Archives for November 2024

Hiya Darlin',
Up with alarm again this morning, starting a routine now. After chores and breakfast, I got busy painting the outside of the bathrooms. It had been mostly painted, but a lot of the trim was left to be done later, apparently the bugs got too bad during the summer (not to mention the heat!) so they left it for later, which, of course, has become now. It still has a long way to go, but it's slow and tedious work, with lots of climbing up and down ladders. Finished up around 4:00, then I made another street number sign for the road, hopefully UPS will run out of reasons to not deliver to me. Settled down for the evening to a fun little movie about a pencil factory, and plan on getting to bed early. Very tired after all the physical activity, sure hope I can get my full eight hours in tonight! Slowly getting progressively more tired, I really need a whole day off to do nothing, which I haven't had in a long time! Unfortunately, I don't see much of a break in sight, I many just have to insist with myself one of these days, but you know how hard that it for me! Love you, sweetie! Good night!

Hey Sweetie!
The night was too short, but I had to get up and do a bunch of stuff today. Went over to Helen's to help move some rocks, with Scotty's help, then to Chelle's to try to figure out a way to tone down all the ad posts appearing on the Friends of Goethe site. Then headed into town for several stops, first to O'Reilly's to pick up a fuel filter for the Air Dog on the truck. I'd replaced the water separator part of the two part system because it got smash up at Sandhills, but didn't change the filter, so I picked on up. Then Tractor Supply for horse feed, very happy to see a big stack of Topline Balance. They never used to carry it, but evidently now they do! Then Walmart for my big monthly shop, then EV Hay for half a dozen bales of hay. I didn't want to stock up too much since I still hadn't heard back about when I'm going be taking the trailer back to the shop, but once again, I heard back late in the afternoon, and they finally concluded brakes are not available and I do need new axles. I didn't want to have to pack up everything and drag it up there again just to get the axles measured (which, to my mind, probably should have been done last time I was there), so they're sending someone out in the morning to measure it in situ, much to my relief. It was nearly 4:00 by the time I got back, once again exhausted from a busy day of running around! I passed the mailman on the way out of Steeplechase, the neighborhood next door, and he gave me a package containing a new duffel bag for my fenceposts, the old one was completely ripped apart, so I took a few minutes to change those out. I finally sat down, and that was it for the day! Well, except for a nice chat I had with a woman, Gina, and her daughter Gianna, who were her looking for a geocache which I didn't even know existed here! Finally settled down to dinner and a movie, ready for an early bedtime tonight. I haven't been able to get caught up lately, so it's piling up on me, gotta try and make a dent in my exhaustion tonight! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Darlin',
Had a good eight hours of sleep, and was hoping for a rest day today, but it didn't turn out that way. After chores and breakfast, I put some more stuff back in the truck, trying to keep it fairly clutter free as much as possible. Then I headed out to the DG mart to do a little shopping, just a few things that I had run out of, including laundry detergent. On the way back, I went to Helen's and picked up the little horse trailer, then brought it back to camp and dropped it off. Then I drove to Yvette's to meet with her about mowing her pastures as part of our deal of having stored my tractor and Buick all summer. Then I got back to camp and started a load of laundry (some new sheets I bought that were delivered on Friday), then discovered there were a couple of tables in the back of the horse trailer that I had forgotten we had stored there, so I loaded them in the pickup and drove them back to Helen's. When I got back from that, I started putting the mailbox I received yesterday together, and got that put in. I made a small sign with the street number on it and screwed it into the sign by the road, so now UPS will have no more excuses about not delivering to me. Can you believe it? Even though I clearly put on the address "Black Prong Trailhead" and there's a big sign out front, the dispatcher claimed the driver isn't allowed to pull into a driveway without a street number visible from the road! I call BS on that one! Anyway, now there is a sign with the number, so we'll see what their next excuse is. Did another load of laundry and finally settled down for the evening after feeding the horses. Watched a great horse movie, 50-1, about Mine That Bird, the come from behind horse from New Mexico that won the KY Derby back in 2009. Heading to bed early soon, I feel exhausted with all the running around today. So much for my day of rest! It's supposed to rain later this week, I guess I'll take my day off then! Love you, sweetie! Good night!

