It has been another busy day here in stolen horse land. I woke up early, put my robe on and wobbled down the hallway to the computer and turned it on. I then went to the kitchen and flipped on the light and glanced up at the clock expecting it to say 5:30 or 6:00 a.m.
I thought I was awfully sleepy and as I blinked my eyes and studied the clock I knew why! IT WAS 2:30! I flipped off the light and wobbled back down the hall, dropping my robe off as I went. I was really trying hard not to wake myself up too much, hopeful that I would fall back to sleep.
I did doze a little but at 6:00 a.m. I was on the keyboard. I am soooooo tired of this phase of my life. I am sure the women here know what I mean if you have any age on you. I am hot. I am cold. I am hot and cold at the same time. Part of me is sweating and part of me is freezing.
And Sleep? What is that? I only want to sleep until I shut my eyes and then I am awake! Bedtime looks good every night to me around 7 o’clock. I know that if I go to bed at that time that I will surely be awake for the night by 12 o’clock. It is an never ending cycle it seems. How long does this last?
I did many task today but finally I spent a fair amount of time working on auction donations for our upcoming annual auction. I talked with Pat Roberts and she confirmed they had already sent something to us from Monty.
We have lots of used Parelli stuff thanks to Sonya’s donation. Thank you Sonya!
I did contact the Parelli organization today to see if I can get something from Pat and Linda that will be autographed. I usually pick it up personally at an expo but we have not shared any together this year.
Angie, from www.freereinart.com sent in her form today and she is donating a hand painted plate. She is the one that did the beautiful floor art rug with Idaho as a theme two years ago. It was stunning so I am looking forward to the plate!
Each year I get to walk on the rug at Helge and Holly’s (theft victims who had their horses found from a NetPosse flyer) house in Ohio as they are the proud owners of the hand painted rug.
While I am on the subject of this family I would like to introduce you to one of my best parts of this job, meet truly amazing people. In this case they are all in one family. Our paths crossed first in November of 2002. Their horses Midnight and Blackjack were stolen from their barn one night while the entire family was sleeping just a few yards away. After contacting us our IDAHO ALERTS were sent out and their horses were recovered a week later from because of the alert, the work of a volunteer and a flyer.
This one moment in the life of our two families that share an experience that thank goodness most will never know, the theft of our horses as linked us together as friends, I hope forever.
Harold and I stay with them each year on Sunday night after the Ohio Equine Affaire is over. We travel back to NC through KY just so we can stop by their house. It is like going home to family each year when we return to the “H” house in which Helge, Holly, Hannah, Houston and Holt live. From the moment we arrive in their driveway we feel like family. Each person in this family is so very special to us.
Holly makes the best soup and we always look forward to the surprise in the pot when we arrive. One year she had spaghetti and although it was great we secretly were a little disappointed that it wasn’t homemade soup. As we turned in that night in their “tree” bed we even discussed how much we missed her soup. We never told her but if she ever reads this I guess she will know now.
One of the things we love most when we visit, other than the soup of course is the moment when we sit down to eat. Holly will not let us help as the entire family pitches in to put the meal on the table; the soup pot is always in the middle of the round table.
Once we are all seated a blessing is said. I must admit sneaking a peak once during the blessing and what I saw what could have been inspiration for a Norman Rockwell painting. The “H” family with their heads bowed, steam coming from the pot as they listened to the words of the blessing seemed more like a family from the 50’s or 60’s at that moment to me; a family that eats together and takes the time to sit around the table and discuss their day. It brings a smile to my face even now as I visualize the scene once more.
For two meals out of each year I feel like I have watched the children grow up before me. Hannah is now 18 and has lived through her first bad auto accident. We were there the year she started driving! She seemed so small the first year we arrived in 2003. Houston is following his father Helge’s example and is beginning to become a wonderful horse trainer just like his dad. Holt, the youngest who is now four, is all over the place and is very much the ham in the family. Holly, who I believe is the center of the famiy, God bless her, juggles the schedules of her children, her volunteer work with unwed mothers and her many duties at church. Helge, who is from Swedish decent (but doesn’t have blonde hair), always seems a little tired but his smile lights up a room. It is clear that his family looks up to him for strength as well as guidance.
I forgot to mention Grandpa, Helge’s father who has Alzheimer’s disease and stays with Holly several days a week. Between Grandpa and Harold’s mother Nell, who also suffers from the same disease we have much to talk about. If you live with someone who has this disease I hope you are able to find some humor to help you deal with the obvious sadness that envelopes your love one and your family. We often find ourselves rolling with laughter over the antics of these two. It helps us cope.
