I've decided to start a weekly thread for any and everything that anyone wants to talk about that's not art related directly. You can talk about yourself, your family, what's happening in your life, your job, your work or the world. You can gripe and complain, you can ask questions and get answers. Its just a place to hang out and shoot the breeze.

If its used, it will stay, if not, that's ok too. But it could be a good 'de-stressing' place. So get a coffee, pull up a chair and have a chat!

Today was the first really cold morning and I actually had to scrape frost off the car today. The fields were white and when I took the horse out, she stopped in her tracks and just looked around then at me as if I'd personally done it! lol Animals. They're so amusing.

The woman I'm selling myhorse to rang yesterday. She's buying her in installments and they come at weekends to see her, but not this weekend. She rang to say they'd had car problems and couldn't come. Then she asked 'do you want to get rid of your fence around the pasture she's in now?' I was a bit floored and couldn't quite understand the question. But seems they haven't thought about fencing quite yet...

The fence around the pasture is lengthy and made of rough stakes in the ground and 'longers' long thin saplings that make up a standard bar fence. The fenciing goes around about an acre of land that the horse is put out on. The thought of removing them is not what I'd consider fun and we found the whole concept really funny. I've never asked someone when buying a horse if I could also buy the fence too! Needless to say, I don't think we'll be parting with the fence. lol

Wow Jeanette I have never heard of anyone wanting to buy fences either, unless it was from a preofessionall who dealt with building fences. Are you planning on getting anymore animals for the fenced in pasture or another horse?

I love horses but I know they are high maintence. Plus time consuming. There is a horse boarding place not far from where I live and I have often wanted to go and see if I could take pictures of the different horse out in the pasture (they have tons) just for reference photos but I haven't gotten the courage to drive up to the house and ask for permission. I feel stupid. With winter coming soon I thought horses in the pasture and snow would be pretty pictures to draw. I guess we will see.

Tomorrow looks like a pretty filled day for me with running errands and appointments I have to go to, I am not looking forward to it at all. I have to take my father to court (just learned his drivers liscence was revoked for not paying a traffic ticket) and then later I have parent teacher confrences at my 3 oldest children's school to learn of their progress for the first part of the new school year. I am kinda upset because the conferences were set up at the same time I have a colored pencil class at the Cancer Center. I really enjoyed the class whn I went to it once earlier this year and it is only once a month and normally there is something in the way of me returning. The art teacher is wonderful that teaches it.

Other than that cleaning and taking care of my family and squeezing in draw time is about all my life consist of.

"I don't think we'll be parting with the fence" Tell them it's no need to buy a fence for the horse as it is house broke.Seems like people that may not know the difference.

Hey there J,

Spending alot of time on horse ranches, and a few years out west (may be heading there again to design Timberframe homes), it always amazes me how little, I will call them greenhorns yet not saying your buyer is, how little greenhorns consider the costs involved with having a large breed animal. There is pasture that is needed, if you dont have pasture, then you will have to board it, then you have the fencing around the pasture, you have the food bills, if the pasture is not set to feed a horse, then you have the vet bills, and for horses, the tack, the barn, the bedding, the trailer, the truck...

Wow, it just all adds up. As far as I am concerned, it is all worth it to get up some frosty morning with a cup of coffee and apple in hand, go out to the pasture as the sun is rising, and whistling for your horse. The mental images that leap to mind to see a graceful figure like this, with steam billowing from its notrils, and steam rising from its body, ears perked, sun rising over its back, the crunch of hooves on frosty pasture, makes the costs all worth it.

Cheers.

Venus, go ask to photograph their horses. They'll be thrilled I'm positive of it!

Yes horses can be a bit high maintenance and a bit pricy to feed here especially as the winters are so long, so you need so much hay and then constantly clearing winter paddocks for them. But they are lovely animals.

You have your hands full with teacher meetings it seems. I remember that well but am out of that realm now with grown children.

Ted, you're likely right. This person spent the day baking 'horse muffins'...I hope she will still feel like that in February... I guess they'll learn the hard way.

Horsewhisperer, I know these people aren't fully prepared when it comes to buying a horse, but their hearts are in the right place. I just hope they don't call me every five minutes wanting advice!

And yes, there is something wonderful about seeing a horse running across a pasture, screeching to a halt in front of you then slobbering your clean jacket to get the apple, while you are spilling your coffee, on that frosty morning.

I do love her really and I am a true romantic with the same vision in my head every day when it comes to horses.