Hi Sweetie,
Woke up early again this morning, and got busy finishing off cleaning the truck. It looks great! I still have a small pile of stuff that needs to be cleaned up and put back in, but I've gotten ride of some stuff, and moved other stuff into the trailer, so I'm hopeful that it will remain relatively tidy after this exercise. That took all morning and afternoon right up to the time I had to quit to get my shower and get ready. I left just after 4:00, picked up Jo and Yvette and drove to the venue for the horse rescue charity. It was a lot of fun! They had put together this fascinating evening, almost like a mystery theatre, the Case of the Missing Carrot. They had six mini horses on site and they each had a story, and everyone was given a detective badge credential and made party to solving the mystery of which mini stole the carrot. It was a lot of fun, and well orchestrated. Chelle played the emcee, and the presentation was quite well done. Jo and her 100 mile horse Luna, who she adopted many years ago from this shelter, were featured, and the sad state of Luna on the day she was rescued was horrifying, hard to believe how far she's come since then! Anyway, it was a delightful evening. When I got back to camp, the wedding party that was going on here at the trailhead was still going strong, but they finished up just before 11:00, so it will be a quiet night. They did a nice job of decorating the pavilion and the firepit area, they had a blazing bonfire when I came it. It looked lovely, and it was perfect weather for it. Anyway, a long day, I'm feeling tired from all the cleanup I've done, hoping tomorrow will be a bit easier, though I have to pick up my small horse trailer, and Yvette wants me to come down and look at the pastures she still needs mowing, and wants me to do for her, which I'll do later in the week, but not tomorrow. I've been going non-stop for so long, I need a break! That said, all I have to do is wash my face and brush my teeth and I'm off to bed! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hiya Babe,
Getting used to getting up early again, got busy with lots of stuff today. Did some computer work, sent a book order out that came in earlier this week that had slipped my mind, made Lola her satin balls, did a thorough cleaning of the trailhead bathrooms, washed the gown I'm wearing to the Gala tomorrow night, had a meeting with Logan to get caught up on what's happening, then spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning the interior of the truck. I took everything out to do that, and tomorrow I'm going to need to go through everything and get ride of what I don't need. I really like the truck the way it looks now, totally uncluttered, but I'm not sure I'm going to be able to keep it that way, unfortunately. I just have too much stuff! Hopefully less after tomorrow, though. I received several of my packages today, but for some reason, UPS has decided my address here isn't correct and is refusing to deliver to me, so I had to spent time on the phone dealing with that stupidity. I'm even getting mail delivered to me here, but UPS is making a fuss. Not sure how that's going to play out. Was also disappointed that I didn't hear from the trailer place about bringing it in on Monday, and I finally called and learned their key manager, Tracy, was out sick, and no one knew anything more about it, so I guess I'm not taking it in on Monday. Someone was supposed to get back to me, but no one ever did. Finally settled down for the evening to a little TV and dinner and wine, and ready for bed soon! Good night, darlin'! Love you!

