Wednesday, December 31, 2008

My New Year's Wish for you

Hi All, been exceptionally quiet here hasn't it? Not by choice, you know that is just not me!

My Internet connection has been on the fritz since Christmas day. You see when you live out here in BFE your choices are limited. I had dial up and it was painfully slow, DSL is nowhere near this locale, satellite is just to darn expensive for me to play so that leaves this air card thingy. It had been working well, not high speed but beat the crap out of dial up. Until......the past week, it sucks not being able to blog or worse than that, read your blogs. But, it appears I am back in action today at least.

Did get to go and visit Frankie on Saturday and he is progressing so well I cannot believe it. I did sneak a quick ride on him after Cory was finished and boy is he athletic, I mean the boy can collect up like no body's business. I think I could lope him in a tea cup! He was pretty winded so I did not push him much just wanted to see the difference from the last time I rode him which was before Thanksgiving.
I see great things for this boy!

I also got to see Harley and his new girl while I was there. Abby is doing a great job with him and I bet he is wishing he still lived here! She rides almost everyday and is one tough little gal. I gave her a sign that I made with Harley's name on it, she was so gracious you would have thought I gave her a gold bar.

I neglected to tell you that I was voted President of the Indiana Ranch Horse Assoc.
earlier this month and that is keeping me busy. I am securing facilities for our shows next year and working on show bills and budgets. Fun stuff! I am also cramming for my upcoming judges seminar and test in February for the American Ranch Horse Assoc. The convention is in Lexington Ky this year.

Before I leave you to tear down yet another Christmas tree, (I am on number 5) here are my New Year's Wishes for all of you:

1) Keep your saddle tight!











2) May you enjoy many a good rides and have fun!










3) May you always have good friends near!











Thanks for being my blog buddies this year and may you all have a happy and healthy 2009!

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Random stuff

Judging by reading some of your posts weather is affecting us all in some way or another. It has been crazy here, ice one day, then snow , then rain. Wednesday we were iced in, no school and the whole enchilada. We busied ourselves around the house as best as we could. The kids and I cleaned up and out the toy room. We managed to discard two bags of crappy or broken toys and get four bags to donate to school/goodwill. It felt good and I am teaching the fellas about sharing.

Little devil kitty "Annie" had plans of her own.....











Here she is sizing up the Christmas tree, ready for an all on attack.










And she just could not help herself. After destroying these ornaments she thought it best to climb the tree, all the way to the top. She is at the very active stage now and systematically destroying my house.

The next day the weather turned to rain and this was created in front of the horse barn.








Yep, a giant rut or trench or wash out. Whatever you call it, it just means more work for me.

But for the kids it means......FUN!









The weather actually was nice enough to play outside while Mom cleaned the barn.
That picture above was taken from inside the barn looking out. It actually reached 55 degrees that day! I could not resist letting them get trashed in the puddle
after being pent up for days in the house.












Tank enjoyed having his blanket off for the day. Him and Jane enjoyed the semi warmth even if there was no sun.












Today, Carson and I went to see Frankie. He is doing so well, Cory is really happy with his progress as well. Carson insisted on having a ride after Cory finished schooling him today. He loves , HIS new horse!










But, I must say the weather is moving in again and tonight we are supposed to get the coldest air of the season so far. We are still hoping for the white Christmas,
I mean if it is this cold shouldn't we at least get snow??

Happy trails.....

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Things I learned from a donkey named Jane

OK, I must fess up. I am in love with the donkey. She is the sweetest thing EVER!
I have never had a donkey, never known anyone with a donkey, don't know much about donkey's. Here is what I am learning.

Donkey's are like old soul's, they just are wise and calm.

Donkey's fur comes down their tail about six inches then the tail hair starts.

Donkey's like to talk.. Jane talks to me every time I approach it is sort of like the sound of wheezing under one's breath.

Donkey's teach patience... This morning I was in a rush as always, trying to get a million things done before the kidlets got out of school. I was leading Jane to the pasture hurriedly and when we approached the gate where it is churned up and hardened and ice covered she just stopped. She gave me the kind knowing eye as if to say, slow down it is slippery here. I of course gave her time to pick her way across the jagged ground then turned her loose. I needed that lesson. I need to slow down and chill out.

Donkey's teach tolerance... Even when I can't seem to get that halter over those enormous ears, Jane is tolerant. She stands there just gazing at me as if to say
"I know you are trying your best here and you will get it".

Donkey's teach me that it is OK to be different. Although she is small and furry and makes funny noises I have learned different can be a blessing.

Thank you Candy for allowing me to borrow Jane and for letting her teach me so much.
She is a true Christmas blessing.

Happy trails......

Monday, December 15, 2008

The busy bee

Yes that's me the busy bee. Only it is winter and bees don't hang out in this cold white stuff that is flying around here at my house.

I had all good intentions of getting back sooner but stuff just kept popping up.
I did the tree decorating at the car dealership and it went well, I forgot to bring the camera and sorry to tell ya I am not driving all the way back down there to snap a photo. The owners wanted a vintage kind of tree so I found some old fashioned bulbs and really cool old car ornaments to decorate it I even managed to borrow a hub cap from the service area for the tree topper. It came out cute.

The second part of the job was to decorate the owner's mother's house. When I arrived at a beautiful old stately house a small frail woman opened the door and stole my heart. Her name was Marge and she was quite lovely and so was her home.
She had the tree and all the trimmings, she just could not do it herself and apparently neither one of her children could find the time. How sad.....

I did spend a lovely morning with her putting up her tree and decorating just the way she wanted it. I felt like an impostor, I mean there I was putting up ornaments her kids had made her way back in elementary school. I tell you after having tea and cookies at Marge's insistence, I left and cried my eyes out all the way home.
I had such raw emotions from that experience. I really miss my Mom at the holidays and I guess the fact that they were to busy for her just made me sad. But... I am thankful that the Lord let me brighten her day and provide her with a nicely decorated tree.

OK, enough of that and onto horse news.

I went to see Frankie on Friday morning and I forgot the dang camera again. I guess I need to tie it to my neck these days. Anyway, Cory has taken over the training of Frankie as he says Mike is spoiling him. I got to the barn before Cory so I groomed him and discovered in fact he is spoiled. He would not pick up any of his feet for cleaning without me nudging the fetlock with my boot. This led to a training session of my own on how to pick up our feet and stand nicely. Cory rode him and he was very responsive, he is working on getting him in frame and coming back to his hand.
Cory calls this stage putting a face on them. He explained what and why he was doing what he was working on and I enjoyed watching. I will not ride him for about 30 more days, but I do not mind the weather stinks being so cold and all.

