Category: FTB Fancy Traditions

Sweet Memories

Sagittarius Viking23 Comments on Sweet Memories

The theme of this week’s Sunday Stills, is Lazy Days. Well…I don’t think that I ever been called lazy in my whole life. I’ve been called a lot of things, but never lazy. I like to stay busy. Not in the nervous I can’t relax kind of way. I just feel satisfied when I work with my hands; in the garden, baking bread, grooming a horse etc.

There’s only been one exception, and I enjoyed that exception immensely. It was the first six months of my daughter’s life. The oxytocin high from nursing put me in a content emotional state, that was very relaxing, in a way that I hadn’t experienced before. I rented a house in the beautiful Napa Valley (CA.) It was nestled among vineyards, in a picture perfect setting. There was ten acres belonging to the house, (and the neighbors had a bigger property that I had access to as well.) My daughter and I went for long, dreamy walks, and spent hours on the back porch over looking the pond in the picture. Those are the closest to lazy days that I have ever experienced. I don’t want to go back to them, but I sure appreciate the sweet memory. Looking back, it feels almost unreal.

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A sweet senior dog that adopted me, on the first ranch I worked at in California, is buried overlooking this pond. Neikka was old when I first met her, around 12-13 years old. She refused to leave my side. I knew her almost two years before her time was up. She was definitely sent to make things easier for me. She had problems with her eyes when we met, and later on she became completely blind. That did not stop her from doing her duty, which she thought was to be by my side, no matter what. I sometimes tried to lock her up in my yard (3acres,) if I was planning on going for a longer trail ride, that I thought was going to be too much for her. The fence was 6 ft high. She was part greyhound, and cleared that fence, even after she became blind. One time she even attacked a black bear that she thought was too close to me. The bear wasn’t actually a threat, he was busy eating blackberries. The bear just pushed her away, and kept eating. Lucky for us. She got some scratches from the incident, but not bad. She certainly deserved the most beautiful resting place my loyal Neikka. 

How is your weekend so far? Fancy left for her new home yesterday, and I received photos of her in her new home. Her new family is very happy, and she looks happy, which makes me happy.  I know that they are going to love her a lot, and I feel extremely good about her home. Ghost’s home fell through, and I need to find him a new one. Sooner than later. I said no to several people after this family committed to him, because I really liked them, and they seemed knowledgable. I’ve started to contact the people I turned down before..It was a very emotional day. It ended in the best possible way with a visit to a Mexican Restaurant I hadn’t been to before, and the company of a good friend. 

I’m going to work hard on a home for Ghost, and finding a reliable car for me today. I looked at some cars yesterday. I’m not a mechanic, but if I find something questionable with a car, it’s probably not a good car..lol. Since I am going to drive through the desert a week from now it need to be a good one. Some places on the way have spotty cellphone reception. 

I hope that you’re having an awesome weekend! 

Love,

Ms Zen

Weekend Coffee Share 

Sagittarius Viking41 Comments on Weekend Coffee Share 

Wow, this week have gone by so fast! Maybe it’s the haze, and the smoke in the air that’s lulling me into some kind of dream land? Or maybe it’s the fact that I’m in the middle of planning, an unexpected move to another state? I don’t know. How is your week so far? Grab a cup of coffee and tell me about it! 

How are things here? Well, things are going really good. Unexpectedly smooth. The pieces are just coming together one by one. I’ve found wonderful homes for my horses. They are leaving Saturday (tomorrow…) That is such a great relief. I couldn’t be happier with their new homes. It’s going to be hard to say goodbye to them. My intention was to keep them for life. Knowing that they couldn’t get better homes makes it easier. The first person who looked at Fancy bought her, and her friend wanted Ghost. Just perfect. My intuition tells me that they are really good people. 

I’ve packed all the things I’m planning to bring with me when I move, sold some of the bigger items, and donated the rest to fire victims. I feel light, and ready for new adventures. I’m working my last day here in California on the 20th. Only ten days from now! My goal is to find a reliable car this weekend, and sell my old truck as soon as I have another vehicle. That’s basically the only thing left to do. That is totally doable. I’m going to work a little extra these last days, which is just perfect. I’m slowly finishing up in my garden. I’ve given all my container fruit trees, and plants, to a friend. My tomatoes, yellow squash, and cucumber are still giving a good harvest every day. I’m harvesting in the mornings, and water a little, but I’m not doing much else in the garden. It’s going to go towards it’s natural end eventually. A garden in our extreme climate take a lot of work every day, and there’s no-one that’s going to do the work when I leave. It’s been a fun summer gardening wise. I’m very happy. 

