Whatever The Weather

'Whatever the weather' is part of a traditional British rhyme and tongue-twister.  It teaches endurance through changing natural elements.
"Whether the Weather" - 
Whether the weather be fine,
Or whether the weather be not,
Whether the weather be cold,
Or whether the weather be hot,
We'll weather the weather
Whatever the weather,
Whether we like it or not!

Saturday 8/22 - With Joe gone for the next nine days, the sole responsibility of dog walking has been on me.  Cookie has gotten much better about taking care of business while out on walks.  It's like now she knows what the walk is for.  But I also like to take her for longer walks just to spend some of her energy, while leaving Maggie at home.  I had the dogs sit by this pretty Crap Myrtle for a photo this morning.

Late morning, I made a trip to Food City because we had run out of milk and lettuce.  

Then I went to the ranch to pick up the hay, Bonnie's authentic old western saddle, and other 'photo booth' accessories.

Barb, seen here, had ordered the backdrop for Steve's Cowboy themed 70th birthday party.  Back in July they had come to the ranch and picked out the props for this 'photo booth.'

We messed around with hay and saddle placement and played with the lariat and also the headgear (Cowboy's bridle and reins).




In this photo, you can see the placement of the 'photo booth' under the pavilion at St. George with the lake and some boats in the background. 

This was just the start of what would turn out to be a very fun memory making photo area for all the guests at the party.  


Barb and Steve are a delightful couple who moved here to the Glade from Britain.  Not only is their accent cute, so are they.  They are a very fun loving, generous, caring couple who are a delight to know.




I left the truck at St. George and Patty picked me up and took me home.  After a dog walk and late, light lunch,  I took a nap.  


I fed the cats and dogs early, got the canine walked, and Bonnie picked me up just after 4:00.  In just minutes, we arrived at St. George marina pavilion for Steve's 70th Birthday hoedown/hog roast party.  










First off I introduced Bonnie to Barb and Steve and we got some photos at the western booth.  


This is just two of the several photos that were taken.

The photo booth was so much fun for everyone.  

Even if not actively participating with the props, it was a great backdrop for the country theme.  

Bonnie and I started with a drink, her a pop and mine a little hefty with the rum, but quite tasty and giving me a pleasant buzz.  I then switched to water for the rest of the night.  

The band (out of Nashville) was a tad too loud, but was very good and played many great country songs.  





And yep, lots of dancing occurred.











I didn't take any dancing photos, cause I was up dancing.  But some (these) were shared with me.  

 


Our "hostess with the mostest."

Many of the 'gang' from Dorchester pool were there.

Barry and Malissa.










In the back, Marie and her sister.
In front, Robbin and Linda.  







Michelle, Vicky, and Deb.  









It was quite a lively party, being as it started at 2:00, was open bar, and there were 130 guests.  





Some from Steve's family brought out the b-day cake, but the wind had picked up and was blowing out the candles. 
Okay, all lit and ready for Steve (who was also 'lit') to blow out.  There weren't 70 candles, but there were enough to challenge Steve.   

A severe storm that brought strong winds and large hail (reported later up to 1½ inches in size) blew into Cumberland County about 6:30pm.  The concert that was occurring at the Grove had to be shut down because of lightening. 

Steve's party was going to continue whatever the weather.  We were very lucky at St. George, only getting about 20 minutes of rain, no thunder or lightening, and very little wind.  

Some lingering clouds were obstructing the nearly full moon as the sun set and lights came on at the dock.  
I loaded hay, saddle and other props into the truck and got home just after 9pm. 

Sunday 8/23 - Shirley was not feeling well and decided not to go to church, so I played hooky and went riding with Bonnie, Joanne, and Patty instead.  












It was a cool crisp morning, starting to feel a little bit like fall, and was very pleasant for riding.

Each of us took turns leading and others followed in various positions.  Here Bonnie is in front, then I on Amiga and Joanne on Rico.  Patty at the end of the line, took the photo.  

I took this photo with Patty in front and Bonnie behind her.  Joanne was behind me.  

On the roads where it is wider, we tried riding side by side.


It did warm up quickly and by the time we got done, we were beginning to sweat a little.  

Amiga continues to be irritated by her scratches (dew fever) which start to improve (as I have been treating them) but then get worse again (video) because of all the wet grass.

Joanne helped Patty with the mucking and I drained, scrubbed, and filled the big stock water tank up in the Paso paddock.   I also raked up all the crappy hay that’s been on the ground for a while, because the horses have not wanted to eat it.




It was mid-afternoon by the time I got home.  Cookie had been at the ranch with us, but Maggie needed a walk, so I took both dogs around the block.  

I spent the remainder of the day eating, blogging, napping, and doing several household chores.  I even vacuumed my office/cat room, that I feared had fleas. 

Patty sent this photo during evening chores.  Wanda and George are becoming friendlier with each other.   

Monday 8/24 - My shift at the pool was uneventful.  It was a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky, with a light breeze and a high of only 84°.
I didn’t get home from work until 2:30.  I tried to do some blogging and did pet chores early so I could walk the dogs before I left for Mirror Lake Blast at 5:15.







The Blast was not a blast.  Melissa Ellis and The Fellas was the band.  They played all blues and jazz.  Their sound was good, but there were only two fast songs during the whole concert that could be danced to.  This photo shows how the dance floor looked for a majority of the concert.

Tuesday 8/25 - I was at the Ranch for morning chores before 8am.  These three were ready to get out on the pasture to graze.  By 9:30 I was heading into town to do my big shopping, which primarily consisted of animal feed (horses, chickens, dogs, and cats).  I also did get a little food for myself, in addition to household supplies.
Once home, I had a protein snack, unpacked and put away all my purchases, filled feed containers, and then headed to the gym. 

