3-ring circus of a day

It’s being a crazy week here. Today there were branches being trimmed on the big oak trees by the house and barn, house cleaning going on inside, repair work being done on a bedroom’s walls and ceilings, and I was trying to keep tabs on 4 cats, 2 Corgis, and 5 equines while vacuums were going, chainsaws and blowers blowing, and all animals not sure what was going on. About halfway through the show, husband came home to work so I could leave with daughter for an appointment.

Appointment, late lunch, trip to feed store, and trip for paint later, we got home again. The color paint I wanted was not the same name at Lowe’s as it is on Valspar’s website, so that took awhile to sort out. The woman at the self-check aisle (the only one open) was amazingly kind as I bumbled through the self checking process and then in conversation told me the story of her son dying that was so moving I started crying right there in Lowe’s. She gave me a bookmark of a photo she took after he died which was equally inspirational and I left feeling like I’d just been in an episode of that old TV show about encounters with angels.

I was happy to be home and ready to settle down for an episode of X-Files with husband and daughter when I opened a cupboard in our kitchen island and found a container of salt soaking wet. I pulled out the cupboard drawer to find that an entire gallon of Deer Park water had somehow leaked into the wooden drawer and a bizarre Japanese snack husband brought home from work a year or so ago had fallen behind the drawer and been smashed open. Sticky brown stuff was mixed with the soaked-in water on the wood and the whole mess was getting moldy.

Something I couldn’t exactly leave until tomorrow to deal with, so I spent a half hour cleaning that up.

In the midst of that I crazily decided it was time to dye a sofa cover in the washing machine. It would be nice if I could just turn off my “to do” button and go veg out on the sofa!

On the positive side, there are no more branches hanging over the house or barn, the back yard was totally cleared of fallen leaves, and the house is clean. The bedroom will be done by the weekend so I can move daughter back into her bedroom and get the garret set up for son’s visit home for Christmas. Yay!

I’m shutting down the lights in the big top and calling it a night.

Mailbox posing as Breyer barn!

Finally got it up and absolutely love it!

Late November Light And Waiting For Chiro

Little Man wasn’t on the schedule for chiro today but he let it be known he needed adjustment so she worked him in. Good thing, as he was totally out of alignment!

Days flying by, stopping the madness with Keil Bay

I feel like time is racing forward - November has gone by so quickly and even though it isn’t December yet, it feels like that, too is going fast, as if time has bent and I am feeling it in advance. This morning I have a long list of things to do and right now I’m sitting here on the sofa as if at the helm of my own starship, trying to bend back time to its normal passing.

When the rush of things to do and things happening gets like this I have to consciously stop and recalibrate. Just one thing at a time. Feel the actual passage of seconds and minutes. Pause in every one of my things to do and let the thing I’m doing be the only thing. Savor the experience for whatever it is.

One of the things I’m doing today is visiting my chiropractor, who I haven’t seen in awhile because my body has felt fine. What always brings me back to her is raking season, when I swear I’m going to rake only in moderation and do it slowly, and carefully, using both sides of my body, and never overdo it. And I always overdo it.

So today I’ll get adjusted and tomorrow Keil Bay gets adjusted and Friday we’ll both be in alignment and ready to ride big circles that slow down time. If you read my magical pony school novels you know this bit of magic is in there but the truth is, it came out of real rides on the Big Handsome Bay. Time slows and then stops when I ride him, and it’s the way to stop the madness of days flying by.

Sometimes in life we gallop and sometimes we go into a moment of collection so perfect everything just stops and hangs, silent and pristine, in the air around us. It’s a healing moment. Riding isn’t the only way to find it but for me it’s what works. Try it out. Let me know how it goes.

‘Tis the Season on November Hill

Last week we got new screenings on one end of the arena, with another load coming in this week to finish the job. On Thanksgiving day I let the herd in with me while I got up leaves and all but one went off searching for acorns. Cody was my best helper!

We had a wonderful dinner out with my brother and my mom, and enjoyed the long weekend here at home. 

I’m so excited to reveal the finished gate complete with holiday decor. Two coats of dark Tung Oil cut with citrus solvent have been applied now and I think we reached the color saturation I want. I can give it one more coat with regular Tung Oil after Christmas if we have a good day for applying it temperature wise but I’m very happy with the results thus far. 

If you look closely you can see the pony inserted himself into the photo. And if you look to the right you’ll see a sample of the new fencing (though it will all have boards on the inside and outside once it’s done) and to the left the old fencing. I think the new fencing will look very spiffy with the gate!

We went a little overboard and got two trees. Last year I found a skinny tree for inside and we had our old big one on the front porch. A month ago I went on a cleaning spree in the garage and decided the two artificial trees were old, dusty, and just not in good enough shape to keep using, so we let them go and opted to get live trees again. We actually stuck with the rule that we couldn’t get a huge tree for the living room but then went overboard on the tree for the front porch. They are set up and ready for lights and maybe a few ornaments. Since it’s Baloo’s first Christmas I am thinking we’ll keep things easy and not put on anything to tempt him. He’s been good - tore a few branches off the bottom but quickly picked up that we didn’t want him doing that.

Pixie, our Christmas tree queen, checked out the porch tree. This is her first live tree experience.

I’m a little sad that she is not climbing the trees the way she has done every year since she’s been with us. I’m not sure if she’s just older nad wiser or if the live tree branches feel too scratchy. Maybe I should have cleaned the old trees and kept them. But in the end it’s probably best she is not going to the top of the trees and hanging out there! Though it was cute and I’ll post some of those old photos later. 

I got a call from the contractor last week saying he may start earlier than expected on the fencing. I’d love it if it were in place before daughter and I head to California but I suspect that isn’t even possible at this point. It may be I leave with fencing in process and come home to a finished product, which will be the best Christmas present ever! Can’t wait to see it and can’t wait to start integrating Corgis with horses so all can be happily out together. 

One big question: look at the gate photo again and help me come up with a way to dog proof the gate without taking away the overall look of the wood and design! We have to figure it out while contractor is here to do the work.