I'm Back!!! It's a Long Story!

PART I

Wow! It has been over a month since I have posted anything or read any of the blogs I follow!!! I have a perfectly good reason/excuse for my absence. ..... and it is the subject of this blog posting, which will be broken up into stages because there is so much ground to cover....

First -- I think most of you know John and I have a real estate business with a sub-speciality in equestrian properties. Well, the real estate market has been in the gutter for a couple of years now, and the way things are going, it doesn't look like it is going to come back. At least not soon enough for folks like us in their mid 50's to be able to rebound financially. So we finally had to face reality and close our business. It was not an easy decision -- we have put so many years into this, and a lot of effort -- as corney as it sounds, a lot of love and dedication. It was very difficult. (Also, we lost a lot of $$$$$ )

Along with the decision to close the business, we realized John had to get a job. So he has been job hunting. It is not easy out there for unemployed people....especially one who is older -- even though he has a master's degree. But thankfully he did find something....he went to Kelly Services, a temp agency, and got a job at a local manufaturing facility. We are so grateful for the job.

However, this brings me to Part II.

PART II

John starts work at 5:00 AM. This means getting up at 3:30 A.M. On top of it, he works until 3:30 -4:30 p.m. -- 10 or 11 hour days. Needless to say, we are still adjusting!!! We have been living like zombies....walking around during the day with glazed looks on our faces....sleeping at odd times on the weekends. It has been strange, but a good strange. HOWEVER, he is still looking for a job with a more normal schedule, and one that is more in line with his degrees and experience.

This has all played havoc with our horseback riding. Which brings me to Part III.

Part III

We had been planning for a few months to go up to the North Woods of Wisconsin where my brother lives. He met some people who have horses, and they told him to tell us to come up to ride with them...they would board our horses and show us the trails and everything. Now, the North Woods are just BEAUTIFUL and we were so excited, and really touched by the generous offer to board our horses and show us the trails...we planned to go up there over Memorial Day weekend. I was going to take Thursday, Friday, and the following Tuesday off.

As fate would have it, John got a job the week prior to the holiday week. So we had to cancel.

We had a long weekend on Memorial Day weekend, but the weather here did not lend itself to horseback riding. It was rainy every day until Sunday when it was 90+ degrees! So we did not ride at all over the long holiday weekend..

Part IV

So , we finally got a chance to ride last weekend. We went to a local county park, and when we got there, we noticed some familiar horse trailers. As it turned out, some of our friends were there riding! It was great....

Above is Karen with Misty......

Below is Paul with Easy....

We rode along for a while, and then sure enough we ran across them on the trail. We all had a great ride together. But the best part was our friend Dolly, who gets a"Part" in this blog all her own.....Part IV, Dolly Gets a Gaited Horse......

Part V

Dolly and Klassic Dr. Pepper

Dolly is a quarter-horse rider who has been with us gaited (Tennessee Walkers, Rocky Mountain) horseback riders for years now. She has been considering getting a gaited horse, and has now officially taken the plunge!!

I think she and "Pepper" belong together.. they are both blonde and petite....

They had a great ride that day.....

PRESENTING!!! DOLLY AND "PEPPER"!!!!