Mermaid on a Raft

02/16/2023 I started this blog on Thursday, it was a dark dreary day. It started raining this morning when we were walking the dogs and it started raining again a little while ago when I tried to take them for another walk. The weather said potential heavy storms with a tornado watch. Lovely. It was 72 degrees yesterday with just a hint of sun every so often. At least it’s not super cold.

Bill started painting the inside of the house. Notice I didn’t say we started painting. The back entrance and the hallway are finished.

Bill painted the mudroom teal and is working on the small half bath. In there we are doing beadboard on the bottom of the wall, it will be painted the same teal that we used in the mudroom. Bill hung peel-and-stick wallpaper on the top half of the wall. Once he got it papered, I decided I hated the mirror that was in there. Bill is trying to get the beadboard flat. It was so warped when we got it home, it can’t be hung like that. Hopefully, it will flatten so it can be painted and put up.

While waiting for the beadboard to get flat he started painting the guest bedroom. It’s kind of a light denim blue, maybe we’ll do the guest bath too.

I was in Tennessee again on Wednesday. I was in search of a mirror and a few other things. I found the mirror at Home Goods.

I put my blinders on in there because, OMG, HomeGoods has some amazing things but the prices are ridiculous. My friend Debbie and I decided to eat at the same Thai restaurant we ate at the last time. It’s so good.

From there we went to a huge antique store and then headed to HomeGoods. Google maps took us back to Kentucky in a completely different way. It was a tiny bit shorter and we ended up in Celina, Tennesee. I was exhausted when I got home. I took the dogs for a walk and collapsed when we came back in. Shopping is hard.

The boys are doing well, Bill and I still miss Gringo, a lot. It’s not getting any easier, he was such a cool dude. Highway is still having issues with his chronic rhinitis, it’s so gross when he sneezes. We need to invent a shield for in front of his face. UGH.

We finally got the indoor outdoor rug for the sunroom. What a huge difference that makes out there; we now would like to do the whole front porch. The furniture I ordered for the sunroom came, Bill is not enjoying putting it together. The reviews said it was very tedious. They were right.

Once Bill got the furniture put together I was so anxious to get a colorful rug for there. I ordered one on Amazon on Friday afternoon and it came the next day. It’s not the final rug, in fact, it will more than likely end up on the pool deck when I find something I really want for the sunroom.

My friend on the island, Yvonne, sends me stuff that she thinks will interest me. She just sent this photo.

Bill and I walked the dogs up the sidehill a few weeks ago. We don’t go up there often because that’s where I had the boys when Max disappeared for 2 hours. On the way up there, I found this;

The amount of land we have seems unbelievable. We owned 28 acres in Everson, WA and it didn’t seem like this much property.

We are getting ready for company and we are so excited! Trace and his girlfriend Jackie are coming to visit. We can’t wait to see Trace and are extremely excited to meet Jackie. She’s a climber also, and pretty much a badass, a perfect match for Trace. They arrive on the 9th, hence the mini house reno going on.

It’s getting close to dinner time for the dogs, Max will be in here hitting me soon if I don’t have their bowls filled by 5. He’s quite demanding.

It’s going to be 77 degrees here on Tuesday, welcome spring!! Hope it’s warming up in your part of the world.

11/3/2022 I was in a sleeveless dress on the deck a few weeks ago sitting in the sun, the boys would go for a dip in the pool when they got too warm, but not anymore. Almost overnight the weather changed. There is still sun but it is much colder, we even had below-freezing temps a few nights. I cut my annuals back to the ground, the perennials I’ll cut back in the spring. I bought a lot of bulbs to plant, that’s something that is going to happen this week. It’s supposed to start raining over the weekend so I need to get them in the ground. Bill planted grass outside the fence and it’s really coming up nicely. The only problem is the ground is soft and the stupid deer are ripping it up with their hooves. I’m so over having deer and deer poop galore.

Bill got the fence done out front so now we don’t have to worry about the dogs taking off after a deer or fox or coyote, or even worse, a skunk or porcupine. We still have to close the sides of the pool deck because they can jump off that into the field. I just bought more of the fence when I went to Glasgow.

We have not had a good year with the dogs. First Highway got sick. He was hacking, sneezing and coughing, all while struggling to breathe through his nose. After several trips to Dr. Claudia in Glasgow, she referred us to the specialty vet at Metropolitan Vet Hospital in Louisville. I’ll refer to them from here on out as the $$ vet. Louisville is a 2.5 hour drive one way. UGH.

They decided that Highway needed to have a CAT scan and then have his sinuses cleaned out. They did that and determined that he has chronic rhinitis. He’ll be on meds for the rest of his days.

He is much much better and rarely has a reverse sneeze. One dog taken care of.

Gringo had been limping off and on for several months. Since we walk in the woods all the time I assumed he had something in his paw. I searched his paw and couldn’t find a thing. If one of the other dogs would bump his paw he would yelp, still leading us to believe it was his paw. It would seem to get better, then bad again. On August 1st we took him to Dr. Claudia to get his teeth cleaned, a fatty lipoma lump removed and get X-rays of his leg, elbow, and paw. They did everything but x-ray his paw which upset me because that’s what we were most concerned about. A few weeks after that we took him back again for paw x-rays. TWENTY x-rays later and they see absolutely nothing to indicate why he was in pain. They said to give it time. A few weeks later, Gringo’s right shoulder vanished, it had atrophied so badly. Gringo was all muscle, our hunka hunka dog. He ran like the wind, could jump anything and was just a super healthy dog. Dr. Claudia referred us once again to the $$ vet. Bill took him up there and the orthopedic Dr/surgeon examined him, took a few more x-rays, and saw nothing. Bill came home and we watched Gringo get worse.

We called the $$ vet again and they said they could do an MRI to get a definitive answer. We bit the bullet because we couldn’t stand seeing Gringo in such pain. Bill took him there at O dark thirty for the MRI. What they found was a tumor lying on the bunch of nerves at the right brachial plexus. The nerves originate in the spine and travel down the neck into the armpit, controlling the right leg, arm and foot. My boy has cancer.

