Horse Rescue and "Practice Weekend"

My family in the far North Houston area have moved to the country and now they are rescuing horses that were at the auction going to the unthinkable I am sure. I just would not be able to put a cap on it. How do you decide who goes home with you and who doesn't? They are very much novice horse owners, but have friends and neighbors who are showing them the ropes of responsible horse care and ownership. They are having a great time doing it and you gotta give them a pat on the back for the rescues. Jay has a big heart and wants to try to help and I wish them good luck. I think it would be easy to become like a "crazy cat Lady" for me if I did that. It is sad that people see everything as disposable anymore, especially the stuff that has a life. Well all I gotta say is my husband is glad we don't have any country land! It gets expensive feeding that many large animals, not counting the vet bills.


They love to ride on the big trail ride from Plantersville into Houston to the Houston Fat Stock Show and Rodeo. The actual trail ride is huge and last a week, last year they had a good time. This is a few photos of the "practice weekend" with the saddle club they ride with. It is only about 3 weeks until the big event. Our Zane is on the little black and white pinto.

Jay and Jayme

Sarah

Larry hammered it and it is working now.....thank you Larry!

EEEEKKKKKKK a Bug!

My computer caught a bug and I am having a horrible time getting rid of it.  I hope to have it resolved soon, but so far it isn't going to well.  I think I got it when I was trying to look at a different way to display photos on my blog.  It is that crazy Anti Virus 360 and it just has taken over my computer and I can't do anything!  It tricked me with a pop up and I have been sorry ever since.  We installed anti spy ware to clean it up and it is worse now....  I am running McAfee Antivirus already.  This just makes me crazier than I already am!

So be careful when you are out there perusing the Internet!

ICE AND SNOW and a little progress

The Doves were all bunched up before the ice started trying to keep warm!

The weather here is horrible and it started to ice yesterday afternoon and it is horribly slick and dangerous.

The sheet rock guys worked yesterday and it is starting to look like it could happen!

Hey, just unfinished sheet rock makes it look so much better doesn't it!

The workers left and then the school bus missed his turn and slid around the corner and had to come down our Cul-DE-Sac. The driver tried to back out, when he decided he could not make the turn around, and slid around and blocked everyone in (or out) for about 3 hours until they came and got him out from the school bus barn.... Buses come down her at times for guided tours and it happens alot in the summer even. We have 2 houses of interest on our block and we have always had trouble with buses. This is the first school bus to come down, but it wasn't on purpose.

It was just like glass out there! Then today still the same old ice and this afternoon it started to snow. We did not get much snow or ice, but it is so cold and slick! Southeast of us the ice is 5 1/2 inches thick!

The deer came around today and they looked so pitiful with ice on their backs.

The sheetrock guys stayed home today. I wonder if it is because I freaked out about the cigarette smoke yesterday...... hum....... can't help it, I am allergic to it and it is my house!

See if you can tell there are 4 of them out there.

Hope the sheet rock guys come back to finish . . . . . .

Chance a horse with a lot of Love

This is my cousin Robin showing Chance at the World Show this past summer in yearling Stallion.

This is OBVIOUSLY COOL CLU, his barn name is Chance and I just found out the little sweetie is going to a new home in Indiana tomorrow. I called him mine, and when one of his owners e-mailed me and said she was delivering a horse to Indiana.........

I got a lump in my throat!

I e-mailed her back and said "you aren't selling one of (my) horses are you"......... well, she was.

He is the most adorable, sweet, young man you would ever want to meet. I fell in love with him this past summer and my cousin Robin told me I would. I doubted it, because I am a Appaloosa or a Quarter Horse person, but she was right, I did. So I learned to never say never............. The temperament on this yearling stallion (gelding now, oops) is so amazing. The word is just plain sweet. I wish his new owners lots of luck with the sweet boy and I hope they have great success showing him. I know he will give them a lot of love, because that is what he does, he gets that from his daddy, Cool Heir.

If you are interested in reading about these horses click on Cool Heir in my sidebar.

The Sound Board

We have the sound board up in the basement so the sheet rock will be up over it soon! It sure looks dark and gloomy with a dark ceiling! The original ceiling was painted this dark when the house was first build. I always thought that was weird, but different strokes for different folks as they say. I am going to have to make a decision on my wall color soon! You can't tell but this room is 16 feet wide by 24 feet long.

Other older posts of the basement are here if you want to check it

http://ktsparks.blogspot.com/2008/11/tale-of-3-houses.html

http://ktsparks.blogspot.com/2009/01/oh-poor-lowly-basement.html

http://ktsparks.blogspot.com/2008/11/saga-of-basement-remodel.html

Beautiful Things Happen When You Love Somebody

This little guy has lived with me since the 1960's and it was given to me by my brother after he grew up, went to college, got a job, and moved to the big city. I can't believe that he missed me, but he must have.

