Round Trip

Right after we started our long drive to Canada to pick up my stall mats I received a text about the train derailment in Dupont telling me I'm lucky to be heading north.

Yes, lucky indeed.

My heart breaks for everyone involved.

It took about 3 hours to drive up to Canada and find the place we were going, Karen was navigator and I drove the whole way. She did back the trailer into the loading yard. There location is on a island in the middle of the Fraser river.

The yellow roll on top is mine & is now in my trailer.

Here is a ton of stall mats.

We had all the paperwork to return to the states with it but Customs & Border Patrol decided we needed extra attention.

So we went and stood in line for a half hour & then spent 15 minutes explaining what they were & telling them this was indeed made in Canada. They wanted us to pay an extra tax.

After an extra hour we left with all our money in MY pocket, not the nations pocket, and we were on our way. This handsome guy agreed to let me take a selfie with him. I thanked him for keeping us safe.

It was a 13 hour drive R/T, I totally went off my diet and ate 2 huge BAD/delicious meals but it was still a lot of fun. The mats are still in the trailer as I write this since I got up at 3am to spend a couple minutes with Lan before he heads to work. He will unload it this afternoon and it will be stacked in the barn.

About the barn:

The roof is finished and he is ready to start installing stall fronts. After we have the first two in, I can start with outer walls and the divider. I had planned to put the soft stall mat in the first two stalls and have the divider wall come right down to it but Karen pointed out that a horse could still cram a hoof under it. So I'll plan on putting the divider boards in with a 12" spacer on the bottom. They can still nose each other but not get hurt that way, I hope.

I hope.

We will be using plywood on the inside outer walls and 2x10 or 2x12 boards as dividers between only the end stalls; for the wash rack it will have permanent walls.

I'll use white hardboard panel boards like this photo so its light & bright like my old barn had. I'm even going to paint the ceiling white.

I found this photo on the internet & really like it; its got so many things I like. Small shelf for cleaning items (except we will have an outside door on that back wall), overhead sprayer like I'm going to install, drain, bright lights. The cross ties are recessed so the horse can't step so far forward into the aisle. I might make the overhead shelf a little bit bigger to accommodate the small hot water heater. I need to be able to reach it easily with at least a broom handle as its got an on/off switch so it isn't on all the time, no use heating water I'm not using 24/7. 

This is another stall I like, its got an overhead heater installed. Ours will have a stall front so it can be used as a stall if needed so probably any shelving will be temporary.

I picked up one of these IKEA metal carts for the barn

and am currently using it for the Christmas wrapping supplies. Its sturdy and strong, might be perfect for holding soaps and wash stuff... horse hair, dirt, broken hose nozzles...

I should just plan on getting another one for in the house because I really like it.

Picking Up Stall Mats

It's going to be a long day

But totally worth it in the end

Its like going to another country

Tomorrow I'll be driving to Canada to pick up the Stall Mats I have purchased for Joey & Wifi. These are actually one single mat but will be used as two 12x12 stalls with the ability to make one 12x24 stall simply by removing the divider. My ponies will be sleeping in comfort.

Now that the entire roof has been replaced (I keep saying its a new barn but its just a fixer upper of the old barn) we will start installing the stall fronts. We aren't going to sand blast them & repaint because the process of sand blasting it too time consuming and difficult. Next summer I'll pressure wash, wire brush and repaint them.

Stocking Stuffers

I have a huge pile of gifts all wrapped with colorful paper, ribbons & bows. I had most of my shopping for main gifts finished before Thanksgiving but I've been having a great time finding stocking stuffers for everyone who will be here on the holiday. 

Mom

Don

Terry

Jean

Brandan

R2

Sarah

Heather

Ashleigh

Lan

Me

I've got a stocking for each person & hung them on a jute rope but they are all so heavy now that I'm going to need something much stronger. Today I found a couple CUTE R2 & BB-8 units, wrapped them right up for R2 & Sarah. Lan is getting a big box of shotgun shells (hope they are the right kind), Mom is getting a box of car cleaning supplies. 

