I’ve got to make this another short one today, the barn owners are leaving for FL this morning so I’m going to help them load/see them off, then the internet company is coming to set up the diminutive domicile with wifi, then I have to chores, then I have to squeeze 8 hours of work in. I’ll get y’all caught up on the house stuff and the horse stuff over the next few days.

Boy what a ride this last week has been though, huh? I try not to get political here often, but I’m not going to shy away from the subject when it’s on my mind, and it’s REALLY on my mind now. I think I’ve run through the entire gamut of emotions due to politics since last Tuesday.

It’s kind of weird because the deep sense of relief is also balanced with an understanding that we as a country are more divided than we’ve ever been, and there’s so much work to be done. I’m concerned about the damage that’s already been done, and what it could lead to further down the line. For now though, god it was nice to watch that speech on Saturday night and see a leader again. Dignity, respect, compassion, calls for unity, complete sentences… I’ve missed thee. It also majorly brought a tear to my eye to see so many videos of people around the world celebrating. People dancing in the streets in cities across the US, and in the UK, and church bells ringing across Europe. I’d forgotten what that feels like, seeing so much widespread joy. It lifted a little bit of the weight of 2020 off of my soul, even if only for a brief while.

Plus, like, the memes. Y’all know I love memes. We’ve even seen a resurgence of my favorite Obama/Biden memes. It’s giving me life right now.

The results of an election don’t solve all the country’s problems, not by a long shot. It’s a long, uphill slog, made even more complicated by the events of 2020. There is still a lot of work to do, maybe more now than ever. But I hope that this can be the beginning of a reboot. Seeing record numbers of voters felt amazing, especially groups who have historically not turned out to vote (and/or not been ABLE to, for myriad reasons that we as a country seriously have to address), and to have them be the ones who ultimately changed the outcome… I hope we’ve all learned from this. Seeing the true power of the people on display was amazing. And holy shit guys, we’ve FINALLY got a woman in the White House! Is there any greater sound than that of a glass ceiling being shattered?

I also hope that we – meaning all of us, no matter who you voted for – can start finding some middle ground. If we want it to work at all, we have to work together. Not just we the people but the politicians we elected and put in office as well. We as a country have to start listening to each other again, and respecting each other again. I hope we can. But what I do at least have now is hope.

And please for the love of god, stay off of Parler.

Yeah I know I know I know, we still need Glamour Shots sessions of Ollie and Ellie. No one has forgotten. It’s just that those require a lot more time + effort + people, which is hard to coordinate. They’ll happen at some point I promise. But we do still have a fun little photo session this week anyway! In preparation for their journey to Tennessee, the babies have been introduced to the trailer. Well, the trailer isn’t a totally new concept for some of them, like Ollie who had to go to the vet for his butt abscess. It’s always preferable to give them lots of time to check it out and get used to it first before they start the formal trailer-loading training or have to go for a ride anywhere, though, so the trailer was backed into their pasture, opened up, and left (with supervision of course) to let them check it out in their own time.

Ollie, being the most experienced of the babies when it comes to the trailer, took it upon himself to introduce it to all the other babies. First he summoned everyone….

Then he explained: DIS, my frenns, is a Magic Box. You gets in dis box, and it goes ZOOMZOOMZOOM and den when it stops you is in ANOTHER WORLD. Come see!

Ollie: alright, there we go, all aboard! Let me just find the button to start this thing…

Both girls: He doesn’t really know how to work it does he?

Ollie: YES I DO! We just has to stand here and wait. Oakley: I think you’re full of… *poops*

Everyone: maybe dis Magic Box is broken.

Luckily Ollie is never one to be deterred for long.

Ollie: I didn’t wanna say dis before because I don’t wanna brag, but I’m also a mechanic! Let’s take a look under the hood here and see–

Ellie: WHAT IF WE JUST BITE IT?

Ollie: Um, yeah… totally! That’s what I was gonna say! Let’s bite it!

Ollie, whispering quietly to himself: please work Magic Box, I wuv you…

Alas, despite their best efforts, no amount of biting could make the Magic Box work. Luckily even a broken magical box, while incapable of transporting you to other worlds, is still a really fun thing to explore and hang out in. Well, for some anyway.

Ellie: everything the light touches is my kingdom!

Ollie: UM, who put dees windows SO HIGH? Dis a discrimination box!

Ellie: Oh hey, I found a hooman-in-da-box.

Ollie: Oh good! Excuse me hooman, I need to speak to a manager. Dis Magic Box is BROKEN and also it keeps telling me I’m SHORT. You call dis a chest bar? Dis a THROAT BAR! I’m NOT short, I’M FUN SIZE!!! Dis is a VERY MEAN BOX!!! One star Yelp review!

And where was Remi during all this, you may ask? Hanging out with his emotional support animal, Sadie, of course. He’s no fool.

Remi: haha, suckers! Have fun with your dumb broken box!

Maybe next time the box will be a little more magical. Happy Friday everyone!

I’m gonna just… read the room here this morning and guess that none of us are really up for anything mentally taxing or stressful, right?

