I've always wanted to go on a pack trip, but I don't have enough horses, the equipment, or the knowledge to organize my own. Here in MO we have the Ozark Trail, which is long enough to pack on but not much opportunity for grazing the horses--leading to a vicious circle. You need extra horses to pack horse feed, but those horses need feed, so you need more horses, which also need feed...well you get the idea.
To go somewhere like Colorado or Montana would be a difficult proposition, too. As you travel higher in elevation, the oxygen level in the air decreases. Your body, and the horse's body, acclimates to the oxygen level in air at the elevation in which they are acclimated. It takes a few weeks at a higher elevation to acclimate to the reduced oxygen, and depending on how long you've been at lower elevations, your body may never be fully efficient at the higher elevations. Therefore, taking our horses to "real" mountains like the Rockies is not a reasonable goal. It would be a long trailer ride, require weeks of acclimation, and they might still not make it.
And then the chance of a lifetime presented itself. One of my coworker's father used to work for the USFS, using pack strings in his work. He also used to subcontract as a cook for a local outfitter that organizes pack trips into the Bob Marshall, packing the food and cooking supplies in and out of camp. He still lives next to "The Bob", and has several horses. He has graciously agreed to let me join him on a week long trip this summer, along with one of his coworkers and that man's wife. He's even more graciously allowing me to borrow one of his horses, even though he's never met me and has never seen me ride. I did warn him that I prefer my horse to amble so he knows I'm not interested in running around like a city slicker.
Of course, we will be sleeping on the ground (in tents), and although there will be a portable shower the restroom facilities will be rather...um...primitive. You know what? I don't mind at all. It's only a week. It's not like I'll have to sneak behind a tree for the rest of my life.
He's going to shuttle me to and from the airport, put me up at his house the night before and night after the trip, supply all meals, the horse, the tack (except he's asked me to bring my saddle as he thinks it will fit the horse better than the one he has for it), all gear except my sleeping bag and personal items (clothes, camera, toiletries, etc.), and anything else required. I won't say how much he thinks it will cost, but let's just say as far as I'm concerned, it's an absolute steal. No way will I let him accept so little money. I've also made a surprise for him, but I won't post what it is until after the trip on the off chance he somehow stumbles across this blog!
My vacation request is approved and on file at work, and I have my plane tickets. (Just in time, prices just got a lot higher for that same itinerary). I'm also started to get a few things together to take with me: a new saddle slicker (for day trips I always used a poncho but that won't cut it if I have to be out for hours in the rain), some more wool socks (even in July it gets down to freezing at night), biodegradable soap, a new hat that is both waterproof and breathable (and has a good sun protection rating), stuff like that.
I've also created custom trail maps for the general area, with our planned route highlighted. I've even created maps that download into my GPS receiver, so that's cool. Probably half my weight allowance for gear will be taken up with the GPSr, the camcorder, and batteries for both. LOL I can wash undies in a stream if I have to, as long as I take enough batteries!
I thought I would post some of the positive that's going on in my life, not just the things that depress me or make me rant. Of course I've rambled instead of ranted, but I suppose that's an improvement?
]]>Here's a link to an article written about me in the local paper. It went out in print as well as on-line.
I'm proud of my boy--he hated his head handled when I got him so for him to so quietly drop his nose in his halter like that makes me feel proud.
I also have almost the same identical shot of him sniffing the camera when I tried to take his picture last year. LOL
]]>Buttermilk Pancakes
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or melted shortening
1 egg
Sift dry ingredients together (I actually skip the sifting but it does result in a lighter pancake. Make sure to measure all ingredients carefully, using the flat edge of a butter knife to level off the measuring spoons and measuring cups.) Mix oil, egg, and buttermilk together and add to dry ingredients. The batter does not need to be mixed very thoroughly; avoid over-beating.
