Archives for January 2021

Hey Babe,
A busy day today, beginning with finishing off my new radio install. Found that by switching one of the plugs from the amplified side to the non-amplified side, the speakers worked find, well, at least the right speaker, the left one still isn’t working any better than it did before. I went hunting for a short in the system, and I found one in the brake controller, which is good because it’s been giving me an error indicating a short, so hopefully that’s fixed now, but the rest of it is still a mystery. I didn’t have time to completely track it down, I’ll need a full day for that, but since I had an MRI on my knee scheduled this afternoon, I couldn’t pursue it. I also have to finish figuring out how to wire up my new backup camera, I think I can draw power from one of the lights on the back of the roof, but I need to do some more research on that. Got down to WPB just in time for my MRI, was happy that they took me right in and got me right out again, saves me a parking fee when I can get in and out in an hour. Would you believe they don’t validate? There’s no place else to park, so if it takes longer than an hour, I have to pay for it. You know what a “thrifty” soul I am! Headed up to Walmart in PBGardens and did some shopping, then a quick stop at the auto parts store in Jupiter to pick up some 30 amp fuses. I can’t seem to find one of the ones that plug into the trailer’s circuit board, I want to do a test to see how well the original system charges up the batteries on shore power, so I can maybe turn off the inverter and let it rest for awhile. Another quick stop at the UPS store to drop off an Amazon return, turns out I didn’t need one of the parts I ordered, sort of a front piece and bracket to hold it in, but the radio fit perfectly without it. Looks rather nice, certainly quite updated, and if I can get the backup camera hooked, nice and functional, too. It has a CD player (not that I’ve ever used that too much), and a hookup for a memory card and an MP3 player, and a bluetooth connection for my phone, though most of the reviews were that it was hard to hear when using the phone, but I’ll check it out. Maybe I can figure out an external microphone. Or maybe I just won’t answer the phone while I’m driving, which is what I do now anyway, safer that way. Back to the house, unloaded the groceries, then fed all the animals since Jeff had already told me he would be late tonight, back on the job in Vero, so I was able to get all that done before dark and avoid the mosquitoes. Then I just settled down for a nice relaxing evening after a busy day! Took my shower early, be heading to bed shortly. Good night, my sweet! Love you!

Hi Darlin’,
After my usual morning chores, some work on the computer trying to track down what to do about the Trailrider title, I ran up to Ranch feed in the Buick to stock up on horse feed. Shortly after I got back my delivery from Amazon came, so I decided to see how far I could get with wiring up the new radio. Turns out I pretty much got it done, put all the wires together and even managed to get it in the truck, though I was struggling with getting all the wires out of the way, and the antenna adapter kept falling out. In the end I got it in, though, sans backup camera, that’s going to take a bit more doing because I have to pull power from somewhere, and since I want it where I can see the gooseneck, the license plate light isn’t going to work. Need to be a little more creative than that. Once I got it hooked up and in, though, I could barely hear any sound coming out of the speakers, and there’s still nothing coming out of the drivers side speaker, which was pretty much the whole reason I upgraded the radio, because my brother Karl said the radio was the problem, not the speakers, but a new radio didn’t solve the problem. Sigh… According to my truck manual, the original system had amplified speakers, so I set the adapter up for an amplified system, but obviously that’s not right, since I get almost no volume out of it. But by then it was getting late, so feeding took precedence, it’s just something I’m going to have to deal with tomorrow. It’s hard to find specific information about after market radio installation, so I’m not sure how I’m going to find the answer, just might be a lot of trial and error. Another long learning curve! I was happy I managed to get it all in, just wished it worked the way it was supposed to. Hope it turns out to be worth it. Anyway, a quiet evening after that, time now for shower and bed. Love you, sweetie! Good night!

