My Weekly Smile; Aug 5, 2020 – Birthdays!

On August 5, 2020 By dprastkaIn Living life, Love being Grandma, weekly smile13 Comments

Welcome to my weekly smile! And what makes me smile this week is BIRTHDAYS! YES! It is birthday month. The first birthday this week which has been celebrated is for my beautiful grand daughter, Alice. She turned 5 and I can’t believe she is 5 years old and is starting kindergarten. I was able to get a care package together with lots of presents for her and some extra gifts and baby clothes for her baby brother. She is so special to me as grand children are and I know not everyone is a grand parent, but it makes me wish as I think back that I was able to see and be with my grand parents. They lived states away and I rarely saw them. May they rest in peace.

As I am smiling at the wonderful photos I will share, I am also smiling at all the birthdays this month. My brother’s birthday was this week also. He lives in Reno, NV and we do not visit as often as I would like so am hoping some day I can visit all my relatives more often. Something that I was planning on doing this year until travel was stopped or hampered, darn it all…. but let’s talk about smiles! Stay on track, Diana! Lol 😀

*Beautiful, special, loving grand daughter!*

*She’s funny, happy, playful, silly and oh so ADORABLE!*

Missing her like crazy! My son has asked me if I could come and babysit these cutie patutie grand kids some time soon as he would like to take his wife out camping for a weekend get-a-way. I would absolutely Love to do this but it is all just in the planning stages right now, so I can wait patiently and hopefully something will fall into place. The way things have gone this year its really flipped everything upside down and this is my weekly smile so let’s keep on smiling, shall we? YES! What makes you smile? Here is more!!!

*This is my best friend, Sally! It is her birthday next week!*

The celebrating continues as next week is my best friends birthday! She reads my blog posts so “Happy Birthday Sally!” She will be surprised to be one of my featured photos! She brings me SO MANY SMILES as she is my companion with her beautiful horse Gracie. We will be trail riding later this morning. I CAN’T WAIT as ya’ll know how much I Love my ponies and my trail rides! I will help her celebrate next week because that is what friends are for, right? She is like a sister to me as we have been together since we were in grade school (over 50 years!) we have shared so much together. I’m SMILING from ear to ear! 😀

I’m going to wrap up my smile post today wishing all my relatives a Happy Birthday. There are 2 more sister’s with birthdays this month. One is August 23 and the other is August 26 and to be honest I can never remember who’s is on what day, but Facebook will remind me and/or I will look on my calendar list of birthdays. My nephew’s birthday is Aug 14th and I believe my other nephew’s wife has a birthday this month too, busy month. HAPPY BIRTHDAY family! ❤

Thanking my son for the wonderful kitty photos, these brothers are so adorable. I am so thankful I have a place to share all my smiles! I thank you for visiting and am hoping you all have a wonderful week and to remember to smile and enjoy each and every day!

Feeling grateful, Happy Smiling Grandma!

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; Mini Vacation Fun!

On July 31, 2020 By dprastkaIn Living life, weekend coffee share22 Comments

**Weekend Coffee share is a time for us to take a break out of our busy lives and enjoy some time catching up with friends (old and new). Please grab a cup of coffee** ***or tea and share with us!***

Welcome to my weekend coffee share and I am sitting in my daughter’s apartment not far from the cafe where I took this photo of my coffee in Orcutt, CA. It is so beautiful up here on the coast with the best weather! The high’s here are in the low 80’s and at night cools to the 50’s. We went for a cool morning walk this morning as it was foggy with the marine layer which has been rolling in each evening. Such a nice relief from home which is in a heat wave this week! Crazy, we picked a good week to visit.

My daughter can’t come home and visit as they still have restrictions on traveling as she is in the military and not allowed to venture fair. Not worth detailing all that out but since we are just over three hours away, it is not hard for me to take some vacation days which I need to use anyways and we just drive up and stay with her and this visit we did some shopping for my grand kids and put together care packages which will thankfully be delivered on my grand daughters birthday! I am SO EXCITED WE were able to get that all together yesterday.

*On our way to Pismo Beach. I like how the clouds leave a shadow on the hills!*

Today we ventured out and traveled up the coast to Pismo Beach. I took some photo’s I will share and a short video of the Pacific ocean and some pigeons that thought we had food for them. 😀 In Pismo Beach they have this AMAZING cinnamon roll shop which is thankfully open for take out only. It’s called Old West Cinnamon Rolls, and oh my, we bought an original, a pecan and one with cream cheese frosting and then split them up to share! ❤

*My son and daughter Pismo Beach pier. Cinnamon rolls in that box!*

After we cut up the cinnamon rolls and began to eat them my daughter says we should have taken a photo! Darn it all, I wish I took a photo but my hands were so sticky even though we had plastic knives and forks I couldn’t get my phone out and didn’t want to stop eating them to be honest. So DELICIOUS! I was able to get some photos of the beach after cleaning up!

