We had a meeting scheduled for NJ Alienated Grandparents last week. Three said they could come and one couple said they would be able to come in the future. It turned out that two cancelled the morning of the meeting and then I was still going to meet with the one AG but I had a sudden allergy attack which totally immobilized me and, then, I also had to cancel.

In the past, I would have tried to schedule another meeting, but I find as I have gotten older, I do not strive or stress....something is either going to work or it is not and I am ok with that. I thought that starting an online site (this one) might be easier for everyone and I sent out e-mails to the folks in NJ who could not attend last week's meeting and I gave them info about DS and this site. I did not receive a response from anyone nor did anyone come on here. Again, I am really okay with this because it is not about me and maybe I was off target in thinking there was a need for a local support group.

As for this group, I will contact DS this week and try changing the name to be more inclusive of other states and see what happens. If no interest, I am, personally, fine with going on DS's existing estrangement sites, especially Caring.....

Thanks, for checking in, Norah.

Don't give up.. it might take some time..?? When something is new maybe people are resistant..maybe there are other avenues that will occur to you to reach people.. sleep on it.. several nights if needed :-)

By the way, how's your weather..are you getting all the rain there?

Rain but no tropical storm or hurricane. Of course, everyone went to the beaches to see the waves and the surfers were lovin it.

Do your horses stay out in the rain? I guess we have wimpy guys.....soon as it starts to rain they head for their stalls. My dh told me horses stay out in rain storms, snow, etc. Really? What happened to our boys? Okay, one is 25 and the other is blind in on eye, so I will give them that.(lol)

We have outdoor stalls that are pretty secure, with heavy wood walls, windows and solid half doors. For the summer, there are fans in there for them and they stay quite cool. And for the summer, fans. Our new two stalls in barn (half of garage we converted) are so nice. One has a beautiful dutch door. Well, because we had hurricane warnings and after Hurricane Sandy, we all wanted to be prepared. So dh, finished putting the mats down in both stalls, hay racks, water and grain buckets and brand new bedding. They looked great. Well, I am so glad they were able to stay in outside stalls. They were a mess....I think they both went into them and that is where they did all their business. No piles in paddocks....just in stalls. What a mess, especially with pouring rain (and dh was away on a men's retreat). My 9yr old gd stayed with me for the weekend and tried to help but just learning and still a little cautious around the boys. She would rather ride the quad.

I feel a little guilty, but glad we didn't have to bring them into our new barn stalls. They would have been a mess. DH keeps reminding me it is a barn not a home. I guess, in time, I will settle down with it, but they look so nice right now.(lol) I even put pictures up in barn area and tack room. Hey, I started off as a city girl...I never even knew Tractor Supply existed and now I buy clothes there. Only God can do this......

How has your weather been?

Rain but no tropical storm or hurricane. Of course, everyone went to the beaches to see the waves and the surfers were lovin it.

Do your horses stay out in the rain? I guess we have wimpy guys.....soon as it starts to rain they head for their stalls. My dh told me horses stay out in rain storms, snow, etc. Really? What happened to our boys? Okay, one is 25 and the other is blind in on eye, so I will give them that.(lol)

We have outdoor stalls that are pretty secure, with heavy wood walls, windows and solid half doors. For the summer, there are fans in there for them and they stay quite cool. Our new two stalls in the barn (half of garage we converted) are so nice. One has a beautiful dutch door. Well, because we had hurricane warnings and after Hurricane Sandy, we wanted to be prepared. So dh, finished putting the mats down in both stalls, hay racks, water and grain buckets and brand new bedding. They looked great. Well, I am so glad they were able to stay in outside stalls. They were a mess....I think they both went into them and that is where they did all their business. No piles in paddocks....just in stalls. What a mess, especially with pouring rain (and dh was away on a men's retreat). My 9yr old gd stayed with me for the weekend and tried to help but just learning and still a little cautious around the boys. She would rather ride the quad.

I feel a little guilty, but glad we didn't have to bring them into our new barn stalls. They would have been a mess. DH keeps reminding me it is a barn not a home. I guess, in time, I will settle down with it, but they look so nice right now.(lol) I even put pictures up in barn area and tack room. Hey, I started off as a city girl...I never even knew Tractor Supply existed and now I buy clothes there. Only God can do this......

How has your weather been?

Oh, I could go on and on about the horses lolol It's good you have those outdoor stalls, yes they seem to wait until they're inside to do their business! I can't believe it! We fenced off our entire yard a few weeks ago because the pastures were getting pretty depleted.. they all LOVED the yard.. they would walk around, all 5 horses and the two donkeys, chomping here and their, didn't touch the flowers or shrubs.. we didn't have to mow in September lol.. and they liked it even when there didn't seem to be anything more to eat! (Our yard could be considered pasture too, it's not something we put a lot of money or time into.. we live out in the country).. The surprising thing was that they hardly messed in the yard at all! I don't understand it, I thought we'd be cleaning constantly, but no..at the end of the day we'd go out with a wheelbarrow and pick up here and there. But if they go in the barn in their stalls, it is a lot of work.

Yes, they are wimpy too... we put them in especially if there is wind or a cold rain.. one of them starts shivering and I worry about that.. and if there's storm coming they get all worked up running back and forth and are thrilled to be inside.. even though they have a run-in they can go into, someone always seems to be left outside. The mini's have their own run-in 24/7, they need it.. but the three bigger horses love to come inside the main barn too.

We added 12 foot "wings" on each side of our pole barn, the project is nearing completion.. it's mostly for storage but it also opens up the space inside so it will be easier to handle these critters in the winter.. we aren't all on top of each other.

I would love to have fancy stalls as you have in your barn/garage.. that is my dream.. some day! right now we have sort of rustic pens in their, but it does the job.

Enjoy.. I love having them and taking care of them. Maybe it's the best therapy out there, for some of us.

Weather has been mild here, above normal temps in September..last week we started having nightly frost but this week is supposed to be dry and a bit warmer again. I brought a lot of outdoor plants in and my two pots of geraniums are going wild.. sigh, it's going to be along winter with them all here, but I don't have the heart to let them go.

Hugs!