Independent We Stand

A vital part of our economy is made up of small, locally owned independent businesses. They help keep money in local neighborhoods. They provide jobs in local neighborhoods. The money you spend at a small local business doesn’t go to an overpaid and underworked corporate CEO. It goes to help a family pay their bills and pay the salaries of their employees – who will then have money to spend to help the local economy.

Out of every dollar spent at a locally owned business, sixty-eight cents remains in the local community.  Out of every dollar spent at a national chain store, only forty-three cents remains in the local community.

I try to buy as many things as I can at locally owned businesses. When I want refills for my favorite shampoo, conditioner or hand lotion, I buy it at Schatzlein’s Saddle Shop. It’s a family-owned business that’s been in Minneapolis since 1907. I’ve been there often enough that Jan Schatzlein’s Australian Shepherd will roll over and ask me for a belly rub when she sees me. The refills would cost less at Cub Foods, but I buy them at Schatzlein’s.

When I want to buy the newest issue of the new English translation of the Japanese Sailor Moon comic book, I’ll check Barnes & Noble online to see when it’s due to be released. Then I’ll go to the Source Comic and Games in Roseville to buy it. They would cost less at Barnes & Noble online, but I buy them at the Source. I count the owners among my friends and I know several of their employees.

When I need loose green tea leaves or coconut milk, I buy them at United Noodles in South Minneapolis.

When I’m ready to buy better art supplies, I’ll buy them at Wet Paint in St. Paul. They may cost less at JoAnn, but I’ll buy them at Wet Paint.

If I want to buy pa’u skirts (they’re skirts used for hula Hawai’i, but in Minnesota they’re just pretty skirts), I’ll order them from the Hula Supply Center in Honolulu. Granted, it doesn’t help the Minnesota economy, but because it’s an independently owned store, more of the revenue will stay in the local community there.

Granted, not everything I want or need can be found at small, locally owned independent businesses. But for everything that can – even if it’s more expensive – I will buy at small, locally owned independent businesses.

Shopping small and local is good business for local economies.

Farmers And Ranchers Feed Us All

Did you eat today? Unless you raise all your own food, thank farmers and ranchers!  (If you are a farmer or rancher, here’s a huge “Thank you!!” to you.) Those are the men and women who grow the food we eat, who raise the cattle and other animals that give us milk and meat, the poultry that give us eggs and meat. About the only thing they don’t raise is fish. (I’ll admit I’ve heard of fish farms, but I won’t be talking about those here.) Even if you’re a vegetarian, it’s still farmers who grow the crops you eat.

Where ever you buy your food – a grocery store, a co-op, a farmers’ market or someplace like Target or Wal-Mart, a farmer or rancher had a hand in it. They work all day, every day to keep the rest of us fed. It doesn’t matter what the weather is like. They are among the hardest working people you will ever know. Some farms and ranches stay in the family for generations.

The Petersons run a family farm in Kansas. The three sons have a created a number of farming videos, including parodies of popular songs. Here’s a link to the Peterson Farm Bros Youtube videos:

http://www.youtube.com/user/ThePetersonFarmBros They’re proud of being farmers and feeding us.

Up until just before my second birthday, I was a North Dakota farmer’s daughter. One of my cousins (technically, she’s my dad’s cousin, but she’s the same age as one of my older brothers) moved from being a farmer’s daughter to being a farmer’s wife. Having lived in the city most of my life, I’m not sure I could go back to farm life, but I am grateful for those who do live that life. Farming is everybody’s bread and butter.

Farmers and ranchers have to deal with difficult circumstances on a regular basis. A drought can cause ranchers to be unable to feed their herds, farmers to be unable to provide water for their crops. A cold snap in citrus fruit growing states can cause the loss of crops. Weather extremes cause major problems – even disasters - for the people who grow food or raise livestock. Every farm or ranch that fails affects more than just the rancher or farmer. It affects all of us. Fewer ranches and farms = less food being produced. Less food being produced = not enough food to go around.

Farmers and ranchers work no matter what the weather is like. Whether it’s a -50 wind chill, a blizzard, 100 degrees in the shade, farmers and ranchers know they have work to do. They go out and do it, no matter what. The post office says nothing will keep their couriers from their appointed rounds, but that’s even more true for farmers and ranchers. Weather that may keep postal workers from delivering the mail doesn’t keep farmers and ranchers from their work. There are no snow days for farmers and ranchers.

Next time you enjoy a meal – whether you made it yourself or you’re enjoying someone else’s cooking – remember - and be grateful for and to - the farmers and ranchers who raised the food you’re eating.

