January 2018

Prayers for Harry................Brother, he's sure been through it lately.

Yes, prayers for Harry. I hope he can heal up and be well for a while.

Prayers for Harry. OUCH that had to hurt. He sure has been thru the wringer lately.

Oh, Poor Harry!  I am so sorry for his injury. He sure didn't need that on top of everything else.  I hope he recovers really fast.....


I had a really nice ride on Ivan at Pandapas Pond on Saturday.  Lori rode her mustang, Tonto, and we went about 5 miles.  The trails were very muddy and sometimes slick, but we plodded along and had a good time in the 54 degree weather.  It was the first time I have ridden since before Christmas and longer since we went on a trail ride.     I think everyone in the county must have had the same idea, we kept coming across hikers and mountain bikers, who probably had a muddier time than us.  We even saw a guy with a unicycle!  Cabin fever has struck us all, I guess.  Ivan was good, but a bit frisky at first.  No exercise will do that.  He settled in quickly and we had a good time.




Then we got home after stopping for a big iced tea.  As I got out of the truck, I picked up my 32 ounce tea, my new cellphone (that I carefully take care of) and a bottle of water.  The bottle of water slipped, I grabbed at it and squashed my phone against the Styrofoam cup of tea.   The cup broke and I drowned my new cellphone.  It is now a paperweight that doesn't work.     So tonight we are going to WalMart to see just how good that warranty we bought is.  My old cellphones that I had for years are all laughing at me.  They still work.

Oh gads, ARK. What a dreadful thing to happen..........pain
majora. Good Luck with your cell phone company.

Your riding photo is great...........glad you're having fun with Ivan..........

We went to Wal-Mart with all the paperwork and dead phone in hand. They said the warranty will give us our purchase price back, as a Walmart gift card, but we would have to buy a new phone. So we did and Donnie has nearly got it all set up. I guess we will use the gift card for awhile to get cat food and such.... Luckily, the iPhone 6 is still on sale there.

Talking on a phone has sure gotten complicated.

GRAYMARE
You would not believe how saddle sore I am after a little 5 mile walking ride. I can sure tell I haven't ridden in weeks.

I'm laughing to myself, ARK, when I used to listen on the party line when I was about 7-8............My friends & I used to do it all the time when we could. We used to listen to the old ladies in town talk about their friends , etc.

Egads. I think Harry needs to be wrapped in bubble wrap for a while. I hope he is feeling better.

All the snow has melted away here in Elkhart, IN. Temps have been in the 40s over this past weekend. No sunshine to speak of, but at least warmer. Last night we had Thunder and Lightning. Today temps are back below freezing and snow flurries.

I've been having difficulties with light headedness for the past couple of weeks. Finally broke down and went to Dr yesterday. Confirmed that it's not the flu as I have no other problems. Came to the conclusion it's an ear problem. It sounds as if it just may be something I have to get use to. Hopefully it will not keep me from riding once the weather gets better.

ARK:  Those darn Smart phones.  They sure are delicate.  I have a big case on mine to protect it from me.

GRAYMARE:  Funny you would mention party lines, out pastor was just talking about them the other day at church.  He asked anyone who had a party line to raise their hands, lots of hands went up.  The youngster were looking around at us who raised our hands like we were from another planet.  LOL

INDYAPP:  Be careful with the dizzy stuff.

I'm off to the eye doctor for my annual visit.  I fear she is going to recommend cataract surgery. My eyes are getting worse and night time driving is not fun at all.  Oh well, it's all in God's hands.

My friend Lizzie fell on the mud and broke her hand yesterday, be careful everyone.  We have ice under the mud.  I'm still wearing my ice cleats to go out and feed the barn cats.

I agree about the bubble wrap. Dr. Says he needs to be close to hospital, he said srokes can happen again, to gauge our travels staying near hospitals for that just in case scenario.
We will travel this summer and then find us a nice spot in az close to a hospital to settle down. We have sold the horses, hauling them to new mexico and a family is coming to pick them up. Trudy tell your friend thankyou about boarding, but wont need to.  Im torn about this. We have had horses in our lives for so darn long. I thought i might get to ride with Ark, Rose, or GM and any others that still have horses...that was my dream. 
Buttttttt......
Guess its time. I told hubby when we look fir our settle down olace it better not have land and horses allowed, or i just mught get another one.....so we are looking at houses on large lot so dogs can run and play in their fenced yard.
Im not a happy camper....

