Moving Forward

“A year from now you may wish you had started today.” -  Karen Lamb
“Don't wait. The time will never be just right.” -  Napoleon Hill
“Life is like riding a bicycle, to keep your balance, you must keep moving.” -  Albert Einstein
“You don’t have to have it all figured out to move forward. Just take the next step.” -  Anonymous
I am looking forward to the future, while feeling grateful for the past.

We would love to close on Terry and Billy's property sooner than later, but the loan process just takes time.  Joe has already kind of moved in to parts of the new place, storing several things in the machine shed, including the Cub Cadet.  He has also started his garden out there.  I have been pushing Joe to bug the bank, to keep the closing moving forward faster, so Billy and Terry can get started on building their new house as soon as possible.

Saturday 3/13 -  Stevie sitting by my mouse pad in the wee morning hours before sun up.  

I keep stewing about (loosing sleep over) the new property line at the ranch because I feel it could have been better placed.  I have bothered Joe numerous times about my regrets on how it turned out.  I can't seem to let it go, even though Joe keeps telling me to.  I really wanted to adjust the line (moving it to the other gate post) so the gate opens into the back part of the pasture.  It is difficult to move forward with fencing plans because of the way the property boundary line worked out.  Uggh.

It was a rainy, lazy day.  As typically happens, no sun means I had little or no motivation to do anything.  I did read and nap on the couch in the sun room.  We also had our family Face-time chat.  Everyone looked and sounded well. 

I started some laundry and then went to the gym for work on the elliptical and rowing machine.  I also gave stretching extra time because of my still tight/sore muscles and probably pinched sciatic nerve on the left side.

Joe had been 'sick' all day from his second Covid vaccine.  I fixed chicken and noodles for dinner and we watched two Blue Bloods after setting the clocks ahead an hour.

I bugged Joe again about the property line and gate for the back of the back field and what it would take (cost) in money and time to alter it slightly.  The first words out of his mouth were something to the affect of 'Don't get started on this again.'  But we proceeded to have a long discussion, with Joe really listening to me.  But he also asked me some pertinent questions, and got me thinking.  By the time we were done examining all our options, Joe had persuaded me that we can make it work the way the line and gate are currently placed, and I was suddenly more at peace with the situation.  I am such a perfectionist sometimes, I can let things drive me crazy.  But in order to be able to move forward, sometimes you just have to let things go, or actually let them be. 

Sunday 3/14 - I woke in the middle of the night, from a dream, that Joe had surprised me and got the boundary line moved so that the gate opened into the back pasture.  I was overjoyed with happiness, until awake enough to realize it was a dream.  I reminded myself that I had decided to let it be, and fell right back to sleep, feeling content with the situation.

It was a slow morning with colder temperatures and overcast skies.  I had moved the clocks forward, but I was not thrilled with the reality that it would be dark longer in the morning.  However, I liked the fact that the day would seem longer in the evening.  I had a third cup of tea and played extra games here on my computer.

The cats playing in the tent that is up on the balcony.

Monita in the bag. 

Babe to investigate.

Babe in the bag. 

Eventually, after lunch, I mustered up the energy to get dressed and get productive.  I got the little concrete 'lamp' thing set back up.  It had fallen over during the winter (due to chipmunk burrowing) and I needed to put more dirt under it to level it.  Then I got all the leaves out from around the primrose so they look much happier, and prettier.

Next I went to the barn to 'play' with Amiga.  A few days ago I had noticed she had rubbed her nose raw (where it looks pink) and I had put A+D ointment on it.  Today, she actually had two little cuts by each nostril.  What is she doing to herself?  The pasture grass is so short, she has to press her mouth to the ground to graze.  Was this irritating her nose?

I wasn't planning to ride much, so I just went bareback and without Amiga's leg wraps on.  I joined Jan and Babs for part of their ride. 


Below, individual shots of Babs on Jack.
And then Jack photo bombed when I took this one of Jan on Cash.  LOL

Jan took a few photos as well.

I finished my ride early, heading to the barn while Jan and Babs rode into the old bean fields. 

Amiga got to visit with Zorro while in the cross ties.  This time I treated her nose with Desitin.  I have also started thrush and scratches prevention, spraying her feet and legs with a solution. 

It was 6pm by the time I got home from the barn.  I made chicken parmesan with the leftover chicken and noodles.  Joe had started feeling better and better as the day progressed.  We only watched one episode of Heartland (to remind me how to get to it while Joe would be out of town).  And he actually went to bed before me because he had to get up so early.

Monday 3/15 - The Ides of March and nephew Travis's birthday.  Joe was up at 4am, and thus, so was I.  This was equivalent to 3am before the time change a day ago.  Joe arrived in Ft. Lauderdale before 9am, as I was finishing my third cup of tea.

