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reflections

Sep 11th, 2011 by

Seeing as today is the 10 year anniversary of the Sept 11 2001 attacks everybody has been posting status updates on their own memories of that day. I thought about joining in but I can’t really fit everything I want to say into a simple status update, so I decided to make a note, for others to read and to remind myself how much things changed.

I was newly married and had lived in Grand Forks for barely 4 months, being a military wife you would expect me to have known about the attacks before the general population did, but that’s not the case.

We had no TV, I never saw the planes hit the towers, I have no images in my mind of the smoke and fire at the pentagon, I didn’t watch the ashes fall in NYC or become glued to the TV as rescue workers and dog teams combed the rubble for survivors.

I was on-line that morning and got instant messages from two friends asking me if I was OK, it was clear they were VERY concerned about me and I was unsure why, it was a normal morning. Close on the heels of those messages the base Giant Voice came to life and announced a real world ThreatCON Charlie, usually the giant voice only activated on Wednesdays at noon to test the tornado siren or when they were having a “exercise” to assess the bases preparedness, it wasn’t an exercise and so I started looking at on-line news sites to find out what was going on. Soon Ben called me and stated what was happening, he urged me to stay up to the minute on events as much as I could by keeping on-line and told me he wasn’t sure when he could come home.

I don’t remember when he got home, I don’t remember what we did that evening or in the following days, but I knew that being a military family this would effect us more than most civilians.

Prior to this date all you needed to get on our base was a military sticker on the car

Now it’s ID checks, sometimes just the driver, sometimes it’s every occupant of the car.

Prior to this date deployments came few and far between for most of Ben’s career field.

Now they are away from their families more often.

Prior to this date roads were open and parking was close to buildings.

Now all roads into bases have traffic diversion items in place and you can’t park next to any structure.

So many things have changed in so many ways I can’t begin to list them all, some are mundane but most are serious.

Posted in about me, musings | No Comments »

what’s new

Aug 19th, 2011 by

let see…
we are settling in at our new digs, Maine seems to be an OK place and New Hampshire isn’t bad either, I just want the dang tourists to go away so our roads aren’t filled with crazies anymore. I want to explore the seacoast some more and right now that is a danger to life, limb and bumper.

I work at my new barn almost daily, I have never been asked to work by the barn owner, I just show up and pitch in. I know the other person who does a work for board works a lot less(one day a week) but realistically I’d be at the barn daily anyway to ride so I might as well work while I’m there.
I do a dressage ride on Monday and Friday, jump on Wednesdays and trail ride(hack out) on Tuesday and Thursday. Well that’s if all goes as planned, if something messes with my schedule(like a mare being mental) then I alter that a bit.

The other thing taking up some time and effort right now is the rescue mare that arrived at my barn last Friday, I won’t go into details here but if you want to see the work we are doing with her then check her out on BookFace(if you have access)
The Goldie Fund

Posted in about me, general, horse | No Comments »

Should I stay or should I go?

Jun 19th, 2011 by

For those of you not in the loop Styles and I are in the middle of a move, he’s in NH/ME and I’m still in NoDak, waiting on my friend t return from 6 months overseas serving the military. She was expected to return this past Thursday/Friday but she got bumped off that flight and is now going to arrive here on Wednesday.

If she had returned on Thursday/Friday I would have had the weekend to spend some time with her and then gotten out of here on Monday(20th) with her returning this Wednesday(22nd) if I spend a few days with her before going that has me traveling over the weekend, eww, the idea of driving through Minneapolis on Saturday, Chicago on Sunday and then some cities in Ohio on Monday does not thrill me. So I might stay through the weekend just to be traveling mid week like I wanted, also if I chose to do that I’ll be there for Hannah and Lucky’s(my student and her new horse) first event on Sunday the 26th. It’ll be their first show together and their first time doing XC.

BUT my parents are over on the east coast right now, they are at a condo in Pennsylvania for this next week(20-25) and plan on visiting Styles and I’s new place the following week(27-??) if I stay I might miss seeing them, granted I just saw them in May but if I miss this visit I might not get to see them again until next summer or even later.

Any way you slice it I am not looking forward to driving myself, Holi mare, two cats and the dog, alone, four days on the road, I have no motels set yet, I’m unsure of my route, and just generally stressed about when to leave and how to get where I’m going.

