Better Mood...I Promise.

It was a better day today, in spite of still being stuck in the snow. I made plans to get out of here tomorrow...which is good. The kids are going back to school too. They should have gone today, but the news said this morning that school was closed...and we didn't find out until much later that school was open...arrghhh! Oh well. The girls made Tosh and I a nice dinner and set up cute little tables in the living room, with candles and wine:) It was very cute and sweet. Good thing, because after listening to them argue all day, I was ready to throttle them!

I talked with my sister today. God I wish I could make her feel better. I hear so much pain in her voice when we talk...and I feel so helpless. I'm not going to plan on going to Africa in April, but I'll go in November instead. My sister is going to go in November too...so it will be a wonderful trip. I wish I could go on the April trip, but I don't trust that I can save that kind of money and get everything done in time to go. It's a huge committment.

I put on my boots this evening and trudged down through the snow to knock the ice off of the satellite dish. The goats were sleeping so quietly in the hay barn that I got worried when I couldn't find them! They're usually right under my feet.
I have to keep knocking the snow and ice off of the satellites, (both internet and T.V.) or I get really bored!
Gosh I hate snow. I can't wait for it to be gone and a little sunshine to be here.

Sheeeeeeeeeeez....

I just read my past few days' posts and I have been VERY negative lately. I'm sorry...I will not post again until I have a more positive attitude and something good to say!
I'm just not a very good "Winter Person". I neeeeeed sunshine.

BAH!!!! No MORE SNOW! :(

I am SOOOO sick of this nasty, wet, white, freezing cold stuff. I'm tired of carrying warm water to the animals, I'm tired of having to chainsaw trees off of the driveway, I'm tired of not being able to go places that I want to, I'm tired of losing power and having to brush the snow and ice off of my satellites....and I'm tired of being stuck int he house with fighting kids and a whiney husband!

I woke up this morning to yet another 6 inches of it.

Bleccchhhhh.

Headaches Suck.

Yes, I have a massively splitting headache and it truly does suck.
Tomorrow I'm going on a rescue mission for three horses who were abandoned and left in the woods. The property owner has asked us to remove the horses, who are starving. Apparently, they were left by a neighbor who moved away after he was repeatedly turned into the authorities for animal abuse. Each time the Animal Control would contact him, he would go out and shoot all of the animals that were sick or thin. There are still as many as eight carcasses by the river on his previous property.:(These three horses had escaped at some point and ended up in the woods on the neighbor's property. They contacted him and he never came to get them...then he moved away. SO...since everyone locally knows that I do rescue, I was called in to help. I have assembled a team and tomorrow, we go get them. I'm excited..as always at the thought that I'll be rescuing animals who are in desperate need.
Hopefully my head will be better by then!
Okay...now for my news.
I MIGHT be going to Africa in April!!!!! I have the chance of a lifetime to go with my sister to Kenya. I'm sooo soooo excited! I have always wanted to go there. I'll keep you posted as I know more.
We still have water today. Yay!
Peace out. ;)

Winter Sucks.

I'm so tired. It has been SO stinking cold here this week. Our pump froze up last night and we had no water today. I couldn't take a shower, so I stayed home and worked from here. I spent a good part of the day getting water from the creek, heating it on the stove and hauling it to the barn for the horses and goats, as well as trying to get the water running again.
After Tosh got home tonight, we bundled up and trudged down through the snow to see if we could figure it out. It was dark and cold, but we discovered that there wasn't any insulation on the pipe right at the well. We used a torch and a space heater and somehow managed to thaw it enough to get it running.
We have a bleach injection system on our tank to kill the sulphur in our well water. It had been running when the pump wasn't, so when Tosh jumped in the shower afterwards, he got an immediate and full shot of bleach in his face. It burned his eyes and skin badly and we had to pour bottled water over him. It was awful. The poor guy is working two jobs...and he has to come home to that. I'm so sick of the mud...and the snow...and the trees falling down...and this damnable COLD.

...and life goes on.

