Hello my love!
Happy 87th Birthday! Hard to believe this is the second birthday since you’ve journeyed to the undiscovered country, time really does fly. It was a fairly low-key day, as you would expect. I got a call from the physical therapy folks to see if I could move up my appointment to this morning rather than this afternoon, which I gladly did, so I had barely finished breakfast and my morning chores before I drove off (in my truck, which started with no problems this morning!) Ally had me doing some actual weight-bearing exercises today, she thinks I’m coming along very well. I asked her point blank when the earliest I can get back on my horse would be, and she checked her calendar and said, May 4, which is eight weeks from my surgery. I think she actually said it should be ten weeks, I’ll have to confirm that. Anyway, I’ve been working hard, trying to maintain a balance between lots of therapy on my own, and not overdoing it so much that it sets me back. Tough balance, so I’m discovering. Headed over to Walmart after that, picked up a prescription for a better pill for inflammation (I’ve been taking way too many ibuprofen), and I only have to take one a day. I also tried to replace Jeff’s lawnmower battery, which he said was dead, but when they tested it at Walmart they said it had a full charge, so the twenty minutes I was in line at customer service wasn’t very productive. At least I didn’t have to stand, I got one of the electric carts to shop in, I knew it would be too much for me to walk all over that store. Did some grocery shopping and still managed to get back by about 1:30. It was a hot one today, upper 80’s! I just wish I could go swimming, but doctor’s orders are for no submerging for a couple more weeks, and to protect my knee from the sun. At least I can take my usual stand up shower every night now, that’s a relief! I mostly relaxed the rest of the day, just icing down my knee, it had quite the workout today. Fed the critters and settled down for a quiet evening. I got an email from your sister early this morning and tried to call her, but there was no answer. I’ll keep trying this week until I reach her. Anyway, I’m headed to shower and bed again, another slow day of recovery! Good night, darlin’! Love you!

Hey Darlin’,
Woke up early again, same process of reading awhile, then falling back to sleep. Got up and puttered around until Jeff was ready to finish feeding the animals and go. Meanwhile, his friend Tom had a strange noise come from the van he was driving as he was getting to leave, but after a bit it seemed to go away, so hopefully he made it wherever he was going! We finally left the yard about 11:15, though he forgot his phone and had to go back, so we didn’t get there until just before noon. Fortunately, they’d parked it on the street, which was fantastic because I was very worried about getting it out the driveway because it had a steep incline, and that would have created a problem. Anyway, it all looked good, turns out they didn’t use hardly any of the parts except the bearings, and there was so much labor involved it cost nearly $3,000, but at least the job is done now, and the slide is coming in and out perfectly. And since I didn’t have to pay homeowners insurance and property taxes this year, I guess it’s pretty much a wash! We got back and got it back into place with no trouble, and I started to move everything from the house back into my “home.” Then a weird thing happened. I was going to Walmart to pick up a prescription for me and a battery for Jeff’s lawnmower, and I started the truck just fine and moved it up in front of the house, right where Tom’s van had been, and it suddenly just quit! Then it wouldn’t start. It cranked, but wouldn’t start. Then I notice that none of the gauges on my instrument panel were working, the back up camera monitor on my radio wouldn’t shut off (in fact, I couldn’t get the head unit to turn off at all), and my power windows and locks suddenly didn’t work. But my power seats worked, and the computer settings on my dash worked. Really weird! So I started to try to find the problem, thinking it was maybe a vapor lock in the fuel line, which had happened once before when it almost overhead climbing a mountain in TN, but that didn’t seem to be the problem. Then I started at looking at fuses and relays, and everything I could think of. Finally Jeff came out to help, and we still couldn’t find anything wrong. He even put his diagnostic machine on it, and there were no new codes except the one for the glow plug, which has been that way for years. Well, this went on for a couple of hours, and Jeff gave up and I was looking and not finding anything on the internet, so finally I got my electrical meter and started checking all the fuses, inside and out. I didn’t find any that were bad, but there were a couple that were not quite seated properly, but I don’t know if they were like that before or if it was after Jeff had checked them, but I pushed them all back in. I really don’t think that had anything to do with anything, but I finally got back into the truck and turned the key on, and my gauges started moving and my power stuff started working, and sure enough, when I cranked the key, the truck started right up! So weird! I let it run for awhile, then backed it back up into it’s place in front of the trailer, because it was way too late to go out now, it was feeding time, so that’s a trip for tomorrow. I sure hope it was some kind of safety feature or something, though I couldn’t find anything on the internet suggesting that, and I sure hope it doesn’t happen again! I told Jeff I think he’s got a giant black hole in front of his house where everything mechanic suddenly fails, like his own personal EMP! That would explain why he has so many dead vehicles in that area. Anyway, I finished moving my stuff back from the house and settled down for the evening, happy to be back in my little home, especially now that my slide works perfectly! Got awful sweaty out there today, so I’m heading to a shower and bed. Good night, sweetheart! Happy St. Patty’s Day! Love you!

