Stouts out for a visit

After a restless night, including Har going out in the night, we slept until almost 9. Today, I made myself an iced coffee and ran out to give Switch her medication in my housecoat without the halter. Back inside, I made a hot coffee delivered for S, and we enjoyed it in bed, browsing our social media feeds. It was then time for S to prepare his large bowl of oatmeal, and I had a piece of toast.

S took out the bison esophagus and lungs to cut them into pieces at the shop while I cleaned out the fridge. I was packaging up the bone broth when he returned to bag the pieces and put them in the freezer. This led to a complete sorting of the recyclables. He took boxes to the truck, and I cleaned, swept, and shook out the rugs and other items. This ended up being a well needed cleanup. I hauled out the pallet and hose that were still in the garage, along with other boxes.

The clouds dissipated, and the sun shone brightly when Britt arrived at noon as I was cleaning. She had devised a new plan to help her very chubby horse lose weight. She attempted to close the far paddock to the winter pasture gate, but unfortunately, it was unsuccessful. By the end of the day this plan was no longer happening. I caught Switch for Britt, and she and Bird were taken into the barn where she will trim them. I had just put side pork in the oven, so I headed back in after picking out Switch’s feet for her.

S, who was inside watching hockey, had sliced tomatoes ready to make sandwiches. The tasty broccoli sprouts were added along with lettuce and green onions for S. After eating mine, I made and took one to Britt. While she ate, I swept the barn floor to keep the work area clean for her. I also washed up Harley’s new canoe bed cover and Switch’s winter blanket in keeping with the spring cleaning mode.

beauty day in the city too

S headed to town at 2 to take recyclables in. Britt finished up feeding and was off for home before 2:30. Thanks B for trimming Switch. My tasks were to clean the house and prepare snacks for company as we have invited the Stout’s out for drinks, games and a catchup. I sent S a text to grab salsa as they are big fans. He was back with a few other groceries but totally forgot the salsa ;). I vacuumed out Harley kennel  and put in fresh bedding while he gave her a bath. Her canoe bed was wrestled back together looking fresh and clean too.

S hit bog brown for a nap and I to our cozy bed, basking in the glorious +6 sunshine that had been gracing us all day. I settled in to work on today’s blog and indulge in some Spanish lessons. Then, it was time for supper prep, followed by a quick dip in the hot tub seeing so nice out before eating the steak supper.

Afterward, I embarked on a last-minute cleanup before heading out to the pitch-dark area to administer Switch her medication. She was wary of being caught, so I had to trudge through the deep snow, looping her around the shelter. Eventually, she relented and reluctantly took her yucky medicine.

Sharon and Darren arrived as Sheldon started a roaring fire. We spent the evening enjoying snacks, beverages, catching up, and playing games including Russian rummy until after midnight. It’s incredible that it’s been two months since we were together in Mexico. They also kindly brought a parcel back from the airport on their way out. Thank you! The winds picked up significantly this evening and continued throughout the night.

Switch goes to the vet

Overcast and -5 degrees Celsius when I woke up and made coffee. I looked out at 8 to see poor Bird locked in the barn paddock. It seemed Britt was in a hurry and forgot to let her out after feeding her last night. This upset Bird the most with herself. I trudged out in my housecoat and Sheldon’s large winter boots, along with Harley, and let her out. She hurried to the hay to eat.

We enjoyed our coffee relaxing in bed for a bit, then it was time to get up and at it. S put the hitch back into the truck and hooked up the horses’ trailer. I packaged up the bone broth for Harley and started another batch to simmer. Meanwhile, a woman finally arrived to pick up the enormous stack of boxes I had collected, filling her SUV to the brim.

I caught Switch, loaded her into the trailer, and then we loaded Harley eager for her ride-along. We arrived early at Moore’s, but they were already prepared. Dr. Jordan, who had finally returned to work, was her doctor. While they took her for X-rays and a scope, S and I took Britt’s car to Costco. I did the returns, and then we went inside to pick up a few things. Surprisingly, Friday, of the family day week off school, wasn’t the best time to shop. Each checkout line was over 20 carts deep! All was not lost though as we left the shopping area, I lined up and got us each a sundae to enjoy.

We returned to the clinic in half an hour, as Switch was now finished. They didn’t find anything serious, but her bloodwork did indicate an infection. She’ll be on antibiotics twice a day for two weeks. I loaded her up and we headed home.

