Happy Halloween !

Hurricane Sandy

Thoughts and Prayers going out to everyone affected by Hurricane Sandy. Wow what a huge storm. She has really caused a lot of damage up the east coast. Everyone please take care and be safe.

People are confused, or confusing, or just plain ole crazy.

The Halloween costume search was a huge success and we are ready to go around the neighborhood and beg for candy. It should be a great night.
People are confusing. One minute they seem to be your friend and the next minute they will not even talk with you. Explain please why you are fickle, rude, disrespectful, and a snob. I could say other things, but better to leave it alone. Kindness is a wonderful thing and a dear friend of mine once told me he tried really hard to treat people the way he hoped they would treat him in return. This worked well for him so I have taken his advice and I try to do this. Honestly, I am not always successful, but I do try. Often just a smile will say more than words. Some people just cannot be nice and have the tendancy to just be awful when they think the world is not revolving around them. I happen to know a few of these people. Actually, I happen to know them very well. Perhaps better than I would like. Enough of rambling. I just cannot understand why it is so hard for some people to just be nice. Why must they go about their life treating people the way they do. A mystery I must say. Well it is their life and if they want to be as_holes they have every right to do so. I guess I should just treat them the way they treat me. Well I am not. But I am going to just ignore them and pretend like they do not exist. At least I will be one less person they will have to be rude to.
I have vented and my soapbox is back in the closet. For now. Halloween photos later. Everyone have a wonderful day and if you are in the north east, I hope the hurricane avoids you. Thanks for reading.

Picking a Halloween Costume.

Halloween is just a few days away and we have not picked a Halloween costume. Skylar has been shopping and looking and shopping and looking and ............................Well I could just go on and on. Little Skylar, precious child that she is, cannot make up her mind. She is so indecisive, you just would not believe. We have all tried with this child, but she just cannot make up her mind. I thought we had a winner yesterday, with a really cute sparkly witch costume with shoes to match, and got all the way to the front of the store with it, and she changed her mind. I told one lady with the same problem in the store that I hated Halloween. She said she did also. When I was a child, my parents painted out face with something and we would put on old clothes and off we would go. I do not think I owned a store bought Halloween costume until I was an adult and could pay for it myself. I just do not understand why it is so hard. I must assume it is because there is way too much to choose from. Everything looks really cool and it is just so hard to pick. Or I guess it could be that the female gene of finding it hard to pick the perfect thing to wear has already hit the little child and she is doomed for life. Either way, we are off to the city today for some shopping. While there we will pick a Halloween costume of some kind, if I have to pick myself. While we are there, the weather says we will be having strong winds from the Hurricance Sandy. Just what I need. Halloween shopping in a Hurricane. Who would have ever thought.

The Vet was here

The vet has come and gone on our little farm. Sage and Ben got all their vaccinations and are ready for the winter to come. We are hoping for a mild winter, but there are signs it might not be. By signs I mean superstitions that have been passed down through many generations. Once again I ramble, but that would certainly be a great topic to write on. Vaccinations are very important. Animals can get sick quickly and I live in a very rural area, so my vet takes a while to get to my farm. The peace of mind with these vaccinations is worth it to me. I has a really bad experience and lost a wonderful horse because I assumed she had been vaccinated and found out the hard way she had not. They should be good for sickness through this winter and we will be hoping and praying for no injuries. Although we love out vet, we really do not want to see her too often.
Oh and Sage did get her pregnancy exam. NO Baby. Yea!! The vet said her symptoms were most likely hormone issues due to her age. This is really great news for both her and Ben. Sage is not going to have a baby and Ben will not have to be operated on, which is really great news for Ben.
Everyone have a wonderful weekend. Thanks for reading.

Really Cool Picture.

My husband took this really cool picture of Ben our little donkey yesterday with his cell phone. I thought it was very cool. One of my friend said on FaceBook that it look like Ben could be the Jesus donkey. Well hey, just maybe. Anyway, I loved the picture and wanted to share with everyone. Tomorrow morning we find out if Ben is going to be a Daddy. I hope everyone has a really wonderful day.

