Hiya Darlin',
Another good night sleep, another good session working on my shoulder, but no walk today. That's because we headed out early to do some shopping, but not until I had taken off all the blankets from both horses and plants, which all survived the overnight freeze. No much more of that this week, I'm happy to say! Headed up to Williston first, to pick up a prescription for Chelle and mail it to her in blizzardy Maine, then down to Dunnellon for fuel, mail checking, package dropping and shopping at Walmart and Winn-Dixie. Did my big monthly shop today before heading back home. Took awhile to unload and put stuff away, it was after 4:00 by the time I got done. Put the final hardware on my ladder, which took a little bit of creative drilling, but managed to finally finish that job, and put it firmly in place for future use. Not sure I ever want to take it down again! Did my afternoon chores as usual, and settled down for the evening, still bingeing on this fascinating Sci-Fi series 12 Monkeys. Took my hot tub and early shower, which is becoming my new routine, and splurges on a bourbon cocktail, which I haven't done in months, but am thoroughly enjoying! Hope I feel the same way in the morning! Anyway, off to bed shortly! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hey Babe,
Had a pretty relaxing day today, too cold to do much outside in the morning, but when the mercury finally reached 50 degrees, I bundled up in my long underwear and my Alaska parka and headed out with Lola for our walk. Like the song says, feeling stronger everyday! I decided not to take Apollo today, I want his feet to recover a bit from yesterday's trim, and also to do a little more work on them, but mostly because it was too darn cold today! I did soak his foot for a bit with Epsom salt, but I think his little abscess has already drained, so I'm not sure it helped much. Since temps are predicted anywhere from 27-32 degrees tonight, I covered all the plants and plumbing and put blankets on all the horses (actually, I had put them on my horses last night as well), so I've done all I can to combat the winter. Warming up tomorrow, so it seems I'll only have to do this for one night. Feeling sorry for all the folks up north, they're having a blizzard! So happy to be in Florida, since this cold snap will be gone in a day or so. Settled for the evening, braved the cold long enough to grab a hot tub (loving it!), watched some more of the 12 Monkeys series, off to bed soon! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hi Sweetie,
Spent the first part of the morning working on my shoulder (yes, that pain is back, unfortunately), got up and fed all the horses, did my usual breakfast and chores routines, started some laundry, then leashed up Lola and took our two mile walk. It did feel a lot better today, thank goodness, and with the music I've started playing on my phone, the time passed easily enough. Got back, did a little housekeeping, then the farrier that Chelle recommended, Deb, arrived a bit early, so I got Apollo out of the pasture just as she came down the drive. He was not a happy camper today, he fussed much more than I would have liked, and finally resorted to a nonstop supply of apples to keep him distracted. Fortunately, she was very understanding and patient with him, and did a very thorough job. His feet were even worse than I thought. She did as much sole trimming as he would let her, and managed to make a pretty good line around his wall as well. She found an abscess in his right hind, and some bruising on his right front sole, she thinks that's from the extra pressure from the excess sole he had. She suggested that if he doesn't seem lame, to start walking him to improve his circulation, so I guess I'll have another reason for my morning walks! She worked on him well over an hour, but it was a job well done! She even gave me some tips on how to do more of it myself, on both Apollo and Flash, so it was well worth it. After she left, I did a little bit more housekeeping and laundry, then settled down for the rest of the day, first a Hallmark style movie, then with my new binge-watch, 12 Monkeys, the TV series, though it's based on a movie. Very intriguing sci-fi. After dark, I ventured out to the hot tub, which was particularly welcome because the air had gotten quite cold once the sun went down. Felt great! That pretty much wraps up my day! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Darlin',
