Though I did not got to market to buy a fat pig, I am glad to be done with travel for a while. The last one was work related, which meant there was not much time to unwind in between the long drives to and fro. But here are a few observations:
1) Finally! A hotel that uses those little "help us save the planet" signs about laundry and water conservation - and actually looks like it! Every morning I rehung my bath towel on the rack over the toilet, and it was exactly that way when I returned each night!
2) I miss Starbucks' white chocolate mocha coffee. But I don't miss the price. I'm sure my waistline doesn't miss the calories either.
3) Let them eat cake! Probably one of the better dessert spreads I've seen in a buffet line service in a long time.
4) I had to take my belt off half way home just to be able to drive comfortably. See above comments.
5) Grass grows despite no rain.
And with that, I'm heading out to the gardening shed.
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Vacation Season
Just wrapped up my second vacation for the summer, this time to visit family in the Midwest.
How do I manage to take so many vacations? Part of it is the odd scheduling nature of my full-time job. I'm technically off the clock right now, so I'm trying to cram in as much personal leave as possible because when things start up again next week I won't have much time off until Christmas.
The last trip was more of a sit-around-and-check-things-off-the-list-as-they-happen. Not this time. There were agendas, schedules, and a good dose of controlled chaos. As "Oshkosh" said to me, we got a lot packed into a short amount of time.
Left on Monday, arrived on Tuesday. Ran to the state capital on Wednesday for several receptions and a late night at a convention. Thursday morning it was my nephew's 4K promotion ceremony, followed by lunch at Oshkosh's favorite restaurant in the suburbs of the Metropolis, then aborted plans to get together with a friend (better luck next try). Friday afternoon's plans got derailed when I got called to fill in on the farm. Saturday was the annual county breakfast on the farm event for June Dairy Month, followed by my cousin's wedding (farming themed, of course). Saturday night my nieces and nephew spent the night at my parents' house so my brother and his wife could have an evening to themselves. Which meant Sunday morning involved rounding up three kids under the age of 6 for breakfast, church, and play time at the park. Once they left after lunch it was nap time then run a few last errands before departing Monday morning.
Whew
And then there was the drive back. Normally it's 15 hours total. This time it was closer to 17 hours on the road thanks to all of the road construction. I don't think I've seen this many individual construction projects on the interstate.
Orange barrels do not make for pleasant book ends on a vacation.
How do I manage to take so many vacations? Part of it is the odd scheduling nature of my full-time job. I'm technically off the clock right now, so I'm trying to cram in as much personal leave as possible because when things start up again next week I won't have much time off until Christmas.
The last trip was more of a sit-around-and-check-things-off-the-list-as-they-happen. Not this time. There were agendas, schedules, and a good dose of controlled chaos. As "Oshkosh" said to me, we got a lot packed into a short amount of time.
Left on Monday, arrived on Tuesday. Ran to the state capital on Wednesday for several receptions and a late night at a convention. Thursday morning it was my nephew's 4K promotion ceremony, followed by lunch at Oshkosh's favorite restaurant in the suburbs of the Metropolis, then aborted plans to get together with a friend (better luck next try). Friday afternoon's plans got derailed when I got called to fill in on the farm. Saturday was the annual county breakfast on the farm event for June Dairy Month, followed by my cousin's wedding (farming themed, of course). Saturday night my nieces and nephew spent the night at my parents' house so my brother and his wife could have an evening to themselves. Which meant Sunday morning involved rounding up three kids under the age of 6 for breakfast, church, and play time at the park. Once they left after lunch it was nap time then run a few last errands before departing Monday morning.
Whew
And then there was the drive back. Normally it's 15 hours total. This time it was closer to 17 hours on the road thanks to all of the road construction. I don't think I've seen this many individual construction projects on the interstate.
Orange barrels do not make for pleasant book ends on a vacation.
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Diapers & Duck Tape
That was my shopping list at the grocery store yesterday. I must have spent a good 5 minutes trying to figure out what diapers to get. The duck tape was the easy part.
