My Week

So last show of the year and I am at home :(  Seems odd but the next show is April 9th near Olds and I guess we will go to that.  Not really sad as there is always lots of shows and I still got to practice.  We worked cows yesterday and it was really a fun day, lots of people there and so got to watch lots too.  Then a storm cloud blew through as we were just finishing and so we put the horses away and went and had coffee.  Was good to visit with some of them as I hadn't seen them in a year and one lady not since a clinic a couple years ago (shes from Sask and has a horse at Doug's he's training)

(the grass is starting to come in, Easy isn't very good about grazing on the lead 

he probly has done it very little but I thought was a nice change for him)

(the goofy peacock was sitting on the truck when I went to leave,

 just watching whats going on)

Today not much going on, we have 4 calves so far, all bulls.  I gotta get a horse in so I can go ride out there and see them, could take Bob but that's not near as fun.  On Monday I plan on bringing in a few, Bailey is going to the vet and so her and Pally will stay in the corral.  And then Thursday I think Easy is coming home :)  That will be lots of fun.  Ill still go over couple times a week for lessons on show weeks and maybe once a week on non show weeks?  I dunno have to decide how its gonna work yet.

I hate to say something too soon, but looks like I sold Bailey if all goes well, they came out Monday and tried her and just loved her, she was really good for not being rode since last August.  her feet are long of course but not chipped off or anything and we just rode her in the arena and down the road, she was so perfect for them.  Id like to get her feet done but depends on when they are coming, waiting on a coggins test takes forever but the farrier is coming between 10-15 of April, whatever day my neighbor tests bull cause he comes to help.

I also planted seeds this week, some have come up, others not quite yet but I'm hopeful.  Got 25 beefsteak tomatoes, 19 watermelon, 6 spearmint, 17 basil, 30 marigolds, 12 jalepeno, 12 Aneheim pepper, 12 Poblano pepper, 6 Serano pepper and 30 poppies.  The poppies must be at leat 20 years old they were my great grampa's and I just found them, but they were dry and so either I get way too many or non we will see.  Got a few more to start but not for another couple weeks, pumpkins, butternut squash and cantelope.  They grow really fast so no more than 3 weeks early for them or they will take over my house.

(tomatoes)

(marigold, watermelon, herbs)

(Poppies and peppers, they aren't up yet)

Neil's dad came out this week as well, hes working on turning an old tent trailer into a trailer he can use at the museum to haul pumps around on in the Canada Day parade.  It looks a lot better already, this week he got all the lights working and the frame on the sides.  Needs boards yet but almost done.  He only comes out on warm days and the cats pester him haha its so funny.

(oh Ziggy)

(lays down when no one pays him attention, 

he did climb all over Neil but I was laughing to hard to get a picture.  

Neil was laying under the truck and the cat 

comes and lays on him with his butt in Neil's face)

(there's the trailer, 

the other cat was out hunting,

 I wish Ziggy would go to)

Today Neil is curling and I will go to the banquet, if he wins his game at 1 he will be in the finals at 7 and I may stay to watch.

Complaints from a non complainer

Well its been forever again, didn't mean for it to be but it is.  I am about 75% healed up now, back to life as normal but still being careful.  I been riding again, trying to finish my horsemanship challenge even though it means I need to ride twice a day everyday till the 28th and doubt ill make it but that's how life is going.

I tried to get a friend of mine to ride with me and on the nicest day of the year so far she says shes cleaning house and doing books.  Kinda irritated me more than normal and I told her to quite making excuses and just say she doesn't wanna ride.  I feel like everyone is moving to different things and I don't wanna.  In a way makes me wanna just do it all by myself and then I think I have been and its getting old.

And then on top of it they are quitting my favorite (well actually my only) Facebook game.  Sounds dumb but I really enjoyed having a reason to come on Facebook, I like the people and all but the people I met through the game are more like real friends than anyone I know.  I kinda thought they might and thought Id be OK with it but I'm not really.  I should be glad to have more time to do other stuff specially now its summer but I need to rest sometimes.

