Catch Ups!

 10/ 20/24

Well!  So much has changed in the past month that I found it tough to keep up with. I kept getting emails about how my life was going to change for the better. “yeah” I thought to myself…. “ heard that so many times before “ I don't think about it much, but they kept showing up. Oh well…

 I had been told to move out by the woman I rented the room from. I'd been looking for a good while so it was not a surprise. The trouble was that I couldn't find a place to rent. If it was in my price range, it was a dump. If I liked a place, it was way out the my range. Sighhhhh….

 I was desperate. So I  took a chance and made a post on my Facebook page. There's not much, but I got the expected replies from folks. I checked back later and there was a private response from a pal I knew online and a horsewoman too. I had to be moved out on a Monday and this happened the Saturday before. She said that she didn't know that I was looking for a house.… that they had an empty farmhouse. I sat there stunned. It sounded like a dream coming true.  A farmhouse…on a horse farm! I sat there in tears, it was so hard to believe. Could this really be happening to Me? Nothing good ever happened to me. Not in many years. I called her and made plans to go see the house on Sunday… It was a bit of a drive from where I worked but if it was great,  I decided that I could figure it out. 

It was lovely. Two floors and there is a clear area that can be a craft place upstairs. I fell in love with it. Horses that would not run me over and I could see them from the windows.Big kitchen and country dining area.

                                                      A bedroom

                     The area I think that will be a great area for beadwork.

Kitchen 

 Needless to say, I said Yes!  There were one and a half days left. I packed and loaded the Escape and drove the miles to the farmhouse four times. 

Needless to say, I was exhausted, but I was out of that house. Just one more carload and I got those things the next day. Luckily she had dumped the rest of my things on the porch. I didn't have to go up those steps 😁. Finally, it was done. On my first night, I didn't get much sleep. The old leather couch that I had to sleep on was not the most comfy. I got used to it though.

It's been a couple of weeks now and  I love this place more every day. It's become a way to leave the world behind for a while. 

Not a new man for long..🤔

 10/14/24

Turns out the guy was boring as can be. No, thank you. I just stopped replying or answering the calls. I am not going to play second fiddle to a bunch of records. Such is life, I suppose.

 I had a reply to a dating site that I have decided to not continue. It's a waste of money that I don't have to spare. In the meantime, the man who responded seems very nice… stay tuned.

Autumn is here and I am enjoying it immensely. It's the best time of the year what with the great holidays and winter coming.😊  I used to love to decorate but ever since I was married to a man whose mission was to destroy me, I had stopped. I decorated for Christmas when I lived in the little apartment. But ever since, I just didn't feel Christmas or Yule in me.  That spirit is hard to find anymore.

A New Man 😁😁

 8/18/24

I know you have to meet a lot of people who are not your type before you find a special person to hold in your heart. I had been contacted by quite a few men who were either totally weird or unaware of how to deal with folks like me. Many didn’t want to get to know me because I was a straight shooter who was honest about my feelings, ethics and morals.  Apparently they didn’t like me having an opinion on anything. Or they just wanted to get laid.. or they wanted someone to take care of them. Then the one person I thought was wonderful decided that I was to be controlled. Ummm, No..  A few more of ‘ maybe we can just be friends’ get togethers, and I was about done.  I resigned myself to being alone for the rest of my life. Granted I was ok with that but it would have been nice to have someone to go out with or to various places of mutual interest. 

  I was online one evening , weeding out the whole bunch of men who wanted to   ’ meet’ me. I was giving up on the idea. Oddly enough, there was a name I recognized from a while ago. He was one of the group of guys, and I almost deleted him too. All he wrote was hi. Okay, so I returned the ‘ hi’ . The next morning I had a long post from him. We had talked a little bit about a year ago and he went on from there.  He asked if he could call me as he had never deleted my phone number from his address book. 

And so it began. 😉  He lives and hour away from me and is working on getting retired. He’s tall and has a super cute smile.  We have been out on a few dates so far and chat online more. We have just hit it off. We both were raised in a similar fashion… he knows something’ about horses, he was raised in a farming family and wants to live in the country.  So far we have been having a great time and I have been told that he has become ‘very fond’ of me.  We are becoming more than friends and it’s nice to meet someone who is not in a hurry. 

