Change is Good...

....Right????

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I'm not talking about changing your underwear, although,

a person should seriously consider doing so on a regular basis!

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I'm not talking about changing your name either,

though there could be advantages to doing so if you are

inclined to live a double life.

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But Change...

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Change means pulling yourself out of the pit you have fallen into and exposing yourself to new ideas, new people,

and new adventures!

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Change will add new perspectives, new hopes,

and even new dreams!

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Change is about setting yourself free of complacency

if one has fallen into that stagnant stage of life.
We have never enjoyed being complacent or stagnant.
Yet, somehow, we allowed ourselves to fall into that trap.
It has become our "accepted" pattern of living

since the economic crisis hit last fall.

We have not been willing to step out of our

state of complacency ...

to even consider there might be a better way!

It became our safety net of sorts.

We avoided taking any risks (which is not normal for us!).

We simply accepted things the way they had become

and hunkered down for the impending storm!

Survival was our daily motto.
~
But not anymore!

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We began scrambling to free ourselves

from the burdensome bind

that webbed itself around our existence.

Life became a twisted knotted mess.

We knew we had to set ourselves free,

become untangled...

...before strangulation took place!

We don’t seek riches and material things,

we only want to enjoy life…and to dance again !

~

~

I am elated to say...

We have found the dance floor once again…
We are eager to feel that gentle touch on our soles.
…One step at a time.

~

~

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass,
it's about learning to dance in the rain.
(unknown)

~~

I have tossed the umbrella aside...

And I...

You...

...to this crazy dance called Life!
~

Don't waste anytime wiping your feet..

We do not know where this dance will take us,

but there is one thing we know for sure,

~

Dancing not only cleanses your SOLES...

but it also cleanses your SOUL!

Am I being vague? Not telling you what Change is to us?

That's part of the excitement of Change!

I reassure you, Cowboy will remain a Cowboy...

...and me?

~

Always

will

be

a

What Do You Have...

...When a 13 year old boy is almost 6 foot tall?

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A rambunctious gangly kid...

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With

L~~~ L

O~~~ E

N ~~~G

G~~~ S

! ~~~ !

°°__ ~~~ __°°

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What happens when said kid and his rowdy cousins stuff M-80’s

up a car's tailpipe and take off running?

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An accident looking to happen!

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Left leg at the knee does a 360° rotation as said kid

tumbles down an embankment.

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#1 Surgery!

~

*

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What happens when said kid is 14 and decides to out race

traffic down a hill on his bicycle?

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A semi truck gets in his path and sends him sailing!

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Left leg at the knee is bent and the foot now lays on said kid's chest.

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#2 Surgery!

~

*

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What happens when said kid turns 15 and decides to play football,

hoping to entice his Dad for some attention?

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Run like a long legged kid should,

onto the playing field at the start of the first game of the year!

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Left leg at the knee buckles and foot now lays aside said kid's hip.

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#3 Surgery!

~

*

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What happens when said kid becomes a grown man

and thinks nothing can stop him in his tracks?

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Not even an ornery Shetland Pony getting a “pedicure”.

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Cowboy Wife hears a crunch and a click from the Left leg at the knee,

and an “Oh Sh**” from said kid - turned Farrier's lips as he becomes immobile in a knee scrunched position

under an extremely delighted Shetland Pony’s belly.

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#4 Surgery!

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***

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What happens 25 years later, when said kid, said farrier,

said grown man-Cowboy cannot make the trek up to the house~

Because Left leg at the knee is locked in a 45° angle back?

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There is a lot of grumbling, groaning, whistling and hollerin'!

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Where is that dern'd Woman he calls his Cowboy Wife?

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She is NOT hearing anything, or even worrying about anything!

She has her tunes playing as she works on her projects,

~~happily indoors!

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Glancing out the window, said Cowboy Wife sees a figure

crouched and crawling in the dirt.

She thinks about getting the shotgun; an intruder seems to be lurking!

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Where is her Cowboy anyway?

~

She heads for the door, grabs the shotgun along the way,

steps out onto the porch and fixes to take aim... *wink..
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“Geez Woman!! ..Whatcha doin'? ..

Where have you been?”

~

~
~
***
~

~
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What happens when Dr. takes his first peek at the

Left leg at the knee without even a touch?
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“There ain’t nothing I can do for you!”
“Here’s an Orthopaedic referral!”
~

***

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What happens when Orthpaedic Doc walks into the room
after looking at X-Rays of Left leg at the Knee and says

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“Well Cowboy, you are BALD!” ??
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Cowboy Wife giggles and cries out..“Duh!”

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Cowboy chuckles and takes his hat off to say,

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“How did you know that by looking at my knee x-ray?”
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Doc laughs too!
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Then Doc frowns.
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“Your Left leg at the knee…It is balder than a billiard ball!”

“It is even Balder than your head!”

~

Doc Continues..

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“You have less than zero cartilage,

you have nothing at all left in your left knee!!”
“You don’t even have a legal amount of bone…”
“You’ve been running bone on bone…you have no tread left!”
~
#1 Total Knee Replacement!

