Good day sunshine!!!!!!!

Wow, I can't believe that it's been like,  7 weeks or so since I've done a blog posting!!!  How time flies!!!  Everything's been good...just quite busy, busy busy!  And today, I am so very thankful for this most glorious spring day we're experiencing.  The sun is shining, there's a gentle breeze blowing and just a few wispy, white clouds in an otherwise brilliantly blue sky...who could ask for anything more?  Well...I could be on vacation somewhere soaking up the sun, reading a deliciously erotic novel and sipping a cool and frosty exotic drink but...let's stick to reality shall we?  :)

Okay, I'll try to catch things up, even if only partially since my last post.  No, I haven't been riding my horse yet.  Only within the past week have I been doing regular grooming sessions and exercising Ladde in the round-pen and some on the lunge line; but he's such a good boy, he's doing splendidly.  We've been working on engaging the hindquarters and lifting and building his back muscles whilst really reaching under himself with his hind legs.  Maybe tonight, I'll saddle him up and do a little work under saddle.  I'm having such fun.  Last night was our first session working with a new trainer/horseman.  He's an english rider himself; specializes in dressage and some jumping.  Not exactly what I'm into, but good horsemanship is good horsemanship.  I believe that a good classical dressage instructor might just be able to teach us some of the finer techniques of suppleness, collection and fine-tuning our gaits.  And...he's an outdoor rider mostly, he likes to get out in the woods and enjoy nature while teaching.  Now, that is right up my alley!  He lives close by and I'm excited to be working with someone who has such an obvious love for his work. 

Harley is doing very well too.  He seems to be adjusting to his blindness issues more and more each day.  I don't plan on riding him as my regular mount this summer, but I will probably ride him occasionally on flat land only.  It seems a shame to leave such an able-bodied horse at home all the time, but I'm not quite ready to rely on him as my main trail mount until we're both more confident.  He doesn't seem to mind staying home with the girls most of the time. 

We've been doing a lot of yard work lately, trying to play catch up on all the mowing and trimming and weeding that has accumulated since last fall.  And, with all the rain we've had this year...we're talking jungle control!!  But, with persistence and a lot of aching muscles, we've gotten everything mostly under control again and the yard's looking much nicer.  Next will be the raised garden beds and my flower beds by the deck.  I've decided to go simple with the garden plans this year.  I have 3 tomato plants, will plant 1 zuchini and a few other veggies, but I want to keep it very low maintenance this time.  I want to enjoy the nice weather and don't want to be weeding when I could be riding or socializing instead.  I'm planning on buying my usual 15 lb. bucket of washed, sliced strawberries to make about 3 batches of strawberry jam and put the rest in the freezer.  I always can peaches...can't seem to live without those, and maybe some applesauce, but that's about it, other than frozen blackberries, raspberries and marionberries.  Those are simple though, rinse and put in freezer containers for using later. 

We discovered that our big horsetrailer suffered some water damage from a leaking roof over the winter.  The insulation, ceiling panels and trim all have to be replaced, and the carpeting on the walls and floor are going to require a thorough steam cleaning and deodorizing to kill the mildew.  And, obviously the roof leaks need to be repaired.  *sigh*  All-in-all, about $2800 in total damage.  Thank God, we had it insured!  We hope to take it to the repair shop very soon, so we'll have it back for summer camping season.  We emptied out all our belongings, bedding, etc the other night and I have a mountain load of laundry to be done...fun.  But, nothing was seriously damaged, just a little smelly from the accumulation of mildew.  Nothing a little bleach and washing can't handle. 

We re-painted our kitchen.  Everything.  Ceiling, walls, trim and cabinets.  I even painted one of my hutches to match the cabinets.  Also changed out all the hardware and hinges for new.  I ordered new curtains for the kitchen, mudroom and the laundry room.  Buttery yellow walls, creamy off-white trim and darkish tan on the cabinetry with black hardware.  My curtains are plaid material in shades of cornflower blue, sage green and yellow on a creamy background with ticking stripes on the scalloped bottoms.  So pretty and clean looking!  A much needed cosmetic redo.  My hubby got me a new kitchen sink too.  It's white porcelin and has one side much larger than the other, and both sides are deeper than my old sink.  I'm going to get a long goose-necked faucet and we're all set.  One of these days, but down the road for sure...new laminate-wide plank flooring and stone countertops.  We did the cheap stuff, but the expensive stuff's gonna have to wait!  Oh well, I'm just happy with what we've got so far - it looks nice.  Next on my list is re-painting the nook off the kitchen (woodstove room) and our bedroom.  It's just amazing how a fresh coat of paint in a pretty color will spruce up a room.  If we manage to get those two rooms done...who knows, maybe we'll tackle the living room.  If I'm honest, these things will probably wait until summer's over, at least the living room for sure.  Don't want to overwork the hubby.  :)

Business at the vet clinic has finally gotten busier after a longgggggg winter of very little work.  We're very thankful for this, sure hope the economy continues to improve.  I'm sure there's a lot of folks out there who can commiserate with that sentiment!  Hubby's still working reduced hours, but we're managing.  With gas and food prices, and really everything being more expensive it seems...we'll probably be sticking closer to home this season, but no worries about that, because we live within range of a lot of wonderful outdoor recreational areas.  And, I HATE to travel far with the horses and the big trailer, so...great excuse to stay closer to home. 

I hope that all of you are enjoying spring, your horses, friends and families!! 

Blessings and peace...

Cingspots aka Lorie