Affluenza

I've been slogging through the book Affluenza for the last few days.

I want to start off by saying that a lot of what the book has to say so far is good. I'm about half-way through but I'm starting to get frustrated with the on-going "preaching" about the problems of society. I think by page 50 I got the idea. I'm now ready for the "cure" or at least "treatment" for this disease.

I'm also having a hard time with a few of the arguments. One thing that is really bothering me is the idea of the exploitation of the poor unskilled laborers of the world. America's fixation with acquiring things isn't healthy and it's done at the expense of those poor people working for low wages. But if we were to fix our problems with consumption wouldn't these poor people be without any income and thus worse off? If we stop buying they stop working, how is this going to solve their problems? Can you complain about the country's love of buying things in one breath and then complain about the low wages of the people making these products? Something just doesn't seem right about the argument.

I'm also wondering about the lack of explanation about how much is too much. My definition of waste is probably different than most others. We are extremely frugal when it comes to electric and water usage so I think most people waste a tremendous amount. But even my electric usage could be considered a problem by someone who doesn't use any. Is it too much to own a second home, or boat, or ATVs, or is it just too much to want a nice first home? Is it just the desire to acquire more no matter what we have?

I guess I'm just wondering how far the author is advocating we go to treat the "disease" he claims we have. The farther I read the more it seems that any possessions are too much but maybe I'm missing the point.

Sick

Paul and I have been sick for the last week but it finally looks like it's just about over. Usually when we take Lorna down for appointments with the specialists one or more of us come back with a cold. This time Paul and I came back with the flu. Most of the weekend was rainy and cold so I don't feel like I missed out on much. Yesterday was just beautiful with temps in the 60's. Since I was still feeling rotten I didn't get to enjoy it. I plan on making up for that today since I'm feeling better, the weather is still wonderful, and my seeds from Baker Creek came in the mail yesterday! For once I was ready before the seeds got here since I got the dirt ready last week before I got sick.

Surgery Scheduled

After months of fighting with insurance and doctors, Lorna's surgery is scheduled for March 14th. The surgeon said they expect her to be released on the Sunday following. Since we live 3+ hours away we decided to get a room as close to the hospital as possible. UCLA has a hotel for families of patients but they are booked, the school has a hotel and it's booked as well. We found a small hotel that offers little more than a bed and bathroom a few blocks away that had a room available, they don't provide parking. I think we have all the problems worked out, we plan on paying for hospital parking and then walking to the hotel. Maybe I'm just cheap but it seems a bit much to charge patients for parking. Since they charge $8 every time you enter the structure (even if it's the same day) we don't plan on moving the car until it's time to leave.

Whiskey Flat Days part 2

We went back today so the kids could participate in the pet parade. They entered the best theme category. Lorna dressed Buster up with a cowboy hat and bandanna and Malachi dressed Pookie up with a bonnet and bandanna.





Lorna took second place and Malachi won first. It was really amusing to see all the different dogs and costumes. Some of the people went all out dressing up to match their pets for the matched pair competition.



We spent the rest of the day walking around looking at all the booth and going down to sit by the river. Yesterday's attendance was figured at over 50,000 people, today was a much more relaxing day with about half that amount.

Whiskey Flat Days

Today was the second of 4 days that there is a large rodeo/western event in our valley. Lorna rode in the parade that was the official kick-off. This is a huge deal for the entire valley since the population of the town that holds the event can swell from 2000 regular residents to 20,000+ over the weekend.

The parade was great with a number of equestrian groups, wild west reenactors, and local groups participating.

Kern County Mounted Police

Tagged

Glenda tagged me with a book meme.

Here are the instructions:

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

The nearest book is The Harlequin by Laurell K Hamilton. It's the 15th book in a series about a vampire hunter named Anita Blake. As with most of these types of books it has were-animals as well vampires, that is what these sentences are talking about...

If I hadn't seen Chimera shift from one form to the other
like water spilling back and forth between hands, I'd have
said Micah was the best at shifting I'd ever seen.
Micah looked up at Richard. "Nathaniel would have been
trapped in leopard form for hours."

