What's Up Wednesday

After several weekends with not much going on, this weekend was pretty full! And it was kind of nice to have a schedule and things to do again.

My dad recently announced his retirement date (June 29th 2018, so close!) and had his very last work trip to China scheduled for a Saturday departure. He normally spends the night at his place in NYC when he's going to be traveling over seas. Thus, he had a couple of theater tickets he couldn't use. I happily took them off his hands! They were for a tiny, little theater the next town over from me called the Ivoryton Playhouse. It has a rich history having been built in 1911 initially as a recreation building for a nearby factory and its workers. It was converted into a theater in 1930 and featured shows starring many well known names over the years. You may have heard of Marlon Brando, Groucho Marx, Katherine Hepburn, or Betty Grable. This month's show is "A Night with Janis Joplin."

I've obviously heard of Janis Joplin, and know some of her music, but I really didn't know much about her story. It was a great show. The actors all had incredible voices and tons of energy. Janis Joplin's story is so tragic, but the show was beautifully done.

Saturday morning I was up bright early to change Jampy's ice boots, but also because I was excited to go ride Bradley again! I'm seriously so ridiculously grateful to Katie for letting me ride him.

It was pretty hot Saturday in the high 80's with 90% humidity, so we didn't work for too long. But we did practice coming down on the bit and lifting that giant barrel of his. He was so good! After riding he got a rinse off and we went out for some grass.

I spent the rest of the day playing with my ponies at home. We had to dodge some snapping turtles that may or may not have been laying eggs in my ring.

But everyone had a nice walk and a good grooming.

I also cleaned up one corner of the feed room to make room for my new cabinet! I've been on the hunt for a nice cabinet to have in the feed room. I didn't want plastic or metal. But I also didn't want something made of particle board because that would fall apart in no time out in a damp barn. Looking for solid wood cabinets that weren't all fancy was a pretty tough feat. I eventually found one I loved, but it was going to be close to $1000 by the time I got it delivered to me. AND it came unfinished so I would have to poly it myself. But I had decided that was going to be the one since it was exactly what I wanted. I also decided to wait until after the winter to get it because it would be too cold for the poly to seal properly otherwise. I was just about to get organized and order the cabinet when an old acquaintance of mine posted one she found on the side of the road to her Facebook page.

She refinishes old furniture for a living, so she paid a friend to schlep it back to her workspace. I messaged her immediately and asked what she wanted for it. Lol. I paid $100. Granted it was the easiest money she ever made since it was free for her, other than whatever she had to pay to get it brought back to her shop. But $100 compared to $1000 was a great deal for me. It's not EXACTLY what I wanted, but it's pretty close, and will definitely do the job. I scheduled to pick it up Sunday morning at 10:30. Saturday afternoon/evening was pouring rain, and I needed some time to get the space ready.

Sunday morning I got up early as usual for Jampy's ice change. I had plenty of time to kill so I stopped over at my trainer's to pick up my Voltaire. Trainer got back from Florida this week. No, Badger isn't back yet. He is staying in Florida through June with another trainer. It's a long story. But at least my saddle is home! We talked a bit about Badger's future, and we're hoping this month will bring some answers to those questions.

I stopped for a coffee quick before returning home to wait for my friend to arrive. He was helping me retrieve the cabinet. Definitely not a one person job! It made the trip home easily, fitting perfectly in the bed of my truck. (Trucks are so convenient to have!) And it also fit perfectly in the space I had made for it.

The original cabinet I wanted was a bit taller than this one. But this will do just fine. I quickly made a few trips back and forth to the house to get all my boots to stuff inside. This was probably meant to be an older computer desk because it has a slide out tray build in. You know what that tray is perfect for?

Half chaps (in the back) and crops! What a nice little feature!

So I fit all my helmets in the top (excluding my show helmets) and boots everywhere else. Also excluding my show boots and the Regals. I'm excited because all of these boots have been residing in my dining room, and I was looking like a legit hoarder. (I mean I kind of am obviously, but I don't want to LOOK like one!)

I got everything tucked away in there just in time to meet up with a friend of mine who rides at the same barn as Katie and Bradley. We had so much fun riding together! That's the one thing I miss about having horses at home. You don't really get to ride with friends much.

Bradley and the horse my friend rides, Tally, used to live at another barn together, so they know each other from way back when. Katie actually used to ride Tally at the old place! Such a small world. I love that picture of them about to touch noses.

Bradley was a little tired from his work on Saturday, but he was still a very good boy. My buddy and I were on FOREVER (without realizing it) just walking around and catching up on life. But it was a cool day, right about 70 degrees, so the horses didn't mind hanging out.

I got home around 4 and took my boys out for their walks. Rio had a graze too. And then I headed over to the lake for the first band night of the year!

view from my walk over

These guys are actually good!

Of course I had a lobster roll for dinner! And I was surprised to see some family friends there that I didn't know were coming. So it was a lovely way to wind down the weekend.

Monday was really rainy. It had stopped by the evening when I got home from work, but I gave the ponies a day in anyway because I had a bunch of errands that needed running, and the ring was a bit muddy. They didn't seem to care as long as I fed them.

It's been cool here, barely hitting 70. So last night when I took Jamp out for his walk he turned into a Jamp Kite and I had to bring him back in right away. He really lost his poo there for awhile, and I was really worried he might have set himself back with his feet. I was also worried we might not make it back in the barn alive... Fortunately, nobody died on the way in. Though he only had two feet on the ground at a given time, he stayed out of my space. He gets a few points for that at least. And this morning his legs didn't seen any worse for the wear. He still has had a slight pulse in both legs, and they were about the same as they've been. So I don't think he did any damage. At least I hope not. I also hope he keeps himself together today for his walk. I really don't want to have to start him on sedation if I can help it. Hopefully this recovery process will move itself along so he can get back to being a horse again. Have any of you dealt with laminitis? How long does it normally take to strengthen the laminae back up and let them do horse things again?

That's about it from here really... P had to go to the vet last week because she had a nail grow too close to her pad. Turns out she was also brewing an ear infection, so I'm glad we went! She's on the mend.

and surrounded by friends I guess?

How was your week? Do anything fun this weekend? Horse shows? Something else? Tell me all about it in the comments!