It wasn’t too crowded thankfully as you can see not very many people on the board walk to the pier. The pier is closed but the beaches were open and you could see people kept their distances from each other which is good. There were some surfers too. There were plenty of shops and restaurants open. Masks are mandatory everywhere in CA so we always wear them on all outings. The restaurants here in California are all serving outside with all the tables with umbrella’s or easy ups to block the sun. I feel really badly for all the business’s so it seems this is working pretty well. All the fast food joints that have drive thru’s are drive thru only and the other ones like this cinnamon roll place only allow 4 customers at a time into the building and there are plenty of lines out the door waiting to buy food. These are crazy days but it seems to all be working! I always carry wet wipes and we always wash up when we get home. It was a FUN morning!

The pigeons were being fed by some people nearby and thought we had food too! Nope!

After enjoying our cinnamon rolls and walking around a bit we then headed up the coast to a small farm that had some goats and chickens, cows, typical farm animals – Avila Valley Farms. You could buy food to feed them but what we went there for was the farms store. I bought some raspberry pepper jelly, honey which is from a local beehive and some peach salsa. I wanted to get unusual items to try as they are all made locally. There was so much to choose from, fresh produce, my daughter bought a bunch of items that she needed so it was a fun stop. We bought fresh artichoke’s and are cooking them up now as my daughter and I LOVE FRESH artichokes. (The men in my family won’t touch them!) We boil them and eat the meat off every leaf and then devour the heart! YUMMY! We are having a salad with these beautiful, delicious artichokes.

Thank you for joining me on my weekend coffee share adventures! We are traveling during the week as I will be working Saturday and Sunday night shift so we travel home tomorrow. I thought since I missed last weeks coffee share I really wanted to join in this week. I am so happy to be able to visit with family and spend time with them really fills my heart and makes me so very happy! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and if you are sharing coffee I will make sure to stop by and join you.

Happy traveling Grandma and Mom,

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; Gardening and Outside Fun!

On July 17, 2020 By dprastkaIn Living life, weekend coffee share27 Comments

Welcome to my yard from Spring as I reminisce. I am missing my roses, they are not blooming right now and so I thought I would feature these beauties. It is amazing how this rose starts out a darker yellow and pink and then fades as it ages and opens up as you see these two roses blooming next to each other. They are heavenly! Can I get you coffee or tea? Iced is my preference on these warm summer days. As we sit outside enjoying this beautiful summer day and chat, I will tell you how I am looking for tomato recipes as I am getting a lot of tomatoes! Lol 😀

I am loving all these tomatoes and my neighbor is growing them as well and has given us eight more that are in my fridge. The lighter ones you see in the photo I just picked today. I read that it is good to pick them as they start to turn and then you can let them ripen on your counter. They are absolutely scrumptious!! I have been eating them on salads and in my sandwiches but I want to use them in some recipes. I know I can make salsa and spaghetti sauce. I looked up baked tomatoes and the recipe I found looks delicious! I’ll let you know how it turns out if I bake them. (Basically, they are stuffed and baked with breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese, garlic, you know…. all the good stuff!) I am also thinking of making homemade ketchup. I LOVE ketchup! Do you have any good recipes when you have a lot of tomatoes?

My teeny tiny garden – container gardening is working out very well. I have mulched it and I think its helping tons. The plants look very healthy and I know it might look crowded but the bell peppers don’t take up much room. I have two bell pepper plants and one tomato plant. I knew I would have a ton of tomatoes with just one plant, and I didn’t know if the bell peppers would grow well, so I guess that’s why I got two of the bell peppers. You never know what will live, and I haven’t killed a tomato plant to date! I wanted to share a couple more photos of some plants that are looking great. Can I get you a refill? I better get more iced coffee, cafe mocha is my go too..

These really are house plants but the weather is mild enough here where I live that they thrive really well completely in the shade outside on my front porch. I have two of the variegated philodendrons on my porch along with an ivy and of course the arrowhead.

I have a story about the Arrowhead. My hubby came home from work one day after our second son was born and walked into the house and I will never forget I was washing dishes and he walked up to me and asked me how I was and I just burst into tears!! I could not stop crying, and he was very consoling but the hormones raged and the postpartum blues had hit me hard. Usually about two weeks after birth I just can’t control my emotions. The next day he came home with a beautiful plant arrangement. It had a small palm and this arrowhead philodendron, and it meant so much to me that he bought these to help soothe my hormone depression. This arrowhead that is thriving on my front porch is 31 years old this year! AMAZING! I think all my potted plants on my porch are well over 20 years old and going strong. ❤ ❤ ❤

*My huge Ivy on my front porch! It’s VERY HAPPY!!*

Oh dear, I hope I am not boring you with all the plants. The plants are looking so great it just makes me smile and so in turn makes me want to share them. Since we are outside, how about we head to the stables and we can turn out the horses! GREAT IDEA! 😀

*Gracie and Chloe enjoying a turn out in arena!*

*One of her favorite things to do, eat!!! Especially grass! Mowing machines!*

Thank you for visiting today and I enjoyed our visit together. It is great to reminisce and to share my garden adventures. I would have shared baked tomatoes, now that would be a perfect lunch! I hope you are enjoying summer, I know I am the best I can.

