It's Alive!!!

I mean...I'm alive!!! Believe it or not, it's been just over 3 months since I've posted anything on my blog. How the time does fly!! I know, I'm a broken record if nothing else. Anyhoooo, I can hardly believe it myself that so much time has passed. Guess I just didn't have much to say. You can all stop laughing now!!

My last post was talking about the wild and wacky spring weather we'd been having and thinking back, summer was certainly a long time in coming this year, and believe it or not - here it is only 4 weeks from today and it's the first day of Fall. Sheesh!! And I'm still waiting for my tomatoes to ripen. But, overall I've been loving this summer. It's been pleasant. We've had a few stints of wildly hot days, but generally it's been lovely. Not too hot, and not too cool. Mid 70's to 80ish and I'm a happy camper. I can't take the extremes anymore. I don't like it hot and I don't like it cold. My comfort level has shrunken (is that a word?) over the years, even if some other things haven't. But...I don't want to talk about that. Nope, not going there.

We've been busy. Imagine that!! I get tired of hearing myself say that. I long for leisurely days lounging around reading a book, sipping iced tea from a frosty, tall glass and daydreaming about ... oh well, just never mind what I daydream about. Anyway, you know...free time...what I continually long for and never seem to have any of.

Let's see...looking back several months we have taken a weeks' vacation. We started out in central Oregon, prepared to spend the week horseback riding and lounging around camp. Well, it started out nicely enough, but it was hot. Very, very hot. And I got heatstroke and after day 2 of being sick and not being able to ride, or eat, or go for walks, or even play in the creek (it was too cold!) - we headed for home...dropped off the horses, unloaded some stuff, took a little nap and set out for the beach. The beachside was perfect! Lower 70's, sunshiney with a beautiful little breeze. We camped at a place called Whalen Island where we napped, went for long walks, went out for dinners and browsed the quaint little shops. Much more to my liking!

We've also been repainting the exterior of our house. What a job that has turned out to be. We're still not completely finished, we have about 50% of the trim work left, but that's it. It started out with demossing the roof, then pressure washing the entire house, followed by taping off all the windows and doors, priming the entire house, painting the entire house with the base color, painting the eaves/peaks a second color and now followed by the trim. Good grief!! This will be the fourth weekend in a row and I have just about had enough!! We're also painting one of the two barns and the garden shed. It's looking great, but I hope to never have to do this job again. I'm getting too old to work this hard, but it would have been too expensive and unaffordable to pay someone else. So, hopefully soon I'll be posting some pictures of our newly painted and vastly improved house. Yippee!! Oh and I must not forget to thank Steve and Chris...my brother and sister-inlaw who have been a huge blessing - for without their help, we would not have been able to do this huge project. Thank you guys sooooo much!! We love you and owe you BIGTIME!!!!!! Of course, no one from my lovely side of the family lifted so much as a pinkie finger to help us. Sorry, I degress - but oh-so-true. I just hope they never ask me for help...because if they do...I can't be responsible for what comes out of my mouth. I'm just sayin'.

Let's see, what else have we been up to???? The usual stuff of yard work, house work, working full-time at the clinic, caring for the horses and of course, occasionally finding the time to go for a few trail rides and a couple of camp-outs with our wonderful riding club friends. They are a beautiful group of people who we consider much more like our family...they are truely blessings in our lives.

In regards to Harley, my main trail horse that's going blind. It's a mixed bag at best. I've had him out on a few trail rides and it's not going as effortlessly as I'd hoped. He seems to have just enough sight that a lot of what he can see, spooks him. And, if his trail partner gets more than a few feet away, he goes into full-blown panic mode. Not good. If Ladde farts, or stumbles and makes noise, Harley spooks. In the past, if and when Harley spooked, his habit was to wheel away and gallop off. He was very easy to regain control...I'd just one-rein him around and bring him back to earth - so to speak. But...now, he wants to wheel and run, but he knows he can't; and so he stands in one spot and trembles in fear. It's pretty pitiful. I'm working at encouraging him and gaining even more of his trust, but it's a project in-the-works and will take time. So, for now, we are limiting where we go, and who we ride with. I'm not sure how this story will end, but one thing is for sure - Harley's a keeper and he's not going anywhere. He may not end up being my main rider and then again, maybe we'll work it out together. Time will tell. But for now, we're going to focus on more arena riding this fall and winter and try to keep the faith.

Before long my squirreling nature will show in full-force again. You know, the gathering mentality. Our 20 tons of hay are safely tucked in the barns, but we still need to get 3 cords of wood for the winter, wood pellets for the pellet stove and of course, bedding for the horse stalls. And, I made strawberry jam which is in the freezer, and have strawberries frozen for future use, but still want to can peaches for the pantry. The peaches will be here this Friday, so if I can find the time, looks like I might be canning some peaches this weekend. Oh, and I've volunteered to be a greeter once a month at our church and this Sabbath, it's my turn...plus I'm on the "encouragement committee". I seriously think I need my head examined. As if I wasn't overly busy before...whatever was I thinking!!?? Pray for me, please??? Pretty, pretty please???

I am starting to depress myself, so I am going to shut up for now before I think of something else to add to my "to do" list. And, all I really want to do is run away and rent a little cottage in the mountains by a lake and waste away for a month or so...sounds simply divine, doesn't it? A girl needs to keep her dreams alive...for sanity's sake, if nothing else.

Love and blessings to all,

Cingspots