Makin' A List

I actually had several lists made, but was adding to them as fast as I was checking things off of them.  I had tons of things to do and to remember to pack before leaving for two weeks (one at the beach and one helping sister Jean at Mom's condo).  I was getting excited about the vacation, looking forward to spending time with family, but getting anxious about all of the details. 

Monita sleeping on the ladder shelf near my desk.  That card was from Daniel, but the sentiment holds true for all our rescues.  They seem glad to have me as their mom.

Saturday 12/18 - It was one of those nights where I went to bed at 8pm and woke at midnight, (four hours later) unable to get back to sleep.  Joe was off playing poker and I started to worry when he hadn't gotten home by 2am.  Then I got even more concerned when he hadn't answered my text, inquiring as to if he were okay.  He finally did answer and got home at 3am.

 



I was starting to feel really rotten from my flu shot and went back to bed from 4 to 6am.  I took more acetaminophen and napped from 7 to 8am in front of the fire to try and warm up because I was so chilled.  

The weather was as crummy as I felt.  It rained most of the day and I just laid low, rested, took acetaminophen, and ate comfort food.  

I did have chore duty so kind of drug myself to the ranch at 3:00.  I don't know if it was the fresh air, or the 24 hour period from getting the flu vaccine (probably both), but I started feeling much better.

I checked on Amiga and Zorro before going to the barn to feed Wanda.  They were enjoying the newly sprouted grass where I had sowed it in their field. 

I had made a new bed for Wanda out of a styrofoam cooler I got off of someone's trash pile.  I filled it with straw.  I also removed the second dog crate.  Her new house looks like this; and below, with more covering and the added litter box and her towel.  

 
She will probably freak out when she first sees it, and be very leery, but hopefully get over her fear quickly and use the better insulated bed. 

I made a few trips to and from the machine shed to get tools I needed in the hay loft.  Looking past the front pasture towards the house and Amiga and Zorro's loafing shed, I could see another rain cloud approaching. 

The rain hit with gusto shortly after I took this second photo.  I was just getting back to the barn at the time.  I still had to feed our two horses, and was thinking I shouldn't have spent so much time up in the hayloft. 

It was getting rather dark by the time I made it up to the side pasture to feed Amiga and Zorro.  This little battery operated light that is hanging in their loafing shed really helped out.  The rain had died down a bit so I didn't get totally drenched, but was pretty wet by the time I walked to the car to drive home.  

 



Jean sent me this photo of her dining with donkeys in the barn (at their Volunteer Christmas party at Hope Rescue).  Now how cute are these two?

I had gotten a second wind (actually it was my first of the day) after dinner, and wrapped all of these (19) grab bag gifts for our Christmas gathering in Florida.  

 





Joe and I watched the movie 'The Power of the Dog' and didn't understand the plot until the very end of the movie.  I was barely able to stay awake for the ending of it at 9:40.

Sunday 12/19 - It was cold and gloomy so I was in no rush to get to the ranch to do chores.  It was early afternoon when I did get there, and only 38° (the high) accompanied by a damp misty air. 

I un-stacked bales of hay, spreading them out on the trailer so it would be easier for Patty to reach and load them onto the gator when doing chores for us while we are gone.

I collected trash and recycle from the barn, machine shed, porta-potty, and our feed room in the side pasture.  When I went up to feed and scoop manure, the sun actually peeked out from behind the clouds for a brief moment.  You can see how wet it still was.  And it was very muddy around Amiga and Zorro's loafing shed and their round bail feeder.  I had chosen a bad spot (not knowing it was where the water tends to drain) to place it this time.  



Using leftover pork tenderloin I had thawed, I fixed a delicious stew for dinner.  It really hit the spot. 

Sitting at my desk in the evening, I crossed things off my lists, re-wrote my to-do list for the next day, and added to my packing list.

Monday 12/20 - I did it again, waking completely wide eyed and bushy-tailed at 1am, after four hours of sleep.  So I got up and read (and then napped) by the fire waking back up at 6am.  I wanted to finish this book I have been reading for probably four months now, and find a better, faster moving one for vacation.  Can you see Mama Styx in this photo? 

