I'm BAAAAACK!

Hell-O Friendly Bloggers!

My, my, my where does the time go?  I haven't posted since FEBRUARY and it's now DECEMBER?! WHOA! LOL!

Well, get a wonderful cup of coffee or tea, grab your glasses and a comfy seat and I'll write a novel updating you LOL!

Let's see, we'll start with the horse, then my knee, then my diabetes and Vegetable-tarian lifestyle change and that should catch you up lol!

In February I purchased a wonderful gelding, dead-broke to the trail, a black Tennessee Walking horse, unregistered. The perfect size and nothing but trail miles and mostly, smooooth as glass! OH I was so excited and happy that my search for my FTB (Forever Trailriding Buddy) was finally over after almost 4 years of searching, yay!  We were to meet for delivery as he was 18 hours away in the "Hollars" of Eastern Kentucky, and I was still suffering from my torn meniscus so much so that I could not make such a long drive w/o having to get out and stop to relax and stretch my excruciatingly painful knee that also only allowed me to sleep 2-3 hours a night at this point.  So, since they offered delivery for a fee, I accepted as I also purchased a trailer from them, used yes, but with a new paint job it would suit my purposes and make the 1000 mile journey and had several 1000 miles of life left in it.  It was to cost me a $50 hotel fee since they (two of them traveling together the Deputy Sheriff and his Wife and they are my age and younger, respectively), would need to spend the night making an 8 hour trip and their gas and no more. I thought that very reasonable.

Well, the first trip, the first week of March, was cancelled due to them having to absolutely attend their only grandchild, to-date, his second birthday party since they missed last year's due to "delivering horses".  We rescheduled for 2 weeks later.

That meeting, I was the one to cancel as my van died while hubby was at the Mega-lo-Mart with it. Repairs and back in action a week later had us rescheduled for another 3 weeks later for our meeting and picking up my horse and trailer.

Two days before the next meet, my trailer still wasn't painted, even though it was only to take one weekend, back when I made it's purchase, along w/the horse.

So, they asked for another MONTH ... what choice did I have? I've paid in full for horse, $1500 and trailer $650 plus a new paint job for it, $200. So, I waited ... another month. It's now the middle of May.

The trailer finally gets painted and we schedule to meet, now mind you I have friends whom I have to stay with along the way making an overnight stay, as they [the Deputy Sheriff and his Wife] are expecting ME to drive, knowing I was a newly diagnosed diabetic and struggling with my torn meniscus and can't make an 18 hour drive by myself anymore.  Again, they reschedule as he had some meeting that he could not get out of.  Allthewhile, I've asked for pics of their trail rides they were going on and taking my horse to keep him conditioned and legged-up, but Monday would roll around and I would call as I had not received pics and the answer would be, "Oh, we ended up delivering horses, sorry." or the most common one, "On no prob, we'll go right outside and get pics of that horse and trailer for you, they're just right outside, I'm looking at both through the window right now!"  Waiting on pics via email and nothing which would lead to a call the next morning with a response of, "Well, we just got too busy with showing horses that it got dark on us too fast".  All of which I was willing to believe because they sounded very sincere and after all, he was a Deputy Sheriff and, his, "word means everything in this business, and he'll stake his badge on it".  *shrugging*

After receiving yet another request to reschedule meeting to deliver my horse, which they now admit they were reluctant to do because it would cost them TWO day's "business", due to having to travel, spend the night and then return another 8 hours drive back, even though they are only driving a mid-sized SUV and have TWO drivers and I am by myself, I said, "This just isn't working out. Would you refund my money minus a $500 fee for taking him off the market?"  They had agreed to, "Not ever charge you board because you're our BEST customer and hay doesn't cost me anything because I have a hay farm". The answer to refunding me was, "Well, we can't do that." To which I responded, "Well can you sell him then? I mean you SAID at the time I purchased him, that you had several calls for him and that he was worth $2500"?  Hesitation and then an, "Okay, but he's a really good horse! and what about the trailer?" I said, "Please sell it, too".  They ask, "How much are you wanting?" I said, "Only what I paid". I even offered them a fee! I agreed that they could have any amount they got over $1200 for the horse and $700 for the trailer.

Then another few months of not listing him on their site, or the trailer, or even placing ads for either.  This went on for a few months, like I said. Then in July, they notify me that they were to start charging me board at $200/month starting in June since he had been there so long.  I reminded them of their agreement to never charge me any board, and they said that I was asking too much because he had been there so long ... ???!!!