Hey Sweetie,
Slept kind of late this morning, did a few things on the computer, had a problem securing proof of insurance because the woman who normally does it in the office I chose wasn’t answering, but at the last minute I finally got through to the office manager who worked with me for half an hour to get me what I needed. Managed to make it just in time for my appointment, but then it turned out I didn’t have all the paperwork I needed so I had to come all the way back to get a few more things, then finally managed to get my driver’s license and the two motor vehicles registered. Decided to get a specialty plate with a horse on it, had two to choose from, one that says “Horse Country” and another with an image of a horse on a beach saying “Discover Florida’s Horses.” The money goes to certain charities, and I hadn’t researched which charities they benefit, but I liked the look of the horse on a beach better, just because it seems more “Florida-y.” Turns out, when I got back and researched them, the Horse Country charity one doesn’t have anything to do with horses, it has to do with programs that work with “children at risk,” whatever that means. The one I picked actually benefits the new Florida Horse Park up near Ocala, which I had heard about but haven’t seen, so at least it’s horse-related, unlike the other one. Who knew? Glad I picked the one I did. I was actually able to get an “Antique” plate for the Buick, which was a lot cheaper, and a solid light blue, not the best color to go on a black car, but it will certainly stand out. Sorry to say the Check Engine Light came on on the way home, hopefully it’s nothing serious, but I’ll have to check it out tomorrow. Meanwhile, I couldn’t register the Trailrider because the original title doesn’t mention the manufacturer, Harmar, so they can’t put it in their computer until it’s changed, can you believe! I called Montana where the original title was issued, and they couldn’t understand why Florida, like them, didn’t have a “correction” process for titles that have incorrect information on them, so I’ll need to contact FL DMV again tomorrow to see if they do. Otherwise, I’ve got to go through the whole process of having the previous owner (actually, the husband who was on the original title, you know, the one she was in the middle of a nasty divorce with?) might have to sign another one, and how likely is that? Not sure how this is all going to play out, but it’s no doubt going to take some time. Grrrr! Didn’t need a silly problem like THIS to solve! The gal at the DMV, Ellie, was great though, she worked very hard the whole time to get things going for me, which I really appreciated. Took all afternoon at the DMV, finally headed out around 4:30, got back just about in time to feed the horses before settling down for the evening. I completely forgot about registering the small horse trailer, even forgot to get it “VIN checked” when the deputy was out here the other day, so I guess I’ll need to do that eventually, too, probably at the same time, since there’s a long waiting list for appointments. Anyway, long day of standing on a hard floor under fluorescent lighting, looking forward to a relaxing shower and bed. Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Babe,
Today, I mostly did research to figure out exactly what I needed to finish putting in my stereo in the truck, and it does, unfortunately, consist of ordering parts that are more than the cost of the radio, but oh, well, it needs to be done, and since I don’t have any house expenses anymore, it seems sensible to get everything else in shape, and the upgrade to a system that has all the bells and whistles, including a backup camera, seems like a good idea, since my truck is my primary vehicle, as it were. With the proper equipment, though, it seems like I should be able to do the rest of the install myself, which should save me some money in the end anyway. Didn’t do a whole lot else today, just wasn’t in the mood. Some other inquiries about other stuff, like a mat for the ramp in back, which is shrinking and slipping, and a tire that may be a better spare for the trailer than the Hankook I bought, I either didn’t get answered because it’s a holiday, or got answered late, so I’ll have to take care of it in the morning. I installed the wiring for the backup camera, but not the camera itself, I figure I need to actually have it on and see if it’s pointing the right way before I fix it in. Tomorrow is my appointment to get the cars registered and my license transferred, so I finished gathering all the paperwork together. I suddenly remembered that I hadn’t done anything with the Logan trailer, so I don’t have it certified by a law enforcement officer, so I may not be able to get that one going. Considering it’s only being used to store hay, it’s probably not essential I do that anyway, but it should probably be legal in case I try to take it on the road, maybe for a trip to Dupuis one of these days. Anyway, a fairly uneventful day, not much else to tell. Love you, darlin’! Good night!

