Vacation Begins In 48 Hours

I'm very thankful for the new truck we got in May, this 2025 F-350.

Diesel, 4 doors, 12 cup holders, 4 wheel drive, A/C. Our previous truck only had 1 of those things, being diesel,

It wasn't set up for towing like they bragged, we had to put a lot of money and work into it to get it set up for that. So far, we've hauled Amble to Yakima and back and took the sxs out to Tahuya once and I'm happy to say it hauls pretty dang nice. Now we'll be hauling the sxs to Pioche, 1,000 miles, and we're confident it will go well.

Amble came home 3 days ago and I've ridden her but it was only a pony ride, she will not move forward for me. First I tried with the cheap Cashel saddle and it was a no-go, then bareback and that was much easier to stay up there. I definitely need a 3 step mounting block.

I've posted a bunch of photos of her with a cheap Wintec saddle that might fit OK but its not going to be the one I ride her in forever. I'm really sad the $900 saddle I really like doesn't fit.

 

Vacation Prepping

We'll be leaving home to go to Pioche in about 10 days and I couldn't be more excited.

I've been gathering necessary supplies and stacking them in the living room, I have 5 old kitty litter plastic containers that I'll use to transport our stuff, those containers and uniform size and shape, have sturdy handles and are waterproof.  I've got items ready to put into the containers but am waiting to see just how much stuff I'll have all together before I start stuffing. I already have one with food in it and I'll have at least one more.  I need to freeze a gallon jug of water to use in the cooler to keep things cold. So much to plan for! 

Lan has already begun working on some plumbing things; a distribution panel from hot water to different areas of the house. This consists of red and blue PEX pipe with valves and fittings mounted on a 2x4 piece of plywood; each one will be able to be shut off individually from the rest in case we need to shut off water just to the bathroom or kitchen.  There will be hot water to utility room, kitchen sink, bathroom sink and cold to same areas plus the back yard.

Thats one of the things Lan will be working on, I need to find SOMETHING I can work on while down there. If we had insulation rolls I'd be cutting it and stapling it into the walls but thats not going to happen yet. I do have cross stitch but I'm not going to use that 'work' and work.

In horse news: 

Amble comes home next Saturday. I'm going to have her harness there and ask Wil or Teresa to help fit it to her properly. I'm also going to borrow a saddle from Terry and see if it fits her. God, I'll need a saddle  more than anything.

I suppose I should start my Christmas Wish List, on it I'll need a nice buggy whip.

This coming Friday, the day before Amble comes home, we are having a yard sale, what I always advertise as the BIG ASS BARN SALE. We have a bunch of stuff already inside the garage, need to get it set up better.  Theres stuff all around the walls not for sale and we either need to move it all or cover it.  I have a ton of crap inside the house that I'll take out Thursday night and set out. I need tables and they need to be clean.  There are 2 picnic tables here, a round patio table and a tiny cafe table. I should sell both those last ones, or take the cafe table and its 2 chairs down to Pioche since we only have a couple camping chairs there now.

 

Read My Previous Post First

This morning, I woke up with a VERY SORE throat. It feels like there is something stuck in it, and I can't get it out and it hurts like hell when I try. The previous times I've gotten anything out it was bloody gobs of ick. I feel like the anesthesiologist used a throat tube much too big for my throat and she just crammed it into me anyway. The previous 2 times I was under it hurt but not nearly this much.

I've already called in sick to work and will do it again tomorrow.

We had planned on having a BIG ASS YARD SALE this weekend but neither of us is ready nor feel like it. Maybe next weekend but probably next year. I'd rather just donate all this stuff.

Because I'm not feeling well my defenses are down and I feel emotional. I kinda want to go to bed and lay there and cry for a while but that would just make my throat hurt more.

 

ARCP #2 Is Done

 Yesterday I had my second ERCP procedure, they removed the stent that was in the bile duct into the stomach area.  It was placed there July 2, 2025.

This is a picture of MY insides.

I had some discomfort immediately after the procedure and when Tylenol didn't help much, they gave me fentanyl. I was high and very, very sleepy. As far as I know, it's the first time I'd ever been given that drug and its WAY better than morphine but I would never let myself get hooked on it. I'd sleep through my whole life. I was so sleepy that after I got home I had a 3 hour nap.

As for other side affects, there haven't been any, yet. I do expect that I'll have some tomorrow morning and I'll need to call into work to get the day off and I suspect the next day won't be much better.

The ONLY person who called to check up on me was my farrier. MY FARRIER. What a great guy.

In other horse news, I haven't heard much from the trainers but every time we go see Amble she is doing well. 

Bad news is that Kitsap County has some hair brained idea that ALL horse facilities and farms need to be eradicated from the county and everyone will need farm plans, no equipment can be seen from the roads, all infrastructure (barns, sheds) have to be 50 feet from the property lines and all paddocks have to be 200 feet away from property lines; our property is only 160 feet wide by 1400 feet long. There is a meeting at the courthouse Monday night that we're going to go to, along with a LOT of other horse people from the area. This is bullshit on the counties part and we're damn mad about it.

Another Vacation Just Around The Corner

 We'll be heading to Pioche again in just a few weeks, leaving here as early as September 18th and not having to be back before October 4th. Between then and now I'll be working full time and I'm sure OT as well, and I'll be forced to work other docks. I greatly dislike working the other docks, I don't know those jobs as well. The 'Triangle" of Southworth, Fauntleroy and Vashon Island are all confusing on the best days and when you throw someone like me in the mix there is a good chance of fucking shit up. Stupidvisor Phil made sure to fuck with Tim and I by making me go to Fauntleroy yesterday and Tim is at Southworth today. There is NO reason to do that besides their POWER. Irene told me it's because those docks had a lot of over time this summer, so I told her so have we, shit Tim and I had over 24 hours in the last 2 weeks, 15 by me. 

