May 2013....

I'm getting a bit concerned about Ark since we haven't heard from her since Sunday. Sure hope she shows up SOON!

CB, my neighbor is doing okay. He and his wife and the rest of the neighbors got together for pizza at the hotel last evening. I gave him a T-shirt on which I had embroidered "Water Boy" surrounded by some water splashing. Everybody got a kick out of it. Since he has chronic lung problems, there is only so much improving that he is going to do, but the possible water-born infection has been avoided.

Still no ARK???

Casper showing in his first dressage show Saturday. Nope, I'm not riding. My horse is very talented but, alas, his Mom is having trouble keeping up with him. I will endeavor to keep trying but decided this was not the time. Trainer agrees with me. I'll try to post some pics.


CB...yes you are going to need an AC! We have had a really nice long spring here. I am loving it! Hasn't made it to 90 yet and usually by this time of year it's hitting 90 most every day. Cool at night also.

Hugs and prayers for all who need them!

Sorry to take so long to get back. I am doing great! 20/20 in both eyes!! But I have to use reading glasses to read.....no sweat!

I have a lesson in a few minutes. Be back later.....

Great news, Ark!
I know my cousin's wife had her eyes done a few years ago. After wearing VERY thick-lensed glasses all her life, she was just ecstatic about being able to see.

TP, let us know how Casper does.

Ellen
yep, I know how your cousin's wife felt! After a lifetime of bottle bottom glasses, I feel set free! I have to learn new habits. I find myself pushing non-existant glasses up on my nose, LOL. And everything looks slightly bigger. I couldn't believe how big my feet got all of a sudden!

TP
good luck for Caspar at the show! Tell all....I am taking Ivan to a little show on May 24. If i can keep his nerves calm, we should do better than last year. I really love the lessons we take together. We are only doing walk/trot classes at the show, no cantering.

Indyapp
sorry about your back. I hope you recover fast. I think you should tell a big whopper horse story about how you hurt it!.....;-)

Ivan and I had a fun lesson today. We worked on opening a rope gate from both sides, pulling something with a rope and he jumped barrels on a lunge line. Our slow trotting was soooo slow.

well I am checking in while Kent is taking a nap, he had his surgery last Saturday and they let him go home on Monday 2 days after surgery, they repaired his hip and he is NOT allowed to do anything for awhile and no weight on his right leg for up to 6 weeks so for now I am his nurse, maid, cook no time for myself until I am sure he is not going to do anything stupid we are hoping it heals otherwise they will have to replace the hip

C.B.asked me to let you know that her computer went down and she is waiting for her daughter to help her set up her other one so she will be back asquick as she can

Sunny
It is very fortunate that Kent has you there! Tell him to take his time and let himself heal.

I have to admit to a guilty pleasure of not lifting over 20 pounds for a couple of weeks. Donnie has been helping me clean the barn in the morning and it has been like a vacation for me! That will end soon enough.

Ellen
I am really happy to hear your neighbor is recovering! I bet he loved his custom made shirt!

It is raining here this afternoon, so we are going to see the new Star Trek movie. Should be fun! I will watch it with my new eyes.....;-)

It has been a busy day so far. Cousins stayed overnight here, fixed them breakfast this morning, they went to motor show; across-the-road neighbor came over and installed a whole home serge protector; made ice cream for a neighborhood party; went to motor show for a little while; came home and went to neighborhood party; now, back to the motor show for the rest of the afternoon and evening. We'll ride the Dixie and eat pizza. Busy day, but a good one.

Yes, the neighbor liked his shirt and was wearing it at the party, showing it off to everybody. The near-drowning was very serious, so the shirt lightens it up a little bit.

Unfortunately, I'll be on the Dixie when the Preakness goes off. I'll have to see reruns later. I'd like to see an chance at the Triple Crown.

Hallllooooo.......I think I'm all alone in here.

Rainy day on and off today ... is OK we can use the rain to get things starting to grow after our miserable spring ..... Geoff put down some grass seed before it started, so that is nice to get rain on it to get it started. REAL rain way better than artificial watering.

Congratulations, ARK! What a wonderful gift! You deserve it.

SUNNY, tell Kent that I, too, am rooting for him. You two have had a tough time.

Yes, FOOPS ALL, I'm still here!

Nope, CB, no snows any more -- though it is true that, as of last week, there remained an 8-foot-high pile of it in a parking lot 13 miles south of me that was so dirty you'd have to look hard to recognize it as snow. I'm told that employees in the store there kick into a pool with bets on when the pile will finally completely melt. I wonder how they measure. Would a teaspoon left still count??

