Great Spirits Farm

I'm starting a magazine!

noreply@blogger.com (scoop) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 20:04:00 +0000

OK, so now that the school year has started back in, I'm a 'stay at home mom' at least for the next two months and am trying to get a lot of things out of the way that I never have time to do.

Things like:
Trailer loading the horses
Riding the horses
Cleaning the house from top to bottom
Starting businesses I like...

I'm getting all of them done including starting the business: Welcome to North Texas Horse and our first issue appears in March. I think I may actually make a go of this as it's coming along nicely. It will be several years before it pays the bills but boy am I glad I'm trying!

http://www.northtexashorse.com

Ringing in the New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (scoop) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 02:46:00 +0000

Letting T snowpaint the windows...

T grabbing a hot chocolate after his choir concert at Six Flags...

Christmas morning...yes, he got a ton of clothes and an iPod!

Me and my mom watching T and the boys play football...

Our fabulous but incredibly foggy morning our first day on the beach courtesy of my sister's family...

No, the world doesn't end about 20' beyond Erica...but it does get so foggy you couldn't see it if it did...

writing Grace's name in the sand...

The fog rolling in that night at the house...

Sparklers on New Years Eve down at the beach!

Everyone all buckled in and ready to go!

Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (scoop) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 02:38:00 +0000

Had a great Christmas; we took Lance to Dinner at McCormick & Schmicks for his birthday on Christmas Eve and Trey surprised me by trying (and liking!) Escargot and he also liked the Spring Vegetable Risotto and Prosciutto. He wasn't as enamored of the Sea Scallops but I was still impressed.
The kidlet (as I call him) got an iPod touch for Christmas which means I am now bribing him to work on his Language skills in exchange for iPod goodies.

Today we worked on about forty words and he had to say the word and give me the definition: here are some of them: auditorium, accurate, occupied, intensity, situation. We are working on site reading and def's. We still have a long way to go.

On Christmas day, Lance took us to the opening game of the NBA season against the Miami Heat which was a lot of fun!

Looking forward to the kidlet being back in school although he's pretty funny to have around sometimes. I showed him how my phone responds to voice commands and he asked the phone if it would marry him. I told him "you sounded a bit nervous when you said that" and he said, "I was!" He also tried to look up "snoop dog" and accidentally said "snoot dog" which was pretty cute.

We also went to see Sherlock Holmes and he really liked it "because there's lots of fighting." Boys are definitely different than boys but it's really fun. I can't wait for more. :)

Day 5: Keeping on...

noreply@blogger.com (scoop) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 03:12:00 +0000

Bloody cold today (okay, not that bad, but the high today was 43 with wind) but got all three horses onto the trailer. Woohoo! In a month I'll be loading like a champion. Happy to only have to dose Miley; Sienna is now officially off antibiotics and we are waiting to see if we've saved that tooth or not.
Today Trey actually approached me about reading and made it through 27 pp of reading out loud. I'm making lists of the words he's missing and there are definite patterns to them. Still having trouble with the i's, anything ending in ED or ING he simply says the first part of the word: Bullying becomes Bully. Enjoyed becomes enjoy and he leaves S's off almost everything. When I point out that Dreams does not equal Dream, he says "Yes, it does." :) But he honestly is getting better and today he read words he missed the day before which is awesome.

One of the most interesting things about having a kid is explaining concepts like "Value" and "Taxes" and "Republican vs. Democrat." I also just had to explain what a "demur" was in legal terms since we are watching Erin Brockovich. It's funny to hear myself try to explain how a demur that is denied isn't a "win" but most importantly isn't a loss and a case can go forward.

And forward is where we are going...today was a pretty good day. Looking forward to Christmas Eve!

Day 4: Bribery and Patience be thy middle name

noreply@blogger.com (scoop) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 02:16:00 +0000

In the good news department I figured out that bribery be thy middle name of parenthood. I proffered the possibility of 5 minutes of video game playing time to read a full page of a book out loud and correctly. The kid plowed through 30 pages. They weren't perfect; he can't pronounce anything ended in ed and for some strange reason can't spell or sound out anything with an i in it, but it was certainly more reading than we've done.

