Welcome to my weekend coffee share, can I get you a cup of coffee or tea? I can’t believe its the last day of September and we have moved into Fall! I do think this is my favorite time of year. Oh wait, I do love Spring too ~ no, no, I think FALL WINS! There is just something special about the turning of this season as we cool down as the weather changes and we head into the winter months. Here where I live the winter is extremely mild and there is so many fun things to do as well. As you know I love being outside and I am very fortunate to be able to ride my horses all year round. This month started out hot which is typical and we are now seeing some much cooler weather as we head into October which makes me smile! 😀

Earlier this month my daughter, hubby and I visited President Reagan’s Library in Simi Valley. It is almost exactly half way to my daughter’s house up north. So she drove down and we drove up and met there on a beautiful Sunday morning. They had a WWII Exhibit there which was leaving in early October and we have been wanting to visit this library for a long time. We spent most of the time seeing and reading all about Ronald Reagan’s life as we toured the museum which left not as much time for the WWII event. We did walk through it and it was put together well. I only took photos to share of the Library on this beautiful day (no photos of WWII exhibit).

My most favorite thing is the horse lover of not only Ronald Reagan but of her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth and so I just have to share these iconic photos that they had on display, so beautiful. May they both rest in peace. ❤

They had mock ups of so many things including the oval office. It was so educational learning all about his young life and into his political career. I remember him well as President of course, and I knew he had a ranch in Simi Valley. But I didn’t know how much of a ranch and horse lover he was until I visited the library. He had a whole bunch of saddles and belt buckles which were gifted to him by famous political leaders and others that gave him the belt buckles. Some buckles were so huge, just for display I am sure. Here is a few photos.

The belt buckles are all along the bottom of this four sided display. There were plaques explaining where the saddles came from and I had to take a photo of the jumping saddle plaque. Not only is that my discipline of riding (I use to show Hunter/Jumpers) but I noticed he had a horse named Sergeant Murphy! That is so cool, since I have a Murphy too! I know I am silly, but fun to have little connections none the less. 😀

This was definitely a highlight Air Force One and Marine one overlooking Simi Valley all enclosed in a giant hanger type area all built around the airplane and helicopter. It was seamlessly added to the library and they show photos of how the plane was disassembled and towed up the hill to its resting sight. Boeing put it all back together and it is opened to tour the inside of both. It is really amazing and VERY COOL to walk through where President’s and many important people sat and did their work for our country. They had a kind of musty smell inside as they are both well over 30 years old. Air Force One served all US presidents until George W. Bush and was retired in 2001.

I couldn’t resist taking a photo of my daughter taking a panoramic photo of Simi Valley. The library sits on top of a hill with a breathtaking view. I love taking candid photos when I can and thought this was a good way to end my share of this beautiful tribute and wonderful library. We have another library very close to where I live. It is President Nixon’s Library which is located in Yorba Linda. I actually drive by it every day I go to work. I have visited his library many years ago and it is not as large as President Reagan’s. At President Nixon’s Library it is located at the house where he was born. The house is still there and has been turned into the museum. I remember well the day President Nixon was brought in to be buried at this library as they had a big presence on the freeway as they drove him through and oddly enough we had a hail storm blow through on this day. So strange, I’ll never forget that day. We lived across town about 10 miles from Yorba Linda at that time.

How is your coffee? do you need a refill, or are you drinking tea? I decided to get a refill with my favorite sweet Italian creamer and I have some small donuts for a snack. Lets go outside as it is a beautiful weekend. I can’t believe we are heading into October, and as we say goodbye to September I will look back at some important things with my horses. I made a dental appointment with my vet with my young horse Murphy. He needed a tooth pulled, called a wolf tooth it sits right in front of his first molars and in his case it was at least an inch or so more forward than normal. (He should have had 2 one on each side of his mouth, but the right side no tooth descended which is considered normal. There are horses that do not have wolf teeth, my mare Chloe was born with no wolf teeth.)

This tooth was interfering with the bit he has in his mouth when I ride him and I will say he is much happier when I ride him now. He was drugged up so he stood good for the vet and they gave pain meds afterwards so he stays comfortable. He also got his teeth floated, which means they use a tool to smooth out the sharp edges that can occur from chewing on his molars. This will keep his teeth healthy.

I wanted to ride Murphy more often than I ended up riding him through the month of September, but we had some unbearable heat. It also can get really busy at the barn and so there were many days so many people came early to beat the heat that I just couldn’t fit in a ride. I have to remember I am in no hurry with Murphy and we have plenty of time together and since he is so young I am just going to take one day at a time. I am happy that I rode him yesterday and then again this morning. 2 days in a row! YAY! I have to remember to stay positive and on the days I do not ride I try and do some meaningful ground work with him. I also have my other horse Chloe to take care of and her and I head out on the trails when it is crowded at the barn. So in the end I ride just about every day, it just might be Chloe instead of Murphy!

I am having a ton of fun with this cross-stitch project I started in September! I love the colors and the quote. I have this really cool cross-stitch book full of patterns called Cross Stitch For The Earth, 20 patterns. They have some small designs that I can stitch up for gifts too! This fulfills my creative mind as I am addicted to creating something with my hands. Whether its cross-stitch or crochet, its so fun to create!

I better wrap this up as it is getting pretty long. I really wanted to do a wrap up post of September and am looking forward to October. I so enjoyed having coffee with you today and I hope you have a fabulous week (and month ahead). I have to thank Natalie for hosting our #weekendcoffee share hook up and let me know what’s been happening in your world!

Staying Busy Cowgirl,

~Diana ❤