Trudy, I can sure sympathize with your friend who broke her hand.  It was just a year and two weeks ago that I slipped on loose gravel and broke my wrist.  It is completely fine now, but I haven't forgotten.

CB, it is really hard to give up such an important part of our lives, but the time comes when we have to.  

Indy, I hope you can find a cause and a resolution for the light headedness.  
Is it snowing again at your house this morning?

Ark, Best Buy has good insurance on phones.  It's more expensive, but within two years they will replace a broken/lost phone for any reason.  I've had cell phones for 30 years and so far, I've never lost or broken one.  Of course, having said that, it will probably happen today.

About that party line thing...  We had one when I was a little kid.  The first phone was a wooden box on the wall that had a crank on one side.  The sequence of cranks determined who you were calling.  The pattern of rings let us know whether it was for our house or somebody else on the line.  Then, after building a new house, we had one of the "new" phones, black with a dial on it, but still a party line.  Our phone number had 4 digits.  Calling long distance was a BIG deal.  That only happened in extreme situations because it was expensive.  
That seems sooo long ago.  Well... guess it was.

On the road again.....we have sold the horses to a family in san diego. He is a  lt. Col in marines, has a 13 yr old daughter who has been takung lessons for 3 years. Want them syructly for trail riding. A good home i think. They are meeting us in new mexico. Just gettin old,  time for a rocking chair on the front porch....sigh....

On the road again.....we have sold the horses to a family in san diego. He is a  lt. Col in marines, has a 13 yr old daughter who has been takung lessons for 3 years. Want them syructly for trail riding. A good home i think. They are meeting us in new mexico. Just gettin old,  time for a rocking chair on the front porch....sigh....

On the road again.....we have sold the horses to a family in san diego. He is a  lt. Col in marines, has a 13 yr old daughter who has been takung lessons for 3 years. Want them syructly for trail riding. A good home i think. They are meeting us in new mexico. Just gettin old,  time for a rocking chair on the front porch....sigh....

CB, that little girl will be out-of-her mind excited.

INDYAPP:
I am hoping by now that your dizziness is over. Could it be an inner ear infection? Also sorry about your friend's broken wing!

CB:
I can imagine your pain having to sell your horses. I hope you find a place where you can be involved with horses, perhaps a rental place or rehab place where you can be with horses. I can see that keeping horses with Harry's health problems would be difficult.

GRAYMARE:
When we first moved to Virginia in 1978, we were on a party line. It was only for a couple of years before we got a single line, but it was interesting. We didn't know who our party people were since we were new to the county, but I was glad to get a single line.
But at least we didn't have to worry about drowning our phone! My former cellphone is still working, away from our property, but not at home. I took it riding last weekend so I could call Donnie from out in the woods. I figured if I dropped it in a creek or Ivan stepped on it, no big deal, the phone will expire soon anyway. So then I went straight from the ride and drowned my new and improved phone....

ELLEN:
We got insurance on the phone from WalMart since that is where we bought it. It just seems a bit strange that they pay off the insurance with a WalMart gift card. Kind of self-serving on their part. But I am sure we will spend it, who can avoid WalMart?

We had snow flurries yesterday, nothing stuck, but it is colder today. The good news is, it will be in the 50s tomorrow and Saturday! Lori wants me to bring Areion for a ride at Pandapas Pond on Saturday... ....It is the first time I have taken her as my sole mount on a trail ride without Ivan going along. She did go to a few horse shows without him and did just fine, so I hope she remembers that. Lori will bring her mustang, Tonto, and a couple of other ladies may come with their geldings. She will be the only mare. I will be wearing my new Hit-Air safety vest.... I will let you know if all goes well. Or not... It will only be a couple of hours ride.

Yesterday Ivan and Areion were explosively full of energy. Lack of exercise in the muddy weather finally got to them. So I got them into the arena and indicated I wanted them to move. I didn't have to do much, they galloped as hard as they could for about 15 rounds, flying over obstacles. Daisy was in the arena, calmly eating her haynet and not moving anything but her mouth. They finally slowed down and joined Daisy for breakfast. So today I made them move again in the arena. No galloping, just a nice easy canter, then trotting and walking on command. Their marbles had returned and they had blown off their steam the day before. They are going to be exercising every day as long as the weather cooperates. Hopefully Areion won't be an explosion in waiting on Saturday.

