Category Archives: random observation

random observation

I’m scared. Are you?

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I have to say, over the past few days, I have been reading like mad.  Everywhere I turn, there are huge warning signs about major problems and potential society breakdowns.  As I look at the politics in DC, I honestly wonder if a lot of this is trying to cause the financial reset that experts widely agree will occur in the near future (days, months, years? – I don’t know).

What if our elected leaders really do understand how bad things are financially and are using this shutdown/debt ceiling to stage the reset and try to pass off blame on the others?  The estimations on how bad things would get, range from no real impact to mass rioting and complete society breakdown.   What worries me more is, maybe the elected leaders don’t understand the gravity of our national financial situation.

Yesterday, I listened to the Presidential non-press conference.  He consistently made comparisons to the federal government and average American households and how the current situation in DC doesn’t make sense.  But then he argued we needed to just raise the debt ceiling and move on.  Except, can you envision a person calling the bank and saying “Hello Banker.  I would like another $80k in credit please.  No, I haven’t paid for my last $120k in debt.  No, I don’t have anymore income.  I just want to keep overspending.  Don’t worry, this will get me until at least next fall.”

Have you noticed if you do online searches, you get almost all results from within the US.  What are other countries saying about this?  It is hard to know.  All I know is the uncertainty in the country is disturbing.

I’m not proposing anything radical, but I am honestly scared about the future of our country for the next 1-2 years.

horse, random observation, Uncategorized

Mondays are for recovery

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Mondays need to be a day off to recover from the weekend.  Especially when Friday is a day off.

I had planned for Friday off work because who wants to work on Friday?  Friday morning, I worked with a new client and her horse.  The short version of the story is the horse has navicular, had a neurectomy 2.5 months ago, and continues to get worse.  It is a very complicated case, but hopefully we can get him back to soundness.  Then home to cut the grass and Alex’s birthday party began at 3.  6 – 10 year old boys.  We took them to Hopeville Pond for swimming, they had water gun and balloon fights for a couple of hours, pizza and a movie, and then camping in the tent.   At midnight when I went to sleep, they were still awake.  At 5:30 they came inside asking to watch tv and play xbox.  Alex was a wreck on Saturday, but had a good time.

Saturday included trimming horses in the morning, Anna wrapping up the birthday party, Vicki going to a party, picking up 250 bales of hay off the field, loading into the trailer (2 trips), and loading into the loft.  It was hot Saturday.

Sunday we got to work on fencing around the farm.  We pulled a section of board fence and reset the posts in a slightly different spot to change the flow of the paddocks and make the arena area smaller.  Now the grass arena is only about 140′ long by 90′ wide.  We also worked on putting in replacement fence posts in the front pasture and getting the electric fence up all the way around.  Starting today, the horses will be grazing in the front pasture.  The grass is over 3′ feet tall so we might occasionally lose sight of Huey.

We had an early dinner (5:45) and then headed out to the barn to saddle up.  The whole family left on a 50 minute trail ride starting at 7:15.  When we got back, Calli and I headed into the arena to work on some transitions and backing.

By the time the kids went to bed around 10, we were exhausted.  I guess it would help if we were not staying up until midnight every night. Too bad we can’t take a nap today.

The kids really enjoyed the trail ride and Vicki in particular is talking about her plan to ride the ponies every day.

random observation

My new ride

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Last week, I bought myself a new car: 2013 VW Jetta Wagon with the TDI engine. I will soon be commuting 20,000+ a year, and with trimming clients spread around, I expect to exceed 30,000 miles a year. While I love my truck and it still serves a purpose in our life, 14mpg just wasn’t cutting it.
So, 9 days later I added some diesel to the tank. First tank: 39.3 mpg.
I am extremely happy with the new ride. 11 years of driving a truck made me forget how comfortable driving can be.

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kids, random observation

Goodbye to cable tv

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After a lot of consideration, we are finally saying goodbye to cable tv.  As Anna started to talk about it on FB, it became apparent that we are not alone in our thoughts on this.  We are tired of spending around $230 a month for our “bundled” tv/internet/phone.  By cutting tv, we will save well over $100 a month.  Too often, Anna and I find ourselves sitting in the den at 11:30 at night with some stupid, reality tv or show that is just a ridiculous waste of time.

