The Tweed Suit

It would seem that I get the jump on things rather late. I've been wanting a tweed suit such as the one in the photo by Ralph Lauren for sometime. However, I can't seem to find one in my area. Last year I visited the local bespoke and asked about tweeds, which they had none.


Today I visited Walker Brothers, who have expanded beyond belief, and asked again about tweeds and there is hope. My contact is getting in touch with one of their vendors, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'm not like others in the blog world who are big on MTM, but in the case I'm willing to make the sacrifice.

Photo's courtesy of Shop Housing Works.

My Father's Day Gift / A Discovery Flight?

OK, if you've never done this, you have to try it at least once.

For father's day my wife got me the coolest gift. She got me a Discovery flight at the local flight school.

I had been telling her that I wanted to learn to fly helicopters for sometime. I'm almost middle aged, and I guess I'm going through my crises. Some men look for that younger woman, some a Porsche, me I want to buy aircraft go figure.


Before you can fly, you have to take a tutorial on the basic components of the aircraft. They had a sports plane that you can take up, but that wasn't really my speed. After taking the tutorial, it was off to the aircraft. Mine was a Cessna 172SP.

Here, my instructor and I are going over a few more basics before we kick the props. He is showing me the where the breaks are, no really that wasn't a joke, he is showing me where the breaks are. The funny thing is, when just looking at a photo of the gages, and wheel of an aircraft one would think that it would be like driving a car, boy was I wrong. While on the ground, you move the aircraft with your feet. And I have to tell you, it was a task to keep it on that little line on the runway.

Me, talking to the tower. I'm letting them know that I am new at this, and they need to be patient. No, I was doing my preflight check with the tower. When doing this, you are checking the traffic on the tarmac, and the air, and you are also checking the Echo, or weather. Why they call it Echo, I do not know. I was new, so all other flight were able to go before me, I wonder why.

OK, now I'm ready, or was I. Yes there is a smile on my face, but I'm asking myself, "what in the hell are you doing here?"

I'm now ready to taxi to the runway. Here, and you can't see it, but I am all over the place on the runway. My wife said that she didn't notice the plain swaying back and forth on the runway, but she wasn't in the cockpit either. You also can't see the yellow and black line either, but you want to keep the nose of the plane in the middle of the line. This is done so that you don't run into any of the lights or other planes that may be on the runway. Yeah, I failed that one. I didn't hit anything, but I didn't keep her steady either.

Yes, I actually made it back, and walked away from it alive. My instructor said that I did a great job. Well of course he did, I'm paying him.

OK, things we couldn't get pictures of.. We made it to the runway, and were ready for take off. The tower gave us the go ahead, so we rived up the engine, and off we went. Now remember you steer with your feet while on the ground. I no longer have to keep her straight, she's on her way. The instructor tells me to start pulling back on the wheeling. I pull, and I start to see the ground getting smaller, and smaller. The long gray runway soon looks like a abstract painting as we pick up more and more speed. And with in seconds we are off the ground completely.

My feet are still on the controls, and my wife tells me that it looked as though the plane was a teador toter. Reason being, is because I was concentrating so much on keep it straight on the ground, that I didn't remember my training and forgot that once in the air, you take over with the wheel. Each peddle controls the wings pitch. The instructor tells me that we will level her out at 500K feet. I'm watching the computer screen, and its climbing, and climbing, we hit it. Roll the trim wheel, and now its all on me.

Oh, and lets not forget that it was windy day. We hit some turbulence and I have to be honest with you, it scared the shit out of me. But once we were in the air, I was fine. I tried to pick a spot to concentrate on to keep my wings level. I found a cloud and used it as a reference point. Once that was complete, We changed up our mixture. Unlike in a car where you have a gas peddle. The plane had two knobs on the dash if you will. One black, and one red. The black knob was to give you speed or acceleration. The red is your fuel mixture. While we were on the tarmac we had the red knob pulled as far out as possible. Once we were in the air the red knob was pushed back in 3 quarters. We still needed fuel, but not as much as we did on the ground as the air and props did much of the work.

So we are now level per our instruments, and looking out the left and right of the plane we could see the same amount of space between our wings. Now to start making turns.