I know I started out telling you about my day. My intent was to discuss the auction and some of the items we have coming up for you. But, I got sidetracked. I hope you didn’t mind too much.
Now back to the auction….If you have anything around your house that you would like to donate to the auction we need items badly this year. I have been working so hard that I have not been able to get the donations that I have in the past.
We had to cut back on the number of horse expos I attended this year too which is where I picked up many of the donations. Why? Because of the dramatic drop in monetary donations, I think because of the recession.
Thank you Christi for you monthly donation. I wish more would do the same. You help keep us afloat more than you know! And than you Michelle, “T” and Stephen for going booth to booth at the Ohio Equine Affaire and getting so much great stuff!
I have a little more work to do now. Once that is finished ….I’m off!
Goodnight! :-)
Friday, October 23, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
How did I get so lucky?
My day started early again. I set my cell phone last night to wake me at 6:30 a.m. although I highly suspected I would wake before that dreaded alarm. I hate the sound of any alarm other than the radio or the TV. Perhaps that is why I always wake up before one goes off? Hmmm....
Anyway, I did wake up at 6:06, stumbled to the bathroom and a short time later dropped back in bed. Once there thoughts of all the things I had to do before taking Harold to the ambulatory clinic raced in my head. Not being able to lay there any longer I threw back the covers, jumped out of bed, grabbed my housecoat to ward off the early morning chill in the house and wobbled to the computer in the den.
Does anyone else here wobble in the morning? I have found that the older I get the harder it is to get the body moving in a fluid motion once it has been sedimentary for a while. It doesn’t matter if I am getting out of bed or out of a chair. Things just don’t work like they use to. After a few minutes my steps return to their normal day-to-day rhythm, at least until I sit down again.
Mornings are my best time of the day. No one is up. The TV is off. The house is silent. I turn on the computers and listen to the hum of their motors as they boot to life. While they wake up I head to the kitchen, pull a glass out of the cabinet as I head to the refrigerator. I fill the glass full of crushed ice with one hand while opening the refrigerator door with the other and reach for the Diet Coke. I then walk back to the computers and start my day working for Stolen Horse International.
An hour or so will pass before I hear Harold stirring in the bedroom. His routine has become part of my routine. At some time after he walks into the kitchen he will emerge shortly thereafter with a piece of cheese toast on a paper towel, laying it carefully beside my right hand that is most likely glued to a mouse on my desk. There have been times when I was so busy that I forgot my morning drink. I know when he notices the absence of a glass on the desk that soon after he will arrive with a Diet Coke and toast (and on some days ceral). Many times I will not even stop or miss a beat at the keyboard but I always make a point to say thank you and give him a little kiss.
My routine is the same almost every morning, except this one. Today was a big day for Harold. Today he had cataract surgery on his right eye. We know cataract surgery is a piece of cake these days. It is an in and out procedure taking less than 20 minutes from the time you start rolling into the operating room to the time you are wheeled out. But for Harold, today meant he could come out seeing less than he did before surgery because of possible complications from a condition he has called Nukes Dystrophy (not sure of the spelling).
I am happy to report that all went well with the procedure, at least as far as we can tell so far. He couldn’t see as good as the thought he should and by the end of the business day he had worked himself into a tizzy. At 4:45 he announced he needed to go to the Steve’s office (the doctor is a friend of ours) and have him check his eye. I had to explain to him that unless our car sprouted wings and had jet propulsion we were not going to make it to Steve’s office by five and that perhaps he should call.
Tonight after talking with Steve and with his fears calmed, he finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel. I mean he really did! Just a little while ago he announced that he could finally see me and make out my features, something he has not been able to do all day.
So, what did I accomplish today for Stolen Horse International?
1. I answered some emails and weeded out some others on my Blackberry while at the clinic. I talked to Angela.
2. I bid on Priceline.com for a low price motel for November where we have a booth at the Massachusetts Equine Affaire. I got a great rate of $49 at a 2 ½ star motel! It has taken 5 days to find that rate. If you ever bid on Priceline.com you know the drill and know why it took me that long.
3. I sent out request letters for auction items.
4. I twittered to my NetPosse tweets.
5. I posted an article to the NetPosse list groups after surfing through the many Google alerts in my email account.
6. I went to Lowes to see if I could find some kind of way to make a low cost display saddle pad rack for our booth at the Equine Affaire. We will have both english and western saddle pads at the event.
