A Work in Progress….

On August 24, 2018 By DianaIn Living life, Projects3 Comments

I really wanted to share my husbands project. I started this blog thinking I would mostly if not only write about horses but as I have been writing I am finding that I really LOVE sharing my life and it’s stories. And so I just have to share my hubby’s hard work on his love of cars and his old Isuzu Trooper that we bought around 1992, it is a 1989 so almost 30 years old. It has had a few engines and he just brought it in to his mechanic to fix this that and the other thing so it is in great running condition. It’s the body work that he has been working on, and he calls it version 2.0 this photo is where just the sides are painted. He figured out and created the side metal additions. He had this vision, and I think he did an excellent job! I’ll share the photos I’ve taken of a work in progress. 😀

The car is only painted along the sides at this point and the rest is sanded as he gets ready to paint. He is putting on a lot of detail work, making sure everything is where he envisions it. He has replaced the rearview mirrors, which are removed in this photo. So much work, it may not look like a lot but he has put in a ton of hours on his car.

I wanted to share the roughness, here he has sanded the paint and he hasn’t finished the back-end yet.

This looks pretty ugly but look what he has done!

WOW! Right? Isn’t this beautiful? He just amazes me as this front end just blew me away when I saw it completed. I can’t see his vision as he takes all these parts off and then knows where they all go as he puts it all back together! I am not a car person, I think he does amazing work and I love his creativity. Here he is getting help from our son on putting the door panels back on the doors. He had to remove them to screw on all the metal paneling work he did. AND I didn’t take photos of him working on the roof, but he had to screw the roof rack on and had to figure out how to do that so it has complete support! Crazy! His arm one day was so cut up, he said the cat scratched him, NO I said, it was his car as he had to squeeze his arm up in-between rough metal places to screw things in and it cut up his arm. Guys just do the craziest things, but it is “his Love” it truly is as he has had so many different cars over the years, he is such a car guy. Love this guy! ❤ ❤ ❤

You can see a “C” stencil as he is adding all these letters and markings on this car.

This says it all! This is now his Air Force car which he is so proud to have served. He served two tours and is a Vietnam Vet. He was in the service before I met him and we are so proud of him and of our daughter who is a Captain in the Air Force currently residing and working at Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA. So thankful she is closer to home. I can’t wait for her to see his Isuzu version 2.0.

I’m having so much FUN sharing this I can’t tell you, as I’m so proud of all he does. I should probably have him read this as he knows I blog but does not read blogs nor is he on any social media. I will post again the completed Isuzu version 2.0 as the back-end and the roof racks are still a work in progress. I hope you enjoyed, do you have any fun projects you are passionate about? I’d love to hear from you, it is fun to see and show each others passions!

Passion sharing Wife,

-Diana

Walking Motivation and Pretty Trees!

On August 22, 2018August 22, 2018 By DianaIn Living life, Walking for Health and Well being3 Comments

I need to be walking and will be honest by saying I have a hard time fitting walking into my busy schedule. But I try to walk at least twice a week which I can do on my two days off of work. I would like to walk more often, but am happy I do exercise at the stables so it isn’t like I am just sitting around on my behind all day long. Of course, I do relax on my couch so that I can work on my blog (like I am doing right now!) and I also work on my crochet projects. I’m thinking of something for some Christmas presents this year. I have one idea that I may share in a blog later when I complete everything. But I digress as I wanted to share what I see on my walks around my neighborhood, beautiful trees! ❤

These trees have been on this empty lots for years, they are so huge and I bet they are very old. I live in the old town side of our little city and so we have lots of huge trees! The collection of trees are astounding and I am not a tree connoisseur and only know the names of a few but I do know that as I walk there is always something beautiful to look at and there are some that are still blooming, which makes it even prettier as I walk along taking in nature. I have to say that I can roll out of bed, not wanting to walk and just wanting to sit in my pajamas and have my breakfast and sip my coffee, and relax. I find that the less I walk the more I beat myself up over not walking, so when I take those first steps and take in the fresh air I’m already feeling the healing power of the outdoors. I look around and take in everything I see, from the birds singing to the trees and quiet streets I walk upon. It is nature giving strength in every step I take, I absolutely LOVE the outdoors. I have more photos to share, I think they are really cool! 😀