Woke up early (that's what happens when I go to bed early after a long day!), found that Chelle and Eric had left even earlier, did my chores and breakfast, then took Lola for a walk. I'm going to try to make this a regular habit, it's really beneficial if I can keep it going. My legs started aching about halfway around, so that's going to be my measure for improvement from now on. Once I got back, I started on the long overdue ladder repair. I can't believe the difference between the new ladder and the old one! Even though it's the same length, the width is different by an inch, which means I had to reposition the rubber stops that it hangs from, and the mechanism for holding the ladder on a rung is much lighter, which I guess maybe it will be a bit easier to use, but it doesn't seem as sturdy. I had no idea they made so many different types of the same Werner ladder! Home Depot had a sturdier model, but it's too late now, I've made too many modifications on this one. But it may actually be better in the end, since it is more lightweight, and weight is everything when I'm hauling like I am. That took a couple of hours, but I still need six additional nut and bolts to complete the job, which I'll pick up next week when I go into town. Settled down for a movie just for a change, then fed Chelle's horses, got the mail and packages, had dinner, fed my horses, now I'm settled down for the evening, though I'm heading out to take a hot tub shortly. Yes, it's finally heated up enough! Since it's supposed to get cold in a few days, I want to take the opportunity while I have it. Be a nice luxury for awhile! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie,
Woke up at the crack of dawn so that I could make a doctor's appointment this morning, and as I was making breakfast, I heard such loud squealing from my horses that I thought someone was at death's door! I rushed out to see what was happening and saw my two guys tail to tail, kicking at each other! Flash's legs were flying so high they were above Apollo's rump. Guess he's feeling better, but seriously! I've heard some squealing before, but just a few squeaks when they're playing bitey face, but this was nuts. I yelled at them and they settled down (they still know who the alpha mare of the herd is :-)), and they didn't appear to have hurt each other, but I definitely think Flash is on the mend, and I'm going to have to get him busy doing something. Anyway, once they settled down and were fed, I carried on with my usual morning, leaving by 8:00 to get to my checkup on time. It took nearly 50 minutes to get there, the appointment lasted about 15, then I was driving another 50 back. Oh, well. I opened the packages from Amazon from yesterday, two cargo nets, one of which will work just fine, the other was way too small, so I'll be returning that along with the screen door slide. Gotta love Amazon! I also managed to get the hot tub up and cleaned out, starting putting water in it but had to leave before it was finished. Went to pick up Helen, went to Willard's where we met Art and eventually Jo, had lunch, then headed down to forest HQ to give them a check from the Benefit ride back in December. Got back home, finished filling up the hot tub and settled down for the evening. Did some more setting up of my new tablet, finished off the second season of Night Manager, which had a very unexpected ending, but then I learned they're in the process of making a third season to come out next year! The first season was done in 2016, so I never imagined it would be ten years between seasons. Anyway, now I understand why Season 2 ended so sadly. I have another busy day tomorrow, and I'm intending to take Flash for a brief ride in the morning just to settle him down, especially since he's going to have to stand for two hours at Chi University tomorrow! I sure hope they don't do any more kicking in the morning, crazy boys! Good night, darlin'! Love you!