Ben, my little Buddy (What an Ass)

This is  Ben, my Silver Jerusalem donkey. He has a cross on his back. There are many stories about how he got the cross on his back and all of them involve Christ. This is the donkey that carried Mary to Bethlehem. Well maybe not this exact donkey, but we will not rule anything out. I explained in a previous post how I come to own Ben. He seems to be a happy and content little donkey now. He has plenty of food and water and a friend to keep him company. He also gets lots of love and brushing and scratching from me and my family. He seems to enjoy his new life. Ben is a Jack, which only means he is a boy donkey. He is a boy donkey with all of the proper equipment that a boy should have. That is part of my problem. We think he used this equipment to help Sage (my large Quarter Horse) become with foal. (If the Vet Check says she is going to have a baby it will actually be a little mule) Now, Ben has a wonderful personality. I mentioned in a previous post how great he was and I believe him to be the best donkey in the world. The friend I got Ben from chose well when he picked him. He is easy going and very gentle. We do not ride Ben, but that was never in the plan. I wanted a baby donkey from Ben in hopes it would have his same wonderful personality. Now things have changed. If my horse is expecting from Ben, I will have my baby, but it will be a mule, not a donkey. This is my situation: When I got a successful baby from Ben, I was going to castrate him, so as not to worry about his personality in the future. Donkey experts say that Jack get moody and hard to get along with as they get older unless they are cut. Ben is 9 years old, so getting cut should be in his near future. (not that he will like this, but it is life) I really did not want a baby with the horse and donkey. I wanted a baby donkey. But life does give us surprises and lordy was this one. Do we go ahead and cut Ben and be happy with a baby mule or do we take the chance and try for a donkey later, knowing he could be with my horse again? This is a hard decision. I really want to go ahead and cut him, but hate that I cannot get a baby donkey with his wonderful personality. I do not want another baby by him with my horse. This was unexpected and really hoping does not happen again. I could seperate them in the pasture, but Ben does not do well when apart from the horse. They have become great friends and he really wants to be with her.
What do I do. I am going to talk with the vet about it on Friday and we will make some decisions. I am really torn about this. What should I do. Any suggestions from my readers.

Vet Check

Well Sage is having her Vet Check in a couple of days. When I called to make the appointment, I was told they do an ultrasound. Wow, imaging, an ultrasound. Will I get a picture like humans do? If there is a baby, will I get to see it moving around? I have so many questions. I will report back later as to what the vet discovers. Let's pray for good news involving my big girl.
Everyone have a great day. Thanks for reading.

I am scared.

I do not know who, if anyone reads my blog. They are my ramblings and I ramble about what I want to ramble about. It's why it is my blog. All of the signs are there that my horse Sage is pregnant. So pregnant that she might deliver in the next 2 or 3 weeks. How so you ask could this horse be so far along and you not know she could be expecting. Well the first reason is I am completely stupid when it comes to horses. I always depended on G to help me and he always did. I have learned many things from him, but pregnant horses just never came up in our lessons. The next reason as I have mentioned is Sage is a big girl. The little donkey in the pasture with her is a small Jack, only about 600 lbs.  I ask G when we put them together if he thought I might have this situation and his answer was: Well you have got a male and a female so anything could happen. Never completely rule it out. But your Mare is older and many times and older Mare will not lay down for a smaller horse. He was betting this situation would never come up. I mention to him just a few days before he passed away that Sage was really rounding out on me and I was afraid she might be pregnant. He smiled at me and said I really doubt it honey. She is just getting fat, like I told you she would. I told him if this mare had a baby mule I was going to name it Gerald. He smiled at me and told me to do just that, and he commented about how cute the baby mules were. So here we are. The signs are there that she is either in a false pregnancy or going to deliver in just a few weeks. The vet will be coming out this week for the check-up that will answer my questions. Now people, I have only been into horses for about 5 years now and for all of those 5 years I have had G by my side. He told me what to do or handled the situation for me. I lost G early in September to cancer, which I hate by the way. I am scared. I have other friends who have offered advice and I do appreciate each and every one of them. I really do. How do I make them understand I need the man who has taught me everything I know. This wonderful horse that I love so very much was a gift from G. The most wonderful gift and I love her to death. She is 15 years old. Now I know 15 is not old for a horse, but there are so many questions. I do not know if she has ever had a foal before. I do not know what to expect. I have never been involved in horse birth. Saw puppies and kittens being born, but never a horse. What if something goes wrong and the vet cannot get here fast enough. What if I do not know the proper time to put Sage up and she gives birth out in the pasture. I can think of many questions. The crazy thing is; anyone could answer these questions for me, but as crazy as it sounds I want to hear his answers. I hear him in my mind telling me to stop worring about things that have not happened yet. She knows more about it than you do so just stay out of her way. Let nature happen and everything will be OK. I hear him saying all of these things to me. I am scared. I do not want anything to happen to this wonderful horse he gave me. I would love to keep the baby, but the timing is terrible. It looks like I will have a baby horse in the winter, the worst time to raise one. I have researched on the internet. It is not like I am completely stupid and will just panic and not look for help. I have. I just wish I had the wisdom of the man I trusted the most. He was the best horseman I have ever known. Oh well, he is in a better place and no longer suffering. I know he is OK. He told me everything will be OK when he was gone and I believe him. I just wish he was here to know what is happening. But he is not and I must handle this situation, and I will. But, I am scared. I am very scared. I hope my horse will be OK. I hope everything will be OK. It will because he said everything would, but he did not know at that time that my horse might be pregnant. He would have still said it's going to be OK. I know he would have. I am scared. Really Really Scared.

