December 31st, 2010

We made it to the end of another year. Hooray. Went skiing on Wed with Sam to Whitetail and took a lesson. The first in a long time- the instructor watched me ski for a minute and said, "You've been skiing a long time uh?" I think that was his nice way of saying "things have changed since the dinosaurs!". He opened up my stance and had some more pointers and it actually was a great lesson. The snow was more difficult than the Monday day at Roundtop because it was much warmer, but we managed! Thanks Sam , it was a gift to spend another day skiing with my son. It is warm again today, such a treat. I am going to ride my horses who have been neglected for a little bit, with Christmas and cold. Other son's team won their basketball game and we are going to see him this weekend. New Year, new plans, new weddings . Here's to a wonderful 2011. I wish all my friends the happiest of New Year's and all the health and prosperity you can stand! Hugs and kisses and love to my family.

Christmas happenings

This was a season of blessings and thanks and for some, a sorrow. At Christmas we are reminded of the angels around us, the ones we love and protect, the ones who love us and keep us safe, and the ones that  are unseen and unknown and give us blessings in different ways.  I loved my "angel" friend who gave me a new broom- she knew exactly what the barn needed-thank you. I am eternally grateful for my family, the love of my husband and the immense circle that is the love of my children. Sam and I went skiing yesterday on the spur of the moment. It  was a wonderful, windy, chilly day spent with my awesome son. One of those lyrical days when we feel graceful and exhilarated to be able to fly down a mountain without falling down! Walking in ski boots is comically awkward until you attach the skis , then it's like a gift of wings! We laughed and reminisced about European ski trips past. I missed my beautiful daughter, my other skiing child, who stayed in Los Angeles for the holidays. We called and Skyped and I will see her soon for more wedding plans. The love just had to flow a little further that's all. Will made it safely back to college for basketball, skirting the Christmas snowstorm in the east. This brings me to the sorrow. A friend of his lost his mom at Christmas and it reminds us of our fragility. The friend has an angel mom now and I know my son grieves terribly for his teammate. We are all thinking of him. I'm sure there was an angel sitting with my mom, who had to spend Christmas in hospital. She is responding well to the chemo and is stronger every day. And I know my kids' step grandmother had an angel help her survive a heart attack the day before Christmas! We wish her a speedy recovery. Hug and cherish the ones nearby and send the love to the ones away.  A happy New Year is around the corner. Love to you all.

Congratulations to Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen...

Hooray, thousands of jobs saved. Maryland Thoroughbred breeders and owners, trainers and track workers stood shoulder to shoulder and said No to losing traditional racing in Maryland. It was a wonderful Christmas gift to ourselves, way to go. There is hope. I may even find partners and race my two-year old that found no buyer. She is feisty enough to just get the job done.  We had a nice hunt yesterday that ended with a mad dash on a coyote that we manage to stop before the hounds hit the road. The other whip and I worriedly looked at each other as we galloped thru the woods, both of us remembering the hunt 2 years ago when hounds went 6 or 7 miles flat out on a coyote way out of our territory. In a car that day, I lucked out and found them hours later at the end of a driveway, way north of our fixture. So, we were worried it was a repeat scenario. I called huntsman and said, " They are moving too fast, heads up, screaming on this line- I think it is a coyote, can I stop them?" After a yes, we shot them off and thank goodness we were able to bring them back. It was a fast and furious end to a day that had a couple of nice views of a fox that runs big circles thru the hay fields and woods of Dodon. The day warmed up a little and we all ended the day with a Christmas / Birthday  breakfast at a members home.  Hopefully we can go out on Boxing Day.  Merry Christmas.

getting close to Christmas!

The full moon has been spectacular these past nights. The cold air seems to make the stars brighter. Saw the lunar eclipse last night and the setting moon is still beautiful this morning. Must have been a super cold, clear night like this when the "wise men", saw the star over Bethlehem.  My mom has her second chemo today. She responded really well to the first and has made a significant improvement- modern medicine really is incredible. Hopefully she will put this cancer in remission, be pain free and enjoy life again for long time. We have thought that the osteoporosis was a misdiagnosis for this myeloma and it is great that now doctors know what they are dealing with for her care. Thanks for the prayers.  Christmas is almost here, final wrapping today I hope. The ground is still too hard to do much riding. I will hunt tomorrow if we go, but otherwise horses  are enjoying hay in sheds and hanging out! I am going to make Yule Log dessert and apple pie and listen to Christmas music!