We were devastated. The Dr. said it is slow growing and could ultimately, at some point in time, render him incapable of walking. I would never let it get that far. Our option was to remove the tumor and the whole leg. We struggled, this is not our first rodeo with a 3 legged dog. {My dog Taz, a lab/rott mix had cancer in the bone and had to have her left front leg removed. She did not make it a full year after the surgery. Then there was Frito, the dog I rescued on Roatan who had her leg removed because of a compound fracture on her paw, and she then gave birth to 7 happy healthy pups. My 3 are from Frito’s litter}. Gringo is going to be just like his momma. Having 3 legs for Frito didn’t stop that dog for one second, she’s a miracle. She’s living in WA with my BFF Teri and has a life of luxury. She’s spoiled and loved.

So on October 26th Gringo had the surgery at the $$ vet. Bill came home after he dropped him off because he had to stay the night. He went back to get him around lunchtime. The Dr. said he did really well and was up and walking around. The Dr. said the tumor was the size of a lime. His new concern is that a few of the nerves were enlarged, they were cigarette size when they should be spaghetti size. We are constantly praying that it is due to infection. I would hate to have put Gringo through all this so we could selfishlessly get a few more months time with him. Even if it is cancer the Dr. said it is very slow growing, so there is that to hold on to.

In between all of this $hit, Barrio decided to viciously attack Max, 2 times in 16 days. Each time I was in the house alone with the dogs. Once Barrio starts it, the others join right in. It was pretty awful, the first time it took Bill and 2 workers to break it up. The second time Bill was just coming back to the house when he heard me screaming. It was the 2 of us breaking it up. Each time Max had to go to the vet. We came very close to putting Barrio down, I was ready because I was there, I saw the instant he attacked both times, it’s seared in my brain, PTSD for certain and sure. The first time I did not get hurt although I had blood all over my shirt and arms. The second time I did get hurt. I don’t know what happened but the day after the fight I noticed blood on my undies and saw I had a huge bruise on my stomach. It was green yellow black purple and blue and it had 2 puncture holes in it, but I could not have been bitten. I don’t know how I got it. My Dr. put me on antibiotics with instructions to call if it changes at all. I also got bitten on the nailbed of my pointer finger (I believe my nail is falling off, it’s been black for a few months) and my left pinky has no feeling at all, 2+ months later. Now we keep Barrio and Max separated or Barrio wears a muzzle. It’s no fun at all.

I’m too old for this $hit. Seriously, I am.

Back to Gringo. The day Bill took Gringo for the surgery, I had to organize something. I decided on the pantry.

For those of you who don’t know me, I LOVE TO ORGANIZE. It’s my favorite thing to do. It fulfills my OCD tendencies. Bill is still asking where stuff is.

Gringo got home late afternoon on Thursday. His brothers were very apprehensive and curious. We took him to the spare room/office where there was a rug and we could keep him from jumping.

Keeping Barrio and Max separated is more of a pain in the butt than you think. Currently, Barrio and Gringo are outside. Gringo is very content, Barrio, not so much.

Unfortunately, there are 4 windows on the porch he can see in, plus the 2 doors. It’s great because it gives us a lot of light but it stinks when you’re trying to hide from your dog.

Gringo really wants to go on the walks in the morning but we’re not letting him until he gets his stitches out. When I get back with the other 3, I take Barrio with me and we walk Gringo. Today he walked the whole way down the driveway, he really wanted to go up in the field but I coaxed him to go back to the house.

We invited Aaron and his son Colt for Thanksgiving. Aaron is the guy who came the day after we arrived in Burkesville to cut in a road. He’s done all of the work around here that requires machinery Bill does not have. It’s always fun to have company for the holidays, we would prefer for it to be the boys. We wish they were closer.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

 

 

 

 

10/4/2022 Happy fall everyone. I can’t believe it snuck right on in here. One day it was 96 degrees and the next day it was 75.

Halloween has never been a favorite holiday of mine. That’s not to say I didn’t decorate and do all the things when the boys were young, I did. I’m just not a fan. Living where we do, we don’t need to decorate or buy candy, which I would eat.

Anyhow, Happy Halloween!

We still have not closed up the pool, the dogs are swimming daily, sometimes several times a day.

We finally figured out what Highway’s medical issue is, he has chronic rhinitis. Great. He’ll be on meds for the rest of his life and we will continue to pull strands of snot from his left nostril on a daily basis. It’s so damn much fun. We still don’t have an answer for Gringo, he continues to limp, not using his right front paw. We took him to our vet, they did X-rays of his paw, leg and shoulder and saw nothing. Bill then drove him to the vet (that charged us over $3800 for ONE visit for Highway) in Louisville. Gringo saw an orthopedic specialist there. He too took X-rays and saw nothing. Bill said he twisted Gringo’s arm, leg and paw every which way and he didn’t yip at all. However, if we, or one of the other dogs bump his paw he cries. It’s driving me crazy. This has been going on for months. The next thing is to do an MRI, but we need to be sure it’s his paw. An MRI of his paw is $3500.00, add a leg, $500, add a shoulder, $500, add a spine, $500. It’s totally insane.

UPDATE: I called our vet today and she called the ortho specialist we saw the 23rd. They’ve decided to try some different meds for Gringo, if they do nothing, we’re looking at an MRI. I just want him feeling good again, it kills me to see him hurting.

We have had some amazing weather, 45-degree nights and sunny and 70+ days. It’s wonderful stay outside type of weather but summer is gone. Last year was gorgeous in October then Nov. and the rest of the year was total $hit. I’m curious to see what kind of winter we have this year. One thing is for sure, I will not be locking myself out of a cabin in the middle of nowhere on a 10-degree night while my husband is in the hospital.

Bill has been working for a good month on the fence. We decided we needed a privacy fence, on our 30 acres. Actually, it’s more of a deer (coyote, skunk, raccoon, fox and groundhog) fence. We have so many deer and they are coming right up to the front yard by the house. We know this because the front yard is stone (artificial turf goes down this coming spring) and there is deer poop all over. The fence will cut down on Highway totally losing his mind because there is a deer in the field. It’s an odd thing to do, it will change the view but it will also give us a “peace of mind” place when we don’t want the dogs running.

