Addie's Gift

Corinne was not the only one who sent a gift home with Boompa - Addie sent me something, too.

Addie and Snickerdoodle during a visit to Indiana in 2017. (Naturally I took all the kids out to the barn!)

What Addie gifted me with was highly unusual and is very, special to me. See if you can tell what it is that she sent. (I made this video to thank her.)

Could you tell what it was? 

Addie is a violinist. Her bow is made from horsehair, and she has been carefully saving the strands that break for me.

Definitely a unique gift that is reflective of Addie's interest in the violin as well as her thoughtfulness and love for me.

As it said in the video, I cried.

Corinne's Gift

Two weeks after my surgery, our newest granddaughter, Melissa Jean, was blessed in Church.

Sadly, because of my surgery, I was not able to travel all the way to Florida and back, so we decided that Craig would go without me. Lisa and Curt kept an eye on me during his absence.

Pony Pal Corinne was born the day I brought Abby home from Indiana Horse Rescue, and a joke between Corinne and me is that she and Abby are twins since they share a birthday. In fact, when she was little, Corinne called Abby, "my tin hoss."

The "twins" enjoying their sisterhood (and a candy cane) in 2107.

Corinne is a very thoughtful girl, and she wanted to send me a little something with Craig when he came home. She chose a candy cane that she had been saving since last Christmas and told him that it was for her twin horse. (She can say it correctly now; I miss that sweet little baby phrase!)

 We took it out to Abby the day after Craig flew home from Florida.

I decided that it would be nice if Corinne could see her twin horse enjoying the gift she'd sent.

So Craig took a couple of videos to share with her.

The verdict? Delicious!!

Thank you, Pony Pal Corinne!

No Cancer

I spent much of the day in Indianapolis Tuesday at my post op appointment and after what seemed like interminable waiting, got my pathology report.

I do not have cancer.

The tumor was completely removed with wide margins as were eight lymph nodes and my spleen. In fact, I was told that since they got everything and there is no evidence of cancer, then I do not even need to do follow ups. I am done traveling down to Indianapolis for check ups!

Since half my pancreas is gone I do have to watch my blood sugar, and I have to be cautious with fried foods as the pancreas helps digest those, too. I am also at a higher risk for pneumonia and several other illnesses that the spleen helps to fight, and so I have to get periodic injections to boost my immunity. I can do all that.

It's hard to describe how I feel - relieved, grateful, humbled, blessed, teary, and very, very empathetic to those who have been on this journey or are just beginning it as well as for those whose pathology reports came back with different news than mine.

I do not have cancer. Delicious words!

Jewelry with a History

The Battle of Tippecanoe was fought just a few miles from my high school, and so the name of my high school is William Henry Harrison. (He later became president of the United States.) The school's symbol is Harrison mounted on a horse.

I thought it was so cool when I was in high school to have a horse as our mascot. (Truth be told, I still do!)

The school followed the 1811 theme so closely that we even had mounted dragoons that marched with our band in parades.

 Me on my Quarter Horse, Cee Hunt, in the mid 1970s.

It was a lot of fun, and we even had a cannon that was pulled behind the horses when we marched. (It is still fired when the football team scores a touchdown. I live close enough to the school that I can hear the booms on Friday nights.)

Today I came across my old high school class ring.

 It was a struggle to get good photos of it. That's my birthstone, a peridot, in the middle.

 And there's William Henry Harrison mounted on his horse on one side of the ring.

The year I graduated and music emblems are on the other side. 

 But there's also some real horse history with (and on) the ring, too. See that divot in the band?

That's a little memento from my horses, and the time that I nearly lost my right ring finger.

Back then, we used a mix of metal and rubber feed tubs to grain our horses. You can see two of the metal ones on the left in the photo. (The pony is Pokey, a really sweet boy who could count and do other tricks.)

One day I was heading down to feed the horses, and they were milling around in anticipation. A scuffle broke out among them, and so to break it up, I picked up one of those empty metal tubs with the intention of tossing it into the paddock, thinking that the noise as it landed would surprise and stop them.

Unfortunately, the edge of my ring caught on the underside of the curled lip of the tub as I threw it. The tub jerked my finger and hand and pulled me so far off balance that I stumbled, and then the tub broke free of the ring and bounced onto the ground.

I nearly lost my finger and the ring was damaged.

I remember my father being very upset - he, too, had nearly lost a finger once because of a ring he was wearing, and to the day he died he refused to wear any rings. (Not even a wedding ring.) He was that affected by his near loss. 

Dad had cautioned me about wearing this ring, or any other, when I was working with the horses and he had told me why. I had not listened, and I nearly paid a price for that.

I haven't worn my high school class ring since high school, but I do occasionally pull it out when I am going through my jewelry box and take a look at it. Always, always, always, I remember the day when I nearly lost my finger while wearing it. The history that accompanies my ring is more than just high school memories - those memories encompass that plus my earliest horses and my father and his love for me.

I slipped the ring back into my jewelry box with a wistful smile and a few tears.