This tree is across the street from the other tree I featured above. This is so unusual and I believe is probably a really old tree as well. We do not have sidewalks in my town because this is Horse Town USA and is considered rural living. I am on the opposite side of the horse trail. We have over 100 miles of horse back riding trails in my town. If you read my blogs, you will know that is why I LOVE Norco! ❤ ❤ ❤

This is a crepe myrtle tree which thrive all over Norco. I had to take this photo because my girlfriend has recommended we plant these in our yard. My husband only wants palm trees and we believe he accidentally bought pigmy palms as around the front of our house they just never grew and are really small. We do have some tall palm trees, but he is stuck on only having palm trees as we want to buy more trees and take out the runts. I don’t see why we can’t have a bunch of different kinds of trees including palm trees as you will see I’ll share a photo of palms and all sorts of different kinds of trees, and they all look lovely together! Haha, my hubby is just stuck in his ways I think, only wanting a certain look I guess. He is so silly! 😀 😀 😀

I took the photo with the skinny palms on the left just to show there are so many different trees in the neighborhood. The middle photo I am walking into the morning sun and there are seven trees that are on this tiny houses land and they are absolutely HUGE! And the owner has a sign taped to one of the trees that says “Do Not Cut Trees” which I do not know who would come onto his property and cut his trees, they are just enormous. Definitely the biggest around so close to his house!! And the big palm tree that clearly needs to be trimmed look so pretty with all its tendrils or seeds hanging. You can see it is very close to the curb, and many here think of these palms like weeds as they just pop-up anywhere. I am not kidding, the day after I took this photo I was driving to the stables when I saw and heard chain saws as they removed this big palm tree! I couldn’t believe it, well I could, but what luck I got a photo right before the demise of this huge palm. Kind of sad, but I guess they didn’t like it in front of their house, or the cost of its upkeep probably.

I know trees can provide a ton of shade, which clearly will help keep your house cool. You can’t even see the house in this photo and I can’t even fit the tree in the photo it is so tall! It is incredibly beautiful, here is the sign on this trees trunk!

I wonder how old these trees are? They have been here untouched for the 15 years we have lived here, I think they are very old since they are so very big!!

I hope you have enjoyed my walk around my neighborhood. This photo is my house and the “weed” palms that my hubby took from tiny palms growing in the empty field across the street. Yes, he just dug them up and planted like you see and they are just growing like weeds, haha, but we think they are beautiful trees! We live on the corner and a bit up from the street which makes it nice because we live across the street from the Junior High School. So there is a bit of traffic when school starts and ends, but because we are not at street level the noise from the cars is minimal. I enjoy my walks and thought how fun it would be to share the pretty trees I see along my way!

Loving photography and the pretty trees!

-Diana 🙂

My Horsey Friends!

On August 14, 2018August 14, 2018 By DianaIn Barn stories, Horse stories, Living life, My Life as Grammy2 Comments

I LOVE all my horsey friends. This is my best friend Sally who owns a beautiful chestnut mare named Gracie. She has had Gracie for over 15 years and Gracie is now 26 years old this year. I have known Sally since Elementary school, shall we say for over 50 years!! Haha, we are getting old but we are always feeling young when we get to the barn and get our horses out for our trail ride. I am truly blessed and so lucky that Sally shares my LOVE of horses and am lucky she moved her horse out to our horse town of Norco many years ago. We have been riding together like we did when we were teenagers, and I enjoy every minute of every ride together. Here are a few more photos of this day, which happened to be Sally’s birthday! ❤ ❤ ❤

There are many other friends at our barn where we ride. We are all older women sharing our love of these beautiful animals, helping each other out and keeping an eye out on each others ponies while we are at the barn. I’ve ridden with many people over the years and we have a great group of women at this barn that I am currently boarding at and I feel so lucky that we all get along so well. As barns go this is definitely one of the best boarding facilities, it is so beautiful with all the grass that is grown to help reduce the dust, and the stalls are huge which can be hard to find. I will say that it hasn’t always been perfect as far as getting along with everyone, but we are all human beings and so there has been some ruffled feathers here and there but am so thankful that we have all been able to work out our differences. We wouldn’t be human if I were to say it has always been nothing but bliss and happiness. We are all very happy now, that is the important thing. I hope and pray it stays that way!!

