Thursday's Threads

 

Outfit Day! Another grooming outfit this week, but this one is horsey. 

See? Horse sweater!

Sweater: Luna Ivy

In the fall Marshall's had tons of cute horsey stuff, and I snagged this sweater. I think it's adorable.

Belt: Ponylocks

I thought Jamp's tail belt was the perfect accessory for a horsey sweater.

Jeans: DL1961

I love the center seem that's in style right now. Even if the one seems to be twisty. I got these at Marshall's too which might explain the imperfection. Apparently these pants retail for $225 according to the brand tag on them. I paid $35. That's more my speed. 

Shoes: Easy Spirit

These are my new old lady shoes. I have a green pair that I wore to the theater a few weeks back on a very cold night and my feet were so warm and cozy! I didn't want to ruin the pair I have but wanted to try them out for the barn, so snagged this cheaper color from Amazon. They will be perfect for days when the snow isn't past my ankles. Though lately I've been cleaning stalls in my winter paddock boots and then switching to a different taller boot for outside cleaning. I can do that with these too. They are really warm and super comfortable. I also sized up a half size so I have plenty of space for wool socks when it's very cold. 

That's it for today! Are you so bored with non riding clothes? I am. I can't wait to wear fun boots again. And I got a closeout Samshield to replace my expired one which I'm dying to wear and share on here!

What's Up Wednesday

 

Phew. What a week so far. And it's only Wednesday! When we last left off, we had gotten 22" of fresh snow and my thermostat in the barn died. Fortunately, that was replaced the same day. And then things were humming along okay! We had a beautiful day on Saturday. It was nearly 50 degrees out which felt like summer almost. I even had the barn doors cracked open for most of the afternoon. On both ends! Fresh air flowing all the way through!

Glorious! Truly!

Of course Sunday brought snow and cold again because Mother Nature is hateful. Thankfully it didn't really accumulate. Just a coating. But I did miss the warmth from the day before. Temps tanked again that night down into the low teens. Miserable. 

We didn't get above freezing again until yesterday when it just spit sleet all day. Which was when the barn furnace decided to stop working. Unrelated to the thermostat issue from last week. But really? Can I just get a week or two without some expensive repair? Please? Pretty please? Anyone out there listening? 

Anyway, they came out to look at it in the afternoon, and the good news is that it just needs a part, not a full replacement. Bad news is the part won't arrive until tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully they will be out Friday to fix it. It isn't supposed to get colder than low 30's until then, so hopefully the pipes won't freeze before the repair happens. (Also it's March, could we just stay above freezing from here on out?) 

Last night when I went out for night check I thought it was above freezing, but once I stepped foot on my driveway I learned the hard way that it was not. Fortunately the brunt of my fall was in a snow bank rather than directly on the frozen driveway. Wet is better than bruised, right?

Also, on Monday I got a text that they're bringing me a hay delivery on Sunday. Which seemed good because the ice should be melted by then. But then I get a text last night that said "tomorrow should be warm, he's leaving at 7." (His wife does the communication.) I texted back, you mean Sunday right? No answer. At 7 this morning she says no today! Oof. Meanwhile, every highway in my state has a closure due to accidents everywhere from the ice coating on everything. I let her know, to no response. So I sent a text to hay guy directly and he replies, "okay." So I have no idea what that means. He's not here yet, so I'm guessing he waited a bit to leave. Hopefully my helper was able to get the hay barn ready on almost no notice because I had a work meeting this morning and couldn't do it myself. 

I know it's not a big deal, but I really like to have a schedule. I like plans and order. This whole change of plans every single day is driving me bananas. I have been trying for two days to go pick up my prescription and finally this morning just switched it to delivery because CLEARLY, I'm not meant to leave this property ever again. I dunno guys. This winter has cost a fortune both financially and emotionally. Might be time to reevaluate farm ownership. 

On the bright side, Saturday brought a lot of melting and I can see the ground in a lot of places! Not the ring.

