Ground Training with The World's Smartest Horse

Okay, I know I'm going to start an argument by claiming that MY horse is the world's smartest horse, but after this latest lesson, I feel like I could train my four-year-old mare Gabbrielle to fly over the moon without wings, simply because she is so brilliant. You may recall that in our ground driving session last weekend we nearly had a wreck when she took off at a fast trot that I couldn't keep up with on foot, which caused me to pull back too hard on the bit, and she reared up, turned and got tangled in the lines.

Many times when I have a problem with my horse, I just have to sleep on it and let the experience seep into my unconscious before I can come up with a solution. I broke the experience down to two things:

1. My horse didn't stop immediately when I said whoa and when I pulled back on the reins.

2. My horse turned to face me as soon as she did stop, causing her legs to get tangled in the long lines.

Looking at it this way, I knew I had to first work on whoa, first at a walk in each direction, then at a trot in each direction. That involved first free lunging her and stepping in front of her shoulder to cut off her exit while saying whoa. I then attached one lung line to her halter and did the same thing. Once I was getting and immediate response to whoa, I started working on teaching her to remain facing in the direction she was moving at the time I say whoa. That's a little more complicated.

When she stopped and turned to face me, I walked up to her and pulled her around to reposition her in the direction she was previously moving in. I then said whoa, stepped back, then stepped forward and stroked her wither. Once she stood facing in the correct direction for a few seconds, I clucked to ask her to walk again. It only took around three times of me respositioning her body for her to understand that I wanted her to stop turning after halting.

When she did immediately stop facing the direction she was moving in, I immediately rubbed her shoulder. We did this routine at a walk in each direction, the moved up to the trot. Gabbrielle gets excited at the trot, so she forgot the point of the lesson and turned toward me at the halt. I repositioned her and I could see that something clicked in her mind. From that point forward, she was stopping at the trot in the correct position.

I know I once asked in a post whether it is more "correct" to train a horse to face you when they stop or to train them to face the direction they were moving in. I've heard good arguments for both cases, however since my goal is to prevent my horse from getting tangled in the drive lines when I ground drive her, it is important that she not turn to face me every time we stop. Could you imagine driving a horse from a cart and having the horse trying to turn to face you in the cart every time you say whoa? Yikes.

Once I knew that Gabbrielle fully understood the point of the lesson, I ground drove her outside of the round pen with one long rope attached to her halter under her chin. I decided to avoid the bit so that I didn't get into a situation where she takes off and I pull back on the bit. I also decided to start with just one line so she'd have less to get tangled in. She's really good about steering with two lines, so my goal wasn't necessarily to fine tune her steering. Obviously, you can't do that with one line. I would have liked to take Sydney's advice of having someone lead the horse while I drove from behind, but I don't have anyone to help me.

I walked behind Gabbrielle with the one long line attached to her halter. When I said whoa, she had to stop immediately and remain facing forward. That was my goal, along with keeping her attention on me in a less controlled environment.

She did well following my directions until she got around the other horses, and then she tried to head for the herd instead of listening to me. At one point, she purposefully crowded between Bombay and Lostine, which caused the rope to get tangled in Bombay's legs. I dropped the rope to the ground and said whoa. Gabbrielle halted, but Bombay walked away. Fortunately, he diligently stepped out of the ropes instead of panicking and taking off running.

I corrected the herd-bound behavior by leading Gabbrielle instead of driving her past the horses. After a couple of passes, I then drove her past them, but used my body movements more to push her along and prevent her from turning into their huddle. Obviously, I would have made it easier on myself if I simply didn't drive her around other horses, but this was all a part of her training. If you are training your horse to march in a parade, you don't want it to veer out of line every time it sees another horse or someone waves a carrot in the air. You have to practice marching your horse around other horses while people are tempting it with carrots.

Anyway, I was very impressed with how quickly Gabbrielle picked up on each lesson. I think a big part of why it was so successful was because I had a clear and simple idea of what she needed to work on, I had a game plan for how to fix it, and I knew how to teach the correct behavior in small increments that would cover all the bases (i.e. same behavior from each speed, each direction, each location...)

I rewarded her by letting her graze on the RV lane. We usually don't get grass on the lane in the fall, but because we had those early snowstorms and rainstorms followed by a lot of sunshine, the ground is behaving like it is springtime.

Kitchen Remodel Update

Half of our kitchen is complete....

Meet the newest member of our appliance family...

I had to run out and buy a new toaster, because it is a written law that when one appliance breaks down, they all have to break down. Sure enough our old toaster wouldn't stay down when we'd push the lever down. Since none of us have time to hold the lever down and wait for our bread to toast, I threw it in the trash. Here's our new microwave mounted beneath the vent, which is hidden in the cabinet. My husband says it is pure hell up there in the attic.

We spent a couple of days and shopping trips trying to decide on the cabinet hardware. We found knobs and handles that matched our black and brown counter top perfectly, but our designer discouraged us from buying them. He explained that if you buy hardware through the cabinet companies, they jack up the prices, because they purchase the hardware from the companies that make it, and then jack up the price so that they can make a profit on top of the store's profit. Those handles that matched our counter top cost $18 per handle! And they were made out of some kind of flimsy plastic.

So, we looked in the hardware aisle at The Home Depot, where the average price for a handle was $2 to $3, and discussed the pluses and minuses of each style and color. We looked mostly at black, brown, and silver hardware. For some reason, we weren't interested in the golds. What was more important to me was that we found something that was the size of a hand and smooth with no holes or ridges that I can break my fingernails on. I could totally see me breaking a fingernail every time I reached up into a cup handle. Some of the more decorative handles had sharp or jagged edges. I liked the egg-shaped knobs the best, because you can slip two fingers around them easily and pull. Here's what we settled on...


These have a satin nickel finish. In the past, we've always hung our hand towels from the oven handles, which were on the other side of the kitchen from the sink, so we'd drip water all over the floor while moving from the sink to the towels. We decided to install a couple of hand towel rings right underneath the sink this time around. My husband couldn't find a matching silver finish at The Home Depot, so I stopped at Lowe's and found the last two satin nickel towel rings in town.

We had also searched the Internet for hardware, and I found a website that sold cabinet handles that were spoons, knives, and forks. I loved the novelty of that, but knew I would stab myself every time I opened a fork drawer and cut myself every time I opened a knife drawer. I contemplated buying all spoon handles, but had to consider that we are fixing up the house for the next buyer, who may not think spoons are so cute.

These are the pots and pans drawers. Though it can be difficult to get everything to fit in there, it is a lot better than our old method of piling pots and pans underneath the stove top in one big cabinet. Each time someone pulled a pot out of there, the entire mountain would come clattering down.

Installing the crown molding came to a halt when my husband discovered that we were missing some cabinet pieces. There are several places where we need filler wood to remove some angles before we can put up the crown molding...


Our designer felt bad about forgetting to order that, so he offered to pay for half out of his commission for the entire project. He said we've been good customers.