The next news I have followed that Friday afternoon. I told you Tank was lonely and depressed and off his feed slightly right? Well, he was and I had to do something about it. So...... our family has grown again, at least for the near future.

What did I do???

Well , I borrowed Jane...

Jane is well, she is .....

PRECIOUS











Yes! She is a donkey!

I borrowed her from a good friend and she is just adorable and my kids love her!

That is my Christmas card up there y'all . Seriously.

So Jane now joins our family until well, not sure I guess as long as we need her.

Happy trails..

Thursday, December 11, 2008

New profession?

Good morning all. Had a post in mind today but a early evening phone call changed my outlook today. I was gonna tell you all my winter woes and basically whine about how I hate winter, instead I will tell you what happened.

I was just sitting down to dinner with the family when my phone rang. Usually I would not answer but for some reason I did. It was an unfamiliar voice and I was almost sorry I answered, trying to instill some values on my kids here. But I digress.....

It seems someone from the home tour last week was impressed with my decorating abilities and told someone else which led them to tracking me down through the gal that organized the home tour. You still with me on that? Anyway, this gal wanted to know if I was interested in decorating some businesses and a home for $$$$MONEY!

Now I don't know about you but some extra cash around here is always welcome, I do have that horse in training and it is Christmas time. So without to many other details other than where to start I agreed to do it TODAY! Yes, I had my day all planned out , but duty calls and since the kids get out of school at 10:45 I must work quickly.

So much for my lesson this morning, sigh...... will have to try for tomorrow.
Hang in there Frankie, mom is coming to see you soon!

Off to put on my elves suit and ears!
Happy trails....

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Catching you up

OK, I should be doing something productive around here like finishing signs or doing the never ending laundry, but thought I would catch you guys up.

I neglected to mention to you that we have a new member of our "family"

I would like you to meet "Annie"









Annie is an orphan around 6 weeks now, we found her in my very back barn on the property. Hubby went out around the 1st week of November and found her on the ground cold and crying, her eyes barely open. I climbed up in the loft cautiously since it is mostly rotten wood and lots of debris and found her siblings (3). She had fallen through a hole in the floor down to the lower level, some 10 feet onto concrete. She seemed OK, so I nestled her amongst her siblings and left them.
I watched each day and saw the mother cat come and go to the barn, I checked the babies once each week to make sure they were well. After two weeks, the farmers
combined the corn next to the barn and I did not see mommy cat, I began to worry .
The next day I heard meowing from the barn while I was cleaning stalls. I went to investigate and found only Annie crying her eyes out, the rest were gone. I left her there thinking the mom may be moving them. After an hour passed and she was still crying I went and rescued her we bottle fed her and now she is drinking from a bowl. Not sure what happened to the rest of them......

Getting on to the house tour, I am working on the video and these stills will have to hold you for now.



















This is the tree in the living room, it was every one's favorite. Yes it was 9 feet tall and big!

Here is a close up shot of the decorations.





























Here is another tree in the dining room










It has white magnolias and gold snowflakes on it.







Now a shot of the mantle



That is a preview of some of the house and just meant to tide you over, more to follow.









On horse news, Tank is depressed and lonely but I have found a solution. A gracious friend is loaning me her donkey mare "Jane" to keep him company until Frankie comes home in the spring. Travel arrangements are being made and I will keep you posted.
Should be interesting I have never dealt with donkeys. She is 15 or so and a real sweetheart, a standard donkey not a mini. Of course we will take pictures and share when she arrives.

Well, off to the workshop for a few hours until I get to cold out there .....32 and snizzling right now. (That is snow /drizzle for those of you in the warm climates)

Happy trails.....

Monday, December 8, 2008

We have a Winner!!!

Hi All, sorry it took me so long to get back with the winner of the contest.
Busy weekend with the home tour (yes I have pictures!) and then the ranch horse show.

Thank you all for playing along and having some fun with me.

The winner is ........

imagine a drum roll....

K at All Horse Stuff! I am awarding an honorary second place to Jamie at Seatbelt for my saddle. These gals really did their research and discovered the clues in my older posts.

So ladies for all you hard efforts I am awarding you the ultimate cowgirl goodie basket! Please email me your addresses at Imaslider2@yahoo.com and I will get those babies in the mail to you in time for Christmas!

In other news I am still behind here with being gone all weekend and am diligently working on sign orders so everyone will have them in time for Christmas presents.
Called Mike and should.... cross our fingers have a lesson on Frankie later this week. Will be back soon with pictures and such.

Happy trails....

Friday, December 5, 2008

Catching up on the MEME

OK , so Jamie at seat belt for my saddle had tagged me for a meme last week and I am finally getting to it. It is a fun game of tag to tell you six things about me you may not know. hmmmmn...... You all know all there is or so it seems.. I will have to dig deep here.

I am supposed to tag more people but I don't have time for stinking rules right now.
So all of you feel free to be tagged and post six things about you that I may not know.

Let's give it a go:

1. I am the person always walking the wrong direction in traffic, like at the mall.
I refuse to be "one" of the masses. I AM Different!

2. I had never had professional riding lessons until I bought Harley, just sort
got on and rode.

3. I tend to not be able to tell people NO, I have this need to please everyone.

4. I LOVE to bake, the holidays are fun because I have an excuse to make yummies
all day long.

5. I am in the process (a long one) of writing a book on my not so ordinary life.

6. I have an inherent fear of ICE, don't know why just hate walking out on frozen
water or anything of the like's.

Well that is the best my sleep deprived brain can do this morning. Hope you learned a few things you did not know.

Onto other business, the home tour for the owner's went well last night and now we just have this evening. It is scheduled for 6 - 9 pm and costs folks $10 for the tour of 6 houses, the proceeds go to a local historical museum here in Hope. I will try to video tonight and see if we can get it to post here on blogger.

As for the contest:

You guys are so......close. All horse stuff is the closest! Yes I ride a Western saddle but which style?? There is a post on it back there. Making you work I know but it will be worth it , I promise!

OK off to bake the last of the cookies for tonight's refreshments!

Happy trails....<

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Contest update

Oh you guys are good! NO one got it quite right just yet. PG you are close as well as Missy. The answers are in the past blog entries if you care to search.

Just a quick update before I start showing the house to the folks whose houses are also on the tour tomorrow. I have spent the day cleaning and arranging and picking up after my kids again..and again...