But almost everywhere else. So there is hope that someday I will ride again. The forecast shows 50's for Sunday and Monday! Which if that happens, we could maybe have enough space in the ring to start tack walking. Wouldn't that be wonderful! I figure we'll start tack walking before we get to real work. This much time off needs to be treated like a rehab rather than an immediate return to work. Tack walk for a few weeks, add in a few minutes of trot each week. And then eventually we'll be working. That's the plan. Of course you all see how my plans tend to play out... so we'll just play it by ear. 

I hope things are less annoying for all of you! If you're in a snowy area are you melting yet? Is riding on the horizon for you? And if you're not in a snowy area, are you doing fun things with your horses? 

Truthful Tuesday

 

Today's confession is that I remember having a thought while cleaning the med paddock this weekend that whatever I had done would be a great Truthful Tuesday, but now I can't remember what it was that I did. I keep saying I need to note these things, and occasionally I do! But most often I do not. And I am pretty sure I would have some pretty entertaining content if I could remember what I do! Ha!

This is 45 I guess. Do you have great content ideas and then immediately forget them? No? Just me? It will happen to you soon enough!

Thursday's Threads

 

Outfit day! Still not wearing riding clothes, but my outfit does have a lot of shavings stuck to it, so that makes it horsey at least.

I wore some crazy pants today. They're a little tighter than I remember them being. It's been a long cold winter, and clearly I needed to bulk up for survival! Or something like that.

Sweater: Luya
Vest: Eddie Bauer

It was warm today (thank goodness) in the 40's and it was so nice to have just a vest on rather than a coat! The only down side was that my sweater was exposed to all the shavings and hay that stuck right to it. 

Belt: Levi's

I thought this retro belt was perfect to go with my crazy pants.

Jeans: Joe's

To me, these jeans are giving late 80's rocker vibes. What do you guys think? They're super fun!

Boots: Ariat

I'm back in the winter boots since there's snow and slush everywhere. Have I shared these with you all yet? They are the replacement to my very old pair that gave up on life a few weeks back. I'm a little disappointed that they run a bit smaller than they used to. They fit fine with regular socks on, but with wool socks they are squeezing my toes. Such a bummer! Today was a regular sock day though, so they were fine. 

That's it for this week! What should I wear next week? I need inspiration! 

What's Up Wednesday

 

I feel like I fell into a snowstorm vortex and I don't remember anything before it happened. But that's not really true. We actually had some nice days last week and weekend. It was comfortably cold, anywhere from high 30's to low 40's for several days in a row. It was enough to give you the false sense that spring was coming. Ha. HAHA. LIES from mother nature.

Look at all that bare ground!

I was almost thinking I'd get to ride in a few more weeks. Not so much now! In fact this morning it was snowing again. We got another couple inches. So silly. 

Thankfully the horses got out today. My helper was able to get here, but I met him out there to get started this morning because I left him with only full muck buckets. Least I could do was pitch in for the start. I have a team meeting Wednesday's though so I had to abandon him once the horses were out and the buckets were ready to be refilled. So glad to have some help today! 

I was a little worried the horses might make some bad life choices after being stuck in for so many days, but they're not a highly motivated bunch, and I think the difficulty of just walking through all this snow was enough to take that edge right off them. Once they've made themselves some paths I'm sure antics will ensue. From the boys anyway.

There is a chance we'll get hit again next week, but I'm in denial about that. I spent much of last weekend cleaning up anything outside that shouldn't be there, like any thawed out poop that had previously been too frozen to pick up. Or random hay that the horses had dropped that was finally thawed. I figured if I could reduce the number of surprises under the fresh snow, future me would be appreciative. I hope she's remembers past me for the consideration. 

We haven't been up to too much, but Al helped me make a couple braiding tutorials for TurnoutHQ. He has the best mane in my herd for hunter braids, so that's why I chose him. His behavior however... not ideal for hunter braids. Honestly, not ideal for any braids. Ever. He's a lot. All the time.

