Tuesday: 4.5 hours
Wednesday: 2.5 hours
Thursday: 3 hours
Friday: 1.5 hours
Saturday: 3 hours
T-Rex time tonight.
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Doctor (speaking to the pink elephant on the examining table): "I did a battery of tests, and I'm happy to report that I'm still drunk from the office parties."
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Jared, Loki, and Sancho have been sharing the same area of stall, shade-cover, and 10 foot square area between the two since the snow started on Friday night. Jared has decided that he really doesn't want to share that much personal space with Loki, so Loki has been spending much of his time out in the cold and snow while Jared gets the barn to himself and maybe Sancho. ( So there's some politicking going on )
Yes, tomorrow afternoon we are supposed to leave for California for Christmas with my family. Hence, I'm a little STRESSED at the moment. My house sitter does not have a vehicle that can make it up our hill to take care of the animals (her truck died) if the roads don't get cleared, and the weather report keeps wavering between rain and ice for Christmas Eve. So far, CK and I have managed the following solutions/possible solutions:
1) Joy-dog is now at a kennel for the first time in her life. It is costing us $34 a day for the privilege of not having to worry about her messing in the house, of freezing if she is outside and the power fails on her doghouse heater (if we do get ice on Christmas Eve), or whether she is getting her medications on time (she has an ear infection that requires 2x daily medication).
2) We can loan our truck to our house sitter. There is precedent. I've loaned my car to amazonmink for house sitting before. Of course, I like/know amazonmink much better than I do my housesitter, but I also like my animals and prefer that they get food, ya know? This only works if *we* have a way to get to the airport. As such, the decision on the loan should be made tonight so that we can get the truck wherever it needs to be either this afternoon or tomorrow morning.
3) Or, of course, we can cancel Christmas in CA and just stay here.
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Today's work cookie is a vanilla cake bar cookie with raspberry jam center and butterscotch chips. The taste combination works just fine, but I had to get past the really odd smell...
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... "Because not all weakness has to be weakness. Weakness, strength, power, failure - they're just words, and we can define what the words mean if we have the will or the courage."
"You can rewrite a life?" he asked, his smile heavy with irony...
"No one can do that," she answered softly, aware of what he meant but unwilling to descend into his levity. "But we can give it a different meaning." She paused, and then in frustration said, "Because I'm mortal, and sometimes we need each other. We aren't perfect, and we aren't always smart, but we're what we have.
"Sometimes," she added, looking at Severn, who stood a little ways off, "it's enough."
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*tests new apple peeler/slicer/corer, nicknamed "The Violator"*
*nicks left thumb trimming apple bits*
*swears, trims off bits of skin, keeps going*
. . .
*much later, is trimming half-rotten apples of the oogy bits*
*knife slips, gashes left thumb*
*gasps*
"ah, fuck!"
*rinses, wraps thumb in paper towel, & holds above head*
*gives up for the evening*
EDIT: . . . okay, doesn't give up, just goes a lot slower and considerably right-hand dominant*
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It's entirely impossible to photograph while the snow is still falling, but it was so cute to watch Scout bound over the snow to get to me this afternoon. The snow is too tall for him to walk normally. The llama and alpaca can play snowplow for the not-so-baby boys, but unless they do, the boys have to bounce over the snow like big black frogs.
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As noted here and here, there's a certain little girl that's been on my mind the last couple of days.
Last night, I received a picture of the blanket and halter that y'all out there raised the money for. I fail when it comes to posting pictures in here, but you'll just have to take my word that the halter is awesome--hot pink nylon with a contrasting purple band along each cheekpiece, running behind the ears, and across the top of the nose. Complete with glorious rhinestone bling. The blanket looks to have some snazzy trim, too.
None of us knew this girl's name, or what she was suffering from. Today, I found out.
Her name is Abbi W. She is dying from complications related to Epidermolysis Bullosa, a rare genetic disease characterized by extremely fragile skin and the formation of blisters in response to minor injury. It is an extremely painful condition. People with EB often die young from an aggressive form of skin cancer; the fatality rate of this disorder is extremely high due to infections, kidney and liver problems, esophagus problems, cancer, and other complications. EB patients are referred to as "Butterfly Children" because of how fragile their skin is. They are sometimes also called "Cotton Wool Babies" or "Crystal Skin Children."
One type, EB acquisita, is associated with Crohn's disease, which makes it hit all that much harder for me.
Bless you, Abbi, and the rest of your family. Blessings and thanks to those of you out there who pitched in, even though you were all at least as much in the dark as I was. Hopefully, this weekend will bring a little light and a lot of love to a family out there that needs it so very, very much.
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Today's work cookie is a moist, chewy chocolate center that has been rolled in crushed nuts, flattened so that it can hold a gooey caramel dollop in the center, all of it drizzled with chocolate. Ooooh, so good!
We have our luncheon potluck and white elephant gift swap today too. This is going to be... interesting.
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Today's work cookie is a flat shortbread swirled around a nutty almond stripe. Obviously the dough was rolled and then sliced to make the cookies. They are nice to taste, but very very dry.
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You guys fuckin' ROCK, let me tell you!
From said friend:
I'm racing in the house and then diving back out the door to go to my second job.
When I got home today, I had 17... Count them...17 emails.
We have raised $248.35 - more than enough to cover all expenses and have a tidbit to give the family left over.
A huge thank you needs to go out to ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) gows, apenadragon, and a very quiet omnisti (and maybe a s00j) for signal boosting both here, on the Fire Tribe and Burningman lists and on Facebook.
