Today I was told "The Alabama State Bird is the Mosquito".

Ack!!! I've got to many bites to count.

My poor hands are a mess...


There is a 2" burn on the top of my left hand at the the base of my thumb from an encounter with the element on our toaster oven.


I've got a bruise on the palm of my left hand. Then somehow I acquired a really black bruise on the my right thumb. It looks awful...


There are ump-teen mosquito bites on both hands, AND then... I went and broke a nail!


YOWZA!!! Guess I need to wrap myself up in "cotton wool" and go to bed... :-)


Not to worry... The burn is from last week, and although it still looks bad, it's actually much, much better.

Hello out there... Viewed my second "comment" today... I LOVE you Suzanne!!!! xoxoxo


Things are going well here. Guess what? I'm learning about horses... :-)


Lynda and I went to a field, way out in the country, last weekend to doctor a colt's foot (his owners were out of town). It had been raining hard on and off all day, and I have to say - I've never had the experience of walking in mud that thick. Ick... A person could loose a shoe real quick that way. It was getting dark, and spooky - I was trying to hold onto the colt with a makeshift harness and shine a flashlight on his hoof at the same time, which was a problem because the mare wanted to get to him and was leaning on me (hard) and pushing me into the fence.

Fortunately, the land owner sent three young girls out on four wheelers to give us some light, and help us out. It was good that they did, these young girls just waved the mare off like it was nothing - they knew their stuff. What a relief.. I realized at that point that if I'm going to be a "real" help to Lynda I need to know more about horses. I need more control.


The girls gave us a hitch, on their muddy four wheelers, so we wouldn't have to troop through the muck in the dark to our vehicle. I have to tell you - it was fun.

So... Groomed my first horse Tuesday - including the mane and 1/2 the tail... Lynda did the first half to demonstrate how, and how not to get hurt in the process. The horse, Satin, is a dream baby... when I did her neck and face her eyes closed and she (gently) leaned into me. She was so relaxed, it was amazing how much she enjoyed it. Wed., Lynda started to teach me how to do Ring Training. Worked with Button, a chocolate brown gelding. Got hands on experience... and he is SMART! Ring Training is rather dizzy-ing, and I worked with him till I was ready to fall over. He had done a lot of "what horses do" while I worked with him, so I decided it was time to step out of the ring. Don't want to fall down in "that stuff". Ha!


Also, Lynda is going to be "baby sitting" some horses while their Mama is out of town, so will be learning to feed them too.

Well, I guess that's about all the equine business I've got to relate, and I'm typing this at the library as we are not on line yet. Hopefully we will be connected up soon.


There's lot's more going on here, but my time is almost up so I will say "Ta ta for now - I love you all".

Hooray!!! I got my first comment... xoxoxo SR and family, and all.

S. and I spent a wonderful week in Florida. I have to say, I love Florida... (almost as much as CA :-D ) .

We arrived at Lori's in Jacksonville, Sunday evening, and spent most of the week with Mom. On Wed. the three of us went with Lori to Jacksonville Beach - had wonderful seafood on the beach at (I think) Joe's Crab Shack. Yummy!!!! It was overcast and windy, so we only went for a short walk on the beach as Mom was getting a bit chilled. She is 89, and Re-mark-able. Then we did the "tourist thing", with great success. :-)

Thursday evening we headed to Pam's and Jan's in Gainseville. Pam is my longest, through the good-times and the bad-times, friend. We have a history that is almost primordial. She and her mom, Jan (who is now 90), were my "life savers" when I was young. I believe S. made an instant connection with Pam - I know she came away loving thim both dearly. I'm so glad!!!

We went on a two/two and a half hour canoe trip, down a wonderful old river, completely away from humanity, S. and I in one canoe, and Pam and Jan in the other. S. "took the helm" with amazing skill for one who has never canoed before. She is a natural...!!!

We saw Great Blue Herons, Lesser Blue Herons, a Kingfisher, and multitudes of other birds including a very vocal Turkey. We saw "thousand" of turtles. I counted 29 turtles on just one log, some the size of your hand, others most as big as, and looking much like, old German military helmuts. We startled a large doe who raced along the river bank alongside us in her attempt to "escape", but the piace-de-resistance (sp?) was sighting two huge (at least 8 feet long) aligators on the bank about ten feet away from us. They were whoppers! Stuffed, huge as barrels they appeared to take no note of us, but we sure did notice them!!!

Cedar Key had their annual art festival, and we spent a wonderful Saturday there. I do believe I could live on Cedar Key. The sand is like soft white sugar, and the Gulf is beautiful.

The trip was over too soon, and we found ourselves driving back to AL on Sunday.

So now S. has flown home, and I am unpacking, and will soon start to look for work. Hope everyone is fine, and look forward to any comments anyone would like to leave. I miss CA, and all my friends...

If you guys are out there, let me know. xoxoxo G. :-)

Any time spent with S, is always time well spent. Four days and three nights - what a road trip!!! :-) Arrived in Prattville on Sunday, and we are in Jax, FL now, visiting Mom. Will head to central FL on Thurs. evening, or Fri. a.m. to visit my dear P & her darling mom J. Can't wait to see them.

xoxoxo to all. G.

First Blog

This is my very first blogsite, my very first entry... Hopefully this site will help me keep current with my many friends and family as I journey "Elsewhere".

I hope (as I learn the ropes) to make this a pleasant place to visit and to keep in touch.

Hope it works... :-D xoxoxo G.