Exciting books but they can be graphic, luckily this particular section was really tame :) I'm gonna break the rules and forgo tagging anyone since most of the blogs I read have already done this particular meme.

More horse pics

We spent all day Saturday at yet another gymkhana show. There were a lot more kids than normal so it made for a long day. Lorna did well and got her best ever time in the speedball event, this event requires you run up to a cone and drop a golf ball in the top. Usually she has problems lining her horse up alongside the cone close enough to bend over and drop the ball, this time she got Ginger lined up perfectly on the first try. It was a fun day for Lorna since she got to try out her new tack and matching blanket. We have made plans to have Lorna ride in the Whiskey Flats Day parade next Saturday.

Malachi did his usual manure scooping and brought home more donations from his "fans". I completed the major task of finishing our taxes and having them accepted via e-file. It's a huge weight lifted off my shoulders and we are already making plans to spend the refund on some much needed home improvements.

Snow day

Monday we decided to take a snow day to enjoy the snow that was falling.

Malachi played and sledded down the driveway.


There are no pictures of Lorna because she said it was too cold to play for very long. I spent the afternoon sewing curtains for Malachi's area.

Reuse and Recycle

In an effort to reuse the stuff that we have, I spent the afternoon making canvas grocery bags out of old curtains. The curtains were made of heavy canvas material and were originally used as a bedroom door in the yurt. Each curtain made one bag with very little waste. Since the curtains were already hemmed I had to do very little sewing.



Instead of buying something new I wanted to recycle something old, I found this bean pot in a junk store down the road. I really wanted a soaker pot for the bathroom that looked nicer that the ice cream container I was currently using. It fits well on the shelf above the toilet and it looks quite nice.

Clouds, the Internet, and Laundry

I woke up to more rain. Because our well really needs rain I am rejoicing that we've had so much over the past few weeks. The only downsides to rain are laundry and clouds. The laundry I've learned to work around, the clouds create problems with our internet access. Since we have satellite internet we already have slower access than most others, when the clouds roll in we have little to no access. Since I just use the internet for email and fun stuff it's no big deal, it is a big deal for Paul though. He uses the connection for most of his paperwork. He has to fight with the connection on a good day because everything is done through a VPN, which doesn't play well with our satellite. On a bad day, like today, he can't get anything done because the VPN won't connect.

I am thankful all we have is rain, the snow and really low temps of the past few days have made it difficult for the washer. No matter how much I insulate the hoses and pipes I still have to wait for the ice to melt out of the machine before it will run. I think we will be building an insulated shed for the washer over the summer so we can avoid this problem next year. Maybe we will even be able to get the electric box fixed and add a 210v outlet for the dryer. It's nice to dream :)

Vanishing snow

Yesterday's plans for riding lessons were interrupted by snow. We woke up to a dusting of snow on the ground and more coming down. It snowed pretty hard most of the day but within 30 minutes of it stopping it was all gone. I didn't even get a picture since it disappeared so quickly. It was the oddest thing, it abruptly stopped snowing and then vanished.

The weather forecast for the rest of the week changes by the hour. They can't decide if it's going to be sunny, or rainy, or if it will snow for the rest of the week. Lorna's riding instructor will be calling us later in the week to reschedule since the changing predictions make it difficult to plan more than one day in advance.

Change of Plans

We never made it to the doctor's appointment or IKEA because the I-5 was closed due to snow. It was closed all day with no plans to reopen and then we got hit again last night. Since they are expecting a huge amount of accumulation over the next few days we are going to postpone our Sunday plans as well. Waiting one more week to go to church won't be the end of the world but it's still a little depressing.

Since we made it all the way to the closed section of freeway we spent the day in Bakersfield shopping. Most everything was horse related but still fun. We went to 3 different stores that sell tack and still came away without a new blanket to match the purple tack Lorna picked out. It took all of 5 minutes online to find exactly what we were looking for and at a price lower than I expected. Sometimes I think we would be better off shopping online exclusively. I also got some ideas about how to go about making our own colored nylon tack. I can't seem to find a complete set in a color that Lorna wants but I found all the components needed to make it myself. It's something I want to look at doing in a few months.