There was also once location above the refrigerator where we have a gap between cabinets, so we need filler wood to be able to connect them. The cabinet above the refrigerator is not very stable and needs something to hold it up on the right side...

Once all that wood arrives, my husband can finish installing the crown molding. He also needs to install the floor molding, the window sill tiles, and the backsplash behind the range. We'll probably have to touch up the walls and ceiling with more paint too. We can slow down now, though, because at least now we have a functional kitchen, appliances, and water.

An Odd Visitor

Tonight followed the first day in a while in which I only put in an 8-hour day at the office as opposed to the usual 10 to 12-hour day. I was supposed to drive in to work, but had some more of the same health issues that I've had over the past six weeks and knew I couldn't handle the hour drive in each direction without hauling a Porta-Potty in the bed of my truck. Nor could I withstand waiting in line for the bathroom at the office. So, when 5:00 PM rolled around, I happily shut down my computer, put the horses to bed with their blankets and hay, changed into some comfy pajamas and climbed into bed. I even took all of my medications early and settled back to welcome some sleep.

Then the doorbell rang.

I looked at my husband, who was wandering around in his whitey tighties. He obviously couldn't get the door. My son was still clothed, so he answered it. He came into the bedroom and told me there was a girl outside who was selling horse tack.

I had to see what this was about.

I climbed out of bed and threw on a jacket, then went out onto the doorstep to see what was up. A young teenage girl stood there holding a brand new red halter and lead rope. She mumbled something about needing to buy her horse some hay, and would I buy this halter from her.

"Are you saying you want to trade that halter for some hay?" I asked.

Her eyes widened and she seemed to panic. She said, "No, I need a special hay. The grain type. I need to sell this for money. I have several other halters, so I don't need this one. It's brand new. It still has the tags on it."

I'm getting more confused by the minute. First off, if the tag is still on it, why doesn't she try to return it to the store where she bought it? Our local feed store has everyone's purchases in their computer, so you don't need a receipt. Secondly, if she doesn't need the halter, why did she buy it in the first place? Thirdly, if her horse was in need of feed, why was she spending her money on a halter she didn't need? Fourthly, what is the grain type of hay?

A part of me was thinking I'd be more than happy to help out a horse in need of grain-hay, whatever that is, but this girl's behavior didn't have me convinced that she was going to use that money to buy feed. I asked her what size the halter was. She had to dig around to look for the tag. "It's average," she said.

Alright now, when you buy a halter, don't you know what size it is that you bought? I had this image flash before my eyes of this girl shoplifting the halter and lead rope from the local feed store. I was getting more skeptical every time she opened her mouth.

I said, "No, that size won't work for me."

Her nervousness instantly turned to anger and she started tossing the halter around saying, "What do you mean? Why wouldn't this fit your horses? It's average!"

I said, "My horses need the smaller Arabian halters."

She continued fussing with the halter trying to hold it up so that I could see it better, insisting it will fit. I said no again.

Her voice then cracked as she started to cry. "Do you know anyone who will buy this halter from me? What about the people next door?"

I said, "They don't own horses. They just board them. I don't think they'd need one."

She said, "Do you board horses?" in a now hopeful tone.

"No, sorry."

She refused to leave until I referred her to someone else who owned horses. I pointed out a couple of houses she could try. I might have tried harder to pull the full story out of her, but I was standing on my doorstep in bare feet in my pajamas in freezing temperatures. I was already sick and suffering from the chills, so I didn't want to make myself any sicker. I didn't want to invite her in, because the dogs would have eaten her alive, but not before she'd be blinded by the sight on my husband in his underwear.

Based on her behavior, I had a gut feeling that she was hocking stolen items to raise money for drugs. I may be wrong. Her horse boarding question threw me for a loop. If it turns out that she was just an innocent girl in a desperate situation with her horse, I hope God will forgive me for not helping her, and will make sure that this girl and her horse get what they need. It's just that I've known so many alcoholics, drug addicts, and impulsive gamblers in my life, that I've learned how to evade the tricks they pull in order to scam me into supporting their habits.

When she first explained her situation, I was ready to load a couple of hay bales into the trunk of her car, but she made it sound like she was only willing to take money. There was just something about her reactions and range of emotions that made me worry that any money I handed her would only be used to expedite her fall deeper into whatever hell she had made out of her life. God speed, little girl, and take care of that horse... if there really is a horse involved.

Prizes!

I want to thank Leah at Barn Door Tagz for these wonderful prizes from her 200th post reader appreciation giveaway. They arrived last week.

I also want to thank fernvalley01 of Fern Valley Farms for this copy of her awesome calendar won in a 200th post giveaway as well. It arrived yesterday.

New Doctor Visit

Doctors call them "new patient visits." I call them "new doctor visits." So, what happened with my doctor's appointment? Well, I was fantasizing that I was going to get everything resolved in one fell swoop, thus only having to take a minimum amount of time off from work. However, the real world doesn't work that way. I also had high hopes of finding a new doctor who is compatible with my personality close to home.

When I arrived for my appointment, I was met with an empty waiting room and a closed reception desk. I figured it was the end of the lunch hour. The reception desk had a mirrored window, so I couldn't tell if someone was behind it. I stood there and waited, but no one opened the window, so I sat down in the waiting area. Eventually, a medical saleswoman walked up and stood there, and the window opened for her. I got up to go talk to the receptionist, and had the window slammed in my face. So, I sat back down. Then a doctor in scrubs arrived and the window opened for him, but closed as soon as I approached. This was bizarre. After 15 minutes of waiting from the first time they slammed the window in my face, and no one calling me up, I knocked on the window.

A woman opened it, I told her my name and said I've been waiting for about half an hour. (I arrived 15 minutes before my appointment to give me time to fill out the new patient paperwork, but no one was in the office at the time, as far as I could tell.) She just handed me a clipboard filled with paperwork. It took me another half hour to fill it out. This appointment was not getting off to a good start.

The nurse called me in, got my weight and height, took my blood pressure, and asked why I was there. I started in on my list of health problems I've had over the past six weeks, and while I was right in the middle of explaining my symptoms, she just got up and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. WTF!?!

At this point I was thinking, if this doctor does not listen to me, I'm just walking out of here and never coming back. I'll find another doctor. I'm tired of being cut off by hurried health care workers. I mean, do they want to help me or not? Even when I called to set up the appointment, the receptionist wouldn't let me explain why I was calling. Though I did tell her I was sick now, she set up the appointment for me 3 weeks later.

So, I was just hoping that this doctor wouldn't be a good looking young man, because I had some really personal, really disgusting stuff to discuss with him. He walked in, and he was this nice looking African American man with a very skeptical, intellectual personality. There was nothing cold about him, but nothing particularly warm either.

He asked me what's going on, and I started talking as fast as I could in hopes that I could get it all in before he cut me off or walked out of the room. Before I could finish my list, he rolled his eyes and sighed. I stopped dead in my tracks, because I knew there was no point continuing on. I purposefully left several symptoms off my list, because he clearly didn't have the patience to hear it all.

