Archives for 2024

Hi Darlin',
Lots of work done today! Rick arrived in the late morning, and got busy on laying down the sewer pipe and working on the electric. Lo and behold, in the early afternoon, a camper showed up, well, he had reservations for later this week and came in to check out the site, and wouldn't you know? Turns out he's a plumber and fix-it guy! Rick made a deal with him (Bill) to get his camping for free if he helped, and he jumped right in! He managed to tie in the water spigot, so that got done, and he dug a trench for the sewer that went from the trench we already dug to right where we're going to tie into that. Rick almost got the electric in, but then discovered the brand new breaker he had wasn't working the way it should, and the new box didn't have the right kind of screws, so I didn't end up with electric yet, but I was so ready to move, I put everything away, hooked up and pulled out. They finally left to go to the shop, then I worked on getting into the site. It took awhile, the gravel is so soft and the angle is a bit tricky. The first real attempt ended up with me not going far enough back, because it seemed like I was really leaning too much to one side, but I didn't like being so far forward, so I decided to try again, going back a lot farther. I was definitely still leaning, so I pushed back a bit and put a board down under my tires to get it more level (though I think I'll need two), but then my truck tires got stuck. At that point it was getting too late, so I just parked it there, unhooked, and ran an extra extension cord to the pavilion so I'd have electric. Not putting anything else in place until I get it where I want it. The plan is to come at the gooseneck hitch from a different angle and then be able to roll it up onto the boards, and hopefully that will make me level again! Fingers crossed! I am hooked up with water now, though, and it looks like the rest of it will be done tomorrow, too, both electric and sewer, so at least I'm making some headway! Three steps forward and just a baby step back, so progress is made! Had a nice fish dinner, finishing off my tea with a couple of sugar cookies, won't be long out of bed! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hey Babe!
Well, we're a few steps closer to moving into our new site! After spending the morning sending out more PSA's and signing up to more Event calendars to local radio stations, Rick showed up around 1:00. I went out to help, and we managed to get the electrical box put in, part of the trench covered over, the water spigot in and pinned to it's post, and part of the prep for the rest of the circuitry in the bathroom closet. All that's left is to run the electrical wire through the conduit and get it into the breaker box (easier said than done) and to tie into the water spigot that's already behind the bathrooms. The sewer is something that will take longer to finish, mainly because it seems impossible to find a plumber that's available. Rick's called at least three, two with full voice mailboxes and one that seems very indefinite about when he'd be available. He's starting to think he may have to do it himself! I can live without that for now, I've been using my portable tank anyway, so it's no hardship. If Rick can finish of the first two projects tomorrow, I may just be able to move over tomorrow afternoon! Fingers crossed! Another bit of good news, I received my first mail delivery here! I don't have an official mailbox, but the mailman stops by here every day to use the facilities, and awhile back I asked him if he would deliver things to me if they were addressed to the trailhead, and he said he would. I ordered a couple of pair of cargo pants from Amazon and they were supposed to arrive on Sunday but never showed up, turns out they were being delivered by the post office, and the weekend guy didn't bother to come out, but Bruce brought them out today, so I'm a happy camper! Both pair fit much better, so now I have a new wardrobe. Just getting a bit tired of plain old jeans! Anyway, it was a good, productive day, which I finished off with a boring romance mystery, a cup of tea and a cookie, so now it's bedtime. Good night, sweetheart! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie,
Today was a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Did a couple of loads of laundry, cleaned the restrooms, spent some time sending out a PSA for the Taste of Goethe event to a bunch of radio stations, went out with Rick to look for the report of a leaning tree (turned out it wasn't leaning enough or in a dangerous direction to bother doing anything about), chatted with a few campers and buggy folks, and generally puttered around today. Made some sugar cookies just for the fun of it (from the roll), and, of course, ate too many. Having my tea and heading for my shower and bed soon! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
Had to put my earplugs in last night, there was a steady, noisy rain all night, so it ended up being a really good night sleep. Had to get dressed to feed the horses, otherwise I probably would have stayed in bed all morning! Discovered I had left the water on when I was filling water buckets last night, so there was an even bigger puddle under Apollo, can't believe I forgot it! Spent the day on my computer, designing signs for the forest and doing a PSA for the upcoming Taste of Goethe Event in March. That kept me busy through horse dinner feeding time, when I settled down to dinner and a movie. I had ordered some more pants from Amazon and decided to risk using this address because I knew I would be home all day, but I never got anything, even though it was supposed to be "out for delivery", so I'm guessing they didn't even try, even though I put a sign with my name and the Amazon logo hanging off the front of the trailer, so it would have been obvious. Not sure what happens next! Anyway, it's past delivery time now, and the rain has finally quit after being pretty steady all day, so I'm ready to finish off my evening with my usual Sleepytime tea and a shower before bed! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Babe,
Woke up once early to the sound of rain, but it didn't last long, then got up around 9:00 when it just started up again. Did my usual morning, then was heading down to Tidewater Trailhead by 10:00. It rained off and on all day, and it was fairly cool, though not really cold. The horses loved it, they were all pretty frisky. Spent the day keeping the bathrooms stocked and doing whatever needed doing, which wasn't much. I crewed for Jo, and she ended up finishing 10th in the 50 mile ride on her horse Luna, so it was a good day for her. By mid-afternoon, the rain really got steady, so we were all getting pretty wet. I helped Jo break down, then headed back to camp, stopping at HQ to drop off half a dozen bags of garbage, fed the horses and settled down for the evening, grateful for a dry change of clothing, some hot soup and my toasty fireplace. Watched a BBC film about a retired Sherlock Holmes, now I'm headed to bed early, with my eye on a rainy Sunday off tomorrow. Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hi Sweetie!
