Set To Sail

This week, final preparations were made in order to get ready for our cruise.  It was rainy and cloudy most of the time, which suited indoor chores like laundry, organizing, sorting and packing.

There were several lists (tons actually) to refer to as I collected items to go in the suitcase.  It wasn't just all the different styles and types of clothing, shoes and accessories... there were travel documents, excursion vouchers, medications, first aid stuff, toiletries, electronics, etc. 

After the Saturday meeting of us four ladies that are cruising together, I woke Sunday feeling I had a lot of decisions to make, some with more research needed.  I was late waking, slow to get moving, and unmotivated to get dressed for Church.  When Shirley texted that she didn't have time to go, that worked for me too.

I noticed deer quite early as I sat here at my computer. 

Friend and naturalist from Illinois, Deanna Frautschi, posted this great photo on Facebook and commented "Double vision---whose deer head is it anyway"?  It is kind of an optical illusion.  

View from 17th green of fog in the valley and

the barely visible steeple of the Methodist Church.

I did extra cat care (Monita has been throwing up almost daily lately) and a load of laundry containing clothes I planned to pack.  Looking out at the gray and sometimes rainy sky occurred while I researched about our ship and excursions and made lists.  

Sighting our house from the woods

straight down from the 18th tee box.

Patty dropped by with homemade Snickerdoodle cookies that I snacked on, adding to the other high calorie crap I had eaten, so finally by late afternoon I made myself go out, into the cool, damp air and I walked (with Maggie) the back nine of Druid.  I took several photos. 

Cat tail dying back and getting flooded by sludge.

Since I had been going through clothes, I spent some time organizing my closet.  Then getting tired of the whole business of packing, I sat and watched TV for a few hours before bed.

Monday morning the gloom continued.  See how foggy it was outside the window behind my computer.  I had more Snickerdoodles with tea for my breakfast of champions.  By 9:30 I met Patty at Ballroom Aerobics and that brightened my day.  I stayed after to lift weights.

It was almost noon when I got home.  After lunch I started this blog and then did more cruise research.   

In this photo with the cats trying to share a bed, you can see that Stevie, on the left is a tan tabby while Monita is a silver tabby.  They are both beautiful. 

This was taken during Sunday's walk.  The water rushing through the spill-way under the bridge makes a lot of noise.  It was quieter Monday when I brought feeders back inside after an early 4 pm dinner.  The cats and dog were delighted to eat so early.  The temperature never got above 39 degrees.

I read through all my papers concerning our cruise, from when we first started planning, and I consolidated needed information, and started a final packing list before quitting to watch some TV.  I took this (video) earlier of Stevie giving Monita a tongue lashing.  Notice the golfers in the background, and towards the end a blue bird at the feeder.

     I'll wash your face if you'll wash mine.

Tuesday, again it was misty or raining off and on all day.  I hit the road fairly early to get a jump start on shoppers, getting to the FG library right as they were opening at 9 am.  I picked out four paperbacks and will decide after previewing, which two get to sail with me.  At Wal-Mart I netted $152.00 worth of merchandise, spending quite a bit on pet foods, cat litter, and pharmaceuticals.  I went to five other stores, three of them Thrift or Secondhand, looking for an Outback cowgirl hat.  No luck.  I think I'll have to wait and make that my one souvenir purchase I splurge on while traveling.


I got distracted at the Hill Topper's Thrift Store and ended up buying this antique safari theme chest of four drawers for just under 40 bucks.  It is a very interesting piece of furniture and will go great in the entry I think.  The cats certainly enjoyed looking it over.  I set it aside for the time being and will fix its one broken drawer handle and then incorporate it into my entry décor once home from vacation.  For now, I need to stay focused on cruise preparedness.

Joe was home from his five day travels and 'poker tour' when I got home.  After an hour of cruise organizing, I went to the gym for an hour of aerobic work and then did the stretch class.  Joe and I both snacked (trying to pick healthy choices) for dinner and then watched a murder mystery movie together.

Ash Wednesday / Valentine's Day, the weather continued with gloomy skies, but the rain held off until afternoon.  Monita enjoyed the flowery smell of Joe's gift to me.  I met Patty at Ballroom Aerobics as usual.  After class I spent another 90 minutes at the gym lifting weights and showering.