                                                                 Stay Tuned !!

Fun From the Past

8/19/24

Hope you enjoy these fun memories of mine… from almost 50 years of experiences. Sadly I don’t have pictures of my past horses… but if I come across them I’ll post some pics.

 I had an Appy mare who had maybe 20 tail hairs. (AKA: rat tail) My riding students thought it would be better for her to have a tail for swishing flies. I said ok when I saw the plan. Those kids worked and fussed over an hour to attach the’tail’. Keisha was so good at being patient. Of course, I had to come and see her after they were done.  “ see, Miss Kris?  It’s a delightful tail!”

 Keisha had been sprayed with fly deterrent so she wasn’t swishing that tail. She kept pulling it out of their hands. 

 When they took her out into the yard, she started swishing and then she started to freak out. She started turning around in circles trying to see what was wrong with her tail! Seemed like Keisha had never seen herself with a long tail before, especially one made from a bright orange kitchen towel…

                  

                               ********************************************************

I have to share this with you…  This little guy was 11 years old and he had just had a birthday, As one of his birthday presents from his parents, he was given horse riding lessons. When he arrived for his first lesson he told me that he loved horses and that he would be a great student for me.

Everything went smoothly with him learning to groom my ancient Appaloosa mare, Alli. Joey was cooing sweetly to her as he curried her spotted coat.

Joey gave Alli kisses and hugs too . It was clear to me that he truly loved horses, especially my mare.  I enjoyed watching him getting to be more comfortable around Alli  (short for All the Best)  She would turn her head around and nuzzle his little chubby tummy and Joey would just laugh.

We were all done with the first ride lesson and he couldn’t wait for the next week to get here.

Later that evening his mom called me and explained that by the time they got home, Joey was sneezing and had runny eyes… allergies.  She said that he was crying because he didn’t want to stop riding lessons. We both felt awful.

His mom said that she would send him next time with some allergy medicine and see if that helped. 

The day arrived for Joey’s second lesson …. He gets out of the car and comes running to the barn yelling “ I’m here, Miss Kris!” 

He was full of energy and smiles. Reaching in his pocket he told me that he had a treat for Alli.That he and his mom had made it. Apparently she had been thinking about safe treats for horses. He had it in a little box with Alli’s name on it It was so sweet to see him open it and show it to me and Alli. I showed him how to safely give a horse a treat and he was thrilled. 

‘ her lips are very soft and she is so polite’

That  lesson we didn’t have grooming  because of the dust and dander.  He seemed to be doing better Later that day my phone rang again. Joey had been sneezing and coughing since he got home… His mom said that he was in tears again. He didn’t want to stop… He would be okay, honest he would. Mom didn’t agree.So Joey was going to have to stop being around horses.  I could hear him in the background, sniffling. She said that he was going to make something for me and Alli, and that they would drop it off when he was done.

 Later that week I was called to be outside at a certain time because Joey had finished his creation. I was at the barn when they arrived. As usual, Joe came running to the barn, this time with his mom. 

He handed me a flat piece of cardboard that he had wrapped in Christmas paper. He was a little bit embarrassed because it was all he could find. I opened it up gently and inside was a watercolor painting of a little chubby blonde boy giving a spotted horse a kiss on the nose.It was all I could do to not cry… he was standing there beaming at me with tears in his eyes too. We all exchanged hugs and he looked for his favorite horse, only to find she was out in the pasture.  I told him to go call for her… see if she wanted to see him. While he was off doing that, his mom explained that he had worked on the painting until way past his before. They had gone to the store and picked out a frame that was the right size, and she had brought it along if I wanted it.  When we got to the car, we saw Joey and he was snuggling with his best friend. She truly was All the Best that day. 

I put the painting in the frame and it hung in my tack room ever since.

❤️😘💖💕💓💗❤️

Life….

