Hiya Babe,
So grateful I had a full night sleep! Lola was spectacularly quiet until morning, so I managed to get some decent sleep. Of course, that meant I had a lot more energy today, so I decided to put it to good use! Not a cloud in the sky, much drier today, so I took out the runner carpet and washed it. Lola had had a few accidents on it earlier in her convalescence, so the camper was getting a kennel smell to it, so my goal today was to try to get rid of that, now that she seems to have more control over herself. I also washed her bed, vacuumed and mopped the floor, took her for four walks (I measured them, one loop is about 1/3 of a mile), and even gave Apollo a bath with fly shampoo, just for good measure. They wandered around the property on their anchors today, as there was no one else around, but of course, they eventually ended up right outside the screen door looking in! I am actually pretty astonished that not a single new camper arrived today! This is a pretty nice horse camp, and the weather was perfect today, and will be again tomorrow, so I'm amazed that I'll apparently have this place all to myself, even over the weekend. Spent the rest of the day as usual, and am ready to settle down for the night! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
Had a rough night last night. A very long, serious thunderstorm came through, beginning about 10:00, and even though I had given her what I thought was plenty of the sedative gabapentin, Lola was inconsolable. She fretted and fretted, turning circles, whining, even tried to climb the dreaded stairs a couple of times. I tried everything. Petting her, hugging her, draping my body practically on top of her, she just kept fighting me and fighting me for more than an hour. Nothing I did helped in the least. We were both miserable, and there were moments when I felt murderous. It was a long time before she settled down, but she finally did. We took a bunch of walks again during the day, and she's definitely improving, so there's that. But after our midday walk, she came and and started barking and barking and barking for no reason that I could discern, and it got pretty annoying. I finally got her quiet by whining louder back at her! But that's not an ideal solution. It's been such a long time since I did any decent housekeeping, so I decided to do a deep clean on the bathroom and the kitchen, which kept me busy for awhile. Filled the gaps with reading, and finished the night with another Dragonslayer movie (#3). Oddly, toward the end of the movie, another thunderstorm came in, and Lola slept through most of it! I had given her three gapapentins about 20 minutes before it arrived, so I thought that helped but then, after the storm had almost passed, and I took her for her last walk of the day, she came back in all crazed again. Wish I could figure out exactly what causes this behavior so I can hopefully discover a way to help her. Sigh. I did have the camphost come by with an envelope to pay, evidently there's a pay station in the middle of camp, which I've missed up to now, so I finally learned what I owe. Amazingly, it's only $15 a night M-Th and $20 for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, pretty cheap for having electric and nearby water. Once again, I let the horses wander on their anchors, still nobody here yet. A ranger finally came by to tell me that the trails would be closed today, and possibly tomorrow if tonight's rain is as heavy as the last two nights have been. Anyway, Lola and I took our evening walk, and now she's back to barking at me for no reason. Grrr! Hope she settles down before I go to bed! I don't need another night of disruptive sleep. Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Pix to come!

Hiya Sweetheart!
Yup, it would have been 37 years happily married if you were still with us, my love! And about 40 years together! Wow! Still miss you, still feel you in the forest with us when we go riding, which, of course, I did on Flash today. Not a very long ride, just over 6.5 miles, but the woods were lovely, and so much cooler. It's been hitting 90 degrees, so I'm VERY glad I have electricity here. I had put on both the breast collar and his boots, but it turned out we didn't really need either one, they were both surplus to requirement. Just all that much easier on our next ride! It wasn't the best night, though, Lola woke me up around 3:00, and she was so restless, whining and barking, and the only time I could keep her quiet was when I came down and sat next to her and petted her. I finally managed to get into my recliner, at least, but fell asleep in an awkward position, so I didn't get a lot of rest. Other than the excessive whining and barking, she does seem to be getting better. She doesn't fall and start screaming, and we did a great walk around the entire campground by the end of the day, with a couple of shorter walks earlier. She still twists both her back legs into very squirrelly positions, and occasionally hops off her right leg, but most of the time she's working it, so I think it's getting stronger. We had another afternoon thunderstorm around 4:00, and that did cool things down a bit, but with the humidity, I'm still running the AC! Did some more research and planning for where I'm going later this summer, but still flexible. Watched the second Dragonslayer movie off the DVR, so another quiet, early evening! Good night, baby! Happy Anniversary!

Pix to come!

Hi Babe!
