Bless your heart! And Happy New Year!

Been thinking about doing a blog about a "personality disorder". Have even written 3 on the computer. And then? God steps in and gives me a word. So this is the best I can do. But I think you will get the point and I hope it helps you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My heavenly Father ALWAYS has the last Word. This hurts no matter who you are and who is attacking you but God says, "FORGIVE as I have forgiven you". Can we do any less? God says, "PRAY for those who persecute you". Can we do any less? Not if we love the Lord with all our heart, with all our mind and with all our soul. On that day, when we stand before a holy and righteous God, I will ask Him, God Almighty, that all that was done against me by YOU be not held against you. After all. I have Him. YOU have nothing but the lies. Repent. Before it is too late.

 

Happy New Year

 

 

 

 

http://personalitybuzz.com/10-hidden-signs-of-a-narcissist/

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time for a party.....

Have not written for quite some time. Things have been really busy but the fall is always a fun time for me and you will rarely find me inside.

 

Between Siri` being sick and going back and forth to the vet, trying to get the posts in for Bo's new pen and the temporary round pen up, getting the fencing done for the dogs and the garden fence in, PLUS getting masks made for the facilities Halloweenie thingy....WHEW! Just reading this makes me tired.

 

So these are the masks.....

 

My friend JM

Both of us, although whomever said black is slimming was a big, fat liar........



 

We also welcomed a new member to our family, (another blog altogether when I figure out how to get these photos off of a new device I purchased)! I will be glad to welcome in November.

 

For now, I hope your October was as lovely as mine, albeit busy! And happy, happy November!

 





Scary things......

Scary things.

Things that go bump in the night.

Big hairy bugs on your ceiling.

Rattlesnakes on your front porch.

OR?

Coming home to find your horse in a puddle of blood.

Nothing like giving a horse mom a heart attack! I came home on Thursday to find my sweet Siri` standing in a puddle of bright red blood! And not just a little puddle! A HUGE puddle!

 

I checked her all over and could not find any injury. Good gut sounds, no fever, no raised heart rate, good respirations and good pink gums. But then it happened. Siri` squatted and urinated....TOTAL blood. So off to the vet we go. AND?

 

Nothing. We could not find a stinkin' thing wrong in the blood work, in the urine sample, NOT. A. THING. Nothing in the vaginal exam and all the other exams. So we sent blood off to the Equine Center in Las Vegas and they found nothing either.

 

What. The. Hay???

 

Friday evening it stopped. No sign of anything through the rest of the weekend. Siri` seems to be in good spirits and doing fine.

 

ME?

 

I have a few more gray hairs and a depleted bank account.

 

I love that girl!

 

 

 

8/30/2016 Addendum

Siri` again had blood issuing yesterday and last night. I took her totally off of anything but Bermuda hay and her pellets. I am worried. Please pray for my sweet Siri`.



Dreaming..........

 

 

The monsoon rains will soon end. The days are getting shorter and nights are clear and crisp. Fall will soon be here.

 

I am dreaming of fall because it is my favorite season of the year. I LOVE the expectancy that is in the air. As if you must hurry to soak up every last ray of sunshine. It never lasts long enough and I still feel the excitement of the smell of new pencils and erasers. Sweaters and corduroy pants, boots and fleecy gloves....and the COLORS! Oh. My!

 

I love the colors! And so I share with you some favorites....so you might begin to dream also!

 

 

 

Happy weekend, my friend!



Just a little sunshine and happiness

Monsoon rains are here.


I love the rain. Even when it floods, although that can have some disastrous after effects. But the best thing about the monsoon rains is that I do not have to water my little garden. My flowers love it too.


So with the overcast skies and the drippy porch and trees, THIS is what I do to make my home just shine a little smile of happiness.......

Zinnas from my little porch flower bed. They just look wonderful in an old milk bottle!

