Weekend Coffee Share; Winter Rain In January ~ 2023

On January 7, 2023 By DianaIn Living life, weekend coffee share36 Comments

Welcome to my coffee share, can I get you a cup of coffee or tea? Today it is a cup of nice hot coffee for me as I welcome in the new year. I am worried as I write this that we are not going to see any dry weather for most of this month and for us here in Southern CA that is very unusual. We are so wet, like drowned rats! My horses are surviving but its a muddy mess out there and it’s all I can do to keep a dry space in their stalls. We’ve had so much rain last month and as we get a break in the rain, another storm is on its way and so I feel like we are in this perpetual spiral of rain, a break then more rain. It is at this point never ending!! Rain, rain please go away and come back another day!

I know we need the rain and more importantly the snow pack. I know that many lakes were starting to dry up and I believe all the weather here on the west coast has brought up the levels of many lakes and I believe we are closer than ever to getting out of the drought we’ve been in and so it’s all a good thing all the rain. At this point I am looking forward to Spring. 😀

I had a nice visit in Arizona last month with my grandkids. My son and family found a bigger house right around the corner from where they were living for the same lease payment and so they decided this would be a good move for them. It is literally in the same neighborhood so it made moving there so easy for them. It is a nice big house, unlike the smaller townhome they were in and they have a small backyard so the kids can play outside. The townhome did not have any yard at all, so this was a really good move for them. I don’t have any photos of their new house, but I will share some photos of our visit.

We enjoyed Christmas a week early in Arizona and was able to attend Alice’s Christmas Winter Wonderland singing with her grade. She was so cute singing up with her friends. And Teddy is almost 3 years old and is talking so good now. They are growing up so fast, I wish we lived closer!

Me and my selfies with the kids. I am thinking my phone was not very clean as my selfies are not very clear, oh well, they are still fun to share! 😀 And Alice at the school singing event. She is waiting for them to start! LOVE my grandkids SO MUCH!! ❤

We had a great meal together on our last night in Arizona. I took this cute photo of my son and his wife and the two grandkids. The best family ever and I miss them so much! I am glad we can easily drive there as I know they could live even further away. I am not sure what the future holds for where we will live someday and where they may live some day. They have talked about moving back to CA, that would be awesome. At this point we are here in California to stay as making these huge decisions is not easy and not to take lightly. I will plan on visiting my grandkids in AZ often this year. That is something I know I can do easily. ❤

How is your coffee or tea? Can I get you a refill? I wanted to share that I finished my cross-stitch that I was working on and now that it is completed I plan on framing it up and giving it away. I have started on another project I plan on framing up once completed and keeping so that’s why I am going to give away this project. Here is a photo of it finished but not framed yet.

*I enjoyed making this and Love the quote!*

I am enjoying cross-stitching and will share soon the new project I have started. I will continue with cross-stitch until I finish this new project and maybe I will go back to crochet, I haven’t decided yet. I really enjoy creating things, it fills that side of my brain and I love seeing things come to life while working on these fun crafty things. I find the time I spend creating very relaxing too!

I am hoping to work in my garden this year. I never got going last year and lost all motivation. I do not do new year resolutions and to be honest I do not ever set any goals either. I do not really give it much thought as I go from one day to the next ~ I just try and enjoy each day to it’s fullest. I realize though, some things need planning and so I think if I look forward to working in the garden and try and grow some veggies this year maybe I can get excited about that and be more thoughtful with my planning. We will see and I will have to keep you posted on my progress.

I thought I would end with my horses grazing. This was the other day and the sun was out and I was able to wash off Chloe so that is why she is all wet. I rinsed her off after I rode her out on the trail. Murphy likes to roll and has been rolling in the wet sand in the arena. When he dries off I can brush the sand off of him easily. They are doing good despite all the rain and the muddy stalls. They have a dry area under their shelters which I am thankful for at this time.

Thank you for visiting with me as it is always nice to share with you all. Thank you Natalie for hosting the #weekendcoffeeshare link up and I hope you all have a wonderful day and week ahead.

Rained Out Smiling Grandma,

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; October Busy And Fun!

On October 29, 2022October 29, 2022 By DianaIn Living life, weekend coffee share31 Comments

*Welcome to my weekend coffee share! I just love the smell of roses, don’t you?*

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.

*The view from my daughter’s new house! This was a couple weeks before she moved and we were able to see the place. So pretty!*

*Miss Chloe’s leg cleaned and bandaged by the vet.*

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.

*We are at the Crab Cooker for dinner with my oldest sister who arrived first!*

*My hubby and his Mom at 93 years old on this day!* ❤

*My sister came and rode Murph! Her hubby visited too, they flew down from Idaho!*

*My daughter’s kitty, Evie! She got to meet a new kitty!*

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!

*My sweet daughter! We had a wonderful dinner together!* ❤

*This is my kitty who got right up on my lap when I returned home!*

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. 😀

*Me and my shadow with Miss Chloe on the trails!*

Busy Mom, Grandma and Cowgirl!

~Diana ❤

July 23rd, Thankful For The Summer Breeze!

On July 23, 2022 By DianaIn Living life, weekend coffee share33 Comments

*My summer rose bloom! It smells heavenly too!*

Welcome to my weekend coffee or tea share where I enjoy sharing what’s been happening here in Southern Cali where I live. It is definitely summer time here as the heat is on and we are hoping for a break but there isn’t one coming any time soon. I am thankful for the summer breeze! It almost always shows up every afternoon and it feels so good and helps you cool off. I had to look it up as I was pretty sure there was a song about the “Summer Breeze” by Seals & Crofts and it’s a nice relaxing song to listen to on these summer days, I do date myself!

