Archives for 2020

Hi Sweetie!
What a strange day today! Well, maybe strange isn’t the right word, it just was kind of directionless, which just feels odd to me, I guess. I’ve always had something to do (too much!) so not having a list of things to tackle did feel strange! It was cloudy and there was an uncertainty to the weather, so I didn’t want to go riding, especially since there was rain last night and the trails are bound to be sloppy. I had to fix a drain hose, it was so kinked the water couldn’t get out, so I cut that shorter so that it would work properly. The stock market started out down (and was down a couple of days last week, too) so I decided it would be a good day to finally put the proceeds of the house into the financial plan I had developed last Sunday, and by the end of the day, the market was actually up, even though it was down 200 points when I started. That took several hours. Then I considered going shopping, but I had to find some hay first, and for the first time in a long time, I couldn’t find anything nearby, not through Marketplace or craigslist or hayexchange.com, nowhere! I finally had to call the farmers coop in nearby Henderson (yep, that’s the name of the nearest town!), and they have some for the hefty price of $7.25/bale, but I don’t have much choice. I saw at least one hay field when I was driving here that had just been cut, so it shouldn’t be long before the market is flooded with it, but right now, there’s nothing! Then I saw there was a storm front due in a few hours, and figured I didn’t have time to get back and keep the hay dry, so I abandoned that idea. After the first round of rain, I had dinner early, then Lola and I took a walk around the grounds, played on the jungle gym in the playground for a while, she’s really gotten the hang of going down slides and through tunnels! They have a nice bathhouse here, too, and a riding stable that I passed by. When I got back to the trailer I did some dishes, and all of a sudden I had a flood coming out from under the cupboard. Turns out the OTHER drain hose had clogged, too, and backed up all the way to that break in the drainpipe I already knew about (and did a temporary fix on only, because a true fix means dropping the entire basement cover and I haven’t had time to even consider that yet!), so I took off the hose and the coupling outside and water poured out everywhere, I couldn’t get out of the way fast enough. So then I had to mop up all the water inside with towels, which meant every single pot, pan and container had to come out from under the cupboards, including the bottom drawer in the kitchen. Then I discovered another water leak coming out from under the refrigerator, just a slight one, which would explain why when I’ve got the water pump on it pumps up every once in a while. I knew I had a small leak somewhere, I just hadn’t had time to look for it, but now I’ve found it! I pulled off the back of the refrigerator from the outside and found a tiny pinprick hole in the icemaker line. The water pressure is really high here, and even though I’ve adjusted it down several times, it’s still pretty firm, but it also looks like it’s been rubbing against a piece of metal which might have contributed to it. Also, I found the hot water plug had a little drip, too. I tightened that carefully (you know how those plastic plugs can strip so easily!), and I cut back the icemaker pipe back far enough to get rid of the leak, but the end piece leaked when I put it back, and I quickly realized I was going to have to get a new and improved end before I could truly fix it. That meant I had to turn off the icemaker line underneath the trailer, which of course was all wet from the draining and the leaking, so I got wet and smelly doing that. In the meantime, it was getting dark, and another thunderstorm started to come through, so I had to wait for it to pass before I could put the water back on, all piling up at the end of the day! Fortunately it didn’t take long for the storm to go through, I was able to put on the water, take a nice shower, start a load of laundry with all the wet towels I had used to mop up the floor before settling down for the late evening. The pots and pans are still all over the place, I’ll have to clean them before I can put them away, which I’m not going to do until I’m sure all the leaks have been fixed. Oh, and I discovered a roach under the cupboard, gave it a good spraying, and the next time I looked under the cupboard I saw a bunch more! I sprayed it pretty good, but obviously I’m going to have to keep after that little problem before it becomes a really big problem. So, an eventful day after such a slow start! Now I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow, with shopping, getting hay, finishing the icemaker repairs, and trying to figure out how to make these drain pipes both working and accessible, something I thought about but never really solved since we’ve had this unit, washing and putting away all the pots and pans, and who knows what else is likely to come up! Well, that’s okay, it’s supposed to be nice weather later in the week, so I’ll have a couple of good days for riding. I’ve kept the horses on the highline since it started raining, otherwise the lawn would be a total mess, so I’m going to have to do something soon about giving them some exercise. There’s an arena here, I was thinking about maybe putting them in there for awhile, but there’s a post down so I’d have to jury-rig something to fix that. Or I could just put Apollo on an anchor and let Flash wander, there’s a lot of grass around, and absolutely no one else here, though the rangers do come through occasionally, and one even delivered a couple of pieces of mail to me today! Very nice! Don’t know what’s they’ll say about letting them wander, if anything. But I can’t do it tomorrow anyway, since I won’t be here most of the day, so it’s a moot point. Anyway, enough about my mundane day, I’ve had my tea, and it’s time for bed! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hi Babe!
