Live Thankfully

“In everything, give thanks.”  1st Thessalonians 5:18

Somewhere I read that people who live with an attitude of gratitude are known to live longer, sleep better, and have increased productivity and happier lives. 

Events are constantly changing based on Covid protocol.  With restrictions, cancellations, and even loved ones getting sick, we sometimes lose sight of our blessings and just focus on our misgivings.  

In an article by Dollie Freeman, she said  "We all live such busy lives and many times only slow down to think about our blessings when Thanksgiving rolls around.  I would like to encourage you to live a thankful life all year round and remember how we can emulate a thankful heart every day of our life."

Here are Freeman's seven ways to 'Live a thankful life':
Speak Positively, Smile Often, Be Quick to Say Thank You,
Write Thank You Cards Often, Be an Encouragement to Others,
Be Open About How Others Impact Your Life, and Believe that Everything will Turn Out for Good.

Saturday 11/21 - It was Courtney's Birthday and her weekend plans had been sabotaged because of stupid Covid 19.  Will was unable to visit her because she had been exposed and didn't get her negative test results back until too late.  Also, he was feeling sick.  And, she was 'on call' for the weekend because of her lab's Covid testing equipment difficulties. 

On this special day for Courtney, I was hoping she could find things to be thankful for and feel good about, and still have a Happy Birthday.

I had good intentions to go to the gym and barn, but started out at 8am cleaning, doing a little laundry and continuing with Christmas decorating.  Decorating included replacing bad sets of lights, revamping tired old 'greens' and fixing a few things that came apart.

Time got away from me, and I was in need of nourishment before going to the gym so I had an egg and cheese dish for lunch.  Well, while waiting for that to digest I continued with my Christmas preparation's. 

 
As usual, my feline 'helpers' were delighted with the fun and festivities, viewing every decoration as a new toy.  This is Babe playing in the greenery including a (video).  They can be annoying, trouble causing, and difficult to deal with at times, but I love their joy, antics, and enthusiasm.  I am so thankful for each of them.

Next thing I know, I was just too tired to go to the gym and would not have time for it and the barn.  Besides, I was already in work/barn clothes and didn't want to change into my workout attire. 

It was such a beautiful day I went out on the porch to wash the walls. We have been trying to keep tabs on the leak at the roof line that they have fixed three times but it still keeps coming back.  So I washed all the old stains off and will then look for new water stains after it rains.  The roofer claims it is fixed this time.  We'll see.

Of course Stevie was up on the ladder to look things over and 'help.'  Have I mentioned, I love my kitties.

I had been getting a box together to send to Britney, was organizing Christmas cards, and had devised a little shopping list of gift items and decoration needs.  Well, instead of going to the barn, I took off for the post office and a few stores along Peavine.

I hit a road block at the four way stop and had to back track, and then got caught in detour traffic.  Rather than let it frustrate me, I decided to be thankful for plenty of gas and even a car in which to get around in.

Dark came earlier than the night before, but I had some Christmas lights up to brighten the evening and my mood.  I had accomplished a lot, even though I didn't get to the gym or barn.

Sunday 11/22 - In the process of cleaning the day before, I discovered a leak under the kitchen sink.  Joe had turned off the hot water supply to it and that seemed to stop it.  When I checked first thing after getting up, I was glad to see no further water under the sink.  I always keep an emergency drip pan under every one of our sink faucets.  It has saved us major damage several times.

Wanting to get a ride in before the rains came, I got to the barn at 10am.  Amiga was more nervous than usual in the cross ties, and spooked several times out on the trail.  I never know why she is sometimes this way.  I always joke that she must have watched a horror movie, because when I do, I am afraid to go into a dark room... the Bogeyman might be waiting for me.

This is the last building still standing in the old ghost town.  A reminder of days past.

Below shows our view at the switch back by the power lines.  There are no leaves left and the only green is the pine trees.  Notice the rain clouds accumulating.  With no sunshine and a bit of wind, the 61° temperature was not very warm feeling.

I rode for close to two hours, just doing several little jaunts in different directions from the barn. 

This is the trail up on the ridge.  With most of the leaves off the trees, you can see the road (Westchester) down the hill. 

I had done some cantering out in the big bean field and also around the new garden plots.  Amiga was a little wound up while riding her in the front yard.  In this (video), we are going through the pile of leaves that have collected on the trail right where the livery rides leave the barn.

I had a big, late lunch once home and then started back in with decorating, cleaning as I went.  Patty had come to help Joe 'fix' the leaky sink, but no leak was evident.  I was glad and thankful to have hot water again.

We will continue to keep a close eye on the faucet connection under the sink.

Stevie as usual, getting a close eye on what I was up to. 

The rain had started and my energy and enthusiasm for decorating waned, so I read and took a nap. 

