DECEMBER 2022

INDYAPP:
The new horse is on the opposite side of the house from the barn, so the horses can't see it. I am pretty sure they would think it was here to eat them. After the ground is dry...someday....I may try putting it up in the arena and see if I can desensitize them to it. The biggest problem would be the noise it makes and if it moves in the wind at all.
Havoc would commence.

More rain today. The mud is getting pretty mucky.

I agree gals the language on Yellowstone is crass and deplorable. The young in AZ talk trash everywhere.
It shows the status of society in general............and listen to congress. Good grief. We're better than that.

Language in general has deteriorated. When I read online articles, they almost always have grammatical and spelling errors. So, I guess 4-letter words are the longest ones they can manage.

Going to our local Cowboy Christmas tomorrow..............woohoo. They will televise the regular rodeo
performance, have vendor booths, and local performance.  This is the first years should be hopefully good.

We shall see..............


Addendum: No, ELLEN, just the local imitation. LOL. LV is out of site $ wise..........

We old gals will wait it out this year..............

Graymare, I wondered if you would go to Vegas for the National Finals
Rodeo this year.

ELLEN:
I agree. Language in general has degenerated. I saw a printed word on the news today with the 'I' after the 'E' when it should have been reversed. I see words spelled wrong all the time on tv and in articles. Grammar seems to be a forgotten art. Kind of drives me nuts..... probably not a long trip.


GRAYMARE:
Have lots of fun!! Wish I was going.


We have had a lot of rain for days. Mud is a fact of life. Ivan has discovered some grass under a patch of cockleburr weeds somewhere. He came in covered in cockleburrs and wet mud, and was like a dirty wet, prickly sponge. It was so much fun getting those burrs out of his mane and forelock. It's too cold to give him a bath and he would roll in the mud again the first chance he got. Hopefully we will get a few dry days so I can scrape him off. I did get the cockleburrs off of him and sprayed his dirty mane with ShowSheen to make the next batch of burrs easier to remove. He's a mess.

I still need seven rides before the end of the year.

Happy December everyone.  This month is just flying on.  Can't believe it is the 10th already.  If you don't see me on here, I am here lurking everyday or so.  Things are so crazy busy.  The life of a "retired" old girl.  All trees are decorated, gifts are mailed and most of the cards too. 

We had our little Barnabas Ministry group Christmas dinner Weds night.  This has been the first one since the dreaded Covid nightmare hit.  Sad but a few people are still afraid to attend any functions.  18 out of 25 showed up.  

The weather has been crazy too, in the 40's and then down to the teens...gives us something to complain about. 

For my Christmas gift I bought myself a manual treadmill (people power only) that can be folded up and put away under the bed, if we need to use the spare room.  This way I can continue my walking a mile everyday all winter long.  I have to say it's tricky to use, and walking outside in the fields and woods is much more enjoyable, but I'll be happy to use it once the snow and ice arrive.

Prayers for everyone...stay warm and healthy....

Good Morning All,

It's still pretty dark out there but its 7:15 a.m., had to get up to go to the bathroom, decided to stay up. Listening to CBC radio on my new computer. My old one was really so slow and old, I got a new one on Cyber Monday in Halifax. My computers are Apple, same as iPad and phone. I think Santa is bringing me an Apple Watch so that John will get an alert when I fall, I really don't need one as they are so expensive but they are insisting! I have a Fitbit Versa and it does everything I need. Oh, they are playing "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose It's Flavour on the Bedpost Over Night?" That certainly brings back happy memories for me, lol.

I got home on Monday and was so happy to see Fergie. She was very excited but got distracted pretty fast as there was a dog and two more people to greet coming behind me. She didn't leave my lap all evening though. Priscilla and I went to town the next a.m. as I had a hair appointment. Did a lot of stops, using my cane, one of the places was the grocery store. By the time we got home I was ready to sit! John and P went home on Wed. after he Mom proofed the house. I'm getting along just fine and have lots of people that are willing to help. Helen comes every a.m. to feed cats and change litter in the basement and let the outside cats out for the day. Comes back at suppertime to put them in and feed them. Yesterday my friend Nancy came and we went to town to shop, needed to get Christmas gifts done for Allison and Andrew as they are coming on Wednesday. This is their Christmas run, they are staying in Antigonish and leaving Boxing Day for Puta Cana for a week.

