In the last day or so, little Billy dog has suddenly had some serious pain in his back, so much so that he can hardly walk. We made an appointment with a local Vet (Pittsford Animal Hospital) and took him over there today. Doc says he thinks it might be a spine problem, something typical in a low, long dog. He also said it might be a soft tissue strain of some kind, which I think is more likely. Chances are he climbed up on the kitchen table, then when he heard us coming he leaped to the ground, probably slipping on the way down and landing wrong. At least that’s what I hope it is. Doc prescribed several drugs, pain killers, an anti-inflammatory and an anti-spasmodic. We left with instructions to try to keep him quiet for awhile, which shouldn’t be too hard since he’s in so much pain he’s barely moving right now. Keeping our fingers crossed he’ll be okay! Meanwhile, we had doctor’s appointments of our own. Hubby’s been experiencing some back problems, and I’m still having some problems with my shoulder, so we figured as long as we were going to be here for awhile, we should try to get them straightened out. Made appointments at the Pittsford Chiropractic Clinic, and we both got an adjustment and a few other treatments there. Left feeling a bit better, and with continuing appointments while we’re in the area.
Archives for July 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011 – Work Day
Spent the day working on the computer, getting caught up on future logistics for jobs and ongoing horse camping.
Monday, July 18, 2011 – Ride and Travel Day
Not surprisingly, we felt a bit more tired today, though still have more energy than we thought possible. Shared another great breakfast with Mary and her family (though they’ve been more like brunch considering how late we’ve been getting up!), then packed up the horses in the trailer and headed out with Mary and my other reunion friend Donna who joined us, out to Mendon Ponds Park to go riding. I took them each for about an hour ride, which they both thoroughly enjoyed. Donna went first, as she had to head out for home in Cleveland right afterward, then Mary and I had a spin around the park. We used to hang out at a local stable together, which is where I learned just about everything I know about horses. She was sure she was going to fall off, but I told her it was like riding a bicycle, and before we knew it, she was trotting away, and I even got a little canter in. It was fabulous. Trails were great, though a bit sunnier and thereby hotter than we normally like, but the footing was all grass and dirt, so no worries there. A good time was had by all! Then we headed back to Mary’s, finished packing up the RV, then headed out for our next landing zone in Marion, a stable owned by a quarter horse breeder. They’re only about a half hour away, and we’ll be staying with them for several weeks, so I expect we’ll see some of our local friends over that time. Our new landlord Jody welcomed us warmly, and we had the horses out in their paddock and the RV settled in in no time. During the evening, we gradually came down from our adrenaline high from the past few days, and crashed into bed exhausted.
Sunday, July 17, 2011 – Lake Day
Once again slept as late as we could, barely enough, the late nights are starting to catch up to us. Mary and her family had gone off to church but left an email that they’d be back to have breakfast with us by 10:30 or so, which they were, another fabulous meal (she’s a great cook!). Before long we were back on the road toward Sue’s cottage, where we spent the whole day chatting and eating (I actually lost weight this morning, if that gives you any idea about the meal last night : – ), but today I’m splurging. My old friend Barney is a former chef, and he went all out on cooking and preparation for the day, with fantastic gluten-free cheesecakes both white and chocolate, and more food than you could possibly feed an army with. Ate more than I needed, and took home some more food besides, but we’ll start our next diet phase tomorrow! Stayed until nearly 11:00 before driving the half hour back to Mary’s, satisfied that we had made old connections new again, and thrilled at the entire weekend. It really couldn’t have been much better. Sue and I are already planning on making next year’s reunion bigger and better, even if it’s only for our group. Straight to bed, we have a busy day tomorrow!
