5 June 2009

Driving Miss Lana

Last week I had a cancelled appointment which meant I had a free day.  This fit in perfectly with Lana so we could visit nearby shops similar to ours.  Nearby for us means within 50km/30 miles.  It also meant a good chance to test drive the new VW Bug.
A local VW enthusiast heard we had a 1968 bug and volunteered to have a look at the engine. He came out and spent about 90 minutes fixing this, fiddling with that, and twisting the thingummy (aren't I technical) and the car was running so much better.
A convertible Bug is really a Summer car.  The day we drove was wet and cold, but this just added to the experience. I  tried to take some nice photos from inside the car, but even with the camera's image stabilisation, the minimalist suspension meant shaky pictures.  But I'm sure you can get the idea.  A car that has fluffy purple hearts has got to be "cool". Every time we went over more than usual bumpy roads and we bounced around, Lana just laughed.

Learning new skills

One of our locals owns a number of horses and was looking for someone to help care for them during the week.  He came in on a recent weekend asking to put an advertisement on the notice board to ask for help.  I quickly asked him how old he wanted this person to be and suggested Eric.  15 was quite OK, especially once he saw that Eric was quite a tall, physically capable lad and obviously responsible.
Lana went there with Eric on the first visit to meet the owner and have a second ear to know the tasks required.  So Eric now has a new job feeding the horses, ensuring they have enough water and occasionally meeting a vet or delivery vehicle. 
As part of the deal, the owner will also teach Eric lots of skills about horses and horsemanship.
The horses are very impressive animals, bred for racing and they are all getting used to this new lad who feeds them every day.  I popped out there earlier this week with Eric to see what he had to do and took a number of photos, including the one above. 
Eric is enjoying his new job, as well as his work with us at the shop, lawn maintenance and his homeschooling.