Archives for April 2020

Hi Honey!
Well it did get nice and cold last night, but finally warmed up nicely during the day. Short-lived though, we’re expecting storms overnight tonight. Anyway, after chores I went over to the house and sorted a few things out, too, some more pictures and posted a bunch of stuff on Marketplace. It seems that you either get an immediate response or you get nothing on that site, but I did manage to get one couple to the house, and they bought the wheelbarrow and shop vac (guess I won’t be doing much more cleaning in the garage!), and I gave them some little gardening tools. Sherri the neighbor came over for a while and we chatted, then after she left, I got a call for the deep freezer I had just posted. I offered to deliver it to them in Woodbury for an extra $25 and they agreed, so I closed up the house and managed to wrangle the beast up on the trailer with the hand truck (which I had already disconnected, so I had to reconnect it. Lesson learned!), and took a nice drive up there. A beautiful day so I didn’t mind. I stopped to pick up some milk at a Dollar Market (that’s right, they’ve expanded into an actual grocery store in Woodbury), and then couldn’t resist topping off my tank at the coop where the diesel was priced at $2.05 a gallon! Unbelievable! By the time I got back to camp, all the spaces were taken so I had to improvise and park the little trailer out front. When I let Lola out, one of the other campers, who has a small kid who loves Lola, wanted to play with her, so I let them wear her out for awhile. I bundled the horses back up in their winter blankets for the night, and came it to settle down for the evening. Not a bad day, managed to sell a few things and make a little money, I just hope I can keep the momentum going for the next few days. Every little bit helps! Congress passed a huge bailout bill last week in response to the coronavirus, and every taxpayer is supposed to be automatically getting “stimulus” bonus deposited into their accounts. While I don’t necessarily agree with the principle behind it, I can’t say it won’t come in handy while I wait for the social security survivor’s benefits to kick in. I just hope they’ll be able to reschedule my Vegas job before too long! My Michigan job seems to still be on track, so I should be able to hang on until then. And if the closing goes all right next week, I’ll have some more money to invest, and with the stock market so down right now, there are some bargains out there to be had. Might just be a boon once the economy starts to pick up again! Anyway, time to quit for the day. Love you, darlin’! Good night!

Hey Sweetie,
Had a great night sleep, Lola slept through the night and didn’t bother me in the least, yay! I woke up this morning, and for the first time in YEARS, I didn’t have something I absolutely had to do, nothing, nada. I contemplated doing some computer but otherwise taking the day off when I got a call from Jeff saying he had decided NOT to come up and get anything, mostly because of the coronavirus, so that meant I could start listing the rest of the items I was holding on to for him. I started by listing the Cub Cadet riding lawnmower we just bought before we went back on the road, with less than 30 hours on it, and within 30 minutes I had someone offer to buy it, if I could deliver it to him, at a place that was almost two hours away. He offered me more than what I was asking, so how could I turn that down? It was a cold but beautifully sunny day, a perfect day for a drive, so I thought, why not? Didn’t have anything else I absolutely had to do, so I headed over the house, hooked up the little trailer, loaded up the Cubby, which started without any trouble since I had put the battery on charge a couple of days ago, and voila! We were off and running! I stopped at Walmart for diesel and paid the unbelievable price of $2.16 a gallon! I even saw gas station later in the day that had regular gas for as low as $1.18 a gallon! I haven’t seen prices like this since I was in college a hundred years ago, amazing! Anyway, while I was driving toward Lewisburg, I thought about the horse expo in Murfreesboro we went to a few years ago, and our vendor neighbor who called herself the crazy goat lady, who made the most wonderful lavender hand cream, which I had used up a few months ago. I knew she lived somewhere in that area, so I quickly googled her, found her and called her, and as good fortune would have it, she welcomed my visit. So I dropped off the Cubby with no problem, then went out to visit her, and we had a nice chat and I picked up a couple cakes of lavender soap and hand cream, then she reminded me about the fudge spoons she made, I had almost forgotten about those! You remember those delicious varieties of goat fudge on a spoon? I still had ONE in the freezer from when we saw her over two years ago! So I stocked up on a bunch of them, too, in a whole selection of flavors. She gave me a tour of her little goat farm, it was lovely! I finally had to head home, which took almost two hours, but it was a beautiful drive, and got back only to find there were no open places to park, though my neighbor moved his truck so I could park the truck and trailer without blocking anyone else. I didn’t worry about the horses, they have plenty of hay, and I left their winter blankets on since it’s getting near to freezing again tonight. So I settled in for the night, and decided to watch the seasons of Madame Secretary that were made after we quite watching it on the networks (when we ditched the dish in favor of Netflix and Amazon Prime!), saw a couple of episodes of that (with Lola in my lap, which she’s taken to doing lately), so now I’m headed to shower and bed, as usual. So, good night now, darlin’! Love you!

