Don't Tell Mom!!!

What a blast this parade was! First time I've ridden with this group as well as my first time dressing like this... WOO HOO!
My camera batteries were dead despite only being in there a week so I had to rely on others to take pictures.. hence I am actually IN them {big grin} so since a picture is worth a 1000 words...
The Outlaw Ladies and Their Cowboys...


Hamming it up for the camera

Getting ready to go...
Me and Paint Mare, handing the glitter spray can to Sabrina...

There's my man :)

Waiting in the staging area...





Shirley who hosted lunch afterwards...

Along the parade route... calling out things like "Biggest nugget takes it boys, who's it gonna be", "Hey cowboy, wanna go for a riiiiiiide?", and to the little girls along the route, "Look what you can be when you grow up!"

Our participation trophy... just waiting to hear if we won any actual award...


After the parade, the plan was to go pick up Luna and bring her home... BUT Toni was sick earlier this week and didn't get to ride enough so she asked to keep Luna for an additional week... good news AND bad news, I'm ready for my girl to come home but since she is still crow-hopping during her transition from trot to canter, I DON'T want her coming home till that gets worked through!!

Horse Soccer - Yes I Said HORSE Soccer

My camera doesn't do so good in the dark so to give you a better idea I jacked some pics taken by our friend Tom :)







It was interesting to see how some horses reacted to that huge green thing...

Linda's horse Reggie demonstrates how to introduce yourself to a soccer ball - see at first he's not too sure...

But since it didn't eat him, he's ok with it now!


As for my girls, both Paint Mare and Katie weren't afraid of it, they just didn't get that they were SUPPOSED to run into it and kick it since those are things we usually DON'T want them to do!

HOO BOY!!!

Just wait till Saturday... just wait! Oh boy I can't wait!!!!!

I'm gonna be in a parade you see - in a group called "Outlaw Ladies and Their Cowboys" and I got a friend of mine to make me a costume... not gonna spoil it with sneak preview pictures, just teasing you so you come back and look on Saturday once I have pictures of me IN the costume ON my horse...

HOO BOY!!!!! I can't wait!!!!!

Madeline... SOLD!

I won't cry, I won't I won't... she is going to a fabulous home! Although we ARE going to have to give the folks Randy's speech about putting her into their estate planning documents, because she could outlive them!

Oh, I'm gonna miss that little sweetie! I have at least two weeks before she could possibly go to her new home, maybe a little longer depending on how she is eating on her own... Tonight is bible study so I won't separate her until tomorrow, but she will be going into a small pen to eat from now on, so I can make sure she eats as much as she is supposed to (up to now she's been sharing with the CROWD in the Donkey Garden). And, to finalize the weaning although I suspect Betty Jean has been working on that already!

Anyway I'd better get some more pictures and some more hugs and loves from her, I've got to stock up!

Take This Test...

Test for Dementia:

Below are four ( 4 ) questions and a bonus question. You have to answer them instantly. You can't take your time, answer all of them immediately . OK?
Let's find out just how clever you really are....

First Question:

You are participating in a race. You overtake the second person. What position are you in?















Answer: If you answered that you are first, then you are absolutely wrong! If you overtake the second person and you take his place, you are second!

Try not to screw up next time.
Now answer the second question, but don't take as much time as you took for the first question, OK ?

Second Question:
If you overtake the last person, then you are...?















Answer: If you answered that you are second to last, then you are wrong again. Tell me, how can you overtake the LAST Person?

You're not very good at this, are you?

Third Question:
Very tricky arithmetic! Note: This must be done in your head only.
Do NOT use paper and pencil or a calculator. Try it.

Take 1000 and add 40 to it. Now add another 1000. Now add 30.
Add another 1000. Now add 20. Now add another 1000!
Now add 10. What is the total?





Did you get 5000 ?
The correct answer is actually 4100.

If you don't believe it, check it with a calculator!
Today is definitely not your day, is it?
Maybe you'll get the last question right...
Maybe.


Fourth Question:

Mary's father has five daughters: 1. Nana, 2. Nene, 3. Nini, 4. Nono. What is the name of the fifth daughter?