So, tonight, Anna and I are watching the finale of Biggest Loser.  Tomorrow, the cable boxes go back to Comcast.  We have been prepping the kids for this change.  Maybe we will stick with it for a month, maybe a year, but for now we are going to see how it changes things for our family.

random observation

Life since the concussion

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7 weeks ago, I got thrown off Calli and got a concussion.  You can read about the accident here and here (if you missed it).  Last night, while talking with some friends I realized haven’t really posted about the effects.

For the past 7 weeks, I have had a migraine almost every day.  I had a CT Scan and an MRI, and neither showed any damage.  I have followup appointments with a neurosurgeon every 2 two weeks.  I’ve been on Fioricet, which helps with some relief.  I recently started with Maxalt, but don’t think it really helps with the migraines.  I have spent the past 7 weeks mapping out what triggers the migraines, and trying to avoid the triggers.

Most of the triggers are optical.  I have seen an optometrist, who determined I need to start using reading glasses.  While it is likely temporary, the reading glasses help, to an extent, as long as I stayed focused on just what I am trying to read.

Extended time on the computer will start to affect me, but eventually, I need a break.  Reading printed pages are the hardest.

I haven’t been running since the accident.  Jarring motions, such as pounding a shovel into the frozen ground, will give me a migraine in a matter of minutes.

Bright, flashing lights are a problem. For example, headlights at night.  I avoid going out at night.  In fact, I have only intentionally driven after dark twice more than about 5 miles within town.

There is also a significant audio component to triggering the migraines.  I can hammer a nail without a problem.  However, if Anna was to start hammering and I didn’t see what she was doing, it would trigger a migraine.  There is something about the ability of my brain to anticipate the noise.  This is frequently an issue with the kids playing in the house.

Most days, it is just a matter of the day wearing me down until the migraine starts.  Sometimes I need to just lay down for a nap.  A few days a week, I have to go to bed after dinner while Anna handles bedtime.

Most days, it is just a matter of the wear and tear.  Luckily, trimming hooves doesn’t seem to bother me and is actually refreshing.

The doctors tell me while my symptoms have persisted longer than most people who get a concussion, it is still considered the acute phase since the injury.  It won’t be until the symptoms have persisted 3-6 months before they consider this a chronic issue.  Hopefully, we will never get to that point.

 

random observation

Life changes

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As many of our friends have alreay heard, we may be moving.  I am still transferring on order to Newport in May, however, the house we have been leasing for the past 2.5 years will be put on the market for sale this summer.  We are considering buying it, but we are also looking at other properties for comparison of what our money can buy.  In fact, Anna and I are spending the day today with our real estate agent looking at properties in Eastern CT and RI.  Lots of things are in consideration.  While we enjoy having a farm, we might have to significantly downsize.  It would be tough to move since the kids are settled in to the schools and we feel like part of the community.  However, if the deal isn’t right, we won’t buy the house we are in.  We just ask for thoughts and prayers as we figure out this change in life.

random observation

Blizzard Feb 2013

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Is it Nemo or Charlotte. Depends on tgr channel you watch. The name of the blizzard really doesn’t matter. We spent Thursday evening doing some extra prep for the storm, including loading extra hay into the horse barn. The snow started Friday morning just before 8. Within 15 minutes, the driveway way coated. Here are the Friday, 2/8/13 8am pictures.

By Friday afternoon, it had been snowing 6 hrs and we had 2-3″. We did the evening chores, first round of driveway plowing, and came inside. A rabbit was roasting in the oven and kids were playing Xbox when the power went out at 6pm. Definitely earlier than expected.
We changed dinner plans and moved all the bedding into the living room by the wood stove. Of course, it’s almost 75F in the living room, so I might have to change where I am sleeping.
Anna and I went out together to check on all the animals. They are all huddled up in shelters. We have somewhere between 12-16″ of snow already and it is blowing hard. The barn has drifts approaching 3′ against the East (windward) doors. The trees are VERY heavy with snow. We have branches leaning on the power lines to the house. Last I checked, North Stonington had over 1100 customers without power. We can run the generator in the morning to water the animals. I also might be using the Kubota to clear the driveway. The kids will probably appreciate if I pile all the snow in one spot.
Now the family is enjoying tea with water heated in a kettle on the wood stove. While I wouldn’t want to do this all the time, it is kind of cozy.

