Irregularities

I've posted about normalcy, habits, routine, and order.  We all need regularity, consistency, and limits in our lives.  This sense of order makes life more efficient, productive, and cuts down on stress.  We feel the most secure when our lives are predictable.  But, we should not be too rigid.  We should be willing to try something new.  Spontaneity, change in routine, and doing the irregular can be invigorating, exciting, and fun.

That being said, I am exasperated by the inconsistencies and irregularities that continue to plague me as I try to get the font and photos on my blog posts to look uniform and well placed.  And I don't understand why they look so different in the view format, than in the editing format.  However, life is too short, and I have better things to do than mess with this frustrating problem.  So... what you see is what you get.  All the irregularities are not my doing.  Hopefully the posts are at least legible. 

I woke up late Saturday and was very sore.  It was either too much dancing the night before, the higher heels than usual, or a combination of both.  The two extra beers hadn't helped any either.  So I felt less spunky and energetic, an irregularity I am not accustomed to.  Probably serves me right though.

I went to the barn for a few hours and enjoyed a nice ride, although the trails were still bad.  Amiga seems to enjoy our outings, especially since I let her graze for quite awhile each time.  While riding in the yard out front, all the livery horses came charging up to the pasture on the other side of the road.  I caught this (video) just after the 'stampede' had ended.



I came home, changed, walked the dog, and then went to the gym to do weights, and elliptical.  After that I met Patty at the CC to swim and hot tub.  We swam extra long, waiting for a large family (four ladies and probably ten kids) to vacate the hot tub.  Some still came and went while we soaked, so it wasn't as relaxing as hoped for.  Then later, they were using all the showers, causing us to have to wait again.


A fire after dinner provided the warmth and relaxation I needed while watching TV.
Monita enjoyed it also.


Sunday morning I watched an interesting sunrise while walking the dog.

Shirley did not feel up to going to Church, so I went on my own.  Then after an early lunch, Maggie and I walked seven holes of Stonehenge with Patty.  I took this selfie of the dog and I while we waited for Patty, who had gotten a little lost driving there from her house.

Maggie shows off her agility skills for Patty.

It was a beautiful day for a walk.  We even both got too warm and had to take off our jackets.

Maggie was ready to settle in for a nap when I got her home.  I went to the barn, while thinking a nap would have been kind of nice.

Another great ride on Amiga proved to make the barn trip worthwhile.  I was testing out this new saddle bag Helen had lent me.  It attaches to the front of the pommel, and I like its easy access while I am in the saddle.  I actually used it to hold a people shoe I had picked up off the trail while out of the saddle clearing a few branches off the trail.  You can see it in this (video) I took of the geldings when returning to the barn.

Once home, I picked up three 30 gal. tub loads of sticks (a few branch size) in the backyard and then after I fed the critters and walked the dog I went over to Brian's for a beer with him, Mary, Chuck and Andy.

I was up Monday at 4 am.  An hour later, when ready to start my second cup of tea, I had major intestinal cramping.  I ended up going back to bed for an hour and woke at 7:30 feeling somewhat improved.  Not sure what had caused my irregularities.  When I got to the gym, I rowed for 20 minutes and then did the Ballroom Aerobics class.  Patty is improving quickly and will be dancing circles around me before long.

It started raining just before noon.  I quick walked the dog and then saw two groups of golfers high-tail it back towards the club house.

After a cream of wheat lunch to sooth my gut, I sat here at my computer while it continued to rain.  I had this view for the rest of the day.  I did notice several golf groups actually play #17 and continue on up to #18.  Poor, silly golf addicts.

Joe got home from his poker weekend before 3:00.  He had lost in the two tournaments he played, but more than made up for it in two cash games.

I worked here at both computers all day.  I had discovered tons of Blog posts that didn't get saved into word documents so was doing that on my old computer (that has Microsoft Word and Windows 7) and then moved files to my new computer.  Maggie sits by my desk hoping for food, to go on a walk, or to play.  Usually she just gets her ears scratched.

I hadn't finished computer work, so before dawn's early light Tuesday, I was back at it, here on both of my computers.

