Last week was a bit rough following chemo with a cold.  I wasn't sure whether to attribute certain aches and pains to chemo, or to having to let a cold set in without being able to take cold medicine for days because of my treatment.  Either way, I'm still not back to my regular self as I woke up yesterday a little "hoarse," something all djs dread...

Speaking of "horse," I went to visit mine this weekend, one of my favorite things to do.  My good friends Kriston and Dennis built a beautiful home and barn in Rockmart and my horse has been retired there for a couple of years. I've had Melika nearly 20 years now.  She's 28, almost as old as I was when she came into my life.  She started developing "heel soreness," and some pretty serious arthritis about 10 years ago, so our days of trail riding, ring work, learning to jump, and just puttering around have been over for a few years.  But I love to spend time with her and groom her -- she's so much more appreciative of that in her older years, especially since I come armed with a few pounds of carrots!  Of course it's a great stress reliever for me, something especially important during my recovery.  I have people ask me all the time how long she could live.  She's an Arab and, since they're smaller than most other breeds, they can easily live well into their 30's.  Arabians are an amazing breed -- they are beautiful, incredibly graceful, smart, strong and tough. They are built for endurance. Gary Rossington and his wife Dale (of Lynyrd Skynyrd) raise Arabians, and we one talked about our love for them.  As Gary put it, "They're older than Moses!  Almost every breed of horse today has come from the Arabian." In the "horse world," there are snobs that love to diss them, but I have had a wonderful experience with mine and she'll be with me till the end. I try to see her a couple of times a month, but it's been difficult to do that the past few months with my treatment.  One of my dreams in life used to be to have my horse in my own backyard -- I certainly got the next best thing with good friends caring for her!