Not happy to report this

[Happycamper]

Thank You each and everyone of you for continuing with me on this journey. It is very heartening to know there is so much caring and support which as I said before helps to lighten the load.

  I very recently bought a much later used vehicle to drive rather than using my 24 year old Toyota and came back today from four days being with friends 4 hours from home. It was a good "battery" charger for me. I do continue to loose a little strength each day but can still get along well which I am grateful for. Hopefully when spring does arrive here I can garner a little energy from that time.
   All the best to you all and Thank You for your support.
                                       Jim

[red oaks lumber]

hang in there buddy!! green grass is well ,maybe around a looonngg corner :D :D

[Magicman]

Thank you Jim for continuing to to give periodic updates.  You are a true inspiration to your Forestry Forum Family.   

[diesel pap]

yes jim spring makes us all feel better. praying for you

[Chuck White]

Glad to hear that you had the opportunity to travel and be with your friends Jim! 

[dgdrls]

Jim,

I hope this day shines bright for you.

take care

Dan

[customsawyer]

Hang in there Jim I hope you are doing well.

[WmFritz]

Its always a good thing to find time to charge your battery, Jim.  ;)
Glad to hear it.

[Nomad]

     Happycamper hasn't been on here since March 24th.  I hope things are going well for him.

[beenthere]

Jim
We hope you are indeed a Happy Camper now, wherever you are.
Thanks for sharing the journey.

[customsawyer]

X2

[Happycamper]

Good Morning all you Great fellows. I have been prompted to reply to the forum so here it is. March was the last time I posted but did not want to bore you fellows about this situation. As said earlier there is no treatment available for my situation so must wait it out. I do not have a problem with this. I am able to do a little here like riding the mower slowly and other items that need to be done but very slowly and not very much each day. AS long as I use some pain killing medicine I am able to function and drive the car etc. so life is good. I'd rather not use the pain stuff but it does make life much better for me. Being an avid hiker I decided to go visit some friends four hours away last weekend and took my tent and had three nights in the pouring rain but absolutely no problem. Slept 11 hours one night and 10 1/2 the other 2 nights. That's much better than I can do at home. It seemed so good to get out in the woods again doing what I love to do (along with sawing). The little mill sold easily and is now at it's new home along with many other toys I had. I don't like to talk about regrets but if I can have one it would be waiting until 79 years of age to buy use and enjoy something I had thought of for a lot of years. If you are inclined and thinking of a mill do not, do not put it off buying one. You'll spend much less for milling enjoyment than you ever did for cars, trucks, boats and camp trailers, motor homes on and on plus you can as I did put the mill in a shed as soon as you get it home and saw the rear around in comfort.

  Once again a do want to thank all of you for your support and encouragement, kind words and prayers all of which are critically important to me and anyone in this type of situation.
                               Best Regards to All,
                                          Jim

[thecfarm]

I'd be setting a tent out at my place if it made me feel that good. Good for you.  I enjoy the woods too. Good advice on the sawmill part and just do it. My Father talked about a sawmill with me. Not that he needed the lumber. But he did like a sawmill. Sorry you had to sell the mill that you loved so much and enjoyed using.

[Red Good]

Good to hear from you . Not many places better than being in a tent ! Always sleep good there too . Red

[ND rancher]

Great hearing from you Jim! Jim you are not boring us.It helps hearing that things are tolerable right now,and may they continue to be. Hope you can continue to enjoy things that make you happy! Prayers from ND!

[Bill Gaiche]

Good to hear from you. Glad you had a good time camping out. Boring is not allowed in this thread by us. Keep up what you are doing and make every day count. bg

[pine]

Sleeping out with nature is always good.  Glad you enjoyed your trip.

[XPLRN]

Well that was quite a read, 13 pages, and the allergies flared up right from the start. Sooo great to see how 'HappyCamper' has been such an inspiration to so many folks here.

Here is a side story for you/HappyCamper as you remind me of a gentleman that used to live behind my father's farm. His name was John and he was quite an accomplished wookworker and home builder. John was a college professor of mathematics by trade and enjoyed working with his hands when not at his day job. He was always building all kinds of wood projects, including the home he lived in behind my father's farm. John got a saw rig after he retired and derived a lot of enjoyment sawing up trees from his wood lot that he used for his woodworking projects. What was really interesting, to me, was the joy and happiness my dad got out of seeing John use his saw rig. Probably five plus decades earlier my father had built his own saw rig from scratch. His rig was designed for cutting up logs into lengths that could be easily split for firewood. This was during the depression and the city dwellers still needed wood for heat.

Anyways keep up the positive attitude and a smile on your face........it makes people wonder what your up to!! :-)

PS........I'm going to look for the two pictures that I have somewhere of my dad's saw rig.

[Magicman]

Jim,  Thank You for taking time out to give us an update.  Hearing that you took a hiking/camping trip warmed my heart because I too enjoy the outdoors so much.

You have become such an inspiration to so many of us that understandably we may become anxious when you are off and having too much fun.  

[Ernie]

Thank you so very much Jim for both your latest update and also for sharing your journey with us.  You are truly an inspiration for those of us who are experiencing the many trials and tribulations of our advancing years.  Our prayers are with you.  Jan and Ernie

[Chuck White]

I take it as a real treat hearing from you Jim.

Glad to hear you're doing ok, all things considered.

You are very much in our thoughts!

Like has been said many times, "The Forestry Forum is Family", so we care!

[customsawyer]

Thank you so much for making a post. I watch for this thread every day.

[mikeb1079]

 8)

[buzywoodliff]

 I'm new to this forum but have read enough to know that there's a ton of really good people here and I hope that one day I am as loved as you are!!!  Live every day and keep being you HappyCamper!!

Peace Brother

[SawyerBrown]

Jim, good to hear from you, we all worry and probably fear the worst when we don't hear, so don't think you're boring us with your adventures.  You must be doing pretty good if you can sleep in a tent better than a nice soft bed!  You have my utmost admiration for living every day you have left to its fullest with whatever strength you have left rather than just hanging it up and checking into a nursing home or the like. I regret not being able to meet you in person to shake your hand to say Hello and Goodbye.