Archives for 2021

Hi Sweetie,
Spent the morning getting the inside of the truck cleaned up and my tools put away, then headed down to Wellington for an electrocardiogram. On the way I got a call from the WPB office saying that somewhere along the line no one request approval from the insurance company for my stress test on Monday, and with out it, they couldn’t do it. After the test I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to get an answer about the approval, only to get a late message saying my appointment had been cancelled because the request was still “pending.” So the two hours I spent on Wednesday setting up that appointment went out the window, and unless they can get another appointment scheduled in time, which is doubtful, they’re likely to call of the surgery and the whole domino affect that will cause is just unthinkable. If I can’t get this all done before my insurance runs out, I may not be able to get it done for years. It’s all so stupid, and just because someone at the cardiologist’s office dropped the ball and didn’t make the approval request on Wednesday like they should have done. GRRRRRRR! I’m so ticked off I can’t see straight. I’m the one who has to suffer, possibly for months or years, just because of someone elses’ lack of follow-through. I hate this system, when an insurance company dictates what care you’re allowed to get. I wasted another couple of hours on the phone trying to fix it, but then was told it was under control, then later told my appointment had already been cancelled. I have to stop ranting, but it really does make me ANGRY! Anyway, I finally settled down late (I kept trying to resolve something right up to about 8:00, but of course, no one works on the weekend so I didn’t get anywhere), now I’m heading for shower and bed, trying not to seethe too much, and not being very successful. Grrrrr! Love you, darlin’. Good night!

Hi Darlin’,
Another extra warm day today, we’re really having a heat wave, every day in the low 80’s, not bad! I decided today I was going to take the next logical step in the pursuit of fixing my sound system in the truck, and did what I SHOULD have done from the beginning, and test the speakers directly. I took off both door panels and took out the working speaker and plugged it into the left, non-working side, and surprise, surprise, I had sound! So all this money and time I’ve spent over the last few weeks, getting a new radio and wiring harness and all that, totally unnecessary. I guess that’s what I get for listening to my brother’s diagnosis. 😉 I went into town and picked up a couple of speakers at Walmart (plus a stop at the post office to send out some additional paperwork the new owners of my old trailer needed to get it registered), and by the end of the day, I had the new speakers put in, and even took the one working front speaker and put it in the rear left door because I discovered that one wasn’t working either. I probably should have changed them all out, but I’m not really the audiophile I used to be, so this is good enough. A lot of wasted time and money, but at least the job is done. Now I can finally put all the tools away and clean out the inside of the truck, just in time since other people will have to drive me for awhile after my knee surgery. The doctors are saying it will be at least two weeks before I can drive since it’s my right knee, but we’ll see. I’m planning on stocking up on everything so I can keep those shopping trips down to a minimum so I don’t have to rely on anyone else any more than is absolutely necessary. I have to check with my insurance company and find out about transportation to the PT sessions, which are supposed to be 2 or 3 times a week, if there’s a service I can take, or reimbursement for Uber or something. I’ll figure something out, you know I always do! Managed to get the horses done, a bit late but just before the mosquitoes came out. Jeff’s been home working on the Dodge, he did a major overhaul, with new injectors and a new fuel pump. It wasn’t sounding too good in the afternoon, but he finally got it going, and it does sound a lot better. Finally settled down for the evening, ready for shower and bed. Good night, babe! Love you!

