What's Up Wednesday

Another busy week! Fall is apparently a VERY busy time. I always seem to forget that. Throw in some new horses to ride, and it's practically chaotic. But hey, who needs to sleep anyway?
The weekend started off with some excitement. I got home from work to this scene at the end of my road:

A young driver rear ended a motorcycle. Sheesh. Fortunately, everyone was ok.
Oh, and we closed up the pool Friday too. Bye summer.

 I had made plans with my sister-in-law for Friday evening, long before I had all these horses to ride. So it was a semi pony free evening. I fed the boys and wrapped Rio before heading over there. Thankfully, it was an early night because I was running a leg of the Hartford Marathon Relay in the morning.
You guys. You know what's worse than running when you haven't trained? Having to wait two hours to run. You know what's worse than that? That wait being outside in the rain in forty degrees. Fortunately, I made friends with another runner who shared his poncho with me.

I was fortunate to have the shortest leg at only 2.9 miles. It actually wasn't terrible after the first half. I struggled in the beginning with the cold air and my asthma. But once my innards warmed up, it was fun. I took a couple little walk breaks at the water stops. If I had done any training at all, I would have been able to skip those, but since I hadn't, they were required.

smiles cause it's over.

Our team finished 103 out of 190 teams, so about the middle of the pack. Other than the miserable weather, it was a lot of fun!

And the swag bag included an ice pack, so that makes it worth it right? Plus bling at the end. Love me some swag.

There is no rest for the weary crippled, out of shape runner though. From the race, I got home, changed my clothes, and headed off to ride Eros. We stayed inside since it was so soggy and gross out. Eddie's mom got to see him go too, because she was there with one of her boarders inquiring about a winter stall.
After a lovely ride on Eros, I headed straight to Eddie's house. He was a little sassy from the weather change, so we let him have a little play time on the lunge line first. Not sure my tired legs could have held on to any antics! He was perfect after the lunge though. We stuck to flat work, really working on getting him more responsive to my leg, and carrying himself a bit more. It was a lovely, but sadly media-less ride. Kind of the theme of my riding weekend. Sorry friends!
Next it was back to the house to take care of the bay boys. They both enjoyed a nice walk outside, and Rio had a little grass.

At this point, it was dark out, and I was so tired I didn't want to do ANYTHING EVER AGAIN. But alas, I had to run a few errands. I may or may not have grabbed Five Guys for dinner while I was out. (YUM.)
And then I pretty much died.

The pugs were concerned I might actually die I think.
Sunday I was sans barn helper in the morning, so I was up bright and early (but not as early as Saturday, thank goodness!) to take care of the boys. It was effing freezing you guys:

Ok, I mean, not actually freezing, but really quite close. And three days before this it was 85. Stupid. Anyway, the boys enjoyed their turnouts and I listened to a movie on Netflix while I did chores. It was quite a lovely morning really other than cold, and being somewhat crippled from the run on Saturday.

After chores, it was Eddie time! I honestly prefer to do him first because he takes a LOT more of my strength and energy. He requires a lot of leg, but also, he has this AMAZING trot, full of suspension. One needs some pretty serious leg and core muscles to not be a sack of potatoes up there.
I had an interesting ride on him that morning. He warmed up really well, and the first few jumps I popped over came right out of stride. It was so perfect I didn't know who was riding him. But then, as per usual I started to get in my own way a little. He was fantastic anyway. I'm really enjoying him. He lets me make mistakes without ever holding them against me. He just keeps coming back to try again.
After my jump school on Ed, I went over to the boarding barn to ride Eros. I got to finally ride him out in the gigantic outdoor ring. He was lovely out there. That horse really seems to be the same horse every day. Once in awhile he might be a little looky at stuff if he's "fresh", but he doesn't actually do anything more than that. I feel pretty lucky to have found him. He ADORES my step mom, and never does anything other than be perfect for her.

The ring seriously is enormous. I think it might even be bigger than my trainer's ring in Florida. And next to the ring is a really big pond. Eros actually has a water view from his stall. It's ridiculous!

grumpy ears, but look at the view!