Despite Lola being restless last night, I still managed to get a decent night sleep, but I still felt tired, not surprisingly. I can feel myself coming down in a crash, which I fully expected. The only chore I did today was to put up an electric fence around the yard so the horses would have some room to move around, and of course they both rolled multiple times. I played with Lola, read off and on both inside the screen room and eventually back up in bed, where I napped occasionally, which felt really good! I did take a short venture over to the other folks in camp who had stopped by last night, but didn’t stay too long. They did mention that electric fences were frowned upon by the management here, but I should just not ask and see what happens. It’s so empty here I’ll be surprised if anyone makes a fuss, but then again, some of these places get all crazy about enforcing nonsensical rules, so we’ll see. Considering how long I’m going to be here, I don’t particularly like the idea of the horses only being on a highline the whole time, but that’s just going to be a fact of life for them for now. I arranged to ride with these folks tomorrow, because evidently there is no accurate trail map, none of the trails are marked, and there’s no signs to tell anyone where they are, so I guess my GPS is going to have to serve me tomorrow! I thought it might be useful to have a guide the first day out anyway, to get a feel for the place, then I’ll explore some more on my own later in the week. Anyway, it was a nice relaxing day, I think I managed to recharge my batteries a little anyway, though I imagine it will take some time to be fully back to normal, whatever that might be anymore. After all, I haven’t really had a rest in almost three years, I’m not sure what “rested” feels like anymore! But I sure am going to try to find out! Another good night sleep should help, so here I go! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hi Sweetie!
Yay! Back on the road again! Officially homeless! Officially a full-timer! Officially independent!! I wish you were here to share this with me (well, in person. I know you’re sharing it with me in spirit!) What a perfect day. The sky was cloudless, the temps warmed up for the first time in weeks, I got up with the alarm at 7:00 and managed to get everything packed up and after multiple good-byes with my hosts at Grandview RV Park, I hit the road just before 9:30. The drive went flawlessly, thank goodness. Of course, you’ll be happy to know that in addition to all the other things I mentioned I did yesterday, I also checked the air in all the tires, all the fluids under the hood, topped off power steering and transmission fluid, checked the fan belt, all the regular maintenance stuff I’m now going to have to get in the habit of doing. The horses loaded up with no trouble at all, they seemed as anxious to move on as I was, and we arrived safe and sound at Chickasaw just before 2:30. There was a lot of nice clover around, so I put the horses on anchors while I was setting up, which took me just about 2 hours, including the screen room because there were so many gnats around. I even got out Lola’s little swimming pool which I had retrieved from the house and filled it up, so once I got everything done, I finally got her out of the truck and we played fetch for a while. For the first time, I tried to do a live Facebook video, and it worked out pretty well, I actually had several immediate viewers, including my old boyfriend from high school, Larry, who I haven’t actually seen since 1976! The wonders of modern technology! It was a beautiful evening, and once I got the horses fed and on the highline, I fixed some dinner. Halfway through, two folks from the only other RV in the campground came around and asked me if I’d like to join them for grilling, but I explained that I was already having dinner, but promised them tomorrow night I would join them. For a Friday night, the place is dead quiet, but then again, this is the first day where the “stay at home” order was lifted. I was already falling asleep in my chair by 8:00, so I’m obviously feeling the crash as I knew I would. I doubt I’ll even have the energy to ride tomorrow, I might just take the whole day off, but we’ll see. I may just want to get out there and ride! Meanwhile, I’m no doubt going to head to bed extra early, and it’s so quiet out here, and the temps are dropping from mid-70’s to mid-50’s tonight, absolutely perfect, I anticipate one of the best night’s sleep for a long, long time! It’s so good to be back on the road again!!! Yay!! The next chapter is being written! Love you, babe! Good night!

Hello Darlin’!
