Sarah's Wedding Shower

 Barbara, Aunt Jinnie's daughter shared the pictures of her daughter Sarah's wedding shower. This is the wedding mom was trying so hard to make. Thanks Barb for sharing the shower pictures. 

Aunt Jinnie was working on trying to get a refund for mom's airline ticket. They had even purchased insurance for the 'just in case' but the forms to ask were 4 pages long and they need the doctors signature. The Hospice nurse took them was going to have the doctor sign them then fax them in. The wedding is early November. 

2Down2ToGo

 I put the electric blanket on the bed last night and was thankful for the warmth. We are experiencing much cooler weather. A promise of the coming winter. After stopping in at mom's and getting the update the weanlings were put in the indoor for a few hours.  Our airbnb guest had a horse loving daughter and she was put to work cleaning stalls. 

She helped move the fillies from the barn to the indoor and then back to the stalls later. They had 2 King Charles Cavalier dogs traveling with them. At 11:00 am Anna arrived to clean the apartment for the next guests coming in. The girls came with her and made grandma a get well card and some deviled eggs. We ran the eggs over to mom's and found Ruth, Karin, Aunty Jinnie and mom sitting out on the deck in the sunshine. We didn't stay long as Mark wanted my help to remove the log splitter and put the 3 point hitch on the tractor for Spark. Spark and Rhonda are hosting the Bible class tomorrow and are using our tractor and Mike's trailer for a hay rack ride. Spark also wanted to borrow the truck to pick up some bales of hay for the ride. I moved the truck and trailer out of the arena, backed the trailer into position and unhooked it then helped Mark with the tractor. We were missing a pin for the hitch and Mark took the one off my truck. Just then Joan called and asked to borrow the truck AND the trailer to moved a trampoline. I had to get the pin from the tractor, put it back on the truck and hook the trailer back up. Below Joan is getting ready to leave.

Mark found a big bolt with a nut that would work as a pin for the tractor. We drove that over to Mike and Diane's and hooked it up to Mike's trailer.

The man selling the hay told Spark he was busy picking corn but would be available after 4:00 pm. Joan finished her moving around that time and met Spark at the farm for the hay. That was loaded and taken over to the hay rack.  Next week Joan is hosting a group and also wants to do a hay rack ride so the tractor will be left hooked up to the trailer for a week. Our next job was to get the 2 camping trailers that are in the barn winterized. We started on the Wildwood first and as that one is new it took us a while (over 2 hours) to make sure we did everything right. The second one was the 2011 Keystone and had that one done in less than a half hour. Too bad the other 2 trailers weren't here. Both of those are out this weekend but hopefully when they come back we will have this winterizing down pat. I headed over to mom's for the evening. Mom was not comfortable this evening. She wasn't hungry and didn't eat any supper but after taking her pills I convinced her to eat some pudding. Joan arrived about 9:45 pm and will try giving her the Ambien. 

I'm Telling

 This morning Onyx was taken first to the indoor arena then the other 2,  Sofia and Quiet Dreamer were taken together. All three were let loose inside. 

Grain was put in both of the buckets in the trailer and soon all 3 were going in and out. While they were out of their stalls I was able to strip them and put down new bedding. These 3 were left inside most of the day. 

The other 4 weanlings were out in the pond pasture grazing near the fence so Valiant came up to greet them. Just check out how green everything is and this is now the middle of October.

These four are Kincade, Morgana, Dahlia and Rockaway.

Soon the sun went away and the rain moved in and brought the cold. It went from a nice warm day to a cold chilly feeling like November afternoon.  After finishing the stalls I drove to Diane's office to do two months of balancing the horsemeister check book then to Sam's club to pick up food for the Sunday meal. Mom was having a pretty good day. She didn't have a good night's sleep but is for sure stronger and having little improvements in left leg and arm movements each day. No new videos of her progress but Ruth had her practiced standing and was able to stay up for 12 seconds then sat on the side of the bed and kept herself balanced for over a minute. Small but important steps. The goal is to get her strong enough for a trip to Gulf Shores this winter. My new aibnb guests arrived when I was on duty so I asked Aunt Jinnie if she could stay with mom while I introduced them to the horses (they have a horse loving daughter) When I got back mom was getting ready to eat some squash soup for supper. She finished the bowl then asked to be put back in the bed. I was doing that when Rachel walked in. Once mom was set I said good by and mom reported, "but you just got here."  She told on me for leaving those few minutes! The nurse and the aid came today and I was here for both of them. Spark and Rhonda stopped in and I was here then, John and Beth  stopped in and I was here so it really was pretty funny. 

Good Mowing Machines.