Ahhhh...the holidays are finally over. The little terrorist went to his new home, the pork is all back from the butcher (Mmmm...the chops are wonderful!) and the 10 inches of snow that we got over New Years is finally almost melted away. We have a new addition or two...but I haven't actually seen them yet. Apparently, there is a family of beavers living in our pond! The pesky little brats are chewing all of the trees down and I'm going to have to find a way to discourage them.
The lady who took Pepper just loves him. I'm so glad. He needed a good, tolerant home! My hay shed collapsed under the weight of the snow. It sucks because my valuable hay is getting all wet and molding:( It's so frustrating to me...knowing that hay is going to be so scarce this year.
I'm hoping to sell some houses and make enough money to buy more...and maybe even build a barn to put it in:)
The goats have decided that they are dogs...and they have kicked the dogs out of their house and taken it over. Personally, I suspect that threats and coercion were used. The dogs kind of liked the Dogmahal and aren't too thrilled with the way it now smells. Fozzie has moved down to the barn in the warm hay...and Bosco, while he has his own gigantic house, prefers to lay in the rain anyway.
We're missing a kitty. The old tomcat attacked him one night just before the snow...and I heard them yelling and ran out, but the kitten had run off. He never came back and I have no idea what happened to him. I feel terrible:(

I'm going riding tomorrow with my friend Linda. I can't wait! I really need a little break.

Fear Isn't Just Human

My accident happened around the first of November. It's good to be back to normal now! (Well, as normal as I have ever been...*grin*)

We have Rocco who I would love to take to a trainer this year, and we have a rescued yearling who was abandoned in a field and confiscated by the state..then I adopted him. He's missing one eye, but is the most wonderful, gentle little Paint gelding I've ever seen. I think he was born dead-broke! Then I have Roxie, my new Paint mare that I rescued at the auction. She's about 12 years old...and when I found her, there were three little girls riding her...and all were sitting backwards on her! (facing her tail!) I just love her. It was very, very scary to ride again, but I'm so glad that I did. It felt like a huge weight was lifted and my heart was whole again. (I know that sounds silly, but I can't even begin to describe how it felt to me to be "afraid of horses". ) I have been in love with horses since I was old enough to neigh. It made me think about the horses that I have rescued who have clearly been so fearful of humans....and how relieved they must be when they finally discover that they are loved and are safe. Wow. We so often forget that it is humans who teach the bad behavior in some animals..and it is up to US to repair the trust.
Roxie is restoring my faith in horses...and I will do my damndest to restore her faith in humans.
We both deserve to know that love and trust.

Snowed In!

This is my pasture and Hubby's truck yesterday. We got about 8 inches of snow overnight...lost all satellites and power several times. There were several snowmen built along the road this morning when I finally made it out of my driveway to go to work!

I've been dealing with multiple offers on one of my listings. One buyer has also asked me to represent him, which is nice because I can make money on both ends of the deal. HOWEVER...he's a complete jerk and wants me to kick him back part of my commission. I have told him that I wont do it...and he is refusing to come up on his offer...but wants to try and intimidate me. Lol..he obviously doesn't know me! Oh well...the other offer looks good too, so I'm sure that something will work out.

We're waiting on our pork to come back from the butcher...can't wait to have smoked ham!

I wish I had something terribly humorous to share with you all, but it seems that I'm having a run of pure boring-ness. Sorry. I'm even boring myself! Blecchhhh.

Lis

Rub-a-Dub Hub!

I bought Hubby a certificate for a massage for Christmas. He was really funny about going...didn't want to go alone! So, today I took him to see Takayo, the lady I see for massage therapy. I had to stay in the room and sit on the couch and read while he got his massage. What a baby! He was a little sore afterwards, but I think he'll feel better in the long-run.

It's snowing like crazy here today. I trudged down to feed the horses and knock the snow off of the satellite...and the horses and goats were thrilled to see me:) They always nuzzle me for treats...and I usually have them in my pockets. It's VERY difficult to move around when one has a goat's head in one's pocket! Rocco is a very piggy pony and will eat anything. (and I DO mean ANYthing!!!!) When I got him, he was on his way to be slaughtered...to be shipped to Japan and be someone's dinner. It is amazing to me that anyone could throw away such a wonderful, funny, loving little horse. There is something very special about Rocco and I'm really attached to him. He's daughter #3's pony, but he loves me best;) Rocco has a soft spot on the side of his muzzle...and it's the best place to kiss ever! When I've had a bad day...I just kiss Rocco's nose and it all melts away! This little horse, who was thrown away like yesterday's garbage...has made a very big impact on my heart:)

There is nothing cuter than a pony in the snow!

Life On The Funny Farm!

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Working, Working, Working...It's All Good.

Last year I found myself in the position of having to "re-invent" myself. It was a sobering, but necessary change in my life..and I decided to make the most of it. After considerable thought, I chose to go into Real Estate. Now, it might not have been the best time to become a Real Estate Agent, but I have made it work. It's the greatest job I've ever had...and I LOVE it!

I work my own hours, am my own boss, choose my own clients...and I actually make good money doing it!

