Hi!

Time does fly by. It's been a week since I have had anything to say. The last time I was here was my son's fifty-first birthday. I may have been in shock for the past week.

I did actually have an 'event' this week. My long ago once good friend visited on Tuesday. Funny how with certain people you can just pick up like you saw them last week. She went back to college, getting a degree in nursing in the '90s and worked as a neurological nurse until last year. She is slightly older than I am and looks younger. Other than no longer having black hair, she looks pretty much like herself. She absolutely did not understand my life at all. The gravel road sort of freaked her out! She asked what we do out here, thinking we are in the middle of nowhere. City girls! Oh, wait...I was one, too, once upon a time. Part of what confused her so much, how did I end up on a farm? I guess she forgot I'm slightly off the normal scale. Anyway, it was great fun.

Otherwise, life is simply ticking along. We've had some rain and expect more today. Mark is finally working on taking apart the falling-down-arena-fence. The next shock would be removing the fallen down trees. One can dream.

Since it been a while since I graced this page with food, here we go. Last night's dinner made with leftover pork. 

Horses

Lori asked for more equine photos. Be careful what you ask for, I have hundreds.

The imp on the left is, yes, Scamper, with his brother, Bounce.

Ari and Topper as weanlings.

Ari showing off his Airs Above the Ground to City.

Ari with Angie

 

Topper

Shaka

Secret and her filly, Ivy.

Solo

Fancy Pants Zing in makeup.

Fancy Pants in mud

Shaka was my first Arabian. Quite the personality. He dumped me when I went to look at him. His owner was surprised when I said I'd buy him! My kinda guy was he.

Angie with Ben.

My first horse, Knee High. I got him when I was a kid. I was 18-19 in the photo.

The foundation of the farm. Brood mares, all in foal. Left to right: Ellie, Sunspot, Fleetwind and Diamond Rose.

Tranquility

I picked a few at random. I am in the way-back machine, many of these horses are now deceased. Good memories mixed with some sad memories. 

Passage of Time

I was searching through older photos looking for something in particular. Not this photo, but it struck me when I saw it how long I have been grey. This was 2010. I went completely grey in 2005. It's been 20 years. Now I'm actually white haired, what's left of it. 

 Photos do tell a story. 

Time passes and it's interesting to see the changes in the photos we have. 

Mischief Makers

This is how the flexible vinyl fencing gets flexed.

This is all you need to know about geldings. Perpetual ten-year-old boys. The larger of the two, Ben (half Lippizaner half Arabian), is 25 years old. His impish little buddy, Scamper, is 23 years old. They never grow up!

I have been MIA for a while. Between some serious pain and the serious state of the State, I've had no impetus to do anything. It used to be called down in the dumps. I also wasn't able to sit at my desk, which was a problem. I think this is the longest I have been away from a computer in I don't know how long. I've been going through audiobooks at record speed. Anyway, I'm improving.

We have been slowly moving toward spring. Trees are starting to bud. We do need rain, so far not much in the way of April showers. Otherwise, nothing of any import going on around here. I wanted you all to know I have not gone toes up. Not yet.

Ouch!

I did a stupid thing to myself a few days ago. I won't go into the details, but I ended up in a position of butt hitting floor with a plop, sending screeching pain into the lower lumbar. Yah, I did this. Yes, my back had finally begun to feel better, then....well I am in pain. I've been absent because sitting at my desk is painful, or more painful, and I don't use my phone for blogger. It is somewhat better, which is why I am here now. I will check in on one and all throughout the day, short periods of time at the desk. 

The day of the butt plop I made chocolate pistachio ice cream in the morning. I didn't have enough eggs on hand to make gelato. 

I also made walnut bread and....

Rye with flax meal.

Mark has been tending to me like a mother hen. He picks up lunch and dinner. Last evening I was able to make a boneless pork loin, as that required little effort. Between a back brace, a heating pad and pain meds I am slowly coming around. It feels like nerve pain, sharp and stabbing, mainly on the right side of my back. Please do avoid landing on your behind, it hurts.

 

Quiet and That's Okay

I attempted loading a video of our snowfall yesterday but blogger wouldn't let me. It was pretty, big, fluffy flakes.

Other than snow falling until late afternoon, nothing really happened yesterday. I didn't make gelato because I hadn't frozen the freezing container, which is sort of necessary. I'll make a simple ice cream recipe that doesn't need a custard, as I don't have enough eggs on hand for a custard. Somehow I forgot about preparation.

Dora had written that she keeps track of her spending, adding up the monthly cost of food, etc. I plan to do that, going through last month. We know prices are already inflated and we know it's going to be worse, so I need to make a plan. We don't feed only ourselves, we have horses and cats. Grain is expensive right now and it's going to be a lot worse. I am thankful to see some snow and rain and hope we don't have a dry year. I don't need scarcity to add to the cost of hay. The old hay burners don't need a diet. I know, it can be said horses aren't a necessity and that's true. But they are here. Trials and tribulations.