Jan had given Patty and I some cat supplies.  Her sweet old boy Russel had crossed the rainbow bridge.  I had hung the bag containing treats and cat toys up in the laundry room (rather than setting it on the counter) so the cats wouldn't get into the bag.  Monita though, tries to get into everything (video).   

I stopped in at the library, then dropped some letters in a box at the post office, and continued on to the gym.  After a decent workout, with extra stretching, I decided to tackle the yard before more rain came.  I wanted to eradicate as many sticks and hickory nut hulls as possible. 

Photos of the yard, full of hickory nut hulls and lots of small sticks, too many to pick up by hand, so they have to be raked to more easily gather and pick them up.

I had gotten hot while working so took off my sweat jacket.  Maggie on the other hand was cold, so I let her lay down on my jacket. 


The wind had picked up and sometimes it carried a little moisture (spittles of rain) with it.  I kept working though. 

While doing some trimming and tying up some bent branches of the Leland Cyprus along the side yard, I frightened this morning dove.  When she later came back, I snuck a photo of her.


I was feeling tired and sore after 90 minutes of raking, so was thankful for the rain when it did come.

I had gotten cold (damp from sweat and rain) by the time I came in, so changed my shirt, got a cup of decaf tea, turned on the fire, bundled up under a blanket on the couch, and settled in to start my new novel.  Stevie helped warm me up. 

I did complete three loads of laundry, got a nap in, and changed to lighter weight sheets on the bed. 

Joe later reported being more successful at the pool than at the poker table.  

Tuesday 3/16 - A beautiful flowering tree seen as I drove to an estate sale.  I am not sure if it is a crab apple, cherry, or red bud. 


The people who had lived in the house with everything for sale had actually lived in Africa in the 1990s, so there was a lot of safari stuff.  It was day three of the sale when everything is 50% off so I wasn't sure if there would be anything left that I wanted to add to my safari themed house.

I picked up a couple Christmas items (can't help myself) and these two bar stools.  I love their look, but unfortunately they are a bit tall for this counter.  I'll see how they work, and maybe cut their legs down a few inches.

I went on to the gym from the sale, and spent 90 minutes there on the elliptical and the rowing machine.

Once home, I decided to take the dog on a long walk, since Joe wasn't around to give her exercise.

I wanted to check out the progress on the new amphitheater, so Maggie and I walked up #18 of Druid.  No one was on the course because they were aerating the greens.  

We walked behind Druid Club House and headed to the Wyndham check-in and old Mirror Lake Blast parking lot.  There was plenty of activity going on.

You can see the amphitheater in the background of this first photo.  I am not sure what they are working on here.  Maybe the new restroom?

Here is the amphitheater with Mirror Lake in the background.  Notice the newly leveled area in front of the stage which will be the dance floor.   The hill is tapered at an even slope now, and I hope they plan to add tiers for people to set their chairs on. 

Maggie is up on the stage and you can see the framing for (I am assuming concrete) steps leading down to the concrete dance floor.  So people can get up on stage, or the band can come down to the dance floor if they choose.  The City Lights sax player likes to join the crowd while playing.

This photo was taken standing on the stage looking out on the hillside where the crowd will be seated.  The building in the back is the Wyndham check in. 

This will be a fairly large dance floor which I am certain will be full of dancers.

I am so glad they are moving forward with this project and can't wait for Mirror Lake Blast to happen here.


Over at the lake's edge, a large tractor was pulling a huge dead pine tree from the lake, where it has been laying (¾s in the water) for months.

I saw this holly blooming in the woods as Maggie and I completed our walk home.  I have some like this, but have never seen them bloom before.  I wonder if these have separate male and female plants like many of the hollies do. 

I worked in the yard for an hour raking up a lot more hickory nut hulls and some sticks and leaves.  Then I went to the barn.

I was planning to take care of Amiga's nose and brush her some, but didn’t think I had time for a ride.  When I arrived at the barn, Jan was saddled and on Cash and convinced me to also go for a quick ride.  Babs joined us with Jack and we had a good time horsing around and riding out in the arena (video).  Amiga also got to graze some.  She was cared for before putting her in her stall for the night.  She does not like the Desitin on her nose, but it stays on better than the A+D ointment.

Once home, I had to muster up all my remaining energy to take Maggie on a walk, feed all the cats and dog, clean the three litter boxes, and make a salad for dinner.  I was too tired to shower though and it was nearing bed time.

Wednesday  3/17 - It was a foggy St. Patrick's Day morning.  I worked on photos and this blog for quite awhile. 


When I set corn out for the critters, I got these photos and watched two male mallards beating up on each other and on the one female. 

