Tuesday, January 21, 2025

A VERY MUCH MOST BETTER DAY

 GODERICH'S ROTARY COVE
Just think, it is now less than two months to the official first day of Spring and February is a short month.  Now, how's that for a boatload of apples eh:))))

No matter how frigid the temperatures this morning, (7F) there was no way Pheebs and I were staying in the house for a second morning in a row.  And with that, we were out the door, into the car, and on our way to Goderich with no windows down and Subie's heater on full blast.

 I WENT BY THIS CAR IN THE DITCH BUT TURNED AROUND AND CAME BACK JUST IN CASE SOMEBODY WAS  INSIDE
I LOOKED THROUGH THE WINDOWS AND NOBODY WAS IN THERE
 LOST CONTROL AND SLID INTO THE DITCH BACKWARDS
Coffee to go at McD's and down to the harbor.  I don't think I've seen 4 big ships in the harbor before but it was 4 big ships in the harbor I did see this morning.  The harbor is frozen over and I know 3 of those large ships will be tied up there until Spring when warmer air breaks up the ice for the ships to get underway again.  Their being there is intentional.  The fourth ship is at the salt dock and might also remain there for the winter but I don't know.  Probably, because the ice in the channel and offshore looked pretty solid.

THE CAPT. HENRY JACKMAN IS TIED UP AT THE GODERICH GRAIN TERMINAL UNTIL THE SPRING ICE BREAK-UP IN THE HARBOR

 THE SUPERSTRUCTURES OF TWO OTHER FREIGHTERS CAN BE SEEN AT THE NORTH END OF THE HARBOR
 LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING GOING ON HERE AT THE JACKMAN
 YUP, THAT'S A SEPTIC TANK TRUCK PUMPING OUT THE JACKMAN'S BLACK TANK AND THAT'S THE LONGEST SEWAGE HOSE I'VE EVER SEEN
 TWO OF THE SHIP'S CREWMEN KEEPING AN EYE ON THE PROCEDURE....DON'T WANT THAT HOSE FLYING OFF AND SPRAYING ALL OVER THE PLACE...RV'RS KNOW ALL ABOUT THAT EH:((
 THE ALGOMA INNOVATOR ON THE LEFT ASTERN OF THE JACKMAN IS TIED UP AT THE GODERICH SALT MINE PERHAPS TILL SPRING AS WELL
The road leading out to Rotary Cove is open so  we took a drive out there for a few photos.  The long boardwalk is under snow and ice so no walkers were seen anywhere.  It will be a while before all this melts and folks can get out and stretch their legs under warmer sunny skies.

 OUT AT THE END OF ROTARY COVE
 A FEW BRIEF DABBLES OF BLUE SKY
 SNOW LADEN CLOUDS OUT OVER LAKE HURON
 THE ENTRANCE AND EXIT TO ROTARY COVE
 WEDNESDAY PHEEBS GOES TO THE GROOMER IN CLINTON AND THURSDAY I'M TAKING HER TO THE VET IN ZURICH TO HAVE THAT WATERY FAR EYE LOOKED AT
From the harbor area we headed through town in the direction of Walmart in Goderich's east end.  Feeling a little hungry and needing a break from getting myself all souped up again today on Jerry Rader's soups, I wheeled into A&W along the way for a big mess of bacon and eggs.  Oh boy, what a treat from my usual diet.  I've lost my taste these last few years for a lot of food things I once liked but boy oh boy, I sure haven't lost my taste for a good mess of bacon and eggs yet.    

 EATING MY BACON AND EGGS AND LOOKING OUT THE WINDOW AT SUBIE
 LOOK AT THAT LITTLE PHEEBER FACE LOOKING BACK AT ME
 THAT'S HER PUPPY DOG FACE SHE'S GOT ON
ICY ROADS ON THE WAY HOME
 IT STARTED SNOWING BUT WE MADE IT HOME OKAY
Al's Music Box:)) Copacabana also known as "Copacabana (At the Copa)", is a song recorded by Barry Manilow. Written by Manilow, Jack Feldman and Bruce Sussman, it was released in 1978 as the third single from Manilow's fifth studio album, Even Now (1978). The same year, "Copacabana" appeared in the soundtrack album of the film Foul Play.  The song was inspired by a conversation between Manilow and Sussman at the Copacabana Hotel in Rio de Janeiro, when they discussed whether there had ever been a song called "Copacabana". After returning to the U.S., Manilow – who, in the 1960s, had been a regular visitor to the Copacabana Nightclub in New york City – suggested that Sussman and Feldman write the lyrics to a story song for him. They did so, and Manilow supplied the music.  Lola Falana inspired the song's famous lyric, "Her name is Lola / She was a showgirl..."  The song's lyrics refer to the Copacabana nightclub as "the hottest spot north of Havana". The story focuses on Lola, a Copacabana showgirl, and her sweetheart Tony, a bartender at the club. One night, an ostentatiously wealthy man named Rico takes a fancy to Lola, but Tony intervenes when Rico becomes aggressive. The ensuing brawl ends in a gun being fired; although it is initially unclear "who shot who", it soon becomes apparent that Tony has died. Thirty years later, the club has been transformed into a discotheque, but a middle-aged Lola remains in her showgirl attire, now a customer at the bar who "drinks herself half blind" lamenting the loss of her youth, her sanity and Tony.   Internationally, the song is Manilow's third-greatest hit. The track was his first gold single for a song he wrote or co-wrote.  Additionally, the song earned Manilow his first and only Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance in February 1979.  Cash Box said that "a Latin beat, congas and added percussion, strings and horns make it unusual."

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Welcome to the Psychiatric Hotline::

- If you are obsessive-compulsive, please press 1 repeatedly.

- If you are co-dependent, please ask someone to press 2.