I have a horse also & would love to find her a good home. I've had mine since she was a yearling & love her dearly but I'm thinking that she may live beyond the time I'm able to care for her. She's 18 but pretty spunky for her age. It's difficult for me to clean her hooves now as she's always been somewhat of a "leaner" & nothing I could do could break her of that. lol

She's a love but I don't ride anymore & I hate to see her just as a pasture ornament. In that respect, we're very fortunate as we rarely have snow & the pastures stay pretty clear & she doesn't require much feed at all. But, I would be extremely particular as to whom she would go & have such mixed feelings about selling her that I just keep procrastinating & haven't done any advertising or made any effort toward that end. I've about decided to keep her as long as I can & will extract a promise from my husband & children that they not take her to the horse sale should anything happen to me but, if nothing else, find a good horse rescue for her.

Anyway, I hope your buyers are good owners of your horse, Jeanette. At least they seem willing to learn. Don't begrudge any time you have to spend "educating" them to horse care but, maybe you can point them to some good resources where they can find answers for themselves.

J

Venus ...your life consist of alot .. being a mom is so rewarding .. I know you know that already .. but I think its great you are a stay home mom .. I am also .
Jeanette ...I rememebr about a year ago a women called and we had a business taking picture of peoples pets .. we would go to their homes and it was alot of fun .. well she called me and said I have horses and ask if i would take pictures of them ..I had never taken a portrait of a horse .. I thought to myself .. no way how would i move it around .. and a squeeky toy wont cut it .. but I could not turn down a job .. so i went .. abit afraid cause i had never been around horses .. but it was the most beautiful portrait ... she had me come back and take more of her other animals ..even her chicken .. i guess she really loved her pets
J I know what you mean by making sure the horse finds a good family .. I use to raise yorkies and they were teacup and champion breed full pedigree Yorkies .. I use to ask for refferences so i could call and make sure they were good pet owners lol I know that sounds silly .. but as a horse has needs for his size .. a yorkie as small as these ones were has special needs also .
Does anyone know anything about Orbs lol ??

J-Lynn, its taken me six months to 'choose' the right person for this horse. Yes, they may not be the most horse-wise people around but they do love her and I know she'll be taken care of well. I'm sure they'll have questions and I'm happy to provide the best answers that I can for them. I figure anyone who actually bakes horse muffins can't be bad. lol

I know what you mean being a bit nervous around horses Kim. They are beautiful but can be unpredictable at times. I'm glad you got good photographs of the animal. They are so beautiful. And no, not silly. I've done the same with my other horse that I sold this past summer and will do the same with Kit too. I feel a sense of responsibility to them, whether founded or not.

Orbs? Now tell me more Kim. I can draw orbs but that's about as far as my knowledge goes on them.

Venus ...your life consist of alot .. being a mom is so rewarding .. I know you know that already .. but I think its great you are a stay home mom .. I am also .
Jeanette ...I rememebr about a year ago a women called and we had a business taking picture of peoples pets .. we would go to their homes and it was alot of fun .. well she called me and said I have horses and ask if i would take pictures of them ..I had never taken a portrait of a horse .. I thought to myself .. no way how would i move it around .. and a squeeky toy wont cut it .. but I could not turn down a job .. so i went .. abit afraid cause i had never been around horses .. but it was the most beautiful portrait ... she had me come back and take more of her other animals ..even her chicken .. i guess she really loved her pets
J I know what you mean by making sure the horse finds a good family .. I use to raise yorkies and they were teacup and champion breed full pedigree Yorkies .. I use to ask for refferences so i could call and make sure they were good pet owners lol I know that sounds silly .. but as a horse has needs for his size .. a yorkie as small as these ones were has special needs also .
Does anyone know anything about Orbs lol ??

You know, I've been thinking. It's not that I won't be able to take care of my horse for her (or my) lifetime. I think it's more a case of I may not want to. lol I do think I'll be as able as I am today & that's very able. My dad is nearing 90 & he goes to senior dances, shoots skeet & still hunts a little, my horse's mother is nearing 30 & can still be ridden gently. I expect my horse to live for at least another 10 - 15 years & I really expect to be as active as my dad is at his age. Thanks, you all. You got me to thinking more positively and I really love my horse & would like to keep her as long as I can. I don't ride any more, not because I can't, but because my interests have changed.

Kim, my mom had the best teacup Yorkie! His name was Hot Toddy (with a bunch more added to his registered name) & he went everywhere with her. I regret that there were never any photos taken of him as I would love to try to sketch him. My mom has passed away now though & she would probably be the only one to appreciate a drawing or painting of him.