Hi Darlin’,
Well, not surprisingly, Lola was very anxious when the storms came in last night (which included some hail, though no damage to anything), I ended up having to give her a pill, which I should have done earlier, but the storm moved through quickly and she settled down after that. She tried hard to come up into the bed, and I had to turn backwards so I could pet and comfort her, it was the only thing that settled her down until it all passed. This morning I finally had my conversation with the Social Security people about the survivors benefits on your pension, I made the appointment way back in January for a phone interview today! We managed to get it all settled, so at least I’ll have that little bit coming in. Afterward I ran down to McMinnville to do some shopping, feed for the horses, a new dryer vent for the trailer and some 2×10 boards for leveling the trailer. I’ve broken most of the smaller boards, they were just too small and narrow for the task, hopefully this will work better. Then finally a stop at Walmart for everything else. They actually had a lane of shopping carts outside the door to form a line in order to limit the number of people in the store (what they’re calling “social distancing” in an effort to keep people at least 6 feet away from each other. You would be astounded at how quickly people’s behavior has changed in the last month, it’s downright shocking (including me)! Fortunately there was no line and I went straight in, got everything I needed and got out of there, though I, too, wore a facemask and latex gloves while I was in there. Gas is down to $1.29 a gallon, and that’s in McMinnville! I saw one place where diesel was $2.15, but I’m waiting till I go to Manchester in a few days, where I’m sure it will be even cheaper! There’s a glut, the Saudis cranked up their production last month, and of course, there are a lot less vehicles on the road since everyone’s supposed to be staying home. The wonders of supply and demand! When I got back, I ran out to the house because I had gotten a call from someone about a couple of the items I posted on Marketplace and managed to sell a couple of things to the family that moved in and started a junkyard up the road. That’s what the other neighbors are calling it, the junkyard, another Harmon special. The first one, as I recall. Anyway, it’s money in my pocket and less stuff around the house, which is all good. It was too late to let the horses out when I got back, which has become my habit this week, but I did put their winter blankets on because the temps are supposed to get down to almost freezing overnight! Not the spring I was hoping for, but it has been nice since I’ve arrived, and is supposed to warm up again next week, so I can withstand a cold front. Anyway, settled down for the evening, thought I’d give Madmen another try, started from the beginning and quickly remembered why we had abandoned it (though others seemed to like it, it’s not my cup of tea!), so I’ll have to find something else tomorrow. Been doing a lot of reading lately, so much so my eyes hurt me sometimes, just another sign of aging, I guess! Jeff still hasn’t decided when (or even if) he’s coming up, and it’s driving me crazy. There’s stuff he wants, but if he doesn’t come till the last minute, I won’t have much time to sell them and I’ll have to let them go to consignment and I won’t get much out of that. I may have to do that anyway, everyone around here is hanging on to every penny since so many folks are out of work because of the virus. Bad timing on that one! Still, the day of closing is drawing nearer, and I do whatever is necessary to get out of here asap! Still don’t have any place confirmed where I can go, still looking… Well, Lola’s back in from her nightly ablutions and I still have to take my shower, so I’m off! Love you, darlin’! Good night!

Hi Babe,
Had another good night sleep, thank goodness, Miss Lola seems to be settling down nicely. I’ve just realized, though, that we haven’t had any storms of note since I started letting her sleep in the trailer rather than the truck, and tonight storms are forecast, so we’ll see how THAT goes! Meanwhile, I continue to pace myself with the work that needs doing. I’m trying not to kill myself or get too anxious about doing all the work at once, and you know how hard that is for me! I managed to get the Cub Cadet going okay today, so I was able to put it back together. It seems the belt might be a little stretched, but it’s hard to tell, and it was working just fine. I searched for our marriage license because I need it to try to claim some kind of bereavement benefit from the British Pension Service, not sure if I qualify but I thought I’d give it a try. I find it hard to believe they don’t have some kind of widows benefit when a spouse dies, but that’s what they tried to tell me a few months ago. Anyway, I had to order a certified copy from Palm Beach County, but I didn’t want to wait so I sent the paperwork on ahead anyway. I spent some time making a list of everything that’s left and posting it on Marketplace, I’ve already gotten a couple of replies so maybe I can sell some stuff this weekend, wouldn’t that be nice! A quick trip to the Post Office to send out and pick up the mail (all junk) and then I settled down early, actually nodding off at one point this afternoon, which is so very nice! I finished watching the Titanic series, the last few episodes of which were pretty boring and came to a rather sudden end, which probably explains why they didn’t get a second season, if one had been planned. Anyway, I’m going to pull in the awning and put away the furniture before I shower and go to bed since this storm is coming in later tonight, so I’ll sign off. Good night, my love!