Hi Darlin’,
Though I managed to record a bunch of stuff on the Dish PVR last night, for some reason the signal dropped out this morning, so after breakfast I had to go out and straighten it out. Never did find out exactly what happened, it almost seemed like it lost power at the receiver, but I don’t know for sure. I thought maybe it had shifted on the roof, because I didn’t put any water in the base to weigh it down, so I went ahead and did that this morning, then realigned it just fine, managed to get everything working good, and it didn’t take me too long. Kristen and her friend came and got Apollo and Frost and took them over to Riverbend again today, Flash not too happy about being left on his own again. I really need to take that horse out for a ride! It just seems like I’ve always got something else to do. Just after the girls left with the horses, I had a delivery from Amazon, my new truck radio and backup camera. Of course, as I started trying to figure out how to install it, I learned there’s a few more things I need, but no way to verify exactly what, since every place I looked on the internet had a different configuration. I need a wiring harness, but they range from about $7 for a bare bones one up to over $100 for the one that seems to be able to control everything I need, like the camera and Onstar and so on. Hard to believe I have to pay more for a few bits of wire to connect it than I did for the radio itself! I’m going to try to get some professional help before I go any further, in the meantime it’s just frustrating not to be able to get the answers I need. Once the girls got back and we got everyone put away and fed, I settled down for the evening, the usual. My life has gotten pretty boring lately, I really need to get out on a horse for awhile! Oh, well, that’s the way it goes. And my finger is still having ring withdrawal. Love you, sweetie! Good night!

Hi Sweetie,
I feel like I have a ghost appendage where my wedding ring used to be! My thumb keeps trying to touch it, and it’s still a surprise when it doesn’t find it there. I supposed I’ll get used to it eventually. Meanwhile, I spent the early part of the day working online, looking for a new radio for the truck, though the only ones they sell anymore are these fancy ones with the video screen and USB ports and all that stuff, so I also got a little backup camera so I can hook up where I can see the gooseneck ball. It usually takes some time to get myself lined up on it, so hopefully, this will make it easier. I’m determined to get as much done while I’m here as I can, upgrade all the little things we always talked about doing, and a working radio in my truck was on my list, though I’ll be losing the cassette player. This one does have a CD player, and it even runs DVDs. Who watches movies while they’re driving? That’s just crazy. Good for keeping kids or passengers busy, though, I guess. I also filled out the forms to get the vehicles registered in Florida, then had to have a Sheriff’s deputy come out to do a “VIN check.” Evidently they have to confirm the odometer and the VIN number go together before it can be registered, and law enforcement is one of the ways to get it certified. Otherwise I’d have to take all three vehicles to the local DMV, and THAT certainly would have made things tough. But he arrived quickly and got done quickly, and it was his first time, so I’m hoping we did everything right. Just after he left I got my package with the new coax cables in it, so I climbed up on the roof and installed them, and lo and behold! I managed to get the perfect satellite signal after only a few minutes of fine-tuning! Whoo-hoo! I thought that would be a struggle, but it landed perfectly, and I even got all three satellites! Shocking, really! So then I had to contact Dish and get them to turn my receiver on, but the call kept getting dropped, then when I finally reached someone, they forgot to kick in the programming, so I had to contact them again, this time on Chat, but FINALLY I got it all put together. So now I’m recording a bunch of movies, which I will continue to do until I have 200 hours stored away for future use. Assuming I can find 200 hours of good movies to watch in the next two months. Anyway, I was satisfied that I got that done, and glad to know I have a working satellite system now, in case I need one. I also started looking at rubber mats for the ramp in the trailer, found some interesting ones that actually are sort of corrugated, which would help with the horses’ footing. The old mat seems to have shrunk a bit and has come off a lot of the screws that were holding it down, so it definitely needs to be replace. At this rate, I should have just about everything up and running by the time I leave here. Anyway, after that I settled down for the evening, now I’m ready for shower and bed. Good night, baby! Love you!

