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!

Hi Sweetie,
Sorry to say, but when I went to bed, my knee was screaming at me and I couldn't find a comfortable position to save my life. Finally had to take some ibuprofen, which I've been avoiding, as I'm determined not to jump on the painkiller train, but just couldn't see any way around it last night. Finally ended up with a good night sleep, didn't wake up until almost 9:00, did my chores, and some work on the computer, until I left to go to my 1:00 mechanic's appointment. The spent nearly the two whole hours and still hadn't come to a conclusion about why my AC is intermittent, so I had to make another appointment for next week, since they ran out of time. I managed to just make my PT appointment, where I was assigned yet another new therapist, who, despite claiming otherwise, had obviously not read my file, because the first thing she wanted to do was put me on the bike, which is, by far, the most painful exercise that I could do. After about halfway through the session, she mentioned partial knee replacement, which I rather tersely explained was done on my RIGHT knee four years ago, and had nothing to do with what was going on now. Grrrr! I'm not terribly happy with this particular therapy group, I obviously need to check out the others in town for my post-surgery therapy, because this group seems to just keep passing me off to someone else who I have to keep explaining things to. I don't understand why I can't have the same therapist, so they can actually see and progress (or not), all this changing in midstream is not helping! In the end, the session only lasted 30 minutes, so I left and went to Walmart for just a couple of items, filled up with fuel, and got back to Jo's (where I had left Lola for a doggie play date), and got home around 5:30. Had dinner, fed the horses, and settled down for the evening. All said and done, not a too productive day, but, whatever. Good night, my darlin'! Love you

Hiya Darlin',
First thing this morning was a drive over for a laser treatment, and today it seemed to really maky my leg feel better. Got back and gave everyone breakfast, finished putting the last trash receptacle together, then decided, since my leg felt a little better, to do some overdue tractor work. Probably not the best decision, but this is why I don't generally like to take painkillers, because as soon as I start feeling better, I do stuff I probably shouldn't do. Anyway, I spent an hour or so moving gravel from the pile over to the curve in my parking area that has been too short for when I put my rig in, and it does look a lot better now. I may put a few more loads in on another day, but for now, it was good progress. Chatted with Rick a little, then headed off to my PT session at 2:00. It was a bit tougher today, and by the time I got home, I was seriously aching, so I settled down for a couple of movies and tried to relax the rest of the day. Had my usual evening hot tub and shower, hoping to get a good night sleep! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hey Babe,
Well, not surprisingly, I overdid it a bit yesterday, so even with a Tiger Balm patch, my knee was really aching overnight, so I woke up a few times during the night. It seems to only way to do this is to have a work day, then a recovery day, then maybe another work day, alternating so that I don't make myself be in more pain than necessary. I called the surgeon's office, and after a discussion confirming that the surgeon will still be the same even if I go to the PA for my first consult, I managed to get an appointment in two weeks, rather than three and a half. Hopefully that will put me in line for surgery a little quicker, which is all I'm aiming for now! Spent the day on the computer, finally finished my taxes, did some other accounting, having mostly a quiet and restful day. My usual evening as well, so, off to bed nice and early! Love you, sweetie! Good night!

