Tuesday, December 25, 2018

PHEEBS AND I ENJOYABLY SURVIVED OUR CHRISTMAS ‘HOME ALONE’:))

1136

KELLY’S 2018 CHRISTMAS PHOTO WITH FOUR OF HER FIVE CHILDREN PRESENT

It was a quiet Christmas Eve for Pheebs and I and not much different from most other nights.  I was totally happy to be home.  With Sunday night's snowfall still on the ground I had intended to slip out Sunday night with Pheebs and take some photos of Christmas lights around our Park then slip into Bayfield but all cozily tucked away in our sunroom reading I couldn't seem to stir up enough enthusiasm for heading outside into the cold night.

DSC_6978

SNOWPLOWS WERE OUT THIS MORNING

DSC_6984DSC_6979DSC_6981DSC_6987DSC_6985
DSC_6982

A fresh snowfall overnight freshened up the previous night's snowfall which made for a nice white Christmas for folks.  Pheebs and I headed for Goderich to see if by chance I could find myself a coffee but as suspected both McDonalds and Tim Hortons were closed.  A routine swing down around the harbor and then back through an all but deserted town.

DSC_7021

NOT ONE VEHICLE TO BE SEEN ON GODERICH’S USUALLY BUSY CIRCLE

DSC_6990DSC_6994

THOUGHT I SPOTTED SOMETHING UNUSUAL, SOMETHING OUT OF PLACE

DSC_6993

LOOKING CLOSER I SEE A PERSON AND I THOUGHT ‘WHY WOULD A PERSON BE SITTING OUT THERE ALL BY THEMSELVES ON CHRISTMAS MORNING??  HOPE THEY ARE NOT DISTRESSED ABOUT SOMETHING

DSC_6992

I PULLED OVER AND WATCHED FOR A COUPLE MINUTES THEN HAULED OUT MY 8X50  BAUSH AND LOMB BINOCULARS…….’A-HA’

DSC_6995

JUST ANOTHER SHUTTER BUG LIKE MYSELF OUT ENJOYING THEMSELVES WITH THEIR CAMERA

DSC_6997

WITH ALL THE CANADA GEESE IN THE HARBOR I GUESS WE COULD CALL IT GOOSE BAY ONTARIO

DSC_7005DSC_7004DSC_7006DSC_7001DSC_7012DSC_7008

Wasn’t long before we were headed home again even managing to drive ourselves through a few wonderfully refreshing sun splashes along the way.

DSC_7022DSC_7023DSC_7025DSC_7026DSC_7027

THAT DEFINITELY IS A ‘BLUE SPRUCE’ OUT THERE

DSC_7028

LOVE SEEING THOSE SHADOW ON OUR STREET

With a touch of sun and the sounds of melting snow I was energized to don my RV hat and get myself serious about loading some more things into the Motorhome.  With only 3 days left before hitting the road the pressure is on.  Sometimes, for some unknown reason I just seem to function better under pressure when it comes to certain things.  I also think too many cold gray days had me mentally under the weather again as well.

DSC00957

ONLY THING LEFT TO PUT IN THAT VACANT SPACE IS MY BIG CUSHY RECLINER.

IMG_2840

THOROUGHLY ENJOYING MY ‘HOME ALONE’ CHRISTMAS:))

Kelly made it home shortly before 3 this afternoon.  Had a good time seeing her family but was exhausted from all the visiting and so glad to be home again.  Both Kelly and I have noticed over recent years how tiring visiting can be.  I don't recall it being a tiring thing years ago and I'm just not sure what can be so tiring about visiting.  But it is and especially if there are a lot of people…….and kids!!

thumbnail_tv1

KIDS ALL LINED UP WATCHING A HOCKEY GAME

thumbnail_IMG_20181224_1700455

KELLY’S DAUGHTER SABRA’S HUSBAND DEREK BUILT THIS ICE RINK FOR THEIR TWO BOYS IN THE BACK YARD COMPLETE WITH FLOODLIGHTS….THE RINK SAW LOTS OF ACTION CHRISTMAS EVE

