Archives for March 2023

Hey Darlin’,
My hip was a bit sore last night for some unknown reason, so I took a couple of ibuprofen and ended up having a good night sleep. Spent the morning working on my taxes but got delayed with a problem question I had about my IRA, so I stopped for awhile, waiting for answers. I received the new motor for the pressure washer yesterday, and spent the afternoon putting it in, but as I was doing it, I realized the problem was more likely the pump than the motor. Usually they come as a unit, but all I got was the motor, so I greased up the pump really well, because the gears seemed to be all but frozen. It helped, but when I finally got it back together and went to check it out, it was a pretty weak stream and didn’t behave like it was going to last very long. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find a pump for it, so I don’t know what I’m going to do just yet. Did some pool cleaning, Jeff found his wire brush so I did the walls, then finally settled down for the evening to an old classic, The Quiet Man with John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara. Can’t believe I’ve never seen that movie! Of course, today people would go nuts over the “domestic abuse,” but it was a great movie, certainly by the standards of the time! Some of the Duke’s best work. Anyway, ready for shower and bed, hoping for another good night sleep. Love you, sweetie! Good night!

Hi Sweetie,
Did NOT get a good night sleep last night, despite my Sleepytime tea, but I blame the fact I sat around all day yesterday. It seems whenever I have a lethargic day I get too much rest and then can’t get to sleep at night. Oh, well, I just kept reading in between bouts, so in the end, I managed to catch a few hours. Got up around 8:00, did my chores, then got started on doing my taxes, my chore of the day, Didn’t quite get it finished, but that’s what usually happens, I need to review everything tomorrow just to be sure of everything. Helped Jeff with his phone, he had so much stuff on it he couldn’t load his banking app, so I moved everything around and up into the cloud until it worked. Watched a Remington Steele, all I had time for tonight, head to shower and bed shortly. Love you, babe! Good night!

Hey Babe,
Had a good night sleep, not surprising with all the exercise I had yesterday, and I wasn’t even sore last night or this morning! Guess I’m still in pretty good shape. That said, I had a pretty lazy day today, finishing off another book, doing a load of laundry, and finally ordering a microwave. Jeff and his friend Jeff C. finally talked through a variety of solutions, so hopefully we can get it solved soon. Still trying to load up pictures from my kayaking trip yesterday, but it appears they’re too dense or something, but I’ll keep trying. Watched a couple of fun movies, a romcom set in Alaska and a cute one set in the 50’s called Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris, about a cleaner that wants to buy a Dior dress and ends up changing the whole culture of Haute Couture, very fun. Cool and cloudy today, though no real rain yet, though maybe tonight. That’s okay, the cool weather is nice to sleep in. Trying to get back to my Sleepytime tea routine rather than the bourbon nightcaps I’ve been having lately, I’m just don’t seem to sleep as well with alcohol. Anyway, time for shower and bed! Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Hello My Darling!!
Happy 89th Birthday! I SO wish we were celebrating it together! I love you and miss you every day, my love! But in the spirit of how we lived out life, which was day to day and always looking forward to tomorrow, I had a wonderful adventure today. I was invited by my “concert” friends on a kayaking trip that started in Riverbend Park and took us all the way to Jonathan Dickinson State Park. We paddled through some of the most gorgeous, pristine and wild Florida country that I’ve ever seen. Absolutely gorgeous! There was eight of us paddling, my friends managed to borrow a kayak for me, and we had a fantastic time! We paddled as far as the Trapper Nelson’s Camp, a remarkable historical place, then Mark met us with his Boston Whaler, and we tied all the boats in a line and he pulled us the rest of the way to the boat launch. We saw bunches of alligators, turtles, fish, a few birds, it was fantastic! We ran into all kinds of obstacles which we had to maneuver around, so it was quite challenging, but it was all worth it. What a great time! It took us most of the day, it was nearly 5:00 when I got back to my truck at Riverbend, then I had to drive out to Glenn’s to service his pool and move some boards around to keep them from getting wet with the rain that’s coming in. I had a terrible night sleep last night, but not surprisingly, I was falling asleep in my chair during a movie, so I’m headed to bed, exhausted. Took my shower as soon as I got home, so I’m more than ready for bed! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!

Hey Babe,
Woke up at a decent hour, but stayed in bed to finish a riveting book, so it was nearly 11:00 by the time I got out of bed. Did my chores, worked a bit on the computer, then headed over to the pool to do some deeper cleanup. I had it pretty nice last week before it rained, but then it got all filled with leaves again. I also got the pool vacuum going, after cleaning the filters, and managed to get a lot of the sand and bottom dirt out of it. Then I had to clean the filters again to get the Navigator going, the pump isn’t really strong enough to get it moving very well, but at least it was mildly functional when I got done. I tried out my failing pressure washer, but it died again in a few seconds, definitely going to have to take it apart tomorrow and see if I can find the problem. Not sure it’s worth fixing, but it’s been nice to have it when I need it. Maybe not enough to buy a new one, but if I can repair this one cheaply, maybe. Played with Lola the whole time, she was really in need of some exercise. Afterwards, I gave her another bath with that special veterinary recommended itch shampoo, but she was scratching within moments of rinsing her off, so I’m pretty sure it’s not doing her any good at all. Settled down with my usual evening routine, ready for shower and bed and another book I started earlier. Good night, darlin’! Love you!