CB, so glad you can now be free of the responsibility of horses and no place to keep them...........that had to be hard. You want to travel and no matter how good the horses are, it is a big deal to haul everywhere.
I'll bet Harry is really relieved. So glad it worked out for you. That young girl will love your horses........I'm sure she is beyond excited.

Our weather is nice here, so far. We are desperately in need of rain
but none to be had. Bad news. Also, we have no snow pack in the mtns, more bad news. We'll see.

Everyone have a good week end.

God bless. Prayers for ALL.

Ark, how was your ride today? The weather here would have been pretty good for a ride, if rather muddy.

CB:  Sorry to hear about the horses.  It's such a difficult decision to have to make.  I'll let Dave know that your won't be boarding at his place.  I'm sure he will disappointed, I told him all about what a great fun girl you are.

ARK:  Hope your ride on Areion was a good safe one.

Not much going on here.  The weather has let up a bit and the below zero temps have moved away.

 Another friend taken to the ER (heart attack) and a old grade school friend passed away.   This getting old can really suck at times.  Sometimes I look in the mirror and think "how did I get this dang old?  Where did the years go?"  We have to cherish everyday that we are given.

Traitor Red saw that girl ran across the pen and literall hugged her if a horse can hug....the dad said, well rocky, looks like its you and me, ricky stuck his nose up and smelled him all over and then dripped his head i guess saying ok...and got petted and loved on. But red anazed me! Its like they knew, heard us talking that we tried to find them the best home we could. The dad led ricky to the trailer, he stepped right up, the daughter liaded red in....both went in so good, seemed happy, got one final liok as they got on, but it wasnt a glare like rocky did before when the gals tried them in az. Horses are smart.
Yes its a big empty hole...lots of tears....i miss them.

CB, sounds like the horses were telling you it's okay. I'll bet those two will get lots of love and care for a long time to come.

TRUDY:
 I am so sorry about your friends.  Getting old does seem to  mean we get to see a lot of friends leave.....


CB:
 I think your horses did choose their people.  That is how we ended up with Daisy, too.  Four people standing there and she walked up to Donnie and wrapped her front leg around his leg.  It was love at first sight.  You did good finding the right people.  

ELLEN:
Areion and I went on a trail ride at Pandapas Pond Park  without Ivan going along. This was a first! She has never gone on a trail ride without her barn buddy and she never acted like she missed him. I rode her with Lori  on Tonto and Rebekah  on  her QH, Zip. Areion was wonderful! It was super muddy and she had to be very careful where she stepped in her boots so she wouldn't slip. It was a harder than usual ride for her with the mud, but she picked her way down the path and never slipped. She was fabulous, never spooked at anything, and acted like a good trail horse.  I did have to watch how close we got to Zip, though.  Areion wanted to take a chunk out of his hiney.  Luckily, she is easy to keep a distance from the horses in front, unlike Ivan who fights to be right up with them.  Areion did NOT want either gelding behind her, though, so we were last in the line.  Ivan doesn't care if anyone is behind him, he prefers it.  So we had a very nice ride....except my saddle was about 2 inches off to the right and I could not get it to shift without getting off, and I didn't want to get off.  So I rode 5 miles mostly on one hip bone.     The good news is that Areion didn't react to that, she is getting used to me being all over her in a non-Lori proper sort of way.  Areion is just so tall for me that getting on is painful enough once and not at all without a mounting block.




So the ride went very well and Areion loaded up easily.  I was very pleased with her.  On the way home pulling the trailer, Donnie and I were having a great discussion about the Game of Thrones book we just both finished and I popped a hard red/white peppermint into my mouth.  I inhaled as I did it and the mint went down my throat instantly.  It got stuck in my throat, but luckily I could still mostly breathe.   It wouldn't move and water just came back out,  I was fairly concerned and in a bit of pain.   We just happened to be passing the hospital in Christiansburg, so we went to the emergency room.  I could barely talk, but of course, getting registered was very important to the ER folks.  How tall was I?  How much did I weigh?  Show us your driver's license and medical insurance card.  Wheeze, wheeze...... Then I got stuck into a room with no one around for several minutes before someone showed up.  It was a guy for more registration info.  What was my social security number? (I had to think on that..)   Signed more papers.  Finally a nurse came in and gave me a hot cup of tea to help dissolve the mint and told me to push the button if I needed anything.  Several more minutes passed and the mint finally slid down into my stomach.  I pushed the red button, I needed to get home, there was a horse standing out in the parking lot waiting for me.  No one came,  I could see the nurses' station and the buzzer and light going off where I had pushed the button.  Several more minutes passed and the nurse finally came back and declared me fit to leave.   Areion was patiently eating her hay in the trailer and not freaked out at all.  Donnie was a bit freaked,  I was a bit more freaked.   It was after dark when we finally got home.  Such was our day....

