Sunday May 12, 2024
Dear Diary,
I woke up at 6 am. I slept deeply and had delightful dreams. I laid in bed for a half hour, basking in being at home. I could hear the ducks, chickens and geese carrying on, wanting to be let out. Christopher must have closed them in last night because I fell asleep before dark. At 6:30 am, I got up. I had pet sitting to do and I wanted to get to it. I let out the birds, who quacked, honked and clucked at me as they rushed out of their coops. When I went in the house. Christopher and Angel were still in bed. Christopher was awake but Angel was in bed. I gave Christopher a good morning hug and started warming up water for tea. I got dressed, fed Bits and made a smoothie. When the teapot whistled, I made my tea and headed out the door.
I stopped at the grocery store and stocked up on food on my way to my first pet sitting opportunity. The dogs came running up to the fence as I pulled into the driveway. I greeted them and checked their food bin. It still has food in it and I added to it, filling it up to the top. One of the dogs is pregnant and about to have puppies. I’m going to talk to her owner to see about getting her spayed after she has this litter. He’s an old school truck driver and might not do it but I’m going to talk to him about it anyway.
I gave the dogs treats and some wet canned food. I kept looking for the goats that usually come running up when I’m feeding the dogs but they didn’t show up. I walked around the property and found them way in the back. They saw me and came running. I had my stick with me in case the mean one tried to butt me but he actually seemed happy to see me. I talked to them and dogs while we walked back to the front of the property. I told them all I would see them in a couple of weeks and drove to my next pet sitting opportunity.
I arrived at the next place at a little after 8 am. They have 2 dogs I am taking care of and staying overnight with for 10 days. Sofia is a dachshund and Chance is part hound. Chance is the dog that used to be ours until he got re-homed. I greeted the dogs and Bits was excited to play with them. I started to get settled in when Angel called me from Christopher’s phone. She wanted to go to church. I told her I would come back home so we could go. I loaded up Chance and Sofia and brought them with me to my house, which I had permission from the owners to do.
I arrived home and all the dogs were happy to see Sofia and Chance. While they all greeted each other, I kept Chance on his leash. Sofia is very mellow and went in the house to avoid all the excitement. Once everyone settled down, I got ready for church. Angel was already ready and waiting. She was excited to go in hopes that some of her friends would be there.
We arrived a church a half hour early and I visited with people before the service started. One other kid was there and Angel was happy about that. The service was good and the message I received was to examine my heart and to pray for a soft heart in areas where it is hardened. When the service was over, all the moms were prayed over and received a carnation flower in honor of Mother’s Day.
When I got home, it was starting to rain and Christopher was wondering what to do about his motorcycle that had broken down in the gulley last week. He had tried to ride across the gulley when there was water in it. The water has been deeper than he thought and it had flooded the motorcycle. His motorcycle has been down in the gulley ever since. He hasn’t been able to get it running and it’s too heavy for him to push out by himself. He was able to push it above the water line but that’s it. I suggested that maybe with the two of us working together we could push it out of the gulley. He thought about it and said we could attempt it and see what happened. I was sure we could do it. His plan was for us to push it out of the gulley, then we would hook it to my side-x-side and pull start it by using my side-x-side to pull it up the trail.
Christopher and Angel walked to the gulley and I followed in my side-x-side. I backed up the edge of the gulley and walked down to the bottom where Christopher was standing with his motorcycle. We started pushing the motorcycle up the embankment, Christopher pushed from the front and I pushed from the back. It wasn’t easy, the motorcycle was really heavy. We made it halfway up and took a small rest before tackling the steepest part that was also the slickest part, with it being wet red clay. We pushed and slide around some but we made it to the top. Yay! I thought that whole experience had been great fun. I love doing challenging stuff like that.
Christopher used straps to hook the motorcycle to the side-x-side. He got on the motorcycle and I started driving the side-x-side up the trail; pulling the motorcycle with Christopher on it behind me. We got to the house and I stopped. Christopher said the motorcycle had almost started, he wanted to change the spark plug and try again.
He changed the spark plug and I turned around so we could go down the driveway. He said if the motorcycle wasn’t started by the end of the driveway, to keep going down the dirt road. I pulled him down the driveway and onto the dirt road. The motorcycle started up. I pulled him a little ways further until I realized he was telling me to stop. I stopped, he unhooked his motorcycle and drove it home. I put the straps in the back of the side-x-side and followed him. He parked his motorcycle and let it run a long time to get the motor nice and dry.
I decided it would be fun to take the dogs on a ride in the side-x-side. I loaded Jake, Chance, Healer and LacyJane in the back and tied them in. Sofia and Bits sat in front with Angel and myself. We rode down the county road for a few miles. The dogs were smiling and having a great time. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves, Angel and I did too.
When we pulled up to the house, I untied the dogs in back and decided to see how Chance would do off leash. I know him well since I worked with him a lot when I was training him and he responds to my commands. I let him run free and he thought that was the best thing ever. He frolicked with the other dogs and zoomed back and forth but he stayed nearby and didn’t chase the chickens.
I got a ladder and a bowl and started harvesting mulberries while keeping an eye on Chance. Sofia was in the house laying down and I knew she would be fine. I harvested a bunch of mulberries. Then I went in the house and started putting eggs in egg cartons. Christopher had gathered a lot of eggs while we were gone and we needed to either sell them or give them away. I heard noises outside and investigated. Chance was chasing the cat. I decided it was time to take him and Sofia home, where Chance could run free without causing problems. At home he has an invisible fence boundary that he stays inside of. I put Chance in the truck while I packed up some things I would need overnight. Then I put Bits and Sofia in the truck, hugged Christopher and Angel and headed to town.
When I arrived at Chance and Sofia’s house, Chance and Bits ran around playing while I unloaded the truck. Sofia went in the house and laid down. I set up my vitamix and put all my food in the fridge. Then I made homemade dog food for Bits in their instant pot. Those things are great. While it was cooking I sat in the couch and wrote my blog. The big TV screen was calling to me but I refused to watch anything until my blog was written, I had 2 days to catch up on and I knew if I started watching TV before I finished it, I wouldn’t get it done.
When I finished writing my blog, I edited and posted it. I fed the dogs and looked up something good to watch on TV. I was determined to watch something that would be a good use of my time. I found a movie about a kid who stays with his grandma on a Navajo reservation called Frybread Face and Me. It was a simple movie but I liked it and it had some good messages.
The movie ended at 7 pm and I planned on going to bed early. I put Chance in his room for the night. I showered and got in bed with Bits and Sofia. I called Christopher and Angel and told them goodnight. Then I started to write my blog post about today. I called my mom and wished her a happy Mother’s Day. She was friendly and talked for a long time about what going on in her life. I was grateful she was being friendly and that she seemed happy. What a blessing!
It was getting late when I got off the phone with her but I wanted to call my sister Trish too. It’s an hour earlier in Idaho so I figured she would be up and she was. We had a good talk and I was glad I had called her. It was after 10 pm when I got off the phone and I had to get up at 5 am. I wrote some more of my blog and at 11 pm, I turned off the light and fell asleep.
Thank you for reading my blog and being a part of my life. I dearly appreciate you.
Love,
Victoria
P. S. This blog post was inspired by the Holy Spirit.