Wednesday, July 06, 2011

AND, JUST WHAT DID FELLOW RV BLOGGER IVAN HAVE IN COMMON WITH ENGLAND'S WILL & KATE TODAY:))

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NICE NIGHT FOR A BICYCLE RIDE IN THE SONORAN DESERT...HICKIWAN TRAILS RV PARK, WHY ARIZONA... FEBRUARY 9TH 2008 

Another hot & humid day but we decided to tackle a second shed clean up anyway. When we moved here in the fall of 2002 there was only one shed on the property & no basement under our park model. We didn’t even have an attic. We basically had zero storage space. In the summer of 2003 I somehow managed to build us a wooden storage shed, which amazingly enough is still standing to this very day. It was quite an undertaking for a guy with few building skills & even less confidence but I somehow managed to come up with an 8 x12 wood structure complete with a peaked roof & shingles. And even a window if you can imagine that. Only thing I did not build myself was the roof trusses. Nothing is square, nothing is level & the wooden floor bounces when I walk on it because I forgot to put in those smaller pieces between the main 2x4’s under the floor, but what the heck, it keeps our stuff dry & out of the weather. And, I’ve got vines growing all over it kinda hiding the whole darn thing anyway.

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In 2004 Kelly & I ended up with the unenviable chore of having to clean out my Mother’s large two story 5 bedroom house. It was jammed to the rafters from the basement to the attic with over 40 years of stuff, stuff, stuff!! Took Kelly & I nearly a week of long hard slogging every day to get that job done. Needless to say, some of that stuff ended up at our place. We helped my Uncle Harry move to an assisted living facility a few years later & we again ended up with more stuff. A couple neighbors needed their shed & garage cleaned out &….yep, more stuff. Another neighbor’s house burnt & they moved to a smaller unit so we once again ended up with…..yep, more stuff!! We had a two car carport built in the fall of 06 with more storage space at one end & filled that with overflow stuff from the other two over stuffed sheds. And then there’s the stuff that we ourselves have accumulated over the years. So yep, we sure have a ‘stuff’ problem here alright but we are finally making some progress. I’ll be back at it in the morning again.

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Fellow RV Blogger Ivan from from ROADTRIP 2010 had himself a real chance encounter with Britain's Will & Kate today.  Drop on over to Ivan's site & he will tell you all about it.  And, he's got pictures.  Right up close one's too:))  That Kate's a beauty alright.

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Noticed we have two new blog Followers today so the Bayfield Bunch welcomes Cjan from DAY TO DAY FROM MY HEART & Debra from FIND AN OUTLET. Debra lives near Bisbee Arizona & I came across her blog about a month ago regarding the fires in the Huachuca Mountains. You will find her blog lively, directly honest & to the point!! She pulls no punches in her thoughts about her Government, her State of Arizona & the ongoing Mexican border problems going on literally right in her own back yard.

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Tony, a fellow RV’er brought it to my attention in an email today that BAYFIELD'S BEACH has reached a Top Five listing by a U.S. coastal beach expert stationed in Florida.  Yaaaaaaaaaaaay Bayfield:))

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We actually dusted off our seldom used bicycles today & Kelly made a trip to the mail room. I did a few wheelies in front of the house to scare the neighbors & beat a hasty retreat back up the driveway. The first two years in the Southwest with the Motorhome we strapped the bikes on the back & took them with us. Never did like carrying them there & we always seemed to have problems with the bicycle carrier, etc. In fact the last time before today that I recall riding my bicycle was at Hickiwan Trails in Why Arizona back in February of 2008. I really enjoyed racing the bike around on the hard packed desert floor dodging around the Saguaro Cactus, Mesquite trees & prickly Cholla plants. I, like a lot of other kids when we were young, was a bit of a hot dog on a bicycle & I still have that in me today & much prefer riding just about anywhere other than a flat boring road somewhere.

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KELLY'S BACK WITH THE MAIL - CLEANING HER BIKE - AIRING UP THE TIRES ON MY BIKE 

A lot of people are smart enough to approach a simple problem from an obvious logical perspective. Not so in my case this morning. It has probably been a couple years since I snapped the light on in our wooden shed & of course when I hit the light switch this morning the light did not come on. It’s quite a conglomeration of extension cords I rigged up about 7 years ago out to that shed.  Some are buried in the ground & some are strung along the shed's roof overhangs.  Looks like somebody dumped a big pot of spaghetti in our back yard.  Took me awhile to figure out what cords went to what sockets etc because I have outdoor lights all hooked into that mess of wires too. Finally noticed what appeared to be a damaged extension cord at ground level under a shrub & figured ‘aha’ that’s it. Minutes later I was sitting in the flower bed with my wire cutters, scissors, pocket knife & electrical tape. A few snips here, some wire stripping there followed by matching up the wires & soon I was taping the splice up figuring the problem was solved. It wasn’t!! More climbing up on my ladder along the shed eaves amongst a twisting mass of Virginia Creeper following extension cords to figure out where they went. All cords seemed to be firmly joined together. I was stumped……until I later walked into my workshop & saw the orange extension cord plug hanging on a nail beside the electrical receptacle. It was not plugged in!!!! It had probably become unplugged the day before when we were cleaning up the workshop shed. Had I thought to first check the most logical cause of the wood shed light not working I would have saved myself about 40 minutes of frustration this morning. Like I have said before, some days I just have to give this old Noggin of mine a shake…………………………….

