Tuesday, November 29, 2011 - Work Day One

Met with our client for a quick meeting in the morning before heading out to Joe Theismann’s restaurant across the quad, then started our first day of class. A good group, enthusiastic, which is good but sometimes makes it difficult to stay on time and on track. Didn’t finish up until after 5:30. Later we joined a woman I met in the spa yesterday for drinks and snacks, then headed back up to the room for an early night.

Monday, November 28, 2011 - Move/Rest/Massage Day

Slept late and didn’t check out of the room until 11:30 (after a great free breakfast, of course!), then headed across the street to Target, 1) to see if they had a Kindle Touch that I want to buy (they didn’t, so I’ll have to order one direct from Amazon), and 2) do a little more shopping for things we’ll need in the coming days. We then toured around Alexandria to get our bearings around Old Town, to check out parking and walking and where everything was. We even took a ride down to a park near the river that I found had a fenced in "dog park" in it, but it was very disappointing, little more than a patch of gravel, though there were a few other folks and dogs there when we arrived. Our dogs ran around a bit, but they really don’t get the "romp with other dogs" thing, so we left after about 30 minutes. Found an ice cream parlor where we had our usual ice cream lunch, then finally headed to the hotel to check in. Hubby had already talked to the valet on our first pass, so we were all set to check in with the dogs, and learned where the van would be parked, since that would act as their "crate" when we were at work. Turns out to be in the basement, which was perfect. Got settled into a small but comfy room, then I headed out to the spa to get a deep tissue sports massage that I had previously arranged. The last one I had in Atlanta had been wonderful, really helped my out-of-whack shoulder, and I had made a lot of progress since then, so I was hoping this would almost finish it off. Loved the steam room, that helped a lot, though the massage itself wasn’t as good as Melody’s at Bliss in Atlanta. She tried, but just never got to the real root of the problem. A few more minutes in the steam room and I headed up to the room, where Hubby awaited me with a glass of red wine he had picked up at the Managers Reception in the lobby earlier. Relaxed for the evening as we prepared for the job tomorrow.

Friday, November 27, 2011 - Preparation Day

Spent the day getting ready to move on tomorrow, and the prepare for our busy week next week.

Sunday, November 27, 2011 - Travel Day to Alexandria

Set the alarm and was out early, stopping at Waffle House in Lumberton for breakfast before running straight up to Springfield to spend the night at a Hampton Inn that I had previously arranged. Figured we’d need a day of rest tomorrow to get ready for our training camp Tuesday and Wednesday. Fortunately we arrived right about 3:00, checked in and did, indeed, have a pleasant afternoon and evening of rest.

Saturday, November 26, 2011 - Travel Day to Sky’s the Limit Farm

Even though it was a short trip today, we had much to do to prepare for our longer trip tomorrow, so we got out early. Arrived at Peggy Helie’s Sky’s the Limit Farm in Lumberton, NC just after mid-day, quickly getting settled in. Parked the RV next to the house and hooked up to electric, Hubby getting the satellite going pretty quickly, which will be great because I’d like to stock up on movies and programming, we’re down to about 15 hours on the PVR, which is really low for us. The horses got settled in quickly in a nice paddock, where they quickly stretched their legs and rolled around a bit. I swear, there isn’t much more fun than watching a horse roll around on it’s back, flailing it’s legs in the air while it tries to roll over his own withers to the other side! We met Peggy’s youngsters, then spent the rest of the afternoon packing, unhooking, and generally getting ready for our long trip tomorrow.

Thursday, November 24, 2011 - Happy Thanksgiving!

Slept late again, and today, finally, we pretty much just relaxed. Contrary to the rest of the country, we enjoyed a steak for dinner, a real luxury, as we haven’t had much since we started our diet at the beginning of the year. Thankful for our fabulous animals, thankful for our incredible life, thankful for our excellent health, thankful for each and every day we get to keep living the dream!