Now we have brand new leaves -- and grass, too! The leaves came in just the last two weeks, with some, like the black locusts', still just aborning. But I've already mowed the lawn once, and it's time to do it again. Altogether, though we're actually behind in rainfall, it's lush and gloriously beautiful here right now. I love it.

Peas are up, spinach up and eaten by some tiny varmint, onions flourishing, broccoli and brussels sprouts transplanted, lots more still to plant. Meanwhile, the lilacs are already blooming, as are the lillies of the valley. .. Ah, the aromas in the air....

High drama here the other night. I'd been out to the barn for the last horse feeding just before 11 and was reading in bed at about 11:20 when the two dogs began barking the kind of bark that says, Mom, there's something SERIOUS outside, something REALLY, REALLY SERIOUS, AND WE REALLY REALLY MEAN IT. I so believed them that I raced downstairs barefoot to get the big flashlight from the kitchen, and while I was there, I could hear the crunch of plastic birdfeeders being demolished outside. I got the light to the picture window in the living room just in time to come face to face with a big black bear. He was only about 10 feet away, but he didn't linger at all, and when I raced back upstairs to getter a better view (and maybe to feel a little safer), he was nowhere to be seen. Walked off with the feeders, though, which are also still nowhere to be seen. Needless to say, I now take the remaining ones in at night -- and feed the horse a little earlier, and have a good cautious look around before stepping out of the house at that time of night, and after letting the dogs go out first. The horse, by the way, who was free to go in or out of his stall to an acre or more of paddock, knew something was up that night, because I could hear him snorting. You're on your own, buddy, I decided, wimp that I was. And we all survived.

Yes, ELLEN, I've been riding BOTH scooters, and put 70 miles on Golden Girl one warm day in April. Still a little cool for it this week, though, and showery.

Oh, dear, get me going at last and I can't shut up...

Hi Beech! Good to see you checking in. I'm sure I'd have been running up those stairs too upon seeing that bear!

Gotta leave for work. More later.

well, things are not going as well I had hoped, Kent is not healing very fast, his pain level is not going down and he is having trouble getting a apointment for a follow-up from surgery, this Saturday will be 2 weeks out after surgery,they put him on blood thinners but have not come out to take blood so that he can continue taking the meds, his blood platelets have been real low so they needed to keep a close eye on them but so far nothing, Kent has not realy gotten better since his stroke last year and that is the hip that he broke it was already weak,the right side was affected by the stroke and since he had no real care from it he never gained his full strength back, this is looking like it will take many months to heal and Kent is not dealing with it very well, right now I don't get any time to myself and it is hard to do errands I have to go and get back fast, I will be so glad when things start to go back to normal, he is like a kid that won't be still and you have to watch him like a hawk I will keep checking in when I can to up-date you

prayers needed for all those affected by those bad tornados the death toll is rising and a lot of the victims are children I have a friend on another site that was spared the destruction but now they are getting together and getting clothes, food, dog and cat food, diapers, and anything else they can get to help out the people of Moore Oklahoma I wish that I could do something to help but I will keep on praying for all those affected, no matter how bad our lives get theese people are devistated, homeless, scared, I feel so bad for them, this year has been a bad one for cold, snow, rain and tornados,lets pray that the weather gets better for everyone

SUNNY
Poor Kent. I really hope he gets the right help quickly. How are you feeling, Dawn?

CB
Tell that daughter to hurry and fix your computer! We need news!

ELLEN
Hellllooooooo! LOL, I know how you feel!
Did I mention that I have entered a 4K race on June 1st? Yep me, who believes that's what I pay Ivan to do, carry me over all 'K's. I am meeting my sisters in Bristol, Va/Tn and we are doing the race together. Have I practiced? Wellllll.....no. They just did a 10K race and lived thru it. I am not sure I will be very competitive, but it might be fun. I suspect it would be more fun if Ivan was going with me......

BEECH
Yikes! A bear in the dark is NOT what I would want to see in my yard!! And where was your camera? LOL.....Good dogs! They told the truth!
I am glad you posted. I worried about you all winter. It sure was a long one.

I have a new hobby: I am into reading glasses. I just found out the Dollar Store has them for a dollar! I bought a red pair and a purple pair there today. I can't get over buying glasses over the counter that I can actually use! I have reading glasses stashed all over the place. My next hobby will be sunglasses....:-)....

I rode Ivan for a few minutes yesterday and today. Not long, but he did so well both times. We are going to the local horse show on Sat and I want him ready to work every day. He is not very calm in a crowd, I hope working a lot will calm him down a little.

