There is a rat in France

Everyone knows that horses have this crazy ability to go lame when they hear certain 4 letter words.
SHOW
WORK
SELL
I know she heard " show" and " work" and is about to hear "sell".
My horse is not lame , she is cranky. I mean CRANK****Y. She is usually pretty tolerable with the ear clipping, not so much tonight. We tried practicing with the stud chain under her chin, she thought it was Satan's chain and did her best to remove it from her face. She was a complete DOLT at practice, decides that walking, backing, standing straight was just wayyyy to much effort. She is an over anticipatory mare, so we now have to work on patience. She even thinks she knows what the next move is, she is half way there before I can correct the behavior. Then I get the " one eye" look from her.. I couldn't ride tonight because once again I forgot to change into my barn boots. Can't ride in my work shoes !
So we lunge and lunge alot, thinking that tired Star would be Compliant Star. Uh not so much.
So tomorrow we try again to fix my clipper errors, get the ears done and go for a long long long ride. Why do I do this to myself? The endless lists of stuff to prepare and bring, pressure, money, work, to get in the show ring for 5 minutes? I don't know, I think it is hard wired in me somewhere, that I just can't resist the show ring bug..
It's like cleaning house, INVITE people over and you are forced to clean Pay for your entry fees and you are forced to get your horse clean. HA!
TTFN !

Trip for two

This year for our Anniversary we went to our condo at the Oregon Coast. We don't get to go there much, but it so great and we love it when we do get to go.

We happen to be driving South towards Eugene, and we saw what looked like people going in to a sea cave. Being the recovering Skeerdy Cat, I told Shawn that we should give it a whirl.
So we climbed down this hill.



That was so steep but there were folks my parents age doing it too ! Can't be outdone by the Baby Boomers!





The so called cave in on my right, it was not a cave, but it was still fun to go adventuring.


It was like a secret cove, there were a lot of people that thought the same thing as well. It was crowded with mostly older folks!

Then we went to Devils Churn State Park. It is a natural cave that sets waaay back, so when the waves come in , it churns the water and then spits it back out. Also a very crowded and popular tourist spot.

What most folks come for are the tide pools. Some of the most beautiful tide pools on Earth. I could look at them all day, but the tide WAS coming IN, so we had to act fast.

This poor little star fish was clinging on for dear life on the cave wall. reminds me of the Starfish in Finding Nemo.

" Happy Place" " Happy Place"

The pool water washed back for about three seconds and I was able to get this amazing photo.

Too bad the weather wasn't nicer. I think my photos would have turned out clearer.

Shawn is literally standing on the precipice of the edge. He wanted his picture taken with a big wave coming in, we took several but this was the best one.

Next stop. Heceta Head Lighthouse State Park and Historical site. We did the tour, and it was so educational and insightful. Those Light keepers worked so hard, for very little, and just total isolation in the Winter. Not sure if I love Shawn enough for that lifestyle !

This is inside the light itself. IT is beautiful and to me it's art and irreplaceable as American History. One of the glass lenses was broken during a cleaning and the cost to get it replaced was in the thousands. THey had to wait for low tide to take their wagons along the beach to get to civilazation for supplies. All the building supplies came in by boat and unloaded on the beack and brought UP the hill by Mules. I mean UP, the beach is way below and light house is straight up the ridge.

This is one of the caretakers homes. This is the style of home I want someday with the big front porch, white paint, lots of windows, picket fence... You get the idea.

Our final stop was in Eugene, to see Jack and Beth. It has been a year since Mitch and Margaret brought them home from Thailand. I just love these kids, they are so fun, full of energy and loving. We brought them Salt Water Taffy, not sure how much their Mom and Dad appreciated it.

We had a fabulous Anniversary weekend, it was so great to spend time alone with Shawn doing what we both love doing, being in nature, learning from history, picture taking, and visiting friends. It just doesn't get any better than that! We ate at great restaurants, had good converstations, and truly looked back on our five years of marriage as " gone by too fast".

Hug your spouse today and don't take one day for granted.

