Hey Darlin',
My plan today was to do a bunch of errands in the morning and get back to do housework this afternoon, but that didn't exactly work out as planned. My first stop was at Jo's to pick up a package with some med's for Lola and the pink flags I need for setting up the ride next weekend, and we took a few minutes for Lola to have a playdate with her four dogs, since she gets so excited every time we pull up into Jo's neighborhood. A brief stop at the Dollar store where I picked up a couple of things. Next stop was at the Triple J ranch where I had previously bought some really nice green coastal. I decided that rather than use the hay I had already stored, I would just buy enough to last me my stay here and leave those eight bales for the next leg of my journey. Unfortunately, they didn't have anymore of that nice hay, it was just your usual coastal, but Chelle had told me that Farmers Direct still had the greener stuff, so I drove up there. Turns out they were out of coastal, but had a truck coming in around 2:30 this afternoon. They were pretty sure it was of the greener stuff, so I decided to wait for it. While I did, I took a drive down to the trailer place to check on my little trailer, and learned the axles hadn't come in yet, so it would be mid-January before it would be ready. They had put the new roof on, though, so that was a major improvement. After that, I stopped at a park near the hay place, because I read they might have a dog park, but it was just open fields, so I just sat and read for awhile before heading back to the hay place. Eventually the trailer with the coastal arrived, and I was happy to see it was the lovely green stuff, so I bought another fourteen bales. Then I stopped at Helen's to pick up some cans for recycling, then I dropped those off at Forest HQ before finally getting back to camp around 3:45, much later than I had anticipated. Poor horses, I only had a few flakes to give them this morning, figuring I'd be back by noon, but they were waiting patiently for me, and attacked the new hay as soon as I put it in the paddock. Stored the rest of the hay under the gooseneck and finally was able to start my evening. A busy runaround day, but at least now I'm set for hay until I leave to head south. Gorgeous weather today, and more on the way, so I definitely would like to get some more riding in this week! Housework is calling me, so I'll have to squeeze that in sometime, but you know how that always ends up at the bottom of my to-do list. Time for bed! Good night, my sweet! Love you!

Pix to come!

Hi Babe,
Woke up to a chilly morning in the upper 30's, took quite awhile to get the chill out of the air, and by then it was a bit too late to ride, since my vet friend Art was picking me up at 3:30 and I didn't want to be rushed or worry about running late. I finished reading a book, and had just finished feeding the horses when he arrived, and we set off to Pavarotti's for an early dinner. We split an entree, which was more than enough for both of us, then headed over to the World Equestrian Center (WEC) to wander around their grounds, which is all lit up for the holidays. Quiet a spectacle! We met up with a group that had been organized, and we enjoyed walking around together for a couple of hours. It was a lovely evening, and I had dressed in enough layers and even brought my parka just in case it got too cold, and I never did! Got back home about 9:00, too late to do much but finish a Spanish lesson, do my blog, take my shower and head to bed! Good night, darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Darlin',
Finally had a good night sleep! I've been waking up in the middle of the night and having a hard time getting back to sleep, but managed to sleep through the night until about 7:30, yay! Did my chores, skipping breakfast, and drove into town for my annual blood test. I arrived early and the system wouldn't let me check in, so I went over to Tractor Supply to fill up three tanks of propane, only to find out they were out! Checked my mail, ran into Walmart for eggs and bread, then back to the lab, which was very quick. From there I drove up to Dunnellon Feed Store, which also sells propane by the gallon, though for a bit more than Tractor Supply, but it was worth it not to run out or to have to come back. Got home, but everything away, and it wasn't long before it was time to pick up Helen and head over to Willard's, where our ride team had a debrief and celebratory lunch. Got back to camp around 3:00 and settled down for the rest of the day. Made plans with Art to join a group going over to WEC tomorrow night to experience their Christmas decorations, apparently it's quite a sight. Relaxed the rest of the evening, feeling more rested, but could still use a day off! Maybe Sunday. Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Sweetie,
Well, not exactly the day of rest that I planned, but not too exhausting. I did go up and help Chelle do the inventory, took a bit longer than I hoped because we also got all the station boxes sorted and restocked, and it had just started raining by the time I got back to camp. Meanwhile a friend stopped by and we ended up chatting for quite awhile, so I didn't quite start my restful routine until almost 4:00. Not as much time resting today as I hoped, but you know what they say, I'll rest when I'm dead! Finally did settle down for a quiet evening, and had the satisfaction of still getting something worthwhile done today. Tomorrow's also going to be busy, but maybe over the weekend I'll finally get a day of nothing! Wouldn't that be nice! Be nodding off here soon, so off to bed with me! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Babe,
Another busy and exhausting day! After breakfast, I finished packing and closing up the trailer, then loaded the horses in for their breakfast before taking the tractor and bush hogging all around the paddock to clean it up. Then I drove it over to Helen's to fix some tire ruts where one of the riders got their semi stuck in the sand and made quite the mess. Not perfect, but a lot better. Then I finished the trip going over to Chelle's, who brought me back to camp, and from there I finally headed down to Tidewater. Turns out the site I had been assigned was way too small, with no place for the horses, so after scouting around a bit, the manager and I settled on a nice open area across from the day parking, which gave me lots of room for a fenced paddock and more sun for my solar panel than just about anyplace else. Finally unloaded the horses after I got their paddock ready for them, which is in a location right where I can see them, then had to fill up my water tank since I no longer had a nearby spigot. Changed the water filter in the process, LONG overdue! It was nearly 3:00 by the time I got everything set up and I could finally stop moving for a bit. Played a little with Lola, read awhile, put up my solar panel, then finally settled down for my evening routine. Happy that I have a pretty decent cell signal where I am! Feeling very tired, though, I really need a day off, but I'm not sure I'm going to get one any time soon. It's supposed to rain tomorrow, so I was thinking about resting then, but I need to do an inventory with Chelle for the Taste of Goethe, so we'll probably do that tomorrow instead. I will find a day to do nothing, though, and soon! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Darlin',
Woke up before my alarm, got up before the crack of dawn, then headed out to my first appointment at the dentist and my second appointment for my wellness check up, followed up with doing some shopping at Walmart. Stopped at Jo's on the way back to return all the markers (making a little bit more room in the back seat of my truck!), and was back at home by 1:30. Got everything put away, then started packing up, since I finally got it settled where and when I would be heading down to Tidewater, which will be tomorrow. Spent the rest of the day and evening in my usual routine, very happy that I've finally managed to get back to decent live streaming! That's what happens at the beginning of my month of cell service! Service isn't too great down at Tidewater, but I'm hoping there will be enough. We'll see! Heading to bed shortly. Good night, sweetheart! Love you!

