Random Thoughts on a Thursday Evening

Do you see the date on this picture? December, 1960. It's not me so it MUST be ????

"Hey you guys!!"
I love that line from Goonies. Sloth hollers it as he comes to the rescue of Chunk and his friends. If you haven't seen Goonies, you must. In fact I heard that the remake is in the works. Astoria, OR is home to Goonies. They will be celebrating the Goonies 20th anniversary next year. I heard there is a big party planned. So you might ask, What does this have to do with you? And I would answer, absolutly nothing. Just some random thoughts. I am good for those now and then.
This is NOT a picture of Astoria. It's Coeur d' Alene Lake, north shore, where the resort is. Pretty nice sunset.

You see, I am avoiding talking about me because at the moment I am one of twelve people residing in Lancaster, CA as a jury for a criminal case. We are not allowed to talk about anything having to do with the case.

Well, John is working hard to keep RLA (our computer software company) afloat. Things have been going well. Not great, but OK. We continue every month to meet payroll and pay health insurance for six employees. That is a blessing for sure.
We were very busy in the months of December and January. Besides Christmas and the fun that came with that, we were in Pismo for five days with the horses. See my "Because We Can" post for beautiful and fun pictures.

We left for Coeur d'Alene, ID on the 9th of January to visit with Jenn, her husband, Shawn, their daughter, Dakota and John's Mom, Jane for ten days. The weather was great. No snow, cold, a little rain and a little warming sunshine. Can't complain, that's for sure. It was fun to spend some quality time with Dakota. She is growing at a very fast (sad) rate. She was attempting to walk, but saved that for her Mom and Dad till after we left. That's ok. It was extra hard to leave this time. That little baby is changing quickly to a little girl and we don't want to miss anything.

After arriving home on the 19th and catching up on year end and year beginning work for the company, I finally seemed like life was getting back to normal and I get hit with a jury summons. I will go into detail later, but this is an interesting thing to go through I must say.

So that's the catch up. Where's the mustard?

We are looking forward to March. I turn 47, that'll be cool. And Jenn and her family will be here for a week, that'll be way cool!!

We hope to see some of the family in March too. A little Light and Healthy sounds kinda yummy, you think?

That's all for now!!!

A FaceBook String

This is the the most awesome Face Book string I have ever been a part of (of course I started it, so I am a little more then proud). It is still going strong as I write this post. Here it is for all the world to read. Have Fun!!!

First allow me to give you some background. Southern California rarely gets big rain, snow or thunder, so when we get it, we are all excited, freaked out and anxious. Here is how the posts began on Thursday 6:46 pm pacific time.

My Post "I went to feed my horses this evening. They asked me to ask all of you if you wouldn't mind donating some cash so they could get a barn."
And the string begins...

"I think the answer is "Neigh"! But barn does sound like a good idea. lol" Thu 6:55pm
"Just text 'Moola' to 100 4 Poneeh" Thu 7:07pm
"so selfish. they are turning into sea horses as we speak" Thu 6:58pm
"You could always let them in for some quality TV time with the Family till it blows over." Thu 7:22PM
"thanks J I will tell John you said it was ok" Thu 7:24PM
"you so funny" Thu 7:07pm
And then things really got fun...

" OK forget the barn. I am bringing them in the garage. There is a hail storm predicted with up to 1 1/2 inch size." Thu at 7:01pm
"There you go! Good thinking, forget the cars, the horses are more important." Thu at 7:24pm
"AMEN!!!! You know it." Thu at 7:24pm
"Are you really going to. !" Thu at 7:28pm
"No, silly, we are putting them in your garage." Thu at 7:31pm
"my money is on her. " Thu at 7:33pm
"Sorry R, John forgot you don't have a garage. Bring Chance ans Santa Fe over. There's room. It's a three car garage. John won't mind your two being next to his Supra." Thu at 8:22pm
excitement beyond belief...

"Ok, you all know she is kidding... right?
"LaChelle, back Hot Rod out of here and get Crackers out of my cigars.

Not funny Tammy, Shiloh is drinking my wine!! And no, red wine does not go well with alfalfa....

Robyn, there is no Chance that Chance is spending the night.