Tomorrow we're going to the Wimpy Kid series which although a little young should still afford us some good reading time. We also ran around the 1.7 mile block today because if he's in the house he's got his face stuck in a screen which drives me mad. The kid came lazy and I'm not sure if it's his genes or his first decade in life, but I can totally see him leaving here at 18 and just hanging out and literally playing video games and working a fast food job. Yes, there are days that I think why in God's name am I bothering, but for whatever reason, I'm throwing every resource I can at this kid. I truly wonder about myself sometimes.

I spent 2 hours on the phone with Delta Dental and Medicaid today trying to get a copy of his card. I'll spare you the stupidity of the entire conversation but it was basically the same stupid one I have with Medicaid every time I have a kid that involves trying to tell them that yes, I really am their parent.

I also finished about 40 days and nights of antibiotics for Sienna. I am so happy to not be treating her tooth infection anymore. Of course Miley went on antibiotics last week due to getting in her second major fight in six months. She tore up her legs pretty badly in someones mouth so we are dosing her to make sure the ligament doesn't get infected. Both cats are now strictly indoor only and have adjusted better than expected. She also got her asthma shot a few days later so it's been a banner week for animal husbandry here. Ted also went in for his annuals and I'm putting cream in his eyes three times a day since Miley's been in such a bad mood she's been whopping him across the head and she managed to scratch both eyes. In good news I got all three horses loaded on the trailer today (separately) though none of the gates shut, but it's just day three of 30. I think we'll definitely have Calvin and Sky loading and gate shutting before weeks end. Sienna may take a bit longer. Today she ran around the pasture for a good 15 minutes before letting me catch her and trailer load. The girl's got opinions.

Looking forward to the kid going back to school. Every second seems to be cooking, talking, cleaning or otherwise instructing the kid. Looking forward to Christmas and all the new toys he will get.

Day 3: I need sleep

noreply@blogger.com (scoop) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 04:12:00 +0000

Today's theme was why am I constantly doing loads of dishes even though we bought paper plates? I'm exhausted and trying to figure out why I'm ready to go to bed before this kid is. Oh and another mystery of why the kid can't hang his towel up after using it? :)

The social worker dropped off his gifts which were three Gamestop cards; they are burning a hole in his pocket so we're going to go to Gamestop tomorrow to get him some more games. And somehow I'm going to have to figure out how to get him to do something besides sitting with his face in a screen most of the day.

Day 2: Keeping my eye on the ball

noreply@blogger.com (scoop) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 02:44:00 +0000

I admit I've been kind of a linked in Junkie lately; every day for about half an hour I'm looking and dumping my address books for every single contact I've had the last decade in this business. I've got 186 connected so far and would probably have more except for my my last name changing a couple of times in the last 20 years. Lesson learned. Let's just say its always good to have business contacts. :)
Trey unfortunately spent about 2.5 hours on the PS3 today; we bought him a headset which of course took us about half an hour to get working and during which I managed to drop his wireless PS3 controller so now he can't launch grenades. So I'm sure that's a pricey little piece I'll get to replace. Is there anything that a teen wants that *doesn't* cost at least $100?

Right now we're watching "America's Game: 2006 Indianapolis Colts" and I now know more about football (Trey's chosen vocation no matter how I tell him it's almost impossible to be Troy Aikman which he only wants to be for 1 year and then quit and keep the money) than I ever wanted to know. Some days you just give up and buy a little peace and quiet by giving in on the screen time. Tomorrow I'll try again.

We went to an orthodontist today since Trey said he "wanted" braces; we've got a followup January 5 to meet with the actual dentist. I'm sure its so they can run his Medicaid through and see how much he has available. I'll be interested to see if these are covered.

One of my major goals this period is to show the horses and to get them showing they have to trailer load flawlessly. It was cold today and windy; 45 with a windchill and we slopped through mud to and from the barn while trailer loading but the horses did great. Another 29 days of this and we'll probably have it.

