the him's birthday weekend

well, things continue to stay quite busy around here. last friday was a day in the office after being gone a couple days, and ex-managing editor jennifer was here so we went over things and did some planning for the weeks ahead. it was a busy day in the office - we also had a 2010 governor candidate come in for an interview.

immediately following work i met up with the him - it was his 34th birthday - and we fed my horses and went for dinner at a mexican restaurant here in town. he headed back out to the association when we were finished, and i met up with friend jake at his parents' house and we headed to the beacon, which was quite dead for a friday night.

right about the time i told jake 'i don't think i'll stay out much past 11,' i texted friend D to see what he was up to, and he says, 'i'm out at the bar.' after figuring out which bar, jake and i headed up to cowboys to see him - because friend D never comes out, so i gotta take advantage of it when i can.

next thing i knew jake had driven us back to his parents' and insisted on showing my his cab-over semi, for which he recently got his cdl. and then, next thing i knew, we were riding in his semi - gravel dump attached - over a two-track road the three miles to his place. :-P

and, next thing i knew, i passed out on his couch around 2:30 a.m. after having a little bit of breakfast that he made and setting my alarm for 6, in order to be at the specified intersection at 8 a.m. to meet the him and sister m. we had arranged to load in my last three tons of hay that morning.

the hay chores actually went quickly, and we were all done loading it into my hay storage by 10 a.m. promptly following that i met the him back at my place and we proceeded to travel to sheridan with a few others. it was kind of a birthday-weekend-trip-party for him. we went to king's saddlery and a few other tack/western shops downtown. we had intended to go out to the mint bar that evening, but i guess exhaustion set in because after eating dinner at sanford's i fell asleep at about 7 p.m. and didn't wake again until the next morning. :-) felt great tho.

when we where shopping i found a perfect mug from my ex-roomie E, who was recently unceremoniously dumped by my brother's long-time friend A. the mug says 'i'd rather be dumped by a horse than a man!' she will like it. :-) i also bought a new belt for myself, which is prettily embroidered with vine and flowers, with a few crystals and a pretty western buckle.

so then we had breakfast there in sheridan and traveled the two hours back to casper. the him and i went out to friend eddy's when we got back to town and re-hooked the red ranch trailer to his truck, loaded a colt that eddy had been working with but now he broke his ankle on another horse and has all manner of screws and plates in it, and headed out to the association.

we dropped the colt off, fed some cows and calves and made our way back to town and that was about it. roommate a and her new boy jim were also around the apt yesterday evening, and the him and i dined on frozen pizza while watching 'the ugly truth,' and that was pretty much it.

i woke up this morning to cold temperatures and a new coating of snow on the ground. today's the early deadline for the paper because of thanksgiving later this week, so i'm hoping to have it just about wrapped up by the time i leave today. things are going pretty smoothly - just got a few article to write and some editing/organizing to do.

ex-editor jennifer is in goshen county today doing some of her winter cattlemen's interviews. that deadlines dec. 11, and i'm keeping it at the forefront of my mind so it doesn't sneak up. it has a habit of doing that.

oh, and i think the him liked my birthday gift for him. i was pretty excited about it, so i really hoped he would. i got him that 44 inch silk scarf in slate blue, and the vogt silver pendleton bucking horse scarf slide. they look quite sharp together, if i do say so myself.

and you know what he's getting me for christmas? i'm really excited about it, because it's perfect. he's getting the mutton marshall to get a hold of the most recent abandoned brand list from the wyoming livestock board, and he's going to get me my very own brand. :-D it's very thoughtful, and, like i said, perfect. hey, if i'm sticking around wyoming long-term and becoming submerged in the ranching community, it's the next logical step. :-) because it's abandoned it won't come with irons, but he says the mutton marshall is really good at making them.

i probably will brand my horses and, who knows, maybe there are some black cows in my future. i wouldn't mind getting some cows together. i could run them on some of the shares out at the association, with the group that the him and his brother b have.

so that's a little of what's happening here. busy, and having a lot of fun.