Archives for March 2023

Hiya Sweetie,
Had a great night sleep last night, no earplugs, no barking, no pills, just a great night sleep, yay! Did my chores, fixed a cupboard in the bathroom that has worked loose and didn’t let the doors close properly, then go busy washing windows on the house. I had told Jeff that I would help clean up the place before all his company came in the next few weeks, but I’m feeling a bit like I’m rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. He has so much junk laying around, stuff that should have been thrown out months and years ago, I don’t know where to begin. I managed to get most of the windows clean, at least the one I could reach around the junk, so it looks a little better. I also did a litt more pool cleaning, but I couldn’t find the pool vacuum to get the sand out. I also couldn’t find a dustpan for the floor dirt I swept up, another setback. Then I got a text from my concert friend Lori, and we arranged to go to the dog beach in Juno for awhile, so I headed over there around 3:30. I picked her up at her RV park and drove over to the beach, which had dozens of dogs running around. We had a great time, although we lost another frisbee to the riptide! Now I have no more frisbees, I’ll have to find some more. I stopped at the Dollar Store and the Pet Supermarket on the way home and couldn’t find anything suitable, I’ll just have to keep looking. Enjoyed the company, though, and Lola wore herself out. I gave her a bath when we got back, then settled down for the evening. Took my shower, had loads of sand in a lot of unexpected places (one of the reasons I’m not usually big on the beach, but it’s always good to get there once in a while), watched a movie and a Remington Steele, heading to bed shortly. Love you, babe! Good night!

Hi Babe,
I could NOT get to sleep last night, I just kept reading, hoping to drop off, but there’s a dog somewhere in the neighborhood that just wouldn’t stop barking! Grrrr! By 3:00, I was desperate to sleep, I ended up putting in my earplugs and taking an acetaminophen PM. I hate to do that, because even though it does help me sleep, I usually feel logey all the rest of the day. Sure enough, it got me to sleep, but I didn’t wake up until nearly 11:00. Didn’t have the energy to do much, so I spent some time tracking down a microwave, Randy from Harmar gave me a lead on someplace, and I left a message, but they didn’t get back to me today. I also managed to find some new health insurance, and after half a dozen transfers, finally got with a woman named Kimberly who did a fantastic job of walking me through everything. So I’m still with Cigna, which is great, with a subsidized policy so my costs are WAY down. As much as I hated giving up my union contract this year, this will be a much cheaper option for me until I qualify for Medicare in August. Glad to get it, too, I was worried I’d have to go without for a few months, didn’t really want to do that. So that was my afternoon, mostly. I did a little pool cleaning while I played with Lola before dinner, then settled down to a movie, Mysterious Circumstance, about the dead of Meriweather Lewis. It was a bit slow, but an interesting acting exercise, doing the same scene over and over with slightly different intents, offering a variety of explanations of how the same essential script could be interpreted in so many different ways. But I’m ready for bed now, I’m truly hoping for a good night sleep, and to be able to get back on schedule, although with Daylight Savings time starting this weekend (ugh!), it’s just going to mess it up again. I wish they would just stop doing that! Anyway, the night is cooler, I didn’t have to run the AC today, thank goodness. There’s a cold front coming in shortly, so it will be cooler next week, which is fine with me! Anyway, time for shower and bed. Love you, darlin’! Good night!

