One year ago

My family and I were sitting on the beach in Playa Del Carmen enjoying the last day of our two week vacation in Mexico. All was good in the world. Or at least where we were.

At home, Melissa was going through hell. Trying to get a hold of me, spending time on the phone and on the internet with people asking for help and advice.

My old mare, Lucky, was down and dying...and Melissa was horribly lost and afraid.

With help online from Desiree and on the phone from my parents, she made the very hard but adult choice to call the vet and have Lucky put down.

We got back to the hotel and I went to the cyber cafe where, by accident, Paige told me how sorry she was to hear about Lucky's passing. I about fell off my chair as all I had gotten so far at that point from Melissa was "call me NOW".

I went back to our room and fell apart.

It was the hardest day of my life...and would not get any easier for yet a couple more as I had to wait a day and a half to get home.

We said our goodbye's on Monday, Jan 19, 2009.


Lucky will always be remembered for being the most stubbornest thing in the world I have ever owned - be it to be caught or ridden by an experienced rider...but also for being my best friend when life got me down.

She lived the life of a queen...retired from anything at the age of 20. And was just loved and cared for until her death at the amazing age of 33.



I will miss you forever, my beautiful buckskin girl!!!

Olympic Torch Relay 2010

On Wed, Jan 13, the Olympic torch went through Vegreville. While I had to work, we were still able to see the torch run as it went right past our office.

At 9:30 one of the volunteers came in and gave us some small Canadian Flags and told us the torch would be by around 10.

So we waited...and waited...and finally heard some loud music. We ran outside to see the "Coke" sponsor vehicle with music blaring and some people waving from the back of it.



We went back inside after seeing the torch turn the corner to go down past the elementary school.

We came back out around 5 minutes later to watch it go by.






What an experience. Wish I could have participated in the entire morning event at the park though as it sounded like it was a lot of fun.

christmas 2009

We had a very quiet Christmas this year.

Melissa and Mike came down from Fort Mac and spent time with us, Mike's family and all their friends.

My sister Jodi, her hubby Fulton and their daughter Brandi joined us for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Everyone seemed really happy with their gifts - both received and happy with what they had given to others.

All in all - it was a great holiday.

Denver is growing

Denver is almost 8 months old. He is growing up lots. Getting bigger than I thought he would at this age.



He is being moved from the herd into the barn tomorrow for his "big boy" training.

My back and body feel like they are able to take on the task of doing some halter work etc. finally...could be a fun time for all.

Baby Bellies 2010

Well, the bellies are starting to show. Gidget and Rondee are due on April 30 and Ding is due on May 1. Dolly is due May 20 (or so)...she is a little harder to pinpoint as we pasture breed her.

Gidget (Skip To My Lucky x Semi Sweet Doc x Docs Adonis) is in foal to Whata Sansation (Hotrodder Disco X Lu Lady San x Peppy San) NCHA earnings of $4500.



Rondee (Smart Little Rondee x GDA Playboys Melody x Playboys Guard) is in foal to Gunner (High Brow Hickory x Diablos Young Gun x Young Gun).



Ding (Slydun Haida x Goldy Tari x Doc Tari) is in foal to Gunner.



Dolly (Sonnys Sondance X Entwistle Fiddle) is in foal to Gunner or Molson (it was a bad breeding season for her).

Ding has had issues

We sent Ding off for training at the end of August. She did really well with Nicole. Was very trusting and willing to work. Nothing was hard for her...she just listened, learned and excelled.

She started having a problem with her front feet being really sore around the middle of September. Nicole and I checked her over and didn't find anything so I asked my farrier...her response was "the ground is really hard and dry and that is causing problems with a lot of horses". So Nicole started putting hoof moisturizer on her feet and that helped. Nicole also started putting her out in the arena at night so that she could exercise and not have to stand in one place on the hard packed ground in her little pen.

I also told Nicole to let her out with her horses as they had been together - or rather side by side - for almost a month. Well, Ding decided she needed to be the boss and found the herd alpha mare and started a kicking fight.