Hiya Sweetie,
Another good night sleep, fortunately, and a bit of a slower morning, except for work on the computer. I learned a few more things about Bereavement Benefits from England, and it appears that I might be eligible, though it’s supposed to be filed within three months, which is exactly the date today. Of course, trying to confirm an answer to anything right now is next to impossible, all the government offices on both sides of the pond are understaffed and overwhelmed with dealing with this coronavirus. I did take a quick run over to the house to try to find some paperwork with your National Insurance number on it, and finally found some, though not after getting Jeff to tear apart everything in his closet first, sorry! I also brought the tools to fix the belt, and it went on very easy, almost too easy to my mind, I’m wondering if it stretched. I had put the battery on charge last night, and it was enough to turn it over a bit, but not enough to start it, so I left it to charge again, since I don’t want to put it back together again until I know it will work. Got back to the camp shortly before the realtor came by, I handed over some old surveys and title work in the hopes that would save on some costs, and might have even persuaded him to lower his commission a bit, we’ll see. I felt kind of lazy after that (imagine that!), so other than putting the horses out and checking on them from time to time, I look the rest of the afternoon off. Nice to be able to do that occasionally, it seems like it’s been ages since I just relaxed for a couple of hours during the day. It’s been beautiful weather this week, and all the leaves are just starting to come out, the dogwoods and fruit trees are in bloom, and it’s been in the 70’s. That’s changing, though, we have a cold front coming in and it’s going to be near freezing in a couple of nights, so it’ll be blankets for the horses again. Apollo keeps breaking away from his anchor and next thing I know I’m off trying to catch him up, with Flash running circles around him while I get him to where he needs to go. Everybody’s been pretty good about it here, though Lola took a long walkabout this afternoon, I don’t know where she went, but I’m thinking I’m going to have to put her on a leash if I’m not actually playing with her. Well, it’s reached that time of the evening, she’s standing by the door and I still have my shower to take, so off I go! Good night, baby! Love you!Hiya Sweetie,
Another good night sleep, fortunately, and a bit of a slower morning, except for work on the computer. I learned a few more things about Bereavement Benefits from England, and it appears that I might be eligible, though it’s supposed to be filed within three months, which is exactly the date today. Of course, trying to confirm an answer to anything right now is next to impossible, all the government offices on both sides of the pond are understaffed and overwhelmed with dealing with this coronavirus. I did take a quick run over to the house to try to find some paperwork with your National Insurance number on it, and finally found some, though not after getting Jeff to tear apart everything in his closet first, sorry! I also brought the tools to fix the belt, and it went on very easy, almost too easy to my mind, I’m wondering if it stretched. I had put the battery on charge last night, and it was enough to turn it over a bit, but not enough to start it, so I left it to charge again, since I don’t want to put it back together again until I know it will work. Got back to the camp shortly before the realtor came by, I handed over some old surveys and title work in the hopes that would save on some costs, and might have even persuaded him to lower his commission a bit, we’ll see. I felt kind of lazy after that (imagine that!), so other than putting the horses out and checking on them from time to time, I look the rest of the afternoon off. Nice to be able to do that occasionally, it seems like it’s been ages since I just relaxed for a couple of hours during the day. It’s been beautiful weather this week, and all the leaves are just starting to come out, the dogwoods and fruit trees are in bloom, and it’s been in the 70’s. That’s changing, though, we have a cold front coming in and it’s going to be near freezing in a couple of nights, so it’ll be blankets for the horses again. Apollo keeps breaking away from his anchor and next thing I know I’m off trying to catch him up, with Flash running circles around him while I get him to where he needs to go. Everybody’s been pretty good about it here, though Lola took a long walkabout this afternoon, I don’t know where she went, but I’m thinking I’m going to have to put her on a leash if I’m not actually playing with her. Well, it’s reached that time of the evening, she’s standing by the door and I still have my shower to take, so off I go! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hiya Darlin’,
