Not All Smiles

It is okay to not always smile.  We are kind of programmed that we need to be joyful, positive, and happy all the time.  But sometimes life has hard knocks, inconveniences, failure, and adversity.  It is okay to frown, be sad, and feel unhappy.  It just means that when good times come again, they will feel that much happier and be appreciated all the more.

There have been times (and will be plenty more) when I can't keep smiling.  But it is important to not let these moments define us or how we view life.  Life is a precious gift, a joy to have and experience.  Try not to dwell and ruminate on the disappointments too long and instead think of the good, pleasures, fulfillment, gladness, and blessings.  And remember, good things can come from bad or difficult times.      

Wednesday 3/31 - We had storms during the night, followed by more rain almost all day long, and sometimes quite hard.  There was flooding down back but nothing worse than I’ve seen before.

Water from the golf course drainage system was pouring down the usually dry stream bed and further flooding 'our' creek.  You can see debris on Allen's little foot bridge from when the water was even higher.  This last photo is looking from his bridge towards the pond. 

This next series of photos, and this (video) is of the dam and spillway of 'our' pond.

This photo is seen looking down the hill, at the other side of the dam, at the rushing flood water.

Early in the morning I had started corn beef in my crock pot.  I had bought it to take to Carol's, but she had bought one also.   A great deal of the morning was spent organizing photos, doing some more editing of them, and positioning them on my 'Windswept' blog post.  Eventually I went to the gym to runoff some steam.  Well it’s not that I had extra energy, I just needed to burn some calories.  An hour on the elliptical and 15 minutes of rowing had me feeling better.

Standing downhill from the bridge and dam, the tree in the creek bed seems to be hanging on for dear life. 

I had made a quick trip to Food City on the way home from the gym.  I had picked up potatoes, carrots, and cabbage needed for dinner.  I prepared and added potatoes, carrots, and onion to the pot of corn beef.  After a snack, I then continued working on my blog.

The flowers in my gardens were blooming, but were a bit beat up by all the heavy rain.

Back in the kitchen a little later, to finish up the meal, I could not get the new bottle of olive oil open so used a bottle of stuff that’s been in the cupboard for a while.  I was chopping onions while heating up the pan of oil, and it smelled kind of funny.  I thought maybe it was burning because I didn’t get the onions in right away.  So I set the pan off the burner turned the burner down off of high, and turn to finish cutting up the onion.  Immediately, there was a clatter behind me and I turn to see Stevie flying back off the stove and running out of the kitchen, not wanting to put any weight on her front right paw.  I turned off the burner and then chased down the cat.  It was a few minutes by the time I finally caught her.  She was so frightened.  I proceeded to run both her front paws under cold water at the sink for about five minutes while she howled.  I was not smiling, in fact, I was on the verge of tears.

Back to finishing dinner before Patty came over, my pot of potatoes and carrots were not cooked well enough, so I threw the crock into the microwave to continue cooking them.  I finally got the onions sautéed in the oil, which still smelled odd, and had the cabbage ready to add when Patty arrived.  Patty checked the bottle of old oil and said it was going bad.  But it was too late, the cabbage was already in the pot to steam with the sauteed onions.  She did open the new olive oil for me.

No need to remind me why I hate cooking.

I was still worried about Stevie, mad about the oil, and frustrated with the whole meal.  But we ate.  The sautéed onions and cabbage had an odd flavor but not horrible.  Luckily, the rest of the food tasted alright.

After dinner we looked at Stevie‘s paws and they weren’t near as bad as I was afraid they would be.  (The blisters hadn't formed yet.)  These photos, taken the next morning, showed the swelling (big blister) on her right paw.

Thursday 4/1 - April Fools Day.  Joe was off to get a load of mulch/compost, again using Brian's trailer.  He also picked up some manure at Wildwood on his way to Terry and Billy's.

I made a closer examination of Stevie’s right paw, and took the two above photos.  She has a big blister on the main weight-bearing section of her foot.  Hopefully it won’t break, but heal and not cause an issue with infection.  When the skin does finally wear off of that pad, she might be a bit sore again. For now, she was walking fairly well.

We had our first window casualty of the season.  This takes the smile right off my face.  What a shame, such a beautiful goldfinch.  It seems birds are more apt to hit the windows during migratory season.  They are not local or regular visitors to our yard, and unfamiliar with our windows.  I buried him down back.

I had a better workout at the gym and ate lunch in the sun on the deck with my sweatshirt on.

I went to the barn to ride and pay board but Judy was out on a ride so I needed to wait for her return to pay board.  Jan was there to ride Cash, but we both decided it was just too windy and cold, 35° with wind chill (no joke).  So I sat in Jan's car with her and we chatted for almost an hour until Judy got back from the long ride.  But then Judy had to load up another large group and head right back out on the trail with another ride.  I felt so bad for her. 

Joe sent photos of his raised bed garden work.  It is a 5x5 foot box.  He had put mulch on top of the sticks, then manure, then six bags of good garden soil.

