One At A Time

Scrambling to get my blog from last week finished and posted, and wanting to spend as much time as possible with Britney before she left, and having many things on my mind and my 'to do' list; I told myself - just take one thing, one blog post, one day - at a time. 

All the time and effort to complete last week's blog post makes me all the more committed to making these shorter. 

Sunday 1/1/2023 - I did not have any resolutions or deep thoughts for the coming year.  I was mostly aching at the thought of Britney leaving and not seeing her again until next December. 

A resolution to shorten all my blog posts from now on seemed too big a commitment, and I think that I should just try each day, each week, to keep it to a minimum.  Yet, here I go rambling on and on as usual. 

If I were to make a resolution, and achieve it, I would be happy with this one.  →

In my blog posts, I do like to reflect on my feelings and thoughts; recount time spent with loved ones so I can recall and relive it later; keep track of my exercise and horse time; comment about my projects, challenges and successes; and include fun tidbits about my cats, dog, and horses.

Britney and I did finish the fun (Selfie) jigsaw puzzle.  The little hamster (middle, top) is my favorite. 

Joe took Britney to the ranch at 10:30 and he went on to a poker tournament.  The peace and quiet was depressing rather than tranquil and relaxing.





It's a Corndog - Britney's photo, Courtney's joke. 








Jean took Britney and Brianna to Nashville at noon and they reported enjoying Courtney's two cats and two foster kittens. 







Dan, Vale, and Ava arrived at Courtney's a little later so Britney could see her niece one more time before leaving. 



Jean headed to the airport to drop Brianna off, and already she was dealing with a flight delay.

Ava did NOT like Courtney's Bob Ross doll.  She kept throwing it on the floor.  I have to admit, it is kind of creepy.

In addition to working on laundry (3 loads) and taking down most of the outside Christmas decorations, I went to the ranch to muck and feed.  It was a challenge getting the chickens in the coop before dark (30 minutes early) but I did it. 

I went to bed early, feeling tired and a bit sad and depressed.  This too shall pass. 
 

Monday 1/2 - The void, empty house, and no more guests, was still very much hanging in the air.  Cathy gave me a 'What we can lean from horses' daily calendar and today's thought was good advice. 

I really wanted to get last week's blog finished and posted, and the Christmas mess put away (decorations after Christmas just seem to add to house cutter).  It had also been 19 days since a weight workout and I knew going to the gym would lift my spirits and was much needed. 


However, I decided with rain very likely Tuesday and Wednesday, and because Jean had the day off, I would go ride with her.  Once again, Amiga was a dirty mess (on both sides, back, and belly). 








Two selfie attempts by Jean and I. 

And then a few photos of Jean on Robbie at Lake Kirkstone. 

 

Robbie sure is a good lookin' horse.

We ended up riding a little over five miles in a little under two hours.
 

Zorro had been fairly content hanging out with Cowboy, but was happy to have his two mare friends (well at least his sister) back when we returned.

I helped Jean with cleaning and filling water tanks before heading home. 





One sad thing about the day, was that Jean and I did see this dead coyote right at the edge of Marmaduke where it is a road for hiking (very few vehicles).  We had no idea what killed it or why it lay dead at this spot.

I went to bed to read while scanning texts about Britney's flight delays.  She had been dropped off at the airport by Courtney with the hopes her flight would be a go.  This was not a good way to start her first leg of her three flight journey home.

Tuesday 1/3 - I was wide awake at 12:30am, having gone to sleep just after 7:30, so got up and spent most of the next 15 hours at my computer.  Britney's first flight had been cancelled due to bad weather at the Orlando airport, so she was booked on another flight to DC at 7 this morning.  Sweet Courtney had picked Britney back up and taken her back to her condo. (Flying should be left to the birds). 

I did finally, after many hours of effort, get last week's blog finished and posted by 8am.

It's always fun to watch these silly pets.
 

I did lay down and try to take a nap a couple of times, but without luck.  Finally I drug myself up and out of the house to run a few errands and get some exercise.  I thought I was really going to struggle at the gym, but with the time off, I guess my muscles were well rested and ready to work.  I especially enjoyed seeing so many familiar faces and chatting with them about their holidays, some cancelled and others with travel hassles. 
We were under a tornado watch till 5pm, but thankfully only experienced a torrential downpour and heavy winds while I was at the gym.

Britney's hair is now mailed and on it's way to 'Wigs For Kids' in Ohio.  And her flights to DC, Miami, and then Costa Rica all went well. 

I tried a third time for a nap when I got home at 2:30, but still no luck.  I cooked (for another hour) the leftover bean soup, and this time it was much better, with the beans soft finally. 

Wednesday 1/4 - A big thunderstorm woke me at 1:50.  I thought there had been an explosion at first.  It was intense but short lived and I fell back to sleep.