Nicole went out the next day after breaking up the fight and found that Ding's leg had a small cut. So she doctored it by hosing it and putting on ointments. That didn't seem to help as the leg started to swell.

On Oct 10, I went out and the bottom of the leg - not quite to the hock - was swollen. Thinking it was a strain, we put liniment on it and wrapped it. Well, by the 12 (Thanksgiving), the leg was so swollen and sore that Ding wasn't walking on it at all. Nicole called me and I went to pick her up calling my vet on the way.

After speaking with the vet it was determined that Ding had cellulitis really bad. Her leg was swollen all the way to the hip...it was horrendous to see (and stupid me, in my concern, I didn't take pics.).



We put Ding on stall rest, hosed the leg 2 x per day and she was on antibiotics. This went on for 6 weeks. We finally had the swelling down to just the fetlock.


In consultation with the vet, it was determined that we needed to start wrapping the fetlock to "squeeze" out the remaining fluid in the leg. So we started on that regime.


But it didn't work. So Ding went back to the vet in the middle of November. They shaved the back of her fetlock and x-rayed and ultrasounded it. They found a broken splint bone...but no tendon damage thank goodness.

She also had some small sores around the fetlock that they called scratches. I was told to take her home, doctor the scratches and once they were healed Ding would be scheduled for surgery.


On December 9, Ding had her surgery. It was short and sweet...around 45 minutes from start to finish. She spent the night there and then came home on the 10th. I have a small 3/4 inch piece of her splint bone to add to my collection.





It is now January 16, and Ding is recovering well. The fetlock still swells (stocks up) but the vet says that is normal for the trauma the joint has gone through.


She is now in one of the inside/outside pens for another 2 weeks, and then can graduate to the new board pen. We are going to bring Dolly in tomorrow to buddy up with her as she has been on her own now for over 3 months.


Here's hoping she has a complete recovery.

Happenings

Well, the new year started off slow. I was sick for the first week or so. But am now starting to feel better thank goodness.

Work is going better. Things are smoother. Hoping they stay this way. It has also slowed down which is helping. We are now moving through all the backlog of reportings and getting them out. I am sure our clients and the banks are happy now too.

Kids are not so happy to be back at school. Exams are coming up for Shayne soon so he is trying to work hard. Bailey is a working well with her Outreach program. She now goes Tuesday and Thursday with Friday being an optional day.

Melissa and Mike are happily snow-boarding on the small hills outside of Fort Mac. She says she is pretty sore but could stay out there all day. They also did some "apartment" shopping...getting a small table and chairs and a double burner hotplate.

Doyle has been working lots...they have had a few problems at the refinery so he has been putting in lots of extra hours (on his days off yet). His special project is scheduled to start next week but he is going to work on it on his regular shifts until it gets to be too much and then he will switch to straight days.

The weather has finally improved. I could go out to do chores without 18 layers of clothes on today.

I did notice one problem though. Ding's fetlock is swollen again. It is soft and mushy feeling so am hoping she just sprained it or something. With the cold and the snow, all the horses have had iceballs in their feet. I have been trying really hard to keep them out of hers but it is almost impossible. Am now thinking of maybe wrapping it for a couple days to give it some extra support...but not sure if I should or not. She is officially one month post op. 2 more weeks and she should be able to go out onto a bigger pen...but with this newest complication or worry, I am not sure.

All the others are doing really well. FAT and sassy. Farrier is booked for the end of the month and we will do shots and wormer for all. Also going to pull Denver in and really start to play with him. Hoping he sells in the spring.

I am starting to get a bit more excited about the babies...it is getting closer and closer all the time. 3 1/2 months and we will have our first homebred cutting babies!!! Well, almost...3 of the parents were born and raised at Paige's. LOL

Photography course is up and going again. I have some ideas for my next "photography assignment" pics but now just have to wait for the perfect outside conditions. I want to take one of Bailey in her bright pink and green jacket sitting in front of a frosted bush. But whenever it is nice enough out and bright enough out, there is no frost. So we may have to just suck it up and persevere and do the picture when it is freezing out. LOL

Am going to work on my x-mas pics and will get them up soon.

Hope all is well with everyone.

