Truthful Tuesday: The one where we're HOME!

 

We're HOME!!! I'm so happy to get home this year, you guys have no idea. I was feeling very stressed about the move, but mostly just because I hate change and love routine. But we're finding our groove here, and the horses really settled in easily this year. 

I have two confessions this week to share and both pertain to my being back home. I'll save the silly one for last to lighten the mood. So the first one is that I'm having some kind of weird feeling of peace being at home this year (so far anyway). The horses seem to feel it too. (Though, they did all act like fools in their first turnouts here Monday morning. I was sure they'd all be crippled after all the carrying on they did. I like to think it was celebratory antics, but who knows with this group...) 

Anyway, let me blabber on more about this peaceful feeling. I try very hard not to let others, especially those that I don't think are correct, get into my head nor dictate my emotions. But I am human. And sometimes it happens. I hadn't realized just how bothered I'd been feeling until I got home, and the feelings just lifted away. No one here at home can talk about me or my horses in a negative light. No one here is judging every decision I make or don't make. And no one is passing judgement on the quality or usefulness of my horses. Or me for that matter. And it's SUCH a calming feeling to just be free of that. 

I have a barn full of quirky, bargain priced horses. But they are MY horses. And I love them and all their quirks. (Okay maybe not all of the quirks, looking at you Al.) But I think each of them is talented in their own way. They're worthy of the best care. They're useful to me and they bring me so much joy. And you know? That's enough. That's all that really matters for me and my horses. And I'm so excited to just relish in that this summer. 

Um, but confession two? Heh. I haven't moved the jumps since last fall. I still have the same course set up. I just couldn't find the motivation in between all the rain earlier this spring. I figure we'll pop around what's out there this week and then maybe next I'll change it up. I mean, it's not like the horses remember the course. It probably feels new to them. Maybe. Ha. Oops.

Thursday's Threads: The one with some bonus material

 

Outfit Day! I will admit that the usual suspects are repeat photos, but I do have two bonus (non riding) outfits to share because it's my birthday week and therefore I can. We'll save those for the end though. Shiny wanted to model for us this week, so here's what she wore today:

Bridle: Joseph Sterling

I dunno about you, but I'm getting pretty excited to have some more bridle variety on Thursday's Threads soon. For now though, this bridle photo is a little cuter than normal thanks to Cinch photobombing. 

Saddle: Custom Saddlery
Saddle Pad: Mattes

Anyone else really sad about the Hufglocken/Mattes depairing? I've found a few other source, but nowhere with as good pricing. Thankfully, we're pretty well stocked for now. Especially given my shopping freeze. I do love these pads though! Worth whatever I have to pay in the future.

Boots: Premier Equine

We brought back the PEI boots for this last week at the boarding barn. Figured we might as well wrap up with a navy outfit. And I like these boots once the weather turns warmer since they're fairly lightweight. 

That's what Shiny had on, and here's what I was wearing today:

But then actually, I had to wear a sweatshirt over this because it was a lot cooler than the weatherman promised. Oh well. What can you do? 

Helmet: Samshield

I'm happy to report my face is nearly healed and I will do my best to share a fresh photo next week. Plus, I'll hopefully be wearing a different helmet. You know. For VARIETY!

Top: Luyaa

This is the Amazon knock off of the Lululemon shirts. It is also identical to the ones that TKEQ sells. Big fan.

Belt: Designer inspired

I scored this belt from Ebay many years ago. Still going strong!

Breeches: Tailored Sportsman

These are the color Charcoal. They look nearly black in real life. Kind of like what your black breeches eventually look like after you've had them awhile. 

Boots and Half Chaps: HKM Killarney

Yes. Recycled. They still look the same though! Promise! Haha! I'm still liking these a lot and I think you'll probably see them some this summer too.

So that's what I rode in today. But here are some funny outfits I wanted to share also. First is my Birthday Outfit!

That's right. I wore a cupcake for my birthday. Both on my sweater AND on my belt! Been awhile since I've worn this sweater. It wasn't supposed to be a barn sweater back when I got it, but like... everything is barn clothes now! Haha!