Well, I think I’m ready! Even though I had a terrible night sleep (and don’t know why), I got up this morning with a plan to do everything possible to be ready for the trip tomorrow. I’ve been determined in these last few weeks, that in addition to getting everything in the house done and/or sold, I wanted to leave here without anything to fix, fill, finish or clean when I reached my next destination. I want to arrive and just be able to relax, ride and recoup from all of the exertions I’ve put out in the last weeks, months and years! So I did everything possible this week and more so today, to fix, fill, finish and clean everything that’s been hanging around, short and long term, including such mundane items as filling and cleaning Lola’s gumball machine. I put all the hoses away, flushed out the black water tanks about half a dozen times before the water finally came out reasonably clear, reorganized the horse area including putting down some shavings, and so much more. I even went back to the house to put a few things away in that I will pick up again in October, and helped the new owner pile a bunch of trash in the trailer and take it down to the dump area off Fred Lusk Rd., which was quite an experience for a city boy like him. He had no idea getting rid of trash meant throwing it into a nearly full receptacle that stood about 8 feet tall! He had torn all the carpet out of the bedroom, so we had large rolls to fling up there. Fortunately the dump guy actually helped us, even though he wasn’t supposed to, and I made sure to give him a fiver for all the help he provided. When we got back to the house, I helped him change the water filter in the well house, he was concerned about how low the water pressure was, I assured him it just needed a new filter, and I was right! Our so-called tenants had put in one of those filters that catches everything, and it was chock a block with sediment. Changing the filter solved his problem! I also walked him through putting chemicals in the hot tub, so he’s good to go. He took his first hot tub last night, and was in seventh heaven, he said. He was so relaxed afterward he had a great night sleep. He really appreciates the place, babe, and I’m glad he’s so enthusiastic about it. You know that house is really only for people with a special understanding, and he seems to have that. He’s been working hard on it, and it’s looking better already. Anyway, after I left there and got back to camp, did one final flush of the holding tank, fed the horses, threw in some laundry, cooked some dinner, and settled down for the evening. Going to bed really early tonight, hopefully, because there’s still a bit more packing to do in the morning, and then we’re FINALLY going to hit the road, at long last! Can’t wait!!! Heading out to Chickasaw State Park, that place in west Tennessee we were planning on going, it looks like they have a LOT of trails in the forest out there, so the horses will start to get some LONG OVERDUE exercise. All I want to do for the next two + weeks is sleep, eat and ride! Naps in the afternoon are a luxury I hope to indulge in regularly. Anyway, to insure that gets off to a good start, I need to get my bedtime ablutions off to a good start as well, so here I go! Love you, sweetie! Good night!

Hi Hon,
After a fitful night with the wind really shaking the trailer, and rain coming in early in the morning, the day turned out to be pretty productive. I put the horses out of the paddock, with Apollo on an anchor and Flash always nearby, and that’s the last I saw them until dinnertime. It rained most of the day, with some of it really coming in squalls, but I took advantage of this by spending the day doing things to start getting ready, and getting caught up on long overdue projects. That consisted of putting things away, finding new homes for things I’d decided to keep from the house, fixing a drawer in the utility room, cleaning out the back of the trailer a bit, and finally making that last drape for the window by the dining room table, which will keep the reflection off the TV really well, not to mention make it like a cave in here anytime I want! Should help to keep it warm, too, on a cold night. Then I tackled housecleaning, doing a nice thorough job that was long overdue, too. I didn’t want to get to the next place and feel like I had to do housekeeping right away, you know how I can’t just sit around when jobs like that are staring me in the face. Like I said, productive! I’m trying to stay on schedule for a Friday departure, I’m determined nothing will delay me! Even after all that, I had time to watch some Deep Space 9’s, and they’re really doing a nice job with it. Season 2 began with Louise Fletcher and an uncredited Frank Langela, would you believe! I’m heading to bed early, though, I want to try to get all the outside chores done tomorrow, there’s only a 30 % chance of rain, so I should be able to put most of the some stuff away. I may have to do a little running around, but hopefully not much. So off to bed I go! Good night, my love!