The area on the outside of the fence we wanted to plant grass. It was loaded with rocks so Todd, the landscaper, brought Bill his equipment to smooth the ground and plant grass seed. First Bill, with Jerry’s help, used our tractor to scrape the stones off the ground. Then we had 2 loads of topsoil brought in. Bill spread that, seeded it and since there is no rain in the forecast, he is watering it. We hope we’ll end up with grass and no dirt.

Todd has a machine that edges and lays concrete all at once. We plan to do that next spring along the driveway. I still need to decide about flowers.

A friend of ours from PA came to visit. Jerry trailered his motorcycle down so he and Bill could ride. The first day he was here the weather wasn’t great but it got progressively better. They picked a beautiful day and rode to Tompkinsville and then on to Celina TN. We are less than 30 min. from Tn. The roads here are in great condition with very little traffic, great for riding bikes.

I really enjoy the morning walks with the dogs. They live for those walks too, lots of critter poop to inspect and eat. Poor Gringo has not joined us for a few months. When I get back from the first walk, I always take Gringo and Barrio down the backfield just to get Gringo moving. The walks up on the hill are beautiful just as the sun is rising up in the sky. The shadows are so cool, it makes the woods almost magical. Bill keeps it mowed which makes it park-like. We enjoy taking our company on walks with us.

It’s really hard to believe all of this land is ours. We had almost the same acreage in Washington and this seems much much bigger. More than likely it’s because the land in WA was a flat straight strip of land, perfect for a runway, which is why we bought it.

My friend and I went to Tennesee shopping again. We started at Goodwill, hit an antique store, had Thai for lunch and then went to Sam’s club.

I noticed the basil is still growing, I plan to harvest more tomorrow. I also dried a lot of rosemary. I look forward to a better garden next season, we got a  late start this year.

On our walk tonight Bill noticed a pile of feathers. We don’t know what kind of bird it was or what got it. All that was left were feathers. Survival of the fittest. Just call me Marlon Perkins, Wild Kingdom.

 

08/08/2022 {I apologize to all of you who got an email saying there was a new blog up. I tried to load the photos to my blog program using my phone. It saved them to the media for my blog, so I was all happy: until I got the blog finished and wanted to proofread it in preview mode. When I looked at it, the photos were all messed up, portions of photos showing, words weren’t there. The only way I could see for sure if it was indeed messed up was to publish it for a hot second. As soon as I did that, you got an email. I then took the new blog down, made it into a draft again so I could figure out the photos. I had to delete them all from my blog, reload them the old way and I’m going to try this again. Please bear with me, sorry for the ridiculous confusion.} 

Yikes, it’s been over a month since I have done a blog. No excuse except, it is absolutely a pain in the butt to transfer photos from my phone to my laptop. It’s very time-consuming and despite the fact I don’t have a life, I am quite impatient with these things. I may have figured out something tonight though. (obviously the way I thought was a solution was NOT.)

We’ve had some insanely HOT weather, so hot nobody even wanted to go outside. I really wanted to go in the pool but refrained because the boys couldn’t get in and I felt guilty. I know. I know. They’re dogs. My dogs. We bought steps so they could access the pool but the deck wasn’t finished so we couldn’t use the new steps.

If you notice, the dump truck is STILL HERE. It was here for almost 2 months. I was ok with it at first, then really got tired of looking at it. I knew Aaron was coming over (his dump truck) so I made signs for it. He got a kick out of them and yes, he took the damn truck when they were done. 

We got the garden in, and Bill laid out the sidewalk, Then we waited 3 + weeks for the guy to come to do the concrete. He is super busy. 

Aaron, Kevin and Courtney came back last Thursday and got the sidewalk to the pool ready for the concrete truck on Friday morning. Prior to them arriving, I noticed a deer(?) in the field. It was not a deer, it was an injured coyote. She was really having a hard time walking. The last thing we want is to have an injured or sick coyote hanging out here. Bill got his gun out but he couldn’t shoot it, they look too much like a dog. I felt so bad for her. When Kevin and Aaron came, they both saw it in the field too. They agreed it had to be shot. Aaron was able to walk right up on it and shoot her. Kevin buried her, he said she looked in bad shape. Mercy killing, still have a hard time with it. 

We took Max and Gringo to the vet in Glasgow. Max has a lump on the inside of his leg and Gringo had a big one on his side. We have been told they were fatty lipomas but I wanted them checked. It was the first time these 2 had been to this vet so she did a check-up on them. Gringo’s gums were red, he has periodontal disease. She said he needs his teeth cleaned. February is clean your pets teeth month with $50.00 off per pet. We also needed to have Gringo’s front leg X-rayed, he’s been on and off limping. They need to sedate to X-ray so I figured clean his teeth and check his leg. Bill said as long as he’s out, have them remove the big lump. I took him up on a Monday morning by 9. He was terrified when they took him away from me. I felt horrible. I got groceries and went back home, it’s 45 min from the vet. The vet called on my drive home and said he would be ready in a few hours. We put the groceries away and turned around and went back to get him. Bill went along in case I couldn’t lift him. Poor guy was really limping after they twisted and turned him every which way, and he had a big incision on his side. He whined on the way home. We got him in the house and up on the bed so I could snuggle with him. Bill noticed his nose was very swollen and he had a small cut on it.

I called the vet about his nose, it was after hours. The Dr. who took his x-rays called me back. He had no clue why his nose was swollen. I gave him a benadryl, it was slightly better the next day. A few days later he had scabs forming on the top of his nose. We think they had a mask on him for the surgery and it was too tight and injured his nose. Soon the scabs started to fall off. I kept them moisturized with coconut oil. Now they’re all gone and he has a sore that is healing. I will be chatting to them about this. 

Bill has been keeping the hill where we walk the dogs nicely mowed. There are less ticks and a smaller chance of seeing a snake. The dogs love to be up there. 

