Life's Dandy

Now that I am almost back into my usual routine, one might think life has become mundane.  I like routine, but I have arranged my schedule so that I have lots of fun built into it.  And many times, when there is an opportunity to do something fun, and I have to break away from my routine, I will.

The news might lead us to think that life is NOT dandy.  Despair not, the world is not nearly as depressing as so many have made it out to seem.  Boundless joys, opportunities, and fun await us.

Each morning I’ve been blogging in an effort to get caught up and back on track.  Reflecting on this past week, there’s not much that is extremely memorable, but I still had a dandy time.  Also, I have gotten some memory links on Facebook, and realize, the little things have brought wonderful memories.  I'm not sure why I have had these daily photo/videos pop up in my memories on Facebook this week.  But, I just can’t get over how lucky or blessed and happy and content I am.  Grant it, there are some hills and valleys, but overall my life is so good, dandy actually, and I am so thankful.

Saturday 8/30 - After blogging as long as possible, I went to the pool at 9:00.  This would be my last Saturday working at the pool.  I was looking forward to having more time for riding and cooler weather, but wasn’t excited about the fact that the days are getting shorter.

Joe sent this photo later, of he with our two nephews, Ryan and Nathan.  They had played in the Villhauer golf tournament.  Joe and cousin Lou placed first.  Joe is always ready for adventure and travel, living a dandy life. 
 

It was a nice pool day, even though the air was cooler than usual and the water had also gotten pretty cold.  People are coming as much as possible, knowing that the pool season is winding down, with a projected closing date of 9/19.  I ran to the ranch after work to give Amiga a Previcox and it was already 3:30 when I got home.

Joanne sent this photo of Rico a few days ago.  She was working with him on standing still while being groomed and fly sprayed.  He had been standing here for five minutes without moving a foot.  What a good boy and what a great job Joanne does with him.  

I worked in the yard and also along our border with Allen,s yard and picked up lots of branches and sticks.  I managed to get into some more poison ivy and chiggers, which continued to bother me the rest of the week.

I did not have the next James Patterson book in the Alex Cross series, so grabbed this one off my shelf.
 

Sunday 8/31 - This is little Monita from eight years ago, when I had just gotten her.  I had her confined to the screened in porch (now our 4-season sun room/cattery/and my office).  It was love at first sight with Maggie (video).   

I was up real early, finished and posted last week’s blog, and took a nap.  When I got back up, I went to Church.   

I made a big salad and headed off to work at 1:30. 

Joe sent this photo of the Villhauer reunion, their meeting after the pot-luck.  


 

It was a busy day at the pool because the sun was warm, there were very few clouds, and everyone’s trying to get in as many last ‘pool’ days as possible.

I came right home to walk Maggie since Joe was out of town and Joanne was willing to give Amiga her Previcox.

I did a little more yard work and a lot more reading.
 

Monday 9/1 - This is Stevie in 2017 loving on Maggie.  I still really miss her.
I did chores at the ranch, then worked at the pool.  It started raining just when I was supposed to open, which I did.  Jim (a regular) came to walk but there were no other exercisers.  Melisa, Berry, and Penny (also regulars) came because they were supposed to be throwing a pool party.  The rain hadn't been predicted until later, but now the hope was that it would clear off soon.
  

This is Melisa and Berry, dressed for their New Year's party, a day later, but also how they looked today.  The temperature dropped and the wind and rain increased.  The party givers ended up canceling the party and then I got the call to close the pool for the day.  I had gotten a lot of reading done from the time the rain had started until I started closing umbrellas to close the pool.  

I got home before 1:00 but was freezing because I was wet from running around in the rain doing the closing procedure.  I had a bowl (expired in Feb.) of tomato soup that ended up making me feel a bit bloated.  I took a two hour nap, woke up sluggish, and still with gut issues, but drugged myself to Mirror Lake Blast.  I’m so glad I did.  

   



Thankfully it had finally cleared off and was nice for the rest of the afternoon and evening.  “Second Wind Knox” gave us a great evening of music on this beautiful night!  Many of these photos were posted by Vernon Martin.  I also got down on the dance floor with my i-phone and took several.

Linda at our seats.  

Micki on the dance floor most of the night.
 





Nancy 'The Crazy Church Lady' (Micki's nose and the back of my head also captured).  

Cleet and her boy friend.  

Vicky and Karen dancing together.  

DJ trying to get out of the  photo of Micki and Donna.