In other news I went on a vacation to California, LA of all places and I really didn't expect to like it but I did.  Was so fantastic I didn't even miss home.  We were at Manhattan Beach and 2 blocks off the ocean, my friends sister lives there so she showed us around, we walked or biked pretty much everywhere.  We saw a shark, a seal, a dolphin and whales even.  Super cool!  Her husband is the LA Kings coach so we went to a game and that was neat, even for me who isn't really a hockey fan.

But life goes on, no calves yet, but should be coming close.  I'm supposed to be in a cutting clinic on the 28/29th of March but I am on the waiting list so we will see.  I feel bad complaining about my little things when so many have worse stuff going on and maybe that's why it bothers me so much is I feel it shouldn't.

Not Back to Normal Yet :(

Haven't posted in what feels like forever, was kinda hoping to get a computer of my own so I could post some pictures but so far haven't had a chance.

Neil is home and he was feeling good for a few days and did way too much and now is not feeling as good and we headed to the doctor and he has him booked for more tests.  I dunno what's going on and I think the doctor is kinda stumped as well.  Its frustrating to not know and frustrating to Neil to not be better.

In other news we have about 145 calves on the ground, sure seems like a million when they are running around, lol.  I am not a very good counter but if I go in the afternoons when its warm they are usually sleeping and easier to count.  Had my friend S come up and help me move a bunch more cows north that were hanging out in the creek and I couldn't get them out by myself.  It was such a nice day we went quicker than she expected and so we did a walk around the cows afterwards as well.  Pretty soon it will be time to move them out of that field as well, I dunno where time goes these days.

Got 5 more heifers in the corral that are in no hurry to calve, I sure wish we woulda left our bulls out for shorter, I kept saying we should but ya know cant change they way things are done forever.  I cant wait for the day I can sleep as long as I feel like it.  And one day soon we are gonna move all the heifers that calved out onto grass so I can quit feeding them as well.  But I think we are hoping to get em all calved first.

Not much else is going on I would like to go to a lesson one day but it seems like the weeks are just full and busy with driving Neil here and there and checking cows and fixing fence and doing chores, seems to be no extra time :(  Only good thing is I am getting lots of riding in and I need that break from Neil doing something I enjoy.  I sure would like life back to normal one day soon though.

I do have scrap booking retreat on the 23-25 of May booked and so am hoping to be able to go to that it will be a nice break even if I don't get much done.  Otherwise I hate to plan too much into the future now.

Bad Day Turns Out Good

Well Neil is still in the hospital but he is on the mend.  Been 2 weeks now, everyone panics cause its been so long but I would rather him there healing than home sick.

On Friday I rode up with him in the back of an ambulance to Red Deer so they could drain what they thought was a pus pocket.  We got there and they wouldn't let me watch :(  something about using x-rays and ct scans to find it.  But anyways it wasn't pus just a separate pocket of fluid, the same stuff they drained out on last Monday.  They also gave him 2 units of blood on Thursday and that and removing this pocket seemed to make a huge difference.  They left a drain in so it would completely drain out,  and so another attachment, what a pain.  But so far so good hes feeling a lot better, even got bored in there, but hes still weak.  On Thursday there was quite some excitement at 10:30 at night they thought he was showing signs of tuberculosis and so they rushed him into another room and all his furniture and the other guy in his room and did a major disinfecting.  Then they put a sign on his door saying airborne disease must wear mask, gown and gloves in the room.  And he was swelling up so they gave him a water pill to pee every 10 minutes, what a nuisance, he said he didn't get much sleep that night.

But it was a false alarm and everything is back to normal, hes still in a private room and he will be in there until his drain isn't draining anymore and the doctor is sure he wont come back.  He really wanted to get out tomorrow for his birthday but it doesn't sound like its gonna happen.  He even walked all the way to the x-ray and back this morning but was really tired afterwards.  I am glad they are gonna keep him till hes stronger less work for me to take care of him too.

