Archives for January 2023

Tuesday, January 31, 2023 – Moved Buick to Brother Glenn’s, Slow Ride on Apollo

Hi Babe,
Another good night sleep, did my chores, then arranged with Julie to follow me over to Glenn’s house in the Buick. Made it okay, and tucked it into the back corner of his Quonset hut. Got back and decided to take Apollo for a long overdue ride. Can’t remember the last time I rode him, he definitely needed it! We took the 5-mile green loop, took us almost 2 hours (typically 2.8 mph!) so it was slow and steady. Hot day today, 85 again, shouldn’t be like this at this time of the year! Got back to camp, chatted with some campers, fed the horses again, then settled down for the rest of the day. My latest binge-watch on Netflix is a series called Bloodline, excellent writing and production value, great acting, too. Wonder if there are really families that stick up for each other like that. Grilled a burger and had a quiet evening. Won’t be long until shower and bed. Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Monday, January 30, 2023 – Bunch of Small Stuff Done

Hey Darlin’,
A pretty good night sleep, got my chores done, put together a couple of book orders from last night, started some laundry, then headed out to town. Hit the post office to drop off the books, then Glenn’s to clean the pool and finish weed-whacking around his walkways, stopped at Tractor Supply for some hay, and finally the gas station because the mower tank was empty. Got back to camp, put the hay away, then settled down for the rest of the day. I moved some stuff around in the Quonset hut, so hopefully I can get the Buick moved over tomorrow. Now all I have to do is arrange for a trailer to move the tractor, still hoping Jeff’s buddy will come through on that, no word yet, though. Really hot today, mid-80’s had to put the AC on! Had a quiet evening with a nice steak dinner, ready for shower and bed! Good night, Sweetheart! Love you!

Sunday, January 29, 2023 – A Nice Ride with Group, Too Much Food!

Hi Sweetie,
Had a pretty nice day today, all things considered. Made it over to breakfast with the club, some very interesting fare, including duck breast, pork bellies with apples and Jack Daniel’s, and eggs with peppers and finely chopped brussel sprouts, hmm, hmm good! Plus some coffee cake, so no one went hungry. Eventually all the gals saddled up to ride, and we had a fairly short but very nice ride. We even went on one section of trail that they hadn’t been on before, or at least not for years, which was a nice change for them, since they’re such regulars here. All the horses got along and it was lovely. Wasn’t too long after that we had a lunch of leftovers plus some quesadillas, and we ended up chatting until 3:00. Several other riders joined us, so it was a spirited discussion on many topics. Everyone finally left, and I settled down to trying to work out how people can buy my book, since my website pay buttons aren’t working anymore. Finally settled on the Pay feature in Messenger, directing potential buyers to my Best and Worse Facebook group where I posted instructions on how to use that Pay feature, and by the time of this writing, I’ve already got a couple of orders in! Be nice to have a little extra money coming in. Anyway, I’ve already had my shower, and I’m heading to bed early so I can read for awhile, and hoping to get a better night sleep tonight, knowing I have so many horse friends trying to help me. Don’t know what will come of it, but feeling a bit more optimistic. We’ll see! Anyway, heading to bed. Love you, babe! Good night!

Saturday, January 28, 2023 – Full Day

Hey Babe,
Had a rather roller coaster day today, be interesting to see how it all works out! Started out expecting breakfast with the Florida Horsemen’s Club (Dennis the Chef always does a great job!), but it was a bit late so I had to leave beforehand. Had made an arrangement to meet brother Glenn at his house at 10:00, loaded up my derelict recliner and arrived right on time for that. Cleaned the pool and discussed some other matters, then loaded up an old bathroom sink into the back of the truck, as I was headed to the landfill with the recliner anyway. Got that done, headed back to camp, finally managed to catch a meal with them at lunch (burgers, hmmm!), chatted with them and a few other campers throughout the day, all of which were devastated that I had been dismissed as camp host for a social media infraction (which was incredibly innocuous to those of us who believe in cleaning stalls), and worked on formulating a plan to try to reverse that decision. Not holding my breath, but it would be nice if the complainants/offenders didn’t get their way as they have always done in the past. Worked on my website a bit, trying to solve a problem with my book sales page, then rejoined the club for a fabulous dinner and an evening around the campfire, that even included s’mores! What a blast from the past that was! Finally got back to my place around 10:00, ready for shower and bed for sure! Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Friday, January 27, 2023 – Another Change in Plans

Hi Darlin’,
Once again, Jeff’s friend couldn’t meet us today, so our plan to go pick up on of the trailers disappeared. Apparently he’s having trouble finding the paperwork for the transfer, and today he was going to try to see if he can find a VIN on them so we can at least get an accurate Bill of Sale. Yet another delay! So as not to waste the day, I hooked up the small horse trailer, and with the help of my camper friends, loaded the bush hog up into it and took them over the Jeff’s and left them there. Also stopped at the post office for a package that has the two vent covers I need to replace, and picked up a little fuel, though I only got $30. Diesel prices are still ridiculous and moving higher for some reason, around $5/gallon still. Going to be an expensive trip when we DO finally get down to Pompano. Was invited for dinner and fire, but it was quite chilly out, and I’ve been busy trying to fix a problem with my book sales page on the website, so I declined. A quiet evening, and now I’m ready for shower and bed! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Thursday, January 26, 2023 – Brakes Done