Trey practiced reading today reading me the WalMart toy ads. We've been reading a few pages out of Diary of Wimpy Kid but when we hit a multi-syllabic word that he hasn't seen, he isn't able to usually sound it out. However, if I read it there's a 30% chance he can tell me the definition. He also can't spell to save his life. We work a little every night but it's obvious we are going to need major intervention. His last reading therapist said he was at a 2nd grade level on sounding out words; sounds about right. They just redid his report a few weeks ago but with the holidays I doubt I get a copy until the New Year. Until then I have to explain how to spell "WalMart" or how to pronounce "certify" or "vivid" when he sees them in print. How this kid is even in the 6th grade (when he should be in the 8th) is beyond me.

Today he emailed his caseworker and asked in very broken English if he could have a brother who was at least 12 and who played football. So I guess that's something :)

Day 1: An auspicious start...not

noreply@blogger.com (scoop) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 06:00:00 +0000

It was an auspicious first day with us not waking up until 8:00 a.m. and then me arriving at the vet's office with Teddy in tow for his annual shots at 10:30 a.m. to find that our appointment was really at 10:00 and the vet had left for a farm call. I guess the manic phase I'm in isn't so awesome considering that I later found out that I'd booked the same play "Scrooge--the musical" for both Monday and Thursday nights at the local children's theater.

In any case, I spent much of my day trying to come up with non-screen time related items to entertain Trey. I read that children whose parents do "limit" screen time "only" spend five hours a day on screen items like TV, computer, cell phone and video games, while those who don't spend eight hours a day on them. I've been told by more than one kid that none of the other foster parents limit screen time (can you say 'babysitter?') but I just had images of a slacker kid playing video games and smoking dope in five years so I'm busting my butt to get him to do something else--anything else which is always followed by a whine and "that's boring."

We did take a spin around the 1.7 mile block yesterday which was something. Today it rained starting mid day so I didn't get to pull that card again. The rain is great (sort of except for the 8" of deep mud already in front of the horse stalls, which Sienna has taken to simply jumping over to get into her stall). I've blown one of my 'resolutions' for want of a better word to work with the horses every day on trailer loading. Yesterday was a valuable lesson that if it's not raining, get outside, because it's sure to later.

The Scrooge musical was quite good, in a very small theater and about a third of the large cast were children, most under 12 and simply adorable. Trey has informed me that he has "tried acting" and "hated it" which we've added to a myriad of other things that at such a tender young age he has already discarded: any sport besides football, any activity besides video gaming and any hope of playing a musical instrument.

T minus one day

noreply@blogger.com (scoop) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 03:18:00 +0000

By Sunday morning and another 5:00 a.m. wake up; I've cleaned out every drawer in my bedroom, gotten rid of everything I don't use at least once year (battery powered socks from Obama's Inauguration anyone?) and started on the bathroom. Every drawer has been organized, cleaned and stuff thrown out that I don't use. I save things for my sisters kids or the nursing home we volunteer at every few months; things like scented lotions, picture frames and stuffed animals are dear to young and old alike. If it makes me depressed I also throw it out; I stop asking "Should I read this" about my Women Unlimited book, which the company sent me to once a month for year; there I found other women just like me, bright, driven, in male dominated fields where we were told that we really just needed to learn to promote ourselves and basically communicate like a guy and we'd be just fine. Two years later as I looked at LinkedIn I realize that the only women who seemed to have moved up are those who have moved on to other companies are started their own firms. So out goes "Why can't you communicate like me?" How about, why don't you try and catch up with me? Now that's a catchy title.

T minus three days

noreply@blogger.com (scoop) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 03:14:00 +0000

On Friday, three full days before Operation Get the Hell out of Dodge starts I spring out of bed at 5:00 a.m. I've been smiling a lot and i realize it has to be from getting out; getting out from under the work grind that will just wear your soul down and is just hard enough to keep you from doing anything else but not so difficult that you feel as though you are really getting anywhere. After the first year there, I realize I've been treading water for the last seven. Whatever it is, the possibility of 90 days of freedom cause me to sleep better, work harder and do more than I've ever done. I feel like a spring released. BOING! I wonder if I'm really manic and have simply been depressed all these years? Whatever it is, I'm running with it.

A tweet...and then a shout out!

noreply@blogger.com (scoop) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 21:52:00 +0000

OK, so I've been deliciously overwhelmed with glee lately. I'm taking three months off for my foster-adopt transition on December 19th and to say that I couldn't be happier is the understatement of the century. I doubt I've ever been happier in my life. I'm ecstatic to only have Trey and my regular life and not have to mess with work for those three months.