 5.27.2024

 Well, its the day before my birthday. Used to be my birthday was special. Now? Just another day. Used to be there would be a cake and some presents, maybe a special dinner out. Now? Just another day. No celebration, no family, no anything 

 I don’t know… maybe I’m having a tough time with all of this. Ever since I was a kid I looked forward to birthday celebrations. Not mine but everyone. We would not have a birthday if we had not been born, right? Therefore birthdays are important. The Only  time I ever forgot a birthday was when I had just said goodbye to my Lynna a few days before. I really felt awful, but I couldn’t make it up. I had forgotten and that’s all there was to it.   

I realize that as we get older we might not like to be reminded that we’re another year older. Not me. I love to hear that someone remembered.  So many wonderful memories of birthdays in the past. Not mine but others I loved and went all out for. Some of mine were pretty cool too. I always think of others before me and remembering them makes me smile. 

So, if you have a birthday coming up soon…

                🎶💙 HAPPY BIRTHDAY 

                 TO YOU!!!!💐🎶

Or as Pooh says, 

“ many happy returns of the day !“

Oh Mine Gots!!!

 4/7/20

That’s a saying my Finnish grandmother used to say when she was facing a lot of problems.  I still can hear her.

 “ Oh Mine Gots! Vot vill happen next?”  🩵🤗

Since I last wrote, things have taken a negative nosedive. Literally, twice.  Life was rolling along peacefully through the first couple of months. We got little to no snow or frigid weather like I dealt with when I lived further north by only a couple of hours. Mother Earth is definitely showing that climate change is real, and it's happening Now. At any rate, it was almost balmy in February. If I had been working on the farm, the weather would have been welcome. 

Then March came along. 

On the 4th, I was driving to a FedEx location so I could get a package returned. I was a little turned around and figured I would find the next area with enough room to get turned around and go back again. I saw a rabbit who had decided to sit on the pavement. Slowing down I waited to see what it was going to do. Usually they either make a decision to go back, or do the ‘death dash’ at the last minute. Apparently, this one was undecided and just sat there. I had slowed down a little waiting to see what was going to happen. The stupid rabbit hopped right into my side of the road! By then I couldn’t get stopped enough to not squish him. I swerved to my right and all hell broke loose. BAM!!!  I hit something hard and solid, airbags deployed and I couldn’t see anything. I felt my little VW spinning and I prayed for it all to stop. I did see the windshield cracking like a lightning bolt across from the right. And then things went quiet and still. I got out to see what happened and don’t you know, that flipping rabbit was nowhere to be seen. I did see the electric pole we had broken through. But my dear little car!! The whole right front fender back to the passenger side door was destroyed. Its poor front wheel was all but separated from the car. I remember thinking that I ought to move my car off the road so I got back in and pushed the start button. She started right away.  We sort of limped off the road onto the driveway that was close by. One thing for sure, we were not going to get far had we wanted to make a getaway. Not that I would have anyway but we were out of trouble at least. All of the people that were in the houses were out there and I was almost in tears. My beautiful little car! There was no way it would ever get repaired. I knew that it would be totaled. The police came, took a look at my vehicle, asked me questions about what happened and I realized that I was not hurt. He kept saying that I was very lucky that I hadn’t been injured.  Like before when I would have had a nasty fall from a horse, going over a jump, or simply being unseated the first thing I thought of was my horse. It didn’t matter that I could barely stand up -how was my horse?  I guess that was when the shock hit me because I was shaking inside pretty badly. No, I didn’t need to go to the hospital, I just wanted to reverse time about half an hour. My roommate got lost coming to pick me up and couldn’t find where the location was so one of the other police drove me home. I had to watch the tow truck haul my car away and more tears were shed. It was truly a tragic day. 

 About a month prior I had gotten up to head to the bathroom in the middle of the night and was not awake. I lost my balance and fell backward. Landed on my butt( which was well-padded) and slammed the back of my head on the floor.  This created a mild concussion. Whew, if that was a mild one, I would hate to have a serious one. Still, the dizziness hits me if I get up too fast. Not to mention my bum hurt for a few weeks afterward. Youch. 

On the Wednesday right after the wreck, my roommate had driven to where my SUV was parked to get the things out of it. I was carrying a cardboard box, forgot that there was a curb step down, and Wham.  Free fall/ nose dive. Smack, on concrete.  My nose began bleeding like crazy and all I could think was that I hoped I hadn’t broken it. After 5 stupid hours of waiting to see a doctor and getting an ex-rays / CAT scan, it was determined that my head wasn’t cracked but basically, my nose was broken. Oh, Joy. 