Hey Sweetie,
Woke up around 4:30 a.m., read for a bit before falling asleep until nearly 8:00. Another beautiful morning! We’ve been having a lot of them lately. Fed the critters and spent the morning mostly reading and icing my knee, then headed out to PT, driving for the first time since my knee surgery. I wasn’t suppose to do it until two weeks after, but I figure 12 days is close enough, and I didn’t really have a choice because Jeff had service calls to run. Since it’s not far, and I could use cruise control most of the way, it wasn’t bad at all. The PT ladies were surprised I wasn’t using my walking stick (I haven’t since Saturday), but that didn’t stop them from giving me a good workout today! I just felt like I was leaning on the stick too much, literally, and found I was gaining better balance without it. Did all the regular exercises and added a couple more that I need to do daily. I took more ibuprofen and iced up again as soon as I got home, I could tell I was going to ache before long from the extra workout, but I guess it means I’m making progress. Anyway, I called the RV mechanic and they were still working on it, not sure if it would be done by the end of day yet or not. Then I had a virtual video conference with the PA from the knee surgeon’s office, and was FINALLY able to take the bandage off. They did a nice job of sewing it up with dissolvable stitches underneath and super glue on top, so I’m hoping the scar won’t be too terrible, though I’m not vain enough to freak out about it. It just feels like I have a bit more freedom in my knee now, which makes it mildly less painful. He did recommend a “one-a-day” pain pill to replace the 8-9 ibuprofen I’ve been taking every day, so I need to pick that up tomorrow. I finally got a call from the RV shop, it was close to being done, though too late in the day to pick up, but we can get it in the morning. Apparently it was the gearbox on the motor, so that entire unit had to be replaced, but there was nothing wrong with any of the other parts except the bearings, so I guess I’ll be returning all of those. So it’s another night in Jeff’s guest room. He had a friend, Tom, show up, and I guess he would be staying in the guest room if it weren’t for me, but it was never mentioned, so I guess he’s staying on the couch until I get back in my trailer tomorrow. Bad timing in so many ways! Spent the evening icing and watching Netflix on my computer, took a lovely long shower without have to wrap my leg with Press N’ Seal so I feel cleaner than I have in a long time, and now I’m ready for bed! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hi Babe,
Got up early, which with DST was still dark, but managed to get everything ready to go, though not before my volunteer driver Scott arrived bright and early. We headed out right on schedule and arrived at the shop in Stuart, which turned out to be a pretty small space, with barely enough room to get the trailer in, and a driveway with such a big dip in it my pull out stairs got dragged and bent.. I dropped off all the parts, and we were back home in no time. I sat by the pool for awhile, though I can’t get in to swim yet because of the stitches on my knee, though I’m hoping I can in a few days, the weather has been absolutely perfect! Finally relaxed inside when it got too hot, then Jeff’s boarder and her boyfriend showed up and hung out for a few hours outside, deciding not to ride because she thought her horse was too sore from yesterday’s ride. I stayed in the house, though, mostly reading and continuing my icing regime. For a brief time, the mechanic seemed to think he would be able to finish early enough for me to get my trailer back today, which was surprising, but in the end, it turned out that despite my hours of effort to insure we had the right parts for the job, we didn’t. Still not sure exactly why, but the mechanic says the whole configuration was different than the schematic that I got from the parts folks, so I don’t know. Anyway, he’s going to try to get the parts locally tomorrow so he can finish the job. Apparently he had trouble with the molding around the slide and had to rip some of that out to get the slide out, so I may need to do some serious rebuilding when I get it back. It’s going to be a logistic problem picking it up tomorrow, since Jeff has a job and I have PT and a virtual doctor’s appointment, so it will be a challenge. Jeff finally got back around 10:00 from the Gator Nationals, he had some mechanical problems with James’ truck so he had to repair some bearings before he could make the drive back. So, sleeping in the house (I had even put my pillow aside to bring in, and thought I had, but somehow I didn’t so I don’t have my pillow), but the bed’s pretty comfy, and Lola’s worn out from a lot of playtime today so she’s settled down nicely. Time for bed, so I’m signing off! Good night, my darling! Love you!

