Archives for 2026

Hi Darlin'!
A restless night, not sure how much sleep I actually got, but I was up earlier than I planned. By the time I was packed and ready to go, my first flight from ROC to Chicago O'Hare was being delayed to the point that I would likely once again to miss my connection. I considered keeping the rental car and driving the 9+ hour, but instead ended up changing my flight so that it went through Washington Reagan rather than Chicago. I would come in about an hour later, but at least the weather was good, there was not "air traffic control" issues like they said was going on in Chicago, and I was still able to get first class. I could have taken a flight through Charlotte that would have gotten me in on the original schedule, but only had coach available. No thanks, I've been spoiling myself with First Class for too long for that! Anyway, arrived on schedule, managed to catch the shuttle bus almost immediately, and my stop was only the second one, so I was out of the airport pretty quickly. Drove to Cummins to pick up the trailer and was met with the unbelievable bill of $404 JUST FOR DIAGNOSING MY GENERATOR! No repairs, nothing but the diagnosis! I completely misunderstood them when I dropped it off, I thought it was $238 for up to two hours of diagnosis, when in fact they were saying it was $238 per HOUR, up to two hours! They apparently charged me for 1.7 hours (how many minutes is .7 hours?). Apparently they would deduct that if they did the repairs, but they may not be able to get them done in time for me to make it to my Peru trip, so I couldn't take the chance. Not to mention the fact, I've have to find housing for the duration! Though my friend Joyce offered me a guest room, I really don't want to impose like that. Besides, I can take it to the Chattanooga branch (where hopefully I'll get a second opinion on the Indy branch's $10,000 repair estimate!). and leave it with them while I'm gone, solving the housing problem. Anyway, after paying that exorbitant amount, I pulled the camper back to Joyce's and got set up in no time, gave my horses an apple, then got Lola out of her kennel and back home, where she eventually settled down for the evening with me. Looking forward to sleeping in my own bed, though the one at Tom's was pretty good. I've been running the AC ever since I arrived, and it's just about cooled down now. Unfortunately, the forecast is for much higher temps over the next few days (I left Rochester at a rainy 66 degrees, arrived to a sunny 90+ day), so I'm going to have to plan carefully. Anyway, off to shower and bed! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hey Babe!
Managed to get a good night sleep, a relaxing morning, and finally off to a mid-afternoon meal at a local Indian restaurant nearby. Then I dropped off Steve and drove by my old house, school and stable before coming back to watch a couple a movies and have a few much appreciated drinks. Did some preliminary packing in anticipation of our flight back tomorrow, fingers crossed I make it in one piece and on time. A much needed quiet recovery day! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie!
Had a decent night sleep, though not as long as I would like, but enough to feel ready for the day, at least. Arrived at the High School on time, just before 9:30, helped Anne get the coffee and pastries set up, and had a wonderful meet and greet. We ended up with over 40 people, and the tour went very well. We shared stories as we passed through the halls, and it was a very delightful experience for all, and I received a lot of compliments for planning it. So glad we were able to make it happen! Afterward we came back and had a quiet afternoon, though I wasn't able to nap. Finally got ready for the dinner, drove over to the Delmonte Lodge, and had a wonderful dinner and get together with even more folks. We apparently had 104 people sign up, and there was so much conversation going on, it was pretty much a dull roar the entire evening. Steve and I both started fading around 9:30, and finally finished saying good-by around 10:00. It has been a fabulous weekend, despite all of the travel setbacks, but I'm looking forward to a quiet day off tomorrow! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
Managed to get a few hours of sleep, got up and showered, which marginally brought me back to life, and made it to our meeting at the school with the principal, Melissa and her head custodian. After an extensive sign in security process, we ended up taking a fabulous tour of the school, for nearly 90 minutes. What a blast from the past! Some areas of the school were exactly the same, others wildly different. Steve was telling a bunch of stories of all the pranks they pulled in school, from fireworks and water balloons off the balcony to climbing through ceiling tiles to get up to the catwalks in the theatre to holding a class in the inaccessible courtyard by everyone climbing out the window, all of which made Melissa somewhat aghast! No more food fights, no more straws wrappers stuck to the ceiling with mashed potatoes, some would say, no more fun! It was a wonderful tour, and we left with permission to essentially have access to almost every corner of the building. Afterward, Steve and I went to a little diner in a strip mall called Steve's