So far I had no idea what was going to happen as I had never been in a wreck before. No car, my face looked like something from a horror movie and I unraveled right into depression.  My  SUV was totaled and I got a new-to-me Escape. It is nice enough but not like my Tiguan. I loved the little one.  This one is bigger, has more energy, a little better gas mileage, and a bit more room but…. My Tiguan was completely paid for and was the only thing that gave me freedom.

                                                        Josie right afterwards 

😥😢😭🥺

The new to me is Escape.

Lower mileage but a year older. It's in lovely shape, 

but it is not all mine. 

In time I  suppose I will learn to enjoy driving it, but so far? Ehhhh.

But wait!!

 There's more.

  A couple of weeks after I was carrying some groceries to the house. I had on a pair of slip-on shoes and as I went to step up a step, one slipped off. Yep, down I went Again. This time I heard that nose crack. Another awful nosebleed and luckily not as much damage. Last time I had two black eyes and my whole face felt swollen. This time, just a little bruise. 

At this point, I’m almost scared to do anything for fear of hitting the ground again. Needless to say, I’m done with awful things happening to me. 

Good things: 

I have had an interview with a bus company that is ready to hire me as a van driver. The day before the interview, I got a call from a pet rescue/ boarding place 15-20 minutes from here. An interview is scheduled for Tuesday  I’m happy to finally have some way to make some desperately needed money.  I lived on my credit cards and it’s well past the time to get them paid off.

Stay tuned on the above.👆 

That’s been my year so far! I hope everyone reading this has had a Much Better year so far.

A belated happy Easter holiday and  I don’t know about you but I am looking forward to some happier times this Spring.

🩵🐥🪻🐣🙋‍♀️👩‍🦳🐰🐇🤦‍♀️🩵

Happy New Year!

A day or two late… 

Since I have been forced to enter the realm of people more than horses, life has changed. Being able to observe them easily, I think they are fascinating. I spent a lifetime studying horses and ignoring humans…but they are even more fascinating to watch. Sit in an airport and just look around, you’ll see what I mean. 

Told you that so I could tell you this… I decided to not continue seeing the guy that I had met. As I got to know him better I realized that he was a little more troubled than I wanted to deal with. We parted ways and few weeks ago. He was very wrong for me. This is why I have never been one of those women who go around professing their love to people after knowing them for a few months.  That’s lust or desperation to me. Nah, I enjoy being with those special to me and observe. He checked off most of the boxes in my ‘ want’ list but as I got to know him more, he was not willing to give me any time.  That among other things made me feel like I was marching in place. A relationship has to move forward or it stagnates, in my opinion. So we parted ways and after a few days I realized that I wasn’t into him as much as I thought. And that it was okay., 

I was laid off from work and am trying to get through to April without finding a job. This is the first year I have ever dealt with seasonal work. My carriage business was available until the new year  kicked in and usually it was nasty weather from then until Spring. Finances are tight but they have always been.  I have a small business going , well, almost going, on Facebook. Miscellaneous hand painted rocks, some suncatchers , etc.  A couple of nice photographs of mine and some other prints by some of my favorite artists. If you’re interested, and a part of Fb, the page is ‘Winter Wytch Designs ‘. I’ve done a few custom orders and they were great fun. 

Those are a few. 😇

In the meantime, I have met another man who is into horses. This is the second time I have dated another horse person, so we will see. He’s very nice..good sense of humor and smart. He’s supposedly retired but he is still working every so often. He checks in every  evening and we have a lot of different things to talk about. He knows a bunch about horses and loves the ones who are there now. 

 All in all, the new year has been a good one. Only a week into it! 👍👍Stay tuned as we learn more about each other.

Oh! IT IS SNOWING!!  The first snow of the winter. Here are a few photos of a city snow. I much prefer a country setting, but it is what it is. I have learned how to use the iPad to take photos 😁😁

Have a  wonderful  weekend 🩵🩵