All Things Curly

... and a sammie.

Yes, I know those are not really related, but it's been an enlightening and tasty day.

First, the curly part.                                                       

Marwari horse from India. Note the recurve style ears.

It all started with this very detailed and funny story about a bowyer.  Not only does the subject himself have an interesting job (there are people who get paid to do this?!) I have been lately lamenting my lack of time to do the things I love most and trying to sort out what I would do if I actually had the guts to change careers. My ability to create anything other than email has been pretty much at a standstill.  Anyhoo, this led to another article by the above mentioned author, Nils Visser, which got into the whole historical English longbow vs eastern style (recurve!) discussion here. If you are a history/ archery buff, you will enjoy his writing tremendously. Note, the curliness continues.

This just has me written ALL over it. 
Does a girl celebrate her mid-life crisis with one
of these beauties instead of a cabana boy?
Just need to train the pony to haul ass at a slower pace now.

 
This led to the Saluki Bow Co. Handmade, handpainted, unbelievably gorgeous creations with equally inspired quivers (my heart be still!) made by Lukas Novotny. Not only does he make custom horse, longbow, and horn bows, he flies all over the world competing in horseback archery. I missed the brochure back in high school for this one, I'm telling you.

And now to the sammie portion of our story. My friend Alli recently returned from Germany with a recipe for almost heaven.  Good crusty bread, ham, brie and sliced pear. I made ours with crusty bread out of the oven, ham and soft buttery brie and local pears along with a NYS reisling. You're welcome.

Note the absence of aforementioned sammie photo. All crumbs left.

Keeping the round side down

That time right before hunting season is always fun. The shops are full of kids getting their first bow (so exciting!), the ranges are full of people sighting in and tweaking their set ups. You run into people you haven't seen all summer. Everyone's been off racing their cars or weeding gardens or getting married. All good stuff. :)

Watching the rain bounce on the water.

Still loving our kayaks. Took them out in the rain yesterday because we both had the itch to get out there. It poured and was about 60 degrees. Hello rain gear! I was taking pictures with my phone in the rain. No, I didn't drop it, but was, kinda sorta hoping the rain might, ya know, kill it so I can replace it with one that works.

Kayaking in the rain is really cool. It's almost as fun as shooting in the rain. You aren't hot and sweaty, there is a breeze and there are fewer boats out there. Well, I guess there shouldn't be boats where you are shooting anyway. Eskimo rolls are next, but maybe in a pool to start, eh? Oh, and sort of in that vein (loosely) try this yummy "Quick, Turn Me Right Side Up" cake from my friend Steph this week.

Shooting more this week. Put my heavier limbs on just to see how they felt. Haven't used them since March and I felt pretty wimpy. I can't believe I was putting 100+ arrows a day through that bow last summer. Sooo, back on the SPT program to get back up there. Paddling is good for core and upper body, plus somehow my legs are tired by the time we get back, so that's definitely a plus.

More non-archery nonsense.

Have a great week guys!
A

Back in the Saddle Again

The word of the day is "Cleeker."
Inessa shoots from the hip.

We had a redneck party a few weeks ago with assorted bows, air guns and fun targets so people could try them. Fun was had. The best part may have been the slushy machine, though. :)

I love the warm weather and everything that comes with summer, but seriously I am ready for jeans and sweatshirts and wearing socks again. Ok, maybe not that last one. But loving the cool nights with the windows open and no humidity. Oh, and applesauce. We live next to a huge orchard and the drops make great cinnamon applesauce.

Went back to stretchy band and mirror work this week with some serious tuneup help from Doug on tap for the next few weeks. Need me some muscle asap. Starting to think about some serious fall practice at this point, new gear, new goals.

Archery is back in season.
Aerosmith's Back in the Saddle Again

Stringwalkers in France

What does rugged terrain, uphill targets, and pumping Euro-tech music have in common?  The World Archery Field Championships.

Yup, this stuff looks challenging.