Last Day of School!

A bitter sweat day, to be sure. Duncan finished school this year. I think it would be fourth grade if he went to typical school. So this summer he will turn 11, become a fifth grader and hopefully enjoy a good summer of fun on our six acres.

I have to openly admit I dread summer. With no daycare, no nearby family to help and a business to run summer makes me anxious. Duncan and I have a ton of fun and I thoroughly enjoy watching him romp and play. I will miss my lunches with my friends and finished my 'lunch season' with lunch with my Grandma today.

Duncan has made huge progress since three years ago when hise life went topsy turvy and so each summer is easier, but it still feels me with anxiety.

My focus will be on the 'day by day' of this summer. Enjoying the good, downplaying the bad and hoping for some mundane.

Camera Shy?

No, not me...my camera is being shy lately. I have some pictures I want to actually print and have not. I will try to be a good girl and take the camera home tonight and use it so I have some photos to share.

I did have a moment when I realized I need to be way more on FLYLADY since yesterday I took a riding lesson and had a moment of "i don't want anyone in my house" when the instructor asked to use the restroom. It was passable, but I would have preferred to be on track.

Hopefully, next I will be able to tell you that my (now lame) mare is all healed from her drmatic sore hoof and that I have taken some great lessons leading up to my SHOW in five weeks.

Better late than never?

I JUST mailed my Mother's day cards. I debated NOT sending them since they clearly can't jump back in time and get their before yesterday. However, better judgement said "better late than never". I hope my loved ones are forgiving! :D

Also, this house in town (near my home) gives me the "I wants" really badly. Look at that frong garden, rock wall, gate and all those blooming trees.

Up on the housetop, reindeer...

What? That is absolutely NOT a reindeer. That is Luna and Lolli (luna looking at you, btw). They learned they could leap from the well house to here. This is especially UNFUNNY when they did this while I was napping and my dog nearly killed me leaping across the bed.

Okay, they are supercute, so I will forgive them. BRATS!

OH YES I DID!

The weather has finally been warm enough and dry enough to get some outside stuff done. I am loving every minute. When I am not mucking stalls, feeding animals, feeding human animals, chasing goats, sleeping, working and such I am doing FUN yard stuff.

My idea of fun, might not be yours, though, so be warned! :D

This first photo (above) is of my home last September (before it was mine). The focus of today's work is the HUGE shrub between the house and my taillights. See it? You hate it too? Good, cuz I cut it out.



Anyway, the following photo is of the 'garden' as it was (with yard eating shrub in left AGAIN). The only things REALLY in this garden are the Hydrangea and some lambs ear. The rest is all container plants they had plunked in place. I was glad they did they were very pretty!

So, I took nippers and cut all the extranious shrub parts then got out the chainsaw (oh yes I did!) and cut the stupid shrub down to nubs. THEN... DH hooked a chain up to it and I pulled that sucker out with my SUV.

Then I got to work loading Duncan's Christmas wagon with rocks from beside the old barn. Since there is an uphill pull I was only 1/3 filling it. It took me five loads of 1/3 stones to complete this wall.

I have to buy a few bags of topsoil, some peat moss and some mulch to get it 'leveled' up, but it has come along way, I think.

It still needs some tweakign and the plan is to do a smaller tier below it by the basement window. Also want to put some smaller (cute) shrubs in beside the wall.
Here is another view where you can see the area where the shrub resided, the need for a second tier and so on.

Next I have to do something different with that walkway and get rid of it's boring 'squareness'. Also from this angle it looks a bit like it needs maybe even one more layer high of stone.

I have planted a rose (pink) a pink and white clematis for the downspouts, some dianthis and other stuff in the pot and will add moss rose and others as I see fit. I think the Hydrangea might have to move, b/c of color mismatch, but we will see.

I will post more pics at it makes progress. For now I am proud of this work. (oh yes I did)

Shiny AND Smart

This is my beloved friend, Daryl. We have a funny saying we share. We are Shiny AND smart. It all started when we barely knew each other. We were both groomers, discussing online our desire to become certified. We became 'list pals' and realized we both had similiar plans. We chose to do our certification together. One of our first 'big trips' was to Dallas, TX for a symposium. As I was buying the little toothpaste, little shampoo and other trip essentials I got a cute little thing of facial scrub and mud mask. We arrived at the hotel, still relative strangers and began to chat and unpack our luggage. As I got to the facial stuff and said "oh I bought this for us...." I then said "so we can be shiny and smart" It struck Daryl as funny and became a theme. I think of it when I am hyperfocusing on something. We learned alot that weekend, had flawless skin, laughed until we almost died, nearly made an instructor asphyxiate during a demo we did (with classmates) and generally laid the foundation for one of my favorite friendships.
Daryl is kind hearted, sweet, a great cook, a great hostess, shiny, smart, a talented writer and much more. She is the perfect balance of support and reality. Never allowing me to wallow in negative emotion, but yet letting me have a moment when I need it.

You are welcome to 'share' our saying. :D We have plenty more!

Click on her picture (above) to see her blog.

Oddly, this picture said 'shiny and smart' to me....b/c the point is we are multifaceted like the jewels that we are. She is shiny and smart and can shoot the lint out of your belly button. I am shiny and smart and am unafraid to gallop on a 1200 pound beast through the woods.

I love you Daryl!