Once home, I set to work here to continue going over all my cruise info as I was preparing to set sail.  Monita napped in her usual, favorite spot by my computer.



This is what my desk has looked like, off and on, the last few days.







Joe and I went early to the chicken pasta buffet for our Valentine's Day dinner.  The food is always good and I overate as usual.  Joe dropped me off at home and went late to his poker game.  After 'chores' I watched TV.

It had rained all night but by 6 am Thursday was done for the day.  I got too warm on our first walk because it was already 60 degrees.










Hobo was down back hunting.  Seen in photo, he/she was lurking right by a chipmunk hole.  His/her gray and white hair blends nicely with the lichen on the trees and rocks.

After lunch I went to the barn to take Amiga on a ride and maybe meet up with Jan.  My horse was quite filthy, with some wet mud but mostly dried and caked dirt on her.



The brushing took longer than usual, but I did get Amiga fairly cleaned up and then tacked up.

I rode out to the bean field to let Amiga graze and was also checking out the footing.  It was muddy and slippery.

Boz and especially Chester were so excited to be hitting the trail with Amiga and I.  Chester loves to wallow in the puddles.





It had gotten to 69 degrees but the sun made it seem even warmer.  Frogs were chirping, birds singing, and spring was in the air.  I had texted Jan and she was out riding fairly close by, so I decided to ride the power lines (the Holly Trail was too slippery) and met up with her.
 



We didn't ride long, because Jan didn't have a lot of time.  I accompanied her back to Terry's and she showed me the training she has been doing with a cap gun and Cash.  She was inspired earlier by the Equestrian Sport - Mounted Shooting.





I watched Jan work with Cash and tried to get a video.  Then she gave me the cap gun and I did some 'shooting.'  Amiga barely flinched with the first shot and was fine with the rest to follow.


Yep, you're never too old to play cowgirl.  😏



As I was leaving Terry's, Jim came riding in.  It was good to see him and hear that Zip was doing a lot better. 

I rode for a little over two hours and Amiga was great.  Most of her gaiting and cantering was unrushed and easy to ride and her transitions between gaits was smooth.  I took this (video) on the way back, but she was a little bumpy.  I think when I ride one handed to video, that my seat and rein hand are not as balanced and that may throw Amiga off a little.  I don't know for sure.

I did some much needed scrubbing of my saddle pad back at the barn and by the time I finished, it was too late for stretch class. 

Joe had a protein drink for dinner so I grabbed a snack and then took Maggie on a one hour long and fast walk.  Joe and I watched a movie along with more snacking.

Rain moved into the area overnight and more was predicted for the day Friday.  I went to the barn at 8 am to get my saddle pad I had let hang, dripping, overnight.  I also wanted to ride Amiga (bareback because the saddle pad was wet) one last time before vacation and make sure she wasn't sore from the workout the day before.  She was great, and enjoyed grazing near the gelding pasture.  Rain started about 9:30 and I headed for home.

I hung the damp saddle pad in the living room so it could finish drying during my twelve day absence.  Last summer when I washed it, it took almost three days to completely dry.  The wool is so thick.  I did some blogging and last minute planning, and still have a lot to do before being ready to set sail.

 



Monita kept taking things from the piles I had formed in the bedroom, and would run away with it in her mouth.  I had to retrieve lip gloss, a pair of reading glasses, a pen, and a little tiny flashlight.  If I am missing something on the ship, I'll know who to blame.
 
 
The girls were half sleeping and half watching  me come and go as I went from one task to another.  My empty suitcase weighed in at 22 pounds.  Sheesh, that's almost half the weight limit.  Mid-afternoon, dodging rain drops, I went to the Wellness Center.  Weights and some aerobics got my blood flowing.  I contemplated a nap when I got home, but had dinner and did more collecting of items to pack. 

 
Then I was off to Red's where I met Ana, Patty, and Shirley at 7 pm. There was a lively crowd, most of the singers were good, and there was plenty of dancing. It was almost midnight by the time I got home.  Joe rolled in an hour after I, and I was still tossing and turning, trying o get to sleep.

I was a little stiff and sore upon waking at 7:00 Saturday morning, and I felt sleep deprived.  An extra cup of tea during my morning routine was necessary.  It was raining lightly and I had the usual traffic at my feeders, including the ducks down at the corn. 