Are Orbs those things that appear in photos that some people think are ghosts? I don't know much more about them but will google to see if I can learn more. I'm kinda with Jeanette & understand more about the orbs we draw! lol

Jeanette, what are horse muffins? Now I know a lot about cow pies & horse "apples" but never heard of horse muffins! lol

Venus, I'm also sure that the owners of the stable would be flattered if you wanted to take photos. Go ask them! I would gladly share pics of my baby but we just don't get that much snow around here. It does get kinda cold though & a winter coat on a horse without a snow background is not the most appealing photo!

Off for a while now. Gotta work tomorrow - ugh! But I can check in here from work & can even post once in a while! Hope tomorrow isn't that busy!

J

J Yorkies are very indemand dog .. my mother has one and he also goes everywhere even dennys .. lol she has a stroller and a carrier and a car seat .. I know it sounds crazy as I also am inlove with my pets .. but home on my bed is just fine with me lol .

hi everyone
just thought i would join in. i love horses too even though i dont own one. i think they are beautiful. when i was about 5 my sisters and i and my brother would go down the road and ride my parents landlords horse. im not sure what he was, he was old and white. he was great. great memories.
i have three boys, and also a full time mom and homemaker. i remember when my boys were younger, i had my hands full. they are 20, 16 and 15 now. still have my hand full just bigger handfuls. they are great though. my neighbor called me today crying because over the weekend they had to go out of state for family emergency and when they came back my boys had racked there front and back yard for them and she thought that was great. they didnt even think about it because they just wanted to help in some way. all three love art too. and they critique my work as well. my youngest races sprint cars at a local speedway here in ohio.
we have a coon dog--redtick for our dog. he is in the house and yes he acts like a coon dog in the house if you can picture that. we had a rot for many years and she passed a year ago and we adopted him, he was set off by someone and he is afraid of the dark, and gun shy so he wasnt a great coon dog but he still has his instincts.
my mom has a toy poodle that had her picture taken on santa's lap. i cant believe that.
Lori

Hmmmm maybe sometime this week if I have the time and gas...lol prices are still high...ugh, I will go to the Horse Boarding place and see if they will let me take pictures. (Its just a long way up the driveway to the hourse). I guess being scared is kind of silly huh? Kim I love yorkies they are so adorable. I wanted one so bad a few years ago and hub was getting me a dog for my birthday then I got stuck with our shih tzu. He is a decent dog but to tell you the truth I prefer my cat and the dog has adopted my husband Brian over me. Which is fine because he can be a pain. I think I will take a stroll Wednesday and see if I can get some decent horse pictures. Looked at the weather forcast for this week in Michigan and looks like it will be warm and sunny, should produce pretty pictures.
I am sooo not looking forward to the teacher meetings tomorrow but a mother has to do what a mother has to do..with that I am off for a bit to cook dinner and get kids bathed for bed. Talk to everyone later!!

I have had to part with Kit because of a number of reasons. My husband is on permanent disability and gets worse over time so he is not able to help a lot with her and I'm working most of the time, so its not fair on the horse or anyone else to keep her underutilized and a bit bored too probably. She's ridden a little when I can, but that's not often these days. She's a sweetheart, only 5 years old. But I've resigned myself to the fact that she has to go to someone who will have time and energy to care for her and ride her.

Horse muffins. I hadn't heard of them either. The woman buying the horse baked them from a recipe she found online apparently. Grains, wholewheat flour, apple, carrots, sweet feed, molasses. When I got to the pasture, Kit was sucking muffins off her teeth and begging for more! lol That horse will be fat as a pig.

These small breeds really are in demand these days aren't they Kim? Yorkies are so sweet too, those little faces. Then again I like any kind of dog really. My own was put to sleep about a year ago at the age of 16 and 2 days later my cat died. She was 18. They are both buried together on the edge of the woods as they were great pals all their lives. For the same reasons as above with the horse, I said I wouldn't have another dog or cat, then along came Tripod, the three legged cat who's no longer showing feral ways, he's more like Garfield. He wants to be carried around like a baby, have breakfast, lunch and dinner then flop on the sofa. What a life!

Animals really do plant memories in children's minds don't they Lori? I think everyone has a childhood animal story in them. Your boys sound lovely to do that for a neighbour. You're obviously doing something right with them.

I have three cats .. cowboy ...sissy...and grey kitty ....my love is for cats ...I am sorry to hear you had two losses in the same week .. that is very hard .. people dont sometimes understand how painful it is to lose a pet ...when my moms yorkie passes i do not know what she will do .. he is her life .. now that her second husband has passed.