Hunting with Mr.Stewart's Cheshire Hounds

Yesterday 4 of us went up to hunt with Mr. Stewart's Cheshire Hounds and it was fabulous. I am now confident my red chestnut can jump the moon, 'cause he had to yesterday. The very first jump was a 3'9" railroad tie timber!. The girls and I went " oh, sh.." and watched as everyone in first field before us trotted two or three steps across the road , one canter stride and calmly jumped over. No fuss, no big deal, so we did the same. And the day progressed from there. Lots of really, really big jumps. Lots of line fences- I always thought that would be a big deal- but everyone just jumps them and all the horses just follow each other. So, if you ever want to get confidence jumping big stuff, go hunt with Mr. Stewart's Cheshire Hounds because that is where all the lovely, big, quiet Thoroughbreds are living and packing their owners around! This was a benefit hunt for an injured jockey, Jake Chalfin, and there were 150 mounted riders. Three fields offered which was unusual for them. The Master announced the fields by stating, " First field will be led by Bruce Miller, second field will not jump anything over 3 foot, third field is slower..." We looked at each other and I asked the whip beside me , " How high is first field?" He laughed and held his whip up about 5 feet ! He kept laughing and said, " Go first, you'll be fine and it's safer!"  We did and we had so much fun. Yes, they were big but everyone jumped safely and that 3"9" first timber did not look so big when at the end of a 5 hour hunt we had to jump it back!  to get home. We had gone so far from the trailers that most people were either stopping at their barns as we hacked home, or calling spouses to bring trailer to them!. There were only 8 of us left to actually hack all the way back, jumping home. We called it a day after 5 hours. I did not want to keep jumping a tired horse, although Red was awesome. Never took a bad step. He may not be the prettiest jumper but when in doubt he just goes higher, so his hanging knees still clear that top rail! I was glad I had borium because the only crashes we saw were the slippery footing kind. Several people slid into big jumps and we watched one tired pony literally crawl over a big coop! About 75 % had dropped out by the 3rd hour just when scenting got better and by the final blowing home there were only about 20 riders who finished, including the Marlborough girls, Barbara, Leslie, Marie and our cohort, Phillipa!! We had to, we didn't have a clue as to where we were!  It was an awesome day and we can now go and hunt anywhere with confidence. Thank you Cheshire!

Beginning of the rest of the winter...

Trying to get all my stuff back to normal . Being away for 8 days really messes with barn, horses, paperwork, Christmas wrapping. It took me forever to clean up barn yesterday, was like somebody set a bomb off. Not so much hay, please,  next time!!  actually,  hopefully no more next time on such short notice. Hoses are frozen and troughs are getting low-ugh. Weanlings have runny noses, mare with bad leg is stocking up from being in- so she is out with others. Walking seems to help her the most but some Bute and sulpha work too. Sulpha for the babies too. Ground is too hard to ride much tho' I need to get on foxhunters. I hate riding in the cold. I haven't seen my friendly fox in a while. I am so afraid the roadkill fox from 2 weeks ago might have been him. Bummer.
When the snow started about 11 AM, I was so glad I toughed it out and drove home on Wednesday. Driving thru the mountains just to hit snow and icy roads  in Maryland would have been so depressing.
Today I am trying to finish wrapping , maybe ride if it warms up, unfreezing hoses.....
 I think this is the beginning of the rest of the winter and I need to find a way to appreciate the cold. The only time it is OK is when I am actually hunting and am warm from galloping around or early morning when the sun hits the snow and it is quiet in the woods. That too is lovely.