It’s a bummer that we just got the pool swimmable for the dogs but, they’ll swim through September I bet. Once we had the steps fastened in, we let them out. They were in immediately. I think I heard them utter a sigh of relief. 

Once Bill gets the room built we’ll finish the railings on the pool deck and then get the fence up. The room needs a few more roof pieces and it’s done. Two of the panels were damaged so the company sent replacements. Bill was switching the old ones out. I was holding the new one that had a ton of plastic on the ends. I grabbed the utility knife to cut the plastic and successfully cut a damn slit in the screen. I just ordered a screen repair kit because the screens are not easy to replace. 

 

Speaking of groundhogs, we have a resident one. He’s huge and he comes out at night, he’s usually with a big rabbit, I think they’re dating. Anyhow, we do a critter check before we let the dogs out. If the groundhog is down in the field, I walk down the steps and clap. First clap, he looks up, the second clap, he splits. The rabbit’s not as smart though, if the dogs want to chase her, they can. They’ll never catch her.

And that my friends is a wrap. Sorry I’ve been MIA. Bill was on the phone for quite awhile with T Mobile, I believe we are going to try them for internet and phones. Fingers crossed that we get internet. SOOOON. 

Later..

 

06/28/2022 I really can’t believe that in 2 months, we will have been Kentuckians for a year. How? Why do I feel like we just got here yet when I really think about it, I get visions (more like nightmares) of Walt and the never-ending story. Time flies, especially when you wonder what in the heck you’re doing in Kentucky. 

We’re slowly making this place look like a home, nothing is easy OR CHEAP. I would need a full-time job to be able to buy flowers like I used to, back when they were reasonably priced. It’s ridiculous now. Then there is our soil. We had 20 loads brought in. I was told (liar liar) that it was good soil. It’s not, it’s hard pack clay. We added 3 huge bags of peat moss and a dozen bags of compost and manure. It’s still nasty. Bill hooked up a sprinkler system immediately because he knew he wouldn’t want to listen to me whine and moan because I had to drag the hose to water. It’s not the watering I mind, it’s dragging the hose. I hate doing that. I can stand out there mindlessly for hours and water, but don’t expect me to drag the damn hose too. We planted along the front of the house and between the house and the driveway. That’s it so far, there’s always next year, I need to see if everything dies before the end of summer to help me decide how to proceed.

Before any of this garden stuff happened we got company! It was fabulous. My sweet friend Andee, who lives in Tennesee, {she’s one of the attractions for us moving to the KY, TN area} and her sons came for a few days. Andee and her husband are also the people who came and brought food and bone broth and leaf lettuce when Bill was in the hospital. We have not seen the boys since 2013, Bill hasn’t seen Andee since then either. It was so nice to have them visit. Let me say, she and Joel have the nicest, most well-mannered handsome young men (12 & almost 17) I’ve ever met. The guys were so much fun to be around, easy-going, and great with the dogs, they even cleaned up after our meals. Impressed….

Andee and I worked together at Bank of America and if you ask her she will tell you I deserted her. Looking back, I’m really surprised BoA allowed us together in the same building. We were loud and constantly laughing about something. She made going to work fun.

Anyhow, they arrived on a Tuesday morning. We took the dogs for their morning walk after they arrived so they could see the property. They’re big outdoors fans too, especially the boys, plus they love dogs. 

It was a lot of fun having them come to see us, we enjoyed their visit very much and anxiously anticipate the next. 

We are still walking the boys in the morning. Many times early because it’s been so blasted hot. We’ve noticed a variety of different critter poop and a ton of wildflowers. I also just realized we have a Mulberry tree, I’m not sure that I’ve ever had a Mulberry, but I will soon.

Bill has been busy mowing and burning up expensive diesel fuel in an effort to keep the grasses low. There are fewer ticks that way.

We (I) finally decided on an above-ground pool, it came last week. It’s 20′ around and 4′ deep. Plenty big to get wet and float. Bill has been working in the blazing sun to get the ground leveled. It took 2 trailers full of sand and a lot of compacting. On the day of the pool delivery, the driver called when he was close and Bill drove down to the end of the driveway with the tractor, loaded the pool on it, and brought it up here. 

We set the pool up on Saturday, it wasn’t hard, just time-consuming. Instructions said it would take 60 minutes. I’m not sure who was able to do it in an hour but they are superhuman. 

When we started filling the pool, I was inside the pool and Bill was outside. He asked what the lump was behind me. I turned around and noticed it was a chunk of wood, maybe 3-4″ square, UNDER the pool. I had to get out of the pool, he lifted it up and I crawled under the pool to get the chunk of wood out. Fun times. 

I’m still driving out of town for groceries every few weeks. On Friday I was parked near a cart return and as I was finished and getting in my car, I noticed something on the ground by the trash can. I leaned over and picked one up, there were 2. They are heavy and rather steam-punkish. I looked all around, there was not another car near me, nobody around. Since they were by the trash can, I figured, finders keepers. I love them. 

We have pseudo WiFi currently. Bill found this thing that gives you a limited supply of data so I can use my laptop and not tether it to my phone for a signal. He’s currently watching something on the TV, which we couldn’t do prior to this gadget, unless it was a DVD. Things are looking up. We’re still waiting for Elon Musk to make Starlink available in this area. I sure hope it’s soon. 

And last but not least, my friend Kyle who lives on Roatan sent me a message the other day that said “you’ve got mail.” At the Roatan Post Office.  

Thanks for reading and Happy almost 4th of July! 

XO

 

 

 

 

 

 

05/09/2022 A woman’s perogative is to change her mind. Correct? I’m the queen of changing my mind and of indecisiveness. I can remember a few times when the boys were young and we had hired a babysitter so we could go out. The only problem was that I had nothing to wear. Well, nothing that I wanted to wear, so guess what? We didn’t go out and I was miserable the whole night. Yep, I’ve done that to myself more times than I’d like to admit. Despite the fact of having more clothes than I knew what to do with.