Wednesday, November 23, 2011 - Ride Day at Cheraw

At last, the weather was nice enough (it has been too cold to ride) to go for a ride. Apparently there is only basic trail with lots of criss-crossing, but all we did was stay on the main trail, which was just about a five or six mile loop. It was mostly in the woods, and the footing was good, no stones, mostly hard dirt with some sand. I still have some residual pain in my side from the fall I took, so all I wanted to do today was walk. After a couple of miles, though, Apollo wanted to do something more, and at one point he suddenly kicked up without warning and jumped a few steps. Fortunately, I managed to stay on, though my side was punished in the process. Hubby’s mare followed suite without warning, and Hubby ended up over the saddle and somehow managed to hang onto Clio’s neck, which fortunately broke his fall almost entirely. It was rather amusing, really, when I look back and saw him hanging like a monkey on the underside of Clio’s neck. Then he just dropped his legs, though he lost his balance and ended up sitting on the ground for a minute gathering his wits. No explanation from the horses as to their flighty behavior, they just stood there calmly. Well, we got back up again and carried on for awhile, until we came to a straightaway that Apollo thought would make a good race track. He leaped again, fortunately forward to I managed to hang on, then I let him run a little before reining him in again. That was it. I climbed down, found a clear spot off the trail, and ran him around in circles for about 10 minutes on the extra line on my McCarty setup. He kicked and galloped and jumped around in one direction, then I had him change directions and he kicked and galloped and jumped around in the other, until he finally wore himself out. I led him back to the trail and we set off again, much subdued. About a mile out, we did it again, not because he seemed as anxious to run off again, but just to make sure he didn’t get any ideas like that. We managed to make it back to the camp in good shape, and no one worse for the wear. Other than that, it was a good couple of hours. Trails not very exciting, they just kind of weave in and out of the trees, though they are pretty well marked, albeit a pretty short trip. Fine for what we needed, but for a long stay of riding, not so much. At least we got them back on the trail, and we both survived, which is always the goal!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011 - Rain Day

More computer work, more reading, more movies.

Monday, November 21, 2011 - Runaround Day

Hubby ran some errands, including extending our stay here until Sunday. I spent the day on the computer again. Looking forward to getting caught up enough to actually REST!

Sunday, November 20, 2011 - Relaxation Day

Again spent some of the day on the computer, then watched movies. Gratefully uneventful!

Saturday, November, 19, 2011 - Relax and Blog Catchup Day

Spent the day on the computer catching up on my blog. There are some boy scouts in the field next door, and we heard a generator running most of the day. Scouting isn’t just what it used to be! At one point, a stray beagle wandered into the camp. I managed to catch him and find a phone number on his collar, which I called. Turns out the dog had gone missing two weeks earlier while on a hunting trip, and the owner was happy to get him back. I asked him about any of the locals that might sell hay, and he gave me a name and number that I called later on. Looks like we’ll be able to find hay locally, which I’ve been searching for for several days. Nothing on craigslist, which is unusual. Wrong time of year, I guess. Anyway, an early night trying to relax a bit this week.

Friday, November 18, 2011 - Travel Day to Cheraw State Park, SC

Set the alarm for slightly later, still managed to be on our way by 9:00. Stopped at a Waffle House just down the highway for breakfast, then again at Wal-mart to get some essential shopping done. We were passing very close to the stable we have selected to look after the horses when we go back up to DC later in the month, so we decided to stop by and check it out. It’s a rather small, homey place, with just a few small pastures cordoned off with a run-in shed, but it will suit the purpose. Then we headed out to Cheraw State Park in South Carolina, a place we’ve been meaning to get to but hadn’t gotten around to until now. Arrived by just after 3:00, paid through Monday (just in case), then headed out to their equestrian campground. It’s really just an open field with a couple of water spigots, some fire rings and picnic tables scattered around. Around the field were plenty of pine trees to high line the horses, so we got busy getting settled in. Hubby even managed to get a satellite signal quickly, so we were done by about 4:00. Grabbed some ice cream for our late lunch, then soup later on to warm up again, and spent the evening relaxing again.

