Archives for 2011

After finally having a pretty good night’s sleep, I decided I couldn’t stand looking the the remnants of a very large oak tree that we had cut down before we left on this madcap adventur more nearly 20 months ago, so I prodded Hubby into helping me split huge logs that had been sitting in the yard all this time. Unfortunately, he discovered a lead in the hydraulics on the tractor, which affected the front-end loader, so we couldn’t move it to where the logs were, so we had to hook the baby trailer to the back of the riding mower and lug the logs to the tractor in the pole barn. Some were just a tad too long to fit in the splitter, and many were so huge we had to struggle to get them in, but after a few hours we had a nice stack of well-seasoned firewood, and a cleaner yard than we had had for ages. It was a relief to get it done at last, though I’m not sure Hubby was as thrilled at getting the job done as I was… Hopefully the labor will make for a good night sleep! Did most of our packing in the evening in preparation for our flight back to Providence tomorrow.

Things got off to a bit later start than we had planned because other events were late, but the end result was a very productive workshop where we once again changed some minds about things. Looks like it might open some more doors for us. Once again we were invited to dinner at the restaurant for another enjoyable meal and more company now that they knew us, and with a glass or two of wine, what more could anyone ask of a work day?

Still woke up without having a really good sleep, but without phones or internet, we relaxed a good part of the day, though I still had work on my computer to do. Then we headed down in the Mustang, with the top down, of course, to the restaurant and marina in Tims Ford State Park for a reception on a houseboat and dinner at the restaurant. Endless shrimp and good conversation made the enjoyable evening fly by. The trip seemed shorter again for some reason : -), probably because the top was down, and we got back in time for a good night sleep for our early start tomorrow.

At least, it was supposed to be. Spent more time working than doing much of anything else, but did manage to squeeze in two movies we had rented yesterday. Feeling a bit tired, woke up before I got a really good deep sleep in.

Headed out to the airport, this time O’Hare, to grab a quick flight to Nashville. Security lines were long, glad we gave ourselves lots of extra time. Had a nice breakfast at a roomy grill between terminals before jumping on an American flight. Didn’t take long before we were on the ground again in Nashville. Picked up our rental car at Alamo, where I uncharacteristically let the guy talk me into an upgrade (from a Toyota Corolla to a cherry red 2012 Ford Mustang convertible… What can I say, he made me the proverbial offer I couldn’t refuse : -), then headed out to do some shopping before getting home. My Mustang and I managed to shave about 20 minutes off the usual trip :-). It was fun, I do have to say that! Settled into a movie we had rented before crashing in bed, exhausted from the recent flurry of activity. Looking forward to a quiet day off tomorrow!

Again spent most of the day working with our client before walking over to a nice little Indian Restaurant for dinner.

Spent the day working with our client.

Woke up early to gray and rainy skies, but the radar showed that the rain was all west and north of where we would be picking up hay this morning in Waterville (south of Utica), but by the time we got there the rain was everywhere! We managed to get the pickup loaded with a nice fresh 20 bales at $2.50/bale, but since we couldn’t cover it well while driving, it got wet along the way. We kept hoping for a break as the morning radar had promised, but it didn’t come until we were already in Massachusetts. For about the last hour and a half, it stopped raining long enough to kind of dry the hay out a bit, but the rain was fast catching up to us, so we’d have to cover it again quick once we stopped. Arrived a few minutes late at Jock’s Horse Farm near Cranston, but Angela was waiting for us, and quickly directed us to where we needed to be. We agreed we would leave the horses in stalls in the barn for the night, then mix them with their respective herds in the morning. She has several large pastures, and she keeps one for mares and one for gentle geldings, while another on is reserved for the more rambunctious geldings. We put Apollo and Clio about 5 stalls away from each other, so there was some whinnying going on for a bit, but they could see each other when they stuck their heads out of the stalls, so they eventually quieted down. Should be interesting to see what happens tomorrow when they’re in separate pastures! That’s never happened before! The pastures are next to each other at one corner, so they’ll be able to see each other, and frankly, this is a good opportunity for them to go through at least a mini-weaning (I know, I know, but they’ve never had any reason to be apart before!). We set up the RV outside their out-barn, which was a good quarter mile from the house, so we would both have our privacy while still being accessible and in the midst of things. The concrete was slightly leaning for draining, so we had to prop up one side, particularly since there was a lot of rain in the forecast. The inside of the RV has gotten so wet in the past few weeks that it feels damp and musty inside, we definitely need a good drying and cleaning out! Hopefully we’ll have a chance before we leave on our next trip. Hubby decided not to try to get the satellite dish out since it was getting dark by the time we finished setting up, and we were fading fast due to the long hard drive in the rain, the early morning hour that we got up, the heavy lifting load the truck with hay, etc. One short movie off the PVR and we were ready for bed!