Archives for April 2021

Hi Darlin’,
Had a really good night sleep last night, obviously making up for the last couple of nights that haven’t gone so well. Got up late, did literally nothing all day except my PT, reading and finally watching a bit of TV this evening. I did spend some time combing out Gandolph the goat, his coat was looking really ragged and he wasn’t shedding very much, and it’s been so hot and humid I finally brought the shedding scraper out with me and took a lot of hair off. I’ll have to do it again once or twice to finish it off, but it looked a lot better, and I couldn’t believe how still he stood for me, he seemed grateful for the attention! Anyway, I just couldn’t get enough motivation going to do anything, I feel like I’m on hold and I hate that. If the parts come on Thursday early enough, and I can get the truck fixed, I was considering leaving on Friday, but it’s going to be so hot this weekend, I think I’m better of staying where there’s electricity until I start going north. Plus I think I need to drive the truck around a bit and make sure it’s fully functional before I head out. Grrr! I SO wanted to be in a horse camp today! The only good news today was that I didn’t seem to have any side effects from the vaccine, not even a sore arm, which is evidently common. Felt perfectly normal all day, just lazy. I did do several loads of laundry though, that was the extent of my exertion today. Now it’s time for shower, bed and book! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hi Sweetie,
What a day! Despite taking a couple of antihistamines before I went to bed, I had a hard time falling asleep for hours. Finally woke up when the alarm went off, got my chores and breakfast done, then decided to leave early for my second covid vaccine, and it’s a darn good thing I did! As soon as I started moving in my truck, something felt off. The brake pedal was hypersensitive, then the brakes wouldn’t let off even when I took my foot off the pedal, and my power steering seemed to quit. I kept going, hoping it was just a fluke, but by the time I reached the entrance to the turnpike, it started to make a terrible noise and I had to shut it off. Fortunately there is an extra lane between the turnpike turn and the road, so I stopped right there. I called Jeff and thankfully he answered. He came out in his truck, and I took his truck and left him to wait for the wrecker I had already called ($150 for six miles! Crazy!), and just as I was parking the truck I got a text that my covid appointment was past, was I going to be there within the next ten minutes, if not they would cancel it! So I immediately texted yes and got in the door as fast as I could. The rest of the process went just as quickly as the first shot, so I was out of there in no time. After I got back to the house, I started some research on what might be wrong. The wrecker guy suggested the brake hydro-booster, which I knew nothing about, but it did seem to fit all the symptoms. Although, I had put in some power steering stop leak yesterday, and I was promptly told by several forum folks that that was a no-no, it probably screwed up the system. I tried draining the power steering fluid and flushing the system and refilling it, and that seems to help the power steering, but it still made an awful noise once it warmed up, and I’m pretty sure that it is, in fact, the hydro-booster. There’s one more diagnostic I have to do tomorrow to confirm it, but I’ve already ordered a new one (well, re-manufactured), plus a gasket, but it won’t get delivered until Thursday. I can get one locally, but I don’t trust the Buick and I don’t want to keep bugging Jeff, so I guess I’ll just wait for it. All my plans for leaving tomorrow are out the window, unfortunately. And, of course, it rained a lot today, so I got wet working on the truck, nice and dirty by the end of the day. Sigh… So other than me finishing off my covid vaccine, the rest of the day was kind of crappy, though the silver lining is that this happened before I hooked up the trailer and tried to pull it anywhere. So NO STOP LEAK! Why do they make the stuff if it’s bad for your system? Go figure. Anyway, I’ve had my shower and I’m off to bed, hopefully to get a better night sleep than last night, and a better day tomorrow! So far, no side effects from the second vaccine! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Babe,
Last week when I was digging up chaney root, I evidently ran into some poison ivy or similar plant, now my arms are covered with rashes, and I have secondary rashes all over my throat as well. What a mess! And they all itch like crazy! Naturally I’m resisting the urge to scratch, but the last few days have been a constant effort to wash with coal tar soap, pat it all down with alcohol hand sanitizer, and cover it all with Gold Bond powder, which seems to work for a while, at least. I’ve even resorted to taking some allergy pills, but they tend to knock me out so I’ve cut back on those, taking two before bed, and sometimes one in the morning. There doesn’t seem to be too much I can do to hasten my recovery, I’m stuck for a week or two. Weird, because I usually don’t have a reaction to that kind of thing, so I don’t tend to look for it, but obviously I got into a whole mess of it somewhere. When I got back last night, Flash’s feed bag was on my lounge chair outside, the strap had been ripped all the way off one side and most the of way on the other side. I have no idea how that happened, I can only think that whoever fed him last night forgot to take the feed bag off and he wrestled with it for awhile until it was ripped off. I don’t know if it was James or Jeff, no one’s said anything to me, but it’s beyond repair, so I had to order another one, an unexpected cost to taking a day off and leaving the task to someone else. Oh, well, that’s the way things go. I ordered another one, but it won’t be here until Tuesday, so I can’t leave before that comes now. Anyway, I did make a run to the feed store for hay, then spent most of the day reading and putting a few things away, then Jeff’s boarder came to ride Flash for a bit, she’s been looking at Paso Finos and I offered to let her test drive Flash to compare it with some of the others she’s been riding. Of course, that delayed feeding again, and it was nearly mosquito hour by the time that was done. I certainly don’t need any more itchy spots on me! Settled in after that, now I’m heading to the shower for another round with my coal tar soap, then off the bed! Good night, darlin’! Love you!