Had a busy morning before getting on the road! First up was going to the post office to see if my overdue package was there, before it was put on the delivery route. Figured if I didn't have to wait until a late afternoon delivery, I might be able to get out today. As much as I've enjoyed staying at my friend Joyce's, it's high time to be back on the road, and parked at an actual trailhead! Well, once I got to the post office, I soon learned that the package STILL hadn't reached Danville! Since there was no chance of it arriving today, I went to Plan B, which was to call my vet in TN and have them put in the Rx to the Walmart. I had already checked with them to see if they had Carprofen, and the website said they did, but the gal at the vet's office didn't think they did, but she willingly called the Walmart and confirmed they could, in fact, fill that Rx, and put in the order. They were so quick about it, that by the time I finished doing some very light shopping, it was ready! I was back at the camper in short order, and managed to get packed and ready to go fairly quickly. Said my good-byes to Joyce, and was on my way before 11:30. A very straightforward drive, mostly I-74, but I changed time zones, so I arrived before 1:30 local time, or 2:30 ET. This is a pretty nice horse camp, actually! About 30 sites, all with 30 amp electric, but there's only a few spigots scattered around. I walked around, and ended up at site 14, which was the farthest west site, because it was fairly level (I'm hoping to not have to unhook), close to a water spigot, nice and shady, and easy to back into. Only downside is the cellphone signal is pretty weak, so that will be a challenge. I may have to unhook just to go find a signal! It's pretty wide open here, with lots of nice grass and clover, so I put the horses on anchors and let them have at it while I put up the highline, filled the water tank (though I should have let a lot of water run through first, it was pretty brown when I saw it in the horses' buckets), and otherwise finished getting set up. I was done by 3:00 local time, so I settled down after that. Worked up a real sweat, if was very humid and hot, but just as I finished, I took Lola for a short walk, and it started to rain! Perfect timing! It did cool things down a little bit, and the horses didn't mind getting wet at all, and afterward, it cleared up nicely. I so prefer Central time, because now it get dark at the reasonable hour of 8:30 instead of 9:30. I like a couple of hours of darkness before going to bed, otherwise I feel like a kid! Not that that's a bad thing, just not my preference. Glad to have AC though, it's going to be hot I think. My only concern is that when I came in, I saw a sign that said the horse trails were closed! I'm going to have to check that out, or at worst, apologize afterward (they gotta catch me first!) Even if I don't ride, it's a nice quiet place to chill for a week or so, except for the cell signal problem. No matter, I watched an old movie from the Dish DVR, Dragonslayer, the original, though I also have several sequels I can follow up on as the week goes on. Hopefully, I can get just enough signal to post my blog and check my emails! Will try it now! Good night, darlin'! Love you!

Heya Darlin',
Managed to get a better night sleep, Lola was a little quieter, though I had to take her for a walk at 11:00, and 12:00, and 1:00 before she finally settled down for the night. At least it was 7:00 before she woke me in the morning. She did seem to do better today, though, we must have gone on a dozen walks or more during the day. She'd come in, settle down for about 10 minutes, then start barking at me again, so I'd take her out again, and again, and again. She does seem to be moving better, though, so I can't complain too much. She's certainly making me walk more, which is a good thing! Especially since I'm doing so much sitting around. Got the disappointing news that now my package isn't expected until TOMORROW! I'm still not convinced of that either, as they're still showing the same information about it reaching Indy last Thursday, with no other updates, so I'm worried that it's just window dressing and wishful thinking on the Post Office's part. If it doesn't show as Out for Delivery tomorrow morning, I'm making other arrangements for the medications, I can't just sit around here for another week! My hostess Joyce has been so generous to let me stay here, and I finally spoke to her today, they arrived around 1:00 last night after flying back from a week in Utah, had a great mule trip out there. We chatted several times during the day, and in the evening, my other Indiana buddy Trish came by, and we had a chance for a brief visit. She had also gone on the Utah trip. Other than that, I did pretty much nothing but read, play computer games and watch TV. My life is really mundane at the moment, I'm just going to have to make up for it once I get back on the road! Very glad I have electric here, though, since it's been pretty hot and humid. More rain scheduled for tonight, I just hope Lola has enough sense not to try to climb any stairs! I'm going to give her an extra pill to keep her quiet, so hopefully, she'll be calm through the night. Not much else going on! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hi Sweetie,
Lola was restless again, waking me up around 5:30. I had to get up and take her for a quick walk, then went back to bed and read and dozed for a bit longer. I did most of her PT again, and took several walks, and she bounced between being okay with it and fighting it. Can't really tell if she's improving or not, though at times she seems better. Spent the day reading, playing computer games and bingeing on TV, plus occasionally checking for updates on my overdue package, which never came. It still says it arrived in Indy on Thursday, but nothing since then. I did many loads of laundry and little research on future camping sites over the next few weeks, but otherwise, it was a pretty quiet and boring day. It definitely looks like I won't be leaving as planned tomorrow, but it the package doesn't come, I'm going to have to make other arrangements, I can't just sit around here waiting for it, not knowing when it will ever arrive. Very frustrating and disappointing. Anyway, heading for shower and bed! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hiya Babe,
