Attitude

Sister Jean had said something recently that stuck with me: "Life can sure seem ominous at times, but really, our perspective and outlook can make it better or worse."
Attitude does makes ALL the difference.  The importance of attitude is that it is the basis for everything in our lives.  Our attitude determines how we react to adversity, our ability to grow and to learn, and to overcome challenges.  It is our attitude which determines the reality we live in, the opportunities and experiences we are available to, and our ability to create bonds with others.



“A positive attitude gives you power over your circumstances instead of your circumstances having power over you.” – Joyce Meyer
“Attitude is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than what people do or say.  It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill.” – W.C Fields

Saturday 6/26 - For some reason I took longer than usual to finish up and post last week's blog.  I then had to rush to the gym and through my workout, to get to work on time.


My Ava fix for the day.



Work was very busy, (120 customers for the day and still 33 people in and around the pool 20 minutes before closing).  This is how I like it, but the bustling shift ended up wearing me out.  Six hours of ranch work the day before and pushing hard through my morning workout probably contributed to my fatigue. 

I spotted this doe in the front yard and wondered if she was concerned about Maggie's Jolly Ball left out there.

I read out on the porch swing but was getting too sleepy, so was in bed by 8pm.  Courtney sent this photo of she and Ava at Plaza Mariachi with Dan, Val, and Yaneth just before I turned the lights out. 

I laugh at my self, wishing I was with them, but being too tired to stay awake past 8:30.

It made me happy seeing these two cuties though.

Sunday 6/27 - While I sat here blogging and catching up on E-mail and Facebook, three of the cats were watching chipmunks and birds out the front window.

I wanted to do some work together with Joe out at the ranch, so we headed over fairly early.  I needed him operating the tractor so we could haul dirt.  First we moved this pile of large rocks out of our way, putting them beside the machine shed.







Then we worked at clearing the dirt off the top of this concrete slab.  Joe took a load of good, rich top soil down to the compost heap and the rest we put behind the long concrete barrier on the other side of the machine shed. 

Here is what the slab looked like when we finished for the day.  There is still more grass and dirt to remove.

My plan for the concrete barrier was to turn it into a retaining wall.  We removed most of the boards from around the sides of it and will continue to add dirt behind it.  This is how it looked by the time we quit.





We also worked at leveling the 'moguls' between the hill and drive.  The mounds were actually buried rock, concrete blocks, wood pallets, metal and plastic trash.

Rain was in the forecast so I wanted to get some grass seed sowed down on our woodland path in the low spot where it is always kind of muddy.

I dug out the 'creek' bed a little more, because it had filled in some.  I used unwanted old hay to spread on top of the seed.

This first photo is from the power line looking into the woods.  And the second photo is from the wood path looking towards the power line.

Joe left the ranch early to go golf.  Later he called having discovered he was missing his member card, and recalling it was on the cardboard box he had brought dinner for us, from the Dorchester clubhouse to the pool, the night before.  Anyway he ended up throwing it (and my employee card that was with it) away accidentally.  I had collected and taken out all the trash at the pool at the end of my shift Saturday, and told him exactly where the bag was.  I told him he lost the cards, so he needed to go through the bag of trash to find them.

Courtney sent this photo, taken the night before, for my Ava fix.  Look at Ava's cute little shoes and the bow (that they couldn't get to stay) in her hair.

I stopped in at Dorchester Pool on my way home from the ranch to check on the card situation.  Apparently Joe had been there and looked though the trash for about two minutes, and then he left.  They assumed he had found the cards but when I had talked to Joe, he had not.  He said it wasn’t worth it picking through all the trash and garbage.

Well I didn’t want to have to pay five dollars each for both cards so I put on some heavy duty cleaning gloves and started moving trash and garbage into another bag.  And I pulled out all of the recyclable cans and plastic bottles.  I figured I might as well do a good deed and help the environment since I was sorting through the trash anyway.  (Attitude - when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.)  I ended up finding the cards and filling two 13gal. sized trash bags, each over half full with recyclables.

I was late for our family chat (had the wrong time zone).  Britney had been working out at her tiny house.  Above is a photo of the mandarin and guava trees and raspberries she planted.  Then I had an even later lunch (well it was an early dinner) once done talking with Mom, Jean, Britney, and Cathy. 






Mama deer came by looking for food so I went out to give her cracked corn.  I took this second photo while down back watching her.  She has learned to trust me, although remains cautious and on alert.

These days of working in the sun leave me exhausted and ready for bed before dark.

Monday 6/28 - I was at the barn at 7:30 for the farrier, and from there went straight to the ranch.  I continued clearing dirt and grass off of the concrete slab.  I found this glasses lens, and wondered who and when it had been lost.  I was waiting on Joe to give me a tractor lesson.  He had a Resident Service ride to give and ended up taking longer than expected.






