MOTORMOUSE HELPS ME LOOK FOR GOLD IN MY SHOES

RIGHT FROM AN EARLY AGE I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A ROOTIN TOOTIN COWBOY 

I was short on photos tonight & besides I wanted to do something different for a change.  Just before the sun was down I grabbed an old photo album, took some photos outside & found a sunny patch in the driveway to copy them.  Some of tonight's pics are from way back in the 40's:))

BUT EVEN ROOTIN TOOTIN COWBOYS GOTTA GET A BATH SOMETIMES

I was a gritten my teeth & a bitin my lip this morning.  My nerves were a steeled to what I knew I had to do.  I had been a puttin it off for too darn long now.  I loaded the little Motormouse in the Jeep & off we went.....to the shoe store!!

EVEN AT AN EARLY AGE I WAS HANGING AROUND FLOWER GARDENS 

Despite my best efforts with a hot glue gun earlier in the week to fix the bottom of my old blown out running shoes, it just didn't work.  Within a day the rubber slats on the bottom of my runners were a slappin on the ground again.  The writing was on the wall....Baby needed new shoes.  Figured I'd stop for a few groceries on the way to the shoe store just to see if I could talk myself out of the whole darn crazy idea.

HERE I AM WITH ONE OF MY FAITHFULL BLOG READERS....IT'S MY COUSIN NORMA FROM WATERLOO ONTARIO WHO DAILY, ALONG WITH HER HUSBAND JIM,  READS OUR BLOG 

Hadn't figured on it being the long week-end so the grocery store was packed tight with people & out of control shopping carts everywhere.  I have no patience for people abandoning their carts in the middle of aisles while they go squeeze the lettuce a half dozen times two aisles away.  I always try to find me a cart with with a built in battering ram on the front.  I am never rude to people but I am not exactly walking up & down the aisles with a big happy grinning Cheshire cat happy face hanging on my skull either!!  And don't get ahead of me in the 'Express 8 Items Or Less' check out line with your 9 items or I will be grumbling out loud about you all the way home!!

THAT'S MY UNCLE HARRY ON THE LEFT & MY DAD ON THE RIGHT...HARRY WAS IN THE ARMY STATIONED IN ENGLAND DURING THE WAR & MY DAD WAS IN THE AIR FORCE STATIONED IN YARMOUTH NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA 

My time in & out of Werth's shoe store in Goderich was probably less than 5 minutes.  My needs were simple.......find a pair of shoes that I could slip in & out of easy enough.  Size 10 & brown!!  Rockports have been good to my feet over the years so that's right where I headed while the little Motormouse waited in the Jeep.  Try em on, walk around the chair 3 times.  Good enough, now lets pay for em & get the heck out of here.  I almost didn't make it past the counter.  The cashier rang up the price & I nearly crumpled to the floor.  Geeezzz, did they use pure gold soles in these things or something.  I weak kneed myself to the Jeep & grumbled my troubles to the Motormouse all the way to McDonalds.  I could tell she was quite taken aback by the price as well, at least until we got into the drive thru line & she realized it was Burrito time.  How fast your best friend can desert you when there is food in the immediate future.  We Burritoed ourselves all the way home with me still grumbling out load about the price of the 'golden slippers!!'

WITH THE PRICE OF MY NEW SHOES I GRABBED THE MAGNIFYING GLASS WHEN I GOT HOME TO SEE IF I COULD FIND OUT JUST WHERE ALL THE GOLD IN THEM MUST BE

  

MOTORMOUSE HELPS OUT WITH A CLOSE SCRUTINY AS WELL

"DON'T SEE ANY GOLD IN THESE HERE SHOES DAD, I THINK YA GOT RIPPED" 

Got myself a window cleaning buzz on today & did the interior glass of the Motorhome & the sunroom. Relocated & fixed up a birdhouse with some good old duct tape, whacked the heck out of some pesky weeds & installed a new hose nozzle on the garden hose. Now, how’s that for an action Jackson productive day eh:))

THAT'S MY AUNT JEAN ON THE BACK OF MY DAD'S MOTORCYCLE...YOU CAN SEE WHERE MY MOTORCYCLE INTEREST COMES FROM & TO THIS VERY DAY WHENEVER I SMELL A CIGAR I STILL THINK OF MY DAD ...MY AUNT JEAN NOW LIVES IN SARASOTA, FLORIDA 

No sign of that Squirrel on the bird station today so that tells me he is hiding in the shrubs watching me watching for him.  No doubt as soon as I turn my back he is on top of that feeder faster than a speeding bullet.