Guess that is all the news from here. Happy to be home and settled. Have a four foot fibre-optic tree up and its just fine. My cleaner brought up pillows and some decorations to spread around. It looks like Christmas so that's all that is going to be put up this year. P would have out up the tree but I would have had to get someone to take it down and I don't need that this year.

Hope you are all well and on the go. Have my doctors appointment on Tuesday in Kentville so Nancy is taking me in my car. I can drive but didn't want to before I saw my surgeon.

Have a good day.

Donna

Donna, I'm really glad to hear that you are healing well, and that you are home with Fergie.
About 20 years ago, my cousin carved a walking stick for me. It was mostly decorative. He carved a horse head on it and put my name and the year on it. It sat around doing nothing for most of those years. When I had my hips replaced, I used that walking stick. It is very sturdy, and it became a conversation piece in addition to being useful.

This has been a gloomy dreary day.  It got to something called daylight about 8:00 this morning and never got any lighter.  About 4:00 it started getting dark again.  Perma-gloom at its best.

Good Morning All...

I had a manual treadmill once. That thing made me WORK. It was more like marching than walking to make it move. I ended up getting rid of it and replacing it with an elliptical. The elliptical ended up being a much lower impact exercise for me. Unfortunately, I've gotten out of the habit of using it. I need to start that up again.

I have a cousin who I love dearly give me an evergreen swag she made for me to hang on my door. The swag consisted of a branch of white pine with with some holly and a red bow. This she gave to the woman who constantly has white pine trees dropping branches in bad weather, usually on my fence. All I could think of when I saw it was "Oh, God, another tree branch." But I was good, I smiled and thanked her and even tied it to my porch. It is going on the burn pile after the first of the year.

For those of you who have cats or dogs that tend to knock ornaments off the Christmas tree, here is an option. it looks like a good idea to me. It was invented by early teen boys. They went on Shark Tank but were turned down. They didn't let that stop them and they are making LOTS of money now.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Ornament-Anchor/5013666931

DONNA:,
I am so glad you are home, and Fergie and cats are sure to be very happy! You seem to be doing really well! That's really nice your son was so helpful about fixing up your house for you.

ELLEN:
That's a clever ornament hanger those boys came up with. I think I'll stick to plastic and wood ornaments anyway, my cats also clever....and destructive.

TRUDY:
That treadmill sounds like a lot of work! I have a regular treadmill that I can't force myself to use, so I know I wouldn't do a manual one. My barn is 300 feet from the house and the way back to the house is uphill. So I try to make myself walk it as fast as I can. According to my pounding heart, it seems fast enough. I am getting better at going faster, slowly, but surely. I go to the barn three or four times a day. I really got out of shape while taking a heart medication last year that kept my heart from beating fast, even when I needed it to. I could barely walk up from the barn, much less go fast. They changed the meds and I am much better this year. In the past 3 years, my major health issues were prescribed to me by my cardiologist.

INDYAPP:
Very sweet of your cousin! She probably never thought about all your trees. Oh, well.....

GRAYMARE:
More rain here. We had about a day and a half of no rain and almost didn't know how to act. It was supposed to be sunny, but it wasn't. We put up some solar lights and it hasn't been sunny enough to charge them. My horses look like mudballs, but it is too chilly to give them a bath. They would just roll in the mud again anyway. Next Monday we are taking Daisy and Areion for feet trims. I suspect they are going to look like paints. Dirty paints.

We have rain too. My guys all decided to become little piggies and have been wallowing in the mud. I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt and say they only do it because they have their winter jammies on and the temps are too high so they are trying to cool off. Not that it's all that terribly warm, just too warm for hairy beasts.

