Weekend Coffee Share; October Busy And Fun!

Welcome and come on in and have a cup of coffee or does a cup of tea sound good? As I am writing this I am finding a bunch of changes with my WordPress site which I don’t usually complain about but I am a bit flustered and so I am going to try and overcome these changes and move on with the task at hand. My very busy month of October!! It truly was one of the most busiest months yet this year. I think I will share the weeks in order of all that transpired and then share some photos of the month.

The second weekend of October my hubby and I drove to my daughter’s to help her pack as she bought a house a town over. Her lease was up and she was asked to move and so she took this opportunity and found a nice townhome in a beautiful area called Arroyo Grande. We packed up her kitchen and as much as we could. She would move the following weekend.

The third weekend my sister’s came to town. I am one of six and four of us, some with spouses were together and two (one sister and one brother) could not make it and it was not a reunion, more of an impromptu get together. One sister and hubby was attending their High School band teacher’s 90th birthday party on Saturday 10/15 and so other sister’s took the opportunity to come and visit. They all have other friends here which we visited with as well. It was a FUN and very busy weekend. On 10/14 it was my mother-in-laws 93rd birthday.

The fourth weekend was my birthday weekend and I also had vet appointments two times this month for my horses. My Chloe girl was suffering from scratches which is a skin condition which could be bacterial or fungal. Either way I had to call the vet so he could treat her systemically with some drugs to help her skin heal. She is doing wonderful, but it was a bit stressful getting through all of this with her.

After two weeks of her treatment I had scheduled a vaccine clinic with my vet and other ladies horses at the barn for their winter vaccines. All the horses are doing great now, but with a busy month it felt like all I was doing was spending money. Haha, this is a rather odd coffee share for me. Now I have a bunch of photos I would like to share.

For the horsey people that follow me my vet said that he commended me for trying to combat the scratches on her leg but in actuality the only way to treat it completely is systemically. And after a months time (maybe 6 weeks) of buying all these special shampoos, ointments, creams even Manuka honey these scratches just kept getting worse. It would move around the leg from the coronet band up to her pastern and even on up on her cannon bone. SO FRUSTRATING!

For the non-horsey people, scratches is like scaly, flaky, scabby skin in the hair of her leg. As you remove the scabs when scrubbing it can leave raw skin. I had to shave the hair multiple times but to no avail until I called the vet. As the scratches worsen her leg started swelling consistently hence why I called the vet. I didn’t want her leg to get a secondary condition which could happen if left untreated. She is now FREE FROM SCRATCHES!! YAY! I am so excited we battled and won! I now keep a standing wrap on that back leg to help support her and keep any unwanted debris from her skin.

After my daughter had the movers move her the weekend all my sister’s were visiting, she told me she had a surprise! She had adopted a kitty (about 5 months old) from the local shelter. I knew she wanted to get another kitty but she just moved!! YIKES! But it’s all good and maybe it was a good idea since her older kitty was now in a new house and so her territory was new to her and she accepted the new kitty well. They were separated at first but are now playing with each other. I went up to help my daughter unpack last weekend on the 22nd which was a fun way to not only help my daughter unpack her kitchen ( I packed it up and then unpacked it all!) I also got to meet her sweet new kitty! We had a great weekend together!

Thank you for visiting and sharing coffee or tea with me today. I feel a bit out of sorts but soldiered on as I really wanted to share this weekend. I’m not sure why changes have been made but when I am typing away it doesn’t look like it did. Thankfully when I preview my post it looks like all my other posts. I think it is fun to change things up and so this is working for me today.

I hope you all had a wonderful October. I have a couple of photos I will end with as I finish out this month and can’t believe November is next week. I hope everyone is doing good and that we all have fun with the holidays nearing. I need to figure out holiday travels and am hoping things settle down a bit as I feel like every weekend it has been busy. Thank you Natalie for hosting the #weekendcoffeeshare as I link up here if you care to visit others. 😀

Busy Mom, Grandma and Cowgirl!