- If you have multiple personalities, please press 3, 4, 5, and 6.

- If you are paranoid-delusional, we know who you are and what you want. Just stay on the line so we can trace the call.

- If you are schizophrenic, listen carefully and a little voice will tell you which number to press.

- If you are manic-depressive, it doesn't matter which number you press. No one will answer.

- If you are anxious, just start pressing numbers at random.

- If you are phobic, don't press anything.
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"Last week a grain of sand got into my wife's eye and she had to go to the doctor. It cost me fifty dollars."  "That's nothing, last week a fur got in my wife's eye and it cost me two thousand dollars."

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Dentist: I have to pull the aching tooth, but don’t worry it will take just five minutes.
Patient: And how much will it cost?
Dentist: It’s $390.00.
Patient: $390.00 for just a few minutes work???
Dentist: I can extract it very slowly if you like?

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Al's Doggy World

Meanings::

Kellys Corner
SIGNING A TRAIL LOG BOOK ALONG THE 'ALCOHOLIC PASS' ATOP COYOTE MOUNTAIN NEAR BORREGO SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA

QUARTZSITE ARIZONA ALONG VENDORS ROW AFTER BUYING A FLAG POLE FOR THE RIG
AT JIMMY'S LUNCH NEAR BISBEE ARIZONA....WE LIKED THE HOT DOGS AND FRIES HERE
Al's Art Gallery













Monday, January 20, 2025

SADLY, I KINDA GOT MYSELF LOST IN THE PAST TODAY

 ON THIS GRAY DAY I MANAGED TO FIND A FEW DABBLES OF COLOR IN THE FRONT YARD
It's that time of year when I begin to monitor the 14-day weather forecast more often hopefully looking for some kind of break in the winter's cold grey frigid air.  So discouraging this morning to see temperatures not even anywhere near the freezing mark.  In fact, it was only 7F.  Out of the 14 cloudy days ahead, it is predicted to snow 8 of them with only 2 partially sunny days.  

 MY SHOVELED PATH TO THE BIRD STATION ON THE RIGHT
SNOW SNOW GO AWAY AND BRING US BACK A GREENER DAY
Frank, our good neighbor from down the road with his new snowblower, must have blown out our/my driveway last evening at some time......

(Update) Late this morning after another load of snow overnight, I saw that it was Frank blowing out our driveway again.  I slipped out and tried to pay him for all his help but he would have none it.  A truly helpful neighbor indeed and especially so in this current and ongoing heavy snow load winter.

 I SHOVELED THIS PATH TO THE ROAD TO GET OUR GARBAGE CAN OUT....FRANK LATER BLEW THE WHOLE DRIVEWAY OUT
PHEEBS PATH TO THE HER WOODSY AREA
The cold gray day kept me inside and the January blahs tightened its hold on me.  I had no interest in doing anything around the house and spent most of the day in my living room recliner with my laptop on my lap.  I decided to look for a few more photos of Kelly for my Kellys Corner segment and that of course took me back to our RV Traveling days in the great American Southwest.  I was soon wandering through my archives (side bar) with all its words and photos of our many adventures.  Before I realized it I was gripped with a sadness that brought tears to my eyes remembering all our good times.  I can remember taking almost each and every photo I looked at today.  So many pictures of Kelly laughing, smiling, hiking, rock scrambling, and so many photos of her and our dogs on our morning desert walks for all those years.  Most times I try not to think of those wonderful years because it hurts me so much inside.  It was a different life we had, a different era we lived in, and for four, five, or six months of all our RV traveling years, we got to live a whole different lifestyle.  Oh, how I once looked forward to that every year.  It is amazing the places we have been, the wondrous scenery we have seen, the people we have met, and the many adventures we had.  Yes, it was a sad day today and I simply let that sadness sink in as my blog opened up the door to our past and beckoned me in.   Knowing me, I will probably be alright by tomorrow but oh my I thought today, I sure could use some nice warm air, sunshine, and a whole change of scenery for a while.  Oh how I would love to be walking with Kelly again in the Sonoran Desert with the morning breeze whispering through the Saguaro Cactus.  Mountains all around and the sounds of the Coyotes, Cactus Wrens, Gambles Quail, and Curved Bill Thrashers.  Oh dear, I had better wrap this post up right now, get out of the past, and get my head squared away!!  A better day tomorrow........

Al's Music Box:)) A Day In The Life is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as the final track of their 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Credited to Lennon-McCartney, the opening and closing sections of the song were mainly written by John Lennon, with Paul McCartney primarily contributing the song's middle section. All four Beatles shaped the final arrangement of the song.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A couple was having some trouble, so they did the right thing and went to a marriage counselor. After a few visits, and a lot of questioning and listening, the counsellor said that he had discovered the main problem.  He stood up, went over to the woman, asked her to stand, and gave her a hug. He looked at the man and said, “This is what your wife needs, at least once a day!”  The man frowned, thought for a moment, then said, “Ok, what time do you want me to bring her back tomorrow?”

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- There was a man who said, "I never knew what happiness was until I got married...and then it was too late!"

Love is one long sweet dream, and marriage is the alarm clock.

They say when a man holds a woman's hand before marriage, it is love; after marriage, it is self-defense.

When a newly married man looks happy, we know why. But when a ten-year married man looks happy, we wonder why.

A husband is living proof that a wife can take a joke.
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Al's Doggy World

Meanings::

Kellys Corner
DOING SOME BURGS ON THE GRILL AT THE 'OVEN SITE' AT THE CLARK DRY LAKE BED NEAR BORREGO SPRINGS CALIFORNIA

 A RELAXING DAY IN THE DESERT SOAKING UP SOME SOUTHERN SUNSHINE
 ON A BOAT CRUISE IN THE ST, LAWRENCE RIVER
Al's Art Gallery