So changing my mind is commonplace around here. We sent a down payment on a one-piece fiberglass inground pool, just a bit larger than the one we had in Roatan. The one in Roatan had to have a room built to hold it as I wanted it at second floor level for the view. This was not an easy task. However, the pool and ALL of the construction was less than 15K. When we proceeded to order this pool, the pool itself, delivered, would be several thousand more than the whole shebang in Roatan. We decided, we only live once, let’s just do it.

Push comes to shove and I realize I do not want to spend double what the installed Roatan pool cost us. This amount does not include landscaping or the deck around it and we (Bill) would be doing the majority of the work himself. I’m old, I’m not going to be enjoying it for years to come. It certainly does not increase property values, unless you live in Arizona. We have nixed the inground pool thing and are looking at an above ground that the dogs will be able to use and enjoy and not ruin. All we want is something to float in when it’s hazy hot and humid. We still plan to do a nice front yard with a nice fence and some artificial turf for the dogs. (Ticks are voracious here and they can’t live in fake grass). I’d also like a screened area to eat, away from the bugs. That’s it, keeping it simple but nice. Delusions of grandeur are forgotten and totally unnecessary for me to live happily. I kind of got spoiled by the fabulous pool in AZ but when you get right down to it, it’s the water that’s enjoyable, not how much the pool cost. Moving on.

We finally got the block work done, that took a few weeks just to get them here and get it completed. The weather was not conducive to outside work, unless you planned to wallow in the MUD, then you were ok. Now, the task of getting someone to bring fill dirt, then some topsoil has taken  2 weeks. Bill just got a message that they will be here Wed and work until done. I’m not holding my breath. Once that’s done we can get the fence up, the artificial grass ordered and the pool in. Slowly, it’s like Kentucky is on Island time.

We’re still walking the dogs every morning, and several other times during the day. We find some cool stuff on our walks, lately, it’s been box turtles.

My friend from Tennesee (she and her husband came up with food and stuff when Bill was in the hospital and I was having a meltdown in Walt) is coming up with her sons for a few days. We are overly excited. Andee is fabulous and hysterical. We worked together at Bank of America, it was the Andee and Deb show daily, how we got anything done, I have no clue. Her boys are super cool, we haven’t seen them since 2012 and can’t wait for this visit. Mason, the oldest is currently working with a group doing the largest Box Turtle study in the world so he’ll be able to give us the low down. Axel, the youngest, is just like Andee. A laugh a minute. The boys and Bill are going to make some playground things out of pallets for the dogs’ new play area. This area will connect with the fenced front yard, if that ever gets done this year. 

The other morning I was drinking my tea on the front porch and the turkeys were going crazy. They make so much noise. I didn’t realize it was baby season until we found this egg. I asked Andee and my friend Ryan what it was and they both said turkey egg. DUH. We should have known. 

I dropped some stuff at Goodwill in Columbia the other day and ran in to replenish my desire to shop. I found this great print, and loved the frame and the art. It was cheap, actually free. Later, when I looked at my receipt, I realized the girl never charged me for it. I inspected it closer while cleaning the glass and saw a signature so I started googling it. Turns out to be an old lithograph, worth far more than the zero $$’s I paid. 

My friend who works at the store in town went to Tennessee with me last Wed. We did some antique shopping and went to a HUGE Goodwill in Cookeville. It was organized as well as any store I’ve ever been in. I was meandering down one aisle and saw a tray on the bottom shelf. Just as I spotted it, another woman did too. I grabbed it quickly and she came over to inspect it. It was $9.99 with 20% off (senior discount). Of course I bought it. Once I got home I got online again and was astonished at what I found. This is a rare old tray from Maitland-Smith. Handmade in the Philippines. It’s pieces of bamboo on the bottom, bamboo on the sides and the handles look to be bamboo and silver. This is something I will never get rid of, it’s way too cool. 

I lost 2 friends to suicide in a week. One from Washington, he has a lovely wife and 2 sons. The other was from Williamsport, she was the sister of a very close friend. She was married and has a son in the military. I struggled with both of these losses, so tragic. My heart aches for the family left behind to deal with the aftermath. 

Bill has been mowing paths in the upper field, the dog’s favorite spot. It makes it less tick-saturated if the grass is shorter. Sometimes these guys get running and I have to find a safe spot to stand so I don’t get mowed over. 

The car lot on the main road, not far from our house, usually has some interesting vehicles. I am in love with this old Plymouth coupe and the T bird. I would happily drive either of them.

I apologize for being such a slacker, things just are not happening very fast in sleepy little Burkesville, KY., AND we still have no wifi so everything I do for the blog has to be done by USB file transfer or tethering. Except that wasn’t working just now and Bill got my mobile hotspot to connect again. What an absolute pain in the butt. 

Thanks for reading, I’ll be back soon.  

 

 

 

 

03/13/2022 (started 3/09) Here we are, over a month from the last blog post and a LOT has happened. I’m not blogging because I have nothing to say, I’m just dead tired every day. ALSO. We don’t have WiFi. YET. I used to use my phone as a Hotspot but lately, I am unable to do that. Bill has me USB tethered to my laptop from my phone and I do file uploads and it’s all confusing as hell, during my trying to upload photos and resize them, I deleted them ALL. After they were all ready to go. It’s a damn nightmare and I hate it, several times tonight I’ve said I had it, screw the blog. I’m done. Bill to the rescue. Anyone who enjoys reading this babble can thank Bill. It’s only here because he knows I get insane.

With Bill having been sick and extremely run down, we had to take things slow. A speed I’m not familiar with. Aaron did come and take the 2 trees down, however, they didn’t deliver the house for another week because they are a miserable company to deal with. Promises, promises, no returned phone calls or emails, it was like pulling teeth. It has not improved.

On 2/7 they said they were delivering part of the house the next day. We got to the property early that day and they had both parts of the house there, except, the first part was stuck 1/5 of the way up the driveway. They got off the stones and were in the mud. IDIOTS. Bill was not feeling great yet so he suggested I take the dogs and walk up the driveway so I could take photos of them bringing the house up. IT TOOK THEM 2 HOURS. At one point I was sure the house was going down the driveway backwards or that it was breaking in half. Finally, the house was up.