The Big Red Machine :) Sage

The Big Red Machine is my nickname for Sage my horse. Technically I believe Sage is Chestnut, but red is red and she is a big girl. 15.2 hands for you horse people and 62 inches tall for you non horse people.  Today Sage and I are going riding. We have not ridden much lately, many things have come up, but we are going riding this morning. I am excited, and I am sure Sage would rather just not mess with it. She is a great horse, but big slow and lazy is a good description. She would just rather not go riding. Well we are going this morning. It is a little chilly out this morning, so should be a great morning. I have friends who tell me I should not baby this horse and talk to her, but folks, let me tell you, this is falling on deaf ears. I love this horse so much and talking to her is just what I do. I have many nicknames for her, such as the Big Red Machine, My Mini Horse, and Frick, (which goes with the one of the donkey's nicknames, Frack). I will have to post a picture of Lil Ben, my donkey. I will at the end of this post. He is a little sweetheart. He was rescued last December with 7 other donkeys. My friend Gerald got these donkeys from someone to sell them. I had told him I wanted a donkey and he picked out Lil Ben because he was so sweet. When he first came to live with me, you could see all of his ribs but I promise you, he has really plumped up. We love him too. I told Gerald he got me the best donkey in the world. Back to Sage. I have someone coming to meet Sage and Ben this afternoon. She wants to get on the horse. We will see how this works out. I do not think she has any horse experience. Sage is very tall, so many say they want to sit on her, but change their mind when they stand next to her. When Gerald first brought her to my pasture, I thought, Lord this horse is 7 feet tall. She might be big, but she has the best personality. Such a sweet girl. Most of the time. There have been minor problems, but honestly, they came from me being stupid, not Sage. Oh well, I ramble, which is why my blog is called Ramblings that go on and on. Sage and I are headed out later this morning and I am sure we will have a great time. I hope everyone has a wonderful Saturday and the weather is nice and beautiful where you are. Hopefully there will be a picture of Lil Ben at the end of this. he is not going riding today. He has to stay home. I guess I need to get him a friend to stay with him. Hmmmmmm. more on that one later...................  :)

I HATE Cancer

I hate Cancer. Now I do not know of anyone who likes it, but I really hate it. In the last couple of years I have lost 4 people I loved dearly to this horrible disease. All 4 had a different type, but the end result was the same. They are not here. I loved all of them. With each one, I did get the opportunity to tell them I loved them and also tell them how much they meant to me. Also, with each one of them, after they were gone from this world, I thought of one million more things I should have or wanted to say. With each one, I vowed to tell people how I feel about them and how much I love them before they get sick. I try, but fail. I mean too, but for reasons unknown to myself, do not always do this.
Back to cancer. Just the mention of the word makes me sick. I hear it and have this awful feeling of dread. I wonder why we cannot find a cure. I wonder why this terrible disease seems to strike wonderful people that do not deserve this. This week has been a really tough one for me, and I have no idea why. I have missed one of these people so much this week, and think of them all the time. I miss all 4 of them. They all were special and important in my life. I miss talking to them and laughing with them and spending precious time with them. When the last one I lost told me he had cancer, I actually went and threw up. I could remember the previous 3 and how each one of them told me they hoped to defeat this terrible monster. They did not defeat this monster and my fear was he would not either. I never told him, I was afraid for him. He knew. He could see it on my face. This terrible monster defeated him too. I cried and cried. I still cry for all of them. I miss you all and still love all of you. I hate cancer.

No Internet !!!