Okay, and now this outfit below is what I'm wearing post riding today. (It warmed up!)

It makes me giggle because it is new. (Yes, I admit I bought some clothes recently. However, it was BEFORE the truck happened. So please, allow me some slack there.) Anyway, I stopped in at Kohl's a few weeks ago to update my wardrobe a little bit. And I found this super cute outfit that I was pretty excited for. And then I realized why it was calling to me. Guys. I've already owned this exact outfit. I wore this regularly my senior of college and the summer after. I mean, back then I think I bought it at Express. But now it's at Kohl's. And pretty much exactly the same. Also, am I maybe too old to wear these trendy things? Possibly. But I've never been accused of acting my age, so I'm going with it. Plus it covers all the things that need covering, so I think it's okay. 

Alright. That's all I've got today. What do you think of the current trends? A lot of you are younger than me, so you might not remember them having already been around. But those that do recall, what do you think? Glad it's all back or should it have stayed in 2002?

What's Up Wednesday

 

Things are going well with the ponies this week! Still very low on media though. So sorry. 

Al is such a different horse now that we're back outside. I mean, he still snorts and side-eyes stuff on the regular, but he's a million times more relaxed. Funny little anecdote from the weekend. I had to ride very early Saturday so I did him indoors. It was barely 35 degrees outside which... no thanks. Lol! Anyway, I was riding Al inside, and one of my fellow ammy's was walking her pony bareback to keep us company. And she (unprovoked) said that Al's entire expression changed when he'd get to the end he didn't like. Like she could the stress on his face. She said you can tell he's afraid down there, not just regular spooky. So like, I know I've more or less gotten an understanding of this horse now. And I also know that I don't need validation, but also I am human and some validation feels nice. So it was nice that someone semi removed from Al and I's plight could see that there was a real "thing" there that he's been dealing with. And not just bad behavior. It also feels kinda nice that he's at a point where he can trust me now and not always let his emotions dictate his behaviors. He'll never be a perfectly behaved zero anxiety horse, but I think now that we have a better understanding of each other, things an come together a little more frequently. Or maybe not. But at least in this moment I'm feeling good about things with him. I can't wait to get back to lessons at home and hopefully to some little shows this summer. Fingers crossed things come together for that. We didn't get to lesson this week because Saturday I had a baby shower during both my lesson times (hence my riding so early). But we will get to lesson this Saturday so I'm excited for that. It will be our last one at the winter barn this year since WE MOVE HOME SUNDAY! Hopefully anyway. More on that in a minute. First we'll chat about the rest of the horses. 

Shiny's feeling good, but they got their second round of shots yesterday so her neck is a little sore. Not as bad as some years though, thankfully. Not a lot to report with her, she's been very good, and also really happy to be back outside. She missed her Saturday lesson too, but is very much looking forward to this weeks. I am too!

Eros is up to 16 minutes of trotting now. He's been just as well behaved outside as in which is nice. Sometimes he gets a little... torpedo-like when we first go outside. But not this year! So I'm happy for that. His leg doesn't need that drama. He still doesn't feel amazing to me, but he doesn't get worse as he goes which is what was happening before we rested him. Also, he never feels great until after he's had a warm up canter, and since we're not cantering yet, I'm hoping that's some of what we're dealing with. He's also coming due for maintenance soon. And none of them have seen the chiropractor since February I think? Maybe January? It's been awhile. So I'm hoping what I'm feeling is just the confluence of all these things. He gets to start cantering next week, so we'll see how that goes. After he's cantered for a couple weeks we'll schedule a recheck and see where we are at. I think all three will be due for spring maintenance by then anyway. 

