April 2018

LIZ is a loss for sure. We sure had a lot of laughs. May she be resting in peace.

Made it to idaho. Yay.

WOW! What an evening! Neighbor Ron was a guard at the Tomb of the Unknown soldier in the 50s. He got to go on an Honor Flight today. That was wonderful in itself because he was in the hospital just a week and a half ago. They flew out early this morning to D.C. Then, they were taken to the war memorials and Arlington. They were well fed and treated like royalty all day long. They arrived back in Ft. Wayne about 9:00 this evening where a HUGE crowd of people were there to greet them. We're talking 4 or 5 THOUSAND people, only a very few of them had a veteran on the flight. It was impressive, to say the least.
The veterans each had a "guardian" with them. Ron's daughter went with him, because spouses were not allowed. (They are about the same age as the veteran and might need as much help as the vet.) She had never been to D.C. before, so she got to see where Dad was when he was young.
I was sure that Wife Pirkko would want to be there to greet the plane, but she didn't want to drive there by herself. On a sort of spur of the moment, I went down and knocked on her door. When she answered, I asked her if she wanted to go have some fun and go meet an airplane. She hardly hesitated, grabbed her shoes and purse and we were off.
Cars were lined up as far as the eye could see. We had to walk nearly half a mile from where we parked to the terminal because there was no other parking. People were lined up all the way across the terminal, a military band was playing, and little flags were handed to everybody coming through the door.
The 86 vets (WWII, Korea, Viet Nam, and cold war) got off the plane and were surprised to see thousands of people welcoming them home. They had a VERY long day and were very tired, but as they went through the line, you could see them become more energized as people patted them on the back and shook hands with them and thanked them for their service. It was very touching and very happy. We happened to be in a place where we were able to see all of them coming off the plane, and were told to join "our" vet as they made their way through the long long greeting line.
After being so sick a week and a half ago, Ron looked wonderful and did well. He was soooo HAPPY.
It was a wonderful fun evening and I am soooo glad we did it.

If any of you get a chance to be part of the greeting crowd, DO IT! You won't regret it. Get there early.

CB, glad to hear you are safe in Idaho.

Ellen, that is so neat, finally they got a homecoming they deserved...ill bet they will cherish their day, and what a good feeling memory for you also.
Yep, we are back in chilly ol idaho.

Nothing like being around a group of Vets................

That had to be an awesome experience ELLEN, both the trip and the homecoming.

I just got a message from Pirkko saying that they talked and talked and talked until 1:30 in the morning, and started in again this morning until after noon. That was a very memorable event. I know I will never forget it.

ELLEN:
 Wow, what a wonderful experience for Ron and his daughter!  I wonder how they were chosen?  It would be nice if all the vets could do something like that.   I am glad he got to go. And you were great to go get his wife and take her to the return ceremony!

CB:
 Wow, I would be tired of all the traveling for awhile.   I like traveling in spurts, then lots of rest in between.


I had a very nice lesson on Areion and Ivan yesterday.  Both horses were in good moods and fun to ride.  Areion just gets nicer about putting up with me and my mixed signals all the time.  Ivan just rolls his eyes and goes along with the program, he has put up with me for 10 years.  I did have an epiphany about why I was having problems getting Ivan to bend more going into curves.  We have worked on that forever.  I discovered, with Lori's help, that I have been putting weight into my stirrups and not my seatbones. Lori did it right and Ivan bent easily.     I is slow....

We are going on a trail ride at Pandapas Pond tomorrow!   I am going to ride Ivan half the time and Areion the other half, trading off with Lori.  Two or three others are coming to ride, too.  It's going to be 68 degrees and sunny...


Guess who likes my new recliner?  Everyone.  I think the horses would be sitting in it with me if they could get into the house.

Ark, there are Honor Flights that originate from various cities all over the country. By typing in 'Honor Flight' for a search you will find all the information, including an application form. After what I saw Wednesday evening, I would encourage any vets to make that application. There is a $400 charge for the guardian, and there is a two hour orientation meeting that they need to attend. Anybody who wants to can be a guardian, and in Fort Wayne, there are quite a few people who have done it several times.

Enjoy your ride tomorrow. You're going to have a nicer weather day than here. We had a pretty day today, but rather chilly. Tomorrow will be neither pretty or warm.

You won't have to worry about getting cold as you sit in your recliner.

Harrys brother in pa passed away unexpectedly. We sooo wanted to get back to see everyone, but just hadnt yet. He and daughter Randi, oldest, are flying back today. So sad. He just turned 62.
I couldnt find a kennel within 100 miles for the dogs, and let me tell you, thst is a really good business to be in at 18 a night for one dog and i have 4. If he hadnt had to be here for his va appts, we would have taken camper and gone back, but he needs to be here to get those done, and we need to sell the house.....sooooo....dwat. but hey, at least i woke up this morning, huh. So i shouldnt complain....wish i could be there, but cant.

CB, I'm sorry to hear about your brother-in-law. If I remember right, you did your best to take care of him when you lived there.

