FEBRUARY 2022

Yes ARK, Nell E. Belle is named after Pat Butram and his Jeep Nellybell......................

Pat Brady. Pat Butram was Gene Autry's side kick.

Oh well..............

One of my meager achievements was being able to answer a whole list of cowboy movie trivia questions. I won a brass horse shoe door knocker.

Sorry girls..I've been missing in action too.  So much crazy stuff going on hardly a spare minute to even think about sitting down and opening the laptop to write. Still trying to get the memorial service for Missy worked out.  It's such a painful subject to even think about.  We had another meeting at the church with the pastor we are using for the service.  It wasn't as emotional as the first meeting.  We could actually speak without breaking into tears.  Time passing does help a little.

As if Missy's passing wasn't enough to deal with our sons "wife" decided to serve him a eviction notice.  She is such a witch, of all times to have to deal with that nonsense too.  She moved her dad into "her" house and he hates Stacy.  Broke out the back window of Stacy's new truck and put sugar in the gas tanks of the dirt bikes.  Stac found a house to move to after much searching.  Finding a rental was almost impossible and the price of the rent is crazy but he had no choice.  He is still in the process of moving.

One saving grace..in the middle of all this Stacy decided to buy into his freind Rick's Pizza shop so he has found a place to live and to work.  Praise God for that.  After all his dirt bike accidents high steel painting is not in his life any longer.  He loves cooking and worked at a pizza shop all thru high school, loves working there.

Then last week George was taking a shower and all of a sudden NO WATER...not a drop...what the heck...blew out the fuses in the basement.  Called the well digger and of course they couldn't come out until the next day.  Thank God it wasn't the well or the pump but the electric line from the spring house to the house somehow split open.  They ran a temporary line to the house above ground so we do have water.  Good thing I had all the rain water saved for my house plants, at least we could still flush.  LOL   Now we have to have a ditch dug and bury the electric line.  

I sent my friend Sharon a little joke that said "God gives us only what we can handle.  Apparently, God thinks I'm a bad-ass."  Yesterday she brought me a pair of socks (I am a crazy sock freak) and it says "I identify as a BADASS." Thank God for friends who can get us to laugh even when our whole world is upside down.

So prayers for everyone whose lives have been turned upside down lately.  We are all bad asses and will get thru what ever life throws at us.  Us horse girls know how to survive...

Oh havens, TRUDY, hope it comes together soon. I was glad to read Stacy has a job now that he loves.
Prayers and hugs for all of you.

ELLEN, check in the 40's when Pat Butram was with Roy................then picked up by Gene................

I stand corrected. Thank you. I'm glad to know the whole story.

Did you see that Medina Spirit was disqualified from last year's Derby, and Bob Baffert suspended for 90 days? Sadly, Medina Spirit died a few weeks ago. No reason given. He had been moved to a new trainer a long time ago and ran a few races last summer.
Baffert is a good trainer. He doesn't need to cheat to win but chooses to do that.

I thought Medina Spirit went to Todd Plecher..............never followed up.

Graymare, you're right.  I'd forgotten which barn he went to.  I think he only ran three more times.

Trudy, I do hope that things in your life improve soon.
I like the idea of crazy socks.

Hi gang, it rained all day until around 5 P, possibly more to come.

Busy day here. Banking meeting in the morning, new chair delivered early PM, then hair cut
at 4P...........I'm whooped.

I'm getting excited to pick up Nell........my hairdresser just got a cute little golden doodle. Oh boy that
one was cute. They picked her up at 7 weeks, she didn't say why, but very cute just the same.
Naturally I played with her the entire time. She's a normal puppy as she tugged my shoe strings
and bit my fingers endlessly to my delight.

I'm just sick over the Russian mess...........I simply don't want people to suffer or be killed
for egos...........it's definitely an emergency situation.............it doesn't sound like if anymore
but when................what exactly is diplomacy? I don't know, that's for sure.

Prayers for ALL.