Yes he did bite my foot at the end there

But anyway, we did a hunter braid tutorial and then also a braid removal tutorial. It took FOREVER. But we got it done, and I think the finished product is decent. Not perfect, but all things considered, good enough. I'm not sure when they'll get posted THQ, probably next week. But if you're interested in jumper braids, head over to TurnoutHQ and check out Shiny's tutorial! It's posted in three parts, so be sure to see them all! You can find them here. We love comments too, so let me know what you think while you're there!

That's really about it from here. I have a little more shoveling I need to do here. My car isn't quite freed, and the trash cans are still buried. Plus the gates could use some more clearing before this stuff melts and refreezes them in place. Oh and the propane tank needs a path too. You would think all this extra physical labor would help with some of this winter weight... but alas. It has not. Must be age weight and not winter weight. Oof. Whatever. I'd rather chubby and well fed than hungry all the time. AMIRIGHT?!

Hope you're all having better weather than we are!

Truthful Tuesday

 

Today's confession is that I was pretty seriously considering selling the farm along with the horses today. I'm not completely sure how much snow we got on Monday, but it was over my knees. We still had huge piles from all the other snow this year, and thus, all the hard working snow plow people are completely overwhelmed. Understandably. But also completely overwhelmed? Us backyard barn owners. There were many of us commiserating today. I tried very hard yesterday to shovel enough to get the horses out, but I was unsuccessful. My snow plow person said they would be here early today, but early came and went. And the horses were stuck in a second day. Fortunately with this particular herd as long as you keep feeding them, they don't care much where they are. But I care! I felt terrible not getting them out for a second day. To top things off, my thermostat decided to quit its job early this morning too. Thankfully it was the barn one and not one of the house ones. But still not great given all the plumbing in my barn. HVAC couldn't come until I was plowed. Plow was MIA with no eta. Oh and did I mention that I was now out of muck buckets but couldn't get to the poo dumpster until I was plowed? Thankfully I got the stalls done both days with what I have. But I probably should consider getting a few more buckets. Just in case since this seems to be a recurring theme around here lately.  

Fortunately, early afternoon the HVAC company called and said they could climb in from the road and get me taken care of. Which was so kind of them, because I know that was a real PITA. I made sure to tip them generously. (Thank goodness I sold a few things to a neighbor a couple weeks ago so I had some cash!) The snow plow arrived sometime between 3 and 4. They did the best they could and I will be able to get horses out tomorrow, so that's the most important thing. I'm not sure I can get my car out, but they got enough done that I should be able to tackle whatever is blocking it myself. 

There's a driveway under there somewhere.

So anyway. That's today's confession. Winter very nearly broke me entirely today. Well, winter and my thermostat. But the good news is my spiral is back under control for the time being and my helper will hopefully be able to get here to work tomorrow! (I say hopefully because it will be snowing again tomorrow morning. 1-3" predicted. Someone please make it stop.)

Thursday's Threads

 

Outfit day! Man I never thought I'd say these words, but I miss wearing breeches! I have a cute and slightly nostalgic outfit today though. 

Peep those dirt tinted boot cut jeans! I'm having such flashbacks to my college years. And foxes are cute in every generation.

Sweater: Modcloth

I have a bunch of fox things that are navy, but I was really excited to find a green fox sweater! I've had it a long time, but it was tucked away in my fox bin and I forgot all about it!

Belt: C4

Same story for the belt. I already had a navy but when I saw the green I jumped right on it. And I've had it many years at this point!

Jeans: Love Cult Denim

These aren't old. But I absolutely owned a nearly identical pair many moons ago. Those had a significantly lower rise however. (What were we thinking with those ultra low rise pans. Such a weird look.) These are probably my new favorite jeans at the moment. They are just a hair too long though, which is a little annoying, but the story of my life given I'm 5'2". I had to hike them up a little for the show photo. Ha! 

Shoes: Hunter

These are a couple years old and are starting to show that. I wear them out to the barn (when there isn't snow to wade through) pretty much daily year round. I actually bought another pair and a green pair as backups for when these die because companies don't seem to make things more than one season anymore and I love them that much!

That's it for today! Thoughts? Opinions? Any themes you want to see while we wait to see horse outfits again?