Sure, influenza isn't great and it is greatly affecting the week, but the news from today isn't all dire. First, Gommie and Pop had their flu shots (and the doc thinks Bud's strain was probably covered in the vaccine) and also probably have some natural immunities because of their ages (the ped said that people born before 1950 even have some swine flu resistance!). I had my flu shot, too. Not sure about Mama, though I'm afraid she didn't. Sis didn't and so we will be watching her for up to 72 hours after Bud is fever-free, which is awhile yet. So, yeah, we cancelled our overnight trip and other things, but we got some Legos and an art kit to distract us all.
But before all that, we were doing pretty well. Bud woke up happy and low fever, after 12 hours asleep. He and Sis played SW figures, Legos, and Squinkies, specifically building Lego houses for the little critters.
Then Sis and I made delicious sourdough biscuits (coincidentally, on the day that KAF posted their new sourdough post.) She mixed, rolled out dough, and cut biscuits, which she likes best warm with honey.
Midday, while Pop played with a seemingly improving Bud (at the pool--hope the chlorine is strong! And I think at the beach. Then for ice cream. He seemed better earlier today. And was definitely better today than yesterday), Gommie drove Sis and I to our Daisy horseback riding field trip. Horseback riding is a common, casual hobby up here, like soccer and ballet are elsewhere. There are lots of stables in the state and many people ride occasionally or even more regularly; girls down the street took lessons for a few years. (It's not rodeo but equestrian-type events and riding, I think.) In fact, my co-leaders had both taken lessons and ridden competitively for this very stable 25-ish years ago! People always think I know horses--that Texas stereotype (and I do have cousins who are experienced horsewomen who have been in rodeos)--but it's just not true. I sat on my cousin Wendy's horse (without a saddle, with a few others, with me on the very back, as I recall) for a minute or so one Family Christmas and immediately begged to get down. That's been it. No Black Beauty/horse-crazy phase for me.
At first, I thought Sis was similarly hesitant when she refused to help groom the horses beforehand. But she got right up on a tall bay (that's dark brown for us non-horse people) named "Cow" (or something like that), helmet firmly in place, and rode him around the ring a dozen or so times, holding the reins in her left hand, kicking him to speed up, shouting "ho" and pulling to stop, pulling left or right to turn, and even trotting quickly. Of course, there was a stable hand nearby the whole time, one for each mounted girl (a few at a time), but a few times she was ostensibly all on her own. Except these retired racehorses were so docile and used to lessons that they pretty much went where they were supposed to go. I think she's caught the horse fever now and was begging to have her birthday party at the stables, to take lessons, to ride again soon.
It was definitely a high point of the day, especially in contrast to the low points. That, and pizza for dinner!
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