Yesterday was my birthday and Lan made me a great surprise.

He cleaned up the light fixture that was in the barn,

put in new wiring

& an Edison light

and gave it to me. I almost cried. 

I DID get tears when Mike & Karen were here for dinner & he was shaking his leg, just like Denton used to do. 

I miss this guy.

That Christmas Feeling

Christmas

feels so good this year because for the first time ever I have all my shopping FINSIHED and its not even December yet. I actually had it all done before Thanksgiving. 

I've got stockings for each person who will be here plus a couple for special friends, I've already got stocking stuffers and treats just waiting to be stuffed. Some very nice gifts will go into these stockings and I can't wait for the big day.

Our tree is going to be fun, I want a TALL and skinny tree. Usually we go out to the woods and cut one down, its a tradition for Lan & I. But a wild tree will be too fat and that's not in the cards. I might go buy a fake one but we'll see... I heard there is a local tree farm that has live ones like I want.

I have a few things on my shopping list, I've put the hints out on facebook in plenty of time but whether or not I get them doesn't matter, What I really want is for my family and friends to have a great holiday.

I've got my great job where every month I can decide whether I'm going to take my days off of offer to work them & this month I'm taking Mondays & Tuesdays off so I can have my birthday and Christmas day off. 

That Was Different

When we decided to not take our bikes to Vegas, it opened up a whole new world for us. 

This trip wasn't about getting up at 4am, loading out backpacks and packing the bikes on the bike rack, it was about sleeping in, sitting around doing nothing, enjoying the sunshine. We went to the hot tub every day & jumped into the lazy river to chill and splash each other.

Went out to Lake Mead on the one day it was 86*, got lost in the desert, enjoyed an absolutely gorgeous sunset at the top of a mountain at the perfect time.

While in town we found other things to do, like meet up with friends from home and have a drink. Erik & Sharon were there for the Rock n Roll half marathon so we went out onto the strip to cheer for him as he ran past. 

We went to the 

I hadn't previously known about this museum so we decided to go and learn a little bit. Instead we learned a lot. We're going to the guided tour at Mercury and testing site next year and going through the museum before hand taught us  some of the things we will be seeing.

I felt kind of weird being there though. These bombs killed so many people.

The weather in Vegas was perfect, mid 70's most days, up to mid 80's. One day we went out to Blue Diamond area and hiked/rock scrambled up into a valley where a lot of rock climbers go. It was 54* at start but in the sunshine & dry 'heat' it felt warmer to me. I didn't take a jacket and within a couple minutes was warmed up perfectly. Once we were climbing the BIG rocks I was thankful I didn't have to carry around a jacket.

When we've previously visited Vegas we've only gone to the strip once, to enjoy the sights, eat at 1 buffet and see a show. This trip we went to the strip more, no shoes but a buffet every other day. Our reasoning was that once we got home, we would be going on a diet.

Now we are home and on that diet. I have lost 6 lbs already and my goal is a LOT more.

So Much Going On

We will be leaving for vacation in a few days, going to be gone a week or two, not exactly sure. We're not even sure how we're going to get there but we DO know we're going to Las Vegas.

I farmed out the horses and made arrangements for the chickens to be let out each morning and locked in for the evenings. I'm concerned for the hen and chicks that are in the barn now, I don't want to inprison her for the duration but she can't get her chicks into the trough at night and I'm sure if I left feed out for her the rats or other vermin would get to it. Might need to farm her out also.

We have48 hours to get to Vegas and might head down through Bend, Oregon. On the way home we'll have up to 5 days, might come up through Idaho. These are the best vacations, not much plans so no worries.

More Barn

I went ahead and ordered one 12 X 12 Stable Comfort stall matt for Joeys stall. We will have to go to Canada ourselves to pick it up but it's OK, Lans cousin lives in Abbotsford so we can make a long weekend of it. Or go in November while I'm on vacation. Or have Kari bring it to us. Lots of delivery options.