The best news of the day was that the kids' insurance was renewed for another year. I've been fighting with the state since the beginning of October. We faxed 5 different proof of income documents only to have them deny us. Since we did qualify I appealed and they finally reversed the decision. This is the last year we need to do this since we will be able to add the kids to Paul's employer plan at the end of the year, it's not a great plan (65% coverage after the deductible is reached) but at least we won't need to use the state plan any longer.

Inside projects

I'm still plugging along trying to get things cleaned up around the property but the weather has turned my focus inside yesterday and today. I managed to get my room straightened up. You would think that a small house and bedroom would mean that it's easy to keep things picked up, but that's not the case. We have a table in the corner of our bedroom that had become a catchall. I finally got everything from the table either put away or thrown out. I'm hoping to get at least one scrapbook page a week done now that I have a place to set out my supplies. I just realized that I didn't get one single page done in the last year so I'm hoping to change that. I've got pictures everywhere that need to be put in books and no lack of supplies.

Today we cleaned all the baseboards and floor moldings around the house. Since we have laminate flooring there is a quarter round that sits in front of all the baseboards. Dust and dirt seem to gather in all the little cracks and it makes the floor look awful even when it's just been mopped. We each took a section of the floor and had it done in 5 minutes. Since these projects are so easy the kids are more than willing to help and have actually been asking if they can come up with some!

I got a bonus project done this morning while waiting for the kids to finish up their schoolwork; I was able to clean out the top drawer of our file cabinet. That drawer holds all the files that we access on a regular basis. Instead of having to force things in the files now everything just easily slides in place. Since we will be gone all day tomorrow for a doctor's appointment with the surgeon who will be working on Lorna, I'm glad I got an extra task done. We plan on going to IKEA after the appointment and now I don't have to feel guilty :)

I also wanted to share our great news; Paul will be back to working only one job by the end of next week. At the end of last year Paul's day job rolled out a new compensation plan for the sales staff. The promises were big and exciting, but having been disappointed by previous employers we were skeptical. We both were optimistic but wanted to wait for the first paycheck to really see how things would go. Now that we have seen that all the promises are true, Paul was able to give his notice at McDonald's. We are so excited that Paul will be home every night!

Outside clean-up

I don't really set myself goals for the year but I've decided that I need to start working at getting the property cleaned up some more. Lorna's riding lessons and gymkhana shows have really helped me be more positive about the area we live in. I still run across lots of rude and unhappy people but I've been able to find others that more than balance them out.

I seem to be coming out of my funk of just reading and have decided to try doing one small outside project a day. Yesterday we cleaned up junk in front of the house. It seems that this is going to be a task that needs to be done every month or so since the wind brings stuff onto the property. Today we moved all the firewood into the holder and under the carport. It seemed like the perfect thing to do since it may rain tonight and tomorrow. Doing just one thing every day for a few minutes makes it easier to motivate myself to keep going. It shouldn't take more than a few weeks to get everything outside completely cleaned up and organized. I figure I might as well do the same thing inside on days where the weather won't cooperate with outside work.

January Gymkhana

Today's show went great! Lorna rode Ginger for the first time in a gymkhana show. She received 4 1st places, 2 second, 1 fourth place, and the Hi Point Award for her division. Her new instructor told her she did incredibly and thought that both Ginger and Lorna looked relaxed.






Malachi spent the day picking up manure again. He's such the little businessman,he came away with $22 from the riders. Most of the riders are very happy not to have to worry about cleaning up after their horses.

New trailer

Paul and I have spent the last few months talking about getting a new horse trailer. The trailer we have is a 1963 front load where one horse stands in front of another. It served it's purpose of moving Ginger from CO to CA and is fine for twice yearly visits to the vet but really won't work for the 3+ trips a month we will be making to lessons and events.




