New Hampshire...the first days

After the shock of falling down through my newly appointed bed the first night and the fact that it was bloody cold up here, I began to feel a little ill in the following days.

Mind you it all boiled down to the fact that I was pretty dehydrated and wrecked tired from the packing, driving 25hours with lack of water and sleep. Once we had settled in the apartment, resurrected the Lyons Tae and caught up on sleep I was a new woman!

All the horses travelled well, they did lose some condition but that was expected. However, the colder weather had all their backs up!!

Pam was due to fly to Europe as soon as she got back from clinicing in Ohio. Her holiday was both business and pleasure as she was going to visit family in France and then on a 3 day horse hunting trip in Denmark for herself and clients.

Of course we had a list as long as my nicely grown out haircut.

We had the whole barn, indoor arena mirrors, windows and screens to clean, the outdoor arena fence to put up, our apartment and her house to clean and put order to again. Luckily, we only had max 6 horses in the barn to look after until Pam came home!

                                                             The tack room floor needed painting

                                       
I used to work for my mother's family business, Shanahan Paints. I was a colour consultant and assistant to all home decor needs. My Dulux dog was not happy that I was using other brands :( Nonetheless, I had stairs to sand, stain and varnish.

                   Our only way out of the apartment since the stairs were undergoing a beauty treatment. Scary.

Finished product!! I know, I only had a circular electric sander, hence the edges are not great. I'm calling it "New England Rustic" ;)

The best thing was though, was that Shauna's family came over for Easter week. It was just so good to see them all again. They really made me miss my family, but I am thrilled that they could see how happy Shauna and I are here. They saw us ride ( I had Wyvern to ride while Pam was away). They bought us a kettle (YAY!!! No more boiling water in a saucepan!) and they fed us and all!

But the best part was......

                                                         No more falling through my bed in the dead of night!!!

                                                       Fair play Bernard and Kevin Finneran!

The rest of April went pretty quietly and smoothly, until Pam came back and kicked my butt for letting Bernie (Wyvern) take me over ;) So I knew then my dressage education was going to take a major turn for the better!

Next post...pictures of Foster Meadow!

The big move!

I am now royally annoyed at myself for not keeping on top of this. Consider this a mid-year resolution!!

Quick few posts and pictures up to the present day methinks!

Early April was our marker date on getting up to New Hampshire. So the logistics behind it were pretty simple. Ali and Shauna leave a day earlier than the horses, driving in convoy that consisted of Pam's truck and trailer ( packed to the scut with all the barn things) and Shauna in Ali's car. So that left me on my ownsies in the Mini :D

                                               Ali's amount of things broke the wheelbarrow

                                                                  Packing the trailer!

It was 5am when the girlies left, so I had the barn to do myself with the help of Pam throughout part of the day. I made sure that all the horses were happy, clean and that all their belongings were all ready to go. I had to make sure that all the horses' halters had shipping fuzzies on them and that each horse had a pair of bell boots.

It was WAY too quiet that day, no Ali and Shauna, no clients just me and a handful of horses. Too weird!

D-day approached, I was up at 4am stripping the stalls trying to make my workload a little easier once the shippers start to arrive. We had three separate shippers due to come that morning. Our own being the first, which was scheduled for around 6am to take 6 horses back to Pam's. Then Alpenkonig's was due before 8am, and Remy's around then also.

It was hell for leather getting our own guys on, as the shippers were not just taking the horses, but all the feed, hay, water and feed tubs, barn utensils etc that we needed for the past 2 days. It was easily 25 degrees celsius at 6am that morning, I was a sweaty mess before the horses even got on!! Humid and dark. Totally weird.

                           Shipper has arrived!!  'Twas like looking out for the Xmas Coca Cola truck!!

The last friend I made in Florida!!

It was a relief when our guys finally went underway, as then all that needed to be done was strip the stalls and get the last two horses gone.

By the time all that was done, I had sweated through my shorts and t-shirt covered in a layer of shavings dust and more dust!! A shower was in dire need! There was no way that I could face driving 12hrs or more feeling stinky, itchy and icky! Quick shower, packed the mini, of course 200miles down the road I realised I left my overnight bag and all my cosmetics behind. Typical me. Don't worry folks, I got it "mailed" to me the following day.

So by the time I was ready to hit the road it was just short of 10am. I dropped Pam off at WPB airport as she was travelling off to teach a clinic and I was on my way!! Next stop, North Carolina to a hotel.

                                                           I wanted to shoot myself

Stayed in a pretty ok hotel, all I needed was a bed really and I was off again by 6am the following morning.

I handled the drive by myself quite well. I thought about nothing really, just bopped along to the music and took in whatever sights I-95 could offer me. It was amazing how much varied landscape I passed through the first day. I drove the length of Florida, into Georgia, South Carolina and then North Carolina. I drove through the palm tree scattered landscape of Florida to big leafy green hilly states like North Carolina.

I only stopped when I really needed to. I would tie in eating, peeing and getting petrol into each stop if I could!! I really wasn't too comfortable stopping regularly since I was on my own. And I stupidly drank very little the whole drive to minimise stopping which I paid for dearly a few days after I got to New Hampshire.

Second day went smoothly, drove through North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, part of Vermont and then into New Hampshire. I knocked 2 hrs off Shauna and Ali's time for that same journey. Lads, I should have gotten a million speeding tickets! That Mini Cooper S series is a fecking rocket!!! Not only that, but it only took maybe 4 tanks of petrol for the while 1500mile trip. I am in love.

Got to Pam's about 7.30pm. It was freezing cold and a major kick up the arse, as I can now say I am a soft weather person!!

Hit the bed as soon as I was able, only to figure out at 1am that my bed was tied together with socks.