Fairy Godmother? I Don't Need No Stinkin' Fairy Godmother!

I used to want a Fairy Godmother. I thought it would be great to have someone who would wave her magic wand and make my dreams come true. But  Fairy Godmothers only exist in fairy tales, not in real life.

My parents raised us with a strong work ethic. We were expected to help with chores and we all took turns washing dishes. Our mom even had a schedule posted in the kitchen showing who was supposed to wash dishes which day. The only days we could be sure we didn't need to wash dishes were our birthdays. We were brought up that if you had a job, not liking it wasn't an acceptable reason to quit.

As I think about it, there's no sense of accomplishment in having someone else solve all my problems for me. (I'm talking here about human help, not receiving help from God.) Sure, it would be convenient if I suddenly woke up one morning and had a million dollars in my bank account. But having it come seemingly out of nowhere wouldn't be the same as if I'd worked to have that much money in my account. Not that I'll ever have a million dollars in the bank - I'm just using an extreme example.

In one of my favorite versions of a Cinderella story - Ever After - Danielle received help from Leonardo Da Vinci, but there was no Fairy Godmother. She met Prince Henry all on her own and they fell in love naturally. Da Vinci only stepped in to help when Danielle's stepmother prevented her from attending the ball. When she was sold to an odious older man near the end of the movie, she rescued herself from his clutches before Henry could get there. Danielle and Henry found their happy ending without any help from a Fairy Godmother.

I won't turn away from help other people want to give me. For all I know, God may have laid me on their hearts. I'm not too proud to accept help when I need it, just as I enjoy being able to help others when they need it.

I may have wanted a Fairy Godmother when I was younger, but I don't want or need one anymore. I can stand on my own two feet, thank you very much.

Note: Contrary to popular belief, the actual movie quote that inspired the title of today's entry is not "Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges." Actually it's "Badges? We don't need to show you no stinkin' badges."

Willing To Take Chances

Life is not a spectator sport. In everything I do - whether it's giving a speech at my Toastmasters club, preparing to send a story or novel off to an editor, starting a new job - I need to be ready to take chances. I can't be content to play it safe anymore.

I've spent most of my life making the safe, sensible choices. But making the safe choice all the time doesn't leave much room for growth. There are times for making safe choices, but there are also times for making riskier choices.

Since I have no dependents, it's easier for me to make riskier choices. If the choices are wrong, no one will be affected but me.Until relatively recently, I avoided taking chances. I wanted my life to be safe and ordered. It might not have been an exciting life, but it was safe.

When I went on a trail ride in Fort Worth last April, I didn't want the horse to go faster than a walk. Although when the wrangler got too far ahead of me, I needed to ask the horse to go into a jog so I could catch up. Next trail ride, I'll ask for the jog. If I'm really brave, I'll ask for the lope. I'm not quite ready for the gallop yet. But I will be. I need to increase the riskiness of my choices step by step.

I took a chance with taking most of my collectible Barbie and Disney Princess dolls to be sold on eBay. The chance paid off and everything sold. When I go to pick up the check, I'll take another chance by taking the rest of my collectible dolls and my NRFB (Never Removed From Box) Breyer model horses, as well as a few other items. It will be less of a chance this time, since the chance paid off last time.

I'll be taking a few chances in education as well. I've started bookmarking websites about online equine courses. Most of them allow students to work at their own pace. On one of them the first class is free. I can only go so far with online studies, though - I'll eventually need to interact with horses up close and personal. I'm planning to get a driver's license and then I'll be able to rent a car to do the coursework that needs to be with real horses and not just online.

Maybe it's easier to take chances now, as the older I get, the less I have to lose. Since I'm tired of sitting on the sidelines, it's time to start making riskier choices!

On Art

I've been learning a few things over the last few days when it comes to art.

I've started photocopying horse photos I want to practice drawing onto graph paper, making squares bigger than the ones on the graph paper, creating a graph on paper and then drawing the contents of each square from the photo onto the graph on paper. Sometimes this worked, sometimes it didn't. On some drawings, it seemed like there was too much detail to put into one square on my sketch paper. It finally hit me what I had been doing wrong. I made the squares four by four squares on the graph paper. By making the squares two by two, it's become easier to sketch the contents of the square. When the contents are easier to sketch, my drawings start to look more like the reference photos.

