Maybe (east coast) you’re not the worst thing ever

Kudos to anyone noticing the Galavant reference there lol. (And here’s an Amber update!)

Which I know, the title is at odds with everyone’s weather posts, and I probably got the best of the weather, but I got back Monday from a mini vacay in South Carolina.

My grandma is 91, and me being out west – FAR out west – it’s always a challenge to visit the relatives, since all of them basically live on the east coast. So it was great being able to see her, and really cool talking to her. She has so many cool stories, especially since she and my grandpa lived overseas in places like Honduras and Egypt. We talked a lot of where we came from and tracing lineage and all that. Stories of my dad and my uncles and everyone’s shenanigans, and lots and lots of good memories. I really enjoyed it, because my grandma may be 91, but her mind is so sharp, and some of the things that she says are so unexpected that all of us couldn’t help but laugh. So, a very good vacation.

But I was very much expecting it to be freezing like I remembered from living in Virginia, yet the weather was gorgeous. It was really only a few degrees cooler than Vegas and wasn’t THAT crazy to realize. I was just fine even without a jacket most of the time. Just my winter sweaters. I was actually pretty warm most of the time and wishing I’d brought some short sleeve shirts.

I may never end up in South Carolina, but moving back to the east coast has been on my mind lately, something I’m toying with. Because who knows? There may be a job opportunity, and there’s certainly a lot more eventing presence there than here in Vegas. Cold weather clothing has come a long way in 10 years, and the more I think on it, the more I’m not shuddering in my seat thinking of the cold lol. I actually liked the crisp-cold in SC, the misty rain and lovely greenery. Although, that was probably because those are three things that Vegas doesn’t have so it’s nice for me. Probably not so much if I lived there (the rain and cold that is).

It may also be though that Colorado has been my favorite place to live so far. I loved it’s 4 seasons, and it’d get very warm and humid in the summer, but the winters really weren’t bad. If I had the proper dress I was completely fine, and I loved crunching through the snow, seeing the sun sparkle on it and the trees, burrowing into my cozy winter clothing. I didn’t think I’d missed it that much until I’d visited the east coast.

This has all shocked me haha. I am not a cold-weather person, and yet I have been strangely happy with the wonderful fall weather Vegas had, and that it is getting cold. I have a few theories on that, but this feels like a nice change. I’ve never enjoyed winter, and it feels quite nice that this year it seems like I am enjoying all parts of the year instead of deeply dreading winter. Even if Vegas winters aren’t anywhere near as bad as the northern states.

As for Amber, she’s got her hair in. She’s enjoying the cold, even though I’m really wishing I can let her out for a good buck and a bit of play time. I know she’s sick of her stall. But she’s doing just fine – there’s just not much to say in a waiting game. She’s got another 8 weeks before another vet check-up to see how she’s doing, and I’m crossing my fingers that with that check she’ll be able to finally graduate out of her boots. She loathes those things LOL.

She and Whisper got stuffed with Thanksgiving treats yesterday, and I even managed to get her to the fence and hop on her. We took like 10 steps around her stall, but I’ve certainly missed being on my favorite pony. I think she really missed it too. She was a little confused at first haha, but once she realized we really weren’t doing anything besides resting together, and me giving her lots of neck scratches, she was totally down for that. I think that’ll be something I’ll do now at least once a week, maybe more. I think we both have missed the riding connection we had, and she’s always down for scratches lol.

I’ve already bought my Black Friday deals from RW – some supplements for Amber, the MH Sovereign field boots in black (I am ridiculously excited about these because I got them for an even better deal than my brown ones lol), some socks I love and socks to try, and a pair of winter Roeckl gloves. I nabbed a few other things from Amazon, and I had a gift card I’d never used yet so I grabbed myself a pair of Horze Grand Prix (of course) full seat thermal breeches (because why not) in navy (go figure; although that was the only color SP offered but still I would’ve chosen navy either way haha) so it ended up being really affordable to grab these to try out for the winter.

I have a lesson tomorrow with Trainer G and I get to ride Soxie again so I’m pretty excited about that. My mom is tagging along so I should get plenty of good media for you guys. I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving as well as a good Friday shopping!

What good deals did you guys find this Black Friday? What did you buy?