Good Morning All, BJ, WOW, what a post. I cannot believe your incredible energy. I have not read or seen the Ya Ya Sisterhood, I suppose I am going to have to now. Might be a nice rainy Saturday afternoon thing to do. But for now I am going to call you Sister of endless energy and enthusiasm! I read every word of your post. Talk about catching up TIMES 10! LOL I am thinking of you too Raeanne, out there in Chicago, Chicago. Hope you are having fun. Too bad you and Gretchen can't hook up. Tikanas, I must have missed some posting as I did not know you were recently widowed. I am not aware of the circumstances but I am sorry to hear that. Sounds like you are indeed being good to yourself. I admire your committment to yourself to get/stay in shape. I have not even had the chance to talk to DH about the retreat. The truth of the matter is that he has not been home but for one evening since this whole thing blew up! He has been away working and when not working taking care of his DS's needs, getting him to court, doctors and dentist. Nicely managing to avoid having to deal with his life here! He calls dutifully every night to make sure things are "alright". We haven't even spoken of therapy or retreats, etc. This is the way it will go too I suspect until he "blows up" again. I am determined to go to this retreat it sounds good. The people who recommended it are the brother and SIL of my good friend who I ride with. I have never met her brother but I know they have had some real issues. Someone suggested this retreat to them and they went. They said that when they got there the looked around and said to each other that there was no way this was going to work and wanted to leave. The impression was that it the husband and wife were real "granola" ,(no offense to anyone), and nuts and seeds 60's type people. BUT they stuck it out and got so much out of it that they are going back for a refresher! The only other complaint was that all the meals were vegetarian. DH is strickly meat and potatoes but I won't even talk to him about the food. So, I hope that DH can find the time to come home long enough to talk to him about this. I have to admit that I feel very lonely lately. I think a big part of it is that I can't ride Sweet Pea and I am sort of cut off from alot of activities.........like the campout this weekend. It will be okay and I will get some fun time in before summer is out. Today I am cleaning all my grooming brushes and cleaning harness and saddle really well so they will be ready for Sweet Pea's return to work! Dosen't that sound like fun! I was going to drive my trailer down into the pasture and set up camp with the horses but my sister told me that was really pathetic!! I am still thinking about it only it's rainy. Marci, I can't believe you have the energy to organize a yard sale! They are a lot of work but I guess there is lots of money to be made. I am doing HORSE LAUNDRY right now. Saddle pads, trail packs, etc. They have to be washed twice!! First load is spinning right now............I will check in later.

This has been great - everyone DOES have a story. Funny thing - we have a lot in common too. Bunch of us have had accordians in our family, had white line fever and have been camel riding. That last one makes me laugh - now that I think of it, I've ridden one too, but don't remember where. I remember being very young, and on some kind of family vacation. My sis and I, both. It was a little scary, but also fun. Keep telling your stories!

Aw Chubby. We just found out Scamper has the same thing - cardiomyopathy. Fortunately we caught it early when he was having his annual teeth cleaning. He's on Lasix and Atenolol. The Lasix is a diuretic that helps them pee out the fluids. The Atenolol helps the heart contract stronger and improves circulation to keep the excess fluid flowing out through the kidneys. Scamp and I will keep Chica in our thoughts. Tell Chica that she has a net buddy (even if Scamp is a cat...sssssh!)

Oh, I am really sorry to hear about your Chica! I am sending a prayer and special thoughts for her. I know how we love our little Izzi and I know how you must love your Chica. Please let us know how she is doing. Sue