Monita played nearby while I worked.  She stopped to look, after I took the first photo.

I finally got 'everything' copied onto my new computer, I think, and then was off to the barn.

Amiga stops to assess the creek crossing.

I headed down the trail on Amiga, and was surprised that they weren't a horrible mess after all the rain the day before.  The thaw and the wind must have done the trick.  

Once she steps in, Boz races past us.

I decided to try the Holly trail, which wasn't too bad except for the two hills.  These photos show the creek crossing at the bottom of the ravine.  and this (video) shows the Holly Trail from the top of the big hill, going to Stratford Cir. 

Amiga stops for a drink as we cross the water.

We had a nice ride in the Glade.  The footing on the gravel/dirt/grass roads was so nice.  We even did some cantering.





I rode back to WW along the power lines and finally let Amiga graze for a little while once back to the bean field.  We had been out for 90 minutes,  but the clouds and wind had picked up and I was getting cold. 

Seen left, a view of the Holly Trail as it comes out of the woods onto Stratford Cir.  We left the log down across the trail to keep 4-wheelers out.

Below, a look at the boys as we rode back to the barn.  Zorro was so hard to see, I circled him in yellow. 😊

I warmed back up when I went to the gym and did weights, eliptical, Stretch class, and took a hot shower.  I shopped at Food City, and got home to eat a 7:00 dinner (from the salad bar at the grocery) with Joe.  Then we watched an interesting movie, Molly's Game.

Stevie eating grass, helps keep the cats out of my house plants.

Wednesday it was colder.  I did Ballroom Aerobics and then the rowing machine.

I had a quick early lunch and then went to town to shop, first hitting French's Boot Store.  I spent a lot of time deciding on and buying this pair of boots.




I had tried on a bunch of boots, but kept coming back to these because they were so comfortable.  Even though they weren't the exact style I was looking for, and were rather expensive, I really liked them.  I hoped Joe would have a good poker night which would justify my frivolousness.

After unloading and putting away groceries and other purchases, I did some household chores, took care of the cats and dog and then met Brian at Legend's Fireside Lounge for a beer.  There was another fellow there and we all had a fun time chatting.

Joe arrived home early, having had good cards but bad luck, he lost/spent/contributed nearly three times what I had paid for the boots.

Showing Amiga my new home-made hel-hat.

It was a frosty Thursday morning with temperatures in the upper 20s.  The sun came out strong and bright and warmed things up.  After computer and tea time, I finally got around to making a hel-hat.  It is headgear that combines an ASTM-approved helmet with the functionality and authenticity of a cowboy hat.  I had bought the three dollar cowboy hat at Wal-Mart and used my old helmet.  I put the scarf around it to cover up the 'joint' between the two. 

When I went to the barn to ride, the mares were way in the back of the field.  As I approached them I could not see Amiga.  And then I noticed her down by the back fence.

At first, the worst came to mind, that she might be lame or had coliced.  She lifted her head as I walked closer.  When I got up to her, she did not stand up, so my worries continued.

I slipped the halter around her head, coaxed her to her feet and walked her a few steps.  She was stiff, but seemed fine.  So I got on and rode her back to the barn, bit-less and bridle-less as usual.

She has on her halter and lead rope but steers well with just leg cues.   

There were no signs of lameness and she had gut noises while I groomed her, so I knew Amiga was okay in that area too, no irregularities.

We were soon on the Holly trail, where we actually met up with a hiker and three lose dogs which caused Amiga to spook and spin.  After chatting a minute, we went our separate ways.  Amiga, Chester, Boz, and I proceed down the trail and into the Glade where we met up with Jan. 

We had a great 90 minute ride together, enjoying conversation, our horses, and nature.

I had forgotten to have Jan take a photo of me on Amiga with my new hat, so tried some selfies on the way back to WW.

I also let Amiga graze for awhile. 

Since I was going to be too late to go workout before Stretch class, I decided to do a little more trail obstacle work like I had the other day when I took this (video).  It was cooling off and all the horses were already in the barn, so I relieved Amiga of her mounted horse duties and put her in her stall.