Original Diner and had a nice breakfast, then back to Tom's, where we both managed to get a couple of hours worth of napping. Then we headed out at 6:00 to the Canal Lamp Inn for our first official event, and they had a party tent out back and a nice spread of munchies and a wine and beer open bar, and we had a fabulous time chatting and getting reacquainted with lot of old classmates and their spouses. It was a beautiful evening, with perfect weather. I didn't even need a jacket, which I thought I would. I wore my flag and fringe western shirt and jeans, so I certainly looked the part of a bicentennial cowgirl, as intended! We hung around until 10:00 (an hour after it was supposed to end), and decided not to go to Thirsty's, which had been the original plan, but headed home, had a shower and was in bed just after midnight. Despite pulling practically an all-nighter and only getting a short nap, I think I did surprisingly well today, though I thought my wrinkles were a lot more pronounced than usual, but that couldn't be helped. So far, so good! The only bad news was when I called Cummins in Indy and learned the repairs on my generator will be over $10,000. Grrr! But I can't live without my generator! Now I just have to figure out when and where I'll have time to get it done. But that's a job for another day! Right now I need my sleep! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hiya Darlin',
Had a rough night, woke up at 4:30, tossed for a couple of hours until I finally fell asleep, waking up at 9:00! Spent the day doing laundry and packing for the weekend, getting Lola's stuff ready for her to stay in Joyce's kennel. I know she'll get a lot of attention here, so I'm hoping she doesn't get too destructive from her separation anxiety. Warm and muggy until a storm front came through, hoping the night will be cooler! Heading to bed early, since it will be an early morning tomorrow. Good night, baby! Love you!

Hi Babe,
Had a decent night sleep, then after chores (which are much reduced by not having to do manure cleanup!), headed out to Murphy's to get fuel (back up to $5.49/gal), then a haircut at Supercuts, then lunch at the Spice Club (fantastic Indian food!), then Walmart, then Tractor Supply, then back to Joyce's. Whew! Turns out it's Joyce's birthday today, so some of her boarders through her a party, so despite being stuffed from lunch, I forced myself (yeah, right!) to have a cupcake and a cookie, homemade by one of the girls in her crew. Can't remember the last time I had a cupcake that was so light and fluffy! Great frosting delivery device for sure! Did some of the laundry I'm taking on my trip this weekend, including my walking shoes, though they didn't look like they got any cleaner, but they don't recommend putting them in the washer, so I guess it's the best I can do. Settled down for the evening, started a new series call Leverage, an interesting premise, and I ended the evening with an episode about race horses, so it has my attention. Got a busy day tomorrow, so heading to bed early! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie,
Glad to report I had an excellent night sleep last night, so I woke up to my alarm feeling rarin' to go! Finished packing everything up and was leaving my site before 9:00, a quick stop at the dump, so I was on my way out of the park by 9:15. Had an uneventful drive to my friend Joyce's (been seeing a lot of her lately!), and arrived before 2:00. Was surprised I didn't need to get fuel along the way, must have had a tailwind. Saw some ridiculous prices, some truck stops were at $6.09/gallon for diesel! Hoping that will come down in the next few days, it seems that it's fluctuating from minute to minute these days. Got the horses out the pasture right away, and got set up pretty quickly as well. Received on of my packages already, though it wasn't supposed to arrive until tomorrow, and have another one coming tomorrow. Scheduled a haircut for tomorrow, plan on having a nice lunch to celebrate my belated birthday (you know us, never did have much interest in holidays!), have some other errands to run, but today, I just relaxed for the rest of the day. Finished off the short-lived Canadian series, Sight Unseen, not terribly intriguing so I understand why in only lasted one season. Ready for shower and bed! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hi Darlin',
Had another night of tossing and turning, so woke up pretty tired this morning. Did my usual chores plus packed a couple of items before joining Cathy for our last ride here together. Flash's ankle is still causing him grief, so I elected to take Apollo on our planned six mile ride. That makes about 27 miles I've asked him to do in the last ten days! Remarkable! He was a bit slow starting off again, but was better after he warmed up. He doesn't seem to be any worse for the wear, though, I'm happy to say! We took the north loop of the park, which is particularly pretty, so I'm glad we finished off with that one. They'll both undoubtedly be happy to have the next week off! Spent the remainder of the day slowly packing up, watched (and mostly slept through) some TV, and I'm definitely getting to be early tonight, just as soon as I finish my Sleepytime tea and a shower! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hey Sweetie!