hockey1

In a comment on my December 23rd post kaBloonie boonster brought up a good point about the changing times in regards to boon-docking in the Southwest.  Boonie says, “There is a little bit of irony in the complaints of bloggers, some of whom have always been careless about giving explicit directions to 'their perfect camping spot.' How could they have been so naive?  Why was it so hard to understand that if something is truly precious, you don't blabbermouth it all over the internet?”  Boonie, on that side of the coin is quite right of course and I understand well the logic of what he is saying because it is true.  Now, being one of those blabberers (Mr. Blabberfingers) Boonie mentions let me flip the coin over for a minute.  My lament over shrinking boon-docking spots as a result of more RV boon-dockers flooding into the southwest is in no small measure my own un-doing.  As my blog gained readership over the years a number of people were able not only to see photos and read descriptions of our travels but they were also able find out exactly where many of these perfect boon-docking spots were through my directions.  And that's Boonies point.  But here's mine...….I think it's human nature to share 'good things' with others.  If you hear a band you like you tell others, a good restaurant, tell your friends, how about a good movie, yep you will probably recommend it to someone.  If you see something or somewhere you like, you might want to share either one of those things with others as well.  And that of course is where I, Mr. Blabberfingers comes in.   If I like something, I share it.  So here's a hypothetical situation.  I find a beautiful private boon-docking site and instead of not telling anyone about it I share the location with five friends.  A year later I return to 'my' private location only to find my five friends all camped there.  See what I went and did to myself!!  I have been accused by more than one fellow Blogger over the years about blabbing away ‘good sites’ and I stand guilty as charged.  It’s a toughie of course and it’s a coin with two equal opinions of which I can see both sides.  By the way, we've met Boonie a few times over the years with the first time being in Silver City New Mexico and another time in Ajo Arizona.  You can find Boonie on our side bar under, Occupation Of Independence.

DSC_0048-1_thumb[1]

HERE’S KELLY TALKING TO THE BOONSTER HIS VERY SELF BACK ON JANUARY 17TH OF 2012

Thank you everyone for your Christmas well wishes whether through comments on my Blog, the Shout Box, Facebook, or Emails.  We wish everyone well and all the best for the coming new year.

DSC_7017

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Some friars needed to raise more money for books for the school, so they opened up a small florist shop to raise funds. Since everyone liked to buy flowers from the men of God, a rival florist across town thought the competition was unfair. He asked the good brothers to close down, but they would not. He went back and begged the friars to close. They ignored him.So, the rival florist hired Hugh MacTaggart, the roughest and most vicious thug in town to "persuade" them to close. Hugh beat up the friars and trashed their store, saying he'd be back if they didn't close up shop. Terrified, they did so, thereby proving that "Only Hugh can prevent florist friars."

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

- There are two rules for success in life: Rule 1 - Don't tell people everything you know.

- There is nothing so small that it can't be blown out of proportion.

- A tourist asks a man in uniform, "Are you a policeman?""No, I am an undercover detective."  "So why are you in uniform?"  "Today is my day off."

=====================

9 comments:

  1. More beautiful snow pictures. I see you enjoyed your Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. But no coffee and no open McD's even I have no idea if they were closed around here since I never left my house. Seem's Kelly had quite a time but I know about exhausted afterwards.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Merry Christmas to you both and thank you for beautiful pictures
    always and a entertaining blog which I look forward to reading
    regularly!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Glad you had a nice peaceful Christmas day, and Kelly got to enjoy some amazing family time with her kids and grands.
    Sharing a wonderful camping spot is what we do as well, so quiet and peaceful, but it does kinda back fire on you eventually your quiet find is not so quiet anymore.
    Soon you will be on the road to the southwest exploring.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Merry Christmas you guys. Happy Trails to you.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The true blame is to those few who junk up and demolish the wilderness areas, leaving the government no choice other to close down a heavily used area. IMHO

    ReplyDelete
  6. Glad you enjoyed your day. Kelly looks as if she had an amazing time.

    I think sharing is a natural thing to do for most people. We are taught to share with siblings, we share with friends, etc. I also think people are smart enough to find the spots no matter if told or not. We have all found wonderful places to boon dock. You, Boonie, me, etc. It is the seekers that first find the spot but the tracks left behind lead the way for the next person, or someone has witnessed a rig parked there, or they have noticed it on Google, etc. Drones, google, and just the number of adventure seekers make it pretty much impossible to keep a secret even without telling a single soul. With so many more RV'ers out there wouldn't it just seem natural that they will spread out and find those beloved spots that NO ONE HAS BLABBED ABOUT? How could they not find them? I assure you Al, blab or not, someone else would have found your spots regardless.
    Not everyone is happy or content to be parked on top of the neighbour and so we seek more distance, more solitude, but the in between space keeps filling up because more RV'ers out there are seeking the same thing, less noise, less people, etc. How could those spaces NOT be found?
    There will be no snow between the motor home and the house once you folks get to packing things on a serious level. You'll just wear it away. I sincerely hope you have good driving weather and safe travels when you get on the road.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great picture of Kelly and family. Glad she got the visit in. Wonderful pictures of your own day too.

    ReplyDelete
  8. What wonderful memories Kelly is making with her family.

    ReplyDelete
  9. The pictures seem different, more clear somehow. Remind me of laser prints. Nice. But, they are always really nice.

    ReplyDelete