Thurday, November 17, 2011 - Travel Day to Valentine Stables, NC

With the alarm set early, we were up and on our way out by just after 8:00 with a cup of coffee in hand. Said our goodbyes to our hostess and headed south on 301, stopping once in Waldorf at a Burger King for breakfast (which oddly had no indoor restaurant, it was strictly a drive-thru, with a few picnic tables around the outside... Weird). Of course, we’re too big to drive-thru, so we had to stand out in the cold until our breakfast was ready. Drove the rest of the day in rain, despite earlier forecasts that it would clear up, with our load of hay getting soaked as we geaded down the highway. It finally quit raining about a half hour before we reached our destination, a layover place called Valentine Farms near Dunn, NC. A bit expensive but very conveniently located just 3 miles off I-95. Horses each had a lovely big stall with a run (though we closed the doors to the run after dinner because of the cold breeze coming through), and we were able to plug in the RV to an RV designated plug on the outside of the barn. We arrived by 3:00, tired from the early departure and busy last couple of days, so we relaxed the rest of the day, again getting to bed early.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - Back to the Stables

Slept late (as we had expected), packed up and headed out right at the noon checkout time. Met up with my old friend Steve at a local IHOP for brunch. He had just been around the globe in the last few weeks, first to Germany then to New Zealand, so his body clock thought breakfast at 12:30 was a good idea, too. After a pleasant meal, Hubby and I headed back to the stables where we unpacked our suitcases and prepared to pack up and leave the next day. The weather forecast had been calling for rain today and clear skies and cooler tomorrow, but they’ve been wrong about this rain for some time, and we’re concerned about getting out in the morning. We decided to hook up the horse trailer this afternoon and pull it out onto the driveway where it had better traction, but the van slipped and slid all over the place even WITHOUT the trailer behind it, so we decided to do something we had been planning on doing but hadn’t gotten around to; rotating the tires on the van. Last year, we had bought to huge honking Wrangler tires with giant tread (which look really MEAN on the van!). We put them on the front because the other tires had worn unevenly (for a long list of reasons too boring to talk about), and that made a loud thunking noise on the front, so we put the loud tires in the back and the new Wranglers on the front, figuring once the bumps were worn down that set would be quieter later on, which is exactly what happened. But the tread on the old tires, naturally, weren’t too great anymore (not bad enough to get rid of, just not great in certain circumstances, like soft, wet grass on a hill with weight behind it), so we headed out to the Wal-mart Auto Center, and two hours later they rotated the Wranglers to the back and the now smoother old tires to the front. Though it was dark, we decided to go ahead and try to move the horse trailer, since the newly revised forecast was calling for more rain during the evening and overnight hours. Fortunately, everything worked our perfectly. The Wranglers had no trouble gripping the grass, even with the added weight of the horse trailer behind it, and we managed to pull the trailer up onto the gravel driveway easily, with no damage to the yard. Moments afterward, it started drizzling again, so we congratulated ourselved on a job well done and headed inside to the warmth of the trailer and a hot meal of leftover Indian food. The rest of the evening was quiet, and we headed to be early in preparation for our early start tomorrow morning.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011 - Day Two of Workshop

Another great day of workshop, running right up to our schedule 5:00, then hanging around for another hour or more just chatting with some interested attendees on other matters. Had dinner with our seminar organizer at the hotel restaurant before getting to bed, satisfied with a good training camp.

Monday, November 14, 2011 - Day One of Workshop

Conducted our workshop all day, with a great group of folks from all along the Eastern Seaboard and the Midwest, had dinner in our room delivered from a local Indian restaurant so we could relax for the evening, then to be asap.

Sunday, November 13, 2011 - Move to Arlington, VA



Pentagon-DC in background

After spending the morning packing, we headed out to the Sheraton in Arlington, VA where we will be facilitating a workshop for the next two days. Happily, they accept dogs here, which adds a nice element to the trip, not having to worry about dog care back at the stable. It means having to put the dogs in the van during the day when we are teaching, but at least they can come up and spend the evenings and nights with us. They’re so used to sleeping in the van whenever we travel anyway, it’s really all the same to them. Took a hot bath to soothe my still aching side (the bruises are out in full glory now, and I still have a stitch or two along my rib when I take a deep breath), watched a fun Tom Cruise movie on HBO, then got to sleep early in anticipation of an early and long day tomorrow.