Preheat greased or oiled skillet or electric griddle then pour enough batter to make pancakes of the desired size. (For ease in flipping, I make mine around 6"-8" across). When top of pancake has a lot of "popped" air bubbles, flip and finish cooking.
Top with butter, syrup, whatever you like.
]]>Ok, the eyes still have their point from our last encounter, but as of last Friday, I reign supreme. (Over my eyes that is.)
Yep, I managed to successfully have lasik. And......I CAN SEE!! Wow! I haven't seen this well since I was a child. In fairness, my very up-close vision (closer than a foot or so) is slightly blurrier, but my distance vision is awesome. The procedure itself was, well, let's just say uncomfortable. It didn't hurt, thanks to numbing drops, but I really hate my eyes being messed with so it was very hard for me to have this done. My surgeon told David that is was challenging for both of us. I really owe that man a thank you card for being patient and trying a second time. In spite of the lid speculum, I was squeezing my eye so hard that he couldn't keep the corneal ring on to make the flap with the Intralase (laser). After warning me again that he'd call it off if he couldn't do it, I managed to will my body into a more relaxed state and we got through it. The amount of pressure you feel on your eye when the laser docks to make the flap is unreal! They only do that for the flap though, the rest of the laser time is much easier. The next 3-4 hours were not the most pleasant--my eyes did burn, and tear like crazy, but then they didn't feel any different than if I'd just not gotten quite enough sleep.
Although rather red, by the next morning they didn't really hurt at all. I went to my first follow-up and tested at 20-20 vision in both eyes, so that's good. It will still take 3-6 months for my eyes to stabilize, so we'll see what my final vision is, and how my close-up vision turns out. I am seeing the halos around lights at night, but not too bad. That will probably subside with time, although it's possible it won't.
For the next several days, I have drops for my eyes, each 4 times a day: steroid, antibiotic, and lubricating. I'm not fond of eye drops either but you can bet I'm making sure to do every last one. I also have plastic eye shields I have to tape onto my face at night so I can't rub or bump my eyes during the night, but I'll only need those for a few more nights.
It's really quite funny. I run around the house "Where are my glasses?" "Wait, let me get my glasses on so I can see." "Oops, better take my glasses off so I don't bend them while I'm sleeping." Years and years of habits really do die hard.
Best bang for the buck so far? Being able to read the alarm clock at night out of the corner of EITHER eye, without squinting. (My left eye used to be a lot worse than my right and I couldn't see the clock out of it no matter what. I could squint hard and see it with my right eye.) I haven't driven yet but will do so tomorrow. I also have another eye check-up tomorrow afternoon although I'm sure it will go well.
]]>I am overweight. A lot overweight. Clinically obese in fact. I've been battling with my weight for years, and I just don't get it. I have to eat practically nothing to lose weight, or even keep from gaining weight. (Around 1000 calories a day to maintain, even less to lose.) I'm sick of it. I like food. Hell I love food. And if I want to weigh less than a sperm whale, I can't have very much of it. I'm also not a very active person (which I know is part of the problem). My job is a mainly desk job. My main hobbies are reading, cross-stitching, and horseback riding. Although the third one has some physical component to it, the horse is really the one doing the work. (My horse is in great shape! In spite of a layer of fat, underneath he is very well-muscled and in good shape. Probably from carrying my lard ass around.) I did finally find a form of excercise that isn't boring, I can do no matter what the weather, can do at home, and usually enjoy it-DDR. Even doing an hour a night, six or seven nights a week isn't really doing any good. Yes, I can tell that my health is improving--at least I don't gasp at the end of the hour any more, and I know that's important. It's still incredibly depressing though that I can't get down to a weight range associated with humans rather than land masses. I'm now starting to consider some very unhealthy behaviors to see if any of them actually have an effect on my gravitational pull. At this point I'd do just about anything. I've had abdominal surgery once for a medical necessity, I know I can heal from it. I wonder if they can remove my stomach entirely, and just feed me through an IV drip? Hmmmmm...........