Still not the best night, but a little better. Got my morning chores done, asked Cathy to help me rinse down Flash's ankle again, not feeling very confident about it, so I decided to take Apollo today, since my wheel-falling-off savior Holli was coming over to ride today. She had never been to Ft. Custer and I was the perfect excuse for her to come, and she was riding her mule Floyd, and they were both very patient with Apollo's slow pace. I was amazed, though, that he didn't seem to have any trouble with going nearly ten miles! Granted it was slow, but it was steady, so I think the gradual increase in his mileage during the last two weeks was helpful, and he absolutely has firmed up his hindquarters, which had been getting noticeably atrophied the last couple of months. Very happy with his performance today! And he didn't seem to have any ill effects once we got back to camp, either, so job well done! Amazing! It was a wonderful ride, Holli was great company, and I was very appreciative of her laissez-fair attitude toward our slow pace. Just before we got back to camp, we had a slight misty rain, and as she was loading up Floyd, we heard some thunder, so she left almost immediately. Later she said she rain into some heavy rain, but it missed us as camp, even though we needed it so badly. We only had that slight misty rain for a few minutes before it dissipated. Settled down for the afternoon for a Hallmark movie and an episode of a new series, then went over to Cathy's and played a variety of games during the evening before coming back to the camper to finish off the day. A fabulous day, great weather, great company, truly another great day on the road! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Darlin'!
Still had a hard time going to sleep last night, still don't know why! Anyway, I was up with my alarm and was just saddling up when Cathy came over 15 minutes early (darn it, I was hoping to ready and waiting for her for a change!), and we were off! Flash didn't seem very bothered by his ankle once we got going, just a little stiff when we started off, which didn't surprise me. We had a fabulous ride, from one end of the park to the other, got in some lovely gaits (Whisky even got a little amped up, gaiting for longer stretches than he's apparently ever done before!), and even had a couple of nice canters in! The horses are well matched, though I think Cathy may not be used to such a fast pace! It was a gorgeous day again, and we had a fabulous time. After we got back, I headed out to pick up some hay, five bales for me and five for Cathy, an nice alfalfa/grass mix, though they weren't as green as I had hoped, but they smelled good, and the horses tucked into it as soon as I put it out for them, so they obviously don't mind that it's a little bleached out. She had to take Whisky into a vet, so she partially packed up and headed out at the same time. He's apparently mostly blind in one eye, and it's been getting worse, so it looks like they're going to have to remove it. They're going to treat it for ten days first though. Poor guy! But Cathy doesn't seem too bothered, better to remove it than have it keep getting infected. I got back long before she did, so I watched the last few episodes of House (8 seasons done!), with the final episode a Swan Song behind the scenes show, and I was, quite frankly, shocked to discover the actor who played House was English! I have a pretty good ear for English accents, considering I was married to one for over 30 years, and this guy never slipped in all that time. I never would have guessed. Amazing acting skill right there! Anyway, once Cathy got back and we both cleaned up and fed our respective horses (she's been kind enough to haul my manure in her sled behind her side-by-side to the manure pit all the way over on the other side of the parking lot. Yeah, it's a Michigan thing!), and then we played an hour of Uno just for fun before calling it a night. Trying my Sleepytime tea tonight, hoping that will make the difference! Good night, babe! Love you!