Archives for 2023

Hiya Sweetie,
Had to get up early for a 10:00 dentist appointment in town, and just as I sat down to breakfast I got a call from them that there was a problem with my insurance. I ended up on the phone with them for a bit trying to sort it out, and didn't make a lot of headway, but I didn't want to miss the appointment, so I went in. Somewhere along the line they got it more or less straightened out, but it's so inconsistent! First the dentist was going to make me pay for the entire visit, then bill the insurance, and have them reimburse me for whatever they didn't cover, which seems to be completely arbitrary, but by the end of the visit, the only charged me for an upgraded x-ray and an office visit (which I'm pretty sure was covered), but it was all only $40 so I just paid it and hoped for the best. Who know what will happen once it gets billed? Such a convoluted system! Anyway, after all that, everything is fine anyway, so that was good news. I stopped at Tractor Supply for horse feed, Walmart for fuel, Winn-Dixie for liquor and groceries, and finally Publix for a quart of eggnog ice cream, then back to camp around 2:00. Too late to ride out and collect the ribbons off the white trail, so instead, I fixed Apollo's new slow feed hay bag. I bought it a few weeks ago, and it does seem to slow him down, but the design is so poor because the drawstring is the same material as the rest of the bag, and it has no rings for the drawstring, so I've been having a lot of trouble making it work. At Tractor Supply I bought a bunch of washers that I then used to create loops for the drawstring, so it was much easier to use. I was short one or two washers, but overall it works a lot better! Ranger Rick came by and we chatted for awhile, then I settled down for the night to another Christmas movie, this time with Kelsey Grammer, had a nice dinner with an eggnog and ice cream dessert, and am ready for shower and bed! Good night, darlin'! Love you!

Hi Babe,
After a good night sleep and a bit of a lay in this morning, I was very glad I put the fireplace on all night, as it was quite a chilly morning! Managed to get the horses fed and my chores done, but there was no way I was going to ride today, as the wind chill was keeping temps in the low 50's, and even cooler, so another rest day for me! I did take one trip out to go to the office to get keys and learn where all the supplies are, as well as to be apprised of my official volunteer duties, with a minimum of 20 hours a week, which won't be a problem! Did a load of laundry and a little housework, but otherwise it was a "chill" day, which is the Florida equivalent of a snow day in my book. Feeling a lot more energetic after these couple of days of rest, so I'll be ready to hit the trails tomorrow and start retrieving ribbons as well as doing any trail work. When I went out on Sunday to get the water tubs, I had to move a tree off the road, so I'm expecting that some of the trails will need work as well. Had a quiet and pleasant evening, another Christmas movie, and I started watching another series off the old SciFi channel called Eureka. Another early evening, and hopefully another good night sleep! Love you, sweetie! Good night!

Hiya Sweetie,
Woke up still feeling tired, and determined I needed a day off to recharge my batteries, so, other than fulfilling a book order and driving it to Bronson ten miles away to mail it, I did absolutely nothing the rest of the day. I read, watched TV, played computer games, and generally just vegged out for the day. I watched my first Christmas movie of the season, and will do one every night this week as is our tradition. I trust I'll feel more energetic tomorrow, though it's likely to be too cold to go riding to retrieve markers. Getting down into the mid-30's tonight, so I put the blankets on the horses, and I'll be leaving the fireplace on overnight. Other than that, my day is almost done! Just my usual tea, Spanish lesson, shower and bed left! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
I had broken out the eggnog and bourbon to celebrate the end of the ride yesterday, and has a bit more than I should have, so woke up a little hung over this morning. After feeding the horses, I was just trying to relax, then Jo called about picking up the water tubs and cleaning up at Helen's so the work still wasn't finished. Rather than wait for Jo, I headed out and picked up all the water tubs and the event signs along the road. When I got back, I noticed that my heavy canvas tarp that I had used to wrap up the ride alfalfa bale was missing! In all of the fourteen years I've been on the road and in horse camps, I was proud to say that I had NEVER had anything stolen in all that time. It is so disappointing that of all of the places I've been, it was Goethe where my first thing was taken. I use that tarp all the time, and it's very difficult to replace because the only place I've been able to buy it was at a chain store in the upper midwest, and it wasn't cheap! The bale had been unwrapped and left behind, but the tarp was gone. So disappointing! I just don't understand how people can steal like that. Sigh... I headed over to Helen's, picking up signs along the way, only to find that Helen had done most of the yard cleanup. Jo arrived shortly after that, and we finished packing up, then taking the tubs back to the folks we borrowed them from, then went down to Willards for a quick nosh before coming back to camp. I felt like I was crashing this morning, but having more jobs to do forced me to push forward, but I'm definitely taking the day off tomorrow. We had so much rain from this last storm that even normally dry trails are underwater, so I need to let it dry up and drain a bit before heading out there on Flash. Settled down to a movie, but I'm so tired I won't be long out of bed. Good night, baby! Love you!

