To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

I just want to say a big

Congratulations!

to Amy Williams, for winning her gold medal in the skeleton bob. It just doesn't happen to us, does it? Well done, duck, we're proud of you!

Unlike Vancouver, we have lots of snow, and are snowed in again. The road outside is really bad. We mucked out and cleared all the old hay out of the barn again. Then Mr O decided to paint the stables. The smell of bitumen hung heavy in the air. Luckily the tractor started first time, so we were able to get the week's supply of haylage into the barn. This takes three of us, Pongo drives the tractor, I do all the gates, and guide him across the road and Mr O puts the pallets down for each bale of haylage.
I have found two pallets that are solid, with no gaps in the wood, so I am going to use them as a bridge, in the lunge ring, to get Max to walk across them.
I have spent time over the last two days trying to do a card for Nine (who will be 10!) His birthday isn't until April, so I've got plenty of time, but it's a good job, as it's taking me ages to put together something I'm happy with. Sometimes it's a lot harder to make a card for someone you know than it would be just to make a card. It's very frustrating.
Nine likes dinosaurs, but I don't want to buy a stamp to only use on one card, then never use it again. In the end Mr O suggested using clip art, and printing something out, which I did, but I am playing with colours and bits of paper and am still not satisfied.
But I forgot that my magazine, Papercraft Inspirations, has a website. I had a look here where they have lots of free papers and templates. Of course you have to buy the magazine to see what they did with the papers, but they're very inspiring. There are jungle papers, so I'm going to print some off and see what I can do.
I've got to tell you, I had an absolutely awful nightmare last night. I dreamed we hadn't lived here very long, and I saw two women with children on ponies, walking along to the left of our house, but it was a really long, grassy river bank. I asked them where they were going, and they said it was a really good ride if you followed the river down. They said there was a log in the river that you had to jump, but their ponies could do it, so we'd have no problem.
I thought, 'Oh, I must tell Mr O that,' but the next thing I knew, Mr O was already riding down there. I thought, 'I must warn him about the log in the water,' and ran down there. I called out to Mr O, who looked back briefly, took off wrong, and Barnaby plunged into the water and caught his leg on the bank and fell in and threw Mr O onto the far bank. He was laying there injured, but Barnaby was still head down in the water. I dragged him onto the bank (as if I'd ever have the strength!), shouting, "Somebody help us!" as John regained consciousness. I held Barnaby in my arms, and I knew he'd broken his leg, but as he lay there, he gradually stopped breathing. I said, "He's gone, hasn't he?" and began to cry.
When I woke up I was absolutely sobbing. I couldn't believe it. I got up and got dressed and went straight downstairs to look at Barnaby, who looked back, saying, "Where's my bally breakfast, woman?" full of health and life. I hugged him, fed him, and went back indoors for breakfast.

I think I'll spend a little while tomorrow introducing him to you properly.