Hiya Sweetie,
Had another day at the Goethe Gallivant, not too busy but had a lot of catching up to do from the morning activities before I got there. I finally started to get a handle on the process by about midday, something that would have been much quicker with a little training, but everyone pitched in to help get to the end goal. Made some good contacts for upcoming events, though, and to which might lead to bigger and brighter things in the future. I was very glad that I brought a couple of space heaters, it was very cold again today and having those at my feet made all the difference between being comfortable and being miserable! I added several layers, including long johns, and it was better, but it was still a cool day until the sun came out, but it's so wooded there, it only lasted for a short time. Anyway, it was a fulfilling day, the horses and Lola were glad to see my return, which was 8:00, a bit later than I had expected, but got everyone settled in, then did the same for myself. Eggnog with bourbon (with ice cream) was the order of the evening! Heading to bed very soon. Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
Woke up to a chilly morning, in the upper 40's, but it's going to be another ten degrees colder tomorrow morning, supposedly, so I can't complain! Wrapped up in a turtleneck, several layers and my Alaskan parka, I got the horses fed, did my morning chores, then drove down to Tidewater to help out. First thing I did was help Jo crew her horse, the plastic shoes she puts on had a few loose fasteners (they glue on little fingers that grip the outside of the hoof), then she was off. Didn't have too much to do until the afternoon when folks started registering for tomorrow. Handled a bunch of little problems, like having to drag out Cheryl's printer to copy more Waivers because we out, and I had to make up a lot of the ride cards because they hadn't been prepared in advance. Folks came to collect their prizes in the afternoon, so there wasn't much of an awards ceremony (none, actually), and the ride meeting was short and sweet, though probably not real helpful for all but the most experienced riders. Oh, well. Not the way I would do things, but it's not my system. That said, I don't have plans to go in to register at 6:30 in the morning tomorrow, either, they'll just have to handle it without me, like they did this morning. Most folks got checked in, but there were still a few missing when I left tonight. Anyway, not quite so busy today, and there was a cold wind that had me keeping all my layers on, including my moose ear muffs and my Alaska parka, and even then I felt cold with the wind chill. Tomorrow I'm wearing long johns, huge gloves, and a wool cap! Brrrr! Anyway, got home around 7:00, fed and blanketed the horses, watched a one hour, skipped my shower, and am heading to bed shortly! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Babe,
Had a busy day helping out at another endurance ride, this one over two days, run by Cheryl V.D., and with all kinds of different lengths including 100 miles, though only about 30 riders each day. I didn't mark the trails here, but I did help with some gofer stuff, like parking trailers and helping with registration, so the day flew by. Cheryl organizers her rides very differently than Jo, generally waiting until the last minute to do things because they seem to be in a constant state of flux, whereas Jo is a planner, everything done as much in advance as possible, so that was quite a challenge to try to change methods. The first rides are tomorrow morning, but I don't need to be there too early, which I'm glad about. Lots of faces are starting to look very familiar, it's a lot of the same crowd at these endurance rides, and I'm even finally starting to learn some names, though most folks have seen me at two or three rides now, so many of them seem to know me now. I stayed for the dinner and ride meeting, finally getting back to camp about 7:30, settled down for a short evening, and I'll be heading to bed here shortly. Love you, sweetie! Good night!

Hiya Sweetie!
