Frog

Isn't he cute?

Flowers and Injuries

This morning I woke up and went to take a shower. I was just about to get in when Rich came back upstairs from starting his coffee to tell me to wait because I had breakfast waiting for me. I couldn't take a picture of my food, which was eggs, a bagel and juice, because Rich would have been like "Knock it off" but here is a picture of the flowers TJ and J picked for me. T was spending the night at his friends so he wasn't part of the big Birthday breakfast.

Then I decided to quilt my red, white and blue quilt today so I started meandering quilting it and I love the way it came out. All that is left is to sew the binding down, which I may give to my mom, but I know she is busy knitting so I may just work on it over the next few weeks. I could easily pack it up and take it to baseball versus taking a book to read while we wait for games to start.

This is a picture of my finger that I decided to sew today. Yeah, it really hurts and it won't stop bleeding. Its not deep enough for stitches, but it doesn't help that my blood thinner is too high. Rich is beginning to worry about touching me because I have so many bruises. Its a really bad picture but you get the idea. I took off the top layers of skin.

And lastly a tulip from my stone garden and a picture of my stone garden.

Kittens and Quilts

Well, the wild momma cat that lives between our house and the neighbors had kittens again! Its a cycle, two litters a year, only in our barn. Most of them seem to disappear. I think they wander off into the field and then get lost. I want to keep one so that I have a cat again, but Rich says I am only allowed to keep one if its a boy. He doesn't want any more kittens than we already have. I had a picture, but my memory card is being difficult and had an error on it so I will get some later.


Its also been really nice here so we have been riding just about every day. My horse is finally starting to get it. We were having issues with going forward, but we got it all figured out and now there are just minor adjustments to make before the first show, which is Memorial Day weekend. We didn't think I was going to be ready, but I think I can handle it. Maybe not a ton of classes, but at least 2 or 3. Here's a picture of my beautiful horse with TJ on him (TJ is showing him this year) and one of J and his horse.

I finished my quilt top that was originally going to be for Project Linus, but Rich thinks I should keep it since it came out really good. He thinks I should just put it in a protector and save it till we have a grandbaby. I say I could just make another one, but he really likes this one.

This morning I went to the local fabric shop, where I met my mom so she could get me my birthday present. I picked out fat quarters to make this one quilt I want to do that is all triangles and reguires 75 fat quarters. I have 43! So I am just over half way there. Of course, I picked up a few other things. One of them being a pattern for a stuffed frog. I love frogs, don't know why, I just do. I found this AWESOME batik many years ago that has frogs on it, and I just couldn't use it for just anything so I think the stuffed frog is the way to go. Why not have a frog that has frogs on it?? I am going to use another green batik and a beige one also to give it a little variety and personality.

I just finished reading "The Girls" which is about twins conjoined at the head. It was good, but not great. Now I think I am moving on to "Mother Teresa, The Private Writings of The Saint of Calcutta".

T had an umpire clinic today and is spending the night at his friends so its just TJ and J. Which means it will be a little quieter here, but not much. I think I am going to spend the evening sewing and reading since I already rode my horse and there is not much else that can be done now. Stalls are clean, groceries are bought. I should clean, but I will wait till Monday where there is no one here! Defeats the purose of vacuuming if the kids are just going to get pizza crumbs on the floor, don't you think??

Have a great weekend!!

Pink Toes!

They say it all!

This is the hole in the side of our yard. Pretty big. We have a broken field tile and are trying to figure out how much it is broke. Rich thinks at least two tiles, maybe three. Its also 8 inch pipe so we think its a main one. We fixed the one in the backyard yesterday. Now I know how to fix a field tile, pretty exciting. That one was only a small pipe. We are not sure how exactly we are going to fix the one in the big hole.

Its been sunny and 70's for the last several days. Tomorrow it is supposed to rain. I have been spending quite a bit of time outside reading. I love to sit in the sun and read. I also cleaned out the flower beds and prepared the side bed for the dirt guy to come bring me some dirt. Our neighbor takes our manure so he is giving me some dirt for my side bed. It connects to the one at the back of the house, but it slopes down about 3 inches in the process so we are going to level it up a bit and then I am going to put in a butterfly garden. It will take me a few years to get it full and growing good since I can only buy a few plants at a time since I don't have a job...