For one set of symptoms, he basically said he didn't want to deal with that and referred me to another doctor. Argh! I was purposefully trying to consolidate everything into one appointment. For another set of symptoms, he won't do anything until he's run a blood panel, so that's another appointment at the laboratory. Once the blood panel comes in, he wants me to come back to see him to discuss all my symptoms again, but he's betting they will all have gone away by the time that happens.

I explained that it is difficult for me to get a lot of time off from work, so he said he'd try to work with me on that, such as making the second appointment a phone call, but it all depended on the lab results. These are all lab tests I've had run before, and they always come back negative. I don't expect them to turn up anything other than high cholesterol.

He then said he wanted to be frank with me. He felt that all of my symptoms were a chain reaction from stress and anxiety. He said, "Just by looking at you, I can see that you probably have an anxiety disorder."

I was like, "WTF?" Then I realized that he was referring to my essential tremor. I explained to him that my head shakes all the time due to this neurological condition. He didn't even know what it was. I had to explain that it was hereditary. He also misheard the name of one of the medications that I was on, and thought I was referring to an anti-anxiety drug, when in fact I was referring to a blood pressure medication.

So, this whole time the guy was dismissing what I was saying, because he thought it was all in my head. I've been shaking for so long that I forget that people who meet me for the first time are a bit taken back by my appearance. They make all kinds of assumptions about me being anxious and nervous, not understanding that I shake all the time due to a hereditary condition.

Once I cleared up that misunderstanding, he wanted to run through my symptoms again from a different perspective. In analyzing my dizziness, he explained that there are two types. In one, the room spins and your eyes jerk off to the side. In another, you are light-headed and feel faint. I said I had both. He said that made no sense. The first one is a sign of an inner ear infection while the second is a sign of pulmonary problems. I said, "I don't know what to say. I get light-headed, feel faint, and the room spins."

He insisted it couldn't be both. Criminey! I'm not lying. Why would I lie? Does he think I get a kick out of wasting doctors' time? There must be a lot of hypochondriacs out there for so many doctors to be dismissing so easily what their patients say.

He tried one test, but couldn't get an accurate result due to my head shaking. He did another test that ruled out a blood pressure drop as the cause of my dizziness. He's thinking I may be anemic, and the blood work should tell us that. He then started asking me about my job and went back to his theory about stress and anxiety. He said that with the economy being as bad as it is, he's seeing a lot of health problems triggered by economic stress.

We had a long talk about both my job and his. He confessed some of his gripes about the medical industry and explained how he likes to run his office. It sounded to me like he was a bit of a control freak. However, one thing I did like about him was that when we both spoke at the same time, he always stopped and let me go first. That's a rare trait to find in people. Most people will just talk right over me.

When all was said and done, I got to my car and realized that we got sidetracked with all this stress and anxiety talk, and I never had him evaluate whether my hernia needs surgery! Argh! All he did was listen to my heart and lungs. He never examined my pelvis, though I have a hernia and stabbing pains in there. I explained to him that I once had a massive cystic terratoma removed along with an ovary, and had a 50% chance of getting another one growing off the other ovary. Many of these symptoms are the same as what I experienced when I had the terratoma. Swear to God -- he said, "What's a cystic terratoma? Is that a tumor?"

Uh, yeah. It's a really big one that grows quite fast and messes with your internal organs by putting pressure on them. Might explain why I have to pee every 15 minutes.

This is so typical of my doctor's visits. I even had a list in front of me and still forgot to check it before leaving. I think I was so taken back by the number of misunderstandings this doctor had with me that I forgot all about the hernia. I guess I'll have to cover that at my next freakin' visit or talk to the other doctor about it. I'm running out of options for doctors. There's only one other general practitioner in my area.

My husband suggested that I need to find myself a good female doctor, because his mother could never get a decent exam and diagnosis out of male doctors. In her case, they always prescribed anti-depressants for everything. She was labeled as a hypochondriac and treated for "hysteria" every time she saw a male doctor. The truth was that my mother-in-law has had some pretty serious health problems over the years that got brushed under the rug by doctors who judged her too quickly and were never willing to explore the physical aspects of her complaints.

My gynecologist is an excellent female doctor, but my insurance company will not allow me to use her as my primary physician anymore. I have to take all non-gynecological issues to a general practitioner or internist. Ironically, this internist just turned around and referred me to my gynecologist. It's so stupid how patients get bounced around among doctors, thus draining even more money out of the insurance system. It's almost as if the insurance companies are shooting themselves in the foot. It only costs me five bucks per doctor's visit, so money isn't the issue for me. The issue is time. I'm going to have to spend a good chunk of the next two weeks in doctor's offices and laboratories at a time when each employee's work hours are under close scrutiny, because company management has set its sights on trimming the fat.

P.S. Sorry for the non-horse-related post, but sometimes I find that we get some of the best discussions going when I get off topic. Any other medical horror stories out there?

A Return to Ground Driving

Hey! I can't graze when you tie me this tight!

What's up with that?

Oh, okay, I'll just stand here like a good girl.

Now that Gabbrielle's knee has healed and I am up and about, we returned to ground driving lessons. I wasn't about to climb into the saddle after not riding her in I don't know how many months. She acted like she was bored with it all, so I made the mistake of ground driving her outside the round pen.

I'm sure I must have tried that in the past, but Gabbrielle acted like it was her first time ground driving in this different location. She got nervous when I drove her away from the other horses, and she spooked at the neighbor's garbage against the fence. I find that kind of spooking to be a nuisance. I mean, the horses stand right next to that garbage pile every day, but for some reason when I drive them near it or ride them near it, the garbage pile suddenly morphs into a horse-eating monster. Gabbrielle spun and got tangled in the lines.

I halted her and untangled her, then started driving her forward again. She was so excited about returning to her friends that she took off at a trot. I had to run behind her so as not to lose hold of the lines and slowly pull back while saying "Whoa!"

I didn't want to injure her mouth, but she would not stop. I think the sound of my footfalls behind her scared her and she ran faster. I couldn't keep up with her, and was pulling harder and harder on the bit. She came to a stop, reared up a couple of times and then spun, getting the lines tangled around her legs again. I untangled her and detached the lines before she could get herself into a really big wreck. She just wasn't ready for ground driving outside the round pen.

Learning that made me all the more happy that I didn't try to ride her. If I can't stop her from the ground with the long reins, I'm sure I couldn't stop her from the saddle. I could use my Clinton Anderson fix. I can't wait to see his show in a couple of weeks.

Mohawk Sunday

As the weather cools down in the fall, the horses' bridle paths grow out rather quickly. I am always in a quandary as to whether or not to keep them trimmed, because they need that hair for warmth, yet I also want to keep them clean, and if I'm still riding them, I need a nice, neat place on their poll to set the bridle. I usually decide on a half-trim in which I let half of the mane grow out while it is in its mohawk stage, while I trim a smaller section closer to the ears.