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And, once again I would just like to thank all the readers of my blog out there for all your support through the comment section here on the blog & the many warm personal emails many of you have taken the time to send.  I know it isn't always easy getting through my moody ramblings sometimes & I know I step on some toes along the way but for you folks who have hung in with me over the years I just want to say a special thanks.  And for you newer folks I say welcome & hope you are able to read my daily musings with interest, understanding & an open mind...............................10-4:))

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GROANER’S CORNER:(( Been awhile since I posted my version of Blogger's Anonymous.  Being very familiar with AA years ago I based my Blogger's Anonymous on their 12 step program.............

BLOGGERS ANONYMOUS’

Step One:  "We admitted we were powerless over Blogging - that our free time has become unmanageable."

Step Two:  "Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to a simpler time before computers."

Step Three:  "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of our Spouses as we understand them."

Step Four:  "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of our Blogger thoughts & Blog archives."

Step Five:   "Admitted to our Spouses, to ourselves, & to another Blogger person the exact nature of our blogging woes."

Step Six:  "Were entirely ready to have our Spouse remove all nasty posts from our Blogs."

Step Seven:  "Humbly asked Her/Him to remove our shortcomings, our spell checkers, & our publish buttons"

Step Eight:  "Made a list of all fellow Bloggers we had commented to, and became willing to make amends to them all."

Step Nine:  "Made direct amends to such Bloggers wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them, their Blogs, or their Blog followers ."

Step Ten:  "Continued to take personal written inventory and when we were wrong promptly didn't blog about it."

Step Eleven:  "Sought through humbleness and fear to improve our conscious contact with our Spouse as we understood Her/Him, begging only for knowledge of Her/His will for us and maybe our keyboards back to carry that out."

Step Twelve:  "Having had a Blogger's awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to all fellow Bloggers, and to practice these principles in all our restructured Blogging affairs."   

Hi, my names AL & I am a Blogger:))

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EMAIL THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))
stargeezerguy@gmail.com

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right
now...... AL.

13 comments:

  1. Love the unplugged tale. One of those things that all of us have done at one time or another.

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  2. We also accumulated a lot of stuff
    from our parents, plus all our own.It's almost overwhelming.

    Pretty funny story about the plug, it's something I would do.

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  3. So, what have you done with all the stuff from the two shed cleanup operation? :) (built another shed?)

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  4. The lushness of your gardens and yard are such a contrast to the Southwest! You have the best of both worlds.

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  5. Isn't that just like a man...make it complicated when it is simple. Just kidding of course but it is funny that you didn't check the plug first. Thanks for the laugh.

    Loved that sunset picture with the couple on the bench and the sailboat in the sliver of sun. Very very nice.

    Thanks for always sharing your pictures and your thoughts with all us folks out here in blogland. And I agree with you - that Kate's a real beauty.

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  6. Stuff, stuff, stuff everywhere. I'm having a huge 4 day garage sale next week and my daughter will take some. I'm not putting anything into storage and will be traveling light in my coach.

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  7. both William and Kate are a fine looking couple!!...how wonderful that Ivan got to see them in person!!!
    happy purging!!..gotta love cleaning up and getting rid of stuff!!..love the unplugged story!!

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  8. I feel your "stuff" pain! When we moved into our fifth wheel full time we had to rid ourselves of a lot of "stuff" some hard decisions were made, but I'm glad we did it. We are in our fifth year of fulltiming and I'm once again getting rid of some "stuff" that has accumulated here in the fifth wheel. When living in 400 sq feet of living space you have to adopt the philosophy of, "If you don't use it....LOSE it!".

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  9. We destuffed 7 years ago when we went into our full timing life! Love your story and photos... have a super day!
    Donna

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  10. Al,
    We all seem to have too much stuff. You should listen to what George has to say about the subject
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvgN5gCuLac&feature=related
    Christopher the jeep guy

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  11. The best thing to do with stuff is to "stuff" it all into a moving van and donate it to Goodwill. Then don't look back (the Goodwill folks might be chasing you to beat you up!)

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  12. Sounds like another shed is in the offing. Love the header picture. Stay safe.

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  13. Oh, Al...you reminded me of Clark Griswold and his Xmas lights in the movie Christmas Vacation..LOL! And...you made me homesick (parksick?) for Hickiwan Trails and Ray and Marcia...I think about them lots and wish we were back there...You were the ones who gave us the notion to go there...Thanks again for the nudge toward Arizona.

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