Hi Sweetie,
My leg bothered me a bit overnight, I didn't put on one of Jo's Tiger patches last night like I did the previous night, don't know if that made the difference, but I did wake up with some leg pain several times. Laid in a bit, then got up and got busy. After chores and breakfast, I managed to rustle enough energy to get back to sanding and painting the trash receptacles, then finished off four of them by putting the hardware back on and putting them all together. After that I tackled the job of putting one of the Friends of Goethe plaques on the mounting block, which turned out to have a steep learning curve. The drill bit was a bit too small, and I ended up breaking off the head of one of the screws, even though I was doing it by hand, which I couldn't believe! I ended up with two holes that had broken screws in them, finally found a better drill bit size (after breaking one of those as well), and managed to use enough glue and to screw in the bottom two screws so that hopefully, that will be enough to keep it on. They're a lot smaller and flimsier than I expected, and were really designed more for just screwing onto a wood plaque to hang up somewhere, not really sturdy enough for concrete, but I'm sure I've learned a few secrets that will help for the remaining four. Anyway, while I was doing that job, a couple of riders came by and tried to get their horses to drink from the trough, but not surprisingly, they wouldn't because the trough was pretty nasty, so I decided to clean that out. Started draining with the usual skinny hose, then went and got the one Jo had donated, which is a really nice 5/8" or 3/4" wide, and it drained much faster. A quick clean-out, and the same hose refilled it nice and fast as well. All that kept me busy for most of the day, and by the end, I had to resort to crutches again, as walking really does aggravate my knee. Then, during the day, I got a text from someone I hadn't heard from since the early 80's, my 7th grade science teacher! For some unknown reason he wanted to track me down and his wife managed to find me. Well, he also came to visit me once I was an adult, and we hooked up for the weekend (I had always had a schoolgirl crush on him, after all!) and he reminded me that we went to a Yes! concert together, which frankly, I had forgotten. But then again, it had to be over forty years ago, so you can hardly blame me! We exchanged a few texts getting caught up (as much as one can in a few texts), and it was a real blast from the past, as they say. Incredible how technology had made the world so much smaller, and time so much more fluid. Anyway, read for awhile, then finally settled down for my usual evening. Glad I was able to check a couple of things off my list today! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Darlin',
Had another good night sleep, did two loads of laundry, and little vacuuming, and otherwise, a lazy day. My knee is still about the same, though I can't say whether the Tiger Balm patch Jo gave me helped or not, maybe. I took a fall yesterday, tripping over a branch, and I think that didn't help things, but considering that, and riding yesterday, my knee wasn't worse, which is probably an improvement. Anyway, a lazy day, watched a bunch of movies back to back, had a nice dinner and evening, now the usual hot tub, shower and bed soon. Skipping the tea as I've had a few glasses of port and really want to get to bed early. Good night, baby! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie,
Got up early with the alarm, fed Lola and myself breakfast, then headed over to Val's for another laser treatment on my knee. Not sure yet if it's helping, but it can't hurt! Came back, fed the horses, and had a quiet morning. Was thrilled to finally get an email from your little pension fund saying, at last, that they made the address change and could now submit the back pension and resume the monthly payments, It's been ten months! Incredible. I've been keeping an eye on the stock market, it's taken a huge hit with the implementation of a new tariff scheme by the Trump administration. Haven't quite lost the last two years growth, but it's not far off. I think everyone's overreacting, and that it will take some time to settle down, but it is a fundamental change in the economy, which I think is supposed to lead to a reduction or elimination of a federal income tax, which would be incredible! People have forgotten that the income tax was supposed to be temporary for war times, and not huge chunks every year to be wasted on projects that have no metric for success. Anyway, you'd be having a field day with all of this! Of course, the doomsday liberals are screaming the sky is fallling and calling Trump every name in the book, but I think the proof will be in the pudding, though it will take awhile. Our markets are very resilient and can withstand this, and build from it. I had lunch with Helen over at Willards, then relaxed the rest of the day, icing my knee and watching TV and reading. Planning on riding with Jo tomorrow, I hope my knee doesn't suffer too much from it! Settled down for my usual evening, heading to bed soon! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
Had a good night sleep, late getting up, read for a while, then checked the AC on the truck, which, miraculously worked when I switched it on, but only after I pulled the fuse a couple of times again. Weird. Stopped at Meg's to pick up the plaques and screws for the mounting block, then went to Ace to get the right size cement drill, which is tiny, as well as some construction adhesive. Got to PT and had a good session with a different therapist, then went shopping at Walmart and Winn-Dixie. Headed home, unpacked everything, had dinner, fed the horses, yada yada, yada, had my usual evening. Everything's pretty mundane these days, but I have to say, my knee felt a little better, though it's anyone's guess as to why at this point. Heading to bed early again, hopefully, after my hot tub, shower, and tea. Good night, babe! Love you!

Hiya Babe,
Kept myself moving today, though it took some effort to talke myself into it! Got up early, had a quick breakfast, then drove over to Val's to have a laser treatment that Val had offered to me the other day. Can't say for sure, but my leg certainly did feel better for a couple of hours, though exactly why is hard to pinpoint, but I'll take any and all relief that I can get! Got back, fed the horses, then spent a few minutes looking at the AC in the truck again, and wouldn't you know? At first it didn't work, then, after taking out the fuse twice, it kicked in. Really frustrating having an intermittent problem like this! I took a break and read for awhile, then finally managed to drag myself up and get busy. I started by painting the bottoms of four receptacles, then I decided I had to put on the cover for the water compartment that I bought in case it didn't fit and I had to return it. Turned out to fit okay, except I had to cut the opening up a little. Didn't realize how close the screwholes were to the edge and ended up not having a place to screw into in a few places, so I had to put some Gorilla tape around it as a double brace. Glad to get that done, though. Then I decided to change the water filter, that was WAY overdue, then got out the sander that Rick had brought for me and sanded down a bunch of lids and stuff, and painted those as well. Put in a good five hours of work outside, in near 90 degree weather already. Glad I got a lot done, though, it's very frustrating to have so many jobs to do and not feeling like I can do them because of my knee. Can't just sit around like I have been doing! Anyway, finally settled down for the evening, going to try to get to bed early tonight, I feel like I need a good night sleep! Love you sweetie! Good night!