Playing All Evening.

Another shortened morning walk as today is Berean day and I had a lot of stuff to haul to that office.  Rhonda needed a ride to the jail as she still doesn't have a car since her accident on Saturday. Her car was totaled! If you would like to read about the Berean office today click HERE. We had a really good group of volunteers there today.
I didn't have a whole lot of time once home as I was due at Sarah and Nolan's house at 4:30 pm and still needed to stop for gas. Sarah and Nolan along with Rebekah and Brian and Anni and Matt are playing in the volley ball league at Riverplex so I got to play with Zion and Eden almost all evening.

 We played with the magnetic building blocks first and Zion put that together all by herself. She could put her whole arm inside.

 Eden played a while with them too.

 Zion found some gold sparkly material and was playing the princess.

 Check out that train following her.

 Eden was getting a little fussy so was put in the stroller. Zion insisted on giving her a ride. We had one accident where Zion ran it into the wall and Eden got bumped. 

 She didn't cry much so I took over the driving at that point.

 After Zion was all ready for bed she twirled for the camera. 

Sarah and Nolan got home earlier than expected and I was on my way home by 8:00 pm.  Tomorrow morning I need to bring Lance in and try to clean him up. We have had so much rain that the paddocks are pretty muddy.  I may get Joshua cleaned up for some updated pictures and maybe a video for someone wanting to see his movement. 

Lance Sold

I only walked one round today. Diane helped load Zalena by shutting the trailer door after Zalena walked in and we were on our way to Hoerr Vet clinic getting there 3 minutes late. Our appointment was at 8:30 am but I had to spend a couple minutes cleaning the heavy frost off the windows of the truck and didn't have a good scraper. I finally drove up to the house and grabbed the one out of the car. Dr. Hoerr was waiting for me when I arrived. Today Zalena got her teeth floated and was de-wormed.

From there I drove to Kroger to pick up food for the Berean meal.  I tried a new recipe and then tried it out on Mark tonight for supper. He liked it! Joan invited us all over for games tonight at her house. Sean's parents came down from Wisconsin to spend the night so there was a houseful of people. So many we had 2 games going the entire evening.

I was going through some old pictures and came across this picture of Blaze and Rhoda. She is about 2 years old in this picture. My parents bought Blaze for us kids when I was 13 years old. 

Dad took his dad (grandpa Meister) with him and grandpa knew his horses. He told dad, "this is a GOOD horse!"  Well we found out that the price of Blaze was quite a bit more than we could afford Dad looked at Blaze and then offered $125.00 for him. The farmer told him, "No" and that was the end of it or so we thought.  A few days later the farmer called dad and told him, he would take the $125.00. We brought Blaze home and he lived teaching young children everywhere for the next 38 years finally passing away at the age of 41.

Rhoda went from that horse crazy toddler to an amazing trainer. Below she is training Darling, a Haflinger we rescued. 

Well I say rescued as we got a call from a man from Canton, IL telling us that his neighbor has this horse he is going to shoot if someone doesn't take it NOW! We drove to Canton and yes she was beautiful but she was no saint. She would not be caught and would consistently turn her rear end at a person threatening to kick.  By the time Rhoda was done with her she was just about perfect.  

Yesterday the deposit came for Lance, Sheena's colt by Valiant. The buyer is coming on Wednesday to meet him and is pretty thrilled. 

Sheena and Valiant have gorgeous tall foals. We kept the only filly Sheena had by Valiant which is named Skye and Skye will be 3 years old this year and bred to Evan. Skye is already WELL over 16 hands. She will also be started undersaddle this year. Skye is pictured below at age 2.

And now there are just 2 colts left from 2019 still for sale. If I would have guessed which foals would still be for sale it would not be these two. Both are WAY better quality than the price we are asking. Josiah is 75% Friesian 25 % Thoroughbred, has amazing movement, will be tall and have lots of hair AND we are only asking $4500.00

His mind is as beautiful as his movement. He really is that special. The only other foal still available is Joshua, our Warlander colt. It is EXTREMELY rare to get a BLACK Warlander so we were really pleased when Madiera gave birth to him. Both the Andalusian breed and the Friesian breed are people loving horses, easy to train and Joshua will be exactly that. He likes people and wants to please. He also inherited the mega hair from both his sire Evan and his dam Madiera. His tail is so thick, long and bushy it will be dragging on the ground when he is full grown and his mane hangs on both sides of his neck.