Its been going well here, except this morning I lost a calf in the heifers that maybe coulda been saved if I was more invasive.  I find I would rather wait and let them do it without interfering if at all possible, but in this case I shoulda helped her sooner, but whats done is done I cant fix t now, too bad cause she was such a nice quiet cow but she didn't even turn around to look at her calf, she just walked away from it after we pulled it.  I tried to put one of the twins with her but he just kept climbing through the fence away from her so after about 3 times I gave up on that and just turned her out.  Was a pretty rotten morning, had me wondering if everything was going wrong.  But then had a nap after lunch and rode through the cows and I felt much better.  I am always nervous riding through the cows cause Neil always says they are wild and scared of a horse and I just don't do it very often, so easy to just grab Bob and drive, but I guess it wont get easier/more normal for me unless I do it.  And it was nice, only took about an hour and I didn't even need to wear a coat.  And I saw a calf being born, so all is alright in my world again.

 Although I do want it back to normal again, I don't like this.  It wouldn't be so bad if I never had to spend 4 hours to go see Neil everyday but still would rather it be like it was before.  Although I know when he gets home he will still need help and be weak, they said not 100% till June :(  That seems so long away.  Although as much as I complain I would rather do this than be the one in the hospital.  I think the hardest part is its hard for anyone to understand unless they have gone through this, and the worst of it is we have no family around to help besides Neils dad who has been coming up every couple days to help out.  But seems like everyone else has tones of family around and here I am all alone.

Sick Husband

Last week Neil had a cold, and it wasn't that bad, and then it got worse, he thought it turned into the flu, so he laid around for a couple days and then he asked me to take him to the hospital, I was a little surprised he seemed wimpy but I thought all men are when they are sick.  So we went in to emergency and the triage nurse looked at him and asked all kinds of questions then they send you back to waiting room to wait for doctor.  About 5 minutes later the doctor saw him and said its not the flu its pneumonia.  And the said they wanted to start him on iv antibiotics for a few days and since we live so far from the hospital they would like to keep him in.  He agreed cause it was a pretty awful drive for him.  So we got there at 8 and by 11:30 he was in a room and they even brought him lunch at noon, pretty organized I was surprised.  He didn't eat it of course but it was there.  That was last Tuesday the first.  I left and went home to check heifers and bring him some clothes cause he was wearing his jeans and no one wants to sleep in jeans in the hospital.  So I brought him some stuff and he was feeling pretty bad, slept in the chair so he could stay upright and not cough.

The next day he made it into the bed but had it sitting all the way up and he was a lot more cheerful but still not great.  kept getting a little better everyday.  Then Sunday he woke up and said hard to breathe so they put him on oxygen which he never needed before cause they kept testing blood oxygen levels and they were good.  Also gave him a couple puffers to open his lungs.  Worked for a while then Monday they figured should drain some fluid around his left lung, the right side was all cleared up and so they took a bunch out and he said wasn't bad but didn't seem to make a lot of difference.  Took a CT scan today and no cancer but might send him to a specialist cause they are thinking there is maybe a blockage of some sort stopping him from healing.

I also think its taking longer cause he is probly going through withdrawal symptoms from not smoking for a week, he says he doesn't miss it but the its still hard on the system.  He asked his doctor for something to quit and he wont give him something unless he starts missing it cause no need to introduce more nicotine if unnecessary.  I hope he quits, would be an ideal time.

Meanwhile I am here taking care of things on the farm, not too bad, we have heifers and cows calving so far no problems and I think only 13 heifers left out of 33, I haven't worried too much about cows, still feeding a little so they all bunch up and then I can go look at the ones who don't come up.  Got about 19 out there, they are so funny even when i don't want to they make me smile.

The worst part is we had to cancel our trip to Texas which doesn't bother me cause he's sick but I really wanted to go.  But I guess there is always next year.  He will still need care when he gets home but I am hoping they keep him till hes pretty good.  Seems like a long time to be in the hospital nowadays but they seem in no rush and they hospital is not full so its good.  I sure have a better appreciation for nurses and am glad I am not one I dont think anyone would like me after a while.