7. I talked to Angela again about our upcoming auction and how we are going to get all of the work done that needs to be done.
8. I answered more emails.
9. I paid a few SHI bills.
Actually I didn’t accomplish as much as I usually do but I hope I took care of what needed taking care of the most, Harold. I have spent the day making sure he had everything he needed. This is a man who brings me a drink and something to eat every morning as I work! This is a man who supports what I do and on most days is right here with me working in one way or another. How did I get so lucky?
We will be off to the doctor’s office early in the morning. Hopefully we will have a good report.
As for right now….we’re off to bed.
Guess I'll set the Blackberry to alarm again. Ugh!
Goodnight!
Anyway, I did wake up at 6:06, stumbled to the bathroom and a short time later dropped back in bed. Once there thoughts of all the things I had to do before taking Harold to the ambulatory clinic raced in my head. Not being able to lay there any longer I threw back the covers, jumped out of bed, grabbed my housecoat to ward off the early morning chill in the house and wobbled to the computer in the den.
Does anyone else here wobble in the morning? I have found that the older I get the harder it is to get the body moving in a fluid motion once it has been sedimentary for a while. It doesn’t matter if I am getting out of bed or out of a chair. Things just don’t work like they use to. After a few minutes my steps return to their normal day-to-day rhythm, at least until I sit down again.
Mornings are my best time of the day. No one is up. The TV is off. The house is silent. I turn on the computers and listen to the hum of their motors as they boot to life. While they wake up I head to the kitchen, pull a glass out of the cabinet as I head to the refrigerator. I fill the glass full of crushed ice with one hand while opening the refrigerator door with the other and reach for the Diet Coke. I then walk back to the computers and start my day working for Stolen Horse International.
An hour or so will pass before I hear Harold stirring in the bedroom. His routine has become part of my routine. At some time after he walks into the kitchen he will emerge shortly thereafter with a piece of cheese toast on a paper towel, laying it carefully beside my right hand that is most likely glued to a mouse on my desk. There have been times when I was so busy that I forgot my morning drink. I know when he notices the absence of a glass on the desk that soon after he will arrive with a Diet Coke and toast (and on some days ceral). Many times I will not even stop or miss a beat at the keyboard but I always make a point to say thank you and give him a little kiss.
My routine is the same almost every morning, except this one. Today was a big day for Harold. Today he had cataract surgery on his right eye. We know cataract surgery is a piece of cake these days. It is an in and out procedure taking less than 20 minutes from the time you start rolling into the operating room to the time you are wheeled out. But for Harold, today meant he could come out seeing less than he did before surgery because of possible complications from a condition he has called Nukes Dystrophy (not sure of the spelling).
I am happy to report that all went well with the procedure, at least as far as we can tell so far. He couldn’t see as good as the thought he should and by the end of the business day he had worked himself into a tizzy. At 4:45 he announced he needed to go to the Steve’s office (the doctor is a friend of ours) and have him check his eye. I had to explain to him that unless our car sprouted wings and had jet propulsion we were not going to make it to Steve’s office by five and that perhaps he should call.
Tonight after talking with Steve and with his fears calmed, he finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel. I mean he really did! Just a little while ago he announced that he could finally see me and make out my features, something he has not been able to do all day.
So, what did I accomplish today for Stolen Horse International?
1. I answered some emails and weeded out some others on my Blackberry while at the clinic. I talked to Angela.
2. I bid on Priceline.com for a low price motel for November where we have a booth at the Massachusetts Equine Affaire. I got a great rate of $49 at a 2 ½ star motel! It has taken 5 days to find that rate. If you ever bid on Priceline.com you know the drill and know why it took me that long.
3. I sent out request letters for auction items.
4. I twittered to my NetPosse tweets.
5. I posted an article to the NetPosse list groups after surfing through the many Google alerts in my email account.
6. I went to Lowes to see if I could find some kind of way to make a low cost display saddle pad rack for our booth at the Equine Affaire. We will have both english and western saddle pads at the event.
7. I talked to Angela again about our upcoming auction and how we are going to get all of the work done that needs to be done.
8. I answered more emails.
9. I paid a few SHI bills.
Actually I didn’t accomplish as much as I usually do but I hope I took care of what needed taking care of the most, Harold. I have spent the day making sure he had everything he needed. This is a man who brings me a drink and something to eat every morning as I work! This is a man who supports what I do and on most days is right here with me working in one way or another. How did I get so lucky?