Saturday, November 12, 2011 - Preparation Day

Spent the day getting ready to move over to DC tomorrow, with the added fun of taking the dogs to Petco for a bath and grooming, something they’ve never done before. We just didn’t have the capability to do it ourselves today, because it’s too cold and water is too far away, and I’m still in serious pain from my fall, so we decided to splurge and let the dogs have a "spa" day. After careful instructions to Billy’s handler (he tends to get aggressive when he gets scared or pushed or pulled around because of his abusive puppyhood), Hubby and I ran a few more errands. Came back a few hours later to some very happy, clean and nice-smelling dogs. She even managed to attach a couple of tiny bows to Marina’s short hair, which were cute and ridiculous at the same time. Job done, we headed back to the RV for a relaxing evening.

Friday, November 11, 2011 - Move to Stables near Rosaryville, MD

Set the alarm so we could get off to an early start. Spent the day running errands, first going down to the Tidewater Animal Hospital south of Waldorf, MD because all of the animals, horses and dogs alike, needed their annual vaccinations. First time ever we’ve managed to get them all on the same schedule! (Dogs were due last month, horses aren’t really due until next month, but this will make things easier from now on!) Did some shopping and made a few other stops before finally arriving at our host stable, run by Anna Solan. Very near Rosaryville State Park, where we had intended to go riding before my unfortunate fall, but still very convenient for getting to DC for our next job. Horses went into a round pen at the back of the property, and we parked the RV right next to it, getting settled in quickly. Too late for the satellite dish tonight, too cold and dark by the time we got set up, so we just relaxed for the evening with the PVR after our hectic day.

Thursday, November 10, 2011 - Move Over Day

Didn’t sleep too well last night, probably too much caffeine from the hot cocoa and Excedrin, so we were up a bit earlier than usual. Good thing, too, because the ranger came by and told us we had to move back up to the lodge because tomorrow is the beginning of gun-hunting season and hunters were coming in to camp in the campground. We had originally planned on moving out of here and going to Cedarville State Park in Maryland earlier this week, but we discovered they had already turned off their water, closed up their bathhouse and their dump, but didn’t reduce their prices accordingly, so we decided to just stay here. That and the pain I’m in made the decision for us. They don’t seem to mind us being here at Redden, but I imagine we’ll hear gunfire early tomorrow morning. Just as well, we need to get out of here early anyway, lots to do and several places to go. Spent the day getting future trips organized, including flights from Jax to Anaheim and stables all along the way down I-95 for later in the month and through December.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011 - Laundry Day

Despite the aches and pains, laundry duty called, and since we don’t have easy access to water and electric, we headed out to the nearest and only laundromat in Georgetown. What an awful place! By far the worst laundromat we’ve been to in our many years on the road. Machines were filthy (our first hint), the place was empty (our second hint), the prices were high for the size of the machines, the dryers only gave you 6 minutes per quarter, and the temps on the dryers were so low that even on high the laundry wasn’t getting dry! After 4 quarters, I was still taking out clothes that were wet and cold. We finally gave up, packed up every damp thing we had (not one thing had dried completely), and drove to the next nearest town south, found another very nice little laundromat, and in two more cycles, everything was completely done. The place was also clean and there were other people there, so that tells the rest of the story. The whole afternoon was in painful slow motion, but at least everything got done, which was the most important thing. We had stopped at the pharmacy on the way and loaded up with stick-on heat pads, Excedrin (which I’ve now decided is the best painkiller) and an Ace bandage to wrap my ribs, so by the time we got all that going, I started to feel pretty good about the time I needed to start folding laundry. Got back just after the sun set, got the horses fed, and settled down for the evening.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011 - Recovery/Work Day

Despite the painkillers, I’m still in some agony every time I move, so everything is in slow motion right now. I did manage to take a much needed and long overdue shower, then did some paperwork before settling down to get caught up on my blog. Hubby ran into Georgetown to drop off some mail and get some propane (which we’ve been going through a lot of trying to keep me warm in my vulnerable state and through the cold weather). Not sure whether I cracked a rib or not, but there’s nothing to be done about it anyway except be careful. Doesn’t look like we’ll be doing any more riding any time soon. Can’t afford not to be at my best next week, so I’m not likely to take any more chances until I’m at 100 percent again.

Monday, November 7, 2011 - Ride Day at Last! But...