I recently made the decision to change the provider I have my internet service with. The company I decided to change to assured me there would be no problems and I could go ahead and disconnect with my current company. I believed everything they told me, so I disconnected with my current company. Guess What??? The new service did not work correctly. Actually it did not work at all. I called for help. The person that came on the telephone could not help me, BUT they assured me they would have someone who could help me call be back within the hour. Three hours went by with no return phone call. I called the sales rep back and they gave me a new phone number to try. I called the new phone number. This person could not help me but they took down my telephone number and would have someone call be back first thing the next morning. I can only guess that morning never arrived where this person lived because no one ever called me back. By this time I have gone 24 hours without internet service. People that know me, understand no one lost their life during this time, but it is only because I could not get a clear understanding of who I needed to choke. I called the sales rep back again. He was very sorry and must have called me honey at least 5 times. Now friends, I do not mind being called honey when the time is right, but when you are trying to patronize me and get me to stop complaining about something I have every right to complain about, calling me honey is not the very best idea. Especially when you are doing it with a tone that is full of sarcasm. When this happens, you can be sure I am going to go off on you in a very big way. And I did go off on this sales rep. in a very big way. He apologized and gave me yet another phone number to call. I called this number and got a very nice lady on the other end. She was very professional and really good at her job. She had me to hold for a moment, (and it really was a moment) and she came back and explained that the sales rep did not put the new order in correctly and my equipment was never activated. She took care of this problem and said it would take about 15 minutes for this to work correctly. She said she would call me back when it was ready. Guess What??  She called me back and told me my equipment was ready and to attempt to connect to the internet from my computer. Everything worked wonderfully and I was back on the internet. Now, through all the confusion and phone calls, I went without internet for 48 hours. Still no one lost their life during this time. If I had not had to drive several miles to where the sales rep was, it was looking bad for him. But, his stupid butt was not worth anymore of my time, so I stayed in Troy. I learned a great lesson during this time. That lesson was:  I actually can live without the internet. But only because I have a smart phone and I was able to get my emails on that. I am back up and running at home so I should have updates on here more often. Thanks to everyone who was patient. If you see that sales rep, slap him from me.

State Fair Results

Well the hubby has come and gone from the State Fair. I will go and enjoy all the fun and food tomorrow. But I promised his honey results and here they are: 2nd place on combed honey, 5th place on Amber extraced honey. He also got a 5th place on his hot pepper basket. Not too bad. He was thrilled. He loves putting things in the State Fair and loves winning something. I am both happy and proud for him. Now I just have to get him to enjoy the entire fair tomorrow and stay out of the honey exhibit all day. It will be a hard thing to do. Everyone should travel to your local State Fair and enjoy all there is to see and do (and eat). It is a really fun time.
More later from the fair. Everyone enjoy your evening.

No where to go but Down

Well it it State Fair time again. My husband is sooo excited. For the last several years he has entered some form of honey in the honey exhibit and won many ribbons. Last year he won best in show for the entire honey exhibit. Best of show for a quart of honey is a really big honor. They told him they could not remember if or when a jar of honey had won best of show. (I do not know who they are. Judges I guess) This year he entered honey again as well as hot peppers. He left out this morning to volunteer at the honey exhibit and was as excited as a small child at Christmas. He could not wait to get there to see if he won a ribbon again this year. Judging was Wednesday evening. I ask him what will he do if he does not win a ribbon this year. He looked at me as if I was speaking a foreign launguage. Now, last year he won the biggest award you can win in the honey division. Best in show. To win best in show you also have to win a blue ribbon, which he did. So there is no where to go but down from that.  Now I am not being negative, but when you have gone all the way to the top, is it not a little disappointing to go down from there. I suppose it is possible to stay at the top and win another Best of Show, but not likely. Well whatever happens, I wish him the very best of luck and I know he will be excited for himself and everyone else in the Bee Keeper's Org. that he belongs to. Many of them entered this year and I hope all of them win something. I will report later on who won what. Everyone have a happy and safe weekend.

Cold

I have a cold. At least I think it is a cold. Fairly sure it is not the flu. No fever, well maybe a little. Stuffy head, chest congestion, aches and pains, and cough. Yep, I have a cold. Not just a little Fall cold, but a full blown nasty cold that makes you feel like crap. I cannot sleep without medicine that helps with that. I cannot breathe without medicine that helps with that. I ache all over, but I am taking medicine that is suppose to help with that. The problem is: I am taking medicine for all of that, but I still have a cold and I still feel like crap. I could not imagine how I would feel if I were not taking medicine for all of that. If it sounds like I am whining, well it is because I am whining. Yep, whining is what I am doing. I hate a cold. By the way, it is 3:00 in the morning where I am, and I am not sleeping because I have a cold and cannot breathe and I ache all over. And to add to my whining, I did take my medicine but still feel bad. About to take more medicine and try to go back to sleep. I will whine more tomorrow. In case you have not realized this, I am not a very good sick person. No fun to be around.
Everyone stay well and I hope you do not get a cold.

A secret ??????????????????