I am going to try and make a video of the house for you guys to see but I am challenged at this techno stuff. Wish me luck! See you tomorrow.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Cowgirl Christmas Contest

As I was frantically cleaning the upstairs rooms in prep for the home tour this morning I had an idea: A Christmas Contest for my blogger friends.
So now, in between batches of baking cookies for the refreshment part of the tour I am running in here and blogging a few lines at a time. Here is how the game will work:

A simple game (like me) where you answer some questions about me and whoever gets the most right gets a wonderful basket of goodies from ME! It should be easy for you since I am such an open book and share absolutely everything here in my blog.
If you get stumped read back through some old posts and you will find the answers.

I know there are several lurkers, (like me) who read my blog but never post.
Here is your chance to let me see who you are.

Ready?

Here we go:

1. How many horses have I had in my life? (hint between 1-20)

2. How many siblings do I have?

3. What style saddle do I ride? (i.e. roping, trail etc.)

4. Where was my one week riding trip to this past year?

5. Finally, what is my new horse's barn name?

Good luck everyone, contest ends Friday night at 9pm EST!

Happy trails...

Monday, December 1, 2008

Welcome back.....smack....into winter

I'm home.........

After driving more than 26 hours with all the crazies we made it!

Guess what? It is snowing like mad! So much for sunny and 80, I miss Florida!!

Today I went and fetched dear Tank from the babysitters house, oh yeah I meant to tell you guys it looks like he won't be leaving me after all. His trip South just isn't in the cards this winter. He is lonely here and wondering where Harley is.
I managed to get the trough de iced and filled and got the heater working so he has nice warm water when he is out. Not today, it was snowing and blowing and just plain gross.

I did manage to get most of the mountain of laundry done and got that last Christmas tree purchased and in the stand tonight. That makes 5 and I am not putting one more up! I really have to bust bootie this week and finish the decorating for the home tour which is Friday although the other home owners are having thier tour on Thursday. I have a million pictures to share with you when I get around to downloading them.

Haven't seen Frankie and am anxious to get riding him although this stinking cold weather does not motivate me to go outside much. Besides Mike and Cory are at the NRHA futurity until next weekend. I am working the ranch horse show this weekend anyway so busy I am. Wish me luck this week playing get it all done.

Jamie I will get to that MEME soon! thanks for the tag.

Happy trails....

Friday, November 28, 2008

Happiness Is.........

Hi all, still on the road..... now we are in sunny Miami, Florida.

Happiness Is.....

Sun instead of Snow (which it is doing at my house right now)

Having my family together for Thanksgiving dinner!

Watching my kids play with my brother in the pool last evening

Not having to cook a damn thing in over a week!

Not having to do the dishes!

High speed internet at this hotel! (it rocks!)

Reading all your blogs and smiling

Warm sticky cinnimon buns here at the holiday inn express

80 degree weather in the middle of November (why did I move away?)

The ability to share my life and travels with all of you!

Stay safe and wish us luck traveling home tomorrow, it is supposed to snow from Ky northward. I will be back soon with travel pictures!

Sunday, November 23, 2008

hey from the road

I am able to post tonight thanks to my father in-laws computer but must keep it short.

We are here in Florida and it is warm at least compared to what it is at home. Sunny and 70 here today. The kidlets are mad we can't swim in the ocean but maybe toward the middle of the week. It is stressful here but thanks to mass quantities of rum I am surviving.

I got a call from Mike yesterday and Harley sold. The young lady of fourteen bought him. Her name is Abby. She is going to keep him at the Craig's through winter and let Cory put some more training on him. I am so pleased that she bought him I think it will be a good fit. I stopped and saw Frankie on the way out of town on Friday, mostly to let Carson meet him. Frankie was having breakfast when we came in the barn but came right over and sniffed Carson's head and checked him out. Carson said he was strange looking but seemed happy that he took such an interest in him.

Just three more nights of semi hell and then I am Miami bound to see my family.
I am sure that is going to be a little stressful as well but I am missing them.

I will try to check in as often as I can and read what you are all up to, for now
I leave you with a big sunny hug!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Got that lovin feeling

Whoops, I meant to post this in my last post so as not to be thought an ingrate.

My lovely southern friend ,Mrs Mom down yonder at Oh Horse Feathers bestowed upon me this wonderful award



Mrs Mom you are a gem! Thank you, Thank you , Thank you! Your friendship means alot to me. Nice to feel loved!

Girl in a whirlwind

Where has this week gone?? I know where it has gone, out the window. I am truly a girl in a whirlwind right now. It started last Friday evening when hubby returned from the road and pronounced "We are going to Florida for Thanksgiving". What????
We decided no Florida trip this year , remember?? Sigh.....

For those of you who don't know, that is my hometown. Both of our families all live there. It has been a year since I have seen any of my siblings. We did see hub's family in July on that fabulous cruise. So, although I am rushed I am looking forward to seeing sisters and brothers for the holiday.

But, I made a promise to the local historical museum that I would put our house on the Christmas home tour this year. It is to be done on the 5th of December. We are leaving tomorrow and will not return until the 30th. Yes, that is rushing. So this week I have been the decorating diva. I have four of the five trees up and decorated and all the outside stuff is up also. I am sitting pretty well. Still I am stressed.

On top of this I volunteered to make the patterns for our next ranch horse show which is December 6-7 . Yep it is going to be a real busy weekend. I did the showmanship, horsemanship and trail patterns for the show. I need the practice if I hope to get that judge's card in February.

Mike called and both people who tried Harley last weekend are coming again on Saturday to see him again. Hopefully he will make a good impression on one of them.
I haven't been to see Frankie but Mike reports he is coming along good. Tiffany snapped some pictures last weekend while we were there and unfortunately did not have a big enough flash for the indoor so most are to dark to see. Here is a head shot of him though.






Turns out his eyes are blue after all not green as I thought.


I will try to blog from the road but who knows what the trip will hold? I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.

Happy trails....

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

On to the next big thing

I survived. It wasn't all that bad to tell you the truth. Except for the weather, it was 40 and raining/snowing windy and down right disgusting. Harley traveled well all bundled up in his hood and blanket, the people probably thought he was a pampered show horse. There were actually two people there to try him. The first was a young lady of 14 years of age that rode him positively wonderfully. Mike had Frankie tied up waiting for me, he was covered in mud! Just a little preview of what life was to be for me and keeping him clean. Cory had great fun telling me "who in their right mind would buy a white horse." all in jest of course. I reminded him that Frankie is NOT white, but a beautiful creme or pearl color. I also told him I could not wait to bathe him and discover truly what color he really is! The young lady riding Harley was just aglow in the arena. When I entered riding Frankie she remarked at how fast Harley was and how sensitive his ques were. She then told me she had to pound on her horse to get him to go. I thought they looked marvelous together and I sincerely hope she buys him. The other buyer was a middle aged man, rather quiet and reserved, he did not ride Harley but watched the girl. He asked me some questions about Harley and that was that. I was surprised later when Mike told me he really liked Harley.