Finally woke up to a beautiful day, feeling well enough to venture out. Since the horse trail here is only a bit over 4 miles, we decided to give it a go. Everything was going fine for about the first mile or so, the horses were frisky after having been standing around for the past week, and I was feeling better, though still not 100 percent. We came to a nice stretch and did some trotting and a little canter, then walked a bit more, then came to another stretch where the horses’ ears picked up and they decided to canter. Unfortuntately, my horse likes to be in the lead, and when his mom passed him and started to pull away, he decided to play rodeo and pitch a fit. One second he was under me and the next second he wasn’t. I was up in the air and then I was hitting the ground hard. Probably hadn’t quite recovered enough to think that quickly to compensate, but whatever, I landed on my hip. Now that I’ve lost 40 pounds of fat, I don’t have as much cushion as I used to, and it was a hard landing. I completely had the wind knocked out of me, which was awful for about a half dozen breaths, especially considering I was still pretty congested from the illness. For a minute, I wasn’t sure I would be able to catch my breath at all. It was pretty scary. Finally I managed to pull in some air, which made my ribs hurt. I sat there for a good ten minutes just getting my wits about me before trying to climb back on board Apollo. Once I was up, though, my head starting swimming and my eyes got really sensitive to the light, everything seemed suddenly brighter. I had to climb down again, it was just too dangerous up there for the moment. I sat on the ground for another good 15 minutes or so before I finally felt well enough to get back up. It was better this time, at least my head wasn’t swimming, but I had aches and pains all along my right side. I gave Hubby my lead rope just in case (we have a McCarty setup), and we headed back the way we came at a walk, though both horses were still a bit frisky, which didn’t help, but they behaved themselves for the most part. Once we got back, I barely managed to make it inside, once more having to leave all the work to Hubby, for which I had already been feeling guilty about all week. I grabbed a few painkillers and lay down in bed again, and later when I struggled to the recliner, started alternating between heat and ice for the rest of the evening. That helped some, but there’s a possibility I cracked a rib. I’m certainly in for some bruising on my hip. Compouding the matter is that the right side is the one that has been screwed up for nearly three years, and I’m afraid it wrenched in even stranger ways, though I may get lucky and this wrenching will fix the old wrenching (one can hope : -). Anyway, this was the last thing I needed, to be laid up even longer! Now the occasional lagging cough of my cold/flu is just enough to send shooting pains all along my rib cage and right side. I’m just going to have to take it easy, considering we have a workshop to conduct next Monday!

Sunday, November 6, 2011 - Shopping Day

Well, finally, I woke up feeling well enough to get out today. After a late breakfast (I still slept late, in keeping with best practices for conquering illness), we dressed and drove out to the nearby Wal-mart in Georgetown, DE. Didn’t have too much to buy, but we got the essentials, and it was great to get out of the house. A bit tired by the time we got home, but feeling much better than I had in what seemed like ages! Didn’t push my luck though, still went to bed early!

Saturday, November 5, 2011 - Another Sick Day

Spent yet another day in bed. At least I’ve started coughing up some mucus that’s finally loosening up a bit, and the fever seems to be improving slightly. Managed to help Hubby with the horses for a few minutes, which took a Herculean effort. He’s been so wonderful, picking up all the slack for me since I’ve been sick. It’s a miracle that in almost 26 years together, we’ve never both been sick at the same time, one of us has always been well enough to look after the other and the animals. Amazing! Nice to get outside, even for a few minutes, though. Progress is made, albeit slowly!

Tuesday, November 1 - Friday, November 4, 2011 - Sick Week

Every day the same. Slept late, struggled out of bed for breakfast, crawled back in bed for the rest of the day until dinner, cuddled with a blanket in the recliner watching TV in the evening (we managed to pirate an electrical plug to an outlet in the lodge so we didn’t have to run the generators), then to bed early and sleeping late again. No noticeable improvement in my condition despite all the sleep. Struggling with a fever that’s been ranging from 99.3-102.9. Didn’t even have the energy to read, which is my one solace when I’m sick. Really strange, I seldom get sick, and this is the longest I can ever remember being sick without my condition at least progressing. But we had to move today, so I struggled out of bed to do my best to help Hubby (which, I’m sorry to say, wasn’t much), filling up with water and moving everything over to the campsite area. Took Hubby a long time to get a satellite signal, but it seems that had more to do with a bad wire than a bad sight line, though that contributed as well. He managed in the end, stubborn man that he is, and we spent the evening watching TV before once again getting to bed early.