A Lot Can Happen in a Year!

I obviously hadn’t looked at my blog, Not a Natural Blonde, in a while, but today while editing my profile for LinkedIn.com, I was in for a shock. The last piece I wrote was in December 2010! Yikes! Well, I had THOUGHT of several things to write! I just hadn’t DONE it! Let me catch you up:

January 2011

I quit my job as Coordinator for ER Admitting at Valley Medical Center and went back to being a registrar again. I also went from evening shift to nights—another big change—in hopes that I would be able to find more time to spend with my horse and getting myself back in shape.

March

I bought a new horse, or I should say Sam bought me a new horse. After many “discussions” about what our retirement is going to look like, I finally convinced Sam that horses were going to be a permanent fixture—something he should know by now, since I’ve had at least one of them most of my life.

My new horse is a 10-year-old unregistered bay Quarter Horse mare named Schelline, and her claim to fame is that she was her former owner’s grandfather’s elk hunting horse. Grandpa reputedly fired his 30-0-6 rifle off her back and then packed the meat home with her. What I can tell you is that, while she doesn’t have as much training as I expected her to have, she is a lovely horse with a pleasant disposition, and we seem to get along fine—even though she seems to have what I call a Thoroughbred brain. She’s a sweetheart and seems to like her new home, though my other mare (my 27 year-old Arab mare Hadarah) tolerates her grudgingly because Schelline is the new boss. That’s life as an equine.

Unfortunately, instead of spending the summer trail riding, I fell at work and got a fractured dislocation of my left shoulder! I’m nearly through with physical therapy now (September), so I hope to start trail riding SOON.

May

Sam and I went back to Northeastern Oregon for a brief family visit, and in the meantime I put my old Tex Tan Western saddle up for sale at Elgin Boot & Saddle, the tack and feed store in Elgin, Oregon now run by my niece Chelsea and her husband Chris. I also ordered a brand-new custom-made Tucker trail saddle and all its accoutrements.

July

My 64th birthday: Gosh, I don’t FEEL that old!

August

I finally published my book of poetry, Howling at the Dark Side of the Moon, and it has turned out as well as I’d hoped it would. I am still in almost daily contact with the publisher (Trafford), however, because it’s becoming necessary to hound them to completely fulfill my contract. I have yet to receive the rest of the hard bound copies due me, plus today I learned it will take four to six weeks to get my promotional kit! Good grief, I could do one up myself on the computer in about half an hour and have Staples print the whole works off in a couple of days. Now I am looking into starting my own publishing company.

September

Vacation again, and off to Oregon to pickup my new saddle that I’ve been saving for. It’s a beauty, and I can hardly wait to throw it on Schelline and head off down the trail. Physical therapy for my shoulder will run into mid-October, but I’m gaining strength and flexibility every day and looking forward to getting back into riding my horses on a daily basis, as I used to.

I also have a number of knitting projects ahead for winter, but most of those are for evenings spent indoors while watching TV. This summer I discovered Noro, a Japanese company making a number of hand painted natural yarns made of mostly wool and silk. It has been called the most beautiful yarn in the world, and once you see and feel it, you won’t wonder why. One project I would love to make is a gorgeous hooded jacket, but I haven’t bought the yarn yet. At $18.95 per hank, and the project calls for 15 of them, it may take a while. This takes the subject of “yarn stash” to a completely new level! We shall see if I make it, but if I do, you will know.

I’m certain that much more happened over the course of the past year, but these are the highlights. And, I shall certainly not be so remiss in the future!

Enjoy, stay safe, and remember that the best things in life are not things.