The Sandy Effect

Sandy made her place in history, that's for sure. Fortunately for us she did not effect us beyond wind and rain. Neither my house nor the barn lost power and there was only a little flooding on the roads I travel.

The rain made our grass arena a bit to slippery to ride on, so the ponies have had a vacation. I took advantage of being able to do less at the barn to bite the bullet and go in for an eye exam. My last exam was 5 yrs ago, about 4 yrs longer than they like between exams. I tend to put my money towards my horses before myself, but my glasses are limping. I survived the exam, even the dreaded puff test for glaucoma and got a pleasant surprise. My insurance covers contact exams too. So I also got fitted for new contacts. These will make life easier. Then it was onto picking out frames for my new glasses. I have not picked out new frames in about 8 years. After my last exam, I  just had my lenses changed. Well in 8 years frames have changed making the decision really hard. After about half an hour, I finally picked out a pair of pink, yep I said pink, frames. I did almost choke when I saw the price, six times what I paid 8 years ago. Well that was the easy part. My sister came too and she looked at frames for 2hrs. First she wanted one kind, then she settled for another. We had it down to two frames, when she decided she wanted color. Another half an hour and a phone consult with Mom and she finally settled on a purple frame that hmm I showed her nearly an hour before. By next week this chore will be completed.

We still had dreary, drippy weather so my having to go into work for a couple of hours was not too bad. While I went to work, my sister went to the barn to take care of the horses. Roscoe loves when she comes because she lets him walk in by himself, where Mom and I use a halter. She uses the extra incentive of a carrot, I know cliche but true, to lead him into his stall. He really could be so bad with her and he does not do it. The horses seem to know she will work with them if they help her. They got to go back on pasture after only one day on dry lot because Dottie is still with out her shoe and the pasture is softer. After I did my time, my sister came to get me and we went to the used bookstore. This was much better than frame shopping. I got just under 20 books for about $30. My sister got like 30 books for $22 after taking out her trade in value. Horse stuff or book shopping are the only kind of shopping I do willingly.

And tomorrow Mom, Peggy and I are going to the Equine Extravaganza. Sandy did not cause them to cancel this event. It is located more centrally in VA so I do not think they saw much damage. These shows can be hit or miss, so cross your fingers for us that it turns out to be a hit. One of these shows is where I bought my trailer for a great deal. We don't need anything that big but some good deals would be nice.

Best of luck to anyone still battling the effects of Sandy. I hope your family and animals are well.