I also trim the horses' whiskers. They love having those clippers buzzing around their muzzles. It must feel good. Their tails are pretty dirty, but it's too cold to be bathing them, so I just run a comb through their tails with some Cowboy Magic.

As you know, I've been sick off and on for the past six weeks. I got stomach flu symptoms for a few days, then was fine, then had head cold symptoms for a few days, then was fine, then returned to stomach flu symptoms... Eventually, I started getting really bizarre symptoms and my latest struggle has been with vertigo. If I look up or down, or bend down and then stand up, everything starts spinning around me and I stumble like a drunk. I finally get to see my new doctor tomorrow for a physical. Hopefully, he can crack this case.

In the meantime I haven't done a whole lot of horseback riding. I wasn't totally confident that I could stay upright in the saddle. However, today I took my chances. It turned out that I didn't have any problems in the saddle, because I look straight ahead. Being jostled at the trot and posting did not trigger dizzy spells. Most of my problems happened on the ground when I was grooming. Bombay made me look up too high while trimming his bridle path, and I had to bend over to brush the horses' legs. I survived, though, and didn't fall down.

The ground is still quite wet from those thunderstorms we had a couple of weekends ago, so it is too slippery for the horses to be cantering on. I lunged them yesterday and both Lostine and Gabbrielle went down on their sides when they slipped at a fast trot. Gabbrielle has always been a difficult horse to slow down during lunging, but I had a chat with her and explained that she has to figure out how to jog slowly or she's going to get hurt with these ground conditions. I was talking to her, not expecting her to understand anything I said, but when I started her up around the pen again, she moved at the most beautiful, controlled jog! She's such a smart horse.

When I rode the horses, I only rode at a walk and jog. I mainly worked on neck reining on a loose rein. Bombay caught on right away, but Lostine was being stubborn. She kept trying to turn into the center of the round pen, then stop to tell me to get off. So, I had to add the riding crop to my leg and neck reining. I discovered that the secret to getting Lostine to cooperate is persistence. I just had to keep tapping her hip faster and faster until she turned, then release and relax until she tested me with her next evasive maneuver. After a bit of fighting, she finally let out a big sigh as if to say, "Okay, I'll do what you say now." Things went well from that point forward, and she received her due praise.

Oh, and horse treats, of course.

Clown Boy Steals the Show

Just another little Bombay story for ya...

You know how he was playing with the Jolly Ball the other day and by the time I grabbed the camera he was done? No amount of coaxing could get him to play with that ball once I had the video camera. Well, today I was haltering each horse and doing a little 15-minute round pen workout with them. When it was Bombay's turn, he was busy playing with his Jolly Ball, swinging it in circles with his mouth. I approached with the halter and he just kept on swinging that ball in circles. I couldn't get the halter on his head with the ball in the way, so I tried taking it out of his mouth, but his teeth were buried in that handle. He wasn't letting go for anything.

So, I attached the halter just around his neck, and led him toward the round pen. He walked beside me for a little while carrying his Jolly Ball in his mouth, and then finally dropped it when we reached the round pen gate. He knows that entering the round pen means he'd better get down to business. Of course, I didn't have a camera, but trust me, it was exceedingly cute and gave me the giggles.

Farrier Day

My wonderful farrier phoned me a couple of days ago to let me know that my horses were due for a trim and he had an opening this morning. He did something he normally doesn't do. He brought apples with him to give to the horses as treats. He actually broke them up by taking bites out of them himself and them gave them chunks so that they wouldn't choke on a whole apple, which I really appreciated.

We had a close call with Miss Piggy (Lostine) when she raided his toolbox to help herself to some whole apples. I chased her into the round pen and locked her up. Gabbrielle gave him a little trouble with her injured leg. I think she was sick of people always handling that leg after he knee injury. It took her a long time before she'd let anyone handle her ears after the vet treated her injured ear. Bombay was good, except he tried pulling once and lost his balance, falling to his knees. He didn't like that, so in a way, he taught himself not to pull when the farrier is working on his feet. Nothing teaches quite as well as natural consequences.

While we were talking, my nosy neighbor drove up. I was proud of her for getting out of her car and going straight into her house instead of pulling her usual stunt of sneaking behind my barn to eavesdrop. Every time my farrier visits either she or her husband come out to listen in on our conversation. I find it humorous, because they use the same farrier, yet when he comes to work on the horses that they board, they never come out to help him or speak to him. They hide in the house while he ties the horses to a post. Yet when he comes to my house, they are always buzzing around trying to insert their ears into my yard.

My feelings of content didn't last long when my neighbor came back outside and started her routine of opening and slamming every door on her car. That's one of her guises she uses when she wants to eavesdrop. She pretends like she's packing or unpacking something, or looking for something, yet I never see her actually carry anything in her hands. This round and round the car, door opening and closing, went on for a good 15 minutes. Then her husband came out and pretended like he was cleaning off the patio furniture. I thought, "Oh geez, he's dusting off a chair and now he's going to sit in it and stare at us."

Fortunately, my farrier finished up, I paid him, we said our goodbyes, I went into my house, and when I turned to look out the window, I saw that my neighbor was no longer cleaning furniture, but was upright and staring directly at me through my window. I stared back at him and we had this staring contest for about half a minute, then he walked away. He was no longer interested in sitting in that chair since the show was over. They are so obvious that they are spying and eavesdropping, because they pretend like they are doing something else, and then as soon as you turn your back to them, they stop what they are doing and stare directly at you. I've seen them do this in the reflections of windows and even in the reflection of my horse's eye, plus I catch them doing it when I turn quickly to look at them or walk in the house and look out the window once I'm in.

As soon as my farrier drove off, they got in their car and drove off right behind him. I wouldn't be surprised if they were following him to see where he was going next. They are probably hiding behind someone else's barn right now listening in on his conversation with his next customer... in my humble opinion. ;)

Jolly Ball Fun

I decided to take a break since I'd been sitting at my desk all day, and when I went outside I found Bombay drawing in the sand with a Jolly Ball. He then picked up the the ball with his teeth and began pummeling me with it. It was pretty funny, so I had to get it on film, but of course by the time I returned with the video camera, he was no longer interested in playing.

I tried kicking the ball around to get the horses to kick it back, but they couldn't be less interested. Note Gabbrielle's big sigh of boredom after I pelt her a couple of times in the leg...



That was the best I could get out of them. I tried a few other things, like putting the ball in Bombay's mouth, but he wouldn't bite. Then my nosy neighbor came out and stared at me, so I called it a day. You can hear my neighbor's front door squeaking open at the very end of the video.