Hey Sweetie,
Got up bright and early and was at Jeff’s just after 8:00, and before long he was tearing down my brakes to find the problem. Turned out to be much more that a brake line leak. Somehow one of the main bolts on the caliper had shook loose and was dragging, and the rotor was paper thin. He got the parts ordered through his buddy at Autozone, but the only store that had the parts we needed was in Hobe Sound, not Jupiter. We went into town and made a quick stop at the Goodwill, his dog Rose had a tumor removed last week and the vet suggested a type of shirt that would provide some compression, and we managed to find two fairly quickly. Then he had a doctor’s appointment, and while he was in there, I called around trying to find a brake line, since Autozone didn’t have one. In fact, I checked everyone around and no one seemed to have one. After the doctor, we ran up to Hobe Sound and picked up the parts, and on our way out of the parking lot, there was an Advanced Auto, so I decided to run in on the off chance they might have one. They didn’t, but according to the computer, the Jupiter store had one! Yet when I had called them earlier, they told me they DIDN’T have one! So we had to drive all the way back into Jupiter to pick up the part, so it was 4:30 before we got back home. It took us until nearly 8:00 to finish the job, hate working in the dark, but at least we finally got it done. Drove back to camp, checked on the horses, chatted with some of my camper friends, then finally got back to the trailer around 9:30, poured a stiff drink, and will be heading to shower and bed shortly! Good night, babe! Love you!

Wednesday, January 25, 2023 – Change of Plans

Hiya Babe,
Started out with one agenda today, and ended up with quite a different one! Was supposed to drive brother Jeff down to Pompano to pick up a trailer this afternoon, so I went out and did my shopping in the morning, only to have him call to say that was canceled for the day. So I finished shopping and made it to my occasional Euchre game on time. Was going to go to shop for perishables, but the brakes on my truck are almost completely gone, and I was afraid to do any more driving than necessary, so I limped home. The only time Jeff can look at them is tomorrow morning, so I’ll be up bright and early to get over there, so I’m heading to shower and bed early. Good night, darlin’! Love you!

Tuesday, January 24, 2023 – Mostly Quiet Day

Hi Darlin’,
Not a very good night sleep, lots of tossing, turning and reading breaks, but finally got up around 8:00, fed the horses, did my rounds and mostly just settled in for the day. Have a camper who is an equine dentist, and asked him to take a quick look at the boys to see if they needed any work done (it’s been two year since their last floating), but he indicated there was nothing too serious to worry about, that they could go for another year. Yay! One less expense for me! Mostly read, watched a little TV, did a little porch sweeping, spent most of my time on my Facebook group and Messenger trying to put out the latest fires I ignited with my hardline, dirty stall stance. Watched a bit more of the series Bloodline, my latest binge-watch, before posting my apology speech and heading to shower and bed. Hoping to have a better night sleep tonight, sure could use it. Good night, sweetheart! Love you!

Monday, January 23, 2023 – Farrier, Otherwise Fairly Quiet

Hi Sweetie,
Had a good night sleep, Lola was out like a light, so gratefully quiet. Had the farrier come and give the boys a trim, Apollo has had a bit of overgrowth in his sole that I was afraid my be turning into something worse, but he cut it all out and it looks fine now. I need to get him out on the trail soon, he needs the exercise! Flash’s feet hardly needed anything, but I figured it would be good to have them done anyway, just to be safe. Had to clean up a stall that someone left behind dirty, but mostly had a quiet day, which I needed! Won’t be long out of bed. Getting cooler tonight, so it should be good sleeping weather! Good night, babe! Love you!

Sunday, January 22, 2023 – Great Long Ride on Flash, Plus Some Repairs

Hey Babe,
Felt a lot more rested this morning, thank goodness! Got my chores done, then saddled up Flash and headed out on the trail, following another track where I thought that maybe the missing piece of my tractor auger might be, but didn’t have any luck. Covered over 17 miles, though, so it was a good ride. Was happy for Lola to get some exercise, she’s been a little destructive in her boredom lately, but was so exhausted by the time we got back, I haven’t heard a peep out of her since we returned! Most of the campers were gone by the time we got back, so I did my rounds on horseback, only found one stall that wasn’t clean, very disappointed in that. We’ve had pristine stalls for the last couple of weekends, making progress, but apparently there are still some folks out there who haven’t gotten the message. Anyway, it was a great ride, then did a few essential repairs, like fixing my fold down shelf, getting out Lola’s dog pool, and sewing up her bed, again, because she’s been pulling the stuffing out of it the last few nights. Finally settled down for the evening, heading to shower and bed! Good night, my darlin’! Love you!