Happy gardening horse loving gal,

~Diana

Weekend Coffee Share; July 4th Weekend!

On July 5, 2020 By dprastkaIn Living life, weekend coffee share16 Comments

May peace, love, and happiness always be with you! 
Wishing you a very happy Fourth of July ❤

Welcome, I got back from my first walk in about a month. I was giving my knee time to heal and it is progressing nicely. It got a little sore as I was on the last leg of my walk which was just under a mile which I didn’t mind because I knew it was a good sore. Meaning I need to strengthen my knee and I know I didn’t over do it, just got it working so that I can get back to my normal walks. I took a few photos when I was out this morning. It was a nice 65 degrees (18C) this morning which is so nice to walk when it is cool. The high today is expected to be in the 90’s – 96 (35C) to be exact and believe it or not as long as it stays under 100 degrees it is tolerable to be out and with my horses.

I forgot to offer you a some ice coffee or tea? I am thinking it is summer and already pretty warm and so the iced drinks are just so refreshing. It’s definitely summer and we try and ride early to beat the heat and am hoping we don’t see too many days over 100 degrees. We don’t ride when its that hot, and we try and keep the ponies cool by hosing them off on really hot days. My girlfriend and I have been enjoying this weekend and trail riding on our ponies. I was able to take a short video I will share. I have so many ropes to take care of when I am riding and taking Zack along ponying him that I have to be careful. Chloe is a steady trail horse and the trails we ride on they know very well. I am very grateful having such great trail horses!

*My girlfriend and I, not sure what she is pointing at? Lol*

Our 4th of July trail ride! LOVE our ponies! ❤

I hope the video plays correctly. I know the last one worked fine. It is so FUN to share, we have such a great time and our ponies bring us much joy and happiness. I say this all the time and can’t say this enough. We have such a connection with these giant beasts, they rely on us to keep them in a safe place and we in turn try and be gentle, kind and give them guidance in a way that is respectful for both horse and human. They really understand so much and they always amaze me how smart they are and how we can actually communicate with each other. So MUCH FUN!

Thank you so much for enjoying coffee with me today. This weekend we celebrate Independence day and I can’t believe how different this celebration has been this year. We heard and saw some far away fire works from our front porch. There was plenty of fire works going off around the neighborhood (which is illegal) but plenty still fire them off which I know can scare many animals. My horses do fine, I have one dog that gets nervous but they did great as we keep them near us through the worse of the fireworks going off.

I hope you all have a relaxing weekend. I hope you were able to get outside even if it is a walk around your block. I think being able to get out of the house and doing some sort of exercise is so important for your mental health. I am not an expert mind you, I just know that one needs to get some fresh air and keep moving no matter what age you are, this is so important and can sure bring smiles your way, I know it does for me! 😀

Happy 4th of July Weekend!

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; Summer is Here!

On June 20, 2020 By dprastkaIn Living life, weekend coffee share14 Comments

She is clothed with strength and dignity
and laughs without fear of the future
                                                    ❤ Proverbs 31:25

I am sitting here enjoying my cup of coffee reflecting back to all the summers that have come and gone. Boy, has there been a lot of summers. Haha, I am getting old (but feel young) and don’t really want to count them all but I will say I usually have really fun summers. We live where in the summer it gets a bit hot but honestly, you can’t beat the weather here in Southern California. There is no humidity and we are close enough to the ocean that the nights cool off really well. There is a lot to do in the summer if you have the time. I am not retired, so I have to take vacation days to enjoy any extra days off to explore or enjoy weekend retreats. 😀

As I am finishing my coffee, may I get you something as we sit outside enjoying the cool morning? We are still in June and so we usually get a lot of marine layer that rolls in and keeps us cool. Us locals call June “June gloom” Haha, it is very welcoming as it is the last of the cool weather as we approach July. I am feeling more confident each day I see all the tomatoes growing in my container. I am watching a lot of Youtube videos learning lots about tomato gardening. I didn’t realize there is so much to this to get the best out of your plant and fruit! I have grown before, but my plants were tiny with barely any tomatoes. I am learning a lot this year!

I think it is fun to learn about gardening. I think container gardening is a great way to start, plus I don’t have to worry about gophers and I do not have any other critters that climb into my containers. My girlfriend who lives in a different area, about 15 miles from where I live planted veggies in a couple of containers last year and once the plants started to sprout up (she started with seedlings) something jumped into her containers and ate everything that she tried to grow! Maybe ground squirrels? She never saw the critters but needless to say she gave up after several attempts. She ended up giving me her containers. She is having better luck with fruit trees! How is your coffee? or can I get you something else? The sun is still not out, very overcast today.

*A combo photo, place mats are complete and started another baby blanket that is pink!*

I loved crocheting these pretty pastel placemats for my daughter. They are like doilies all connected only not as tiny as real doilies. They will be cute on her table in her apartment. I also am starting another sweet dreams baby blanket and this time it is for a girl! I just love this pattern and it stitches together quickly and I LOVE seeing how it comes together in a different color. So many babies this year!! This really eases my stress being able to create and make all my crochet fun creations. I thought I would share my latest projects.

