Archives for 2025

Heya Babe,
What an exhausting day! But very productive. I was on the rood just after 9:00, and stayed up there until almost 4:00. The goal was to get as much prep work done as possible before I seal it with lap seal. I had a pipedream that I might get it done today, but, of course, that was wishful thinking. Step One was to use a stiff putty knife to scrape off the chunkiest of the old seal, then Step Two was to use the flat razor scraper to get the rest of it off. I managed to get Step One done and about 2/3 of Step Two before I really ran out of gas. I took three ibuprofens because I knew I would be in serious pain if I didn't. My scraper blade is pretty dull, and I couldn't find any new ones, but DeDe stopped by and brought me some. We visited for a while, and she's offered to help me with everything once I have the surgery, which is great, because Jo is going to be gone the first weekend after the surgery, so she can't help. After she left, I had dinner and my usual evening, more than ready for bed! I'm hoping to finish off the scraping, and maybe even Step Three, scrubbing down with mineral spirits, but that's probably a bridge too far, since I have to leave by 12:30 for my 1:00 PT appointment, which hopefully will be my last until after the surgery. I was told that they would be sending Home Health to me for the first couple of weeks afterward, which surprises me, sure hope my insurance pays for that! That's all I have energy for. Love you, sweetie! Good night!

Hi Sweetie!
Finally, progress is made! Had my usual morning, then got ready to leave to go to the surgeon's office, but I had to mess around with my AC, still not working properly. I somehow managed to get it going, so I had a pleasant drive. The appointment went well, the PA did a good job of explaining everything, and the conclusion is that it's too complicated for the scope, it has to be either a partial or total knee replacement. They can't tell which until they get in there, apparently. But the good news is, the only delay is how long it takes to get the authorization, and Amy at that office figured two weeks would be plenty, so I'm scheduled for May 7, with the proviso that if we get the authorization sooner, we may be able to get the surgery done sooner. Can't be soon enough for me! Well, I shouldn't say that, because I do have a lot of stuff to do before I leave, but considering how much I'm doing now with a bad leg, it should be a piece of cake with a new knee! Well, once it heals a bit, anyway. The only issue was that they would like a CD of the MRI, which I didn't get, so after the appointment, I drove up to Gainesville to get it, and was happy that it only took me a few tries to get the AC working (pulling the fuse sort of works, but weird stuff is happening with the blower), then home after that. I feel much relieved that we're making progress, so much so that I bought the first of three airline tickets that I'll need. One was at the lowest price I've seen it, thanks go Google Tracker, but the other two are a bit higher at the moment, so I think I can afford to see if they drop again. I checked the seating and they're not too many seats taken so I figure I have time. So glad things are moving along! I'm going to have to get very busy to get everything done that I want to do before I leave. Happy days! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
Woke up earlier than usual, but read for a bit, as usual. I reached out to a couple of haymakers because I am flat out of hay as of this morning, but the local guys were all sold out. I really didn't want to go to the feed store because of the markup, but on Marketplace I found some in Trenton, which is about 40 minutes from home, so I headed up there and picked up 18 big bales of very nice hay for just $8 each, a bargain for Florida, as you know. Got back to camp and just managed to put it away before I had to leave for PT. My AC wasn't working at all this morning, some more weird stuff is going on with it. Had my PT session, which was difficult because I had already done so much physical work with the hay, and I'm really only good for one physical job a day these days. Left there for Walmart just to get fuel, no AC again. Filled up, then did my old trick of pulling the fuse and putting it back in, an voila! This time it started. I'm beginning to think that the whole control panel replacement was a crock. Anyway, got home and settled down for the rest of the day, per my usual routine. Off to bed soon. Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Babe,
Very grateful for another good night sleep, woke up before my alarm, did my chores and breakfast, then started tacking of Flash as soon as Jo texted me that she was on her way. She arrived about 9:30, and we were out on trail about 10:00. I managed to persuade her to let Lola come along, and Nikki grew very accustomed to her very quickly, and she turned out to be a great help at water crossings. For the first time, we let Nikki take the lead on all the water crossings, with only Lola going first, and she never hesitated, which is a giant step forward! It was just under five miles, which is a good distance for Lola, and it was a very nice ride. Bugs are starting to come out with the hotter weather, but that's to be expected. Afterwards we chatted a bit, then she left and I did a couple of chores, like emptying and refilling Lola's dog pool. I put a chunk of bromine in there to hopefully keep down any mosquitos, which will soon be a problem, if not already. Then I settled down for the day, more scrabble and a little TV in the evening, soon off to bed! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie,
No alarm this morning, so I laid in bed reading for awhile, finally got up and did chores, cleaned and mopped the camp restrooms, finished reading my latest book, Hillbilly Elegy by our new VP. A fascinating and deep look at some of the problems we only saw the surface of when we lived in Tennessee, very insightful, and significant in that he was able to escape that, barely. Then I spent the afternoon with my new addiction, Scrabble. I decided it was time to work my mind a little bit, and after days of frustrated searching, finally found a platform where I could play against the computer. I thought I had to be online, but it turns out I don't, which makes me very happy. Good exercise for the brain! Anyway, it was an incredibly relaxing day, and I keep hoping if I rest enough it will help my knee, but nope, it was just as stiff after resting all day, though the hot tub and subsequent shower always helps. Getting hot enough to have to run the AC in the late afternoon now, though I'm sure it will soon be on all day. I don't mind so much when the power bill is being paid by someone else, but once I leave here, I'm going to have to make a beeline for as far north as necessary to back into my beloved 70 degrees! Anyway, a very lazy and restful day, hopefully I won't be up half the night because of it. At least in bed, my knee usually doesn't bother me. Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
Woke up before the alarm, to the sound of the horses snorting and the peacock cawying, then got a text that my morning laser treatment was delayed because the unit was being used elsewhere, so I had a leisurely morning before finally climbing up on the roof to finish the two vent covers. Only had one little problem, but nothing that will really hurt anything. Glad to have that job done! But I have concluded that I need to strip off all the old sealant on the roof and start over, as my repairs look pretty bad, all moldy for some reason. It'll be a big job, but well worth doing, I think. Finished that off in time to get to Willards and have a leisurely lunch with Helen and Jo, then got home and spent the afternoon with my latest computer game, a form of scrabble. I figured I needed to do something to keep my brain active, and after days of trying to download something, I finally managed it, though I have to be online to use it, unfortunately. But I can play it on my phone, too, which is a plus. Then I got a text from Alex that the laser was back at the barn, so I drove over and had a treatment. Shockingly, my AC worked every time I drove today, so I'm hopeful that the problem has resolved itself, but we'll see. Settled in for the evening, no dinner after that big lunch, heading to bed soon! Love you, baby! Good night!