Cemetery Tour of 1996

ok, here is a blast from the past.
In the summer of 1996, I was newly divorced, my kids were on a visit to their Dad for the summer, so my Mom sent me to my Aunt Zabettes house in Missouri for a few weeks.

Background: Aunt Z is the family genealogist , seeker of adventure, truth, cemetery plots of family members and master of a map and thrift spending. SO with that said, what awaited me upon my arrival was nothing short of what we call:


The Great Cemetery Tour of 1996

5 states in 5 days


This is Aunt Z, she and her kids were here this summer for a family reunion. I however got the ol' UNINVITE, but hey I'll save that for my therapist.





So, we start out just me and Aunt Z in her old American Made Sedan which had seen it's better days, and the A/C was lame. In August in Missouri that was not so great, but we managed. We ate in the car, slept in cheap hotels, drank cokes, from dawn to dusk our itinerary was laid out in perfect notations on scratch paper, coffee stained maps and photocopied library materials.
So, then we picked up Jill at a Train Station in BFE, and she was our backseat sidekick. Our Quest? To uncover any and all grave sites, find land owned by our families, secure the lineage of the Calhoun's/Fry's for future generations to come by any means necessary, which could include but not limited to Hefty Bag outerwear, Skeeter Spray, Chigger Cream and a Wire Brush in one hand and cigarette in another. This was going to be the trip of a lifetime.


At one point we ended up in a State I don't remember, we saw several in a weeks time. Aunt Z had this hand drawn MAP, of a Pioneer Cemetery. See picture above. All the while not realizing that this was private land , not public. This was to be our MECCA , the brass ring, the Holy Grail of Granite Headstones. One problem? The owner , would he give us permission to trespass?


Yes he did, he was great. He provided us with Hefty bags to keep us dry, because we had an unexpected summer storm, gave us skeeter spray, and then he went inside and got his gun.

Uh.. Gun? Yeah, he was terrified of snakes, and took it with him in the fields. All righty. So, by this time Jill and I are soaked, cranky, hungry, and it is a looooong walk to the "back 80". But it was true, the cemetery looked exactly like this picture!





So here were in our Hefty Bags and Chigger Cream, total stranger with a gun, and about to head out into a back forested pasture, with a stranger with a gun...



He loved having his picture taken with two cute girls, he was quite the gentleman and a most excellent tour guide.











Can Stealing a Melon make you a Felon? Yes, Yes it can. They have signs to prove it, we actually parked under said sign while a member of our crew jacked a ripe melon out of a field. We were wondering what was taking so long.. She was FLIPPING/THUMPING them to get a ripe one. While we appreciated her mad thumping skills, we had to remind her that she needed to cut n run. We carved said liberated melon with only a mere pocket knife. It was the best sun ripened melon I have ever had.





So, this trip was to also full of many stops at historical buildings, museums and road markers.
My sisters did this trip with my Grandma,they followed the Oregon Trail. So I guess it is genetic after all this History/Dead People deal. We visted cemeteries that were behind coal factories, behind people's homes, on dead end roads with nothing but an old wood sign that said PIONEER CEMETERY. I swear she brought Jill and I , just so she could find the stones faster, 6 legs and 6 eyes are better than 2. :) ha



Ok, now were are back at said cheap motel, clean, and ready to continue with Aunt Z's killer daily itinerary. Thank Goodness for Coke, Smokes and Gas Station Food, not sure how we survived really. I think we paid less than 30 bucks for a double room!



Aunt Z stopped allowed me to put my feet in the mighty Mississippi while in the background on of these was going past. An extremely cool moment, but I had to wash my feet soon after and this was before the invention of hand sanitizer. ha ha


Last Stop:
Chicago, to drop off Jill. She was still a model and needed to get back to work.
Her loft was right across from the Chicago Genealogy Library Building. Thank goodness for me were there at night and directly leaving, so I dodged that bullet I tell ya. !
So, we drove back to Aunt Z's hometown, and I went home two days later. It was fun, hot, sweaty, exciting and educational all at the same time.
I would do it again tomorrow, but a few things would change. Newer better bigger car with A/C, my plug in cooler with food, a better camera, more cash-ola, and I would bring my Mom.
Maybe next year!!! I'll bring my pick up and Camper!