Mike rode Frankie after I did and it was then that I could see all the progress he had made in just two weeks. I was riding him rather timid and Mike was really getting him to do so much more than me. Mike said it was all normal and that it was going to take me awhile to adjust to a new horse again. Sigh..... believe it or not this is my least favorite part. I am impatient in nature and I really do not relish the starting over part. Frankie is a good sport though and I truly enjoy riding him he is such a peach. Don't we look happy?








You can see from these photos how nice and dirty he is. A bath will have to wait since the weather has turned suddenly winter here and I do not want to risk getting him a chill. I guess spring will bring a new horse again when he is clean. Check out those horrendously muddy legs!




Thanks for all your sweet comments on the goodbye with Harley. I feel good in my decision and I think it is probably best for all of us. For now I am on to the next big thing...... Frankie.. and boy you should see me struggle to climb on up there!

Friday, November 14, 2008

The long goodbye

Well, the day has come for the goodbye. Tomorrow I will load Harley for the last time and say my goodbye's. I am taking him to the Craig's barn tomorrow for the official swap. They have some folks coming to try him tomorrow and more later this week if tomorrow guy doesn't take him. My feelings are mixed of course. Today a rainy and dreary day set the mood. He was his usual little scampish self doing his best to aggravate me. Some things I will miss about the little devil; his baby style whinny whenever he hears or sees me, the neatness he keeps his stall, that beautiful long black mane. Things I will not miss; lunging at my kids, being a pain in the ass to catch most days. I hope someone gets him and takes him all the way, I know he is a great little horse with a great future ahead. I learned a lot from this little guy in the two years I owned him. He was/is probably the most athletic and talented horse I have owned as of yet. Good friend Tiffany is riding with me tomorrow for support, yeah right she just wants to see and ride Frankie! Yes it is gonna be a long goodbye........

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Let's make a deal

I'm back! Actually I got back Monday night but yesterday I just could not get out of my own way to post. I have lots to tell you and some pictures to show you if I ever get them downloaded to my computer. Am I that busy? No, just in the dumps....
Still....... no particular reason just lots of little annoyances and such.

The North American expo was fun. There was plenty to look at and the kids had a blast. I am sorry to report that I did not buy one stinking thing. What? I know, I know I let you all down. Really I couldn't find a hat I liked or a belt that would do either and those are the two things I really wanted. Hubby made up for my loss, he bought a new pair of boots, cell phone holster, socks and toys for the kiddos.

I did get to watch Corey ride and some of the non pro friends from his barn compete also. Corey won the open class on a client's paint horse and looked beautiful doing it. Someday......sigh.

Enough of that I know the news you are all waiting for.......

Frankie!

Here is my let's make a deal proposal to Mike the other day.
"I really like Frankie but am concerned about him not being finished, how long do you estimate before he is finished" Mike replies "He is about 120 days from finished." Well then I propose " I am willing to trade Harley for Frankie and the 120 days training to finish him". Mike pauses a long moment and says " I will propose it to his owners and see what we come up with."

Two long days later........
Mike calls and says "His owners are willing to do the trade, but only half the training time." This meaning they will pay thru the end of the year on Frankie than it is my bill. After much thinking and consideration to the horse market right now and the aggravation factor of selling a horse I decided it was a good plan.

So folks, YES the Frankie boy is mine! We haven't worked out when Harley will go down to Mike and Cory's but Frankie will stay until March. They have a few different leads for Harley so hopefully he will find someone fit for him soon.
Thus my news for the day... I am crawling back in my hole for awhile wake me when winter is over!

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Gone

Here I am walking around my house way..... to early this am. My kids are up before the dawn or even the crack of it. They are excited. We are leaving today to go to the North American Expo and Horse Show. A big quarter horse show and shopping venue in Louisville. They think it is another horse show I am sure, which means to them camping and friends and running amuck. Sigh..... they will be disappointed when we get there.

Not me, I am going shopping! Well, actually I don't need anything but hubby does need a new pair of boots. Me, a new straw hat with stampede string is about all I really need. But..... let's just see what I can find.

Really I am going mostly to watch Cory show. Monday he is showing two open horses and one of the non pro's in his barn that I ride with sometimes is showing her new horse as well.

The weather has turned cold and I guess winter is officially arriving. The horses will get their pajamas on before I leave and the feeder stuffed with hay.

I have news on the Frankie front, but..... you will have to wait until Tuesday for that post.

Happy trails.......

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Dream land

How many of you believe your dreams hold clues to the future? I am I know a sort of different type of person. I believe strongly in my "gut" feelings and I can read people better than most. I have what most my friends call a "spidey sense", I just seem to know when things are not quite right with someone or something. Intuition?
Who knows, I do not ponder it that much, it just is .......

My dreams, well they sometimes frighten me with the truths they hold. I sometimes dream the same thing for days in a row and then it happens. This has happened my whole life. I used to frequent a woman who read your Aura, she was amazing and some might call it quackery but it truly helped me with loads of baggage from my childhood. She felt that I had the gift also. I am not pursuing it , I just know that I have another sense as I call it.

My Mom has been gone for twenty years now, but she still frequents my dreams every week. The dreams with her in them are especially special since I feel like she is guiding me in her own way. For the past three nights I have dreamed and she has been in each one. Last night she came to me riding Frankie! She is always in white when I dream about her and to see her riding this cream horse was strange. We had a conversation about Frankie and she loved him. Not sure if this is my sub conscious playing tricks on me or what.

This morning I pitched an offer to Mike on Frankie and we shall see if it flys.
If it is meant to be than so be it.

I appreciate all your insights and thoughts on this subject and quite frankly I went with my heart last time with Harley and well we know the results. This time I am trying to be more practical and think long term for my family. Who knows maybe if my kids rock out on him I will find another "one" for me. Meanwhile nothing wrong with a well broke nice gelding around here.

Will keep ya posted!

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Back on track

I am back, and back on track....well mostly. I still have the head cold and all the lovely stuff that goes along with it, coughing, runny nose and well you know the drill. I survived the teacher conference for my kindergartner without strangling the teacher or losing my cool. I really don't think it will help though, there are just too many kids in one class (21). Really not to many other options for us either, the private schools are way across town and rather expensive, I would spend my days driving about 22 miles each way to drop him off and pick him back up. Sigh....