Hate to change the subject,but I found a new toy tonight.I have seen picture like this on the net but never knew how it done

LOL Jeanette I have a great childhood story of my german shepard we had named Sanny. She was a pure bred white german shepard. Well after my mom had my brother who was her last child I was age 4. I was also very jealous that she had another baby and already at that age decided I hated my little sister. Sooo 2 weeks after my brother came home (mind you she had her tubes tied for no more children) I decided to run away and took Sanny with me. Well my mom didn't have a phone so she had to go to a neighbors dragging my 2 week old brother and 21 month old sister. I was like ohhh 6 blocks away from home by then, telling myself that I was gonna find a new home for me and Sanny with a dog house for her and no brother and sister for me. Well then the police found me. They tried to get me into the car and mind you Sanny hated any person in any type of uniform so when the police officer approached me she went on full attack mode. Soo it took about another half hour for my mother waiting for me to come home because the police had to call in the dog pound. See they had to get Sanny into the car before they could touch me because she was just down right vicious when they tried. We finally arrived home and boy was I in big trouble. I remember all of this about my dog but don't remember my punishment...go figure must be selective memories. So anyways I like animals but as far as dogs go I don't think I have ever liked one as much as I loved Sanny. We lost her a few years later when my family decided to move to Texas. My dad left her with my uncle until he could come and get her and the rest of our stuff and she ran away and got hit by a car. I guess it is easier for me with cats because they seem to just come and go for me. They end up being outside cats and then just disappear. Anyways I just thought I would share my little story. I know how hard it is to lose a pet. They are wonderful.

hey T how did you do that. it looks like dots to me

venus--thats a great story. today they would probably shoot the dog. i hate when they do that, because its usually not the dogs fault.
but great story. im the youngest of five so i really cant say that i was jealous of my sisters, im sure they were of me though.
that had to be rough Jeanette, it was so hard when our dog passed. it took a little to get use to another--we had to keep saying he isnt Fargo is he? (our rots name)
my sister has always loved cats. she had one that was in love with my other sister and she would catch birds or mice and put them on her pillow. needless to say my sister was not impressed at all. cats are so smart. i like them too but my hubby doesnt. i dont know what his problem is because i always take care of the animals, he love our dog but i always end up taking care of them. my youngest son has a rat. he raised from a baby. very very friendly, but a rat is rat to me. but he really loves that thing, my other son had an iguana for a couple of years but when he started hanging out with friends more and going out more and more he gave him to a teacher for a class pet. iguanas are alot of work, and the smell really bad when the go potty. now he has an oscar fish. he wants a snake and a spider but i will not allow that!!!
thanks jeanette--kids are such hard work, you think your not getting through to them and then they do something like that, and then i sit back and sigh. (and thank God) maybe something is getting through to them.
Lori

Animals do become part of the family Kim. Its difficult when they die.

Great story about the dog Venus! lol I can just imagine the situation. yes today it probably would have be handled much differently. Poor dog. I bet you missed him a lot..

I'm not a real cat person. I like them but don't adore them. Now this one has arrived on the scene, he's got a big personality and is winning me over.

Is that like one of those 'typewriter art' images that used to be around years ago Ted? with punctuation, numbers and letters making up the tones. very clever. COme on, tell us how you did it please.

I'm at home this morning waiting for salt and sand to do its work on the road. We had a bit of snow and sleet last night and when I tried the drive to work, the road was like a sheet of glass. I got a couple of kms down the road, applied the brakes and just slid and slid. There was no control whatsoever. So I decided that I wasn't going to risk life and limb driving all the way to town (its about a 20 minute drive usually). They have sanded the road now so I'll try again soon. I HATE winter!

I have the advantage in that I can work from home too as I ican access my work computer from my home computer so I'm virtually there.

Venus .. I think we all tried to run away .. I know I did once and I left got about a block away and was cold ...and decided i would do it the next night and never did . lol
Lori speaking of snakes and spiders... I got a corn snake for my daughter .. they said they dont bite or even have teeth .. well one day madusa (snakes name ) got out of her tank and we couldnt find her .. so a friend was over and he was standing by our curtain .. and there was madusa lol .. in a fold fromn the curtain ... so my husband picked her up and she bite him and would not let go .. now my husband has no fear of snakes so he just stood there letting her bite all the while i screaming .. does it hurt lol and when she finaly let go .. there was blood .. no teeth huh .... I think so .. took her back to the pet shop and ask if they wanted to buy her back .. we had her for almost two years .. we got more for her then we paid .
now the spider .. I use to be deathly .. well who am i kidding i still am afraid of spiders ...and my dad thought what better way to cure that fear ... I will buy kim a trantula well he brought her home and she stayed in a tank .. i fed her crickets and some pinkies when she got older ( pinkies are newborn mice ..you buy them frozen or alive . ) anyways i had that thing for years until she died .. that was a cool pet cause you did not have to hold it and it was a conversation started .. lol I loved it so much I tried to talk my husband into one .. he said no .