Had another busy day today, headed out with Rick after chores and breakfast just after 9:00, first to take some pix of road signs they're in the process of replacing, then to Tidewater to do a bit of cleaning and restocking the bathrooms, then to HQ to pick up and fill the water trailer, which Rick did while I cleaned up the Apex restroom, which had been neglected for too long. While we were there, I had a nice chat with a couple of ladies who were there with their miniature horses and buggies (so cute!), then we headed out to fill up water buckets. Rick's eagle eyes spotted a small alligator by a roadside pond along the way. It didn't take that long today, there were only four spots with buckets, and they were all just 15 gallon tubs, no 100 gallon ones like last time. The forecast is for rain all day and cooler temps tomorrow, so I don't think they'll be needing too much on the trail, or even need refilling tomorrow, though I'll hang around just in case. Stopped again at Tidewater when we were done, picked up a package from Jo, who was already set up there, another set of cargo pants, then headed over to Willards for lunch. After lunch, Rick dropped me back off at home, where I tried on my new pants, which were the right material that I was looking for, but unfortunately, didn't fit very well, so they're going to have to go back. I ordered a larger size, plus another pair of a different type that I hope will work. I'm just tired of wearing jeans and wanted something a little different, and it's been a long time since I bought any new clothes, so I figure it's time. After resting a little, I drove back down to Tidewater for appearances, dinner and the ride meeting, then finally got home in the dark at 7:30, fed the horses, chatted with someone who came in looking for a campsite, then finally settled down for the evening to one Eureka and some Sleepytime tea, sans the cookie since I already had WAY too much to eat today. But day is done, heading to shower and bed! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Darlin',
Woke up in the middle of the night for no apparent reason, read for a bit, finally dropped off again and awoke around 8:30. Got up awhile later, got my chores and breakfast done, did a little computer work, then was out the door for a busy day. Started with picking up some hay, only six bales because I don't want to have a whole stack to move from under the gooseneck when I move to the new host site, hopefully next week. Picked up fuel at the cheapest station I could find, $4.05, which I was lucky to find since most of the other stations had jacked their prices up twenty cents a gallon in the last day or two. It's $4.39 at the station on the corner as of today. Made a quick stop at a Publix for some sugar and nectars, then to the eye doctor for my baseline annual Medicare checkup. That went well, I'm seeing quite well, no correction since I had lasik over twenty years ago except for the usual need for reading glasses. No issues with glaucoma or degeneration, so it's all good! Headed back home, stashed the hay, then went over to Steeplechase (the neighborhood across the street) for a meeting with a couple of ladies that are working on an event called Taste of Goethe scheduled for next month. Very enlightening, looks like a fantastic event, and I'm looking forward to helping them. Got back after 6:00, fed the horses, slapped together a chicken burrito and settled down for the evening. Ready for shower and bed, it's going to be a busy weekend! Love you, babe! Good night!

Hey Babe,
I keep getting up a little earlier, and Rick keeps showing up a bit earlier, so he's always a bit ahead of me! Was finishing breakfast when he arrived with a great big trench digger, and after a bit of practice, it only took him a few minutes to put in the trench we needed for the power and water. Then he and Jerry ran back to the shop for PVC pipe, and before long we had that and the electric cable laid out. We dug the holes for two posts, then they all went out to lunch. While they were gone, I dug a couple more postholes, and then went to start my truck because I wanted to run it over the gravel area and try to tamp it down a bit, but my truck wouldn't start! I had noticed that lately it was cranking a bit longer before catching, but I didn't think I had that much of a drain on it, but apparently, I do somewhere. I got my jump starter out and managed to get it going, then I did run over the area a bit, which helped to tamp it down, then I parked my truck by the trailer and put my battery charger on it. It seemed to be down quite a bit. I checked and found out these batteries are about four and a half years old already, seems like it wasn't that long ago when I bought them! Hopefully, it's not the batteries going bad, at least, not yet. I unplugged the brake controller, I've noticed that's been giving me an error so it might be responsible, I'll have to wait and see. After a while, the guys got back, and they decided they were done for the day and left, so I spent the afternoon reading and working on my computer. Did my afternoon chores, dinner, TV, the usual evening, back to Eureka bingeing. Everybody's off tomorrow so there won't be anything happening here, except maybe they'll come and fix the tire on the tractor, so I made an appointment to get my eyes checked and to pick up hay, then I'm going to a meeting of a local group that's doing an event next month to see how I can help. Looks like a busy day, at least in the afternoon, so I may just sleep a little later in the morning! Anyway, we're making progress, albeit slower than I hoped, but I'll be moving soon, I'm sure. Good night, sweetie! Love you!