October 2025

 Another month has gone by and while it was a good one I have very few pictures to prove it!

I went away with Lisa, my very first roommate after college. We taught together after graduating. We were roommates for about four years and have remained friends ever since. We hadn't seen her since Sophia and her son were 3 years old, 17 years ago. We spent the weekend together and picked up like we hadn't missed a beat. It was so nice to catch up. We went to Chadds Ford PA. 

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Sophia is away at college but we spent a couple of weekends together. We went to the 5 Star on show jump day. Sophia and I spent the morning shopping and watching the 3 star riders. Steve joined us there for the 5 star riders. It is so nice to spend time as a family.

Our animals are going to be front and center this entry. They are all doing well. We love them all. 

Looking forward to next month!

September 2025

September meant Sophia was back to school full time, so we saw her a bit less. She did come home a couple of weekends, and during one of them I remembered to take our yearly Referral Day photo. I’ve taken it almost every year on July 1st—Sophia holding the photo we received back in 2005. This year’s was a little late, but I got it! Out of the past 19 years, I’ve managed to capture that photo 17 times. Somehow the date slipped by me a couple of years, but I’m glad we’ve kept the tradition going.

Sophia added some art work her friends sister made for her to the dorm room wall. It looks great.

I had dinner with Angi and Gianna. Angi is moving to Florida with her boyfriend, Jonathan, and I’ll miss having her nearby. I’ve really enjoyed the times we’ve gone out to dinner together—our meals, a craft night, the Howard County Fair. She’s been in the area for about seven years, including college. While we didn’t see each other as often as I would have liked, I’m so thankful for the time we did share. Gi is a bit farther away but still close enough to visit.

I also went to Florida for a scrapbooking retreat with Tracey—it was amazing! It felt wonderful to step away from work and recharge. I even got to visit Dani and her fiancé in their new home, and spent some time with my brother too. It was such a wonderful five-day getaway.

I still love hands-on scrapbooking, though I’ve worried about how much space it takes—especially with the idea of downsizing someday. Shelves of scrapbooks can feel daunting! But I’ve found a great solution: I’ve started photographing my completed scrapbook pages and turning them into digital flip albums that I can download and share. It’s truly the best of both worlds—the joy of paper crafting with the convenience of digital storage.

I also had dinner with my neighbor, Sherry. We’ve been neighbors since 2002, and she’s moving away. The neighborhood won’t feel the same without her. We’ve shared so much—raising kids together, walks, stoop chats, dinners, and more.

This month, I also attended a professional development retreat with Etna, which meets four times a year. These weekends are always enriching and refreshing.

Our furry family members are doing well too. 

Until next month…

August 2025

August was a busy month, even if I don’t have a lot of pictures to prove it.

Sophia and I went shopping a couple of times to get her set up for her new place. She moved into a campus house with five students total—three seniors plus Sophia and her roommate (both sophomores). Sophia and I went out shopping a couple of times for kitchen basics like silverware, dishes, a pan, and utensils. I gave her some of my pots. Since the kitchen doesn’t have much storage, we bought a shelf to help organize things.

Her room is amazing—huge compared to her old dorm! Her roommate’s space is a smaller room off of Sophia’s, and the house has a living room too. The five of them will share one bathroom, but Sophia is thrilled not to be in a tiny dorm with communal bathrooms anymore.

 

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Sophia also went to a lesson at Phoebe’s. Her friend Gretchen drove her and her horse there—first time Gretchen drove a trailer without her mom there. Gretchen is taking her horse to Kentucky for college, and her mom wanted her to get practice. It worked out perfectly since she and Sophia are so comfortable together.

One afternoon while watering, I noticed something move in the planter…turns out there were baby bunnies living in there! We think there were three. We checked on them daily and even caught the mother hopping in to feed them. A couple of times Steve had to scoop them back in when they hopped out and couldn’t get back up. After about two weeks, they were gone—either grown enough to leave or moved by their mom.

A local theater also did a flashback series of all three extended Lord of the Rings movies. Each was over three hours long, and it was my first time seeing them. Steve and Sophia had already watched them before, but it was fun experiencing them together on the big screen.

I finished a knitting project

And all of our pets are doing great.

July 2025

This month really flew by without the opportunity to capture many pictures. We had a nice, quiet 4th of July and just hung out at home.

Steve went to a war game convention for a few days. We were really looking forward to a horse show—the Youth Equestrian Festival in VA. It was going to be the last Pony Club event that Sophia competed in, as most of her friends are graduating and going off to college. We were going down with her friend Gretchen and about 14 other riders. This was the first time the VA Horse Park was putting on a show like this, and it was very disorganized. They ended up canceling one week before we were supposed to head down due to a lack of registrations. The registration process was a mess and came out very late.

The barn planned an event every day we were supposed to be away to replace it. They went to Hershey Park one day. Sophia isn't an amusement park person, so she arranged a private lesson with Phoebe. We borrowed Gretchen's trailer one last time before she heads to Kentucky. Phoebe helped you and Wren learn flying changes. You both did an amazing job—he got several clean flying changes in. This is a third-level move. Once you start competing at third level, you can wear the double bridle that he seems to like so much better.

The next day, they arranged semi-private lessons with Phoebe—twice in one week! It was fun for you. They also planned a cross-country schooling event. Wren loves running through the fields and jumping. It was fun. You also helped coach a younger rider and gave her the confidence to jump successfully. It was neat to see how encouraging you were.

The last day they did a pairs jump class where you jumped the course with another rider, It was chaotic and fun. I think Wren likes jumping as it is easier for him than putting his muscles to work with all the refined dressage movements.

Sophia did a schooling show with Gretchen at the end of the month. She rode First Level Test 3 and got a 63.194 and Second Level, Test 1 and got a 61. 143. I don't have pictures of that event because I was at an 80th birthday party for my friend and mentor, Betty.

There was a big, joint graduation party for the eight seniors that graduated high school in June. It is going to be very different at the barn without all these girls. Sophia and Hannah made each girl a canvas print with their favorite horse on a black background. They came out amazing. Everyone loved them. 

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 The pets are all doing well. They love having Steve home keeping them company during the summer.  Our boys love us and love each other!