Now I've Heard It All

While watching the news on TV last night, I heard a story that just blew me away.  This man who either sleeps in the nude or just got out of the shower went into the kitchen to fix himself a pot of coffee at 5:30 AM.  He turned on the lights and apparently his blinds or shades were not closed.  Some woman and her 7-year-old boy were walking outside in the dark and looked in this guy's window and saw him naked.  The woman called the police and the police arrested the man for indecent exposure!  He's facing up to one year in prison.  What is this world coming to?

If I were that man, I'd turn around and sue the woman for peeping in my windows, and if she was on his property he should hit her for trespassing too.  I, personally, think that people who go for walks in the dark do it because they can look into people's windows.  Perhaps the woman was walking her child to daycare, but I don't know of any daycares that are open at that time of the morning, unless daycare is at Grandma's house.  It's a little early for school to be starting too.  I'd love to know more about her reason for being out there at that hour.  People should be allowed to get comfortable in their own homes.  A lot of people like to strip down to their underwear or nothing when they are behind closed doors.  Clothes are constricting.  No one expects someone to be outside their windows at 5:30 in the morning.  That's ridiculous. 

Other articles I've read say that the woman first saw the man naked in his doorway, and then she said he followed them by appearing in the living room window too, exposing himself a second time.  He said he didn't know anyone was there and was just walking through his house to his kitchen.  I'd love to know if by "doorway" she means he was standing in an open doorway facing her naked, like he was on his way out to pick the newspaper off his driveway or intentionally flashing her, or if he was inside walking past his door and his door just happened to have a transparent portion that she shouldn't have been looking into.  I mean, how did she know he was moving through his living room?  You have to be looking in someone's window pretty deliberately to tell what kind of room is in there.

This concerns me, because I have repeatedly had problems with my neighbor's house guest catching glimpses of me on the toilet and getting out of the shower in my bathroom.  Could I be arrested for keeping my bathroom window open a crack to prevent mold and steam build up?  I've been decent enough not to complain about this man hanging out by my bathroom window at 6:00 in the morning, but maybe I should be calling the police on him?  He seems to know my bathroom habits fairly well.  Honestly, I've had so many problems with Peeping Toms and Peering Nancys that I'm wondering what laws are left to protect our privacy.

Who's the Boss?

"Who's the boss" has been the theme of my day. I got word at work that the C.E.O. is unhappy with my department, so he put someone else in charge. We've changed guard many times, but no one seems capable of lassoing the wild characters within our department. There are several rogue workers who insist on doing their own thing, who don't take orders well, and who don't play well with others.

I'm actually very happy with their choice of who will be managing us. I think this guy can pull it all together, and I suspect that if any of those rogue workers refuse to cooperate, they'll find themselves hitting the sidewalk in search of other work. This change couldn't have come at a better time for me. I was getting seriously burnt out and discouraged by the lack of teamwork.

"Who's the boss" is also a question I've continued to pose to the horses each evening when I put them in their stalls. I open the doors to Bombay and Gabbrielle's stalls and encourage them to go in, but Lostine tries to chase them away. She thinks she's the Queen Bee who always gets to go in first.

So, I have to gain Bombay and Gabbrielle's trust by keeping Lostine's bared teeth and pinned ears at bay while they enter their stalls. Each night they get a little more confident in following my orders and ignoring Lostine's bullish ways, and Lostine is learning to behave herself and be patient.

I think once it is clear that I'm the boss, my authority will translate better in the saddle. I might actually experience less spooking and bucking. We'll see.

Sunday Stills: The Letter C

See the Cs?

Even the shadow of the C is a C...

C is for Coffee Cups...

I am pleased to announce that I found an old Easter egg in one of my Coffee Cups when Cleaning out my kitchen Cabinets.

Speaking of kitchen Cabinets, C is also for new kitchen Counter tops...

C if for a Change in Color...

C is for Creeper, who parks her Car in front of my house, though her own house is 50 yards up the road and has plenty of places to park...

(Photo is taken through a window, which explains its hazy quality.)

C is for Cuteness, of Course.

Thanks to Sunday Stills for another fun photographic Challenge.

What a Surprise!

What a surprise to receive a letter today from Downunder Horsemanship that contains two free tickets to the Clinton Anderson Wahl Walkabout Tour in Reno! I wanted my son to go with me, but he's all horsed out. I drag him to the Western States Horse Expo every year and he's sick of it. So, I'm trying to get the mother of one of his friends who is a barrel racer to come with me. If that doesn't work out, I'll ask my neighbor friend. It's sad that I don't know a whole lot of people in my area who ride horses as a hobby. Anyway, the letter said that my name was selected from a random drawing. I didn't enter one, but I'm sure I'm on plenty of horsey mailing lists.

I think my luck is finally turning. In the past few weeks I won a 200th post drawing at Barn Door Tagz, a calendar in a contest at Fern Valley Appaloosas, I received the Intrepid Riders Faction Award from Breathe at HorseCentric, and was pleasantly surprised to have these two free tickets fall into my lap. It's funny, because I tell people I never answer the phone because no one ever calls to give me something or do me a favor. They always want something from me, whether it be money, or my time and energy. I guess that's not always the case. That'll teach me to be so skeptical.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to covering the show for my blog.

Intrepid Riders Faction Award

Breathe of HorseCentric bestowed this award upon me. Thank you. This is a fine compliment.

Here is the information on this award:

"This Award is dedicated to those horse lovers and riders that inspire others to go deeper in ability, knowledge and understanding of the equine(s) they have been entrusted to.

"The good of the horse is the ultimate goal apart from pressures to achieve ribbons and fit into lesson schedules.

"These riders are fearless, when it comes to weather conditions and the forecasting of them...being with their horses, fills these folks' soul and takes the cares out of daily routines.

"They are unconditionally loving to the horse and may have rescued it from known ailment or living condition. Others have researched and purchased/ acquired their horse, to find a difficulty in temperament or a physical burden within the animal. Yet, being dedicated, they have persevered to proudly be in partnership with their horse, lovingly striving for deeper awareness between them.

"They might have been riding for years and suddenly had an accident that takes them away from the great joy and freedom they have, being aboard such a magnificent animal. They have allowed the healing horse to rise in their hearts once again, and beckon them back.

INTREPID RIDERS FACTION ~ "We strive to go where others only dare to go with our horse loves...healing, riding, playing, camping, jumping, swimming and traveling down the trails of life. . . . with the horse in heart ~ Overcoming many obstacles and sometimes weather, to ride!

"There are not many rules with this award - just:

1) that you give it to only one person,

2) link back to this post, so they may have an understanding of its nature, and

3) you may use any or all of the above written descriptions."

I choose Paint Girl for this award. When I struggle to have a decent ride out on the trails with my horses, Paint Girl has a story to tell me of her own struggles and how long it took for her horses to relax and behave themselves. I am so impressed that she just kept going, putting miles on them, and now she is raising a Mustang filly on top of grooming Arabian show horses for a living. I wish we lived closer, because I'd be out there trail riding with you each weekend, Paint Girl.

Kitchen Remodel: We Have Counter Tops!

