How Much DOES It Cost To Own A Horse: Vaccination Time

I don't have enough digits to count my encounters with that innocent inquiry, "I want my own horse, how much does ownership actually cost?"

I try not to laugh out loud, honestly, I do.   It was once me.

I may have been known to answer along the lines of:  "Add up everything you can think of.  Quadruple it.  Then, if you still have anything left in your account, throw it in the nearest river just to get used to the idea.  At that point, you're getting closer.  Oh, that doesn't count competing!"

Hey, it's like any relationship:  better to know up front, for BOTH parties!

Wait, You Owe Us A Tale Of Blogger Encounters!

Yes, I do promise, I shall regale you with the tale of the Awesomeness of Archie & Beka from The Owls Approve.  Which means something, because my Awesome standard is pretty damn high.  Well, she may have won a couple extra points for calling me "photogenic," which I find chokingly hilarious & appreciate the shocking flattery.

Fine, Back To Boring, Depressing Bills

The details of the truth, as we all learn at Owned (By) Horse #1, are far more nuanced, regional, & owner-dependent, but that's why they invented spreadsheets.  And the COTH Forums (they are massively entertaining, but do actually contain a great deal of incredibly educated & useful discussions if you have a lot of time & a finely tuned sifter).

However, for whatever little assistance it may offer, I give you a baseline example (click to embiggen):

What I consider my non-negotiables, bare bones.  Sum:  $171. 

The most excellent Dr. Bob administering Solo his spring vaccinations, general (which in Dr. Bob terms means not a detail is missed) health exam, back/teeth check, and pulling a Coggins.  That last is cheaper if we haul to one of the weekend clinics he offers at local venues every spring, but it evens out by costing me $0 in diesel, hookup/load time, or...doing anything.

Unscrambling alphabet soup...

The Quest Gel is an anomaly, I usually buy in bulk from ValleyVet.  But it's included due to an educational/promotional campaign from the manufacturers; I get $7 back for each horse with the purchase of that & my normal EEE/WEE/Tet/WNV vaccine.

Epic Neighbour Richard also uses Dr. Bob, so we coordinate & split the farm call fee, woot!

Add In Hayburner #2

I won't post Encore's invoice, as it includes his annual back injection & may cause cardiac arrhythmia in any viewing humans.  I refuse to be liable, use your OWN vet bills for that!  But his basics are identical, which means, leaving out the wormer, a grand total of $314 for both horses.  If no one throws anything out of whack, gets hurt, or is subject to fecal analysis (translate: unicorn-land).  Twice a year, adding rabies ($18/horse) in the fall. 

In our area, Dr. Bob is a hidden gem, so his prices are significantly lower than others but his experience & sheer talent is off the chart.   

For my partners-in-poverty, where does that fall on your scale? 

She must have many horses; she couldn't even buy the rest of her pants, poor thing...

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Hooves: Excellent For Both Exploding Heads & Amazing Healing Powers

No one's favourite supplies

Time may not heal ALL wounds, but given enough of it, equine feet can certainly recover from some gory feats of coordination fail.

Waaaayyyy back in July, Encore felt I needed a reminder of this & my horse of many talents (a few of which are even useful) dissected his own hoof wall.  Long experience means I keep the first aid kit well-stocked and Dr. Bob & WunderFarrier are both nearby.  I am grateful daily for their incredible experience, attention to detail, & ready response when it counts!!

17 July 2014 - the fresh handiwork on RF

17 July 2014 - go big or go home?

Overnight poultice

18 July 2014 - post-poultice

I have doctored all sorts of nasty injuries over the years, from a horse who completely degloved an entire hind cannon on loose wire (incredibly, despite exposed bone, never lame, fully recovered), to draining pus infections, to deep, hot, swollen slices.  Yet I had no idea what to expect from this one, even after the vet assured me that coronet band was undamaged.

26 July 2014 - Out, damned bruise!

(Un)Surprise

A roller-coaster, just like every other horse injury.  Why do I never learn to go back to fish-keeping?

Because, I mean, just duct-taping & doctoring one foot every day, that's boring, anyone can do that!  Let's really mix it up.  Throw in a bruise in the OTHER front foot on the horse who refuses to abscess, so it just floats around in there.  That way you get to spend some real quality time with your horse.

And by quality time, I mean ALL the time.  Then you can become a true master in the art of duct tape boots (I was a bit out of practice, but I really didn't need a refresher...).