Dinner was popcorn in front of my computer, playing advent calendar games.

Monday 11/23 - I finally got three stars at all 20 levels of the ornament smash advent game.  Way too much time had been spent working on this the past week.  I am definitely ready to give this game a rest.

I worked on Christmas decorations until time to go to the gym.  The lights on the mantel garland did not work at all, and have been limping along for a few years, so I removed them.  They were a tangled mess that needed cutting out.  Notice my helpers.

After a fairly good two hour workout, I had a large salad for lunch, and then headed for town.  The blood bank was closed but I hit two thrift stores, Dollar General, and Tractor Supply, before going to Walmart. 

I was close to checking out at Walmart, when there was a slight mishap.  The bottle of Pine-Sol fell over in my cart.  The lid was not on tight, so it spilled on a bunch of stuff unbeknownst to me, until a big mess had occurred.  I had to wait for cleanup in aisle five and get rid of a bunch of my merchandise and go pick out more merchandise to replace what had gotten ruined.  I was thankful I didn't have to pay for the ruined things or clean up the spill that trickled all the way down the baking aisle, but it had cost me almost 40 minutes extra time.

It was dark and I was tired when I got home.  I called it a day, having popcorn and sitting at my computer until going to bed to read.

Tuesday 11/24 -  Monita was sleeping on the beanbag I put my feet under to keep warm.  If she is not on it, I sometimes elevate my feet putting them where she lays.  Notice, I am entertaining myself with the advent calendar.

I had put the garland up on the ladder where the cats couldn't get it.  Stevie and Babe figured out a way though.

I baked corn bread and browned hamburger for the night's dinner, to save time later.  The kitchen sink had started leaking again.  I can't wait to get this issue resolved.

I finished off my morning time putting new lights on the garland and hanging it on the mantel.


It was a gorgeous day, although a tad breezy.   The cats were all napping in their various spots. 

Babe in the hammock, woke up when I took her picture. 

I finished decorating the fireplace shelves and mantel, but still needed a string of soft white lights for the shelves.

 

Turning off the Christmas music, I headed to the barn at 1:30. 

As I was finishing tacking Amiga, Patty brought Zorro in.  He is probably a whole hand (4 inches) taller than Amiga.


I rode for about 90 minutes.

As I was returning from the Holly Trail, I met up with a small trail ride group Emily was leading, and followed them for awhile.  I took this photo after turning off the trail to let Amiga have some clover.

As I often do after riding, I did some trailer loading practice.  I was happy with the headway Amiga had made.  In this (video), you can see her start to rush back off the trailer, and then stop, and decide to come back on.  I consider this huge progress.

 

This photo was taken while she was eating her grain on the trailer. 

Back at the cross ties to remove Amiga's leg wraps, Emily brought John (the big draft horse) in.  Amiga looks really small next to him.  While Patty was taking the photo, Amiga decided to flirt with John.


I completed making beef goulash, but was too tired to accomplish anything else.  I played some advent games and then couldn't even stay awake to finish my mystery novel.

Wednesday 11/23 - Tossing and turning from 1 to 2 am, I finally got up and read out by the fire.  After finishing my novel, I moved to my computer to work on this blog.  The wind had really picked up and it rained much of the day.  These photos are from this (video) which was taken later in the day when I was working on more decorating in the living room.  

Below, Stevie telling Monita to leave her alone.

I got a few boxes ready to be sent to a few family members and went to the Village Mall at 9am.  Well, I found out that they charge $15 extra if you wrap the box in brown paper.  So I took the wrapper off of one.  Then I discovered that they do not do international mail here in Fairfield Glade, and I would have to take that package into Crossville.  The clerk also said she didn’t think there would be any UPS pickup the day before a holiday so my boxes would just sit there anyway.  I decided to re-group and wait to mail the boxes hopefully on Friday.  Even though sending packages can be a real hassle and expense, I am thankful it can be done.

I had gone to the library and gym while I was out trying to mail packages.  After a big lunch of leftovers, I laid on the couch to start my new book (I had returned the one I finished).  Reading didn't last long. 

This photo was taken after the dog woke the cats and I up, barking at something.  It took awhile (and a cup of tea) to clear my head after the two hour nap.

I waited to have dinner and worked at more decorating.  Britney had three packages shipped here, one which I was re-sending to her. (Boxes have to be shipped UPS or Fed-X, not by mail, to make sure she gets them.)  Anyway, the cats were enjoying playing in the packaging from one delivery.  I was thankful they had this distraction, instead of attacking the strings of lights I was working with.


This is Stevie, Monita, and Babe in the box.

I did not like the eerie, icy looking white lights on the garland, so replaced them with the softer white lights to match what I was putting on the shelves.  I spent way too much time doing this.  I wish I wasn't such a perfectionist sometimes.  This is the results of all my labors.  I am thankful when I finally get something to look how I want it to look.