So back to moving day! The reason our move is not definite is once again my truck. I mentioned last week that I had to have it towed in for its oil change. I was told once they checked it over that it just needed both batteries replaced, a fuel filter, and the oil change I had scheduled. Okay, that's not too bad! But then when they said it was ready, they also gave me a laundry list of things wrong with it. Things that make it unsafe to haul with. Oh and one thing that wasn't actually broken but I guess they figured they could try and get an additional $2200 out of me... Fortunately, I'm not as dumb as I look, and I knew how to fix that particular problem. (It was my automatic running boards. Dealership said they weren't working. They weren't. But the reason they weren't was that they were not turned on. Pretty simple fix.) I found it very weird that they wouldn't tell me about all these other problems initially. Normally when I've brought it in, they tell me everything they find when they look it over and then we discuss what needs to be done right away and what can wait. This time they told me after I was set to pick it up. And it really wasn't stuff that can wait. But I picked it up anyway and brought it to a trusted mechanic instead. Unfortunately, trusted mechanic found mostly the same problems. So I'm now VERY broke. (I will have spent nearly as much as I paid to purchase Shiny on this truck this month at this point.) So goodbye any hopes of a sleep-away horse show this summer. But also, I'm not positive I'll have the truck back Friday. Fingers crossed. They're trying their best to get it done. I basically need everything replaced underneath due to rust and corrosion. Steering, suspension, heat shields, brake lines, ALL the brake parts. Ugh. 

My braiding work has kind of dried up over here too. The local spring A show that everyone used to braid for has gotten very small and no one braided this year. So I didn't get any income when I kind of had expected to. I think the summer show at the same venue will go similarly. So I guess it's time I find a real job! I don't really want to go back to my former career. I did it because it was our family business, but it's nothing I was particularly passionate about. Which means I can kind of go any direction. Except for a few things... I'm not especially qualified for much. I have a BA in Psychology but no graduate work/degree. I have customer service and sales experience so I could go that direction, but not sure what industry. So... anyone have any good suggestions? I'm not sure I need to go back full time. I'm not sure I can go back to those 15 hour days between work and horses. I'm not as young as I once was! Since the horses will be home, and I don't have weekend help this year, my weekends aren't really free for a job either. Especially since I would like to be able to do some one day shows and those are on weekends. So I would need something that's weekdays only. Preferably mornings and part time if in person. But I could probably do full time if it's flexible on which hours I work. So I'm taking suggestions on what to explore! I browsed Indeed for things local to me, but it was mostly just retail jobs and healthcare workers. Neither are a fit for me. Maybe retail if I really had to, but again, I'd prefer to not work weekends. 

Maybe I could be like... an equestrian personal shopper? Is that a thing? Cause I love shopping for horse stuff. And it would be way more fun with someone else's money. 

Anyway. Back to less boring topics. I got to do some non horse things this week which was fun. As mentioned, I attended a baby shower on Saturday. So nice to see some friends and spoil the soon to arrive baby! It's a horse adjacent girl! I say adjacent because her mom (my friend) never really got into horses fully, but HER mom (the grandma who is sadly no longer here) was a big time horse girl. She had her own barn, the whole thing. So horses are in the blood. The big sister is already showing interest (She's turning 3, I think) so I'm excited for Shiny to give some pony rides this summer. And then this evening I got to attend an art show for both my nieces. 

Ellie, in second grade, made these beautiful beads herself!

This lovely print is by Keira, grade 5. She LOVES Mary Poppins

The art show was followed by a joint band and chorus concert. Which was cute. There are some talented kids there I think! Performers were in grades 3 and higher, so it was just my older niece for this one. She sings and plays in the band. She played like five different instruments. Very impressive. She gets that talent from her mom's side of the family. Us Seidmans are not musically talented. Not at all. Lol! It's fun to see her in her element. You can see her confidence grow each time she performs. 

And that's about it from here! One more week of sharing space, and then hopefully we'll be back to doing whatever we want WHENEVER we want! And more media! Pivo can come out and play once we're home too. Looking forward to it! Fingers crossed my stupid truck is back together in time.

Truthful Tuesday: Birthday Edition

 

It's my birthday today! I'm ridiculously old. So birthdays should terrify me at this point. But they don't really. I still love birthdays. A day you can eat all your favorite things with zero guilt! You get flowers! And maybe even some presents. But here's my confession for this birthday... This is something that probably only happens when you're really old like me.... 

