The
time draws near to say good-bye to our pony boys; they leave after Labor
Day. I'm finally ready, emotionally, to have an empty corral, although I
feel grateful to have had three months with them. Peek and Tony have been
really easy and they've come a long way in a few months. Dropping testosterone
(they were gelded in April) gets a lot of the credit but I like to think
that our non-threatening, loving care helped too. 
From
timid, flighty ponies that we could barely catch and halter, they have progressed
to the point that our three year old neighbor, Cheyenne, is able to kiss
them on the nose! They adore attention now. In fact, they demand it. Tony,
particularly, is very verbal about making his needs known. We take them
for walks out on the road and boy, are we a sight! Truly a dog and pony
show! They have been loads of fun and we'll miss them.
It's time to turn attention to other things. 
Most
importantly to rebuilding our home life and healing our relationship.
I have the urge to nest, and Steve and I have proclaimed this "the
year of home". Yes, I have been cleaning the house (although
it's a good thing you can't see it right now.) We even washed all the
windows (don't worry Mom and Dad… they'll need it again by next summer!)
Planning for our future and our home feels good, and in addition to necessary
fall chores like firewood and rain gutters, we have endless projects we
hope to get done in preparation for a promised visit from my family next
summer. Of course we'll save some work for them too!
The most exciting projects relate to our new hot tub purchase. Actually the projects themselves aren't so thrilling … installing an electrical circuit, trenching, building a pad, etc … but the hot tub is exciting! We are putting it next to our giant old redwood tub which will be reincarnated into a cold plunge. And of course, the new tub inspires new landscaping (a good thing as my current garden is sadly neglected and rather pathetic).
It's been an irony to me that in the midst of our marital crisis we have been surrounded by weddings … we're looking forward to our dear friend Rodger's wedding in September and Michele & Shaun's wedding in October. And now with Westi and Mike's engagement … it just proves the world is a rather strange place. Go figure … we're choosing to take it as a good omen. We're even talking about our own vow renewal ceremony, perhaps next summer when family is near. last • next
