Scottsdale

This morning on the radio, NPR's Morning Edition did a segment with one of my favorite chefs, Nigella Lawson! To listen to her talk with the host about chocolate was a treat in itself.

Listening to chefs inspires me, so for breakfast, I baked blueberry/cornbread muffins and made cheesy scrambled eggs using black pepper-laced cream cheese. We bought cards for one another – Ian’ a very good card-picker-outer. He also reminded me that our first Valentine's Day together (2002) was spent amongst boxes in our rooftop apartment on Padilla in Barcelona - we had moved in days earlier. This afternoon he brought me three delicious chocolate truffles, which I shared, and a bottle of Spanish cava, which is chilling for a Valentine's dinner toast.

Here in Scottsdale it’s a day of waiting. All of the barns and vendors have finished putting their storefronts together and are ready for tomorrow’s show opening. We’ve listened to saws, hammers and staple guns for several days as things come together in the stall areas. Now all the draped fronts with farm logos are up – kind of like booths at a trade show – and we’re ready to begin. We joined in by putting up a 48-inch high, twinkling lighted horse at the front of our living quarter’s trailer.

Lady, Ian and I have walked the West World grounds watching horses being exercised. We noted how many riders multitask talking to clients or staffs back at home while either atop steeds or standing point as a horse lunges around them.

Tomorrow the vendor areas will open! There are hundreds of square feet of everything equine related that you can imagine. I rarely buy, but it is fun to shop. These tents are also dog friendly, so Lady comes along on her leash.

I trimmed Ian’s hair and beard, so like Renoir, he’s “show clipped” and ready to perform. He’s decided to wear a charcoal grey suit with a pale pink shirt and a two-tone purple tie. His class is number 50 in Wendell Arena tomorrow afternoon. The afternoon sessions begin at noon, and since his is the tenth in it could be around 2 p.m. MT. If he and Renoir place first or second in class 50, they return immediately and compete for the championship in class 51, which is composed of first and second place winners from classes 50 (Arabian Breeding /Halter 5 year & older Stallions Amateur Owner To Handle) and 49, (Arabian Breeding /Halter 3 & 4 year old Stallions Amateur Owner To Handle). The winner of class 51 will be named Scottsdale Senior Champion Stallion AOTH (amateur owner to handle).

If you’re into watching some classes live, you can do this online at Arab Horse.

Legacys Renoir will also show in class number 386 on Saturday morning, February 26. The classes begin at 8 a.m. (Arizona is in Mountain Time) in Wendell Arena and Renoir shows with Jerry Schall in the second class of the morning. We will be packed and ready to head home soon after that class runs. It’s a long way home and I am scheduled to work Tuesday morning.

E-I-E-I-O