Another Beautiful Day!

Another beautiful day, third in a row, too bad I'm at work! The pasture is drying out nicely and the Orchard Grass is really filling in. It's been cool but no frost. The new grass is getting lush. I know we should have gotten two units of seed but we didn't. We probably have lost that window of opportunity to get seed started this late in the year.

We plan on staining the barn sometime this weekend. This brand of stain has application rules: The temperature low can be no lower than 50 degrees Fahrenheit and two days prior must be dry and the day after dry, also. The weather has not cooperated to have this happen until maybe this weekend or Monday.

The back hallway will have the Pergo installed on it; Pergo also has application rules: Must let the opened pack sit in the room where it will be installed two or three days before application. We'll probably pick the materials up on Saturday.

On Saturday I have plans of my own, too. I fantasize about getting my hair cut, my feet 'done' and opening a bank account at the local community bank. Please let my dreams come true!

It's Always the Weather, Man!

Our plans to camp out for the weekend were dashed by the weather forecast. I was literally on the last trip out to the trailer, with the kitty litter pan when he looked on the computer and declared the weather was degrading and we weren’t going to go. I was disappointed, having looked forward to this event at the horsey club for weeks. As usual, he was right. The weather got worse as the minutes went on.



Plan B:

I had already gone to the grocer, caught up with laundry, sheets, towels, and straightening out the house. All that was left to do was load the boys into the trailer, April and Irene into the back seat and drive. Now that wasn’t going to happen. Darn it!

I also am reading a terrific book from our little ‘book club’ at the office, The Girl That Played With Fire by Steig Larsson. It now is raining fairly steadily and I could sit at the table for the rest of the morning reading. I can see the boys are still in the shed eating hay, the little ones are in the barn aisle eating hay, April is chasing Irene; I can sit here undisturbed.

He putters around working on this and that, I’m reading, not paying attention to him. He’s researching something on the computer, then announces that we can go to the BIG TOWN and look at window blinds! Really? OK, let’s go.

Looking at blinds, window treatments and options didn't take that long. We manage to agree on just about everything. We do need 'expert' advice, so we'll come back again soon. We also stopped by the Big Box Home Improvement Store to pick up this and that for at-home projects. And Lunch.



On Sunday the weather was no better. No riding this weekend, period. The boys spent the night inside and the morning showed standing water at the top of the pasture. Argh!

We headed out Trader Joe's but stopped at HMart, too. It was fantastic, the offerings more than I expected. Fruits and vegetables I've never seen in my life, fish I've never seen before and the prices were less than our local grocers.

There was also a basket of our Maryland Blue Crabs, alive and snapping. There is no prettier, finer crab in the world, in my opinion. We bought Tiger Shrimp and veggies for tonight's skewers. Then on to Trader Joe's!

A different weekend than was planned, but still a good weekend.

Demolition Man

At 4:15 p.m. on Sunday, he decides to re-do the loose tile in the back hallway. I don't really know what happened, but within 45 minutes all the tiles were removed and relocated to the patio, two 5-gallon buckets of broken tile, dust and mortar were sitting in the kitchen. It already looks better!

He proceeded to chip the old adhesive and smooth out the floor - It's Oak hardwood flooring! Why tiles were set on top of this beautiful floor will always be a puzzlement to us. Almost every single tile was broken, cracked, chipped or in some way compromised. I'm glad the tiles are gone.

We have decided to install Pergo on the floor. This will be a huge improvement. Can't wait!

Last Day in September

Today dawned cool and clear! It is great to see blue sky for a change, not socked-in fog, overcast, cloudy or raining. I'll take the cool. And the best news was hearing that the Orchard grass mix is sprouting in the boy's field! This is a total cause for celebration! We plan on going camping this weekend; having them off the field for a couple days will do that grass seed a world of good!