At least, I know I can’t. My brain needs to be distracted by happier, prettier, preferably 4-legged things. And it just so happens that it’s Irish auction season again, and this year they’ve moved to offer online bidding, and thus greatly improved their online catalogues. Not that I could afford to import anything, but ya know. It’s fun to LOOK. Although definitely insert my usual diatribe about please buy American-bred horses whenever possible, because y’all know how I feel about that. But it just so happens that I need a distraction BAD, and there are Irish auctions online with lots of pretty pictures and videos and horses GALORE, and I will window shop my worries away because I’ve been raised in a materialistic society and that’s how we cope with our feelings OKAY?

So here ya go:

Goresbridge

Monart

I’ve made it through all the Goresbridge horses but granted only about 1/3 of Monart. I fell in love before I even made it out of the first row at Goresbridge and nothing else has yet to compare. Anyone who reads this blog and knows of my admitted Tullabeg Fusion stalking obsession will be quick to spot the one I fell for.

She’s definitely not the fanciest horse in the sale, but true to Tullabeg Fusion’s typical style she looks genuine, forward-thinking, and uncomplicated. And she’s a mare. And she’s golden. Check, check, and check. What organs do I not really need and how much are they worth on the black market? Just curious.

Someday I’ll get my golden Tullabeg Fusion filly. Someday.

I’m also drawn to all the Ramiro B’s pretty much without fail, which also isn’t a surprise. My second favorite pick though is one for Michelle, a pretty 3yo filly that could do double duty as a sporthorse and broodmare. Because I’m SUCH A GOOD FRIEND. Granted, she just bought a filly in Germany so this one is definitely not happening, but now we’re both drooling over horses we can’t have. That’s what friends are for.

Ironically her sire Dignified stands at the same farm as Tullabeg Fusion, so I’ve seen a lot of his offspring too on their social media and almost always love them. Not necessarily for me to own and ride, but in general. Clearly if/when we finally make it to Ireland no one should let us within 100 miles of Tullabeg Stud or we might black out and buy a bunch of things we can’t afford. They’d all be pretty though.

What say ye, fellow window shoppers? Which ones would you want to take home? Let’s look at ponies for a while instead of the news.

Well guys, the compact castle is officially livable! We tied up all the remaining essential to-do’s this past weekend, getting the water hooked up, the gray tank installed, the pump tested, and the Incinolet put in. SO and I also completed our walk-through list of final items for the builder to come address (like the crooked kitchen drawer and the non-working porch fan), checked out all the new appliances, and figured out how the mini-split heat/ac units work. We definitely have fancier technology in the new house, we are officially living in 2020. Turning on the ac/heat and changing the temp with a remote is pretty fun, and there’s a dehumidifier option too. Ok, maybe it doesn’t take much to impress me.

As with all projects, a couple things weren’t quite as straightforward as hoped. There was some particularly annoying PVC that would only allow itself to be cut very slowly by hand, and drilling the hole through the side of the house for the Incinolet was a fun one. It’s a pretty big hole. Getting things to line up perfectly is annoying. But after a few slight changes of plan/approach and a little more time than estimated, it all came together fine. And while the guys were in there working on the toilet (I can say unequivocally that three people DO NOT fit in our bathroom) I put together my fanceh new porch-sittin’ chair.

And of course, while I was putting the chair together I had to stop to take a picture of what was going on directly off the side of my porch.

So at this point we’ve got:

power – check

water – check

toilet – check

tank – check

functional appliances – check

a/c and heat – check

Finally it’s 100% live-in-able!

I haven’t quite moved in yet though, because on Thursday a house-cleaning service is coming to do a post-construction clean (somehow on Thursday I managed to schedule the farrier, the chiro/acupuncture vet, and the house cleaners, luckily all about 2 hours apart). As you can probably imagine, in the process of towing the house 4 hours across Texas, a lot of construction dust shook loose, plus we’ve now been tracking in and out a lot as we’ve gotten everything hooked up. The cleaners will come and scrub the floors, baseboards, windows, sinks, shower, counter tops, and cabinets, and in an hour they’ll finish a job that would probably take me most of a day. Money well spent. After they’re done I’ll start moving my stuff in, with the bulk of it (and myself) coming on Saturday. Luckily there isn’t really that much to move so I don’t think it’ll be too bad. The bed is the biggest thing by far.

For now I still have plenty to do. I’ve been selling furniture on Marketplace like it’s my damn job (and indeed, yesterday I made more selling my old rando furniture than at my actual job) and it’s pretty much all gone now. Except for the stuff that SO needs in order to keep living there as he does the minor renovations/repairs to get the big house ready to rent, anyway. A sofa, tv stand, end table, and coffee table. Oh, and he’ll be taking over the bed in the guest bedroom. Otherwise all the other furniture is gone, two whole rooms entirely cleaned out and partials of two more. The rest will be sold when he’s finished there and ready to move into the compact castle, since the only piece of furniture that’s actually coming with us at all is our bed, which I’m bringing with me this weekend. Everything else… gone. It’s like a massive cleansing. Feels nice.