Again, this is harder then it looks. When making a turn in a car, it's automatic or immediate. When doing so in a plane there is a lag time of a few seconds. I had a problem with this, because I would pick a new focal point, and make my turn. The nose would not go in that direction, so I would turn again. This was an over compensation, and my spot would be far to the left or right.

After a few turns, we decided to pick reference points on the ground to know where we were. We also looked at out instruments to gage our speed, and location. Funny thing is, I live about an hour away from the airport, and I was over the lake which is about 15 minutes from our farm.

Now it is time to land... I'm now feeling queasy because my instructor as just advised me that I would be the one landing. We call the tower, the tower ask if we have checked our Echo again, we had. We are told to reduce speed, and change our heading as there was traffic. I didn't see anyone. Again, we are like an hour away in my mind. We push in the black knob a bit to slow the props. What seemed like 5 minutes went by and I could see the highway which is about a mile from the airport out my left window. I look back to the nose, and see a small white dot shoot past, it was the other traffic on its approach. I then look out the left window again, and can see the airport. We are coming up fast, and I'm told to pull back on the black knob for speed. I pull her back, and pull back on the red knob. The airport is getting closer, and closer with each second. The instructor tells me that I want to bring the runway parallel to my left window and make the turn left. She at my left now, and I make the turn once; I learned my lesson with the turns. I then drop my flaps, and push the black knob in a bit to bring down the speed of the props. The ground looks as though I'm going to slam right into it. I push the wheel forward slightly, and a little more, a little more. I feel the front of the plane touch down, I'm in there. I take my hands of the wheel, and apply breaks, and back to the peddles; left, right, left, right. Then I park it, and we tie her down. My first flight is over.

Well thank you honey, it was fun. And I plan to take the lessons to get my licence.

Syd's Lessons

We have been very pleased with the Couch Ranch here in Summer's, AR. This is not just some trail ride. Sydney has learned so far the tools used in grooming, and the fundamentals of grooming. She has even been given homework, which she seems to enjoy; she has to remind me to go over it with her sometimes.

Not only has she learned the fundamentals of grooming, but she is also being taught the anatomy of the horse. In the photo to the right, she is explaining each section of the horses anatomy as she brushes.

Here she is working on her lunges before her first ride. Sad thing is, we didn't expect the horse to be as dirty as he was, and while grooming before her ride, she got dust in her eyes. This didn't make for a good first lesson, and I was sure she would want to give up. I was wrong, she was a trooper and not only finished the lesson, but couldn't wait for her next lesson. We learned or lesson, and purchased her some goggles for when she grooms, which seemed to have helped.

It's not as though Sydney has not been around horses, however I am surprised at how well she handles them. See is very confident when it comes to the dealing with the different tack, the arena, and the horse its self. Here she is walking with Carrie; her trainer, for the first time.

OK, OK, so the photo's are out of order. The photo below is of Sydney tacking the horse for the ride. Again I was surprised that she got right in there, and did what she had to do.

I'm proud to announce that Sydney has moved on from the smaller arena for beginners to the O course. We've not settled on a discipline at this time, but she seems to think that she wants to run poles, or barrels. Sydney has had only four lessons at this time, but her trainer feels that she is ready for an upcoming show.

Though she's coming along, I'm still a bit gun shy about purchasing her, her own horse. I think I will give it a year, and if she's still into it, I'll take the plunge. I already know who would be taking care of it if we did.

Remember folks, Safe ridding, makes for fun ridding. If you are someone who are sitting on the fence about ridding; sorry honey, I know you read this and this was not meant for you, I suggest that you take your time in finding a trainer. Just as in any sport, there are good ones, and bad ones. Some in this area are paying a fortune to have their children sit and watch the trainer ride. With Couch Ranch, its all hands on just the way we like it.

Event Highlights

Hang on to your seat, it's going to be bumpy!

Someones coming loose from their riggin'.

Why we do it.

Announcer

My 4th / Syd At the Rodeo I

National Anthem

A Nice family day out. I'm sure I'm going to miss these days when Syd is much older and find her friends much cooler then her dad, so, I'm going to enjoy them while they last.

My 4th / Syd At the Rodeo II

A fellow New Mexican was a vendor who had authentic turquoise jewelry. Syd found this ring and fell in love. It was a perfect fit, so why not.