Guys. I forgot to make plans. I didn't reach out to anyone to join me for birthday dinner. No one. Of course, I suppose I could also say no one reached out to me either... But it is a Tuesday which is kind of a lame day for a birthday. Tuesday and Wednesday birthdays typically require some planning. And I did not. So I'm kind of just hanging around like a loser by myself tonight. Which would be kind of sad, except that it's really not. I mean, the dog is here. Plus, it's not like my birthday was ignored. I got some cards and flowers.

And lots of texts and messages. I just didn't make dinner plans. I thought about taking myself downtown and having a nice dinner at the bar at one of my favorite restaurants. But then I was feeling kind of lazy so I didn't do that. I think I may pop over to the grocery store and buy myself some cake though. Cause you really can't have a birthday without cake. PLUS, Passover finally ends at sundown so I really deserve some cake. 

Any of you ever forget to prepare for your own birthday? No? Just me? Lol. Wait till you're my age. It will happen!

Thursday's Threads

 

Outfit Day! And I have to confess. I made a mistake this week. I completely forgot to get horse photos this week. Eros was supposed to be our model and I do have photos to recycle of his bridle and leg wear at least. But the saddle pad... well... you'll get to see it. Just not on him. I've been really scatter brained lately. Hopefully I work that out soon. I nearly wrapped Eros behind today instead of up front... Sheesh. Focus Stacie!

Also, I wanted to report back about what a good horse Al was today! I was worried he'd be permanently traumatized after yesterday, but he wasn't. I rode him indoors first and he was an angel. So then I took him outside for our first real ride outdoors of the season, and he was perfect out there too. Al being perfect is a bit of a rarity, so I felt it important to interrupt Thursday's Threads to document that. Good boy Al!
Okay, back to our regularly scheduled post.

We'll start with Eros since I've already admitted the error of my ways.

Bridle: Joseph Sterling
Brow Band: Dark Jewel Designs

He's still rocking the jumping bridle. He's been pretty willing to come round in it without too much effort on my behalf so maybe he's not needed the leverage bit anymore now that he's officially entered his mid teens. Time will tell. We haven't cantered yet.

Wraps: Eskadron

I've decided I'm a very big fan of these liners and wraps for Eros. I want to get them in more colors. Of course. Because I have a problem. Lol. #tackhoforever

Saddle: Butet
Saddle Pad: Ogilvy Baby pad
Half Pad: Mattes

Since I failed at a getting a photo on the horse, I also included a close up of the pad that shows its colors more truly than the photo above with the saddle and half pad. I love this tan pad. It looks good on both horses. (And would on Shiny too but she doesn't use this type of pad.) I tried to also get chocolate brown ones, but sadly, Ogilvy discontinued that color before I had the chance. Maybe they'll bring it back one day.

Okay, my turn! Here's what I had on:

And MAYBE I forgot a couple photos of my helmet and boots too... But fear not, I have reruns for those. I think I've subconsciously been choosing to wear my barn colors as a form of self soothing. Like maybe wearing my colors will make me less anxious about the current situation. 

Helmet: Samshield

Thankfully this photo is recycled and that thing on my chin is slightly less angry than as seen here. (Because of course I would also have a freaking boil on my face this week... Okay it's not a boil, but might as well be.)

Sweatshirt: Quur

I got this hoodie ages ago (also have it in navy) but it was a little snug when I first got it and didn't wear it much. Fits great now though, so I plan to wear it a lot more.

Belt: Zazzle

I just love these belts. I wear them all the time and wish I had more extraneous cash so I could buy more of them. 

Breeches: Tailored Sportsman

These are my Canyon color breeches that I waited SO PATIENTLY to find used and/or discounted. Finally my moment came about a month or so ago. The color is most true up above in the belt photo.

Socks: Dreamers and Schemers

I just love my custom D&S socks. Another thing I would waste more money on if I had it. But for now, I'm well stocked, so no biggie! If you want to support my sock habit, I do have a D&S affiliate link. Use that bad boy if you want to invest in socks of your own and get me some sock money too! Just click here. (If you want. No pressure.)