Hi Darlin’!
Had a good night sleep though I woke up early, probably because I went to bed early, took care of the critters, then headed out to brother Glenn’s condo on Hutchinson Island where I spent the afternoon with sister-in-law Dena, walking a mile on the beach, then hanging around that the pool most of the afternoon. Nice and relaxing! Then Glenn showed up and grilled some nice big hot dogs while I made my way through a bottle of wine, talking with some of his friends. A very relaxing day, which was lovely and much needed. James took care of the horses, and I got home just after sunset and settled down for the evening. A lovely day, very relaxing and very enjoyable! Of course, after settling down to a couple of episodes of New Tricks, it’s time for shower and bed, so that’s where I’m off to! Love you, sweetie! Good night!

Hi Sweetie!
My focus lately has been to get ready to travel next week, and today I managed to finish off a long-awaited chore, to reseal the roof of the trailer. It was misty this morning, thus too damp, but the moment the sun broke through I was up on the roof, squeezing sealant all along the old sealant. It wasn’t long before the roof was really hot, so I had to do it mostly from a standing position. Got it done, though, glad of that! Afterward, I ran out to Walmart to do some shopping, then after a while I got my bathing suit on and headed out to the pool for a bit. Figured I better get what time I could in there, since I’ll be leaving next week, and I won’t likely have many swimming opportunities for awhile. Started a new kindle book (I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately) before finally coming back to the trailer, showering, then feeding the animals (the goats really gave James and me a hard time today!) before settling in for the night. But the time has come to head for bed, so good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Babe!
Another great night sleep, with plans to do a lot of work today. Started out quickly spray painting the repairs on the little horse trailer before breakfast and chores, then I headed up to the roof of the big horse trailer to give it a good wash so that I can reseal it where it’s needed. It got way too hot up there by the time I finished washing it, though, so I ended up washing the rest of the exterior, right down to windexing all the windows, even in the horse compartment, and doing a couple of repairs, like on the ladder, and even got the black streak cleaner out. I thought that would be clogged and need a lot of help to make it work, but it actually sprayed pretty well, so that worked out better than I thought. That took me most of the afternoon, and I was too tired to do my PT exercises, but after all the climbing up and down ladders and working around the trailer, I think I got a pretty good workout anyway. My knee felt really good when I woke up this morning, but it definitely felt tired by the end of the day! Then the vet arrived around 4:00, a new vet for me, Dr. Lowry and Michele, and they did a very thorough job with both horses and Lola, though it cost a pretty penny. I wanted them all to be on the same schedule, though, so I had new Coggins done even though my old ones are good through July. They’re on the Global Link network so I can get my Extended Equine health certificates from them, now I don’t have to worry about it for another six months. All that made for a pretty long day! Then to top it off, Jeff’s boarder Kirsten came to ask me about Paso Finos, evidently she’s in the market for one, so we talked for awhile about that. Finally, it’s time for shower and bed, it’s been a long and busy day, though highly productive! Tomorrow I need to do some shopping, and I’m going to finally seal the roof, and maybe do some other vehicle stuff like checking air in the tires and fluids and so on. Getting ready for the day of my departure, which is soon! Good night, darlin’! Love you!

