Too much for a Saturday!

Sat am, I got up early so that I could go ride before I had to be at work at 1pm. I'd uncovered the birds, fed the cat and let the dogs out. Got dressed, and as I was putting my shoes on, something catches my eye in the backyard...did I really see what I thought I saw?? Hmm...better go look what the dogs are sniffin at. As I walked into the yard, it occurs to me, that an anti-freeze jug had been threwn into the yard at my precious weiner dogs!!!!!(I will note, that it had minimal fluid in it). As soon as I was in eyesight, a man over the fence starts to berate me "your dogs are always barking at me! I can't go into my yard without getting barked at! They're a nuisance and we have laws about that! I should call the cops and have them taken away! etc, etc."  Now..I don't know who this dude is, cause I have never seen him at this house. I think that maybe he is a father, or father in law of the tenants. I have always enjoyed my neighbors and they have been helpful to me, mowing my lawn, taking out the garbage when I was sick, so I was very surprised at this reaction. So,  I calmly reply....."first off, my dogs are only out to go potty, they don't really like to be outside", "secondly, if you have a problem with my dogs, come talk to me, or call the police, don't be cruel and throw an anti-freeze jug into their yard"! "Furthermore, they are DOGS and bark, and run and play in their yard"....I flung the jug back in his direction...and then he said... "...you got lucky this time, next time it(the jug) might not be empty"!! .

GAME OVER....I called 911.

I would like to say, that the house behind mine, houses at least 7 dogs, which are often in the yard for long periods of time. They age from puppy to maybe 4-5 and then an ancient old fellow. Their fence is only about 100 feet behind mine, across the alley. When those dogs are out, and mine are out, they all seem to enjoy plenty of barking and running back and forth along their respective fence lines. It can get VERY loud back there. I tend to ignore it while mine are out there, as again...they are being DOGS..and they seem to enjoy seeing each other through the fences. I completely understand how a "non dog lover" could find this overwhelming and a total pain in the ass.

But...I have digressed...so the police arrive, 2 cars and the supervisor creeping through the alley. I calmly explain what has happened, and tell them my wish is NOT that he is arrested, merely "talked to" and so that there is a record of this occurence, should it happen again. They go to talk to him. They come back to me and report that the man states that he believes I intentionally let the dogs out when he is outside, and that he had a bad morning. The informed him that if they come back again for the same thing, he is going to jail. Crisis averted, justice prevails...right?? Perhaps, however I am now paranoid to let my dogs out without watching them.

Ok..so that is the first part of the morning. Now...I have moved on, am headed to my friends Mom's house, to pick up a garbage can that we need out at the barn. I get the can, and now I am headed south on Meridian towards 50, cause I still have to get to Orshelins'. ANd....I got pulled over for speeding. By whom?? Yep, one of the policeman that had been to my house earlier! He kindly let me go, encouraging me to "put the morning behind me" and pay better attention to my driving. What a doll!

Now it is almost 10:30, and I am on my way to Andover. Get out to the barn, let my horsey out, clean his stall, put his feed up, groom him up a bit and visit with him, and it's 12pm and I have to change, and jet to Halstead by 1pm to work! So work from 1-5 was tedious and I was tired, but am gettin through it. 5pm, I'm outta there! I have dinner plans at 6pm with my former stepson and his new wife. Fortunately they postpone til 7pm and I flop down for 15. My best friend Jenn calls. She wants to have an impromtu Girls' Night. ARE YOU KIdding me??? lol...I havn't been sleeping well, getting over a cold, had a crappy start to my day, and I had to be at work on Sunday at 9am. ....Of course I'll go out! lol...7pm rolls around, and I'm out the door again! Meet Brad and Angela at El Toro's and run into a gaggle of girlfriends whom I havn't seen in a bit. Frankly I was overwhelmed for a minute! I tell them all that Jenn is coming and the excited flurry begins...Jenn has't been up here to hang out for quite some time, and ironically we were all here in town! So after dinner...we went to the Iron Horse and had a ball!!!! Cutting up, being silly like old ladies do, and being glad we were all together! I left early and was very restrained in my drinking(and believe me, I wanted to cut loose and REALLY forget the day!).