Boots and Half Chaps: HKM Killarney

I introduced these last week. Very happy with them thus far! Do recommend if you like half chaps.

And that's it for this week! Any favorites? 

What's Up Wednesday

 

It's been a weird week around here guys. WEIRD. First, and kinda fun, we had some semi famous visitors at the barn over the weekend. 

This is Bucky

And this is Trumpet

I'm not sure if you recognize them, but they are currently touring with Bad Bunny. Bucky has been the one seen most so far as he's the more seasoned guy. Trumpet is younger and learning the ropes of being a concert horse. When they're not performing at major music venues, they are actually roping horses. I think from Texas. Bad Bunny was playing nearby on Friday so the horses laid over with us to rest up. They were very sweet and wildly unfazed about life. (Perhaps my next horse really should be one of these unfazed quarter horses.)

Another weird thing? I had ordered what I thought was a pair of fetlock boots from Ebay for Al for turnout when he gets home. But this is what arrived:

Right. That's a single boot. I guess for my one legged horse? Seriously, who sells a single boot?? Clearly I missed something in the description... Fortunately, they accepted the return with no issues. How silly though, right? (I told you. It's been a weird week.)

I finally went Friday for my consult with the ortho about my knee. He advises I get it repaired, but said I don't have to rush into that. So... for now I'm not doing that. It's a lengthy recovery time and likely a minimum of two months out of the saddle. That's a long time. Plus it's my right knee so I wouldn't be able to drive for awhile either. I live alone, so that's a real burden. I'm sure I'll repair it eventually. Just not right now. Instead, he prescribed me some more PT and suggested getting a real brace. (As opposed to the Amazon one I've been using... Lol. Doctors are so proper.) Can you believe all the great news this week?? The knee, the truck, the oil tank... The one boot. THE SADDLE PAD. Seriously. I wasn't kidding when I said it was weird around here. 

Things with the horses are... you know. Fine. I'm definitely looking forward to getting them home. Since everyone has returned I waste SO MUCH time just trying to get my horses ridden around everyone else. I'm the lowest rung on the ladder of boarders again so my needs are of zero importance. It's pretty uncomfortable. Just generally in life, I try really hard to not be a problem. I like to blend into the background. But sometimes I let everyone go ahead of me so much that I then get really frustrated because it's never my turn. Know what I mean? It's certainly a flaw on my part. But the consequences are frustration and annoyance. 

One such instance I mentioned last week. All winter I've been lessoning Al and Shiny both on Thursday and Saturday mornings. But with the BO home, the Thursday lessons are an inconvenience for her as we are in the way of her training rides. (She doesn't teach my lessons. If you recall the drama from December, that is why I will no longer lesson with her.) So I'm down to just Saturday for my lessons. And then I realized that this weekend I have a baby shower to attend Saturday, so that means I won't get to jump at all this week. Kind of disappointing. But we'll survive. 

I did get to lesson this past Saturday though. My usual instructor is on vacation, so we rode with assistant trainer. She's a young pro, just promoted from barn manager. The horses were great, and we had a nice lesson. I was especially proud of Al. He used nearly the entire ring and jumped a full course. He's been great since his time off while I was away. I'm starting to wonder if he's maybe not a six day a week horse. Like maybe he needs an extra day off each week or some other different schedule. Once I'm home we can experiment. 

