Growing up with horses

   I was talking to someone the other day about growing up in Vegas. I started telling her about the house we had on Edgewood and the horses that we had. Then I discovered a picture.

 

On Edgewood, we had over an acre of land which included the barn you see in the photo. My cousin, Danny Potter had horses. My uncle, Nephi Potter (Danny's dad) started keeping their horses at our house. Danny is shown on his pony, Bay Lady. Behind him is Minnehaha (Minnie for short) with Ginny, Ruth, David and me (Sara) Stewart on her back.

 

Minnie was a wonderful horse. She was old, but as you can see tolerated lots of kids on her back. I loved riding Minnie. Minnie was a paint (multi-colored) horse that my Uncle Neph said was an Indian horse. The most interesting thing about Minnie was that she was trained to come to a complete stop when someone shouted "Whoa!"  As you can imaging, this made for interesting times. We would do horse races around the corral. If you were riding Minnie and you got ahead, someone would shout whoa and you would go flying over her head to the ground.

 

One time, my sister Virginia, Pam Madsen and I were out riding. Some dogs spooked our horses and they took off running out of control. As we came out of the desert onto Mason Drive, there was a 2-3 foot droop off. All of us got dumped. I yelled whoa and Minnie stopped. The other two horses headed on home. The three of us got on Minnie and road her home.

 

Ginny had a quarter horse named Blaze. She was also a lot of fun. Blaze was afraid of water. In the middle of the corral was a small water hole. Ginny was trying to get Blaze to go into the water. I don't remember all of the details, but she ended up on the ground with Blaze hitting her on her back with her hoof. She had a nice horseshoe shaped bruise for a while. We had her for several years, until she caught distemper and had to be put down.

 

Bay Lady was a great pony. She later had a foal which grew up in our corral. The foal was a roan (white hair mixed with some brown color). The foal was named Peanut.

 

Dr. Hal Parker lived in our ward about a block away. He had a bunch of small ponies that he kept at our house for a year. I think Ruth was the only one who could ride them, because they were so small, all the rest of us had our legs dragging on the ground. These ponies were so small, that they could lay down in the corral, roll over and be under the fence. They did not do this on purpose, but I remember it happened a couple of times.

 

In the barn, we kept chickens. Mom used one stall to raise rabbits. We would play in there and would do a haunted house up in the loft at Halloween. The barn was at the back of the property. Right behind the house was a high hedge of bushes. There was a 3-4 ft opening so you could go out back to the corral and barn. Sometimes someone would leave the barn light on. Mom would send one of us out there in the dark to turn it off. David and I both remember how we hated this job. I would go out ok because the light in the barn was on. I would get to the barn, hold the sliding door, flip the light switch off, slam the door and run as fast as I could towards that opening in the hedge. I am glad that the boogeyman never caught me!





Captured by Indians

One of our ancestors, Jacob Hunsaker had an interesting life. When he was 8 years old and his brother Isaac was 13, they were captured by Indians. Their parents, Johannes and Elizabeth (Huber) Huntsaker and their baby brother, Nicholas were killed by the Indians. Here is a story found on Ancestry.com that tells about it.

Jacob and his younger brother, Isaac, were captured by Indians in 1792. Their infant brother, Nicholas, was killed by the war party. They were taken to either Niagra Falls or Quebec, Canada, where they were raised as the sons of Chief Walker. They lived with Chief Walker for 7 or 8 years before they were able to escape separately. Isaac was able to rejoin their family some time before Jacob. Being younger, Jacob seems to have assimilated Indian ways more than Isaac. Jacob wore a ring in his nose, Indian fashion. He was soon nicknamed "Indian Jake", which he carried all of his life. Perhaps because of derision of his Indian ways by whites in Pennsylvania, Jacob migrated to Ohio. In 1804 he married Elizabeth Huffman.
This was the last massacre of whites by Indians in West Virginia.

There is no Chief Walker that can be found for that time frame. The story I was told when I was little was general. It said that they were captured by the Indians and lived with them for about 10 years before they escaped.