 








I couldn't help but take a photo of Monita's cute little feet while she was curled up, up on the cat tower.

Mid-morning, the cats were chasing each other and both raced across my laptop keyboard, making the screen go blank.  Long story short, one of the "F" keys were hit and all my files and short cuts were gone.  Three hours of Joe's almost continuous efforts, finally got my computer up and working again. 

Meanwhile, I needed to keep working towards being ready to leave town.  I wheeled my suitcase into the bedroom to start packing it, and couldn't believe how heavy it felt.  As I set it down, Monita and I both discovered Stevie hiding in it.  We had woken her up and she was not too happy about being found.







The packing went well, except I had to keep looking for additional items on my list.  By the time Joe got done with my computer, I was nearly beside myself with frustration and angst about being able to get this blog finished before setting sail and having no internet.  I needed to run off some steam, so went to the gym and worked out for an hour.

I finished up packing and still had lots of room left in my suitcase.  Again Stevie was wanting to be with.me.

Joe helped me put Revolution (flea, ear mite, round worm med.) on the cats (dividing each vial up, 1/3rd drop in each ear and on back of neck).  It was like a wet pig contest with Monita but Stevie held still a little better.



I had decided to take Joe's little lap top rather than my i-pad since it was much more user friendly for blogging and doesn't use up screen space for the keyboard.  So I got used to it while trying to finish up this blog.  It was actually much easier to move photos around.

We got word that Teresa had completed her first leg of the trip and was safely at Courtney's after she and Al had traveled in heavy rain and some sleet getting through Illinois from Iowa.  After my usual bed time, I started work on boot bling.  I dismantled and re-stitched two each of three different head bands I had gotten at the Dollar Store.  The original boot is on right side of each photo, with new bling options on left boot.  They each can be switched out very easily for what look I want.

The lack of sleep was taking its toll and I struggled to get my eyes open at 6:00 Sunday morning.  But I had things to do before places to go.  I completed this blog to post, zipped up my suitcase, finalized plant and pet instructions for Joe, showered, and neatened up the house.  Joe took Maggie to the kennel for the day and got the SUV cleaned up. Rick and Darla had driven to Florida a day early and were closing in on Ft. Lauderdale.  

At 9:45 I was set to sail and Joe was ready to roll.

Elevations

Unfortunately, in just about every group of individuals from human to horses to chickens to ants, there's a social hierarchy, a pecking order, varying elevations.  It's a fact of life, although I question whether human society needs social hierarchies in the first place.  Regardless, whatever your standing, any person is prone to all the same maladies and emotions as often as anyone else.  So try to be happy under any circumstance, and strive to be the best that you can be.


There was a three-part model on happiness in the 2005 issue of the Review of General Psychology:  About half of your happiness is biological - your health , attitude toward life and ability to enjoy whatever you have.  10% of happiness is based on financial situation and other circumstances.  And the final 40% of happiness comes from intentional activity—the things you choose to do.

Life is a day-to-day existence at several elevations, full of ups and downs, peaks and troughs, good and bad times, successes and failures.  The mountain can be seen as a hurdle or as the high point in life just as coming down can be a fun easy coast or the start of despair.  But when down in the valley, does it have to be seen as a low point in life?   The climb up or being down do not have to be viewed as good or bad, they are just part of life.  Enjoy life in all its elevations, at every height and depth. 

Saturday morning's mourning dove at the feeder.
I took a much deserved and needed day off from the gym.  It was partly sunny but rather cold out, so I decided to drive to town to shop for a few things to pack for our up-coming cruise.

I shopped for hours and got a bunch of good buys at two different thrift stores.  At the first I bought 14 items of clothing (ex - skirt and jacket count as two) all at half price, for a total of $39.25 including tax.  That's $2.80 each!  

My favorite buy is this shirt and skirt that I can mix and match on our cruise to stretch my wardrobe farther and enable me to pack less.  

This dress was the priciest because it had never been worn and still had the Chico's nearly 70 dollar price tag on it.  

At the second thrift store I got some knick-knacks for the fireplace shelves, some accessories (belts, and scarf) for my outfits, and a $5.00 ginormous suitcase that rolls when pulled.