back home

I drove like a road warrior and made it home late last night.  Squeaking between storms. It was exactly 10 hours door to door. The threat of a snowstorm that was paralleling my southern trip was a big incentive to get over the Allegheny Mts and I did! The roads in Canada are tough, Canadians just keep right on with normal schedule , everyone just slows down to 15 mph and continues. No big deal. Those kind of icy, snowy roads would completely shut down Maryland! My Mom did the first day of her chemo and it seemed to go OK. She is comfortable, albeit kind of hates the hospital life, which is understandable. Toronto area has become very much a cosmopolitan melting pot. I don't think one of my Mom's nurses or doctors was a "wasp". Many Russians, East Europeans, Chinese, Indian- very international and noticeable to this American girl- just different. Excellent care and a good hospital.  I hope I was a help to my sister, it is definitely better to have family around when making such difficult decisions. We are happy with mom's prognosis, her doctor reports excellent  results with this treatment. Say a prayer for me and Mom! Home to take care of horses, they were in excellent hands while I was away. Thank you Thank you guys!

snowy and cold in Canada

We are still waiting for biopsy results, though it looks like myeloma. Having a good visit with my Mom and sister. The little things that are a pain in the hospital are easier to laugh at when you have company. I worry what Mom will do when I have to leave. I know Marg is wonderful and always there but having someone around most of the time is a comfort for mom- we will just have to trade amongst us for awhile. The weather is cold, still know why I went south, too cold here for sure. Hope the roads are clear in NY before I head back.

parent care

I am just quietly spending these days with my mom while she is waiting for results from her bone marrow biopsy. It was inconclusive so we are probably not going to know any more until Monday. Stepping outside my life is OK sometimes, I never get to sit and read a magazine. It gives my sister a break also, so she can do Christmas stuff with grandchildren . Tonight is her grandson's first kindergarten Xmas play! Important stuff! I think another storm is headed to Buffalo so I may wait until Tues before driving back. Went thru three snowstorms in Pa. mountains coming up, wouldn't mind not repeating that part.

Driving to Canada

There are some days, some moments that you never forget. Last night I had just checked into a cheap motel somewhere in the middle of Pennsylvania. It was 10PM, I was tired and couldn’t drive any more. I as on my way back to Toronto, Canada to see my mom and sister. The motel room was freezing. I had gotten into bed, fully dressed, pulled the covers up to my chin and was vacantly looking at a TV. Margaret called and said, “ the oncologist said….”. Oncologist has an ugly sound, it is a harsh word. And I will never forget that freezing motel room, that moment of hearing those words. Mom seems to have myeloma. I can’t get onto the internet to figure out what it is. It is now 5AM the next morning and the motel has no connection. I went to sleep last night after talking to my sister just because that is what you do after hearing tough news and you have nothing else to do. Now I want to know, I want to read about this disease, to figure out what to do. 

It is 28 degrees this morning!

Yesterday it was 61 degrees and now the water troughs are frozen over! No wonder one of my horses has a strange fever, it spikes to 105 and then is gone later in day. Very weird and worrisome.  I am about to go feed and brave this crazy weather. Tomorrow the blacksmith comes for weanlings and the yearling that are going to sale. Thanks for dormosedan, doing feet is hard enough- loading weanling colts is almost impossible. Tho' I have been walking them in and out for a week. Fingers crossed. The mess of Maryland racing is going to hang over the sale like a black cloud, but hopefully buyers from more prosperous states will come. FYI  I got two A's on my exams and classes this fall. Whoopee! And my son's basketball team is 5-0. This is good but I know he wishes he played more. My mom is still in hospital, which means she is being cared for and drugs are monitored. Hard on my sister so I am going to try to go up in next week or so.

December 1

It is 61 degrees out. December 1st, warm and raining very hard. No hunting today. Strange start to December. Good day to snuggle back into down comforter or at least to think about it, even tho' there are 15 hungry horses (wet now) waiting for me to show up. I think hungry horses are a bigger motivator than hungry kids. I could always hand them a box of Cap'n Crunch cereal or equivalent. Oh well, this is why we have Barbour's and at least it is warm. There was a dead fox on our road last night, I hope it wasn't one of the ones I see on my farm. I think of them as mine and I was feeding them, hoping they would stay. They are so beautiful.