This is the quilt that I am currently working on. I haven't gotten much done since Sunday. Its been too nice. I was originally going to donate it to Project Linus, but Rich thinks I should keep this one and donate a different one. He likes this one and likes the colors in it. He says its too much work to give away. I have to make two more rows and then the hard part will be done. It actually goes pretty fast and I can make one row in about 20 minutes. I love the sock monkey fabric and may keep it even though no one here is still young enough to be into sock monkeys.

We have been riding almost every night, J is getting over his fears of being hurt, TJ is coming along good with his horse, and mine is just as stubborn as always. We had issues again tonight about not wanting to go forward, but we did. We didn't lope because he started kicking out and trying to buck which still scares me at this point. Last year it wouldn't have phased me, but after only 12 weeks, I still want to be careful and not be thrown. I don't think my dr. would be too happy!

Rich has had baseball practice almost every night or been working on the baseball fields. Our first game is in two weeks at New London. We have never been there before nor played a team from there. This should be interesting since we don't know what to expect. Our games will be on Mondays and Thurdays so they shouldn't interfer with too many horse shows, unless there is a Saturday game, but I think we only have one of those scheduled.

My local library started a book club, The Jane Austen Book Club, which I happily joined! There were 9 of us at the first meeting which I think is pretty good for our little library out here in the middle of nowhere. We are reading Sense and Sensibility this month and then next month we are going to read a members choice. We decided to mix it up so that it wouldn't get old or boring. Plus that way we could all share our favorite books. Right now I am reading "The Girls" by Lori Larsens. Its a fiction book about twins conjoined at the head. I have several other books here waiting to be read and actually read three books this past weekend.

And lastly, today I walked 3 miles. Very exciting to be able to do so. I saw a blimp when I was out walking but didn't have my camera with me and it was too far away for my cell phone. I didn't know DirectTV had a blimp but that is what it said. It was beautiful out and I was so glad to get outside and walk!!

I'm off to sew and have some yummy ice cream for dessert!

Sun!

Today was in the 70's as was yesterday! It was so nice out, with a bit of a breeze to make it just a tad chilly at times. I spent a few hours outside today reading and got a bit red, but that's okay, it was worth it.

The kids are loving this weather and J & TJ have been riding their horses everynight. Last night we videotaped them riding so they could see what they were doing and their horse was doing. TJ rode his horse for the first time without someone on the end of lead (lounge line). It went really well. My horse rode great for me and J's ride was pretty good too. I let the horses out in the large pasture today and they were very happy to have some room to run!

I went to the local library tonight for the first meeting of the new book club. Its the Jane Austen book club but we decided to read a Jane Austen book every other month and a favorite of one of the members every other month. The first selection is Sense and Sensibility. Right now I am reading World Without End by Ken Follet. Its set in England in the 1300's and is the sequal to Pillars of the Earth. It talks about building back then and also about the church and their control. Its a fiction book, but very good. I only have about 300 pages out of 1000 to go. The main characters are decendents of the builders (main characters) in Pillars of the Earth.

I started working on my quilt for Project Linus. Its the Lemon Blush pattern from Fat Quarter Shop by Me and My Sister Designs. I absolutly love the Sock Monkey fabric and I think its going to look great when put together. For some reason I am not able to download pictures tonight, but I will try to post them tomorrow or later.

I was also going to post a picture of my Clemantis and Bleeding Heart which have started to sprout in the one flower bed. I am looking forward to having everything green again instead of brown and white. It is supposed to rain all weekend but hopefully it won't get too cold! Tomorrow I am going to plant my lettuce in a pot. I am the only one who really eats it so I am going to plant it in small container that will be just enough for me.

Otherwise its been the usual - riding horses, homework, baseball, meetings. Same old thing every day. Seems like we are always running somewhere but Rich and I will be home all day together tomorrow so that should be nice. But alas - he will probably go work on baseball fields. I'm off to have some ice cream!

Busy Weekend!