Unfortunately, today he had a no good, very bad, day. They got shots yesterday and I think he woke up on the wrong side of the stall from that. He was spooky just walking to the cross ties. Which isn't normally him. But he tacked up fine. We got to the indoor (it was raining AGAIN), and did our one lap of hand walk each direction. Got on him. All good so far. But after my first lap of walk under saddle, he suddenly started snorting up a storm. Head in the air. Heard pounding. I didn't hear anything at first. But turns out one of the workers was spraying the sides of the indoor with weed killer. You could just barely hear him out there, but you couldn't see him. Poor Al was beside himself. He's really not confident in the indoor, but has been SO GOOD this whole week. (We're trying very hard to get outside, but the weather has been awful.) Anyway, I was trying to just get him to walk it out and relax, but then another horse spooked and Al full on ran into a standard in a blind panic. So I hopped off to fix the jump we knocked down, and figured I'd hand walk again until he came back down to planet Earth. Unfortunately, he was a snorty snort machine, and the BO had just gotten on one of the green horses for the vet who was out. She made a comment and I figured it was best to leave the ring. (Believe me, it was best.) I planned to ride him again later in the day after he had his turnout (and hours to chill the eff out). Unfortunately, the early afternoon lessons ran very late, so the break that was supposed to happen didn't and I wound up not getting him worked today. I did take him back out for grooming though and he was in a much better head space. So I don't think the lack of work today will cause any more problems. Time will tell of course. I'm a little worried that the noises today are going to stay with him like the door problem though. I REALLY hope not. But it is a concern. I just wish they'd tell us when they're going to be doing stuff like that. Of all the horses to be in the ring for it, it's particularly unfair to Al. I would have just done one of the others first.

Funny enough, somehow the guy was back out there when I was finishing up Eros' ride too. Poor dude was pretty freaked out, but since he's Eros, he trusted me and kept his poo together. There is something to be said for a nice 15 year old gelding... Lol! Eros has had his own ring challenges this week though. OH! But more importantly (and to be celebrated!) he's bumped up to ten minutes trotting! I'm still not convinced he's 100%, but he seems to improve the longer we trot rather than get more lame, so hopefully what I'm feeling now is just the maintenance stuff that's coming due. Regardless, he's doing well at the ten minutes. We'll go to 15 next week. And if that goes well for a week we can add some canter. Moving right along! 

Anyway, back to his ring drama. Sunday was ridiculous. It was cold and windy but for whatever reason, BO decided that a course would be set outside finally and all lessons would be out there! Which was fine with me, I figured I'd get the indoor to myself. But you see.... Almost none of the horses have been ridden outside yet this spring. So the training ride horses needed free lunges before going out to ride. And none of those free lunges were done early like normal. Nope. They were done as needed throughout the morning. I wanted to do Al inside so I did some waiting. Got him done. Yay! That's a win! I took Shiny outside since she's been out there a bunch and she gives zero poops about where she rides. But it was cold and miserable and I think we both hated every second of it. I didn't want to go out with Eros. He hasn't been out yet, and is still just rehabbing so despite him being a perfect specimen, there is an edge there. He doesn't need to be out there acting a fool on his questionable leg. Anyway, I had him all ready to ride, but then one of the amateurs wanted to free lunge her horse before her lesson outside. No problem. I waited. And waited. She was out there awhile. I finally get on. Walk our six minutes. Get five minutes into our trotting (so just the left) and as I'm trotting across the diagonal another ammy comes in with her horse. They had been in the lesson outside but her five year old horse was trying to launch her to China. Her five year old horse, who hasn't been ridden outside yet this year, let alone jumped out there. Did I mention his ammy is a novice level rider? (Does no one see a red flag here? Not that they're a bad match, I don't think that. Just the circumstances of the day was screaming red flag) Anyway, she needs to free lunge right now. Why he couldn't go on a lunge line outside is beyond me... but anyway. I had to dismount and leave the ring so the horse could lunge. I was so fed up I just let Eros quit with half a ride. He didn't seem to mind. And I was just over it. Needed to go be any where else. I mean, I wasn't mad at my fellow ammy. I would hope if the roles were reversed, I'd get the same consideration. I was just annoyed at the full day of waiting around and still not getting my rides done. And while it's really none of my business, I questioned the thought process of not prepping these horses appropriately. Shiny can go ride outside after months inside and she's fine. But young warmbloods aren't built like that. For me, I like to take a horse out slowly. Like maybe we lunge out there first. Or maybe we ride inside for a bit and then finish up outside the first day. And the first day I like to just be a flat. I don't think it's wrong necessarily to "see what happens" IF you have the tools to work it out. But if you know the riders don't have those tools... I dunno. Not the route I would take. OR if I KNOW a horse is going to be a nutter out there, I'm going to try and set us up for success, not just go out and see what happens. Cause you KNOW what's going to happen. As a kid I had trainer say you have to be more game to ride through the bad behavior. But in my old age, I'd rather set the horse up to not have the bad behavior. If tossing the horse on a line for five minutes lets him get that out, and then have a nice ride, why wouldn't you do that? (Exception of course is a horse like Eros that will likely lose a limb on a lunge line. No small circles for him!) 