I got my tractor operating lesson and then used it to move the dirt I had piled up, and to work on the  'mogul' piles.  I pulled out large debris; sorting it for burn pile, trash, recycle metal and plastic, or 'rock' fill behind the dam.  I dumped the rest (gravel and dirt) on the hillside to fill in a few large holes.  Then, when Joe was finished working on his garden, we went up the drive on the tractor together. 

We loaded the picnic table and went back down to the barn yard area and put it under a shade tree.  Now I (and others who one day may come to join us) have a spot to sit and eat.

I worked much longer than intended and was thoroughly exhausted by the time I got into the shower at 2:30.  The physical exhaustion from accomplishing hard, laborious work, is a good feeling.  
 

I had a very late lunch and rested on the porch swing reading for a bit.  Then I was on my way at 4:45 to meet up with Yvonne, Patty, and Shirley at Mirror lake Blast. 

The band was playing great dancing music and I found renewed energy to dance much of the time.

A young girl up dancing was wearing this shirt and let me take a photo of it because I loved the message on it.  It actually has multiple meanings.  But it's all about attitude - stand out from the crowd, dare to be different; it's okay to feel alone in a room full of people; feel empowered, go with your rebellious spirit against the herd mentality; embrace what makes you special; follow your dreams, nurture your fantasies; and just be you.

I hit the hay exhausted but happy.

Tuesday 6/29 - Mama deer came by with her baby.  I wondered what the little one was looking at, and then noticed a second fawn.  So this is a different doe than usual.

The babies were more skittish than mom, but soon realized there was some good eatin' where she was.

I had big plans for a ride, ranch work, and eventually dinner out there after riding Amiga back to Wildwood.  So I headed to the barn once I was up from my computer and dressed. 

Once tacked I rode Amiga to the Holly Trail.  She was giving me problems going down the hill, so I got off and walked her down, across the creek, and up the other side.  In this photo, I am letting her rest on a level area (and catching my breath) on our way up the hill.







Once to the ranch, I rode her around the side pasture, which some day may become her and Zorro's field, if/when we move them out there.  Here she is getting a look inside the loafing shed.



I had kept our pace slow and easy because Amiga was acting tender-footed on her newly trimmed feet, but she was still hot and sweaty when I un-tacked her.  So I put her in the extra stall with a bucket of fresh water to let her cool down.

I got to work up by the machine shed moving more dirt off of the concrete pad.  It was hot and I took numerous water breaks all afternoon.  At one point I had moved Amiga out into the round pen, where she enjoyed the thick, lush growth.

But then a storm blew in.  I had heard thunder off in the distance.  So I moved Amiga back into her stall.  And then when it did start raining, I sat down near her, putting my feet up, and rested for awhile.  The rain didn't last long and soon I put Amiga back out into the round pen and I got back to work, even though the skies were still threatening and it was thundering in the distance.

Seen here, part of the work I had accomplished, and the dirt I piled up for later removal.

Joe arrived (at 6pm) as I was tacking up to ride back to the barn.  The skies were still ominous, and it was getting late, so I decided to ride through the forbidden zone to get back to the barn quicker.

Joe got to work removing the last board from the concrete barrier, weed-whacking along the drive, and then helping with my dirt removal project.  Seen now, where we had gotten with dirt removal by day's end.
 

As Amiga and I arrived at the barn, she got to meet Tater, the new mule that had been delivered while we were at the ranch.  He is a cutie.









While I was getting Amiga cooled down, Joe texted this photo and said that the brush pile was burning and would be ready to cook on in 30 minutes.

When I arrived back at the ranch (via car), Joe was still relaxing and enjoying a beer, waiting for the fire to burn down.  I quickly joined him.

The fire was still too hot to get near enough to, to cook hot dogs, so I raked some coals out and devised a concrete block setup to hold the sticks with the dogs.

Dinner wasn't that great, but it really hit the spot because I was so hungry.




I had wanted to see what the farm looked like after dark.  The security light down by the barn really lights the barnyard up. 

It was almost 9:00 when we got home and after a few chores, I was soon off to bed.

Wednesday 6/30 - There was nothing exciting to report for the day.  I did get this photo of three of the cats who were extremely interested in something behind the water bowl.  By the time I got my phone and snapped the photo, Babe had lost interest.  

My right gluteals and sciatic were killing me during my gym workout, but warming them up and stretching afterwards helped some.  I think I over worked them the day before, digging and shoveling out at the ranch. 