Know what else you can see from his stall? This:

This adorable baby and her mama live across from Eros at night. (They're out during the day.) I know. I can't with that cuteness either.
After Eros time, it was back home to tend to the bay boys again. Both had nice groomies and walks, and Rio had a little more grass. I got inside before it was dark for once, so that was nice! Spent the rest of the evening adulting and cleaning up the house. (Yuck.)
Monday after work was reserved just for my boys. Eros' barn is closed on Mondays and it was pouring rain, so no Eddie either. Usually his mom rides on Monday anyway. Rio and Jampy each had really good curries and that was about it due to rain. Then it was off to the grocery store. Ugh. Adulting is really taking away from my free time!
Last night I rode Eros after work. He was less than enthused...

But was very good as always. I'm starting to play around with him on the flat more, and he seems to have a lot of buttons installed. He can move his front and hind ends independently, and has a nice extended trot. I think I can get more out of that when he gets a little more fit. The only place I'm really having trouble is that when I get him really on the contact, if I let go or soften at all, he'll root right down to the ground. Which makes it hard to soften. We're going to start regular lessons next week though, so I'm looking forward to figuring that out.
That's about it from here! This week is a little quieter as Eddie's mom is away. I'll still ride him, but we'll mostly just be flatting unless someone else is around there.
How was your week/weekend? Do anything fun? Lessons, horse shows, road race... anything?

What's Up Wednesday

Isn't it the best thing when Wednesday is also Fake Friday?! Yes, yes it is. I can't wait to get out of work today with 4 glorious days off ahead! (Sorry to any of you have to work this weekend.) But enough looking forward, let's chat about the past week. It was one of those weeks with nothing major happening, but lots of little odds and ends.
I got to ride almost every day after work last week. I think I only skipped Monday. The horses have been fine, though poor, poor Jampy has been feeling tortured by the temporary lighting situation. The shadows are just a bit too much for him to handle.
I was hoping to get some jumping done over the weekend, but unfortunately, the weather didn't really cooperate. I rode Saturday, but it was on the later side and was getting pretty windy. Sunday was ridiculous with 40-50 mph winds. I opted out of riding that day. Thus, sadly, I have no fun horse videos or even much for photos this week. #badblogger

I had signed up to run a 5K Saturday morning in my home town (which is only 15 minutes from my current town). It seemed like a great idea at the time. It supports the elementary school and takes you down by the beach. Plus it's mostly flat! (Until the end, that was a sad moment.)

This tee shirt is adorable

 However, when I woke up Saturday morning and it was 28 degrees, I definitely had regrets. Fortunately, the race didn't start until 10:00 am. It had warmed way up by then to about 35. Brr.

I actually had a pretty great feeling race. It was mostly down hill or flat the whole way out and I was able to plod along steadily for the first two miles. The return trip was slightly uphill with a great big hill at the end. Well, not that big compared to some, but a big hill compared to the rest of the course. I did some run walking for the last mile, since as we all well know, I am not fit anymore. I finished in 34:45 which is a little slower than an 11 minute mile. Certainly not the 9:30 I used to run regularly, but it is an improvement over my last couple of races.
There was a very nice gentleman cheering people up the hill after he had finished and I joked with him on my way up. He approached me after to commiserate about that end of race torture. Turns out he's cheered me on a few times recently as he remembered my crazy outfits from the Halloween and Steam Train races. Runners are really so friendly. They're not as grumpy and nervous as horse show people.

My new friends

I took a detour to the post office on my way home from the race to drop off two big bags for Used Horse Stuff. If you wear a size 5.5 or 6 pop over there in a week or two because my too small La Mundial boots are en route! The green and gold extra pair as well as the navy blue pair I never ended up wearing. As soon as those get sold, I already know what I'm replacing them with!
Anyway, it took me awhile to warm up after the race. I figured the best way was with a grilled cheese sandwich and several beverage options.

The horses were pretty good afterwards for which I was grateful. I had lost all motivation to do anything after that race! I stayed in that night and worked on getting the house organized (this is a forever ongoing project tbh).
Sunday, as I mentioned, was not a good horsing day. It was crazy windy. I might have considered swinging a leg over had it been July, but on a cold November day? No thanks. Instead, I spent a lot of time trying to clean up Rio's tail. He takes a fair amount of medication to keep him healthy and comfortable in his old age, and that can be tough on his tummy. He frequently has loose poo and with it not being bath weather, the tail was a mess. I'm talking big old poop dreadlocks. Disgusting. Especially when it's fresh. Blech! My solution was to shampoo it, oh I dunno, about 4 times. Then show sheen it into oblivion. And finally I braided part of it to keep it from hanging down when he lifts his tail. So far, that's working really well. I think as long as I'm consistent about re-braiding it and keeping it show sheened it shouldn't cause any damage.