This continues until October when I find a wonderful shipper, who is also a Trucker and Barrell Racer. She has state-of-the-art equipment, years of experience, a wonderful reputation and we connected during my search for a shipper. She is a woman of unquestionable and compassionate character which means she would take great care of any horse I shipped with her.  Plus, it helped that she was afraid of NO ONE and would go and get my horse for me, by force if necessary!  LOL!

I told the Deputy Shithead Jackhole and his Wife that they could have the trailer in liu of the board they wanted if they would simply put the horse on the trailer of the shipper that was coming for him.  They agreed. 

So, horse made it to my friend in Joplin, MO, where she initiated trying him out since I no longer believed anything the DSJ and his Wife told me and was NOT getting on that horse first!  

Turns out, he was never broke out, gentle as a puppy on the ground and buddy sour as the day is long in summer around here. It was a RODEO every time she went away from the herd. It gets better ... he was so starved down and beaten up that he looked like a rescue project in dire straights as opposed to the fattened well broke horse I saw in multiple videos and pics when I purchased from that DSJ and is WIFE  based upon his badge and reputation! OMG!

So, attempts to sell him as a total project horse were for naught.  I ended up giving him away, to an acquaintance that does a lot of training and enjoys doing that.  I know he'll have a very good home with her and if she decides to sell him, that's fine, too.  He should arrive at her place in a day or two and she lives here in Texas not far from me.  Go figure.

Next is my knee.  Long story short, a Nurse who is the wife of the Barn Owner where I will be boarding, should I EVER find my FTB, told me that the Doctor I was seeing had a very bad attitude. Which made me think, "Why did he say that if I were a member of the Dallas Cowboys, he'd be sending me over to get an MRI that same day to see whether or not I could play that weekend? Yet, send me home with medication and no diagnosis for resolution in the future???"  GEE what an idiot I am!!!  I found another physician that the Nurse/Friend recommended and VIOLA! I was scheduled for surgery August 9th and resolution! FINALLY!  

The surgery was a complete success. I had torn meniscus on both sides, damaged ACL and scraping of the arthritis all done to that left knee and you know what? The very minute I woke from surgery in recovery, that sharp, shooting pain that had plagued me since the previous NOVEMBER, was GONE!  There was pain from the surgery but that was NOTHING! I didn't even need the pain pills for cryin out loud coz it was just no comparison! LOL! Why did I NOT do this sooner?! SHeESH!  So, now I'm still walking cautiously and not always 100% but that PAIN is GONE!  The rest I'll figure out LOL!

Diabetes.  Well, in April, I was diagnosed and only at the initial stages as in my AC1 count was 7.2 and the scale states that number as being the entry level for diabetes. This lead me to start a Vegetable-tarian lifestyle, as I like to call it LOL! Coz I still eat fish and eggs on occasion .. but not together, EW! LOL!

This lifestyle change has lead from me being 273lbs. on January 1st of 2012, to holding steady at 236lbs. and heading down the scale.  I am attempting to incorporate exercise and I know when I FINALLY get my FTB and we can hit the trails regularly, that the rest will come off pretty fast.  The best news? By August 2012, I was no longer classified as Diabetic. I BEAT IT! WOO HOO!

I also cut out sugar and everything white, coz as we all know, that simply turns to sugar!

So, here I am, ready for 2013 and more, big changes, in a very good way LOL!  So, stay tuned and I hope you enjoyed catching up, I know for me it's a catharsis of sorts :)

Mahalo a nui loa and Hau'oli Makahiki HOU!
(thank you very much and happy new year)

*HUGS* and Alohas, 
Bridgette
:)

p.s. Since I love and prefer Facebook, you're welcome to friend me there, I'd LOVE to friend you, too! I'll have to search you though so email me your info as I'm severely block protected lol!

Sorry that I haven't posted in a while, folks but I'm baaack!