Wet(test) September Winds Down

Apparently this September is the wettest in recent years, claiming one day, September 13, as the only day with prolonged sunshine. Dismal. When we finally clear up and dry out we'll all realize that it is dark later in the morning and dark earlier in the evening. We've missed a long stretch of Moon phase, too.

October is breathing down our backs and after this humid/wet/damp month I'm ready for a change. We're planning on going camping Saturday night and the forecast is for dry and cool weather. Cool like highs in the 40s? We're like Goldilocks: too hot, too cloudy, too wet, too humid, too cold. We have a heater in the trailer, the boys are growing their winter coats. We should do this!

Plus, we can't stain the barn because the product usage warns against applying under 50 degrees. We need to go camping with the boys and April and Irene.

Final Weekend in September

Rainy, warm and humid. That just about wraps it up! Actually, we got lots done, but no riding this weekend.

Tom continued power washing the barn, prepping for the stain application. I went into town for groceries.

On Saturday we went into Mt Airy to the two horse supply stores. I got new leather gloves, he bought herbicide (two different kinds) for the driveway and parking lot. We went to the other one for pasture-mix grass seed. It was not only on sale, I had a coupon, too!

When we returned he treated the parking lot with the first herbicide, spread the pasture-mix seed in and resumed power-washing the barn and I continued cleaning up the house, laundry.

On Sunday he finished up the power washing - THE BARN IS READY FOR STAIN - however, we have to wait for two days of dry weather and that's not going to happen this week. It rained on Sunday afternoon.

I worked on getting the LQ trailer cleaned up; we plan on going camping next weekend. Hope the weather permits that! Camping in the rain/wet is never that much fun, right? KC really hates standing in mud.

After he finished the power washing we went to the BIG TOWN to visit the new Wegman's grocery store. I'd never been to one, but have heard about them from others. I'm sorry to say that it failed to impress me. What was impressive was the size - too big to do grocery shopping in an hour or less. Like having a grocer in a Wal-Mart-sized space; you'd wear yourself out looking for this and that. They do carry some things that I've come to rely on others to get for me, but it is not worth the drive.

We were going to go riding, but as I was transferring saddles and stuff to the trailer it started sprinkling, so we went to Wegman's instead. We bought some bread and salsa and called it a day.

Third Weekend in September - Wrap-up

Friday was a complete wash (a dirty one) for Tom; the plumbing was backed-up at our old house. He took the day off, spending 11 hours at the old place, three trips to HomeDepot and two trips home before calling a neighbor - Rocket Rooter! The culprit apparently was DENTAL FLOSS. Do not put ANYTHING down a toilet unless it is what was originally intended to be put down a toilet.

Consequently, we didn't get home until after 8:00 p.m, mostly dark, the equines were mostly mad. Great way to get that weekend party started, right?

Mad dash to feed, water, hay, etc., then feed ourselves. And on top of that, I could not sleep. Couldn't fall asleep, couldn't stay asleep.

Saturday was cloudy, rainy, chilly. I busied myself with wifely duties: laundry, straightening up, sweeping, plus I had to take a nap. Tom 'practiced' power-washing the barn. He's now got it down to an efficient science.

Sunday was a better day, weather-wise and sleep deprivation-wise. We took care of this and that around the house, he power-washed a little more and the barn looks great! Then we trailered the boys to Union Mills, north of Westminster. We thought we'd have the woods to ourselves because of the two local NFL teams playing. At first we did have the woods to ourselves, but then the bicyclists showed up, other riders, and a motorcycle guy, who we talked to at length at a trail head. He thought he was older than us! and we had a nice conversation about planes, helicopters and horses.

Later we ran into other riders, from York, and ate lunch where they had parked their trailers. It was a beautiful day, a wonderful ride. We have so much more to do at home, but sometimes you just have to take advantage of the day.

When we got home he resumed power-washing and I made dinner, for everybody!

Since then, its been rain/fog/mist/rain/cloudy/cool/humid. And the days are getting shorter, beginning and end.