At Wal-Mart I bought some costume jewelry in addition to several needed household items.  I am now ready to pack for the cruise.

Seen here, the suitcase at home undergoing inspection.

Joe and I went to Patty's for dinner with Shirley and Brian also invited.  We discussed the cruise for awhile and other conversations continued until past 9:00.  

After Church Sunday I washed my 'new' clothes, cleaned up the wooden knick-knacks I had just bought, and started cleaning and arranging the shelves and mantel once I took down my snowmen and wintery decorations.  

I needed to spray air freshener on the old smelling suitcase but wanted to wait for a dry sunny day when I could set it out on the porch.  It is momentarily serving as a playground (wrestling rink) for the cats. 

Midafternoon I went to Jan's for cat care and then on to the gym.  I really pushed myself on the workout, especially my abdominal and oblique muscles.  When lifting weights, you work hard on the up, but it is also important to control (by continuing to contract your muscles) on the down... not to just let the weights fall, not to go fast during the lowering.  I spent almost an hour on the elliptical, switching the TV between Fixer Upper and Pre Super Bowl, and I was then out of time to stretch because the gym was closing.  Joe was watching the Super Bowl when I got home and we just snacked for dinner. 

I didn't sleep very well and got out of bed Monday morning feeling like I had been hit by a Mac truck, especially my gut.  I was hoping it was just from the strenuous workout the day before.  Walking the dog in a downpour did not help my outlook (or emotional elevation) on life.  I drug myself to Ballroom aerobics hoping some movement and stretching would help, but got home feeling chilled to the bone and my tummy hurt.  A bowl of hot cream of wheat helped but still feeling cold, I laid down in front of the fire to read.

I ended up taking over a two hour nap.  I didn't feel any better when I woke up.  At least the rain had stopped and the sun came out, which my fur babies enjoyed.  I had to run to Jan's for cat care, then came home and watched a movie with Joe.  I was in bed a little after 7 pm.  Having taken a pm pain pill, I was down and out for the count.

I woke at 7 am Tuesday, sleeping over 11 hours.  I felt better, not near as achy and no longer chilled.  My spirt was elevated.  But shortly after my first cup of tea I had a major case of diarrhea, that continued to plague me all morning and cause abdominal distress.  I felt ok otherwise, never had a temperature, cough, or runny nose so do not know what caused my affliction. I started this blog and completed the first three days of photos and text. 

By 1:00 my gut was feeling better, so I ate a mild lunch, and it caused no further problems.  I was undecided as to how to continue my day.  Go work out, or give it another day of rest.  

Needing to digest before exercise, and feeling a bit chilled, I sat in front of the fire to read.  Soon the dog joined me, then Monita, and then Stevie.

Well, I remained there the rest of the day and into the evening.  I finished the fifth book of an Amish mystery series Cathy gave me. 

Then I watched an episode of Fixer Upper.  They talked about design elevations, and went to great trouble to change the elevation of the house they were working on for better curb appeal.  What a difference.

I tried a salad for dinner, what I was craving, and it did not bother my digestive tract.  Then Joe and I watched a captivating movie, Crooked House.  I would recommend it to any mystery lover.  

I had another long night of sleep, and Wednesday morning I woke feeling almost normal.  It had rained a lot, so I walked Maggie on part of library trail to check out its condition.  

Then I proceeded down back to feed the ducks and checkout the high water level.

More of the dirt and grass bank had given way on this last bend in the creek before the pond.  Maybe its best that it were wider here anyway.  

The creek was still in a fairly flooded state and lots more leaves had washed down into the pond. 

It was Lady's Club day.  I picked up Patty, who was my guest and we met Shirley there.  We sat at Cheryl's table.  The business meeting went fairly quickly, the food was good, and so was the speaker.  He talked about disaster preparedness. 

Joe left for poker shortly after I got home.  I needed to digest before going to the gym, so puttered around until 5:00 when I finally went to work out. 

Home by 7:00, I and the critters had a late dinner.  By 8 pm I was settled in front of the fire, doing all my stretches while watching TV.  Look how Monita fell asleep draped over Maggie's legs. 

Thursday's Red Headed Woodpecker at the feeder.

By the time I was done at my computer (and with my two cups of tea) the skies finally cleared off and the sun was shining bright.  I took the suitcase out on the porch, in the sun and sprayed it down with a fabric freshener.  