MERIKAY'S POST this morning deals with her thoughts & ideas for purchasing a future RV at some point in their future.  I sure can remember those exciting days alright & I sure can remember all the mistakes we made.  Took us 5 RV's to finally end up with what worked best for us.  Two Class C's, 1 Travel Trailer, 1 Fifth Wheel Trailer & finally our Motorhome.  I could see us downsizing some day to a smaller Class C maybe. 

 

NOVEMBER 2006 ON OUR WAY TO THE SOUTHWEST IN OUR GMC TRUCK & FIFTH WHEEL...THIS WAS OUR FIRST NIGHT OUT & i WAS ALREADY BUSY WORKING AT THE PICNIC TABLE ON MY BLOG FOR THE NIGHT  

We have had our gas powered 2003 33' Damon Challenger just over 4 years now & we are quite satisfied with it.  We are not 'brand loyal' people so we didn't go looking for any specific type or floor plan.  We saw a rig that looked compatible for our wants & needs so that is what we got.  Could have been Winnebago, a Georgy Boy, a Bonanzarama or a Hooligan Bay, no matter just as long as it was a good solid rig.

With a fair few Snow Birding miles under our belts now we do have a better idea of what we would look for in another rig if the opportunity ever presented itself.  That is not likely to happen.  It's only natural for most folks to want a bigger stronger rig.  A 40 foot diesel pusher would be nice alright....but would it be a good fit for the Bayfield Bunch?  Lots of pros for sure but it is the cons we have to be practical about so here are a few thoughts on the subject.

DIDN'T TAKE ME LONG TO GET SOME PAINT ON THOSE WHITE WALLS 

Hypothetically speaking,  our next rig would have far more kitchen counter space, roll out pantry shelves, bigger refrigerator & hot water tank.  Bigger holding tanks & a shower stall instead of those tiny cramped little tub affairs.  A back up camera that can be moved around from the driver's seat, pull out bins or doors that open sideways & not upwards.  A surround sound stereo system.  Maybe double pane glass for better installation, maybe an in dash GPS & some kind of easy pull out computer desk for the front passenger seat person to work at.  A bigger fresh water tank too.  I see the world in color so I would like the rig to be either painted or detailed.  Anything but white!!  No white on the inside either, just soft pastel colors throughout with nice lighting thank you very much.

Am I a dreamer?  Of course I am, aren't we all.  If we weren't, we wouldn't be RV'ers:))

AS A KID I WAS A TOTAL BOOKWORM & TOOK MY SOUTHWEST COWBOY HISTORY VERY SERIOUSLY...NOTE THE PLAID SHIRT COMPLETE WITH A POCKET...SOME HABITS JUST DON'T CHANGE MUCH OVER THE YEARS:))

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Some good old Cowboy sayings.......

His family tree was a shrub.

He was so ugly he had to sneak up on a dipper to get a drink of water.

She's so ugly, she could back a buzzard off a gut-wagon.

He was ugly as a burnt boot.

There was once an old-time cowhand who ordered some toilet paper from a mail-order catalog. They wrote back and requested that he look in his catalog to give them the exact order number. He answered 'em right back and told them that if he had their catalog, he sure wouldn't need the toilet paper.

---------------------------------------------------------------
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.

AN EVENING'S QUIET DRIVE THROUGH THE COUNTRYSIDE WAS A BIG HELP

We have ourselves a cold front rolling through the area right now so I am back into my warm T-shirt & long sleeve flannel standard issue JC Penny shirt.  Long underwear is standing by as temps are expected to dip into the mid to high 40't tonight!!

 

ONLY CAMERA I HAD WITH ME ON TUESDAY  NIGHT'S DRIVE WAS MY OLDER PONT & SHOOT CANON A720 POWER SHOT, BUT IT DOES OK IN A PINCH

Well, that dam black Squirrel just batted the ball back into my court again today. Looked out the sunroom window this afternoon & sure enough, there he was sitting on the bird station like King of the Castle skarfing down all the birdseed again. I have to watch & wait now to see what method he has figured out this time for getting onto the bird station. Will this ever end!!

