Changes

After we got back from vacation I was wading through my backed up e-mails. There was one that told me a free horse I had mentioned interest in was now available, as the previous potential deal had fallen through.

That meant if I was truly still interested I would have to find some room. I agonized for a few days and finally decided to put the sheep up for sale. I decided to make a clean break and put them in Craig's List for $25 each. The next day they were all gone, and the buyer (who bought all five) also took the goat. I am left with the ram, but I was asking substantially more for him. I don't mind holding on to him for a while longer.

This is the picture that came with the original email looking for anyone who might be interested in the free horse. She is an Oldenburg, branded but no papers, 17 years old, 15.2 hands and goes by the name "Northern Star". She is a former eventer. You can see why I was so interested. She's really nice!

Here she is at my house, after we went for a little ride.

At first I was a little timid about riding her since I was used to little Flora, who's only about 12 hands high (one hand is 4"). But today is the second time I rode Star and I've already relaxed a lot with her. I hope to be able to ride several times a week. Also now when I ride with my sister I won't look like a big fat freak on a poor little tiny pony.

I've also been thinking that since I no longer have the sheep (with the exception of Perry, at this point) I might want to change the name of my blog. You must admit the title is rather long... Maybe I should change it to something like "IDC and other creatures", or "Wilamar Farms", or "My Micro Farm", or something along those lines. Any suggestions? Anyone??

As we were leaving Bend for Eugene we stopped at the Best Buy and I bought the laptop I've been coveting for so long. It's a Macbook Pro, 15", and I got an "air card" so I can connect when I leave the house, i.e. when I go with my friend Vicki to Cambria. Also if Wil is hogging the pc and I want to look something up I can just use my laptop! Yay!

Another big change is one of the best. I don't know if I mentioned in this blog yet (though I know I've mentioned it to relatives in emails) but there is a one year waiting period to enter the Coast Guard. We wrote a letter to our congressman asking if he could speed things along. I wasn't sure if it would help but a nice lady from his office did check into it for us. The Coast Guard only takes in about 4,000 new enlistments per year, compared to about 80,000 for the Army, which helps explain why there is such a long waiting time. So while we wait for Wil to join the service in the meantime he has found a job.

Actually neighbor Dean's son, Randy, found the job for him. Randy is a pilot and works for a company that checks pipelines for oil leaks. He mentioned that the company would be hiring a new observer and Wil went to apply. This all took place a couple weeks before we went on vacation. Today was Wil's first day as an aerial observer. His first paid job. YAY!

I expect I will again have sheep some day. But for now I can say "Been there, done that." Meanwhile how about some suggestions for a new name for my blog?