How'd it go today?

[stig]

Had my usual sunday dressage training under the tutelage of a swiss expert.

My best friend since childhood has been diagnosed with liver cancer and is in Chemo right now.
His outlook is pretty bleak.

So we try to keep some happiness in our lives.
One of those is being taught dressage by Margot aka. the mail order bride, who is a very accomplished Baroque rider ( how many riders do you know, who have had their horse do a full Capriole and kick a Rottweiler over a fence).

She is a merciless teacher.
I've gotten more praise from Japanese karate trainers than from her.
With her, it is all about the horses, us riders are just a neccessary nuisance.

Today everything worked perfect.
The horses were unusually well behaved, despite the fact that our local rich guy was having a " Kill as many grain fed and released pheasants as you can in 2 hours" day.

Sounded like the Battle of Verdun, minus the shelling.

It is the small things that count.

 

[Tree09]

Sorry to hear about your friend tho.

 

[stig]

Yea, that is just such a bummer. I really can't imagine life without him.
We've always been there for each other.

We were talking a couple of days ago, and were detailing the different types of Chemo, that we have to undergo and the prospects for a life after them.
Suddenly he looked at me and said: " Do you think we'll end up talking about this shit for the rest of our lives", so we quickly began talking about Trump instead.
Way more fun!

 

[Mick!]

It’s a pita when health (or lack thereof) becomes the main focus of your life, I’m sorry for your friend, and hope your illness is fleeting.

Back in the Uk for the last week in January for the funeral of an old family friend, out of respect really, not my loss, don’t worry.

He was 76, relatively healthy, but was ill for two weeks with (what turned out to be) pneumonia, massive heart attack did for him.

His son (my BIL) regrets that a trip to the doctor could have bought another ten years of family life with him and his grandchildren.

No real point to this post I suppose.

 

[stig]

Except for telling people to goddamned well go to the doctor, when they are sick.

A lesson I learned when my immune system went pear shaped.

 

[Mick!]

Well yes, maybe that was the point!

 

[Merle Nelson]

I don't have good words to describe it, certainly not the right words....especially typing in the presence of people facing potentially life changing illness but I have always enjoyed the contacts I have had doing tree work where people had illness etc but didn't really have time for it. For instance in conversation I may be aware they are dealing with something, or they may have told me at some point because it was germaine at that moment but then all the rest of the conversation is about what they are passionate in life about. That's the way I want to live life.

We are all going to die, our only choice is what our focus will be while we live. Stig and his friend seem to me to be a great example of making the choice for something more worthwhile to them.

(I do see the value in sharing facts, feelings and info with family and friends - not talking against any of that.)

 

[Burnham]

Sorry to hear about your old friend's cancer, Stig. Best wishes.

 

[Mick!]

Stump grinding tomorrow, maybe one more drink..

 

[MasterBlaster]

Hell yea!

That's my motto...

 

[Raj]

Sad news out there.

 

[squisher]

My weekend shift got pulled off so now I have to work five days a week for a month or so here. Working graveyards this week which is 12am-7 at my mill. After pulling 12's a seven hour shift with a HR of breaks will seem like a part time gig. It's the prime shift for m-f IMO. Seven hrs on-site and paid for eight plus a .35c shift premium. Should get my first aid orientation and first aid room key maybe tonight then I get the buck an HR extra for first aid.

Had my dishwasher sh-t the bed this weekend and cause some drywall damage to the ceiling and one wall in my basement below it. Pain in the ass. Just replacing the leaker with a new unit right now. It never ends with a home it seems. I don't sweat the small stuff though.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Had my dishwasher sh-t the bed this weekend

Sounds like she needs some Metamucil!

uhhh... wait

 

[Tree09]

You can get a pan to set them in, and even one with a pump. That way, if you have them where you really can't get water everywhere, you are still good. What was wrong with it?

 

[squisher]

It was leaking out the bottom. Didn't explore it overly, just pulled it out and fired it up and saw water pouring out. It was pretty vintage I think. It's out on the porch now and the new one is in and running. I'll cut back the drywall probably tomorrow and find the extent of it. Get a fellow in to patch in some new stuff(my drywalling never turns out), paint it up and Bob's your uncle. Disaster averted.

 

[FireFighterZero]

Haha! At first I thought I was reading about how you had gotten to practice your new first aid skills.

 

[Jonny]

Sorry to hear about your friend, Stig. I hope for many more happy times for the both of you. Get busy living, as they say.

Eleven hours and 45 minutes to go

Minus 25F with windchill. Too cold for the road salt to melt anything. Driving to work was a friggin adventure.

 

[treebilly]

Got ourselves and a few nieghbors dug out today. Also dropped the girls off at my parents for a sleepover. Roads still aren’t to pleasant but passable. Only six inches of snow but with the population in the area it might as well have been two feet. People get really stupid when we get over a couple of inches. Single digit temps now with a windchill of -10. I’ll be out before sunrise recleaning the drive and splitting firewood since they already cancelled work for tomorrow. Fine by me. I was supposed to be climbing and topping trees at an airport because they are messing with accurate wind readings.

 

[MasterBlaster]

No snow here... trying to see the super blood wolf moon tonight.

 

[FireFighterZero]

We are clouded over.


Rats!

 

[Bodean]

watching Football, Go Chiefs!!!

Sorry about your bud, Stig.

 

[Burnham]

Clouded here too...no mooning tonight .

 

[Stumpshot]

Hopefully he’s on his way back because everything from Cleveland south to 70 got buried in snow on Saturday.

He's rolling home in our new truck, somewhere on I-70 (maybe Illinois, maybe Missouri now). Guess they cleared Cleveland to Columbus fine enough to get through away from the lake effect. Hopefully some pics tonight if he gets back before dark, otherwise we'll get some tomorrow.

Tomorrow is 2 dead hackberries, just a mile or so from the house. Drop the power lines and down they come! Hopefully with the weather above freezing, we can even give the new bucket truck an easy first run.

 

[treebilly]

Who did you get this from? I’m pretty up to date on shit for sale in my area and I don’t recall anything close. You can pm me if you want to keep it on the DL. The boss is adding a second crew dedicated to Cleveland for one of our contracts and is looking at buying an old firehouse as a second shop

 

[Stumpshot]

It was out of Akron; I don't have many details at present -- 75' reach + elevator, forestry package (chip body + tool boxes), standard tranny.

Drive shaft fell out en route. Towed into the Saint Louis area, so he's booking a motel. Off for a 5 hour rescue mission (each way)!