I made an easy meal for last evenings dinner. I had a small amount of leftover steak that I cut up and used in pasta with onion, garlic, artichoke hearts and kalamatas. It will be cod tonight. This is life in my slow lane. Which is ok, I spent a life in the fast lane, slow isn't bad.

Bread. Kitty. Tax.

It's been sometime, I think, since I've graced this page with bread. Today I rectify that. Semolina/white whole wheat. If you are unfamiliar with semolina, it is a coarsely ground durum wheat. Its texture and color is similar to cornmeal. Most dry pasta is made from semolina. There is a slightly nutty flavor to it. It is high in gluten, but also high in protein. Not for the gluten intolerant. Like einkorn, it has been grown in Italy for many centuries. Unlike semolina, einkorn is tolerated well by the gluten intolerant, but not Celiac. There, a short tutorial! 

It snowed all day yesterday but most melted as it hit the ground. Today we are supposed to have rain. In other words, it will be a mess. If I can get my ice cream churner to work I think I'll make chocolate pistachio gelato today. Doesn't a cold, rainy day just call out for a frozen dessert? I do have soup, so that balances things.

Crabby Tabby spent a lot of time standing at the door to go outside, but when the door was opened he kept changing his mind. Smart kitty.

Today is National Sales Tax Day. For those who don't know, that is what a tariff is. Good luck to us all. I have a full freezer but I didn't do as well with pantry goods. I shudder to think what will happen with horse feed. It's already very expensive. Nothing tanks an economy faster than massive unemployment and inflated pricing. 

Cat. Food. Pending Disaster.

We finally had rain Saturday night, turning to snow on Sunday. It snowed into late afternoon but the ground was too warm for it to stick. We really needed some moisture and we can certainly use more.

Gatto checked the kindling box and found it empty. He was shocked.

I made pizza for dinner. The crust was really light. I used semolina and white whole wheat and I will remember this for the next time. Quite good. 

We have been trying to maintain a sense of balance during these very trying times. It is really an impossible thing to do as the chaos is like a snow ball rolling down a hill. It gets larger and larger as it swallows everything in its path. I've shifted my focus from the Fearless Leader to those in the population who feel what is happening is a good thing. Perhaps someone can enlighten me, for as I see it, had Harris won and proceeded to do the exact same things, I would bet the farm there would be an outcry of rage from the very people who are now supporting the authoritarian edicts coming from the Oval Office. Give one of the many illegal and unconstitutional acts a thought. The large amount of unemployment this administration is bringing about through DOGE. Have you heard of the domino effect? I think it's safe to say if you haven't you will be experiencing it sooner rather than later. What happens when hundreds of thousands of people suddenly are unemployed? In a consumer economy? Think about this for a moment.

I've tried to stay away from this, but it just doesn't seem possible to do that anymore. Now he's telling Europe they cannot use DEI. 

Candid Camera

Mark picked up his phone and said smile. 

So I did. Sort of.

Mark has recently learned how to take photos with his phone. Now I have to be careful, he could be around every corner. I've actually had two busy, for me, days. I was out of the house for several hours on Monday, PT and other things. Yesterday we had appliance delivery in the morning. A funeral in the afternoon, a corporate client of Mark's, for over fifty years. He was 97 and a very good man, one  that I knew and liked. So, that's what I have been doing.

It's a sunny, mild day. We are hoping some rain happens soon. It's very dry. Today will be back to usual for both of us. I need to ease into this peopling slowly.

 

A friend called yesterday afternoon. We had ninety minutes of ranting and raging at the mess exploding around us all, whether we wanted it or not. Some people still use the phone. That my Gen X friend does is unusual.

We have a dreary day but the forecasted rain/snow mix is now un-forecasted. We do need moisture. I was watching two of the geldings playing the head game this morning. The head game is truly a gelding thing. Mares would not lower themselves to such ridiculous behavior. It consists of standing still, moving the neck back and forth, up and down with mouth open, both doing this at the same time. And a few hops and foot stomps add to their amusement. Old boys never do stop playing. Old mares are the same as when they were young mares. They tend to business, thank very much.

Other than appliance breakdowns and flat tires, life is trudging along pretty much as usual. Meaning I bake bread, sandwich rolls and make dinner. A modified shrimp scampi. Modified because I wanted a one dish meal so I added asparagus to it. Gotta get those greens in. 

Mark is busy with tax work but not busy like it used to be. His last corporate client sold the business last year. Now he has no more audits, just his few longtime clients who owned the businesses. He enjoys having some work, it keeps his mind active and he has interaction with people he's known longer than he's known me. Hard to imagine, but true.

So, off to it I go. Whatever it is.