A month about change

As I sit tonight and watch the Halloween fireworks, which I love. I'll be thinking back on a month of blogging about change. It was a struggle some days, and some days it felt great. For the most part it was really good to be able to stick to a topic for a whole 31 days!

Can I snorkle

This is how I looked when snorkelling in the past. Having a life long fear of open water snorkelling really was a struggle. While I yearned to se the pretty fish and sea life anything moving caused me to panic. Or rocks, they make me panic too. Mulling over a warm weather trip with my Mom in the new year I wonder if now that I can swim I can snorkle? 

Can I go from that picture above, to this?

Does my style change

Sometimes I wonder if my style changes? While I feel like I am creating something different, something unique. Is it really? The rings above I made about 3 years ago, simple stacking stone rings.

This ring I made a few weeks ago. Hollow formed silver ring, with horse hair set in resin.

It helps to go back through your old photos when you are feeling a lack of motivation, muse or creativity. Looking back can really help you see how far you've come.

Your life

Trip down memory lane

Foraying back into essential oils brought to mind a newspaper article written about my use of oils with horses. I am pretty sure my Mom gave me a copy of it and have wracked my "filing" system trying to locate it but alas I can find it no where. 

I am sure it's location will come to be at 5 am in a bout of insomnia. But for now I'm taking a trip down memory lane.

Henry was the horse that sparked my interest in essential oils and equines. He had migraines and claustrophobia related issues. I ran a diffuser at night for him with his own personal essential oil blend ( that I cannot remember ) for many months, his headaches lessened and combine with chiropractic care finally left. His claustrophobia was always a underlying issue but became easier to manage.

I remember sitting each night and watching his worried face relax as he parked himself in front of his diffuser and breathed in. 

I've always loved scents

Some things don't change. I've always loved scents. I remember about the age of 12 or so thinking "I want to make perfume" a dream that lasted a short time but I can still picture lavender fields in france and a brick perfumery. 

Scents trigger memories for me. I find scent to be one of the strongest healing powers for me especially when it comes to moods. 

Many many moons ago I took a essential oil course, it was hard but it gave me some insight into how oils work. I took more schooling when i was doing animal rehab on essential oils with animals and worked it into my practice way back when.

Recently I signed on with DoTerra having ordered it through a friend for a couple years now I grew to love the high quality and finally decided to sign on myself.

New to their program (but not their product) it will take me a while to get familiar with their ordering process. But I am excited for things to come!

Change Is The Essence of Life

My eyes are getting worse and worse

I swear the day I turned 40 my eye sight started to decline. I've worn glasses my whole life for distance but I find myself holding books at a totally different distance than I used to. Moving food items closer to my face to read the labels, then maybe back a bit further………hunting for a place I can actually see the small print.

Do you find your vision changing as you get older? 

What do you do to make it less of a struggle?

What's something you've always wanted to do?

I really really love this photo.

Take a leap, make a change and do something you've always wanted to do?

I want to scuba dive, but and really fearful of open water. In fact I can't even snorkel without having a panic attack. So I'm hoping in the next year to head some place warm with beautiful fish and snorkel.

What's something you've always wanted to do?

How long to make a habit?

How long do you think it takes to make a change a habit?

Most articles point towards 21 days. 21 days to make something new into something habitual. This article explains a bit about why it takes 21 days to make a new habit.

Having quit sugar years back I know how hard eating changes can be, I think that time varies depending on the person and the level of their bad habits.

Making activity into routine can be harder (for me anyways) as you have to make the extra time in your day for the activity before you can even begin to tackle it becoming a habit.

That is where I struggle, making the time for the activity.

Where do you struggle?

Couch to 10 K - Again

After some summer injuries and age (yup getting old sucks!) I'm back into the Couch to 10K running program.

On the advise of my chiropractor I started back at the beginning again, having done the program before he suggested starting at the beginning would be an easy way to gauge progress and any pain I may encounter.

I am 2 weeks in, having no specific problems other than I feel horribly out of shape. I remember when a 10K run was the norm. Not anymore!

BC in the fall

I love Victoria in the fall, it's usually a time I get a lot of work done in the studio. I find the shorter days and cooler temps lead me to want to hole up and create.

I also love running in the fall, spring too but fall temps are so nice for a morning run. Lately I've been met on the trails with a blanket of fallen leaves. I love the crunching sound they make, I find it soothing. 

Hoka - The teacher

Hoka came immediately following Pumpkin.

I out grew Pumpkin first so was deemed the one to "move up" to a bigger pony. Enter Hoka and enter with a bang he did.