One of the guys got a head start and floored it, he made it up the first try. Next they had to set the house on the foundation.

It took a crew of guys and equipment from Tuesday through Friday to set the house. We were here every day for that, it was sooo boring. We moved Walt down by the shop because I didn’t want to look at a potential meth lab (Walter White, Breaking Bad) while luxuriating in my tub in front of the 2 huge windows with no blinds.

We were bound and determined to sleep in the house that night. We had a working fridge and running water and heat. We had to switch out the stove and dishwasher because I didn’t like the ones that “came with the package”. I wanted a dual fuel range (gas top, electric oven) and a totally stainless dishwasher. Bill eventually installed both.

We spent the night there on a mattress on the floor. With 4 dogs who were really confused. They left their home on the island and moved to the Sonoran Desert. Then they travel cross country and sleep in a meth lab and poop and pee in strange places. Then they move to 31 acres and get to run and play but still live in a meth lab. Then they move to a motel, a cabin and finally, another house. And you know what, they just go with the flow.

I ran to the local IGA market one day for a few things. Looking ever so much like my usual fishwife self. I was standing in line, minding my own business. The man in front of me was buying a small bag of carrots. There was another man standing there chatting with him. I was NOT paying attention to either of them, I was probably trying to make myself believe I wasn’t really there. Anyhow, I heard someone say, “Do you like ’em?” Huh? I asked, “You talking to me?” The guy not in line says, “yeah, you like Pinto beans?” What in the ever-loving hell is he talking about? I said, “No, not really, I like green string beans.” He said, “Oh, they’re really good if you cook ’em up in some bacon grease.” I think I may have been gagging. I just shook my head and said to myself, only me.

So, the day we moved in, the finisher guy came. His name was Kenneth. He worked from Thursday through the following Wed. He was a super nice guy, we really enjoyed having him around. He was chill with the dogs and with the fact there was a stove in a box in the dining room and a dishwasher or 2, and, another stove in the kitchen. He never got frustrated with us.

Bill and I started moving stuff up from the shop using the tractor bucket. It was damn hard work, especially with him recovering from pneumonia. We did it though, and aside from a few appliances, we didn’t have any help. We almost dropped the brand new freezer. Bill had it in the bucket of the tractor, I was inside the laundry room trying to get it sitting on the floor but it wasn’t happening. We thought we were going to lose it, but somehow we managed to get it in. Phew.

The living room and dining room furniture were delivered the Saturday after Kenneth left. They brought 4 of the wrong chairs and had to bring the correct ones the following weekend, but we had 2 stools. Prior to that, we were standing to eat at the island. Sitting is under-rated.

Bill and I continued to move box after box in by ourselves. Some days I could hardly move at the end of the day and it was really kicking Bill’s ass.

I have lost 15#’s, which is awesome, but I contribute it not to diet but to the fact I haven’t stopped moving for a while.

The other morning we were cleaning up the dogs feet and getting them back in the house when we noticed something all over the walls. At first, I thought it was dirt but quickly realized it was blood from Barrio’s tail. He’s big on whirlwind tail wagging and it looked like a meatpacking plant in our mudroom area, there was blood all over the walls, the door trim, everywhere. I got bandage stuff out and we wrapped it up. The bandage came right off. We tried a few more times and were finally able to keep one on. I called the vet and he said there’s not much you can do, it will heal.

We had a real scare with Highway. He’s been hacking, gagging. Our vet here said he was cleaning his anal glands and it irritates his throat. He was ok after they were expressed but he got worse. One day he was really bad, Bill had already made an appt with a vet out of town. He called that night to see if he could bring Highway right away. He was not looking good, his eyes were not there and he was running a fever and shivering. Bill drove him 45 min to the vet. She did all kinds of tests on him and really found nothing, She wanted to Xray him the next day. We could either let him there or go back in the morning. Bill decided to bring him home. He was lethargic. At 3 in the morning, Bill woke me, he thought Highway was dying. We had the boys come in to him but they were weirded out and didn’t want to get near. We were both a mess. The next morning Highway wakes up almost back to normal. He ate his brekkie, ran out to potty, was feeling pretty good. Bill took him back for the X-ray. They think it was/is pneumonia. Irritating because she didn’t know if it was contagious. He’s on antibiotics, feels fine, acting normal but still hacking and now Max is hacking every now and then. This does not make me happy.

Last night (11th) was the first since Feb 17th that I have not slept on a mattress on the floor. It was glorious.

The weather has been pretty nice except when it rains, but it’s not freezing. However, Friday night it got down to 20 and snow was predicted.

Unfortunately, the snow has mostly melted leaving us with MUD. Again.

Work continues on the house, gutter guy comes Tuesday, then once we get the block work down around the perimeter we can backfill and start getting ready for a yard and a dog fence, We really need a fenced area to let them out at night. There are usually deer in the field and they will chase them until they’re in Ohio. A fence will be coming soon or I will be one unhappy person.

Stay tuned, lots to come in the hopefully near future. Thanks for reading. XOXO

****I have no clue why my photos won’t center and quite honestly, I don’t care. I have no WIFI and am running off my phone hotspot and transferring the pics from phone to laptop was not fun.****

01/28/2022 Holy cannoli, where has this month gone? It’s not been my favorite so I’ll be glad when it goes the hell away. Far away.

We did have a great snowstorm and the boys had an absolute blast playing in it. We got about 6″ total, the boys weren’t sure what to think at first but once they started running they were snow dogs. I picked snowballs (thinking of you Cathilee) out of their toes every time we came in. The great thing was no more mud. Except after the snow melted we had 3 days of absolute downpours. The mud was atrocious.

Bill was working in the shop insulating the ceiling and I was bored as hell, filling my Amazon shopping cart.

During all the snow, Bill wasn’t feeling very good, felt like he was coming down with something. By the 30th he was pretty much down for the count. On Jan. 3rd (my bday) he got tested for Covid and was positive. They told him to go home and rest, drink liquids, etc. Here we are stuck in a tin can, weather is 10 degrees, furnace was not working but we had space heaters. After about a week he was so miserable he went back to the hospital, they told him the same thing, didn’t test him at all. He came back home and went back to bed. I was forcing fluids, had him on black seed oil, Vit D and C and Quercitin with Zinc and Ivermectin, I too was taking the same. I wasn’t feeling great either and was so worried who would care for the dogs if I got sick.

