Okay, my pictures really have nothing at all to do with this post, except that I've not posted any pics for a really long time and this is just a tiny sampling of what we've been up to this month. I guess that works too! This is news, right?
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| Faith & Lilly celebrating their b-days. Two of my great-great nieces! |
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| Lilly the "princess" She's 5 now...going on 31 |
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| From our hike on Cape Lookout, the Pacific way down there |
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| It was a hideously hot day so we went to a local spot and cooled off! |
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| Selfie of two unknown old people - wait, is that an oxymoron? |
Of the most importance to me, is that Eagle is coming home tonight!!! To say I'm happy and excited about that is putting it mildly. :) To wrap my mind around the fact that he's been gone just over 2 months already, blows me away. Really??? But, I just cannot describe how very, very well he's done in his training. I went every day last week and rode him. The horse has such heart, such try and the willingness to please and do well that it amazes me. He also has a stubborn streak about as wide as the Mississippi when he doesn't want to do something...Rachel has accomplished far more than I would ever have expected with Eagle. Watching her ride him, and put him through his exercises just makes my heart swell. He's still a green horse, obviously, but how well he's taken to his lessons and how much he understands is a little bit unbelievable. Now, having said that...when I ride him, it's not quite like that. *sigh* I need work. I need to ride more often. I need instruction. Big time. I apparently need to prove to my horse that I'm worthy of the leadership role. Therein lies our biggest challenge after I get him home. We've had some amazing rides. We've had some mediocre rides. And then, we've had some rides where I come back in tears, full of frustration and disappointment. But overall, we've made progress. And that is where I choose to place my focus, and build upon that. Eagle is miles from where he began. And frankly, so am I. My progress isn't so impressive, but to me, it means the world. I can ride my horse, and I will get better. I will build more confidence with more time in the saddle and I'm even thinking of doing some lessons with Rachel as a follow-up. We'll see how everything goes...
My hubby and I celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary last night at Olive Garden. Yum! I can hardly believe it myself. 31 years. We've had our ups and our downs, and it's just like pretty much everything else in life. It is the journey, not the destination that counts. All those messy little details in the middle that create memories that we build upon throughout our lives. I love that guy. He ain't perfect, but neither am I. :)
Our bedroom in all its' disastrous state still looms over my conscience like an ugly plague. With hubby working so much, most home projects have remained at a standstill. I'm not sure when we'll have the time to get back into the swing of remodeling, but I sure am tired of sleeping in the living room. And that's all I've got to say about that.
Night before last, hubby was already in bed reading and I was watching a little tv before heading to bed. I cannot tell you why, or for what reason, but I suddenly popped up from my chair and walked into the kitchen, stopping just short of the slider leading to our deck. I stood there for a blank moment wondering why I'd come in here. Remembering nothing, I shrugged and turned around to go back, but a flash of light caught my eye. I quickly turned around, looked out onto the deck and saw that one side of the deck was fully engulfed in flames! Our deck was on fire!! I yelled to hubby and we grabbed shoes and then the garden hose and managed to put the flames out without too much damage being done. But as to how and why our deck caught on fire remains a mystery. I know only one thing for sure. Either God or my guardian angel whispered to me, or put that thought into my head, to go into the kitchen. Had that not happened, I'd likely have gone to bed and our cedar deck fire would quickly have turned into a much more serious problem. Of that, I have no doubt. I am so thankful and so happy that I believe and have faith. Bet yer boots! My dad used to say that when something was a sure thing - "you can bet your boots on that!". :)
Since my last post when I was gleefully looking for a break in our then, heatwave; we got that break, have had another almost two week long heat wave and today are enjoying a cool down. Man oh man has this been a hot, dry and long summer for us! Sure feels like the year of no winter, followed by a very short (and glorious) spring and now the never-ending summer! My body has changed and I do not enjoy the heat at all anymore. I don't exactly like being cold either, but the 70's are looking just about perfect. Funny how that comfort window keeps getting smaller and smaller with the years! Oh well, I've got quite the tan going with all the time being spent in the pool. We gotta take our blessings where we can get them, right? That $100 dollar Walmart swimming pool that we bought 3 summers ago, has proven to be money VERY well spent!!
My tendency for squirreling hasn't been quiet either. We have all our hay safely stored in the barns. We have 4 tons of stall bedding pellets stored in the barn, we have plenty of firewood in the shed, we have a quarter beef recently stashed in the freezer and just last Sunday picked up and put in our hay barn, all the alfalfa that we'll need to get the two geriatrics in our herd, through the winter. :) Sweet!!! Now the only thing left to do is make some plum jam because for whatever reason, our hardly ever produces plums in 20 years, plum tree has absolutely outdone itself and blessed us with tons of big, beautiful Santa Rosa plums! I need to pick my overly abundant crop of Marionberries and stick those in the freezer and get some peaches. We have lots of apples growing on the trees, but absolutely NO pears!! What is up with that? The pears are my favorite fruit on our property (horses too) and I cannot find a single pear on either tree. Oh well, the Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh. My little garden is doing just fine. I've enjoyed my first two fresh tomatoes and a few sungold cherry tomatoes. A few strawberries that I've eaten, but nothing else yet. I've got onions, zuchini, acorn squash and cucumbers expected before long. My herbs didn't do well at all this year. Could be that I keep forgetting to water them. :(
We went camping weekend before last to Camp Sherman on the Metolius river with brother and sister in law. One of my most favorite spots on this planet! Left the horses at home with a caretaker and hopped in our little camper and went. It was great!! The weather was perfect! We attended the annual quilt show, went out for most meals and took lots of long walks along the river. Ruby had a blast, and so did we! We laughed, talked and played games and it was so relaxing. I wanna go again...
Not sure what else is coming up soon, but I am so very ready for some horse camping and some beach time. Maybe a nap too. No wonder I've been feeling so very tired lately...apparently I've been a very busy gal...
Would love to hear what you've all been doing with your summer! Hope it's been grand!!!
Blessings and until next time,
Lorie
4 comments:
You really have been busy with lots of good things. Well, except for the deck fire. That must have been scary. Glad you caught it in time before a lot more damage was done. Hope when Eagle gets home you and he have lots of great rides. It's not a bad idea to have the trainer come over if she can and give you a few lessons. Good luck and stay cool! We're sweltering here.
Will help you out with the plum problem. (Hint, hint)
Glad you are enjoying summer to the fullest! Lessons on Eagle would be ideal, even if spread out. They can really help with sticky spots.
Wow, so much good stuff! You'll have your Eags home by now and hopefully you are already getting into riding him to keep you both in the habit. Very glad you followed that inkling and found the fire! Goodness me! What did that? We're having winter here but it's probably like some people's summers anyway. We'll be off to the beach for a holiday soon, and taking our Labbies with us of course! It will be our first holiday away from the cottage since before Tuppence was born, and she'll be four this year!
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