It actually warmed up here after all the wind, so it's been rather pleasant riding after work so far this week. The best part?

My lights are back! Jampy is feeling much better about evening riding. He still hates the dark, but he thinks it's slightly less abusive than the temporary lights.
In other big news, my contractor has gotten to work repairing that hole in the barn. It was a big mess actually, must more of a project than we initially realized. (Why wouldn't it be?) The one wall of the wash stall is shared with the laundry/bathroom so it is insulated. That's all well and good except that because we use the wash stall every day to wash buckets and what not, that wall is always wet. Thus eventually the insulation was wet. And I imagine you can see where that's going. MOLD! Ugh. No wonder I can't stop sneezing when I'm out there. No good for the horses either. Long story short, it will look like this through the weekend while it dries out:

The solution is going to be to put new insulation in, rebuild that section of the wall, and probably put some plexi glass around the wash stall at that height to help with the moisture. I dunno about you, but that I think that looks expensive. Ugh. Glad we caught it though.
That's about it from here. Please enjoy these photos of the pugs and I being silly and a nice photo shot of last night's sunset:

How was your week? Any fun events? Big plans for Turkey Day?

What's Up Wednesday: The one where you should read to the end...

Wednesday already... Where does the time go?! It's been pretty busy around here still, but it was a really fun week!
I got to ride after work Thursday and Friday which was nice after a rain day and a book club day. I'm already completely over having to ride in the dark however. How many days till spring? My town had a big Halloween celebration on Friday night. I really wanted to go, but since the horses had a few days off AND I was hoping to jump Jampy on Saturday, I decided to skip it and ride instead. My brother and sister-in-law took the kids though, and they had a great time. They stopped over on their way home, and my older niece got really brave and helped me groom Rio. In her princess costume!

He thought she was a tad over dressed. But he'll take any attention offered really.

Saturday morning arrived way too quickly. I was running the half marathon relay with my best friend, and the alarm went off at 5:30. The worst part was the terrible sore throat I awoke with. Fortunately it seemed to dissipate the longer I moved around, so I was hopeful it was just allergies or something. (Spoiler alert: Nope.) My bestie and I met up at the train station where the race started at 6:30. It was still pitch dark out and FREEZING. Well, not quite actually freezing, but pretty close. We donned our matching outfits (Team Magical Milers obviously dressed up as unicorns, complete with rainbow tutus.) I was running the second leg, so I would get to ride the steam train to the transition area. We second leggers boarded the train at 7:15 and the runners lined up for the 7:30 start.

My friend and I realized I could bring a bag with some extra layers and waters that we could switch off when we swapped places. I was SO glad we thought of that because I also brought a blanket to stay warm with. It was much appreciated on the chilly train ride! Anyway, bestie's leg was just about 8 miles, and she ran it FAST! I was pretty excited that she did because it meant we stood a chance at beating the train back to the station. If your team could beat the train back, you win a train whistle in addition to your medal. I didn't think we'd have much chance of beating the train given my current lack of fitness level. But since bestie was super fast, it was still possible! My leg was 5.2 miles. Since I haven't run more than 3.1 in quite a long awhile, I planned to walk up the hills and run everything else. Little did I know it was almost all hills!
Anyway, my leg started right up a good sized hill. Since I was just starting out and also was pretty cold, I ran right up that first hill rather easily. Surprised myself! I managed to keep up a steady running pace all the way up through mile 2 when I got to the base of a really long and fairly steep hill. I decided there to take my first walk break. It was a little longer of a break than I wanted, but the thing just kept climbing! I ran/walked the rest of that beast which turned out to be much of mile 3. After that it rolled along pretty nicely, and before I knew it, I was running along the street back to the train station!
You guys. JUST as I was crossing the tracks the train arrived! I beat the train!

Photo Credit: FlashFrame Photography

Mostly thanks to bestie of course, but still, I helped! It was especially exciting because I was the last one they let through before closing the train crossing. They actually stopped all the runners behind me to let the train through. The rule was if you meet the train it counts as beating it, so many people behind me got whistles too. But it was pretty cool to get through there without getting stopped.