Here are a few more photos of a ride and Sally is riding my mare Chloe on this ride and our good friend Jane is on her newer horse Irish and I am on Zack taking the photos. Irish is a beautiful chestnut Morgan and Jane has owned him for a year now and they are doing so great together. Jane use to have two Arabs but unfortunately they grew old and have passed over the rainbow bridge as they say and Jane asked for our guidance to buy a new horse. I suggested a Morgan as I had a great Morgan gelding named Ranger and he was the best horse, such a heart of gold and so fun to ride and own! I love Morgans, and Jane has a handsome boy. He is brave and only 6 years old this year but Jane is putting some nice trail miles on him and I believe he gets better every day. I know he is the love of her life as she LOVES horses as much as Sally and I do, its just what completes us and touches our souls.

I can’t write about my horsey friends without mentioning my girlfriend Peggy who is a great author and has recently moved to Yellowstone National Park! Her husband got a full-time job working as a craftsman at Old Faithful Inn. He may have a more prestigious job title, I apologise in advance for not knowing, but I’ve seen some of his work on the Inn and he does amazing work restoring and keeping the Inn in top shape. They will be enjoying their first year there this year including their winters which get a ton of snow. I so admire Peggy and her family and I helped take care of her pony Mel who is pictured here. I love this selfie she took with her pony who was shipped to Montana just a few weeks back. It was a bit of an ordeal for her to have to find a place for him to live or board as she can’t have him at the park and then planning on the shipping with coordinating with the Vet for needed blood work for the trip, We made it all work and I got to meet up with Peggy last weekend and it was so great to see her. I’m so happy to see her dream come true!! She is at home in her Yellowstone and I hope having her pony near her gives her some peace! I met her through her horses and mine many years ago, horse lovers FOREVER and friends FOREVER TOO! ❤

I can’t write about horsey friends without including my buddy, my granddaughter, Alice! She is such a horse lover born with horses running through her veins! Haha, she is just exactly like I was at that age, so we are kindred spirits. I feel like I keep repeating myself which I do, as I keep saying how blessed I am to have so much happiness in all who share my joys! Doesn’t her smile just melt your heart? Oh my, she is such a JOY! And my horses love her, they are so good around her, they just know how little she is and are so kind. Here is another photo of her, yes, she loves Chloe VERY MUCH! ❤ ❤ ❤

AWE, Adorable, She’s in her happy place and so am I. I hope you enjoyed my horsey friends! I know I enjoy them each and every day I get to be with them. Do you have friends that you enjoy hanging with and doing something special? This is what I live for and it helps keep me sane. Horses are definitely like therapy, and am thankful I can share and I hope to continue to share them with my friends and family.

Horse crazy loving life Grammy,

-Diana

Teeny Tiny Garden Update!

On August 7, 2018August 7, 2018 By DianaIn Gardening, Living life6 Comments

This summer is just crazy, and I know many will agree! It’s crazy hot and crazy wildfires, and I pray the fires will all go out soon even though I know the fight will be long and hard for those putting their life on the line. But I am so thankful we are not near any fires, no, we are inland enough to get a healthy dose of hot weather pretty much every day. My poor garden is really suffering and I feel badly only because I did not prepare better, but it is all a learning curve and boy have I learned a lot this summer! I have to thank fellow gardeners that have given me some great advice, and most of that advice I’ll have to try the next time around as my garden that once was mighty, even though it is small has wilted down and is just about ready to be dead. I never thought I would write about death, but my cucumbers have succumbed and my pumpkins are right behind. I think I will have one pumpkin, maybe, it’s not the size most normal pumpkins are and it is still early for a pumpkin but the plant itself I don’t think will make it more than a couple of weeks if I’m lucky. I’m SUPER HAPPY about my tomatoes! That is what I decided to put as my first photo, they are very happy tomatoes in a container and I hope they stay that way. I didn’t want to put photos of my sad pumpkin/cucumber patch, okay, here are a couple of photos. It’s just about done like I said, next time I will prepare the ground better and definitely I will lay down mulch to help with keeping things moist when I water! I can only post these tiny photos as its hard to look at, I’m rather embarrassed, sort of, well, it is what it is at this point! 😦 I know, I’m being dramatic…