The granite looks a little bit like obsidian with brown fossils embedded. We only had one glitch with the counter top installation, and that is that our walls are bowed. One of the counter tops stuck out at an angle instead of having an even overlap all the way across, so they had to re-cut and re-polish it on location.

When I told the installer how much counter space we used to have, he replied, "That might be alright for a college student who drinks all the time and doesn't eat, but it wouldn't fly with my wife."

Now we just need to get the kitchen sink hooked up again, get the crown molding installed, hook up the vent, hang the doors, install a little wall and window sill tile, and patch up where we are missing paint. Then next time we have enough cash to spare, we will install laminate or tile flooring.

Here's information on the counter top for anyone who is interested, taken from Stonemark's website:

Copper Antique™
Granite texture polished finish
Country of Origin: India
Geological Age: approximately 525 million years

One of India’s most sought after stones, Copper Antique™ is a versatile stone with its dark copper colored crystals accented by black undertones and enlivened by occasional white flecks. As with a treasured antique, this stone evokes the feeling of having become more desirable and valuable with the passage of time.

Innovative Stone® is delighted that you have chosen Copper Antique™ from the Stonemark™ collection, and we know you will enjoy it for many years to come.

Copper Antique™ works well with almost any cabinet choice.

Classification: C/C/C
Each stone’s uniqueness and beauty are due to variations in shade, texture and coloring, giving them one-of-a-kind characteristics.
Product samples and brochure photographs cannot duplicate the precise characteristics of your stone.

25 Gallons of Rain

These are some pictures I took during our rainfall yesterday. It rained all day and night. Last night I went outside to feed the horses and sunk up to my calves in a puddle. My Shelty fell in too and looked at me with a horrified expression. That water was cold. Almost half of the horse paddock had become a lake. It was a good thing I kept the horses in their stalls all day and night.

This morning I walked outside and found all the 50 gallon feed troughs halfway full of rainwater. That means 25 gallons of it survived by morning. I'm sure there was more and some of it evaporated. That's 6 inches of rain.

The horses were all riled up, spinning circles in their stalls. They were so ready to be let out. I had to go into each stall one by one, halt the horse, remove the blanket, and open the door to release the horse. I didn't think using a halter would help considering I've had barely enough strength to open the stall doors, none-the-less hang onto a thousand-pound horse.

Bombay loped over to his feed, but in a controlled manner. He's a very athletic and coordinated horse. I love watching him run to his feed each morning. He's such a majestic, beautiful mover. Lostine did her fast trot to her feed. Then there was Gabbrielle. Sigh. Oh, Gabbrielle, you little spaz.

She busted out at a full gallop like a racehorse out of a gate, slipping and sliding all the way, yet not letting it slow her down. Back and forth, back and forth across the length of the paddock she went, jumping puddles and bucking. I hollered at her to slow down and go eat, but it was too late. She fell on her side and slid into Bombay's feed trough, which caused Bombay to take off running. He didn't slip once though.

I pointed at Gabbrielle's feed and said, "Go eat!" She got back up covered in mud, shaking all over and ran to her feed. She looked at me like, "Mama, me no know I could get boo-boo. I was just having fun."

I want to thank everyone for their recent comments. There are times when I look around myself and think, "Gosh, everyone else seems to be living easy, so why do I have so many freak things happen to me?" It's good, yet not good, to know that everyone experiences a lot of the hassles I've been challenged with lately. Everyone at the office is getting sick now, so we are calling it the company plague. People are saying they are just too weak, shaky, and fatigued to come into the office. That's totally what I'm going through, so this is probably just a virus that has made itself at home doesn't want to go away.

Another Senior Moment Ruins the Day

Whoever told me that I'm the unluckiest person they know wasn't exaggerating.  Maybe I should have an Unluckiest Person on Earth contest to hear everyone's sob stories so that I can put my own problems into perspective.  Today was my son's driver's test.  We diligently prepared for it by putting new tires on the kids' car, not to mention nearly a year of teaching our son how to drive and helping him study the rules of the road.  As he and his father were walking out the door in the pouring rain, they were getting the paperwork together for his test.  Upon climbing into our kids' car, they discovered that the registration papers were missing from the glove compartment.

I was working from home (because I'm still sick), talking on the phone when my husband ran up to the window to my office and yelled, "Where's the vehicle registration?"

I stupidly said, "They don't send it anymore.  They just send the sticker."

He said, "Where's the piece of paper the sticker was stuck to?"

I said, "I threw it away.  It didn't look like anything important."

Sigh.  Another senior moment.  My husband grabbed my son and raced to the Cadillac.  Oh crap.  Our son is going to take his driver's test in a storm in a big city in a brand new Cadillac.  Not good.

He's driven the Cadillac before, but not when he was nervous about taking a test.  So, it suddenly hit me that if I threw the registration paper away for our kids' car, I probably threw it away for other vehicles too.  I ran out into the raging wind and rain and searched through all the glove compartments.  The last registration paper I could find for my truck was from 2007, so I've been throwing these important little pieces of paper away for years apparently.  The really stupid thing about it is that I had all the registration papers for the horse trailer dating back for many years.  For some reason, I can think straight when it comes to the horse trailer.

So, I called my husband on his cell phone at the DMV and informed him of the situation.  He said he just finished up getting replacement papers for our kids' car and he'd have to wait in line for another hour to get them for my truck.  Oh well.  Bad timing on my part, as usual.  Right then he said, "Oh no.  Our son just drove up and he's barely been gone for a few minutes.  That's not good."

They bring 'em right back if they fail.  Sigh.  So, I'm sitting here waiting for them to get home to find out the details, and an ambulance goes racing past my house in the direction of where they'd be driving home at that point in time.  Nearly every time that my daughter went out driving on her own, an ambulance went racing off in the direction where she would have been, and I nearly had a heart attack worrying that it was she who got into an accident.  It never was, except for the one time when she got hit by a drunk driver and no one called the police or an ambulance.  That was the ONLY time I did not hear a siren, and I should have heard one.  Instead she just walked in the door and said that some guy hit her and then left the scene of the accident and she didn't know what to do.  Great.  I failed her as a mother.

Fortunately, the ambulance wasn't for my son, but he did fail his driver's test.  Not only was he driving a car he wasn't familiar with, thanks to me, in a city he wasn't familiar with, thanks to the state's budget problems, in a storm, thanks to Mother Nature, during his driver's test, but he had a cop stalking him closely the entire time!  Did everything have to work against this poor kid at once?

One of the things he got marked down for was driving too slowly.  Say what?  His friends were failed for going one or two miles per hour over the speed limit.  I guess they want to you be right on the speed limit the entire time.  He also encountered an intersection that is nothing like what we have out here in the country.  It had a flashing yellow light.  He handled it correctly, but it was one lane that turned into two, and he didn't know which lane to turn into.  He chose the wrong one, of course.  I wouldn't know which lane to turn into myself, and I've been driving for nearly 30 years.  Also, because he hadn't practiced parallel parking in a big Cadillac before, but only in his little car, he hit the curb.  Oh well.  He's got two weeks to get his act together.  At least now he knows the route and has the replacement for his registration papers, so he can drive his own car.  I failed him as a mother, and my mind failed me.  I suppose it is fortunate that we discovered that the registration papers were missing now instead of when we get pulled over or in an accident.