I got out of bed at 4am, experiencing several sore muscles from yesterday's workout. 

While taking down the Christmas tree, I noticed Rose watching me.  It was a melancholy time removing all the ornaments (so many homemade by our kids, Mom, myself, and other family and friends).

Below photo - I have made the balcony the 'staging area' for Christmas clutter, decoration put-away.  This way I don't have to look at it down in the main living/dining/kitchen space. 

The four pounds that I gained the past three weeks (not muscle weight I would like to put on) was motivation enough to go to the gym and do an hour on the elliptical.  Then I did a good stretch for all my sore muscles.

While out feeding the birds, playing with Rose, and checking the rain gauge (2¼ in.), I noticed damage to several of my plants.  This Japanese holly had dropped lots of leaves, leaving many bare stems.  They just couldn't handle the flash freeze on 12/22.  I hope all my plants recover.   

Thursday 1/5 - I had been working on an e-mail to Michelle about needing to return Robbie, and finalized it way before sun up.  With a heavy heart I sent it.  Since Jean is moving west this spring, Robbie is no longer going to get the attention and training Jean has been giving her.  As much as Jean loves and adores this horse, Robbie is not going to work out for me because she is not a horse I can throw anybody on to join me for a ride.  She is more suited for an intermediate rider.  Her food aggression and anxious disposition are challenging to work with, and she picks on Amiga quite often.  So I had made the decision to not keep Robbie.


I finished this advent jigsaw puzzle for Courtney, splitting it into 24 sections and then removing 2 pieces from each section that she will be instructed to put in on the 25th (Christmas day next year) to complete the puzzle.  It was a struggle getting all the pieces from each section into the little zip lock bags, especially with Monita wanting to 'help.'

After a good 90 minute workout, I rushed home.  I was running late and frustrated because my car did not want to start again, and then I hit a closed road (Lake View by Druid) and had to go all the way back around to get home.

A quick lunch and change of clothes and then I hurried off to the ranch.  Soon Jean and I were tacked up and out on a ride.  It was in the mid 50's, but cold because of the strong wind.  We rode almost 3 miles in a little over an hour, including going back to the barn to switch out saddles, as Jean was trying out a different one.

I did more communicating in the evening, (via texts, e-mails and phone calls) in regards to Robbie.  Michelle did not currently have room for her, so we decided to re-home her from our ranch, which would be better for her anyways, not to move her twice. 

Friday 1/6 - I and then Joe could not get my car started this morning.  He went to change with the plan to go to the ranch together, and while standing in the garage waiting, I heard my car engine make noises (it does this when re-charging the battery).  So I got in and tried again to start it.  Wah lah, it started right up.  So I was only slightly late getting to the ranch to meet Susan and Bonnie to show them how to work the new gates to the back pasture.

Joe came out a little later and we worked at adding dirt to the low spot at our new gate opening.  It is a huge puddle here after a rain. 




While working, Amiga and then Cowboy came to get a drink from this tub.  Joe and I had filled it full a few days earlier, using the new 50 gallon water tank on the back of the gator.  I was glad to see that the horses were drinking from it. 

I mucked our paddock area and was ready to head home about noon.  Jean was walking Parm out in the yard and I went to touch base with her before leaving.  We had noticed that the flash freeze looks to have killed these two Carolina Sapphire Cypress.  Rats!





I had gotten chilled while out at the ranch so had ham and bean soup to warm up.  I felt like I was getting a head cold, so took a Covid test (which was negative) and then did the nasal rinse thing.







Next I laid on the living room floor in the sun to read.  The dog and some cats were quick to join me.  The first photo, a selfie, is strange because my hand and phone shadowed my eyes, which is really all you can see of me because of the bright exposure.  And this second photo, you can see the shadow of my head, hand and phone.  Neither photo is good, but I found them both interesting. 





Mama Styx enjoying the sun on the floor with me.  Reading and the warm sun made me sleepy, so I closed my eyes to rest.  I didn't fall asleep, but it really felt like I had napped. 





I still needed to go feed and had planned to have our weekly libations and chat with Jean, so got back out to the ranch a little after 4pm. 

After chatting with Polly for a few minutes down at the barn, I took these three photos of the moon rising as I walked up the drive, back to the ranch house. 





Jean and I discussed a number of things, including the re-homing of Robbie.  I know it will be hard for Jean to see her Robbie go, but she really wants to find her a good forever home.  I still feel bad that Robbie just wasn't going to work out for  me. 




I love this resolution I saw at the end of Rachel Alana Falconer's new year's prose ~ "This fine new year... May we all be rich! Yes, utterly and completely rich. Wildly and unapologetically. Rich in love. Life. Connection with one another and all that really matters. Filled to the brim and bubbling over; more again and spilling over that. Full of laughter, acceptance, joy, and less of worry. Less of sorrow ~ Rich in renewed experience, of a whole new year!"