Kelly & slipped down to see my Uncle Harry this afternoon. We were encouraged to find him making his way out of the cafeteria, on his own, in his wheelchair. Last couple of times down he had been on strong medication for lower back pain & had not been mobile. We did see a slight improvement in him today. He has a few other ongoing medical issues but at age 95 we think he is holding his own reasonably well.

Noticed our blog Followers list increased by 2 over the last few days. The Bayfield Bunch welcomes Lonedog 2 & Gypsy Boho onboard. Thanks for tagging along with us:)) Only 9 more Followers & we will hit the 300 Followers mark.
JOE & NANCY just wrapped up their volunteering stint on the greens at the U.S. Open Golf Tournament. Joe has some great up close photos of a few big names in golf. All you golfing folks out there might want to check out Joe & Nancy’s blog.

By late afternoon Tuesday I was desperately in need of some kinda change. Posted Tuesday’s short blog early then threw my old carcass in the Jeep & took myself for a long overdue drive through the evening countryside.

I have often referred to the old farmhouse where Kelly & I lived 7 years ago before moving to our present location near Bayfield. In need of some good old feeling good nostalgia I decided to head on over that way & see what kind of condition the old house was in. I already knew it wouldn't be good.  When we lived there, the owner of the house lived on another old farm just up the road. After we moved out in October of 2002 the farmer moved into the two storey brick house because his old wood house & barn had fallen down around him. It was sad last night to see the same thing happening to the old farm house Kelly & I had put so much work into fixing up over the years. We sure have a lot of great old memories of this place & it was here that Max spent the first 5 years of his life with us. It was also while we were here that we bought our first RV together. It was a 17 foot 1979 Class C Dodge Centurion. It was kinda clunky & kinda musty, but it was a start & it lit the RV travel fires under me that still burn to this very day.
 

IT WAS WHILE LIVING HERE FOR 7 YEARS THAT OUR HECTIC CITY LIVES CHANGED FOREVER TO THE PEACEFUL QUIET & TRANQUIL RURAL WAYS WHICH WE NOW LOVE SO MUCH...WE HAD NEVER HEARD THE WORDS 'BOON DOCKING' BEFORE BUT IN ESSENCE THIS IS WHERE IT ALL HAPPILY STARTED FOR US.....  

   

OUR FIERY RED MAILBOX ONCE STOOD HERE AMID A ROCK GARDEN OF FLOWERS AND I USED TO MOW ALL THAT GRASS WITH A GASOLINE HAND PUSHER

 

THE OLD BARN IS TUMBLING DOWN NOW BUT I SAFELY STORED MY MOTORCYCLE IN THE GRAIN BIN HERE FOR 6 WINTERS

WHENEVER MY UNCLE HARRY OR AUNT JEAN WOULD COME UP THE SIDE ROAD IN THE CAR & TOOT THE HORN MAX WOULD COME RACING ALL THE WAY FROM THE HOUSE ACROSS THIS FIELD TO GREET THEM.....THOSE BIG TARPED MOUNDS OF BAILED HAY WERE NOT THERE WHEN WE WERE.  (CLICK ON ANY PICTURE TO ENLARGE)

 

I HAVE ALWAYS CALLED IT THE OLD 'WEENIE ROAST RANCH' BECAUSE OF ALL THE CAMPFIRES WE HAD....YEP, I SURE DO MISS THIS OLD TUMBLE DOWN PLACE WITH IT'S NIGHTLY STARS FROM HORIZON TO HORIZON & IT'S SCENIC FARM FIELDS FOR AS FAR AS THE EYE COULD SEE.................
My travels Tuesday night also took me to my old home town of Tavistock. Always lots of memories for me there. Some good, some not so good. I only stay long enough to touch a few bases as I drive around & then I am gone again until next time………someday.

STOPPED TO CHAT WITH A FEW LADIES ALONG THE WAY 
Having just written a story about ‘DAYTON'S LAMP’ a few days ago I decided to stop around to a little picturesque church yard in the countryside about 5 miles north of Tavistock. Last time I stood in that church cemetery was was over 11 years ago when Kelly & I were present for Dayton’s burial.