I must say as we sit and chat enjoying this cool morning that my emotions and thoughts are all over the place. We are trying to figure out the best way to move to Arizona and oh my goodness, this is not going to be an easy thing to do at all. I find myself feeling anxious because this all takes time, and I feel like a little kid wanting answers and decisions right NOW! But that’s not how this is going to work, we need to take it one day at a time. SO I waffle back and forth with, screw this idea, this is HARD – to I can’t wait to move to where cost of living will be better and I will be close to family and friends in AZ and feeling excited. Holy Smokes! I need to think about our future as we age! Shoot…. I find the process frustrating. And that’s all I will share about this subject right now. Thought it would make me feel better sharing, haha, its just tough to know what will be best for us and our future. On to what I know makes me smile and keeps me sane! 😀

*Little patches of grass are delicious! Haha!*

Chloe and Zack running lose in the arena for exercise! Pretty ponies!

Oh my goodness! This day is so exciting! I FINALLY figured out how to upload a video! I am so silly. I have been trying and trying and finally found on the editor I am using the video icon. I take a lot of videos so ya’ll beware! You might being seeing a lot more of these. I have trail rides to share too. I get so EXCITED over silly things but I have been wanting to share videos of my horses for a very long time. (I am embarrassed to say how long, haha, I’m so happy I finally figured it out). I hope it plays correctly when I publish for everyone. All I can do is try and see if this works!! YAY!

Thanks for joining me for coffee this weekend. I showed you my tiny garden and enjoyed sharing my craft projects. We then chatted about the future, what is in your future plans? And finally we drove just over a mile to the stables as I turned out the ponies! I had so much fun with ya’ll!

Have a wonderful weekend!

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; Days off are wonderful!

On June 14, 2020 By dprastkaIn Living life, weekend coffee share22 Comments

Welcome, can I get you a cup of coffee or tea? I am enjoying my coffee with some oatmeal and english muffin that I make on my days off. DAYS OFF! Oh how I love weekends and days off. I do have this weekend off, but usually my days off are split up and working night shift I actually like it this way. But I just worked a very long stretch covering for vacation, so I am extremely happy to get this much needed R&R. I am doing the things I love which is tending to my tiny garden and my horses. I love to walk but am taking a rest from walking around my neighborhood because I have injured my knee. I think I tweaked it riding a friends horse. I have been helping a lady with her young horse who is a very nice ride, but she is bouncy and I think I am out of shape and this made my knee a bit swollen and sore. Darn, I am getting old!

I was at work this last week and I tripped but didn’t fall down, my foot got caught on a wire I walked over (I know, not too smart but it was behind my big chemistry instrument and I just didn’t lift my foot up high enough) darn it all, I jerked my leg and pulled a tendon coming from my knee! UGH! so I have been taking care of it with hot and cold compresses and slow stretches and it is much better today. I just need to take it easy and not over do it as it heals! Sorry to go on so, I do not get injured often and I can’t stand to sit around so I am up and moving taking Ibprofen for pain and inflammation.

*Chloe and I, she is so sweet! She’s my muse!*

I was going through my photos and this was taken a couple years ago. I wanted to share because I do not share many photos of myself with my horses. I have more I took this weekend I will share.

I had FUN with my horses and my camera! You know I just can’t help myself as I enjoy their company so much. It truly is my therapy, these horses just help ones well being in so many ways. I think animals in general are therapeutic but these gentle giants have an intelligence that is so amazing as we have this relationship and understanding together as we get up on their backs and view the world from their point of view. They walk us all over our trails, since that is mostly what I do is trail ride and enjoy the weather and the beautiful days on this Earth. I wish I can thank them, and I do the best I can by providing them bedding for their stalls and nice meals to munch on each day. I enjoy grooming them and getting their coats to glisten in the sun. They mostly enjoy the grooming, Chloe enjoying it more than Zack. He has thin skin I think as he doesn’t enjoy it as much as Chloe! Silly ponies, they just melt my heart. ❤

How is your coffee or tea? Can I get you a refill? I hope you are all having a great weekend. I feel like I can just go on and on about my horses. I also think often of my family and will save those photos for my smile post this next week. I will just dedicate this post to my weekend fun. I am also crocheting a lot finishing one project and starting on another. My crochet is another relaxing thing I do to unwind and get my mind on to the creativity of my projects. Crochet is very rewarding in many ways! ❤

*Nice and clean after a beautiful trail ride!*

Thank you for sharing coffee with me today. The reason I get photos of my horses with their tongue out is I feed them treats after I ride. These are small pellets that are made for them and they just LOVE them. I have been buying treats that have alfalfa and raspberry flavors, I am not sure what all are in the treats but they smell wonderful. They love them and after I feed them they literally lick their lips over and over, YUMMY! So when I take a photo, it’s turning out to be pretty easy to get a photo with them sticking their tongue out! HAHA! I just love it and I hope you enjoy seeing my ponies this weekend.