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; Begin Anew

Welcome to my coffee share and before I get started I want to thank our new host Natalie the Explorer for hosting our coffee share gatherings on WordPress. I share my blog posts on another social media so those people would not really know what I am talking about if I don’t explain that this is linked to other coffee shares within WP. Anyways, I am enjoying a nice cup of coffee can I get you a cup too? I bought a new cup at a small farm in San Luis Obispo, we call it SLO for short. It’s a neat little farm where you can buy lettuce to feed goats, and they have chickens a couple of cows and two ponies. They have a store where they have lots of fresh produce grown on the farm and fresh eggs, and lots of jarred items, jams, chutneys etc. It is fun to visit there and this time I decided to buy this coffee mug because it was so pretty. Can I get you a biscuit or english muffin with your coffee? I have hot tea and ice tea too!

As I write this I am thinking back and I wanted to write during the week this last week but it started out really busy. My work is extremely short handed as positive Covid cases has hit the night shift and in numbers. We have at least 8 positive cases and other’s out because they were near a positive person, a protocol our work has put in place to help stop the spread. Per state protocols the remaining employees are to be tested which my work set up this last week and we all were tested. My test came back negative. As they clean and we all take precautions they do have an action plan if the spread gets worse as we are dwindling in numbers. But as the weeks pass hopefully those sick will recover and return to work. I don’t talk much about the virus, but since it is spreading and reaching closer it is affecting my schedule and so I thought I would share. Last week I worked earlier 11a – 7:30p. I will work this schedule one more week and then hopefully go back to 2p – 10:30p.

Either way the earlier schedule isn’t all that bad as I am still able to go to the barn before work. I live so close to the barn (it’s just a mile away) that I can get there and ride and return home, change clothes and am off to work. I have some photos of my ride this week. I actually was able to ride 3 times but only took photos on one of my rides. What I noticed when I rode at 9:30am is the morning shadows as I rounded the block. So these are my shadow photos! I just LOVE them! 😀

The mornings have been crisp and cool. Usually in the 50’s(F) and beautiful sunshine. I finally got to my day off and it was super windy! Darn it all, it was too windy to ride. But I will be able to ride tomorrow and am hooking up with my best friend who is now leasing a horse at my stables. Tomorrow will be our first ride together on her leased horse which I am really looking forward too. We haven’t been able to visit as often and so we will be able to chat and catch up with our lives during our ride. It will be great FUN!

I wanted to look at this year anew, the dictionary describes anew ~ in a new or different and typically more positive way. I think we all need to look at this year we have started anew. My ideas are thinking positively towards the world and each other. I just need more positivity which I try and have each day as each of us take care of ourselves and our loved ones. I have furry loved ones as well that need my time and attention. So I am thinking my word for this year is ANEW ~ I do not usually have a word for the year, but I think I will have one for this year!

Thank you for visiting my coffee share. I hope you all are safe and sound and I enjoyed sharing with you my happenings. I wish you could go on the trail with me, as the weather here has been just fantastic this time of year (other than the wind). I have a kitty near me and was on my lap earlier so I will close with one of my pretty kitties. I hope you all have a great rest of the weekend and a good week ahead!

Shadow Loving Cowgirl,

~Diana ❤

My Weekly Smile; Aug. 26, 2020 – Thank YOU!

THANK YOU FOR FOLLOWING MY BLOG!

Welcome to my weekly smile! I am humbled, elated, surprised, happy, and very grateful for all of you for following my blog. I know there are millions of people who blog and to have a following at all really means the world to me and blogging has become a very social interaction that I am really enjoying. I thank each and every one one of you that read and follow my blog posts. And Thank You To All who comment as our interactions together make me smile, laugh and reflect as we exchange positive thoughts and support. I am so thankful for the blogging friends I have made 😉 and I am sure I will make many more as we continue our journey in blogging! 😀

It’s a small milestone when I see how many followers some of you super bloggers have and I am so very grateful you follow as I am sure it encourages those of us with a smaller footprint. Sometimes I feel like I will let people down, but I am getting the hang of blogging and I want to stay true to myself and the passions that I have in this crazy life we all are trying to lead to the best of our abilities. I never really knew what blogging was and what it can be as I am sure it is different for everyone. I think there is a niche for everyone out there and so I am thankful I am figuring out mine. I feel like I need to do some cleaning up of my blog site as I learn. I didn’t realize what the “categories” on my site meant for instance, and I can see I have not been using this tool to its best intentions. I am learning every single day!