~

~~~~~~screeeeeeetch!

Halt~~~~~~~~~

*** We say WHOA! ***

....Let's back up here....

~

~

***

~

~
“Sorry, Doc!” .. “We are out of here!”

~

Cowboy and Cowboy Wife say in unison!
Cowboy makes his final plea...

~

“Give me a shot of some magical concoction to get me by!”
~
U
N
T
I
L
.
?
~

please.......

~

***

~~

Walking hand in hand from the dreaded confines of the truth,

turning to each other, Cowboy and Cowboy Wife smile,

saying together ..

"In His Dreams!!!"

~

Shaking the dust from their minds,

cinching up their boot strings,

and wrapping another layer of tough leather around their resolve...

Cowboy and Cowboy Wife climb on their horse,

gather up the reins to their life...

~

....ride off into the sunset!

~

***

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Tomorrow will be just another day...

~

in the life...

~

of

~

a

♫..."I'm Gonna Hire A Wino!

...To Re-decorate My Life ♫




Yes...

it is spilling the

white stuff...


...AGAIN!







If that is not enough..

I think I see a tractor..
~
...sitting idle..

that has no driver...







I thought everything was coming up roses...




♫..I beg your pardon,I never promised you a rose garden.
Along with the sunshine,
There's gotta be a little rain sometimes.
When you take, you gotta give, so live and let live,
Or let go.
I beg your pardon,
I never promised
you a rose garden.♫

That's what I get for dreamin'...

~

There is work to be done...corrals to finish,

more fencing to be built!

Cowboy has more horses scheduled in the coming months,

after the 5 that are here have been started

and are handling good!

~
~~

Who is gonna do it now? Ol' Mac the Sleepy head??
~

~

~

~
~
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See these???

↓

Do you think

these empty

♪ ..boots are made

for walking ♪ ..?
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or that should be

♪..for working..?
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~
~
~

~

~

~~~~

We'll know more on Wednesday...

In the meantime??

I am seriously contemplating crying out "I Quit" again!

♫..Red, red wine ♪
Stay close to me
Dont let me be alone ..♪

I might be needing a whole cellar full for keeping company with!

Border Collies...

...Are Worth More Than Gold to a Cowboy!

This is our Mac..
an 8 week Tri-Color cutie!

~

~

~
~
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Here's Mac at 9 months, (on the right), helping his Mom, Kayla

during one of Cowboy's Stock Dog Clinics he was putting on...

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See all of this snow? Yikes!
Mac is on top.....at age 4
We were all in agreement..let's head for Arizona !
~
~
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After 5 years, of working at the feedlot and becoming bilingual working dogs,
we came home to Washington.
(His Mom Kayla and Grandma Zig...died here at home)
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~
~
~

Last Summer, at age 12, Mac enjoyed the sunshine and still thrived on spending his days trailing along with Cowboy, scouting for cattle and tangling with the coyotes.

~
~
~~
~
~
Ol' Mac is almost 13 years now.
He still loves his role as Cowboy's sidekick...
Long days outdoors, curling up in the cave he dug under the chicken coop
and throwing in a quick nip at one of the horses..
...yes, at a much greater distance now.
~
But he loves to sleep too!
~
~
~
~
~
~
EXCEPT....
At Night!
~
~
~
I am a night owl...by MY choosing.
I get cranky when I don't get to sleep when I want!
Since January,
Ol' Mac has become afraid of the dark!
He hates to be alone!
And he hates to be in our room!
He became an inside dog only 3 years ago and had never set foot in our
room until our recent attempts of trying to get him to sleep!
~
He howls...and he howls...
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We have tried leaving him in the mud room.
(with the light on and off...the heat on and off)
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He howls...and he howls...
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We have tried leaving him inside with the TV and lights on.
(His eyesight is not good, nor is his hearing but we tried anyway)
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He howls...and he howls...
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Having one of us "sleep" on the little tiny sofa in the TV room seems to keep him content. Frequently, he will nudge your hand.
Or he will stand staring at you.
Once you are in as deep of sleep as you are going to get,
he will apply his cold wet nose to your face,
making sure you are still there...and awake!
...scaring the crap out of you!
~
~
Cowboy and I have been taking turns, since January when this
became an issue, of curling up with Ol' Mac.
Because I "fit" better on the little sofa,
I seem to be the elected companion more times than not.
~
~
This is getting really old!
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I mean REALLY REALLY old!
~
Ol' Mac's value of being worth more than that of gold...
... is fastly declining!
~
~
So here I sit, Ol' Mac is standing guard in the doorway - doozing!
Yes...he is standing, I'm sure it is to prevent any attempt on my part of sneaking
off to the soft comforts of my REAL bed!
~
I may as well work on my projects!
~
Sleep has become a rare commodity in our home!
~
I'm pretty sure this has contributed to my previous post!

Life...

“In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life."

*
"It goes on.”
Robert Frost

~

....Whether you are ready or not!

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As of late, I've not only been in a quandary and procrastinating too much
(yes, we all know how good I am at that)

but I have been languishing in a slump!

I am disgusted with my mind-set;

my lack of cohesion that I once took pride in.
~

I don't draw a paycheck for being me, no matter how productive nor how much I flounder, so there is no point in firing myself.
~~
Have you had a moment or an hour or even a day,
when you experienced an "awakening"?
~

Saturday, I awoke to realize that Life has been going on...
...without me!

~
I've been on a fast train going nowhere!
Nowhere productive or worthwhile.
~
Did I have a dream? I wondered.
Or was it feelings of guilt harbored deep within?

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I don't really know, except that it slapped me square across my face!

I am pretty confident that I will carry this "Life Brand"

on my cheeks for weeks! Hopefully, as a constant reminder.
~

I decided to get a grip, pick up my pace and catch up with Life!

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I am making some changes and rearranging my priorities.

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I am setting some guidelines and aim to keep myself on track.
~ ~
I have taken on a few "projects" that I can no longer ignore!

They are important to me...and I'm curious where they will lead.

If I ignore them, I'll never know....

~

As I sit here typing, the working part of my brain is creating my path...
~
This week I am beginning with a clean slate!
I fully intend to keep up with Life!