Hey Sweetie,
As always, drinking wine made me wake up in the middle of the night, so I didn't get as much sleep as I was hoping, but I was up and ready to go by the time DeDe showed up (early) to get started on taking down the markers from the 25 miles of orange trail. We work well together, and we whipped through it all pretty quick, finishing up not long after noon. There were a couple of the signs on stakes that our vandal had taken down and ripped into little pieces, and some the ribbons were missing (though some were evidently picked up by Yvette before Jo told her not to after checking with me), but fortunately it didn't seem to affect the riders, thank goodness. Once we got back, DeDe took me out along yesterday's trail to see if we could find the picker-upper grabber that I lost yesterday. We traced the trail all the way back to the point where I knew I had it last, then turned around and came back again. Just when we were about convinced we weren't going to be able to find it, I saw it! Yay! Mission accomplished! I spent the rest of the afternoon sorting out all the ribbons and putting everything away, finally settling down for the evening, even managing to get in a few episodes of Bones, projecting from my laptop, though, which seems to work better when the signal is low. My monthly Verizon allotment recycles tonight, so hopefully things will improve tomorrow. Heading to bed early, another early morning tomorrow! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
Off to a busy start, up before dawn, quickly did my chores, put horse crossing signs on the road, helped cross all the horses, which left at 7:30 and 8:00, then headed down to the vet hold area, putting up a couple of more signs, dropped off hay and helped managed the horses as they came in. Waited until they all left, picked up the water buckets and excess hay, headed down to the next crossing and did the same before heading back to Helen's. Grabbed some lunch there, then had a busy afternoon solving a multitude of other problems, including having to pick up one horse whose rider took the long orange instead of the short orange and couldn't make it back. Ended the day at the finish line taking numbers, times and placements, which finally concluded at around 6:30. Fed the horses and settled down for the night. Unfortunately, Verizon has throttled down my speed to such a degree that I can stream a thing, so I'm out of luck watching TV until my month cycles over on Monday, darn it! I pay for unlimited, I should get unlimited, right? Seriously considering Starlink, just not sure it will work in areas where I'm in a lot of trees, which is very often the case. Sigh. But it is a problem I sure would like to solve, just wish it wasn't such an expensive solution. But hey, that's what money is for, right? To spend and make our lives better? Gotta stop being such a cheapskate! Anyway, I'm having tea, won't be out of bed long, it's been a very long and tiring day, though I think it went very well, and that's the best anyone can do. Good night, sweetheart! Love you!