 We are only asking $5000.00 for him.

Both Josiah and Joshua are registered, papers are in hand, both have a current coggins so these boys are more than ready for their new homes. 

Blast From the Past

This was brought to my attention and truly is a blast from the past. This was posted on Sunday Nov 14th, 2010:

Nutcracker on Horseback

Mom wants to go to Chicago to see the Nutcracker on horseback. If we get a group of more than 10 we can get a group rate so an email was sent out to the family. My nutty family answers below
From Nate:I don't think I could sit on a horse for that long for the whole show.
From Justin: My max horseback time is about 35 minutes. Would there be special memory foam saddles for events like these.
From Joan: I’m thinking that it isn’t just the Nutcracker who is cracked. J
From Rhonda: Ok, Spark's mind jumped right on board w/Nate and Justin. When do you need to know by?
From Michelle: who's on crack?
From Joan: Definitely too much jail exposure going on in this family.
From Rachel: we may be taking the kids snowboarding that weekend, if there's snow and the lift tickets are cheap.
From Karin: Yep- the lift tickets at Chestnut are $15 opening day till Dec.17th, at sundown they are $20
Can we go to the nutcracker the week before? like Dec 4th?
From Andrew: I like how this has drifted from horses to snowboarding. Keep it up, we're moving in the right direction.
From Rodney: we're going to be skydiving that weekend. could u pick a different weekend to see the nutcracker on the horse?
From Justin: O man do I feel dumb. I called and asked about different saddle options for that long of showing and they explained that you sit in seats and watch other people perform the play while riding a horse. Then it got even funnier. The NUTcracker on horseback that almost makes me want to go. But why would I pay to watch something I've experienced while riding bareback with Karen. I think I'll go snowboarding!
From Karin: yes... there will be no children in your future if you go bareback riding with me. that is a fact
From Nate: Karin, let's go horseback riding.
From Karin: no, Nate! the muslims are having 8.3 children... you are not done yet!!
From Rachel: Now that we've got that all straightened out....I'm sure the horses are relieved!!!
From Jake: How can I get removed from this email list
From Jake's lovely wife Andi: You said it sweetie, your family is crazy weird. I think the road trip up there would be worse than being forced to pay for a horse show.

Don't you just LOVE the way my family thinks?

A Warm Sunday in January

It was 28 degrees when I went out to feed but 37 by the time we left for church. Craig Stickling had the message this morning, then Mike Kaisner had the afternoon and after that we had the sending service for Maddie Waibel who is leaving on Wednesday for India. Maddie felt the call to go and feels a love in her heart for these people. When we stepped out of church we were pleasntly surprised to find it was sunny and 50 degrees. WOW how amazing is that for January 5th!
After church we made a quick stop at Aldi as the kids were coming for dinner. Mom invited us all over to her house for dinner which made for a very nice evening. Karin  picked up Nancy and she got to enjoy dinner and some of her great nieces and nephews. Karin and Magda worked with Valiant today and he was VERY up. Karin reported he was springing straight up going airborne with all 4 hooves.  Too bad I wasn't there for pictures.  He was not worked with on Saturday so today had lots of pent up energy.
After dinner we worked on the puzzle Beth Meister gave mom. This year for mom's Christmas card she wanted all the great grandchildren in boats, all 74 of them. Beth (John's wife) had a puzzle made of the Christmas card. The puzzle is huge and I think has over 1000 pieces. Top left corner are Spark and Rhonda's grandchildren, to the right of them are John and Beth's grandchildren, Middle left are some of my grandchildren. Mom, paddle boarding in Gulf Shores is in the middle, to the right of mom are the rest of my grandchildren (they are from Texas so we couldn't get them all in one boat)

Mike and Diane's grandchildren are bottom left, middle are Ruth and Fedi's grandchildren and on Then Beth and Greg's grandchildren and below them are Joan's grandchildren. 