]]>I got really sick last week, sick enough to go to urgent care. The worst part was, I came down sick on Monday and was due for Lasik on Friday. After a few days of antibiotics, I was doing well enough for surgery. Enter massive snowstorm (8" or so) Thursday night into Friday morning. We got up at stupid o'clock (4 am) and David managed to get me there with time to spare. I go through the pre-surgery counseling, get my eye care kit and instructions, put my hair up in the little surgical cap, and go in for the pre-surgery eye exam. At this point I find out I have a foreign body stuck in the cornea of my right eye, right where the surgeon is planning on making the flap. SCREECH! That's the brakes on my surgery. The surgeon said it had been in my eye at least a week, and he had to use a sharp needle to get it out. He did numb my eyes first of course. Stupidest part was I couldn't feel that anything was in it.
Now I have a new appointment for later this month to check that my cornea is ok, and then the surgery itself at the end of that week. Keep your fingers crossed for me the week of the 18th through the 22nd.
Only I could manage to screw myself over in such a stupid way.
]]>No, not Deutsche Demokratische Republik, Dance Dance Revolution.
I am way out of shape, but hate 99.99% of all forms of exercise. Diet is die with a t at the end, and exercise is it's buddy. Seriously though, I'm trying to eat smaller portions and foods that are better for me, without actually being on a diet. I also need to increase my exercise level, enter DDR.
For those of you in the dark ages, you can get a version of this for Xbox 360, complete with a little mat. The idea of the game is simple. Dance around and tap your feet on the arrows where the screen prompts you while a song plays. Nice theory. Reality is that you bounce around like a loony, cussing and huffing and puffing and sweating, all the while reading the screen where it says "Boo" after you've missed your step.
It does start to get a bit easier, but I realize there's a reason I never dance at parties. I can't. I just lack the rhythm, coordination, or basic modicum of coolness required to dance.
At least I'm getting a decent workout from it. ;-)
]]>Until my Lasik surgery. I've worn glasses for years, and I'm sick of it. I can't really stand the thought of putting something in my eyes every day, so thought I'd let the surgeon stick the speculum in each eye for about 15-20 minutes instead. (I assume that's what the thing that holds your eye open is called. I know of two other devices that are for holding something open that are called a speculum: one is a dental speculum for when doing dental work on horses, and the other.....well never mind that one.)
A short list of the things I won't miss after surgery:
Glasses fogging up in the winter.
Glasses getting filthy any time I go out to the barn or go horseback riding.
Struggling to read the alarm clock at stupid o'clock when I wake up in the middle of the night.
Having water run down my glasses if I'm caught in a rainstorm.
Having my glasses knocked off by a branch when I'm horseback riding. Granted it's my own fault for turning around and talking to the person behind me instead of watching the trail in front of me, but still.....
I could keep blathering on all the things I hate about glasses, but I think you all get the idea.
Until next time.....
]]>May everyone have a wonderful, safe, happy, and healthy New Year.
]]>Well I was just spoiled rotten. David bought me all the stuff I mentioned before, plus a pair of riding boots that are a cross between a tennis shoe and a paddock boot. All the safety benefits of a riding boot, but all the comfort of a tennis shoe.
I also got a lot of "pig stuff": a calendar, 2 flashlights, a large stuffed pig, a small pig book, a pig hot mitt, a "Fur Real" baby piglet, and an Iflopz pig.
There was more than just pig swag though, I'm also the gift card queen: Qdoba, Outback, Red Robin, Borders, and Bed, Bath, & Beyond. (And good old fashioned cash, well a check that's been deposited.)
As if that wasn't enough, there was all the small stocking stuff: socks, sunflower seeds, silicone spatulas, etc.
The most important part of Christmas isn't the stuff, it's the being together with friend and family. (Whew, that should satisfy Santa so I get another good haul next year! ;-) )
]]>