Hi Darlin’!,
Still not liking getting up in the dark, woke up around 7:00, stayed in bed reading until it got lighter. Was hoping to ride today, but when I checked the forecast, it was pretty dismal, and quite cool this morning. I remembered that today was the day that reservations opened up for the 2024 Red Rock Ride, one of the few items left on my bucket list, and I managed to get in on the ride I wanted, the third Spring Ride, which ends the day before what would be our 35th anniversary. It goes through Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, and ends up at the north Rim of the Grand Canyon with several notable stops along the way. In less than an hour, every one of the six rides was full, so I’m glad I got online immediately! It seems I’ll have to share a room with someone, but I’m sure I won’t be the only single gal on the ride. Afterward, I was getting ready to tear down my pressure washer, which quit working at Glenn’s the other day, but just before that, I plugged it in and turned it on and voila! It turned on. Don’t know how long it will keep working, but it’s running for the moment. I’ll have to test it and clean around Jeff’s pool, see how long it lasts. I did find a used motor on ebay, may order it if it dies again soon. Eventually I headed out to go shopping, first to Home Depot, then Walmart, before getting back home around 5:00. Settled in for the evening, same routine as usual, so good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hi Sweetheart,
A decent night sleep, but I’m still not on DST, not getting out of bed until after 9:00. Yuck! Worked a little on the computer in the morning, had a hard time getting going, but finally went out and started out by trimming the horses feet, all eight of them. Flash has a little split I’ve been trying to glue so it won’t get any worse, and between yesterday and today the glue I put on fell off, so I put another coat on. I also trimmed it a bit to try to prevent the pressure from making it worse, and that got me started. It was a little cooler today, so I had the energy to do all four feet on him, then the same on Apollo. Then I followed up with a scraper to get some of the winter coat off Apollo, he’s covered with clumping hair and has really been looking shaggy, so I went to work on him. He looks better, but has a long way to go. Then, since I had the 3M 5200 glue out, I decided to reseal the toilet. I had put some other silicon adhesive on, but for some reason it never hardened, and was collecting dirt and staying soft, so I wiped it completely down and started over with the good stuff. I hope that solves the problem with the leaking and the occasional smell. Hope I don’t regret it, if I ever have to replace the toilet. That was about it for the day. I did speak to Jeff’s builder friend Jeff C. about reworking the microwave, as well as to a repairman, but still haven’t figure out exactly what to do. Jeff C. said he’d come by on the weekend and take a look, hopefully we can work something out. I’ve definitely secured the job in Texas in April, very happy about that, finalized my flight, looking forward to it! Settled down to some Remington Steeles and a movie, ready for shower and bed. Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Babe,
It’s official, I hate Daylight Savings Time. Why do we need it to be dark at 7:00 a.m. just so it can be light at 9:00 pm? Doesn’t make any sense to me. Anyway, got up while it was still dark so I could be at my brother Glenn’s around 8:00 for a delivery he was expecting, HATE IT! The dark, that is! Spent the morning cleaning his pool and his patio. I started out working with my pressure washer, but not surprisingly, it died after about five minutes. Did some more with just the hose, but that’s not very effective. Received the delivery, then hung around a bit doing some work on the computer, finally came back around 1:00. Not in the mood to do anything else, sorry to say. Finally got some rain, the first in weeks, in the evening. Watched a Remington Steele and a movie, still pretty early to go to bed, but I’m so bored I can’t stand it! it does look like I’ll have a workshop in a couple of weeks, which will finally break the monotony. Gotta get back on the road! Did do some research on the various bucket list rides I’m planning, and more about the microwave (looking less promising), but no real progress. To shower and bed and reading, probably until the wee hours, which is my pattern lately. Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Hey Darlin’,
Not much going on again today. Daylight Savings started overnight, which I’m starting to hate, I just wish they’d leave it along and forget all about this stupid change. I mean, the days are getting longer anyway, why do we need to shift them in one direction or another? Doesn’t make any sense. Anyway, the only constructive thing I did today was to finish pulling out Jeff’s box scraper, which until recently has been buried so deep into overgrowth it was impossible to reach, but James has been cutting all the bushes back with a new pruning tool he got the other day, and the yard’s starting to look a lot better. I had to move the ramp on his semi box (yes, there’s a big Mayflower trailer in his yard, sigh…), but I managed to get it hooked up to the tractor and out to the driveway. I had to pull out a bunch of growth around the blade that was preventing it from sitting correctly, which improved the drag somewhat. Not perfect, but hopefully a lot better than it was. I’ll know better when I drive out in the morning. Spent the rest of the day doing pretty much nothing. Thought about going for a ride, but it’s gotten so dang hot down here so early, I just didn’t feel like it. I’m so bored with the trails around here, it’s really not much fun. Can’t wait to get back on the road again! Watched a couple of movies and did a load of laundry, and that’s about it. Ready for my shower and bed shortly. Good night, sweetie! Love you!