Behind Infinity

It seems I’m finally getting the hang of this.

Aside from the car troubles, this semester is shaping up very nicely. I’m taking a comfortable 12 credits, teaching 15ish violin students as well as 2 Latin classes and a writing class, and doing some random freelance work. One really wonderful feature of my schedule this semester is the only day on which I have to prepare for more than one class is Tuesday. (This is in comparison to last year, when I had no less than 4 classes a day.) Honestly, I hardly know that I’m in school, and I have time to do all my homework and do it well. It’s really quite luxurious.

And of course, finishing and managing my barn takes a significant amount of time each day, too. Speaking of which, it’s been awhile since my last barn progress update. Let’s take a tour and see all of the improvements:

Exterior. Dad has been working on the siding every Saturday. We just have to do 1 morshort side, and trim around the doors, and hang the doors, and then the barn will actually be ENCLOSED. In time for winter. Yay! Look how beautiful it is already, and it will look even better once we get the white trim on. So cute.

The week before school started, I also did some tweaking to the interior. Here’s some before and after shots:

Aisle, before:

Aisle, after:

The biggest difference is that I revamped the stall fronts. I took down the original horizontal 2×4’s (which were always meant to be temporary–a quick fix when I was building stalls and had horses coming in less than 2 days) and replaced it with farm utility panels, which I cut down to size with a bolt cutters, stapled to the wall with hammer-in staples, and framed with 2×4’s. The result is that one can see in/out of the stalls with a largely unobstructed view, and the whole place feels more open. I love it. Here’s a closer look:

And now let’s move on to my 12×12 Feed/tack area. Before:

12×12 Feed/tack area, after:

There’s so much goodness here I don’t know where to start. I’m storing my hay outside now on pallets, carefully covered by tarps so it doesn’t mold. So now I have lots of space inside. See the chair? I sit there sometimes, and just enjoy it all. (It’s also handy for putting on my boots.) To the right of the window on the wall is a handy dry-erase board to write notes, feed & deworming schedules, and other reminders. I love it. On the wall to the right, I’ve installed a saddle bracket and several more halter hooks. And of course, the best part of all is THE BRIDLE CABINET. Here’s a close up:

This is just the coolest thing EVER. One day, on the way home from the post office in town, I noticed that some people were having a barn sale. Knowing that they used to keep horses on that property, I stopped in to see if they had any horse stuff for sale. Wouldn’t you know it, they did. I ended up with a very nice leather bridle for $10, and this cabinet, which they gave to me totally for FREE. My brother Ethan helped me haul it home–a formidable task, seeing as it’s quite tall and built solidly. It is just the handiest thing, absolutely perfect for storing all those strap goods that get all tangled up.

And seeing as it’s been awhile since Max and Jezzie have had their mugs up here–

Me and my boyfriend

My Grumpy Girl

My Pretty Girl…Jezebelle wears her mane in braids these days because it’s so long, the wind snarls it if I leave it loose.

Yep. Lovely barn, lovely horses, lovely, laid-back schedule…in spite of the fact that my car needs about $500 worth of work to prevent the engine from exploding and upwards of $2k into the front end and suspension, (I think the Beetle and I will be ending our long and dysfunctional relationship very shortly…) life is good.

Yeah. They’re going to have to wait.

The Bad News: My mechanic called. The Beetle needs new pads and rotors alllllllll the way around. It’s going to cost some cold, hard cash.

The Good News: One of my friends has mad mechanic skillz and charges a 60% less than your average brake place.

Eric DeRuischer, you’re definitely my hero for the day.

This all started on Sunday night, when I was coming home from hanging out with The Usual Suspects. I exited the freeway to go home, hit the brakes, and nothing happened. It was pretty much the most terrifying thing that’s happened to me since Winter ‘05, when I totalled my last Beetle. Providentially, it was midnight, on a Sunday, on a country exit. There was nobody around, and I was able to stop by the time I got to the top of the intersection, by pulling my parking brake. After calling my brother (almost in tears) I started the car again and the brakes were working (in a flaky sort of way), and I got it home, and after adding brake fluid, brought it over to Eric’s without incident.

I was pretty much thinking it was a leaky line. Pffffft. Silly Brittany.

What the tire salesman said:(I promise his nametag really said JimBob) “These tires are shot, ma’am. You won’t get another month out of them, much less the whole summer. Do you want to replace them today and just get it over with? We can get you a comparable set of performance tires for $637.72.”
What I thought: “I haven’t fixed my hair today, I haven’t put on makeup, and I’m wearing frumpy clothes because I wasn’t planning on going out this morning. And I’m quite obviously a college student. Do I look like I have $637.72 in my checking account for a new set of performance tires?”
What I said: “Um, no, I don’t have the money for that this summer. I think I’ll go home and just put on my winter wheels instead.”
His reply: “Well ma’am, I don’t think that will work so well, your winter tires are pretty soft compared to these…we could put on something cheaper, I have another set here for $462…”
I answered back: “They’re Goodyear all-season touring tires. I’m sure they’ll be fine.”
He looked at me skeptically. “Did you get them here? Let me just look them up in the computer and make sure….oh. Yeah, yeah, you’re right. Those ought to do okay. You’ll miss your performance tires. But if you’ll bring your other set of wheels in, we’ll put them on for you for only $….”

I assured him I would be fine. And I was. I went home and changed out all 4 wheels. All by myself. And all it cost me was some skinned knuckles and the near-loss of a toenail. Honestly, I kind of like dabbling in stuff like this. Whenever I pull up to any sort of automobile care establishment, I can almost hear the technicians chuckle to each other. “A blonde in a Beetle…oh barf. This will be fun.” They’re caught off guard when I actually know a little bit about what I’m after and realize I’m not as easy a mark as they think. There are many auto techs who are genuinely helpful to people like me, and for them I am grateful. However, there are also a lot more who enjoy taking advantage of blondes who drive Beetles. And whenever I meet one of them, I get a kick out of foiling his attempts at pulling the wool over my eyes.

So. Take that, Mr. Overly Zealous Tire Salesman.

Brittany: “mumblemumble stupid whimper mumblemumble dumb car mumblemumble UGHHH! STUPID BUMPY DRIVEWAY!”
Brenna: “Hi, Brittany. What’s wrong?”
Brittany: “My car’s broke and it’s going to cost like $300 to fix.”
Brenna: “Horse money.”
Brittany: “Yup.”
Brenna: “Does this mean that God is telling you He doesn’t want you to buy a horse?”