I ended up being too late for Stretch class, so took a long, hot shower, cooked dinner, and watched a movie with Joe.

Even though the house needed cleaning, Friday's plan was to go to the gym and then ride with Jan and Deana.  I was having some digestive irregularities again, but wasn't going to let that slow me down.

Once Deana and I were saddled up, we rode to the bean field to let our horses graze while waiting for Jan, who was riding over from Terry's.

Jan took these two photos of Amiga and I to show me in my new hel-hat, since my selfie's hadn't been too good.



There was plenty of chatting and then we rode back to WW.

We rode in the lawn out front and then into the empty field where the livery horses are kept March - December.









Many of the mares in the neighboring field came up to check us out.

The sky was pretty, the sun warm, but we found it quite windy and a bit cold out on this ridge.  We still had a good time riding.

 

As we were finishing up, some Wyndham guests dropped by to see the barn, enjoyed visiting the horses, and got a kick out of Zorro. 

Amiga says hi to Zorro also.

Just as I was leaving for home, Deana became very 'ill' with horrible abdominal pain.  We ended up having her Dad come take her to the emergency room.  I was quite worried.

Once home and cleaned up, I picked up Ana (seen across from me) and then Patty and we went to R-Place to meet several others for dinner and dancing.  It was an enjoyable evening, although Jeff Allen wasn't as good as last time we heard him.

Later in the evening, I heard that Deana was going to be okay.  She had a ruptured ovarian cyst... dang female irregularities.  

Watched And Watching

Every move you make
every step you take
I'll be watching you.

My dog and cats spend a lot of time watching me.  But I reciprocate the action because they are so cute and fun to watch.  Monita especially follows me around everywhere, even to the bathroom.  She has a lot more energy and curiosity than Stevie and Maggie, so is relentless.

Many studies have shown that people care a great deal about being watched. We are on better behavior, and often change our choice of actions without even realizing it.  Just notice the difference in how you drive when there is a policeman behind you.

Now, with the rise of social media, we have been taught to carefully choose the information we present to the digital world.  Our online activities are an exercise in managing our appearances.  We think about all the potential eyeballs that are scanning our Facebook updates, Twitter feeds, and personal blog pages.  Shoot, we can't even go anywhere without being tracked on our I-phone by Google.
  

I love this photo Britney took of her cat watching her.

I have noticed that our dog and cats get into more trouble when we are not around.  Are they just bored, looking for excitement, or do they consciously watch and wait for us to be out of sight before they get into or do something they know is off limits?

It was 18 degrees Saturday morning.  I had watched the temperature drop 40 degrees since the previous morning.  At least we didn't get the precipitation here, near as bad as predicted.  There was just a light dusting of snow and not too much ice from the freezing rain.  Although I did slip and fall on a patch of ice I wasn't expecting while walking Maggie. 

Monita watching the birds and squirrel while a few flurries came down outside.  My plan was to stay put in the house all day, and catch up on inside tasks.

Stevie and Maggie watching it snow... or maybe there was a critter out there.

We had light flurries all day, but no accumulation to speak of.  I remained in my loungers and inside, except for a few dog walks.






There were tons of birds at the feeders most of the day, especially finches.

Red house finch and goldfinch in winter color.

I spent a good part of the day choosing, down loading, and editing photos from the four files the professional photographer sent us.  Then I started on a blog post to save, remember, and share all of the many favorite photos he had taken of our clan.

At one point, all evidence of life disappeared from the back.  There was not a bird or squirrel around.  I started looking closely and saw this hawk in a tree down by the creek.  The watched and the watching.











At sunset, flakes continued to gently drift down from above and again not a creature was in sight.  I think they went to bed early, and eventually, so did I.

It was 7 degrees for our pre-dawn walk Sunday morning.

Maggie and Monita watch each other as they play.  Maggie has been taught to leave the cat toys alone, but sometimes the kitten goes after a dog toy when Maggie is playing with it.





