Archives for 2023

Hey Babe,
Accomplished a lot of little jobs today. Went to brother Glenn’s to service his pool and to grind a sharper edge on the mower blades, plus I did a bunch of yard clean up, a lot of palm fronds had come down with the strong winds we had over the weekend. Picked up a package with some free covid tests (better late than never), got some screws I need to fix one of my bar stools at the hardware store, and did a little shopping for a few essential groceries. Was going to go out and do some more field work, but the day got away from me, so I just did all my prep for tomorrow, which will hopefully start early and finish with me actually, finally, completing my list of everything that will finish the trail markings, once and for all. Except, of course, if I decide later to add some more! But it should certainly be enough for everyone to avoid getting lost, at least for any long period of time. I’ll be very glad to see this job finished! Finally settled down in the evening, and the time for shower and bed is upon me! Love you my darlin’! Good night!

Hey, Darlin’,
A busy and tiring day today! Did a bunch of organizing and preparation this morning, then finally headed out about 11:00, later than I wanted but the best I could do. I managed to get almost everything done that I had planned on, though I had to cut the last few posts short, partly because I used a couple of posts I hadn’t planned on, and partly because it was getting late and I didn’t want to be out after dark! Got almost all of the final painting done on the posts in situ, really just another day or two and it will FINALLY be completed. Unless, of course, I decided I need more posts somewhere. Evidently, old James has been doing some moving, all of the trails I was on today had been mowed. Even so, there were still a couple of sections that were a bit wetter than I thought they would be, and there’s still one water crossing I don’t dare try with my tractor, and it’s a long way back and forth. Anyway, got back to camp just before 5:00, played with Lola for a few minutes, then dinner and crash! Started falling asleep, so I’m heading to bed early. Good night, my sweet! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie,
As usual, camp mostly emptied out today, though there still one group here staying for the extra day of the long weekend. Spent the day doing the final painting on the posts, now that James dropped off the paint I needed. That had to be done in stages, paint, dry, paint some more, but it seems to be all done. Now all I have to do to finally complete this job is to install these posts and do the final painting on a few posts that are already out there, then JOB DONE! Ten months of planning and installation will hopefully be complete! After a chilly weekend, the weather is turning gorgeous this week, hoping we can start some mowing, though I’m hoping to make a deal with the mower contractor to assist in a way that will provide me with a little income. We’ll see! Put the blankets on the horses again, hopefully this will be the last night it will be necessary, and was delighted to see another rocket launch, amazingly easy to see on this clear night right at dusk, beautiful! Settled down to a movie but I keep falling asleep, I may give up and wait until tomorrow to finish it. Won’t be long away from shower and bed tonight, feeling tired even though I didn’t do all that much today. So I guess I’ll just say good night now, baby! Love you!

Hey Babe,
A good night sleep, followed by a fairly relaxing day. Did my rounds a few times, but mostly just read a book today, until the evening when I watched the old movie The Sting, a classic in my mind, though having seen it so many times before, all the usual “surprises” didn’t apply. Enjoyed the score, though, even though Marvin Hamlish got way more credit that he should have, considering all he did was adapt Scott Joplin music. Just my opinion. Supposed to get a lot cooler tonight, into the 30’s, so gave the horses some extra hay just before bedtime. Heading to shower and bed, after a bit of a mundane day. Good night, darlin’! Love you!

Hey Darlin’,
Not a great night sleep, Lola was super restless. I had closed the door because it was a little coole last night, but she kept fussing to I ended up putting her on the cable and leaving the door open. By morning, she dragged the carpet all over, and the solar panel was folded and practically dragged all the way into the screen room. Not real happy with her this morning. Got the chores done, then a pretty busy day at camp today, checking in some new folks from a Broward County group. Handed out a bunch of maps, spoke to a lot of people, including Brigitte, the woman who got lost in the Spring and was the catalyst for the whole trail marking system! Spent most of the day doing laundry and a bit of cleaning. Now that I’ve been able to store away most of the stuff that was laying around the dining area, it’s so much cleaner in here, so keeping it clean is a lot easier as well so a little housework was in order. A cold front came through, brought a little rain but it didn’t last long, so it’s a bit cooler for the next few days. Put the blankets on the horses though I I’m not sure they really need them, but pretty sure they will tomorrow when the temps get into the 30’s! James dropped off paint an more maps late in the day, so that’s my priority before the weekend is out, though I’m thinking about riding tomorrow. Watched a cute movie, Dog Gone, based on a true story, and loved the ending credits when they had pictures of all the folks behind the scenes and their pets, very cute! Feel good movie, gotta love those! Anyway, ready for my shower and bed, fresh towels and sheets after all the laundry, hoping for a good night sleep, hoping Lola is quieter, though I didn’t give her as much exercise as I should have, so not counting on it. Fingers crossed! Love you, sweetie! Good night!