As I write this today, I don’t want to ignore the fact that there are some sad situations happening around us. We have had really bad fires in the North of this state I call home. I pray for all affected in Northern California and all the other states that are battling wild fires. My son who lives just North of Phoenix messaged us yesterday saying the smoke from all the fires are affecting the air quality in Arizona. They are warned to stay inside due to the poor air quality, but like he says they don’t venture out much in 115 (46C) degree heat. Also, stay safe out there those near the hurricane in the Gulf.

Speaking of my son and his family (who I miss terribly) he says his daughter is really enjoying kindergarten. He sent me this cute photo!

She is getting so big! She is a good student! Love you baby girl!
My sons kitties, the brothers! Dublin on the left and Wolfie on the right. They are on baby Teddy’s changing table, so adorable!

These photos just bring me smiles, of course I miss them so much and can’t wait for some day to live closer. We have to take a day at a time since this has been such a crazy year. Can you believe August is almost over?

The rest of my smiles this week go to my other animals I do not share all that often. I LOVE THEM ALL dearly and I find that I focus mostly on my horses, partly because my blog is suppose to be about my horse stories, so as I try and figure out my blog I keep thinking I should stay away from all my other animals. But then I am finding as I write and share, I am sharing my crafts, my garden and my kitties and my sons kitties. I have 2 dogs as well so I thought I would share some photos. I don’t share often but they are a big part of my life too. So here I go sharing what is in my life, which I should not worry about since my blog is “My life” and horse stories…. Haha, I’m just too much in my head. Just get on with it Diana. It’s all good!

Thank you for visiting my smile post, what makes you smile? I am enjoying all my animals and missing my grand kids and keeping busy with life and work! I am enjoying blogging, with it becoming more important to me each day. I enjoy this venue so very much, as I sit and write these words ~ I am smiling! 😀 To view more smile posts I encourage you to visit Trent who hosts our weekly smiles. Thank you Trent!

Appreciatively loving (Cowgirl 😉 ) Grandma,

~Diana ❤

P.S. Thank you to those who have given me such helpful tips on my blogging journey. Thank you Maria, and Beaton.

Weekend Coffee Share; A Very Busy Week

Thinking about my Grand babies every day! I can’t help myself, he’s my lead in to my coffee share!

Welcome to my coffee share where we share the weeks happening or what we will be up to this weekend. I have had such a busy week, I think I am getting busier instead of what most people have been doing and that is staying inside and probably fighting boredom. I am not trying to defy the staying at home orders and those that follow me know that I am a essential worker and work full-time in a Veterinary Lab and I own two horses. So I am always on the go and I enjoy my gardening too! Can I get you a cup of coffee or tea? I just had to share baby Teddy again, to be able to hold him in my arms, oh my, just thinking about that makes me sad (because I’m so far away) and joyful all at the same time! Love you grand babies!! Missing Alice, my grand daughter too. ❤

I have so much to share! I have my tiny garden which is in containers this year and I am having really good luck and so far nothing is dead and things are flourishing. I am going to share some photos as I should get tomatoes and hoping for some bell peppers too! I am really excited.

I got help this last week with weeding. My hubby gets out there with his weed wacker and boy, he makes tedious work go much faster by using this tool. He has a nice gas powered one which he tackles all areas where we have tons of weeds that grow. Then I tend to the roses with pruning and I water too. At this time we don’t have too many things growing that need watering. We use to have automatic timer watering but that was back when we had a front lawn. We are definitely conserving water since the lawn is long gone. We are going to landscape eventually with a water friendly decor. Not sure what that will be, or when this will happen, haha, something on our to do list for our house!

How’s your coffee, need a refill? I forget for some it may be dinner time, but then I know many that drink coffee with their dinner! I would be drinking ice tea with my dinner, speaking of dinner I need to figure out what’s for dinner? I digress, I really wanted to share my busy week with all the horse back riding I’ve been doing. 😀

I have been asked by a really nice horse woman at the barn I left recently to help her with her horse. She is around my age and new to riding (hmm.. I keep forgetting to ask her background with horses, I must ask her the next time we meet) but needless to say she has had some scares, falling off a time or two and has some fears and does not feel confident especially riding the trails. NO PROBLEM I tell her, I will help you gain confidence and tackle your fears!! She has hired me to ride her horse and give her lessons. I am taking on more, but it is something I am very passionate about, HORSES!

