My packing is not started yet. My excuse is that I'm tired when I get home from work and have to cook (or at least reheat) supper, then it's nearly 9 o'clock and I'm ready to sleep. One nice problem with packing is that since I have lost 20 pounds I will have to try on any clothes I haven't worn recently to see if they still fit. I also have some old favorites from before I gained, maybe my favorite dress will fit me again. It's a size 8 so that is a longshot, but at least I will try it on.

Another part of vacation prep is making horse care plans. Katie, my 29 year old retired dressage horse lives in our back yard barn. Lucky for me, Lorraine , who lives 2 houses down the road, has two horses an is willing to swap horse care. My boyfriend Alton, who is not interested in travel, will feed Katie 3 time a day and check that she is OK when he locks her in for the night. That is a lot of extra work for him and I'm grateful, but he DON'T shovel manure unless it is going from the compost pile to his organic garden. That is where dear Lorraine comes in. She will come over once a day to dig out the stall, clean Katie's feet, dose her with liquid medication for Cushings disease, and give her a much appreciated belly scratch.

Advance horse care prep was buying 15 extra bales of shavings and 15 bags of bedding pellsts. I dropped down 12 bales of hay from the loft and pre-measured 45 little bags of grain with added vitamins so all Alton needs to do is pour gran in the feeder and giver her a couple of flakes of hay. Lorraine will also scrub and refill the ater bucket as needed.