Syd first real cowgirl hat. She even picked it out herself. I'm glad she didn't go for black.

Syd and Mommy next to the dully my wife is telling me I can't have. What a spoil sport.

We had a custom buckle made for Syd, but I made the mistake of having them make it at normal size thinking she could grow into it, boy was I wrong. So she chose one of mine to wear for the events.

Spurs

My daughter will be starting her ridding lessons this summer, photos of the event will be posted.

We were at our local Atwoods getting feed; for those of you who don't know, Atwoods is a farm and ranch supply store, when we came to the isle that hold all your saddles, bits, shoes, you name it for horse. I thought this would have been a fine time to talk to Syd about some of the different items that she would be learning about during her lessons. When we came to the spurs, you she became very interested. She wanted to know more about the spurs.

We were limited for time, so I told her that I would show her a set of spurs that daddy was going to purchase for himself. The spurs to your left are the spurs that I plan to purchase, well I planned to purchase for myself. Syd has decided that she would like this set for herself, and that I needed to purchase as set much more masculine for myself. Where she learned this from I don't know.

18K, for How Much

My wife is a jewelry nut. She's constantly troll the net, jewelry stores, estates sales, pawn shops you name it looking for the right piece. Sometimes I agree with her picks, and others, well we'll just leave it others as she from time to time reads my blog.

Above is a piece that she found for $690.00 that is worth 18K. I must admit I had my doubts when she asked if she could make the purchase, but how can I say no to such a sweet face as hers. Well the item has arrived, and has been tested, and it is what the seller claimed it to be. Total karat weight of 2.

Giving Up the Alden's & Slippin' On the Lucceses

I have been a man of two worlds, City boy with the latest and greatest tie, suit, cuff links, pocket square, etc, and country boy. Boots T's and jeans. A few months ago I joined a blogged called WASP101, in the hopes of finding a new style.

I was tired of the same old boring RL, style and wanted to revamp, or start over completely. What I found was the same old hum drum, of Ralph this, and Ralph that. I did however find other designers, but they too were boring and tired. Same old, same old.


I then began to think about who I was as a man. Was I the bow tie, French cuff, banker type? Or was I the Cattleman, who has broken his bonds with society? I'm a little of both I suppose. I've noticed that I have more and more left the boe tie at home, and put on the Riata's ( Wrangler chino) and nice clean (starched) oxford w/ a pair of my exotic boots. Is it my environment, or is it something more? Most of you who have been keeping up with my blog; not many, know that I pride myself as being a Country Gentleman. Do these men wear such things as Alden's, and Albert slippers? I think not, and if they do, they more then likely have another house in the city.


I’ve often read those who complain that RL has the made the masses of manufactures in china rich by utilizing their cheap labor. That’s really not my argument here, although his lines have in my opinion cheapened because of it. No mine is something much more. I know who I am as a man, and if it means that I must shop at the local Western Warehouse, Cavendar, or Sheplers or Boot City, then I’m right at home. I have nothing against those who want to spend $350 on a pair of Albert slippers that’s cool. I’d rather however spend that $350 on a pair of gator boots with crape soles. OK, well that would be more then $350, so I’ll stick with the Ostrich for $350.00. You can tell me that this stuff is much better quality, or crafted all you like. Someone such as myself who has also worn these items knows better. Some of the shoes that I’ve found today look no better then some of the shoes I’ve found in the lesser brands. Have we put too much stock in the latest and greatest? Have I forsaken my style, not hardly. I will still look great in whatever it is I wear, it's just that I've decided to keep it simple.

Richard, if you are reading this, this is no refelction on you as I love your style. I've just come to the point where it is just plain boring.

Sydney's Buckle Design

As some of you know, I have a daughter who is 5. She is coming to an age where she too is getting into the rodeo spirit. She wanted a buckle like daddy's, and though I tried to find something that would fit her personality I could not. So I decided to have a buckle custom made.