So..just had to finally tweet about it. Now on December 19th itself if you hear a WOOOOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOOOOO echoing over the entire state you'll know where's it coming from.

WOOHOO!

Volunteering for Seniors: Christmastime!

noreply@blogger.com (scoop) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 12:55:00 +0000

Volunteering for Seniors at Ashford Hall which is a local nursing home; This is my 3rd year!...there we are smack in the middle...

Discussing the merits of Quesadillas at Danal's, the Mexican food place we go after every meeting.

November Redux

noreply@blogger.com (scoop) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 15:39:00 +0000

My room view from the Hilton La Jolla San Diego during a recent work event.

The beautiful golf course...

We had a lovely dinner at the San Diego Air & Space Museum; if you ever get the chance to go--do it! It was huge, incredibly interesting and covered all areas of flight from the Wright Brothers to Space.

I'm in the light simulator on the far left; it was a blast!

For the record, I didn't crash. This is when I first sat down and the guy before me had crashed. I flew straight!

Lance and I also attended the Dallas Margarita Ball and somehow managed to get only a single picture of ourselves!

This year was better than last year. They opened up all three floors and so the bathroom lines were much shorter (amazing what makes you happy!) As always we stayed at the hotel which makes things so much easier.

The entrance in front of the hotel...very Dallas :)

And the famous Margarita Ball invite, which I had managed to leave at home! I didn't realize it until 5:00 p.m. when I was 2 hours away from a dinner reservation at Stephan Pyles, so I made my way downstairs and begged an invitation from the Margarita Society--I guess I must now be part of "Dallas" since I had a new invite in under five minutes :) Whew!

And last but not least we visited the Winefest 2011 at the Cavanaugh Flight Museum. This is our 3rd year going...such a neat place and the food and wine always let me know about the good stuff in Dallas!

And last but not least Thansksiving with my family; I forgot my camera so check out Erica's blog for our pictures! http://milestogomommy.blogspot.com/2011/11/happy-thanksgiving.html

2011 Fort Worth Margarita Ball!

noreply@blogger.com (scoop) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:21:00 +0000

We came. We saw. We drank. And we were very happy; probably 15% of the size of Dallas Margarita Ball which is next weekend, we actually were able to get to the bar, not stand in line for 20 minutes for the bathroom and actually find a table to sit at. I really enjoyed the chance to enjoy the Ball instead of always planning for it...but in any case, we'll be heading to that one, next weekend!

My beautiful sisters...

A surprised Santa...

Lance and I hanging out with his college and Law School Alma Mater's likeness:

Enjoying one of the benefits of the Fort Worth Margarita Ball: Sitting down!

I'm probably more tired than drunk here...hey, 11 is after all, my bedtime.

The sisters cracking me up :)

The Big Stuff

noreply@blogger.com (scoop) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 19:06:00 +0000

There are some things that you experience in life that you realize that very few people ever will. I realized I was experiencing one of these moments last night while eating at CiCi's Pizza where I had a chance to meet a wonderful kid named Trey, who is thirteen. Besides being smart, adorable and an all around good kid, he is also a child who might one day be mine. You see, he's available for adoption and although I thought I was looking for siblings and younger kids, the folks at Jonathon's Place thought I might be a good match for him and him for me. And after last night, I know they are right. :)

I'm a little nervous about treading in uncharted territory here; not only adoption of an older child (and a teenager!) but adopting a boy! A boy! This means I am going to have to learn about football and baseball and cars--oh my! It is certainly going to be an entirely new world for me, but I'm excited to have the chance to start a family this way. We are going to start slowly and begin by meeting once a week or so then a little bit more often and see how it goes.

Now I'm off to pretend to live a 'normal' life and do work and do everything else that everyone does while really having something much bigger on their mind...:)

October Odds & Ends

noreply@blogger.com (scoop) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 02:59:00 +0000

I got an order of ridiculously expensive but gorgeous hay in. I mean, seriously, this could be cut up money these horses are eating, but I love my babies. The drought has affected hay production all over the country and most of the time you can't even find hay; so I can't complain. These are 80 100# bales; so enough for roughly 110 days.