As I share a tall glass of ice tea with you (I have lemonade and we can make it an Arnold Palmer if you’d like!) I decided I would share my cross stitch I have been working on the last month or so, I am nearing completion and this is my winter scene. This is the last one I needed to complete for my 4 seasons pattern that I started many years ago and am determined to finish. (I’ll share the photo of the other seasons here too.) I am planning on making my first quilt with these cross stitches as the star or center pieces of the quilt which will be the size of a wall hanging or small throw blanket. If I run into trouble I’ll have to have my sister’s help me as they are the expert quilt makers in the family!

I have a confession and that is this coffee share I started late last weekend and never finished it so I thought I would just add to it and finish and post it this weekend. I took the above cross stitch photo on July 2nd and I have done a lot more since then so here is a current photo of it today. I am working on the bottom portion as you can see the cart the horse is pulling, a sideways tree and some snow texture stitching. 😀

Some of the funny colored shapes will eventually be people and things really become defined when I am done with the stitching and then I will outline everything and that will make everything pop and look completed. It is so fun working on these projects! I know it is another way that I can relax and create and keep my brain thinking as I count away. I am hoping this and other things I do in my life will help keep me healthy. What do you do for fun or for relaxation? I know many enjoy their gardens, and they are a wonderful source of healthy cardio work and relaxation too! And others enjoy being outside exercising. Here are the other seasons. (Click on photos for full view).

I am motivated to finish my winter themed cross stitch because I was gifted this last Christmas some really cool cross stitch pattern books I had on my wish list. I will be diving into these new patterns when I finish here and I won’t start working on the quilt until I feel inspired or motivated to sew. Maybe I will dive into it sooner, I just take things one day at a time and see how I feel when starting new projects. I know my “in the house” projects I call them are not cardio, but it’s important to have the relaxation to help lower blood pressure when relaxing. I get all my cardio from the stables and I like to call the barn my outside gym! I love my segue as I want to share my horses this weekend. My last share about the barn was how busy I have been and thankfully it has calmed down now and I am not having to take care of so many horses!

I am having so much fun with Murphy! Him and I are really bonding and he is always excited to see me which to me indicates he enjoys our time together. He is vocal about this nickering as I arrive! 😀 Today I started some liberty training with him which basically means working in the arena with him lose and following my lead as I ask him to work with me free or at liberty. I also have thought long and hard about his training and I decided to introduce R+ training which is Positive reinforcement (+R) is a form of learning that occurs when a desired behavior is rewarded. It’s based on the idea that reinforced or rewarded behavior will be repeated out of want for a reward. I have found that Murphy would rather not do much of anything and although his defiance is not bad (he does not bite, rear, kick or do anything nasty) on the contrary he is very sweet but can be a bit stubborn. He is also very food driven! I have already started to introduce treats in a meaningful way and he has not started biting and/or is not aggressive at all. He has remained very respectful and sweet which is perfect for this kind of training! I’m very excited!!

He loves to splash and play in the water bucket and every time I see him and want to video he stops and comes to visit me instead. I LOVE you Murphy, but I just want to get some water fun action!

You can see how wet he got and all the water he splashed all around the bucket as he practically emptied half of hit splashing away! Haha, he’s so funny and has so much fun in this summer heat! With horses when you are with them whether it is every day (yep, I go every single day to see them and usually work with them) or every other day or once a week you are always learning and working together as a team. You should be growing your bond with them and mine grows each day. I have this wonderful bond with my other horse Chloe. Her and I are a team that just gets stronger every day. The trust the two of us have in each other is hard to describe. It would be like the trust you have with your best favorite dog or cat, it’s strong and we enjoy each others company. I am so grateful and thankful Murphy and I are bonding like Chloe but as I learn and grow reading/attending/watching other trainers I am growing and am doing more with him than I did when Chloe was his age. IT’S SO MUCH FUN!

*I am enjoying riding him and working with him in Western Dressage!*

I have a video I made all by myself by propping up my camera but since I don’t have a Pivo I ride out of frame a lot and so I decided not to share here. I will ask someone to video one of my rides soon. It is fun to see his progress. He is learning so much, a little each ride. I don’t ride him every day as he is young and growing and I don’t want to bore him to death. PLUS as I have recently shared I can be busy and so I usually ride one horse one day and then the next I ride the other. This is working out great! Happy horses means a happy Mom. Now that I want to incorporate R+ training, it is all started and performed while I am on the ground, we call this ground work with horses. So on the days I do not ride Murphy we will be working on things together which will be stimulating for him and I. Anyways, I enjoy learning new things as well and there is plenty of YouTube videos out there to visit for ideas. Can I get you a refill? I know I can ramble on and on sometimes! Haha!

*He almost always rolls after a rinse or bath in his dry shavings! You can see them all over his back!*

*This was from a few weeks ago! All that I am sharing is from this month of July!*

I am so thankful we have a huge pepper tree that has grown so tall now that it provides a lot of morning shade where we tack up our horses. This is why this photo is in the shade. I like it’s soft tones and you can see part of the tree in the upper right corner. Near noon the shade is almost gone except for closest to the tree. As July seems to be flying by we are getting closer to my granddaughter’s birthday August 3rd. She will be turning 7 years old this year and I can’t believe it! I am so excited to be heading to Arizona to help her and family celebrate my sweet girls birthday. YAY! This time I will be flying there!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I thank you kindly for visiting with me today. I am always grateful for all the support I get from fellow friends, family and the blogging community. I enjoy sharing when I can and so I will get this wrapped up and get back to stitching. I am getting super close to completing my project. I’ll have to pass the ice tea and say how is your (week) or weekend going?