Hi Sweetie,
I completely forgot that Daylight Savings Time started last night, and I had three different times in my bedroom when I woke up and had no idea what was going on for a minute! It didn’t take long to straighten myself out, but it means that it won’t start getting light until well after 7:00 (sunrise after 7:30!), so that’s going to take some getting used to. I spent the day much like yesterday, alternating between doing my PT exercises (though those seems to be a bit harder today, I had more pain for some reason, probably because I overdid it a little yesterday), icing my knee, and putting stuff away. I did it slow and steady so I hopefully wouldn’t cause any more strain. James decided he would do Uncle Mick’s ribs today, so after months of waiting, I finally got my rib fix! Delicious! And enough leftovers for probably three more meals, which is fine with me! After eating early, around 4:00 because I skipped lunch, I finished hooking up the trailer and moved it to the front of the house, where I found Kirsten and her friend saddling up Apollo and Frost. I mentioned to her later that it would be nice if she at least let me know when she planned on taking him, just so I wouldn’t worry if I suddenly discovered he was missing. Not that that’s likely to happen, they tend to make themselves known when they’re here. She’s been good about it up until now, but I felt a reminder was necessary. I got the trailer situated, though it took me awhile to get my electricity hooked up because I had to sort out Jeff’s system. The girls didn’t get back until late dusk, and by the time they had rinsed the horses down and done everything they wanted to do, it was pitch dark, so it was kind of tough feeding them and getting the goats away, but we finally got it done. Did a quick load of laundry and a nice long shower to get rid of some of the water in the tank, watched some TV, but am just about ready for bed, though my body is still on standard time, so I’m not sure if I’ll be able to fall asleep any time soon. Have to get up early, though, as my driver, Anita’s boyfriend Scott, will be here to help me tow the trailer up to Stuart. While I managed to get it pulled up into the yard, I don’t think my knee would have survived the trip all the way to Stuart very well, so I’m glad for his help. Will be heading to bed shortly, as soon as my stuff is out of the dryer. Good night darlin’! Love you!

Hi Darlin’,
Had a good day today, did a lot more walking, most of it without the walking stick, fed the horses both morning and evening, moved their spare feed to the little trailer, started putting away a bunch of stuff that needs to be moved so I can hook up tomorrow and get ready to move the trailer up to the shop on Monday, cleaned the pool filters and the pool, and generally had an almost normal day. Of course, I did all my PT exercises and iced down my knee regularly in between, and my knee is definitely getting better. It’s great to finally be getting back to relative normal, though I’m still be super cautious on stairs and unlevel ground (which is everywhere here, as you know), since I certainly don’t want to take any unexpected falls or do any damage. So a good day on the road to recovery! Won’t be long before I’m riding, and without knee pain for the first time in years! Can’t wait! Heading off to bed now, I still have a lot to put away tomorrow, and to transfer what I need into the house for the duration, which hopefully won’t be more than a night or two. Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Babe,
I don’t know if it’s the new pill regime or if my leg is finally starting to improve, but today was definitely a better day. I’m starting to figure out the best way to keep making progress. Rather than do all of my PT exercises at once and then sit around the rest of the day icing and taking short walks, I’m spreading them out throughout the day, so that I’m not getting anywhere near as stiff. At least it doesn’t seem like it. By doing an exercise, then icing, then doing another exercise or walking, I felt much better by the end of the day. I felt great in the morning, even feeding the horses and getting my own ice from Jeff’s. He left in the early afternoon for the Gator Nationals in Gainesville, borrowing James’ truck because his Bronco is having too many problems. He probably would have asked to borrow mine if he didn’t already know I needed it to move the trailer to the shop on Monday, and if the schedule had been any different I would have been glad to do it, but it didn’t work out that way. I kept doing my exercises all day, and I sewed up Lola’s floating frisbee with some new material I bought so now it’s like new (she loved it, of course!), and even had the energy to feed the horses at suppertime with James, so it all worked out. I’m so glad to be feeling better. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, knowing the first week was always going to be the worst, it can only get better from here, right? I’m going to slowly put things away over the weekend and get the trailer hooked up and ready to go on Sunday so it can be just driven out Monday morning, and keep doing my regime since it seems to be working and I feel like I can see a light at the end of the tunnel. Not much else going on, the usual reading and killing time watching TV until bedtime, so off I go! Love you, sweetie! Good night!

