Hey Sweetie!
Had a good night sleep, and after breakfast and chores I got busy finishing off the last of the carpeting job. I put the end caps on the slide and added a little strip on one side where there was a big gap and stuff was falling down underneath (I found a barrette, a nail file and misc. other stuff down there when I was vacuuming!), so now things won’t go down there anymore, and hopefully, no critters will come in. I still had a lot of carpet left, so I made a patch to fit in the laundry room, hoping it will help keep Lola from dragging water halfway across the bathroom floor and she has a drink, you know how messy she can be! Then I decided to make a couple of ovals to fit inside her dog bed. There used to be foam in there, but it always got screwed up when she fluffed her bed, so I’m hoping heavy carpet will stay put. Now she has three layers, one on the storage lid and two in her bed, made me think of “The Princess and the Pea” story! Once that was done, I still had a long strip left (there really was a lot of carpet there!), so I made a runner that goes from the bedroom stairs to the door of the bathroom, I think Lola will like it when she plays, she was always slipping on the floor and this should give her more traction. And finally, another short piece I’m not entirely sure where to put, either in the bathroom or in front of the fireplace, though I’ll have to trim it a bit for it to fit there. Anyway, that FINALLY used up the bulk of the carpeting, just a few scraps left now. What a difference! Did a good vacuum, then discovered a bit of a leak around the toilet, I probably need to replace it, or take it out and replace the seal, but as a short-term measure, I put some sealant around it at floor level where it seems to be leaking, not entirely sure the sealant I used it any good, it was still soft from when I used it last, not a good sign. I may have to get some new stuff and do it again, but we’ll see how it is in the morning. Spent some time updating my Will, now that your sister is gone, though this time I got a lot more detailed, found a form on the internet, but it wouldn’t let me print it without a credit card number (supposedly a free trial, but I’m not interested in that), so I just spent an hour transcribing it, so it’s a lot more thorough, and I assume, more legal. Printed that up and put it in my ICE envelope just in case. Finally felt like I had a good day’s work in, so I put on my bathing suit and Lola and I went to play in the pool for awhile. Needed to wear her out so she’ll sleep tonight. Afterward, I gave her a bath with a good, medicated, veterinarian recommended shampoo that I bought the other day, hoping that will lessen all the scratching she’s been doing lately. Took my shower after that, though she was so good, stood perfectly still while I washed her, even when I had to leave it on for more than five minutes. Don’t know if it was that or just all the exercise she got fetching and swimming, but she’s sound asleep on her three layers of carpet and her cushion, spoiled princess! Settled down to a great movie, Finding You, a rom-com, yeah, but really good, about a young actor who stars in dragon fantasy movies, a young violinist trying out for what I assume was Julliard, both in Scotland at a B&B, and a great performance by Vanessa Redgrave playing a dying old lady with a mysterious past, which seems to be about the only.roles she’s getting these days, understandably, I guess. A good day, very productive, a few more like these and I’ll start to feel ready to move on, though I still have my microwave and brake situation to resolve. Anyway, time for bed here shortly! Love you, Babe! Good night!

Hi Babe!
Had a good night sleep, other than barking dogs waking me up a couple of times. I had planned on doing the final finish on the carpet today, but after breakfast, I sat in my chair for a couple of minutes to read, and apparently dozed off, because next thing I knew it was an hour later. Then the same thing happened again, twice more! I actually dozed off for three hours total! And that was after a good eight hours of sleep, would you believe! I guess all this physical labor has taken its toll. Anyway, I finally started really moving again at about 1:00. The kitchen faucet was much better, but I did tighten it from the bottom again, solved a tiny leak, think I finally got it right. Definitely an huge improvement! I’ll have to keep that lubricated better in future. Went into town, went to the Dollar store for some LA’s Awesome Cleaner (THE best stuff for getting off black streaks on the outside of the RV, hands down!), then hit the Walmart for some regular shopping. By the time I got back and unloaded, it was beer time, so I settled down for the evening. In my effort to keep my new grill ultra-clean, I wrapped up a piece of freshly breaded chicken in aluminum foil on a bed of onions, and oh, my! It was the juiciest chicken I can ever remember eating! One dinner on the cattle drive last year we had chicken that was superbly moist, I’m thinking he must have done something similar, it was delicious! I’m going to try everything this way for awhile, see what works. It’s definitely keeping the grill clean! Anyway, watched some TV, ready for shower and bed. Getting WAY too hot down here already, calling for 90’s the next couple of days. Really with I was heading north already, but I just have too much to do before I leave. Need a new microwave, need to get the brakes checked on the trailer, need to do a bunch of stuff, so it’s going to be a busy month. Anyway, off I go! Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Hey Darlin’,
Had another busy day, beginning with finishing off the last couple of end caps for the slide. All I have left is to get a couple of screws long enough to mobilize one, the previous screws broke on me, obviously insufficient for the job. Rather than pursue it, though, I changed to another job that’s been bugging me for a long time, the kitchen faucet. It’s so frozen it just won’t swivel. I found the original parts blowout, figured I strip it down, clean it and lubricate it all up. Sounds good in theory, right? Naturally, it wasn’t as easy as it sounds. After several attempt to figure out how to do it, I only managed to strip about half of it down. Things got more complicated when I thought I might have to disconnect the water lines to do it, but that was just too much. I finally looked it up on Youtube and got some suggestions, but, of course, none of the faucets looked like mine, so there was still some guesswork involved. I finally opted for the “put oil on it and rub it in until it starts to free up” method, which eventually worked, though I still have a few adjustments to make on it. I had loosened up the faucet from underneath, so getting it loose on top became a little problematic, but it’s a lot better now, and I should be able to fix it with just a little more tinkering. All that took me all day, it was after 4:00 by the time I finished. Phew! Another day full of physical activity! I’m just about ready to take a day off! But I do have to do a little shopping tomorrow, so if I can just finish these last two final steps on each of these two projects, I’ll be a happy camper!. Grabbed a beer and took Lola over to the pool to get some exercise, she’s been tending to sleep all day and then gets restless at night, which I certainly don’t need. I’ve been getting woken up in the middle of the night nearly every night since I’ve been here, with dogs barking in the neighborhood. Sometimes next door, other times I think it’s dogs here on the property, but I can’t say for certain. Would like to get through a night, though! Finished off the evening with a feel good movie, and then an interesting flick with Patrick Steward playing a concert pianist who develops some stage fright late in his career. Kind of a sad tale, but great production value. Time for shower and bed now, though! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!