Sleep makes things too easy to deal with, so we have to include the midnight emergency vet call on July 27th, while you empty the contents of your fridge's ice-maker into buckets of water on two hot feet. 

Thanks, buddy, that only took a couple more years off my life...

But It Got Better

Thanks to another quick response, our mini-founder passed without incident, & Encore's hoof quickly began to take care of business. 

30 July 2014 - closing fast

5 Aug 2014 - LF bruise defeated!!

29 Aug 2014 - Epoxy & frog pads make things look weird, but one month & it's growing out!

We Were Lucky

Although it felt like an eternity, it was only about six weeks before we were able to start riding again.  Thanks to wonderful communications between vet & farrier, close monitoring saw us through the most unstable stages of grow-out (including just a few weeks ago, where he pulled his LF shoe & twisted the RF, so that I feared I'd find him with his entire RF heel torn off, as the crack was just millimetres from the ground, in need of immediate stabilization).

18 Jan 2015

So here we are today yesterday:  his heel has pretty much entirely grown out.  You can just see the remnants of the injury above the rear corner of the frog pad (& that SOMEone has been thriving on good hay & SmartHoof & is quite ready for impending farrier visit!).  

He still gets his epoxy coating to help stabilize what's left -- so if in need, I have now learned JB Weld can even glue your horse together (ok, so it wasn't ACTUALLY JB Weld, although I did fix a trough with that yesterday...and a cat bowl...).

There's a bit more growing to do, but he's been sound (on THAT quarter anyway, geeeezz...) & once Dr. Bob has him re-lubed, we'll try that whole "work" thing again.

That's damn nice taping, though...

Hindsight Is A Lot Less Stressful

Unfortunately, we don't get to sit back & be amazed until afterwards.  But one of the many reasons I like to track these things (the boys certainly give me plenty of opportunities, it's sort of hilarious that "injury" is one of the largest, ergo most frequently used, in our tag cloud on the right sidebar) is that when we do get a successful outcome (which I would have really appreciated, ahem, Solo), it's like my own little emotional baseline, a reminder that I have to be patient & well, I'm probably going to freak out a lot.

While it confirms my hypothesis that horse owners are batshit crazy masochists, I hope it also helps you feel a little bit less cursed when your own creature induces head explosions.  And a lot less alone, because any of us who have spent enough time around horses have experienced both kinds of results, the successful & the heartbreaking.

But you can't fly on a goldfish...

Dang, I miss this; running Solo is riding joy.  Photo by Pics of You, 2010.

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There Was Riding! Among Other Things...

I can't see you...

Two horses in one day!!

The Browner Orange One

Ok, fine, be pedantic.  I long-lined Encore as he is due for his yearly back injections (we match, only he gets four & I get three, although thankfully, mine are still holding at three years) & he is quite clear in his reminders of this fact.

One of the almost magical parts of truly getting to know a horse over days & years is learning not only every detail of his body, but expression, posture, & which level of The Horse Finger that tail swish indicated.

So now I am edu-ma-cated:  Encore generally walks up to me in his pasture, begs for work, & doesn't bother trying until a jump gets to 3'.  Around mid-January, he instead walks AROUND me (equine efforts at false nonchalance are hilarious), loses impulsion, falling out behind often, & rushes anything higher than 18". 

It's an odd relief, but relief nonetheless, to calmly surmise, "Oh, lubrication time approacheth," as opposed to the horse owner's traditional spirals of mental agony & the worst torture of all:  the unknown.  So he will remain on a relatively light schedule until his "oil change" (I say, as if I would otherwise have him on a full training schedule during 187% work overload insanity).

I would never...

The Super-Orange One

His little big brother appears to feel this gives him freedom to take over anxiety-instigation duty.  Cod forbid one own a horse calmly, I believe that would break some universal law!

Solo has definitely lost condition.  Sadly, his minion has gone & incapacitated herself; along with our string of simply horrid wet cold weeks, I've had few chances to stretch his legs.  He seems to be running on fumes, though, & I confess to being mystified.

He is still shiny with a winter hay belly, a springy trot, his trademark deep meal nicker, & takes a good prance gallop around the field with Encore.  But his face looks tired & although I enjoyed our ride today, he fatigued very quickly, even though he was not out of breath.

I just wish my favourite face could elaborate a bit?

