hqueen's collection of Far From the Usual stuff.

[hqueen13]

Maybe. My luck I'd get more to do!
Gave my friends GH a lesson after leaving the office yesterday and it went really well. She had a tough time but really made some big breakthroughs. I'm glad I was able to support her through it and I'll be really interested to see where she goes with it this week.
I'm taking it slightly easy this morning and just worrying about the barn chores. I think I'm going to try to get my carrot ferment together before I leave but that will be about it. I tasted my squash yesterday and it is crisp and tangy. The garlic is strong but I don't mind. I've almost got enough sungold tomatoes to start the cherry tomato ferment too.
I guess i should get my butt our of bed if I'm going to get anything done before i leave...

 

[Denim Deb]

I know that feeling.

 

[hqueen13]

Crazy busy so I'm not around much. Dug potatoes this weekend and got less than I expected but still a nice amount. I'm thinking I'll have to get a bit more from the farm to have enough to last a year but we'll see. I need to weigh them and figure out what I've got.
Picked limas for the first time too. They look pretty good though i haven't shucked them yet.
I need to do some work in the kitchen but i don't have time. I occurred up more hours on the farm again and my friend is out of town so I'm feeding horses again. Yay extra money! Boo less time!
Speaking of that i need to get my butt back outside and start feeding.
Oh i think i forgot to mention that i had my lesson on Saturday morning and got to ride for the first time here since i moved up here a year ago. it felt really good to be back in the saddle! Now I just have to find the time to keep working..... that's going to be the big challenge!

 

[Denim Deb]

If only we could get more money for less time!

 

[hqueen13]

No kidding! That would be SO helpful!!
All things considering, with all my sources of income, I do really well. Its just not enough. I need more, LOL. So it goes, there is always a need for more. I'm quite content, though I would greatly appreciate a little more stability and less paycheck to paycheck...
I was BUSY yesterday. I ran hard all day at the farm, it was a busy day. He brought the chickens back from processing, so that was part of it, but otherwise it was just steady all day. At one point in the afternoon I finally had to sit down and eat a clif bar because I was not feeling so hot.
To boot my allergies went nuts yesterday, which always wears me out more than it should.
When the BF called me before he was leaving, he offered to take care of the horses for me on the way home, so I didn't have to leave the farm and do that. That allowed me to blitz home with just enough energy to get dinner made. I put together the "Summer Mix" recipe, sauted (sauteed?!) onion, garlic, squash, okra, tomatoes and corn. I grilled chicken and diced that up, and then put all of that on top of pasta. I was mostly able to keep working with a little bit of help from the BF when he got home. He was able to get his replacement phone set up without any problems, which made me happy. I was exhausted by the time I was done making dinner. So I had dinner and a glass of wine and went to bed!
I have so much to do coming up that its exhausting me before I even get there. I don't really know how I'm going to get it all done and stay balanced, but we'll see. We're supposed to be fencing in the paddock for the dogs this weekend. But of course there's rain in the forecast. WTH.
Let's see...
Tonight I have to leave work, swing by Honey Baked and use the gift card the BF got at work to pick up dinner. Head to feed the horses. Depending on the time I'll either go to his parent's house to keep his brother company and eat dinner with him, or I'll go home and pick the garden and spray Storm's feet then go to his parent's house. Not sure which, depends on the time/energy that I have.

Tomorrow I have to be at the farm early, and I have to feed 2 places before I go. Thankfully at my one friend is taking her dogs with her, so I'll only have to deal with the horses and the cat, which is MUCH faster, LOL. I'll have to do that again in the evening when I finish at the farm. I REALLY should head down to the ex's and pick up a bunch of stuff that he isn't taking with him when he moves, but I'm not sure I will have the time/energy.

Some time this weekend we're supposed to get the dog fence done and go to the sprint store to transfer my phone into my name. I'm not really sure what will happen. I guess I can get stuff from the ex's this weekend too, we'll just have to see how that goes. The dogs are supposed to come up as soon as we're done with the fence. We're supposed to go to polo on Sunday as well with the group from the barn, but with the rain I guess that's up in the air too. They won't do it if its too slippery.

Next week I'm going to work 2 days in the office so that I can skip the following week since my parents will be in town. That kills my "free" day that I have. That means I only have one half day at the farm, and will be working full days every other day of the week between the office and the farm. Thankfully, sort of, the parents won't be arriving until later Sunday, so I'll have the weekend to prepare for them and get everything uber cleaned up. Because I freak out like that.

So yeah, I'm already way ahead of today. And that makes it confusing to figure out what day it is and whether I'm going or coming!

 

[Denim Deb]

You have been busy!

 

[hqueen13]