You horse women are just crazy." Thu at 8:30pm

"I'm confused after what John just said. Does that mean that the horses are NOT going into the garage? I thought that sounded like a great idea. If not, then what about their trailers?" Thu at 8:51pm

"What all that meant is that all our neighbors and friends horses are in the house and they are getting into stuff.
(just go with it Kathy. John's having some hallucinations.)" Thu at 8:55pm

"Yes, If Buffy got her way, John by now is in the garage in his car and Poneeh is sitting in his chair watching Mr Ed while Lacey is in his bubble bath and all the neighbors horses are in the den playin horseshoes with Little Joe. " Thu at 10:20pm

"Awesome Jane. You must have seen this on the webcam. Its the next realty show hit, (are you listening Melanie?) The Horses Crib. Come join us each week as the horses become accustomed to their new digs. Next week Lil Joe takes a chance on the lap top. Watch and see how the picture unfolds." Fri at 8:38am

"FUNNY! Ransom will bring his Buddy and Cash!" Fri at 4:09pm

"Cool when Ransom brings Buddy and Cash then we will have enough money to buy a barn and all is solved. Yeah Ransom!!! Fri at 4:27pm

"AND....A Ransom Ranch Cafe!"
Fri at 4:32pm

"AWESOME!! Let's do it!!!"
Fri at 7:03pm

"I am looking forward to the lap top episode! Make sure you zoom in as hoof meets keyboard!"
Fri at 9:16pm

"I think it happened last night as John has had issues with his lap top since then." Fri at 9:36pm

"Ok, I am billing Lil Joe for downloading games on my laptop and infecting my pc with a virus.

Lacy you need to keep your colt on a short leash. Buffy might not mind cleaning up after you guys, but this is gonna cost you $3K." Fri at 10:46pm

"Darn I missed it. I told John to be nice to those horses. I'll catch the episode where Little Joe and his buds get hold of John's good cigars and his best wine and have a party while he is out. That is episode 3 right?" Sunday 6:59pm

"Coming out on DVD soon." Sunday 7:02pm

"Episode 3. John has had enough and evicts the horses. They immediately head to the local lawyers office. The lawyer happens to be a charter member of ACLU. There is a new case on the docs concerning evicting the horse minority from their comfortable digs. The basis of the suit is, "All Beings Deserve Warm and Dry Housing, no matter, race creed, sexual orientation or species"
Things are gonna get really heated in this one." 7:09pm

"John finds a local taco vendor to solve all his problems. Little Joe might be cut down to size.

Buhahaha..."
about a minute ago


There you go. Fun at Joy Mountain Ranch is unending. Glad you could be a part of our life.

Good night!!!

A Day In The Life

Wake at 8:15 am (not normal, usually 6:15 am). Make my way to the bathroom to brush my teeth. Walk to the kitchen (hey how come there are no stairs). Make my way to the kitchen to make coffee. The coffee maker is white and only makes 6 cups (mine is black and makes 12 cups). I push the on button. (There is no delay start button so my coffee is fresher after I get back from feeding the horses and dogs.)
Wait a minute, where are the horses and the dogs? Oh well, guess I don't have to feed and pick up the poop.
Coffee's done. I can't clean anything. I can't do ANY chores. This is not my house. This is not my ranch...in case you hadn't figured it out, I am not at home.
I am in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. In a little 1000 sq ft bungalow, located on a little street.
From now on when I say CDA you say Coeur d'Alene.
It's my Mom-in-laws house. Cute as a button, very nice neighborhood.
Normally this time of year, in the vicinity, there may be a few inches of snow on the ground. Unlike the Northeast part of the US the Northwest is having a warmer winter spell.
It's cold, but not freakin' cold. Sorry Ohio and Oklahoma, Idaho wins this one hands down.
Anyway, this is one of our several trips north to visit, J, the mom-in-law, and Jenn, Shawn and Dakota, the daughter, son-in-law and grand baby.
Jenn and Shawn live only a few short miles from here. Actually in Hayden, not in CDA.
Today J's sister, G, and niece, K are coming for a visit. They live in Spokane, Washington, only 45 miles from CDA. Spokane has the big airport, the big hospitals and big universities. The really nice freeways, big buildings and TRAFFIC, so I try to stay away from there as much as possible. It's nice that it's close, but nicer that it's at least 30 minutes away.
So here I sit, blogging to you about a day in CDA on vacation visiting, stealing the neighbors wireless connection.
I have pictures. You wanna see 'um? Ok, twist my arm.
Our approach to Oakland, Ca airport. Sorry the flight into Spokane was foggy and I couldn't get a good shot.
Pappa and Dakota. Not excited at all is he.
Unky Pat...excitement beyond belief.
Dakota has a thing with her shadow. Kinda cute.
Too cute for words.