You know, when I was younger it seems that life moved along smoothly.  I don't remember being permanently frustrated like I am now.  I'll bet if I were living in a monastery my life would move slowly enough that I could think and concentrate on one thing at a time.  Isn't that what Buddhism is all about?  Be here now.  I'm tired of being all over the map, multi-tasking, forgetting things, struggling to handle the bombardment of stimuli that always seems to arrive all at once.  It is cruel for me to have this much responsibility and such a meager mind.  One of the symptoms that goes along with my head tremor is memory problems.  I'm thinking it's time that someone else in the family handle the vehicle registrations, pay the bills, and balance the checkbook.  Mama's goin' senile.

Days Lost

My health has been going downhill in a hurry.  Starting on my birthday, which was September 15th, I came down with some kind of virus.  H1N1?  Who knows.  I was better after a few days, only to fall ill again the next week.  I recovered, then got sick enough to miss a day of work last week.  Then on Thursday of this past week everyone at work started dropping like flies.  I followed suit and have been immobile for the past couple of days.  I can barely walk.  I wanted so bad to see a doctor, but couldn't muster up the energy to walk to the car. 

I haven't been able to do anything with the horses in days, and they are due for their wormings.  We are on a tight timeline for getting the kitchen remodel finished before the 50th anniversary celebration of my in-laws, so my husband has been busy.  I desperately need help with everything, and feel awful having to take him away from his schedule to do my chores and run my errands.  I had started trying to set aside twenty minutes a day to wipe the brick dust off everything in the house.  I had hoped that if I could get a little bit of dusting done each day, enough of the house would be presentable by the time my in-laws arrived, but the best laid plans always get thwarted.  I'm thinking I may ask my in-laws to not come by our house, but to meet us elsewhere.  I can only imagine how many germs they'd be exposed to by visiting us before I am mobile again and can get the house sanitized. 

However, I find the fact that neither my husband nor son have come down with my symptoms suspicious.  There may be something else going on with my body that doesn't involve a virus.  Nearly four weeks does seem like an awfully long time to be battling a virus off and on.  I mean, is this one long illness, or am I catching successive viruses, or is this something more sinister?  That doctor's appointment I scheduled can't arrive soon enough.  I'm going to request a more thorough annual physical than I've had in years past.  Interestingly, my hand is actually starting to feel better.  I suspect that is because it has received some relief from typing while I've been bed ridden.  Tendinitis was probably the right diagnosis.

For someone who is always multi-tasking, it's very difficult for me to just lie around when I know there is so much work that needs to be done, but it hurts to move.  My boss gave me an assignment at 4:30 PM on Friday that will take weeks to complete and wants it done by Tuesday morning.  Right.  Looks like he's going to have to hand that one off to someone else who isn't out sick with the flu.  It annoys me that my employer just expects me to work weekends in addition to week days without overtime pay, bonuses, or even a raise. One of these days employers are going to have to learn that not getting fired is no longer a good enough incentive to go above and beyond the job description and employment contract.  Before 9/11 my husband and I were getting handed multi-thousand dollar bonuses just for doing our jobs.  It's shocking how the labor environment has changed with so many people out of work and those who do have jobs are worked to death.

With the way I've been feeling I can't imagine myself ever returning to my job.  I feel like I'm dying, and wish I'd taken a day off from work this year to draw up a will.  I'm sure I'll get better, but this is very odd for me.  I've gone a long time without being sick.  I've had pain and injuries, but I really don't get ill very often.  As I'm writing this I'm watching the news and listening to a bunch of naysayers who think the H1N1 virus is no big deal.  They think that getting the vaccination is silly.  If that is what I have, they are going to regret that decision, assuming that the vaccination works without bad side effects.

You know how there are services to help the elderly?  People will go to your home and do odd jobs like fix things that are broken, care for your pets, clean house and do the marketing?  I could use a service like that right now.  I keep telling my mother to hire a company like that, because she calls me to drive 400 miles whenever she needs a light bulb changed.  There are so many people and animals who rely on me that the effects are far reaching when I'm out of commission. 

I'm not looking forward to next week, because another snowstorm is expected on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Of course those are the only two days of the week that I needed the weather to cooperate.  On Tuesday my son is scheduled for his driver's test.  With the state budget problems, several DMV outlets had to be closed down, so we had to schedule this appointment months in advance in the city.  We live in a rural area, so my son hasn't had much experience driving in the city, none-the-less driving in the city in the middle of a snowstorm.  My husband replaced the old tires on our kids' car with extra-groovy all weather tires this morning.  On Wednesday our kitchen counter tops are being delivered.  We've been waiting a long time for this, so I hope they don't postpone due to the weather.  On the other hand, I can understand why they wouldn't want to walk up an icy walkway carrying slabs of granite that weigh several hundred pounds.  When we started this project it was consistently 90-degrees and sunny.  Who knew the weather would turn so quickly?

Here's to hoping I get some sleep tonight and wake in the morning feeling 100% better so I can get back to my life.  One thing I can tell you for sure is that you discover just how many reruns your television provider is guilty of when you can do nothing but stare at the TV for several days straight. 

My Tack Room Workbench

I'm really bad about cleaning my tack room workbench. Junk piles up over a period of several months and after a while, I just don't see it anymore. Hanging up high are my sunglasses, hat, and headlight, which I wrap around my head when I need to shovel manure at night.

To the left are the scissors I use to cut the twine off the hay bales, a tissue box for the runny nose I get after handling hay, a coffee can filled with old gloves, various ant and wasp killer products, and Wesson Oil for the motor of the water pump. In the center is the radio I was using so that I could ride or shovel manure to music, a can of WD-40 for when the stall doors get stuck, and in the brown bag is my colic emergency kit.

To the right is a pile of old boots and shoes that I'm supposed to be wearing when I clean stalls, but somehow I always forget about them and wear my good boots. There is a roll of duct tape, which resolves all problems from Vet Wrap that won't stick to covering up slivers on wheelbarrow handles. Then there's my trusty hammer, which repairs broken fence panels and pulls hazardous nails out of broken pallets.

I forgot to mention the rocks. Ummmm, they are there for when the horses chew the fence in the winter time, and I don't want to have to walk out in the snow to stop them. I chuck a rock at the fence, which makes a large crash and scares the horses away. What's on your workbench?

Now I Have To Really Wonder About My Hay Farmer

I got home from the office and went outside at dusk to force the new pecking order and feed the horses. While putting on Lostine's blanket I heard her eating something that didn't sound like hay. I looked up and saw a long string of toilet paper hanging out of her mouth. I pulled it out and began digging through her flake of hay. There was toilet paper wrapped throughout the flake. I had to break the hay into many different pieces to get it all out.