Magical Milers! (Have I mentioned Bestie and I are complete opposites?)

The medals were really cool for this race, and I thought the train whistles were pretty neat too.

I have no idea how long it took each of us to run our legs. Bestie doesn't run with a watch and mine decided to stop recording at 1.4 miles. But collectively we ran the half in 2:14.

Anyway, after all that excitement it was only 10:00 am. We decided to get showers and meet back up for some lunch. It was a lovely morning!
I got back home after lunch and met up with another friend for a bit. My dad and step mom stopped by too, and they had this with them:

I know. I can't even. I wanted to smoosh it and steal it and call it mine. I didn't though, because they got that adorable puppy for my step mom's dad. He just retired and realized he needs a dog for all his new spare time. Meanwhile, she will be here for a few weeks getting some training. So I plan to get as much puppy time as I can before she moves to Wisconsin. And yes, she will likely get to meet Ducky! (Remember him? The stationary hony?)
So now it was around 4 pm and I still needed to ride. Also my "allergies" were letting me know they were actually a cold. I decided to just flat both horses because my body was a little grumpy with me. Apparently running 5.2 miles untrained along with being sick pisses off the old lady body. Such a wimp. So I have no fun pony media this week. You could just stop reading now I guess. But you made it this far, so why not keep going?
I was pretty thankful to not really have plans for Saturday night. We were getting a pretty bad storm on Sunday, so I took the free night to fill up a bunch of bins and what not with water in case we lost power, and otherwise just took it easy for the evening.
Sunday I was planning to be a total sloth and sleep in until 9, but all the lazing around Saturday night meant I was wide awake at 7. It was already raining, with no end in sight. The horses had a nice day off, and I spent the majority of the day doing laundry and resting my cold. I haven't had a full day of nothing like that in a really long time, and it was pretty fantastic despite the congestion.
Monday was a Monday. Nothing special of note. I rode Jampy and gave Rio a lunge. Tuesday was Halloween though, so that's fun!

Halloweening at work

I didn't plan any costumes for the horses, but decided to wear my unicorn hoody to ride. I mean, if ever there was an appropriate day for a unicorn hoody, right?

Twinning. Rio is an actual unicorn. I was just pretending.

I don't normally get trick or treaters, but I always get some candy just in case. Some friends did stop by and they had costumes on, so they count! I made them wait outside until I had Jamp put away (I had just gotten off) because I was CERTAIN he'd be petrified of my friend's costume.

I was wrong. Jamp loved it. I think maybe he thought it was a huge banana...

Once my friends went home and the ponies were tucked in, it was time for the annual Halloween torturing of the pups!

That's right! The twenty minutes we spend in costume trying to get a decent photo! We were bacon and eggs in case you can't tell. I have to say, the pugs hated these costumes the least of any of the others over the years. I wouldn't say they LIKED them. But they hated them less than most.
Which brings us to today! I did a thing last week and the thing arrived today... I'd like to introduce you all to Stutty the Stuttgart:

I've been casually stalking the used saddle sites, ebay, and Facebook (totally casually) looking for a Voltaire Stuttgart. They are a little tough to find used, especially in the configuration I wanted. I did find one awhile back but it was grain leather which I didn't want. Then I found another but it turned out to have the wrong size flap. Well low and behold, the exact size I wanted (17" with a 2A flap) was available with the right panels (pro) and in the leather I wanted (buffalo) on ebay! But it was an auction listing not a buy it now, so I really didn't think it was going to happen. I didn't want to spend more than $3200 for a used saddle (cause holy crap that's a lot of money and I still love my 17 year old Hermes, thank you very much). The bright side to it being an auction was when I found it, the price was really low for a used Voltaire. Like $1500 low.  I know. Crazy talk. I stalked the listing all week, just biding my time. I had no plans to bid until the very end. It always baffles me that people go about bidding when there's days and days left. Long story short, I got it for a few hundred less than my max and the seller threw in the matching stirrup leathers. It was a great deal, and I was SO EXCITED for it to arrive today!
It's in excellent condition and fits Jampy pretty well. He seemed to really like it. Miracle of all miracles, I was able to sit his right lead canter! Magic I'm telling you! Rio will test it out tomorrow. I haven't jumped in it yet, since it was dark out when I got on. But hopefully this weekend I can see how it is to jump.
And that's what's up this Wednesday! What's up with you? Get any fun new tack? Do anything for Halloween? Tell me about your week in the comments!