SO...my day was a little crazy, but it ended really good and reminded me that no matter how bad a day can begin, friends can make all the difference in how that day ends!!!!

Much thanks to my VVBFFFE Jenn, Elizabeth, Maria(stroke the pony!), Ms. Kat, Capn' Marla, Felicia(The Fee), Annie, Robin, My Ron, and Randy for being so sweet to all of us. Hugs and kisses!!!!

Idiots that own horses....

I would like to prefice this by saying....I am not an expert. Remember..I'm the one who hung it up 20 yrs ago when I got hurt, instead of getting back on and sticking with it. HOWEVER.....I do a know a little bit about what is right and wrong, along with smart and ignorant.

I was flabergasted this afternoon, as I saw this woman hand walking her cute little, sorrel mare down my street(E 11th for my Newton friends).  I first saw her walking the horse west, down my street. Then a few hours I noticed she was walking east back down my street. I wasn't so much shocked that a horse was walking down my street, but this little mare was SOOO stocked up from stifle to hip on her right hind, I wanted to cry!!! Now, ironically she happened to be walking by while I was walking out to my car(to go play with horses in Andover), So you KNOW I had to say something. As she got closer, I saw that she had horribly cracked and panned out hooves and that her front legs were almost as bad as her rear. I will say that the mare was a good weight, and coat in decent bloom, and there didn't appear to be a speck of dust on her.

Me "Are you aware your mare is really off on her rear"?,
"Dipshit", "oh...well yeah...she's 30 yrs old."
Me "Why are you walking a 30 yr old mare with a stocked up hip, down the asphalt road"???
Dipshit "excuse me, are you an expert"?
Me "uuumm, I would say that my 30 yrs experience, and several years at competing in 3 day eventing, and other disciplines at Grand National level, breeding my own horses, and working for 2 large animal vets, DOES make me knowledgable" "and I certainly know enough NOT to walk a 30 yrd old mare, that is limping like that, down the DAMN street"!!
Dipshit "you never walked your horse down the street"??
Me "I have ridden a 5 yr old horse with special shoes in a parade for charity".
Dipshit "So you only ride down the street to show off"?
Me "isn't that what your doing"? "My question to you is, WHY are you walking on the asphalt? Why aren't you walking her on some turf"?
Dipshit "I'm hand walking her, to get the fluid in her joints moving, YOu gonna walk her? I don't want her standing in her stall all day with no exercise"
Me "I think that's great, get her on some damn turf" "why do you have a bareback pad on her if you are just hand walking her"?
Dipshit "I was taking pictures of her down the road. You think I don't take care of my horse, that I don't love her"??
Me "Noooo I didn't say that "Jayne", in fact I am sure you love your horse, I can tell she's well fed, and her coat is in good shape, I just think you should be walking her somewhere else"
Dipshit "How do you know me, you don't know me at all"??
Me "your name is stitched on your jacket"

I did ask where she boarded her horse, wouldn't tell me. I am pretty sure she is keeping the horse somewhere at the corner of 12th and Old Trail Rd.??

So you see how this went. She just didn't want to hear it. Truly a dipshit. How can you own a horse for 30 yrs(according to her, she has had this little mare since she was a foal), and NOT know, you don't walk a lame horse on pavement?! Some idiots should not own animals of ANY kind!!!! And although I am only a mile or so away from the suspected boarding location, that's a lonngg walk for an old mare!!! I told her I wished her the best, as she went fuming off, calling me bitch under her breath and such. Her poor little mare skittling on the pavement.

SO... a little prayer goes up, for a little sorrel mare tonight. and Grrr.... to Jayne.

Kindness shared between strangers....