Loving Our Summer Breeze Cowgirl,

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; Summer Reminiscing!

On July 10, 2022 By DianaIn Living life, weekend coffee share30 Comments

*A beautiful magnolia bloom I took on my trail ride last week!*

Welcome, can I get you a cup of coffee or maybe some tea? I made some blueberry muffins and they are delicious. I am enjoying summer. It has been a bit hot but we usually get a nice breeze by noon so being outside has not been that bad. I am also thankful it cools off at night usually into the 60’sF (15’sC) and so in the mornings it is really beautiful and it takes awhile before the heat sets in (up in the 90’sF) and I think this is because we are not to far from the ocean. My poor family in Arizona, this last weekend it has been averaging 110F (43C) and at night it only has been getting down into the 90’sF (32’sC). Now that is really hot! It is truly a dry heat with little to no humidity but now that I think about it I am happy we were unable to make the move to Arizona. I miss my family there immensely but I know here in California is better for me and my horses and not too hot!

My hubby has been working around the house and he keeps busy with the yards and house upkeep. I know I have shared before that he built a saloon in our backyard. He originally was building a storage unit, 10X20ft but since we live in a horsey town he decided to turn it into a saloon and so it is decorated inside and out like one and my kids through high school enjoyed spending time out there and had small parties there too. The saloon is mostly a storage unit now, just half full of boxes and holds some saloon furniture. The thing that excited me was I totally forgot that we had purchased a small wall piano for $50 from a yard sale years ago that fit perfect in our saloon! My hubby was working out back on the saloon cleaning up the dust and spiders and so I went back there to see him before I went to work and my heart leapt as I saw the piano! YAY! Here’s a few photos (click on photos for full view!)

Its in good shape and plays fine. It needs a tuning but truly there is only a few keys that sound tinny but it actually plays better than my old parlor grand piano that really fell apart and it became unplayable. Currently we do not have a place for it to be in our house so if I have a yearning to play, I will have to sit out in our saloon! Haha, that’s fine with me. I just miss playing and being an accomplished pianist hearing music that we can impart with our own hands just brings joy to my heart! The action of the keys are not the best, that’s okay as it sounds like an old timey piano. So FUN!!

*My sweet girl BZ, my hubby named her so many years ago!*

The photo with my sweet girl and all the chairs is looking out from the saloons porch. That barn in the photo is the back of a storage unit built like a barn that you buy from Lowes or Home Depot and it came with the property when we bought here. My husband decorated the back finding that “Stables” sign here in town. As a matter of fact so much of the decorations on our saloon are from farm or ranch properties that had yard sales or items with “free”. There is one more photo I can share of the front, but I wasn’t planning on spending so much time out in our saloon. It is really cool though, eh?

Shh, don’t tell my hubby that I am sharing his photos with the world. (He’s fine actually) Haha, I’m thinking he looks pretty dang good for turning 70 this year. He is eight years older than me and is doing great! He has worked so hard all his life and is now partly retired, is a Vietnam Veteran and the best hubby, father and best friend. I will say since I am on the subject that I can see why marriages change as we get older. Things are definitely different now than with little babies running around and then teen-age kids, and now they are grown adults with kids of their own. My goodness, I never wanted to dwell on aging and I am so thankful we are super active (I still work full-time) and as you know I do so much with my horses. 😀

Can I get you a refill? As I am writing this post I started out wanting to share summer and as always my horses which I will save for another post. I absolutely love it when I start to write and as the words flow from my mind to my fingers I end up sharing a subject that is near and dear to me and I am feeling rather nostalgic and so this is what I want to share today! It is so much fun for me! The next two photos are photos of a photo that my hubby came across going through some photo boxes. We have tons of photos we need to go through eventually. These caught my eye and so I’ll share here!

My son Harrison with Darth Vader. He is now 33 years old and a Dad himself. We are huge Star Wars fans so it was fun to run across this photo. That lightsaber he is holding looks like it is as long as Harrison is tall almost! Haha! And the second photo is such a neat photo of my niece Allie who came to visit back in the 90’s and I am on horseback as we ride around my sister’s backyard. I just love the accidental lighting on our smiling faces. These kinds of photos are just the best! I shared these photos with them on my social media and it was so wonderful to reminisce with them. And to think there is hundreds of photos to go through and I am sure there will be more gems to find.

Thank you so much for visiting my coffee share and I am just making it into the link up. I appreciate you visiting and I hope you all have a wonderful week ahead! 😀

Feeling nostalgic Mom and Grandma,

~Diana ❤

My Weekly Smile; Horsey Fun!

On February 1, 2022 By DianaIn Horse stories, weekly smile19 Comments

Welcome to my smile post as I am enjoying everything horses from this last weekend. It was a very cloudy day on Saturday, so gloomy that I actually did not feel like riding. I know a lot of people would love the cool weather but I woke up not feeling like doing much and so I went with my mood and didn’t ride. I took the opportunity to visit my horsey friend who I use to ride with and she has moved her new horse Roscoe to a new stables a few streets away but in the same town. I enjoyed my visit with her and was able to see Roscoe’s new stall and see him turned out in the arena.

As we head into Sunday I woke up to a beautiful day. The sun was bright and no clouds in sight which always makes me smile. I so enjoy sunny days and I was really motivated to do more today and ride my horses. I will tell you that I was a bit exhausted with all that I did on Sunday which is a good thing, right? I know I will sleep well. Here is all that I did as I took some photos of my day.