Hoka became well known in the early days for bolting. When out trail riding I was often running into the back end of my mothers horse to stop him, he really was a bit of a bugger in the early days.

He attended many clinics and a Ray Hunt clinic with him finally started to make some progress. He became a very versatile pony. English, western, jumpers and even a short stint at polo were all disciplines he managed well.

Hoka became a integral part of my school horse string when I was teaching, he was great with the young kids and his versatility never left them bored.

We even appeared in a commercial for Thrifty Foods. Rode through downtown Victoria to a restaurant for the grand induction of Sterling Silver Beef into their stores.

Hoka also stayed with me right up until his final days. He retired from teaching in his mid 20's but was one of my favourtie horses to take out for a quiet trail ride. A long way away from the early days of bolting off on me.

In Order To Change

Pumpkin - The one who started it all

Pumpkin was the first one, the pony who started it all. One summer trip to Alberta to visit our grandparents we were met in their garden with a pretty special pony. Dapple liver chestnut with a white mane and tail she was a sight to see. Boy were my sister and I excited! My grandparents had got her for us! I cannot remember who named her but one of us spotted a pumpkin in the garden and that's how she got her name.

She was a bit of a handful in the beginning, I do remember a few tosses into the weeds off her. She also like to run under low branches to get rid of us.

She taught us so much in those early days and we stayed on her longer than we probably should have. I remember a jumping class at Saanichton Fair that my feet almost hit the rails, I was probably much to long legged for her.

Pumpkin stayed with our family right up until her final days and I've got some very fond memories of that special little pony who started my journey into the horse world.

Snoopy - the "old man"

Snoopy is the "old man" of the house at well over 15 years of age now. I've had him since he was about a year and a 1/2. He's slept on our bed almost every night, gets up with my husband each morning for his tuna treat and is often in the studio with me sleeping on my torching chair.

He's definetly starting to show signs of his age and we've put him on a supplement to help his mobility. It's harder for him to get on the bed and couch than it used to be.

He's incredibly special to us, the first pet my husband ever had on the house. He's not horribly impressed with the addition of Beep to his home. His hearing is getting weaker so Beep wears a loud bell so Snoopy can hear him coming. 

Snoopy spends most days snoozing on the cat post in the barn or on the bed in the winter. Life is pretty good at our house!

5 Min Stretch

Morning is a great time to do some kind of fitness routine. When I'm running I tend to enjoy them more first thing in the morning, they give me time to settle into the day and I find if I do them first thing I am more likely to stick with my routine.

A 5 min stretch can be a simple way to start something fitness related in the morning. There is a simple 5 min stretch here. It really does't matter how long you stretch, so long as you do it. If you only have a couple min pick a couple stretches and go for it. If you have more time repeat your session a couple times. Modify stretches to match your own abilities.

Do you think stretching is something you can do every morning?

Beep - the new addition

Beep the latest addition to our family arrived last year. We have property in Alberta and while my husband was out there fixing the roof this little kitten got tree'd by one of the tenants dogs. My husband rescued him out of the tree, twice. When my husband called home telling tales of the kitten living in the camper with him I was pretty sure the kitten would be coming back to BC with him. 

The kitten did come back to BC and has been a constant source of laughter ever since. He was named Beep due to his almost silent meow, more of a short "beep" than any cat noise I've ever heard.

Most nights Beep helps with feeding the horses and enjoys his rides in the hay wheelbarrow. He will come running from across the yard to jump into the wheelbarrow if I try and leave without him

Beep is ever curious, he'll climb into anything and will often pop out to surprise people. We had thought he'd start to mellow now that he is a year old but that doesn't seem to be the case. There is not a day that goes by that he doesn't make us laugh.

Three Geldings

The biggest change we have had over the last 10 years is the decrease in the number of horse we own. We have gone from having as many as 20 to having three. Now we have 3 geldings who all get along for the most part. They spend most days out in the large field together as a herd. The above picture is from a snow fall we had a couple years ago and is one of my favourties. It shows three happy, content geldings all hanging out together. Something I really do enjoy!

Redman - AKA trouble maker

Redman, in a nutshell is trouble.

Redman inteerstingly enough is Indy's 1/2 brother and Eazy is a distant relative. We didn't realize the connection until we'd already bought him.

While Redman has a sweet temperament he is trouble. He gets bored easily and will climb into and on almost anything. He's often at the top of the manure pile or standing on the large dirt pile we have at the back of the property. I am sure he is trying to figure out if he can jump out to freedom.

