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March 29, 2006
Anyone want to buy a van???
For Sale: One 17-year-old customized Ford Econoline, 98,000 miles. Groovy living quarters in back. Scooby and Shaggy not included.
We have some friends who decided, after long soul-searching, that they belonged back in Oregon where they had once resided. They began interviewing for jobs out there and finally Florence was hired. They decided to drive themselves and their belongings, having had much experience in moving.
They bought this van from Florence (and Brian's)old boss, who had used it to take his family on vacation every summer.
Well, the van was supposed to tow the U-Haul trailer, and Lennie's truck was supposed to haul their car. Only it didn't work that way. After Brian spent several hours helping them load the U-Haul, the following day Florence and Lennie had to unload the whole thing as the trailer was too small.
Now, the van couldn't pull the bigger trailer, and it couldn't pull the car. The truck had to pull the trailer.
Unfortunately, the ex-boss wouldn't take the van back. What a mess of a situation! What the heck were they going to do with the van??? They were due to arrive in Oregon in a week.
They asked us if we would mind selling the van for them. We said, "Of course we don't mind!" So there it is. Anyone interested? :)
Posted by Jessica at 11:04 PM | Comments (0)
March 26, 2006
My Wonderful Life
I have a great life. And I am convinced that everyone can have a great life if they want one.
About five years ago, after my divorce from my first husband, I decided to sit down and think about what had happened in my life in the past, and how to create a blueprint for my future so that I could achieve my goals without making any of the mistakes that I had already made (especially relationship-wise.)
I was in very good shape. I had a job that paid my bills, a house I really loved, my horses and my church. I was happy with myself as a person.
However, I wanted to have a child. I wanted to have a stable, happy marriage with a decent fellow. And I didn't want to live in Flint forever.
I made a blueprint of what my life would look like five years down the road. It said that I would be happily married and have at least one child by the time I was forty. I would be living somewhere much nicer than Flint, in another old house (I'm an old house nut.)
At the time that I wrote this blueprint, I was mentoring a couple of people who were studying for the ministry through my church. One of them said to me, "Jessica, you always seem to get exactly what you're looking for. Things always seem to work out well for you."
I told her that that was no accident. I told her that she could do it, too, she just needed to make a clear goal, visualize it, and set about achieving it.
At the time, she was ending an abusive marriage, and she confided that she desperately wanted to find "Mr. Right." I told her to take some time out to get to know herself before dating anybody, all the while visualizing the perfect guy and the perfect life.
She told me that her perfect life would be to marry a college professor, live in a beautiful house with a large garden, travel a lot in Europe, and do a lot of artsy things.
I told her that my goal was to find a great husband, move away from Flint to a nicer area and live in a beautiful old house at least as nice as the one I already owned, and have at least one child before I was forty.
I explained to her that once you have your blueprint for your life, you must follow its directions or you'll never reach the goal you have set. For example, I turned down a lot of dates with unsuitable men before I met Brian. If a guy didn't meet the profile of "suitable," there was no sense in dating him. Some guys didn't want marriage. Some guys didn't want kids. Some guys didn't have the income necessary to support a house and family.
Only a few years later, I have completely achieved all of my goals. I followed my plan, and here I am!
My friend, the mentoree, did not follow her plan. She married another abusive man, NOT a college professor (no college education at all) and she has no house or garden. No European vacations anytime soon, most likely.
The most important rule is to follow the blueprint! You won't get the kind of building you want if you don't follow the directions you have set for yourself!
If none of this makes sense, it's just because I'm writing it at 12:30 a.m. I should be sleeping!
Posted by Jessica at 12:01 AM | Comments (2)
March 07, 2006
A Bargain at only 157,950!
Pounds, that is...for this splendid cottage in Helston, Cornwall.
It is located right on Coinagehall Street, which is the main thouroughfare, as I recall. It was the boyhood home of a famous boxer named Fitzsimmons. (He has a pub named after him in Helston.)
It has two bedrooms and one bathroom, and the photo of the interior showed a modern-looking kitchen.
I am merely dreaming, and thinking about how much I would like to go back to Cornwall! It is a lovely cottage, though.
Posted by Jessica at 11:48 PM | Comments (0)
Killer Horse? CSI Investigates!
Fortunately, nobody died! But it looked as if "Killer Kai" had struck again...or did he?
On Monday, I arrived out at the farm to groom and feed my horse as usual. I saw him out in his field, standing near the fence closest to the barn, with his tail towards me. This was odd.
Then, I saw Jet. Jet is a gelding from the back pasture. He shares a field with his buddy, Dougan. Jet is a young QH/TB cross, about 15.2hh and dark brown in color. He is about four years old.
Jet was NOT in the back pasture. He was in Kai's pasture! A fallen fence rail gave evidence to Jet's entry point.
The two horses were warily facing each other from across the pasture, looking like two gunslingers getting ready to draw. They were just standing there, each waiting for the other to make some move. Neither did.
I immediately retrieved Kai from the pasture, and put him in his stall. I checked him for damage, but beyond a slight bite to the left shoulder (just took off some hair),he was fine. He was very happy to see me, though.
Cheryl then arrived, and we went out together to check on Jet, who had not moved.
Jet was in bad shape. His neck was badly swollen, and his legs were terribly scraped up. He could barely walk as we led him up to the barn.
I immediately thought, "My horse has done this to him! Oh, no!"
I called Jet's owner, who rushed to the scene.
Upon investigation, the swollen throat was due to a very deep puncture wound, not a bite. The leg scrapes likewise could not have been done by a horse. We looked at the fence post and board and came to the conclusion that Jet had probably been playing, had reared up and possibly landed on the top board of the fence and it had fallen off. Jet's legs may have come to rest in between the boards of the fence, and he scraped them while struggling to free himself. The puncture wound could only have been caused by a protruding nail.
The investigative committee could find no evidence that Kai had acted agressively.
A hot wire has now been installed, and the board fixed, which should keep the horses in their own pastures. We hope!
Jet is doing better today, but is still very sore. Hopefully, he won't try jumping the fence any time soon.
Posted by Jessica at 11:14 PM | Comments (0)