I simply do not want the stress of working other docks. Night before last I didn't sleep well, was awake every hour fretting if I had missed the alarm and was late catching the fucking boat; Thats not healthy. Then when I did get to Fauntleroy it wasn't warm at all, the predicted 80* was a FUCKING LIE and I froze my ass off because I'd taken just my vest, not a coat. 

So I need this vacation.

Between now and then, I'll have a lot going on. Tomorrow I'm working the Bremerton morning sellers shift 4:15-2:15 and after that I have to start getting ready for my medical procedure Friday morning. Getting ready will consist of a shower in medicated soap tomorrow night and no eating after 11pm. I can have water to drink up until 4am or so. I'll have another medicated shower in the morning, then have to arrive at the hospital by 8am.

What is an ERCP (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography)?

• This exam involves the use of a slim, flexible lighted instrument called an endoscope is passed through the mouth and through the stomach into the duodenum (the part of the small intestine that is closest to the stomach) to examine the opening of the bile duct (the tube that carries bile from the liver and gallbladder into the small intestine). A thin tube (catheter) is passed through the endoscope and inserted into the tubes (ducts) that lead to the pancreas and gallbladder. A special dye is injected into these ducts, and x-rays are taken. This helps the doctor see stones, tumors, and any areas that have become narrowed.
• The exam is performed under sedation to minimize gagging and discomfort during the procedure.

 

This is my second ERCP, to remove the stent they installed 2 months ago. I was asleep for that and will be asleep again. I'm sure I'll feel just fine afterward. 

I'm sure the stupidvisors will find work at the other docks for us to do in the next week and I'll do it but only to bring in a paycheck. I will not go above and beyond for anyone. 

Next weekend Lan and I will have to go pick up Amble from the trainers in Granger and I am looking forward to that. Mostly I'm looking forward to having her here so I can ride her.  When we do go to pick her up I hope to get a couple whings done, 1 is another lesson for me and another is to get her harness fitted to her. Shit, I don't even know if it will work with the cart I have for her.

Then 1 week after that is VACATION. I barely have enough time to make plans!! We aren't going to have loads of cash for doing all the work we'd like to do so we'll do a little work and spend a lot of time on the sxs. We haven't done that a lot lately and that's important to us, its WHY we bought a house in Pioche.  I want to some day take it to the Arizona Strip 

and ride all over Utah and much, much more of Nevada.

Labor Day Weekend

 I have two appointments at 11am today, one with a new dentist office and one phone call with the anesthesia office. I hope I can wing it for the phone call.

I have no plans other for the weekend, not even working, yet. This last 2 weeks I've gotten 15 hours of OT with OT the week before as well and that's straight back from surgery and extended medical leave. My check will be nice but it's exhausting working so much.

We had a shift bid for the Fall season (September 21-December 21) and I have chosen a 30-hour PT selling shift instead of being on-call this time around. I can sleep in every day, still feed all my animals and get home in time to feed them again. There is potential for a few more hours and I could potentially work another shift on my days off. If this doesn't work out financially for me, then its only 3 months and I can go back to oncall but I'll be expected to do graveyards a lot. If thats all I would have to do it wouldn't be so bad but mixing them up with 4am and 2pm starts is fucked up. I've offered to do the graveyard if they extend it to five 8's but 'we can't do that'. Well fuck you then, no one will do it.

Next Friday I have the procedure to remove the stent from my bile duct and there's probably no issues to be expected. Unless my stomach decides to over react to the non regulated bile or something?? That will be done on Friday September 6th. The following week we will need to go pick up Ambleside from her 3 months of training. I'll probably get a lesson with Wil at that time. I will FOR SURE ask them to help me fit the biothane harness to Amble so I wont be guessing.  I should ask what size shafts Amble will need so I make sure the ones on the cart are alright. I did tell Wil that they should sell me one of their marathon carts since they have so many. 

 Clay Maier is the trainer and I heard the other day that hes really sick and the lessons have been totally cancelled. He got sick in Boise and was admitted to the hospital where he had a stroke. I do hope that he's going to recover and continue as he had been before.

We drove 190 miles to see Amble and pay for her final month of training, the final $1,100. I've now got $6,600 paid into her for training, not counting the cash I paid Nina since she didn't do shit for/to/with her anyway. It was already 93* in Granger so I didn't take any lessons, we just gave her some loving.

Then we were on our way up north 200 miles to Leavenworth and beyond, to Index. There, we left the road and drove up to a gold mine and explored that. I don't recall the name of the mine but like all Washington mines, it had water in it, everything was slimy and it was chilly inside. We did see lots of Iron Pyrite so it had shiny stuff.

After we explored that mine we tried to find another trail to a second mine. We knew where the mine was but it was high up on the side of the mountain, only a mile as the crow flies but probably 2-3 with the downs and ups and switchbacks. It was already 6pm, it was only about 73* here but I was getting eaten alive by bugs so we decided to return another day.

That lead to another 100 miles to drive home. We had left at 8:45am and got home at 10pm. A long, nice day spent with Lan. 

My pay check showed up Friday and I was glad to see it was the full amount.  I have another procedure in 10 days to get the stent removed from the Gall Bladder issue and I'm hoping I wont have to miss any work due to that.