I did a complete core and arm workout.  While on the rowing machine to warm up, I watch four different TVs and on every station, they were announcing the death of Dolly Parton.  

In the next few days I was reminded of just how great Dolly was: a legendary American singer-songwriter, actress, businesswoman, and philanthropist.  
Here is a short Dolly tribute (video).  
She grew up in extreme poverty as the fourth of 12 children in a one-room cabin.  She released over 50 albums across a seven-decade career, scoring 26 number-one billboard country singles.  She co-founded the Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge and created Imagination Library: a book-gifting program that mails free books to children worldwide.

By the time I showered and had gotten home, I only had 90 minutes before Micki  was to pick me up to go to Lake Tansi.  I quickly got my dinner time chores completed.
We picked up Johnny (seen standing in this photo) and sat with Jake and Tamera.  







There was a huge crowd here to hear the fun band Four On The Floor.  

We all danced a ton and had a blast, unlike last night.  The Tansi venue has such a pretty setting by the lake and the 'dance floor' is neat with the lights after dark, seen in the next photo I got off Facebook.  

I was home in bed by 9:45, but unable to get to sleep.  I was just too wound up I guess.  By 11:30, I took a pain/sleep aide.

Wednesday 8/26 - Getting in my car to go to the ranch at 8:00, I saw the scrub brush I had left here on the cowl panel (that's a new word for me).  It's the part of the car where the windshield meets the hood.  Anyway, I had set it here Sunday, after scrubbing out the stock tank.  So I drove around with it here for two days, even going on the interstate.

 

I removed our Mountain View flag and put the American flag at half-staff, more out of respect for the memory of Dolly Parton than and as ordered by the President.

Patty helped me wrangle horses to get ready for the Farrier.  Our three Pasos did well for him.  I mucked and did a few other tasks before heading home.  

After an early lunch, I tried to work on blogging, but ended up taking a two hour nap.  I had not slept well, only four hours, last night.  

Once up from my nap, I took Cookie for a one hour hike.  Then I weeded in the front yard for an hour.  By bed time, I was itching from getting more chigger bites, or was it fleas?

Thursday 8/27 - All my mornings start with tea at my computer.  By my second cup, I let Cookie in from the garage (where she eats her breakfast) so she can join Maggie and I in my office/cattery. 

At 9am I met Patty at The Center where we joined a large crowd for the monthly board meeting.
 

Fairly soon, I think we all realized that the board was stalling/wasting time/and 'wearing us down' with their overly long talking.  Three phrases to describe each of their presentations:  
Long-winded - Speaking for too much time without getting to the main point.
Verbose - Using many more words than needed, making explanations confusing.
Going on and on - To continue speaking at great length past the point of necessity.

I had worked a whole Sudoku and when Patty and I both got bored and tired of listening, we had a little 'camera war.'  Notice the three police behind me.  There were way more officers than necessary, because they expected the crowd to get un-ruley, which we did a little, during the question and answer (two 30 minute time periods).  Our board President was interrupting and speaking down to many members in a patronizing and condescending manner that was so disrespectful, or shutting people down, not addressing their question.

Many of the questions that were answered by various board members and General manager, took way too long.  They droned on and on taking up way too much time of the 30 minutes they allotted to us (the audience).  

The meeting was adjourned at noon, with the president cutting off a man who had started to ask a question, because our 30 minutes were up.  The crowd was angry and the police on high alert.

I went straight to the gym, where I had parked, but had very little time or interest in doing my workout.  I needed to get home to walk the dogs.  I did expelled my pent-up frustrations going as hard as I could on the rowing machine for 30 minutes, then left.

After a late, big lunch, I vacuumed all the downstairs carpet, in case there were fleas.  I combed each cat, but never saw a flea.  So probably all my new bites, that are itching like crazy, are chiggers.  












I walked both dogs and then took Cookie to the ranch to do chores.  Jan was down at the barn trying out her new Child's Tandem Ride Behind Saddle.

But first Wanda was giving it a try.  This is an extra-rider pad (often called a buddy seat or child's trail pad) which is placed behind the main saddle to support a second rider safely and comfortably.  

This internet photo shows how it is placed.

Jan did not have a photo or instructions, so was trying to figure it out, and I was no help to her.  George was very comfortably relaxing near Wanda while Jan and I messed with the buddy seat.

I left to finish feeding and mucking chores up-top with the Pasos.  I also played with Cookie in the yard for a bit, before we headed home for a late 6:30 pet feeding time.

Friday 8/28 - The only photos I took today were during my after dinner walk with Cookie.  Now I know what the square structure up at Druid was for... a four sided clock.

I left for pool duty at 9:0o.  



A view from the clubhouse of the 9th green and fairway beyond.  



For such a beautiful day, I was surprised we weren't busier at the pool.  



Our long shadows as the sun was setting (earlier each night).  The firepit, clock and driving range are seen in this photo.

I got home at 2:20, walked the dogs, showered, and then read and napped on the screened porch with the dogs closed-in, out there with me.  








Seen from high up on the hill between the parking lot and Lakeview.  I am guessing this is where the electronic sign is going to go.  
And what is this toilet seat doing right out near the front of the building on the temporary fence?



I took Cookie on a long walk after all (myself included) had eaten and I'd finished my evening household chores.  It was another beautiful evening in paradise.  









We are weathering some nasty 'currents' with several poor decisions by our board, which I hope doesn't ruin our beautiful Fairfield Glade community or put us in insurmountable financial debt.  
However, whatever the weather, I'm going to endure and find joy.  We'll weather the whatever, whatever the weather, whether we like it or not.