CB, you must have been comforted to know your horses are OK &
and happy with their new people. I just ride around home and don't
trailer for the big rides. I just piddle around. BUT, I thank God for
the past and my experiences and fun. You had good long run
and lots of fun. You took a big step, bravery for sure. I hope you &
HARRY the best of travels.

ARK. Good grief. You rode all day, got finished, loaded, and then
choked on a mint...........Put that in your book of fiascos. I'm just glad you're OK. Nice to hear Aerion did great.

God bless, prayers for ALL.

CB:  AWWWWW now you know the horses will be happy and well cared for with the owners they chose for them selves.  Funny how that works.  When Rick and his dad came up from Pittsburgh to pick up Mack he went right to Rick's dad like he had known him forever.  Loved all over him.  Rick's dad had just put his horse down a couple of weeks prior to them coming up to get Mack.  Mack was for Rick's daughters, but we knew he really was Rick's dad's horse, he still is, now the girls are in college, Mack is happily spending time with Rick's dad.  Sorry but I can't remember the guys name.  LOL  The girls send me photos of Mack all the time. 

ARK:  OMG what a horrible experience after the wonderful ride with Areion.  I would think that someone choking on something would cause a little more hands on immediate action.  ER's today are ridiculous.  I'm going to share the hot water trick with my church greeters, we have a huge bowl of those peppermints at the Hub for anyone who would like one.

My friend Dee James is having a heart cath today.  Hum a little for her please.  She grew up on the farm where we live, and  has great stories of living here as a child.  NO furnace in this big old farm house, just a oil fired heater in one room.  One day I was riding Jazzy and she stopped and introduced herself, we have been friends ever since. She has MS, is in a motorized wheel chair and a heart cath is nothing she needs to deal with.

This came in as a private message here, but was meant to be sent to all of us:

From DONNA:

Good Morning all you Foops and a Happy New Year to those that I haven't talked to since last year!!!! I just happened to be going through my web pages and saw that this one was still on my list. I haven't forgotten you all but life happens and I don't spend as much time on the computer as I used to.

Im doing fine, the house is empty with just Fergie, the three cats and me. The weather this winter hasn't been so bad as far as snow is concerned, my neighbour lows me out after there is a storm. Got a new car last Aug that is AWD so Im good to go. Love my Escape.

BTW, Fergie is an eight month old poodle, got her when she was eight weeks old, the month after Jack died. She is great company and has kept me busy, I know that Jack would love her.

OK, Im getting my breakfast and ready to start the day so will sign off for now. All have a great day.

DONNA:
Hiya!!! Good to see you here! You posted to the wrong place somehow, but I moved your message. If you look at the top or bottom of the page you will see a flowery "Reply". I haven't figured out how to change the font on that and it is hard to spot sometimes. Anyway, it is great to hear that you are getting along well with Fergie the poodle! We need pix, of course....


TRUDY:
This isn't our regular hospital, we just happened to be going by it when I inhaled the peppermint. We had never been there before and if at all possible, will never go again. They were so understaffed, except by registration people. I saw one nurse after a longer than should have been wait. When you walk in the ER door, there was some kind of standing computer screen to log into. We had no idea what to do. I am glad I wasn't totally not breathing or bleeding from my ears.... This same hospital has huge billboards all over saying "Only this many minutes to wait in the ER" with a changing number on it. Ha! They throw you in a room and THEN you get to wait quite a long time. We've been to our regular hospital's ER a few times over the years and never had to wait more than a few minutes for a REAL person to help us out. It is a different company. Next time I will choke a few minutes longer and go there. Actually, I have given up mints....sigh.... I am not looking forward to the bill for that cup of tea.
I wear a helmet and a protective vest on Areion, have safety stirrups, ride with a friend, and have a phone or radio to call for help when on a trail ride. So I come in and nearly die of a peppermint.