I went down to the Craig's again yesterday afternoon and tried "Frankie" the Perlino again and another sorrel mare. YES~ I did remember the camera. I only got pictures of Frankie in the pasture not under saddle but it will give you the general idea.

You ready?

Here he is.......














Go ahead and give me your honest first thoughts. Does his color freak you out or catch your interest?



I took Harley down there with me yesterday and had a small lesson on him as well.
He was his usual fired up self. Mike brought out Frankie and rode him a piece, outside. It was a very pleasant and warm sunny day and I wanted to see how Frankie did outside. He did squint somewhat in the sun but it really did not seem to affect him in anyway. I rode him for about a half hour and he was great. I was laughing so much because he is so sensitive that when I would clear my throat or cough he would stop. I guess he could feel my stomach muscles tighten each time I coughed and he took it as the cue to stop. So nice to ride such a tuned machine, but really different from Harley. He stands 15.1 so the whole stride and movement is strange to me. He really drives from the rear also which is great but makes me feel like I am sort of riding a marsh mellow. I felt like I was all over the place but several riders out there commented on how much fun he looked like to ride and that I looked great on him. I took him out back to a small patch of woods and he left the other horses with no problem and just walked along happily. Can't really find a dent in him.

Mike brought out another little mare for me to try , she is very well bred and six years old. She is actually a hare smaller than Harley and very cute in the face. She has had 6 mos cutting training around 2 years ago. I noticed immediately that she is a timid mare when you approach her. Almost fear in her eyes as I talked to her and stroked her face. She rode nicely, great spins and very comfortable. She has a big motor, but... she came right back to my hand and was very controllable.
I bet she is quick on a cow. Her stops were not great and the lead change one direction is sloppy. I only tell you all this because the price on her is $6500.
and when I see that I am thinking I should be able to go show now at that price.
Her major flaw? Oh yes there is usually one in all of them. She is horrible for the farrier, in fact it was put to me as this "she is a bitch to shoe". When I inquired further I was told she needed to be drugged or laid down to shoe! Now I have a great farrier, but he is absolutely not tolerant of that nonsense and rightfully so. Mrs. Mom can she be fixed? I'm told she was not always this way only since this last owner. She kicks and snatches her leg away and scoots or whatever she has to do to get away. Sounds like someone put her rear leg in a cradle and scared the be jeez out of her and now she has figured out how to get away with it. I am thinking if she figured this out, what is to stop her from kicking out at my boys or something. Like her but....... don't think so.

Here are some pictures of her.













And so the search continues....

Haven't ruled out Frankie just not sure since he really still needs another 120 days to finish him.

Here is the thing also. I really like my horse to have a little "fire" however, I just want it to be a controlled fire not wide spread. I just do not know if I would be happy with such a quiet fellow. But, he would probably make the perfect mount for me to learn lots of maneuvers on quietly and correctly first and he is safe for my kids. Such decisions......

Stay tuned and as always your thoughts welcome!

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

A day in the life...

Sorry, been absent and left you hanging again.....I know. I have been in one of my funk's this week. No special reason just one of those times I battle every once and a while. I have a head cold that dear hubby brought home from the road and that is not helping matters much. The weather has been unseasonably warm and should help right???

I am having some issues with my son Carson's kindergarten teacher and have to have the conference tomorrow about it. He came home crying telling me what a bad day he had last week. After much prying it is because he doesn't finish his work fast enough. Pissed me off! I mean come on, he is five! Tried to let it calm a bit before I go in guns a blazing.... don't think it has settled with me. I know he is a bit slow but I mean we are talking Kindergarten folks. It is not Okay for a child to come home crying for any reason.

Today Harley discovered that the electric fence is not working and pushed on it and snapped a fence post and made more work for me tomorrow. My fault I know but dang I just can't seem to get caught up.

I called Mike at the Craig's and asked when I could come try the horses again. The paint mare is sold already. I am going tomorrow afternoon to ride "Frankie" again, he is the Perlino. I talked to my vet about any known issues with sun burn or cancer or eye site with the color and he said it is all myth. In fact they are really just a double dilute gene, sort of a buckskin without the black. It made me feel somewhat better and I decided that it is definitely worth another ride. I am taking the Harley man to ride also and let Mike ride him as well. Something to look forward to.....

I WILL take the camera this time and snap some photos of "Frankie" for you. Interestingly enough his owner calls him that because of his blue eyes which reminded her of Frank Sinatra. They looked green to me, but I will check again tomorrow. Wish me luck.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Horse trials

I am back in the horse hunt again. Tonight I went down to the Craig's and tried two horses out. The first was a paint mare that was 6 years old and had cutting training. She just weaned her first foal about 6 weeks ago. She was a nice looking mare around 15.1 and a red and white tobiano. Sorry I forgot the camera. She was obviously well trained just a bit rusty from having a year off. She was extremely gentle and well mannered. She just didn't make me go wow!

The second horse was a 3 year old perlino gelding AQHA. I know, I know 3??
Well let me tell you, he was as gentle and broke a 3 year old that I every saw.
Mike rode him bridle less around the arena. At first I was not crazy about his looks, then when I saddled him he looked kinda flashy. He was very sweet and wanted to crawl in my pocket. He moves beautiful! I rode him for awhile and though he is not "finished" he was very responsive and calm! His lope is to die for.
Just not sure about the color.

Is that silly? I mean a good horse is a good horse right?

He has greenish eyes as well.

I decided that I would go back next week and ride them both again although I think I have ruled out the mare. She is priced at 6 and the gelding at 3. Gonna take some time with this and do some more looking around.

As for Harley, yes I am going to disclose his aggressive stall behavior to potential buyers. No way do I want any bad karma or anything on my conscience if he should hurt someone or their kid. Mike thinks he has a guy interested in trying him as a heel horse. That would probably suit the little firecracker.

Will keep ya posted.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Here we go again....

I'm torn.....

I feel as if I am on this crazy roller coaster ride from hell with Harley. One minute I am enjoying the ride and the next I just want to puke! You all know the saga of Harley, keep him, sell him, keep him etc etc.

Well, I know we have made tremendous progress this year and I have learned so much from this crazy little horse that it even impresses me. He is going quite well and we are placing in every class. I can honestly say he is just getting better and better each show. Except....... oh yeah, there is always the except part.

