A rough go.

It has been an interesting week to say the least. On Thursday, last, I was coming home form the farm and exactly two blocks from my house the car sputtered and stalled. I tried to restart it, but it again stuttered and stalled. We had it towed to the mechanic.

Friday morning I got a ride to the farm and helped get the last few things loaded into the horse trailer. Then we loaded the horses and were off, heading to our endurance ride, ten minutes ahead of schedule. Just a few miles north of the Oregon border the truck had a power drop and we coasted off the highway into a parking lot. Oil was pouring out of the engine compartment. We were able to find the horses a ride back to Olympia in a borrowed trailer. The farm's trailer has a gooseneck hitch and the other truck that we had available to us needed a bumper pull.  Once the horses were off loaded and reloaded we had the truck and trailer towed to a mechanic. Then we headed home. We are hopeful that we will go to another endurance ride soon, it is just a matter of adjusting calendars.

I recently spoke to our mechanic. He started out by asking if we had towing coverage on our auto insurance, not a good sign. His shop lacks the diagnostic equipment to run the codes that the car's computer is throwing. He suggested taking it to another shop that specializes in foreign car repair - he even recommended one that he knows and trusts. And despite the fact that he had spent hours trying diagnose
the car, he didn't charge us.

Ahhh, cars.

More horse pictures!

We are getting closer and closer to our 25 mile LD endurance ride. It is in less than two weeks! The horses are doing well and in very good condition. We are tapering down our workouts now in preparation for the big day.

Full Spring ahead

I have not been sad about the weather here in the PNW at all. Not at all last week when it was snowing in Minnesota and like this here

was I sad that we moved to this grey, damp, dreary place. This April was the 2nd wettest on record in these parts. I hardly remember it raining last month. I guess I have found my place.

Who would have guessed that It would be hot enough for squirt gun fights already.

You may be wondering about the line running down our lawn. We did the moss removal in two stages so that we would have a place to play at all times. The strip closest to the house was in the first round. The grungy part is the newly de-mossed area.

Daycare

Today I looked into a daycare option, for the dog.  While we are working with him on separation issues, I thought it would be nice to have options other than leaving him in the car or having him with me (or John).  I called ahead, brought all the proper papers, and took him inside. Freki was a gentleman. Easily passing all of the temperament and social tests. I then left for a two- hour trial period. Approximately fifteen minutes after I left, my phone rang. It was the dog daycare asking me to please come back.
Apparently, Freki figured out how to open the gate latch that lead out of the dog area into the people area. They told me that he did great with the other dogs and he is a great dog, but they were afraid that they could not contain him. It made me wonder, don't dog daycare places exist for dogs that cannot be left at home for various reasons? Such as separation anxiety or need for extra mental stimulation.  I might check with other day care locations. Or not.

That's alright. I felt silly taking my dog to daycare anyways.

It was an interesting day at least.

Weekend doings

The plan for the weekend was to thatch (or is it dethatch?) the second half of the back yard and other more fun stuff. We were on our A game on Friday after dinner and got it all done. All of the offending moss was loaded onto the trailer before 9pm. That left Saturday open to dump the moss at the transfer station and play at the dog park that is next door. I took a deliciously long nap, and then we went downtown for the Procession of the Species. Freki had the best seat in the house. He was a little scared so I let him sit in my lap- it was alright with me because he was warm!

this whale was made from recycled materials

haha, gorilla piggy back ride!

There was also time this weekend for puttering around the house, putting rollers on the raft trailer, and playing games.

Another project done!

And it works great!

the blue riding breeches I'm wearing, yup made those too!

For the dog that has to stay with you . . . only the best will do.

We were extremely lucky with our last dog.  We knew this fully when we talked about getting another. Don't get me wrong Freki is a great dog. He has never put a paw on the counter or table, doesn't raid the garbage, is not a shoe / house eater, and is incredibly patient with Odin. There is however, a but. . . he cannot be left alone (yet). Like many shelter dogs he suffers from Separation Anxiety. We think there is hope for him and we are working with a trainer and helping him with it. In the meantime he is always with us. He likes riding in the car and he is fine in the car or even the RV so there is hope for him. I think we have figured out a solution for the in between time.

Tonight was the first time we tried it and he seemed to enjoy it. We are going to find a way to clip him in for safety and yes John normally wears a helmet when he rides bike.