January 3, 2015

Kind of a dreary day with just a tiny bit of new snow.  More is supposed to fall in the morning and then rain the rest of the week.  Doesn't that just sound like jolly fun.  Wrong.

We really are getting to the living room.  Everything but the couch is moved in to the dining room.  Tazzy the cat is really confused what is going on.  She walks around with a puzzled expression, climbs on stuff and acts pretty silly.  The dogs just say oh well, as long as their blankets are on the couch.  Maggie just lays in her bed observing. 

Bob just went out to feed our "dependents".  The donks are really telling him to hurry up and Sage is banging on the panel by their feeder with her front foot.  I think she thinks she is ringing the dinner bell.

Nothing much else today.

Blessings,

January 2, 2015

Day 2 of my promise.  Nothing too exciting from this part of Washington State.  We got a little snow this morning but we are due for a larger storm on Sunday.  We have had so little this winter that I really won't complain.

We went into spokane today.  Did several errands and then went to Lowes to get paint for our living room.  We had the wainscotting for the living room for 2 or 3 years and Bob decided this was the time to get it up and paint.  I had a difficult time picking the correct colors.  I had planned with shades of pumpkin but it did not strike me this afternoon.  I hope we can really get going on it this weekend.  I am excited about it being fresh and clean. 

The animals outside are just fine.  Rosie and Sequoia have their own pen and shelter.  She was so glad to see him again.  Raven and the 2 donkeys have their own pen.  Raven missed Wrangler but seems to be OK now.  They were really best buds.  Sage, Rusty and Chemmy have the other area with a shelter.  Rusty and Chemmy play a lot together but Chem wants to eat and be close to Sage. 

We wnt to deliver some things to one of our great grand daughters today.  We had to leave it hanging on the back door.  She was being babysat by her big brother and he was asleep and she is not supposed to answer the door so she didn't.  I really wanted to see her but I am glad she was obedient even though her mom was gone to an appointment.

Maybe I will get out and take some pictures tomorrow.  Then I will have to see if I can fight with the computer to see if I can get at least one of them to load. 

Blessings to you,

Lea is Back

Here I am again.  Still fighting with my computer.  I thought it was doing well until I went to do this.  I promise I will be more faithful about keeping up here.  I know its been many months since I tried.  I have worked things out somewhat but until I tried to do this it doing its own thing again.

We are well and happy.  Bob is working off and on at a friends wheat ranch.  No just wheat but oats and barley too.  This time of the year no so much to do and I like that.  He went into the Bob Marshall Wilderness in June with some friends and had an awesome time.  We both went camping with our horses late Spring down in central Idaho for a week.  We had a great time and rode a lot.  Sage did very well.  When she gets tired though she gets naughty and thinks she can tell me what to do.  Bob went elk hunting on horseback this year and had a great time. 

I rode some all summer but not like I would have liked looking back at it.  I have a problem getting the saddle on Sage is part of the problem.  When Bob is around or my grandsons it works OK.  I want to get a trainer to ride her a month maybe in March.  There are some things she needs to figure out.  She never bucks or runs off, she just refuses to go where I want her to when she thinks she has gone far enough.

In November we had a terrible experience.  Our wonderful horse that anyone could ride anywhere got stuck in the feeder somehow and broke his jaw and neck.  The worst part of it was our grandchildren next door found him struggling and when they were tring to figure out what to do he died.  We were not home, we were having lunch with our great grandchildren after church.  We have wonderful neighbors, they had all pitched in and had him almost buried by the time we got here.  We are still crying when we think about it too much.  Wrangler was a wonderful horse.

Earlier this fall we accumulated another pony.  We had Sequoia a few years ago and gave him to a couple of young girls.  They had all but outgrown him and moved to Kansas so he came back.  He is an awesome pony. 

I still am leading a bible study for some young women.  Love that and love them. 

No real resolutions.  I never keep them.  I am going to try to ear healtheir and to get back to exercising.  I know I feel better when I do. 

We have had very little snow but its been very cold.  It was 7 last night at midnight. 

In October for our 57th. anniversary we went down to the Oregon Coast.  We enjoyed it but the weather was atrocious.  Poured, and I mean poured down rain and the wind blew.

I promise to try to get some pictures posted on here.  They do not want to work too much.  I need a new computer really bad.  I have a laptop but it does not seem to be any better.  I think it might be operator trouble. 

Bless you all and I promise to be back.

Lea

Well here I am after all of this time.  I am fine, Bob is fine.  Just a lot of computer problems and the dumb thing would not let me on.

Today is my 76th. birthday.  I never did believe I would live this long now did I think I would be still riding my horse.  The picture is yesterday on a 2 1/2 hrs. ride over some beautiful countryside.  We saw lots of wild flowers, geese with strings of baby following mama, we saw a bald eagle sitting on the lake shore, we saw lots of ducks and duck babies.  It was wonderful

Sage did very well.  Each trail ride is better.  She got a little nervous at a couple of rocks that wanted to eat her.  We crossed the top of a little dam over the end of the lake.  She went over it going but coming back she wasn't so sure.  Also there is one pretty steep little trail, not long at all.  It is really down through some brushy area and she could not see the trail.  Once she started down she was fine.  It was by far the best and most relaxed ride I have had on her.

Since I was on, our son Tom has moved in next door with his family.  We love it.  They can help and we can leave for a while and know our animals are taken care of.