We will be off to the doctor’s office early in the morning. Hopefully we will have a good report.
As for right now….we’re off to bed.
Guess I'll set the Blackberry to alarm again. Ugh!
Goodnight!
Monday, October 19, 2009
Travels tales of one tired ole woman
I have been trying to find the time to write my thoughts down but there just doesn't seem to be any. Over the last month I have traveled so much that I honestly can't remember where I have been. I have to look at my schedule to jog the old memory. I hope you can follow my rough timeline that follows and spans over a week and a half.
For example, Harold picked me up at the airport after my three day trip to Mississippi to speak at a law enforcement conference on a Wednesday. The next day I drove five hours to Myrtle Beach and stayed there until Monday. I started for home around 7:30 a.m. so I would have time to catch up on my work before Harold and I left on Wednesday to go to Freemont, Ohio.
Now keep in mind that I didn’t know until the night before I left that we were going to Ohio. I thought we were going to meet in the Kentucky office of the man we met with to discuss a project for NetPosse.com. When I did the Mapquest directions (I do this just in case Ms.Garmin gets lost) Tuesday night I realized for the first time where we were going!
Geeezzzz what a long trip! We left here around 7:30 a.m., took my mother-in-law (who has dementia) to the adult day care and off we drove to what seemed like the end of the world. Twelve rainy hours later we checked into our hotel room which was just a few miles away from Lake Erie! Thank goodness for cell phones and GPS. Between the two we found our destination without getting lost and I was able to book a motel room as we arrived in the area.
The next morning we had the meeting on behalf of NetPosse.com that lasted from 9-12:30. By one o’clock we were on our way back to North Carolina. The fall colors would have been pretty if we had not been in rain coming and going. We arrived around 12:30 a.m. Friday at our home in Shelby.
My son, who was home on fall break and a friend were sitting in the den playing Wii. Even though it was late and even though all I wanted to do was drop in my bed, I stayed up until 1:30 learning how to play some of the games.
Later that day, Friday I went to Clemson, SC to the Clinton Anderson Walk About Tour. Since the clinic started so early I spent the night before in a hotel in Clemson. Harold could not believe it when he called me at 10:00 p.m. and I was already in bed asleep! I actually went to the clinic to pick up a donation from Clinton for our auction in November. I was happy to scarf up a little down time to watch him work his magic with the horses.
It was not all down time though. I lost my car keys for a while but some kind soul found them and it was later announced over the loud speaker for the owner to “come ID their keys.” Since I am all about putting identification on anything that is important, my keys have my name, cell phone and a picture of myself and Harold with Idaho. Needless to say it was easy to claim my keys. I wish it was that easy for everyone to claim their missing horses.
I was perplexed as to why the finder didn’t just call the phone number on the ID tag though. I would have answered my cell right away and would have had a locksmith on the way to the event to open my car so that I could check to see if they had fallen between the seats or were covered up by something.
I had a nice day at the event. I was home on Saturday by 6:00 p.m., went to dinner with Harold and some friends, talked business again and came home to practice my Wii tennis game.
Living with two men it is rare that I have the opportunity to win anything when it comes to playing any game. Both are very competitive fellows. I played tennis on my college team so I just knew that I would be able to rough up my son a little in the game. And guess what, I didn’t even have to run on the court! My Wii “little me” did all the running for me! How great was that?
I thought I was doing great playing the Wii machine until I played my son at 5:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. Why that early? Well, it seemed that while he was on fall break that when he was here I was there, and when he was there I was here, wherever here and there were at the time.
He was about to leave to go to Asheboro, NC to play golf for the day before he went back to college. If I didn’t get up and play him then, I would not have a chance to prove that I could beat him! Maybe I am a little competitive too, at least in my own mind anyway.
And me as a great player really was in my own mind! Balls were flying past me! Zoom to my right! Zoom to my left! My “little me” couldn’t run fast enough to get to the balls he shot back into my court. He beat me in game after game after game. The two games out of 30 that I did win were cause for great celebration for me! I was sad to see him leave. I spent so little time with him on his four day break. At least we grabbed a little one on one fun time before he left.
It was 6:30 a.m. by that time. I could have gone back to bed which I am sure would be what most folks would do. Not me. I sat down and pushed the on buttons on the two computers on my desk. Yes, you read right. I work on two computers each day with NetPosse.com.