Christmas is getting close. The big purchase I made this year was a boxed set of the Harry Potter books for my great niece. She's all about Harry Potter right now. I still have to figure out what to get her little brother. They already have more toys than they need. I make the 529 College savings deposits, but from a 6 year old point of view that's boring. He already has every Nerf gun out there. I'll come up with something.

Indy, I have 6 kids to buy for, ages 11 to 3. Since siblings tend to be a little jealous of what the others have, I TRY to find something that will suit all of them. This year, I found hover soccer disks. They are about 8 inches across and have a rechargeable battery and come with the cord to charge them. They could be played with in the house without wrecking the furniture, or outside.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085KVP2G4?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

Yes, the treadmill is hard work, but I am getting the hang of it.  I, no longer have the death grip on the handlebar and have figured out that I need to wear the right shoes (slippers are a no no) and use the right pace(heel to toe) to keep it moving.  I LOVE a challenge so it is working for me.  I can do 10 minutes without breaking a sweat and have increased my pace.  Not ready to jog yetttttttt. 20 minutes a day equals about my goal of ONE MILE per day...I bought a little boom box so I can play my CD's as I walk along now that I have the thing figured out.  Of course, I would rather be out walking in the field and woods but this will do until bad weather goes away.  

We had the BIG snow storm the weather people were carrying on about.  Maybe 2 inches...NOT 9 inches like they were calling for...lots of freezing rain and ice...of course,we stayed inside and watched the storm move thru.  Up north a few miles away they did get the 9 inches...it was mainly rain and turned the snow into slush.  Lots of accidents anyway.  People have no clue how to drive in bad weather.

Once the nasty freezing rain stopped we took our little old neighbor Donna's mail & packages up to her yesterday.  Didn't want her trying to get down her long and nasty driveway in her little car.  

Today is George's 78th birthday. My coffee club girls came out the other day and brought him a birthday cake. YUMMMMMM He was so surprised...

Hard to believe Christmas is almost here and 2023 is right around the corner. Praying it is a better year for our great country.

Stay safe & healthy...

Indy, do you have a lot of snow? It's been gloomy and dark all day and snowing very lightly, only enough to barely cover the ground.

Good Morning All,

It is the last week before Christmas and I'm getting stressed thinking about all that I will have to do. My Son and GF are coming on Friday, late and staying till the 27th. They know that I need help to make meals and clean up so hopefully they are on the ball. I have had enough of a Daughter In Law that did absolutely NOTHING, Priscilla is different but they have those damn cell phones out and in their faces all the time. Ask me if I have patience with that, lol.   Maybe Im getting old and crotchety!

I'm up early, couldn't sleep thinking of all I have to get done today. I'm going to church this a.m., my friend is picking me up, first time since I broke my hip. Then there is a Community Christmas supper at the church at 4-6 and another friend is picking me up. I have always worked at these for years but this year I'm just going to be a sit down and eat person.

I get so frustrated here in the house, I can get to everything that is on this level but basement is out! Most everything that I need in down there and I have to wait till someone comes to fetch stuff for me.  I had Allison, Andrew and Ava here off and on the last three days. This was their Christmas trip, leaving early this a.m. for home in Antigonish. They are going to Puta Cana on Boxing Day for a week. They need the break from their work.  Ava is so sweet and such a good little girl, eighteen months and not into everything, loves playing with my coasters, and I have a lot of them,   I would send a picture of her if I knew how to get it on here. ARK, maybe you can help.



Ok, now I need to get my breakfast, into shower and get myself ready. All have a good day.

Donna

Donna, I have grabbers in several places around the house to pick up things or reach things.
Both of the ones below are strong enough to handle canned goods and other stuff, like wet laundry from the washer.
Here's what I have:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08WY9QZTR/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&psc=1

DONNA:
Just email me the photo from your phone to: Arkazivan@gmail.com
I will post it for you!