As you can see I am still struggling with windows 10 and this Blog editing program.  I decided to go with larger font, to help Mom, you, and I out when reading this.  Well, on the editor page, it all looks the same (large) size.  So why isn't it on the view page?  UGH!!!

I keep a close eye on my plants, watching for healthy growth.  With all the gloom lately, I have added a grow light that is especially used in the entryway on cloudy days. 






I also move plants to areas of sunlight.  My parsley has done real well this winter, and I keep chopping away at it to add to salads and cooking.

It was mostly a lazy day, but I did go to the gym for almost three hours.  Shirley, Patty, and I met there.  It was a good way to get motivated to get up and go. 








Once home I did some chores and then sat by the fire and watched TV.  Joe was at poker.  I felt sore and tired, but like that feeling because I know I have worked my muscles and they will re-build stronger.

Monday was a pretty sunshiny day. It actually got up to 40 degrees in the afternoon. 

As you can see from this series of photos, taken in about a five minute time span, Monita is always on the go.  If Stevie isn't in the mood to play, she just ignores the kitten.

Monita can't even decide where or if to take a nap.

I met Patty at the gym and we did a little bit of an aerobic workout before the Ballroom Aerobics class.

I came home planning to go ride, so had an early lunch, but then decided to lie on the floor in the sun and read.

The three pets were right there with me.  Monita was playing with her ball toy.  She loves chasing the balls around and around, and is sometimes able to get them out.  Well, she fell asleep while playing.  She is sleeping with her leg inside the toy.

 After I took the first two photos, she woke up enough to move her leg out of the toy and then fell right back to sleep.  She is so stinkin' cute.



Eventually I made myself get up and leave the warmth of the sun and the cuteness of my pets.  And I went out into the 40 degree cold to go to the barn.

Zorro looking at Amiga who was quite dirty.

It really wasn't too bad out.  There were five others at the barn with their horses, but most of them were just checking on their horses and grooming them.  If I go to that much effort, I usually at least ride for awhile, which I did.

The sun was warm on my body, and Amiga's bare back was warm under my rear end.  I let her eat lush green winter wheat in the bean field for quite awhile, because the mare's pasture grass is so scant.






Bad weather was expected so in the evening when I brought bird feeders in, I took some extra corn down to the ducks.  And then I settled in for the next spell of cold and snow, and watched the weather channel and Fixer Upper.

The cold had arrived but not the snow when I walked Maggie just before 6am Tuesday.  This poster fairly well describes our week of weather, which, lets face it, we all are always watching.  The snow did start before my second cup of tea and an E-blast announced that all of FGCC amenities would be closed all day.  But it was supposed to be back up to almost the 50s by Friday.













In the above photo, from left to right, can be seen a pileated woodpecker, cardinal, finches, and squirrel.  Click on it to enlarge it.  And seen right, a closer look at 'Woody the Woodpecker.' 





It snowed most of the day, sometimes coming down fairly hard.  These morning feeder photos, show snow accumulating on the roof tops across the pond and on the squirrel's back.

I spent a good part of the day catching up on blogging and finally finished this (blog post) of the professional family photos on the beach.







Snow continued to come down and, because no one was watching, I never put on bra or ear rings during the day. 







A few hours before dinner, I did take Maggie on a relatively long walk.  We did four holes of Druid.

Our walk was fun, invigorating, and beautiful.  And I think Maggie had a good time (video).








We took a look at the waterfall project that is being constructed above the cliff, and will flow into the pond on #14.  Below, this natural frozen water fall was caused by the freezing rain.  

 

As we came around the #17 green towards home, I took these photos of our house.

 

Almost all the green netting was pulled off
the little cherry tree, and branches broken.

I decided to put out more corn for the deer and put a little more dry food in the dish for Hobo.  Yep, I have been putting 1/4 cup of cat food out once a day on the really cold or rainy days.  The dish is actually under the screened porch off our bedroom.  Well, when down back, I noticed that the deer had caused some tree damage.

This redbud was broken off a foot above ground with
some green netting caught in the splintered stem.