Posted in general | 3 Comments »

and another thing

Apr 25th, 2011 by

Yet another decision to make.
While we were in NH we looked at a LOT of places to rent, we only found three that we both liked.
Two are townhouses/condos, both end units(neighbors on only one side) one is closer to where Ben will be working and one is farther but both are acceptable places to live.
The third option is a private house, it’s owned by a military family who will be in NY state for the next 4 years, so we’d be renting their home while they are away on orders. It’s closer to the barn I wish to have Holi at. The family won’t be leaving until mid June tho, so Ben would have to go out there alone in mid May and motel it until the house was open, then I would join him, we have found out that the Gov will pay for two separate moves(him then me) but they won’t pay for his lodging past 10 days.

Here’s the thing, we are finding that most places that come up for rent have many MANY people interested in them, we put in applications at both condos but not immediately, one was sent in the mail on Mon and the other I filled out online today. I am worried that we won’t get either place. There is a $25 non-refundable deposit down on one condo and a $100 on the other that is refundable if we don’t get accepted, if we accept the condo and then back out at the last minute they keep our money.
The family house is open right now and they are sending a lease agreement for us to look over, thing is they have a showing on it this weekend, if we give them $200 it holds the house AND counts as our pet deposit.

So do we wait and see if we get one of the condos? there is no limit on how long we could stay at them unlike the military family’s home where they will be back in 4 years and need their home back, both are more convenient to the turnpike and Ben’s commute to work.

Or do we put money on the house? and then deal with spending some money on Ben’s motel room for a week or two. Also me staying here is ideal as my friend who is away(and I’m caring for her horses) won’t be back in May but she will be back in June. It would give me more time to pack/clean as well and let me tell you are we BEHIND in that department.

Aarrggg, so many things to think about.

Posted in general, girr | 3 Comments »

what to do?

Apr 23rd, 2011 by

I have a choice to make on what barn Holi and I will be calling home for the next ?? year(s) I have two good prospects and I just need to bounce both of them around for a while and make a pic soon-ish. I’d love some advice on what others would do.

Barn A. the first barn who contacted me in reply to my post on a bulletin board, I stated that I was looking to work for board at any barn near where we are going to be living, I stated that I don’t have much money but I am a hard worker and also my mare might be able to be used in a lesson program. I checked out the barn and while it isn’t fancy it’s suitable, maybe 15 stalls or so, nice indoor arena, outdoor arena area but no fence on it ATM, many small turnout runs(muddy/stony) two pastures for grazing in the summer. After talking with the owner/manager I found out that the arena is off limits if anybody is having a lesson, her daughter used to run a lesson program but now it’s just her horses(3 I think) and 2 or 3 boarders, one boarder brings in her coach 2-3 times a week. There is a shared tack room, heated bathroom, wash rack, trailer parking, not much to speak of in terms of jumps, there are trails on the property and she said there were some XC type jumps out there(they need work tho which I can do) She stated that horses are in the private mud runs most of the time and out on grass only in the summer and only if they are well mannered, she won’t put Holi out if A. she runs and is upset about being out alone(yeah alone) or B. if she turns her out with another horse and Holi is nasty to it that’s it, then Holi stays in a run because she doesn’t want to deal with vet bills. We spoke about me working off board and she is leery about agreeing to it without knowing my work and the like, she doesn’t want to get “stuck” in a situation that won’t work for her and she doesn’t want me to get stuck in a situation where I can’t afford to be IF it doesn’t work out. Her usual board fee is $600 per mo, I would be paying $300 per Mo and working..??.. I’m not sure, we talked about me doing AM chores with her daily as she is doing it all alone right now, or perhaps doing chores when she’s off showing on weekends, she said her hubby helps at the barn as well so there might not be much for me to do. If I don’t work out for her as a worker I would have to pay full board fees. She asked me to provide some references on my horse experience which I did, she has sense emailed me and stated that we can do a “trial period to be sure it works for both of us and then evaluate after a month to see how we feel”