Hi all, it's raining which means my internet connection is down from 28 kbs to 26 kbs & everything is slower than molasses. To top it all, I had my husband download the new MS browser, Vista, from his high speed connection at his office. I installed it last night right before I shut down for the night. I had an unusually long work day today then went to vote & now my computer won't work right. I've run all the anti-virus, anti-spyware, etc, etc & the only thing I can figure out is that Vista is messing it up in some way since I haven't used it all day.

Anyway, going to back up all my files & reformat so you all may not see me for a while. Between that & hopefully getting my art order tomorrow, I'll probably be very scarce for a while.

Think my next computer will be a Mac! Well, maybe not since they've gone to the Intel chip too.

Will be back when I can.

J

How frustrating for you J-Lynn. I hope its all sorted for you soon.

Snakes and spiders!! I don't think I could do that, I really don't. A tiny spider freaks me out - any insect for that matter. I went to someone's house once who had a 20 foot python out roaming in the house. It moved in front of me, over my foot and seemed to take forever to go by it was HUGE! I think I died that day. lol

spiders do scare me also .. very bad lol .. but mine was in a tank .

oh my kim-- i would have run screaming if someone bought me one of those things. i see them at the pet store, my son tries and tries. he says when he moves out he is getting spiders, snakes and scorpians. i will never visit. they say garners dont bite either but one bit my son, though he said it didnt hurt and it didnt bring any blood. but i could tell it scared him. but it doesnt stop him. i can not kill a spider when he is around. he will pick the thing up and take it out side. even wolf spiders. have you guys heard of tomatoe spiders (my parents are from the south and thats what they called them) they are big black and yellow and ugly. and mean, as the wolf is hairy, big and ugly and mean. he will pick all of them up. i keep telling him they are going to bite him someday. he has always been a Jeff Corwin and Steve Urwin fan. i did let him have a tree frog from the pet store and he fed him crickets.
Jeanette i wouldnt even went into that house at all.
Lori

Ever see the movie out of Africa ? with kim bassenger ...its a awsome movie ...and there is a boy her son who loves snakes ...and well its just a really good movie ..rent it if you like to watch movies .

No i havent seen it yet but i will go get it this weekend.
Lori

I love movies ... a nice warm blanket and a glass of diet coke and a good movie is one of my pleasures ....if you get it I KNOW you will enjoy it .. have your son watch it with you .. trust me he will enjoy it as well .

Ok I just wanted to let you all know I did it!!! I went to Ivory Farms and asked the woman in charge if I could take pictures of all of the horses she boards. She probably has about 30 or more. Anyways I told her why I wanted to take the pictures and guess what?????
She is an artist herself!!!! She showed me some of her oil paintings of the horses and she was fantastic!! I mean they were georgous paintings. She never had any art classes and she self taught herself. I guess she isn't online (bummer too). She said computers and digital gadgets are just to complicated for her. She was older but didn't look to old. I would guess around early 60's, I mean she still had that pitch fork going if you know what I mean in the horse stalls...lol. She was throwing that manure better than I could... I really liked her though. She said I could come back whenever I wanted and told me I should come back around 4 for better lighting. So guess thats what I am doing. So that is about all for my exciting day. The one horse Baby that I took a picture of was a real stallion. He is 18 mths old and huge. He nipped my sister a little earlier too. I think he liked her, she wasn't afraid to pet him.

So to veiw the pictures of my days adventure go visit the insperational gallery!!!!

Good Job Venus ....glad you got some picture I am on my way to have a look now .. love horses ..jusat never really been around them .

I KNEW you could do it Venus and I KNEW they'd love that you wanted to photograph them too! Excellent job!

I've been playing catch up all day at work. I have a lot of meetings lately and they play havoc with work, making me slow down a lot. Then trying to catch up on drawing and housework and the animals, etc etc.

My sister is coming in from Corner Brook tomorrow to pick up about a year's worth of chickens, turkeys and geese that I have for her freezer. She's bringing my nephew who wants to buy a new guitar so I guess my house will be the 'studio' this weekend once he gets it.

Saturday is a holiday - Remembrance Day - Veteran's Day in the USA I believe, so everything is shut, but will be open again on Sunday. The good thing is that I get Monday off work so more drawing time!