   

DAYTON WAS LAID TO REST BESIDE HIS MOTHER & DAD & THEY WERE THE FOLKS WHO ORIGINALLY PURCHASED  'THE LAMP'

As most readers know, I have been wallowing around between good & not so good days for awhile now.  I'm not going to expound on all this but just wanted to say thanks to the folks out there who know & understand that every day is not a perfect day.  Thanks to those people for their words of encouragement & understanding.  Thanks to the readers for hanging in there through my season of restless discontent & sometimes snarly posts.  These not so good days too will pass. 

Long time reader Bob from somewhere near that big Phoenix town in Arizona sent me the following link this morning.  This site is COWBOY MUSIC frequently written & sung by the real cowboy fellers themselves.  This is not your standard country music from Nashville.  Music is continuous with no annoying commercials or interruptions.  Might want to have yerself a listen or two.  Yesssireee Bob, I got er on right now....10-4:))

GROANER'S CORNER:(( 

After both Paddy and Mick were both laid off they went to the unemployment office.   
When asked his occupation, Paddy answered, "Knicker Stitcher..  I  sew da elastic onto ladies' knickers and thongs."
The clerk looked up Knicker Stitcher on his computer and finding it classified as unskilled labour, he gave him £80 a week unemployment pay.
Mick was next in and when asked his occupation replied, "Diesel Fitter."
Since a Diesel Fitter was a skilled job, the clerk gave Mick £160 a week.
When Paddy found out he was furious.    He stormed back into the office to find out why his friend and co-worker was collecting double his pay.
The clerk explained, "Knicker Stitchers are unskilled labour and Diesel Fitters are skilled labour."
"What skill?" yelled Paddy, "I sew da elastic on da knickers and thongs, then Mick puts 'em over his head and says, 'Yep, diesel fitter'! "

---------------------------------------------------------------
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.

ANOTHER SLOW BLOGGING DAY

It was exactly one year ago today we put the new plates on the Jeep in Waterloo Ontario & brought it home to our very own driveway right hear near Bayfield.  You can read about that happy day at...OUR JEEP COMES HOME:)))))

Peter’s blog, AMERICAN-TRAVELER on June 26th brought back pleasant memories for me this morning of our trip to Big Bend National Park in the southwest corner of Texas back in December of 2004. Peter also blogged about the forest fires burning in the BANDELIER NATIONAL MONUMENT near Los Alamos, New Mexico. Thousands being evacuated. Los Alamos is home to a well known nuclear laboratory.

Always like to see independent solo RV ladies hitting the road & showing the guys it’s not just a man’s world in RV Land. Check out how these two new full timers are making out at ME & MY DOG.

Well, like yesterday, I didn't do a darn thing today that was inspiration enough for me to blog about tonight. Some days are just a bust.  I will be back when I feel I have something of interest to blog about..........

GROANER'S CORNER:((   A young man in love with two women could not decide which to marry.
Finally, he asked his buddy for help.
"One is a great poet, but the other makes the world's best pancakes," he explained.
"Oh, I see," his buddy responded, "you're trying to decide whether to marry for batter or verse!"

---------------------------------------------------------------
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.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

MAYBE SOMEDAY SOMEBODY COULD EXPLAIN................

Well, I could give you a blow by blow of what I did from the time I got up this morning until the time I went to bed tonight but if it doesn’t interest me enough to write about it, I’m sure it wouldn’t interest you enough to read about it. So, I will spare you that.

HEY ROB, WASSUP MAN, IT'S YOUR OLD PAL RED OVER HERE 
It has been nice that Kelly has had more free time this summer from Deer Park Lodge. She has the Deer Park phone at home all the time so does most of the reservations from here. A student has taken much of the less important work load off Kelly’s shoulders this season & that has been good. We live a short 3 minutes from Deer Park so if anytime she is needed she can be there in minutes.  Now, having said that, she still does put in some pretty long days over there on occasion.