*Murphy is tied to a hitching post/rail. I have had him here before and he is learning to stand quietly.*

I usually use the cross-ties with Murphy which are ties that attach to each side of his head. This way he can’t move around as much with the sides of his head held straight. He can still turn his body but he also can’t try and bite me which I will say he doesn’t do any more. He use to try and bite me frequently because he is young and thinks it is a game to bite, like I am a herd mate which clearly I am not. He was really good tied to this rail except he was biting the lead rope and pulling on it and almost untied himself. I tied it so that it would not come off but in a safe manner (slip knot) if I needed to get it undone quickly. I’m so proud of him! ❤

*Here is Murphy in the cross-ties. I thought I would share so you can see the difference in the two places they need to learn to stand and be tied*.

There are horses that can’t stand tied in these cross-ties. We have some at our stables where if they are tied here they will freak out and pull back. Yes, they pull back all crazy and either snap the clips, fall down or break their halters trying to get free. It’s all a terrible mess and not safe for the horses and so those horse owners stay away from the cross-ties and never use them. It takes training and a sensible horse to learn to stand tied to any post including the first one I talked about. They can do the same thing at the straight bar hitching post and can freak out and pull back. Horses are flight animals so if they get spooked or feel trapped and feel like they need to bolt to get away, and boy they are so huge it is not fun when they get that scared. I’m very thankful that both my horses are very calm, sensible horses that do not get spooked easily and they both stand nicely tied to any cross-tie or hitching post/rail. 😀

If you are wondering what owners with horses that can’t be tied do? they teach them to ground tie, which means they teach them to stand in one place with the lead rope just hanging down to the ground. Some people just loop the rope loosely around the tie rail so they aren’t tied, but just sort of tethered loosely. Horses can feel the rope get taught, so they stand still in place. But if they get spooked and pull back the rope just slides around the rail and they are free. They don’t usually go far as they all like to stay near the herd which is all the other horses in their stalls nearby the tie area. Some people just brush and tack their horses in their stalls where there is no need to tie them to anything. These are some ways to get around complete restraint with sensitive horses that may not tie well.

*Murphy after my ride standing so very tall and being a good boy!*

After my ride I just had to take another photo. He can reach for the rope he is tied with and he just chews on it a little bit. (I would rather he chews the rope and not me! Haha!) He knows I need to brush him and pick out his hoofs. Then we walk to his stall so he can get his lunch. He loves food and looks forward to being done with all this nonsense of getting cleaned up! Haha, He would rather be dirty. It isn’t his favorite thing being brushed but he is getting much better and I can tell enjoys being out and hanging out with me each day. 😀 I find that routine is our best friend and he is very smart and I know that helps us bond!

*The weekend was fun with my stable friends!*

After taking care of Murphy and getting his lunch I got Miss Chloe out and got her ready for a trail ride with a couple of stable friends. We had a nice time and it was a gorgeous perfect day! Trail rides with friends are the best and make me smile! What makes you smile? 😀 I will end with a photo I took of Chloe and when I took the photo she was just about to sneeze! She is such a good girl, I have so many photos of her but not one where she is about to sneeze. Haha! Now I have this funny photo! Even though Saturday I didn’t feel like doing much, I ended up making up for that on Sunday where I almost did too much!

She’s just so cute and beautiful too! I hope you enjoyed my horsey post with some fun sort of educational things about how we handle the horses when needing to have them stand to be groomed and tacked up! I hope it isn’t too boring for both horse and non horsey folks. It’s so FUN to share!! I hope you all have a great week as we smile through to February!

Horse lover forever!

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; Jan. 22, 2022

On January 22, 2022 By DianaIn Living life, weekend coffee share31 Comments

*Welcome, can I get you a hot cup of coffee or tea?*

How are you today? I know for some it is summer and so maybe a cold brew is in order! I do know that there is plenty of cold out there as I have been visiting other coffee shares and brrr…. it is cold in the north! I can’t believe it is Jan. 22 and with it being 2022 that is a lot of 2’s. I am not a numerologist but I like numbers. I am more of an astrology gal, as I love all things astrology and find all the charts and signs fascinating! Okay, I am going down a rabbit hole and wonder where my mind is going. When I am here writing and sharing I usually have a bit of a plan on what I want to share and to be honest if I don’t have a plan, then I just don’t share anything. Hence why I skip some weeks, I only share when I feel inspired and everything I have written so far is literally just thoughts flying out and so let me hone in my thoughts!

I want to share that I enjoy blogging very much and I have found that my blog revolves around my life as stated but I enjoy sharing that with photos. That is my inspiration is being able to take photos of things that inspire me and so in turn I hope they somehow inspire you! And with that, what inspires you? I find as I am taking photos thoughts of a smile post, a horse trail post or a weekend coffee share starts to form and so I take my photos and plan out my post. I have so much fun thinking of how I will share and inspire! 😀

*I found my browband from my show bridle from 40+ years ago! I just finished polishing it as it was very tarnished after all these years!*

I am giggling here as guess what we didn’t have back in the 70’s! Spell check! Hahaha, I have spelled Norwegian Wood wrong! And I just discovered this as I am typing in 2022! Oh my goodness, all this time I had it wrong. What is that called, literary license? Sort of? Holy smokes, I should have looked at the Beatles album more closely as that is the song I named my horse after! This piece of leather with the silver name plate I used on my show bridle when I showed my Hunter, who’s barn name was Chester in the 70’s. I found most of the bridle today when I was rearranging my tack room area. I decided to go through some rubber tubs I have which is storing horse stuff and that’s when I found this brow band! I also found 7 bits, and I have more than that in another plastic container. I probably have over 15 bits, maybe more! I really need to go through my stuff!