Did you Answer Nu nu?
NO! Of course it isn't.
Her name is Mary. Read the question again!

Okay, now the bonus round:

A mute person goes into a shop and wants to buy a toothbrush. By imitating the action of brushing his teeth he successfully expresses himself to the shopkeeper and the purchase is done.
Next, a blind man comes into the shop who wants to buy a pair of sunglasses; how does HE indicate what he wants?









He just has to open his mouth and ask...
It's really very simple.. Like you!

And yes... I think I am demented!

The Two Greatest Virtues...

PATIENCE and WISDOM!

Spur Cross - Meet My Friends!

Today we rode Spur Cross. Nice day and good company. There were a bunch of us...

Lisa and her mustang mare Maggie. This gal keeps me in stitches, she is so funny!

Jean and her mule Reba. Jean is the one who got me into miniature donkeys!

Sara and her gelding Tonka - his name is SO appropriate! And look, she got a helmet brim too!

Linda and her mare Kate - one of those horses worth her weight in gold! Actually you could say that about the rider too :)

And Melanie on her gelding Shiloh. Isn't he handsome...

These are not my only friends, really. Just the ones who went on this ride that I got good shots of lol!

Luna's First Real Trail Ride

Yup, today, with ME riding her :) Well, she's been out with Toni on her and Kirk taking pictures as he rode with, but today there were SIX riders total!

We went down a little hill into the wash... we rode in sand, rocks, mucky mud and even in water. She spooked once at a pile of 3 tires - now why she would do that when we have a whole pile of tires in our own yard, I have no clue! But when she spooks, she spooks LITTLE - just a little drop of the shoulder and a tiny jump to the left, and I handled it just fine.
I'm so happy to be aboard...

Blue shirt on the left is my trainer Toni, I had to laugh when I saw this shot, she was keeping a watchful eye on me the whole time!

Once she tried to argue with what I was asking her to do!

But I made her stop and behave...

And we moved off nicely again :) Toni says I handled it just fine!

I just love this one, the wind in her mane...

Toni says this is "thinking sweat" from Luna using her brain so much!

I'm so happy with my girl!!!

The AK Boys

My contact sent me some more pictures of the Alaska boys and I know their names now!


Meet Shadow...

This is Sandy...

Lucky the goat...

and Moonshine!


Still preparing just in case but it seems that finally a rescue closer to them got in contact, so now we wait for the daughter to decide!

Another Luna Update

Got the following this morning from my friend Toni who is training Luna:

"Rode Luna in the wash yesterday... She did well, is steering and stopping and moves off the leg easily. It was somewhat windy and both she and Spitfire spent a lot of time looking for horse boogers in the bushes. LOL. She spooked several times and I never did see what spooked her. Might have been the wind in the bushes or it might have been that she lost her balance while walking in the sand. When she spooks, she drops her right shoulder and goes left. It is not bad and I did not loose my seat. She recovers quickly. I am going to ride her down there again today. I bet she won't spook today."
Obviously she has figured out now how to move forward without another horse in front of her!


And one from the front - my pretty girl :)

Putting Together a Transport Train

I have been contacted on behalf of two miniature horses, a miniature donkey, and pygmy goat (all geldings, about 12 years old) located in Ketchikan, Alaska, who are in need of finding a home. The information I was given is that their owner there can no longer care for them, and the geographical location of Ketchikan is such that keeping horses there is a real challenge. It is not good habitat for horses, being a thickly forested island. The owner passed away last April, and his daughter has been trying to care for them but feels she cannot do so any more. They have been confined to a fairly small corral for their lives here, and are very gentle, though have not had formal training.


for some reason the whole picture doesn't show, just the two horses, at least on my computer... but if you CLICK ON IT you can also see the donkey and the goat :)

Moving them will involve a 36 hour ferry ride to Bellingham Washington, but this is something that will have to be done, as they need to find a home where they can be cared for. There are no other horses in the area and my contact says that even the people are fairly isolated from the horse world.