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goats, horse, random observation, Uncategorized

Life on the fringe

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Anna and I frequently find ourselves “on the fringe” of society.  What I mean by that is, we have moved away from much of what most Americans consider mainstream.  Why?  Primarily because the more we educate ourselves on decisions, the less we trust “corporate America”.  While we are very confident in our choices, we are always willing to learn more.  However, there must be actual factual background for choices and not just because it is what everyone else does.  Here are some examples:

Goat milk.  We chose to get dairy goats with the sole reason of using them for milk for our family.  While the stats vary according to the source, in general, it is estimated that about 70% of the world’s population consumes goat milk.  In the US, we drink goat milk, and we are on the fringe.

Raw milk.  Not only is the milk we drink from a goat, it is UNPASTEURIZED! That’s right.  We just filter and chill the milk.  Do you think that the 70% of the world drinking goat milk have pasteurization machines in the kitchen?  I completely understand why pasteurization exists – to cleanse milk of bacteria/contamination that is likely to be present on large-scale productions.  However, it is very clear that unpasteurized milk can be safely produced and consumed on small-scale operations (like a family farm).

Raising our own meat.  Our kids know the rabbits in the cages will be raised as meat.  The chickens will give us eggs, and then they too will be dinner.  You know what?  They are not traumatized by this, because they don’t have illusions that meat comes from a mysterious factory in another place.  Our children understand the life cycle better than some adults I have met.  Choosing to raise meat, that isn’t injected with antibiotics, somehow puts us on the fringe.  About 100 years ago we would have been considered normal.

Barefoot horses.  Facts: horses in the wild do not have shoes, do not get trimmed by humans, do not exhibit many of the pathologies and hoof problems in domestic horses, and live longer.  Yet, with all that reality, somehow Americans have become convinced that barefoot horses are the oddballs!  I seriously have to defend the choice to leave shoes off or remove shoes from horses!  Why don’t owners who have shod horses have to defend their choice since that is the unnatural path?  Owning horses without metal plates nailed to hooves puts us on the fringe.

Rejecting chemical fertilizers.  We choose to not use chemicals in our gardens, on our grass, in the pastures, or otherwise around the farm whenever possible.  I’m not saying there is never a time and place for that, but we don’t feel the default choice should be a chemical.  Organic practices put us on the fringe.

TV shows.  There are some tv shows that I will not watch based on principle.  I have never, and will never, watch American Idol, solely due to the name.  I refuse to encourage or support the idolization of individuals in society.  And yes, it extends way beyond tv.  I heard there was a football game on tv yesterday.  I didn’t watch it, because I am disappointed in the pedestal our society places professional athletes upon; the same athletes who are frequently poor role models.

Cooking.  We (usually Anna but me too) cook food.  I mean with actual ingredients.  For example, Anna made cookies, and it didn’t involve a single box with 1 egg and water.  Our kids look forward to special occasions because it means they might get to have a soda (there are none in the house).  Dinner at a restaurant is exciting to the kids.  McDonald’s is a rare treat.  Sure, there are some quick and easy dinner options in the cabinet or freezer, but they are the exception around here.  And by the way, we threw out all our non-stick and only cook in cast iron or stainless steel.

Church.  We go to church regularly.  This creates conflicts with horse shows, goa t shows, kid activities etc.  People are surprised when you say Sunday morning is a conflict because you go to church.  When did going to church become something for those on the fringe?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not judging those who differ in opinions.  I just can’t quite grasp how society seems to have shifted so much, that what was mainstream 100 years ago, has left us on the fringe…

random observation

10,000!

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Our website just broke 10,000 hits! In full disclosure, if 1 person comes to the site and looks at a bunch of different posts and pictures, they might tally up 20 hits. The counter doesn’t distinguish individual IP addresses, just total clicks. Coincidentally, I have learned that a lot of website that advertise numbers of hits work the same way.
So, 10,000 hits in 10 months. Not too shabby.