As my teeny tiny garden is shrinking (minus cucumbers and soon pumpkins) I am planning on starting a new one in 2 containers that I have waiting to be planted for fall. Since I had to battle Mr. Gopher I am going to just concentrate on the containers. I will check my planting zone as I’m sure this will help my success in my gardening. I’ve known about these zones, I just haven’t taken the time to look and see what grows best where I live. Since my garden is tiny, I plan on keeping it that way until I get the hang of this gardening thing. I sure love watching my garden grow and so I will do my best with my fall crop. Haha, I have to laugh because it isn’t much of a crop but it is still a garden and really fun! 😀

P.S. I only got about 7 cucumbers that I am eating instead of pickling. They are delicious, sweet, succulent and only one that was bitter so I threw it away. Maybe I will try to grow more cucumbers. Next time. 🙂

Only one of my tiny herb garden is beaming and that’s my basil. It sure is shiny and green. The box for my herbs is really small which is fine since I need to learn to cook with fresh herbs! I have occasionally bought fresh herbs from the grocery store but I’ll be completely honest, I have NEVER grown my own herbs. Oh dear, I need to learn to eat healthier and cook and eat fresh and home-grown foods! I’m slowly getting there, better late than never I always say….

As sad as I am about losing some of my garden, my eyes and nose can’t believe my honeysuckle!! It smells AMAZING! And it is blooming like CRAZY! It’s just loving life and so it puts a huge giant smile on my face! I have to say that I love sharing my garden even though it is so very small. My little tea rose is loving life too like I’ve mentioned before. My other bigger roses are dormant as I think they bloom later in the fall or usually late winter into spring actually. So I’m not surprised they are not blooming right now. Here is another tea rose bloom. It is so pretty, I do love these plants. ❤

I hope you have enjoyed my gardening plights and joys. It is work, but it is rewarding except the part about the plants that don’t want to live any more. That part is sad, but everything else is really fun and enjoyable! If you have any gardening tips I’d love to hear from you!

Newby Teeny Tiny Gardener,

-Diana

Horses and a Foal, Grandaughter’s delight!

On August 5, 2018August 5, 2018 By DianaIn Barn stories, Horse stories, My Life as Grammy5 Comments

HAHA! The photo has character I’d say, a little sideways but FUN! A friend took this photo as I stood at the gate as my granddaughter gets to visit the new foal at our barn. My granddaughter just turned 3 years old and she just loves horses like I did at that age, I was completely obsessed. I think its safe to say that Alice is completely obsessed with horses too! We have such a great time when we are at the barn her and I, as we go and visit almost every horse in their stalls. We see all the different breeds and colors. I just had to share a few photos of these two little ones!!

So precious these little ones, and I am thinking I am glad I get to see this little filly here at our barn as it is such a responsibility to have a foal. I bought my horse Chloe when she was just turning 2 years old, the youngest horse I’ve ever owned. And she was not trained or broke to ride so I had the enjoyment of being able to do that with her, a dream I always had that is now fulfilled. Breeding and having a foal? I’m not so sure as it would be my luck to not be lucky enough to have everything go smoothly. It can be a costly adventure, I rather enjoy others and someday if I have the chance I can just start another 2 or 3-year-old. I’m thankful Alice can see a young horse up close, I don’t think you can get any closer! 😀

This is a very hot summer, hotter than we have had in a few years. I’m finding I have to rinse my horses off just about every day to make them comfortable. Even if they are not worked or ridden on the trail I am hosing off the dried sweat of the previous afternoons the next morning. They itch and scratch along the fence line with the dried sweat so I try to get that off as often as I can. I need to go buy some lanolin which I usually keep on hand. They sell in concentrate and you dilute in a spray bottle and it is so helpful to moisturize their skin especially if you hose them off a lot as I know you are also hosing off the natural oils in their coat. It’s like a double edge sword, you want to get off the itchy dry salty sweat but you also remove the oils too. I’m heading to the feed store tomorrow for sure! This pretty girl got a bath today and she so enjoyed standing in the shade in the cross ties getting a nice bath. It was a gorgeous day at the barn, enjoying a ride on my other horse Zack and gave Chloe a bath! I hope you all had a great weekend! ❤ ❤ ❤

Horse lover forever,

-Diana

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Mylife-and-Horsestories

Month: August 2018

A Work in Progress….

Walking Motivation and Pretty Trees!

My Horsey Friends!

Teeny Tiny Garden Update!

Horses and a Foal, Grandaughter’s delight!