Redman loves water. As a 3 year old he spent pretty much all winter in the mud puddles. Often standing in the middle pawing and splashing until he was soaked. There used to be a much larger water tub in his paddock but it had to be removed as he could climb into it, and did, daily.

The beach is one of his favourtie places and he has been known to run off into the water hell bent on flopping down in it. If you are riding him at the beach you need to keep on your toes or you will get wet!

He'd like to think he is the boss of the herd but Indy often reminds him he is not. Redman has tumbled off the top of the manure pile having pestered Indy until he pushes him off many times. But he never looses his curiousness.

I Embrace Change

Eazy Money - not so Eazy

Eazy Money, really what kind of name is that? Turns out 1/2 of it is fitting. We bought Eazy as he was being retired from steer wrestling for my husband. We did not retire him. And he made money, a lot. Eazy paid for himself within the first few years of us purchasing him, in winnings. Neither myself or my husband had ever purchased a finished horse before and we have never regretted paying so much money for this one. I still joke he cost more than our truck and trailer combined!

Eazy did his job better than any horse we had ever owned. We were offered over twice what we paid for him many times. He was voted runner up top steer wresting horse in Canada several times and he won more saddles, buckles and awards than all our other horses combined. He loved his job and did it well and still to this day is at the gate chomping at the bit if the horse trailer gets hooked up.

But Eazy is not easy.

He hates the snow. And he spent over 1/2 his life in alberta.

He likes his hay on the ground, only. His grain wet and can spit out the little pink "vitamin" pellets that come in it.

He is terrified of fireworks, loose dogs, the beach, large rocks on the trail, buffalo (don't ASK long story) and thunder. He is herd bound and the least stoic animal ever. If he has a minor boo boo he'll make sure and point it out to you.

Eazy is what we call "our bubble boy" but we adore him anyways. He's 33 this year. He's been retired for 3 years now and is not happy about it. On trail rides he often wistfully gazes off at any cows he come across. I think he'd still chase one down given the chance.

Indy - How the time flies

Indy ( 3 yr old picture above) came to us as a three year old. We went out to Alberta to help a good friend with calving, I rode Indy the week we were there and needed a horse for a special needs student who was looking to move up from a pony. Indy seemed perfect. 3 yr old, pretty much dead broke with only 90 days on him, sensible, sane, quiet and a nice 15 hh. So I brought him home with us. 

BOY did that horse grow a lot in 3 months!

Indy wound up growing a unusually large amount finishing out at over 16.1hh, much too large for the student I had picked him out for. 

Surprise, surprise, he wound up becoming a permanent fixture.

I don't regret it one little bit. Indy became my horse and we did struggle with his size. He's a large built horse fitting not a single saddle we owned and it was a struggle many many days to keep him all together under saddle. His temperament more than made up for any conformation problems I had with him.

Indy became the first horse I did liberty work with. 

He is the silent enforcer in the herd often quietly "schooling" the young ones. Redman (sorrel on the right) often pushed his limits but Indy always calmly and patiently put him back in his place.

Indy tolerated many beginner riders on poker rides, always tolerant of their mistakes and often known to wander over to me with a sigh as if to say "PLEASE get this person OFF me".

He was very very sick several years ago, contacting a strep virus and developing double pneumonia. For almost two months most every day I felt like we were going to loose him. He spent weeks down, with me forcing him to get up and move as to re distribute his bulk. A large horse being down for long time frames causes complications that made the pneumonia even more difficult to treat. The photo below shows the bed sores he was covered with less than 4 days into the illness. Several surgeries, a amazing veterinary team and more diligent doctoring hours than I ever though I had in me Indy did come through the other side of his illness healthy.

Indy is 13 this year. How time flies. Every time he snuffles the cat, opens a closed gate un assisted, eats my blooming dahlia's and lifts his nose to my face for a "chat" I remember how lucky I am to have had such a special animal choose me so many years ago.

And yes that's me riding Indy into my wedding. And yes he pooped on my dress before we even got out of the yard! I like to think of it as his blessing.

One Change This Morning

I do not drink enough water. Does anyone? Water is so plain, boring and un rewarding. One of my goals with the 31 days of blogging is to activate some kind of health change. So once a week I'll write about one change that I (or you!) can make.

Every morning drink a glass of water, warm water is a bit easier to stomach for some first thing in the morning. Adding lemon and possibly some honey can add some zing. Drinking a glass of water first thing in the morning will help up your daily hydration levels.

Did you drink a glass this morning?

