Archives for February 2023

Tuesday, February 28, 2023 – More Work on Carpet

Hi Sweetie,
Spent the entire day working on the carpet section that covers the edge of the slide. Not a lot of carpet, but it was very finicky. Had to tear it off, pull out all the staples, measure and cut the new carpet, then staple it all on. Still haven’t done the end caps, but the slide section is looking pretty good. Maybe not the best, most professional installation, but it looks a lot better than the old carpet, which had worn thin in a lot of places. I couldn’t believe out much sand fell out of it! Who knew that carpet on a vertical edge would collect that much dirt? Anyway, all if have left are the two corners, hoping to finish those off tomorrow. Had to quit around 4:00, I was so tired. This is all very physical labor, which I haven’t done for awhile, so it’s taking its toll. Feels good, but I am feeling a bit sore in a few places. Settled down to dinner, grilled some chicken on the new grill, though I decided to put it in aluminum foil to try to keep the grill clean. Watched a great movie with Judi Dench, Victoria and Abdul, you would have loved it! Heading to shower and bed shortly! Good night, babe! Love you!

Monday, February 27, 2023 – Busy Day

Hiya Babe!
Had a wonderful, deep night of sleep, obviously all that exercise over the weekend did a number on my, in a good way! Got busy this morning, first with trying to fix my video camera. The casing had come loose and was a bit precarious, so I took it apart and found a loose screw. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t stay in, maybe it was stripped, so I ended up putting a tiny bit of clear epoxy on it, letting it sit overnight to see if that solves the problem. Next, I pulled out the new barbecue grill that arrived yesterday, and packed up the old one. For some reason they want me to send it back, even though it’s pretty unusable now, but they have promised me a full refund, so I printed out the return label and got it all ready to go. Next, I started my carpet project. It was on my to do list to find a carpet store and try to pick up a remnant to cover the storage area that I built (where Lola’s big dog bed now resides), but on Tuesday coming back from Glenn’s there was a big piece of carpet by the side of the road that looked like it had fallen off someone’s truck. I thought that if it was there the next time I passed it, no one was going to claim it and I’d grab it. Well, Friday on my way out, it was still there, so I rolled it up and put it in the back of the truck. This morning I unrolled it, and was amazed at how much there was, though it was clearly leftover from a job somewhere. I did a little measuring and realized I could not only do the storage box, I could replace every bit of carpeting in the RV (except the bedroom, which doesn’t need changing anyway), and still have plenty left over for an area rug like the laundry room, which would be great! So I started with the dog bed, got that done, then started with the stairs. The hardest part was pulling all the staples out! The top step looked like someone in training had done it, there were more than a hundred staples with no apparent rhyme or reason to their placement, so that took me a long time, the second step was a bit more organized and had a lot less staples, and by the time I got to the third step, things were moving along a lot faster, it’s such a small step. I managed to get them all done and put back in place by the time it was getting dark. I also took a quick trip to the Bait Shop during the afternoon to drop off the grill at their UPS stop there, got back and finished the stairs, finally settling down just before 7:00. Watched the Paddington Bear movie, just for fun, ready to head to my shower a bed. Busy and very productive day! Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Sunday, February 26, 2023 – Fabulous, Unplugged Weekend

Hey Darlin!
Had a wonderful time visiting with Don and Toni, just like we always used to! I arrived Friday at noon, we had lunch, got caught up during the afternoon, took a lovely walk on the beach, then went out to dinner with some of their friends/employees to celebrate a birthday at the local Hibachi Japanese restaurant, which was GREAT fun! On Saturday, we walked the beach again, saw a pod of dolphins swimming and playing, then went to the 2nd annual Vero Beach Bluesfest, which was only about a 30 minute drive away. Enjoy some great music, a free sample of a new Bourbon (Three Chord, benefiting musicians somehow), got back home for dinner, which was mostly leftovers from Friday, had a very enjoyable conversation until bedtime, slept until eight Sunday morning, walked the beach again, then this time, I decided to take Lola swimming. Probably should have done it yesterday, the ocean was almost as smooth as glass, and today it was a bit rougher, but we still had a good time. Ended up borrowing a boogie board and jumping in, just for fun, but the undertow was really strong and I got tired easily, so I wasn’t out wrong. Finally left about 2:00 after a nice lunch and shower, then headed over to Glenn’s to do his pool, and finally home around 5:00, where Jeff was still working on his Bronco. Got my new grill from Amazon, will put that out tomorrow, but for now, I’m exhausted, had some ramen for dinner, watched a movie, and I’m more than ready for bed! Good night, by sweet! Love you! Wish you had been there!

Thursday, February 23, 2023 – More Odds and Ends

Hiya Sweetie,
Another day of piddling, really. Did some housework, read, played with Lola in the pool, then gave her a nice bath. She’s been scratching and chewing on herself like crazy the last couple of weeks, but it’s not fleas, and I can’t figure out what it is but something is definitely bothering her. After the bath, I had to put a muzzle on her just to keep her from irritating it all again. Once she was dry, I put on some Gold Bond powder, that seems to be helping. Was finally able to take her muzzle off late this evening, now she seems to be resting more comfortably. Hope she’s good through the night! Not much else going on, watched a good movie with Ben Kingsley playing Adolph Eichmann, an updated version of the well-known historical story, was quite good. But then anything he’s in is bound to be a good movie! Pretty much ready for shower and bed, so good night, babe! Love you!