This weekend was pretty busy for us. J, TJ & I went down to Equine Affair on Friday. We left here about 10:00 and got there about 12:00 or so. By the time we parked and got into the event it was about 12:30. We were hungry (of course with 2 growing boys, when aren't they hungry?) so we went and got something to eat. Then we went to see Stacy Goodall and Julie Goodnight. They were great. I really enjoyed their clinics on body position of you and the horse and cues. Then we walked around the merchant buildings, and then saw Bob Avila's clinic again, body position, cues and control. After this we decided to head up closer to my BIL's so we could eat and hang out somewhere till they got home. We had Red Lobster and went to the mall. Then we went over to Russ and Sue's and pretty much crashed. It had been a long day and Saturday was just as long!




We got up at about 7:00 so we could all shower and leave by 8:00. From Russ's we went to OSU Animal Science Building where my wonderful group of Hippology kids competed in the State Horse Bowl competition. Our juniors made it to the 5th round and according to my calculations made the top 15. The seniors made it to the 4th round and again according to my calculations made it to the top 25. We were eliminated around 2:30 and left by 3:15 to head home. We got home about 5:30 and just kinda hung out for the rest of the night. I admit, I feel asleep for about 2 hours around 6:00. I was pretty tired after all that!
The junior team




Yesterday was spent cleaning and doing laundry. The boys did some work outside. It actually snowed in the afternoon so we all came in to spend time together hanging out watching TV. The tribe was on and they won!! Yeah!!





T and Rich went to the Lynard Skynard and Hank Jr. concert on Friday night. They had a good time, but they said they enjoyed Skynard better than Hank. THe concert started at 7:00 and Rich called me at 11:30, they were just leaving Cleveland. T loves Skynard and had a really good time. That was his first real concert so it was exciting for him. They ran into two other couples that we know from our small town. Pretty funny! Usually you don't see anyone you know at concerts.





Thursday night J and TJ rode their horses. Their uncle was home so he was helping them out. J rode his pony without a lounge line, which was good and TJ got on his gelding for the first time. Normally TJ rides my horse, but we gave him a horse last year and he is breaking it with our help. That was pretty exciting. He stayed on and the horse only jumped straight up once. Pretty good if you ask me! Here's some pictures of J and TJ on their pony/horse.


And Kris at Quilted Simple tagged me for the 4x4 meme so here are my responses.

4 jobs I've had:
- Insurance
- Teacher
- Insurance
- Step-mom (most important!)

4 shows I regularly watch:
- College Football
- Baseball
I would have to say that is it. I don't usually watch TV, I usually read

4 places I've been:
- Rochester, MN
- Dallas, Houston and Spring Texas
- New York, New York
- Washington DC
- Orlando
Ok, thats five but that is ALL I have ever been too!

4 foods I like:
- Pizza
- Chicken
- Salad
- Steak

I tag anyone who hasn't been tagged that reads my blog!

Hope everyone had a great weekend and has a great week!!

6 days of SUN!!!

Its been sunny for the last 6 days! Maybe spring has arrived. I certainly hope so!! Its been so nice that we have spent a lot of time outside, just playing and sitting on the patio reading. I haven't really gotten anything done this week. But its been nice. The boys are home on Spring Break so Monday was cleaning stalls etc, Tuesday I took the boys to the mall to get cleats and the we came home to play outside. Yesterday, they pretty much played outside. Today they are at their moms till 3 and I am sure we will be outside if the rain doesn't come. It was supposed to rain Tuesday night, and it did - but just a little! It was also supposed to rain all day yesterday and today, but I am looking at beautiful sunshine!! I have flowers coming up in my flower beds and am enjoying the weather!

Also I was able to ride my horse! VERY EXCITING! I am "not allowed to ride unless someone else rides first" (direct quote from Rich) but I am able to ride. So that is wonderful to me! Last night I rode J's horse instead because I wanted to show him something, and the T wanted to try to ride. This is a kid who will go behind a race horse, but will not get up on top of one. He did very well, and only had a few moments where it didn't go well. But if he wants to learn to ride we have to start at the beginning since he hasn't been on a horse in over 3 years!