*This is Murphy with a bridle like my show bridle. The arrow is pointing to the browband! Sharing for the non horsey folks out there! ❤*

*This is Norwegian Wood wearing his show bridle with me at a Santa Barbara Horse Show back in 1979 ❤*

I have no idea where I am going with this post. I am a bit all over the place especially since I found out I don’t know how to SPELL! Thankfully, since it is a name I know lots of folks who don’t spell names correctly on purpose. So now that I’ve made a huge deal out of this I know no one would have ever noticed but me as I typed it into my computer and it was auto correcting my spelling. Okay, shake it off Diana! Haha, and I have to say I will use the browband in a shadow box or something of the sort as it doesn’t take up that much space to save this browband. 😀

Onward Diana! I wanted to share my cross-stitch I’ve been working on and I have one photo of my progress from some weeks ago and a new photo today of how far I’ve gotten on this project. I thought it would be fun to share as I enjoy sharing my crafts.

*It’s really coming along nicely! This is Fall, part of a four season’s pattern book.*

Once I get closer to being done I will take a better photo. What will be fun is when I use black to outline everything and then things will really pop. The people near the little building will be better defined and I will outline the wheels to the carriage and all the rigging for the horse. The barn will be outlined and will be so pretty. There is still a lot to fill in and stitch but I am more than half way done! I will share the two other seasons I have completed when I get close to completing this one. It is such a fun hobby!

Can I get you a refill? As I segue back to the horses I have a video of Murphy lose in the arena. I took the video last weekend and wanted to share it with you all. My other Murphy news is that I took my first lesson on him with a trainer that comes to our barn for other riders. I knew I would be asking her for help as I have gotten so far and I knew I wasn’t connecting the dots as it were with his training and I needed another eye to see what I am or am not doing correctly. Remember, my original training was many years ago and so I am a bit rusty. Trail riding is not arena riding at all and so it was great fun to get this lesson!

Lisa is very kind and explains things extremely well. I need to focus more when riding, she has some helpful focusing points for example; ride to a post on the rail and look through your turn to another post and so on and so forth and when you focus on this it will help teach Murphy to focus and comply. I was so amazed on how much better he got in that lesson as we both walked with purpose from one side of the arena around the corners to the other end. I won’t get into all the details (as there is much more) but as she is reminding me of things, memories are rushing in and I can’t wait to continue on this journey. I will take a lesson every 2 weeks and work with him in between for the next few months or so and then see where we are at and if I need to continue. I am so thankful and grateful for her help! ❤

I Love watching him as he trots and canters around in the arena! He is such a character!

I know this has been kind of a crazy coffee share post. Haha, maybe I can blame it on the wind! Maybe the wind is making my thoughts all kind of crazy today. It is super duper windy here in southern California! It gets to be so darn windy we can’t ride. So I can’t practice, bummer. I was so looking forward to riding this weekend and it is suppose to be windy tomorrow too. Oh well, there will be plenty of good days to ride. I haven’t been able to ride Miss Chloe on the trails this last week because they have been working on the trails replacing all the wooden fencing with white vinyl fencing. They finally finished Friday!

*I know I take so many photos it is hard to choose which one I like better!*

Murphy is huge! He has a big head, big ears and a huge heart! He truly is so sweet, gentle and kind. I will end here and hope you all have a wonderful weekend and week ahead! If you would like to visit other coffee shares please click here ~ and I have to thank Natalie for hosting our #weekendcoffeeshares

Crazy spell checking horse Gal! 😀

~Diana ❤

My Weekly Smile; Jan. 16, 2022

On January 17, 2022 By DianaIn Barn stories, weekly smile21 Comments

Welcome to my weekly smile. I can’t believe it’s been two months since I wrote my last smile post and that surprised me as I didn’t think it had been that long when I checked. I will blame my work schedule as I try to balance work, my horsey time, my blogging time and I like to spend some free time with my crafts. I haven’t been able to fit in reading as I’ve been wanting to get back into novels I have sitting here just waiting for me! I have to set aside some time to read. I would read before I go to bed, but my hubby is in bed before me and I can’t have a light on and I don’t want to wake him. Hmm… I suppose I could read in the family room before I head to bed. I’ll figure it out! This sleeping at night thing takes awhile to figure out scheduling things. (For anyone new, I use to work grave yard shift for over 30 years!) Now I work swing shift.

I am smiling as I devour my giant ginger cookies. They are delicious and I will share! 😀 My son has been asking me to make them since Christmas and I ran out of time to bake my cookies this year so I finally made them this last weekend. The house smelled wonderful while they baked and I am very happy to bake for the family. I have a few other things that bring me smiles and I hope they may bring a smile to you!

*An accidental photo of Murphy galloping and Murphy checking out the neighbor steer!*

I thought I would share a couple of photos which the galloping one was an accident. It may not be the best photo but I liked how I caught him with almost all 4 feet off the ground! 😀 I thought I was taking a video when I snapped a photo. I like accidental photos, they are fun!! And at the back of his stall on the neighbors property they have cows and steers. You can see the steer with its horns in the next photo, Murphy is very curious. We have had horses boarded here that have been very scared of the cows that get close to the fence. I am proud of Murphy as he checks things out! Not much phases this big guy!

He is such a fun horse checking out the bags of bedding for his stall! Silly guy!

I thought this a funny video as Murphy is a curious 3 year old! He is so darn cute, and I usually take him out to add shavings to his stall. It was fun interacting with him. He has such a personality, they all do and I mean all animals do right? I have so much fun and I knew as the months go by, I can say that we are really bonding. It’s so wonderful and that truly makes me smile!