Do you farm chickens and turkeys jeanette ? and does she get them and hand them out ? I have only had store bought chicken .. not sure about the ones that were klucking just days ago ...lol

Yes, chickens, turkeys and geese Kim. They are unlike the store bought ones, more tender I believe. I just like knowing how something has been treated and just what they've eaten and how they were cared for which is why we got into it in the first place. The demand for naturally raised poultry is enormous.

The ones she'll get are already processed and frozen - just like the supermarket ones! lol but MUCH nicer. When they freeze them commercially, they inject them or soak them in saline solutions to make them freeze quicker. Then when they thaw, the cell structure breaks down when the liquid thaws so the texture isn't the same. Our birds are frozen naturally, with no added water or salt.

When we first started it and had the first batch of chickens back from the processer (we don't have the equipment to do that ourselves) I couldn't eat them. It took me about six months to get over that. Now I know they are treated well, fed well and have a good life and they fulfill a purpose.

That is true ... store bought you never really know .. my brother has chickens and they get eggs .. but they are brown and my kids wont touch them . lol ...guess you wont go hungry .. there are so many ways to cook chicken ..we eat it alot also .

my kids wont touch brown eggs either, i have to laugh at them because they say it isnt natural. i know it makes you wonder about everything they put in meat and poultry. my dad wouldnt eat chicken because he said he has seen how some people take care of their chickens. what they do to them and stuff.
my kids idea of good chicken is chicken mcnuggets! i have to admit somehow i have raised city kids. i guess compared to alot of other people though i am a city kid too. just here where i live they tell me i am country.
Lori

I have brown eggs from my chickens and people here always want them, I can't keep up with demand. The shell colour only indicates the breed, nothing more.

Read Fast Food Nation if you want to see what your kids are eating when they go to somewhere like McDonalds. The whole fast food industry dictates the level of poor quality food that is available today. High fat, sugar, salt, additives, processed meat. Nope, I refuse to touch it and haven't been anywhere near a fast food restaurant for at least 15 years.

for some reason .. kids do look at a chicken nugget and think thats chicken .. I will say one thing .. my daughter and I .. no way will we eat burgers or nuggets of any kind lol .. if we have chicken my husbands cooks it .. I by the way can not cook well .. so I agree with that jeanette and my brother his chickens do not lay fast enough either lol .. everyone loves his eggs .
my brother lives out of town in a country town where its not out of the norm to have a horse or cow ect .. when we went to his place once he had just gotten a rooster ....and it was the pet .. and my girls were like .. a rooster for a pet ? I had to remind them we were in St. Johns lol ...where even a rooster can be your pet .

Hello, I have been a member since this summer, I think I started in August. I have a lot to do so I can't always spend a lot of time here. But I really like this site and learning to draw. I have started reading on the forum more recently. There are a lot of very nice people here.



I am divorced and a mother of 3. 4yo girl, 11yo boy, and a 16yo boy. My middle child goes to visit his dad everyother weekend, but the other children stay with me all the time. I sold my house to use the equity to pay to take a class to reactivate my RN license. (I had been a stay at home mom) I haven't been able to earn enough money doing other jobs to pay the bills and take care of us. We moved in August to this little appartment near my middle child's school so he won't have to change schools. I'm not sure where I will go after this year. He is in 6th grade so next year he will change schools anyway. My oldest goes to a special science and tech school, so, as long as we stay in the county, it won't matter where we live. I think that I will go for an ER nursing job. I will graduate in December. Then, when I have a good income again, I will have to decide what I will do about where to live.



So I am busy trying to unclutter the appartment (Can you imagine all of the extra junk I have? I went from a 3 level townhouse to a 2 bedroom appartment!), doing work for my nursing class, supervising my kids' homework, etc...



I have 3 bunnies, 1 guinea pig, 1 cockateal, 5 parakeets, a fish tank, and a frog. The pets "belong" to various children, but the bunnies are mine. Of course all the animals are "mine" because kids will be kids and I have to make sure that they are all took care of, I don't mind at all. I wish that I could live on a farm. I would love to do that kind of work. I know it IS work!! We also feed the wild birds and have wood peckers, cardinals, dark eyed juncos, tufted titmouses (titmice?), nuthatches, chickadees (and a swarm of robins which have been cleaning out a tree with berries next to my patio). There is nothing I like better than the sound of contented animals.