I love zinnas. I had never planted them before, but one year, when I was WAY short of funds and living in an old rental home of mine while I was going to college to finish my degree in Occupational Therapy, I found a deal on zinna seeds. Ten packets for a dollar. I had ten bucks to spend. I spent it on zinnas. I am SO glad I did! That year I had more butterflies in my garden than ever before. My kids, then 12 and 8 years of age, LOVED sitting in the garden swing and watching the gazillion butterflies while eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

I wonder if they even remember that.

I know I will never, ever forget.



SSSsssssssssssssssssss! A blog with no photos.

Oh my flippin' GOSH!

Woke up yesterday morning around 4 am, got up, turned on the lights and climbed right back into bed. Sooo tired. But I was soon WIDE AWAKE.

As I am laying there thinking of all I had to accomplish, I catch a movement out of the corner of my eye and turn my head to see.........................

A snake going under my club chair and ottoman.

At first I thought I was dreaming but all of the kitty gang was gathered around the place so I jumped out of bed to investigate. I could hear it under the chair. RATTLING.

Oh for the love of Pete's Dragon!!!

Grabbed as many cats as I could and shoved them into the kitty cage and went back to get the others.  When they were safe I took the dogs to the dog yard so they would be safe. Got back to the chair and sure enough, I could still hear it when I stepped close.

So I started taking all of the furniture around the chair outside.....tables, book cases, entertainment unit and THEN in my high rubber boots, thick jeans and with a trusty shovel moved that chair!

And there it went! Right under? The sofa. GREAT.

So I move the chair outside, move the bed outside (remember I am in an itty bitty home with one big room and a bathroom), moved the side tables out, moved the dresser out and THEN moved the sofa!

And there it went! Right under? My fabric dresser. GREAT.

Now this is no ordinary dresser. It is just under 5foot high, has 16 HEAVY drawers and is in 2 pieces. (For ease of moving? Yeah right!)

So I unloaded the drawers. One by one and took them outside. Sure enough on the final 4 bottom drawers the snake moved under the one next to the one I moved out. He finally ran out of room to run and there he was. All coiled up in the corner of the dresser frame waiting to strike.

To say I was a little freaked out would be an understatement! I kept looking at him to try to figure out exactly what I was dealing with and lo and behold when I looked close enough, he was NOT rattling, he was HISSING! He was a little gopher snake.

Now when I say little, I am comparing him to the BIG rattler and the BIG California King snakes I had found OUTSIDE my house. This guy in comparison was small, about 18 inches. I grabbed my trusty long handled reacher that I purchased from the 99 cent only story and used it to get that angry little gopher snake OUT of my dresser and subsequently OUT of my house. He immediately went under the porch which seems to be a condominium for all the local snakes. But at least he is UNDER my house and not IN my house. Before I put the furniture back into the house, I searched everywhere to see just how that angry little snake got in.

I did not find anything except the unused dryer vent. So I cut a circle of cardboard, flanged it and duct taped it to the inside opening of the dryer vent.(I do not use a dryer. I have Arizona sunshine for free. Why would I need a dryer???)

I could have just used duct tape for the job but I got to imagining another snake trying to come through there and getting stuck on the tape. I am a pretty brave person, but not brave enough to save a snake from being stuck to duct tape. But on top of that cardboard circle is probably half a roll of tape....

Why Cate has gray hair........And do NOT ask me why I have no photos. HA! I am lucky I am alive. Yes, the snake was not poisonous but I ask you this....

What is the difference of expiring due to a poisonous snake bite or having a heart attack because a NON-poisonous snake runs across your foot? Either way you are dead. Or at least mostly dead. And in that case you will need Miracle Max.

Sadness.....

My heart is sad.

Sometimes you just have to wait on the Lord. His timing is not mine own.....
Sometimes you just have to trust that the Lord will do what He says He will do.....

And all the time you need to pray.
For His Word will never go forth and come back void.

Please Father God.
Please let it be soon.

Lord, I want to know You!

Okay.

It is official. The Bible Study starts Thursday, September 1, 2016.