On the 12th I said, we’re going to the hospital. It’s 8 min away. I called the ER while we were sitting outside of the entrance and told them what was going on, they Covid tested him then checked his Oxygen levels and they were low enough that they put him in a wheelchair and wheeled him off. They said they would call me. I, of course, had 3 dogs with me and Highway was in his crate in Walt. We waited and waited. I decided to go home and wait for the call. The Dr. called me and said he had covid pneumonia. F%#k. We are not vaccinated and don’t come at me with any of that, our bodies, our choice. We still stand by our decision. FYI: Many of the nurses at the hospital are NOT vaccinated. They do not require it at this small hospital. Our bodies, our choice. He was being admitted. I of course was a nervous wreck.

The day after Bill was admitted I was feeling really awful, totally worn out. My sweet friend Andee and her husband Joel drove up from Tennessee and brought me all kinds of food and an air mister that sanitizes the air. They took my propane tanks, got them filled for me, helped me load the other 3 dog crates in Walt, and headed back home.

I called my Doc to be seen and he said to go get tested and they would call me with results. I was back in Walt with the dogs when they called and said I was negative and to come in to see the Doctor. I went in, he checked me and sent me for a CBC. I got the blood work done and went back to the Dr. office. He came in and said my bloodwork was excellent, as good as a teenager. They gave me a Vitamin B shot and sent me home.

That night and the next day I was having chest pains. The Dr said go to the ER. I get to the ER, call them, they come and test me, negative again. So they took me in for a chest Xray, ECG and bloodwork. Bloodwork was once again fine, my heart was healthy and lungs were clear. The ER Doc asked me if I was stressed. I told him what was going on and he gave me a scrip for an anti-anxiety med that I still have not filled. I guess knowing I wasn’t having a heart attack calmed me enough that the pains went away. Odd what the mind can manifest.

I’m back at good old Walt, using space heaters to stay warm and the water stopped. No running water. I thought it would thaw in a day when it warmed up. No such luck. I called my neighbor and he came up and did everything he could, still no water. Not a good situation. After a few days, I said screw this $hit and called the only motel in town. They said they accepted pets, $15.00 for each pet. I didn’t mention 4. I loaded what I thought we would need, dog food, warm clothes, leashes, my pillow, blankets to cover the beds and set off to the motel. I went into registration to check in, I looked like a fishwife, covered in dog hair, don’t recall when I last washed or combed my hair. I told them I had called about a room with pets. They asked how many and, being me, I can’t lie. I said 4. She said “Oh we can’t have 4 dogs in a room.” I said I would rent 2 rooms. She said no. I started to cry and told her my situation, I offered her a $500.00 dollar deposit. I promised her my dogs were well behaved, they would chew nothing nor go to the bathroom in the room. She took pity on me, bless her, and charged me a ridiculous amount for 3 nights. I had somewhere warm with running water. The IGA grocery was right next door. I ran there to get some take-out deli chicken and a few other things. When I was in line at the deli I looked down and realized I had a damn dog leash wrapped around my neck and it had a green poop bag (empty) tied to the handle. I just didn’t care.

While I was moving the dogs into the room, and not knowing this beforehand, when the door closes, it locks. I was locked out. I ran to the office and got a key, by then the owner was giving me the “LOOK.” I set stuff on the floor as I was moving in and Gringo ate most of my chicken. Damn dogs.

Once I was settled I couldn’t get the TV to come on. Not having cable since 2003, I was looking forward to it. The box was on but not the TV. I called the owner and he said he would be down so I hustled all 4 dogs into the car before they terrified him. He got the TV on and mumbled something as he left, not sure but I think he called me a pain in the ass. I let the dogs back in and sat down and cried.

That night we got 6 more inches of snow. Luckily there was a big field between the 1* motel from hell and the Cumberland River.

I ran into the Dollar General to get some juice and dog treats, I was covered in dog hair, my hair was a rats nest, I had on no bra. I totally looked homeless. The customer in front of me knew the clerk and they were chatting as I was impatiently waiting. The clerk said he could play lead guitar but he wasn’t great. The customer left, called the clerk, Bobby, by name and said to call. As I was checking out, the clerk asked me IF I WANTED TO BE IN A MUSIC VIDEO. Was it to portray the homeless in Portland or the down and out destitute souls in LA? I laughed and said, no thanks. Really, why does this shit happen to me?

My friend from high school, Sandra, messaged to see how Bill was and suggested a VRBO. I thought nobody would rent to someone with 4 dogs. But I looked anyhow, searching for places that accepted pets. I found 3 and messaged them all my story and ridiculous situation. The first one that allowed dogs replied and said OK, but was charging me an arm and leg for the dogs plus $145.00 cleaning fee. The second lady messaged me and said, no problem, she didn’t care how many dogs I had, just asked that I clean up their poop, which I would normally do anyhow. She said she lives about 2 hours away and her husband is having back issues and they’ve not been able to get here. The place wasn’t cleaned since the last renters. I booked it until Feb 3.

I checked out of the motel Tuesday morning, loaded all 4 dogs and went back to the RV. I grabbed a few more things I needed, like dog food and a crate for the howler, and then drove the 40 minutes to this cabin. I found it easily, situated on 2 acres, a few homes around but all unoccupied. This is a seasonal area for fishermen. Not a soul around, no traffic on the road in front. Once inside, I washed the sheets so I would have clean bedding and organized the stuff I brought.

This place in not well insulated, it’s mainly used in the spring and summer. The window A/C units are still in the windows, drafty as an outhouse on a cold winter’s night. I have them packed with towels and blankets to help keep the heat in and hopefully reduce her heating bill. I will say that the heaters they have here work great!