He is stall aggressive. Yes, a charging gnashing monster to put it mildly. He has never been aggressive with me but he has charged my kids more times than I care to admit and this weekend he was charging folks at the show. How embarrassing.
I was saddling him for the lead line class and Thank the Lord Jesus I had him tied because when my son walked in the open stall door he lunged at him again.....
I lashed out at him and called him some really colorful names at that moment. I was unaware that the President of the national organization was in the stall behind me.
Talk about double embarrassment.....
I explained the situation and apologized for my truck driver expletives at once.
He was gracious and told me he understood.

I really don't get it, he is fine in the field, on the cross ties anywhere else but the dang stall. I know his past and it is not an abuse issue, maybe territorial but why not with me and other adults?

I have had it, I had nightmares about it last night. I cannot take the chance he may hurt one of my kids. He is officially up for sale.

Carson is showing such interest in horses now that I really want to get a well broke safe one he can learn to ride on. I am going to the Craig's tomorrow evening to try two horses. I found a mare that fits the bill perfectly, but they really cannot trade with me. Since Harley is most of what I have to spend it either has to be a trade situation or sell him first.

Not an easy decision but I think it is the best one.
Sigh......
Here we go again.....

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Back from the show

I survived another show... somehow. I have come to the conclusion that I wear too many hats. Between showing a horse, helping run the office and putting out fires all over it is exhausting.

We left Friday just after noon in the rain and cold. Poor Harley looked like the abominable snow horse in all his hoods and blankets. I had to bundle him up as it was 39 degrees and raining and the trailer is open at the top. It did stop raining about 20 minutes from the showgrounds. We found the facility with no problems, you can check it out here . We were greeted by the owner of the facility and told where to park, not something I am used to. Upon entering the building (it is an all enclosed facility) I found a very unhappy president of our association. She informed me that the owners were trying to not honor the contract we had with them and were trying to charge differently for stalls and camping. After settling Harley in his stall and nominally setting up camp I went in search of said owner with a copy of the contract in hand. After a session of posturing and trying to intimidate me (which did not work!) we came to an agreement which suited me. Still, it left a bad taste in my mouth. I mean if people cannot honor their word or in this case contract, do we really want to do business with them? It all did work out fine in the end.....

Friday night we did the costume contest and the kids and I were pirates. Hubby did snap a few shots before my camera crapped out on us. Here is one of me and the kiddos plus Betty dog.












We did not have too many people participate which is a bummer but the kids had a ball and me well I won the mounted costume contest with this get up.











Here is a shot of some of my other friends, Wendy from the Wendy's restaurant
Dorothy and the wicked witch , me and pirate Harley and the headless horseman.











After being judged on our costumes we participated in bobbing for apples and the streamer race. I had the darnedest time getting an apple, even with my big mouth!
Harley did not appreciate the streamer race either so we bombed. The premise is to get another rider and you hold one end and the other rider holds the other and you travel together down the arena around a barrel without breaking the streamer.
Much fun anyway!

My favorite costume of the evening was the smallest Chihuahua I have ever seen wearing a saddle with a man riding him. This is the best pic hubby got of him.










My oldest son Carson got brave and did show Harley in lead line for the first time ever. He got a rainbow ribbon and was so proud that he wore it all day on his jacket and even slept with it that night. Too cute!
I did show in five classes and placed in all around the middle of the road. Not our best effort but certainly not the worst. Harley was amped up as usual and hard to rate. Sunday I just helped in the office and hung out to watch some of the cattle classes. All in all a great weekend, we had a nice turnout with around 111 horses from 5 states. A nice facility and looking forward to the next show in December.
For now I am catching up around here and on the mountain of laundry we created this weekend. Going to the Craig's this weekend to work Harley on a mechanical cow and to try a horse again. I know, I just can't leave it alone. Never hurts to ride just one more.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Friday ....already

Hey kids, I cannot believe how the week has flown and that it is Friday already.
I am just finishing up the packing of the trailer for the ranch horse show this weekend. I am leaving at noon today. Getting to the show early because we have fun classes tonight at 7 and since it is an all enclosed facility I want to ride Harley around in there some before the show. Tonight we are having a costume contest, a mounted costume contest that is.....
The whole family is dressing up like pirates! Including Harley and Betty the dog.
I hope that hubby will be kind enough to take photos of this event so I can share it with you on my return. We also are bobbing for apples, catalog race and the streamer race. We are having a best decorated stall contest as well.

I decided I am going to show the "bean" my pet name for Harley. The judges really like his type of look and I am so close to getting ROM (range of merit) in several classes that I should just do it.

The weather is absolutely horrendous today. Raining like mad and 40's. Glad this facility is all indoors, including the stalls. Unfortunately I will have to run outdoors to get to my trailer.

Hope you all have great weekends and I will have lots to share with you next week.
Until then....
Happy trails.......

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Ghosting it forward

So my fellow sometimes cantankerous southern friend,Mrs Mom down yonder at Oh Horse Feathers has tagged me for a game of
Ghosting It Forward
. I liked this idea as we all could use a little fun in our day to day lives. The rules are:



1) Have a Ghostly Image to pass along

2) Tag three people on your blog, with links to their blogs. Tell about what great folks they are, or offer to send them a Ghostly Treat.

3) Include a link to Ghosting It Forward in your blog.


So here is my ghostly pic:



















This is a photo of my bank barn, the horses live underneath in the concrete part.
See the window in the upper part? Sometimes in the early morning when I am walking down to feed the horses and I look up at that window it is almost as if someone is watching me. This is impossible since the window is about 15 feet up in the air and I know there is no one there. Still gets me sometimes.

So here are my three picks for ghosting it forward:


Gecko musings
This gal makes me smile with her stories of the cattle on her ranch. She also has some awesome pictures she posts.

Seat belt for my saddle
Jamie girl, you love to trail ride as much as me and really share your life with us in your blog. She is also starting to show her beautiful horse Rio and doing a fine job at that!

Pony girl rides again
This west coast girl always has an interesting blog to read. Her style of writing is just beautiful and I love to read about her pony cousins and their adventures.

Now if you ladies would like to share with me your address, I will indeed send you a little gift! Email me at Imaslider2@yahoo.com.

So there you have it folks let the fun continue!
Happy trails....