We went to the last game of the series against Detroit and were treated to nine runs in the 3rd inning! I'm not a baseball person but I have to admit it was a blast to be there when they won the championship. We're going to the Sunday game as well against the Cards...

I got my Halloween Decorations up. Four glowing ghosts in the front yard, a 'graveyard' and a pumpkin float.... Miley attacked the ghosts several times as did the horse babies. :)

The Lofts

noreply@blogger.com (scoop) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 23:00:00 +0000

I've been traveling alot for the last three weeks. I spent a week in Arkansas, a week in Cedar Rapids (where I'll be again next week) and this week I am in Downtown Columbus Ohio. I did maage to find a very cool hotel: The Lofts

Here's the hallway...

Here's my room; great huge space, great windows.

I'm smack in the middle of downtown; so tonight I'll sleep after getting up for the second day in a row at 3:45 a.m, but tomorrow night I'm going to see what's around. My work schedule here seems pretty 9 to 5ish so I'll have a few hours to get to know Downtown Columbus.

The Quilt

noreply@blogger.com (scoop) — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 18:29:00 +0000

My sister Erica made me the most beautiful quilt ever. I mean, the second I saw this fabric earlier this summer I coveted it. And I am not a 'fabric person' by any strech of the imagination; whenever faced with reams of fabric in a store I have an overwhelming need to fall asleep immediately. But this was different; it was HORSE fabric! Outdoorsy in theme and yet elegant as all get out.

I love it so much I put it up while I was out of town this week so the kitties couldn't sleep on it. :)

Here it is in all its loveliness...

My sister also did a great blog post on it here where she has beautiful pictures of it.

Thank you Erica--I love it!

Lucia Dallas

noreply@blogger.com (scoop) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 14:18:00 +0000

Dinner at Lucia: There are simply no words. Amazing hand cured salumi, extraordinary risotto, all pasta made by hand. Perfect wine pairings. Reservations sell out on the first day of every month. Definitely the best meal I've had, ever, including my week in San Francisco...and that's sayin' something!

9.11.11

noreply@blogger.com (scoop) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 13:42:00 +0000

'Dallas Becomes Chicago' Pub Crawl

noreply@blogger.com (scoop) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 18:24:00 +0000

We attended the 10th annual "Dallas Becomes Chicago" pub crawl on Saturday night; Lance has been to nine of them and this is my second. I have to admit that the terms "Pub Crawl" and "Susan" aren't usually in the same sentence but it really was fun. I must say that Lance definitely brings out the kid in me when it comes to stuff like this...

The purpose of this was to show how you can barhop without actually getting in your car. :) So we took the DART everywhere; we only made it to the last three bars but I got to try a couple of new ones, which were fun.

No I wasn't drunk; hadn't had a drop then, just tilting my head at a funny angle to take this picture!

Here come the Pub Crawlers...crawling off the DART.

Walking to the next stop--Sunset Lounge

Hanging at Stop 3; the aptly titled "Three Sheets". I am quite good at finding good seats...

The pub crawl crowd...

One Minute at the Barn

noreply@blogger.com (scoop) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 01:04:00 +0000

Here's all the exicting things that can happen in a NY minute in a Texas barn...

The babies peer into the barn to see what's going on...Miley is sitting on the upper right dutch door, cause that's how she rolls...

Until Sky decides to investigate her with his nose and the pow--she's off like a shot.

I braid and band the horses hair when it's this hot. It helps them to cool down. Sky looks a wee bit silly here.

You can see here what Sienna's braids look like. It really helps to keep their manes off their necks and they sweat less. They actually make little horse rubber bands if you can believe it.

And that's how we roll...

Cooking Class

noreply@blogger.com (scoop) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 19:18:00 +0000

I took a cooking class last night at a lovely restaurant not too far from my house that has turned out to be an extraordinary find...that's only been there for 18 years! It's called The Classic Cafe and the cooking class last night was amazing!

I hadn't realized it, but we would not only be making sauces, but we'd be putting them on yummy things to eat! I was so full I actually took awhile to go to sleep last night!