Monita enjoyed the sun while lying in the window by my desk while I attended to cruise paperwork.

Stevie often tries to find a hiding place so she will not be disturbed by the kitten.   It was the blue bag at this time.  

Look at those feet.

The sun was nice but it was still on the cool side, but I went to the barn knowing my riding opportunities were limited.



Amiga was easy to catch, but was a dirty mess. 
Chester always gets so excited about me coming to ride Amiga and he and Boz joined us.  It was muddy and slippery so I didn't ride fast and let Amiga graze a lot.  I was in the saddle for 90 min.  By the time I got done, my hands were cold and I was too late to get to stretch class.  Joe and I went to Food City together and got some groceries and built our own salad.  After dinner we watched the spy movie Atomic Blonde.

Friday morning the skies were blue, it was at its warmest temperature for all week and the sun was wonderful.  I love how it comes in the balcony window in the morning.  Stevie enjoys her look out post, on this stool, especially since Monita doesn't notice her here and she can sit undisturbed.









I put the suitcase back out on the porch in the sun and also sprayed my new boots with water proofing so they won't get damaged by salt water, if they get wet during our beach ride.

Joe left for Illinois and then while I was sitting here at my desk, Maggie started barking at something.  I soon noticed a squirrel down in the leaves behind Brian's (not this one in photo taken another day when it was cloudy). 

The poor thing was struggling to walk.  It kept rolling (log roll fashion) down the slope or walking in circles and falling over.  I watched it for a l-o-n-g time as it made its way across the back, to the corn by the pond.  But at one point it rolled down the slop and into the pond.  It was able to get back out but I felt I needed to rescue it from possible drowning.  I got a rake and headed down back.  Two squirrels scurried up a tree when I approached the bench on the rock.  The injured squirrel (probably neurological damage) was nowhere in sight.  I searched the pond and creek, three times, and could not find it.  Where had it gone?  Had it miraculously gotten better and climbed the tree?

I gave up my search because I needed to get going to the barn, where I met up with Deana.  We rode into the Glade by way of the DMZ (our new name for the privately owned power line area) because the trails were way too muddy and slippery and Holly Trail would be dangerous.  Jan and Betty met up with us on Marmaduke, seen right.  It was warm and sunny and we all enjoyed our ride together.  Deana and I had been out for over two hours and were a little saddle sore when we got back to the barn.



I did two hours of yard work once home and while cleaning leaves out of the drainage ditch, pulled out a drowned squirrel.  Why hadn't I thought to look in this section earlier?  I felt terrible, but kept trying to convince myself that at least its death was fairly quick.  Who knows how long it would have suffered otherwise.






This photo, taken after the rain came, shows the ditch that had been full of leaves and the dead squirrel.  Most of what I pulled out is seen black in color.  I buried the squirrel, finished up yard work and scurried off to the gym.  I got home after 7:00 for a frozen dinner and a few hours of recorded TV shows by the fire with my fur babies.

Heavy rain moved into the area overnight and I got wet walking the dog Saturday morning.  I took this photo of the ducks in the creek from the door of our covered porch using the zoom on my camera.  The panoramic photo was also taken from the porch while it was raining.  The pond and creek were quite full.

We had a scheduled 9 am meeting at Patty's to do our finalizing of plans for our upcoming cruise.  We Face-timed with Teresa and accomplished most of what we needed to do.  Shirley had brought each of us girls a gift bag of goodies and supplies we could take with us.  Very thoughtful of her.

I had soup for an early lunch when I got home because I had gotten wet and cold again when walking the dog.

Monita tends to get the higher elevation on the cat tower because Stevie prefers to stay semi-hidden.

It rained all day, often quite hard and remained dark and dreary.  It was not a weight day, but I went to the gym to burn a few calories.  I did 20 minutes each on the rowing machine, walking track, and elliptical.


Freshly showered and home at 4 pm (when the gym closes on Saturday) I then tried on a ton of clothes, selecting outfits and ensembles to pack that I could mix and match.  It was my own little personal fashion show.  We don't have a floor length mirror, so I had to stand on the bathtub each time to see head to toe in our vanity mirror.

I had salad for dinner, two more cold and wet dog walks, followed by TV by the fire.