December 2021

 What a year it has been. Can't believe the year is coming to a close. Covid is still having major impacts to the way we live our life but this is the new normal. Masks out in public. Limited outings to places where there are crowds of people such as restaurants, etc. But all in all we are all doing fine.

Sophia and I took my niece Stephanie out for her 20th birthday. We also toured the National Christmas Tree while we were in DC.

Sophia decorated Brisk's stall. It came out great.

We hosted a fundraiser holiday trail ride at the barn. Lots of planning involved but the day was a success. The kids all worked hard leading the horse and all the participants had fun. 

4-H holiday party was planned and ran by the party planner extraordinaire, Sophia. She planned lots of fun games and they all had a blast.

Boba decided to get in on the emergency vet visits overnight on Dec 23/Dec 24. He woke up in a panic overnight, unable to stand, dizzy, throwing up and unable to hold his bowels. He wouldn't settle. We took him to the vet at about 1 AM. Sophia came down to stay with Loki. I drove and Steve held him in the car. After about 4 hours the vet said it seemed like vestibular disease, which Gracie experienced and he should recover with rest and meds. He, thankfully, bounced back quickly. He is getting old even though he doesn't act like it. 

Sophia found a great walk through light exhibit at an equestrian park. We did this on Christmas Eve. It was really a beautiful night. So glad we went. 

We cut down our tree again. Tree farms were short on supply and closed early. Luckily we found a new place a bit further away and got a beautiful tree. 

I love Christmas, the planning, the decorating, the shopping (well maybe not the shopping so much), the driving around the neighborhood looking at decorated houses,  the cooking and the giving. Spending time with family is amazing. This year it was just the three of us. We will see Nick in the new year and go to visit Aiden and Lindsey on New Years Day. 

We couldn't find cinnamon rolls in the store. We always have them as we open gifts. So this year I had to make my own. They came out good, perhaps could have been a tad sweeter but not bad for a first attempt.

We ended the year with our traditional chocolate fondue. 

Until next year.....

November 2021

 November already! Sophia is 16 ALREADY! Where does the time go? November always starts off strong with Sophia's birthday. I can't believe she is 16. This birthday was a low key one. We started out with the traditional cupcake, balloon and gift from China in bed. This years gift from China was a keychain with a rooster on it as she was born in the year of the rooster. She got a new saddle pad and matching riding shirt as well.

I took my niece, Angi,  out for her 21st birthday. It was so nice to spend time with her. Hope we can do it more often.

Sophia and her friend at a club 4 H Awards celebration.

Steve went away for the weekend and Loki decided to act out. He chewed through an entire toothbrush and a bottle of Metamucil pills. I had trouble finding a local vet to take him into as an emergency appt but I brought him to one by the barn.  I was headed to the barn to take Sophia there. She was going to a show with her friend. They thought he would be fine. The Metamucil would bulk up the stool and help pass the toothbrush. They were right. 

Mr. Twinkletoes decided he didn't want Loki to have all the limelight and thought he should go to the vet too. His was much more serious. One morning he didn't come running for food. He was in the litter box. I feed him and jumped into the shower. When I got out he was in the litter box again. Then I turned on my computer and came out of the office and noticed he was in the litter box AGAIN. Off to the vet we go. They said he wasn't blocked yet and gave him some pain killers and a urethra relaxer in hopes he would be able to pass urine. He was locked in our room all day with a litter box. He didn't pass any urine all day so off he went again at 8:00. He was fully blocked by then. He had crystals in his urine. They had to catheterize him. He had to stay there catheterized for 48 hours and then another day to be sure he was passing on his own. It was scary and expensive but he pulled through. He will be on a special urinary diet his whole life and we have to watch him because he is at risk for blocking again. 

Sophia competed in the fall PVDA show with Brisk. They did amazing. She got her score  (65) so she can do a musical freestyle at First Level. She also did a DSE class and did well. She got second place in that. Her very last test was in the indoor arena. Brisk decided to full out do his extensions. He is amazing at these extensions but doesn't like to slow down. I was sure he was going to run right out the arena! You handled it well. Even with that her score was still 61, not bad for him running off like that.  Angel and her grandson came to watch on Saturday and Marie and Dad came on Sunday. Sophia stayed with Gretchen and Peggy the weekend because Steve was away. She had a blast with them. Not a bad way to start off the work with Brisk.

Sophia competed in her first IEA Dressage show. It was cold! Uncle George, Aunt Tracey and Danielle came to watch the DSE class. It was nice to see them. You placed second in the DSE class and third in your test. It was very difficult to ride the test in a small arena. You aren't used to that. You are riding at the top division because you do so many recognized dressage shows. The competition is tough but you did well.

Nick, Aiden and Lindsey came down for Thanksgiving. This was our first holiday as a family in almost two years (since Christmas 2019.) t was so nice to spend time with them. Nick brought Kuiper with him. Kuiper was Lindsey's dog who was staying with Lindsey's mom. Nick has taken in Kuiper because she wasn't getting along with Lindsey's parents' dog. Kuiper is a sweet dog but gets a bit mean around food and toys. She definitely has some strong resource guarding going on. She went after Loki twice. Loki got bit once but was okay. When there wasn't food or toys around Loki and her got along well. SurprisinglyBoba and her just kind of ignored each other. 

 

We took some family photos. 

Sophia competed in her first hunter pace at the end of November. She had a blast on Bonsai. This is a low key event where you follow a course through the woods and fields. You can jump (or not jump) any of the fences on the course. Sophia jumped a few. She wants to do this again.

And of course, our pets. Otto made an appearance this month.