PONY PEDICURE -- A DAY AT THE SPA

Tuesday was the day for Thunder to get his toenails trimmed. They were getting a tad long as Rob, the farrier, had taken a week's vacation so Thunder went longer than usual between trims. Normally I have Rob come out to the barn every six weeks, as Thunder has very healthy feet and grows lots of hoof in that time span. This time, he went seven weeks and it was quite noticeable! He also got brushed and his mane nicely braided.... love that first two tone braid!









In some of the pictures, you can see scars and fuzzy hair on Thunder's legs and neck. Four years ago, he should have died. We had a couple of very wet summer and alsike clover took over our pasture. I lost one yearling to colic and a few weeks later, Thunder got horribly ill with liver damage, colic and grossly swollen legs. That's for another post sometime, though, but suffice to say his will to live is very strong and he is such a sweet horse that I did everything I could to save him.









Today he has minor limitations from the scarring - mostly on his left front leg (can't cross that leg over in front of his right) and the left side of his neck (doesn't flex well going to the right - the scar is tight). Given his atheticism with all these scars, I can only imagine how much more fabulous he would be if this had never happened!


This shot is strictly for WW! If you think YOU've got nose hairs, check out these! And Thunder is quite willing to have the camera pointed up a nostril to illustrate just how large and clear his are. You can also see how lumpy his pink nose is... that turned completely black and the skin died when he was sick, so it is all scar tissue. Needless to say, he is not fond of having his nose petted.

Rob, the farrier, told me he didn't want any shots of his bum in here, but no one can post about a farrier without a backside view.... because that is what we see mostly of them! Sorry Rob... couldn't resist!

AAAGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!

SO MUCH TO DO!

My new house, which I am loving so don't get me wrong, is still a mass of unpacked boxes and things with no places yet. And there is only lil ole me to do all the work!

Guess I will just have to take my time and slog through it all. One day... one day... it will all be done....

The kitchen:


The dining area in the kitchen:


More stuff in the kitchen: (not everyone has a lifesize plastic horse head... or a cute cat with a bottlebrush for a tail!)


The recroom in the basement is a DISASTER!:


Another angle on the recroom:


When I get everything sorted out and in its place, I will post more pics to show what it SHOULD look like! I'm sweating already, just thinking about how much there is to do.... gadzooks!

PREDATORY PUSSY...

Pips is a killer .... of the kitchen sponge. She hunts it down, no matter when I put it.

She flings it about and kills it dead. I find it all over the house, with teeth marks all over it.

I have tried to buy her cat toys to substitute for the sponge, but no go.... she seeks it out to kill it over and over and over.... it is an obsession....

You can just tell what's going through her mind here.... "go ahead.... just try and take it back.... I dare ya...."

A PURRFECT PUSSYCAT?

Came across some pics online of a guy down in San Diego who, after having a dream many years ago, decided to go to the extreme of becoming as cat-like as he can, for a human bean.

He started out looking like this:

After a dream, where his Native American heritage played a part in giving him the name of 'Stalking Cat', he decided to transform himself into a cat.

Now he looks like this:

He has had his entire body tattooed, mostly with tiger stripes, but his arms do sport green scales, so I am assuming he had those tattooed before the dream. Not sure there's anything like an amphibious tiger out there...

His teeth have been filed down and capped with fangs, his upper lip has been altered to look like a cat's (which apparently makes him very difficult to understand when he talks), he's had 'whiskers' implanted above his upper lip, he wears contact lenses with vertical slits to get the feline gaze, his ears have been trimmed to points, and his finger nails are long and filed to points to resemble claws.

Now, apparently this guy is a mild mannered computer programmer who has spent 25 years and hundred of thousands of dollars on all these alterations. But he isn't finished yet! He wants to find a way to have actual tiger pelts transplanted onto his body to complete the transformation.

So.... this begs the question: what the hell is he going to look like at 80 and will he ever regret what he has done?

MOVIN' ON

A new start, both in habitat and relationship. Allowing old feelings to be what they are but to be less in the fore; allowing the new a chance to perhaps grow into something special; willing to let go, to cut the string, to trust in the unknown. Time to see what the future may hold and to allow the past to become just that - past.

HERE'S LOOKIN' AT YOU

This evening, while I was out walking my dog, I saw one of these in a tree around the corner from my (new!!!) house. I only noticed because three or four Blue Jays were squawking and carrying on in this one tree. So I stopped to have a look, as I like to watch the birds on occasion. It is not every day that you see a Great Horned Owl during the day, never mind in the city. So I enjoyed the glimpse I got through the foliage. Very cool!