CAROL
How are you feeling? Is the snow mould gone yet?

Yippee! Kellie and Derek won DWTS! She was soooo good, and Derek was able to choreograph things with her he hasn't been able to do with anybody else, other than maybe his sister. I'll be sorry to not see them dance anymore.

right now my life is on hold until Kent can walk on his leg which does not look like any time too soon i am not complaining but it is hard for me with everything going on in my life i can't leave him alone he is still weak from the stroke and is frustrated over being helpless and he tries to do what he is not ready for so I have to keep him in line the state won't allow him a nurse to help out and they know that there is only so much I can do for him but no matter how bad I feel the people of Oklahome have lost everything children, homes, everything they own so I feel grateful and pray for all those affected by the tornados,and wished there was something I could do to help,

wow, bears, eye surgeries, Kent breaking, horse shows, I have missed a lot!

A RK, congrats on your eyes! NEW EYES! YAY! Good luck on your race and your show coming up! You'll do great!

Ellen, have you seen those Cat Meow things on tv for your kitties? They look like they would be lots of fun for the cats and for those watching!
:dance
darn puter.trying to use the old one...
Beech, seeing a bear eye ball to eyeball...is not something I would like either! When I was a teen, I heard a moth scratching on my window screen and I kept flopping my stuff toy at it to make it go away...when something grabbed the toy and when I turned around was eyeball to eyeball with a big black bear....he got to keep the part of the toy he took with him! I screamed and flipped over backwards right off of my bed!

TP, youll be up and showing your new guy soon! He sounds ery nice! You go girl!

Carol,, are you doing better now?

Indy, how's the back?

Dawn, hang tough...one day at a time...k

we were off picking up pallets for free...we got some nice decking pallets about 8 by 12, and some of those will make some great storage shed floors or my addition floors....yesss....nice. And we found a lumber mill that sells seconds really cheap and was able to get 120 two by fours for 50 bucks...this will keep the hubb busy for some time to come...

hoping kid will have time to fix my puter up for me....

Sunny, sending prayers your way for a good recovery for Kent.

CB, it's good to have you back, no matter what computer you are using. The last of my cats crossed the Rainbow Bridge last summer.

Ark, I'm sure you'll have a great time on your 10K. If nothing else, you and your sisters will have 5 miles to visit.

CB
Good to have you back!!

ELLEN
I am only doing a 4k run....about 2.5 miles. My sisters are into 10k races...although the finish line pix look like they were on the verge of a heart attack in the next three steps, LOL.

SUNNY
Take good care of yourself, too. ((((((Dawn)))))


We went to Galax, VA today to our dentist. No toothy problems for either of us! We raced a big thunderstorm that was going our way on the way home. It caught us part of the way. No riding Ivan this evening.

The new tractor arrived today. It is very cute. We will introduce it to its smaller brother, the lawn tractor, tomorrow... Both are John Deeres..

This will make your day:

http://www.wimp.com/orangutandog/

Prayers for ALL............hope you're O K SUNNY.

That is great Graymare ... what a cute pair they make and seem to make good company for each other .... I love that the orangatang shares his food ..... rather dog likes it or not. LOL very cute.

Thanks for sharing.

What a neat video! Love that one.

Sorry Ellen, I don't remember things well....will you be getting a new kitty? I thought it looked like a neat toy that cats would like for any of y'all that have cats.

We had RAIN with a light show and the noises to go with last night most of the night....it was funny, weather advisory warning was up to 10 p.m and just as we were thinking...ahhhhh and could go to bed, the show started and the rain! and lasted until the wee hours of the morning! Our power went out about 11 but I was seeing this glow outside the window, and I opened the door and could smell burning plastic or something....so we donned coats and ran out and our power hookup to the camper was on fire! Oh yes!
We put it out quickly and all was well, except for this smell in the air and camper....we were lucky we weren't asleep!....geesh....Today we have flash flood warnings and more boomers on the way. It rained about 4 inches last night!

Hubby is out working on the underground line this morning...guess it got him jump started...

CB, while I love animals, I have no plans to get another one anytime soon. I don't go away from home very often, but it's much easier to just go without having to plan for pet care while I'm gone.

Sure is a good thing you were still awake last night! Whew!

WOW, horrible news. Did you guys see the horses they showed on the news that survived the tornado in OK? Dear God. There was one man that lost his entire racing barn. It broke my heart to see it.

Prayers for ALL!!

I didn't see that one, Graymare. Probably a good thing I didn't; I wouldn't be able to sleep. The losses in that tornado were just horrible.