What's Up, Dude?

Perhaps it is simply muscle loss.  When I first began working with Dr. Bob, he had a similar problem & a simple CBC revealed Solo had a low red blood cell count.  With vet approval of ingredients, I put him on SmartVite, which he's had ever since, & his count popped up to normal almost immediately.  It dropped again when he had a heavy parasite load from a previous facility, but I have dewormed with vigilance & now am in charge of my own pasture management. 

I've added more fat to his diet, although he certainly is working hard at maximizing intake of my lovely winter hay supply!  We'll run another basic CBC in a few weeks, as Dr. Bob comes out at the beginning of February for his spring collection of large amounts of invisible TFS cash (Encore will also get a set of check-up lateral radiographs on his front feet to make sure WunderFarrier & I are on the right track).

An odd sight after so long

There ARE Good Things

Recently, Solo did get his front shoes back.  While his Cavallo Sports were wonderful for trails & light pleasure, when it came to schooling & jumping, he just wasn't comfortable.  He felt like there was too much sole concussion.  He certainly felt happier about his feet today & reached out those giant shoulders with a freedom I've missed, so it's not all bad news!

Let's see...what else can we throw imaginary money at add to Dr. Bob's hard-earned retirement fund next month??

Who knew-there's a WikiHow for "how to solve all horse problems!"

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Pt. II: What Every Horse Owner Should Know About Feed (And Botulism!)

In our previous post, my personal Triple Crown (TC) superhero had already gone above & beyond the call of duty...but she wasn't done stealing my heart.

---

Is it hot in here?

eventer79 (23 July, 10:34 am):  Thank you (yes, I believe we were in a competition to out-thank each other) so much for taking the time to type all that out!

In the spirit of self-education, would you be able to tell me if the feed is heat-treated at any point & if so, to a specific temperature?  I'm always trying to learn more about feeds & equine nutrition & wondered if processing included any types of those bacterial controls, particularly for things such as botulism?  I really have no idea.

---

Interjection:

It is painful for the biologist in me to admit, but I didn't know what I didn't know about the botulinum toxin.  My understanding was that horses were at risk primarily from dead/decaying animals in hay.  I don't feed round bales (greatest risk of Unidentified Dead Things Included), so I decided keeping an eye on my hay was sufficient, & Dr. Bob said that was fine.  So I have not traditionally vaccinated for botulism.

Enter Google:  a fantastic resource tool with the simultaneous ability to scare the shit out of you (a pleasure I shall naturally share with you!).  After I sent the above question, I realized I didn't even know if the toxin could be killed or anything about its life cycle.  Bad, bad biologist (to be fair, I determinedly avoid studying things you need a microscope for)!

Warning:  Science Geek-Out Imminent

Clostridium botulinum (all EIGHT types; horses usually suffer from Type B & C - we only have a vaccine for the former, humans from A, B, E, F, & G) is a fascinating, if unfriendly, bacteria.  The bacteria itself, along with its spores, offers little direct threat.  The problem occurs as bacterial cells die, releasing the potent neurotoxin that is botulinum.  Direct cell death happens with ingestion of live bacteria, or of spores, which germinate in anaerobic environments, create an overpopulation of cells...that then die.

C. botulinum under an SEM -- amazing!

Holy Crap, Are We All Doomed?

Fortunately, every system has weak spots.  Live C. botulinum perishes with the use of many disinfectants, including sodium hypochlorite (bleach, chlorine) & 70% ethanol (sorry, you can only have that if you are my co-worker or have your own TTB, formerly ATF, permit), & cannot survive if any oxygen is present in its microenvironment.

The botulinum toxin, a large protein, is similarly vulnerable:  sunlight will denature it within three hours, as will heat above 80C (176F) for 20 minutes or above 85C (185F) for five minutes (i.e. boiling; values vary slightly with toxin concentration & surrounding pH).  

But the spore.  Oh, the impressive spore.  Able to live 2-3 years, these babies can even germinate if damaged by extreme environmental conditions.  To ensure complete Spore-maggedon, you pretty much need access to an autoclave so you can heat them to 120C (250F) for a minimum of 15 minutes.