Monday, October 20, 2008

Weekend at the fall gathering

Hi all, I am hoping you all had a great weekend like I did! My family and horse family went to a fall gathering with my ranch horse club in Springville, Indiana.
It was a short 1 1/2 hour trip for us for a change. The gathering was held at the Bar P ranch, a lovely ranch consisting of about 400 acres and owned by two lovely older folks Charlie and Esther Parton. This was the second year for the gathering, I missed last year because I was at the Quarter Horse Congress shopping! The weather was beautiful, sunny and high in the 60's. The gathering was lightly attended and that was sort of a bummer, but on the other hand it gave me lots of opportunity to play in the cattle! Let me give you a run down on the weekend:

Friday: Finish packing horse trailer with all the gear and goodies. Best Friend in the world Susan arrives with daughter Eliza. We have fabulous dinner prepared by my hubby as pack of now 3 children proceed to make as much noise as possible. We reminisce over mojitos (my new drink of choice).

Saturday: After another yummy meal made by hubby and gathering up the kids and dogs (Susan brought her two plus my jack russell) we loaded Harley and Tank and we were on our way at 9 am. The trip was lovely through the rolling hills with the fall colors at mid peak. We found the ranch without problem and quickly got the horses tucked into their stalls while we set up camp. Everyone was heading out to gather cattle, we didn't make that trip as the kiddos were growing hungry by then. Esther has a little restaurant there on the ranch and folks come from miles around to eat her homemade yummies! After lunch we saddled up the horses and Harley gave me the best buck of his life, made me ride the horn and all. I was expecting it as I have been slacking on the riding lately. The footing was deep and it did not take long for him to settle down and get working nice. We brought around 15 head into the indoor arena and took turns cutting them. Harley was not as timid this time when entering the herd, helps that these were normal sized cattle. My BF Susan was kind enough to take some pictures of us working cows. Here is a shot of us.
















Harley did really well on these cows, they were slow and gentle which gave me time to properly make the maneuvers without getting in a hurry. Fellow club member Sheila was very helpful in coaching me through the runs and had some great exercises for me to work on at home with Harley.


I love this next picture, he is so intent on watching the cow that you cannot see in front of him.














Before we knew it the dinner bell was ringing, I love that Esther has the old iron triangle and she rings it when dinner is served. We all cleaned up and went in for a wonderful dinner of meatloaf, homemade chicken and noodles, mashed potatoes, green beans and rolls. Ugh, I think I gained 10lbs this weekend! After dinner we saddled up and rode out into the pasture to map out the ranch horse challenge course. It was my "baby" sorta like the extreme cowboy race, just not so extreme. The property was just perfect for this sort of competition. I found exactly what I needed just behind the barn and that way everyone could watch the riders compete. We rode until dusk and then we all made a campfire and had marsh mellows with the kiddos and just socialized and talked horse. It got cold and we all headed off to bed.

Sunday: I awoke to a very cold morning with frost and ice on everything. It was 30 degrees!!! Egads! not how I like waking up. Not to fear Esther had a nice hot breakfast of Biscuits and Gravy, eggs and bacon ready for us by 8. We bundled up and saddled the horses and rode out to gather the cattle again. What a morning! I wish I had remembered my camera, the property was stunning. The trees were in full color and it was a wonderful mix of woods and grass hills for pasture. We saw coyotes and deer besides the little cows we were hunting. We split into two groups and prepared to bring in the fuzzy critters. We managed to gather around 30 head and started driving them back to the barn. I tell you it is harder than it sounds! Those cows know that land much better than me and they were crafty little fellas. We drove them down a creek bed and I could not get in front of them to stop them. I told my riding partners that I would go out and around to try to get in front of them to turn them back. Harley was a gem, left the other horses without hesitation and rode thru some pretty gnarly brush and briar's to get to these cows. We got them turned and I tell ya, I felt mighty proud of the little horse driving 30 head by himself.
When I looked up I saw my fellow riders loping back to the barn! What the????
My heart sank, I just knew these cows would go right back to the pasture we originally drove them from. When I looked that direction thank goodness I saw the other group of riders coming down the hill with 15 head. I yelled at the top of my lungs that I was coming out with 30 head. Sheila yelled back that she heard me but could not see me. Well duh, Harley is so small and we were down in a creek bed.
We managed to merge herds and drive them into the barnyard without hassle. I unsaddled Harley and it was time to set up the ranch challenge course.

I had seven obstacles that were spread out in the back pasture. This is a description of the course. First the riders had to open and go in the pasture and close the gate while mounted. Second they had to negotiate a water crossing (the creek came in handy). Third they had to go to an area I had four cones set up, park their horse in the middle, dismount and ground tie the horse, walk a circle around the horse.
Fourth they had to ride to a mailbox, open it and retrieve the mail ride straight up a hill and hand the mail to my assistant Cassidy. Fifth they had to run down the said hill and get handed a rope with a log attached to it, they had to drag the log around a small group of trees and drop the rope at starting point. Sixth they crossed a wooden bridge. Seventh they entered a round pen with 5 head and had to sort one cow and drive it up an alley.

The rules were simple to make it fun. They were judged on time and horsemanship skills. They had one minute to complete each obstacle if they did not they were whistled out and could continue on. They were scored 0-5 for horsemanship on each obstacle 0 being they did not complete it and 5 being they did it perfect. They also had an overall time. I average the two scores to get the winners. It was $25 to ride and was an 80% payback. I had nine riders and they all had a blast!



Here is a shot of me getting ready to walk them through the course. That is not Harley this is a mare I rode a bit and wished I didn't this weekend, she was nice, nice, nice and of course for sale!



















This is some of the riders getting ready to ride.











This gal was on course here riding a lovely App that made me think of my pony cousin
pony girl! This horse was nice and handled everything well.













A shot of the water crossing, this guy was serious and ended up taking third place. My hubby took these and did a nice job.











This is a shot of the approach to the wood bridge, this fella rode his horse bridle less. He ended up winning the challenge on his other horse. Chatting with him later he told us he is got invited to ride with Craig Cameron on the real extreme cowboy race later this year.











This is a shot of a rider headed up the hill , he was just helping run the mail back to the mailbox in between riders.





We handed out the payback money and had to wrap it up for the weekend. We decided we are going to host a versatility show there in June of next year. We loaded up and got home around 7 last night. Now I have four days to get about 2 weeks worth of stuff done before I head to a show on Friday.


I know I have been tagged to play ghosting and I promise I will work on it!

Till then

Happy trails........

Friday, October 17, 2008

Mile High Apple Pie...... cooking with cowgirl

OK, fall is officially here and that means Apples! Oh, fresh yummy apples.
So I am sharing my cowgirl recipe for mile high apple pie with you.
It is of course an easy recipe to follow and you can cheat accordingly as to your available time constraints.
The combination of the two apples gives this pie a sweet yet tart taste you will love!