I went to work a little early thinking the forecasted rain would send me home early.  But it didn't.  It only caused for disruptions throughout my shift, clearing the pool twice for thunder, watching folks swim in the rain and others scramble for a dry place to sit and wait it out.  Three systems passed through, so I was also busy raising and lowering umbrellas.  Our pool flowers liked the rain.

I dropped by the barn on the way (It's actually out of the way) home to check on Amiga.  She was favoring her front right leg, so I gave her another Precocox.  I hope (and prayed) it was nothing serious.  Joe was off playing poker, so the dog and cats were thrilled to see me arrive home at 6:45 to feed them.  I barely had the energy for my evening house chores and was in bed by 8:30.

Thursday 7/1 -  Wow did June ever fly by.  With the start of a new month, people often see it as a chance to start afresh with goals and aspirations.  Every day is a new day and a chance to start anew, but, whatever works to get you re-motivated, go for it.

These first four photos are of my four cats, in order of age (Stevie, Monita, Mama Styx, and Babe).

I had to be at the pool an hour early because of a water aerobics class, so my morning routine was cut short.  I planned to do pre-pool opening jobs while the gals exercised.  I ended up thoroughly enjoying cleaning the tile by getting into the water, which was the perfect temperature.  The sun was warming the air and the water aerobics class had upbeat music playing so that also contributed to my joy while scrubbing the tile.

Once class ended and the pool officially opened, I only had four customers all morning.  The predicted rains arrived about 11:00.  And two people chose to continue their morning exercises while it rained.

The rain got more serious, and the sky a lot darker, and soon I was left sitting alone in the office wondering if I would get the call to close the pool.  I read some of my mystery novel, ate my salad for lunch, and then finally at noon decided to call to see if I should close the pool for the day.

The decision was made, and by the time I shut down my register, and closed up the pool area, and drove home, it was 1:00.

My afternoon plan, during the rain, was to go into town to do my mega shopping trip.  I hit the Dollar Store, Threads of Hope, Big Lots, Tractor Supply, and then the dreaded Walmart.  Maybe if I changed my attitude about this store, it wouldn't be so bad.

Below is how the sky looked when I entered my fourth store.  I had been lucky not to get wet between stores, but my luck ran out.  I got soaked coming out of Tractor Supply.  It didn’t help that I had big heavy feed bags and couldn't run and jump right in the car.

Walmart was its usual drudgery... slow going, poorly stocked shelves, miss-placed items, carts left in the middle of isles, etc.  But I finally had in my cart much of what I had gone for.  And then my negative attitude about the store was reinforced.  Only one check out line was open, with about 15 people waiting.  I was tempted to just leave my buggy (southern name for cart) right there and walk out.  But I had already spent 90 minutes finding everything and my good conscience said 'don't do it.'  So I went into the self scan area (for the first time ever) and actually got along quite well. 

It was much slower going to ring up and bag stuff myself, but I did get things bagged in a much more orderly way.  I was glad to finally get out of Walmart, and thankful that it wasn't raining while I moved the $270.00 worth of stuff into my car. 

I was hungry and tired when I arrived home at 6:45.  Joe helped me unload everything, but by the time I finished putting it all away, I realized I was missing the bag of four loaves of bread.  This only added to my poor attitude. 

Friday 7/2 - The deer usually eat my gladiolus just as they are flowering, so I decided to cut these three and bring them inside.  Now, rather than being mad at the deer, I get to enjoy the beauty of these flowers from inside the house.  They have to go up on the mantel though, where the cats can't eat them.

I was so busy with this blog, and getting madder by the minute because Blogger wouldn't let me move photos to where I wanted, that I was very slow to get to my long list of things to do (before company was to come).  I am not quick to jump at doing housework anyway, but I was getting farther behind and this was increasing my stress level.  Ugh, why do I let this happen?

This doe decided to relax by the creek's edge while chewing her cud after having some cracked corn.  I was able to see and enjoy her because I had lingered here at my computer too long.  It seems that deer are able to take moments to relax during their stressful day.  A good lesson for many of us.

I hurried around the house doing many tasks in preparation for house guests.  My horse supplement had been delivered earlier in the week so I unpacked it and Stevie then found the box to be quite inviting. 

Of course, Monita had to come investigate to see what Stevie found so interesting. 

After lots of activity, of me going to and fro, with this or that, and doing one thing or another, it was time to go to work at the pool.  I was tired and discouraged because I felt like I had barely made a dent in my to do list.



I was surprised the pool wasn't more crowded on such a pretty day.  Although, it was nice to be able to sit some and relax.  


As soon as I got home, I was back at it, working more on deep cleaning in all three bathrooms.  


When I ran out of steam, I had some popcorn while working on this blog post.  There is still much for me to do, but I am really looking forward to having company for the holiday weekend.