Here's what we had:

Steamed Garden Squash and Zuchini with Parsley Sauce

Sauteed Bay Scallops, Vegetables, pasta and crab Sauce

Honey & Thyme Ice Cream with Blueberry Caramel Sauce

Roasted Bacon wrapped Turkey Tenderloin with Sauce Diable

Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Bleu & Bacon Compound Butter

Galveston (for foodies)

noreply@blogger.com (scoop) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 03:43:00 +0000

We headed down to Galveston for a long weekend; to be truthful, the eating started before we even left town with a stop by Gandolfo's New York Deli Dallas Food truck, which luckily for us was parked right across the street from Lance's business. I had an egg salad; for some odd reason I eat it every time I get the chance.

since Lance's business really gets going in the fall, it's hard for him to get away then, so we opted for a wonderful stay at the historical Tremont House; it was beautiful and elegant, had excellent service and even a rooftop bar which we enjoyed and where I am very happy to report they made both an excellent chocolate martini and a mojito!

We ate at many wonderful spots, among them Gaido's where we had the famous Lobster Bisque (every bit as good as the rumors say!) We also sampled Brooks Gumbo which was outstanding. We then had the Blue Cheese grits (anything with BC in it is an automatic yes), Red Snapper ala Michael, A Seafood Platter and a wonderful dessert that was fruity but honestly by that point I was so full...I can't remember it! It's definitely a great place; very 'old school' as my sister put it. I wasn't honestly sure when we first drove up as it looked like a low slung motel...in fact, Gaidos' does have a hotel attached to the restaurant.

Some examples of Gaido's "Kitsch"

Lance loved the beach, so we went out there several times (even at night!)

We also checked out Benno's which my sisters go to every year on their Galveston sojourn. I have to admit by Saturday night, when we ate at Benno's, I was completely overwhelmed by the amount of food we were getting at every meal. I had 5 stuffed shrimp on my plate and only managed to eat two before throwing in the towel, but it was very good. Very large portions and very down home.

We enjoyed a delectable lunch at The Mosquito Cafe where everything was fresh, interesting and expertly prepared; definitely recommend it but come early or be prepared for a wee bit of a wait. I had the Chicken Salad Sandwich which was a A Mixture of Fresh Roasted Chicken Tossed with Tarragon Mayo, Sour Cream, Toasted Walnuts, Celery, Apples, Green Onions, with Field Greens and Tomato on a Toasted Wheat Croissant while Lance had the handmade, homemade Veggie Burger.

On the way out of town we stopped by "The Spot" which came highly recommended; it was a fun big place and I can see why it's a favorite with the locals...the view from the second floor was fun...

On the way home, there is absolutely nothing on I45...except of course for this random giant statue of Sam Houston...

We also stopped on the way at the Collin Street Bakery, in Corsicana, about an hour outside Dallas. The Iced Tea was great and we also got some excellent cinnamon bread which had the perfect amount of sweetness to it. I ended up eating it for about three days straight at the hotel whenever I wanted a snack. You can order from them online and I'll definitely be doing that soon!

All in all a good trip and another chance to try some great restaurants!

And now...the numbers...

noreply@blogger.com (scoop) — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 04:24:00 +0000

It took seven years to acquire all of this junk that make up a barn was too big to fit into a trash bag once it was too old or broken to use...so this past week I hired someone to help me clean it out...and here's what we came up with...

740 pounds of stuff, crap, whatnot we pulled out of the barn and from behind the house: hoses, metal water troughs, tons of fencing material including metal t-posts, plastic electric fence, wiring, wires from hay, etc.
15 large trash bags of clean hay off the barn floor
6 large trash bags of 'dirty' hay that went to the trash
10 horse blankets and sheets that are on their way to the horse blanket cleaning lady...
1 found push lawnmower -- that still runs but I'm going to sell it because it's too hard for me to start
1 dozen fence panels replaced that were broken or missing
1 grounding rod driven into the ground four times, hitting a rock each time about 4' down...so now I need to find a way to cut it :)
3 horse stalls cleaned
and countless other tons of stuff...amazing how much it all stacks up when you aren't looking for seven years!

Wow; feels good to get all of that 'stuff' out of the way...now to clean out the barn from top to bottom...wipe everything down and get everything back in its place. It's an odd thing, but I find it enjoyable and in the Texas heat, there's not much else to do when it's 105. And that's a number I can definitely live without!