My Life Is So Interesting...

So, I love animals. All animals, but my favorite (forgive me my puppies!) are horses. I have been horse crazy since I was a little girl. My earliest memories are of a pony ride at the fairgrounds in Florida when I was no more than three years old. Ever since that moment, I knew these magnificent creatures would be in my life.

I now have three equine members of my family: Penny (Registered Name: How Much Money) a lovely 16yo Quarter Horse mare with good lucks and a loving personality. She was my daughter's first horse and considers my dear daughter her personal property. Second is AraBella, part Welsh Pony part Arabian. Bella was my first rescue adoption. She had given birth only to have her foal stolen by the alpha mare in her pasture. It has taken over a year to get her back on track and happy. She loves to jump and has a typical pony attitude.

My newest addition came last summer - Vince. Registered Name - Vincent Van Versa, Vince is 12yo and has just been confirmed as having been exposed to EPM, a parasitic infection in horses which attacks the Central Nervous System. The symptoms Vince has include tripping, loss of balance and moodiness. After much conversation we have elected to take him to the University of Auburn vet school for further testing.

Every source I have read in the past twenty-four hours since our suspicions were confirmed in a blood test says time is of the essence in treatment of EPM. While I do not want to subject Vince to unnecessary pain, I do want to know for sure if this is EPM or just a neurological problem. Also, it is important to keep a journal of good days and bad days to track his progress.

So, I will be starting a new blog, in addition to this one and my CATALYST - Guardian Rising blogs. While I will try to keep this blog positive and display my usual acerbic wit, occasionally my trials with Vincent may spill over. If it does, I ask you to bear with me. As with any writer, my personal life affects what I write. Believe it or not, it takes a lot of effort to be pithy.

With this I mind, I close with tonight's thought. Animals were put on this planet as man's companions. Our treatment of the animal kingdom in general is appalling, and I weep for the innocents sent to the hell of slaughter or gas chambers because of man's incompetence and cruelty. As a species we should be ashamed of how we treat the animals of the world.

No, I am not a vegetarian. However I do eat organically raised hormone free beef and free range chicken and eggs from chickens that have been fed a vegan diet. I also do not eat any animal with which I have developed a personal relationship or who are not meant for food, it - horses. Not everyone suscribes to my ideology and that's fine. This is America - we all have a right to say what we want. You have the right to not read this blog.

But I remind you of this - would you eat your family dog?

It's Not Fat Tuesday But They Still Party In NOLA

Since this past weekend, I have been visiting a city I had managed to avoid for 49 years of my life - New Orleans, LA. Why have I avoided this wide spot on the Mississippi? Well, let me think:

1 - I don't drink. Don't get me wrong. I am not one of those holy roller Southern Baptists who disavow drinking as sinful. Jesus drank wine and so did Abraham and Noah. Drinking of itself is not wrong, it is the obsessive drinking that becomes the problem. I don't do either. Just wore out my taste buds early I guess. Watching all the drunk people in New Orleans starts out funny, but the later the hour, the worst it gets.

2 - It is below sea level. Well, most of New Orleans is below sea level. The French Quarter is 10 feet above sea level. So, always remember to always know where your life vest is, just like on a cruise ship. And when the Hurricane spotters say leave - get the heck out of Dodge (or in this case, New Orleans!)

3 - I am not a prude, but half dressed barely legal teenage girls dressed in thongs and stilettos with pasties trolling for men from the doorway of the Hustler 'Gentlemens' Club were pure raunchy. Do their mama's know they dress like that in public?

All kidding aside, this is a town with as many people types as stories about them. Everyone we have met has been friendly, helpful, knowledgeable and only a few have been truly drunk. Maybe I need to change my opinion. Perhaps another order of beignets and some cafe au lait? Bon.

Tomorrow - touring the French Quarter