Its going to be nice for his body to lay on a soft floor.

Future Birthdays

I don't know what we'll be doing for Lans next birthday but for mine, we will be in Nevada taking a tour of the Nevada National Security Site.
This is where they tested a LOT of nuclear bombs. Its very difficult for the public to get in but about once a month they conduct tours and most of those ours are booked out months in advance. I was very surprised to see that there is one scheduled on my 56th birthday so I sent them an email, asking if we could be included & we have been accepted.
Lans been wanting to go see this for years so now we get to and since its vacation bidding time, I'm going to get this time for us.

Ironman World Championship

Our friend, Heidi, is racing in Kona today, you can follow her here

https://track.rtrt.me/e/IRM-WORLDCHAMPIONSHIP-2017#/tracker/RKBGDTZP

More Concrete

It is such a relief to have the aisle way finished. The concrete will go into the stalls this Friday and by Halloween it will be hard enough to pit the horses on it. 

Between now & Halloween I hope the roof goes up. We've got the materials, $3,600 worth of tin roofing. That doesn't include the wood needed to hold up the tin.

I just want to put in a couple stall walls but nope, its got to wait until the roof is up. Lan doesn't want to be going around them while still building. He does have a point.

Meanwhile, Joey & Wifi have use of 2 stalls and about 1/4 the arena, plus are able to go out to the back pasture. 

Aisleway of Concrete

Concrete truck came at 11am today, right as I was leaving for an appointment. Go figure.

 There were two trucks, they had to back down the aisle to dump.

FIRST MUD.

Getting started, looking good.

Lan in orange, Mark in white cap.

Chris, white shirt with suspenders, leveling it out

Jake is in the white tee shirt on the other end working with Chris.

Mike is in the red shirt.

Photographs by Karen, not pictured.

I'll post finished photos later but here is the Piece de Resistance,

Joeys last set of shoes, removed last month are now cantering through the new barn, forever!

Aisle

The cement will be poured Friday in the barn aisle.

The guys are planning on being here, the cement is ordered (10-12 tons), the feast is being planned. Forms are almost finished but they do need more stakes to hold them in place.

The cement truck will back through here and they will drive it forward as it dumps. Jake will be putting in cement blocks to lift the wire as the truck moves. 

Afterward there will be a feast with steak, pasta and tater salad.

Weather is supposed to be nice and dry, I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Ironman Coeur D'Alene 70.3

I've decided to sign up for Ironman Coeur D'Alene 70.3 which will happen June 24, 2018. I'm kinda excited for it, I haven't done a tri since IMAZ so it will be a full 2.5 years. I've begun walking a couple times each week and will use my training plan to get in shape.

Lan bought a bike roller

and I plan on learning to use it. It doesn't provide resistance but gives you a better workout because you have to use your whole body and pay attention. 

I've been looking through my tri equipment and haven't been able to find my mini fanny pack I used for running. Sure was handy for carrying my car keys, ID and car keys when I ran so I'll have to get another if I can't figure out where this one is.

In horse news:

The cement has been ordered for Friday and I'm stinking excited about it!!!

Sunshower has been leased out to another family for a lifetime lease. I'm missing my girl so much but at least shes being used now. Shes got a 34 yr old mom who is horse crazy and a 7 yr old girl, plus a couple little ones. Couldn't ask for a better life for her. Shes close by and I can see her if I want.

Its Official, No Ironman

Lan went to doctor yesterday and was told NO IRONMAN in November. This leaves me with mixed feelings, I wanted him to do it but now we can have a vacation without IM in it. But this gives us the opportunity to stay in Vegas on the way to AZ and on the way back also.

Barn Building

All of the support posts are in the ground.

Next is cement.

Two stalls, center wash rack/grooming area & two stalls. We placed the posts straight with the arena posts and the center stall is only 10'8" wide, the stall fronts are 12' so it might not fit. That's OK, if its a grooming area it doesn't NEED a stall front but if we want a 5th stall then it sure would be nice if the front fit properly. The drain is finished.