Hey Babe,
Had an early appointment at the DMV to try and get both horse trailers registered, but only managed to get the Trailrider done, but that was a huge accomplishment on it’s own. Evidently the copy of the Certificate of Origin from Harmar was the contributing factor. Amazingly, I got the same woman at the DMV as I had last time, and she remembered all the problems we had, so she was very helpful. I couldn’t believe the annual registration fee for the Trailrider is going to be over $100! Compared to the $26 in TN, it seems ridiculous. She was really nice about it though, and she asked me how much I paid for it (because Florida requires the taxes to be paid), and I gave her a figure (albeit a bit less than the truth), she said, “Are you sure it wasn’t a gift?” with a sly eye, so of course I agreed, and I got a big break there! She was telling me all about the rich and famous who come in and have everything registered under a corporation and don’t pay any tax, and I guess she was just helping out the common man (or woman) with her helpful suggestion. So at least I got that done! They wouldn’t register the Logan, though, because the VIN sticker has completely pulled off and the only way I can register it is if I drag it down to their regional office in Riviera Beach and have them certify it (for which I need to make an appointment), and then I need to come BACK to the north office and register it (for which I need to make an appointment), so I think in the end I’ll probably just leave the old TN tag on there, considering that it’s mostly just sitting in the yard storing hay, probably won’t go on the road at all this year, unless I decide to go out to Dupuis at some point. Probably not, though, considering my knee surgery is next week and everyone’s telling me it will be at least 4-6 weeks before it will be moderately healed. Seeing as that is nearly April, it’s going to be getting way too warm down here and I’m going to want to be heading north by then. I had expected to be at the DMV for a couple of hours, but was finished in about an hour, so I called the cardiologist and arranged to come in earlier, and thankfully they were able to do that. I stopped for a quick salad at a little cafe tucked in a strip center, then got down to my appointment. Sorry to say that didn’t go every well. The EKG that my GP did last week never got into the system, so he didn’t have anything to compare today’s EKG with, and with my high cholesterol, he decided I needed a couple more tests before he’d give me clearance for surgery, and they had a really hard time finding an opening in any of their offices. In the end, they managed to get one test down in Wellington on Friday, and the other test I arranged myself up in Stuart on Monday morning. It’s strange that their network systems don’t connect between Palm Beach and Martin counties, though apparently it’s in the works. So I’m going to be doing little else but running around to medical facilities for the next week plus. I was hoping for a longer reprieve after spending so much time doing that with Hubby, but hopefully after this problem is resolved, things will settle down. Got back just before it was time to feed the horses, and since Jeff was still working on his truck, I did it on my own. James and Glenn got home shortly after that, and Glenn gave me a few of his venison appetizers leftover from Superbowl Sunday, my one indulgence this week. Well, except for the wine I had over two days. Settled down for the evening at last, won’t be long out of bed. Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hi Darlin’,
Today was mostly about meeting with the PA down in Coral Springs in advance of my surgery next week, telling me all the procedures and medications that I need to know about. One quick stop at Publix to pick up a few things, then back to the house. Didn’t really do much else today. It’s been hotter than normal so I’ve had to run the AC for Lola all day while I was gone, and tonight, too, because of the heat and humidity. Hard to believe I had the fireplace going all night just a few days ago, so changeable right now. Better than being in the snow, though, for sure! Tomorrow will be busier, have a couple of things to do and places to go. Just another mundane day today! So I’m off to shower and bed early again. Good night, baby! Love you!

Hi Babe,
Pretty dull day today, it was hot and muggy, too much so to try to work on the truck, but I did do a little bit of laundry and housekeeping, got caught up on my monthly bookkeeping, and took a quick trip out to Publix in the Buick to grab a few things and to pick up the Trailer For Sale sign I had placed a few months back. So glad that’s done and gone! I’m sorry to say that of the four things I wanted at the store, I had to substitute three of them because they didn’t have exactly what I wanted. Disappointing, but that’s the way it goes! Spent the rest of the day reading and watching Heartland episodes, pretty uneventful. Didn’t see anyone else but James all day. So a quiet day, an even quieter evening, not much to report! I’m done with my shower and will be heading to bed soon, so good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Sweetie!
Woke up to a bit of rain, got my morning chores done, did a little sewing job on Lola’s bed, then mostly read and relaxed today until the afternoon. After the animals were fed dinner, I joined Glenn and Dena and their friends Terry and Belinda for noshes and the Super Bowl on the outside TV on Glenn’s motorhome. You remember that wood box that had two bottles of wine in it, that sat on the shelf behind our bar at home in Tennessee forever? Those were a gift from the bank I worked at back in about 1982, and for whatever reason, we never got around to opening them. I figured they turned to vinegar by now, and since I’m trying to get rid of as much clutter and weight as I can, I decided to finally open one today! The cork fell apart, but I did manage to get most of it out and strained it. Believe it or not, it hadn’t actually turned! It had a bit of an edge on it, like most red wines, so I put a little lemon-lime in there just to sweeten it up a bit, and managed to drink about half the bottle. I pulled out the cork and vacuum system that I found in the cupboard above the laundry the other day, and used that to keep it “fresh” after I opened it. Managed to down about half a bottle during the evening, so at least I’m partway there to getting rid of it. It’s not going to help my diet, but neither will all the noshes I ate over at the party, though I did keep it to meat for the protein, no carb snacks at all. Anyway, the game is unexpectedly one-sided, and after the last touchdown by Tampa (with Tom Brady quarterbacking!), I decided to come back and shower and get ready for bed. This is the first time in the 55 year Super Bowl history that a team has played on their home field. Hard to believe it took this long! Looks like they’re going to win it, too, which isn’t surprising with the home field advantage. Worst half-time show I’ve ever seen, though, although admittedly we haven’t been paying much attention to football in recent years. Anyway, almost time for bed, so good night, darlin’! Love you!