This is a cute little snowman I bought for $2.50 at the estate sale.  However, I didn’t notice his nose was missing until I started washing him off this morning.  So now I am faced with another project, fixing his nose.

Stevie enjoying one of the new bar stools.  These are padded, unlike the old ones.  And they are matching.  The other two were of a different height, color, and one had round legs and the other had square legs.   

I hit the gym over the lunch hour, while it was pouring rain, so hardly anybody was there.  I am becoming more concerned about my pinched nerve, or whatever it is, because it is not getting better.  It has caused nephropathy in my left foot, so I walk differently, which I noticed from the start.  Also right away, I had troubles balancing on my one left foot.  Well today while doing my balancing exercises (which I am usually pretty good at), I really worked hard at standing on my left foot without loosing my balance.  I could not do it, at all.  It was like my muscles couldn't compensate to keep me balanced.

Continuing with little projects at home, I removed the tacky Christmas decorations from this little double tree grouping I had also bought at the estate sale.  Eventually I put it on the mantel as part of my woodsy decor.  I also made the bases of two of the other little trees up there smaller so they wouldn't take up as much space or look so gaudy.  This involved chipping away at the concrete type rock base. 

In the process of working in the garage and workroom, I discovered this water seeping under the wall from the laundry room/kitchen.

I went in and pulled the refrigerator out and yep, the water line was leaking again.  Thankfully, last time we had a major leak in the hose, the plumber put in a shut off valve in the wall behind the fridge.  I’ve got the water turned off, which meant no more leaking.  But also there would be no filtered cold water or ice from my refrigerator door.  They do not designed the connector for these waterlines built into the back of the fridge very well because I have heard numerous complaints.  I got the kitchen floor all cleaned up and even the sides, back, and top of the refrigerator.  I took this photo before setting up a fan here and in the workroom.

There were storms rolling through, so I kept my eye on the weather.  We did have a couple thunder storms so Maggie hid in our closet.  I was able to sit and relax for a little bit, reading with Stevie on my lap, and I even took a short nap sitting here with the book and cat on my lap.  

Here is a look at the new mantle decorations.

Thursday 3/18 -  Joe had reported winning at poker and golf the day before, and this was his last day in Ft. Lauderdale.  He was enjoying the Florida sunshine while it rained here, off and on part of the day.

Do you see the blue heron down near the water, in the center of this photo?  After fishing for awhile, he flew up into the tree in front of my office window.

They are awkward at take off and landings, so I thought it amazing he even made it up onto this branch.  And then he flew up onto the next higher up branch.  He sat up there watching the pond and I think he eventually took a nap.  He was still there when I shut down my computer 30 minutes after his arrival.

Since it was too wet to do anything outside, I went to town to shop and drop things off at one of the thrift stores. 

My shopping trip was uneventful, except coming out of  the Dollar Store, my last stop.  I had in my hand a bag, two one dollar bills, and some change that I was putting in my billfold.  A gust of wind caught one of the dollar bills and blew it out of my hand.  It blew and hit the sidewalk and then blew up again and flew farther down the sidewalk and then it blew into the field next-door to the store.  All this time, as I was chasing the dollar, it gave people that were coming and going, a bit of a chuckle.  I had to run into the field to finally catch my wayward money.  Coming back to my car, a man sitting in his car asked if I had caught it. I said "Yep. That was the hardest earn dollar I’ve had in years."

I started this puzzle I had picked up at the thrift store, and was quite content to just sit at the puzzle table and not go out into the damp cold.  I took Patty up on her offer to treat Amiga's nose, since she was already at the barn.  Once I got all the 'dirty' work done, of turning over the pieces, I began putting the puzzle together.

I watched two episodes of Heartland after dark, and Joe arrived home around 10:30 when I was already in bed asleep.

Friday 3/19 - It was cold, wet (drizzly), and gloomy when I walked Maggie at 5am, well before sun up.  After my usual Facebook time, e-mails, and blogging, instead of games on my computer, I went back to the jigsaw puzzle table.  I got it done by 10am.  

The day included two hours at the gym, reading and a nap, and a quick trip to the barn before dinner to care for Amiga (Desitin on her nose, Blue Lotion on her sores behind her elbows, and scratch/thrush prevention on her hooves and legs).

I swung by Patty's on the way home from the barn to get help with my snowman nose repair project.  I had sent her and Shirley photos of my ideas, which I had taped onto the snowman's face.  Patty had yet another thought brewing.  I left the snowman in good hands at her house. 

I had left a frozen lasagna in the oven with instructions for Joe, and I finished meal prep once I got home.  We watched two episodes of Blue Bloods after dinner.