Hard work but worth it

Living on a farm we've spent many hours doing improvements. We live on the flood plain for the area, which unfortunately means all our neighbours drain onto us. There is a municipal riding ring next door but it's hog fuel and we've always wanted our own sand ring so several years ago we spend a lot of time and money to convert one of our un used paddocks into a riding ring.

Above is the start, a layer of crushed rock, then some smaller gravel, then landscaping cloth, then sand. It tools days of work but it was worth it.

The finished ring is something the horses love to be turned loose in, it's our old geldings favourite place to roll! The boys really enjoy any play time in there they get.

Good Physical Change

I have always been active growing up in the equestrian community. Coaching professionally for over 15 years and keeping track of 20 or so horses at any given time and more students than I'd ever have cared to count really kept me on my toes. It also kept me very active, but the activity was rarely focused on me. I really enjoyed coaching and had wonderful students and horses but what started to burn me out was being responsible for someone else's happiness on a daily basis. I felt my happiness starting to slip away.

About 7 years ago I quit coaching completely, sold my school horses and down sized to only having out own personal horses at home. No training and no boarders, just us. For me it was one of the best life decisions I could have made.

It allowed me to focus on myself.

I started running and a personal milestone was running my first 10K on my 40th birthday. Running has stuck with me since then but I've also added triathlon training this year. 

A life long fear of water has made swimming a struggle. I joined Tri Stars a local triathlete group and their coaches have been wonderful. I'm still not the best swimmer and struggle with it weekly but focusing my training on myself has allowed me a chance to grow mentally and physically. Current set backs aside my physical changes within the last 5-7 years have all been well worth the work.

Changing Up My Keepsake Line

I've had a keepsake line in my Etsy Shop for a year or so now and have really wanted to expand on it. With prompting from a few friends I've finally added a few new pieces. The ring above is a sterling silver hollow form ring, poured with resin and silver pixie dust, cured, then a piece of my horses tail hair wrapped in silver wire has been laid in and another resin pour on top. I am so smitten with this design. I think it offers a unique, one of a kind keepsake for people. There are lots of things that could be laid into it. Any kind of hair, dried flowers, sand and I suppose even ashes.

The other pieces I've added are pet keepsake pendants, they have a 3 D effect to the as the top plate is raised up from the backplate. A name or saying can be stamped into the backside.

It's been a bit of work to figure the new additions out but it's nice to change things up and offer some new pieces.

What's Even Scarier?

45

Today is my birthday, and I'm 45. Talk about change!

45, wow how did that sneak up? To be honest I don't feel 45. My 30's were ok but 40's, what a blast! I've done a lot of things in the last 5 years I never thought I'd do.

Snowmobiled up mountains, swam in a LAKE, drag raced, ran a triathlon and finally feel like I'm finding my voice in the glass world.

So in honour of my milestone birthday I'm giving myself the cutest cake ever, it's sugar free, has no calories and of course is chocolate!

Physical Change

Running used to be my get away, a time in the day for me. I used to plug in some good music and zone out in my own little world for a while. Or meet with a group of running friends and laugh, chat and run.

Lately I've been battling a few physical issues, I have a permanent back problem (scoliosis) that's never slowed me down much. It's combined recently with a sciatic issue and now a hip bursa issue. So running feels like I'm slogging through a quagmire of muck.

Up until now I've managed to alter my running program to accommodate my body and it's needs. Until now.

The bursa issue popped up last week and is probably the worst pain I've had in many many years. A OK run lead to a good swim. A short drive home led to extreme hip pain, climbing stairs was even a problem. Chiro the next day confirmed what I feared, NO running until pain is gone.

Hrumpf!

Double Hrumpf!!

I've gone from 10 K being a decent distance, to no running and feeling like I'm aging faster than I'd like. Physical pain isn't easy for me to wrap my head around but they say "change is for the good" so I'm trying to think positive and hope that in the end the time off will be worth it.

31 Days of Blogging about Change

I've joined the blogging challenge 31 Days. My topic is going to be "The Many Faces Of Change".

The last few years have been really interesting, good, bad, a struggle, uplifting, depressing and everything in between. But one thing that's been consistent is change. There has been a lot of change.

Verb

1. make or become different. "a proposal to change the law"

2. Take or use another instead of. "she decided to change her name"

Noun

1. the act or instance of making or becoming different. "The change from a nomadic to an agricultural society"

2. coins as opposed to paper currency. "a handful of loose change

I'm probably going to focus on "the act or instance of making or becoming different" but may foray into other area's. Check back daily for new blog posts!

Links below to each of my 31 Days posts.

Day 1 - Physical Change