*Murphy and I riding in the arena! Me and my shadow, I just love shadows!*

I have to tell you of one last smile. After Murphy and I had a fun ride together I rode to the gate of the arena and pushed it opened and we walked down the aisle and I decided to ride out the front gate all by ourselves to the trails out front. He has gone out through the gate before but with other horses. When we walk off the property we have to walk between the house and the garage of the owners place and since there are trees and bushes around too, it can be a bit scary for the horses. Also, horses don’t really want to leave the herd (or all the other horses that board there which they would consider “their herd”) so it can be challenging to get them to be brave enough while riding them out the front gate!

I am smiling from ear to ear as he just walked right on down and through the gate and out to the trail! YAY! 😀 Once we got onto the trail out front we turned right and took a few steps and then he stopped. He just looked around and did what I had asked him and I didn’t really have a plan once I was at the trail. This was all fine because I am not ready to go down the trail by ourselves yet at his age. We will take our time, and so I let him turn and head back into the stables and back to the hitching post or cross-ties where I dismounted and tied him so I could untack him and get him ready for his stall. He is so much FUN!! ❤ ❤ ❤

One more photo of my ride with a great shadow! His mane is so thick it falls on both sides of his neck!

I hope you all have a wonderful week, what makes you smile? And I have to thank Trent who hosts the weekly smile post each week. It is so much fun to join in and linkup with his blog which is here.

Smiling, Baking, Horse Crazy Gal!

~Diana ❤

My Weekly Smile; Nov. 15, 2021 Family Fun!

On November 15, 2021 By DianaIn Living life, weekly smile21 Comments

Welcome to my weekly smile post. I am back from a super fun weekend visiting my daughter who lives 3 1/2 hours north in Orcutt, Ca. She is currently a Major in the Space Force and she is stationed at Vandenberg Space Force Base. They have officially changed the name of the base and so here is to a new era of a new branch of our military. We visited Pismo beach and had the best ever cinnamon rolls which I have shared before since we often go there when we visit. The place is called Old West Cinnamon Rolls and oh my, they are so delicious and every time we sit down at the pier to eat them I forget to take a photo of them. Haha, trust me, they are to die for!! 😀

We then went shopping at a local mall as it was recently my youngest sons birthday. Oh, I forgot to mention he came up with me to visit as he hasn’t seen my daughter’s house she is leasing and he hasn’t met her kitty, Evie! He is bad about shopping and buying himself clothes and so we went to Macy’s and they had great sale’s and he got the pants he needed and a new belt. I found a pair of shoes with memory foam that I was looking for at a great price and my daughter ended up buying 2 pair of shoes. A totally fun day! I am always smiling when I can spend time with my family.

*I took this through the front window of the car when we came up on the light at this intersection! I thought it so cool!*

*My son meets Evie, my daughter’s kitty!*

Evie is such a friendly cat. I am so incredibly happy my daughter found her and was able to adopt her as she cuddles and plays. She is such a wonderful pet and friend for her and its so fun to visit as she sits on all of our laps and treats us like family! For those of you who don’t have cats, some cats can be really scared or do not like strangers. Then when you visit they just hide under the bed! Haha, we have 2 cats and one of them is like what I described. She will hide until the strange people have gone, but thankfully she will come out if you spend the night. Then she realizes she doesn’t need to be that scared. I just LOVE Evie! ❤

Funny story, my daughter is taking piano lessons. She took lessons as a youngster following in my footsteps as I took lessons for many years (which I followed in my father’s footsteps as he was almost a concert pianist!). I am so proud that she is back taking lessons again. She has a wonderful piano teacher who put together a recital with all of her students. I was so excited and told my daughter I wanted to attend. She said it is a Sunday night and that she didn’t really want me there because she thought that would make her even more nervous. It turns out our visit up there was from Saturday thru to Monday and what a coincidence the recital was this last Sunday evening! We were able to attend, she didn’t mind and even though she was nervous she performed well. Here is a half a minute snippet and a photo at the recital. She played a Chopin Nocturne, one I was not familiar with but it is beautiful.

*I’m so proud of my daughter and the teacher is nearby to turn the page for her so she doesn’t have to stop playing the piece.*

This teacher explained how this was a casual recital and that it is good to have casual performances to work out the nerves and to have fun with the pieces you play. We are all so hard on ourselves when we perform and I was so pleased to see how encouraging this piano teacher was with all her students. There were many children, I think more boys than girls playing and a handful of adults as well. It was such a joy to see and hear them all! I am SMILING! 😀

This is just a 30 second snippet. I thought it was a beautiful piece but then I just LOVE Chopin and can play many Nocturnes and Preludes. She is doing great and I’ve already said but will say it again, I am so proud of her and for her getting out there and performing this piece. She struggles fitting in all the practice needed since she does work full-time.

I wanted to mention that the gentlemen you can see his head in the video brought the really nice camera and recorded the whole recital. He also played in the recital and takes lessons with his very young son and daughter. They will edit the video and then send to all the students. I think that is so COOL!! Another huge smile on my face today! 😀

*I started a new project, cross-stitch which I haven’t done in some years! Can you guess what I am making?*

On to my last subject, my new craft project. You know I share my crochet projects and I make a ton of crochet things from blankets to crochet animals. After I finished the baby blanket and mailed it off to the Mom who absolutely loved it thankfully, I decided to pick up my cross-stitch. This piece I am working on is the third project in a book of four. They are called Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. I am working on Fall, and you can just make out the beginnings of a barn! I will share photos as I go, and my next blog post I will share the other ones I have completed. I wanted to end with this sunset photo and ask you, what makes you smile?