Crazy horse loving girl!

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; My Tiny Garden

On May 31, 2020 By dprastkaIn Living life, weekend coffee share11 Comments

Welcome and how are you today? I am having a nice cup of morning coffee with my oatmeal and english muffin with jam. I have bananas too, would you like to join me as we finish out this weekend and this month? Yesterday was my son’s birthday, and wish I could have been in Arizona to bake him a cake! That would have been divine but it was not in the cards and with all that is going on totally understandable. I miss him very much. I also miss his wife and 2 children too, so much my heart aches but we stay in touch as much as possible. How’s your coffee? or would you rather have some tea?

Before I get into my tiny garden photos my husband and I had an interesting conversation last evening. He got a call from a very good friend of his in Arizona and they asked him to ask me if I would be interested in living on 37 acres in Williams, Arizona? He explained that they were looking for themselves when they realized this is also horse property and wondered if I wanted to have a horse ranch there! WAIT, WHAT? I told my husband YES! This is just all thoughts from our friends, but they are thinking of purchasing the land. It would be 2 1/2 hours from my family there, much closer than where I am at here and the weather there is wonderful because it is higher elevation. It is only 35 miles from Flagstaff, Arizona which is a bigger city and I could find work there. Oh my, this is only the first conversation but if it were to come to fruition, it would be a dream come true. Enough land that I would have my own trails to ride on with my horses!! I just had to share, it may not happen. Maybe talking about it will get the ball rolling in that direction. Maybe?

On to my teeny tiny garden. But this tiny garden sure brings me big smiles! I believe I will get a few tomatoes and bell peppers. So far so good!

*My beautiful blooms! They make me smile!*

I will be doing some gardening work this afternoon and prune my roses and spray them for aphids. I use a mixture of a couple of drops of dawn soap in a spray bottle with water. It doesn’t hurt the plants but really gets rid of those darn bugs. We have an over abundance of earwigs this year, and have seen a fair amount of lizards which are eating those bugs. The roses continue to bloom and I believe once I prune them I will get some new growth with more blooms in the coming months!

I bought a small plant for my daughter to put on her patio table. I was surprised she had the same assorted plants as a canvas photo in her bathroom. Like minds think alike, and it was a purchase on a whim. I had to share, Love my daughter so much!

My explanation of the above photo is enough. I will say though that when I placed the plants on her patio table she told me she would probably kill them. I almost said, well at least you have a photo of them to enjoy! Hehe, these are rather hard to kill, and so hopefully she will have some success with them. If not, its all okay. She is doing really good, and I am so excited to hear where her next assignment will be. She will be moving at the end of this year.

*My son sent this and he set one of the brothers in a little sit up chair they bought the baby. I thought it was adorable and he said he sat there for a few minutes! Silly Kitty!*

Those brothers are just the best cats and to me very comical. I know I have shared some really wonderful photos of them, sleeping together is just so cute. When he shared this photo it made me laugh, its just too funny! He looks rather content even though he did not stay long in there, he is so mellow! I really enjoyed sharing coffee with you today. I really can’t believe it will be June tomorrow. The time sure flies, and I am looking forward to the summer but praying we don’t get too much heat. It can get pretty darn hot, but I think we will be okay until July. Have a great week!

~Diana ❤

Reflections, Smiles and Horsey Fun!

On May 26, 2020 By dprastkaIn Horse stories, Living life, weekly smile12 Comments

*A view across the hills where I live in California!*

I decided to label this post “Reflections” as I have been thinking a lot about how this year is almost half over. Next week will be June 1st and I know I can say for everyone, what the heck happened to this year 2020? I think it is a big WOW! and it almost feels like we are all in a movie and someone will come along and say “cut, that’s a take!” I think this because I am a big movie buff, to think we are living history when they look back and pick apart all the good and the bad ideas or things that happened during this pandemic. I think we are already seeing the looking back part within these last few months as we start pulling ourselves back into reality, or hopefully back to some normalcy. As I am writing this my hubby is saying let’s eat lunch out in a restaurant! Something that we truly miss even though its been great to eat more at home, something we should keep doing going forward. We lead very busy lives, so this all has been a real eye opener to slow down and reset, at least that is how it feels and hopefully we saved many lives in the process. ❤

I don’t think “normal” will be back. I think we will have a new normal, something akin to what it was but I believe there will be many changes that will stay with us for a very long time. Some of these changes I believe will benefit things like the normal flu season that always comes and goes, as one would think this last flu season got snuffed out a bit with all the social distancing and closing down. I pray we get the schools going again , sooner than later and I know this is a HUGE subject so I am only going to touch upon it by saying let’s all get back to work (carefully) and let’s get this country up and running again. I want to be able to look for a job in Arizona so that I can move my family there one day, sooner than later if possible. (I do believe it will be at least one more year, praying for next year to make this happen!)