Hey Babe,
I was late getting to bed last night, because I let Lola out before taking my shower, and she decided to go on walkabout for a long time! She was still a bit restless nevertheless, which didn’t help, but I did finally get to sleep and woke up early. I had to meet the folks who bought the bedroom set at just after 8:00 at the house, so I needed to get up early anyway. We ended up having to load up both the truck and the trailer in order to carry it all to their house in Gruetli, so that took up most of the morning. They helped me load of the Great Books, so my plan was to run up to Murfreesboro once we were done with the delivery. I also had a conference call with another financial advisor, still trying to figure out exactly what to do with the proceeds of the house. Once that was over, I took the trailer back to the house, and decided that it was time to load up all the extra odds and ends and take them to Goodwill in McMinnville, clearing out the garage of everything except the two recliners, one loveseat and the desk. That’s all I have left now, and I don’t see me being able to sell those before I leave, so I’m hoping the new owner will let me keep trying to sell them without sticking around to do it, because frankly, I’ve just got to get out of here. I need forest! I need riding! I need peace and quiet and nothing I have to do for a few days! It seems like I’ve been going non-stop for so long I’m not sure how to relax, but intend to refresh my memory at my first opportunity! So with all the little stuff dropped off at Goodwill, and a long trip to Murfreesboro where some hard bargaining managed to get me a little something for the Great Books collection, a quick stop at Tractor Supply for some horse feed and another at Walmart for just a couple of things and some fuel, at the remarkable price of $1.94 a gallon for diesel, I finally made it back to camp after 5:00. I paid the bill for the month (Wayne was extremely generous in his fees, so I got off easy), but a month is long enough in one place! More than enough! And naturally, even though it was fairly nice today (once the unforecasted rain shower at 6:00 this morning passed), until the evening when once again, wind blew in, and there’s supposed to be more rain overnight. I haven’t had the awning down at all this month, and I even had to take up the outdoor carpet after a week because the wind kept blowing it all over the place. The wind is driving me crazy, and the rain and mud isn’t helping either. But the forecast for Friday, my scheduled travel day is sunny and 70 degrees, then reaching 80 degrees within a couple of days, so I guess spring will be really short and summer will be fast on it’s heals. Can’t wait to get moving!! Well, enough whining for now, good progress was made today, and I’m starting to feel confident I’ll actually be able to get out of here on Friday. For now, time for bed, and the hope I can get some sleep despite all the wind-blown rocking and rolling the trailer is doing right now! Wish me luck! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie,
Well, another day, another few more dollars of sold and donated items. I took three different trips to the house today, first to pick up the Encyclopedia Brittanicas. I’ve been trying to sell it, but it’s become clear that printed books are just about obsolete these days. Apparently not even Goodwill will take an encyclopedia! I finally called the tiny Altamont library, and they gladly accepted the donation. Hard to believe how much we paid for it, and how obsolete it’s become. I found a bookstore in Murfreesboro that says he may be interested in the set of the Great Books of the Western World, at least they’re a little more timeless. Second trip was to get the coffee table, which I delivered to someone in Coalmont. I’ve been using the parking lot of the Cruise In Cafe as a meeting place. The building itself burned down about six months back, so I’m told, but the family that ran it seems to still be living in a trailer next to it. Anyway, the last trip was back to the house where a mother and son from Gruetli met me to get the bedroom set, which I had to mark down to a ridiculously low price, but those four pieces take up so much room I had to get them out of there. Unfortunately, they showed up in a tiny truck that was too small to take it all, so they just took two pieces and the dresser mirror for now, and will come back tomorrow with a full-size truck, or pay me extra to deliver it. Then in the middle of the day, Apollo escaped from his anchor line and started wandering, taking Flash with him, of course, so I had to run back and help get them back in their little paddock. With all the rain, what little grass that was in there has been completely destroyed, it’s little more than a mud bog now, but at least it’s confined to a fairly small area. Finally made it back to camp after 8:00, fed the horses, played with Lola a bit with the frisbee that lights up in the dark, just to make sure she sleeps tonight. She was restless last night, scratching on the bedroom door and dragging her bed all around the trailer, hopefully she’ll be better tonight. Had time to watch a couple of Deep Space Nines, including one where Brian Keith was the guest star! Pretty good company! At least this show has some good acting, including regulars like Colm Meaney and Rene Auberjonois, and the writing’s pretty decent, too. Anyway, crammed a couple of those is, and now it’s late, so I’m heading off to bed. Good night, darlin’! Love you!

Hey Babe,
I gotta say, I am getting SO TIRED of clouds, wind, rain and cold temperatures!!!! Another day today when the wind was just whipping around most of the day. It’s getting on my nerves, as bad as it did that month we spent at our friend Lisa’s on the Rockies Front Range in Colorado, when the wind was just non-stop! It was cloudy and cold all day, I didn’t leave the trailer except to feed the horses, and at dinnertime, I changes their rain sheets out for their winter blankets, because it’s supposed to go down into the mid-30s tonight!!! What’s going on?? It’s almost May, I can’t ever remember it being this cold this late in the Spring in Tennessee! And nothing but rain, I’m up to my ankles in the mud with my Wellies, and I can tell the horses are getting sick of it, too. The only good news is that the forecast for our day of departure is sunny and 70 degrees! I sure hope that plays out, it will be just the ticket for my personal “independence day,” when I finally get on the road as a truly free spirit, no house, no ties, no roots, just the open road and to go wherever the wind blows me (or NOT as the case may be!). I spent the entire day doing research on investments, since the proceeds from the house are safely tucked away in the bank, but their finally destination had yet to be determined. I’ve been working with a number of financial advisors, and I sort of combined all their advice to come up with my own plan. Really, I wanted to just hire someone to do it, but after talking to so many, it became clear that it’s all a matter of opinion in the end, and since I’ve done pretty well over the years with investing, it made more sense to me to just do the research and come up with my own plan. YES, I ADMIT IT!! I’m a control freak, nothing new to those who know me! Could be why I’m so frustrated with the weather, since it’s definitely something I can’t control! Anyway, it was a quiet day other than that, and in the end, there was a spectacular (albeit brief) sunset, as the sun slid between the hovering clouds and the horizon. I finally put my computer away, sloshed my way back to feed the horses and change their blankets, and finally settled down for the evening. Still a lot to do in the next few days, but at least I have a goal and a countdown! Five days and counting!! Love you, babe! Good night!

