It's Been a While

I haven't posted in a while and I thought I would catch up on a few things.

Work: Work has been bumping along as usual so no real issues there.

Family: Ana is adjusting well to her new life and family life is wonderful. Some typical kid stuff but that was to be expected. I only wish there were kids in the neighborhood more her age to play with. Ana is doing great with her Tutoring Club and Tae Kwon Do. She loves Tae Kwon Do but could do without the Tutoring Club. Getting a lot better in math though. School will be starting soon so maybe she will find some friends there. Lisa is doing well. Nana is hanging in there but not sure for how long. Her mind is really starting to go down hill. Mom is in dire need of full time professional help. Just a mess. Russ just had some more surgery. He's doing OK. I think of him every day and hope for the best. Cathy is doing OK. I don't hear anything from Keith, Tim & Donna so can't say much.

Pets: All the animals are doing fine. The horses, Pali is retired and happy. He's 24 now. Bonnie is starting to mature and doing great under saddle. I am taking lessons on Tanner and applying them to Bonnie so I am getting better at riding too. I am giving Tanner September and October off from training to ride him more and make a comparison to Bonnie even though he is 2 years younger than her. I'm afraid I'm going to have to make a very very hard decision this year about horses. Ellie is in training with Leah and Lisa and Ana are sharing Ellie. Sumo and Jack the dogs are the same. I need to get their shots along with the horses. Pablo, the parrot, is doing great. I need to spend some more time him though. Hard to give "quality time" to everyone. Seems like someone is always getting short changed. Pablo does not like or is afraid of Ana. I'm not sure if that will ever change. Ana pretty much feels the same about Pablo.

Misc: The house is in great shape. I need to do some yard work. The inside could use some painting but we need to hold off on that for a while. There are some other things I need to look into. The 8ft pool was the best $50 we've spent in a long time. I need to make a sand frame for it next year to even it out a little more. We've spent many hours in it especially, with the 7 days of 100+ degree heat we had a couple of weeeks ago.

eSaddlery: I'm not sure about the business. I'm afraid that it's long term prospects might not be that great. The economy is softening and with other things going on I don't think any way near the amount of time it should have devoted to it is being done. Advertising & promotion, email campaigns, web site overhaul and everything are seriously needed. There is a lot of inventory and not much sales. Clothing really needs to go and I don't want to bring any back from "Show of Champions" in October. I hope we do well there and Christmas otherwise the monthy expenses are going to be much.

Me: I'm doing well health wise. My back reminds me once in a while that it will never be the same. Lisa and I are practising Tae Kwon Do with Ana. She gets to kick me when I put the pads on. She thinks that is great fun. Stress levels are moderating. I'm catching up on a lot of stuff. My riding is improving with lessons. I'm losing a pound here and there. I'm starting to drink less coffee and more green tea. I really need to get the house to eat more home prepared meals instead of the fast food, sandwiches and take out we have been doing. Bad for health and finances. Twenty-four years at work is starting to take it's toll. I'm bored silly at times while being busy. That's sad. I could do much more in the managing area but, I'm always busy with production systems with no one else to take care of them and there is currently no opportunities to manage a group. I'm starting to read again. I'm loving it. I miss it a lot. I know when I hit retirement, all bets are off. Reading, smoking a pipe, cooking good food and alchohol will all be fair game. I'll work in a Book Store. Aren't dreams great?

TTFN