What is a secret?  Mr. Webster says: kept from being known by others. hidden. OK, so if it is something that is not suppose to be known by others, why do people tell each other? Why in the world would you tell something that you do not want anyone else to know to someone else? I am confused. Truely I am. If it is something you do not want anyone else to know, I would rather you not tell me. Maybe you really do want people to know, but you do not want to be the one to tell everyone, so you tell just one person and hope they tell other people, even though you tell them not to. Maybe you do not want anyone else to know, but you feel you must tell at least one other person you trust, in case there is some type of emergency, that person will know the one thing that you did not want anyone else to know. Well, I just do not know the answer. I have has people say to me, Do not tell anyone, but........................................  I have also had them say to me, I probably should not tell you this, but......................................................  I think even once or twice, I have heard, you will never guess what, and .......................................................... Now as the person that now knows the secret, I have to go about my daily life and pretend I do not know the secret. But I do know the secret and I see things that the secret effects, but I cannot say anything. Things get complicated, people's feelings get hurt, and once in a while, bad things happen. Now, I know the secret and could save people's feelings, (except for the person that told me the secret). Well is any of this fair to any of the people involved? I would say "no". It is really not fair to the person that knows the secret. They have to watch all the confusion and pretend like they have no idea why any of this is going on. I ramble. I think I have made my point. Now that my point has been made, let me say this. I know a secret. I promised to never tell anyone what I know. The person involved shared the secret with me and I believe it to be true. They trusted me with this secret and ask me not to tell anyone. I am not sure why they trusted me. They call me friend, so maybe this is why. I am watching the confusion that has been caused by this secret. Feelings are about to be hurt, in a bad way. Now, I wish I did not know this secret. But, too late, I do know. I have to watch and remain silent. I made a promise to a friend.
I have decided I do not like secrets. I do not like making them or knowing them. If it has to be a secret, chances are you are doing something you should not be doing. Maybe not. Surprise parties are secrets, but only for a very short time, then everyone knows. I do not really think that should be considered a secret.

I ramble again. Not to worry. This secret is safe with me and I have heard the saying many times, I will take it to my grave. I feel in the future, if someone starts to tell me what they call a secret, I will ask them to please not tell me. I would rather not know. But for now, my friend, fear not. I know a secret, and it will remain a secret. That's what real friends are for. 

Thank-you, I forgot.

I have a dear friend who has gone above and beyond being nice to me in the last few weeks. She has done some really special things and really been there for me. I realized this morning I had not said "Thank-You." I did say thank-you in more than one way. I called them and said it and I posted it on Facebook and said it. I did not use her name on Facebook, but she knows.
Saying Thank you is such a small gesture, but it means so much. I would never want her to think I take her for granted or did not appreciate what she did for me. I was taught as a small child to always say Thank-You. It shows appreciation and respect. I taught my son this and doing my best to teach my granddaughter the same. Saying Thank You for small acts of kindness like someone opening the door is a must in my house. It takes so little to say it, but it shows the person doing it that you do not expect it and are grateful they were kind enough to do this. In this day and time, many do not say Thanks. I personally feel this is rude and disrespectful. Acts of kindness are not required and when someone does one for you, Thank You should always be said. Said, not presumed. Thank You to my friend and I do appreciate you.
Thank You to everyone who reads my blog. I do appreciate you too.

Work in the barn.

Good Afternoon Everyone. I survived the Rodeo. A great time was had by all, but my friend's horse was injured during the Pole Bending event. I think the horse will be OK though. Twisted her leg going around the last Pole.
I have just come from spending all morning at the barn. Shoveling, moving, brushing, lifting, and all around working by butt off. I loved it. I think I have told everyone how I feel about my barn and the peace it gives me. Hard work never hurt anyone, and in that place it never hurts me. Well almost never. I was leaning on a piece of wood today while hammering something into the side to the barn. My piece of wook gave way and I hit the ground. The ground is much harder these days. I feel it must be due to dry weather, because it certainly cannot be my age. Why, that would never be a factor. Ha.
Anyway, I am fine. Will probably be a little sore tomorrow, but I have a day off from work, so all is well. Actually, I will probably be back at the barn doing more work tomorrow. It is the time of year to get things ready for the cold weather that will most surely come. I try hard to keep my animals a dry, soft and warmer than outside place to get if they want to.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday and enjoy your day. I also hope you have peace in your hearts on this Sunday.