As I've explained before, each buckle tells a story. My wife has decided to re-name the farm to MIMS Farm. MIM's being; Margaret ( her mother ), Irwin ( her father ), Margaret ( herself ), and Sydney. Knox Farm speaks for its self. The crown will also be pink, with three diamonds. Princess also speaks for its self, although her nick name is "Dutchy" as she acts more like a Duchess then a Princess. The date is the year of her birth




This is what the buckle will look like. The date in the drawing is in the wrong position. I chose this buckle for the obvious reasons. One its color, the white with the pink accents again fits her personalty. Also the position of the floral on this buckle gave me more room to design and add lettering without compromising the integrity of the space.

Rodeo Terminology /Buckle Bunnies

Aww the buckle bunny. I will admit I have ran into a few these in my time... Amirillo, TX was a crazy time... But we wont go into that right now.

A buckle bunny is a sort of rodeo groupie, a woman who seeks out rodeo performers who excel in competition. Like groupies who follow other sports and musical groups, buckle bunnies are rather famous for dressing and behaving in sexually suggestive ways, and some seek out intimate relationships with people who compete in the rodeo. While male versions of the buckle bunny undoubtedly exist, women tend to dominate the rodeo groupie community.

Buckle bunnies are named after the buckles which rodeo competitors typically receive as prizes. Many of them follow favorite stars around the competition circuit, or attempt to make time to see particular athletes when they perform in neighboring areas. A buckle bunny herself may not be able to ride a horse, but she has admiration for someone who can, and many also have an appreciation for Western culture which allows them to enjoy watching rodeo events.

As is the case with other groupies, buckle bunnies are often assumed to be extremely uninhibited and very interested in physical relationships with the rodeo stars they follow. Many of them dress the part, wearing tight pants, suggestive tops, and high heels, and applying makeup with a heavy hand. An experienced buckle bunny also takes the time to stand out from the crowd, choosing to wear flashy colors or developing a skill such as dancing to distinguish her in crowded afterparties and other events associated with rodeos.

For rodeo cowboys, an entourage of buckle bunnies is undoubtedly flattering. Many buckle bunnies also offer things like places to stay and homecooked meals, which can be nice for someone enduring the rigors of the rodeo circuit. Presumably some also offer physical companionship, although others prefer to admire from afar.

My New Lucchese's Just In Time For Rodeo Season

Rodeo season is here! So I thought I would get myself a new pair of kicks. I was looking for a nice pair of black ostrich boots and found these, on Ebay of course. Those of you who know boots know that Lucchese are one of the best around. A huge savings as the sale price was $189.00, and store marked them down to $152.00, and I had a coupon for an additional 35% off. $114.00 for a $420.00 boot. You gotta love a recession. And yes, I used a coupon. I'm no dummy.

Syd Goes To School

Well the time has finally come.. My daughter will be going to school. I will be brave, as I know this is the first steps she will take to become a young woman.

My wife on the other hand would like nothing more then for Syd to stay 5 years old, living on the farm forever. I love Syd, but living at home forever, that's even a stretch for me.

Though we live far from her school, she knows more then half of the other student's that will be in attendance. The school secretary is a friend of the family, and has known Syd since she was just a new born, so there's that comfort. I was a little concerned about where she would attend school. Our property line is in two school zones. She could have gone to Lincoln where my wife attended, however there wouldn't be any diversity in the class room. Something my wife and I strive to give our daughter on a daily basis. So we thought it would be a great choose to send her to the school she will attend.

Though the town she will attend school in is a white town, there has been an influx of Afro-Americans, and Hispanics to the town. Mostly due to Katrina; we were one of the stops for those who lost their homes, and most stayed, and the growing Hispanic population in the NWA area. That's Northwest Arkansas for those of you who didn't know. Off track for a moment..

Funny Story about Katrina, if there was any. After the storm, and bus loads of people came in from LA. I was washing my car at the local car wash, when this young couple drove up next to me. We struck up a conversation; something I always do with people, and after a while the young lady ask me "So are you going to be staying in Arkansas?" I'm like um, yeah why? Aren't you from LA? LOL, "No I live on a 350 acre farm south of town. I've been here for years." Another one... I was mailing out some packages at one of those mail stops, when the woman behind the counter, who hadn't been here more then 6 months, asked me the same question. I thought to myself, "you are new here in town, and you are asking me if I'm going back to where I came from?" I live here, have lived here for years!