To those few that are here listening…thanks for being here and listening to the ramblings of an tired ole woman. It is now 1:51 a.m and I have just finished up my work for the day and this blog entry. I hope it helps you understand more about the “days in the life” of the person who runs NetPosse.com.
Now I am going to bed. I promise. :-)
For example, Harold picked me up at the airport after my three day trip to Mississippi to speak at a law enforcement conference on a Wednesday. The next day I drove five hours to Myrtle Beach and stayed there until Monday. I started for home around 7:30 a.m. so I would have time to catch up on my work before Harold and I left on Wednesday to go to Freemont, Ohio.
Now keep in mind that I didn’t know until the night before I left that we were going to Ohio. I thought we were going to meet in the Kentucky office of the man we met with to discuss a project for NetPosse.com. When I did the Mapquest directions (I do this just in case Ms.Garmin gets lost) Tuesday night I realized for the first time where we were going!
Geeezzzz what a long trip! We left here around 7:30 a.m., took my mother-in-law (who has dementia) to the adult day care and off we drove to what seemed like the end of the world. Twelve rainy hours later we checked into our hotel room which was just a few miles away from Lake Erie! Thank goodness for cell phones and GPS. Between the two we found our destination without getting lost and I was able to book a motel room as we arrived in the area.
The next morning we had the meeting on behalf of NetPosse.com that lasted from 9-12:30. By one o’clock we were on our way back to North Carolina. The fall colors would have been pretty if we had not been in rain coming and going. We arrived around 12:30 a.m. Friday at our home in Shelby.
My son, who was home on fall break and a friend were sitting in the den playing Wii. Even though it was late and even though all I wanted to do was drop in my bed, I stayed up until 1:30 learning how to play some of the games.
Later that day, Friday I went to Clemson, SC to the Clinton Anderson Walk About Tour. Since the clinic started so early I spent the night before in a hotel in Clemson. Harold could not believe it when he called me at 10:00 p.m. and I was already in bed asleep! I actually went to the clinic to pick up a donation from Clinton for our auction in November. I was happy to scarf up a little down time to watch him work his magic with the horses.
It was not all down time though. I lost my car keys for a while but some kind soul found them and it was later announced over the loud speaker for the owner to “come ID their keys.” Since I am all about putting identification on anything that is important, my keys have my name, cell phone and a picture of myself and Harold with Idaho. Needless to say it was easy to claim my keys. I wish it was that easy for everyone to claim their missing horses.
I was perplexed as to why the finder didn’t just call the phone number on the ID tag though. I would have answered my cell right away and would have had a locksmith on the way to the event to open my car so that I could check to see if they had fallen between the seats or were covered up by something.
I had a nice day at the event. I was home on Saturday by 6:00 p.m., went to dinner with Harold and some friends, talked business again and came home to practice my Wii tennis game.
Living with two men it is rare that I have the opportunity to win anything when it comes to playing any game. Both are very competitive fellows. I played tennis on my college team so I just knew that I would be able to rough up my son a little in the game. And guess what, I didn’t even have to run on the court! My Wii “little me” did all the running for me! How great was that?
I thought I was doing great playing the Wii machine until I played my son at 5:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. Why that early? Well, it seemed that while he was on fall break that when he was here I was there, and when he was there I was here, wherever here and there were at the time.
He was about to leave to go to Asheboro, NC to play golf for the day before he went back to college. If I didn’t get up and play him then, I would not have a chance to prove that I could beat him! Maybe I am a little competitive too, at least in my own mind anyway.
And me as a great player really was in my own mind! Balls were flying past me! Zoom to my right! Zoom to my left! My “little me” couldn’t run fast enough to get to the balls he shot back into my court. He beat me in game after game after game. The two games out of 30 that I did win were cause for great celebration for me! I was sad to see him leave. I spent so little time with him on his four day break. At least we grabbed a little one on one fun time before he left.
It was 6:30 a.m. by that time. I could have gone back to bed which I am sure would be what most folks would do. Not me. I sat down and pushed the on buttons on the two computers on my desk. Yes, you read right. I work on two computers each day with NetPosse.com.
To those few that are here listening…thanks for being here and listening to the ramblings of an tired ole woman. It is now 1:51 a.m and I have just finished up my work for the day and this blog entry. I hope it helps you understand more about the “days in the life” of the person who runs NetPosse.com.
Now I am going to bed. I promise. :-)
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