Aside from selling anything that’s not nailed down, I’ve been starting the next stage of things for the new house too. Like the skirting and back stairs, which I accepted a quote for and am now just waiting for scheduling. I definitely want to get that all sealed up sooner rather than later. And getting the WiFi people out to set us up. And registering all the appliance warranties. And getting insurance finalized. Super fun things like that.

I haven’t really started buying much stuff for the new place yet, admittedly. Everything else has taken priority (and all my money) at this point. The sofa will probably be the next thing, followed by a coffee table, so that I have somewhere to sit that isn’t the bed or the egg chair. Minor detail. The few things that I have ordered are probably not that interesting… new towels, bathmats, a couple door mats, a toilet paper holder, hand towel ring, trash can… the boring essentials that I will need in order to fully function in the space. I figured we’d start with that and then try to wrap our heads around everything else once I’m actually there. For now I’ll just be taking over some dishes/silverware/kitchen items from our current collection (which SO likes and I do not, so we’ll see who wins that one in the end) so that I have what I need to start with in the kitchen. Hopefully SO will be done with the big house stuff within a few months and then we’ll both be moved in to the little house (along with all our stuff). There’s a lot to do at the big house though, and he’s gotta do it all in his spare time, so… we’ll see how long that really takes.

By this time next week I’ll be settled in and hopefully able to do another little mini-tour with some actual STUFF in there rather than just empty! We’re so close now…

As you may have noticed, things have been a little hectic around here as of late. The barn owners leave for Florida this weekend, so it’s officially crunch time for house stuff, and while the petite palace is officially livable now (we’ll talk more about that tomorrow) there’s still plenty to be done. Including, like… packing and moving. But anyway, all of this is just to say that my blog and social media have obviously been the first things to fall by the wayside as I juggle all of this, but it’s eaten into the horses’ schedules as well.

For Presto it’s really no big deal. I was planning on giving him a month off anyway, and while granted I was thinking more like December or January, now works out fine too. He’s had three weeks off already so I figured we might as well extend it and make it an even four. He’s continued to put on obvious condition with the addition of the Platinum to his diet, and him having some time to himself to fill out and take a break certainly isn’t the worst thing as his body is changing. He’s really looking good right now, that topline is filling in and he’s so shiny (even dirty and with his scruffy winter coat), he looks more and more like a real horse every day.

Granted, while a little vacation is probably the best thing for him right now, he doesn’t seem to really be enjoying it as much as I’d hoped. I bring him into the barn once a week to groom him and pick his feet, and while he’s always very eager to come in, I literally have to DRAG HIM back to his pasture.

Honestly I think he’s mentally ready to start doing a bit more and having a more steady job. The once a week rides and now this time off just don’t seem to be enough to keep his brain happy anymore. He craves stimulation, he always has, and as he gets older he seems to want more and more. And if you don’t provide it he will make it himself, which generally leads to something being broken. Like… his brand new unicorn blanket.

I don’t even think that thing made it 24 hours before he ripped the front velcro panel off. Luckily that panel isn’t necessary for the blanket to function, but still. If he could NOT destroy his cute expensive clothes IMMEDIATELY, that would be great. At least give it a month or something. Humor me, kid.

He’s about to get his wish though, because once the other horses leave for Florida it’ll just be him, Henry, and Quinnie (the bossmare) left, and they’ll all 3 be in the barn at night and turned out during the day together. It will be interesting to see what Presto does without his fellow baby friend JB to be silly with him (although I have to be honest, I think poor JB might actually enjoy his respite from Presto). Henry will play and be goofy a little bit, but he definitely has his limits. Either Presto will have to grow up some or he’ll spend the winter really really missing JB. Maybe both. He seems to enjoy being a barn horse though. He might enjoy it less when he learns it comes with a bath and a bodyclip, but no one tell him.

Henry hasn’t been totally off work, but he’s definitely missed some rides here and there. That’s also coincided with some cooler weather, which has made for a pretty fresh and sassy Henry. This is what he looked like on Thursday AFTER his canter sets.

It was meant to be slow canter sets but mostly it was a lot of crowhopping punctuated with bursts of racehorse speed as he spooked at a bush, bird, leaf, grass, my jacket, and whatever other things he made up as valid reasons. After a long hot summer it’s finally HENNY season again and he’s delighted. I’m always happy to see him feeling good, so no complaints from me. He’s, uh… still kinda chubby though.

I think (hope? knock on wood…) by this time next week things will have settled down some and we’ll be finding our new normal. At least I’ll be moved on site at the barn and won’t have a big commute to deal with, which should make it easier. The only real perk of the 2020 dumpster fire is the work from home part. Sign me up for that permanently please. The boys also have a farrier appointment this week and a chiro/acupuncture appointment this week (Presto’s first time for bodywork) and I signed Henry up for a couple jumper classes at a charity show in 2 weeks. I’m going to try to get Presto legged back up in time to film an entry for an online horsemanship class, but that might be too ambitious. We’ll see. More exciting things are coming, I promise!