When I was a kid my family lived in Maryland and we would go every other summer to my grandmother's farm in Washington State. She had horses, cows and chickens. I fell in love with farms then. I learned to ride on an old Paint. When I was older my grandma taught me to ride her arabian stallion "English" style. I was very strictly taught to post a trot, hold the double reigns etc... He was a cool horse. Very energetic and spirited. I used to take a paperback book and walk out into the cow pasture and slowly move as close to the cows as the lead cow would let me, then sit and read and just enjoy the company of the cows. In the afternoon they would gather under a set of trees in the middle of the pasture and chew their cuds and I would sit with them. I don't eat beef because I always see their big beautiful brown eyes with those long lashes!!!



I have discovered that drawing helps me to unwind so that I can sleep and gives a stress break during the day, too. I also like to take pictures and bought a Nikon D200 recently. I love digital photography because of the immediacy of the results and you never run out of film! I have a photo project I want to do and will also draw from some of the pictures. I have so many ideas in my head!!! There is never enough time!



Well, so that's me in a nutshell, sort of! [url="java script:emoticon("][/url]



Kristi

Wow Kristi!!!
Nice to meet you though. I have 4 children and am a stay at home mom too. I am married and don't know what I would do if I was single. I know art alone unless you have it mastered I couldn't survive with my kids. I used to live in Texas when I was little so I know all about cows and pastures and such. I never had that kind of fondness for them though. I do love horses though. Not that i ever owned one or anything and I have only been horse back riding once. My girlfriend in middle school had a horse and she did rodeo so she let me ride her horse once and I when I moved back to Michigan I never really lived anywhere near a horse farm til now. So I don't ride and since I have been away from them when I went and took the pictures found I was afraid of being to close to them. Sorry to hear about your divorce and glad you are going back to school!!! Good for you. I wish I had the money to go to school. I have no idea what I would do unless it was art related but I would still love to go back. So take it one day at a time and life will get so much better for you I am sure.

welcome Kristi

wow do you have your hands full--i dont think i could do all that. i guess though we all do what we have to do when we have to do it. women are strong that way. i am a stay at home mom. i have worked outside the home before but for the last 8 years i have stayed home full time. i am so busy just being a mom and a homemaker, taking care of the kids, the house and my husband i get so tired after that i just dont think i would have the energy to work outside the home. you have alot of animals too. i use to raise bunnies-- i had english lops, french lops, and belgian giant. i loved them. but it got to be to much work because i kept them seperated to they didnt have babies all the time so i had to clean and feed and water and spend time with each one. it was so much work and i enjoyed it but other things happened that took priority. but i found good homes for all of them. we moved a couple of years ago from a 5 bedroom house to a three bedroom ranch and it was crazy. we had to go through alot of stuff and pitch alot and then get everything organized. welcome here though.
Lori

Kristi ...you sure do have your hands full .. I use to work in the ER I loved it ....then they stuck me in the Morgue and that was not so nice .. I am not a nurse I was a inspector for the Hospital enviromental services and loved it .. didnt make many friends because my job was to see that their job was getting done according to hospital code .
I am like you Lori I stay home with the kids now .. and I love it .

Hi Everyone!! Hope you all had a great week. I know I did. I went to the doctor the other day for the good ole yearly checkup and had to get on the dreaded scale. I had been there a few months before for a medication refill and same thing the dreaded scale. So I tried to cheat and not stand on it all the way til the nurse caught me. Anyways to make a long story short from the last time I was there I learned I lost 10lbs. Well me being 5'10 I can never tell whats big or not on me until I go shopping for new jeans. Which is what I did today and me and my girlfriends have the jokes about what size jeans we are all in....soooo...I got to rub it in that I am no longer a size 11 in jeans but a size 9...I was so happy. It made feel soo much better. I have been feeling totally blah lately. I don't know if anyone else has had "problems" with acne before but I never did until after my last child and I turned 30. Heck I don't even wear makeup like I used too. I only wear it when I am going out somewhere or on special occations which is far and few inbetween. So my size was aleast a self pick me up. Now if my face would just quit breaking out.

venus i think every mother goes through that. especially stay at home moms. i think we have the dirtiest jobs, cleaning up after everyone and constantly cleaning, cooking or running errands. sometimes i just say what is the use and sometimes i just dont have the time to do make-up but i do try too. i can tell you that i have gained some, and lost some and gained some. i am just so tired sometimes i dont feel like excersising. my doctor says even though my job is hard and tiring its just not cardio or something. i have been checked for thyroid among other things because i just dont eat very much. especially supper, after cooking it and smelling it i just dont have the desire to eat it.
congrates on the size 9-- dont go to skinny. i bet you look great. dont be to hard on yourself, i know i am hard on myself too. my husband says i am like that country song, in the video she is a mom and looks so frasiled(i cant spell) but when he looks at her she looks like a super model. because he loves her. hey we are works of art--all in the eyes of the beholder!! lol
Lori