Hi Darlin’!
Well, I finally managed to do it! I sold the old Open Range Trailer. A very nice Latino couple bought it for their daughter’s 15th birthday, aka her Quinceañera, and are going to put it in their yard and let her live in it as a way to teach her responsibility. Didn’t get all I was asking for it, but probably got all I could get for it. Just thrilled that the last millstone hanging around my neck is finally gone! Back to basics now, with only the four vehicles left as my only assets besides my investments. Well, plus my tractor, of course! It took a couple of hours to walk them through everything, get them hooked up and send them on their way, but I was very happy to see the end of that episode. I loved that trailer, we had some great times in it, but that was then and this is now, and the horse trailer will be just fine for me and Lola. I decided to just veg out the rest of the day, Glenn and Dena invited me in for a glass or two of wine (my first in quite a few weeks now, cut back as part of my diet), then settled down for the rest of the evening, mostly just watching some more episodes of Heartland. I started watching it thinking that the 11 seasons was all there was, but it turns out that it’s actually still running, and they just added two more seasons to Netflix! It’s mostly about horses, albeit with a lot of theatrical license in terms of the training techniques, but I’m enjoying it. Anyway, I’m off to bed now, feeling like a weight has been lifted. If it weren’t for my knee surgery coming up, I would definitely be looking to pack up and move on, but it’s still chilly in north Florida anyway, so I guess I’m better off here for now, even if riding the same old trails are boring. Next time I ride, I think I’ll do some more exploring in Cypress Creek, it seems there are a lot more service roads in there that I can wander around on, that aren’t designed as hiking trails, so at least I might be able to find something a little different that just walking along canals. Meanwhile, whereas I was running the fireplace all night to keep warm, last night and tonight I’ve had to put the AC on to blow out the hot air before going to bed. Eighties for the rest of the week, and humid, too! Welcome to Florida! Love you, babe! Good night!

Hi Sweetheart,
Had a great night sleep after going to bed early, yay! Did some computer work in the morning, then headed out to the doctor for my first “pre-op” exam, where they did an EKG that showed something a bit off, so now I have to see a cardiologist for a clearance before surgery. Crazy, huh? Had to get more labwork done, even though it was done last month it will be outside of 30 days to the surgery, and that’s a requirement, had a long wait there again. Finally got to Walmart to pick up a few things before heading home. It wasn’t long before James and I fed the critters and I settled down for the evening. Going to have another early night, I like it much better when I get to bed early! Good night, darlin’! Love you!

Hi Babe,
Though I slept late this morning, I still felt kind of tired today. I spent some time online trying to resolve my RV parts issue, between the mechanic and the parts store, trying to figure out what I should order in advance so that we can keep the repair time down to a minimum. I also searched for the amplifier on my truck, I found a very comprehensive method for testing the system, but it all begins with the amplifier, which I can’t seem to find. They all say the amplifier is under the “center console,” but I don’t have a center console. I took apart another dash panel looking for it, it wasn’t there. It might be under the seat, but I haven’t checked there yet, I will do later when I’m in the mood. Kind of vegged out later in the day, I feel fine, just tired for some reason, maybe because of all the non-stop cleaning I did yesterday. Anyway, I had a relaxing evening and am going to bed early. Good night, my love!