Vernon Township Puzzle Hustle

I've always been an avid puzzler and puzzle-lover. Puzzles have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. It may have started years ago, when my mom saw that the local township community hall was hosting a contest for with an age category for grade schoolers. My mom pulled out all our puzzle boxes and timed me while I practiced on the kitchen floor of our first family home. 

I ended up placing top 3 at the event. My mom was so proud and couldn't stop telling everyone about it. 

Before my husband and I bought our own home, I never had the space or a proper location to keep puzzles out long enough to complete them. Then for my birthday last year, my husband got me this thing of beauty:

Since getting my puzzle table, I've been completing around 1-3 puzzles a month. Since becoming a mom, I've been actively striving to find and make time for myself and working on puzzles has become my main me-time activity in the evenings when both kids are down for the night. 

My husband has always been a strong supporter of allowing me time to do my hobbies...and even though he's not a huge fan of puzzles, he generously indulges me. Earlier last year, I signed us up for a team speed puzzle competition at a local library. My husband and I came in second; the first-place team had 4 adults so it was a slim chance we were going to beat them...but holy moly, I had so much fun. The thrill from competition is addictive and I was bitten by the speed puzzle bug again.  

Since then I've been keeping my eye open for other speed events, and earlier this month I managed to get the last slot to the Vernon Township Puzzle Hustle team competition and also found a local teammate for the event while my husband stayed home with our kids. 

There was an incentive to get to the event early and on time as the first two teams to check-in would receive a 1-minute pause card to use against another team of their choice during the event. I somehow managed to get to the venue as the second team to arrive so we got the second, and last, pause card in play. 

My teammate L showed up about 10 minutes later. We picked out our puzzle table and did a fun mini puzzle to warm-up while we waited for the other teams to arrive. Looking around the room, we were the smallest team there with only 2 people, while others were around 3-5 people. No worries though, we were in it to have fun...but let's be honest, who doesn't like to win?  

At the 5-minute warning, we went over our game plan one last time. When time started, we opened up our tote bag and hit a huge snag...Our puzzle, new in box, was already completed! We immediately flagged down an event organizer and they quickly handed us a different puzzle to work on. The other teams thanked us for being honest and not cheating. 

L and I were definitely a little thrown off by the surprise, but we were able to hit our stride and moved along as planned. She's faster at certain things and I'm faster at other elements so we complemented each other pretty well.

Before we knew it, 500 pieces were done, and we came in first with a time of 56min 52sec.

Finishing under an hour was pretty great, and we were very happy with how we placed with just two people. It was such a nice feeling getting back into speed puzzling again. I'm excited to do more events soon! 

Roadworthy

It took a while but C has finally taken an interest in learning how to ride his bike in the past few weeks. 

The big thing nowadays is to start kids with something called balance or glide bike. Instead of using training wheels, the idea is that they first learn to balance and glide long before they graduate to a pedal bike and THEN being forced to figure out how to balance. 

If the weather is nice, we have been going out for walks around our neighborhood and local parks. First and foremost is teaching C how to safely cross the road, coming to full stop at every road intersection, looking both ways for cars, etc. When I was in 2nd grade, I had a classmate who was hit by a truck and didn't make it. That was nearly 30 years ago. 

While C rides his bike, I have been walking along and pushing T in a stroller or her push car. It works out for now, but my eventual goal is to get back to biking as well. 

Ever since my last bike got stolen while I was in college and living on campus (the locks got cut off, and we never found it), I haven't had it in my heart to get another bike.  But about 6-7 years ago, I joined a local cycling group and came very close to dipping my toes into mountain biking. During that time, I did a ton of research and learned about bikes, riding skills, maintenance, and gear, etc. I went shopping for a bike as well before life took a different turn. 

Trail biking has always been something I've wanted to get into though. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I remembered that my dad still had my grandfather's old bike that he used to run short errands around town during the 4-5 years that him and my grandmother lived in NJ. When they moved to Canada and my grandfather passed away several years later from cancer, my dad held onto a few things from them, including that bike. 

I stopped by my parents' house the other day and my dad had it out waiting for me. 

It's a bit of a disaster right now. The wheels need to be replaced, and a few more things need to get worked on. But with some TLC, it'll be ready for the roads again. 

A Decade Later

 This past January, "The Horseback Artist" hit a pretty big milestone... 

It's kind of amazing to think that I've been keeping this blog going and active for a decade! 

Some years have been better than others but I know full well that some of you have stuck around through it all. For those who have been reading from Day 1....Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your support and readership mean so very much to me. 

After giving much thought, I've decided that this blog will continue on though in a slightly different way. I love writing and blogging been great way to reflect and revisit my adventures with Quest. 

However times have changed, and so should this blog. I've always been a hobbyist and have too many interests to keep track of. I joke that when I retire (lol....), I have no shortage of things to keep my remaining days busy and full. If the new content isn't your thing or what you signed up for, I get it. We all change, but I do hope you decide to stick around!

Ride Season-al Blues

It's that time of year that social media reminds me that another season of distance riding is now underway. I took some time off from the community to have my kids and raise a family. Now that my daughter has just turned a year old, I am SO ready to jump back into the game with both feet first. 

Quest is sound, but she has told me that she prefers the semi-retired life which I'm perfectly happy to oblige. She's worth her weight in gold to educate my kids on horsemanship and how to ride. She's always still game for long rides whenever I want and need an escape on the trails.

When it comes to having a horse suitable for doing distance competitively though, I'm at a loss. I am also at place in my life where I probably shouldn't own another horse just yet. Turning to the community, I hoped to find a solution however so far every connection I've reached out to has resulted in dead ends or asking for an impossible.   