It was my brother we cared for in mo, he passed july 16.
But tommy, bil, was a smoker and recently became diabetic, with heart problems....but he was losing weight, quit smoking, was scheduled for surgery on monday....a few more days and he may still be with us. Harry is taking it hard.

CB, I'm sorry about your brother too.

Ellen, we never took care of tommy, just my brother, but thank you on both...
Its just hard when, where, how...no matter what.
Anyhoo, they fly back today as harrys sister isnt doing so hot either....ill be by my lonesome gor a week, just me and the dogs, friends here have either moved or gone up and died on me....so font have anyone to visit anymore. Also very sad.

CB, how sad for all involved. I hope all clicks well for you guys soon.

CB:
I am so sorry about your brother-in-law, and for your brother. It's terrible to lose a brother....(((((Cb and Harry)))). Take care of yourself while Harry is away.


Well I am dog tired. I went to Pandapas Pond with both horses and met up with Lori and four other folks and their horses. The day was so pretty, 74 degrees and sunny. I was going to ride Areion half the time, but she was hyped up over something and I decided I would rather live another day, Lori rode her the entire time. Areion doesn't like geldings she doesn't know coming up behind her and she may be coming into season. She was a handful part of the time. Ivan was pretty good. He always wants to be first in line and we had some discussions over that. Eventually he made his way up to the front and was quite happy after that. We split off from three of the ladies half way around the loop and went in another direction. Then Areion seemed happy enough. We went straight up a crooked rocky path up the side of a steep forested hill. It's the trail where I ran my knee into a tree last fall and hurt my hip joint....This time I was carefully watching my knee and hit a stub of a branch with my face. So I bled for awhile and will probably have a nice scar. Ivan was really a fun ride, he just wants to be leader of the gang.

So much sad news. I never met Liz but it almost seems as if I had, because she lingers in vivid memory, like so many other FOOPS from way back. Thanks, Ellen, for relaying that news, and for staying properly in touch with folks. Do you have news, too, about what Svet is up to these days? Am I right in remembering her as working very hard to get up to speed as a court reporter? And what became of Briggy? I would love to hear reports, if anybody has them, of others of the old crowd.

That description of the veterans' trip and return, and of your contribution to it, was wonderful, Ellen. Thank you for that, too. You are always especially thoughtful.

Warm hugs to you CB. You've been weathering a lot lately. I'm glad that you're safely back in Idaho for the moment -- and that maybe spring there will be bringing comfort to you now.

Ark, you don't know it, but I'm in the saddle there with you every minute, sniffing the air, soaking up the sun and forests-- and posting, posting, posting! What great times you are having!

The last pile of snow in my yard disappeared yesterday, the maple leaf-tips are now red with blossoms, the lilac crowding my back deck has leaves the size of mouse ears, and this week we finally began to grow green GRASS! Gosh, I'd quite forgotten what that stuff is... Raining right now, with temps in the low 50s, and even a little thunderstorm passing by -- but clearing and temps up to 70 ahead next week. Now that it's warmer, I've been spending time building a little bench/table in my barn workshop. The table is to hold the new TV and liberate the piano bench that's been doing that job temporarily. Finished up two days ago and made the switch yesterday, tickled to have learned how to operate my new table saw in the process. The new bench/table is not very pretty but does the job and makes me happy. Now I want a router and a planer and a joiner and a drum sander and...

Woohoo!!! We finally have a real spring day. Warm and sunny, and my tulips love it as much as I do.

Beech, I haven't heard much about any of the old gang. I don't know if Svet qualified as a court reporter or not. They all went to Facebook, and I don't do Facebook.

ELLEN:
We have had a few really nice days in a row! It was cooler than Saturday, but still sunny and nice. It's going to get warmer as the week goes on, up to around 80 degrees by Thursday. wow. We have mowed our grass twice so far, I did it today without hitting anything, for once...

BEECH:
I wish you could ride along with me in person! That would be such fun. I love the smell of pines in the sunshine and that smell was in the air on Saturday. Other than bashing myself into a tree branch, I had a wonderful time.
I don't know what a lot of the foop crowd is doing, but do know that Svet passed her tests and works at home transcribing using her hard earned skills. She seems quite happy. She and hubby have sold their home and bought a new one that they are fixing up. It is coming along very nicely.


Donnie trimmed Daisy's right front foot today. It is hard to do because her left front is her ouchy one and she won't stand on it long for trims. Part of that is pain, but part of that is that she has never been good at standing on 3 feet. She had bute today, though, and was better than usual at keeping that foot up. So her trim is looking pretty good. She is such a card. Her one big trick at getting her way is to sidepass along in front of us. It usually cracks us up enough to let her have whatever she wants. Today she practically ran sideways down the hill in front of me, begging me to take off her grazing muzzle. So I did. Ten minutes later she was getting her foot trimmed, so she still didn't get much time in the grass. She has lost a bit of weight in recent months and I sure don't want her to gain it back.

Donnie trimmed Trinket's feet yesterday, so now only Cactus Jack is left and we will be caught up....temporarily.

Let's hope May is more spring-like than April was! Time to change the calendar.

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