Sage

Well Good Friday Morning to Everyone. Looking forward to a long weekend. I am going to the Rodeo to watch a good friend run in the Barrel Racing Finals. I am sure we will all have fun.
All of you know I have a Quarter Horse named Sage. I love this horse so much. She was a gift from a dear friend, plus she is the perfect horse. (Most of the time)
Yesterday morning when I got to the barn for feed time, Miss Sage was showing signs of colic. Colic as you know if not good. If they get down and roll the results can be fatal. Sage was kicking at her stomach, which is one of the signs. I thought, oh no, here you are doing this and I have no one to call for help. In the past if something like this was going on I would have called my friend "G", but I do not have this option. I thought of all the things he had taught me and went into action. First I listened for gut sounds. I did not hear any at that moment. We started walking. Keep them on their feet and keep them moving. We walked for a little while and she pooped a little. Great. I listened for gut sounds, and thought I heard them but was not sure. We kept walking. After a little while, we had a larger poop. Great!!! I listen again and heard gut sounds this time. I really heard them. I was about ready to call the vet, but felt we might be OK. I checked on her several times during the day and she was doing well.
I think we have made once again. I changed Sage feed last week to something with less fat and more vitamins, so maybe the problem. Going to watch closely and see.
I tell this story, to remind myself I can do this. A lot of the time I do know what to do when something goes wrong with this horse, I am just not sure of myself. Spent too much time leaning on someone else. I feel good when I make good decisions and things go right. I think I can do this. Yea for me and just pat myself on the back. Now, off to the barn this morning and I hope I have a 1200 lb horse standing there to greet me not laying down in the pasture. Oh, I am not over confident folks. I do have the vet on speed dial.   :-)

Everyone have a wonderful weekend. I will let you know how I do at the rodeo. Oh, be kind to each other. Life is short.

Getting up on my Soap Box

I was all ready to get on my Soap Box this morning and blast people who cannot stand for others to be happy. I was going to go on a rant.
 I have changed my mind. For now. But trust me friends, it is probably coming. Some people do not know when to leave well enough alone and actually mind their own business and stay out of others. I will only take so much more and then I will explode. But not today.
Today I am going to try to reason with myself about school pictures. Paper was brought home from school talking about school pictures and they would be taken next week. Now, here is the problem as I see it. They want us to choose a package and pay for it in advance. Buy something before you see it. I have been known to do this, but when it comes to pictures, this is not happening. School pictures are always hit and miss. Children can be hit and miss. Why in the world would I buy a package of pictures in advance when I have no idea what they will look like. I do not know what background they will use. I certainly do not know if little Princess Skylar will be having a good or bad hair day that day. (She has curly hair, bless her). I do not know if she will spill breakfast on her top that day and have a stain. Why would they expect me to purchase them in advance. I am sure they fill they have the best photographer and all pictures will be wonderful, but seriously???!!!!???  Some children just do not like some photographers and pictures turn out to be awful. I have to make this decision before next week and fill out the paper. you can probably tell I have already made this decision. I am going to send money for the smallest package (still $20.00) and take this child to Wal Mart and have her pictures made. They let you see them in advance, choose the ones you like, enhance your order, and you get more pictures for your money. Oh and I do not have to pay for them before I can see them. Imagine that.
Everyone have a great day.

Wednesday

Wednesday has arrived. Middle of the week. People are begining to look forward to the weekend when they can go out and have fun. We start making plans on this day, trying to find ways to spend our Saturday and Sunday. We also feel we are begining to get the work week behind us. Hump Day I have heard it called. I believe I will start making weekend plans. I have all day to think about it. Everyone have a wonderful day and be safe.