With that in mind, we return to the conclusion of our conversation -
  

---

TC Rep (23 July, 2:51 pm):  Absolutely!  The pelleted portion of Complete is heated to 130 – 140 degrees (F) in order to form the pellet, but the rest of Complete is not.  We do use bacterial & mycotoxin preventatives in the feed, these function within the horse’s gut to bind & remove bacteria & mycotoxins before harm can be done to the gut, or if the horse ate or drank something else that was contaminated.

These precautions are for gram-negative toxins; botulism is a gram positive toxin:  the best way to prevent botulism is to vaccinate.  Hope this helps! Thanks!

Stacy Andersen,  800.451.9916
PO Box 220 | Mohnton, PA 19540
(someone give this woman a raise!)

---

The Conclusive Non-Conclusion

Needless to say, the boys just received their last round of the initial botulism vaccine series.  In the objective big picture, our risk of infection is still relatively low, but the 24 hours I spent staring out my bedroom window trying to decide if Encore looked like he was developing hind-end paralysis were...not something I care to wonder about again!

You may now consider yourself informed.  You're welcome.

However, this is the tip of the iceberg that is equine metabolism & nutrition.  My quest for TEH LEARNING is far from over! 

It's still true...

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Just Another Day With Dr. Bob

Yep, Encore decided a whole month was far too long to be separated from Dr. Bob.  Despite the terror-inducing zombie cows that live at the vet clinic (so Encore says).

While Encore was getting stronger, his feet are healing, & he did fairly well in our lesson, I still felt I might be missing something.  It's that little feeling you can't quite put your finger on.  And since you are a horse owner, the obvious solution is to throw money at it! 

Encore's Kent & Masters - love!

Looking at him from the ground, I could see the tightness in his hind end.  I also checked the fit of his dressage saddle after our lesson & noticed that I needed to narrow it a bit until his topline redeveloped.  Which explained the knots behind his withers I'd been massaging, as the panels were pressing down in the front.  He was also getting quite crabby about picking up his right lead. 

I always expect some muscle soreness bringing a horse back into work & rebuilding muscle.  However, there was just enough weight on the "I just want peace of mind" side of the fence to push me over & make me hook up the trailer.

I Don't Call Him Batman For Nothing

It was worth the trip.  And while paying vet bills is never any fun, there is no such thing as a Dr. Bob visit where you don't learn ten things & get lots of good stories!

What do you mean I have FOUR legs??!

My hypothesis was, for once, pretty accurate.  Dr. Bob confirmed that the saddle was indeed collapsing a bit up front behind his shoulders.  Encore got his withers & shoulders adjusted back into place with much relief.

He also had a very sore muscle bruise on the lower half of his left hindquarter, a likely result of an incident BFF reported when I was traveling for work:  Encore had an idiot moment galloping across his paddock, once again forgot he had back feet, slipped, & fell hard on his left side. 

She said he hopped back up, she checked him over thoroughly & walked him out, and I checked him out when I got home.  We found no evidence of injury & he was moving evenly.  He's not exactly in heavy work these days either!

It's Going To Be Ok...Today

Dr. Bob showed me how to feel out the spot in the muscle where he said there was probably just some fiber separation that was healing.  I'm just to massage in the Majykal Butacore Creme Of Awesome & keep him moving as he finishes out recovery.

Our farm pond is zen

Overall, good news, some minor tweaks, and the plan & peace of mind I was looking for!  His feet & shoes got the thumbs up, so we can keep moving creeping forward.  Which I was thrilled to hear just as the gorgeous fall weather has begun!

All I Need Is Time

Who needs a bank balance anyway??  For now, Encore will just have to think up something new, since this one didn't get him out of work.  In the meantime, he gets to enjoy medicated ass massages while I schedule the saddle fitter for some wool adjustment & dig through the couch cushions for $1200 to stock our winter hay!  0.0

Today, though, the grass is still green & the air is crisp & perfect, making it worth every bit as I can hear the satisfied nomming of two happy horses floating through the open windows.  I think I might have earned a nap after dragging pastures & detailing horses this morning...

The best kind of sunset has horses in it

     

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The Agony & The Ecstasy: An Update (Mostly On The Former)

*insert standard blogger excuse about life, jobs, shoving your horse's legs in buckets of ice at midnight, perfecting your hoof wrapping techniques, blah blah blah, whatever, no posts for you*

There, that's out of the way.

To say it's been a roller coaster would be a vast understatement.  This morning, however, was the anxiously-awaited give vast sums of money to Dr. Bob fall shots/check my horses' various & sundry issues gala. 