My cousin and her family have a Golden Doodle. This one is black because the mother was a black poodle. She is a very nice dog. She's a good size... not so small you trip over her, and not so big she can't get on the sofa. When they come to the lake they bring her along and she is no trouble at all. I saw her at Christmas after not seeing her for several months. You would have thought I was her long lost friend as she jumped on me and cried. Of course, I hated that. NOT.

I'm waiting, not patiently, to see pictures of Nell.

Crazy weather here.  60 degrees yesterday and 26 this morning with wind.  It rained most of the day on Tuesday.  On things about PA weather in the winter ya never know what tomorrow will bring.  Keeps the weathermen on their toes.  We do the Amish thing "look out the window".  It's always correct.  LOL

My girlfriends are coming out this morning for our coffee club.  Bev is bringing George a treat homemade brownies..he had a fit the last time cause I was supposed to make brownies but decided not to so she is going to surprise him this morning.  My crazy friends are the best.

GRAYMARE:  I'm upset about this war stuff too.  Worried about the men and women who are serving in the military.

ELLEN: Don't ya love it when the doggies remember you when they come to visit. Makes me smile.

ARK: Happy to hear that Kumquat is feeling better and starting to eat. So tough when our furry kids are suffering.

Have a great weekend everyone..

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR ARK, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU.

I don't get here often but wanted you to get the message that I was thinking about you. I hope that you are having a great day.

This month is getting almost to the end and still well from Covid. Our restrictions are getting looser and as of Monday no need for Vaccinator pass, next will be the number of people allowed at gatherings and after that on the 21st of March we will be back to normal. I will still wear my mask for a while though as it has kept us pretty well for the last two years.

Hope you all are well and able to still eat your fudge and cheesecake.


Donna

It's great to see you here DONNA and great you're well and still at it.  I still remember the darling
picture of your granddaughters on the boat in their yellow raincoats...........I loved that picture.  I've not had
covid that I know of and am doing OK since the death of my husband.  Anyhow, glad you're back.

I am going to get Nell E. Belle tomorrow afternoon...........getting antsy for the time to come.

Still praying daily for peace.........

I can't believe I forgot to wish ARK a great happy birthday after all the work she does for us. I imagine she's
helping DONNIE with the waterline............I just hope she's OK.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ARK and many more.

God bless...........

GRAYMARE and DONNA:

Thank you for the birthday wishes! I had a chocolate cake... And hello to DONNA !! So nice to see you here! I am glad you haven't gotten Covid. Donnie and I haven't gotten it yet, either, but seems everyone else I know has had a case of it, mostly not too serious. My neighbor who does marathons had it rougher. He got it early on and is still struggling with after effects. He says he may have to give up running. He did the Boston marathon that year the bomb went off there and has done a bunch of others, but now can't seem to breathe well enough to run much. Donnie and I wear masks everywhere public and tend to stay home mostly since he retired. It has been nice to not even get a cold in the past couple of years. I hope the looser restrictions don't backfire on us all.

How has your winter been, DONNA?

ELLEN:
I do remember Dale Evans calling Nelly Belle's owner, Pat, now. Would not have remembered his last name, though. The false top of ice on the lake sounds really treacherous.

GRAYMARE:
Nellie Bell is coming home tomorrow?? She will be so fun! I am almost afraid to ask, but do you still have Dexter? I may have missed any news about him. And how are the horsey boys?

TRUDY:
You need a weather rock! They tell the weather really well, LOL.
I hope the service plans for Missy go well. It is so sad to plan things like that... I did it for my brother a long time ago. Very sad time.
Sorry about your water situation! We have been battling leaks, and the two days of rain haven't helped much. I hope George was about finished with his bath before the water went off. Shampoo in your hair and soap all over are hard to get rid of with a damp washcloth.

It is Mud City here. We've had a lot of rain. It was in the 60s during most of it, but the temps dropped today into the 30s. At least we didn't get snow or ice. We have a nice load of stall shavings sitting in the back of BART waiting on being unloaded, but we dare not take the truck down the hill to the barn for a few days. Thankfully our hay is down there. We used to have a lot of it stored in the garage shed and would have to haul it bale by bale on a sled in bad weather. We like the new hay building and barn loft.