I have several job, and housing offers waiting in Nevada. I want to see things with my own eyes, and meet people, before deciding. That said, I know what I want. When I’m there it’s not going to take a long time to decide. I wish to get into some kind of normal routine as soon as possible. 

I know that there’s been an unusual little amount of photos lately. I’s due to the fire. It’s dangerous to spend a lot of time outside in that smoke. The Carr Fire is now 178,752 acres and 49% contained. Still very smoky. I’m trying to be smart about it. I can’t wait to breath some fresh air, without a mask. I promise to make up for the lack of photos when I start my upcoming road trip. I’m actually excited about the drive. I’ve always enjoyed road trips, and their photo opportunities. As you probably know 🙂

Weekend Coffee Share is a time for us to take a break out of our lives and enjoy some time catching up with friends (old and new)!

Grab a cup of coffee and share with us! What’s been going on in your life? What are your weekend plans? Is there a topic you’ve just been ruminating on that you want to talk about? All are welcome! 

I hope you’re having an awesome week!

 

Love,

Ms Zen

Carr Fire – Game Plan

Sagittarius Viking23 Comments on Carr Fire – Game Plan

I realized that I did not write a post this morning. Just want to let you know that I am safe from the fire. It is still burning at 163,207 acres, with a 45% containment, as of this morning. The winds are moving the fire further away. The city of Redding is not in danger anymore, other smaller communities are. It is a good thing that the the Carr Fire is getting a little more contained by the day. Neighborhoods have Raking Parties! Neighbors gather together with rakes, and help each other go through the ashes. Phew. It almost feels wrong to have been spared from the worst of the worst. We’re still wearing face masks outside. The smoke is thick.

It’s been a super busy day today. I took care of the horses at work this morning, and then my own. I’ve given away some of my trees and plants. I won’t be able to take them with me when I move to another state. You can’t bring plants. Which is sad in a way, but a dear friend of mine is going to enjoy them a lot. That makes me incredibly happy. Then I didn’t do all that work for nothing. My friend makes these most exquisite metal work. She made this rose for me, isn’t absolutely beautiful? I feel so blessed to have so many amazing people in my life.

I’m a minimalist and I purposely don’t have a lot of “stuff” laying around, but I do highly appreciate the few decorative items that I do have. The all have a special meaning. This rose from my friend will definitely be one of those precious things with a special meaning.

I’ve started to downsize things that I don’t need to take with me to my new home. Yesterday I sold two saddles, and some other tack I had in my tack room. This morning I notified the lady I work for, and she was so understanding, and kind. I know it will be troublesome for her to have to train someone new, but she was so sweet.  She knows how serious I take motherhood, and moving closer to my daughter is something that she could understand.

There’s a gentleman coming to look at my horse Ghost on Thursday. I have not put an ad up on Fancy yet, still there’s two people interested in her. I am mostly concerned about getting Ghost into a good home, since he isn’t trained, that is more challenging. Not so many people can responsibly take on an untrained horse. I am keeping my fingers crossed for the gentleman that is going to look at him on Thursday. Our phone conversation was very promising. I think he would be a great match. Finding wonderful homes for Ghost and Fancy is my number one priority these next coming days. After that everything will be relatively easy. I’m fairly sure it will be easy to find Fancy a home, even though her hooves is not 100% yet. They will be soon, and she is a very nice, trained, registered horse, with zero vices that I’m aware of. In fact she’s the easiest horse I ever owned.

When I’ve found the horses new homes, I’m going to sell my truck, and buy a car. Buy then I pretty much should have my other possessions figured out, and packed the things I want to bring. I’m going to donate a lot of things, and clothes to Goodwill. I usually do that every spring, and every fall. I don’t like collecting things that aren’t being used. The move is going to be fairly easy. I might even have a job, with housing lined up. Nothing is set in stone, but it felt promising. It’s less than an hour from my daughter’s new home. My timeline is to be on my way by the end of this month, if everything works in my favor. Now you know my game plan. I believe it is totally doable. I am a doer. When I decide something, things happens, and I can be rather stubborn (or goal oriented) about it. It’s been a productive day today. I hope you had an awesome day!

..and I’m going to have to figure out a new name for this blog, NorCal won’t do when I don’t live in NorCal anymore…I’ll have to think about that one.

Love,

Ms Zen

SagittariusViking@gmail.com