My brother is 7 years older than me and I was really a pain in the behind....to him.

He was always doing special little things for me back then, small but special. You know it is funny how it is the little things that mean the most to you.

It has the tattered little sign in his hand and the cute little RED rabbit fur hair, little bird in hand........typical of the 1960's early 1970's. I always had it in my window then one day I noticed something.............

IT WENT MISSING!

you hear that happens with fine pieces of art sometimes.......you always hope it doesn't happen to you, but sometimes even the most cared for possessions turn up missing.

I did not realize it for awhile actually..........

HAD IT HAD BEEN STOLEN?

Then a few months later it was returned to me..........

the culprit had been found.!

Below is a photo of the guilty party who wanted it for their own.................

Sarah!

She had packed it up in her "cootie case" and took it home with her after a visit with her grandparents and myself. ha ha ha That was about 1975 when that happened. It was returned to me unharmed after just a few months. :)

Yes, it was my very brother's daughter who had been the perpetrator of the crime! Her mother had found it hidden away in her bedroom in Houston and returned it! Sarah was so darn cute, it was funny how she thought I did not need something that looked like a mutant Strawberry Shortcake! After all Aunt K was a grown person!

You know it is all those little things that make up your life stories and you always think of them when you see something like this little guy with the red hair and the little sign.

This morning when I awoke and turned over, it was the first thing I laid eyes on. and my thoughts went to Wesley and Sarah and how much I love them! The little red fur head now lives in my antique secretary behind a glass door, my piece of art, art to my heart.

This is Sarah now with her son, she has grown up, but I don't tell her where the little fur head is kept. Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..............it's our secret!

HeeHaw!!! Sheetrock this week!

I can not believe sheetrock is such a big deal, but it is to us!

Thursday was so busy for the basement! The finish carpenter came early like he said he would, then the Window Specialist came from the lumber yard to measure, and the sheet rock installer came!

Funny we already knew the carpenter, but did not know him professionally. Funny how you know someone by face, but don't really know them or their name!

The sheetrock shows up along with the workers on Tuesday morning! Yipee!!!!

Hubby and I are so excited we are ready to get this show on the road!

Thanks to all of you for keeping your fingers crossed for us!

Oh, my gosh I can't wait! Hubby is already riding me about my paint choice for the basement!

Hello dear, the walls aren't even up yet, much less taped and ready!

to be continued........................

Was it a better time?

This is my Grandmother and my older brother taken in about 1949 or 1950 at Stevenson, Washington. I think it is such an adorable photo of both of them. Those two were very close and they had a very close bond, this was taken just before my brother came down with polio. We have had so many things to be grateful for and one of them is the polio vaccine. I think we all take so many things for granted that we don't have to worry about like they did back then. Can you imagine how many things have changed just in the last twenty years! We were not blogging back then that is for sure! :)

Lemonade, Ice Cold Lemonade

Yes, I had a Cool-Aid Stand as a kid....I don't remember selling any! :)

The adorable and vivacious TrainWreck over at Cowboys, Kids, and Sunsets nominated me for the Lemonade Award and I am so honored that she thinks I am deserving of such an award that honors attitude and gratitude!

I am going to publicly say thank you, thank you, thank you, verrrry much!

Trainwreck is one of those people who you just can't help but love!

She is so positive and has a real love of life and a love for others.

She always makes the rounds and visits the bloggers and always has very positive feedback for them.

She is the neighbor who would always be there for you, if you lived close, I am sure of it.

She would always have that cup of sugar for you to borrow.

I have always tried to keep a positive

spin on my life and my blog. I have always surrounded myself with people who are positive and have great attitudes with a grateful spot in their hearts for what they have, and the people in their lives. You know life is hard enough without attaching heavier stuff to your heart.

I am going to "fudge out of nominating anyone" at this time, because quite frankly I haven't

made that many contacts out in the blog world, to be able to nominate anyone, but her! Trainwreck was just nominated and she knows she has it all the time anyway! She is over run with attitude and gratitude! I am anxious to make other blogger acquaintances in the future and I really am proud to have had it given to me!

THANKS A MILLION TRAINWRECK!

love,

K. T at The Wildwood

Oh, the poor lowly basement

The basement has never looked like me the whole time we have lived in this house. It has basically been the place where all the left over stuff found a home, oh, and my myriad of must need items! I use it for my computer area, jewelry making, sewing, any art I might do, and JUNK! I also like to scrapbook and all that takes lots of space, and storage is always lacking. My hubby calls it "no mans land". Yes, I admit it can me a scary place at times when I am in the throws of a project (s).

