Wow, this weekend just flew by! I am so sad that I'm headed back to work tomorrow.

It was a wonderful weekend. I spent time relaxing, I rode my horses, I took care of some barn chores, I spent time with my best friend, I spent time with my family, and I ate lots of turkey! :)

And cranberry sauce! Mmmmm! We make homemade cranberry sauce, and it is SO YUMMY! Many people at my work like to eat the canned cranberry sauce, and I always freak out when I hear that. Hee hee, I guess they just don't know how good homemade is!

I did NOT go shopping this weekend. I'm a terrible shopper to begin with, and I just can't stand the crowds! I really like shopping online, and I only have a couple of gifts to buy this year, so I don't even have to rush to buy them. I do, however, need to get a move on finishing up my Christmas cards.

Happy December!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!

I am so thankful for my family and friends and all of my animals ... AND FOUR DAYS OFF FROM WORK! :D

It is a nice morning so far, sunny and calm and not too cold. The ponies are outside munching their hay. I remember being so frustrated with some horse barns that wouldn't turn the horses out on Thanksgiving. I understand that it is a holiday, but the horses don't know that, and when it is a nice day, they go crazy locked in stalls! I am thankful that my horses are turned out 24/7 now, and they can go in and out of their run-in shed as they please, no matter what the holiday!

Today we are just having a small meal...the big turkey meal will actually be this weekend with my family. I can't wait! I loooooove Thanksgiving dinner. I am very excited for the turkey.

I hope that everyone out there has a wonderful day with family, friends, and animals, and I wish everybody a very happy Thanksgiving!

Yay, it's Friday again! I am SO glad it's the weekend. I'm having a quiet night at home tonight, and I'M LOVING IT. We were actually supposed to have company tonight, and I am very glad they cancelled. Ever have one of those days when you just want some time to yourself?

It has been cold and windy this week, and this weekend is going to be the same. The ponies are okay, but I'm sure they would like some nicer weather (at least less windy!). They are VERY FUZZY now, and they are very chubby because they are eating a LOT of hay.

Work was really really really busy this week. I don't know why, but I just had tons of stuff to do! I went a couple of weeks there where I had NOTHING to do, and I was literally ASKING for more work to do, but this week there was just so much to do!!!! Crazy.

I can't believe next week is Thanksgiving. I am so looking forward to the four-day weekend and the TURKEY!

I have a bad feeling about this winter...it's only November 18th, and it's pretty cold, and the wind is howling out there! The ponies have free access in and out of their run-in shed, and when it's so windy, they choose to stand INSIDE! I tried to put their hay outside tonight, but when it just blows away, and they stand inside and look at me with big, sad eyes...well, the hay ends up inside, too. :D

Work was really busy today. It always gets busy around the holidays, as people try to get stuff done that they should have done a long time ago! A couple weeks ago it was very quiet at work...I was actually LOOKING for new things to do. I e-mailed several people about submitting some paperwork several times, and they JUST submitted it today. So instead of spacing out the work over a few weeks, they dump it all on me at once. Grrrrrrr...why can't people do things on time?!

Anyway, back to a horsey topic...I'm a little concerned about the hay situation this year. It was pretty wet this summer, so I'm worried about moldy bales and simply having enough hay to get through the winter. I'm getting a delivery this weekend and hoping that the bales are big. Right now I'm paying a LOT of money for awfully small bales. :(

I've started making Christmas cards for this year, and I love it! I can't wait for Thanksgiving, but I also can't wait for the Christmas season and the Christmas music and the Christmas cards! As I mentioned before, I'm going small on the gifts this year, but I hope everyone will like the homemade cards (with photos!).

Today I took the afternoon off from work, and I RODE MY PONIES!!!!! I MUST do this more often!!! :D

My big pony is improving a lot, but she is still SO nervous about one side of the riding area. Today we just stood there and then walked around a little bit, and I let her just LOOK at everything. I've always heard that when a horse is spooky, you should keep them focused and forward. Well, I've tried that, and maybe she is just one of those horses who has to LOOK and EXAMINE the spooky thing. I don't know, but we'll keep working on it. I guess she just needs more time. She has made a LOT of progress since she was a sad bag of bones (see post here).

Well, I better get to bed. Busy day tomorrow!

Well, the cat is quite pleased with the new arrangement of hay. Almost immediately after I finished re-stacking, she jumped up to the top of the bales and plopped herself down and looked at me. I must admit I was aiming more for an easy-to-count-how-many-bales-I-have-left arrangement and NOT a cozy cat corner, but it is just so cute when she is all curled up on top of the hay. :D

It was a beautiful November day today...I wish I could have ridden, but my little riding area is just TOO slick...it is pretty dangerous. It's supposed to be sunny and breezy tomorrow, so I'm hoping that will help it dry out.

I NEED to ride more. Ha ha, I say that as we head into winter here where there is no riding done at all. Uggggh, well, next spring and summer I have to figure out a way to work full-time, get all the barn chores done, and still have time/energy/daylight to RIDE MY PONIES.

Good afternoon, I'm taking a short blogging break before I go outside and stack hay.

No riding this morning, as my little riding area is very slick after all the rain. I don't have a real arena, just a sort of flat grassy area, and after a week of on and off rain, it gets very slippery!

So I'll spend the day reorganizing my hay shed and getting ready for a big hay delivery! There is always stuff to do around the barn. I think my barn kitty will keep me company, though. She is like a dog! She follows me around and "helps" ... usually by sitting on the bale that I want to stack...ha ha ha! :D

Wow, this was a long week...I thought Friday would never get here! Ha ha, well, the week WAS an hour longer. :D Daylight savings always messes up my internal clock...not to mention the weather was cloudy, gloomy, and rainy all week, and we had a big election that the whole world was watching and waiting for!

The darkness after I get out of work is already starting to bother me, and it's not anywhere close to the darkest day of the year. I'm doing barn chores blindly now (no electricity in the barn...just lantern light!), and the run-in shed was a BIG MESS this week due to the horses standing in there more than usual due to rain. I'm hoping things will dry out this weekend.

I'd like to try to ride my little pony, too! I haven't ridden in several weeks, as the weekends are my only time now, and if the weather is bad, well, that plan goes out the window. And we don't ride during the winter here (too cold, too snowy, too icy!), so I'd like to get a few more rides in before then!

I also need to straighten up the hay barn so that we have room for another load of hay soon. How I wish the bales were bigger...I am paying a lot of money for very small bales. It is good hay, though, so I'm happy...I just wish there was more of it! :D