Well...

it wasn't any worse than I thought it'd be, but it wasn't any better either. It was very tiring. The thing I've been loving most about not working at the barn is that I can enjoy my whole weekend: I'm not so exhausted by 4:00 pm that I can't do anything else but flip channels on the remote and sleep on the couch. (And be extra crabby by Monday morning!) All that came crashing back to me Saturday afternoon around 3:00, after I returned from my "other" side job, 40 miles round-trip in the monsoon rain storm we had here in New England. I really needed to get Axe more hay but I was too exhausted to drive to the other side of Middleboro and back (30 miles more round-trip), all the while hoping I wouldn't get caught on the wrong side of a flooded road.
I did make it back up to the barn at night and walked her around the indoor for 15 minutes and gave her her hay. The plan for Sunday was : Bob & Hayley were going to get started at 5:00 am, and I was going to show up at 6 and clean up behind them doing stalls. Then we'd be done with all the chores between 7 and 7:30, just as trailers started coming in for the show.
SNORT! I drive up at ten to six, and it's dark. "Well, OK, maybe the lights are on inside- Bob (who lives on the property) will already be at work".
I open the door to quiet darkness, and some of the horses nicker (Axe did- she always says hello to the waitresses). So I go back out to my car & call Bob, who doesn't answer. So I go in & get started. Like I said: it wasn't any worse than I expected!
Bob comes in around 6:15- he had remembered to change his clock, but forgot to turn his alarm on. Hayley- she shows up at 7:20- who knows why. I left around 8:20, finally done. The caterers started setting up in the aisle right in front of the stall where we keep hay & shavings, so we had to work around them, and try to pull a 75 foot hose up and down the aisle with riders getting their numbers and being meandering tourists. Anyway: I survived, and Bob has someone lined up to try the shift out next weekend.
Here's some stitching from Thursday & Friday last week:
Creepy Kids:

Christmas Biscornu2 back side:

OK! So I'm gonna go out on a limb here & guess that Blogger and the internet in general is experiencing a HUGE slowdown because of the surprising news that yet another politician of note has admitted to being involved in a * GASP!* sex scandal! And so i cannot upload photos right now. And if this posts uploads, it will be a bloody miracle.