 


She was sleeping in one of her favorite spots, atop this TV box (what ever it is).  It is a good hiding place where the other cats (mostly Monita) can't bother her and it is nice and warm there.  (The clock reads 3:09.) 








The farrier was coming and Joe and I had planned to finish mending fence line in the back pasture, so we got to the ranch at 10:30.  The horses were standing in mud at the round bale which Joe and I proceeded to move by hand... muscling it up the incline as we rolled it over and over.  Meanwhile, the horses had moved away and then when Amiga went to get a drink, Zorro followed her.  

Patty arrived shortly after Joe and I got the round bale in it's new location.  She helped me walk the horses down to the barn where their feet and legs could dry off some before the farrier.

I walked back up to the side pasture to help Joe re-hang the red gate.  One of it's pins had pulled loose from the pole again. We really need to replace the rotten corner gate post that is quite hollow in the middle.  Another day.

Then when Joe and I were headed down to the back pasture to work on fence line, I discovered that the farrier had arrived 30 minutes early and was already trimming Zorro.  I had him pull Amiga's front shoes to let her go barefoot for the next six weeks, since I won't be riding much.  So he got finished in short time.

Joe and I worked in the back pasture for almost two hours.  There was a big dead branch hanging down from a tree that I was bound and determined to get down.  We ended up using the winch on the gator to pull it down.

Joe had poker night and wanted to get going, so I rode with him back over to the barnyard.    I walked Amiga and Zorro from the corral (where they were enjoying grass) back up to their pasture.

I also had to gather up all the excess hay that had come off the bale while we rolled it.  In the left photo you can see the round bale in the middle of the feeder and all the loose hay I picked up around the inside edge of the feeder.  Zorro and Amiga were more interested in cleaning up the ground where the bale had been because that is where all of the seeds had fallen.

I returned to the back pasture to fill in two good size holes along the fence line.  Polly was there to ride and we went along the fence line together to inspect it. 
  
 


There were lots of rocks (some in piles) along the area Joe and I had cleared in the summer, so I picked them up and used them to fill in the holes.  Ideally we should have a line of Electrobraid just inside the barbwire to keep the horses away from the fence.  There is enough good grass in the pasture that they will probably not go near the fence because they have no reason to. 

Once satisfied with the safety of the fence line, I went to the barn to feed Wanda and then up to the side pasture to feed our horses.  They returned to the hay on the ground once they were done eating.  In this photo you can see the path we rolled the round bale in.  I hadn't made it to the gym so that would have to suffice as my workout for the day. 

Tuesday 21 - Today is the winter solstice, shortest day of the year.  According to Google, we will experience a measly seven hours and 49 minutes of daylight. 

These are Courtney's cats, hanging out in her office when I arrived there at just after 3pm.  And below, Wash hanging out with us on the couch while Courtney and I had a nice chat before bed. 

  

I had headed to Nashville after first checking things off my to do list, and making a new list for what didn't get done that could wait till I got home the next day.  I also went to the gym and had a good work out and nice hot shower.  With a full tank of gas and air in my tires (thanks to Joe) I hit the road.

Once at Courtney's we came up with a plan, to eat out in Murfreesboro at the same mall as Dave's Bridal (where Courtney's car accident occurred) and then go to our fitting appointments.  Courtney drove my car (she is still without one) because I hate driving in traffic and in the dark.  

 

The first photo was of this Great Blue Heron, which you can barely see, but also captured the pretty sunset.


It took me a while to figure out what this said on the wall across from our table.  I liked the colors and design of this painting.  

We enjoyed yummy, filling salads and then went a few stores down to Dave's Bridal.

Courtney's dress did not need any alterations so I was able to go during her 6:00 time block and not have to wait until my 7:30 appointment.  Yay!  The shoulders were raised some (pinned up for sewing) because the dress was too low cut for my liking and then it got pinned for hemming.  The alterations went well, but I was still glad to get out of the dress and out of the fancy shop.  LOL

Courtney and I enjoyed hot chocolate in front of a cozy fire with her kitties until I went to bed.