Mile High Apple Pie
with double crust

makes 8 servings

You will need the following ingredients:

Double crusts
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup plain yellow cornmeal
2 tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup of cold butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup shortening, cut into pieces
8 to 10 tbsp chilled apple cider


Stir together first 4 ingredients. Cut butter and shortening into flour mixture with pastry blender until mixture resembles small peas.

Drizzle 1 tbs of cider along edge of mixture in bowl. Gently toss mixture into cider until just dry ingredients are moist. Continue until all remaining cider is mixed in with flour mixture.

Shape dough into two circles, flatten and wrap in plastic wrap . Chill 1 to 24 hours.

Or for a shortcut, go buy the pre made rolled Pillsbury crusts.


Mile high Apple Pie

You will need these ingredients;

1 1/2 lbs Granny Smith Apples --- About 9 large
1 1/2 lbs Brae burn Apples ---- About 9 large
1/4 Cup all purpose flour
2 Tbsp apple jelly
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/3 cup sugar
Double crusts
Wax paper
3 tbsp sugar
1 Tbs butter, cut into pieces

Preheat oven to 425
Peel and core apples, slice into 1/2 inch thick wedges
Place apples in large bowl. Stir in next 7 ingredients.
Place 1 of the circles of dough onto floured wax paper: sprinkle dough with flour.
Top with another sheet of wax paper and roll dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Discard top wax paper and place rolled circle of dough into 9 inch pie pan. Press dough into pie plate with edges overlapping.
Stir apple mixture: reserve 1 Tbsp of juices. Spoon apples into crust, packing tightly and mounding them in the center. Sprinkle 3 Tbsp sugar over apples; dot with butter pieces.
Roll remaining dough same as first dough and cover the filling. Fold edges under, sealing to bottom crust, and crimp. Brush top of pie ,excluding the edges lightly with reserved juices. Sprinkle with sugar. Place pie on cookie sheet . Cut 4 slits into top of pie for steam to escape.























Bake at 425 on lower rack of oven for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temp to 350 and bake 35minutes. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake 30 more minutes or until juices are thick and bubbly or apples are tender when pierced with toothpick thru slit in top of pie.

Remove from oven to wire rack. Cool for 1 to 2 hours.

Serve with vanilla ice cram or whipped topping . YUM!


Thursday, October 16, 2008

Loose ends

Oh, where has the week gone??? I know I have been bad about posting again and disappointing all of you out there. I am feeling like my life is around a million loose ends these days.....

I have been meeting with real estate agents and showing them the house in preparation for choosing a listing agent. I showed the house to an interested party twice, no call backs yet. Cleaning the stinking house , way to much.

Quick trip to Lexington to check out a house. Won't work. Sigh....
Showing the black horse trailer, still trying to get it sold. Have someone coming tonight to buy it, Hopefully!

Getting forms and junk together for the fun weekend. I am in charge of the Ranch Horse Challenge which is on Sunday. Been fielding calls all week about that.

Did I mention the field trip to the pumpkin patch with oh say about 50 3-6 year olds!

Harley is practically being ignored and is sure to give me a butt lashing this weekend when I climb up on him. He is starting to hair up as the days get shorter.
I think I have the bots under control and am actually looking forward to the first frost just so they die!

Oh yeah, I am in the planning stage of the trip south with Tank as well. Not anyone out there figured it out yet? I guess maybe it isn't such an interesting issue.
He is going south to Savannah to a favorite blogger friend of mine, she will have fun trying to fix up his pigeon toed, flat soled feet.

Yes, MM I am going to do that post on the mile high apple pie I Swear!

Right now I am going to pack for the weekend trip!

Happy trails....

Friday, October 10, 2008

Home Tour......Come on In!

OK, been teasing you for awhile with the home tour thing, here goes.

This first pic is of the outside of my house at late afternoon.




















The next is of the fall display on the front porch.





















Now let's go inside. Here is the foyer.



Don't ya just love those wood stairs and that banister? I never did get to replacing the wall paper in here but oh well. If you turn to your right just at the foot of the stairs you will enter the parlor. Well, I use it as my bedroom. It is my favorite room in the house!

























Here is a closer view of that fireplace. Yes it is original to the house as is the Mosaic tile around it. 1871 folks, an oldie but a goldie.


























Now if you were to head to the left as you came in the front door you would be in the living room. The rooms are around 15 x 16 with 10 ft ceilings, kind of hard to get that perspective in a photo. That mauve carpet was here when I moved in and well it is in nice shape so I left it, definitely not one of my favorite things in the house.




























Just behind the living room is the dining room another of my favorite rooms because it also has a fireplace in it. This one we converted to a gas log. The fireplaces are shallow as they were made for coal and burning wood in them would not be to safe with the age of the chimneys either.






























You can see I am all decked out for fall on my mantle.





























Behind the dining room is the kitchen. When we moved in there was carpet on the floor. We pulled up the carpet and sub floor and stick on tiles and refinished the original oak floors. I also painted the cabinet doors and put on new hardware, this was one dark kitchen when I moved in now it is bright and happy.



























As you can see the cabinets go all the way to the ceiling in the kitchen. I took off some doors and made open shelving for some of the crap I collect. (I collect to many things!)























This part is hard to explain but if you were to walk straight thru the foyer you would enter what I claim as my office. It is a summer porch that has been closed in to create a room that is 23ft long and 15 ft wide with the old mini tiles on the floor. Here is a shot of where I blog.






















Note the ribbons on the wall from Harley's shows, those are various horse pics they are hanging on. The circular things are bird plates I collect from the Bradford exchange. Not much on my desk to comment on this was taken in a rare moment when it was clean.

Just off this room at the back of the house is a small bathroom. Since the walls are solid brick and 15 inches thick all the plumbing is at the rear of the house. This bathroom had a corner shower in it when we got here. I remodeled it and had to replace the floor all the way so we found a claw foot tub and now my little devils have somewhere to bathe besides a rubber maid tote! Yes I truly bathed my oldest son in a tote in the shower until he was almost two!


























If you give me the asking price I will throw in the two little farm hands!
JUST KIDDING!

There are four bedrooms upstairs but I did not snap pictures they are basically just boring rooms full of my little monster's toys! Upstairs is kid ville around here.
Hope you enjoyed the tour of this old house.

I leave you with more clues on the where is Tank going game. I can't believe you guys aren't even guessing! This should do it tonight.

The new owners follow the thoughts of Tom Dorrence and Ray Hunt.
Remember the famous quote from Ray? "It's all about the feet!".

Happy trails......