I am able to take them into the rescue and find them new homes, but first we need to get them here. My contact is willing to figure out the logistics of getting them off the island, including their Coggins etc., and says she can get them as far as Bellingham, WA. So all we need to do is set up an equine transport train from Bellingham, WA to Wittmann, AZ. I can drive from my place to southern CA or northern AZ if we can figure out how to get them that far…

If you live between here and Bellingham WA or know anyone who does that might be willing to help drive them for a bit or keep them overnight if need be, please let me know. If you don’t and are able to make a small contribution towards fuel so that I can offer to reimburse folks who are able to help, that would also be much appreciated. However PLEASE do NOT send any money yet, as I want to make sure this is actually going to happen before I take any donations. My contact is to begin working on her end of it and get back to me but it could be a month or more before she has things in place. So we have time to put together a transport train and if worst comes to worst and the AK folks aren’t able to get the critters to Bellingham after all, well, I will be out some time organizing but that’s no biggie. What I don’t want to do is wait until she gets them to Bellingham and not be ready to get them the rest of the way!

Interviewed

From Debby {Life's Funny Like That} I got the following questions:

1. If you had a magic wand and could change one thing about the world, what would you change? Hhhhmmm, physically or "mentally"? If physically, meaning the world itself, I'd change polution - wipe it out! If "mentally", meaning the people in it... I'd change how mean people are to each other. PLAY NICE!!!!!

2. If you had a magic wand and could change one thing about yourself, what would you change? Hey if it's magic, can't I change more than one thing??? This question really got me thinking. My first instinct was to have 20/20 vision - woo hoo no more contacts and all that crap. BUT wait a minute... actually some money and lasik could fix that... almost immediately after that I thought, instead, I'd like to lose 50 pounds. Boom. And of course KEEP IT OFF. Because diet and exercise isn't working that great... HOWEVER, I'd also like to be done with menopause (and I haven't even started), my baby is turning 18 next month and therefore I have been "cycling" unnecessarily for that long... boy would I like that over with! But then, I thought it would really be nice to have a better hold on my temper, more patience, just all around be a better person... a better Christian. And that right there, no matter how badly I want good eyesight, less weight, and no more you-know-what, is what my magic wand would have to do.

3. If you could live anywhere in the world, would you move? YES in a heartbeat. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to have MORE LAND... somewhere that GRASS GROWS! (***but NO SNOW***)

4. Favorite food? One would think this would be easy but really it's not. I love lots of things... biscuits and gravy... lasagna... enchiladas... chocolate chip ice cream... brownies baked just right... mashed potatos... ok I gotta go eat now ;)

5. What's the nicest thing that you've ever done for yourself? Ever? I said yes when Randy asked me to marry him :)


So, if you want to be interviewed, all you have to do is give me your e-mail address in a comment and I will send your questions...

Quote for the Day

"A lot of people are waiting for Martin Luther King or Mahatma Gandhi to come back - but they are gone. We are it. It is up to us. It is up to you."

- Marian Wright Edelman, lawyer, educator, activist, and founder of the Children's Defense Fund

Got this in an e-mail from my oldest today and thought it well worth sharing!

Saving a Life *pics added

On a ride today we crossed a river, and sitting on a tire in the middle was a lizard! How it managed to get there is beyond me... I'm surprised it didn't drown. Here you can see the tire behind the 4th horse...

And no way would it have made it out of there. So I determined to save it even though it would mean getting my boots wet! Katie and I sidled up to the tire, where I discovered that I could stand on it and woo hoo dry boots!

So I carefully dismounted onto the portion of the tire sticking up out of the water

scooped up the lizard (which was quite pretty by the way, little blue spots all over its back!)

and got back on my horse. We then proceeded to the bank where I tried putting the lizard in a bush so I didn't have to get off and on again. It was determined to stay on my hand but I finally got it to cling to the bush.


Yup I am a hero - with the help of my horse :)

Riding Luna :)

Sorry no pictures, before you even ask... by the time I got on her, it was dusk and we didn't want to risk a problem with the flash... but I DID get to ride my girl today :) She is doing well, actually her biggest issues are that she is TOO GOOD lol. She has been ponied so long that she doesn't realize she can move forward without another horse in front of her, and so desensitized to stuff that she doesn't respond to leg pressure, so I guess I did my job too well.