Wednesday 12/22 - I wasn't up too much earlier than Courtney.  I waited till the worse of rush hour was over and then hit the road.  While climbing the hills to the Cumberland Plateau, traffic slowed way down, often bumper to bumper.  Eventually I discovered why - trucks trying to pass, on the uphill, this extra wide (oversized load) house being moved.

I stopped in Crossville to shop at Walmart (I had to buy more pet food) and not only did the drive make me anxious, the crowds added to it.  I got home mid-afternoon and started a load of laundry so I could get clean clothes packed before Joe left in the morning. 

Well, my anxiety level double.  The dumb washer started emptying before it was done filling with water.  I had the lid open to add more items and got distracted by Joe.  Well come to find out, the washer has a safety mechanism and will start emptying if the lid is left opened longer than ten minutes.  The big problem was that it kept trying to drain and wouldn't shut off.  I tried unplugging it, resetting it, nothing would help.  So I got the operation manual out and began to read.  Things were nothing like these photos depict, the machine drained, but it wouldn't shut off!  So I was still panicking and very frustrated.   

Well, after several pages, possible problems identified, and use of the scientific method to check solutions, I discovered that the machine will not fully drain if there is too much soap suds.  (It had only partially filled with water when I had added the soap and clothes, so had a highly concentrated soap to water mixture when it took it upon itself to start draining.)  So, I took the wet sudsy clothes out and poured in three or four buckets of water.  The machine then drained again, but still would not stop draining.  So I added more water... two more times actually. 
 

Third time's a charm, the washer finally fully drained and shut off.  It was now good to go, and I started the load of laundry all over again, two hours later with nothing checked off my to-do lists.  

This is a photo of my 'to do' lists.  The Christmas note paper is my packing lists, the note cards are ranch work (prioritized by color) and the bottom four are daily tasks to complete.  

 

This is Rose, coming to greet me, with the hopes of getting fed.  It was a bit early in the afternoon, but I hadn't seen her for 24 hours, so put food in her bowl that is under our deck.

I made a quick trip to the ranch to do chores, got home and finished laundry, then worked at packing.

I was mostly finished by 10pm.  A day later I discovered I had put my flash drive in my beach condo suitcase, and needed it, but it was too late, it was on its way to Florida.   

Thursday 12/23 - Once the sun was up so I could see what I was doing, I got the SUV loaded, leaving room for Dan's family's things (mostly Ava) in the back.  I kept things for Mom's condo, Christmas Day visit with Jean, on the back seat.  And Britney's dress for the wedding (which needs to be altered) was carefully placed on top. 






Before long, Joe hit the road, first heading to Dan's to pick up their Florida stuff.  Then he went on to Ellijay Georgia where he was meeting nephew Ben to treat him to a few meals, warm bed, and shower. 

I had a great workout at the gym, bought gas and stuff to make a salad for Christmas Eve dinner at Dan's, ate a late lunch, and went to the ranch.  I had noticed t-posts in the paddock that were not protected, so got many of them covered, until I ran out of the rubber shields.  







Then I took hay up to our feed room, going through the front pasture where Zorro and Amiga now go during the day.  As always, Zorro came to see what I was up to.  



I added feed and supplements to their containers in the feed room and then when it was time to feed, had to catch Amiga to get them both back into the side pasture. 

I hurried home to have time to rake up leaves in the back yard before dark.  And it was dark by the time I finished one area, with more still needing attention. 

 
Joe sent this photo of he and Ben enjoying a brew together. 

There were plenty more things to do to get checked off my lists, so I scampered around for awhile.  But by 9pm I ran out of steam and decided I had time in the morning.
 

Friday 12/24 - Christmas Eve and I was up attending to things on my lists and crossing them off.  Oh it felt good to near the end of the lists.  I did have to make two more lists - one of things to do before flying Christmas Day and the other for when I returned home in January.  

 





I hate returning from vacation to a dirty house, so I finished a load of laundry, put clean sheets on the bed, and neatened up the house.  Litter boxes and their areas are the biggest mess.  Maggie is packed up and I'm ready to take her to Patty's on my way to Nashville.

Christmas Eve is without a doubt the most wonderful time of the year.  It is my favorite.  Have a wonderful Christmas Eve and a very Merry Christmas!