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Here's early June photo and video of my darling Violet. I'm writing this entry on Monday, October 24th, after a weekend with family in Ann Arbor. It's a sad time for my family. My Uncle Carlo has a blockage and hasn't been able to eat for a week and the doctors don't feel that they'll be able to help him clear the blockage. They can't start him on medicine for his cancer and he can't eat, so they are preparing our family for hospice time. As these events unfold, my strength does happen to be Violet. She's a generous, loving, goofy creature who is trying very hard to be a good girl and please me when we ride. We've been jumping higher and more complicated courses, and she's happy to oblige. She's been working hard at giving her face and being a lighter better balanced dressage horse. And she's wonderful to socialize with. So, for example, yesterday, before I drove up to the Hospital to spend a Sunday with family, I stopped off to visit Violet and give her some treats and fit her new raincoat. She had apple snaps, peppermints, biscuits, and carrots, and she seemed to genuinely like relaxing while she got her new coat fitted. She's so charming. I just love her. It was a wonderful way to spend a morning before I visited my Uncle. And it put me in a better frame of mind. And so, many wonderful things happened during my visit with Uncle Carlo, but one of them was mom and Aunt Mary Jane helping me roll skeins of yarn into balls to ready myself for knitting Danielle's afghan.