Hey Darlin’,
Took awhile to get to sleep last night, but finally managed it. Got up pretty early, though, got packed up, said my good-byes, then drove around the corner to visit with Margarita and George, who cooked us a huge, fabulous breakfast. Bacon, sausage, potatoes, pancakes, coffee, needless to say we all were full by the time we got done. We chatted for a couple of hours, until I finally left around 10:30. A fairly uneventful drive, though I can’t believe the variations in the price of diesel! On the turnpike (historically the most expensive place) it was $4.48 or so. I waited to get fuel until I got off the turnpike, and disappointingly, the Pilot was $4.89 a gallon! I only got a few gallons, enough to get me to a place north of Okeechobee, where I filled up at $4.03 a gallon. That’s the best price I’ve seen in over a year! I hope it keeps going in that direction. Stopped to drop off a book I had borrowed, then went to Glenn’s to do a more thorough cleaning of the pool, then stopped at Tractor Supply for some feed and hay, finally got home around 4:30. Loaded up the hay into the trailer, then settled down for the night. Watched a little British rom/com and a couple of Remington Steele’s, now I’m ready for shower and bed. Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie!
What a nice change of pace today! After a nice breakfast of cereal followed by some playtime with the dogs, I spent a bit of time reviewing the ATV online course before heading over to the Forest Service office, so I was ready! Turned out I was the only student in this particular class due to some last minute changes that other people made, which was fine, we got through the whole course in about 80 minutes, and it was a blast! Learned a lot, got the feel of the ATV, got to run around a bunch of pinions in all kinds of patterns, really fun. Terry taught the class, Scottie came by to say hello, as did Jerry, who I don’t think I’d met before, so it was very welcoming. Spoke to Melanie in the office for a bit about volunteer opportunities, got the rest of the paperwork done, and spoke at length to some other folks that were in the office asking questions, and it turned out that the husband was a professional remodeler and was very familiar with RV’s, so I picked his brain about microwaves, and he offered to get in touch with some contacts he has in Elkhart, IN (where most North American RV’s are born!) and see if he could find a front-mounted one for me. I just have to get him the model number of the one I have, which I’ll do as soon as I get home. Nice folks! Then I headed over to my friend Margarita’s, and we spent the afternoon getting caught up. I knew Jo was working and didn’t want to disturb her, so it was an excellent way to spend the day. Her husband George wasn’t home, but when I left at 4:00, I said I’d be happy to stop by in the morning on my way out to say hi, especially if he cooked me breakfast (he loves to cook!), and within a few minutes after leaving, she confirmed that George had agreed, so it will breakfast at their house in the morning! Got back and ran the dogs around for a bit, Jo’s husband Jeff made another delicious dinner, I helped Jo get her trailer hooked up, she’s taking one of her horses to the vet’s in the morning, and then I settled down to watch Condoleeza Rice speak at the Reagan library, live streaming. A great speech, as always. Quick shower, setting the alarm, Spanish lesson, lights out! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hey Babe,
Had trouble getting to sleep, a very fitful night, but managed to get enough in the end. Didn’t take long to get packed up, and headed out around 11:30. Stopped at Glenn’s to service his pool, then hit the highway non-stop to my friend Jo’s house, where I will be staying the next two nights. Her big yard is completely fenced, so Lola has plenty of room to run around, and soon was absorbed into the pack of the three other dogs that she has. Enjoyed the evening catching up, had a wonderful dinner made by her husband, had some fascinating conversation before going out to help feed the horses. Cooler tonight, so it should be a great night sleep, I hope! Heading to shower and bed early, lots to do tomorrow! Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Hi Darlin’,
Another rather mundane day. I have SO got to get back on the road, I feel like I’m stagnating, staying in one place so long without any real projects! It’s been so hot, but it is supposed to cool down a bit next week, hopefully. I spent some more time trying to figure out my microwave problem, can’t seem to find one that will mount from the front, but still looking. Washed the truck, played fetch and swim with Lola, gave her a bath (she’s still scratching, even after using some fancy anti-itch shampoo), watch an interesting movie called Another Time, a quirky mixture of science fiction with a touch of romance and buddy movie, with one great conversation comparing the weapons of Star Trek vs. Star Wars which had me laughing. Took my shower early, heading for bed early, too. I have a long drive tomorrow, heading up to Williston for a state certification ATV course, and I haven’t done any packing yet, not that I’ll have much to do for just barely over a day. Off to bed! Love you, sweetheart! Good night!

Hiya Sweetie,
I’m happy to report that by this morning, my possum friend had departed, I trust he wasn’t too injured, if at all, but he was definitely gone, so no emergency to be handled there! Other than that, had another day of not much happening. I did manage to get Jeff to help me get my microwave out, turns out the screws that hold it on are VERY long, that go from front to back, not from the top down, thank goodness! I was afraid I might have to tear out some of the woodworking to get to it, but not so! Now the trick will be to find another microwave with the same kind of mounting capability, that’s going to take a lot more research, I think. Another hot day, today, too darn hot to ride or do almost anything outside except maybe be in the pool, and for some reason, I’ve just not been in the mood too much for that. I did take Lola over for a while and let her swim and fetch, but not for too long. Read, watched TV, ready for bed! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hey Darlin’,
Got woken up during the night, discovered a possum in the recycling bin, and he made a lot of noise for quite awhile, so I missed out on some sleep. Thought he’s be able to get out during the night, but in the morning he was still there. I turned the bin on it’s side, and hoped he would leave during the day, but he hasn’t. Thought maybe would leave once it got dark, considering they’re nocturnal, but as of this writing, he’s still there. so I’m thinking maybe he hurt himself. If he’s still there in the morning, I’ll call Busch Wildlife Sanctuary and see if they can help. Meanwhile, I was positively uninspired to do anything today, so I spent the day reading. Finally settled down in the evening with a movie about a custody battle over a dog, and now I’m heading to shower and bed, to finish off my current book. That’s it! A lazy day! Good night, my love!

