I spent a little time watching my cat tonight. As I sat here at the computer, he curled up on the floor between me and the small quartz space heater we have to make this area a little warmer. Now he is on his back, hind feet slightly pointed right, front feet slightly pointed left, eyes shut and sound asleep.

There is just something about watching a warm, sleeping cat.

He doesn’t have a care in the world. All that matters is being toasty and sleepy.

It would be nice, wouldn’t it?

He’s got a good life. So does his sister. I spoil them rotten and baby them to a ridiculous degree. I’m okay with that. I’m glad they’re happy. I can’t imagine the house without them.

Sometimes, I’m not so good with things changing. If you ask my husband, he’d probably said I’m not good with them at all (he’s had to deal with my fretting before, so he knows what he’s talking about).

But sometimes, I’m better with it.

I ride horses. I’ve ridden horses since I was about 7 years old. Suffice to say, I’ve been riding for a long time.

Over the past several years, since about 2003, I’ve been riding a horse named Hawk. He’s owned by other people but I chip in on his upkeep and get to ride him several days a week. He is a sweet horse, one of the equine loves of my life, but he’s got his issues. He was not treated well in his younger years. He was a rancher’s horse and he came to us with a lot of issues – couldn’t touch his ears, afraid of being in a stall, serious mounting block issues. But there’s something about this horse that I just love, even with all the problems.

And he’s come a long way. Just this summer we competed in a jumper show. Just the two-foot-three fences. Nothing big, but for a horse who was two steps away from hysterical when we first asked him to go over ground poles, it was a big deal. I was really proud of him.

Unfortunately, this summer he hurt his stifle (knee joint on the hind leg)… that was a long layup and I couldn’t ride. Since December, he’s been slowly going back to work and his lameness has been intermittent. But his owner had been progressing and I was hoping to be back on him soon.

But something kept nagging at me. Something told me that he just wasn’t going to stay consistently sound.

I just found out that the stifle went out again. Now he’s back to the drawing board. And it is entirely possible that Hawk will just need to be retired. They’re looking at other options, so it isn’t set in stone…

But now I need to look for another horse to lease. I’m sad that it doesn’t look like I’ll be riding Hawk any more, but this particular change in my equine life isn’t freaking me out like some other changes do. Maybe it was the intuition. Maybe in some subtle horse language, Hawk was telling me it is time for a change. I don’t know.

I do know that the photo of me with Hawk that I have in my hall will never come down. He is one of those very special horses that you always have a soft spot in your heart for…

Since I first started this blog – with the whopping one whole post put up before this one – I have been surprised by how much there is to talk about, but how difficult it is sometimes to find something to say.

With my usual smooth timing, I’ve managed to start blogging AFTER the presidential election where there has been more fodder for blogging and debate and discussion than ever before. Sarah Palin alone has offered up enough material already for a generation of commentators. And just for the record, no I am NOT a fan.

But during the election I stumbled across a blog that has to be my favorite of all time. It is written by a woman named Helen Philpot (not her real last name according to her info).

Helen is in her 80s, lives in Texas, and is apparently a dedicated fan of the Democrats. I give her props for being a Democrat in Texas. That can’t be easy. But what I like most about Helen is that she calls it like she sees it. She is forthright, direct… and frankly, she’s pretty damn funny. Her blog has – last I saw – nearly a million hits and has become pretty popular. She certainly had a lot to say during the election, most of which I completely agree with.

If you want to check her out, go to www.margaretandhelen.wordpress.com

I can only hope that when I get really passionate about a topic, even if it is coming late to the game, that I am even half as insightful and funny as Helen is.

Ciao!

Since I’m new to this whole blog thing (which means I am woefully behind the times), I wanted to at least get my first, official, typed-it-myself entry up. Does this mean I’m not a blog virgin any more? Sorry, couldn’t resist the question.

As for what this blog will be about? Who knows. I doubt I’ll have a consistent theme…

But if you’ve just found me, don’t count me out yet… I promise all of my posts won’t be nearly as vanilla as this one.

It is a brave new world out there. Time to start exploring!

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