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Making the Most of An Almost Post

Saturday, October 17, 2015

Clearly I have had a boatload of fun this week because I am now sitting here scratching my head wondering where on earth the whole thing went. How can it possibly be Saturday? Yeesh. Shadow colicked on Tuesday afternoon (defined here for my non-horsey friends), and the week kind of went downhill from there. I was, however, extremely blessed to have had Kimby with me when I found our poor boy laid out by the water trough. Not everyone in your life would be overly keen on helping you push shove drag lug lead (a reluctant 1,100lb drama queen 'round and 'round the pasture for hours on end waiting for him to "go". She was a tremendous help in nudging him forward; all while keeping an eagle eye out for signs of impending poop from inside the danger zone (to the uninitiated: horse toots are toxic ;o) Brave girl.
Long story short: The colic turned out to be the byproduct of an abcess in Shadow's throat that had left him unable to properly swallow. He probably swallowed either a small stick or large, stiff piece of hay which scratched his throat. The inability to swallow properly likely caused him to panic, which led to the colic. DH gave him a shot of Banamine (which I hate using) for pain, and I put some DMSO on the abscess I'd [eventually] found in his throat latch. We left him resting fairly comfortably around 11p.m. He seemed to be feeling a bit better Wednesday morning, and a couple of hours after a second application of DMSO he was [finally!] able to swallow properly on his own. Of course all that stumbling around in the pasture half the night (for an early bird like me, anyway ;o) was apparently all it took for me to come down with a lovely sinus infection. half of Thursday was, most unhappily, spent at the doctor's office. And raspberries to that! :oP
[Photo inset: Shadow and I in shadow (hee) standing by the almost pond bright and early on Wednesday morning. We look weird, don't we?]

Since the post I had originally planned for today did not get written, I'm leaving you here (so to speak, anyway ;o) with an almost [finished] page of my joy journal. Everyone is blessed with gifts and talents from God (1Peter4:10 on the left side of the journal page), for her - or his - own. What's funny is that we don't tend to see and appreciate those things in ourselves; we often seem to focus on someone else's gift that we wish we had instead. To me? The neatest part is the way God often puts people in our lives who share our interests yet come with their own special set of gifts to help round us out better. Example: My friend Lori is gifted with the most marvelous outgoing and friendly nature - something I definitely wish I had. Friendly? Yes, mostly, though I tend toward reserved. Outgoing? Not at all. I am a terrible introvert (though sometimes I hide it well). I have a really hard time walking up to someone I don't know (like new people at church) and introducing myself, so God gave me Lori (though I'm betting this is all news to her *laugh*). All I have to do is follow her around on a given Sunday, and I wind up meeting everyone I don't know "safely". Betcha didn't even know you were being a blessing in that particular direction, did you chickie? :o)
Likewise, Kimby, who is gifted with that wonderful peace I know I've mentioned before. The kind of peace that puts you at immediate ease and always makes you feel like everything will be all right. The perfect complement to my tends to panic spaz-queen self. She also seem to always know just the right thing to say, too (the heifer); and for someone who is constantly eating her own foot, I'm telling you straight up that is a GIFT and then some! And quit rolling your eyes at me too, sistafriend. Heh Heh Heh. Sandy, with her warm fuzzy heart for critters and crazy sense of humor has an altogether different set of blessings that complete our friendship and brighten my day. There are, of course, many others. All of these remarkable people that the Lord has put in my life. What would I do without them? But I digress...
[Photo inset: My almost finished journal page borrowing some of Joanne Fink's Zenspiration with some scripture verses "dangling" down the left-hand side]

Since I'm obviously headed for "short story long" here, *snicker* I'll add that this journal page is about the things that I have a love and/or propensity for and what I'm supposed to be doing with them. A reminder to self, if you will. The right side of the page looks like a scarf, which is something I have been known to crochet. Speaking of... Do you like the yarn ball "o" and hook "t"? I was pretty excited when I saw that the idea actually worked and you can [mostly] tell what they are. The word Art is only partially visible, and horses is right above that. What? You were expecting something else to top the list? (well silly you ;o) They're not necessarily in order of preference, but more how they fit best in the space. Everything gets done in pencil first, then it's made permanent with Staedtler pens. My hand-lettering still needs lots more practice. I haven't decided whether or not to add color to it yet - the scarf, perhaps? Or maybe I should just leave this page in black and white. What do you think?


Have a blessed week everyone, and thanks so much for reading this far!


14 comments:

  1. Glad you found the problem and were able to take care of it. That can be so touch and go.

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    1. Gail: Thank you - colic is definitely one of the BIG scaries when it comes to owning horses.

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  2. Oh Jen, I just love you! Your awesome!
    P.S. I like it in black and white - or maybe sepia and black? I am NOT an artist by any stretch of the word, so I don't know much. I can only assume that extra color may detract from all the neat details you created. Ugh! You are so talented!

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    1. Kimby: Right back at'cha sistafriend! Hadn't thought about using sepia. Hmmm.... an intriguing idea, that. You know? I'm pretty sure I remember seeing a sepia micron pen last time I was at Hobby Lobby...

      Uplifting words AND a justifiable reason to beeline it to the craft store for a cool new toy to play with. Honestly! What more could you possibly ask for in a gal pal? ;o)

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  3. aw poor Shadow. Glad it's been resolved.
    I like your journal page. Your lettering is awesome. I've been totally fascinated by some of the creative lettering I've been seeing around the internet. I like it all in black and white but personally I think I would add just a wee bit of color to it.

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  4. Ann: Amen to that! I hate it when he colics - sometimes it's really tough to differentiate between the drama mama part and the actual issue.

    Thank you; I was rather pleased with it myself ;o) I have a terrible time keeping my "slant" consistent when lettering - I'll start out at the correct angle, but my letters gradually become straighter as I go. It's annoying. *laugh* I like your idea too; adding just a splash of color. I love Kimby's sepia suggestion, but I think I may want to save that for an entire page - maybe a scripture on a scroll, with a big ol' drop cap, and a parchment background...

    Man. You guys are getting me in trouble here with all these great ideas. Heh Heh Heh

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  5. Sure glad she got over the colic. That isn't fun at all. I have spent many an hour walking them around. That Banamine works every time.. Have a great day.

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    1. Marg: Me too! And you are quite right; it is no fun at all.

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  6. Glad Shadow's OK - that must have been very scary.

    You're very blessed with good friends.

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    1. Kate: Thank you; yes it was. I am indeed (and thank you for the visit! ;o)

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  7. So good to hear that Shadow is okay. Colic is a very scary thing to deal with.

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    1. Grey Horse: Thank you! The biggest thing with Shadow is differentiating between what is drama and how much is actual issue (he's got more drama than Hollywood ;o)

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  8. Poor Shadow. I have no idea what colic is or does...but it sounds awful. Glad Shadow is feeling better.

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    1. Lin: Thank you. Loosely speaking, Colic is a stomachache, but it can be fatal in horses.

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