I hoped the deer hadn't eaten the nylon mesh, but wasn't sure how it had gotten from around the cherry tree to some on the redbud 'stump.'  I was hoping it was just caught on a deer's antlers.

I saw this pretty sunset when I went out to bring in all the bird feeders.  

Joe and I watched TV by a warm fire before bed.

 Wednesday looked to be a repeat of Tuesday.  All FGCC amenities were closed for the day.  The temperature was -1 when I got up and it was snowing.  Carol was watching mine and her weather and sent this, saying she was experiencing the same exact temperatures.

Birds, including these two ducks, came to feed on the morning's rations.  The crow and ducks had to work out who got to eat first.

As usual, it was a play day for Monita, and a good day for me to stay inside and work and also play.

I made a batch of chocolate, chocolate chip cookies using Chris' recipe.  They came out pretty good.

I worked quite awhile, too long actually, at trying to convert blog posts into word documents so I could permanently save them.  My new computer does not have Microsoft Word.  Joe tried to help, but then had to leave for his poker game.  I had more difficulties and finally gave up.

Monita often sleeps with her legs stretched out like this.  She is silly.  I was considering reading and a nap by the fire but got a text from Karen saying that some horses had ice balls stuck in their hooves.

Shirley was about to leave for the barn to check on Gov's water situation, so I hitched a ride with her.  We got bundled up.

All the horses were in their stalls for the night.  I brought Amiga and Zorro out together and checked their feet for ice balls.  Only Amiga's one front foot had a problem (the ice balls usually only form on shod hooves, which is why I left shoes off Amiga's back feet) and I borrowed Shirley's hammer to chop the ice out. 

I made a big, hearty pot of creamy, hamburger potato soup and then settled in front of the fire with the fury babies. 

Stevie was so silly sleeping balanced atop this pillow.  And Monita couldn't resist the out-stretch paw or leave Stevie alone.

After two episodes of Fixer Upper, I read in bed and finally finished the 4th Amish mystery I had started before going to Florida.    

Yowser it was still cold Thursday morning.  Even though the cats were playful, I was not feeling very energetic.  I knew I needed to get up and out of the house to get my blood flowing, but enjoyed sitting here at my computer and bird watching with Monita (video).    

Joe helped me with a different word program to save my last four blog posts.  But we struggled with it for probably two hours, off and on.



Eventually I was able to finish that task, pretty much to my liking, but not without a great deal of frustration.

I felt great after a much needed three hours at the gym which included weights, elliptical, Stretch class and long hot shower.

Leftovers and Fixer Upper in front of a fire ended the day.

It was warming up Friday and snow was melting.  I switched from my heavy winter coat, back to my fall jacket I had out earlier in the week. 

Joe left midmorning for a poker tournament in Tunica.   

My pets and I were all bird watching while I messed on my computer.  At one point Hobo came up on the deck and was taking a tongue bath.  My indoor critters all went nuts.  How dare this strange cat come on their property.

This Great Blue Heron was being watched by me as he was watching for fish.

Stevie taking a cat nap, hopefully out of sight of the kitten.

But when I took the photo, Monita discovered Stevie, and the peaceful nap session was over.

I went to the barn to ride for a little while.  Again, bareback and just a short little ride.  The trails were treacherous. They were either icy, muddy, slushy, or very rugged from the frozen up-heaves of hard mud.   

Amiga slipped or tripped several times and even went down to one front knee once.  

So I only rode to the two bean fields and let her do a lot of grazing.

Once back at the barn, I rode in the empty pasture, but it too was squishy; four inches of soft, wet ground on top of a frozen lower layer. 

The evening of dinner and dancing started at Legends.  The food was good but service was very slow.  At least we had lively conversations to entertain ourselves.  The music was okay and there was a little bit of dancing.
Seated at our table: Shirley, Me, Mary, Joyce, Bob, Del, Sherri, and Patty.




Mary and I continued on to Red's to meet up with these four lady friends of hers.  The place was definitely hopping much more than Legends had been.  I had a great time and enjoyed the lively spirits of these gals, who all enjoyed singing and dancing.  I got the dancing bug out of my system, for the time being.