Of course my imagination went wild thinking that someone took a dump in a field and buried it with their T.P., which got packaged up with my hay bale, and now my horse is eating human feces. Yuck! I've found dead rats, birds and mice rolled up in our hay before, but this is a new one. It might be time to start shopping around for a new hay supplier.

Changing the Pecking Order

Though I don't always respond to comments, I do read them, and every once in a while someone leaves a comment that sticks with me. One such comment was from MIKael some time last year. She told me that she decides the pecking order of her horses and directs them on who goes first for what. She has the power to move a horse up or down the line.

Well, lately I've been getting annoyed at all the bickering over feeding time. Lostine isn't consistent in how she handles Gabbrielle. Sometimes she chases her away and sometimes she invites her to share her hay. As you can imagine, Gabbrielle gets frustrated when she isn't allowed to share, so she takes her frustration out on Bombay by charging him, backing him into a corner, and ramming her rear into him while kicking. Of course, I always put a stop to that, but sometimes this ritual starts up even before I step outside, and I'm not there to protect Bombay.

I have no problem with Lostine being in charge because she can do it with just a look and by slowly herding the other horses around. She never hurts anyone. Gabbrielle is getting too big for her britches, though. She doesn't understand that she's not being reasonable when she still chases Bombay despite the fact that he's already running away and doing what she wants. All that power of having a horse bigger than her run from her is going to her head, and she can't get enough of it, so she takes it to the hilt, not understanding that she can seriously injure Bombay.

So, I've decided to put Bombay at the top of the pecking order and Gabbrielle at the bottom. Last night I tried to control the pecking order by deciding the order of how they go into their stalls to be fed. Normally, I open Lostine's stall first because the other two horses are too afraid of her to dare go into their stalls before her. This time I opened Bombay's stall and pointed at Bombay and then his stall. He locked his stare onto Lostine waiting for her permission to go first. She wouldn't give it to him.

Lostine kept pushing Bombay away and pacing in front of her stall. Then she decided to just go into Bombay's stall. I blocked her and pushed her away. I continued to encourage Bombay to go into his stall while I fought off Lostine. Only when Bombay saw that I had complete control over Lostine did he listen to me instead of her, and he headed for his stall. There were two false starts in which he reached his stall entrance, but then chickened out and ran away. The third time was the charm, though.

Gabbrielle stood there watching all of this with an expression of annoyance, but she didn't chase Bombay or kick him. I think she's getting the picture.

In other news, I set up an appointment with a new internist who is just around the corner from my house. They couldn't get me in for three weeks, which wasn't a good sign, but I'll deal with it. I miss the good old days when I could get in on the same day I call. Having to wait has become the norm ever since everyone and his brother started moving to Nevada. New flash! Nevada is the most economically depressed state in the nation. We have the highest unemployment and foreclosure rates. Not a good place to move. Start looking elsewhere... unless you are a doctor. We need more doctors. Oh, and family restaurants. We have way too many bars, tattoo parlors, fast food restaurants, Wal-Marts, and casinos. We need nice places to sit down and be served healthy meals. Good cooks are always welcome. And good horse trainers, of course. ;)

It's a Good Thing I Did the Marketing Yesterday

Our new refrigerator and cabinets are finally full with a bountiful harvest picked fresh from the supermarket aisles. The weather forecast mentioned a possibility of snow on Sunday, but said it probably wouldn't stick. Looks like it's sticking to me...

I took those pictures of my son doing handstands on the lawn in shorts and bare feet in my previous post just yesterday. It looks like we won't be mowing any time soon...

Nor will we be climbing ladders to paint the trim on the house...

My poor privacy hedge was folded in half by the weight of the snow.  My husband went outside and shook all that snow off its limbs after I mentioned my concern over its welfare...

He also fed the horses in a T-shirt because I overslept and was still in my pajamas when the horses normally get fed...

People around here are pretty hardy.  We brushed a couple of feet of snow off my truck and went out to breakfast really early this morning.  I thought it was humorous that the restaurant was packed with outdoorsy type people and farmers, women who don't wear makeup and men who don't bother to tie their shoes.  One woman was even sitting there eating in her pajamas.  I love this town.  It wasn't until church let out that the well-dressed people starting getting in line for a table.

This is my front yard...

These are the apples that thought it was still summer...

The snow nicely covered our trash pile of old kitchen cabinets, so that our driveway actually looked clean...

Those trees usually block our view of this neighbor's house, but all the branches were bowed...

White horse trailer appearing after a whiteout...

Once the sun came out, I removed the horses' blankets and cut them loose.  Gabbrielle was such a kid, galloping around, rearing and bucking.  Lostine pinned her ears back to let Gabbrielle know that she didn't appreciate her antics...

Bombay is still young enough to play with Gabbrielle, but he poops out sooner than she does...

Midge galloped through the snow too...

My husband and I continued to work on the cabinets today. My right hand and wrist are still giving me trouble. Just pulling on a sweater is very painful. Since I didn't injure my hand, all I can figure out is that I've got a fast growing cyst that is putting pressure on the bones and nerves. I've visibly had cysts on my wrist for years, but they haven't caused me any pain. I think this is a side effect of abandoning my hormone therapy. I remember that I did have a huge cyst on the back of my hand years ago before I went onto the hormone therapy. So, I'm going to resume taking my medication this week in hopes that rebalancing my chemistry will dissolve the cysts and relieve my pain.

I'm also going to look for a new doctor who is closer to my home. I tend to avoid seeing the doctor when I should because my current doctor is so far away and one visit to him requires that I take a half-day vacation from work. I get embarrassed, because I let a lot of health problems build up and then go in with a laundry list of complaints.

My current doctor doesn't have the patience for that and only gives me the time to discuss my two biggest issues. One time I was in his office with a URI infection, a broken finger, a kink in my neck, and weakness in my arm. He took care of my broken finger and my cold, but ignored everything else. I ended up going back to him a few weeks later unable to move my head or arm. He had to order an MRI and send me to a neurologist. This time I need someone to assess whether my hernia requires surgery, figure out what's going on with my hand and wrist, figure out why my motion sickness is getting worse, and refill my blood pressure medication. New doctors tend to give you more time so that they can discuss your history and get to know you. However, I hate to sound like a hypochondriac by showing up with another laundry list.

On the other hand, I don't want to have to miss a lot of work and pay for multiple appointments in an effort to spread out the issues to make sure each one receives a thorough examination. I know doctors have other patients, but doctors should also understand that older people often do have a variety of health problems. My vet has no problem giving my horses their immunizations, sheath cleanings, teeth floats, blood tests, wound cleanings, and stitches all in one appointment. He doesn't usher me out the door as I'm still trying to talk about why I'm there. He doesn't look at his watch every five seconds while I'm explaining the symptoms. Maybe I should just go see my vet. I'd probably get better care.