I am having a ton of fun riding this pony. This photo was the first day I rode her and after this day I lengthened my stirrups as they are rather high for western, I had to ride her “English style” in the western saddle. The horsey people who follow me should understand. I think I will just write another blog post about my horsey fun and training, and giving lessons to this super nice lady who just wants some help with her horse. She wants confidence and I told her I would love to help her. The little extra money I will earn will go directly to my horses, their grains I buy and shavings for their stalls. It will mean some extra time out of my days off but worth it I think!

I keep so busy, if I am not at work which is night shift, at the stables most mornings, tending my garden mid-afternoon, I am probably crocheting before I head to bed! I need to fit in sleep on my work days but some how I manage. I Love crochet and my daughter bought this yarn and it is fine so I can make these pretty place mats. When I visited my daughter last weekend we went online shopping and she found this yarn in pretty pastel colors. Perfect for her house and I may need to make some for my house too! I’ll have to buy more yarn! FUN!

I’ll finish up by saying that I am enjoying our beautiful Spring weather. We have had only one heat spell where the heat spiked and now it is much better. We have had mild heat this month and I am very happy about that. I was able to visit the ranch and ride out on the trails today with my girlfriend. I’ll close with a couple of photos of my silly horses. Fun, fun, fun! I hope you are having a good if not great weekend. I’ve so enjoyed having coffee with you and sharing my busy week and am getting in some relaxation this weekend!

Happy Grandma Cowgirl!

~Diana ❤

Family Visit’s, Busy Days!

California poppy’s are blooming everywhere! This is at Chino State Park.

It has been a crazy, busy last two weeks. It seems as I get older instead of slowing down I am getting busier and I seem to try and cram in all I can in one day, or in this case two weeks. But it is all good and I hope all the family that I saw in the last two weeks enjoyed our time together as much as I did, especially because we got to see and do some very fun things. Breaking bread together is on the top of my list of favorite things that I enjoy, probably because I LOVE FOOD! ❤

I am going to share some food photos I did take as we ate at a yummy Mexican restaurant, Anchos in Riverside and my oldest sister treated us and it was absolutely delicious. They make homemade tortillas and we all got some sort of fajitas and with those homemade tortillas making soft tacos, oh goodness, my mouth is watering just thinking about all the good food we shared together! We also ate Sushi two times with my other sister who was here too, the last dinner she treated, Thank You both – sister’s rock! ❤

Shrimp fajita’s, with jalapeno butter for dipping! Best taco’s I’ve ever had!
Sushi which I LOVE! This is actually my sister’s plate as her’s looks the best. ❤

As I write this things have settled down. I had two sisters (out of 4, and I have 1 brother) come and visit for different reasons, but there was an event we shared together and that was to go to my Aunt’s 90th birthday party. What was fun is that we were able to celebrate my oldest sister’s birthday as her birthday is close to my Aunt’s so we were able to take her out to celebrate before she had to fly home. And we were able to eat great food with yummy dessert’s, we all had a piece of pie instead of cake for her birthday! It was a wonderful day and we had a great time at my Aunt’s festivities too. ❤ Do you have busy family days? Sometimes the busy gets crazy busy, but am thankful we all made it work.

I was so thankful that my sister’s came to share my love of my horses. Intermixing each other’s schedules, trying to make it all work, one of my sister’s is a horse back rider and use to own Zack which I adopted when she moved to Idaho. My other sister is not a horse person but spent time at the stables visiting while we went on a short trail ride. Here is a photo of my Aunt who is doing well, and looks good at 90 years old! ❤

My Aunt Rene who turned 90 in February, 2019 ❤
Sally is on Gracie, Sharon on Zack riding one of a few trail rides this weekend!
My sister Bonnie sitting, and Sharon is standing as we visit at the stables!
The view leaving Chino State Park, such a beautiful view!

I take so many photos and I want to share so many, but I also want to share my story as so much has happened in the last two weeks. I am just touching on my busy days, no use boring everyone with all the details. Suffice it to say that there was a lot of decision making in trying to figure out how to fit everything in we wanted to do together. Amazingly we made it all work which I am proud of and I am hoping my sister’s enjoyed their time here in Southern California. 😀 I think I’ll just write another post about my visit to Arizona to help my family there and most importantly I got my granddaughter’s hugs in which I cherish. ❤ I can’t help myself, one more photo! Thank you for spending time with me and reading about my busy weeks! 😀

She melts my heart, my granddaughter and me! ❤

Family crazy times, visiting sister fun and grandma joy!

-Diana ❤