Monday afternoon we headed up to Sand Point. www.sandpoint.com
The drive into Sand Point was beautiful. We had to go over the bridge over Lake Pend Oreille (sounds like Pond a ray).
Lunch at McDuff's Irish Pub on the main drag through town.
A view on top of Schweitzer Mountain, the local snowboarding and ski area to Sand Point.
Looking down onto Lake Pend Orielle.

Because We Can

After a little bit of a struggle for the Beebe's to get here, we rested up on Wednesday evening around the campfire, Debi came up with the statement, "Because we can." Meaning, we are here and doing this because we can. We have been blessed to be able to do this and therefore we do it. I think it pretty much says it all.

This is the morning of Thursday, December 31, 2009. We are relaxing around the "patio" of Jeff and Debi's four horse live in trailer. Very comfortable digs.We begin our first trek out to the beach around 10:30 am. The Beebe's have been here several times with their horses. John and I have been here three or four times. Of the six horses we brought all but Lil' Joe have experienced the ocean. I am ponying him for the first look.


He seems to take it all in stride. Proving once again he has a very level head, is trusting and willing. Good way to start.

We pause for some picture taking opportunities. All around us are trucks, cars, people, dogs, waves, kites...we have to keep the horses minds trusting us and focused on us. There are times when that can be difficult, but ultimately they all do quite well. These are great horses.

The second day out I decided that I would ride Lil' Joe. I was a bit nervous and found myself often taking large, deep cleaning breaths to keep me and Joe relaxed.
Ultimately Lil' Joe did wonderful. He just kept a great head and took it all in. The white line in the ocean was the only real scary thing for him, but he adjusted and walked over it.

"Hey Big Bro, I kinda like doing this stuff. We should get mom and dad to take us here all the time."
A good two days spent in the sun. Adding new challenges to the horses training and seeing great results. Tomorrow we will ride again. More pictures to come.

Kinda Gross...Be Careful!!!

You have been warned. The images below may be a bit disturbing. But part of a regular life for me I guess.

This is my vet, Dr Williams and his assistant, Amanda, holding firmly to Lil' Joe. He is in a wonderful contraption called a "gag" or a speculum and his head is supported by a sling. The purpose of this thing is to allow the "dentist" to work on a horses teeth. Not only is Lil' Joe installed in this brace he is also drugged up. If you know horses you know that there probably isn't one out there that would allow this to happen with out the drugs.
Because we don't allow our horses to graze all day as God had designed them to do we have to have their teeth filed every so often. I had avoided this for two reasons. One, it's ugly, mean and gross. Two, it's really, really expensive.
Today, I had all three of my "babies" at the dentist. Get it over with was my motto.
Lil' Joe hadn't lost his front caps completely so the dentist helped them a long. As you can see it was a little bloody and kinda sad. You remember when you had a loose tooth that wasn't quite ready to pull but you decide to mess with it and pull it out anyway. When you did this there was quite a bloody show. That's what this is all about. Notice the extremely relaxed lips. He was way out of it for at least an hour. Can't say I blame him.

Here are his two front teeth. Cute huh? Now he can sing it...you know the Christmas song that goes..."All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth". Awe, poor Lil' Joe. It didn't bother him that much because he has eating just fine after the drugs wore off. Gotta survive, that's what he says.
Here's a shot of Poneeh having the same procedure done. No teeth pulled since he's an old guy. The dentist did have to file his wolf teeth pretty far down though. I am sure he was not a little bothered by all of this. It's amazing he was so drugged that he almost lost leg control, but as soon as the "drill bit" started he wanted nothing to do with it. But all went well. It will be nice not to be concerned about their teeth for a while.


Well, that's it for today. I hoped you enjoyed todays lesson in Horse Husbandry and Dentistry.
Next episode...Removing Beans From Your Gelding. Just kidding. I wouldn't put you through that. If you thought this was gross, that would certainly take you over the edge.

Hello! Are You Out There?

Yup, I am. It's been way to long since I have last given you all an update on our lives. Well, here it is in pictures. And small subtitles.


Our Thanksgiving Table. Pre-meal of course. See how clean it is. John, myself, Shawn, Maegan, Pat, Maegan's Mom Janet and brother, Evan. Yummy food, of course, I made it, duh!!






