ME GOT-UM WIFE STRONG LIKE BULL!!

CONE FLOWERS....ECHINACEA

First thing I did this morning after turning on the computer was to check my status.  No, not my online status, my personal status for the coming day.  Was I feeling tired & were my energy levels up to par?  Had I had a good night's sleep?  Checked with my patience department to see if I had any reserves built up.  Was I feeling grumpy or did I have a mad on about anything?  Stress levels appeared normal & I was well into my first cup of coffee for the day.  As I carefully went down my checklist I could see it looked like all systems were go for launch.  Double checked my list again, hesitated, & then hit the 'Download Now' button.

MANAGED TO GRAB TONIGHT'S PICS IN THE FLOWER BED JUST BEFORE THE SUN WENT DOWN

As expected, the Live Writer Beta download fizzled, popped, & died right there on the launch pad after throwing an 'error' message at me right off the bat. (wisetup-webc.exe is not a valid Win32 application) Tried several more times with 'Run' 'Save' etc. etc. but no go......same error!!  Rechecked my personal status checklist & saw that all my green check marks from moments before had now turned red so that was the end of that for the new Live Writer on my older Toshiba this morning.  To fight with it any further would only turn the rest of my day into mush & put me in an even more foul mood than I am right now about this!!!!!!!!!  And yet, I had a feeling the download was going to fail.  As much as I love Live Writer it has not been problem free for me like it has been for everyone else I know.  Welcome to Al's perfectly normal world of, technical mahehm, chaos, woes:((

Sunday night's storm swept all the humidity out of the air & we have cooled off very nicely here in southwestern Ontario.  Heading into work Monday morning with no top on the Jeep I actually had the side windows rolled up & the heater going.  Should have thought to throw a jacket on.  Looks like a rainy week ahead so had better make a special effort to get the roof on the Jeep for sure now.

A few days ago I had a photo in the blog entitled 'Duck Weed Swamp.'  KAREN IN THE WOODS commented on that one wondering, "WHAT are the three purple things growing outta the green ground?"  Those are actually 3 full grown ?? tree trunks coming up out of the duck weed topped water.  The trees heavy canopy of leaves allow in only a few swatches of sunlight & that gives the photo it's mysterious look.  Took that picture with my 700mm telescope lens & made a lucky guess at the exposure.   At the time I was standing on a gravel road that cut through the swamp which had heavy vegetation growth & mosquito infested swamp water on both sides.  No Gators, Crocs, 40 foot snakes or soupy razor backed lizards....this is Canada, remember!!

Turned out to be one of those sputtering puttering days again.  About the only thing I remember doing was painting the steel frame on the utility trailer.  Guess all the other stuff I did was so totally un-exciting it just numbed my brain.  Oh yes, & about 6 o'clock tonight Kelly & I with a bit of wiggling & struggling, managed to hoist the heavy Jeep hard top up off the saw horses & & successfully maneuver it into place on the Jeep.  Clipped the windshield clamps down & snugged the back section up with it's 6 bolts.  I found the fiberglass top heavy to lift but Kelly just picked up her side like it was made of tissue paper.  In all the moving we've done over the years it has mainly been Kelly & I doing all the heavy lifting.  She may be as strong as a bull but she sure doesn't look like one!!  Yesireeeee, it's mighty darn handy having a strong woman around the house.  And a darn smart one too....:))

A post in GYPSY'S BLOG last week started me off thinking about the added stress to one's life that can be brought on by the RV lifestyle whether it be fulltime, snow birding or week-ending.  RV maintenance costs, insurances, breakdowns, road stress, insecurities on the road, unknowns, time factors, schedules, etc. etc.  It is a long list & it is a stressful list!!  Sometimes when I'm stretched out here in my way too comfortable recliner with the soft sounds of ambient music wafting out of the stereo speakers & a warm summer breeze whispering in the quiet sounds of our many forest bird's I think to myself, why am I not content enough to just stay here peacefully stretched out in my recliner forever.  Scale everything down.  Sell the Motor Home & pack in the RV lifestyle.  Sell the bike, get rid of one of the cars, get back to one camera, one computer, one television, dump all those expensive cable TV programs & channels we never watch.  Throw out the half dozen radios I've got scattered everywhere.  Eliminate the VCR's, DVD players, cell phones, & all the other electronic wizmo's & mechanical gizmos' that most days drive me bonkers in some way or the other.  Why can't I just be content to eek out the days doing nothing except enjoying my music, eating my peanut butter sandwiches, & feeling relieved each day not to have the added stress of having too much darn stuff around.  I don't have an answer to any of those questions.  Never have & probably never will have.  It's just an unsettled part of my personality that is unlikely to ever resolve itself.  Well, at least I hope it doesn't resolve itself for a few years yet anyway......10-4!!

GROANER'S CORNER

Ray, an RVer from Omaha, travels in his Motor Home with a talkative but foul-mouthed parrot. One day in a campground near Gila Bend, Arizona, the bird's swearing got to be too much so Ray grabbed it by the throat and yelled "Stop it!" But only minutes later, the bird was swearing again.  The next day, the bird yelled so loudly that the couple next door in a big fifth wheel stopped by to demand its silence. Desperate, Ray locked the bird in a kitchen cabinet but it didn't help & the bird kept right on swearing. The next day, the bird was even worse so as a last resort Ray tossed it into his spacious Dometic freezer. After five minutes, all was quiet. Worried the bird might be freezing, Ray took it out. "I'm sorry," confessed the suddenly polite bird. "I promise to never swear again."
Ray was astonished. He couldn't understand the change in attitude.
"By the way," asked the parrot, "what did the chicken do?"

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

"UNTIL ONE HAS LOVED AN ANIMAL, PART OF THEIR SOUL REMAINS UN-AWAKENED"

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