Inevitably when things like this happen, I find myself circling down in a spiral of familiar, unwanted thoughts and it never takes me anywhere good. And I have a confession to make...Even after doing this horse thing for almost 10 years, I still feel like the odd one out. Maybe it's me, maybe I'm a nuisance that no one wants to deal with. My husband has said the community doesn't seem really friendly and it's not worth trying to go back. 

But I don't want to believe it, my flaw has always been my extreme loyalty and belief that there are always good people out there. If you know me, I never am one to take no for an answer. But try as I might and nothing works out, I will learn to be okay with that. I will always have days like this to look forward to:  

Bittersweet

It had been a wonderful, blissful day away from social media and private messages as I celebrated my daughter's 1st birthday. Our families had gone home after dinner, the kids were down for the night. I sat down on the couch, winding down after a busy day and picked up my phone to catch up on missed messages. 

"I had to put Mel down today."  

I immediately called A and we cried together. 

A is one of my oldest friends, we met freshman year in high school during swim team practice and  quickly found out we shared a lot of similar interests. During our college years, we would do rent-a-horse trail rides and always said that if we both owned horses someday, we'd board together and trail ride everywhere. 

Many years later, our dreams came true....I found Quest and A found Mel. 

I remember my first ride on him all those years ago. A told me she found someone looking to rehome a mustang gelding and she wanted to get my opinion of him. We drove to the owner's barn. I got to test ride him in the arena and I ponied A as she rode him outside in the yard. He hadn't been ridden much and spent most of his 18+ some years a pasture ornament but he was sweet and steady, with not a mean bone in his body. 

Mel was exactly what A needed and exactly what I needed when I needed saddle time while Quest recovered and rehabbed from her suspensory. 

Most of the time he was happy to plod along. He did have his sassy moments, but those were very few and far in between.

Out on the trail, Mel was rock steady as the day was long. A and I boarded together for 2-3 years and we made the most of it when our schedules allowed. We did everything together. 

 

 

Rest in peace, Mel - you were a very good boy. 

Daylight Savings

Once you have kids, the whole daylight savings thing starts to make a lot less sense. Our family morning routine and bedtime schedules have been out of whack for days...but I'm hoping things will get better soon. 

On the upside, additional daylight also means more hours in the day for barn visits to hang out with my best mareface.

We did a family barn visit this past weekend and managed to beat out the rain before it hit the area hard. 

I was so relieved to see that Quest's eye is 100% better, and no follow-up vet visit was warranted thankfully! She is certainly looking and feeling like her old self again. 

I gave her a nice grooming session- all the rain and pasture mud made that a FUN challenge. And I also did a quick maintenance trim while the rest of the family napped in the car waiting for me. Asides from that pesky RF mild clubfoot that we need to balance out, her feet are solid and easy to work with. I really appreciate a horse with decent feet. 

More daylight also means more trail time with Quest very soon. As mareface gets along in years though, I've been intentional in adjusting expectations as well. I recently read a great article What Ever Happened to “Serviceably” Sound?  that affirmed enjoying your horse doesn't end just because they aren't 100% in every shape and form. "A horse can be less than perfect and still be wonderful."

As long as Quest is ready for adventure, we'll be out enjoying our trails and daylight together until the day she tells me otherwise.

NaMoPaiMo 2024 - Complete

My model inspiration for this year's NaMoPaiMo event comes with a story. Back in October, I was browsing through my social media accounts when I stumbled upon a parent looking for a small memorial gift for her son who had to say goodbye to his beloved mare recently. 

After leaving a comment on her post that I painted model horses, the lady immediately reached out asking for my prices and work examples. I told her I was happy to gift it to her son completely free, she was overwhelmed. 

I had the model prepped and ready to go for months but the past few months were tough. My husband has been dealing with a ton of work stress and late nights since January and it was inevitably spilling over to me. My creative juices took a huge hit as a result. But art has always been my happy place and resolved to push through with finishing this project and managed to get it done for NaMoPaiMo as well. 

Rest in peace, Dolly. You were so very loved by your little boy. 

Of Tandem Rides and Eyes

The start of 2024 has been quite something to be sure. Since moving Quest back out to SV, I haven't been able to see her as often as I would like but she's definitely living her best life in pasture and with lots of horsey friends. I sorely miss the days when she was close to home but it's getting harder and harder to find a place nearby that has a good balance of all the things that we both need. Knowing how much happier Quest is being pasture boarded, I can't in good conscience keep her in a stall just for my convenience either.   

I'm thankful for a supportive non-horsey husband though and we try to do as many family barn trips on the weekend as possible. And with winter slowly giving way to spring (fingers crossed), there is riding to be done! Mareface is always game for a quick adventure and my son has been enjoying all of our tandem bareback rides around the property. Quest has never put a foot wrong with him on board. She's really just the best <3 I'm hoping we can graduate to trail rides soon, maybe that'll be a goal for the summer. 

A couple weeks ago, Quest had her first mishap in years. This mare has a really strong sense of self-preservation that she rarely, if ever, needs a vet visit. However one morning a couple weeks ago, the BO texted me that she noticed during morning feeds that Quest's right eye was watering. It looked a million times better after the BO took her in and cleaned it up. It wasn't as scary looking anymore and Quest didn't seem any worse for the wear. As luck and timing would have it, the vet was coming out for dental work at the barn later that week and I had them check out Quest's eye just in case. 

It turns out that mareface had somehow scraped the inside of her bottom eyelid! No debris or foreign matter was found, no stitches or anything else was needed. Just daily application of an antibiotic ointment. I was so relieved that it wasn't anything worse as eye injuries can get pretty bad very quickly.

Fingers crossed for quick, speedy healing!