I had an OCD urge on Thursday and started cleaning. I emptied the silverware drawer, it was a total mess. I imagine the last renters were guys and we all know they’re not particular where they put things. I washed everything in it, dried the utensils, and rearranged it. Washed all the large cooking utensils and put them in a separate drawer. Then I organized all of the upper cupboards. While doing that I found the real junk drawer. It was filled with pieces of copper tubing, plumbers tape, nails, tacks, screws. I cleaned that all up and organized it. I wish I had a label maker. IYKYK

The day I arrived the dehumidifier was running. I thought that was odd, and then started shocking myself and the dogs all day long, the air was so dry. Bill said to unplug it. I turned it off and unplugged it and noticed the screen on the front looked dirty. I got on YouTube and found instructions to clean the filter. O. M. G.

The dogs are happy here, lots and lots of deer poop. It’s very hilly so it’s kind of hard to navigate to look for the frozen extra-large tootsie rolls the dogs leave. With all the leaves, the piles are hard to find unless they are fresh and still steaming. Sorry, TMI.

Tuesday and Wednesday were uneventful, I had to run to the store to get batteries for the remote, only to find there is nothing worth watching on 300+ channels. So happy we don’t waste money on cable. We got more snow again and the dogs were tearing up and down the hills, exhausted by the time we came in. It got really cold down to single digits a few nights.

On Thursday eve Barrio wanted out. He’s on a low dose of prednisone and it makes him pee often. I grabbed my windbreaker and the spotlight and took him out. He didn’t pee, he must have heard something and wanted to sniff. I said, let’s go back in, I’m freezing. It was around 15-19 degrees. THE DOOR WAS LOCKED. WE WERE LOCKED OUT. I didn’t have gloves, car keys or my phone. There was not a light anywhere in the distance, pitch black. I panicked. Then I gathered what few wits I had left and checked all the windows, they were locked, except 1. The one that the Dish TV cable goes through. I managed to get the broken storm window up without the glass falling out and shattering. Then there was the screen. I pulled and pulled and couldn’t get it out. By now my fingers were frozen sticks of flesh. I grabbed that screen with every ounce of strength I could muster and bent the living shit out of it, but I got it out. The window was open about 5″ but it wasn’t enough to crawl in. I stood on the chair and shook and pulled and pushed that window and it finally went all the way up. If I was crying by then, the tears were frozen droplets. I managed to crawl in the window without screwing up the TV wires. Opened the door, let Barrio in, then closed the window again. I am so glad Barrio was the only one outside with me, he knew something was up and didn’t leave my side, Highway would have been gone in a heartbeat.

I messaged the homeowner the next day and told her I cleaned and did all the laundry that was here, also told her I broke the lamp (not my fault, but it broke on my watch) and I said I would pay to replace the screen. She freaked out that I was locked out, said she cared nothing about the screen at all and was so glad I got back in. She also offered me another 10 days here for free if I needed it. I was overwhelmed by the kindness.

So when we sold out house in AZ in literally a day and the guy wanted in ASAP, we bought the demon Walt. We talked to builders in KY and TN and found they were 12-18 months out and the prices were changing daily, going up of course. We looked at houses for sale and made offers on a few and there were bidding wars, it was ridiculous. That’s what the guy who bought our home in AZ was running into. He offered us way more than we paid just so he wouldn’t have to deal with a bidding war with other potential buyers. The same thing was happening with bare land. I found this property the day it was listed, we made an offer and it was accepted. The seller had remorse, felt he could have gotten more and he sure could have. So we bought and paid for the land ASAP. Then we started looking at manufactured homes. The house we had in Everson was a manufactured home, it was quite large 2700+ sq’. We didn’t want something that big but decided to go that route. In August we sent a down payment and were told the house would be done by Nov 15th. I wrongly assumed I could live with that. Nov 15th came and went. Then they said the house would be out of the factory Dec14th. It was a day or so later but they only had enough trucks/drivers to deliver half of the house. We waited several weeks for the other half to be delivered. Bill was in the hospital when it arrived at the dealer’s, 2 hours away. We had to go inspect the house and sign papers. Some papers needed notarized. So on the 27th I put Highway in a crate (he’s a car howler) and loaded the boys in the car for the drive. We got there, I inspected it, saw small things I didn’t like but Bill can fix them. We went inside to sign papers and at that point, he told me their notary quit last week. WHAT?? I had made arrangements with the hospital notary to do Bill’s but not mine.

I got the papers signed and took the ones needing a notary and the dogs and I left for Burkesville, 2 hours away. On the way home I was telling Bill that he would need to sign quite a few papers. He actually asked me to STOP AND GET A CLIPBOARD so he had something to lean on. I said NO, in very colorful language.

I got to the hospital, no answer at the notary’s desk so I drove to the property, about 8 min away and let the boys run. I called her again and she answered and said she would be waiting. I loaded the boys and we went back to the hospital.

I asked if she would notarize mine also and she said sure, She took Bill’s papers and a nurse was “helping” him. They missed several signatures. So the notary had to go back. I checked them again and he still missed one, she went back again. She then notarized my sigs, I checked them several times and sure hope to the high heavens I didn’t miss anything. Just as I was getting in my car to go to the Post Office to overnight the docs, my phone rang. It was the guy from the dealer. He said the man who delivers the homes was in my area and wanted to see the site, could I meet him there. I said, sure. The boys and I drove back out to the property and waited for him to come. He said the site was perfect, no power lines, nothing in the way, no problem, he can deliver as soon as they say so. I followed him down the driveway and he stopped at the bottom to measure the distance between 2 trees and the bank and said it was going to be close. I thought the trees were our neighbors. I left there, went to the Post Office, overnighted the documents, and came home. I was exhausted.

Bill said the trees are ours, the neighbor said they were. The dealer called this morning and asked if we could get them taken down. I called Aaron and he said he can do it Sunday so I hope this means the house gets delivered this coming week.

I just got off the phone with the Dr, who said Bill is doing excellent, no longer has Covid and should now be immune. He still plans to release him next week. Now I’m praying for a house to take him to instead of this drafty cabin.

Keep your fingers crossed for us, this has been a $HIT month, it has to get better.

XOXO