It was the first time I got on her without any fear, nervousness, or trepidation of any sort. And although I did get tears in my eyes, they didn't fall out, so I DIDN'T EVEN CRY ;)

Something Missing?

Yes it's a little weird to feed with 2 less horses and 3 less dogs. I do notice that something is missing but it's a GOOD notice lol. As for the kid, so far so good, she has managed to make herself so unpleasant lately that right now I am happy she is gone... he rsister however already misses her and is off to spend the night with her already, the second night in her new place...

Woo Hoo an empty house... and Randy is working late :(

For some really GOOD NEWS, go to my blog list and visit "Saving Argus" :) - happy tears here for sure!

What a Mess!

Well Lindsey is out. Finally. Unfortunately for us, she did NOT get her room cleaned out... it is still: FULL. OF. STUFF!!! Geez, what a packrat - I thought I was bad. I have big plans for this room but I NEED IT EMPTY!!!! It actually didn't look too bad when I first went in there to see what she left, but then I got busy wanting to check out the necessary closet repairs and THE CLOSET WAS STILL FULL! So I proceeded to empty it. Big mistake...

The news about Randy is after spending like 6 hours in the VA ER he does NOT have a kidney stone... they think it is just a pulled muscle but that doesn't sound right to me. However after last night's prayer he is already feeling somewhat better...

Prayers for Randy

He is not sure what is going on but wow does he hurt, mid-trunk on one side and not the side that would be appendix... he thinks it might be a kidney stone! After Midweek Fellowship we did a special prayer for him. And since I am so worried he promised to go to the VA tomorrow...

Who Wants What?

Lindsey will be out soon and has decided that she is NOT taking most of her furniture... although she did say she would take our couch and loveseat so we don't have to worry about what to do with that now. So far we are finding homes for stuff pretty quick... the bunkbeds to a guy Randy works with, the dresser to a gal I know through the riding website, and hopefully the desk to another gal from the riding website, a huge bag of clothes to another gal from the riding website, and some outgrown (long ago geez!!! cannot believe she still has this stuff!!!) to yet another gal from the riding website. I am sure we will be heading to Goodwill with several piles of stuff...

Typical that she has known for a year that she would be moving and NONE of this stuff was gone through ahead of time {sigh}!!!

Dry Blogging...

Yes that's right. Dry. As in, I have nothing to say. So I will tell you that you should scroll down my blog list and go visit That Chick Over There. At least SHE will make you laugh... cry... whatever. She always gets a reaction from me...

A Really Nice Ride

Met a few friends at the E.L. Henderson trail head on New River Road today. Folks have been working on the trail there and wow was it nice. Had a super time, just four of us total and all on gaited horses so boy did we MOVE OUT... what a lovely day. Except I forgot the camera sorry!

Too Cute

Nothing going on around here so go visit http://carrollfarm.blogspot.com/2009/01/new-year-new-babies.html and check out the adorable goat babies...

It's Coming...

It really is coming. Lindsey is moving out soon. We will be down to ONE KID in the house. And that one? She will be 18 in less than 2 months. Still in high school and at home for 3 more months after that but I will no longer have any "children" - I will have ADULT CHILDREN.

Wow.

Kinda weird but you know what? I CAN'T WAIT! I have the most amazing relationship with my oldest. And a key ingredient is, SHE DOESN'T LIVE WITH ME. I can't wait to have that with the other two. Really. I want to be friends and not "just" mom. I am so tired of having to nag about chores etc. I want to be done with that! I don't want to be "mom" any more. Not unless my kids have FOUR LEGS!!!!!

Now don't get me wrong. I love my girls and I always will, no matter what. I will always care whether they are happy or sad, whether they are healthy or sick, whether their lives are going well or not...

That part of "mom" is ok.

But I am really really really looking forward to no more nagging!!!!!

Luna update :)

In an effort not to bore you, I have stayed away from the subject of Luna for a few posts... but I am so excited I can't stand it any more, here you go:
Day 1. Still not used to a rider up top. See how awkward her legs (especially rear) look...

Day 2. Legs better!

Day 3, off the property and into the wash!!



My baby girl is all grown up!!