Hiya Darlin',
Got up late again, it's just so tough to get going when I know it's going to be in the 90's, but today, we had a plan to keep cool. Joyce's friend Shawn, whom I've met a few times at various outings, invited us over to hang out in her pool today, a lovely above ground version with a little deck and lots of floaties, so we headed over there for the afternoon, and spent over three hours just hanging around in the water. What a nice change of pace! Trish and Candy were there as well, so a good time was had by all! Got back around 4:30 and settled down for the rest of the afternoon and evening, trying to keep cool in the camper where the AC is barely able to keep up with the heat. Be in bed soon! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Babe,
Slept through until 6:30, then tossed for a bit, then apparently fell back to sleep and didn't wake up until 9:00! Guess I'm getting caught up on sleep now! Had a very lazy day, spent most of it on the computer arranging for next week's travel, a La-Z-Boy repair on my recliner in Chattanooga, and finally a quick hay run, picked up some nice alfalfa/grass mix about 15 minutes away. I picked up more than I needed, hoping I can transport enough for next week at Taylorsville, where I made a reservation for Mon-Fri. I thought it was $25/night, but turned out to be $40, plus more for Monday since it's a holiday (although it will be almost over by the time I get there!) Not the cheapest stopover, but at least it's on the way and I'll have water and electric, and someplace to put the horses. From there it's hopefully an easy drive to Linda's in Tennessee, where we'll settle in for the weekend before I head to Peru! Didn't do much today, but I'm hoping I'll get a good night sleep, now that I'm a little bit more on schedule. Headed for shower and bed! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie,
Tossed and turned most of the night, I'm looking forward to getting back onto my usual schedule and diet, hopefully that will improve my sleeping! Spent the first half of the day doing laundry, arranging for my trailer drop off and recliner chair repairs in Chattanooga, and generally getting caught up on stuff. Settled down in the afternoon to more laundry and mostly brainless TV, just to veg out a bit. Can't believe my Peru trip is only two weeks away! I think I'm mostly ready for it, though. Anyway, I'm getting to bed early, hopefully, just waiting for a load of laundry before I shower and head to bed. Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

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!