 Beth spent the night with mom last night and reported mom slept ALL night! This is the first full night sleep she has had since the stroke Monday Sept 20th. She had help with that, she was given an Ambien and it worked. We had tried Aleve pm and Tylenol pm and that didn't touch the restlessness so finally asked the hospice nurse for a real sleep aid. Rachel was on duty this morning but Ruth arrived to help with therapy.  She had mom sitting on the side of the bed and balancing.  The Salem FSX was moved out of the indoor arena today, parked by the breeding shed and plugged in so the fridge will be cold for Hannah's camping trip this weekend. The next job was to move the Wildwood FSX into the barn to get it out of the rain and it rained again today as I was moving it. The camper repair people can't look at it until November 16th so we will need to winterize it soon. Today Onyx and Kincade were turned loose in the indoor arena while I cleaned their stall.  The filly with the green halter is Onyx, Lily's filly by Valiant born April 12th, and the red halter is Kincade, Madiera's colt by Evan born May 30th.

They had fun going in and out of the trailer then running to the far end of the barn. They were left loose in there until this evening.  Below is Sofia, Tatiana's filly. She was following me around so I finally tied her up to get a few decent pictures for her owner. She has now out grown  the weanling halter so I had to tie a knot in the yearling halter to make it semi fit. She was good while putting on the new halter. This one is not a strong halter but now that isn't necessary now that she knows how to tie.

Quiet Dreamer, Hadassah's filly by Evan is still a little standoffish so she needs extra handling. She is learning that I bring the grain so looks forward to that but is not quite sure she wants me touching her. This morning the lead rope was left on her so she could be caught without her running away. I don't want to chase her. She is now tying well. I'm always glad when they learn that.

Her owner will be thrilled with the amount of hair she is already sporting. Check out that tail in the picture above and below. She also has a good amount of feather.

I headed over to mom's to relieve Rachel around 1:30 pm. Mom had been taking a nice nap but when she awoke Ruth was here and started more therapy. Below she is using the bar to stretch her left arm up. She isn't able to use that arm yet but is able to grip and hold the bar with her hand. We were very  pleased with her progress today.

She also did bridges lifting her hips off the bed and was able to pull her left knee up each time. I headed home at 4:00 pm as I wanted to move Onyx back into the stall, put Kincade out with the other 3 weanlings and then clean up the arena.  Mark helped lead Kincade out and Kincade accidently stepped on his foot. He is fine but may not be willing to help next time. Mike arrived with the 4 wheeler and Dancer. As long as they were here Dancer got de-wormed with Quest Plus. She was the one that spit most of it out a couple weeks ago. I took the video of him first backing the 4 wheeler then heading back to the cabin. Dancer is such a sensible HUGE yearling.

It is amazing how green everything is the middle of October.

We have had lots of rain and warm temperatures, the grass has been growing so well that we needed everything mowed again. Joan, Mackenson and Faith did a wonderful job making these yards and the outdoor arena look like a park. So very thankful for mowing help and good mowing machines. A REALLY cool post came from the owner of Bella. Bella is a Raven daughter out of a Trakehner mare.

Bella and her amazing owner Sheryl need 1 more score at 4th level from a different judge towards their silver medal.

Soup

 Before heading over to mom's this morning the weanlings were watered and fed but the stalls were not cleaned. I was suppose to take Joan's place at 7:00 am and when I got to mom's about  6:55 am Ruth was already there. We decided it would be good for 2 of us to be there this morning as today Ruth wanted to work on her standing. Diane came with a blueberry banana smoothie.  Mom had a very busy morning with breakfast, bath, therapy, lunch and finally a nap. She had a restless night again last night. Ruth called the hospice nurse to ask about giving her Ambien. That drug was prescribed and called into the the Kroger pharmacy. Since Ruth was there I left to make deposits at 2 different banks then take Mark's phone down to him at Meisters before heading to Kroger to pick up the prescription. That took a while, first it wasn't ready then it must be a controlled substance, the pharmacy needed my drivers license and it was just 4 pills!  Karin came this afternoon and had mom stand again. After that mom was more than ready for a nap. Once she was sound asleep I ran to the barn to work with the weanlings. I ended separating Sofia and Quiet Dreamer. Dreamer did not want me to touch her. She needs handling but was getting Sofia upset so Sofia was put in the stall across the aisle. Then with quiet words and slow movements finally Dreamer was standing for petting and enough that I was able to snap a lead rope on her halter, practice leading a bit and another tying lesson.  She is a pretty filly, but just doesn't want to be handled and that needs to change before she leaves for her new home.

