Tuesday, June 24, 2014

I WAS JUST NEEDING TO STEP AWAY FROM MY KEYBOARD FOR A FEW DAYS

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OUR FRONT YARD JUNGLE IS FILLING IN NICELY

Long time readers know I occasionally take a break from my daily blog posting.  Sometimes I mention I am going to take a break & sometimes the break occurs before I have time to say anything.  My blog absence times over the years have been rare & my time away from the keyboard has varied with maybe a day, maybe two or three.  I don't always know when they are coming.  I just get up one day & my blog writing interest is not there.  As I have said many times I enjoy writing & photography & each day I look forward to creatively weaving my two favorite hobbies together & coming up with something that is not only interesting to me but hopefully to others as well.  There are times when the bottom just simply falls out of my interest level & I need to just walk away from my keyboard until my interest returns.  Maybe in a day, maybe longer sometimes.   Interests evolve & change with age & circumstances & do not always remain the same forever.  By noon today I felt my blogging interest slowly stirring again & I was able to once more put together a few thoughts for a post tonight.   My days are not all bubbles & rainbows & often the highlight of my day is just sitting down at the computer at the end of each day & communicating with folks in a way that is most comfortable for me.  And when I don’t do that I miss it……………………………………………….
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“OH LOOK KIDS THERE’S A CROW FLYING BY”

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“DID SOMEBODY SAY THERE WAS FREE BEER IN THE NEXT PASTURE”

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NOW DON’T TRY & TELL ME THIS IS A NEW AGE HOLSTEIN COW
Not a lot happening here the last 4 days or so.  Pheebs & I have been out for a couple Jeep drives with the shortest one being a couple hours & our longest jaunt through the Mennonite countryside lasting nearly 5 hours.  Corns up about a foot now in our neck of the woods.  Humidity & a bumper crop of Mosquitoes this year have been keeping me inside & that has meant time spent watching television.  Mainly music documentaries on Netflix.  Bruno Mars, Jim Morrison & The Doors, Michael Jackson & a few others.
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NOTICE THE LADY AT LEFT CARRYING WHAT I ASSUME MAY BE COUPLE PAILS OF WATER TO THE GARDEN

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“I DON’T KNOW DAD BUT I THINK NELLIE JUST THREW A SHOE”

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I never did end up making a decision on what products to use on restoring the rig's finish to a glossy shine on the white parts of the coach.  Didn’t pick up those Zep products back in Spencerport last week.  Not really sure anymore if I even want to get into all of that but if I do I'll keep you posted on how it's going.  Things often occur to me on the spur of the moment & your guess is as good as mine if I'll wake up one morning & get that job started.  Just have to wait for the Spirit to move me I guess.
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THESE MENNONITE HORSES ARE FIELD HARNESSED FOR WORKING

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SAW THESE ‘MARTIN’ BIRDHOUSES ON A MENNONITE FARM BUT HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE TINY AERIALS ON TOP OF EACH ONE ARE FOR

Wondering if other RV'ers are beginning to get themselves a little concerned with the recent upsurge in gas prices.  We know that surge will continue of course & we all know gas prices are not likely to come down to previous levels.  Just not the way it works.  Jeeps gas gauge was down to the quarter mark Monday & a fill up cost nearly $70.  And I'm not about to sit down with my calculator & figure out how much it would cost to fill our 75 gallon gas tank in the rig at our Canadian prices either.  As I have sometimes said in the past, there are just some things I do not want to know.
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Not going to get into the politics of health care between our two countries but here's something interesting.  Readers may remember all the trouble I was having with a hip two winters ago while we were in the South-West.  That pain in my hip continued after we returned home so I made an appointment with my Doctor (Nurse Practitioner) to see what the problem was.  X-rays were taken & my file was sent off to University Hospital in London Ontario.  I would be notified of an appointment with a Specialist.  Today, a little over a year later I received a call notifying me an appointment date had been set up.  I cancelled that appointment this morning because my X-ray file had also been sent to a second Specialist in Stratford Ontario at the same time.   That Stratford Doctor saw me within a matter of weeks a year ago & determined my hip joint had some issues but not to the point of  any corrective surgery.  So there it is......one Doctor saw me within a matter of weeks while another Doctor took over a year to grant me an appointment.
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THE AROMA OF NEW MOWN HAY IS IN THE AIR THROUGHOUT OUR RURAL COUNTRYSIDE

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And speaking of medical issues we sure are having a much better summer than a year ago at this time when we were both dealing with our own problems.  Kelly especially is feeling much better & continues with the medicine prescribed at the time for her liver condition.  Nice not to be running to Doctor appointments this year. 
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A word of thanks to readers for expressing concern over the past few days.  In the days ahead if you do not see a post from me for a day or two it just means I'm probably just taking a few more breaks.  Maybe gravitating to bi-weekly posts or something.  When the day finally arrives for me to write my last post I will let readers know......................