Donna and DJ.

Mike and Lex kicking up a storm to Ole Rocky Top.












Vivian and Steve sitting right behind us.  

The guys doing the 'Breakfast Club' dance up on the wall.  The blurry photo is off of a video.

Linda and Karen cheering the guys on.  They were hilarious and I love that everyone just has so much fun.  




Sherri with Karen and I.

Someone took this (video) of the Love Train we had going.  I absolutely love all the friends and dancing buddies I have at Mirror Lake Blast.  They certainly make life dandy.  

As you can see from this photo, the band was full of energy.  They played a ton of great songs.  There was lots of dancing, laughter and just enjoying time with good friends!  It was a great end to the Labor Day holiday!
 

Tuesday 9/2 - I had traded shifts with Patty so did morning chores today, since I wouldn't have time Wednesday morning.  I happened to notice these two nests on the tarp that was sitting on the wheelbarrow in the donkey shed.  

Look at the spider up in the corner.  I am not sure if a mouse or a bird made the intricate nest with the tunnel back under the tarp.  It's very cool.

I had a great workout at the gym, then picked up a fruit try and some staples at Food City.  After a quick change, I was at the pool by noon and the New Years party was going strong.
← Steve, Barb, Berry, Melisa

Melisa and Berry had prepared a 'crab/shrimp' boil to treat everybody.  It was a typical flavorful, lowcountry boil, communal meal.  They had crab, shrimp and sausage, along with potatoes, corn, onions, and lemons.  All the food absorbed the spicy, savory seasonings.  Oh my was it HOT and I don't mean temperature. 
 

The first pot was gone by the time I had arrived and the second pot (seen below) was cooking.  It contained everything but the crab.  
I had only tried the potato and onion and could barely get a bite of each down.  People were saying the corn was so spicy it burned your lips.  No thanks.  But they all were thoroughly enjoying the feast.  






My pool 'peeps' are a wonderful group of people who I have enjoyed having at the pool all summer long.  They usually do their potlucks and parties on Sunday, the afternoon I work.  
 

Barb, Melisa, and Elli. 
Elli had brought her pudding shots as usual and Steve had added vodka to my fruit salad.  Folks had also made 'jungle punch' and Champaign punch.   

It was nice to not be working, so I was able to join in on the fun.





Barb's 'costume' included this Cleopatra type head-dress many of us had to dawn for a photo.




Berry and Larry being silly.  

Yep, I too had been enjoying some drink and joined in on the sillyness. 








Elli and Barb, with Berry dipping into more of the boil in the background.  

Steve and Larry.   





I have included all these photos, because this blog serves as a 'scrap-book' type record for me, in addition to being a kind of journal.  

The pool closes at 5pm for the remaining days of September.  (It also doesn't open until 11am now.)  So I helped with party clean up and was home by 5:20. 

Britney had sent this photo.  I noticed right away Juanca's 'new' smile.  He'd gotten his braces off.  These two are so cute and it's a comfort to know Britney has someone who loves and cares for her like Juan Carlos does.

I had been enjoying past memories, reminiscing, and also feeling a tad sentimental.  I was missing Rose, even though Shadow has moved right into her old spots and even started following Maggie and I on our walks, at a big distance away.  So I looked up to see when Rose first entered the scene.  This is the first time she let me close to her for me to get this photo.  It was taken in August 2021, but she had been around all year, coming to my feeding station.  

Wednesday 9/3 - Today's memory came up on Facebook as a (video) of me dancing while on our Alaskan cruise in 2016.  Life was dandy then also.  Although Shirley and I almost missed the boat and our luggage didn't make it, which today is fun to remember because of it's funny consequences, but it was also nice that everything did work out.  

I debated having a different type of 'breakfast of champions' by putting vodka soaked blueberries, left over from yesterday's party, on my cereal.  I thought better of it since I was on my way to a medical appt. 

I had my pre-colonoscopy meeting at 9am, and already had nervous diarrhea and a queasy feeling in my stomach.  Just thinking about the prep was enough to make me sick.  Well, I asked if I could have the pills instead of the drink, which literally makes me vomit.  And the nurse said sure, that Dr. Fox actually prefers that route.  The only caveat is that you have to pay for the pills.  I was willing to pay anything to get out of vomiting every time I try to drink that nasty liquid and keep it down.  I was ready to celebrate... life is dandy!
 