The other 3 were fine. When I left they were all happily eating their grain, had full water buckets and fresh hay. Two big pots of creamy chicken and wild rice soup were made today. Two gallons were taken over to mom's for who ever wanted some and the rest was left cooling here. We had more rain today but late afternoon the sun came out. Diane came around 5:15 pm. We put mom back in the chair with the lift and when I left Diane was helping mom eat a bowl of soup. She was to text me when mom was ready to get back into bed.  Mark and I watched church on Facebook live. He isn't feeling well and I needed to be on call. Joan took Aunt Jinnie to church

A Whopper Amount

 I left this morning at 7:00 am as the Peoria post office doesn't open until 7:30 am. I hit most of the lights perfectly and arrived at 7:27 am. No problem I was glad to wait the 3 minutes except they didn't open at 7:30, they waited until 7:33 am. They must be on Alabama time here in Illinois. After picking up Aunt Jinnie we stopped at Sam's club to pick up the dessert for the Berean volunteers then arrived at the office at 8:45 am. IF you would like to read about our morning there click HERE.  When we got done with Berean we stopped at the Hanna City post office to drop off the Bibles then headed back to mom's house. Karin and Beth were there with mom out on the deck enjoying a lunch Rhonda had prepared. The gray spitting morning had turned into a beautiful sunny warm day. What a gift for the 12th day of October.  I drove home changed out of good clothes, put on barn clothes and backed the horse trailer into the indoor arena for my next job. Anna was here working on the apartment so I asked if she would help load Lily's filly and Madiera's colt into the horse trailer for their vet appointment to have their blood drawn for the Coggins tests. They loaded fine but probably because Anna was walking behind them.  We arrived at the vet, was there for about 15 minutes getting the job done and loaded them back up for the trip home.

I thought I may need help unloading and leading these two back to the stalls but they led perfectly. I'm trying them today in the same stall. Madiera's colt is now weaned and needs a companion. Lily's filly is eating grain well but the colt was not. Now that he has some competition he was excited about the grain. They were both chowing down when I left.  Rhoda arrived right after I walked into the house with the new shower head for mom's shower.  We took it right over to mom's and installed it. It is pretty cool, it is a magnet that snaps the shower head back in position after using it.

 A REALLY COOL text came in from a lady that bred her bay roan mare to Raven twice.  The first time her mare produced a beautiful blue roan colt. That colt was so beautiful she brought the mare back up and bred her to Raven the next year and then she produced blue roan filly. Well the colt is all grown up and was just sold to the owner of the Pittsburg Steelers who purchased him for his wife. He was the top selling horse at this auction and brought a whopping $225,000.00.

Not bad for that $750.00 stud fee investment we charged for Raven. 

The filly also turned out spectacular. She is now doing 3rd level dressage and driving.

Raven was SUCH a wonderful stallion and we love hearing all the success stories of his offspring. This evening I am staying with mom and Aunt Jinnie. Joan will be relieving me for the overnight.  Ruth and Karin had mom standing a couple times today and got it on video.

We are amazed at mom's determination. 

Storms and Warnings

 Mom had a good night's sleep from 11:00 pm on. She is improving each day. Today Ruth was working with her and posted this: 

This is a HUGE improvement. At the hospital she wasn't able to move her left leg at all. She really is determined to walk again. I spent the morning moving bales to make room for the campers in the indoor arena. 

I stopped just once when my airbnb guests walked out of the apartment from the back door and had their great Dane with them. I climbed off the tractor and asked if I could pet their 'pony'.  Of course they laughed. Their dog was 7 years old and very well behaved. A storm had moved in this morning and the entire time I was moving bales the rain was pounding down so loud I thought the tractor was making a weird noise. I quit around noon, changed out of the filthy clothes ran over to mom's as the nurse was there. She had nothing but good to say about mom's progress and also had some good ideas for later. Rebekah and Brian's family arrived as the nurse was leaving. her children sang for mom.

A little later Molly's family came over and the sun came out for a few minutes so we all made our way out on the deck.

I left to finish the barn. When Mark came home we got ready to head over to Joan's with the skid steer to bring home the trailers but just then the tornado warming sounded. It was cancelled shortly after so we went anyway. It was just sprinkling at the time but by the time we got the first trailer into the barn the rain was coming down in sheets. Mark and I got stuck in the barn waiting for it to slow down enough to make a run for the house. We lost electricity for a short time. When this storm passed I took the skid steer back over to Joan's to pick up another trailer. The Wolf Pup is going out for another 2 weekends so that one was left at Joan's. The insurance company was called on the other 2021 to see about filing a claim. That was filed but oh my did they ever make a big deal about it. Because of Jace's 2 staples they wanted Stephanie's phone number and address as she was the driver, Ben and Taunya's phone number and address as they are Jace's parents and wanted to know who owned the golf cart (me), what year and model (I didn't know) where the accident happened (on the driveway by the barn) and did I warn Stephanie of anything (nope). I explained, "She is in her 30s and has been driving since she was 16, she is a safe driver and has driving the golf cart plenty of times. " Poor Stephanie, I hope they don't bother her. Taunya sent a MarcoPolo showing Jace's 2 staples. He was fine! The last job of the day was to feed and water the stalled weanlings and move another bale in the stall area for tomorrow morning. As today as a holiday I couldn't pick up the Berean mail so will need to leave here around 7:00 am to pick that up tomorrow and still have time to get back here to pick up Aunt Jinnie so we can arrive before the 9:00 am starting time.