*The sunset from last night! We didn’t stop and I just took a quick photo and I thought it’s worth sharing.*

I hope you all have a wonderful week. I can’t believe Thanksgiving is just over a week away! The time just flies by but I am enjoying each day to it’s fullest. Keep smiling! 😀

Happy Smiling Mom,

~Diana ❤

Smiling And Past Squares!

On October 6, 2021 By DianaIn Past Squares, weekly smile26 Comments

*I took this photo last May when I first got Murphy!* ❤

I wanted to share a smile post this week and as I thought about smiling I thought I could also share this post with Becky B’s Past Square challenge for the month of October. Since she picked the theme “past squares” we could use past photo’s from other square challenges or use things from our past that we want to share or re-share. I’ll be going through my archives to retrieve photos that I wanted to share that make me smile and they will all be selfies.

I am not sure why I like selfies so much, but I do, they make me smile 😀 and selfies and horses are hard! I should stand in front of them and then take the photo, but I usually try to squeeze their enormous head next to mine, haha, which is really difficult. It is really fun to try and here are a few more selfies!

*Murphy and I and a fly! Haha, he was so curious looking at the phone when I took this photo!* ❤

*These three photos are from summer 2020. Chloe in two and Zack’s nose in the middle! Wonderful memories, which makes me SMILE!* 😀

I am sorry the first two photos are rather huge but I made them both square. The three together are not square but I found out that’s okay. I have a few more selfies I will share and they are with my grandkids. I have slowed down my selfie taking with them partly because I’ve slowed down taking photos of them in general. I think when I visit my grandkids I am trying to spend quality time and so I don’t think to pull out the camera (my phone) and so the time zooms by while visiting. My son has been taking some awesome photos and sending them to me so I am not missing out too much. I make a photo book each year of the grandkids and so I can use his photos too!

*Here are some selfies of my grandkids, Love them and they are so silly! Love my daughter and I too, they all make me SMILE!* 😀

I just realized that I do not have any selfies of me and my sons. Guys are just busy doing their thing as I just don’t think to ask them to stand with me for a selfie. I think they would say what? Why do you want a selfie Mom! Haha, I am joking as I really don’t know what they would say but I never think to ask or make a selfie with them. I do have a few with my husband. Let me see if I can find a good one to end my post.

Oh I found one of me riding, even though my friend did not know I was taking this photo! Haha! AND my hubby and I at a beach concert last year. It was cold at the beach that evening hence why we are bundled up!

I so enjoyed sharing and as I am thinking about what makes me smile, these silly photos always bring a smile to my face. And it is great to look back into the past and re-share fun times. Oh wait, I hear Chloe asking to end this post and she says Smile, it will make you feel good! ❤

Selfie Silly Grandma,

~Diana ❤

My Weekly Smile; End of Summer ~Aug 30th

On August 30, 2021 By DianaIn Living life, weekly smile28 Comments

*I had to use this flower again, so unusual and it makes me smile!* 😀

Welcome to my weekly smile! I have been taking a bit of a blogging break. This summer has been very busy, so different than last year right? Lot’s of family visits, which I LOVE SO MUCH! There is more visiting coming up for me as I will be heading to Colorado at the end of this week to visit my sister. I have seen her as she has come to California a few times in the last 5 years but I haven’t been to CO in about 8 years. As I am writing this I am thinking I will continue with this blogging break until I return from vacation for another week or so. Since I have some fun video’s I made to share I decided to write this post and explain my break.

When I return to blogging more regularly I’m going to give myself permission to not feel pressured to write a blog post. I feel like I can get a little OCD about writing my blog thinking I have to write and share on this link or another and then I pressure myself into thinking I am letting everyone down if I can’t keep up. Isn’t that a little crazy? Do you feel like that too, or is it just my crazy brain as I so enjoy being involved and join in. I guess I need to just take a chill pill and blog when it feels right and not worry! I’ll take my advice! Haha, I’m smiling!! 😀

It really has been nice to work on some of my crafts, and relax and not make myself crazy with pressure about my blog. This should be fun and so I am not leaving but I may post less often so that I can balance my busy life. 😀

*I Love this baby blanket pattern! I decided to try a different background color which is variegated grey, white and pink!*

I am smiling as I am finally making progress on another baby blanket I am making for a good friend and her baby girl. When I find something I love to make, I will make it in different colors and then gift it to my relatives or good friends. I have done this with fingerless mittens and scarfs, haha, I guess I get a little OCD about crochet patterns!

My daughter said that her friends colors in the nursery are pink and grey. I am thinking probably more pink than grey, and I didn’t ask for photos but as I looked through the yarn to buy I found this variegated yarn that is really pretty in person. The photo doesn’t do it justice but it is grey/white/pink. Very light pink, so light in pink that it mostly looks grey. Darn it all, it’s not really a very good baby color but I am going to finish it and I found a nice pink yarn you can see in the photo for the border. It will help bring out the pink in the grey, I hope! It’s kind of antique looking and really super cool I think. I can always keep it if I don’t think it’s worthy of gifting! Sorry about this long description, it’s just been a challenging blanket to put together with the colors I chose! 😀 Now, on to my horsey adventures!

*My sister riding Murphy for the first time! What a good boy, they look great!!*

We had so much fun riding when my sister visited this month. She drove from Idaho with her oldest son who is on Murphy. We rode out on trail with my best friend and Roscoe. My sister came for her youngest sons birthday who lives here in California not far from us and so it was so great to also have her meet Murphy! I am so proud of Murphy as he was so good with everyone and I also had some fun trail rides. (I am one of 6 kids, so it can get confusing. This sister here on Murphy is now visiting my sister in Colorado. I have a sister in Oregon and another in Northern CA. I have a brother in Reno, NV. It will take a lot of weekends away to catch up and see everyone, eventually!)