We have a light dusting of snow is all although rumor has it we will be getting 6 inches or more this weekend.

ELLEN, I saw those hover games too and gave it some serious consideration. I ended up passing on them but would love to know if they are a hit with the kids or not.

I had to make a non-Christmas related trek to the post office this morning. Stereotypical line out the door. All things considered the line was moving along pretty good. I needed to send a letter out to the IRS that I wanted to be able to track. Interesting to see the size and quantity of packages people wait until the last minute to send.

Aaarrrrgggghhhh! A scammer broke into the game I was playing this afternoon, pretending to be my internet/TV service. I didn't fall for it but wound up having to delete all of my browsing history. Now, I'm having to rebuild it. I guess I won't miss the sites I've forgotten to add back to the history. I got this one, which is the most important.
Why can't scammers put some of their energy into doing good instead of being mean.

INDYAPP:
I have a small present to send just 75 miles away tomorrow and wonder if it would be faster to just take it instead of waiting in line....
No snow here, but I saw some spits a day or two ago. The temps will be plunging on Friday. I guess I will drag out the blankies for the herd.

ELLEN:
I have wondered the same thing. Such bright people who can't resist a fast buck, I guess. Think what they could contribute to society if they were as motivated to do good.


Weird day today on the animal front. We were supposed to take Daisy and Areion to Va tech for trims, but the farrier texted and asked to delay because he is sick. So now they are going in a week. Dorian GrayCat wasn't eating, so managed to get an appointment for tomorrow. That was lucky because getting into the vet school , or any other vet clinic, is hard these days. Someone had cancelled so Dorian gets in tomorrow morning. Then Shadow, our collie, got into some trouble and may have pulled some muscles. Donnie was taking down some branches over a fence line and the fence was open to the creek which is down a very steep almost cliff-like hillside. He got tangled into briars while near the creek, struggled to get loose and fell half way into the creek, then struggled so hard he wore himself out and may have pulled some muscles in his hips or legs. Donnie got down there to get him loose, tied a rope to him and I pulled Shadow up the slick hillside while Donnie pushed him from behind. I think some really wicked briars scratched his underside, also. Poor guy could barely walk. We ended up getting him into the little lawn tractor trailer and took him on up to the house. He is better this evening. We are going to clip off his cute feathers on his back legs, so he may be a bit chillier, but shouldn't get stuck so easy again.

DONNA:

I inserted the photo of you and Ava into your last post. What a cutie! And Ava, too!!
You both look wonderful.

Morning Ark,

Thanks for putting that picture up. I tried and tried and nothing!!!! I'm obviously not doing something right.

Ava is just eighteen months, a tall girl and really smart. Not talking a streak yet but she knows what she is saying and understands everything you say to her. It will come out in a sentence one of these days. The poor baby has had a cold/chest/infection for weeks now. After they got home on Sunday she had a temp again and sick. Having her flu shot this week if she can get rid of the cold symptoms. They are going to Puta Cana on Boxing Day so hopefully the warm weather will help get rid of all bugs.

Have a dentist appointment this a.m. at nine. No snow so I'll drive myself and do a few errands while I'm out. The week is going by and John and GF coming on Friday till Tuesday. I'll be happy for the help and to have family around. Two friends of mine coming for Christmas dinner so will be fun.

Later

Donna

Donna, it's good to see a picture of you and Ava. She looks like a happy little girl.

This morning we have a strange blue color in the sky. It's been weeks since we saw that. It's been cold and going to be colder as the week goes on. The lakes are starting to freeze over.

DONNA, that picture with AVA is darling. It does our hearts good to see you well and happy with your
new hip.

Boy, this Christmas is possibly going to have bad weather all over the country.

I just heard from Rex's owner that he died which is so sad. He got cancer and only lasted 4 weeks after
diagnosis.............Chemo was out of the question. The young man that owned him loved him a
lot and gave him the best care possible. Very sad.