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TIME TO HEAD HOME, MY LITTLE TRAVELING PAL IS TIRED:))
GROANER'S CORNER:((  After being retired for a couple of years and completing all the jobs my wife had lined up for me, I began to feel somewhat useless and decided to enrol in a couple of courses at the local adult-education school. I noted, upon registration, that there was no tuition fee for a person over 60.  As I handed my tediously-filled-out papers to the clerk, I announced, "I'm 68." Then, pulling out my wallet, I asked if she wanted to see my driver's license.  She replied, "No, that's okay."  A little surprised, I asked, "Oh, do I look honest?"  "No," she answered. "You look 68."

20 comments:

  1. Al, it's comforting to see you post again. I was off for a couple of days myself due to my driving for 8 hours from June lake to home yesterday and today I'm just lazin' around!
    Cheryl Ann

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  2. Always glad to see your posts, Al. I appreciate your honesty regarding healthcare. I know there are some Canadians who claim there are no problems with their system and think our system is awful. I don't think either country can generalize with anything political nor about healthcare.

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  3. Nice to see you back at the keyboard.
    We do what we like to do until the time comes to quit.

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  4. Good to see you back, I have a similar story about an appointment I had with a specialist. I am thinking those aerials are for the TV's.

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  5. Welcome back to the world of blogging. Like you said to me....sometimes we just need to step away for a little while.

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  6. Everyone deserves a break. We'll be here whenever the mood strikes:) Sorry to hear about your hip.

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  7. I'm glad to hear you and Kelly are feeling much better than last year. And I know about getting tired of blogging sometimes and just needing a break from it. It can be a real chore to come up with something to write, and in your case, deal with all the photos.

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  8. No one would expect you to keep writing every single day if you didn't feel like it, or even every week if that wasn't something you wanted to do... sure would miss you though if you decided to call it quits altogether!

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  9. oh and I was curious too about the Martin houses... perches :)

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  10. There's nothing like the smell of new-mown hay.

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  11. I just used Meguiars Fiberglass Restoration kit (M-4965)consisting of an oxidation remover, polish and wax. It was work but the fiberglass came out really nice. It took me about 3 days to finish a 27 ft coach. Getting started is the hard part!

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  12. OMG so many fab photos, hard to pick a favorite.

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  13. I always enjoy the pics, even though I sometimes scroll through the words. Sorry. Don't judge me.
    I wonder once in a while about our health care system. On the one hand, illness won't completely bankrupt an entire family and all their descendants however, patience is certainly needed....
    Sometimes it seems it's just a mess.

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  14. I guess I should never wonder why one doesn't post daily..I sure don't anymore. I totally get it. I have given thoughts to just giving up the blog, but my Creative Writing class in college started this "love of the written word". I actually did write 2 "books"..One was about our first RV trip to TExas and the other was my journal/book about our month long trip to Alaska...The kids each have a copy.

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  15. nice to see you back, Al..but I do have to admit I didn't notice you were gone..there are many a day where blog reading is at the bottom of my 'to do list'..great photos as always..the one of Pheebes at the end says it all though!

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  16. Love the black llamas (alpacas?) and the buggy with the gas can on the back. Never know what you might see on a leisurely drive in the country :-).

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  17. Love the new header photo,beautiful.

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  18. You've covered a lot of interesting topics, as usual. A few really hit home to me. Blog posts have to be when the spirit moves me, and occasionally span 2-3 weeks, especially when we're not traveling much. Our motorhome product of choice for cleaning/polishing/protecting, bar none, is Dri Wash N Guard, a product we found in Quartzsite many years ago. Our rig is 14 years old and the finish looks new. We are very concerned about fuel prices as we gear up for our fall trip to the northwest. And lastly, our Kaiser Senior Advantage healthcare plan is one of the top rated in the US. We do not have to wait for appts. and needed tests, etc. Lynda

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  19. Bob said... I always enjoy the pics, even though I sometimes scroll through the words. Sorry. Don't judge me.

    That is just fine Bob. I enjoy what Al writes and usually just scroll through the pictures.

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