Trail riding with my best friend on Roscoe and my sister on Fashion and her son on Chloe! 😀 😀 😀

I’m smiling from ear to ear! What fun trail rides while my sister visited. My sister brought cool weather with her the week she was here! She is riding a good friend’s horse and her name is Fashion. She is a black and white paint and she is in her 20’s and knows the Norco trails well. It is really good for Murphy to go out with other horses. He wasn’t bothered by the group and with 4 of us we all had a blast!

I am in no hurry with Murphy and his training, taking one day at a time and he gets days of rest or turn out to just be a horse. I am riding him in the arena with him learning what I want him to do for me and we are working on the walk, trot and canter. He is extremely lazy, so I ask a little bit and reward him when he does what I ask of him. He is very smart and learning so fast. He is learning to move off of my leg, which means I use my leg to have him move over to pressure from either side and I use my reins as well. I won’t go into all the detail, I am just so happy he is understanding my cues and I reward with a release and a nice free walk. It is all so much FUN!! 😀

*He is really happy and has such personality! Murphy and I are bonding well. I Love this boy so much!* ❤

I can’t believe this month is ending. Where did this year go? It is really going fast so I am trying to slow down and enjoy each day. I think the last few weeks I am accomplishing this and I am finding my stride. I know one thing and that is I am looking forward to Fall and hopefully cooler weather. We have been hitting 100F(38C) too often this summer and we are expecting cooler weather this coming week. This weekend was really hot and I took a video of Murphy after I hosed him off and he likes to play with the hose and loves the water. I will end with this short video and I want to thank you so much for visiting my smile post! What makes you smile? I do love hearing from you and I thank you for reading and following my blog!!

I want to thank Trent for hosting My Weekly Smile! With the world craziness, it is great to smile at the simple things whenever possible. Have a great week!

Smiling Happy Cowgirl,

~Diana ❤

My Weekly Smile; Summer Flowers!

On August 10, 2021 By DianaIn weekly smile20 Comments

Welcome to my weekly smile post. I’m smiling at all the fun I have had in the last few months. A new horse, spending time with family and my grand daughter’s birthday celebrations to name a few. I have a best friend who has moved to Kentucky and she knows I LOVE flowers and from time to time she sends me the most beautiful flower photos! I asked her if I could share on my blog. These are recent blooms from Kentucky and they just make me smile! 😀

How can you not smile 😀 such beauties!! Here are a few more she shared with me!! Thank you sweet friend!!!

I know I usually fill my posts with lots of narration. I do love to chat, but there is also something about just taking in the beauty. I really wanted to share these super pretty flowers, what makes you smile?

My last photo from Kentucky! Such pretty blooms!

*These pretty red flowers are blooming in Arizona. I just had to take a photo! They make me smile!* 😀

Thank you for visiting my smile post for this week. I have to say it’s been a rather hot summer here and I am looking forward to the fall even though we have at least another month to go with hot weather. It can stay hot through September here! YIKES! I am also smiling as I have more travel plans in the works and that is to visit my sister in Colorado. I need to secure airline tickets soon. I hope you all have a wonderful week that is full of SMILES! Thanks for visiting! 😀

Smiling, Flower Loving Grandma,

~Diana ❤

My Weekly Smile; Thankful Thoughts

On July 26, 2021 By DianaIn weekly smile23 Comments

Welcome to my weekly smile and for this week I want to share thankfulness. I am thankful my horse Murphy is doing good and the belly ache he had is gone and he is eating well, looking great and back to his happy self.

I am thankful for our health and well being. I know we all are busy and with being busy we need to be mindful to take care of ourselves. I know I am thankful for my new job being able to sleep at night which I know is keeping me healthy. I have been at my new job 8 months now and all is very good.

I am thankful for all of my loved ones and family. We have had our ups and downs, but we all love each other and are so supportive of all we do, I feel blessed. I big shout out to family and loved ones!

I am thankful for all my friends. I have such gratitude for all of my friends, even if I do not see you every day or often I think about all my friends and how lucky we have each other.

Lastly, I am thankful for this blog which brings me lots of SMILES! I am smiling as I write this and this is the shortest post I think I have written in a long time. But that’s what blogging is all about right? Write what you feel, and for this week I wanted to share that even if I do not know you well, or you never comment but read my blog, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Its such a pleasure to share, and brings me joy and smiles. I also like to hear from you, what makes you smile?

I’m smiling because over a year ago I decided to stop coloring my hair blonde. It is naturally blonde but mostly really dark blonde almost brown. It has taken me a long time to accept myself as me. I don’t need to stay blonde to be me and I don’t need fancy hair cuts to be me. I cut my own hair and I love it. (I followed a Youtube haircut instructions!) I am learning to love myself even though I want to lose a few pounds. I am learning to love myself thinking I should work out more, or walk more, or look prettier! We are our hardest critic, I know, I know too well. But we are who we are and I have found with age, all of these things just don’t matter so much any more. It’s what’s in your heart, and my heart is big and SMILING!

Smiling, Thankful, Friend, Mom, Grandma!

~Diana ❤

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Tag: #smilingfun

My Weekly Smile; Horsey Fun!

My Weekly Smile; Jan. 16, 2022

My Weekly Smile; Nov. 15, 2021 Family Fun!

Smiling And Past Squares!

My Weekly Smile; End of Summer ~Aug 30th

My Weekly Smile; Summer Flowers!

My Weekly Smile; Thankful Thoughts