Barn B. I contacted them while out in NH, their website didn’t have any pricing info so I called and set up a time to check it out. It’s a bigger barn, I’d say 30-ish horses, lesson program in place(saw a CUTE pony working over x rails) nice indoor, nice outdoor that is being moved to a more suitable location on the property, jump field up the hill from the barn, XC field up near it too(jumps from logs to some Novice level jumps), trails on property and easy access to more off property, trailer parking, wash rack, shared tack areas, many MANY muddy turnout pens and then 2-3 grass pastures for summer, barn manager said not many people want their horses out on the grass so Holi could use the one near the barn for sure. We talked about doing work for board and while she doesn’t need help per-say(has stall cleaners already) she said sure, I can pay $300 per Mo and work a few days per week, she mentioned that one boarder currently does PM chores on Sundays as her work for board.She didn’t ask for references, just asked that I let her know if I wanted to board there or not as while she has 2 stalls right now that may change, if I say I want it she’ll hold a stall for me until I get there in May.

I’m fairly sure that barn A would be quiet, low drama and very easy to be at with no crazy lesson kids running around and not much in the way of crowding. But it also wouldn’t have much in the way of riding company, jumping opportunities or lease/half lease options IF I decide to get pregnant in the next 4 years and can’t ride/work. The barn owner seemed..I dunno, reluctant to have somebody else..in authority? not quite the right word, like she didn’t want anybody else having charge of the horses at all, can’t say I blame her, if I owned a barn and liked taking care of my own horses I wouldn’t want joe shmoe from who knows where showing up and asking to work with me and “oh by the way give me something for free while we are at it”

Barn B seemed very active but it was spring break and she did have a “horse camp” going on, I’m sure there would be some barn drama but the manager(owner?) seemed very in charge and not in a bad way, just somebody that the boarders/lesson kids looked up to and everybody did what she said. She seemed very confident that I could do any duty she asked of me and didn’t seem to worried about me not being what I claimed to be/know. With the lesson program at barn B I’m fairly sure I could find somebody to lease Holi mare if I get pregnant, or at the very least I could let her be used for lessons and keep paying my low board fee.

I realize that I won’t be locked into either barn and I am free to show up, stay for a month or so and then move on if I’m not happy but I really want to avoid that, I want to just pick a barn and get settled. Help me decide!

Do I go with small barn A, low drama(I hope) and no assurance I can keep working off my board and a low chance that I can lease out the mare if I want to foal myself. A is also right off the high way so if we live in one of the two places we applied at it’s very accessible, if we end up in the house I want(that I have to wait an extra month for) then I would have to drive through a busy(confusing roads) town to reach it. I feel a slight obligation to be at this barn as she did contact me and offer me a place to call home.

OR do I go with the bigger barn B, take the risk on more drama, but it offers more things suited to my training desires, assured work for board and also the better possibility of leasing out miss mare? B is off a side road, I’d have to drive through busy town to get there if we live in one of the two places we applied at, however if we live at the house(the waiting house) I’d like it’s only 3 miles away on the same road.

Posted in general, horse | 3 Comments »

project update: Success!!

Apr 5th, 2011 by


my little wheel-barrow cart thinger is a success, Kirby has pulled it a few times now and he’s almost ready to graduate onto the bigger cart my parents bought for him.

Posted in horse, pic-is | 1 Comment »

frick it all

Mar 21st, 2011 by

that’s it, I’m staying in NoDak, Styles can go to NH alone.

We either have to give up two of our pets(we have 4,dog and 3 cats) to live in Military housing because apparently a two bedroom house/apartment is too small for more than two pets according to the mental state of Maine.
OR we have to rent off base and he just found out our BAH is only $800 a month, that will get us…maybe a studio apartment in the middle of town, not a duplex, not a house and not a yard or privacy to be seen.

fuck it

Posted in general, girr | 3 Comments »

a project!

Feb 21st, 2011 by

As if I didn’t have enough on my plate with the impending move I am indeed tackling a project of epic proportions.

Well maybe no so epic but it sounded good right? my project is this, to turn a dual tired wheelbarrow like thus into something my hossie can pull! now you may ask why not just buy a horse cart? simple, they are spendy($450 and up) they are heavy and not conducive to our impending move also I am not even sure the horse I’m re-training to drive is coming with us, so all in all buying a cart right now is not a good idea.

