LOOKING FORWARD TO POSTING ONCE AGAIN FROM OUR BRIGHT CHEERY SUNROOM
First thing I did this morning was stick my head out the door to see how bad the predicted nasty over night weather had been. Happy to see no snow on the ground & even happier to see nothing coated in ice. Wasn't as cold as I thought it would be but winds were strong in our pine trees overhead. Freezing rain warnings are still in effect for today. A quick look at this morning's weather map showed me how truly fortunate we were to have slipped through the bad weather fronts when we did. Weather is always a big concern when traveling across the country at this time of year & is one of the main reasons we prefer to make that trek as quickly as we can.
IT’S BEEN A COLD RAINY DAY
Oh how nice to be back to my desktop computer with it's big bright screen again. My photos look so much better when I see them here & so much so that it makes me wonder now if maybe my Toshiba laptop's screen is slowly dimming. I have noticed the contrast adjustments I make to photos in my Picasa photo editing program using the laptop do not translate accurately to the final published post. Always a problem with that & maybe it has to do with my laptop's screen brightness. Sure is a big difference when I view things here with my big desktop monitor. 'WOW'
Have to say again how great it feels to be home. That long hot shower Wednesday afternoon in our new shower (last year) was just the best. Big Spring clean-up outside again this year & it's always a favorite thing of mine getting the yard & flower beds back in shape. First couple of nice days I'll be busy with my rake & loving every minute of it. A ba-zillion million pine needles to rake up of course but I always look at that outside work as a great & honest excuse for exercise. To exercise for the sake of exercising has never interested me but to get some free exercise in while accomplishing something physically useful & creative is always a win-win for somebody like me.
WE WERE RIGHT ON THE VERGE OF FREEZING RAIN FOR AWHILE
The numbers are in & we drove 2,567 miles from Congress Arizona to Bayfield Ontario with 7 fuels stops & a total gas cost of $591.00 American Dollars or $785 Canadian Dollars. We left Congress with half a tank of gas & arrived in Bayfield with three quarters of a tank. Thanks to cheaper gas prices this was our lowest fuel cost in 10 years I think. The 7 fuel stops were in Congress Az., Bellemont Az., Moriarity NM., Hooker Tx., York Nebraska, Peru Illinois, & Lansing Michigan.
WILL BE NICE TO SOON SET OUT SOME OF OUR OUTDOOR THINGS AGAIN
Aside from carrying a few things in from the rig today we both took it easy resting up & de-stressing from our long journey. If I dozed off once in my recliner I dozed off a hundred times it seems. Aside from high winds, cold temperatures & rain, Bayfield so far has escaped some of the really bad weather which has occurred around us closing schools & roads in places. Freezing rain & ice have knocked out power in some communities & I'm sure there will probably be tree damage in some areas. We may wake up to some snow on the ground by morning but if that's all we get we will consider ourselves lucky. Spring's warmer sunny days are right round the corner & I'm glad we're home to welcome it in. Also, I have my fingers crossed this post publishes alright tonight. Kelly had to install ‘Open Live Writer’ on our desk top for me. I see the small dark gold borders are missing from around my photos but if that’s all that is different I’ll be a happy guy.
VERY MUCH LOOKING FORWARD TO HEADING OUTSIDE & BEGINNING THE BIG YEAR CLEAN-UP
Thanks for all the ‘Welcome Home’ comments folks. Nice to be here for sure. I’ve decided again this year to try & keep my ‘travel blog’ going for the summer & hopefully come up with something interesting to write about from time to time & of course Pheebs & I will be out scouring the countryside every week for new photos. I thank all my readers for giving me the inspiration to again pursue my 3 hobbies of travel, photography, & blogging. I suspect my posts will once more reflect my many changing moods, thoughts, & feelings so please bear with me over the coming months of ups & downs & hills & dales as we all ride together this challenging roller coaster of life………………
GROANER'S CORNER:(( A man was driving home one evening and realized that it was his daughter's birthday and he hadn't bought her a present. He drove to the mall and ran to the toy store and he asked the store manager "How much is that new Barbie in the window?" The Manager replied, "Which one? We have,
- 'Barbie goes to the gym'for $19.95 ...
-'Barbie goes to the Ball' for $19.95 ...
-'Barbie goes shopping for $19.95 ...
-'Barbie goes to the beach' for $19.95...
-'Barbie goes to the Nightclub' for $19.95 ...
and 'Divorced Barbie' for $375.00."
"Why is the Divorced Barbie $375.00, when all the others are $19.95?" Dad asked surprised.
"Divorced Barbie comes with Ken's car, Ken's House, Ken's boat, Ken's dog, Ken's cat and all of Ken's furniture."
A minor suggestion for your photography goals. I have really enjoyed the old barns series. Perhaps an old houses series would be good also. At least I would like to see them. Glad you made it safely home.
ReplyDeleteI say welcome home to you both and Pheebs.
ReplyDeleteIt's true, ' there's no place like home ' !!!
Nice to travel but great to have a home base, at least that's how we feel.
Enjoy your time back home there and keep warm. We have the same house no matter where we are so warmer is better for us.
ReplyDeleteTake care guys and keep up the posts.
When I was in wifi land, had to check your blog right away as I knew you were 'on the move' and I got caught in snow, and as of right now my friend in Davenport reports it snowing there!!!! So you did dodge a big one, glad you are all safely tucked in in your bright sunshiny hone... take care
ReplyDeleteBoy, you sure timed your trip well to slip in home before this storm hit! And it sounds like Bayfield isn't getting it as bad as other places. We've hadthe snow and freezing rain, and are now sitting here in the dark with the hydro out.
ReplyDeleteGood to get home ahead of that storm. The yard sure looks a lot better than last year's big snow damage - you'll have that place ship shape quickly I'm sure!!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you are home again! Phew! That's a lot of miles! Take care and enjoy your home and its comforts!
ReplyDeleteWelcome Home!! We'll be heading toward Ohio in a week or two. I was wondering Al, do you winterize the Big E when you arrive in Ontario? I don't in Ohio but we usually don't return before mid-April. I do drain the water lines but do not add anti-freeze. Just curious. Home, Sweet, Home :-)
ReplyDeleteWith temps hovering around the freezing mark I don't bother winterizing unless they are predicted to go lower over a longer period of time. I just put some plumbing anti-freeze in the sink traps, a light bulb near the water pump, & leave the furnace on low with doors open below the sinks. Seems to work fine this time of year without going to all the bother of winterizing the rig for a sustained 'deep freeze'.
DeleteNo matter what mood you are in, I always enjoy your daily posts. It's like having coffee with a friend every morning. Glad to hear you plan to continue.
ReplyDeleteJim
Love your screen saver photo!!
ReplyDeleteI've been using Open Live Writer and find it easy to use...and for me that is incredible. We will leave here Tuesday AM, spend the night at Rend Lake in Southern IL, and get home Wednesday..I have mixed feelings..I'm ready for my Dr. stuff to get started, but not for the hustle and traffic and train noise from our yard..
ReplyDelete