Tomorrow J, TJ and I are going to Equine Affair. Hopefully we will get to see some great clinics and seminars. I am still debating if I want to spend the extra money to see the Pfizer Fantasia. I think it would be neat, but it will cost about $50.00 so I am not sure I want to do that. But then I think what am I going to do with them till 9:30 when my BIL gets home. We are going to spend the night at my BIL's so that we can go to Equine Affair and then the State Horsebowl competition on Saturday. I wasn't sure we would be able to go to Equine Affair after Horsebowl, not sure I would feel up to it. But this way works out much better!

I am off to enjoy the sunshine now! Its quiet here!

Beautiful Weather

Yesterday and today were absolutely gorgeous! I hope this is a sign that spring is on the way! It was 60-65 both days and SUNNY! I love this weather! I was able to get outside and walk for 2 miles both days and today I spent about 2 hours outside reading. I love to sit outside and read. The horses haven't been out because it is SO muddy but they are dying to get out and run. I can't wait to be able to ride again.

I spent Friday night making coasters out of this really cool material I found at JoAnn's. I love the material. Its hard to see in the picture but its yellows, blues and browns. Kinda funky and chic. Right up my alley, since I am into funky material. Batiks are my favorite materials. But not everything can be made in batiks. Then this morning I decided to make a pin cushion out of the same pattern material but light greens and yellows. Another great JoAnn's find. 4 fat quarters for less than 4 dollars. Can't beat that!!! I'm also a fat quarter freak and love to browse that section and pick up all different kinds of prints.

Today was my nephew Tylers fifth birthday party. I went down to my sisters and we had dinner, cake and opened presents. Matt and I played outside with the kids for a while. My sister ended up going to the hospital because my niece broke her leg while ice skating with the girl scouts. Otherwise it has been a pretty quiet weekend. The vet comes tomorrow to put Tardy down and I WILL NOT be here. I am taking all the boys and leaving - not sure where we are going but we will not be here. The boys are on Spring Break this week and hopefully it won't rain the whole week so they can be outside! If not there will be a lot of I'm bored, there's nothing to do! Saturday J and I go to Columbus for the Horsebowl competition (academic challenge about horses) and that is all we have planned for this coming week.

Well, I'm off to read and finish up a few things before I settle in for the night.

The Geography Bee

Today was a busy, but exciting day. T was in the state Geography Bee. We have to be there at 8:30 or so, which meant we had to leave at 7:15 or so. I haven't been up that early since before my surgery! I was so tired! We got there and they explained the process of how they pick the students for the Bee. All 6th, 7th and 8th grade students can try to qualify. They take a test (in T's case he won the school bee to take the test) and then the committee grades the tests and the top 100 students are allowed to qualify. The gentleman explaining said that it works out to basically 1 for every 1000 students. So T is in the top 100 of the state. Actually T is the 11th student in the state!!! He scored a perfect score in the preliminary round and made it to the tie-breaker. They had 21 kids make the tie-breaker, something they said has never happened before. They only take the top 10 to the final round, but to make it to the 11th spot is pretty impressive if you ask me! We are VERY proud of him and this accomplishment. Here's a picture of him at the bee:

Otherwise this week has been pretty uneventful. Tuesday I went down to my sister's to work on some quilts. I got most of my red, white and blue quilt top (except the border) done while there. Then Wednesday I met mom & Grandma for lunch, went home and finished the red, white and blue quilt. I am pretty happy with the way that it came out. Now I just have to baste it, quilt it and then Mom can bind it for me! :)

I hate doing bindings...

I spent Thursday looking for a pin cushion pattern. I am tired of stabbing myself and I went to the library. I picked up: Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich (I love these books - great laugh out loud!!), Nefertiti by Michelle Moran, Curse of the Spellmans (I read the first - another laugh out loud) by Lisa Lutz, World Without End by Ken Follet (Follow-up to Pillars of the Earth) and Brothers by Da Chen. These should keep me busy for a few days. I am reading Nefertiti right now and its pretty interesting. I have plenty of books to read here, but its always nice to have options.

This weekend will be spent sewing, cleaning and then my nephews birthday party on Sunday night. The boys are at their moms and Rich will be at work! It should be quiet. Next week is Spring Break and all the boys will be here plus who knows how many extras! The vet comes Monday to put Tardy down so I am saving all my errands till then so that J and I don't have to be here, I don't want to be here!!!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!