I grabbed a bag each of whole oats, alfalfa, and Enrich horse feed at Tractor Supply and came home.  I was quick to change and get to the gym and push myself through a leg weight workout, including an hour on the elliptical, with the weighted vest.  

 





I scampered through a quick, late lunch and change of clothes and met Betty at the ranch to go for a ride.  Both our horses were being very jumpy for some reason.  Rico spooked five or six times during our 5.3 mile ride.  Thankfully after his 180° spins he didn't run, and his sideways jumps weren't too bad, so I never came off him.  

Rico getting a snack while cooling off after our ride.  I moved some bags of feed and got home at 6pm, pet feeding and my dinner time.  

By the time I went to bed, my legs were feeling heavy and fatigued.  I was enjoying my new Nicholas Sparks book.  It is well written, captivating, so true to life, and a nice change in pace.
 

Thursday 9/4 -  Another great memory, Maggie and Allen playing tug-of-war, eight years ago.  I miss the chats I had out in the driveway with Allen.  

I only took riding photos today, but this (video) came up on Facebook memory, of a ride on Amiga, just two years ago.  I can't believe I was still riding her on long rides and going at a gait or canter some of the time, not really that very long ago.

I sure miss my rides on her back then.

Anyway, today Betty Klinetob (whom Betty and I had met with her husband Joe when we were camping at Timber Ridge in the spring) trailered over to the ranch with her horse Pops.  

Patty was at the ranch finishing morning chores when I got there, so she helped me drain, clean, and refill the upper paddock water tank.  I decided to leave room for the rain water that was predicted.

  


When Betty 2 arrived with Pops, we all started saddling up our horses and were soon on the trail.

Patty took this photo with Betty, Betty 2, and myself, (On Dorado, Pops, and Rico respectively).  Patty was on Zorro.

We were out on the trail from 11:30-2.  Patty came back after 45 minutes because Zorro can't go that far.  We other three went almost 6½ miles. 

The rain came just after we finished up and Betty 2 had headed down the drive with Pop's on her trailer.

It rained quite hard and I had decided to call it a day, doing some household chores before dinner and reading after dinner.  I actually finished my Nicholas Sparks' book.
 

Friday 9/5 - Stevie meets Monita.
The caption on this September 5, 2017 memory says: "I took the kitten to the vet today. She has doubled her weight in 10 days, tested negative for feline leukemia, and her fecal sample was clear of worms. So I let her meet Stevie."    

During morning chores when I checked the water tanks, I saw that the rain had topped this one off, and then some.  It catches water from the shed roof.  I have it angled so that the overflow goes out and around the corner of the shed, not under it.  







On the way home from the ranch I met Joe and Maggie at the Cascade Trail head.  

It is a new trail that opened this summer and is part of the hiking marathon.

It was perfect hiking weather, in the low 70's, although Maggie got hot and enjoyed cooling off in the creek.  








The trail building is amazing.  It is an engineering feat, product of craftsmanship, and even a work of art (video). 




When we got to this bench, we stopped to sit and rest, chat, and watch the water flow downstream.  

 

Maggie had gone in for another drink and swim and was ready to continue when we were.  

By the time we got back to the car, it had gotten warmer.  

I went straight to the pool (a mile away) when finished hiking, for yet another party.  Steve's birthday.





It was a gorgeous 78° day so I stayed and partied until 4:45, and then helped clean up tables before the 5:00 closing time.  
Several of us posed for a group photo.

Maybe I've been living a little too dandy of a life and should cut back on the finer foods and drink I have been enjoying lately.  And by finer, I don't mean the better-for-you things, but the better tasting things.

Melisa lighting the candle for Steve to blow out while we all sang Happy Birthday.

I got home feeling content, relaxed, full of love and gratitude...
and what to my wondering eyes did I see?

 

  
Rose showed up!
She had been missing since July 4th, two full months, and I assumed dead and gone.  









I immediately fed her, and noticed that she no longer limped and looked very healthy.



Oh my goodness, how happy this made me.  

I proceeded to sit with Rose on the lounge chair, looking out on our backyard and the golf course beyond; and marveled at the miracles, wonders and joys life holds.  

I think Rose was glad to see Maggie and I.  She followed us on our after dinner/before bedtime walk.  Shadow had made a showing, but she hissed at him and he ran off.  Life continues to progress... with its spits, spats, spills and setbacks... but there are still many dandy things to appreciate.