HorseS??  You wonder quite correctly.  Solo, not to be outdone by his big little brother, has been quite sore in his large shoulder muscles for the past 6-8 weeks.  Erica & I have been massaging & stretching & staring quizzically (ok, that's my speciality), so I was relieved I could finally just throw him at Dr. Bob and let the magic hands find the answers.

Go home, horses, you're drunk.  Oh, wait, you are home...

Sore Solo

Aside from getting to be punch drunk on 1/3 a can of PBR (aka sedation lightweight, he's a cheap date) while his teeth floated away, he was quickly pronounced footsore on both fronts.  Lots of small bruises in his hooves have him compensating with those enormous shoulders & parking out a little to distribute his weight across his feet.

*now insert mom feels bad*

Oddly enough, I was relieved at this answer.  Instead of some new shoulder injury (which I greatly feared he might have come up with during The Pasture Games), instead we just confirmed that genetics are genetics & Mr. Shiny still has wussy feet.  I had been using  his front boots when we ride out, but on the farm or in an arena, he's just been going barefoot.

I had not seen a big change in his movement until the past two weeks though.  Dr. Bob once again fit the pieces together for me:  wet weather brings out raging growth in crabgrass, which is apparently quite delicious.  My pastures are mixed forage (this makes me happy, different species offer different things and do well at different times of year) & certainly have their share of this treat.  However, it is very high in starches when wet, which makes wussy feet even more sensitive.  Given the past ten days of monsoon season...lightbulb!

The Star Pupil

Encore has kept me hopping (& also made me an expert at monitoring a digital pulse, which my farrier FINALLY was able to show me...it's a lot easier to find when it's pounding).  :-(  Three emergency line calls & four vet visits in a month, well, I could have done without.  But things are healing, in fortunate cooperation with me reaching the dregs of my vetwrap stockpile!

Encore's RFhandiwork, 16 July

Not quite so gory, 2 Aug

You'll recall his rather spectacular self-resection of his RF hoof on July 16.  He so enjoyed all the extra attention that he decided to go dead lame on his LF foot after his most recent shoeing.

Actually at actual midnight.  :/

Whee.

Wonder-farrier ran back to the farm the next day & pulled three nails to relieve pressure on what turned out to be the same bruise we poked at in late June.  It was just wandering around in poor Encore's foot because he simply refuses to abscess things out (heaven forbid we appear normal!).

I'll skip over his attempts to kill me by heart failure, timing pulses, hoarding ice, stocking bulk supplies of Epsom salts, & practicing duct tape sculpture by headlamp.  Including last night's wail of despair as he came limping in for dinner, sans LF shoe (to be fair, it held on valiantly for having only one inside nail).

Because today...(1) I got permission to stop wrapping the RF, as Dr. Bob deemed it hard enough to just take an occasional dab of ichthammol & carry on, and (2) The Man took his determined hoof knife to Encore's LF front sole and in a few expert slices, exposed the furtive gypsy bruise at last!!!

You know you have been a horse owner long enough when you are HAPPY to see pus and blood seeping out of your horse's foot...

Ok, I admit, I majorly science-geek-out on this picture

Of course he did.

Which Leaves Us...?

Hopefully over the hump of this particular mountain!  Encore's shoe has just been tacked back on, so I can save my duct tape while his bruise heals.  Of course the idiot managed to step on himself while sedated (don't take him out for drinks, he gets the high gravity version) and cut a chunk out of his hind pastern.  *I'd headdesk but I broke the desk from over-use*  At least it's just a flesh wound!  As long as he is not sore, I can (omg, don't breathe a word) ride him in a few days.

Solo will go back to work in his snazzy boots after a little rest and we'll all feel a bit better after some painkillers!

Now, would someone mind pouring me a shot of very expensive tequila?

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WTF: Cat Befriends Stegosaurus

Wordless Triassic Friday!  What did you think it stood for??!  *snicker*  I admit part of me just wants to see if I can get the most bizarre Google search terms of all time (Oh c’mon, like you didn’t know I have the amusement level of a 10-year-old).  Damn, this is supposed to be wordless.  Psh, not within my skill set.

Orange Cat never minds older friends

I swear real posts are in the works.  I’ve just been a tad preoccupied since Encore’s left front foot got jealous of his right front foot.

Self-resection (RF), meet bruise (LF) -- I so enjoying spending time with you both

Solo:  What’s a guy gotta do to get some attention around here?