Yeah, its not exactly been fun.
The dogs are now at the house. It was MUCH more stressful than I realized it was going to be. I knew the BF wasn't happy at all about having them with us, he's not a dog person. And the fact that he wasn't happy about it was stressing him out a lot. I think he realized it when he finally got home the other day and I was all worked up. He and the ex put up the wire fencing inside the paddock on Saturday, then he fixed the Ex's brakes for him. We futzed around a little bit, and then Sunday we fed the other horses and then went and loaded up all the dog stuff and the dogs and the Ex followed us back up with all their stuff while we had the dogs in the truck with us.
They handled the change about as good as I could expect. I should note that they are 12 years old and have only ever lived in 2 locations and are inside dogs. Because we do not have a fenced yard around the house, they have to be taken out on leashes and walked to the paddock, and then turned loose. Its all of 50 feet, but for dogs that go bananas when the leashes are merely moved, this is a big deal. I'm really grateful and impressed that the BF is being so patient with them, and helping me. He has been able to help my little dog Toby to figure out how to walk on the leash without as much struggle. I haven't been able to accomplish that in 12 years! I suspect part of it is that I was anxious because the dog was anxious, and it was a vicious cycle, but he's working through it. It also helped that we took them outside (through the whole sit down by the door, put leashes on, sit outside the door so I can close the door, walk around the deck to and down to the paddock, sit outside the gate, open gate and sit inside gate so I can close gate and then wait while leashes are taken off... lather, rinse, repeat in reverse order) about 6 times. There were 2 accidents in the house, I suspect because of anxiety and drinking too much water all at once, but all in all it wasn't too bad. Toby was growling at Bear a little, but I suspect it was because he's just trying to find his territory and figure out how to level out again.
The BF declared the bedroom a dog free zone, to which I replied that I would be willing to try it, but there were no guarantees since they had slept in the bedroom all their lives (never ON the bed, but always in the room). We ended up putting Bear in the kennel and letting Toby have the run of the house. I didn't want the two of them arguing in the middle of the night, and I can trust Toby a lot more than Bear. Bear's the sneaky dog that gets into things. They decided to start howling at one point in the middle of the night and woke me up. The BF had to get up and yell at them to be heard so they would quiet down. Bear whined a little more over the night, but was quiet enough that eventually I fell asleep. Between the thunderstorm and the dogs I did NOT sleep well at all.
I was glad when I got up this morning that they hadn't been whining to go out. In fact, I got up and went to the bathroom and came back in the bedroom when neither one of them stirred. I finally went back out and found Toby asleep next to the kennel and Bear asleep in it. I took that as a good sign when they both looked at my sleepily when I finally came around the corner. Hopefully they'll continue that trend!
I'm a little bummed that they are going to end up left in the house a long time today without me being home, but they are used to it. They're just not used to that house. Hopefully they'll be fine.
This week is STUPID busy, and I won't have nearly the time I need to get the house cleaned up. I guess it is what it is. Hopefully it won't be too stressful and I can keep plugging away during the week. My parents don't arrive until Sunday evening, so I'll have all weekend to work on things.
We were going to go to polo with the girls from the barn, but due to the crappy weather it was cancelled. Hopefully everyone will be able to go next weekend instead. The weather is supposed to be much better, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I was a bit glad we cancelled since the dogs were stressing me out and I hadn't had the time to get anything together to take with us to share. Pretty sad since I was the coordinator!
This week I need to:
Put away clutter
Take care of the piles on the bar
Make a compost ring so I can start using my compost jar
Organize paperwork in the office
Straighten everything in the office so we can work in there sewing
Get the clothes sorted to go to the consignment shop on Thursday
Remake the guest bed
Neaten the guest bedroom so it is ready for my parents
Sort the things in the guest dresser
Brush the dogs. A lot.
Check the garden daily
Feed and give meds to the pony while DB is out of town (at least that's on my property and I don't have to go anywhere!)

Over the weekend we'll need to:
Vaccum Everything
Dust
Clean the Chinchilla cage
Wipe down the kitchen good
Clean the toaster oven
Clean the bathroom
Wash towels so there are enough towels for everyone

There's probably things I'm forgetting... but what else is new?!

 

[hqueen13]

Ugh. A little bit of whining here. I have 2 different sized feet. Like a 6 1/2 and an 8 1/2. And sometimes the 6 1/2 is really a 6. That means that some shoes I can get away with purchasing a single pair of shoes, but to really be comfortable I should buy 2 pair. That means that buying expensive shoes is virtually impossible. And buying any shoes is a lengthy thought out process because I struggle with every decision because the cost is DOUBLE whatever a normal person's cost is. So you see the shoes that are $60 or $70.00 and its only a matter of considering is it available in the budget... I look at the same shoes and sigh because its $120 or $140.00 if I REALLY want them. I usually can't justify that kind of expenditure. So most of my shoes are cheap, out of necessity. But the problem with that is that they're cheap. And they don't fit all that great, they don't last, and they end up hurting. So while I only spent as much as a normal person would have on a pair of shoes, I got half the quality. It is endlessly frustrating.
I also need a pair of shoes I can slip on and off easily that keep my feet comfortable (and preferably cool) and dry while working on the farm. I'm in and out of the house all the time, and tying shoes every time I go in or out just isn't reasonable. I bought a pair of cheap paddock boots, and got half the quality. I've barely worn them a season and they are cracking at the toe and they leak.
Dover Saddlery has a pair of boots on closeout for $80.00. That's a $160.00 pair of boots for me. I desperately need new boots. But I'm hemming and hawing over whether or not to spend the money RIGHT NOW on these boots. There's a chance that they won't fit anyway, I think they only have whole sizes at the moment. I have LOTS of other things I could spend the money on, but keeping my feet comfortable is pretty important. I just don't want to dump that kind of money... I've tried contacting manufacturers to see if they might help me (all they can say is no), but I haven't found anybody that will actually do more than offer me whatever is on sale, which is a cop-out if you ask me. I don't feel that I deserve any more help than anybody else, and I'm not asking for handouts, but a little help, even 20% off would be nice. It just plain sucks.
/rant

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Oh wow... that really blows. I wish I had an answer for you. Only thing I can think of is to find somebody with the same problem whose feet are sized like yours.... Not likely, huh?

 

[Denim Deb]

Did you ever check out that site I posted?