Didn’t get a very good night sleep, unfortunately Lola was restless most of the night, waking me up at 2:00 am to let her out, and back in again half an hour later. I had a hard time getting back to sleep, so I woke up tired this morning. After breakfast I packed up some things I needed for cleaning and repairs over at the house, and headed over there after I took care of the horses. I worked for a solid 5 hours with no breaks, just cleaning and repairing the furniture. The other side of the green loveseat had given up the ghost, but since I had the spare parts, I fixed that. I was glad I had done it before (and knew it COULD be done) or I would have been very frustrated with it. It went well, though, so I’m hoping the buyer can come get it tomorrow, or at least someday soon. I cleaned the burgundy recliners too, and measured one out to see if there’s ANY possibility I can fit one in the trailer, but there isn’t, at least if I want to have a second chair in the same space. I rinsed down the lawnmower, but didn’t have the energy to fully wash it so I put it off until tomorrow. It was after 5:00 when I got back, so I put Apollo on the anchors and let them loose to mow down a part of the yard. At 7:00 I went back out and they had wandered a bit farther than I thought, but Apollo predictably got caught on a bushhog sitting in the yard so I had to undo him, and Flash was nearby, too, so all was well, and they got some fresh grass. I finished off the season of The Crown, with the final episode being the Silver Jupilee in 1977, the one where you played Henry VIII at Windsor Castle for a week, ending with the Royal Family. I’ll always remember you telling me about how Prince Philip, the Queen’s husband (who, of course, could never be king, as it was passed down to the next generation not to the spouse), came up to you afterward and asked you, “So, what’s it like to be King?” A great moment! It was that week where you met the people that brought you to America, and eventually, to me, so it was obviously a big turning point in our lives, even though I didn’t know you yet! Anyway, I have to say I found this season not nearly as good as the first season, quite slow, actually. Now I have to find something else to start watching. My eyes are hurting from all the reading I’ve been doing, and also the lack of sleep. I can’t wait until this house closes and I can do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for a couple of days! Or try to, at least. Anyway, off for my shower and bad. Love you, sweetie! Good night!

Hi Babe,
A pretty good night sleep, then this morning after doing my usual chores I arranged to pick up a big round bale of hay from one of the Mennonites that our usual hay guy recommended. I decided on getting a round bale rather than a bunch of small bales, partly to save me from having to carry hay over twice a day, but also because I figured it would save money in the long run. So first I ran down to the post office to pick up a great stack of mail, stopped at the dollar store for dog food cans, which is about all I need right now, then went over to get the bale, which I brought back a managed to roll into the little makeshift paddock between the chicken houses. Then I headed back to the house, stopping to chat with neighbor Sheri for a while, sitting on her front porch longer than I probably should, till I finally headed over to the house. Our renters had rearranged all the furniture, breaking one of the green love seats in the process, so now I have that to fix, which fortunately I still have the parts for, though I’ll have to find the instructions again, can’t remember how I did it. They moved the waterbed all the way out to the second garage for some reason, so not surprisingly the mattress had a huge hole chewed into it by the vermin. I have no idea why they felt it necessary to move it all the way out there, but they left some of the parts in the hallway for some reason as well, so now it’s scattered everywhere. Grrrr! I should’ve known better. Anyway, now I have more to deal with than before. I can’t wait to get this over with! I took some pictures to post up on Marketplace again, and I’m trying to get in touch with the buyers to see if they want any of this stuff, like the trash trailer and the Cub Cadet lawnmower before I try to sell it. I’m running out of time, though, don’t know what I’m going to do it I can’t get this sold before the house closes. Not sure Jeff will have time to come up, not even sure it’s worth his while to do, so I’m in a quandary. I’m in another quandary about where to go after this, all the parks in the neighboring states all seem to be closing down, so I’m not sure what I’m going to do. I may have to stay here, but I really can’t afford to do that for long either, even though Wayne’s giving me a decent deal, but I’m still paying for a full hookup. Plus there’s no trails to go riding, Lola’s supposed to be on a leash, and I have neighbors practically right next to me, all things I don’t particularly like. So it looks like my newfound freedom is going to be on a very short leash until this pandemic mess settles down. I was so depressed by the time I got back from the house. Well, enough whining, I’m still tired and I have a busy day tomorrow trying to get some of this stuff straightened out. Hopefully things will go better then. Off to my shower and bed. Good night, babe! Love you!