WITH A PIPING HOT AFTERNOON COFFEE BESIDE ME

A big bright, sunny morning, but with temps at 37°F, I knew I had better dress warmly for my walk.  I did that, and even remembered to wear gloves, except I forgot to take my ear muffs, and with a cold, brisk wind blowing strongly out of the north, I had to occasionally cup my ears and give them a little rub.  Other than that, all was good.

Home again, I right away hauled out my lawn rake, pitchfork, and wheelbarrow.  The ground was again covered in pine needles and sprinkled with the first smatterings of Autumn leaves.  I spent the best part of three hours raking and loading needles and leaves into the utility trailer.  Following that, it was a trip down to the Park's recycling area and back.  And, that was about it for the day.  My legs felt like they were going to fall off, so I wasn't long in getting myself inside and plunked down into my cushy recliner with a piping hot afternoon coffee beside me.

LOOKING WEST ALONG MY STREET THIS AFTERNOON

 MONICA'S HOUSE ACROSS THE ROAD BATHED IN AUTUMN'S GLOW

RAKED UP MORE PILES OF PINE NEEDLES TODAY

 STANDING IN MY UTILITY TRAILER AT THE PARK'S RECYCLING AREA THIS AFTERNOON

With clear evening skies, I don't want to waste the opportunity to bundle up for a walk, catch the sunset, grab a coffee to go at Hortons in Clinton, and head off to my starry-sky spot tonight.     

Memories Music Box:: Tumbling Tumbleweeds by The Sons of the Pioneers.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A man suffered a heart attack and had bypass surgery. He awakened to find himself in the care of nuns at a Catholic hospital. As he was recovering, a nun asked him how he was going to pay the bill.  He replied in a raspy voice, "No health insurance." The nun asked if he had money in the bank. He replied "No money in the bank." The nun asked " Do you have a relative who could help you?" He said, "Just a spinster sister who is a nun." The nun, slightly perturbed, said "Nuns are not spinsters! Nuns are married to God." The patient replied, "Then send the bill to my brother-in-law!"

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An older man, not in the best physical condition, asked the trainer in the gym, "I want to impress that beautiful girl. Which machine should I use?" The trainer replied...

"Use the ATM machine outside the gym!"

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A man and his wife are dining at a table in a plush restaurant, and the husband keeps staring at a drunken lady swigging her drink as she sits alone at a nearby table.

The wife asks, "Do you know her?"
"Yes," sighs the husband, "she's my ex-girlfriend. I understand she took to drinking right after we split up seven years ago, and I hear she hasn't been sober since." "My God!" says the wife. "Who would think a person could go on celebrating that long?"

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A couple was making their first doctor's visit prior to the birth of their first child. After the exam, the doctor took a small stamp and stamped the wife’s stomach with indelible ink. The man and his wife were curious about what the stamp was for, so when they got home, the man took out his magnifying glass to try to see what is was. In very small letters, the stamp said, “When you can read this, come back and see me.”

Al's Doggy World

Meanings::

Today's Art Gallery

WHEN THE WORDS 'COZY' AND 'WARM' HAVE PRIORITY

 ONLY ONE FISHING BOAT IN BAYFIELD'S HARBOR THIS MORING....SOON THERE WILL BE NONE AS WINTER APPROACHES

I eventually got myself off to a bit of a jackrabbit start this morning after Woodsy sent me this Facebook message at 9:05. 'Happy Haircut'. 'HAIRCUT'!?!?  Yikes, I had totally forgotten I had made a haircut appointment yesterday for this morning at 10 a.m.   I was still in my jammies, and Bayfield was two miles away.  With one eye on the clock and the other eye on my rubber ducky, I was soon under a deluge of water in the shower with ducky hurriedly quacking out the minutes.  It sometimes takes a while for me to put myself together, but this morning I quickly assembled a reasonable facsimile of myself as best I could.  Of course, the Gremlins, sensing my haste, immediately began throwing up roadblocks in my path.  Where's my pants? Who hid my socks? My razor needs the blade changed. My glasses need cleaning, and my hair won't lie down. Where did I put my shoes?  Who hid the belt for my pants? Somebody must have stolen my car keys and taken my shoes with them.  What!! Did I give away all my winter jackets? Who said there wasn't enough gas in the car to get out of the driveway!! It just never stops with them Gremlins.  They just love tangling me all up when I'm in a hurry!!!!  However, despite their best devious methods, I did make my haircut appointment just on time.  So there!!:))