I am hyperventilating. It has been some time since I lead a Precept Bible Study. I have just committed to 16 weeks of digging, studying, praying and listening to God and I have to say I am both scared and excited.

I have been watching and waiting to find a Precept Bible Study near me so that I can attend. FOR TWO YEARS NOW!  I finally figured that if I was going to get what I wanted I would have to start Precept here in Kingman myself. Prayed. Stalled. Prayed. Stalled. And prayed again. Mentioned it to someone and BAM!

I. CANNOT. WAIT!!!

Well actually I can and will but in the meantime I am studying, praying and preparing. A LOT.

Lord, I want to know You

A rose by any other name....

would smell as sweet!

This is the bloom I found this morning on my Double Delight rose bush. I love the scent!

Happy Wednesday, my friend!

Doing it MY way.....

She is a beauty...my Belle. I know she looks brown here but she is really a BLACK Arabian. Alwayswanted a BLACK Arabian. Got one. And last Wednesday she got a tummy ache.

I keep trying to do what this vet is telling me. "Bran does not do a thing for horses. It isn't good for them", she says. So I take them off bran and one gets sick. Coincidence. Right?

Nope. This is the 3rd time I took them off and the 3rd time someone got sick. So I am doing it MY way from now on.

Belle did not like the vet. She would not let her do any injections. She had to give her banamine orally. They did not do a rectal exam either stating they did not have a place to do that. wth???

Psyllium, Epsom salts and electrolytes and she is back to almost normal. So I made her a fly mask to celebrate her recovery.

 

Pretty snazzy, huh? It has spider webs on it because Belle was such a witch at the vet. But hey. She IS a mare.........

 

 

California Dreaming.........

Found THIS last night as Rhett and I came in from watching the fireworks........

Found THIS this morning......I kept telling that silly snake the rat was too big!

 

Bet I know what happened to Mr Rattleysnake guy! Thank God for California King snakes!

 

Hope your 4th of July was happy!

'Fraidy cat!

I am at work. My dogs and cats are at home and in the house. Unfortunately, my horses would not fit in the house.

I do not want to go home.

Reason???

Right there. Wrapped around my itty bitty flower garden when I came up from feeding and watering horses and was preparing to water my flowers....F.N. SCARY.

I would not be scared except that I was unable to kill the bugger and he slithered under my porch. When I brought my dogs in I brought them in one at a time, on a leash with me having a rake in one hand and the dog on my other side. My dogs are too old to sustain an rattlesnake bite and survive.

I have been checking out snake traps. I have been checking out snake repellent. Personally I am hoping that when I go home he will be laying in a position that will allow me to run him over with my truck about 75 times and then I won't have to worry about trapping him. Or her.

My biggest fear is that it is a female and having babies under my porch even as I type. I did not sleep at ALL last night. And I am an Arizonian born and raised in the desert. I am not a wimp, but for some reason this scares the bejeebers out of me.

One of us has to go. And since I pay the bills it is going to have  to be him.

Pray for the safety of my family until I can get this resolved..........

This is why I keep all that fabric....

Been sick for a few days with some sort of intestinal garbage.

No eating. And certainly not moving more than 12 feet away from the bathroom. So what can you do?

SEW!

Which I did. Poor Princess Leia trashed her flymask from last year and I had yet to purchase another for her, so I got out some of that fabric I have been saving for flippin' YEARS and made her one. Hand sewn because the sewing machine would not fit in the bathroom.

ooooooooooo! Flames and sparkles! Cannot get any better that THAT!

 

So it is not perfect, but hey. I still have plenty of fabric....

 

Love you Leia!

Sacred Thoughts.......

I have not been writing as of late.


The sad event of Boo Horse leaving our herd has left a huge hole in all of our hearts. I shall miss her for the rest of my life. She was such a sweet and patient little lady who never complained. Would that I could be more like her.


This morning on the way in to work, I listened to James McDonald on the radio. His words caught my heart in a vice and I felt that old and intense love for God's Word surge through my veins. Today, Pastor McDonald spoke to men, but the words belonged to me in every way.


