Happy Valentine's Day

May yours be filled with everything sweet...

And may you be surrounded by those that love you dearly.

The Whole Truth and Nothing but The Truth...

"Hey baybeeeee! We love yooooooooou!" I shouted into my cupped hands pressed on her flank. Sam reminded me that it might not be as enthusiastic about people it has never seen yelling about their love as it tries to find a place to put those long legs.

(The foal at 7-8 months)
(How big is the head, Doctor?!)

It's the truth about Reagan. She's 7 months pregnant. And I think little baby Rea-Rea was very startled to hear my voice so loud.

The tired look in her eyes, the occasional nipping, the deep breathing after walking across the road, the food anxiety... it all makes sense now.

(Proud "Grandpa")

She knows me as "the food lady" who gives her supplements in corn oil drizzled over a heaping bucket of all-grain, who pops a treat in her mouth every time she turns around, who leads her to the greenest grass, who has been begging for her to tell her secrets and to listen to mine. She's having a baby. It's my first involved experience with pregnancy and birth (other than the occasional c-section or secluded mama cat at the vet clinic). I held many different species of babies from human to who knows. I've helped to raise some.

But this is my first time and I'm so excited! I don't know if she is. She's done it so many times before (babies/foals). I almost feel as I look into her eyes that now she's saying, "Here's my secret. I'm here to show you it's OK. I'm here to show you that you have to trust in more than yourself to raise a baby... something so much bigger than even myself. I've done it before, so don't worry. I may need your help sometimes, but I'll mostly need your love and friendship. Thank you for showing me I can trust you."

(Me -crying- calling Sam to tell him the news)

I cried when the vet told me. I cried with joy and with sorrow. I cried for joy because of this gift of experience and this opportunity to love. I cried with sorrow for the emptiness of my own nursery. Did you know I have one? A room for a girl and a room for a boy. You may not know by looking that's what they are but it is. They are empty because "I don't know why" and because of fear. And that's why we have Reagan. I believe that. She's here in our lives for so many reasons, but God knows how much of a heart I have for animals. He made me that way. So He "speaks" to me through them.

(our girls together at the water troth.. both loners that are slowly bonding)

This may be Reagan's last baby she has, but it will always be my first.

(will our baby look like this one?)

Masterpiece

Yes! We are continuing the series of past home-improvements since we didn't have any in January to speak of... and I don't know when we'll have any again since we are totally into our horses and trail riding takes up most weekends.
Here's the master bedroom. Long, long time ago I can still remember when ... there used to be six layers of wall paper on the walls, spanning the decades from about 1920 and on. And there was a big gaping hole that someone once used as a fire place... and there were brown shelves up 10 feet high that went all the way around the room. High enough to catch dust but not low enough to put anything on. Oh, yes. And there were sail boats sailing their merry little way at the top of the walls. Come sail away, oh come sail away... STOP THE INSANITY!
Ahhhh........ peaceful green. Much better. Welcome to our bedroom.

As historically minded as I can be SOMETIMES, I did concede to my husband and allow a ceiling fan. I mean, we are in the south. Air circulation in the Summer is a must! We did go for one that had a slightly older feel to it, though. We also re-installed picture rail in the room, as you can see. There were over 1,000 holes in the original plaster walls and after many hours of patching and repairing there will NEVER be another hole put in these walls again. We will use the picture rail, which is what it is there for.

Can't see this very well, but it was a postcard I found in between the wall and the fireplace brick. it is of a woman holding flowers. The card is simply addressed with a name, neighborhood name and the state - no address needed, so it was probably sent to one of the original owners.

Though it may look green, the bedspread is more of a blue. I like the look of quilted spreads and quilts in old houses.

Sorry about the cat licking his nether regions in the picture. I'm used to seeing this, having four animals in the house so I don't notice it quite as much. Anyway, our bed faces this wall. My dear BIL gave us this old mantle as a double birthday present. It just makes the whole room, if you know what I mean. We hope to one day put gas logs in the fireplace since it used to be coal burning. Oh, and since there are no longer any chimneys in the house.

I love the light that comes through the lace curtains and the huge windows. Old houses are built so well to let in light. I don't even have to turn on any lights during the day in the house. We chose roller shades as opposed to blinds because they were SO much cheaper and they can easily cut them to fit the windows - no custom ordering. Believe it or not, when they are pulled down the room is DARK. Great for sleeping-in.

So that's the master. I can't find my old pictures of it anywhere, and I may have not taken any since it was so horrific for so long. There is, however, a post on this blog somewhere that shows it about halfway done.

BONUS POINTS: I made reference to at least three songs in this post. Can you name them?!