Hiya Darlin',
Despite having 30db earplugs in, I could still hear the thumping of the music next door, tough to sleep, and every time I woke up, it was still going, even at 3:00 in the morning. I think I napped during the set changes, and that was about it! I heard music at 7:00 as well, don't know if they actually stopped for a few hours, or I finally slept through it, but I can't say I'll be sorry when this is over, it's getting rather nerve-racking. I know I sound like my parents when I say this, but why does it have to be so dang loud! They're a mile away, and I can still feel the bass beat in my bones! Oh, well! I got up to my alarm and did my chores, then got ready to go on a lovely kayak journey, thanks to the gratitude and generosity of my hosts, who also work the Canoe Outpost at the Music park. Met the van at the local convenience at about 10:30, and was driven to the four-mile out launch, which is located in the Mattair area, where I've ridden previously with Sheila and her mule Pete. A tricky road, if you can call it that, more like a trail, for the van and canoe trailer, but it is what it is! I thought I would be with a group, I didn't want them to make a special trip for me, but the group changed their minds and only went on the one hour, which was a different launch point, so I ended up doing it on my own, which, as you know, is perfectly fine with me. I really enjoyed the peace and quiet for the first half of the trip. I had one small group pass me, they started about 70 miles south and have been camping along the way, which sounds like a lot of fun. Once I got to Suwanee Springs, I got a chance to see the graffiti bridge from a different angle, usually I'm on top with Flash. There were a lot of people on the bridge, and a bit further on, I could start hearing the music. I actually liked the sound of the group that was playing, it was more bluegrass, with fiddle and banjo and a bass that I think was a string bass (rather than an electric) but I wasn't sure. Soon I was passing tents that were precariously perched above the river, passed a incredible tree house, and finally, passed the beach, which was extremely crowded and noisy. I was getting a bit concerned about getting a secondhand high from what I could smell in the air. I found out later that there is a burn ban (we haven't had any rain in a long time), so there weren't any campfires. Deb told me when I finally got to the outpost that campfire smoke is usually really bad during the festivals, so it's nothing this year. Unfortunately, the firewood guys didn't make any money this time around because of it. We chatted for a bit, then a group came up and wanted to go out, and that was my opportunity to get taken back to my truck. It took twice as long to get out of the park as it did to get from the park to the Springs, as the roads were full of bikers and pedestrians. The place was absolutely packed! Tents and campers were crammed in together with hardly room to breathe! Not my scene, for sure. Anyway, got back to camp by 2:00, relaxed for the afternoon, since tomorrow will be the beginning of a very busy week. Watched another good movie about the dark side of the pharmaceutical sales business, time for shower and bed! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hi Sweetie,
Had a rather slow day today, had a few stomach cramps that kept me from moving comfortably. I think I didn't drink enough water after my massage and that caused it. I had to get up a couple of times during the night as a result, but still got a decent night sleep. Thought about going riding, but frankly it would be hard to enjoy the peace in the forest with all these loud bands going all day long. I'm finding it a bit distracting. I finished putting together the side marker, and then when the mail came, I received a horse tie bracket which I broke somewhere along the way. I had put some oil on it yesterday, and it took all of a minute to replace it, thank goodness! Then I put everything back up in the attic and put the ladder away, as I start to pack for my departure on Monday. Had to go searching for Lola's frisbee, haven't seen it in a couple of days, but I found it next door. Not much else going on. Watched a good movie about the Jesus Revolution during the hippie era, Kelsey Grammar doing another fine job. Ready for shower and bed, with earplugs! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hey Babe,
Took a long time getting to sleep, but got up around 8:00. After chores and breakfast I ran into town to fill up a propane tank and swap out a couple of items that I bought yesterday at Tractor Supply that were wrong. Lola's been scratching up a storm, so I had to buy a cone for her head, but the one I got yesterday was too small. She's been bleary-eyed from lack of sleep, but now she's succumbed to the fact that she can't scratch (plus I slathered her up with inch relief medicine), she seems a lot more settled. I also bought marker light for the back end of the trailer that got knocked out at the first camp of the Shore-to-Shore when the ladder came off on a tree, that was also too small, so I swapped both out. I went to the feed store to get eight bales of that nice coastal, though I'm not sure this is quite the same, it's still good. Got that stored when I got back, then went to work on the marker light. Naturally, I thought it would be a fairly easy job that turned out not to be, because the screws actually broke off and I don't have a drill bit good enough to tap it. Then I discovered I had to add a negative ground to make it work right, and without a screw, that was a challenge. I ended up trying to solder it into one of the holes and taping it, I doubt it will last long, but at least it's working at the moment. Without screws, I've used Liquid Nails to try to hold it on, not sure that's going to hold either. So the whole thing is a temporary mess for the moment. I finished greasing the truck as well. That was my day, pretty much. There's loud music coming from Spirit of Suwannee all day and probably will be most of the night, if it's this loud here, I can't even imagine the loss of hearing that's occurring with people any closer to it! Watched an unfortunately depressing movie, ready for shower and bed shortly. Good night, darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Darlin'!