Hi Honey!
A great night sleep, putting me in the mood to get some stuff done today. After breakfast and chores I ran down to the hardware store for a few supplies, then got busy on some odds and ends. I put sealant around the metal patches on the Logan trailer roof, and installed two new appliance bulbs under the microwave. One of them blew out yesterday, and I guess, judging by how much light there is now with both bulbs working, the other one had been blown for awhile. It was a bit tricky because one of the bulbs broke and left the socket in place, so I needed to use a mirror, flashlight and needle nose pliers to get the socket out, but I finally managed it. Looks really good now, almost too bright, even though the new bulbs are actually 5 watts less than the old ones! I did some bookkeeping and went through some mail that had been sitting around, and did a few more odds and ends to round off the day. Counting the days until I get back on the road again! Soon, very soon! I’m hoping I can get everything done before I leave, but if not, I’ll have plenty of time once I get on the road. Meanwhile, as always, I settled down for the evening, now it’s time for shower and bed! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hi Sweetie!
So much good news today! Last year I declared May 1 as my personal Independence Day, and now I’m happy to declare it a bit earlier this year. My virtual visit with the doctor on Zoom went extremely well, and he gave me the okay to start riding again, yippie! I also had the last scrap of scab drop off this morning, which meant I can now actually start swimming! After my visit, though, I first spent some time finding, cutting and JB Welding some spare metal pieces on to the holes in the roof that have started to rust through on the little Logan trailer, which meant climbing a ladder (which I feel pretty confident on these days), then I washed the truck and waxed the hood, and I also cleaned the pool filters so the pool vacuum would work better, before finally taking a much longed-for dive into the pool! Hung around there for a bit, on a beautiful day, before settling down for the evening. Feeling excellent, and full of anticipation for getting back on the road again! Shower next, then bed on clean sheets! Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Hi Darlin’,
Glad I had my earplugs in, it seems to have rained nearly all night, there were puddles everywhere and the level of the pool was up considerably. Had breakfast, fed the critters, then headed off to what may be my last, or at worst, second to last PT session. Worked me hard, but my knee is definitely getting better every day, even though it’s not quite perfect yet. Stopped at Walmart on the way home and picked up a few things, including a frozen pizza. For some reason, (probably because I just read two pages in a book all about the pleasure of pizza), I was in the mood for some, even though it’s been years since I’ve had one. Since it couldn’t fit in the freezer, I had to cook it right away, then I munched on it all afternoon while watching more episodes of New Tricks. Pretty lazy day other than the PT session. I’m hoping I’ll have more energy to do more tomorrow, though I did manage to make a reservation at a horse camp near Melbourne which I’ve been wanting to try. Now I’m ready for shower and bed, so off I go! Love you, babe! Good night!

Hi Babe,
Not a great night sleep, then spent the day doing some things that need doing before I leave here. I’m looking at the possibility of leaving earlier than I had planned, just because I’ve the weather is turning a lot warmer and I’m more than ready to move on. While everyone else went down to Turtle Tavern, I washed the Buick and moved it over by the fence, covering it up with a new car cover, topped off my storage batteries with distilled water, tried to do a little repair on the paint on the hood of the truck, though it probably won’t look very good. I really need to repaint the whole hood, but who know when I’ll get a chance to do that. I was going to try to do something on the small horse trailer, but I need a taller ladder and I wasn’t ready to do that, so instead I went hunting chaney root along the canal fence until the rain started to move in, and then there were storms all afternoon. It finally cleared out after 7:00, and James and I were feeding when the rest of the gang got back. Settled down for the evening, having already taken my shower this afternoon after getting nice and dirty digging roots, now I’m heading to bed early. Expecting more rain tonight! Good night, sweetie! Love you!