Hi Babe,
A long day, but got it all done in the end! Up early with the alarm, got the Horse Crossing signs out, helped all the 50-milers across the road, had breakfast and fed the horses, then helped the 25 milers cross the street, then headed over to the first vet-check hold, put more signs out, as well as hay at both water stops, then back to camp briefly before going to Helen's house where the ride started. Grabbed some lunch, then before long, back at camp waiting for the first 50's to come in. The day started out pretty well, but the rain finally started coming in around noon and never quiet the rest of the day. A lot of the 25's got done, but the 50's got the brunt of it. I ended up sitting in the truck at the finish line for several hours while the horses came in, the last one being just after 4:00, so it was good that Jo had that ride leave earlier than originally scheduled, though everyone was wet by that point anyway. Once they all went through, I fed the horses and settled down for the evening, though I didn't need dinner as I've been eating way too much the last few days. I did splurge with some bourbon-laced eggnog in celebration, and watched a very weird movie called Asteroid City. It had a stellar cast, and flipped between play-style and movie style, but got very weird and sometimes boring despite the all-star cast. It's like the stars want to do something different, but what's different is so non sequitur, it doesn't make any sense. I'm getting tired of movies that don't make sense, or have unsatisfactory endings, or just don't really have a story to them, but that seems like all the new movies offer lately. Sigh... Anyway, the rain is still rattling the roof, so earplugs tonight, and hopefully a good, bourbon-infused sleep tonight. Good night, my sweet! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie,
Up with the alarm, and got busy quick! After chores and breakfast, I scrubbed out the water trough and refilled it, then cleaned the bathrooms. As far as I know, that's not my job, but they were getting so bad I had to do something, so I did a quick clean. There's a leak in the men's room sink, and the boys camping here had turned it off, so when the two forestry guys came, that was their first priority. Anyway, Rick finally got the UTV over here, was supposed to be at 10:00 but it was more like 11:40 when we finally hit the trail. I was happy to see most of the ribbons on clothespins were still there, though a few had spun around the branches so much I had to let them down. A few of the intersection signs had come off, just not enough staples to hold them on the flimsy pine bark, so I had to really stick them good so they would stay. After doing the short orange, we came back to camp, then on to Helen's for a quick lunch, then back out to check on the white/red polka dot trail, and that was in good shape, too. Finally finished around 4:00, had just enough time to feed the horses and collect everything I needed before heading over to Helen's for dinner and the ride meeting. That finally broke up after 7:00, and once we updated the registration paperwork, I headed back to camp. Phew! Tiring day! Watched a one hour program, had my Sleepytime tea and Spanish lesson, now it's just a quick shower and early bed! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
Had a long, tiring and productive day today. Jo and I put out all the water buckets, a job that was made much easier when one of the other volunteers dropped off all the tubs right to me, so we didn't have to go fetch them like we usually do. Had those all dropped off by lunchtime, so we went to Willards for lunch and met up with the same two forestry guys who are filling the tubs for us! Had a lovely lunch, then we went to Helen's where the race HQ is, put up signs and ribbons to cordon off all the different areas, then had to run back over and pick up some of the ribbons I gave the gals to mark the trails with because I needed some to finish off, then back to one of the water stops because one of our signs fell down. Long day! Full from lunch so I don't have to cook and clean up dinner, at least! Will absolutely be going to bed early, I have an other long day tomorrow! I've arranged with forestry to get one of their UTV's in the morning so I can check on the markers, because there has been a very strong wind all day and I'm worried about some of them falling down, especially since it will be windy again tomorrow. Loving this volunteer gig! Never could get a UTV out at Dupuis, no matter how much I needed one. Anyway, won't be long out of bed! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hi Babe,
Since my part of the trails are done, I spent the morning doing laundry, then headed into town to drop off a book order at the post office, then picked up some horse feed at Tractor Supply and some groceries at Walmart and Publix. That kept me busy most of the day. Dinner and a movie, which was very intriguing and with an all star cast with Julia Roberts about a possible apocalyptic end of the world which was fascinating right up until it's very unsatisfactory ending. Heading to shower and bed shortly, I have an early morning tomorrow! Good night, sweetie! Love you!