As I reflect, I want to thank all my new followers and all my blogging friends who follow my blog. 😀 This has been a journey of sorts for me starting with what is blogging? I thought I would just write short stories, I suppose this can happen with wonderful photo prompts that I want to engage in someday from fellow bloggers. I feel like I have a yearning to mold my blog into what it’s titled My Life – And – Horse Stories. I stray sometimes from my model, and struggle with my brand sometimes. I am learning as I go and I have met some wonderful, beautiful, kind, amazing – really super fun people. I thank you for all your comments and I have grown as a person writing and sharing my thoughts with ya’ll. You make me humble, and very appreciative. Thank you for reading all about my reflections today, it makes me smile so much so I think I will use this as my smile post this week!

*Zack and Chloe this last weekend. They are completely settled in to their new stables!*

*Enjoying the trails before the heat. Summer is here as we warm up into the 90’sF (32C)*

Let’s switch gears to HORSES! YES! My passion, my muse they truly bring me such joy and happiness. I have recently moved them to another boarding facility in our horse town, it is across town and they have settled in nicely. It has been a month since I moved them, my how these weeks have flown by. We have been enjoying the trails, as I ride Chloe and pony Zack riding with my girlfriend on her horse Gracie. Chloe is 16 years old this year and doing GREAT! So happy with her as she has a bad back leg with an old stifle injury (this would be her knee). I can tell she has little to no pain in it any more which is wonderful. Zack is the white horse, he is 25 years old this year. He is starting to really show his age as gravity draws down on their top-line (this is where they sometimes start looking sway back) and they lose muscle tone. I am trying to keep him active and moving. Gracie turned 28 years old this year. She has been really showing her age, but is doing good.

*After our ride they both got a bath! More horsey fun on a beautiful day!*

I take so many photos of my horses. They look forward to my company as much as I look forward to theirs. They truly like getting out and about with me and since I have moved them I always take them out together. I want to start separating them a little bit more. They are herd animals and so it is very natural for them to be near each other and do things together. They do call to each other if you take one too far away, this is called herd bound and it is nice if you can take one off the property say with a friend without the other going nuts, as they wonder where their stable mate went too!! Chloe is not herd bound as much as Zack. Since they have each other and I do not go to horse shows, there isn’t a great need to break them up and make them be apart other than riding just Chloe without Zack is a bit easier… I’m getting really use to taking them together, so its all good.

I hope you all have a wonderful week. I always welcome your thoughts and I just had to share mine as I like to reflect now and again.

Reflecting Grandma Cowgirl,

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; Mother’s day weekend!

On May 10, 2020 By dprastkaIn Family is important, Living life, weekend coffee share15 Comments

*Happy Mother’s Day to all you Mother’s out there! A rose from my garden!*

Weekend Coffee share is a time for us to take a break out of our busy lives and enjoy some time catching up with friends (old and new). Please grab a cup of coffee or tea and share with us!

I am so excited about this weekend as I am sitting here with my coffee and some cinnamon rolls ready to tell you why. I didn’t realize when I made these secret plans (shhh, don’t tell anyone but my son and I drove up to see my daughter this weekend) it is Mother’s day weekend. I had no idea and it was just a coincidence but a super, cool, wonderful, fantastic coincidence! We have been very good about keeping social distancing, and please, no judging as there was just the three of us at her apartment as we enjoyed visiting, helping her with some projects in her apartment and breaking bread together!

While we are here we only went out one day to see if we could find a dryer which she needs for her apartment. She already has a washing machine and really needs a dryer and so we went to Lowe’s and found the right model and it turns out she can buy it online. (She was hoping to get a military discount. But the dryer is on sale so they won’t apply another discount so she decided to just order it online). While out we went by our favorite ice cream store and we figured it would be closed, but it was open!! YAY, we had to eat it in the car and there was no tasting of the flavors, but we were very grateful it was open! A super good day.

*We rearranged the family room area, and her two guinea pigs taking a nap! Adorable!*

I so needed this break as my work has been very stressful lately. We have actually gotten very busy at work and I think it will stay this way for awhile. I think it is great, for many reasons including job security. We are there helping pets and animals from across the country, and so I guess everyone that needs to see the vet are heading there which is good for everyone! Anyways, it has been so wonderful to spend these few days with my daughter and son. We video chatted with my other son in Arizona!! I’ll share a few photos I took.

*My grand kids! My grand daughter is 4 1/2 and the baby is just 2 months old!* **❤ ❤ ❤**

It was GREAT FUN to video chat with them. We were going to do zoom, but decided to just do video chat instead. It worked out great and my son in Arizona put us on their TV and my grand daughter was just jumping up and down, so excited to see us practically larger than life! Haha, when he showed us on the TV it was a crack up. At least I thought it was. I’m old remember, so seeing all that technology does always amaze me and it was great fun. What a WONDERFUL way to spend Mother’s day weekend. I am in Mom Heaven!!

