2020 Has been a rough ride so far, hasn't it?

As always, time gets away from me and then someone (Mom) makes a comment that I need to make more of an effort to upkeep my blog. I have no real excuse since I work from home....well, most of the world has been working from home now for the last 3 months. 

2020 started off benign enough. We had some big snow storms, and I was motivated to get back to sewing. That came crashing down very quickly in February, when our Haflinger became very ill. Jack is our daughters horse, and the thought of losing him after just 2 years was NOT an option. What started out as a snotty nose, quickly escalated into a full blown drama, that required major surgery in New Hampshire. Thanks to our vets quick thinking, we were added to a clinic that was handling just our sort of odd case. But how to get him there? So, a week before my 15th anniversary, we bought a truck and trailer, to get him where he needed to go. It was supposed to be for a long weekend, and turned into a nail biting week and a half, just as Covid-19 was closing down the area. 

Ah, Covid. Yes, we drove down on our anniversary, dropped him off, and raced back 8 days later for him, never knowing my daughter wouldn't be returning to school again for the year. If there was a silver lining to that, it was that she was able to attend to Jack through his entire recovery. Twice a day sinus flushes, meds, and hand walking. When the expected recovery time came and went with no improvement, then it was more x-rays, more vet procedures (local thankfully), and more hands on from us. 8 weeks of daily care gave her and Jack time to finally bond. And boy have they.

Another silver lining is now having a trailer to use. We decided it was time to enjoy it, and did a test run with both boys. Where did we go? OUR HOUSE! What a hoot. Loaded them up, and brought them home. Went out to explore the fields and woods behind our house, and then filled a small fantasy of seeing horses in our backyard. It was magical. But, then it was back to the barn. Will have to share those shots another time!)

Riding more, has lead also to more interaction at the barn. Thankfully, we are a small, private barn, and didn't close during the shutdown. Bonding for the humans as well. We have started a Sunday tradition of large group rides, and I have been filming them for our own entertainment with my GoPro. Still learning how to edit, but wow. 

And now, here we are with one week of Distance Learning left, and then my last is no longer in Middle School. We will officially have our last High Schooler in the house. 

I have made several quilts for others, stared at the tops I need to quilt up and sell, and looked lovingly at all the patterns I have yet to make. I want to sew. I just seem to never make the time, between taking care of Brian, tending to our critters, riding, and keeping a teenager engaged in this new world we are living in.  

 

FUN NOTE:

One thing that has helped me is cooking, and Postcrossing. Instagram has a ton of amazing cooking pages that are promoting cooking with free recipes. And if you haven't heard of it before now, check out www.postcrossing.com .  It is an amazing way to share, collect, and connect with people from all around the world, with just a simple stamp and a postcard. No need to ever go to the post office. You can even buy your stamps and cards online now. www.usps.com will sell and send your stamps right to your house. And there are tons of sites that sell postcards of every topic.

So, here's to a healthy second half of 2020. And yes, Im sewing, just not much. But it will come back to me. Right now, Im just having more fun doing horsey stuff with my kid. Its summer finally, and given where the world has been, outside is the best place for me.