Hi Babe,
Woke up way too early, but read for a bit before getting up. After chores and breakfast, I headed into town for my 10:00 appointment with the mechanic, dropped Lola off at Jo's, and sat around in the waiting room at the mechanic's. Two hours and over $700 later, I drove off, heading to Walmart to shop for my non-perishables. When I got back in the truck and started it up afterward, surprise! My AC wasn't working properly again. Grrr!! Since I had some time, I drove back down there, turned it off to go inside, and when one of the guys came out and I started it again, it was working again! This crazy intermittent crap is driving me nuts! I didn't have time to mess with it then, so I agreed to bring it back after my PT session, which I then drove to. Got the one and only guy today (2nd time I've had him) and he worked me pretty good. Got back in the truck to drive to Walmart, and the AC was working again. Finished shopping for my perishables, then got in the truck to drive home, and the AC wasn't working again, so I drove back to the shop and they looked at it again, made some adjustments, and it was working when I left. Then I went to Jo's to pick up Lola, and when I left to come home, it wasn't working again. Go figure. Went about my normal routine, with the only extraordinary thing happening is that a gorgeous male peacock came walking through camp. I heard a lot of snorting from the horses, though I couldn't see what they were making a fuss about until this peacock walks right by my trailer. I had some old bread so I chucked that to him, and he stuck around for awhile, until Lola came out to investigate, and he hustled off away from her. I hope he comes back, he was gorgeous! Springtime, all the male critters are on the move! Anyway, a little frustrating today, but every day there's a little more progress moving forward! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
Woke up to a beautiful morning, so as planned, after chores, I started putting together everything I needed to do the repairs on the roof. Ranger Rick arrived at just the right time to help me lift everything up, so I only had to come down once a bit later to get a couple of additional tools. Otherwise, it was pretty well planned out as far as equipment was concerned. I managed to get the old fans out and the new ones in, and the biggest difficulty was getting all the sealant off and cleaned up enough for new sealant. They sent me more than enough sealant tape, and I ended up not using their screws, just using the old ones, because they looked a little small. Very grateful that the holes matched up perfectly! As usual, it took longer than I expected, but at least I got them in. I still have to finish putting on the airflow covers and the final lap sealing, but otherwise, it's a good job done! I was also planning on sealing the roof, but frankly, the old sealant is in such bad shape, which lots of mold and creacking, I'm afraid I'm going to have to strip it all down and redo it to get it right, which is going to take a lot of time and effort. Fortunately, there's no rain in the forecast, so I can hopefully get it done, but it's getting a lot warmer later this week, so it's going to be a hot job! Quit just after 4:00 and settled down for the rest of the evening. The usual, with dinner, a movie, a hot tub, a shower, tea, and soon to be in bed. Good night babe! Love you!

Hiya Darlin',
Had an excellent night sleep, as my knee felt better during the night, and actually pretty good this morning when I got up, so you know what that means. I had a list of things I wanted to do, so right after breakfast, I got busy. I hooked up the small trailer and moved it over in front of the big trailer, and gave it a wash (except the roof). Then I got out the small ladder and fixed the clamps on one side of the screen room which had come off during the wind the other day, and also to put some sealant on an opening in the bedroom window. It's a weird design, I think they're supposed to be drain holes (or maybe vents) but they're on both the top and bottom, and they let in the rain. I had put duct tape on them previously, but those had come off, so I just put some silicon sealant on instead. I took a quick break, then got busy washing the horses. I started with Apollo, first rasping his hooves a bit to improve on what we did yesterday, then gave him a good bath, scraping a lot of his winter coat off. Looking pretty good now! Did the same with Flash. I tied them to the trailer because I didn't want them rolling, left them with a bag of hay while I changed, then we headed off to Chi where they both got a nice chiropractic adjustment. Apollo was totally calm, but it took a few minutes for Flash to settle down, but then he was great. It's amazing that these folks look for cues from the horse when they're doing an adjustment. One guy did one adjustment, and Flash, apparently in direct response, started yawning, which was exactly what he was looking for! Amazing! Got back home, put them away, put the trailer back, then settled down for the evening. Miraculously, my knee didn't feel too bad, even after all of that! I didn't actually do that much walking, so I'm thinking that's the reason. Anyway, time for tea and bed! Good night, babe! Love you!