Had a great night sleep, didn't do much in the morning because I had an appointment for a massage this afternoon. My hosts gifted it to me in appreciation for all my volunteer work. Wendy did a great job, really listened to me and worked hard on my shoulder, should be interesting to see how it takes over the next few days. Stopped at Tractor Supply to pick up feed, they didn't have the Balance so I many be running out of that soon. Went to Lowes but didn't find the trailer hardware I was looking for (found it on Amazon later and ordered it), finally a stop at Walmart for a few essentials. Got tied up in traffic on the way back to camp, there's a big "Hulaween" event at Spirit of Suwannee this weekend, so I'll be hearing the sound of deep bass thumping all weekend. Good thing I wear earplugs at night! Settled down for the evening, watched a pretty bad movie with an all-star cast, go figure. Heading for my shower and bed soon! Love you, sweetheart! Good night!

Hi Sweetie!
Set the alarm to get an early start on the day, had a busy day planned. After chores and breakfast, I was raring to go before 9:00, starting with the biggest job, washing the outside of the trailer. The roof itself took over an hour and a half, what with the awning and slide-topper and hay box. Before coming down I let down the pressure washer and the grease gun, to finish the job I left when I changed the oil in the truck the other day. I did the rest of the exterior of the trailer, including the underside of the awning, then put some silver tape on the front end of the trailer. I've sealed that front aluminum panel six different ways, and the adhesive never stays, so now I've just put some silver duct tape on it, the good stuff with the backing, and I'm hoping that will keep the panel in the frame the way it's supposed to be. Not really counting on it, though. Then I pressure washed the water barrel in the truck, it's gotten full of algae lately. I left it dry for now, I'll fill it when I need it, that way it will stay clean until then. I pressure washed the tires on the trailer and truck, got a lot of grease off one trailer tire that was overflowing with grease since my last brake job. By then I was too tired to worry about doing the last couple of grease fittings, so I postponed that until tomorrow. Swept off the porch carpet, put all the tools and furniture back, finally wrapping up at 4:30, having only taken two short breaks all day. Feeling like my energy was well spent today, and happily, I'm physically tired, so I'm hoping to go to bed early and still get a full night sleep. Watched an old James Stewart movie with dinner, heading soon to shower and bed. I love busy and demanding days like this! And I STILL feel twenty years younger with my shoulder in a much better place. Still a few kinks to work out, but I have a massage scheduled for tomorrow, I'm hoping between the labor and the massage, I'll feel even better later in the week! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hey Babe!
I feel twenty years younger! After sleeping way too late again this morning, I got up and started doing my usual routines, and it was like a whole new experience! I was able to get dressed without pain in my arm, comb my hair without pain in my arm, feed the horses, have breakfast, drive my truck to run errands, all without hardly any pain in my arm! I had to almost force myself to remember that I didn't have to shift my shoulder before reaching for something, I could just reach for it! It feels GLORIOUS! There's the tiniest bit of pain when I reach to extremes, but everyday stuff is almost back to my norm from fifteen years ago. I hadn't realize just how much I was compensating with my shoulder, but am so glad that era is behind me. Better late than never, right? Anyway, I only did a few things today, I didn't want to stress it out, I wanted to let it settle slowly back in place, so I went into town to a computer repair shop for something I ended up not being able to do, then stopped for a few bales of hay at a feed store. It was only fifty cents more than the last bales I bought, but the hay is much nicer, so if the horses like it as much as I think they will, I'm going to stock up with than before I leave here next week. Anyway, otherwise a nice relaxing day, feeling so happy!! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hey Sweetie,
Had a good night sleep, thank goodness, and still set my alarm as I'm trying to retrain myself to get up earlier. Spent most of the early part of the day doing loads and loads of laundry, then Dave arrived in the afternoon to finish the wood pens. It didn't take too long with the two of us, they're just about good as new! Settled in for the evening in the usual way, dinner and a movie (the remake of Dune), already did my Spanish lesson, just have my shower and bed left! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hi Babe,
Finally got a good night sleep at a decent hour, and even slept through to the alarm I set, yay! Felt much better today. Dave came around and started working on the two wood pens, some trees that fell on them had knocked the posts out of alignment and broke a faceplate or two, but we moved the remains of the trees out of the way (most of them I had cut up already) and managed to straighten out a few of the posts. He had other things he had to do so we didn't finish the job, but we made good progress. Later in the day I gave Lola a bath, she's been scratching for a few weeks now, not sure what's causing it, but I washed her with some medicated shampoo and it seemed to help. Drained and refilled her little pool, and then decided to wash the truck while I was at it. Washed and then did some spray wax, so it does look better. Finally settled in for the evening, now it's time for shower and bed! Love you, darlin'! Good night!

Hi Darlin',
Don't know what happened last night, but I couldn't get to sleep last night for hours! Of course, that means when I finally did get to sleep, it was late when I finally crawled out of bed. For some reason, I just couldn't gather enough energy to do anything today. I mean, absolutely nothing! I figured, why fight the feeling? So I literally spent the day playing games on my computer, reading, and watching TV. To try to get back on schedule, I've showered early, I'm having a double dose of Sleepytime tea, and am going to bed the minute I've finished drinking it. I'm hoping that it will help me get back on a normal schedule. So, good night, sweetie! Love you!