Had a better night sleep, but the day was a day of doing nothing. The package I was expecting yesterday, the one that's kept me here since Wednesday, didn't arrive yesterday, nor did it arrive today. All I got was a notice from the vet's pharmacy the package has been delayed, but with no amended delivery date. This is getting ridiculous. The package left Harrisburg, PA, just two states away, on Monday, and it still hasn't arrived! It says it got to Indianapolis on Thursday, which already seems too long, but I'm only a few miles out of Indianapolis, so I don't know what the hell is going on. Very frustrating! I guess I shouldn't complain, too much though, at least I have power, which, with temps in the upper 80's and above, I have definitely need to run my AC all day. I did most of Lola's easier exercises and took several walks today, and sometimes she seems like she's doing better, but then she suddenly collapses like she's got a cramp or pinched a nerve. Wish there was more I could do for her. One thing for sure, she (and I) are getting a lot of rest, not that we need it. Anyway, another day of reading, computer games and TV, not much else to do! We have thunderstorms coming in tonight, so I've given Lola three gabapentin, which the vet said would help keep her calm during storms, hopefully they go to work fast, I was a bit late in giving them to her. Enough of this boring day! Good night, darlin'! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
Lola had a very restless night for some reason, woke me up way before dawn, so I was up early. She seemed to be in more pain and not doing as well today, so I just did the gentlest PT exercises and a couple of walks today. She managed to pee and finally poop on our evening walk, so some progress was made. I had arranged to pick up hay today (freshly cut, heavy bales at $5 a bale...I love being up north in the summertime!), but stopped at Walmart first to pick up a few things. This haymaker was tucked way off the road with no mailbox that I could find, so it took few minutes to find it, and Google wasn't much help, but it was worth it. Stopped for fuel on the way back (cheapest diesel, with member discount, was Speedway in Danville, still paid 5.61 a gallon!), then spent some time and muscle getting the hay moved into the front stall. Struggled quite a bit, since I had to do it at a weird angle, and these bales were much heavier (or I'm getting weaker 🙂 ), but finally managed it. I covered the rest up with a tarp in the back of the truck, since it's supposed to rain over the weekend. Still haven't received Lola's carprofen refill, it was supposed to come today, and it arrived at the Indy postal center yesterday, so I don't know what the holdup is. I certainly hope I get it tomorrow, I'd hate to get delayed here any longer than necessary! Been away from a trailhead long enough! Finished off some more bookkeeping, which took longer than I expected, but finally got my accounts balanced, so that's a good thing. Relaxed the rest of the day, heading to bed soon! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie,
Had another day of mostly sitting around, though I did manage to get a few necessary things done. I was able to do almost a complete PT session with Lola, but later in the day she seemed to relapse a little, expressing a bit more pain when she laid down on her right side. I hope I didn't overdue it with her today, though I was warned she might backslide occasionally, so I'm hoping that's all it is. At one point, she started barking at me, but I was in the middle of something and made her wait a few minutes, but then when I went to take her out, she didn't make it, and peed inside. Oh, well, my fault! She'd already gone out once, so I didn't think there would be that much urgency, but there you go! I filled up the spare tire with air, which it needed because I had to take the air out of it to fit into the spare tire compartment, evidently this tire has more tread on it than the previous one. Hope I can get it off when I need it! I spent most of the afternoon working on bookkeeping. I hadn't realized just how far behind I was, so that took me most of the afternoon to get caught up, and I still have a bit more to do. Otherwise, a pretty mundane day. The weather has been perfect, and I'm so missing not being at a trailhead where I can take advantage of it! I should get the rest of my deliveries tomorrow, and Walmart FINALLY contacted me that Lola's prescription was ready (I'll be out of gabapentin in the morning!), and I've arranged to pick up hay tomorrow. So not an entirely unproductive day, but I'm not a big fan of just sitting around wasting time! No worries, I'm sure I'll be busy soon! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hey Babe,
Had a good night sleep, did a bit more than half of Lola's PT exercises this morning, felt like she needed to get used to me handling her before we tackle a complete session. After we took our morning walk and I put her back in the camper, I went out to feed the horses, and when I got back, I found her by the water bowl outside, meaning she managed to open the door, go down the stairs and move to the water bowl all on her own! Guess that means she's doing better! Had an evening walk, with just a tiny poop and lots of pee, but she wasn't putting much weight on her leg again. I gave her a red light treatment and more massage in the evening, hoping that would help. I mostly spent the day doing research on flights and travel arrangements for my Peru trip. I received confirmation from the outfitter that they have room for me, and started the process of signing up. I rationalized that there really isn't any reason for me to limit my vacations to once a year, and there's so much to see in this world, why wait? Who knows how long my health will hold out? Need to do it while I can! Otherwise, a pretty quiet day, not much else going on. Just waiting for a package now, due on Friday. If I had known it would take so long, I wouldn't have ordered it, but now that it's on its way, I guess I'm staying through the week. It will be good to see Joyce, she's due back on Sunday anyway. So it's a waiting game. I need to get hay, and I ordered a prescription from Walmart from Lola which I thought would be done today, but I never heard from them. More to track down tomorrow. Meanwhile, good night, my darlin'! Love you!