Hey Sweetie!
Had a good night sleep, and after breakfast and chores I got busy finishing off the last of the carpeting job. I put the end caps on the slide and added a little strip on one side where there was a big gap and stuff was falling down underneath (I found a barrette, a nail file and misc. other stuff down there when I was vacuuming!), so now things won’t go down there anymore, and hopefully, no critters will come in. I still had a lot of carpet left, so I made a patch to fit in the laundry room, hoping it will help keep Lola from dragging water halfway across the bathroom floor and she has a drink, you know how messy she can be! Then I decided to make a couple of ovals to fit inside her dog bed. There used to be foam in there, but it always got screwed up when she fluffed her bed, so I’m hoping heavy carpet will stay put. Now she has three layers, one on the storage lid and two in her bed, made me think of “The Princess and the Pea” story! Once that was done, I still had a long strip left (there really was a lot of carpet there!), so I made a runner that goes from the bedroom stairs to the door of the bathroom, I think Lola will like it when she plays, she was always slipping on the floor and this should give her more traction. And finally, another short piece I’m not entirely sure where to put, either in the bathroom or in front of the fireplace, though I’ll have to trim it a bit for it to fit there. Anyway, that FINALLY used up the bulk of the carpeting, just a few scraps left now. What a difference! Did a good vacuum, then discovered a bit of a leak around the toilet, I probably need to replace it, or take it out and replace the seal, but as a short-term measure, I put some sealant around it at floor level where it seems to be leaking, not entirely sure the sealant I used it any good, it was still soft from when I used it last, not a good sign. I may have to get some new stuff and do it again, but we’ll see how it is in the morning. Spent some time updating my Will, now that your sister is gone, though this time I got a lot more detailed, found a form on the internet, but it wouldn’t let me print it without a credit card number (supposedly a free trial, but I’m not interested in that), so I just spent an hour transcribing it, so it’s a lot more thorough, and I assume, more legal. Printed that up and put it in my ICE envelope just in case. Finally felt like I had a good day’s work in, so I put on my bathing suit and Lola and I went to play in the pool for awhile. Needed to wear her out so she’ll sleep tonight. Afterward, I gave her a bath with a good, medicated, veterinarian recommended shampoo that I bought the other day, hoping that will lessen all the scratching she’s been doing lately. Took my shower after that, though she was so good, stood perfectly still while I washed her, even when I had to leave it on for more than five minutes. Don’t know if it was that or just all the exercise she got fetching and swimming, but she’s sound asleep on her three layers of carpet and her cushion, spoiled princess! Settled down to a great movie, Finding You, a rom-com, yeah, but really good, about a young actor who stars in dragon fantasy movies, a young violinist trying out for what I assume was Julliard, both in Scotland at a B&B, and a great performance by Vanessa Redgrave playing a dying old lady with a mysterious past, which seems to be about the only.roles she’s getting these days, understandably, I guess. A good day, very productive, a few more like these and I’ll start to feel ready to move on, though I still have my microwave and brake situation to resolve. Anyway, time for bed here shortly! Love you, Babe! Good night!

Hi Babe!
Had a good night sleep, other than barking dogs waking me up a couple of times. I had planned on doing the final finish on the carpet today, but after breakfast, I sat in my chair for a couple of minutes to read, and apparently dozed off, because next thing I knew it was an hour later. Then the same thing happened again, twice more! I actually dozed off for three hours total! And that was after a good eight hours of sleep, would you believe! I guess all this physical labor has taken its toll. Anyway, I finally started really moving again at about 1:00. The kitchen faucet was much better, but I did tighten it from the bottom again, solved a tiny leak, think I finally got it right. Definitely an huge improvement! I’ll have to keep that lubricated better in future. Went into town, went to the Dollar store for some LA’s Awesome Cleaner (THE best stuff for getting off black streaks on the outside of the RV, hands down!), then hit the Walmart for some regular shopping. By the time I got back and unloaded, it was beer time, so I settled down for the evening. In my effort to keep my new grill ultra-clean, I wrapped up a piece of freshly breaded chicken in aluminum foil on a bed of onions, and oh, my! It was the juiciest chicken I can ever remember eating! One dinner on the cattle drive last year we had chicken that was superbly moist, I’m thinking he must have done something similar, it was delicious! I’m going to try everything this way for awhile, see what works. It’s definitely keeping the grill clean! Anyway, watched some TV, ready for shower and bed. Getting WAY too hot down here already, calling for 90’s the next couple of days. Really with I was heading north already, but I just have too much to do before I leave. Need a new microwave, need to get the brakes checked on the trailer, need to do a bunch of stuff, so it’s going to be a busy month. Anyway, off I go! Good night, my darlin’! Love you!