It's a LOT of work...some days I'm running for 12+ hours, but the thing is, I'm HAPPY when I'm working and I ENJOY doing it! (even when I have the clients from Hell!) Today I wrote an offer from a buyer on one of my own listings...then I wrote a seller's counter-offer...then I wrote a buyer's counter-offer...all running back and forth between Seller, Buyer and the office to get it all done. Tomorrow, I am showing the same listing to even another buyer..and on Sunday, I will be having an Open House...so as you can see, the Real Estate business is not as bad as we are all hearing. Actually, Real Estate in Eugene, Oregon and the surrounding areas is GREAT...and I'm so glad to be a part of it!

Pork..The Other Muddy Meat!

Tonight we impounded the pigs and they had their last meal.
I have to tell you, if I felt badly about taking them to the butcher before,
after trying to round them up and put them into a trailer...I do NOT feel bad at all!
They are vile, dirty, pushy creatures who squeal so loudly that it hurts my ears.
While we were trying to catch them and trailer them tonight...Tosh fell FLAT on his stomach in about 3 inches of mud! Needless to say, he's also MORE than ready for them to go.

The kids FINALLY go back to school tomorrow. I want to know who the sadistic person is who mandates that Christmas vacation be more than 2 weeks long. Isn't it enough that I have to listen to them fight all Summer? My two youngest have a need to torture each other on a consistant basis...which results in my wanting to torture them. If anyone knows the guy (It HAD to be a man!) that makes school vacation policy, please tell him that I wish to torture him too.

Pepper the Terrorist did not leave today afterall. I'm hoping that tomorrow will be better!
He's SUCH a cute little guy...but he's just SO mean to the other critters. (and I think that Ace is getting tired of his misguided amorous attempts at being manly!) He does love to be scritched and scratched on his tiny little neck though, so you can't help but love him.

Daughter #1 is getting back on track. While she prefers the "Ostrich" approach to bills, she has come to realize that it might not be condusive to her lifestyle. It can put a damper on things if you have to ride the city bus. I think she's working hard to get it all straightened out...so that's a good thing:) She has SO much going for her...brains, beauty, personality, boobs...but she admits that she seems to be short in the "motivation" department. Boobs can only get one SO far...trust me! It's okay...I'm going to keep "abreast" of the situation, so she'll be fine!

Well...everyone is finally in bed, (except me, of course) and it's quiet. Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!
I'm going to take out a new book...and read. Hmmm...I don't do that often enough these days.

Sending Animals Down The Road!

Yay! The pigs are leaving, the pigs are leaving!

Thursday morning will be the last time that I have to feed pigs when I feed all of the other animals. Part of me will miss their silly grunts and inquisitive nature, but they have gotten big and pushy and I'm sick of getting muddy every time I have to feed them. And besides, I LOVE ham!

Last night, I realized that nobody had fed the horses all evening. It was 1:30am, but I put on my jeans and rubber shoes and headed to the barn with a flashlight. I had to laugh when I got there, because all three horses were ON the haystack...munching and sleeping! Okay...well, it's not real funny that they are ruining my hay, but at least they're resourceful! They were free-feeding themselves and had found a really warm bed:)

We currently have three horses here at home. Rocco, who is a small horse and belongs to Mckenna, is a rescue that I saved from a slaughter lot. He's shy about his ears, but is otherwise patient and loving and he absolutely LOVES to be brushed and coddled. He gives the best kisses ever...but please don't tell my husband!

Ace, is Savannah's yearling rescue. He was found, abandoned in a field with three other yearlings, missing an eye and half starved. He is one of those horses that was born broke!

He's a gentle, loving little "pocket pony" who wants nothing more than to be loved and scratched. He's a beautiful bay paint and I can't wait to see how he turns out.

Pepper is the little mini black stallion that I brought home, thinking that I would use him in my real estate business as a marketing tool. What I didn't realize, was that he's a spoiled little man who needs to be taught some manners and needs to be gelded. He's a 34" terrorist! He bites the pigs and goats, chases the dogs and cats and does NOT get along with Rocco.
I still like the idea of using a mini for marketing, but I think I'll borrow one!

We also have two goats. They don't actually KNOW that they are goats, however:)

I bought them at the auction...when they were only 2-3 days old. They were SO cute! I had to keep them in the house for the first month and bottle feed them. The girls named them Chomper and Pancake. They have grown into the biggest pests that ever roamed the farm, but we adore them anyway and I can't imagine life without them! Well, maybe I can...but it sure would be boring!) They think that they should live in the house with us...so I'm currently trying to convince them otherwise. Trust me, it's NOT easy!

So we're catching up...aren't you thrilled?