Hi Darlin’,
What a rainy, windy, chilly dirty day! With rain starting in the morning, it rained off and on all day today, then turned positively blustery by bedtime. I felt bad for the horses, when I fed them breakfast, later than usual because of the rain, they were shivering because I didn’t put their blankets on last night, wasn’t expecting the rain to be cold, but the wind picked up and made it chilly. I worked on a few things in the house and on my computer, but then finally managed to get through to the fabric store, which I’ve been trying to do for two weeks now, because I wanted to get enough material to cover the final window above the dining room table. When you dialysis machine was sitting there I didn’t see the point, but now I wanted to able to close that off, but the store has been closed. But I finally got someone to answer the phone, and she said she would only be there for about an hour, and wasn’t opening up full-time until May 5, long after I plan on being gone, so I jumped into the truck with Lola and we headed out that way. As we searched the racks, I was afraid they had run out of the material, but at last we found it in a different place than before, and I got the yard I needed. From there I went to Lowe’s to get a small dowling that I will use for the curtain rail (the metal ones don’t last, I discovered, they bend too much), then a quick stop at Walmart to pick up just a few things, including a little toilet paper, just to be on the safe side! I haven’t seen much in stores, but they had a few packs left, so I grabbed some, along with dog food and a few essentials. As I was driving home, someone contacted me about buying the Galileo table, so once I got back and unloaded, I ran over to the house and loaded that up, and met the couple in Coalmont. Didn’t sell it for much, but at least it’s one less thing to haul to Goodwill or let Mountain TOP take for nothing! When I got back to the camper, I couldn’t find my wallet. Yesterday, I changed from my fanny pack to that nice black wallet I used to carry (not quite sure why I quit carrying it, actually), but then I couldn’t find it. I backtracked, first to the house, no luck, then I headed back toward McMinnville. I tried to call Walmart the entire way, and of course, no one picked up the phone for more than an hour, until I was only about 5 minutes away, but they at least confirmed that they had found it, yay!! When I got to the store, the line at customer service was longer than I had ever seen it, but I cut through to the counter since all I needed way my wallet, and fortunately there was a woman there who knew exactly what I was talking about and got it for me right away! Everything was there, fortunately, so that made me a happier camper. I decided not to waste the second trip, so I went to Tractor Supply to stock up on horse feed, but they were out of Flash’s food, with no more until Wednesday. I got plenty for Apollo, though, and I can always give Flash some of that. Then another long drive home. It rained off and on all afternoon, sometimes really pouring down, others when the sun came out for a few minutes, and I saw a beautiful rainbow on Cabbage Patch Rd. at one point. It was after six by the time I got back to camp, so I made dinner and had a glass of wine, and was just about to go out and to the horses when it started raining again. It was getting late, so I had no choice, I went out into the rain and fed them and this time, covered them in rain sheets for the night. By the time I got back to the camper the rain had gone from a drizzle to a deluge, so changing clothes was my first order of business! Dirty, crappy night! Then the wind really picked up, and right now it’s buffeting the trailer around like crazy. I’m worried about what it’s doing to the slide topper awning, it can’t be good. I am SO TIRED of this wind and rain and chilly temperatures!! But the long range forecast shows next Friday, my day of anticipated departure, to be sunny with a high of 70, which really excites me! Saturday is also sunny and mid-70s, so it should be a good day for riding, assuming I have enough energy after all of the activity that’s in store for the week. Winging down, but still have a lot to do, can’t wait till it’s done and I can crash!! Well, past my bedtime now, still need to let Lola out, take my shower and head to bed, which is next! Good night, darlin’! Love you!