Anyway back to Syd and school. I wanted nothing more then for my daughter to attend a private school, as I thought that this would be the best thing for her. Is it? I'm glad that she will have the experience of other cultures, though few. She will get to see it all... Rednecks, Hispanics, other black children, and even a few Asians. I think this is going to be a great start. What she doesn't learn in public school, I'm more then willing to teach her.

Well so much for that respite!

On Respite

Hello folks.... From what I can tell I am not the only one taking time out to enjoy this nice weather we've been having.

I will be back soon!

Thinking of Going Into Real Estate

Photo Courtesy of Random World Wallpapers

With the real estate bubble busting, or has burst depending on where you live in the country, or your point of view. There has been a plethora of home that have come on the market, yes most are foreclosure.

Long before the burst, this was my dream job. You know that job where you don't mind getting up every morning and going to. When I was a young boy, I would visit a friend of mine, David Haines who was an Architect and he would teach me the ends and outs of Architecture. Most boys my age were either on the football field, or basketball court. David is no longer with us, and I wish I had stuck with it.

My interest in Architecture led me to Interior Design which I think is why I'm so interested in homes more then industrial or office spaces. Anyhow, while I was in college, another older gentleman was in the business of Real Estate, and tried to get me involved. However I was more in tune with finishing school and moving on. This too is something I wish I had taken the time to listen, get involved, and cash in. When my wife and I got married, I stopped in to visit him. He wasn't doing so hot either. I felt that this was my last chance, and gave up the dream.

Until last year, I found out that another friend of mine was in Real Estate. He advised me on a few things I didn't know about the game, but that's as far as it went as I got busy with Windsor and put it on the back burner. Just this past weekend, we were in town for a festival, and I noticed all the buildings I had spoke to my wife about someone had purchased and refurbished. The amazing thing about it is, everything I said that should go into each of these buildings did. I even told my wife when the builder purchased one property that he was going to put in loft apartments, which he did. I even called the price he would charge for each. Although, I told my wife that he would be asking WAY to much for this area, which it was.

By chance I met the wife of the man who is buying up all this property, and she advised that they were way over their heads in debt, which I figured they would be.

Here's where they are making their mistake. They are wanting to make a lot of money. I know, I know, that's what people are in business for, which I agree. She complained that they are only making 5 to 10K on each deal, when they were making 15-25K on each deal. I mean, I'm no genius, but 5-10K on each deal is where my price point is/was, I'm not greedy.

In fact, to show that I love what I do so much. In my own personal business prospectus, I have a plan to GIVE away one house completely furnished each year. Yeah I know, I'm crazy! Don't get me wrong, this wouldn't be to just any old Joe shmoe. It would be to hard working mothers who are in college trying to get off the welfare system.

My plan is to sale homes at low and affordable prices. If I spend 125K on a home, I plan to sale it at 135K. That's so that the Realtor can get his commissions reasonably.

For me, its not about money, but realizing a dream, and giving back a little to the community. If I make a little money in the process, what's wrong with that?

Swing Time!

In an earlier post we disused roping dummies. I thought that we would touch upon some of the basic learning tools for polo.

Today we are going to talk about the wooden horse. The wooden horse is primarily used to practice ones swing. Depending on your instructor, he/she may want you to learn or practice a few swings before you even attempt the wooden horse. I must tell you folks; this is not as easy as it looks. This is done help gage your hand eye coordination. As I’m sure you can imagine, you will be moving at a high rate of speed and must be able to think fast.

Once you’ve had a few swings on your own two feet, its time to mount the wooden horse, and practice your swing. This is a great opportunity to try other swings, as you are still. Again, depending on your instructor, you may be at this for hours, and you will become frustrated, but don’t give up.

Moving from the wooden horse, to a live horse should be done as soon as possible. This will give you an idea of how much you have learned. The instructor will usually move your horse along while you swing at balls placed on the field or area. I have enclosed a few photo’s of some of the pricey, and not so pricey practice horses.

Top of the line by Racewood.
Racewood Ltd have taken these attributes and applied them to the
development of a new product in their range of equestrian simulators, The
Racewood Polo Pony Simulator.

Forget the wooden horse. I'm looking at the girl in this one.