I had my horse trainer come over to see Wifi, shes been lame for too long. Looks like she might have took a tumble, fallen onto her withers and back. Made an appointment with Doctor Finn in Poulsbo for chiro treatment. I was going to haul her out there but after thinking about it, its easier on Wifi to have the vet come here. Traveling in the trailer after chiro would probably just get her all jacked up again. I'll get photos and video of that. Tomorrow and the next day I'll be bathing Wifi and getting her all prettied up.

Today several tractor implements were moved out behind the barn, out of sight. There is a BIG hornet nest somewhere in the wood so tonight we're going out to move the wood. If we can locate the nest we'll be able to spray it tomorrow.

The fence in the background of this photo is going to be removed and a new one will be built. The chicken coop will be moved soon too, I hope it ends up along side the wood shed but don't know for sure if it will fit there or not. I'd like to have a contained run where the hens can be on days we're gone that they cant get out of but still have a nice big area and vermin can't get in.

Taking the Plunge

I signed up for another run/race. Its the

RUN FORREST, RUN 5k

at Joint Base Lewis McCord,

followed by a free concert by Gary Sinise & the Lt Dan Band.

This will be my first race since my foot started acting up a year ago and needless to say, I'm pretty excited to participate. 

AND I'll get to see Gary Sinise, whom I am a HUGE fan of. 

Barn Update

Three of the stalls walls are off

The roof is uncovered

And the roof is off

No photo yet but 6 upright posts have been planted in the ground where the outside wall used to be, this will be the side of the aisle. Six more uprights will be planted 12 feet to the left to make the outside stall walls. The hen house down there will be moved somewhere else, this will all be cemented and will be amazing.

Ironmans Injury

My Ironman has an injury and hasn't been working out. He's using the barn building as an excuse and though I appreciate it, he needs to get busy building up his body. Hes got a big race in November to FINISH and do it well.
From some of his comments hes made it sounds like he wants to use his injury to get a pass on the race this year and defer till next year. Um, NO. I paid for him to do it THIS year, not next year.
I was checking out the calendar and I wouldn't be able to do it till 2020 if I remained on-call at work, since we can't take days off of Thanksgiving week.

The barn/lean-too

is now completely off the arena, its a lot lighter & brighter in there. But if we are smart it can stay light and bright, with use of windows and clear roof panels.

He has been moving dirt out of the way to make room for cement. Its going to need 6 inches of sand + 4-6 inches of cement so hes got a lot of dirt to move.

After The Run

I wanted to wait before running again to see what happened with the foot, what kinds of weird pain it might have caused.

There was normal tiredness the first evening but it wasn't hurting.

The second day though, it felt like my sock was folded down a lot more than ever before. I actually took off my shoe twice to check it and of course both times it was fine.

Yesterday I didn't run, wore the usual compression footies and it felt fine, today I wore regular footies, not compression and after just an hour or 2 it felt fatigued. Changed socks and its fine again so I will just plan on wearing them for a lot longer.

 

I have 2 friends racing tomorrow in Ironman Boulder, excited for both. She's just happy to be there after a bad bike crash & torn rotator cuff just 10 months ago.

He is competing in his 12th Ironman event and after this he will qualify for Ironman World Championships in Kona. I've already told him if he makes it I'm going to be there to see his finish.

 

Horse related:

The barn work is going slowly, as I imagined it would. Without a bulldozer in the area to rent the ground work is taking 10 times the work. It has been fun doing the planning and measuring, making orange marks in the dirt.

60 feet long, 5 stalls

Not the straightest lines but this is just so we can imagine it



If we open this end of the covered arena and extend it, it will come out to this rock.

Sunshower & Roses in stalls

And Wifi in the aisle & Joey in  the arena

 

Joey & my girls were turned out in the front grassy pasture this morning for 2 hours, then when I went to bring them in all I had to do was whistle and they came to the gate to go to the back pasture. Slowly and calmly, no messing around. Good horses!

They are learning to come to my whistle and I love that.