Babs joined Jan and I in the car, and we chitchatted another 30 minutes.  Then we three helped Jack (a new employee) and Judy unsaddle horses when the last trail ride returned to the barn.  Judy was 3/4 frozen, couldn't get the credit card scanner to take my card, so we gave up on it. 

I took a hot shower, had a cup of hot chocolate, and later sat by the fire to watch two episodes of Blue Bloods with Joe.  It was to get down to 26° overnight.  Spring weather is not all smiles.

Friday 4/2 - Good Friday  It was sunny but cold and windy, and kind of a do-nothing day.  I mean it seems like I never got anything done.  I did finish and post last week's blog and then spent the remainder of the day packing for Florida.  This involved trying on a number of cocktail dresses in preparation for the happy hour and two days later the wedding we would be going to.  I also tried on summer clothes I would be packing because I wasn’t sure they’d fit like they did last summer.

Photo of Monita and Babe.

I did three loads of laundry and tried to clean up Joe's old suit coat that he needed.

I finished packing my suitcase, the hanging clothes bag, snack bag, and some things for Jean.

Just after I went to bed at 10pm, Joe came home from a very successful poker game.

Saturday 4/3 - I loaded all our stuff into the SUV before Joe got up at 6:30.  He was on the road by 7am.  I sat at my desk for quite a while, getting this blog started.  A fair amount of time was also spent texting about plans for Patty and my Nashville trip.  I didn’t realize it, but Val wanted to surprise Daniel with a birthday gathering on Sunday.  Eventually we came to the conclusion that it just wasn’t gonna work for Patty and I.  We would be there Monday to celebrate late.

The phlox out front was looking much better (prettier and happier). 

By the time I had figured out our trip plans and got done here at my computer, I did not have time to go to the gym😞.  I had decide to make some brownies, Daniel’s favorite treat, so ran to Food City to pick up supplies for that.  Food city was very crowded 😒, I’m guessing the pre-Easter crowd, since they might be closed on Easter Sunday.

There was time to rake up some sticks in the yard and clean up flood debris along the creek.  Notice all the gunk in the pond 😠, along with this snapper.

Finally it was time to go to the barn 🤠 !!!

After paying my board, I tried to take a selfie with Amiga, and then Karen helped me out.

Today's ride had some sadness to it, because it would be the last for Jan and I together for an unknown length of time.  She, like Polly had done yesterday, was moving her horse to a different barn.  We plan to get together to ride, but it will no longer be a weekly occurrence.  I am happy for Jan to be able to find a place that better meets hers and Cash's needs, but am so sad to see her leave.  😢


As usual, we enjoyed our ride and time together.  I got these photos off this (video) I took.

I got word that Joe made it safely to Jim and Carmina's in Valdosta Georgia.  Later he sent several photos of his visit to their farm.  Like our ranch will be, it is a place they go to re-treat from urban life.


It was well after dinnertime when I got home and the dog and cats were ready to eat.  So was I actually.  It was nearly bedtime when I was done with chores and my dinner.

Sunday 4/4 -  Easter Sunday and Daniel's Birthday!
 
I could not get back to sleep after the 2am taking of my thyroid pill.  As always, I try to drink a full glass of water with it and I also use the bathroom.  Anyway, I gave up on going back to sleep and got up at 3am.  

I almost caught up on my blogging and then took a nap from 5:30 - 7am.   More blogging, Facebook time, e-mails, and texting ensued until nearly 10:00.  Then I made myself get going on pre-trip chores, including baking brownies.

Joe sent word (and more photos) that he had made it to Gainesville and was golfing with nephew Nathan.

I continued working on my to do list, including packing up the dog, getting a week of cat supplies ready, doing dishes and some house cleaning, etc. 

I needed to go to the barn to give Amiga and Zorro some Prevocox before the farrier visit on Monday.  While there, I decided to hop on Amiga (bareback) for a short ride.

Patty soon arrived and decided to work Zorro at the trailer.  I took these two photos while watching from up on Amiga's back.

Patty was able to get Zorro all the way onto the trailer!  Then I tried my luck with Amiga.  I had no grain for her to chew on to keep calm, but she still did very well.

I had to hightail it home, scurry around (shower, feed pets, make salad, and walk the dog) in the hour I had to get ready to go to Karen's for Easter Sunday dinner.  I picked up Patty on my way.  We chatted a lot while enjoying a fantastic prime rib and a breaded cauliflower dish Karen had prepared. 

Patty printed my boarding pass for me when I dropped her back off at her house and I had a few more things to do before bed once I got home.

Monday 4/5 - Courtney's photo of Daniel's birthday celebration from Sunday.

I was up at 4:00, wanting to get this blog finished and posted.  I would be meeting the farrier at 7:15 at the barn, so had limited time. 

Next the plan is for Patty to take me to Nashville.  We will pick up lunch when we get there and take it to Dan's.  We will celebrate his birthday with the brownies I made. 

Then Patty will drop me off at Courtney's and she will do some car shopping before returning to the Glade.  Courtney will take me to the airport at 5pm and I will be off to Orlando by 6:30 if all goes as planned.  Time for a Spring Fling!