So..while I was shopping today, a little boy(3 ish?)threw himself on the floor and would not get up or answer to his Mom. She was almost in tears. She also had a smaller little girl in a stroller. Clearly she had her hands full, and I suspected that since it was a little past lunchtime, SOMEONE was in need of a nap. She sheepishly mentioned that this was only their first stop and that she had more errands to run. I could tell she was dreading her day. As he lay on the floor, I bent down and started talking to him. My name is Beth..what's yours? Gage. Did you have a fun Thanksgiving? shook his head yes. His Mom thanked me. Did you eat lots of turkey?..yes. Did you have pie?..big grin. Then he finally got up and came over to me and showed me his new hat and sweater(even gave me a little whirl around look). He was a beautiful child, strawberry blonde curls and light blue eyes, with pink cheeks. I asked if he wanted to see himself in the mirror, he nodded yes(Mom gave me the nod also), then he took my hand and led us to the mirror. After admiring himself in the mirror, with my continual "coo-ing" of "what a big boy you are", "you sure are handsome", "you are being soooo good", etc., I sat on a chair close to where his Mom was shopping and I could see that she was teary eyed.

Gage continued to tell me all about his Thanksgivng. I asked where he had dinner and he told me "Nanna's house", "but just Papa was there". He climbed in my lap and put his little arms around me and clung to my neck, and I started to rock him. Now his Mom is sobbing, and she told me "My Mother passed away in February and this is our first family Holiday without her". Now, for the benefit of those who may be reading this and don't know me, my own Mother died in February 2010 and this was my "first" Holiday without her. Although I don't have children, I sure undertood the pain of missing your Mommy over the Holidays, more so than any other day in the year.

Of course by now, I am choked up and sobbing.  I never got his Mother's name, but we discussed how we plan to get through Christmas and agreed it will probably be harder than Thanksgiving. And all this time, little Gage is still sitting in my lap, hugging my neck and patting my face too. His Mom and I finally dried up. I sat for a little big longer, letting Gage hug on me and squeezing him back, and sneaking in a tickle here and there while his Mom shopped. Now he was laughing and being silly but well behaved. I finally stood up and said my good byes. I shook his little hand and told him I had fun with him.

As I walked out of the store empty handed(completely bailed on my shopping..lol), I heard a little voice say "Bye Beff"...I smiled and waved good bye again, then got in my truck and balled for a few minutes.

I'll never forget Gage and I will surely see him around town again with his Mom, but for now, this has left a profound feeling of "understanding", and kindness between myself and a complete stranger.

The Finger

So...a couple weeks ago, I noticed a bump on the pointer finger on my right hand. I just kind of ignored it as it wasn't being problematic. Sure I tried the ole home remedy using a pin and peroxide, but I didn't get anything out. Well, last Thursday I decided it was officially a problem. It was hurting and throbbing. My nailbed was inflamed and the whole fingertip was red, hot and inflamed. I went to Immediate Care. The Dr. there said, "Hmm, looks bad...I'm not comfortable opening that up due to the nerve and tendon structures. Start these antibiotics and see your doctor in the am". Friday am, my Dr. says "Hmm, looks bad...I'm not comfortable opening that up, you need to see the hand surgeon". That afternoon, Hand Surgeon says "Hmmm, that looks suspicious, we better open that up". I figured I would get a little numbing shot in my finger and away we'd go. OHHHh NOOOO.....I was put on a gurney and prepped down to my elbow. Passed out from the nerve block in my hand (they stuck a 4 inch, 20 gauge needle with 10cc of novacaine, in the palm of my hand between my pointer and middle fingers-HARROWING),....an hour later I had 2 incisions in my pointer finger; one with sutures, one without....and 2 days later, it still hurts like HELL!!! LOL!!! BTW...there was no infection, just kind of a pocket. The Surgeon seemed quite pleased about that.

Sadly they said no horse activites until the sutures come out....grrrrggrrrrr.....Just a bump in the road...I'll be back at it in no time!!