Wednesday, February 22, 2023 – Odds and Ends

Hey Babe,
Just did a few odds and ends today. Washed Lola’s truck dog bed and new pink blanket so it’s nice and clean for my weekend. I’m heading up to Don and Toni’s on Melbourne Beach to visit for a couple of days. Did some housekeeping, mostly read, took Lola swimming in the pool for a bit to tire her out for the night, watched a good movie with Bill Pullman as a genius chess master during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, an interesting take on that historic episode. Not much else going on at the moment, though I am starting to plan for my trip northward this summer. It will take me five or six days worth of travel, and if I stay a week at each location, then five or six weeks to get up to northern Michigan for the Shore to Shore rides. Never too early to plan, though, as you know, plans can change pretty quickly when necessary! Otherwise, an uneventful day. Already getting hot down here, not sure I want to stay down here much longer, but it’s still pretty cool further north, so we’ll see. I’ve been having to run the AC the last few days, enough to cool it down at night before I go to bed, and I don’t have a lot of shade here, so in the afternoons, too. Hate that, but not much choice! Anyway, off to shower and bed. Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Tuesday, February 21, 2023 – Chores at Glenn’s

Hi Darlin’,
Another fairly routine day, headed over to Glenn’s to mow his lawn and clean the pool, among a few other chores. I had to buy another citronella plant, my last one got pulled apart and eaten by I don’t know what, and I had picked one up the other day at Walmart, and I had planned on transplanting it and cutting it back so that it would be more of a bush than a tree. Somehow, it had gotten knocked over and the main stem had broken, so it was the perfect solution to the problem. I put the main stem in water, hoping it grows roots for transplanting, and transplanted the rest into a hanging pot, figure it’s safer off the ground where it can’t get knocked over by dog or horse or eaten by any other beast that might find it delectable. Watched an interesting movie about the peace accord between Israel and Egypt back in the 70’s, now it’s time for shower and bed. Good night, sweetheart! Love you!

Monday, February 20, 2023 – Just A Few Jobs

Hi Sweetie,
Did just a few minor jobs today. tried to clean off the old adhesive along the trailer cap in front, I’ve tried just about everything possible, but nothing works, and too much rubbing just scratches it, so I finally gave up. I bought some superduper adhesive called 3M 5200 which Jeff’s swears will stick anything, so hopefully this application will keep it from every coming out of the frame again! Did some laundry and some housework and got the microwave ready for removal, though I’ll need help with that. Hopefully, I can get Jeff to give me a hand with that tomorrow or someday soon. Not much else going on, really, just filled in the day with some reading and TV. Watched a good movie, Black Hat, about a hacker that is furloughed out of prison to help catch a terrorist. Lots of location shooting in Hong Kong and Malaysia (been there, done that!) so it was kind of fun from that perspective. Ready for shower and bed, though I’ve been having to put the AC on lately, getting too darn hot here already! Don’t really want to stay all the way through April, but that’s still up in the air. Hopefully, I’ll know by the end of the week. Meanwhile, I’m just trying to get things in order so I’ll be ready to go whenever the time comes. Love you, babe! good night!

Sunday, February 19, 2023 – Really Lazy Day

Hey Babe,
Had a really lazy day today, only did a little computer work, didn’t even do my usual Sunday laundry. Just felt tired for some reason today. Spent most of the day reading, finally tuned into a movie that I didn’t particularly like, stuck with it, only to have it end with “to be continued…” which was definitely not mentioned anywhere, so it was pretty much a waste of time, because I have NO interest in what happens next. Watched a Remington Steele, now I’m off to shower and bed. Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Saturday, February 18, 2023 – Nice Ride with Friends at River Bend

Hiya Darlin’!
Had a perfectly lovely day today. Though it was windy and cloudy earlier in the day, the wind died down making it very comfortable later in the day. After breakfast, I got the horses loaded up in the small trailer and arrived right on time at Riverbend, where my new concert friends were waiting for me on their cool trike. Got them groomed and saddled up, then off we went! Lori and I went on the first leg, the full six mile loop, running into a number of other riders, including my friends Petra and John. Lori did a good job of keeping Apollo from falling too far behind, so he was doing a lot of jogging, just what he needed! Still took us over two hours to do the six miles, old slug that he is. Flash was trying very hard to walk slow, with limited success. Once we got back to the parking area, I chatted with Petra and John for a bit, then went out a second time with Mark in the saddle, though we only went a little over two miles. In total, I and the horses went just under 9.5 miles, so a good day’s ride. Then we headed over to Angelo’s Too for a great lunch/dinner of garlic rolls and pizza, ate way too much, but pizza is a rare treat for me and I enjoyed every bite of it. Then we headed back to the house, they wanted to see my trailer, and Jeff was appreciative of the fancy trike. Mark’s into some of the same old car refurbishing stuff, so they had a lot to talk about. It was after 5:00 by the time they left. What a great day! Then I settled down to a movie, Jobs, about the life of Steve Jobs of Apple Computer, which I really like, now it’s time for bed and shower. Love you, Sweetie! Good night!

Friday, February 17, 2023 – Busier Day Today

Hey Sweetie,
A better night sleep, and a bit busier day today. Ran out to Walmart fairly early to beat the weekend rush, did a little essential shopping. Got back and hooked up the truck to the little horse trailer and did a good wash on both of them. There’s another hole in the roof I’m going to have to repair, so that’s another job on my list. After all that physical labor, I then blew up my little river ring and laid in the pool for awhile, but it was cloudy and cooler so I didn’t stay in too long. Took my shower early, then settled down to a nice grilled steak dinner and another interesting movie based on a true story, of a woman artist who unwittingly let her husband take credit for all her work, made himself famous and them a lot of money, until she finally stood up for herself. Got a call from one of our students from way back in 2016 who’s looking to bring in a Workshop for himself and a bunch of his co-workers in city government, so I’ll be sending a proposal to him before the weekend is out. Would be great to get a couple more jobs this year, so I hope it works out. That’s all the news today. Good night, babe! Love you!