*I have been reading this book my daughter has near the bed I am sleeping in, Lagom – Not too little and not too much. The Swedish Art of Living a Balanced Happy Life!*

The Swedish people have it right and I am half Swedish! If I can find that balance of loving life, loving my family and loving myself no matter how silly, foolish, or crazy I can be sometimes than I will be one happy person. I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful family. To my Loving husband who puts up with all my animals and my horsey lifestyle, bless him as I probably spend too much money each month on those giant beasts. To my children, all grown up with family and busy lives of their own. I am one lucky lady, Mother and Grandmother. I hope each and everyone of you have a wonderful weekend, and for all the Mother’s out there, a Happy Mother’s Day!

Love, Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; My Tiny Garden and Thinking of Family!

On May 1, 2020 By dprastkaIn Living life, weekend coffee share17 Comments

Welcome to my coffee share, can I get you a cup of Joe? or are you in the mood for some herbal tea? or Ice tea? It’s been very hot this last week, but I must say today and this weekend the weather is very nice and so this makes me very happy when I am out riding my horses! I am going to enjoy this weekend with the warm weather before it heats up again next week. We are close enough to the ocean to where it will cool off at night and we get coastal fog that pushes inland and cools things off. Thankful for this cooling affect as it makes these Spring days beautiful! 😀

I am really happy I started my tiny garden. So far I haven’t killed anything and so far no animal or varmint has eaten anything! I am doing good, this is week one. I am getting some new growth on my veggies as they settle into their new home. And the perennials are super happy and are blooming again! They were blooming when I bought them, then got very sad when I transplanted them, then decided they liked their new home and began to bloom again!! YAY! I am SMILING from ear to ear! Thank you tiny container garden! ❤

*This is my veggie container. I am seeing some new growth! I am so EXCITED!*

*I am SUPER HAPPY with my perennials! Look at all the pretty flowers! Makes me smile!*

*My roses are blooming! I need to trim them up and buy some rose food!*

I enjoy my gardening and need to get out there and do some weeding. Lucky I am doing container gardening so I just need to remove weeds around the containers. Since I am watering more often it is making the ground soft so the weeds come out pretty easily. I also need to trim my rose bushes. Some are blooming nicely and I know it will help the plant if I trim some of the older blooms. Maybe I will do this tomorrow as the weather should be nice and not too hot. High tomorrow 82 F (28 C) which is so much cooler than this next week it will be 102 F (39 C) YIKES!

On to my family – I MISS MY FAMILY! There, I said it and it is the truth! I know I will be able to see them hopefully sooner than later but I am thinking about them every day. I am actually messaging my daughter while I am writing this post. I just toggle back and forth from WordPress to Facebook messenger and I am finding it really FUN! I miss her so much! AND I miss my grand babies! ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

*Oh My, Teddy is growing! I have not met him in person yet! Darn it all!! SOON I hope!*

*This is my home screen on my phone! ADORABLE! My sweet grand children!!*

I’ll say it for you, AWW, I love them so very much and I cannot wait til the day where I am heading to their house in Arizona! I think its time for another video chat with them so I will contact my son and see how they are doing and if we can chat this weekend. Baby Teddy had his 2 months shots this last Wednesday and he was upset and grumpy that first day but was much better the next day so he should be feeling good this weekend. I’m excited. I really am so thankful for all of our technology.

I hope you enjoyed my coffee share today. I so enjoy sharing with you all and I hope this coffee share finds you well and doing good. I have to thank Eclectic Alli for hosting our meeting place for our coffee shares. I am not very good at creating a link, it should be here and if it works there will be other coffee shares to read. I well end with my other pretty rose photo!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Gardening Grandma,

~Diana ❤

My Weekly Smile; April 29, 2020

On April 29, 2020 By dprastkaIn Living life, weekly smile12 Comments

I have a lot to smile about as this week is half over and last week I was so busy I was not able to write my weekly smile. So this weeks smile will include what I was working on last week. It has been a whirlwind of events as my girlfriend and I have moved our horses to a new stable in our horse town in Norco, CA. While we were preparing the stalls at the new stables we needed some shade cloth that we put up in front of the stalls to help shade and keep our shavings from blowing away when it gets windy. While at Lowe’s I decided to buy some plants/veggie starts to plant in my containers. I am so happy I finally was able to get my tiny garden planted, so I have two things to SMILE about this week! YAY! 😀 😀 😀

*My veggies if they survive and the bunnies don’t jump in and eat them!*

*Pretty flowering perennial’s in another container!*

*My third container I put a Calla lily and Iris. I will split them up as I have a fourth container if it gets too crowded for them.*

I Love to garden partly because I am outdoors and I am a neophyte learning as I go with gardening and just try the best I can and sometimes I have a green thumb, and sometimes not so much. I try to fit so much into my busy schedule – working full-time – owning two horses and dogs, cats a house to clean – oh my, I am getting tired thinking about it all! Then I add gardening which takes care and some love or it will not do well. It so makes me smile when I go out and see the flowers bloom and/or the tomatoes grow! I will keep you posted now and again on how my tiny garden grows!