As I was looking at what we could realistically afford I stumbled upon a promotion for a local dealer. They were offering to pay all fees and taxes, which can be substantial. After visiting the dealer and looking at the trailer we wanted, we decided to take the plunge. The dealer even took our old trailer on consignment so we don't have to worry about selling it ourselves. Paul towed the new trailer home for me and said it was amazingly quiet to pull. Our old trailer was loud and made the truck shake at times. I keep thinking about all the neat features like 4 wheel brakes and a tack room.





Of course nothing can go entirely smoothly, we found out that the wiring harness on the truck isn't working properly. The blinkers won't work, we think that when they replaced the fuel tank the dealer might have nicked the wires. But even with that little problem I'm really excited to try the trailer out this Saturday!

Lessons

We decided to change instructors for Lorna's horse lessons. There were plenty of reasons including money and flexibility. The new instructor is not only cheaper but willing to work with Lorna and her horse, the previous instructor would only do lessons on your own horse if it was boarded at that facility. This morning was the first lesson and it went really well.



They spent the morning working on the events for the upcoming Gymkhana show on Saturday. Instead of just running through the events the instructor talked about leg position, how to get better control on the horse, and gave her some things to work on at home over the next 2 weeks. Her goal for Lorna and her horse is that they learn to trust one another and to have Ginger listen better. I'm happy to report that Ginger did not even attempt to throw Lorna off. The only time she got uppity was when the instructor was making her work in the round pen without Lorna on her back. I think this particular instructor is going to be a great match for Lorna and Ginger.


Just in case you are wondering the pony on the right of the picture, the one the instructor is riding, is a Chincoteague pony.

Primaries

I so sick of hearing about the Presidential Primaries that are currently going on. I'm even more tired of reading different things about the 2 main parties, as if there is really much of a difference! I'm saddened by the number of people who feel that voting your conscience is wasting your vote. As long as people continue to think like that there will never be change. Since I'm sick of hearing and reading about it already, it's going to be a long 10 months until the November election!

Lack of motivation

I've spent the last few weeks hiding behind a book trying to ignore the mess around the house. Now I'm trying to convince myself that it's time to get things back in order so we can start school again next week. I just cannot get motivated to do much of anything. My lack of motivation seems to get worse the more Paul works, he's spent the last 3 days working both jobs so nothing has gotten done around here. The house isn't filthy just extra cluttered. Since we spent so much time away from home the past 3 weeks it was easy to ignore but now it's staring me in the face. All this junk lying around has made me realize that we need to go through everything over the next year and weed through our possessions. I think it's safe to get rid of movies and toys that haven't been touched in months or years. I'm really shooting for getting rid of half of our possessions, it will make living in this tiny house so much more pleasant.

New Year's Day

We spent our day at a ride put together with the gymkhana group Lorna belongs to. I didn't get any pictures because I was too preoccupied with trailer problems.

We left the house in plenty of time to get there for the breakfast potluck but we barely made it in time for Lorna to ride. When we got to the bottom of the hill I go out to check the trailer, as I always do, and I found the trailer wires pulled out of the plug. One of the tight turns coming out of the driveway most likely pulled them out. It took about 45 minutes to get it put back together enough to drive it the 15 miles to the ride. Once there I played with the wiring a bunch and at least got the breaks working but nothing else, that will be a project for next week.

Lorna had a good time until about half-way through when Ginger threw her off. She got back up on the horse but spent the rest of the ride nervous. This was after having tack issues that caused her saddle to slip. Overall it wasn't the best ride. The head of the group suggested we consider getting another horse and selling this one. We've considered this numerous time over the last year but we really feel she is getting better. It's been over a year since the last time she threw Lorna off and she's really only been worked with consistently for the last 5 months. She's never been on a trail ride before so we figure something spooked her. Besides there is never a guarantee that the next horse won't do the same thing or even something worse. If we had a lot more money it's possible we could buy a horse that would never do this sort of thing but those types of horses cost as much as a small new car!

I really want Lorna's lessons to start including the horse too, that way we can see if it's the way Lorna is handling the horse or a training problem. We are considering changing trainers because the one we work with charges an additional $20 to bring your own horse. She also has rescheduled 5 out of 12 lessons. The last lesson was cancelled with no make-up day in sight so right now we have no idea when her next lesson will be.