Saturday, July 16, 2011 – Reunion Day
Well, the day has finally arrived. Other than work days, this is the last day on our schedule we had actually planned to be somewhere. Mary and her hubby took us to a nice little diner where we had a fabulous breakfast, then we headed out to the Stuart Horse Trials nearby for their cross country event. We had to take a detour to pick up our mail in Canandaigua (which hadn’t been there yesterday, supposedly, but had magically appeared today, even though it really should have arrived on Thursday, but some younger postal workers are unfamiliar with the concept of General Delivery), but arrived in time to see the last 8 or 10 horses jump. Seems they had a lot of scratches so the event went much shorter than usual. Then we went to an ice cream shop for a cone (it was hot enough, and that was to be lunch) before heading home to take a nap so that we would be in decent shape for the evening. Hubby and I both slept for more than an hour, which was the perfect power nap. Then we showered and got ready to go, arriving at the reunion dinner right at the appointed hour of 7:00. Didn’t recognize many people, and was glad my my friends started arriving. The dinner was actual several “food stations,” which is not my favorite kind of dinner unless there are a lot of other activities, like a band and dancing going on, which there wasn’t. Wine was late in coming, we had our first glass of alcohol since we quit on New Year’s, smelled oddly strong to my unaccustomed nose, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Spent some time talking to other people, but can’t say I enjoyed it as much as I did last night, which I figured would be the case, that was hard to top. Anyway, after the dinner, we got shuttled out of the rented room into the main bar area around 10:30, where we were joined by more of our cross-class friends, but unfortunately, the nice little combo they had playing was already packing up, as the restaurant was slated to close at 11:00, so any dreams of dancing that I had were demolished. It was closer to 11:30 by the time we were being pushed into the parking lot, and it was obvious most people wished the evening could last longer (not sure why this particular restaurant had been chosen, you’d have thought this was predictable). Anyway, we again all drifted to the same pub where we ended the previous night, and were there for a couple more hours, finally shoving off after 1:00, fading fast. We made plans to all gather again tomorrow at another good friend Sue’s cottage on Honeoye Lake for the day. Can’t wait! This is way too much fun!
Friday, July 15, 2011 – Travel Day to Victor, NY, and First Reunion Events
Got up with the alarm early, finished packing up and saying our goodbyes to Greg and Julie before heading up the road. Arrived at the Denny’s in Canandaigua with perfect timing, just finishing our breakfast in time for my conference call with a client, then headed up the road to the waste water treatment plant to dump the RV, then arrived just a touch later than expected at my dear old friend Mary’s house, who I’ve known since I was 2 ½ years old, though we haven’t kept in touch the way we should have. Nevertheless, she and her husband welcomed us, and had arranged for her next door neighbor to put our horses in an extra paddock she had, and we had a wonderful lunch and a great afternoon of catching up. Eventually we had to start getting ready for tonight, two gatherings at two pubs, one with a cross-class group that was my main “clique” as it were, on one side of the Erie Canal, and the second with just the ‘76ers on the other side of the canal (though in the end, they all merged anyway). It was a fantastic time! Lots of squealing and hugging and all the best things you’d expect at a reunion. Lots of folks came from a long way away, and it was great. It’s true what they say, it was like we had all been together just yesterday. How can 35 years feel like that? But it did. We stayed up way past our bedtime, and still felt great when we got back at nearly 2:00 am. Hope we sleep late in the morning!