Why diapers and duck tape? Do I have an unruly toddler? A mischievous tailless monkey? Nope, I have a horse with a sore foot.
There are lots of ways to treat a horse with a foot abscess, but the basic formula is to apply a drawing agent and then pack the foot with padding and a tough outer exterior. That's where the diaper and duck tape come into play.
Previously I had just used folded up paper towels for the padding to help protect the sore spot and hold the drawing agent in the right place. But last year my farrier had me try a new method and concoction. I must admit, it was odd to see such a tough, burly guy hand me a stack of itty-bitty disposable diapers with Baby Mickey Mouse and Baby Minnie Mouse on the front. The good thing about using diapers is that the fold is in the perfect location for the toe of the horse's hoof and the tabs are handy for securing the diaper to the foot. The absorbent interior provides padding and also helps to draw the moisture (and hopefully the infection) away from the hoof.
The hard part (for me) was figuring out what size diaper to buy. I don't know the first thing about diapers other than they are sized according to the weight of the baby. And since I try to avoid babies as much as possible, I don't have a concept of how big the bum is on a 10 lb. baby compared to an 18 lb. baby, and how that relates to the size of a horse's foot. The good news is I guessed small, grabbed a package of size 1, and wound up with the right size. But since it was a package of 48 diapers, I probably now have a lifetime supply of horse hoof bandaging material.
So the trick is to pack the infected part of the foot with the drawing agent, wrap the hoof in a layer of stretchy bandage material, apply the diaper, secure with another layer of bandage material, and finally encase the whole thing in duck tape so it has a chance to hold up to the wear and tear of pasture turnout.
It looks goofy, this silver and white blob on the end of the horse's leg. The good news is I can get this contraption to stay on for at least 12 hours whereas I was doing good if I could get 12 hours out of the old wrapping method.
Hoof abscesses. Prime opportunity to practice the art of wrapping horse feet. And a reason for raised eyebrows in the checkout lane at the grocery store.
Why diapers and duck tape? Do I have an unruly toddler? A mischievous tailless monkey? Nope, I have a horse with a sore foot.
There are lots of ways to treat a horse with a foot abscess, but the basic formula is to apply a drawing agent and then pack the foot with padding and a tough outer exterior. That's where the diaper and duck tape come into play.
Previously I had just used folded up paper towels for the padding to help protect the sore spot and hold the drawing agent in the right place. But last year my farrier had me try a new method and concoction. I must admit, it was odd to see such a tough, burly guy hand me a stack of itty-bitty disposable diapers with Baby Mickey Mouse and Baby Minnie Mouse on the front. The good thing about using diapers is that the fold is in the perfect location for the toe of the horse's hoof and the tabs are handy for securing the diaper to the foot. The absorbent interior provides padding and also helps to draw the moisture (and hopefully the infection) away from the hoof.
The hard part (for me) was figuring out what size diaper to buy. I don't know the first thing about diapers other than they are sized according to the weight of the baby. And since I try to avoid babies as much as possible, I don't have a concept of how big the bum is on a 10 lb. baby compared to an 18 lb. baby, and how that relates to the size of a horse's foot. The good news is I guessed small, grabbed a package of size 1, and wound up with the right size. But since it was a package of 48 diapers, I probably now have a lifetime supply of horse hoof bandaging material.
So the trick is to pack the infected part of the foot with the drawing agent, wrap the hoof in a layer of stretchy bandage material, apply the diaper, secure with another layer of bandage material, and finally encase the whole thing in duck tape so it has a chance to hold up to the wear and tear of pasture turnout.
It looks goofy, this silver and white blob on the end of the horse's leg. The good news is I can get this contraption to stay on for at least 12 hours whereas I was doing good if I could get 12 hours out of the old wrapping method.
Hoof abscesses. Prime opportunity to practice the art of wrapping horse feet. And a reason for raised eyebrows in the checkout lane at the grocery store.
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