A bubble off plum

I'm still feeling a bit out of sorts.  I'm tired, restless, and am experiencing a lot of discontent.  Just not quite right.  And I'm not quite sure what to attribute it to.  I have my moments where I feel good, normal, but they're fleeting.

I don't like it.  Just wish I knew how to get back to feeling like myself.  Give it more time I guess, not sure what else to do.

My best friend since childhood...Kelly - the one in the middle.  We grew up together, next-door neighbors and we spent a lot of time on our horses, going everywhere we could imagine.  Good times!  She has the kindest, most generous heart of anybody I've ever known.  I really do love her. We were at her son's wedding and it was finally cooling off a bit.  The gal on the left I'd just met that evening, and works with Kelly.  Nice lady too.  We'd been dancing our booties off - aren't weddings just the best?!!  I just love weddings.  Everyone is always so happy, there's dancing, laughter and CAKE!  What could be more fun?



We're finally cooling down some, and it's such a relief.  For the last couple of weeks or more, we've been in what feels like, an ongoing, never-ending heat wave - and I'm just so sick of it!  Today is the mid 80's and for the rest of this week, we're anticipating 70's and possibly even a rain shower or two. Oh, I hope so!  The air quality has improved some, but everything is coated with a layer of dust, our pastures are tinder dry, the trees are losing their leaves and we all feel lethargic.  I really am looking forward to wearing a pair of jeans and just being cool.  That sounds perfectly lovely to me.  I guess after 57 years of living here, I've finally become a true Pacific Northwesterner who simply cannot tolerate the heat.  Or maybe it's just too darned much of a good thing.  I'm pretty much ready to bid adieu to summer.  24 days and counting to blissful Autumn...

I haven't been riding at all in two weeks.   Between the heat and just feeling pretty much drained, I've done nothing but schmooze with my horses and hose them off with the garden hose.  They love that! Every horse in our pasture has packed on a few pounds because of the ample amounts of fresh fruit at their disposal.  We have apples, pears, plums, blackberries and grapes - and they eat them all.  Every single day they make their rounds, more than once.  I worry about Ladde especially, but he gets his meds every day and can't overeat hay because he and Missy are locked in the corral over night, thus eliminating the clean-up crew of their duty.  But that fruit is full of sugar and he sure doesn't need that!  Notice how there's never a shortage of worries?

Eagle's feet are slowly, but surely improving since the addition of soybean meal and hoof guard supplementation.  If it weren't so late in the riding season, I'd have a set of shoes put on him because he finally, has enough hoof wall to support them.  But, never sure of our Fall weather and the available time to go riding after work, I hesitate to spend the money on shoes.  We just have too many expenses coming up to be extravagant with spending right now.

My squirreling tendencies are nagging at me, and before long I'll start the process of storing necessities for the winter.  There's a couple cords of firewood needed, repairs to our pellet stove and pellets for it, along with 4 tons of bedding pellets for the horses.

I've completely skipped canning or any kind of food storage this year. Totally unlike me, but I've done nothing.  My garden is a disaster.  I've picked a few, very tiny and tough-skinned tomatoes and still have not a single cherry tomato that's ripe.  Must be that Walmart potting mix!  I have no idea what else to blame, but it's a sorry excuse for a vegetable garden.  We had good strawberries and have had numerous cucumbers, but no peppers either.  Even my flowers this year look like I've been feeling.  Hmmm...pitiful, really.

We're still in the dark about what's to happen with my sister's brain tumor.  She has an appointment with the specialist the end of September...sure hope time is not of the essence.  My little great-niece came through the appendectomy successfully and is home once again.  And today, my nephew who is 50 years old, is having a stint put in his heart.  My niece, who is 2-1/2 years younger than me has so much arthritis in her back that she can hardly walk.  I am absolutely not going to ask - what next?  I just don't want to know.  I feel fortunate, by comparison.  My health remains relatively good.  I'm rarely sick, all my labs are within normal, or almost normal which means my meds are doing their job, and my kidneys are functioning at 46%, which sucks, but is unchanged for the last couple of years.  Like I said, by comparison with my family, I'm a workhorse.  I'm strong and fairly active, and intend to keep it that way.  Genetics play a very large part in our lives, but we're responsible for what we eat and how much we move.  I intend to continue an active lifestyle, but would like to add even more.  I'd really like to try a Yoga class for increasing flexibility and balance.  And anything to help me lose some more weight would be wonderful!  I just enjoy my food way too much to ever be that willowy, long-legged woman in my dreams.  But so far, my body hasn't failed me, and overall has served me just fine.  I shall not complain where instead should be grateful!  :)

So, August is very quickly waning and another season is just around the corner.  I've got a week of vacation time left that I'm very much looking forward to.  We're starting to think of where we'd like to spend that precious little chunk of time, but nothing settled yet.  Next weekend on the 3rd is my hubby's birthday.  We've made tentative plans for going out to dinner with Steve and Chris, bro and sis in-law.  We always enjoy time spent with them.  We're also talking about a beach weekend trip with them before long, and I especially would love that.

A horse camping weekend trip with our riding club is scheduled for Labor Day weekend, but we're seriously considering gracefully bowing out of that one because of having to travel through Portland with the horses to get to the chosen location and it's the last big hurrah of the summer, and there's just too much traffic on the roads to suit my preference.  I so enjoy spending time with our club friends, but just don't have the energy to put it all together right now.  We will probably regret it, but it just feels right to stay home and relax instead.  Whatever we decide, the extra day off will be a blessing.

Hope all is well in your lives, and you're remembering to count your blessings every day...

Until next time dear friends,
be well.




One last photo of our "alleged" taco thief...what do you think?  Guilty?  or Not guilty?    And the horror of all horrors, not only was this the first ever act of common thievery by Ruby; but it was also on National Dog Day!

Nobody's perfect...