LOOKS LIKE MOST OF SUMMER'S BOATS ARE NOW OUT OF THE WATER

The stiffness in my body, and especially my legs, this past while had been slowly increasing, and I have no one to blame but myself.  Nearly thirty years ago I was prescribed a drug for the stiffness and mild soreness in my legs caused by arthritis.  It was called Arthrotec, and it turned out to be a miracle drug for me and immediately alleviated those two annoying arthritic maladies.  Over the years, I occasionally stopped taking my Arthrotec with the idea of getting off it.  But the soreness and stiffness always returned, so I don't know what made me think stopping my Arthrotec again about three weeks ago was going to be any different this time. Finally dawning on me Thursday night, after days of growing soreness and stiffness, I remembered stopping my Arthrotec.  Silly boy, I thought to myself today after finally resuming my Arthrotec and almost immediately feeling noticeably better.  I should get a tattoo on the back of my hand simply saying, 'DON'T DO THAT AGAIN'!!  That tattoo of course, would have multiple meanings pertaining to other things in my life as well.  But then again, I rest assured, knowing I am certainly not the only one standing in this leaky old boat. 

 THESE BOATS WILL SOON BE OUT OF THE WATER AND INTO WINTER STORAGE

Feeling like a cold and damp Novemberesque day outside, I stayed inside all day.  It's that time of year now when words like 'cozy' and 'warm' have priority.

LAKE HURON WAS LOOKING ROUGH TODAY

A Blast From Our Past:: Photos and pictures of Utah's Monument Valley have been popping up on my Facebook page, and one of them this morning reminded me of the time Kelly, Pheebs, and I took our Jeep Wrangler for a rough-and-tumble drive across the desert floor between the huge monoliths located in Monument Valley.  Here is the link to that day...Our Monument Valley Jeep Scramble  

 BAYFIELD'S HARBOR MOUTH

Memories Music Box:: Hello Stranger by
Barbara Lewis.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Two young men were out in the woods on a camping trip, when they came upon this great trout brook. They stayed there all day, enjoying the fishing, which was super. At the end of the day, knowing that they would be graduating from college soon, they vowed that they would meet, in twenty years, at the same place and renew the experience. Twenty years later, they met and traveled to a spot near where they had been years before. They walked into the woods and before long came upon a brook. One of the men said to the other, "This is the place!". The other replied, "No, it's not!". The first man said, "Yes, I do recognize the clover growing on the bank on the other side. To which the other man replied, "Silly, you can't tell a brook by it's clover."

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- What happens when frogs park illegally? 

They get toad!

- Marriage is a three-ring circus: engagement ring, wedding ring, and suffering.

- Marriage is like a hot bath. Once you get used to it, it's not so hot.

Patient: "Doctor, Doctor... I can't stop stealing things".

Doctor: "Take these pills for a week. If that doesn't work, get me a color TV".

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A small boy was lost, so he went up to a policeman and said, "I've lost my dad!" The policeman said, "What's he like?" The little boy replied, "Chips and beer."

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At school one morning the teacher asked little Johnny what he had for breakfast. Little Johnny said, well, on my way to school I came across this Apple tree, so I climbed up there and started eating apples. I guess I eat about six, said Little Johnny. No, said the teacher, it’s ate! Little Johnny said well it could've been eight I don't remember.

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Al's Doggy World

Meanings::

Today's Art Gallery