The day after Thanksgiving we had some of the Stewart's, Smith's, and Bergin's visit the ranch. It was fun. Not only did we eat, duh, but we played pool, talked, drank wine, and played with the horseys. But most of all we met our new family member, Britlyn. There unfortunately is not a picture here because I didn't take one because Paul was taking pictures and he hasn't sent them my way just yet. So you will all have to wait to see her.





Then John had a Racquetball Tournament in Irvine. It was a doubles tourney. He and his partner, Robert, did goo, but didn't win. So sad, but they seemed to enjoy themselves. We also met John's cousin, George, better known as Midge. Ask John, I don't have a clue about them name. And also, Bobby, well, Bob, John's second cousin and his wife Ashley. It was fun to meet Midge. Quite a character. And see Bobby after at least twenty years. Sorry no pictures of them.




Then Pat and I headed down to San Diego, La Jolla at SCRIPPS Medical center for addition epilepsy testing. While he was in the M.E.G. I was running at Torey Pines State Park. It was a sweet escape for a few minutes. What a great run it was too.



John and I went on a group trail ride in Acton for Toys For Tots. It was a great day except for the very large and loud jingle bells on a few of the horses. Poneeh wasn't having any of that so we had to stay separated from the group for most of the three hour ride. Fun anyway. Afterward we all ate at a local Mexican Restaurant, La Cabana, and had chips, salsa and Margarita's. A great way to finish off a great ride.



Well this will get you up to date in our lives.
Ahead is Christmas, A trip with friends and horses to Pismo and a trip to Coeur d'Alene to visit Jenn, Shawn, Dakota, Grandma Harper and Sherri.
Hopefully it won't be months before you hear from me again.

Have a Very Blessed Merry CHRISTmas ! And a happy joyful new year.

First Annual Thankfulness Post

Ok, so it's not the first time I have been thankful. In fact I am usually thankful more then once a year as my previous posts have expressed a few times or so. But I do appreciate the opportunity to have a special day of the year to allow ourselves the right to express our thankfulness, not only about life in general but especially to our loved ones.
So here I go...

I am Thankful for:
My husband, John. He has spent the past thirty plus years of his life striving to keep me comfortable. He has done a DAMN good job, Thank you very much!
My kids. Jenn and Shawn (not my son, my son-in-law) produced a baby this year (in case you didn't know). Dakota is kinda cute and adorable and sweet and fun and cuddly and smells good and... shall I go on?
Shawn and Maegan have joined us in our home for the past six months. It's been hard for them, not having their own home, stuff, quiet... but it's been a time to get to know Mae a little more. this I am thankful for. And their moving out this weekend. YEAH, SAD, good, bummer all wrapped up into one. I will miss you and Xui Xui.
Pat, oh Pat. I've posted alot about him so I won't go into detail. But I am thankful that I have been given this blessing called epilepsy through him. I am growing day by day trying to figure it all out. I am thankful that I am available for him. God made me, his mom, just perfect for him.
If that doesn't make sense, try to figure it out.
My horsey's. Yup that's all I will say about that. If you know me you understand. If you don't understand, then you don't know me and what the heck have you been doing these past 46 years. Get on with it. Get to know me.
My doggie's. Right now they smell like dirty dogs, but I love 'um anyway. They worship me in their doggy ways. Is that good? I don't care. I am thankful that I have them.
My yard (the ranch). It's kinda fallish messy right now. I have neglected it just a bit. But the best part about it is when I get the drive to get to it it will bring me more joy then just looking at it. The hard work it takes is such a blessing.
My friends, old and new. You know who you are. You have helped me through life. You remind me that I need you everyday. We talk on the phone, text, email, ride horseys, have lunch, workout, study the Bible...together. These are the things I need you for and you are there.
I am Thankful for life, for the life that God has blessed me with. Beyond more then I could have asked for. Though I struggle every minute to be the best daughter, sister, wife, mom, and friend I can be, I know that this is what you have given me to help me grow and blossom.

Let's look to tomorrow not just as an opportunity to be thankful, but to make the remainder of our lives the opportunity to honor God in EVERYTHING we do. Every good, bad, ugly, sweet, lovely, horrible, wonderful, nasty, mean, nice, careful thing we do. Turn it around in honor to Him. That's why we live, to learn and grow more and more like Him.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to you all.

I give you permission to enjoy yourselves. Eat food, love your family, love God and His creation.