Fun With Evan

Magda had taken home one of our English saddles and a bridle, cleaned them up and wanted to try them on Evan today. She was pleased when they fit.

If you would like to see the rest of the pictures of Magda having fun with Evan click HERE. 

Once Evan was put away Hadassah was brought out. Karin is working with relaxation techniques with her.

 When Karin and Magda were done, the bridle is removed but EVERYTIME Hadassah holds on to the bit and will spit it out only when she is ready. 

If you would like to see the rest of the pictures of  Hadassah click HERE.  Once Hadassah was put away Karin and I went over to mom's house to welcome her back from Gulf Shores. They had a hard trip getting home at 1:15 am.  Mom was exhausted.  

We had a cold damp day awaking to about an inch of snow on the ground and then drizzling later. We have had the wood burner going all day. 

Working With Hadassah

Diane and I walked this morning, Ruth overslept while mom and Joan are not yet home from Alabama.  After the walk the borrowed Christmas tree along with the lights and ornaments were taken back to Diane's office. When I got back Karin was here working with Hadassah. We bought Hadassah as an unhandled 2 year old because she was beautiful, had amazing movement AND was a Raven daughter.  She was suspicious of people but not at all mean. Rhoda and Emily got her under saddle and she has been great for trail rides. She has tremendous stamina but then she has Arabian in her pedigree.  Her dam was half Arabian and half Quarter.  Hadassah was bred to Evan and is due June 10th, 2020. Today Karin had her in the indoor arena and was working with her relaxation therapy.  Hadassah was watching Karin and trying to anticipate. She was very relaxed by the time Karin was finished.

Hadassah is sold but is being boarded here. Her owner had to have surgery in December and will need therapy to recover. After Hadassah was put away Karin came down to the house for a cup of tea. Mike went to Middle Grove yesterday and reported the  horses were all doing fine. The farmer out there had put in hay a couple times while Mike and Diane were in Gulf Shores. The problem with terribly cold winters out at Middle Grove is making sure the automatic waterer is working. Thankfully so far this winter has been mild. The lakes and creeks are all still open and there is even green grass coming up in sheltered areas. The horses there are all fat and happy. Tatiana's filly has done amazing with her weaning. She isn't even calling for her mom any more.

She is in with the other weanlings, Josiah, Joshua and Lance. Each morning when they see the golf cart they come galloping up to the gate for their grain. 

Phil came over tonight and fixed an electrical problem we had in the family room. He had it fixed in about 10 minutes then stayed for supper.  Anna and the girls are still in Minnesota. He left right after supper though, he still had 2 more service calls tonight to take care of. 

All Spread Out

Diane and Mike made it home from Gulf Shores now we are waiting for mom and Joan's family. Anna and the girls had fun playing in the snow today in Winthrop Minnesota while David's family were playing on the beach all day in Florida.  Our family is all spread out from North to South. We had another sunny day, not quite as warm as yesterday but still well above freezing. The weather is really helping us this year.

Sale Pending Zalena

Even though we went to bed after midnight we still were both up by 5:30 am. It must have something to do with the smell of coffee.  I wanted to get the van cleaned out and filled with gas before Anna needed it this morning for her trip to Minnesota and was at the gas station shortly after 6:00 pm. As I was driving back I realized it would be better for her to take Mark's car. That car has brand new snow tires and we heard they had snow  up in Minnesota.  That meant Mark's car needed to have all the tools taken out of the back. As soon as we finished with the cars sausage, eggs and delicious blueberry pancakes with real maple syrup was made for our breakfast.  The next job was to start chopping vegetables and the left over beef from last night to make a big pot of beef barley soup. That is a tradition we have followed for probably more than 60 years. Originally it was to feed the foot ball players for the annual carnation bowl but about 10-15 years ago the carnation bowl was done. I guess we all just got too old. The soup is something we don't want to give up, it just hits the spot after all the party food fun and fellowship. Karin called to report she was on the way in to ride as the day was so nice. It was sunny and 46 degrees outside. Such a wonderful gift for the start of 2020. She started with Valiant.