We have not sold Chico and he looks awful.  Ditto has been in a pen next to him and we put her out on pasture and he has run himself bad calling and calling.  It is pathetic to watch.  He has rubbed hair off in places from hitting the fence.  I don't know what we are going to do.  We really need to sell him.  I hate him looking this way.

We have had six calves born and one still to go.  Four red ones and two black ones.  Abe,Bell, Claire, Danny, Easy and Fritz.  We bought Gracie and she is at Shannons living on goat milk.  We bought a bull and his name is Hank the Tank.  A nice looking hereford bulls. 

Oh, I really hope I will be able to get back on here.  Missed hearing from you all.  I love comments. 

Blessings to each and every one of you.

Lea

My face is pretty much healed up.  My nose is still a little tender. 4 more weeks before I can do anything where I might hit my face.  I am not doing yoga any more.  I am afraid of getting hurt more.  Instead I am riding the recumbant bike for half an hour, then I swim for half an hour and then sit in the hot tub 10 minutes, 3x a week.  That is my exercise routine.

Poor Sage feels so neglected.  We have been over in Marysville with our oldest daughter and in Everett with our younger daughter.  It was SO good to see my girls.  We came home to a foot of snow on the ground and Sage just stands and looks at the house.  I had so much to do today that Icould not get out.

We have our second baby calf.  She is named Belle and is red like Abe.  The third one should be here very soon.  This snow storm has really made us concerned. 

 This has not been a good month.  I will be glad for March to arrive.  First of all an old friend died up in Oroville.  We showed horses together.  Then a friend over in Hayden, ID died.  His wife is who I got my new saddle from.  Then last weekend my cousin who we were close to died.  I think a Pulmunary failure but I will miss Donna.  Then,  still reeling from that  our dear dear old friend from church that everyone call Grandma died.  This is a little much.  All but Donna was elderly and 2 had cancer but still.......its tough.

So maybe I will have the picture thingy fixed pretty soon. 

Blessings,

I know I have been gone for a while.  First just life gets in the way of things I want to do.  The dark days of winter are very difficult for me.  I find myself in a big slump that gets bigger as the dark days go on.  Now with 5 or 6 inches of snow on the ground its been worse.  However, we had some surprise sun today.  I did get outside for a bit.  That helps.

Secondly, while at the Yoga class I have been going to, I got suddenly very dizzy and fell flat on my face.  I think I might have passed out, I don't know but I know I could not move for a bit and my nose was bleeding like a faucet.  No one could have better friends than Lisa and Jen who got me up and out of the room.  Lisa went back and cleaned up the mess.  I was very embarrassed,   I did not go straight to the doctor and I should have.  When Bob forced me to go because I was vomiting one time after the other for 2 days.  I have a  concussion - surprise - but nothing is broken.  They gave me something for the nausea and that really helped.  Today is the first day I have not had to take it at any time.  I lost a few pounds not eating but I am sure it will come back. 

Tomorrow I lead the Bible Study and Bob won't turn me lose with the car so he will drive me.  Bless his heart.  We girls have a good time studying, crying, and laughing together. 

The picture is Rusty.  She wanted more carrots.  I took a handful of carrots for the rest of the horses and 2 big apples for my Princess Sage.  If I was all over from the thunking of my head I would have ridden her today.  But, Bob was not home and I think he might have gotten upset to come home and find me on her back.  Soon though, SOON.

I hope I can keep up better with this page.  Still am having trouble with picturess.  Need a grandson to come and spend the day.  Blessings.

Lea

 I sure do wish I could get the pictures off my camera.  It is so beautiful out.  Frozen fog heavy on the trees, fences and everywhere it seems.  It looks magical but of course it isn't.  We don't have any fog directly at our place but have.  Trees are breaking under the weight of it.  It is pretty though.

I just came in from playing with Sage for a bit and giving Rosie a treat.  Sage likes apples and Rosie will eat carrots.  They got one of each.  I need to catch Sage up and work with her but everything is still covered in ice or the ground frozen until it hurts their feet.  So until that lets up its an apple a day.  She loves them.

Bob has begun working with Rusty again.  AGAIN.  He needs to keep it up.  He wants to use her to pack this year.  She is short enough that it will be easy to load.  She and Rosie are about the same height and Rosie loves to pack.  Not as much as pulling a cart but she likes it if the lead horse is not going so fast that she has to trot all the time.  Pepper is a good one to lead off of.  He is pokey.

I went to Ellensburg on Saturday to a Washington State Horsemen board meeting.  It was a foggy drive but I really enjoy that group of equestrians.  Because I retired as a show steward this year, they presented me with a beautiful plaque.  I was so surprised and appreciated it lots.  It was good of them and I had no idea. 

I retired from being a steward because it was time to explore other things.  I liked it when I was doing it but it was time to move on.  I enjoy trail riding and enjoy the business part of WSH.  There are great people from all over the state involved.

I got hearing aids last week.  They may drive me nutty until I get used to them.  I have trouble getting them into my ear with the little doo dad that keeps them there in the right place.  I was surprised the batteries don't last as long as I thought.  I really needed them, more that I really thought.  I knew my hearing was getting dim but not as much as it tested.  Thank God for good insurance that paid for most of them. 

Hope I get a printer soon and can get pictures.  This is driving me nutty.

I am so much enjoying "my girls" that come to the Bible Study I am leading.  They are wonderful young women who want to study.  I love them all.