What do you guys think? Is it wrong to take that approach? I'm not saying I'm right. I'm just an amateur, and lord knows I'm not very brave. So maybe my approach is wrong and it's just being a weenie? What are your thoughts here? Do we need to be willing to ride out the bucking and running? Or should we find ways to not invite that behavior? I'm not sure either way is right or wrong. But I'm curious what your thoughts are. 

I realize this post is pretty whiny too. Sorry guys. I have some angst I need to work through this week and this blog seems to be where it's happening. But I feel like sunshine and roses will be on the horizon soon! 

Hope you've all had a better week than I did! But if not, I applaud your tenacity for surviving it. Hopefully all good days ahead!

Truthful Tuesday: The one in which I whine. A lot.

 

I always feel a little angsty as we approach moving day for the horses. And that goes both ways; be it moving home or moving away. There's just always a lot to organize and whatnot. But the universe seems to find great pleasure in making moving time exponentially more angsty. Remember last year when I brought my truck in for service a month before moving day and then the whole thing was eaten by mice and I didn't get it back in time? And had to use insurance to pay for the repairs because it cost more than Shiny did? That was something! 

So this year, I made sure to drive the truck all winter. With regularity. And when I wasn't driving it as much I made certain to drive it every Sunday. (Some people go to church, I drive my truck.) Trucky had maybe three weeks in a row where I didn't drive it because I actually just forgot one of the Sundays and then was away on vacation for two of the following. I had it scheduled to go in for a recall and an oil change this Monday though, so Sunday I made sure to hop in there to take it for a ride. Well. It was dead. D-E-A-D DEAD! 

I'm talking once I was in it, it used up the last little bit of juice to tell me it couldn't start and then I couldn't even lock the doors. So very dead. Fortunately, I just recently renewed my USRiders insurance so I got that bad boy towed in at no cost. Which... thanks for that because I do have to pay to actually fix it. Fortunately though, it's just a couple of batteries and a fuel filter that appear to be the problems. Oh yeah, and there are definitely mice in there again. F-ers. Those things plus the oil change? Just under 2 grand. Sigh. Could be worse though. So I'm thinking all good, ready to finish getting things ready for the horses! Only I get home from the barn tonight to a bit of an odor in the house. I go sniffing about, unsure of the source. Until I reach the laundry room which is where my door to the basement is located. Ohhh. I know that smell. That's oil. Excellent. Yep. My oil tank is leaking. Thankfully, the oil guys were able to come over pretty quickly to put a patch on it. Of course, that's temporary and I'll need a new tank. You can double the truck bill for that... 

I still need to order grain and shavings before the horses get here, but at least I got the hay a couple weeks ago. (That was about the price of the oil tank but will last me the whole season.) So yeah. I'm feeling the angst. Feeling it hard. Gonna have to find me some braiding jobs asap. Or perhaps I can sell some body parts? My organs mostly function pretty well. I bet I could do something with those. In the meantime, once the horses are here, I'm hoping to get some extraneous stuff listed for sale. That could hopefully help my find some cash AND get rid of a bunch of stuff taking up space. 

Anyone else seem to have tons of extra bills every spring? Or is it just my stuff that all breaks this time of year?

This is just a little extra twist of the knife by the universe.
My washer took a bite out of my Anatomeq pad. Couldn't
have eaten a cheaper pad could it? Oh no. Gotta be the nice one.