The Benefits of Equine Therapy

I am nearing the end of the first week of my new adventure of having horses in my life. I have worked with a variety of different personalites (there are 7 horses and a pony at Jenn's). And if variety is the spice of life, call me Spicey and slide me a margarita! "Kat" is the elderly matriarch of the herd. She is a slow, sweet and evidently bombproof, palomino. Next is "Son", he is in his teens and is a kind eyed, well muscled, beautifully marked light colored paint. "Wyatt" is around 10 (as I recall) with a blue eye, and is a flashy patterned red and white paint. He is approx 16.1 hands and the tallest of the herd. Ironically, my first horse "Shadow", was 16.3. Shadow was an appaloosa, throughbred cross. Twenty years ago, I rode English and was into Show Jumping, Hunter hack, 3 Day eventing and such. I needed a tall horse with a lot of leg. Now in my 40's, a short little 14.3 to 15.2 appeals..lol... I will talk about the rest of the herd as I get along working with them.

What is quite clear to me at this point, is that I am reallly getting back into the groove. I am having the best time! I was cleaning stalls today with a pink bandana on my face and Trey (Jenn's boyfriend) asked if I was gonna rob a bank after cleaning stalls...lol...Jenn is thrilled to have a "Barn Bitch"...lol...I feel good, I am tired at the end of the day, but surprisingly not too sore, and am sleeping really well.

And with regard to pain and such, I am planning to focus more on the "good ways" I feel, as opposed to dwelling on "how poorly" I feel. My friend Cooper told me "I love you, but, yeahhh....you always talk about how unwell you feel, and worrying about your next illness", "Beth, that is no way to live"! I love Coop for having the balls to say this to me. For stating the obvious, yet unnoticed, to me.

Praise the Lord and pass the amunition...I am SAVED!

Gonna Jump Right In!

So this is the first of what I hope to be many, many posts. Some interesting, funny, introspective, and at times mundane and boring. This happens to be a retrospective post. My Mother, "Max" passed away on 2-9-2010. I celebrated my 44th birthday 9-18-2010. My birthdate marked the "first" of " The Firsts". I have to admit, I was extremely, surprisingly so, down. I now see that I had been glum for a couple days prior to my bday, but chalked it up to the ole "curse" coming on. As much as I enjoy celebrating my birthday (this comes from my inner Princess), I found it hard to get excited about it at all. I thoroughly enjoyed my bday dinner, planned by my VERY best friend Jennifer. I had several offers to go out and "Do" something, but by 10:30pm I was in bed and crying myself to sleep...cause damnit...my Mommy was NOT there to celebrate with and that was just NOT ok. I realize that this is only the beginning of what appears to be a rough "thing" to go through as each milestone approaches, and necessary that I survive it. This will most definitely be discussed in my upcoming therapist appt.

On a good note; I have decided to seriously consider getting back into horses after over 15 yrs. Owning horses was truly a highlight in my life. I gave it up due to injury and cost. At the time I was a young, newly married woman who, wanting to please my asshole of a husband, hung it all up. I don't think this is just a whim, although the idea literally came to me as an "Oprah Light Bulb Moment". The thought of just grooming horses(I have a friend who has several to practice grooming/groundwork and such), has got my blood heating up...it has given me a plan, a goal. It is a somewhat short to long term plan and ultimate goal of ownership. It has been a long road to recovery from my Prize fight with Leukemia (the prize being my life)! I am still quite out of shape, and physically weak. I have discussed my plan with a few women who own horses, whom I value their opinions, and they agree, that my slow boat to the arena is a good one. I don't want to get as ambitious as to start showing again. I want to "get back to basics" on a sound horse, with a sound temperment and enjoy feeling the horse under me.

As this is a fledgling blog, there will be a separate post re; my Leukemia and such. It is important to ME, for YOU to understand what I have been through. I'm not just a blog, I am a person.

I hope all that read have a wonderful week! Peace out :0)