My first Horse

My cousin Jill sent me these for my birthday. It was the best present I received. I didn't know she had them! This was the horse I got from my Dad on August 12Th, 1980. Her name was Muffett. She was Quarter Horse and Arab cross. She was amazing, she could jump any jump, spook proof, she never once bucked me off, I rode her in traffic, water,my backyard, everywhere a 12 year old wanted to go. I didn't have anyone to show me how to properly take care of her, so I did many many things wrong. But she was forgiving and kind and put up with so so much!

She was only 15 hands tall, didn't have much of a motor,we never won one race, but boy she could jump anything I set up. I wish I had her now.







I have a soft spot for greys. She always came to me in the pasture, I never had to chase her to be caught. I rode bareback most of the time. She was in a self care barn so every morning and evening I rode my bike to her barn to take care of her. I did this for years..... Often staying well past dark and my folks having to come find me and remind me to come home.


I lived and breathed this horse. We moved to California and unbeknown to me, my parents had given her away before we left. I kept asking about her coming to California, and then someone other than my parents told me she had been given away. It was heartbreaking and it was at that time unforgivable.
I never knew where she ended up, or was ever given updates. It was awful. I had to leave my home, my friends that I had grown up with since age 3, and the final blow was that my horse was NOT COMING. So, know you all know why I get so emotionally attached to my horses. I'll never be a " horse lady", but I do know I'll always have one or two of my own until the day I leave this Earth. Here are a couple of quotes that speak volumes to me.

My horse's feet are as swift as rolling thunder
He carries me away from all my fears
And when the world threatens to fall asunder
His mane is there to wipe away my tears.~Bonnie Lewis


The daughter who won't lift a finger in the house is the same child who cycles madly off in the pouring rain to spend all morning mucking out a stable. ~Samantha Armstrong

A horse is the projection of peoples' dreams about themselves - strong, powerful, beautiful - and it has the capability of giving us escape from our mundane existence. ~Pam Brown

What 40 looks like

Yep, this is the face of a 40 year old, Wife, Mother, Aunt, Friend, Coach, Daughter and Equestrian. I took this with my new PINK NIKON digital camera. Schaaa-Weet !










I am offically into my 40's as of today. No Trumpets, No angels, No clouds parting and voices singing. Just a normal day.. Like every other day. Rode my horse, got a gift from a friend, a CD from my son, and a lasagna in the oven from my sweetie. Fabulous and Quiet just the way I like it.


Jocelyn

50 Plates, WOF and turning 40

My Day started here. 6 am.. Coffee and out to breakfast.

http://www.womenoffaith.com/

It was awesome, what an awesome God we have! I bought the T-Shirt !
We had great seats, great worship,laughs, tears, joy and music was amazing!

50 Plates

This is the restaurant we went to last night for my 40th !

The Chef brought me this !

The Cupcake was RED VELVET !!! WOWZA!

And this! It was a sample of something called Bayou.. IT has Huge Shrimp, Scallops, Cajun Spices, it was amazingly scrumptious. Everyone at the table got one too.

This is Heather and Joel our friends. Heather and I were practically dressed the same, we have always called ourselves the Wonder Twins, but this was crazy !

This how the night ended, lots of food, fun, calories, drinks, little sleep and not so crazy about being 40 twist of depression.

Well, it was a whirlwind day, my birthday is actually TODAY, so I am going to take more pics, and show you how I spent the 1 st day of the " new 30's" , with my new PINK Nikon Camera.

I love it ! I also got a new Pink Gym bag, a Coffee table book about horses , CD's, Purple stuff for my horse, and new sparkly number holders for the horse show. yipeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Heather and I are going for a trail ride today, it was the only thing I wanted to do today, so I am making her come with me!

5 years ago

Can you guess what I am going to share ?

It starts in a Chapel, a perfect White Chapel... awwwwww

It has beautiful flowers

A 4 tier amazing cake.

A Bride and Groom

A beautiful summer day

My Mom and Dad and all your FRIENDS!

You Guessed it! My wedding to Shawn in 2003. It was the most fabulous Day of my life .