Ivan has been very attentive and lovable lately. I think he wants to do some riding. When he works, he gets treats. He approves of that.

Ark:  HAPPY BIRTHDAY a day late.  Glad you enjoyed your birthday with yummy chocolate cake.  George was almost finished with his shower when the water stopped.  Better him than me...I would have never gotten the conditioner outta my hair. Not much we can do until the weather breaks.  The temporary fix is working fine.

Our weather is extra crazy today.  Ice, sleet freezing rain, snow and THUNDER & LIGHTENING..It rocked the house around 5 this morning.  WOW 

Neither one of us has gotten Covid...we don't leave the farm very often and when we do we are careful.  Hardly ever wear a mask, can't breathe with it.  Family members and friends have had it, everyone survived it.  Not much has really changed for us. 

Stay safe & healthy everyone.

Late Happy Birthday, Ark. Go find some fudge.

Graymare, can't wait to see the pictures of Nell E. Belle.

I haven't had COVID either. I haven't even had a cold in years. Here in this part of Indiana, not too many people wear masks much. Our kids haven't worn masks to school since the end of last school year.

It had been warm enough that all the snow was gone. Until. Last evening and overnight we got about half an inch of snow. Starting tomorrow, it's going to be above freezing during the days so the snow will leave soon and I'll get my car washed. Boy, is it a mess!

Donna, it's good to see you here. We'd like to see you more often.

We have the puppy home safe and sound. She's exhausted. Ha, so am I. I know I'm prejudiced but she
is the cutest...............teeny teeny. She's taking a nap right now on the couch............she's not spoiled
tho.................LOL

Everyone have a great evening...............Prayers for peace.

Noooo. Nobody in this group would spoil a puppy.

I'm still hoping for peace and it looks like it's getting worse.......the cars were lined up around Cosco for
gas for a mile. I couldn't believe it.

On the bright side was Nell E Belle..........still no potties in the house, walks in her crate alone and likes it, lies at my feet,
(not by command, she just likes it), eats her kibble, and plays and plays. It's just pure delight for.me and I know T
enjoys her too. She's SO little..............she stands about 8 inches high, if that.

We mowed the barn yard today. The horses are wonderful. I've not taken Nell out there yet. She only had one vaccination so
that will be for another time.

Today was nice at 65 degrees. It's supposed to warm up to 82 by next week, but compared to the rest of the country
it is lovely.

Prayers for all.

You'll get a kick out of this. My new chairs is a swivel rocker/recliner, so this morning around noon Nell came in
the room and laid down right under it.................So there I sat while she slept as I couldn't move
or I would have injured her. It seemed like two days even tho it was about 30 minutes. I have
decided I can't/won't sit in that chair if she is in the room until I can tap my lap and have her in the
chair with me................Caution everyone. LOL

Continuing prayer for peace..............

GRAYMARE
Nell sounds so cute! Can't wait to see pictures! That chair sounds pretty nice too. I like a rocker.


Donnie got the leak fixed at the street connection! He's eventually going to have to replace the entire pipe, but that can wait for better weather. He replaced the joint that was leaking a half gallon every minute. We had a couple of days of cold rain that made working in a muddy hole less than pleasant.

Good Morning all you Foops,

It was so nice reading posts made by long ago friends this a.m. I miss the old gang that kept everyone laughing all the time, I'll be back more often, promise.

Ellen, good to see you Girl. I always love your profile picture and remember you were always at the lake on the water. Are you still at it in the summer?

Greymare, my Girls are now 26 and 27! Allison is a Mom of an eight month old daughter, Ava. She and Andrew live in Antigonish where he is a building contractor (very successful business), just moved into their new home in November. She works for him in the office, well she is the office, keeping everything straight. Now that there is a baby she is finding it quite demanding, they need a complete office staff and let her be Mom. BTW, congratulations on a new puppy. What breed is Nell?