"G" One of the finest men I have ever known

One month ago today one of the finest men I have ever know left this world for his next life, because of cancer. I will call him G, and any of you that know me will know who I am talking about. I believe I could write a book on this person, but I will spare all of you.
Let me start at the begining. I knew G family for most of my life. I remembered him as a small boy, but had actually forgotten about him in adult years. Someone we thought was a mutual friend re-introduced us. (That mutual friend thing turned out to be way wrong for both G and myself, but that my friends is a story for another day) As a girl, all the way into becomming an adult, I had loved horses. I always wanted one as a child, but it was not to be. I have had many friend who owned them and I would ride some with them and spend time around their horses. Another friend's job transfered him to the East coast and he had a strawberry roan horse that he was not going to take with him. I told him I would like to buy it from him. He surprised me by giving me this horse because he knew I would take care of it and give it a good home. Well, surprise. I had no where to put this wonderful gift. The mutual friend said he thought G might board my horse for me. The deal was cut and off I went to pick up my new horse and take it to G's house. I did not have the chance to meet G before we went to pick up the horse, so bring horse and introduction would be on same day. No problems. Mutual friend said to me that G was all about the money and nothing else. All business. I had no problem with this. I paid my debts so we should get along fine. August 30 was the day we moved my horse. A Sunday. Friends, I was so excited I could have just exploded. I was also scared. A horse. Although I had loved them all my life, I had no clue. NO CLUE!! Mutual friend along with me and my husband brought the horse to G place. Mutual friend unloaded horse from trailer and I was standing holding this horse with my hand inside the halter under his chin. Not holding the lead, but with my hand inside the halter. I can remember to this day, this really tall man coming out of the barn. At that moment he looked 10 feet tall to me. Mutual friend introduced us. G looked at me and said, "Don't hold that horse that way. If he jerks his head up, it could break your hand". Not Hello, Hi, Nice to meet you, or anything. I moved my hand right away and held the lead. Friends, at that moment, I was scared to death of G. I thought, Oh Lord, what have I done. We went about discussing the fine points of boarding at G's home. I would pay x $ to him once a month and he told me I had free fun of the barn, tack room, and pasture. Come any time I wanted. The agreement was made and I paid the man for the month of Sept right then and there. Remember during all of this, I still have no clue on how to take care of a horse. G's family was there on this first meeting. I met his wife and was introduced. She ask me did this horse have a name and I told her the name. He had a small daughter that I remember thinking looked exactly like him. Everyone was nice and friendly, but G just scared me to death. After a couple of hours of messing with my new horse, I left my horse in the care of this person I was certain was all business and all about the money. He was nice though, so I thought this business arrangement would work out good.
So my horse owning days began. I would go to the barn and brush my horse and talk to him and feed him. I enjoyed doing these things. Brush, talk, feed. We had the perfect relationship. I was happy and the horse seemed to be also. I discovered this horse would follow me to the far side of the pasture and if I would run back, he would run along beside me. Fun. During all of this, sometimes G would wander out to the barn and talk with me. I would ask questions and he would always answer. I begin to realize he knew so much about horses. The business relationship was slowly turning into friendship. He was a nice man. I also begin to realize how much G was taking care of my horse. He was doing everything except brushing him. There was more to owning a horse than brushing. Imagine that. One morning I had walked to the far side of the pasture and did my normal run back to the barn with my horse running beside me. G was in the barn. When I got back to the barn, he was waiting. "Don't ever do that!" was my greeting. That horse is playing with you and horses kick out when they play and if you get to close he could kick you in the head and maybe kill you. I do not want to come home from work and find you dead in my horse pasture!! Wow, really, I thought. He was right and I stopped doing that. You know, I was not scared of him when he got all over me that day about running with the horse. I realized it was his way and everything would be OK. We went through the Fall and Christmas with me brushing, talking and feeding. G went to see his family over Christmas and ask me to feed all the horses for him. What a thrill. I did exactly as he ask and loved it. January came and I was making plans for Spring and working with my horse. Everything was wonderful. Later in the month, on a Sunday afternoon, I went to see my horse and G mentioned to me he thought his stomach hurt. I learned about walking the horse when his stomach hurt. I must have walked that horse for 2 hours while G and his wife were working out in the horse pasture. He told me not to worry, horse would probably be fine. Later in the week, (Jan 30) my phone rang at 8:00 in morning. G voice was on the other end. "You need to come over here, there is a problem"  I jumped out of shower and went over. Horse was in full colic mode. I did not know what to do. I looked at him and said tell me what to do. G suggested load the horse in trailer and drive him around. Remember the old saying if you have a clean horse trailer a horse will always crap in it. G loaded my horse and we drove him around. Nothing. He said to call the vet. He called the vet and told me to wait there while he ran to his work to take care of one thing and he would be right back. He said not to let the horse lay down. I was so scared. He came back in what seemed like 20 minutes and the vet arrived. The vet exam told the story. Horse had gotten down during the night and rolled and had already twisted. You can try to get horse to Raleigh to vet school for surgery or put him down. I looked at G. I told him I did not know what to do. He said to me, if you want to go to Raleigh I will take you and the horse. I told him I was scared and to please make this decision for me. He said to me, it is your horse and your decision. I told him I did not know what to do and to make decision for me. He ask me if I was sure I wanted him to do this. I said yes. He said I would put the horse down. It is suffering and won't make it to Raleigh. I remember starting to cry. I agreed with G decision because I had come to trust him. He told me to leave and go home and he would take care of everything. I went over and kissed my horse good-bye and left knowing what G was doing for me. As I got into my car to leave he walked over to me and told me to come by his office at work in a couple of days that he wanted to talk to me. I agreed I would and left. That was the last time I saw my horse. G took care of everything for me that day. He missed an entire day of work to be with me and this horse and help me. Even his wife came out when the vet got there. As I was crying and getting into my car to leave I remember looking back and she even had tears in her eyes.
Two days went by and I did what he ask and went by his office at his work. As I sat across from his at his desk, I remember thinking I should not cry. I did. I was not sobbing, but tears were running downs my checks as he and I talked. I ask him what did I do wrong that caused the death of my horse that I loved. He explained that I did not do anything wrong, it just happened. He said it was part of owning horses. I had already paid him for the board for the month of Feb, and he tried to give it back to me. I would not take it. He had used his gas to drive my horse around and used some of his medicine to try and help the horse before the vet came. He ask me was I sure and I was. He talked to me about what happen. He explained to me what happen and how it was not anyone's fault. He told me I was welcome to come to his place and spend time with his horses anytime I wanted. Friends, this man that I had been so scared of the first time I met him, was kind and understanding. He sat across from me that morning and said to me, "I am sorry this happen to you. It is a rotten deal. I will find you another horse and see if we can't make it right." I left that morning not thinking about another horse, but thinking I had a friend. I did go back to G's place and spend some time with his horses a few times. The friendship that begin with a business deal was growing. Would the man who was all about money have spent his time and money helping someone who he had a business deal with? No. G always treated people like he hoped they would treat him back. That did not always work for him, but he was always fair, honest, and good. He connected with people on a personal level like no one I have ever known. He would tall you straight up what the deal was and you could always count on him to follow up with that deal. You knew what he told you was what it was. He was kind. Now I am not putting this man on a pedestal that he would not want to be on. He could make you mad and get mad. He could snap at you and make you feel like he was mad. But this man was one of the finest men I have ever known. He helped me and did more for me than almost anyone I have ever known. He treated me fair, honest, and like his equal. This story goes on and on and on, for several years. In these years there are many more highs and lows. But right up to his leaving this world, G was a good man. Many people loved him and thought him to be a fine man. I will say I loved him dearly as a very special friend and would have done anything in this world for him. He was very good to me and went above being just a friend, many times and in many ways. He taught me about horses and owning them and riding them and taking care of them. He taught me about life. How you should live your life and how you should treat others. His impact on my life will be with me for the rest of mine and I will never forget him. All I have today; horse, tack, horse knowledge is due to him and I will never forget. I will try hard to live my life like him, treating others fair and honest. Treating them like I would hope they would treat me. This small book, as it turned out, is the begining story of my friendship with G. Like I said it goes on and on for several years. About a year and a half after my putting that horse down with G by my side, I got a phone call one night. When I looked down, I saw it was G calling me. I remember thinking, what does he want this time of night. When I answered his voice was on the other end. I said "Hi" and "What are you doing?" The voice on the other end of the phone said "Hello, I just bought you a horse...........................................................................................................
I will remember you forever G and the memories I cherish. Thank you for being my friend and treating me as wonderful as you did. You are one of the finest men I have ever known and it was my honor to have known you.