Truthful Tuesday

Well my friends, yesterday was the last day of the Stridebox Virtual Two Week Marathon. And I'm super ashamed to say, I did not come anywhere close to completing it. Not only that, but the majority of my miles were only walking miles. #failure

Other runners always say if you really want it you'll make time. If it means enough to you, you'll find the time to get the miles in. But I keep doing the math, and looking for where I can fit them in. I only get 6 hours of a sleep at night, so I don't think I can eliminate more hours from that task... I think those runners don't have a full time job and four horses. And have a home to maintain on their own. Or maybe they do, and they're just magic? I dunno. If anyone has any tips, please share!

Do you have anything you need to confess today? Have you signed up for a virtual run and then not completed the miles? Do you feel guilty hanging that medal with the others?

What's Up Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday everyone! It's been a little ridiculous here lately. Over the weekend we had some of the coldest temps I've ever experienced, and then yesterday it was 55 degrees! Crazy. I'm excited for the warmer weather, and hope the ring clears up enough to maybe get some saddle time in this weekend! Time will tell on that...

  In the meantime, let's take a look back at the past week!
I went back up to Mt. Purses the other day and finished weeding out and organizing. It's not perfect, but it's much better than it was before! I keep them in the same room as my shoes, so the photos below are the wall opposite my shoes.

I love these shoe chairs. I got them in college and think they're perfect for my shoe room!

I haven't been able to do much with the horses other than brush them and stare at them during their turnouts. I suppose I could be trimming their whiskers and pulling their manes, but I like to give them a reprieve from all the primping in the winter. I figure when they are outside, they'll want that extra hair to keep them warm! I mean seriously, look at these temps:

Cuddling with Rio has obviously been the best method of staying warm.

He has my entire messy bun in his mouth...

So glad I decided to heat the barn!

 

It was SO COLD this weekend that the short kids even wore blankets to go outside:

Sadly, their blankets are a little too small. Sorry kids. We'll get bigger ones next year!

Saturday I ran some errands, took care of the all the four-leggeds, and otherwise just hibernated. But Sunday I was ready to be a more productive member of society. Ah the best laid plans...
Sunday was Valentine's day which as a single lady, I don't really bother celebrating. But would obviously never turn away chocolates. Or cupcakes. I have a coworker who is also a good friend. He has a sister-in-law that owns a flower shop. So every year on Valentine's day, he and his wife bring me some flowers and a sweet treat. Isn't that the nicest?! My goodies were coming by around 1, so I had plenty of time be productive before that. The horses were groomed and tucked back in by 11, so I headed indoors to complete my Valentine's virtual run (2.14 miles-more on this later).

After that I turned on the shower only to discover I had no hot water. Ugh. Thankfully it was a quick fix. But not quick enough to have time to shower. Oh well. Hopefully I wasn't too smelly. My friend stopped by with some cupcakes and these pretty flowers:

His wife is a 911 dispatcher and works Sundays, so she couldn't come by. He and I hung out for a bit and ate too many cupcakes. I was meeting another friend of mine to go see "How To Be Single" at 3:30. I went out early to get my truck running and warmed up. It's a diesel so this sub zero weather can be tricky. He started right up though! I let him run for about 10 minutes to make sure he wasn't going to stall out. And then we were on our way to the movies!
Unfortunately, about half way there, my truck stalled. On a winding, narrow, road with no shoulder of course. Yikes! I had to have it towed.

Needless to say, we did not make the movie. Never a dull moment! I'm still waiting to hear back on my truck's status. He's been giving me some difficulty lately. I'm confident this latest incident was due to the cold weather (he did this to me once last year on the way to work!) but he didn't want to start a few weeks ago when it was warm out. Best to get it figured out now, and not while I'm hauling horses this summer!
I borrowed a truck on Monday from work as we were getting snow again. My little Betty car is pretty much useless if it's snowing, so I am so thankful to have access to a four wheel drive vehicle! Seriously. So grateful.
The snow turned to rain during the night and then it poured all day Tuesday as it warmed up to 55 degrees. Ok by me as the snow is all melting away. Bring on spring!!!
Well, that's what's up with me this Wednesday! What's up with you? How's the weather where you are?