Thursday, July 14, 2011 – Prep Day
Busy day today, packing up and getting everything ready to move out tomorrow. Had to move the hay that we had bought locally from the horse trailer into the back of the pickup, after which Hubby adjusted the brakes on the horse trailer. Washed the dogs, cleaned the house, kept busy all day, then joined our neighbors Greg and Julie around the fire for an evening of swapping stories, finishing the evening off with a bit of Shakespeare. Off to bed later than we had expected, have a early and long day tomorrow!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011 – Last Long Ride Day
Though our original plan had been to ride with our new neighbors Greg and Julie, I let Hubby sleep a little late because his back was hurting a bit, so we encouraged them to go ahead without us, and ended up getting out about 11:30 or so. We had two main trails, D & E, that we wanted to do, so that we would know them all, so that next time we could start exploring some of the many unmarked trails that riddle this forest. We headed out the Mohawk trail to the A trail, passed the E trail entrance to get to the D trail, some 3-4 miles from camp. We really enjoyed the E trail, as it once again wound through a great mixed forest and varied terrain. Once we reached the end, however, we had a lot of trouble trying to pick up the D trail. The trail that seemed right had a sign saying it was temporarily closed, so we looked for an alternative. Signs led us along the snowmobile trail that paralleled the road, but soon that became obvious that it hadn’t seem much traffic, and soon after it led to a “bridge” that was so rickety I would walk across it, much less take a horse across, and there was no way around it, so we knew we were in the wrong place. We took a number of other false starts, including crossing the road where the D trail was clearly marked, but that just took us around to a road that led us back to the same intersection. After stopping for lunch and once again trying to find another trailhead, we finally decided the only logical answer was to take the “closed” trail, which we soon discovered was, in fact, the right trail that we needed. We soon discovered why it was supposed to be closed, though the reasons no longer applied. A long portion of the trail was essentially a creekbed. No doubt during the spring it’s too wet to traverse, but it was fine now during mid-summer, at least as fine as trying to walk on a creekbed goes. The rocks were sharp and insecure, and the ascents and descents were pretty treacherous in places, making this our least favorite trail here. We were both happy when we finally reached the end of it and were back on the A trail again. We didn’t arrive back in camp until after 5:30, with both us and the horses thoroughly exhausted. Got everyone settled, had some leftover Chinese for dinner, then visited with our neighbors getting caught up on all the day’s activities, and sharing ideas for horse camps and equipment and other horsey stuff. Learned that Greg is a retired veterinarian, and learned more about Julie liking to ride in endurance races, more for the challenge than the winning (she’s been riding a Gypsy draft horse, so speed isn’t her priority). As the sun went down and a full moon came up, it got quite chilly (forecast is for mid-50’s overnight), so we headed back to the bungalow for hot cocoa, a movie and to bed!Tuesday, July 12, 2011 – Solution Day
After weeks of trepidation about where we were going to stay after the weekend, I finally managed to secure a place about 30 miles east of Rochester, which will actually be a great location as it’s close to both the city and to the place where my brother has rented a cottage for a week around the dates of the family reunion. Can’t tell you how relieved I am! I was really starting to worry we’d get stuck, but I think this will work out just fine. Spent the rest of the day washing all four vehicles, figured since we had free access to water here, this may be the last chance for a while, and it was much needed, since we were still carrying mud that we had churned up back in West Virginia when we had trouble getting out of our campsite after several heavy rains. That took most of the afternoon. This morning, our long-term neighbors were packing up to leave, and Hubby and I thought we’d have the place to ourselves for a few days, when, just before they left, another convoy came in. Turns out to be a snowbird couple that has a place in Ocala for the winter, and a place nearby here in NY for the summer. They had a motor home, plus a pickup truck towing a horse trailer, much like our setup. We ended up chatting with them for much of the evening, seems we have much in common. They’ve been on the road much longer than us, so it was nice to pick someone elses’ brain for awhile, rather than having mine picked. Compared notes on places we’d both been, and took suggestions for places we’d like to go. Could be the beginning of a very helpful network! Stayed up late catching up on my blog before turning in, having made plans to go riding with our new neighbors tomorrow, which should be interesting as our horses aren’t used to being around other horses. Hope that works out okay!
Monday, July 11, 2011 – Shopping Day
Decided that we’d go shopping today, as the weather forecast was calling for hot temps and a possible thunderstorm. Never got more than a tiny, momentary sprinkle, but it was pretty hot, though nothing like what we’ve experienced in other areas of the country. Left about 11:00 and didn’t get back until after 6:00, ended up going a lot farther than we had anticipated, but did managed to get most of what we needed, including cotter pins from a fastener store in Elmira (for the horse boots), new sandals for me (for my Friday reunion outfit), pants and a shirt for Hubby, groceries and a bunch of other stops. Glad to get back, horses were fine in our absence, though the number of neighbors had diminished somewhat. Down to just us and one other motor home, a couple that had been here almost as long as we had. Didn’t speak with them much, just to say hello occasionally, but it was always pleasant enough. We may ride tomorrow, or we may wait until Wednesday when the temps are supposed to be cooler. Busy day, so we relaxed again in the evening.