Hi Honey,
Glad to report I had a better night sleep last night after taking that last oxy, then took three ibuprofen this morning to get ahead of the pain curve. As a result, I felt a lot better, and a lot more mobile today. Guess I just have to keep up the painkiller routine and wait another week before trying to wean my way off them again. Did some reading, then some running around, getting fuel and dropping off an Amazon return before PT. There was a package at the end of the driveway with the parts for the RV repair, but they only sent three of the four items I ordered, so I had to get on the phone with them to find out what happened, and the woman there, Janet, who had helped me earlier with the order, said she’d ship the missing parts overnight so I’d have them tomorrow, at her expense since it was their fault they didn’t get here on time. Did my PT while Jeff ran down and got his first Covid shot, timed it pretty well, he got back about ten minutes before I came back down. On the way there I was talking to Jeff about getting in touch with some folks I met here last year about helping me get the trailer up to the Stuart mechanic, and would you believe, I got a call while I was in PT from the very woman I was going to call as soon as I got home! Her ears must have been burning! There’s a local trail group planning some activities later in the month, one of which is a poker run, and she was wondering if I wanted to come, and if she could borrow Apollo for her boyfriend to ride, and of course I said yes. If I’m well enough, I’d like to ride, too, but if not, I’ll go ahead and volunteer to help anyway I can. They were on their way to a fishing trip at his cabin, but he said he was planning on coming back Sunday night, so it’s possible that he’d be able to help me Monday morning, which would be great! If not, she said she could help find someone else to help. Of course, I can always pump myself full of painkillers and do it myself if absolutely necessary, but I’d rather leave that as Plan B, with Plan A getting someone else to drive. We’ll see what happens over the next few days. PT was good, it hurt a bit, but in a good way, I felt better after I was finished. I had taken a couple for ibuprofen before going, and I’m going to keep doing that until we get this inflammation down and it stops getting so stiff so fast. Walking is getting a little easier, though, once I work the stiffness out. Stopped at the feed store on the way back for Jeff, then home by 4:00, where I settled down for the rest of the day. Getting to be time for bed now, so I’m heading that way. Good night, darlin’! Love you!

Hi Babe,
Had a decent night sleep, took a couple of acetaminophen before going to bed, but I still felt achy in the morning. I confirmed with my doctor’s office that I would be better off taking ibuprofen, since that works on inflammation better, so I took some of those in the morning. It doesn’t feel like I’m making much progress, but I suppose it’s too early to tell. I started to walk up and down the trailer a few times after every icing session, that seems to help loosen things up a bit, but it does hurt a lot when I start. Grrr! I also confirmed that if I change the appointment I have for the trailer on Monday I’ll lose my spot and will have to wait a couple of months until a new one opens up, which means my leg either has to be good enough to drive by Monday, or I have to find someone to drive this thing. Jeff won’t be back from the Gator Nationals until Monday afternoon, and James doesn’t really have the experience with a long trailer like this, so I’m not sure what to do, except maybe try to find someone locally that I’ve met in recent years who knows how to pull a rig this long. It’s too scary long for most people, so I don’t blame them. I’m probably just going to have to tough it out. At least I can put it on cruise control a lot of the way. Anyway, another listless day reading, watching TV, doing my PT and otherwise sitting around, living through the pain every time I stood up. I sure hope things start to get better soon! This is pretty frustrating, but I’m still hopeful that in the end it will all have been worth it! PT at the office tomorrow, and Jeff will finally be getting his first covid shot, which, considering he’ll be in a crowd all weekend is probably a good thing. So I’m off to bed now, going to take my last prescription painkiller (though they offered to refill those, but I think I’ll stick to ibuprofen for now), and hopefully not be feeling any pain for a few hours! Good night, darlin’! Love you!

Hi Darlin’, I don’t know if it was because of the PT yesterday or taking a couple of awkward steps last evening, but I had a lot of pain today, despite taking a strong pill last night and a couple of OTC pills this morning. I keep feeling like things aren’t exactly in the place they’re supposed to be, though my PT gal keeps telling me she thinks it’s all okay. I did my required knee exercises, but then when I went to do this one exercise I’m supposed to do several times a day, I definitely felt something slip. There was a moment of pain, but then I was still able to walk on it, but I’m getting to the point where I’m almost afraid to move on it for fear I’ll damage something worse. The problem is, if I don’t move enough, the swelling gets worse, and if I move too much the swelling also gets worse. Trying to find the balance is the key, but I’m not really sure how to do that. I iced it all day, in fact the only two times I left the trailer was to get more ice, the rest of the day was sitting, reading, watching TV, and just those few exercises. I just hope this is all normal, but who knows what normal is supposed to feel like? I thought the pain would have subsided somewhat by now, but that’s not happening. I guess I have to go back to a regular regime of pain pills and hope for the best. So frustrating! Anyway, otherwise a quiet (too quiet) day. Off to bed now. Good now, sweetie! Love you!