Update on Cottage

It has been over  month since we moved out of the motor home and into the cottage.
We moved before we moved the motor home over here, so there was some maneuvering to get the stuff we needed here and out of our previous home.

We got the parking lot in between the barn and cottage and we then moved the MH over here and got it ready for the winter. It now sits on the east side of the cottage and is plugged to keep the batteries charged.

We got the couch from Mike and Barb's house and it fits nicely. We need a couple more tables for the living room.

Mom's art

Mom's art

Dad's paint by number

We have gotten some new wall hangings and Mike had some that he wasn't using. He had some of Mom & Dad's artwork. Years ago they went through an artist phase in their lives and this is some of their work.

Living room

Sewing room

my desk

Bedroom

Brenda's reading area in bedroom

The weather has turned of cold throughout the country and the low temperature here was 10 degrees and we had a high today of 15. We have wintered in the south for the last 30+ years and we are chilled to the bone today. The cottage is warm but it is sooo cold out doors. The heater does cycle on and off so the house is well insulated.
We were supposed to get several inches of snow yesterday, but that didn't materialize. We are thankful, even though we did not venture of of the property today.

On a sad note, we are probably going to lose Cleo in a few days. She has not eaten anything since last Thursday. We took her to the vet on Thursday and he removed almost 11 oz of fluid off of her abdomen. She has been diagnosed with probable heart disease which is filling her abdomen with fluid. She was prescribed with a diuretic and a beta blocker, but neither one seems to be doing any thing. She doesn't seem to be suffering as she sleeps most of the time. She is drinking water and urinating but no poo for several days. We thought she might eat something after the fluid was removed but she won't even take her treats from our hand now.

We have taken in a rescue horse that we are fostering. She is a 4-5 year old Tennessee Walker. She was skin and bone when we got her about 3 weeks ago. She has gained about 150# since we got her and she is a sweetheart.
We don't think that she has had any training as she has no manners and doesn't lead well.
I turn the horses out every morning, and I put a halter on her to lead her out. If I don't move fast enough to suit her, after I open the door to her stall, she pushes me from behind. She is quite gentle, but can get quite impatient.
The vet was here today to check on her and vaccinate her. She was quite pleased with her progress.
We will keep her probably until March when adoption will be attempted.
Mike and Barb are Paso Fino people and a Tennessee Walkeris not in their plans.

Ta ta for now

Getting Settled

We have just about gotten everything into the house out of the motor home. Things are settling into place.
We have moved things around as we have found better uses for the space and more convenient to our uses.

The parking lot for the barn is going in today. Just road gravel, but it will alleviate the mud when it rains. the guy that did our concrete work is doing the parking lot. We have 2 horse trailers in the way of the work and we will be pulling them out of the way this morning.

After the parking lot is in we will move the coach over to the house. I winterized it and closed up the slides, now all I have to do is disconnect the electricity and back it out of where it has been for the last 11 months.
I cannot back it out without Mikes direction and stay on the concrete. The slab was designed for an RV, ours wasn't here when the pad was designed so there are some curves in the approach that require a spotter on the outside to help navigate it back onto the driveway.
Also, there is not enough room to turn the coach around so I have to back it all the way out to the road. The driveway has 3 curves in it and backing it out isn't easy. I have done it before and with the help of a spotter it can be done much more easily.

Brenda's hours have increased to just under 20 hours per week. This is very helpful at this time of year. She enjoys her job and is glad for the increase in hours. Unfortunately she had to work Thanksgiving, so she missed dinner at our niece's home. It was a nice gathering although 2 of the nephews were not there. We missed them.

We have been working on the barn. Adding 6 pallets of shavings for the stalls, the former green house is filling up.
We are also parking the tractor and lawn mower in there, too.
Along with the work shop area it is getting pretty crowded.
We are taking one or two bales of hay out everyday so that is helping.

We are preparing for boarders. We have posted signs in conspicuous places around the property. Like "absolutely no smoking in the stable area" and the signs pertaining to the inherent danger of Equine Activities and the limited liability to the owners of the stable.
These are important and necessary. The insurance companies require the posting of these signs of limiting liability.

The stalls are nearly complete. They only need to have the rubber pads placed and the shavings added when the stall is rented. We have the water buckets and the feeders, but they will need to be installed prior to renting the space. We intend to start boarding other horses in  the Spring.

Ta ta for now.