Hi Babe,
After finishing my clipping on Apollo (have hay, will stand!), which came out halfway decent considering neither one of us has ever done a clip before, so at least he’s more comfortable. Got a cool night coming up, though, so I’ll have to blanket him on those nights. Spent the morning calling other RV repair places, seems like mid-March is actually the soonest I can get in! The rest were all early April. Man, if someone wanted to start a booming business, RV repair in Florida would definitely be it! One place I called ONLY works on Class A motorhomes, another, only on the kind of trailers they sell, i.e., no horse trailers. Crazy policies! I mean, a slide is a slide, right? So I guess I’m stuck till mid-March, darn it! I really only wanted to spend a month here, but the slide has gotten really bad, and I’m afraid once I move it again, it’s going to get stuck for good, and that would REALLY be a problem. So I guess I better get back into my riding routine, for my horses’ sakes. Meanwhile, I heard from the doctor’s, it seems they don’t allow any jewelry into the MRI room, even though it’s for my knee, and though I tried as hard as I could to get my wedding ring off, it just wasn’t possible. I guess I’ve broken that knuckle a time or two in the last 30 years, it really got big. The ring fits fine where it was sitting, but getting past the knuckle was impossible, so I had to run into town to a jewelry store and have it cut off. It really had to be opened wide to get it off, so it came out quite a mess. Got a bit emotional about it, seems like the last vestige of that long chapter, other than this ongoing, one-sided conversation we’re having. Made me sad, but then I heard your voice in my head, “water under the bridge” and let it go. Got back and decided to try to get the satellite dish going, I used up most of the movies on the PVR and really need to stock up on some more in case I end up someplace with no cell phone signal for my Netflix. Got pretty close to getting a signal, too, had it locked onto 129 at one point, just not in the right position. Then I had trouble with the coax, so I decided to give it a rest and ordered a couple of good coax cables to put directly on the satellite where it was needed. Amazon Prime will be delivering them tomorrow, would you believe! Then I’m afraid I’m going to need some help doing the final dish pointing to get it right. I think I have a pretty clear shot, but there are a couple of trees that might be in the way, we’ll have to wait and see. Finally, as usual, feeding the animals ran into mosquito hour and I got bitten like crazy again. Jeff was in a surly mood, which didn’t help, but I’m done with trying to work out a feeding schedule with him, he always leaves it too late. I’m just going to feed my horses when I want, and let him deal with the rest of it on his own. I’ll just have to make a second trip to give them hay once he gets around to putting them in the paddock, whenever that is, though I may have to delay it past mosquito time, sick of getting eaten up. So it was a pretty crummy day except for finishing the clip on Apollo. I hope tomorrow is better. Good night, darlin’! Love you!

Hi Hon,
Had a good night sleep, and a quiet morning, waiting for the mobile RV guys to come out and look at the slide-out. It’s been gradually getting worse, and I’m worried it’s going to get irretrievably stuck one of these days, so I figured I better get it looked at while I was here. After less than an hour, they decided it’s most likely the bearings on the slide, but that can’t do anything to fix it because the whole slide apparently needs to come out so I need to take it to a shop. That little diagnosis cost me $240. They recommended a place in Stuart, but when I called them, their first availability is March 15! I really don’t want to stay here that long, Jeff and I are already driving each other nuts, and I never intended to stay more than a month, certainly not four months, grrr! Meanwhile, Jeff decided to fix the tractor tire with the tire and tube I bought, and in the process, popped the tube. Of course, he immediately made it my fault, did the tire really need a tube, did I get the right size tube, yada, yada, yada. I called the company to get another tube, and they were generous enough to say they’d send me another one gratis, on the off chance it was defective (VERY off chance), but now we have to wait until that shows up. Meanwhile, I gave the horses a bath and left them out to dry, tied to the small trailer until Apollo was dry enough to start clipping. A little trial and error, but I managed to get most of what I wanted to do done before the battery ran out. It’s hardly perfect, but being the first time I ever tried to clip a horse, I think it came out pretty well. And Apollo was wonderful, stood still, hardly noticed what I was doing. I’ll have a bit more to finish off tomorrow once the clippers are recharged. I think I need to take Flash for a ride, though, he’s getting antsy, running around the yard like a mad horse for no reason, or whenever he loses track of Apollo. It’s odd, I just don’t really feel like riding out here, I guess I’m just bored with the trails, I’ve been on them so much in the past. I’ll see how I feel in the morning, I don’t want to re-damage my knee, which has been getting a little better. I still have more jobs lined up that I need to do, but I guess there’s no hurry, especially if I’m stuck here another two months. I’ll be on the phone looking for another repair shop, though, to see if I can get into one sooner, you can bet on that! Once again, didn’t get the horses fed until nearly dark, despite my efforts to get it done sooner, delayed by you know who. Anyway, finally settled down for the evening, Found out that for this MRI I’m supposed to be getting next week I can’t wear any jewelry, but I can’t seem to get my wedding ring off. My knuckle has expanded or something, and it’s giving me a dickens of a time. I’ve read about several methods I’m going to try tomorrow, before I resort to going to a jewelry store and having it cut off, which would be terrible to have to do. Well, no sense worrying about that tonight. Good night, sweetie. Love you!