"Happy"

To begin, let me tell a John Lennon story. This is his story and he gets all the credit for it. John once wrote that when he was a lad (little boy) in England that his mother always told him the greatest thing in life was to be happy. Once in school the teacher told them to write down what they wanted to be when they grew up. John wrote down he wanted to be happy. The teacher later told him he did not understand the assignment. He replied by telling the teacher she did not understand Life.
We all strive to be happy. I think many of us want happiness but we depend on others to provide it for us. I would be so happy if I could be with this person, or I would be so happy if I had this much money, or even happy if I owned these things. Really??? Happiness begins from within. Sure, there will be sadness, but happy is something you have to decide you want to be. I have a friend that always tells me "There is joy in every journey". Joy in every journey??? That is something to think about. I have thought about it, quite often. When I first heard her say this, I really did not get on board with what she said. But like I said, I have thought about it often and lots in the last few weeks. Joy in every journey. In my life I am not an alarmest. I get information and hear things and just deal with it. I might get upset for a short time, but generally life goes on and I go on with it. I hate when bad things happen to people I love and espically hate it when I cannot help them or fix what is wrong. But this same friend also says It is what is is and we do what we have to do. This one I was on board with right from the begining. Having rambled on let's get back to Happy and Joy in every journey. I think Happy is a state of mind. You can decide to feel sorry for yourself or be Happy. As humans we want more and something better. If we look around we should realize that most of us have more or something better than when we began our journey in this life. So whay are we not happy. I am happy I have a dry place to be this morning. (It is raining outside). I am happy I have a job to support this horse lifestyle I have grown to love. I am happy I have  wonderful  family and friends. Do I need to go on naming the things I am happy for. I have decided being happy is good. Joy in every Journey?? I have to search for it, but my friend could have something there. Finding Joy in a key in being happy. Look for it. She might be right. I must say I am beginging to get on board with this saying too. Look for the Joy in each journey. Happiness is there, but you must decide you want it. Feeling sorry for yourself and wanting material things will not make you happy.  Happy is a state of mind. Make the decision to be happy and look around you. You might find that Happy is all around you. Seize it and go forward deciding to be happy. I think John Lennon did understand Life more than even he knew.