I use a mechanical pencil for the graph, then use an old-fashioned wooden #2 pencil for the drawing itself. I use an old-fashioned pink pearl eraser to remove the graph. While it doesn't damage the paper, it's hard to remove only the graph lines using that eraser. What I need to be more precise in erasing lines is a kneaded eraser. It's a much more precise eraser and can also be used for creating highlights. I've done some checking, and they aren't expensive. It's just a matter of getting to a store that carries them. I'll check Target on the off chance they might carry them. If not, I'll check an office supply store in downtown Minneapolis. If that doesn't work, there is an art supply store just outside of downtown Minneapolis that I'm sure will carry them. I checked the website of my favorite art supply store and they aren't listed. Of course, just because they're not on the website doesn't mean they don't stock them in the store.

Since I use wooden pencils - and when I move to color, I plan to use color wooden pencils - I need a better pencil sharpener. Right now I'm using small hand-held pencil sharpeners, which don't do the job I need them to do. I don't like electric pencil sharpeners. What I want is one of those old-fashioned manual pencil sharpeners like what we had in elementary school. I've never seen them at Target, at least not at the Target where I usually shop. Office supply stores do carry them, so it's a matter of deciding which office supply store to use - the one that's closest or the one that has the best price. I'm leaning toward best price. I'll call the one with the best price to be sure they have them in stock before making a trip out there and have it turn out to be a waste of time and bus fare.

For now I'm using inexpensive paper. While I'm still learning, there's no need for using high quality paper. Once my art hits a higher level, I'll buy the more expensive, high quality paper that's meant for drawing. I can't sell art that's not on high quality paper, whether it's selling it via my website (once I have a website, which I do not have at this time) or submitting it to Leanin' Tree or some other greeting card company.

Yes, I have a long way to go before my art is ready for public consumption. But when it is ready, I'll have the right tools in place to create the best art I can possibly can.

Beyond Success In The Saddle

The Success in the Saddle workout DVDs are meant to strengthen the muscles used in horseback riding. The stretches in Horseback Riding for Dummies are meant to stretch the muscles before riding. Horseback riding itself is a great form of exercise.

Is there more needed? Isn't everything listed above enough? If I thought that, I'd hardly be writing an entry titled Beyond Success In The Saddle.

Types of exercise recommended for equestrians include aerobic, weights, pilates and yoga. Yoga is one I will never try. Since yoga has its roots in the Hindu religion, as a cowgirl of faith, I don't want to open myself to that influence, even if it is unintentional. One of the easiest aerobic exercises I do is climbing stairs. My apartment has direct access to the basement, so almost every morning I go and down the stairs for 15-20 minutes. I follow the stair climbing with strength training. I have some aerobic workout DVDs that combine fitness moves with hula moves. I need to be a little more motivated to use those, but I do have fun using them.  Live Strong has some information about exercises for equestrians. Here's a link to the results that came up when I entered "horseback riders" in the search field: http://www.livestrong.com/search/?mode=standard&search=horseback+riders

I've found I feel better when I work out. I actually enjoy working out and am disappointed when I miss my morning stair climbing. When I'm finally able to ride on a regular basis, I'll be fit and ready for it - even if it doesn't happen until I'm in my sixties or seventies.

Not Taking The Easy Road

Looking ahead at the two horse related options I have other than being more than a cowgirl at heart - writing and drawing - both are labor intensive. Neither one, even if I'm successful, will have a quick payout. Both require putting my work out to be judged as to whether or not it meets the necessary standards.

If I had to choose only one of the two, which one should I choose - and why?

Writing has the advantage of being something with which I have experience. I've had two editors who have paid me for writing. One was the editor of a children's Sunday School take home paper. That editor bought a short story. The other was the editor of a high school take home paper. That editor bought three of my personal experience articles.

My art hasn't been quite as successful. I used to customize fashion dolls. I've sold two of them. When it comes to drawing, I can count on one hand what I've sold - and have five fingers left over.

Writing would seem to be the best choice, since I've actually earned some money from writing in the past. It would be exciting to go on book tours to promote my children's novels. I could have tables at horse shows to sell my books and talk with the kids about their horses - maybe even pick up some more ideas for novels.

Yet, whenever I look at the work of Tim Cox (http://www.timcox.com/) or the art covers on Western Horseman magazine or the art information in every issue of Cowboys & Indians magazine, I find myself drawn into the world of drawing horses. I think how fun it would be to walk into Schatzlein's Saddle Shop and see greeting cards with my artwork on them. As with the novels, I could have tables at horse shows to sell my art. I could do sketches from photos right at the shows.

I do want to do both. The art will be harder than the writing, since my art needs more work. Lots more work. I will do both. Because it's the more challenging of the two, the art will be where I put in the most time. I'll continue to do both on a daily basis, but for now I'll spend more time drawing than writing.

Who knows? Maybe someday my children's novels and my art will make me a sought-after guest at horse shows. Anything can happen!