Perhaps one day these fellas will make it into a book on draft horses? I love these heavy horses - there is just something, you know - hefty - about them!

Good news on Friday (before I headed off to the fair with a single Clyde from Bodicea shoe-horned into my two-horse trailer...) - things are going well on the racetrack book. Apparently the cover design is coming along nicely (it's tough to try to capture various types of racing, back-stage type stuff and all that while still looking sharp enough that a kid will pick the book up). Can't wait to see it! I also learned that unlike my earlier impression that the whole book was being designed before the text was finalized, actually just a single double spread was being worked on so everyone gets a good idea of what the book is going to look like. Meanwhile, over on the editing front, it doesn't sound like there will be major changes to the text, so we are heading fast toward the copy-editing stage. It's always exciting when things move ahead and the book starts to become more real. Of course, copy-editing can mean some tedious, nit-picky changes that seem very innocent but that can cause a huge amount of work to resolve. I recall a certain question raised by an editor about the actual eyebrow colour of redheads. My 'copper-coloured' description was deemed 'unlikely' by the editor, so I wound up doing an exhausting investigation involving many hair salons... My favourite response from a stylist (who clearly thought I was a bit soft in the head for asking) was, "That's a really silly question. Everyone knows red-headed people don't have eyebrows." Oh really? I have had many beg to differ since.

Meanwhile on the vet book... all is going smoothly. First draft text is just about done on that and the last of the photo shoots are being set up. So I think I need another book to work on... perhaps it's time my thoughts turned to Africa? More on that project soon...

Of course, there is Double Take to finish up. Karen's biography is missing only the last few interviews with coaches, etc. but then it can go off for editing - and then maybe Hollywood? Karen is competing in an Olympic qualifier over on the mainland this weekend - looking forward to hearing results next week when she gets back.

An on a final horsey note, congratulations to Canada for bringing home the gold in Aachen at the World Equestrian Games in Reining! Woooo hoooo!