Keeping it Together

I gotta tell ya, blogging without my co-star is hard.

And if I'm being truly honest, LIFE without my co-star is hard.

I don't think I want to change the title of this blog, even though it's now a lie, or at least a fib, and I'm not quite ready to change some of the blurbs (like my profile) that still talk about Junior like he's here and everything is the same, because taking him out of it seems... wrong... or final.  So eventually I'll get to that, but not just yet.  It's the weirdest things that are the hardest. I also haven't submitted the "deceased horse" notification to APHA.  Good thing I sprung for that 3-year membership last fall. :\

But I am thinking of adding new subtitle, maybe something like "The diary of a girl who dreamed of having a horse for 29 years, hit the jackpot by buying her soulmate on the first try, lost him to colic 5 years later, and is just trying to hold it all together and keep a sense of humor."

But that seems a little whiny.  I'll keep working on that.

Enough with the "trying to hold it together" part, and back to the part about remembering to keep a sense of humor.  :)

I've been trying to keep busy and work has been ever so helpful in that area.  We are doing two faculty searches in my area, it's recruiting season for next year's freshmen, I leave for a national conference on Tuesday and I still need to finish my poster presentation and come up with something (photoshop project) to hang behind our recruiting table.... and pack... and do some grading... and...

Oh, and after the conference I get to go on a BIG adventure!  I will blog about it afterwards, don't you worry your pretty little head.  Squeeeeee!!!

I'm also getting ready for another tack swap tomorrow.

Did I tell you about the last one?

It was HUGE and so busy I didn't get a chance to leave my table to shop at all! I teamed up with one of the trainers from my barn who brought stuff for 4 people so our booth was so full we couldn't even stand in it! I sold a lot of stuff, took a cut on several things, but there were certain things I couldn't bear to keep, like the SMB boots I bought at Congress and never got to use.  To me they represented a life cut short before it began.  We bought those because we had finally gotten to try the cows and seeing how much we liked it, planned to do lots more.  So they had to go.  I sold Junior's tail extension.  What are the odds that if I do show again it would be the right color?  And like his blankets, it seemed like asking a new boyfriend to wear your dead husband's clothes.  That's where my brain goes, at least.  The gal who bought it was very sympathetic when I unexpectedly burst into tears when she took the tail, and promised to send me photos.  She shows a rescued Appy, so that made me feel a bit better that a little part of Bug would still get to show.

So tomorrow is another one.  As you know, I make horse show tops, and I'm sharing my table with a gal who makes pants and chaps, which I refuse to make, and she refuses to make tops, so we'll see if we can combine our efforts.   I'm working on a new display for my decals. I hung one on foam core at the barn ages ago and when I went to update it for the last swap realized how filthy it was and how janky it looked so I bought a sheet of corrugated plastic and started over.  I think it's a good upgrade!

I've got an armload full of show tops, some stock decals, and the stuff that didn't sell at the last swap, including my western saddle.  I was on the fence about selling it at first, but now I definitely want it out of here.  I am trying not to have to ship it since I've tried that twice and it's a pain, so hopefully I'll have some luck.  I sold my training saddle at this same swap a few years ago, maybe I'll have good luck this time, too.

I'm still taking weekly private lessons.  Lillypony has been my main mount and I adore her.  She's sort of good at all the things Junior wasn't and not good at the things he was good at, so it's been a challenge.  For instance, you want Lilly to stop?  Just stop riding.  Bam.  Like a reiner without the slide. Wanted Junior to stop?  Got a few minutes while he ignores you and then does his best impression of a giraffe?  Want Junior to canter from a halt?  Kiss and barely touch a heel.  Want Lilly to canter at all?  SQUEEZE KISS SQUEEZE KICK SQUEEZE KISS TROT BOUNCE TROT BOUNCE KISS CANTER.    Though to be fair, Lilly's getting the hang of NOT stopping every time I adjust my seat or change diagonals, and Junior's canter button took a long time to get right.


And just because I hate posting without a photo, here's the latest horsemanship top I made.  Fingers crossed it doesn't come home with me tomorrow.