*They are enjoying a turn out at the new ranch!*

*My girlfriends horse Gracie and behind her Miss Chloe walking around and checking things out!*

We were able to spend as many days as we needed to fix up the new stalls at the new ranch. We moved some railroad ties to the front of the stall with some shade cloth to help keep the shavings on the ground from blowing through the pipes and out into the aisle or another stall. We will still lose some shavings probably but this will help keep a lot in our stalls. We get winds here that are very strong called the Santa Ana Winds! So it was worth all the work we put in and am grateful the stalls were empty so we could work on them. We moved a week early after putting in our 30 day notice where we were, mostly because my girlfriend and I were able to take extra days off of work. (We are essential workers in the medical field).

We moved because my girlfriend really needed more shade for her horse as she has aged, she has some sun sensitivities and with my two horses I should be able to save a few dollars. I wanted to help her out and this place is a nice place and sometimes it is just nice to change it up! I Love the stables I was at, there are always pros and cons at any facility and I will not go into all of that here. I think sometimes a change is needed, enough said on that subject! We now need to give the horses time to settle in and they are doing just that! ❤

*Miss Chloe is such a good girl and I am so blessed to have her, love her so much!*

Thank you for visiting my smile and I hope you are all doing well. I am so enjoying my tiny garden and my horses as they get acclimated. I like how they can look out over their stalls at this new place! The old place is nice but the pens have a link fencing that they can’t look out over the doors or fencing. It’s just a nice change and they can even scratch each others back if they wanted too. I hope you all have a great rest of your week!

Happy Gardening Cowgirl!

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; Keeping Busy!

On April 20, 2020 By dprastkaIn Barn stories, Living life, weekend coffee share15 Comments

This last weekend came and went like a whirlwind for me and I so wanted to participate in the Weekend Coffee Share and decided to call this the weekend wrap up. At this point it may be a little late to offer you coffee and for me it is lunch here. Can I get you some Ice Tea? or maybe some lemonade? I am a tea drinker and prefer tea over lemonade, or maybe we can mix it and make it an Arnold Palmer!! I ate breakfast so it will have to be lunch, sandwich with potato salad for me, can I make you the same? Sounds yummy. 😀

I wanted to share some photos as I always do and I also am going to just go through my weekend and the fun I had as you know I am always mixing it up with my crafting and horse back riding. The first photo is of a project I am working on for my sister. I am thinking of making a bunch of these as gifts as they stitch together easily and I am so happy I finished one! On to the second one, after I tie up and stitch in the ends! They come in a pair! SO FUN! 😀

*Finger-less mittens. I know it’s Spring now, but they will come in handy this next winter!*

I also finished another baby blanket for my nephew and his wife. Their baby is due in May. Here is a photo, look familiar? I made the same one for my grandson, only I chose a different blue so no two are alike, that’s how I roll! I have to personalize them. This baby blanket stitches up fast. So fast I may make more in different colors and sell them at the local craft fair!

*I used a baby blue for baby Teddy (my grandson). I Love this too! Lots of boys this year adding to the family tree!*

I stitch at home in the afternoons before I have to sleep. Since I work night shift I need to have some down time so I crochet while I watch some TV. Usually I am watching recorded cooking shows, I am really into them and like the competition shows the best. I feel like an old lady saying that, but oh well, I’m probably an old lady! HAHA! I watch other shows too…. some news but that gets old after awhile and there’s other recorded drama shows my hubby and I watch together. Holy smokes, how did I get on that subject! So silly. On to my weekend, and I really wanted to share a few photos from my trail ride. 😀

*My best friend on Gracie, the chestnut and I am riding Miss Chloe and ponying Zack!*

We were heading back to the barn when another best friend was heading out and saw us and stopped and took a couple of photos of us coming in and I am so thankful for these photos as I am terrible about asking someone to take them of me riding! AND we have our masks on too, so it will be our photos to look back on during a pandemic! CRAZY DAYS! Our friends at the stables call each other pony sister’s, so Thank You Jane, my pony sister for these wonderful photos. ❤

*Zack looks like he’s thinking, are we done now? We went for a longer ride so I think he is tired!*

*I gave Chloe a bath after my ride this weekend! She is SO SWEET!!*

After our ride I cleaned up Zack and put him away and then gave Miss Chloe a bath. I really need to give Zack a bath and am waiting until it warms up this week. By Thursday it will be in the 90’s (32 Celsius) so I will give him a bath then as he takes longer to dry. His coat isn’t as short as Chloe’s and I would like it to be nice and warm for him since he is a bit older.

As I wrap this up I have all these thoughts running through my head. I usually try hard to write my blog with a theme, whether it be my horses, or my family or sometimes just my crafting. I think I’ve mixed my crafting and horses often as I do take the most photos of these two things. I am finding that my mind is kind of all over the place, probably because our every day lives are a bit tenuous, and that is probably an understatement. I want to stay positive and keep this post about the weekend, I think you all won’t mind. 😀

These two brothers are just amazing to me. How can you not say – AWWW! Sending my hugs like these two kitties, from my house to yours!

Happy thoughts, Happy Loving Cowgirl,

~Diana

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Category: Living life

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