I hit the hay early, taking a melatonin to help me sleep through the night.

Thanksgiving Thursday 11/26 - I had slept great and woke up feeling refreshed, although a little sore from my previous weight workout. 

I was getting Thanksgiving salutations all morning here at my computer.  This is not an original idea, but I think it is worth passing on:  'There are many things we can still be thankful for, but perhaps the most important is our ability to hope for better days to come.'

I departed from my computer games a little after 8:00 and hustled all morning with house cleaning, picking up decorations that I had not yet used, putting a few final touches on some of the decorations, and getting ready for the girls to come over.  Patty, Karen and Joe all arrived about the same time, close to noon.  Joe brought our meals from Willow Catering.  It was a feast of good food, really more than any of us needed.  It was all tasty and the best part was I didn’t have to cook or clean up in the kitchen afterwards.

We sat digesting, while talking and watching TV.  About an hour later, we had dessert.  Karen had made this awesome pumpkin pie dump cake and brought frozen vanilla custard from the Custard Cabin.  I did not need seconds on dessert but it was so good I could not refrain from doing so.  It put me over the limit and I was a bit sorry later.

Then we ladies headed out to the barn while Joe stayed back to watch football.  It was gorgeous out.  This is Amiga coming in.  It was only 2:00, but Kat, one of the barn workers, had brought the horses in early so she could get to her Thanksgiving dinner. 

Karen and Patty regularly bring food to the barn cats and dogs.  The critters were glad to get extra for their Thanksgiving.  Patty brushed Zorro, Karen took care of Scout and Levi, and I brushed Amiga real quick.  Then I rode her bareback and with just a halter, out into the front yard to let her eat.

 
Sometimes the only way to get photos of Amiga and I, is to take selfies or a photo of our shadows.  In the upper right photo, I was actually laying down on Amiga's back.  You can see the top of her rump behind my head. 

When we 'girls' got back to the house, we had libations, sat and talked some more, and I got the two to help me with a jigsaw puzzle.  

Karen and Patty left at dinner time.  I did my usual feeding and litter box chores and then sat here at my computer a few hours.  I did not eat any dinner, still too full from turkey dinner and all of the dessert at noon.  

Friday 11/28 - I always enjoy watching the sky brighten each morning, as the sun comes up later and later each day. 
 


Monita was watching me play ornament smash.  Stevie is usually close by also.

 

 
Below is a photo of my second breakfast, apple crisp and a scoop of frozen custard, along with my second cup of tea.  And look who is visiting out in the back yard.

I did not start any activities until I got word that Courtney and Will would not be coming for a visit.  They were both avoiding possible Covid exposure, which I completely understood.


My workout at the gym was only half-hearted because I was still sluggish from turkey dinner.  I also cut it short because I wanted to take advantage of the weather and go on a long ride.


Below, the burning bushes out front have turned a vibrant red, now that the tree leaves are off and they get more sun light.

I was at the barn, saddled, and heading out on the trail at 1:15.  I 'ran into' a large trail ride group Judy was leading and had to turn Amiga around because she was not cooperating.  Once we got to a place to turn off the trail, we did, and watched everyone ride by.  I think there were nine of them. 

We were soon back on our way.  Amiga really 'feeds' off of other horses, and handles much better one on one.

I started down the Holly Trail and after going down the first half of the hill to the creek, got off to walk Amiga the rest of the way.  The ground was soft and the leaves still wet, which made it slippery. 

Notice she has on the 'don't shoot me' orange neck band, and a festive red bow (with bells) on her saddle.

Once we came out to Stradford Circle and rode to Marmaduke, we came across these two horse trailers.  I wondered who else was out riding in the Glade. 

Later, as I was nearing Lake Kirkstone, we came across Helen (who also rides a Paso Fino) and her friend. 


We did the long loop around, and at one point heard gun shot in the not too distant woods. 

I walked Amiga back down and up the hill of the Holly Trail.  I am always thankful when we have successfully navigated this trail. 

Our ride ended up lasting almost three hours.  I could tell Amiga was tired, and so was I kind of.

Coming back to the barn, we ran into Jan and Polly at the bean field, and then Cheryl and Babs on the trail along Chestnut Hill Rd.  I love that so many of us were out enjoying our horses and the beautiful day.  Patty had ridden Zorro earlier.  Here she is, ready to let him out for the night, and a (video) of him going out to the pasture.

I had leftover ham in a big toss salad for dinner and then sat here at my computer and downloaded photos and played advent calendar games.  

I do hope you all can find things to be thankful for, each and every day.  I can't believe how fortunate I am to be able to have a horse and ride all the time.