Twice in one day

   I go in spurts! I will go a month or two and not write anything. Then I will write once a week. Then back to once a month. I would like to write more often. I admire my dear niece (actually my sister, Ginny's niece) Laurie Evans. She writes several times a week. And she is a great writer. My favorite of all of her blogs was the one she wrote on why she had not married (yet.) Here is a link to her post: http://razzzberries.blogspot.com/   I would recommend that you read her blog from the beginning to the end. But, if you only read one thing, read the blog on Sept, 17, 2011 entitled, "Why I am not married." Here is the link to that blog; http://razzzberries.blogspot.com/2011/09/why-im-not-married.html 

Love you lots Laurie Evans!!! You inspire me to be a better person. We share so many likes; bacon, chocolate and our family. How could life get better!

Health alert!

   My doctor tells me that high cholesterol is mostly hereditary. My sister, Virginia has it as do I. My brother, David has good cholesterol. His wife Charlene does not. I am not sure about my sister, Ruth.

    I was on high cholesterol medication a few years ago. At that time, my cholesterol was in the 200's. My good cholesterol was very low. I found out I could not take statin medication as it caused me severe back pain (mostly in the area of my kidneys). Statins are used to help your good cholesterol improve, but they have many side affects.

    So, my solution was to quit taking any medication. (Really, I just got lazy and stopped.) In November, I had my yearly physical (for the first time in about 4 years.) Well, surprise, surprise (yes, that is a Gomer Pyle quote), my cholesterol was in the 400's with the average at 333. My good cholesterol was also very low.

    Back on medication. But, I could not take statins. So, I tried using Red Yeast Rice tablets. I got mine at Costco (they are over the counter.) The important thing is to make sure they are Citrinin free. Well, I just had my blood work taken again. My overall cholesterol is lower (but, not in the good range.) But, for the first time ever, my good cholesterol is in the good range.

   So, for all of you who have high cholesterol or know someone who does, please share this info about Red Yeast Rice.

    I read that many drug companies who produce cholesterol medication have paid to try to discredit Red Yeast Rice. Red Yeast Rice has no side affects like statins do. I would highly recommend this.

   This is about another result on my most recent blood work. Normal Vitamin D is above 100. Moderate to insufficient is between 12.5 and 100. Mine was 8.9! So, now I get to take one 50,000 unit pill once a week for 8 weeks. My doctor hopes I will be then up in the 30-50 range at the end of 8 weeks. I already have more energy.

    The following is from WebMD; "

Symptoms and Health Risks of Vitamin D Deficiency

Symptoms of bone pain and muscle weakness can mean you have a vitamin D deficiency. However, for many people, the symptoms are subtle. Yet even without symptoms, too little vitamin D can pose health risks. Low blood levels of the vitamin have been associated with the following:

• Increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease
• Cognitive impairment in older adults
• Severe asthma in children
• Cancer

Research suggests that vitamin D could play a role in the prevention and treatment of a number of different conditions, including type1 and type 2 diabetes, hypertension, glucose intolerance, and multiple sclerosis."

I also read that psoriasis (whick I have) can be helped through Vit D.

    This makes me wonder what my blood test in November showed. I switched doctors at the beginning of the year and this doctor (a DO) seems much more thorough. My old doctor had told me that I was pre-diabetic. This doctor said my blood sugar level was perfectly normal.

    The first thing my new doctor asked me was if my old doctor had talked to me about diet  and exercise. My answer was "no." So, now I have a membership at the Orem Rec Center. I have been going at least 3 times a week. I am also going on the Mediterranean Diet. Fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes, fish, chicken and very little beef and deserts.

   I am not 100% on this diet yet. I just got a book I ordered to help me. But, I am not eating processed food. I eat whole wheat bread, hummus, fruit smoothies, nuts. I made a frittata with egg, whole grain pasta, spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes and cheese. It was yummy! Even Clinton ate some and didn't complain (much) about it being vegetarian.

Good heart and clean hands!

My nephew, Robbie Stewart's wife, Tami posted the following on Facebook.


 


    This picture reminded me of an event many years ago.  Sometime in the 60's, I had the opportunity to go to Conference in the Tabernacle. The only thing I remember was a beautiful song, sung by a very elderly lady. She was Jesse Evans Smith, the wife of Joseph Fielding Smith. She died in 1971, the year I graduated from BYU.
    I found a video on You Tube of her singing this song with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duFYcQ9z4B4

"The King of Glory" ("He That Hath Clean Hands and a Pure Heart") - Jessie Evans Smith

www.youtube.com

   I hope that all of you enjoy this. That song became my favorite for many, many years. I want to know if any of my siblings remember this.