What a busy, productive day! Got up by 8:00, did my chores, made arrangements to pick up 15 bales of hay at an actual haymaker rather than a feed store, for the first time in quite awhile. I've been buying it at Tractor Supply in town for $11.50 a bale, which is the cheapest I've been able to find, but this haymaker was selling bales for just $8, and the bales were at least 30 percent bigger, and it was nice hay for coastal, so it was a much better deal all around! Went to Walmart after that and did a little shopping, didn't need much, then Tractor Supply for feed and another couple of washers to finish fixing Apollo's hay bag, then a short walk over to Publix where I succumbed to temptation and got not one but two little cartons of my favorite eggnog ice cream, since it was on sale. Jo happened to see my truck while I was at Tractor Supply, so she came in and found me and we chatted a bit. finally got back to camp and spent some time putting everything away, surprised myself by fitting all 15 bales under the gooseneck, thought I would have to store some in my usual place in the front stall, but didn't have to, thank goodness. Be tough to get it in since I can't reach it with the truck. Well, that took some time to do. Once that was done, I finished sorting the last of the ribbons so they're ready to go, and then went about mending Apollo's feedbag, again. He keeps chewing through the bottom! I sewed a patch of material once before, but it was just cotton and he chewed through that as well, so this time I bought some faux leather vinyl, the strongest thing I could find in Walmart, and sewed that into the bottom. Hopefully that will last a long time. I decided to make my favorite chicken recipe again, but this time I had a deep pan, and instead of a whole chicken, I took a package of boneless chicken thighs and spread it all over them, then covered it with aluminum foil. I don't know how it did it, but somehow it boiled over in the oven, again, making a huge mess, again!! I can't understand how it did that, the chicken with the sauce didn't even fill the pan halfway! Anyway, that took time to clean up, and I'll still need to do it again tomorrow, and some of it dripped into the drawers below, again, so that will take come cleaning as well. But, I have to say, the chicken was delicious! Settled down to another Christmas movie, a modern holiday version of Groundhog Day, which was okay. Just need my shower before I get to bed! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Babe,
Slept in a little bit, then after chores I went back to bed and read for awhile, because it was raining out and it just felt like the thing to do! Spent most of the day reading and watching Christmas movies, had a nice dinner with breaded chicken and stuffing so it almost felt like a holiday, then settled in for the evening. The rain quit in the afternoon, but it's still quite warm so not feeling real Christmas-y. Ate too much, sat too much, but otherwise enjoyed a quiet day. Should be getting a bit busier later in the week. Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hiya Darlin',
Mostly just rested today, mended my saddlebags where one of my ties had come off, and sewed a couple of other weak spots that were soon to go. A stitch in time, as they say! Mostly read and played games on my computer, not really up for much else for some reason. It was a gorgeous day, and sitting on the porch was delightful. Settled down to another Christmas movie after dinner, and am making it another early evening. Good night, babe. Love you!

Hiya Sweetie,
Had to get up early for a 10:00 dentist appointment in town, and just as I sat down to breakfast I got a call from them that there was a problem with my insurance. I ended up on the phone with them for a bit trying to sort it out, and didn't make a lot of headway, but I didn't want to miss the appointment, so I went in. Somewhere along the line they got it more or less straightened out, but it's so inconsistent! First the dentist was going to make me pay for the entire visit, then bill the insurance, and have them reimburse me for whatever they didn't cover, which seems to be completely arbitrary, but by the end of the visit, the only charged me for an upgraded x-ray and an office visit (which I'm pretty sure was covered), but it was all only $40 so I just paid it and hoped for the best. Who know what will happen once it gets billed? Such a convoluted system! Anyway, after all that, everything is fine anyway, so that was good news. I stopped at Tractor Supply for horse feed, Walmart for fuel, Winn-Dixie for liquor and groceries, and finally Publix for a quart of eggnog ice cream, then back to camp around 2:00. Too late to ride out and collect the ribbons off the white trail, so instead, I fixed Apollo's new slow feed hay bag. I bought it a few weeks ago, and it does seem to slow him down, but the design is so poor because the drawstring is the same material as the rest of the bag, and it has no rings for the drawstring, so I've been having a lot of trouble making it work. At Tractor Supply I bought a bunch of washers that I then used to create loops for the drawstring, so it was much easier to use. I was short one or two washers, but overall it works a lot better! Ranger Rick came by and we chatted for awhile, then I settled down for the night to another Christmas movie, this time with Kelsey Grammer, had a nice dinner with an eggnog and ice cream dessert, and am ready for shower and bed! Good night, darlin'! Love you!