Here it is in all it's before glory.

It has always had great potential, and guests have always seemed to love it down there. They have their own privacy of a bedroom, private bath and their own private family room with TV. Who would not like that....well I think they only liked it because it is private.


Finally we decided to do something about it and I have had a horrible time making up my mind on what I want to do. I used to never have this kind of a problem, but old age seems to make me different than I used to be. I think it is the lack of estrogen or something. I am the person most of my friends call to tell them what I thought and how to fix their own dilemmas..... what happened to that K. T. ? I have pondered this basement thing long and hard, I ask everyone who comes around what do you think? Totally not like me.....

I love it, rustic, but still did not seem quite right for our basement to me.

then I found this in a magazine......




.......and I went Gaga over it! It is perfect, it looks just like me! Gotta have it, then all of a sudden I said, no I can't do that in the basement with a low ceiling. I would be disappointed with it I think. It is much to grand for there........I will save that for the living room! Yes, the living room as soon as we get done with the basement, we will do that in the living room! The ceiling is 17 foot high up there and it will look perfect! Trust me it will!



So what did I finally decide?










I have finally made a decision how I want the fireplace to look. I know it isn't what most of you thought I was going to decide on, but it will look great! It is warm and inviting and will give that room a cozy and homey look I love. It looks like antique furniture and an old house, perfect!The basement has always had a cold and impersonal feeling to me and it needs some old looking character.



So hubby started in on the electrical work and getting all the task and mood lighting in the ceiling before we put the ceiling back in. He ran speaker wire also for the tv. He has done a great job and now we are ready for the big guns to come to work..........that is if we can find any big guns to work! It is amazing how hard it is to get any contractor worth their salt to come and work. They are all so busy and worked to death with new construction in this town they don't have time for remodels! Didn't they say there was a recession, you couldn't prove it here!





The other problem we are fixing are the large huge UGLY sliding doors. They are only handy when you need to move a very large piece of furniture into the basement. They are 16 feet long and the doors open a span of 8 feet wide when opened all the way. We don't need that so we are going with a wall of windows with a door. It will be just as much glass, but much more attractive and energy efficient.

This is what we are going to replace the sliders with. I can't wait!

The bedroom is going to get some help also. Here it is with all the furniture out so the tile guys could get the new tile laid. You can't tell much about it really, but you will get the idea.

We are going to take the door out you see here and put in a box window seat.



I think it will add character and also give us more sunlight. It has always been lovingly called the migraine room, because of the skinny window which makes it a little dark. At first I wanted to bust out the window and make it a huge box window and close up the door. I thought about that and decided since the outside wall is stone that was not practical at this point. That is another thing, why would they build the house with a window like that when you have a view and privacy like this?



We have a highly recommended carpenter coming to look at the job Thursday morning and keep your fingers crossed he wants and needs the job! I need this finished so I can get my stuff organized! I haven't been able to do anything creative for so long! I need my STUFF back! :)

So the story will continue...........(probably slowly)

New Years at Disney World for Z and J

Where is Tinkerbell?

Mr. Z and Miss J

with Mom and Dad

M&M

with

Mr. Z and Miss J

Chip & Dale

Mr. Z and Miss J





The grandparents of Mr. Z
and Miss J






Look at the lights!

awesome!









Mr. Z sure has a big smile!














Beauty and the Beast

Goofy and a couple of little goofs!

Ahoy Matey!




Jaws!

EEEEEEEEEEE

Hey mom, nice choice of a shirt for our Safari








Let's don't stop this shuttle, okay?













Bongo in the Congo!

Moonrise over Bartlesville

I love a full moon and this one was beautiful! It it definetly did not dissapoint me. I about froze my fingers off waiting to get these shots. I got hubby to go out east of town with me so the lights of the city would not interfere with the camera's. We took 2 cameras, I have a pocket Nikon Coolpix 550 and a Nikon 70s digital SLR and I am always comparing them....why, I don't know. I just like to brag on my little cheap purse camera I guess. The top 2 are with the 550 and the bottom one was with the 70S. Yes, there is diffrence but the 550 does a great job especially for a pocket camera!

Friday's full moon was the biggest one of the year, with Earth's natural satellite reaching its closest point to our planet.
Earth, the moon and the sun are all bound together by gravity, which keeps us going around the sun and keeps the moon going around us as it goes through phases. The moon makes a trip around Earth every 29.5 days. But the orbit is not a perfect circle.
The moon's average distance from us is about 238,855 miles (384,400 kilometers). On Friday night it was just 221,560 miles (356,567 kilometers) away. It was 14 percent bigger in our sky and 30 percent brighter than some other full moons during the year, according to NASA.