DR, FRANKENSTEIN -- WHERE ARE YOU!

Dr. Frankenstein, I would like to place an order, please. I can't seem to find what I need and want all in one man, so could you please build one for me?

These are the characteristics I would like you to include:

INTELLECT: A good brain, one well rounded and sharp, with wit and humour, a little smart-ass thrown in, some insight and lots of depth.






HEART: one that is warm and caring, hugely so.... with strength and fortitude, tender-ness and lots of passion.






PHYSICAL: a well-muscled man, active but not obsessed, fairly fit with arms and shoulders strong and well defined, a bit taller than me but not overly so, a smattering of chest hair, facial hair is fine and I don't really care about the amount of hair on the head.

Strength of character is a must, the ability to trust, to be open and honest with his emotions, not afraid of commitment (or at least, not afraid to see if the relationship will work out), resolve and fidelity, honesty with himself as well as with everyone else, the ability to give and take, to compromise when needed, even tempered, a true handyman who works well with others.... I think you get the picture...

Oh... and one more thing.... well, two actually.... must be a good kisser and enjoy making love.

I hope this isn't too tall of an order, because I haven't been able to find all of this in one package. But I do know where some of these exact characteristics exist, so if you need a head's up on some parts, just let me know.

DANCING -- WITH THE WORLD

This is such a cool video....

THINGS I FOUND IN MY NEW HOUSE

I took possession of my new house on Sunday. Which is VERY exciting! This is my very first house, owned by me and no one else.

Needless to say, I have been busy cleaning and getting things arranged for the big move on the 19th. Here are some things I found in the house that were left behind by the previous owner(s).

A lovely built-in bench on the deck in the back yard.


Next to the deck is a huge sandbox. Given that a neighbour told me there are a number of cats in the area, I am sure this has become a giant litterbox.... yuck.... so it will become a patio instead. I am thinking of putting in a stone firepit so built in to the patio would be a lovely idea!


In the basement, a can of Stop Leak (that obviously didn't do a thing to stop the grey paint from leaking all over the place...), some lantern oil (and no lantern), and a can of WD40 (with no little straw)... plus a nut (but no bolt...).


In the basement was this long case, which I mistook for a map or document case.


Lo and behold.... it holds a brand new, never been used fishing rod!


I have not figured out why this fishing rod is called an 'Ugly Stik' - it looks fairly trim and attractive (as far as fishing rods go, but I am no fisherwoman)...


This is a bit of a nightmare! I found a 15 amp outlet wired in on the same cable as the 30 amp dryer outlet!


Needless to say, this has to go. I have a friend who has his electrical ticket, as he is in the elevator trade, so in exchange for a (future) home cooked meal or two, he will be coming over to disconnect the 15 amp outlet and rewire the dryer outlet so that everything will be kosher and (much more importantly) safe!


One of the smaller bedrooms has this on the outside of the door.... makes you wonder who (or what... eek!) they were trying to keep inside!


I wasn't expecting a microwave, but it works and I needed one, so what the hey! The roll of film and pot lid are not needed, so I think they will get tossed.


The basement recroom is finished in lovely retro 70s stylings, complete with mirrored tiles on the wall...


... some of which are surrounded by lovely chocolate brown cork tiles.... gag me! LOL!


Another neat find is this under the cupboard mounted radio in the kitchen. I have made good use of it already, listening to tunes while cleaning and puttering.


I poked the camera outside the bedroom window to take this shot... a satellite tv dish that I probably won't use.... just don't watch enough tv.... but in the dead of winter when it is -40 bazillion degrees, one never knows....


In the basement recroom, there is a mass of cables apparently connected to whatever type of entertainment centre they had down here - I don't even know what they are all for...


The livingroom has a similar mass of cables, with at least forty feet coiled up.... they must have had a portable tv that they walked around with.... can't figure out why you would have this much cable otherwise....


In the powder room on the main floor was a bottle of gently foaming antibacterial hand soap.... scent: warm vanilla sugar.... it is so sickly sweet and cloying that I can't stand it... so it is history now!


All three bedrooms have phone jacks.... and they are originals for sure! I think I will get the phone company to at least attached them to the wall somewhere...






The next step will be painting the livingroom.... and the brilliant blue bedrooms (2).... and the totally grey kitchen.... all in good time... and hopefully I will have the energy for all this! But hey... it is mine (well, and the bank's... can't forget about the bank....)