Me:  Don’t. You. Dare.

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And Now For Something Completely (Not) Different, AKA, Encore Has A Vet Addiction

I apologize for the break from our regularly scheduled programming.  Although looking through some recent posts, maybe this IS our regularly scheduled programming!  I had hoped to just post fun lesson videos before departing for a fun mountain ride, but alas, while I still get to hook up the trailer, it’s a much shorter trip (pun not intended).

The crappy cell phone view

Whyyyyyyyyyy?  (ok, maybe you say it with a bit less resignation than I do)

Because, upon lifting his right front bell boot, Encore presented me with this lovely gift on Wednesday evening.


What In The Name Of Cod Is That?

I first thought it was just (yes, after enough horse repairs, it becomes ‘just’) an abscess.  Our dear farrier was stopping by on Thursday anyway to do a quick reset of that shoe to hold it until our appointment next Tuesday.  We both found it dryly amusing that his LEFT front foot was the one he bruised a bit about a month ago.

Farrier snipped away the flap (is it still a flap if it’s the entire thickness of the hoof wall??) and paused.  Ermmmm, I don’t think that’s an abscess.

YUM!	Supplies at ready...

Neither of us can figure out how he managed it.  While he grows ridiculous amounts of toe up front (he’s at four weeks in these pics), his hind toes stay short, neat, and round.  His (thin, cheap) bell boot was not torn at all.  The angle is simply bizarre. 

Now What?

As a biologist, I do appreciate his efforts to fascinate me via self-dissection, revealing internal anatomy.  However, I’d rather just check that out on Google Images.  I let him steep in the magic of an Animalintex pad overnight, dosed up on SMZ’s and bute, with a liberal amount of duct tape.  I wasn’t quite satisfied with the view this morning though.

Still...ew

He’s re-wrapped with some neosporin on gauze to let things dry out a bit.  Since he couldn’t possibly do such a thing on a Monday, the trailer will head out this afternoon to the Batcave Dr. Bob’s clinic for an in-person inspection for weekend peace-of-mind.  He did essentially resect his own hoof.  If experience has taught me anything, it’s that the Unexpected Twist will ALWAYS occur on Saturday afternoon.  :/

That’s Depressing.  Give Us Some Trademark TFS Stupid Stubborn Positives.

Encore is quite sound wandering around his pasture.  There is no swelling in his fetlock or pastern, nor heat, and he had no reaction to the hooftesters on his sole.  He is also an excellent patient, dozing immobile as you poke, hose, wrap, smear, photograph, and peer at his feats (& feets, LOL).

I’m tossing around a few new USEA names for him on teh Facebookz; thus far, I’m rather taken with “Waylaid Again.”  It has a little more flow than “The Vet, Again?!”  Although his barn name is indeed prophetic, even more so if we lived in France.  Or Quebec.  Half the time he walks into the shed, I exclaim, “Encore?!”

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The One Minute Update Post

Thank you, Emily B., I'll try not to kill it!!

So many...so little...things time places ahhhh!  Therefore, you get what you get, but owe you updates, I do!!

• The Bump(s) turned out to be bruised veins.  No, I had no idea horses could do that either.  Told you he was creative.  But Encore is cleared for work (we're not telling him!) with application of magical Dr. Bob creme to bruises, oh except for the obligatory sole bruise.  However, if he is sound enough to do a big, powerful floating trot across rocky dirt for his dinner...he is sound enough to ride on footing, dammit!  

• I will be updating our "For Sale" tab with new items and more information!  Don't miss your chance for some great deals on clothes, tack, & more -- and yes, TFS desperately needs to raise some monehs.  The horses are eating well, but textured feed is a bit crunchy for me, even in milk!

• Just a thank you.  I am so lucky to know a really neat group of people who made the effort to come out and share some food and relax yesterday evening (FARMWARMING PARTY!).  In the shade next to the pasture, on a beautiful, low-key afternoon, it was wonderful to introduce some of my horsey people to my fish (work) people, while actually getting to sit still!  

A bottomless thank you to BFF for organizing the details & telling me to stop freaking out and take a shower, and to her husband for making the most amazing vinegar BBQ chicken and green beans.  I love you all and am so very grateful for your friendship, generosity, and willingness to put up with me (although, I should think that last is fairly entertaining at times).

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