I decided today was the perfect day to wean Tatiana's filly so while Karin was riding brought them inside putting the filly in the small stall and Tatiana in a stall across the aisle. The filly stood very well for haltering but when she was tied she threw a fit, slammed into the door and broke the latch and the stall door ended up coming off the roller.  The door was moved back out of the way and the filly left tied where she could go in the stall or stand in the aisle. After watching her a while I left to go get those pictures above of Karin and Valiant.  All was quiet in the stall barn after a few minutes so the filly was taken back to the paddock. When I got back Karin had finished up with Valiant so I rode him and got some wonderfully smooth trot canter transitions.

Valiant was put away and Evan brought out. The day was so nice that Karin took him to the outdoor arena which gave me time to get a bale moved into the weanling paddock. Evan was having a ball in that arena first dropping and rolling in the soft sand then having a ball galloping around bucking.

 Karin asked him to stop, pay attention and then practiced his Spanish Walk. 

 Ruth and Fedi arrived just as Karin was putting Evan away. They were walking around the neighborhood followed by 4 dogs.  We had fun rehashing the party then noticed all 4 dogs watching Fedi intently. It turned out he had treats in his pocket.

They were given some soup then I left with the truck and trailer taking Tatiana out to Middle Grove. 

 She was glad to get back, let out a couple neighs then went galloping up the hill to find the herd.

On the way home a message came in from one of our past customers wanting to buy Zalena. They brought their mare Belle here to be bred to Raven and Belle had a gorgeous gray filly they named Freyja. They love her so much they and Freyja is just beautiful. 

 Since the new laws about not touching a cell phone are now in effect I didn't pick up the phone to answer until I finally pulled into our drive. They are SURE they want Zalena so she will be marked Sale Pending. Zalena will be going to a wonderful home.  I was home by 3:00 pm. Mark had driven to town to buy a new battery for the Prius and had just finished installing that when I drove up. His next job was to fix the stall door that Tatiana's filly broke. We were putting it back on the tract when Matt and Anni arrived bringing their dog Chewy over for a walk.  Right after the stall door was fixed we cleaned up and left to meet Ken and Amy at the Avanti's in Pekin. That was so enjoyable. We visited there for over an hour and a half.  

New Years Eve

It was much to late after Fedi and Ruth's New Years Eve party to think about doing anything more than just heading straight to bed. Us old folks were all pretty proud of ourselves for staying up PAST midnight.
Yesterday morning after getting the feeding done I drove to Sarah's house on my way to Aldi. Not that there are any Aldi's near her house but both Zion and Eden have not been feeling well and Sarah could use adult company. Almost everything purchased was for Ruth and Fedi's party. Once home the roast was prepared and then stuck in the oven. Mark came home early and together we worked on the shrimp. We left at 6:15 pm for church to hear the last sermon of the year which Tim Funk gave. The party started at 9:00 pm so right after church we changed, loaded the car and headed over. Ruth started with appetizers, a huge spread of appetizers. No pictures we were all too busy sampling them and they really were delicious. Then came the games and with those the laughter. We had a few minutes to build a house of cards and who ever had the highest at the end won.

Fedi made this game hard, he had a lazer and would pick out a card to burn knocking down houses left and right. Not very many pictures of the games we were all too busy trying to win.

We played many games including Spoons, Matches, Hand Taps, PinchyWinchy then moved into two lines and did Strut Miss Suzy for old times sake. Oh how we laughed. Mark actually won at Strut Miss Suzy! Who would have known he could strut so dramatically and according to him he wasn't even trying. Fedi brought out a Jack Fruit and gave us all a lesson on preparing and eating this ugly but good tasting fruit.

  At 11:00 pm we had the last supper of 2019. Fedi had the prayer praying both for the end of 2019 and for our new year and decade. A few minutes to midnight Ruth and Rhonda passed out noise makers. Ruth snapped the picture below as the women were getting ready to head outside.

Fedi brought out his special noise makers shooting into the air with some amazing big bangs.  I'm sure the neighbors, at least those that were still home could hear us old folks welcoming in this brand new decade. A BIG thanks to Ruth and Fedi for hosting. Everyone enjoyed the party, food, fun and games.