DON'T ASK....I DON'T KNOW 
The pesky Black Squirrel batted the ball back into my court a few days ago when he finally, after a week & a half, figured out how to breach the defenses of my new bird station. Saw him Friday sitting atop the feeder happily munching down all the birdseed & peanuts I had just put out there. Chased him off the feeder 3 times & each time I watched to see how he was getting back up there. And, he made no bones about showing me how he did it either. Saturday morning I headed for my workshop & within minutes I was hard at work with my tin snips, an old Maxwell House coffee can, a couple more boards, some stain, a hand full of nails, a shelf brace, a hammer & my cordless drill thingy. Sawdust was flying & the deck stain hadn’t even dried on the wood as I headed out to attach my latest conglomeration of ideas to the feeder.  I had high hopes of making it even more Squirrel proofer than before. So, as it stands right now, the ball is once again back in the Squirrels court. Have I won the Squirrel war? Not likely, just another temporary win in the ongoing battles that’s all.

YOU CAN SEE I HAVE ADDED A FRONT DECK TO THE BIRD STATION & A MAXWELL HOUSE COFFEE CAN AS WELL...DON'T ASK ME WHY I PUT THAT FRONT BOARD ON AGAIN BECAUSE I HAVE NO IDEA...LET'S JUST CHALK IT UP TO A SENIOR MOMENT

After looking at the pictures of the lamp I had posted in Sunday night’s blog I decided a change was in order. This morning I moved the lamp from atop the small glass wrought iron table on the right side of the computer to the larger wooden table on the left side of the computer. Looks better & I feel the lamp is safer on the larger & heavier table.

IF YOU LOOK CLOSE YOU MIGHT EVEN SEE THE MOTORMOUSE WATCHING FOR RASCALLY SQUIRRELS 
I seem to be stuck at 210 pounds despite a major change of eating habits a month ago & an early 5 pound drop in weight. Disappointed my weight has not continued downward but encouraged by the fact my legs & right knee are feeling so much better. No doubt about it, excess weight sure does take it’s toll on the human body…..& mind!!
 

MY 17 YEAR OLD RIGHT HAND LEATHER MOTORCYCLE GLOVE WAS GETTING A LITTLE TATTERED SO HAD TO FIX IT UP THIS MORNING WITH SOME DUCT & ELECTRICAL TAPE....I'M QUITE AN INNOVATOR EH:)) 
I sure wouldn’t make a good woman because I sure hate having to buy shoes!! Don’t know what it is that bugs me so much but I just wish shoes would last forever so I wouldn’t have to go to a store & buy another pair. I wear shoes until they fall off my feet in pieces. Rockports have been my shoes of choice ever since having bone spur surgery on both feet years ago & it will probably be Rockports I will have to go looking for shortly again. The bottom layers of my old white running shoes are peeling off faster than a pair of cheap retread tires on an old 6 wheel green garbage truck. Just as I don’t like doing up the sleeve buttons on a long sleeve shirt I do not like doing up shoe laces either. First thing I did with my latest Rockport runners years ago was to haul the laces out of them & I’ve been running around laceless ever since. Works real swell for me:))

CAME ACROSS THIS OLD PIECE OF HISTORY THIS MORNING...WHEN'S THE LAST TIME YOU EVER SAW THESE  WORDS PRINTED ON ANYTHING

Maybe someday somebody could explain Tweeting to me.  Not that I don't have a Tweet account, I do.  Not that I have never Tweeted, because I have.  Maybe someday somebody could explain Texting to me.  Not that I have ever Texted anybody because I haven't.  Why would I.  I don't even call anybody on a telephone unless it's an emergency or my arm is being twisted so far behind my back I can hear it cracking.  No mobile cells eating up my brain cells either.  Maybe somebody could tell what's with all that silly game stuff on Facebook.  Ya, I got Facebook too but I at least see a few shades of intelligence there with some practical applications in the communication department from time to time.  And, guess 2 places where you will never find me...an internet chat room & a basketball game!!  And guess what you will never find in my shirt pocket..Angry Birds that's what!!  And what's with trying to watch panoramic movies on some little eyeball destroying electronic device that is half the size of a cigarette pack.  Ya, what's with all that goofy stuff anyway!!  Hey, have ya never heard of Snakes & Ladders...............

WOW, IS THIS LITTLE GUY EVER EXCITED ABOUT HIS MONDAY MORNING BATH 

GROANER'S CORNER:(( This will put your Dyslexia into a Catatonic fit!
Only great  minds can  read the following...
fi  yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid  too.  Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe  out of 100 can. 
I cdnuolt blveiee  taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid,  aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy,  it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a  wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the  frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it  whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid  deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod  as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot  slpeling was ipmorantt!

---------------------------------------------------------------
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.