Hi Darlin',
Up with the alarm again, chores and breakfast done, then I got Apollo out of the pasture and gave him a good brushing and a little hoof trimming before Art arrived. The four of us, Art, Lola, me and Apollo, took the same walk as yesterday in reverse. I wore more comfortable shoes, which made a big difference! And maybe I gained a little strength after yesterday's walk. I definitely need to use it or I'm going to lose it! So I guess I need to make this a better habit. I know Lola enjoys it, and I think Apollo did, too. After we got back, we ran over to Helen's to pick up my portable hot tub, Chelle and Eric are keen to set it up, since the pool is still too cold to swim in, and this makes a nice addition. Shortly afterward, I received notice that my new Lenovo tablet had arrived, so I walked up and found it in the mailbox. Naturally, I spent the rest of the afternoon getting setting it up and getting acquainted with it. I think I'm going to like it! I think it's the perfect less than a pound option to carrying a five pound laptop. It won't do everything, but it will certainly do everything that I need on vacation, and for a lot of other times as well. Later in the afternoon I received another package, this one had a new sliding door for the trailer's screen door, but despite the picture on the box, it wasn't the same, and ended up being too small, sliding right out of the track, so that's going back. The other items were a couple of cargo nets. Both of the trellises that I've been using for area separation are pretty well destroyed, so I've decided to try something new, so we'll see how that goes. Finally settled in for the evening, starting the second season of the Night Manager, won't be long out of bed! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hiya Babe,
I decided to go on the walk this morning, and was hoping to take Apollo along to stretch his legs, but he managed to slip away from me (I forgot to bring treats!), so I just walked with Art and Lola. I had a hard time keeping up, it's been a long time since I've done any walking. Later on I started on the ladder repair, but didn't get too far. I couldn't even begin to loosen the hardware from the old ladder, so I got online and ordered some new pieces. I also had a hard time getting a screw out of the side of the trailer that held one of the rubber doorstops in, and ended up having to cut it off. I'm thinking that the best solution now is to screw on a small metal plate for each rubber stop at the bottom, just to keep it tidy, since I reamed out the holes so bad there's no easy way to put a new screw in, and epoxy will just look nasty. A little creativity is required for this! But at least I made a start. I ordered a few more things I needed, trying to get as much done while I'm here as possible. Eventually settled down for the rest of the day with my latest binge, The Night Manager. You would have loved this British spy mini-series! Otherwise, a quiet day, Flash is looking good and running around the pasture, following me around in the hopes of getting some more of that alfalfa and treats! Might try to catch Apollo again tomorrow, but we'll see. Heading to be shortly! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hi Sweetie,
Got up early to do chores, started some laundry, and was just making breakfast and calling the dentist at the same time, to see when they could fit me in to get this broken temporary cap replaced, and their response was, come right now! So I converted breakfast into an egg and bacon sandwich and headed out, even before Art arrived to walk Lola. Was happy I didn't have to wait long at the dentist, and they got the job done pretty quickly and without numbing my mouth, yay! Stopped at Tractor Supply and picked up feed, and was surprised they had a pallet of Balance for a change, so I took two. Picked up a couple of things at Walmart, then stopped at Ace for some hardware for the repairs I need to do on the ladder. They didn't even have the ladder I needed, so I checked around. The Ace in Williston was listed online as having the lowest price last week, but this week, it was Bronson, and that was even lower! I headed back home, dropped off everything, got Lola in the truck just for a change of scene for her, and drove up to Bronson for the ladder and hardware I needed. Did some online research and shopping, had some dinner before the Taste of Goethe debrief meeting, which went for over two hours, though it was conveniently located right at Chelle's house, so ten steps to the house was short and sweet! Settled down for the evening, looking forward to making some progress on this ladder repair tomorrow. Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hello my Darlin'!
Had a good night sleep, checked on Flash's legs when I was feeding (where I slipped him a little extra nice alfalfa Jo had given me), and all looks good. It's been such a long time since we had a Sunday with rain predicted, so I decided to make the most of it. Splurged on blueberry pancakes just to round out the day. Art came by and took Lola for a walk, then chatted a bit. Afterward I battened everything down in anticipation of the storm coming in later. It's been windy all since early this morning (and yesterday as well), so I covered up the hay, closed up the awning, put the porch chairs in the back and the tupperware around my electrical connection. Finally settled down, read for awhile, nodded off a few times, then watched a couple of good movies. Started a new TV mini-series based on a John LeCarre novel, and had a wonderful, relaxing day, which I really needed! Of course, Lola didn't like the thunder, but she finally settled down. We had a few good downpours, so I'm looking forward to seeing some greening tomorrow, though I don't know how long that will last, since there's no more rain in the forecast, other than a slight chance tomorrow. It has been incredibly dry this year! Everything is so brown. Anyway, it was a lovely day, just a little more of my usual routine and it's off to bed! Good night, babe! Love you!