Resolve, horses, gardening

I have always liked to think that I am resolute when it comes to making decisions and subsequently following through on those decisions. I guess that was another me; something in my distant past. Mama was chiding me a little as we drove home from church about my decision to pursue the licensing job. I had told her on the way home one recent Sunday night that I would not apply based on the relocation.


I did not want to have to move to Houston having just arrived at the farm. We could have worked it out. I could have stayed in Houston during the week and come home on the weekends; not a perfect world by any means. Excessive time away from Mama was something I wanted to avoid since neither of us do well in those circumstances. However, when I found out that I did not have to relocate, the job took on a new light. So here we are. My application will be reviewed this week and I should know something by the end of the week; so much for my resoluteness.

Speaking of which, Mama and I have been going back and forth on the issue of owning horses. She is disappointed about the lack of time we give to the horses and we were even considering taking to Wes to see if he wanted to get Jazz back. Well, Wes called yesterday to see how we were doing and to see if we were interested in getting Flashy back. Of course, Mama was delighted with the prospect. The only problem is that we are just now set up for two horses, getting a third would reintroduce the problems we were able to resolve only this weekend.

I did not get to work on the apartment at all this weekend. I was hurting too badly and there were other very pressing projects on the agenda. I spent a good portion of the day Saturday getting the horse shelter built. After about an hour working on my own, Grandpa and Mama came out to help. We will use little stalls we put together only for the winter at which time the shelter will be reconverted to house hogs, but with the rains and snow we have been getting lately, it was necessary to do something for the horses. (Grandpa does not worry about mixing horses and pigs since he believes they do not get the same diseases.) It does not look like much. It is not the vision I had as I began to put the pieces together, but it will do for now.

I also spent several hours making measurements and doing repairs in the cellar/storm shelter. I had to do a major overhaul of the outside door. It had been damaged almost beyond use by recent heavy winds. Thank the Lord for screws. They are the “velcro” of construction providing a way to make constant revisions to your work. I could not have driven a nail in any of the places I was able to repair with screws. I still have a lot to do but it will be usable soon.

Mama and I were planning on making it our little hot house but in listening to Neal Sperry – a North Texas gardening expert – that is not the most successful way to get seedlings started. His opinion is that the seedlings need full sun from the time they are sprouted, otherwise they are not strong enough to thrive in the dry windy conditions we have here. In order to do that I will need to build some hot boxes using the windows I got from my Mom and Dad. I have always wanted to have some of those anyway and according to the experts I have about a month to get it done.

I have to travel to Amarillo today for meetings tomorrow and Wednesday. Weather permitting; I will be home late Wednesday night. I am planning on seeing the chiropractor there while I am in that area. There are some recommended chiropractors here but we have not gotten around to seeing them yet. At least this is a person we have seen before and I know what to expect – especially the cost involved.

I am at the point of really needing help.