Back at the ranch, I unloaded and released Switch back into the herd. Then, I took Harley for a walk to the gate and back, since we were dressed for the weather and she needed some exercise. S backed the trailer in and unhooked it. Back at the house, I scooped up the poop piles, and we came in for a cold beer and a game of Tantrix.

S headed over at 4:30 p.m. to pick up the bison from Matt’s place. He visited with Matt for a bit before meeting the woman who was picking up the bison at our gate. While he was there, he took down the Christmas greenery. I caught up on the blog, and when he returned after 5 p.m., I cooked up salmon, rice, and vegetables for supper. Afterward, he spent some time cleaning up his phone by deleting unused apps, old messages, and photos.

Nathan sent me his perspective of Wednesday night bedtime, how cute is this kid?? <3

B was out after 8 bringing Switch's antibiotics. She fed the horses and gave her first dose, thanks B. We finished the movie 21, watched the latest Prime Target episode then called it a day.

Canada wins gold

Today’s weather forecast promises a pleasant change FINALLY. I woke up to a chilly -14 degrees Celsius, but the temperature gradually rose throughout the morning. It was a double coffee morning for us. We spent some time on the phone with our American credit card company, successfully retrieving Shaina’s Airbnb funds they were not returning to her.

After that, I focused on uploading all the photos and videos from yesterday's blog post and successfully published it. Meanwhile, S perused his laptop while I moved on to some accounting tasks. Just after 11:30 AM, the temperature was up to -2 degrees Celsius. Har came along as I took off Bird’s blanket, and all the horses except for her were thoroughly enjoying the weather change, relaxing in the hay. 

As the temperature rose to a pleasant PLUS 2 degrees Celsius, S took the last bison order to Matt’s to borrow some freezer space as the barn is no longer a walk in freezer. In the meantime, I prepared some bones to make broth for Har and scrubbed up all the dog dishes. 

big girl ponytail

Bowls of homemade soup were enjoyed for lunch. After 1 pm, S headed off to hockey. I then took some Spanish lessons before returning to work on the little table tutorial sending Har out to chew on her bison leg S gave her. I also created a sale link for it on my Facebook page and scheduled a post for it at 5 pm.  While doing so I finished the Apple Cider Vinegar series - holy scammer.

I made an iced coffee, updated our coffee order for next week and worked on today's blog post. I then created a Hometalk post for the gray coffee table. S was home at the usual 5 after his coffee group at McDonald's. I made our favourite tacos for supper. Of course the rest of the evening was taken over by the big hockey game starting at 6. S was in the TV room but I actually ended up watching it while at the island doing my brain games then joining him for part of last period and the victorious overtime to see Canada win. We followed this up with a yogurt bowl and some Shrinking episodes till 12:30.

Birthday lunch from August finally

Fingers crossed that today is our last day of deep freeze. The temperature is currently -26 degrees Celsius again, but the forecast predicts sunny weather. S had coffee and oatmeal, while I’ll just had a coffee and fed the pets. Now, I need to get more table work done. I’ve added a pretty paper liner to the drawer and taken a few photos.

Unfortunately, Grama Pat ended up in the emergency room last night with the worst stomach flu she’s ever had. That’s not good at all. Hospitals and stress can really open one up to these nasty bugs. I’m hoping she’s on the mend soon. 

Today is Dad’s birthday, the second one without him. Time wait for no one they say. I was off to town at 11 to finally celebrate Coreena's birthday which was back in August. There have been so many things that have postponed this lunch. I stopped to get the mail which I knew had the book I won would be there on my way to town.

We enjoyed our lunch together catching up with everyone's family events. I also gave Coreena her 2 growth rulers she ordered for her twin grand babies finally! I was back home by 1:30 to find S resting in big brown. He had swept my car spot while gone and vacuumed the main floor and now resting after eating leftover Chinese. I took more staged photos of the little table.

Back from Paris to reality of winter in Canada

We worked on a Tantrix puzzle that baffled me until we realized after a couple of hours that we were using the wrong colour and had an extra tile, making it impossible to complete. While working on the puzzle, I looked out to see a fox in the closest paddock.

Kaylin has an assistant in training

who also inspires to be a little vet in training too

I cracked open my Christmas present from Britt and Dave to cheers to Dad with our supper. It was tasty, thanks guys! XOXO

For supper, we had leftovers, followed by a Zoom meeting with a representative from the Knights of Columbus to explain what Grama and Papa had bought for the girls all those years ago. We learned about the life insurance policy and its accompanying benefits. Now, each of the girls is solely responsible for their own policies. We finished up our day watching a movie called 21 but S fell asleep before 9 so I went back to Apple Cider Vinegar.