A bout of extreme pain found me at the Orthopaedic Surgeon's office, finally and my day went as follows:


"....... First, and most importantly, NO SURGERY, YAY! I do have a tear in my meniscus but he's waaaay more concerned about my Osteoarthritis :/ He said, that essentially, my lifetime of being a heavy-duty Jock and spending my childhood in the irons has caught up with me. But, I am far better off than a lot of his grown ups with my kind of history. So, for now, I have meds, which of course I do NOT want to take coz it seems like the potential side-effects far outweigh the illness! I take them for a week and if no change then it's cortizone injections. I have to lose weight, of course, and keep it way down and excercise to keep the knee fit. I have a serious case of Patellofemoral Syndrome, commonly known as Runner's Knee, a hairline tear in my inner meniscus and the osteoarthritis. He asked me to get serious about educating myself on arthritis coz I also have Rheumatoid arthritis in the knuckles at the base of my hands. Also, I have to go back to do something about my left ankle that I broke 3 years ago this month and never got set ... yah, getting old surely is NOT for WIMPS! But, I'm hobble-happy dancing coz I don't have to have surgery, dreaded that coz they want to keep you awake for it, no way no HOW were they gonna do that to ME! I'd get a twilight! LOL! So, getting ready for da pony now ... WOO HOO!"

So, now I can get back to getting ready for that pony/truck/trailer thing I've also been busy working on and getting ready for riding season, it's almost here!  WOO HOO!

As for Sierra's quilt ... well, it waits for me to get my quilting room set up LOL!

Gong Hee Fot Choy!

Happy Chinese New Year!  FINALLY!  Now I can take down the decorations LOL!  This is the year of the Dragon, so all fortune and challenges will be won to those with the courage of the dragon to fight for them!  YAY!


Here's to me finding my FTB (Forever Trailriding Buddy) and getting "Rigged Up" (finding or building my LQ - Living Quarters- trailer and pickup for the gooseneck) and camping to my heart's desire!


Til next time, *HUGS* and Alohas!

I LOVE Sundays :)

Well, it's Sunday, my favourite day of the week! I LOVE Sundays, they're so relaxed and especially when they're sunny, I love to take a nap for a few hours and just let everything go and soak in all the good stuff, kind of like recharging my batteries.


Hubby made a request for some of my Chicken and Dumplings or "Chunklings" as he likes to call it, so it's on the stove, smells yummy!  No, I won't post pics of food til I get a REAL cam, a good 35mm coz pics with just a regular digital come out scary yucky! lol!


I've gotten three rows of Sierra's quilt done and I should have the top completed tomorrow.  Then, it's get out the Flynn Frame, load it up and see what happens!  Oh yah, forgot, need to order the thread first, *DOH*! LOL!  So, in the interim another UFO gets done, YAY!


After talking with Sierra a bit, it was decided that Stars are the way to quilt it, she loves stars and I can do those all day long, thank goodness lol!


Off to blog land to see what everyone's been up to.


A special thank you to new followers and visitors as well, LOVE you stopping by and leaving comments!  


Keeping to my New Year's Resolution, I'm posting more frequently and doing more pics, too and soon, I'll have a giveaway to celebrate so stay tuned!


*HUGS* and Alohas!

Finally, A Design!

So, Sierra graduated from high school in May and has been in college since August. I had plans for her to take a quilt that I made, just for her, as a graduation present and whenever she felt homesick (college is 6 hours away :"'(  ..) she could instantly wrap herself in her mother's hug and make it through.  Well, you know how best-laid plans go and how I am so slow at quilting, c'mon, it's an "art" you can't rush an artist at work lol!  


So, I got fabrics that she loves, purple she says, not violet, not lavender (even though I got those as well to make something with, oh well, more for my "stash" lol!) but purple and  she loves pandas but I had no idea what I was going to make with them because she doesn't like "flowery" (unlike me :/) ... 


So, after 8 months I FINALLY came up with an idea!  10-Minute Blocks, DUH! LOL!  No fussing over tedious blocks, no flopping geese, just simple, large, fast and easy, lovely 10-Minute Blocks, YAY!  I am ecstatic! See?

Yes, this is me *mindlesslyhappydancing* LOL!

Anyways, back to the quilt ... so, here is one block ... 

I only got four completed when I had forgotten that I moved the ironing board and .... *BAM*!  I turned around, bumped the ironing board and off fell the iron, straight onto the tile ... Services will be held tomorrow around noon for those wishing to attend ... soon after a replacement will be brought home and I can finish her quilt!

Next, I'll need to decide on how to quilt it.  I know I'm going to use variegated thread and maybe even some purple sparkly something but can't decide if I want to feather circles it or stars ... still deciding ... either way, hope she loves it and feels every, single stitch, filled with love, just for her :)

p.s.  she's the dark-headed one in the pic upper right under "My Pride and Joy" ... the other is her younger sister, 'Lainey :)

My Prize!

Here is the Neko Panel (cat) that I won from Julie Fukuda in Japan, isn't it the BEST!


Thank you SO much Julie!  2012 is off to a GREAT start!