Hi Darlin',
While I got up bright and early, Rick had apparently arrived even earlier. First thing I did was move the horses into their new paddock area, figured they were ready to stretch out, and of course, they did run around a bit until I got their feed ready. After feeding Lola and having a quick breakfast, I drove out with Rick to Bailey's Mine to check and clear the trail. There wasn't much debris, just a couple of small trees down and a few bushes we trimmed back, but we were done and back in camp by 11:00. I stopped by the Post Office to pick up my mail and resume delivery, only to discover that my mail carrier was ahead of me, and there was mail waiting on my trailer steps. I ordered a mailbox, which is supposed to arrive tomorrow, so he'll have a receptable from now on, hopefully, if the powers-that-be don't object. Spent the afternoon washing and waxing the truck, though I ran out of time to do this inside, so that's one of tomorrow's jobs. Jo's call from the vet advised her to wait a couple of weeks to see how the leg injury plays out, and though she's disappointment, I think it's the right decision to wait. I quit around 5:00, fed the horses, and settled down for the evening, watching a couple of short movies. Ready for shower and bed, tomorrow will be another busy day! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Sweetie,
A good night sleep, and a busy day! I started another couple of loads of laundry, put up my electric fence into a good-sized paddock for the horses, though I had a bit of trouble getting the fence charger working, it still isn't right, but I've ordered a new battery for it, which I'm hoping will help, though it's not working right on electricity either. I know Flash won't go near it, but Apollo tends to test it, though he may not after his last experience with the fence. Pretty sure it bit him, because he was very wary of it last time he was in it! I put in extra posts as well, just for security. Spent some time ordering some stuff online that I've been needing, had a chat with Rick who came by and tried to help me with the fence charger to no avail, then finally met up with Jo at McDonald's in Williston for a quick lunch (four McNuggets and a Dulce de leche frappe, hmm-hmm!), then we spent most of the afternoon looking at an OTTB she's interested in. It's a nice mare, though she recently was kicked on one of her hind legs, but Jo's vet did a thorough PPE (pre-purchase exam) and overall thought she was sound. I'm not sure I would ever buy an injured horse, though Jo seems prepared to deal with it. Finally got back home just before the sun was setting, fed the horses, though I'm leaving them on the highline overnight, I want to be here when they're in the paddock, just in case someone gets mischievous, until I'm sure it will hold them. Ready to settle down for the evening! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hiya Babe,
Had a good night sleep, though it was pretty warm through the night, was up bright and early again before the alarm.Ranger Rick came by as I was getting ready to head out and we chatted for a few minutes, then I drove up to J&S Trailer in Williston and spent a couple of hours up there having them diagnose and figure out what they needed for my repairs. We started by taking one wheel off to try to find out exactly what we needed, but were stunned to find the whole brake assembly wasn't there! Then we put that one back on, rolled on to the Jiffy Jack again, and took a second wheel off, and that brake was in pieces! We finally managed to find an intact brake on the other side, and were able to get the information we needed to hopefully just order new brakes and not replace the axles, which would be fabulous! Of course, there's also the slide floor, they're going to try to flatten the exterior panel that's warping, and whatever else they can find. Amazingly, Tracy thinks she can get the parts in time for me to bring it in next Monday, though I'm not sure how long they'll need to get it done. I was going to stay at Jo's but her husband is going through some health issues, so she's wanting to wait a couple of weeks, I'm not sure what I want to do. I can always stay in a hotel, or Helen K. has offered me the use of her apartment, so I'll have to think some more on it. Anyway, got that done and got back to camp around 10:30, and got myself situated in the host site. Rick came by and we chatted again, then I got busy doing laundry, laundry and more laundry! I felt really tired today, so I didn't do much except laundry, some online shopping that I've been waiting to do for awhile, and watching a three hour movie in between dinner and laundry. Won't be long out of bed tonight! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
Up bright and early, though it rained until after 7:00, but cleared up just a I was getting packed up. Managed to get moving by 8:30, stopped to say my good-byes to Becky and John, and was on the road by 8:40. One stop to get fuel in Georgia just before I crossed the Florida line, and a brief stop at the Ag stop as required, and I was pulling into Black Prong just after 2:30. I'm only parking in the center, not in the host spot yet, since I have to drive up to the trailer place in the morning. Got the horses settled in their usual spot, though, so it won't take long to get set up once I get back. So happy to have a good cell phone signal, I was able to work on my computer AND watch a movie at the same time! Whoohoo! Once I add water, electric and sewer, I'll be living the high life indeed! Had to run the generator and the AC for a bit, very hot here today and I needed to cool it down before bed, so yeah, I'll be happy for electric tomorrow. Heading to a much needed shower and bed! Good night, my sweetheart! Love you!