I have a son. Did you know that? I do not recall if I have ever mentioned that fact, but I do. He serves in the Army and is dating a pretty awesome and strong woman. Last I knew anyway. I don't hear from him any longer because he and I have made choices that we both are adhering to quite rigidly.


My little man, (as he will always be even if he reaches 90), was only 12 when he was baptized into the Lord. I still have photos of that day. That day was precious to me and still holds the most special place in my heart. It is with a goodly amount of prayer for his walk with the Lord that takes up a great deal of my thoughts and time. Whether he believes it or not, I love him very much. And it is because of that love that I respect his wishes. It is a wicked, wicked thing to be placed in the situation of choosing one relationship instead of two for fear of losing the first. God will work it out for good. Mark my words.


I wish that you had heard that sermon today, son. I always knew since I was a little girl attending Vacation Bible School what I would name my son when I had him. I gave you the name of Joshua after my favorite man in the Bible. He was a warrior. He was devoted to the Lord. He trusted God wholly and deliberately.  He was chosen of the Lord and served Him well. I have always believed that names are important and that somehow, someway, the characteristics of that name will become the bearers own. I wanted that for you then. I want it even more desperately now. I want to see you as more than the decorated warrior you have made yourself. I want you in the Lords Army. I am jealous FOR you to be His in every aspect of your life.


Time is short. I know that people think I am crazy and that people have been saying this since that awful and glorious day of The Cross and Resurrection, but it is true.


Jesus is coming for His church. He is coming soon.








(James McDonald)

Ecclesiastes 3......A time to pray

My heart is heavy.


I understand there is a time for everything, but I am not ready. I hate this aspect of horse ownership.


Do you know why I call her Boo? Because I don't even  KNOW what her name is. The people who dropped her off at my place left her when I was not there. No feeding plan. No background of any kind. Just a horse with really long feet who had obviously been through a lot in her lifetime. I don't even know how old she is. The vet estimates around 28-29. And the sweetest dispositioned horse I have ever known.


My precious Boo horse is having problems that can no longer be solved. It is time. This horse that someone abandoned at my place? They abandoned her because THEY did not want to make the decision I have to now make. But I cannot let her continue in pain. She has stopped eating normally and is losing weight. She cannot walk without pain. I know it is time.......everything in my horse experience tells me I am right.


Someone please explain that to my heart.


I love you Boo.

There are.....

There are days that make you glad you were born.


     There are things that make you glad you are here.


          There are people who make you wonder why in the heck you would ever think the 2 statements above.


What. A. CRAZY. Week!


I am SO glad I have a 2 day weekend coming up. Which would be Sunday and Monday since I am working tomorrow. But even with screaming patients, unhappy co-workers and REALLY long times in between paydays, today was beautiful.


It is not often that we get spring rains like this. Soft and gentle, steady and sweet and so, SO needed. And lucky for me, this rain is predicted to last through Monday.


When I left this morning for work all the horses were bucking and playing in their paddocks, loving this cooler weather.


I am so hoping that I will have time to work in the garden area this weekend. I am also hoping that I can figure a way to keep those stinkin' cute little ground squirrels out of my garden. Any ideas? Anybody?


Happy Friday, my friends..... I am hoping your weekend is beautiful!

I have a LOT of respect for those pioneer women.....

Today started out with a scare. I thought for sure that my heart would never make it through this day.

My beloved Houdini. I went down to feed before leaving for work and lo and behold, Houdini lay down when he saw food coming. Not at ALL a Houdini norm.

No gut sounds. Flying to get the banamine thinking for sure this was the end. But after banamine, oil, electrolytes and water, he is doing better. He is pooping and eating and gut sounds galore.

I have several thousand new gray hairs. My heart palpitations have stopped and I am breathing normally. I am not ready for him to leave me. Not now. Not when we have just embarked on this new adventure. I love that horse.

So here I am writing about such a scary thing and making decisions that have already been made. I never, EVER want to be in a position where I cannot take care of my horse when he needs help.