Hi Sweetie,
Had full day today, first with moving and/or installing eight more posts, two on the teal and six on the white trail, which entailed going all the way south, so it was a long drive in my slow tractor, but was glad to get it almost all done! I used one post in a place that I hadn’t originally planned on, but it was necessary, so now I’m one white post short that I’ll need to make up. It’s near the north end of the white trail, though, so it won’t take me too long to run out there and put the final post in. All I have left now is four posts on the yellow trail and a bunch of painting, so I’ll have to wait for James to get me the paint before I can continue. Got back to camp just before 4:00 and spent the next hour checking in new campers that had arrived while I was gone, mostly women who’ve been coming for years, as part of a group, all very friendly, so we ended up chatting longer than usual, so it was after 5:00 when I got back to the trailer and put the grill on. After dinner I was watching a movie, and was falling asleep in my chair by 7:30! Guess I’ve been sitting around too long! Anyway, I finally made it through the movie, which was kind of fun because one of the characters was actually based on my great, great, great grandfather, the first superintendent of West Point Military Academy, but now I’m more than ready for shower and bed! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hey Babe,
Well, we’ve had so much dry and beautiful weather that it’s time for me to complete my mission here at Dupuis, so I spent some time this morning going back over all of the final posts, painting and installation that needs to be done. Went over to the maintenance yard and got another 10 posts, which should just about do it, painted what I could but I’m desperately low on white and yellow, but just managed to do the top of the posts I most need. James has promised to get me more paint on Friday, so it may be early next week when I can finish, but meanwhile, I have enough other stuff to keep me busy. Old James came by and filled my tractor and spare tank with diesel, so I’m all set to go on that. Hoping to get a bunch done tomorrow, we have a big group coming in this weekend so it’s likely to be busy. Spent the rest of the day reading, finally settled down to TV after dinner, so headed to shower and bed! Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Hiya Darlin’,
After chores and breakfast, I started in on the making of the dog bed/storage box. Managed to get that done in a couple of hours, everything’s finished on it except I need a carpet remnant for the top. I mis-measured the top, forgot to add an inch to cover the side boards, but I’ve got it centered enough so there aren’t really any gaps. Besides, the big dog bed covers it all up anyway. Decided to put all my office stuff in there, so if I have to print anything I don’t have to move everything over to the kitchen table, it’s all right next to me. Took all the drinks I normally store under the kitchen table and put it in the old office drawer. Tidied it up quite a bit. Moved Lola’s water and feed into the laundry room, so the living room looks bigger, though I have to say, I liked the clean lines in the laundry room before I did that! But I think it’s better in the end, get all of the dog stuff out of the way, now I don’t have to move her water bowl every time I want to open a drawer. We’ll see, I’ll work with it for awhile. Still didn’t add as much storage space as I thought it would, but it’s a lot better. Finally settled down to read and then watch some TV. Yesterday morning I had to take the TV apart because the wifi wasn’t working properly. Not sure exactly what I did, I just cleaned it up even though it didn’t look that dirty, and put it back together again, and all my wifi problems disappeared! I like it when that happens! Hopefully that fix will last. Spent a little time looking for a good used recliner to replace the one I’m in, I hope I can find one that’s as comfortable and fits in this space at least as well, if not better. Looking for a true wall-hugger typed. Anyway, settled down in the evening, having my tea now, will be heading to shower here shortly. Lola’s been sound asleep in the bed next to me, I think she likes her new spot! Works for me! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!

Hey Sweetie,
Had made a doctor’s appointment for this afternoon, so I spent the morning on the computer trying to find a new/used recliner. I’ve definitely decided to make a dog bed/storage compartment like we did in the Open Range, can’t seen any real reason to have two recliners anymore, First, though I went to my doctor’s office for my annual exam, only to discover that my insurance expired on Dec. 31 (even though I’m eligible until March 31), because the premium didn’t get paid. Didn’t get a bill, and they don’t have an autopay, so evidently I missed it. Discovered it was cheaper just to pay for the doctor’s visit than pay the premium with the late fee, so that’s what I did for now. Frankly, I’m sick and tired of paying through the nose for insurance I never use, so I’m thinking about just forgoing it until I qualify for Medicare in eight months time. I can buy a lot of health care for the cost of health insurance, and I’m in pretty darned good health, so what’s the point? Anyway, it was a frustrating day at the doctor’s office, then I went shopping at Home Depot where I picked up most of the stuff I need to create the storage box/dog bed in the spot where your recliner used to be. Hoping to build that tomorrow. Got everything but the carpet for the top, thought I’d check out a few carpet stores for remnants before I spent a bunch on more carpet than I needed. Then a quick trip to Walmart for a few essentials, got back to camp at dusk, settled down for the evening, finished off the Traveler series (so sorry they quit after three seasons, I really like it!), now I’m ready for shower and bed! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hiya Babe,
Slept late because I woke up a few times during the night, but felt fine this morning. My neighbors’ horse recovered fine overnight, though they were worried because when they looked out at 4:00 a.m, he was laying down, and they thought he was done. He was just sleeping, though, not surprising after the workout he had. He loaded up fine and seemed recovered, so they left this morning. Did my chores, then did some thinking about rearranging the furniture. These two recliners we’ve had since the Open Range are over 10 years old now, and they’re really showing their wear. The motor on one quite working as well. I started thinking about how we had added extra storage under a dog bed in the dining area, so I dragged the non-working chair outside and put Lola’s bed in that space, which means the laundry room suddenly looks a lot bigger. I did some research to see what kind of drawers or chests or cabinets I can put in her to raise up her bed and give me some extra storage. I would love to put all those beverages from under the kitchen table somewhere where they can’t be seen, and just give this place a tidier look. Not positive what I’m going to do yet, but I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow so I’ll stop at Home Depot to see what I can come up with. Probably will look to change the other chair out as well, just because it looks pretty ratty. Anyway, finally settled down for the afternoon and evening, heading to shower and bed shortly. Good night, my darlin’! Love you!