Ordinary Time

One of the possible blog topics suggested (a phrase you may hear quite a bit for the next couple of weeks) asked what I planned for my equine business. Since I spent the afternoon with J. planning dates for both our family's plans and for the farm, this seems like a good topic to cover tonight. (And clearly, I am not watching the Superbowl. Until a couple of hours ago, I didn't even know who was playing. I am very much not a sports person.)  So, the farm... As usual I will be holding Equine Education classes for children. I just won't be doing as many as I did last summer. Last summer was a bit crazy and the amount I was teaching was a big reason why we didn't really have a garden or end the summer with as many canned items as we usually do. I didn't want to repeat that again. There will be classes for ages six and up as well as a few sessions of Mom and Tot classes for the 3-5 year old crowd. I always find scheduling these to be challenging. What makes sense to me ...

I've been thinking a lot about the idea of enough, as in already having enough. I don't think we as a society are good with this idea. We are so steeped in the idea of more, better, newer that we don't even realize how much it affects us. Now, admittedly, some of this idea of enough stems from my miserly frugalness. Years and years of needing to be very careful with every penny will do that. I realized back then that I could choose to see life in one of two ways. Either I could look around me and see all that I didn't have or I could look around me and be thankful for what I did have. I usually chose the second, though I'd be lying if I said I didn't succumb to the first every now and then. To remain in the second frame of mind, I learned I needed to do certain things. I cancelled all subscriptions to any shelter magazines which filled me with dissatisfaction. I also stopped looking at any catalogues which came into the house. We didn't have television recep...

Thank you to everyone who gave me suggestions for blog topics. I greatly appreciate it and these will help. I honestly can't tell what might be interesting sometimes.  Today was in the 40's which means that there were literal rivers of melting water running through the yard as the piles of snow melted. And then the temperature dropped when the sun went down creating a magnificent ice rink across every bit of open space outdoors. Since the temperature will be back to hovering somewhere in the teens tomorrow, the ice rink looks as though it will be here for a bit.  I ordered seeds today as well as supplies to tap our maple trees. Doing this in February (see above) always feels as possibly the most optimistic thing a person can do.  P. has been gone this week working as a groom for a horse show a couple of states away. Midnight was not invited and had to stay here without her. Midnight always misses P. when she is gone and is desperate for attention. A. was over the other ni...

Life has been good. The weather hasn't been horribly cold, there is running water in the barn, we are on vacation for another week from our homeschool schedule, I've found time to spend in the studio, and things are running pretty smoothly. It's been relaxing and enjoyable.  There's only one little problem. I have zero idea what to write. Calmness does not lead to interesting blog posts it seems. So, help me out. Does anyone have a burning question they would like me to answer? Topics? Anything? Please? 

Every so often, perhaps every few months, my life must catch up with me and I crash briefly. Today seems to be one of those days. I sat down on the couch to rest for a bit before I needed to go tack and warm-up Bristol before a riding lesson and totally fell asleep for nearly an hour. Riding lesson-wise it was fine. The student tacked up Bristol and then I rode her to just do a quick check on how she was feeling. (She's been on a break for three weeks due to poor riding weather.) It all worked. I hate that feeling, though, of waking up from a nap where you have been so sound asleep that you don't feel as though you can move for a while. That was me this afternoon. I've been dragging ever since. It will be an early bedtime for me tonight. Usually if I can get a good nine or ten hours of sleep I'll be back to my usual self. (I function best at ten hours of sleep a night, but rarely get that... parenting children, books, it's usually books if I'm honest. I think it...

It's been a productive two weeks. I'll warn you ahead of time there are a lot of things to share with you. First off, I finished the scarf I was working on in the weaving class. I loved this class! It was great to learn how to use a floor loom, and I have a much better idea of how to get mine working. What I think I loved even more was working with a group of people. I do so much of my fiber art stuff alone. I don't really know anyone else in real life who spins, so it makes it difficult to do that with other people. I read about spinning guilds where there are a lot of spinners who get together once a month to spin and learn things together and I am pretty jealous. Talking with other people who are interested in learning and doing the same types of things I am was really wonderful. Here is the finished project. I was happy to note that I had improved significantly from the beginning of the first day to the end of the second day. I can look at this scarf and see it getting ...

Last night at bedtime, R. had several non-epileptic seizures... really big non-epileptic seizures. The type that a couple of years ago would have meant that we would all have been up all night at minimum and heading to the ER due to the ensuring psychosis following at worst. Historically, once she has had a seizure like these, her anxiety/fear/PTSD/trauma has all been kicked into such high gear that she cannot ratchet back down to any sort of calm. Last night was a little different. After each seizure she was able, with some fairly intense parental coaching, to do manage to reach a state of relative calmness. This is pretty unheard of before this. Now, it didn't last and we had to repeat the cycle several times, but it was a significant improvement.  She did sleep for the first part of the night. J. was up with her about 3:30 or so, but she went back to sleep for a bit until 4:45 when I got up with her. This did not go so well and J. had me tap out and he took over, sitting downsta...