It's been awhile - AGAIN

Life got hectic this fall.

I started my new job in September thinking "it's something I have done before...how hard can it be". WOW...what an understatement.

This firm is HECTIC...and extremely BUSY with their real estate practice. In the first month I had 12 transactions (closings) for myself. What a steep learning curve. I found myself, and still do at times, sleeping, dreaming work...NOT good. So bad some nights that it would wake me up.

I am enjoying it for the most part...but it is a little more than I had thought I was getting into. I am sure in time (it has been four months now) that I will relax and be able to go with the flow instead of constantly questioning myself.

In other news, Bailey was having a very hard time at school. She attends a junior/senior high school. Lots of DRAMA - as she puts it. Grades were suffering...she was starting to get into trouble. So we have explored the option of "outreach". It is a "correspondence" type of schooling...they do attend 3 days a week and are expected to attend with all assignments completed in their books as if they were there all day every day. It is going really well. The "school" is also only 1 1/2 blocks from my work and the lawyers have made her feel welcome to come and working the lunch room if she wants to or needs to.

The horses, for the most part, are doing really well. Gunner is his "self-centered" self still. Doesn't like any attention...will walk away if you are coming towards his pen and stand with his butt to you (not in a nasty way - but to say "get lost"). It is sad as I have never had a horse like that. The big group finally got out onto the back pasture and are FAT FAT FAT.

We sent Ding for training and she had an accident. One of her own doing. The little "cow" feels like she needs to be the boss in all herds and took on the top girl at Nicole's. Well, she got kicked. Ended up with cellulitis. That took us from Thanksgiving (Oct 10) to almost the end of November to treat. When she was still showing signs of something else possibly being wrong, she went back to the vet. This visit showed us a broken splint bone. So on December 9, she underwent surgery to remove the broken piece. She is now 4 weeks into her recovery and doing marvelously well.

Shayne and Bailey were also going 90 MPH with their bowling this fall. It seemed like we were off to a different tournament every 2nd weekend. While they did not place high enough in any of the tournaments to go on to Provincials, I am very proud of how well they did. Shayne has come a long way in his confidence and he is bouncing back very well from having bad games to good ones instead of just giving up. Bailey is also finding her competitive edge again.

Melissa spent the summer with her boyfriend, Mike, in Saskatchewan while he was working. She also met her bio-paternal grandparents this summer. It was a very emotional time for her. When Mike's job was up in SK, they came home and both started really looking for work. Mike got a job in Fort McMurray at one of the big refinery's up there. Melissa then got work with a sheet-metal company out of Sherwood Park but her work would also put her up in Fort Mac with Mike. They are very happy.

My parents are doing really well this winter...considering. My mom was diagnosed with COPD and congestive heart failure just over 2 years ago. She really struggled for a while - and it didn't help that she has had 3 different doctors. This winter was better for her though it seems.

Dad had an accident in late September. He was up the mountain with the quad getting wood for the winter when the quad moved...he jumped over and grabbed the handle bars and it flipped over on top of him. He pushed it off, got up and walked back to the house - 1/2 mile. When he got back, the neighbors were over and they finally convinced him to go to the hospital where he was diagnosed with 2 non-displaced fractures of the pelvis and a severely separated shoulder. OMG!!! He spent a week in the hospital and then came home with limited help.

He is doing really well now...back to travelling short distances, going shopping etc. Mom was a fantastic nurse and got over, I think, a lot of her fears about doing things on her own.

Doyle is working hard, as always. We have done a little bit more outside - or rather he has. He has also finished my office. We now need to outfit it with a desk. He has also been granted a special project at work which will see him working straight days for a year or so again...this job starts January 12.

There won't be any travelling for us this winter though which makes us sad. We had though about going to Vegas in February but decided against it. We have a few other more important things to spend our funds on right now.

I will be trying to post once a week from now on - it is one of my New Year's Resolutions. My others are to work harder on my eating program...to get in a bit more exercise...do more photography work.

Nothing specific but things to concentrate on.

I wish everyone all the best in 2010. I know for me...I will be really hoping it will be a better year.