Showing posts with label birthdays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label birthdays. Show all posts

Thursday, January 22, 2015

A quiet affair

Ruby

this one shows just how big the tumor has become

breezy, sunshine and spring-like
No balloons, no party, no hoopla.  No cake.  Dammit!  (to the cake part)  :)  

My birthday was a very quiet affair.  I spent the day working at the clinic.  Went home, built a fire, filled the wood box, lit some candles, fed the dogs and sat by my fire enjoying a glass of wine.  When the hubs got home, we went out to the barn to do the chores.  It had been a beautiful day filled with gentle breezes and sunshine, and the evening was just as lovely.  

The horses came in from pasture filthy.  I decided to let them enjoy their grubbiness and skip any grooming, if they want to be covered in mud, who am I to complain?  I shot a few pictures but nobody was really cooperating, and seemed only interested in chowing down their evening meal.  

There are times when you just have to remind yourself as to the extent of their expertise in covering every square inch of their bodies in mud, you know, in case we forget come summer time.  
pretty dirty for Harley

Missy (still in boots)

Eagle - grubmonster

Kadie - who wouldn't eat with the camera point her way

Now she's getting perturbed...

Aahh Ladde - what can I say?

This is his eye that had the pea-sized lump on the lower lid - all gone!!!

Filthy for Shad!  He absolutely would not look at me.  Alfalfa, you know...priorities

With the horses all fed and tucked in for the night, we headed inside to get some dinner.  Leftovers of spaghetti and hot bread.  It tasted good, and I was content with not having to cook.  After cleaning up the kitchen, I spent some time schmoozing with Annie, and not to be left out, Ruby too.  For my birthday memoirs, hubs took a few pictures of us doing what comes naturally after we're settled in for the evening.  I loved the idea.  My birthday pictures with my girls.  In the years to come, I will treasure them all the more.  


This one makes me laugh, look at Ruby's fat belly.  :)


I think this is my favorite.  My beautiful girl who never takes a bad picture.



My Annie.  How I love this dog...

As is his custom, my sweet guy gave me a mushy, lovey-dovey birthday card, and a giant Hershey's bar with almonds.  This man knows what makes me happy.  :)

All in all, I'd say it was a good day.  

Blessings, Lorie


Monday, April 8, 2013

It's Harley's birthday today!!!

 Lifelong buds

Harley & Ladde

 Buxton Linear Trail near Banks, Oregon
Harley's most beautiful butt - the boy's got hams!!

 Harley at 16 yrs


Yes indeed, it is Harley horse's birthday today!!  Our baby boy is 16 years old.  I did not miss that one!!  I was right there with Scooter when she brought her beautiful foal into the world...it was awesome!!  And this horse will be with us always and forever - that's what I tell him, and I mean it.

I'll be swinging by the grocery store before heading home this evening to pick up some goodies for the horses.  Apples, carrots and pears are the delectables in honor of the special day.  Some may feel that it's silly to celebrate a horse's birthday, but I don't care, and I don't think it's silly at all.  We love our horses and they are a huge part of our lives.  What does it hurt to provide them with a little celebratory treat to remember the day when they came into our lives?  It makes them happy and it makes us happy, to see them happy!  Reason enough for us!!  Simple pleasures are truly treasured memories that make life special.



 Amazing spots!

 Me and my mountain horse.

 Ready for a ride in La Pine, Oregon
 
 Camping at Flying M Ranch Yamhill, Oregon

 Me and Harley

 At a Ray Hunt clinic - Dundee, Oregon 2006
Harley, me, Ray and my sister

 Ray Hunt clinic

 Harley & me 

 Always the lover boy...

 Harley Ten Hairs - his nickname because he lost his mane & tail as a weenling 
 When he still had his sight


 Supper time?

 That's my boy!!

As you can imagine, I have so very many more pictures of our life and years together...so many wonderful memories with this guy!  What an amazing horse!!  And to think I almost sold him right after he was born...what a mistake that would have been!!  Cheers Harley - here's to many more memories to come!!

Happy Birthday my little Spunky!!  Always and forever my friend...always and forever.  I promise to love and take care of you.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

The Daily News



Well hello again!  Not a whole lot happening in my neck of the woods lately, but thought I'd just do a quickie posting here and see what transpires from my thoughts.  Scary thought huh?  :)

I have my annual doctor's visits all lined up and ready to go...oh boy.  Visited my primary care doc last week and did that fun bit, but I'm happy to report that most things are still in good working order, and that's the one that I look forward to the least.  Had my labs done and have to go back for a little talk time about some adjustments that are required, but nothing too bad.  The mammo is at the end of this month, then the annual trip to my eye doctor and that's it for another year!  Yay!!  I always feel so happy to have them behind me again...I've been blessed with very good health all my life so far, but I still hate going to the doctor.  I feel the same way about visiting the dentist, in fact I have some real fear where dentists are involved, but I really don't know why.  I have a fear of pain, I guess!  Maybe it's all that equipment just for a tiny mouth...not really sure.  Anyhoo!!

We got our third delivery from Bountiful Baskets last Saturday, and once again it was a true bounty of fresh produce.  We got mangoes this time!  I love mangoes!!  More lettuce, radishes, bananas, asparagus (yum), lemons, celery and some bokchoy.  There might have been something else, but I can't remember what.  Anyway, so far we're doing very well at keeping the produce eaten up and nothing has really gone to waste, except for that bunch of mint from the prior week.  I occasionally use fresh mint in iced tea in the summer, but I let it go bad.  :(  Just couldn't think of what to use it for...I will just add it to my compost pile and get some benefit out of it in that small way.

