Snow, snow, snow

So this last week was been another oddly busy week, nothing really out of the ordinary; just the feeling that there is never enough time to get it all done.

We started out the week with extremely cold temperatures, such as negative 10 one night and a high of 14 the next day. I sure hope that March goes out like a lamb and am beginning to hope it is sooner rather than later! This past weekend was warmer which was nice.

I ended the week with the first horseback ride since last August, oh it was so nice to be back on my horse. However when I came home there was a terrible smell about a half mile from the house, so bad in fact that Theresa and I could smell it in the pickup! Luke had thought he would be nice and get hay and grain put out for Lady when she got home and feed the cats. Well he surprised the neighborhood skunk that seems to now be living in the barn... needless to say Luke spent an awful long time in the shower on Thursday evening!

Luke is working on a friend's trailer, improving his rusty welding skills. He is also sketching out a "road armour" type bumper for our pickup and the cardboard model is starting to look like it might actually be a successful project.

On Sunday I took a 4-Her to look for her first horse. I think we encountered every single type of weather you can in the pacific northwest! Snow, sleet, rain, hail, high winds and several times multiple combinations of the above. We started out literally almost at the Canadian border in Washington and worked our way back through Spokane and finally the fourth and last horse of the day in Rathdrum. Our routine was to mess with the horse a bit, saddle it and I would ride for a few minutes before putting my student on the horse. The first three were okay but I was still not feeling completely comfortable with them for her skill level. The last horse we looked at I speng all of 30 seconds before I felt, FINALLY we have got it. I put her up and we didn't see her or the horse for about thiry minutes while they went jogging off and around. She came back with a huge smile on her face and a great big nod to her mom. Oh, it was so good to see a youngster connect that way with a horse. They will make a great team for the next several years.

Luke stayed home and worked on his bumper and Craig's trailer. He is pretty excited to get two new horses in May. Bret (Luke's brother) has two mares that he wants to pass on so they will be coming up soon - hopefully we will be able to finish our fences before they get here! He is also pretty excited that this is the first year in about 5 that our taxes are not only under $2,000 they are also under $50! Which of course is fine with me.

Ta Ta For Now all!

Finally out of the construction phase...

After several months of this blog being blank, I decided to take it on. Hopefully I will be able to schedule more time to keep this up so, check back often for more! :-) Luke is in the shop playing with his toys and I am on the couch with the computer again. It seems to be a never ending story.

As of March 1, I am working full-time for the Latah County Youth Advocacy Council, which will be nice. I have been working three-quarter time for them since 2o05 however, this year the comp-time is really adding up. It has become apparent that 32 hours per week is not enough when I am racking up over 50 hours in an average week. I pointed out to my boss that although adding 8 hours per week won't make a significant dent in the comp-time at least I will have less stress from working at two part-time jobs in the same office.

Luke still really enjoys his job working for JJ Building Supply as a delivery driver, however the current economy has not been generous to the home building industry. He took on a second job on Saturdays as a delivery driver for Furniture Center here in Moscow and really enjoys it as well.

I also added cleaning of the JJ store in Colfax to my to do lists on top of work and 4-H. Yes I am still involved in 4-H (it's an addiction for me, I know!). The kids in our club are amazing and remind me every day why I do the work I do with LCYAC and 4-H. They keep me in the moment, on my toes and laughing.

All the kiddo's (yes they are four-legged) Lady (my 21 year old Arabian), Harley (our 4 year old Jack Russell Terrier), Bobby & Tommy (my 18 year old kitties) are doing well and have so far survived the winter. I am not sure I can say the same for our basement at this point. Luke has been running the sump pump four hours per day and is barely keeping up with the amount of water filling the rooms down there. Between the melting snow and pouring rain, I am surprised we have not floated away yet!

Well there will be more here shortly, although I have to warn you this may be the longest post you will see on here!