Archives for 2012

Jax Skyline

Cheers Horse Ranch

Got up before dawn in order to be at the hospital early to press the issue of Hubby’s release. He hadn’t even had breakfast yet when I got there at 7:15! Sat around awhile waiting for doctor’s to visit and comment, last one to give discharge approval finally showed up around 9:30. From there our very efficient nurse Craig whipped through the discharge papers while Hubby showered, and we were out of there by just after 10:00. I had done as much packing and departure prep as I could, and it wasn’t long before the horses were loaded and we were on our way! Arrived at our next stable, the Cheers Horse Ranch near Yulee. We chose this spot because it’s the closest one we could find to Amelia Island, one of (if not THE) only beach in Florida where horses are permitted. We hope to have time to go riding on the beach before heading out to wherever (we haven’t decided where yet!) It was a very busy place, with a birthday party going on, and lots of activities, and all the horses there seemed happy and mostly healthy, though there were a couple of skinny rescues Debbie (the owner) had just acquired. It didn’t take long to get set up, and soon we were overlooking the round pen with a mini trotting around it. Horses were put up in nice box stalls in the barn, and Billy was allowed to roam around, but we kept Marina on a leash at all times, as there were lots of cats around, and apparently Marina plays too rough with cats, a sad lesson we learned at my brother’s house. In any event, we packed up and headed into the Jax Hyatt where I client had booked us a room, once again leaving our critters and stuff behind in someone elses’ care. Can’t wait till we’re back on a normal schedule, all this darn work keeps interfering with our riding time! : -). But at least we’re able to stash away some extra money for the inevitable dry times…

Woke up to Hubby having swelling in his finger spreading to his hand and heading down to the wrist. Dressed for work, but headed straight for the nearest hospital, Florida Hospital at Celebration, where we were admitted into ER in very short order. After a battery of tests (though I could have told them what he really needed was a round of antibiotics), they finally started him on an IV of (you guessed it) antibiotics, several hours into it. After much alarmist discussion about possible surgery on his arm (!!), they transferred him via ambulance (really??) to their hospital downtown to be looked at by their orthopedists. More tests, more doctors, more antibiotics, and they finally decided to wait until the next day before deciding anything. I headed back to the hotel to check out while they were transporting him, then spent the day by his side unti about 7:00 when I left to feed the animals and get back before dark. Not the way we were planning on spending the day! Swelling in his finger had gone down a bit by the time I left, though, so we’re hopeful we dodged the bullet of surgery and more serious complications, which apparently was a distinct possibility, had the bacterial infection spread further.

Jade Meadows backyard

Finished packing in the morning, then headed out via the back route to Orlando, fighting with my Verizon Navigator all the way, as she kept trying to get me back to I-95 as if there was no Beeline Highway or 441. Very frustrating. Arrived at Jade Meadows Stables in Kissimmee, had quite a bit of trouble getting into the place, with very low hanging branches from their beautiful live oaks, but it did make it difficult. No one warned us about the stable dog Benny, who evidently doesn’t like strangers much, and while I noticed his curled lip, Hubby got distracted at the same moment he was reaching down to pet the dog, who promptly nipped his fingers, breaking the skin a bit on his fingers. Nothing serious, apparently, so we continued setting up the RV and getting the horses settled. Satellite dish was so hopeless we didn’t even try, and we managed to get settled in for a relaxing evening, the horses safely stored away in the round pen next to us.

More time on the computer, more time doing spring cleaning, but mostly spent the day getting ready to leave tomorrow. After three months here (at least, our STUFF was here), it’s time to move on. We had originally planned to stay until the end of the month and to commute to two jobs in central Florida, but the second job moved up to Jacksonville, so it didn’t make sense to commute that far, so we decided to leave now. Finalized the logistics of a stable so that we could spend the night with our hosts in Orlando at the Dolphin Hotel in Disney on Thursday. Packed everything we could in preparation for our move tomorrow.

Today I tackled the drawers in the van, which is laid out like a walk-in closet with hanging clothes and drawers. Hubby and I gathered everything that didn’t fit any more (because of our weight loss since last year, over 35 pounds each!), including some really nice suits of his that were hardly worn, and drove them down to the North Shore Animal League Thrift Store in Jupiter to donate them to their no-kill animal shelter. We also donated the rest of our floor panels (they came in boxes of 6, one box we only used one, naturally), and some other items we got tired of carrying around with us and weren’t likely to ever use again. Long hot day, but well worth it by the time we got done, lots more room and access to the “extra” closet now!