I thank God often. It is with a grateful heart that I have a good truck, a roof over my head, a place to keep my horses and someone to put in the pump for the water tank.

OMG. I swore I would never get into another water haul situation, but hello! Here I am. And somehow it is not as bad as when I was doing this in Colorado. Probably because it is not so flippin' cold I have snot sickles hanging from my nose.

But the klinker is, I thought the water system would be in place when I got here. No such luck. So after tracking down the fix it man, apparently I am getting that pump in here pretty quickly. You have no idea what it is like to have to dump a bucket of water down the toilet to flush it. Or heat water up on the stove and in the electric wok, dump it into an igloo cooler and use it for taking a bath. Or better yet, heating water to wash dishes.

YIKES!

I have a whole lot of respect for those pioneer women.

If it had been left up to me, we would still be back in Boston talking with funky accents.....

I am totally gobsmacked!

I was told by a friend today that it is TOTALLY because I am dealing with people from Kingman.
Her exact words were, and I quote,

"It is just Kingman people. Even if they have an education they are still stupid".

Now while I dislike making assumptions and lumping everyone into one group, I am beginning to think she is right!

SO glad to be out of here this weekend!

YAYNESS!!!

The Beginning Of The End

So tomorrow I finish packing the sewing room and loading all onto the trailer.

And then?

Wednesday I drive the trailer to the new house and begin to unpack all the boxes into various places. Kitchen stuff here, Sewing room stuff there. Books over there and garden tools over here. February marks the last month at the old rental house!

Do you ever wonder if you have made the right choice? This is the time when I cannot go back. Regardless of the doubts I have of my abilities, I have to move forward. I am excited. But I am also sad. And a little scared. In how you look at this situation I am either moving forward or taking a few steps back.

I have always felt that when you pray a prayer and all of a sudden things fall into place, that is God moving. And when you pray a prayer and in trying to move forward you find stumbling blocks, that is God protecting you from a wrong choice.

When I moved to Colorado the stumbling blocks were EVERYWHERE. A trip that should have taken 15 hours took 3 flippin' DAYS. When I made the decision to move back to Arizona, within a week, I had a job. I had a new home and all was clear.

The same with this little house and property. Said a prayer and it fell in my lap, so to speak.

Odd thing. In my devotions this morning from the book, Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young, the text said that when you feel overwhelmed or unsure to just call out His name. He is there.

I am so glad that I do not have to live my adventures alone. I am glad Jesus is there to help me when I stand before my Goliath. I am glad Jesus is there when He bids me to step out in the stormy waters to walk in faith.

And so I shall.

I should have known better......

These days you need CONTRACTS.

Such a dang shame, but the reality is? YOU NEED CONTRACTS. The days of a verbal agreement and a handshake no longer can be trusted.

It really is no big deal. Well actually it IS a big deal. But hey. Live and learn right?

I hired a guy with a backhoe to come out and level a spot for temporary pens until I could get the barn site leveled. He and his wife met me at the new place, looked over the spot, we talked about this job, talked about the barn leveling job for later, and he quoted me a price for the leveling of the temporary pens.

We agreed. He would start work on Wednesday. We shook hands and then on Monday, I got cash  and paid him, with his wife right there, paid him the money. He postponed the job for 2 days, came out on Friday and started the job. I gave him a ride home that night so his wife would not have to drive over and pick him up. Saturday, I picked him up and took him back to finish the job. He did and all was well. THAT was over a week ago.

Today he calls and wants more money because he did not charge me for?  DRIVING THE BACKHOE OVER. Really? A week later? Please. Legally I owe him NOTHING.

Will I pay him that money? Yes I will. Because he did a couple of extra things for me, but NOT for travel time.

Will I ever hire him again???  AB. SO. LUTE. LY. NOT!!!

And whomever I do hire? I want a WRITTEN contract. With a professional....not somebody who has his sign up and is not licensed. I might pay more, but at least I will not have stupid surprises like this guy sprung on me.

I won't make that mistake again!