I have been working with Eagle and last night he was in no mood for a session...poor guy, he just wanted to go in and have dinner, and I made him work instead...I actually heard him squeal and throw his head down and give it a little shake!  He thought about bucking, but decided against that.  :)  I really believe that Eagle internalizes most of his feelings instead of showing his anger or unhappy emotions with reaction.  That's not necessarily a good thing, in my opinion.  I would really prefer that he felt comfortable enough to show his true emotions, regardless of what they are.  I think that with time, he will feel more secure in exhibiting his feelings, but for right now, I believe that he is still rather afraid to show his unhappy side.  Maybe in his past, he was seriously punished for "bad" behavior.  I'm not sure, but I bear in mind those whip marks on his butt cheeks as evidence of severe repercussions for something.  I have faith that he will be perfect one day soon, he is that wonderful.  I just don't want his feet and his mind getting stuck, and then really blowing someday when everything builds steam.  I don't really fear that happening though, he's pretty serene and laid back most of the time.  I asked him (fairly aggressively) for a canter in the round pen last night.  Going to the left, he obliged grudgingly, but he did it.  Well, actually Eagle doesn't canter, but goes from a trot, to a very fast trot, to a full-blown hand gallop.  There is nothing in between because he's not that relaxed with speed.  We're working on relaxing where speed is involved.  Anyway, he went into this very fast gallop and promptly slipped and nearly went to his knees.  He whipped his gaze in my direction, which clearly stated that his misstep was my fault.  *sigh*  I simply carried on as if nothing had happened.  One more full circle, then asked him to walk, which he does immediately...his favorite word other than whoa, which is swift and sure.  The boy prefers his snuggle time to work, hands down.  :)  Going to the right, I never did get him into anything more than a very fast trot.  He was huffing and puffing, and so was I.  Crap.  Since it was fairly dark, I decided to walk him out and let it go for the day.  It really wasn't where I wanted to end things, but we'd ran out of light and were going nowhere in a hurry.  We'll pick it up on another day.  Our relaxed walk time was sweet and quiet, and for that, at least I am thankful.


Ladde's 17th birthday is coming up on March 20th, the first day of spring.  I simply cannot believe that my big, baby boy is that old...it seems like only yesterday that he was born.  He has been a blessing to us every single day since that wonderful morning on March 20, 1996.  Wow, does time ever fly!!!


I'm really looking forward to spring and the warmer, longer days to come.  The flowers, gardening, time spent on the deck and everything else that the warmer season involves.  I really, really want to make the most of this spring and summer.  I want to have friends over for bbq's, go camping and horseback riding, do the silly summer fairs and anything and everything else that we can think of.  I want to enjoy life and spend sweet, idle time with my husband and with friends and family.  Savor our time together and be thankful for everything in our lives.

Blessings and until next time,
Lorie @ Cingspots

Monday, January 21, 2013

Shades of Grey and Winter Whites

We've been ensconced in frozen fog, frigid weather and an unusually dry weather pattern for a couple of weeks now.  We've even been blessed with a few days of blindingly bright sunshine!  Really - I think I know exactly how a mole must feel when he burrows up and out of the depths of the earth for the first time in days.
I've had to drag out my summer shades a few times lately!  One must always remember that squinting causes laugh lines and wrinkles.  :)

Speaking of wrinkles, and of aging in particular...today is my birthday!  My 53rd and counting to be exact!  I am astounded that I'm this old!!  I don't feel 53.  But then again, how is one supposed to feel at this age?  I feel older than I once did; of that I'm positive, but I don't feel old and in actuality I believe there are many benefits to having reached this specific time in my life.  Many to be sure!!  For one, I am again a great-great auntie.  Yep!!  And the newest member of our family was born this morning on my birthday!!  How's that for a birthday gift?  Pretty cool, I think!!  I don't know her name, nor her weight, nor what she looks like...but of one thing I am sure...she shall and always will, hold a dear and special place in my heart because we share a birthday.  What a blessing!!

So, I've been thinking about winter white lately, and various shades of whites and greys.  White is quite underrated I think.  Vanilla for example, a divine flavor on its' own and highly under-valued.  Winter is full of white and probably so, because so much of what winter has to offer is otherwise quite bland.  So we're given white and its' various shades to brighten things up a bit!  A different kind of light in an otherwise barren season devoid of sunshine.




Harley

hubba hubba!!

winter wonderland

Shad

Eagle - lover boy  :)

Dear, sweet, mud-loving Ladde

Kadie - my princess 29 this year

Sweet Harley (guilty of trying to bite my kneecap repeatedly yesterday!)

My sweet prince, Ladde

Merlin...the definition of cremudgeon

frosty white hairs on his ears
  

If you feed them, they will come...

Charley, she's pointing that thing at us again!


Depending on where you live, and what your winter weather woes have been, your appetite for warmer, brighter days may be overwhelming.  But, hang in there my friends...only 2 more months of winter to go!  Today charts the 1/3 of the way through winter mark!!!  Spring's warmer and sunnier days are closer than you may think.  Like the song says..."time waits for no one, and it won't wait for me".  

Tick Tock

Blessings everyone, Lorie @ Cingspots