The 'Accident'

 Hadassah is now sold and at her new farm in Kansas. I headed up to the barn to take care of the stalled weanlings just before 7:00 am and they were up and ready to load. Hadassah came when called and walked quietly into the trailer. The buyer sent the picture below writing: We made it  home ok. Hadassah is enjoying some hay after a little bit of grain. Thanks again.

Ruth picked up Nancy and dropped her off at our house to go to church with us. She was thrilled to be in church and sang loudly a little off key with great enthusiasm. Tim Funk had the morning message and Gregg Rumbold had the afternoon message. Ben and Taunya dropped off their 4 kids just in time for lunch. For the afternoon service they sat up front with Israel and Elisabet and all were well behaved. We stopped at Dollar General on the way home to pick up some baking sheets. The airbnb guests coming in for tonight asked if the apartment had any and I wasn't sure. Turned out it did have one so I left 2 more and will take one down to the house after these guests leave. Today the kids brought the dinner, stuffed crust pizza from Pizza hut, salad and cake and ice cream for dessert. We celebrated 3 birthdays.

Zion turned 4, Kensley turned 7 and Taegan turned 9. More pictures were taken but will be downloaded tomorrow.  I was on duty at 5:30 pm so headed over to mom's. Aunt Jinnie and I walked over, Mark gave the grandkids a ride over to the playground on the golf cart.

Mom was playing Mexican train with Karin, Diane and Dan when I arrived.

Mom ended up winning but quit while she was ahead. As she was getting tired, Diane, Aunt Jinnie and I used the hoyer lift to take mom off the chair and into her bed. We didn't do too bad. A steady stream of visitors came to see great grandma. Sundays are always special out here.

Above baby River is smiling at her great grandma and below Zion is telling great grandma about turning 4 years old.

Spark brought over the microphone so we could all hear mom better.

The volley ball games were going strong and now that it is getting dark so soon the lights are turned on early.

Most of the guest had left and Diane and I were getting mom settled in for the night when Mark came over to tell me that Jace was going to need to go to the hospital for stitches. Stephanie was giving the grand children a golf cart ride when one of the kids accidently stepped on the accelerator which caused the golf cart to hit the horse trailer and get stuck between the horse trailer and the camping trailer. She was shook up, Jace had split the back of  his head open but all the other kids were fine. Stephanie and Anna took Jace down to the hospital emergency room to get checked out. Ben and Taunya missed the wedding reception and met them down there. Last I checked they were still there waiting for staples for the back of Jace's head.  Rhoda and Lee took their other children home to Goodfield and will just wait there until they get back from the hospital. Joan came to relieve me so I stopped in at the house grabbed the golf cart key, hiked up to the barn, pulled the golf cart out, went into the barn to feed and watered the weanlings and was pleasantly surprised to find someone had cleaned the stalls.  Israel told me Rhoda did it. THANK YOU Rhoda! 

On the Road Again

 We were up at 4:00 am had all the chores done before 6:00 am and were on the road by 6:00 heading to Chicago with 2 colts. One was dropped off near Chicago and the other near Belvidere. Mark was the navigator and I was the driver. We made a good team. Gas up there was $3.87 a gallon. The first fill up was the route 24 exit and gas was only $3.45 a gallon and the final fill up was near Lacon at 3:36 a gallon and that fill up was $99.82 I could have topped it off and hit the $100.00 but didn't. Thank goodness I didn't need to fill up near Chicago. I forgot to take a picture of Prince with his new owner but did with King.

Both couples were very happy with their purchase.  We stopped for a very late lunch at a Mexican restaurant in Chillicothe and brought enough home for a couple more meals tomorrow.  Mom was having a good day, Karin had her out on the deck for a while. She also got her a different kind of wheel chair, this one has more support. My shift was from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm today. The people that rented the apartment tonight cancelled and the man coming to pick up Hadassah was GLAD to have the chance to stay there. He thought they would arrive around 7:00 pm but didn't get here until after 8:00 pm then instead of going straight up the hill turned left and ended up with his big truck and 4  horse trailer at mom's house.  There is no turn around there so I wasn't sure how we were going to get him to the right place but gooseneck trailers can turn much sharper than a bumper pull and after a few tries he was turned around and followed me to the barn. We made arrangements to meet at 7:00 am tomorrow and they were glad to just head straight to bed. It was a very long day for them.