Hi Sweetie,
It’s official, life without you is getting boring! A pretty ordinary day. Woke up early and did a lot of stretching, may have actually moved something again. It occurred to me that maybe the reason my knee suddenly got so bad was because I had done some serious stretching last month, and I’m sure I shifted some things, but as you know, when one thing shifts, so do other things, and I bet imbalanced in a different way. Still haven’t quite got everything back to it’s original position (from ten years ago!), but it does seem to be incrementally better. Who knows, if I keep this up, maybe one day I’ll actually get it straightened out. Meanwhile, I had someone come look at the trailer today, but he had just got himself a new Yukon, so there’s no way he can tow it with that puny thing. That seems to be the biggest deterrent for the many inquiries I’ve had, everybody wants a big trailer, but nobody has the truck to pull it. Didn’t feel like doing much today, then rain came in around dinner time, just managed to get the animals fed before it got bad, and had a relaxing movie night. I’ve got the mobile RV guys coming tomorrow to try to fix the slide, I’m tired of messing with it, and I really would like it working before I leave here. I keep getting a few little things done most days, so hopefully I’ll get everything shipshape before I leave. Still haven’t exactly decided where I’m going, just going to follow the weather! Well, no more news than that, so I’m heading in for my shower and bed. Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Babe,
Slept comfortably late this morning, with plans to go pick up hay this morning, and even though the forecast had no rain in it when I went to bed, it was raining when I woke up. Radar showed it was going to be here for hours. How do these ridiculous weather forecasters miss this stuff? Since I couldn’t get hay in the rain, I decided on an indoor job, which was to put new sealant around the kitchen and bathroom sinks. They’ve been peeling up and getting dirty, so I scraped it all up and resealed them. Not the prettiest job ever, but functional, which is most important. Had a doctor’s appointment at 2:00, so I headed out in time for that, but they had to take a couple more x-rays so that delayed my appointment. I finally met the doctor more than an hour later, and he did more talking than listening, so I’m not sure how well he understands my problem with my knee. He couldn’t really explain exactly what he thought it was, or rather, he assumed it was something typical, which I’m not so sure it is, but there you go. Before doing anything else, though, he wants an MRI, and they couldn’t schedule that until late next week, and he won’t recommend anything else to do before then, even though he doesn’t really think that’s the problem. He’s talking about 6-8 weeks of treatment, including possible crutches and/or walker for part of that, yet that’s without surgery, so I’m confused about it. Again, more talking, but not much enlightenment. We’ll see what happens after the MRI. Anyway, it was after 4:00 before I got out of there, barely had enough time to rush through my shopping and get to the feed store to pick up hay before they closed. Fortunately, it had stopped raining by them, but it was still cloudy, but dry enough for hay. Put it in my nice clean trailer when I got back, put my perishables away, then started to get ready to feed the critters. Jeff was late coming home, but James had arrived just before me, so he did his critters while I did mine. Wasn’t long before it was time to settle in for the evening. Time now for shower and bed, so good night, darlin’! Love you!