Once again, I am reminded that I run with some really incredible people. I do not have words to express my gratitude for your unselfish love for a complete stranger...but also too that you put your faith and trust in me that this is something legit and that this little thing that you do is going to make a really big difference.
I know this was just a small thing and that the joy of it will only be fleeting...but sometimes I think it's just that one moment of doing a selfless act that will lift a spirit (even if it doesn't heal the body) that really makes us extraordinary human beings. Not that we're doing this out of want for greatness...but know that greatness is recognized, regardless.
With every fiber of my being...thank you. Simply...thank you.
Any extra donations that come rolling in will be given to the parents to help with Christmas for the other kids.
Seriously, you guys. In less than 12 hours, you've made a little girl's dying wishes come true. Thank you, so much, from the bottom of my heart. I am humbled by your generosity.
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From a close friend of mine:
Something happened on Friday that has really made me take two steps back and re-learn what it means to be humble, to be human.
I picked up the phone at the feed store to answer a woman by the name of Martha. Seems that Martha is a friend of a family who has an 11-year old girl. This little girl is terminally ill - it's not expected that she'll make Christmas. All she wants for a holiday gift is a rhinestone halter (in pink or purple) for her pony. That's it.
This girl's parents have not asked for any help at all - claiming that there are people out there who have no homes, nothing to eat, and although they're pouring every resource they have into the last Christmas with their daughter, they insist they are more fortunate than most. But...no where to be found is a pony halter in the correct size or color with the right kind of "bling" on it. This is why Martha called the place where I work.
Despite a store full of customers, a gut part of me knew that this wasn't something I could hand over to the salesmen. I'm not judging them...I just knew that in the chaos of the season, with everyone getting shorted hours, and with a business that is trying to operate on a shoestring in a recession, there wasn't going to be much help from the other people on staff. So I put Martha on hold and went and dug through the rack of halters. None to be found that fit the description. I asked the owner what could be done about it (relating the story) and he hemmed and hawed about the whole deal. Weaver (our halter supplier) only ships in bulk. So if one halter is ordered, it's still $40 freight. He didn't have the means to donate the halter or the shipping charge - or even enough time to order one, so I told him to just forget it...that I'd figure something out.
I got Martha's number and told her I'd give her a call when I went on break. As it turns out, they (parents and family) want to give this girl her gifts this coming weekend due to the short amount of time she's got left. I told Martha that I had a few days off...and that I'd do my best to find something for this little girl even if I had to make it myself.
I keep thinking of Codie. My 11-year old little girl. And Star.
I thought about the family, and how this is their last Christmas with their daughter. I told Martha to tell them to find me on the mall...that Royalty Carriages would donate a ride to them. (I know Christi can't afford it, but I think if it all came from me it would be too much. So I'm just going to pull the money out of whatever I make that night and pay for the ride myself...but they won't know the difference.)
There's only one other thing that I think would be a good gift. At the feed store, there's a $70 blanket in pony-size. It's one of the neatest ideas I've ever seen...it's white and it comes with permanent markers so that the owner can "decorate" the blanket for their horse. I think that would be a fun activity if this girl is strong enough to do anything with it. If so, she's got a lasting memorial of herself to her horse. I can't quite swing the blanket, but I'm working on some folks to see if they want to donate a buck or two to the cause. I know that ultimately, the girl isn't going to be around to enjoy the blanket as much...but the pony will benefit long-term. That's okay too.
In the meantime, I've found a purple pony halter. Adam is picking up some rhinestones and leather tonight and we're going to try and put it together. My fallback plan is to take it all over to Christi (who said she could put it together in a day if we got stuck.)
Dear god. I cannot save this girl. I can't do a goddamn thing to stop what has already so far in motion. I can only hope that by doing this one small thing that somehow it helps to carry this load.
I can't save the world, but I can make one little horse shine for her owner's last wish.
As it turns out, all is not lost. In a further update this morning, she mentions:
The harness maker that Christi works with is donating a custom pink and purple leather halter - complete with rhinestones. I'm just trying to raise a little money to pick up the blanket, and perhaps offset some of the cost of the halter. If I have anything left over, I'm going to give it to the family to spend as they will.
I contacted a custom halter maker last night. It was too late for them to be able to make a halter, but they volunteered to donate $25 towards the cost of the blanket.
I know that times are tight, but even a dollar or two would help. You can donate via Paypal to brandie@brandiebond.net
We can do this.
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BIG NEW SUNSPOT: Just yesterday, sunspot 1035 was nearly invisible. Today, it is as wide as seven planet Earths. The fast-growing active region burst into view on Dec. 14th with a magnetic polarity that clearly identifies it as a member of new Solar Cycle 24. If the expansion continues apace, it could soon become the largest sunspot of the year. Check Space Weather for movies, photos and updates.
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Today's work cookie is a chocolate meringue with chocolate chips rolled in marshmallow edging.
I haven't been very good about posting the stocking stuffer stuff, though. The latest few things were three tiny Toblerone candy bars and an oatmeal raisin walnut Clif bar.
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Today's work cookie is a bar cookie with a brown nugat covered in crushed nuts with dusting of brown sugar baked onto the top. STICKY.
I brought in fruit salad this morning to balance the sugar.
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The cookies on the counter today are the usual decorated sugar cookies (sugar topped with sugar) and snickerdoodles with big chocolate kisses in their middles.
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exhausted
annoyed
contemplative
ecstatic
hopeful