My plan was to cut the handles off, use some lengths of pipe, pipe fittings and what-not to make the horse shafts(minds out of the gutter people) and add some eye bolts to hook the tugs to. After thinking it through I decided to instead replace the handles with new wood pieces and save the handles for when it’s a person pulled “cart” yet again. The wood I have on hand is a bit bigger than what the handles are made from and this is good as it will be stronger, but bad as I can’t reuse all of the old bolts.
My newest plan has added some springs to my ride so it’s a little easier on my tush, as well as some locking washers/nuts to make double sure nothing is going to come flying apart while it’s being pulled by a 1200Lb horse. All in all it’s coming together nicely and I can’t wait to try it out really soon.

I didn’t take many pics while I was working on it(bad blogger) but here are a few of what it looks like right now.

might be a death trap


squishy springs


shaft and tug rings


nerder me


I am having a lot of fun putting this thinger together, after looking at these pics I think I’ll either bend the legs on the barrow a little higher so they won’t hit on the ground as easily or I’ll just remove them entirely.
I don’t intend on actually sitting in it for quite some time, I’ll take a LONG time getting Kirby used to it following him around by pulling it myself next to him while my Ma ground drives him, once he’s totally OK with that I’ll actually hook it behind him and drive him from the side(walking) for a while longer. If that all goes OK we’ll start putting some weight in his “cart” something non-hurt-able like grain bags or sand. I may not even get in it myself before the move hits us but I don’t care, I want to make the Kirb pull something other than a log.

Posted in horse, pic-is | 2 Comments »

Well foo

Feb 8th, 2011 by

For those of you not on BookFace or who haven’t seen the little update Styles posted here we had some unwelcome news last week, he’s gotten orders out of Grand Forks :(

I don’t really want to go anywhere, I know we’ve been here “forever” in military terms, almost 10 years! but we have been content, we have friends and with my parents coming out this way each winter for my fathers job this place works well for us.

Our base is changing it’s mission from a tanker(air refueller) base to a UAV base(predators and global hawks) so most of the active duty personnel stationed here are moving on to other bases. We knew there was a chance of Styles getting orders but not a high one, we aren’t begging to get out of here like lots of folks are, and even with the mission changing they still need computer guys like him. Regardless we had updated our “dream sheet” of bases we would like to go IF we had to go and waited to hear any news. All the bases we picked are west of here closer to his parents and they all have stables so taking the horses with would be doable.

We got word on Jan 29th that orders had come down but we had to wait until Monday(31st) to find out what they were, Pease Air Guard Station, WTF!?! where is it? why the hell send an active duty member to an Air Guard station? that’s for reservists!! OH well we go where they say or Styles can’t stay in the AF, we aren’t ready to go civilian quite yet and seeing as he has over 10 years in we may as well stay the next 9 and get a good retirement out of it.

So we are headed to Portsmouth NH in May, there are NO STABLES on Pease, there are plenty of barns in the area but if I have to pay full board I will only be able to take one of my horses with me, right now I think that will be Holi but then I have to find a place for the other two for the next ???years. There is also no housing on Pease so we’ll have to find an apartment or house to rent :/

I’m looking into barns and hoping to find one I can work at to negate the board fee, I’ve also been told about a barn where they need lesson horses so if they can use one of mine for lessons then it would get free/reduced board. Where I keep Holi will be influenced by where I can work off the money as well as where we end up living, or perhaps where we end up living will influence where I keep Holi.

There are a ton of details to work out, a lot of things we won’t know until we go check out the area, Styles will try to get some leave in March so we can house/barn shop in person instead of just over the internet.

Posted in general | No Comments »

ain’t that a beoch

Nov 15th, 2010 by

My club is in trouble, we’ve had some issues over the summer with treasury stuff, I heard rumors from some folks that things were dire, then heard from others that things were fine. Last weekend I heard the truth, we had $17,000 in our account last fall, after a summer of showing(our shows break even or make money) and clinics(the clinics do make money) our club is down to under $5,000 and the person who was treasurer admitted to spending club funds on personal gas, motels, and food…
The real kicker? the treasurer voted in last fall had just been fired from a 10+ year job at a big hospital, for what? padding their expense account….real smart people, real smart.

Posted in girr, horse | 2 Comments »

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