Erin is a Chartered Accountant (got her designation in Dec.) and works for Deloitte in Halifax. She is the city girl, if you remember. So far she has not had a serious relationship, too busy with her friends going everywhere but I guess she hasn't met mr right yet.

Our winter has been so L-o-n-g! Snow started right after Christmas and there has been a huge storm every weekend since except one. We are all very tired of this as our area has always been known as the banana belt of Nova Scotia, mild winters. Between covid and snow I'm ready for some longer days and good weather. Our covid restrictions start lessening today, our provinces rules go in stages. This one will be vaccination passes will no longer be required for proof of vaccination to enter restaurants, gyms, etc. We have worked so hard to keep everyone safe for so long i hope that this doesn't cause an instant outbreak. I'm of the opinion that we have to learn to live with this darn disease and I'll keep wearing my mask out in public for a long while to come. Covid hasn't stopped me from living my life though, I still go to the gym, for tea and lunch with my friends. Our church has been on zoom since January again but will be in church service starting next Sunday. Slowly things will get back to some sort of normal. Don't know if we will every be completely "normal" again!

I had Tommy Girl put down last June. She was being boarded in New Brunswick with my friend Nick who treated her like his own. She was 22 and arthritic, her knees the worst. Could not be used for even light riding. Knees were huge and fused. Long story but Nick had to move to Ontario and although he was willing to take her with him, I opted to have her put down. It was a tough decision but I live in Nova Scotia, had only been able to get to see her once in New Brunswick and would NEVer see her again in Ontario. There was nobody that I could board her with that would keep her like I would or how Nick did. I'm getting older (80) and there is no way I could look after her so the decision was made. She is buried at a friends place along with her Appys that have passed. I felt awful doing this but really didnt have much of an option. I'll always be a horse person though and really miss being around the barn.

Well I must get my day going here. Oatmeal has been simmering for a while so need to rescue it.

Have a great day.

Donna

Well, that was an interesting way to start the day. Just after 8:00 I got a call from the fraud department of my bank wanting to know if I had tried to charge $2500 for a limo company in PHILADEPHIA! I've never been to Philadephia. The card was instantly blocked. Since I need a useable card, I drove to my bank and got a new card.
I couldn't be more pleased with my bank. Potential problem. Problem solved. It was all over within an hour.
Of course, now I have to update all the numbers on some of my accounts. No big deal. Worth it.

Donna, yes, I'm still going. I got a newer jet ski about two years ago that is better and faster than the old one.
I'm going to have my second hip surgery on the 9th so that I'll be healed enough to ride by the time summer gets here.
I'm so glad to hear that the girls are doing well.

Hello All,

I just got caught up as I have been off line for a little more than a week. And such a week it was from the sounds of it. Most of it revolving around water problems. I tested positive for CoVid, but didn't have any symptoms. The company I work for has all employees test twice a week if we're working in the office. Last Tuesday I tested positive so I had to go home. Company protocol says that I couldn't come back into the office for 5 days and only with a negative test, so I was working from home last week. So, I'm back in the office today trying to get caught up.

I have a 90 year old Aunt in Florida who caught CoVid also. She has been in the hospital for the last 4 weeks and it's not looking good. She is having trouble getting enough oxygen. She's on a bi-pap type machine most of the time. She gets off of it for short periods of time and she is able to eat a little when she is. She refuses to give up.

Thursday I take my brother into the hospital for cardiac test to see what kind of blockage he has and what they will be doing for treatment.

Tiberius showed me yesterday morning that spring is coming. After eating his breakfast and on his way back outside, he stopped to scratch his butt on the corner post of his stall. He then stopped beside me so I could wipe all the loose hairs off he had just scritched loose. That and all of them are laying around on the ground much more than they have been. They still have their winter jammies on and it's been getting into the 30s and low 40s and they're a bit over dressed for the weather. At least it's mostly light out when I feed now.

Looking forward to seeing pictures of Nell E Bell.