Glad to hear that venus because I know how important it is to try and stay fit ...my Gf acne after her kids .. I dont have that problem .. I am about to go through my change and I all of a sudden got whats called lichen planus oh man I hate that . rather have ance any day of the week .
How old are you lori ...maybe your close to your change everything slows down .

i am 37 and i swear that i am at least going through beginings because my monthly isnt monthly its when ever (sorry men) i get hot flashes, very moody, i can cry on a drop of a dime, i still break out with acne, i asked my dr and he said absolutly not-- i am to young. i wonder if he is a quack. what is lichen planus-- i have not heard of that before. i had bells palsy about three years ago. that was horrible. i wish i new about this site then. i drew alot when i wasnt sleeping. i was on all kinds of meds. it took the whole year before i started getting any movement back at all and within a month i got everything but 5 percent--which no one can tell but me. but i wonder because when i smile or laugh some people do a double take. i hope they dont think i am winking.
Lori

A friend of mine had bells palsy and he recovered but it took time ...he is fine now ...Hot flashes .. funny your dr. says that because in the late 30's a women starts to enter whats called preimenopause...pre menopause .. i think thats how its spelled he may not be a quack but misinformed maybe .. you should see a female dr. I do and love it .. female meaning gyno .
Lichen planus is in my mouth and i can not eat anything spicy or tangy .. or my mouth will fill with blisters and I get white lines that burn .. it sucks ...I dont know anyone who has had it but they say its common with women my age . 43 .

well you certainly dont look 43, i was thinking 20's. but you know 40's 50,s and even 60's isnt considered older to me anymore. i think women are looking younger all the time. my mom is 64 and she still rides her bike everywhere, weather permitting. i have never heard of that Kim with the blisters. my gyno for years retired awhile back(few years ago) and i just cant seem to find one that i like. i am not crazy about my family dr but he seems to be alright. i hate switching dr's. i get know and trust and then they leave. but i am going to have to bite the bullet and find one. your right especially at my age.
Lori

You poor babies. My heart hurts for you. Venus, my friend has acne and she takes high doses of vitamin A, and it seems to clear up quite well. When she quits or runs out, she has another outbreak, and runs out and gets more. Maybe it would help you too.
I wish I had a remedy to help everyone else but that's all I know so far. You are all much too young and sweet for all those ailments..

Changing Dr. is always a pain .. but we would do it if it was our childs Dr. so why not for yourself .. you need to have a relationship with him or her .. I have worked for many years before I stopped ..around alot of Dr. and some really should not be in medicine ..but more tham not they are good .. and communication is the key .

thanks kim and your right if it was my kids i would change. sorry i havent posted til now--been pretty busy. can u believe the holidays are around the corner? that came on me fast. though i love the holidays, they are tiring. i have a pretty big family. thanks goodness we dont buy gifts for each other--we just spend time together and bake stuff for each other. we leave the gift for kids and stuff. my kids are teens but my husband and i still get up at 3 am and get them all up to open gifts. we have always been the first ones up to wake up the kids. there always like man cant you guys sleep for awhile. i miss when they were small and see there eyes on christmas morning.
Lori

I've changed the post title to reflect the month, not just a week at a time as the thread doesn't seem to be huge. If it grows a lot, I'll consider going back to a weekly thread. So the 1st of each month, we'll start a new thread for the Drawapace Cafe.

My horse will be gone on Thursday or Saturday, depending on when the horsebox can be arranged. Is a bit sad to see her go and I will miss her. I hope she won't be too stressed by the move, I do worry about it. But the people she's going to seem kind if not a little green. But then again, so was I to a large extent before I got her. Its a learning experience and I'll give them lots of advice.

Next week I go to Montreal for a few days on business and this week I'm trying to sort out loose ends before I go so that things are taken care of at the office while I'm away. I'll judge how well I did that by how many phone calls I get while I'm gone. lol

Christmas. It seems to be coming at me full force lately. I have gifts to buy for my daughters who both live quite far away. The youngest is expecting a baby in January - a first - so I find myself drifting towards baby things too, as I know she'll need them.

I like aspects of Christmas, but to be very honest, an awful lot of it leaves me cold. I think its because there's such a build up to it before hand that I get sick of it. I refuse to get caught up in the craziness anymore and do the basics, buy the essentials and a few treats and that's it. I hate the concept of people going into debt over a two day holiday.

Now, back to work!