SHE WANTED ME HALF NAKED AND THEN TOLD ME TO LAY ON THE BED

 SARNIA HOSPITAL'S FOOD COURT AS VIEWED FROM AN OVERHEAD WALKWAY AND KELLY CAN BE SEEN IN THIS PHOTO TOP RIGHT OF CENTER AT THE MO'CHA CAFE CHECKING OUT THE FOOD MENU  

Luckily, the weather did not throw us a curve this morning,  Under cloudy skies we rolled out of our driveway at 9:10 a.m. heading for Sarnia Ontario on bare and dry snow-free roads.  A bonus for this time of year.  It was an easy country drive all the way there with very light traffic, even in Sarnia.  We did make a quick stop at Tim Hortons in Forest Ontario for a couple coffees to go.  No problem finding the Sarnia Blue Water hospital and I was at the registration desk at 10:55.  My appointment was at 11.

 HOW LUCKY WE WERE TO HAVE DRY AND BARE ROADS ALL THE WAY TO SARNIA AND BACK....HEADING WEST ON THE 402

 WALKING PAST THE MO'CHA CAFE ON OUR WAY TO REGISTRATION

 PASSED THROUGH THE FOOD COURT

Everything went smoothly today as we first made our way to the third floor for a meeting with a nurse to go over my meds and do some extra instructional paperwork.  Next was a meeting with an anesthesiologist person to go over more stuff.  Nice lady.  Next, it was down to the 2nd floor for blood work.  I don't think the lady there left me with a whole lot of blood.  Now down to the hospital's main floor for an EKG where a lady there told me I needed to be bare-chested and lying on the bed.  I took it to mean, 'get yourself half naked and lay on your back on the bed and don't move or else'!!  From there, it was off to the X-ray department for X-rays of my right hip.  At least that lady didn't make me take half my clothes off but I forgot to tell her I had a metal jackknife in my pocket and when she turned on her X-ray machine, it nearly blew her out of the little lead-lined control booth.  And that was it, I was done.  And, at no time today did anyone have to give me a slap upside the head except for maybe the X-ray lady.  I found all the medical staff I encountered were very friendly.  Before leaving the hospital, Kelly ordered us up a couple of sandwiches to go from the Mo'Cha Cafe.  It was 1:15 when we left the hospital, walked to the car, and wolfed down our sandwiches.  From there we drove half a dozen blocks to an Orthopedic Store where we picked up a special pillow and one pair of pressure stockings.  The stockings are to prevent blood clots following surgery.  Two minutes after leaving the Orthopedic Store we were eastbound on the 402 making fast tracks out of Sarnia.  We never made any stops on the way home and rolled into our driveway shortly before 3 p.m.  Although we hadn't gone far like in our RVing days, we were both sure tired and glad to be home.  With today's medical tests behind me, the only thing that could sink my hip surgery now is if my diabetes number from today's blood test comes in too high.  We'll know in a couple days.  

 KELLY PATIENTLY WAITS WHILE A NURSE GOES OVER MY MEDS WITH ME

 I'M BACK

ANOTHER WAITING ROOM FOR THE BLOODWORK

 WAITING FOR MY EKG

 SHE WANTS TO WHAT!! AND THEN LAY ON MY BACK THERE

 HIP X-RAYS WERE LAST ON THE LIST

 BEFORE LEAVING THE HOSPITAL KELLY ORDERED US UP A COUPLE TOASTED SANDWICHES

I don't know how it crept up on me so quickly but it did.   It seems that only a short while ago it was Christmas and 'poof' here it is only a few days before Groundhog Day already.  How the heck did that happen so fast.  Had it not popped up on the news, the big day might have blown right past me.  Ground Hog day this Friday is going to be a real nail-biter because the weather forecast is for Sun and clouds.  I hope those folks in Wiarton Ontario will know enough not to bring Willy out during a sunny stretch because that will mean 6 more weeks of Winter when he sees his shadow.  Not good!!!!  And, just think, in two short weeks it will be Valentine's Day.  Can St. Patrick's Day be in the not-too-distant future following this, the shortest month of the year??  I think not:))  

In our RVing days not long ago, one of our favorite things to do was to get out and explore whatever area we happened to be in.  Ten years ago today is a good example of that.  Boondocked on the west side of the Kofa Mountains south of Quartzsite, Arizona for a few days we set off in the morning to find something called, Ladder Tank.  We Found What We Set Out To Find Today  We had many days like this over the years and those great days live forever in my memory now thanks to my blog.  Kofa National Wildlife Refuge

Al's Music Box:)) Uncle Albert  is a song by Paul and Linda McCartney from the album Ram and was released in the United States as a single on 2 August 1971.   It became McCartney's first gold record after the breakup of the Beatles.  "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" is composed of several unfinished song fragments that Norwegian engineer Eirik Wangberg stitched together in a similar manner to the medleys from the 'Beatles' 1969 album Abbey Road. The orchestral arrangements by George Martin were recorded in New York at A & R Recording, along with other instruments by McCartney and his new band. The project was moved to Los Angeles where vocals were added by Paul and Linda McCartney—her first experience of recording in a professional studio. The song is notable for its thunderstorm and environmental sound effects added by Wangberg in Los Angeles; he had been invited by McCartney to mix and sequence the Ram album in any way he saw fit, and he copied the thunder from a monaural film soundtrack, then fashioned an artificial stereo version of it for the song.  McCartney stated that "Uncle Albert" was based on his uncle: "He's someone I recall fondly, and when the song was coming it was like a nostalgia thing." He also stated: "I had an uncle – Albert Kendall – who was a lot of fun, and when I came to write 'Uncle Albert'/'Admiral Halsey' it was loosely about addressing that older generation, half thinking, what would they think of the way my generation does things? That's why I wrote the line 'We're so sorry, Uncle Albert.'  McCartney also told an American journalist, "As for Admiral Halsey, he's one of yours, an American admiral", referring to Fleet Admiral William 'Bull' Halsey (1882–1959).  McCartney has described the "Uncle Albert" section of the song as an apology from his generation to the older generation, and Admiral Halsey as an authoritarian figure who ought to be ignored.  McCartney additionally explained: "'Hands across the water/Heads across the sky' refers to Linda and me being American and British."

 SORRY.....I DIDN'T MEAN TO SCARE YOU

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A Polish immigrant went to the DMV to apply for a driver's license.  First, of course, he had to take an eyesight test. The optician showed him a card with the letters: 'C Z W I X N O S T A C Z.'  "Can you read this?" the optician asked.  "Read it?" the Polish guy replied, "I know the guy."

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She: "Sweetheart, what's your gift for our 25th anniversary?"
He: "A trip to Thailand."
She: "That's amazing! And what about when we hit our 50th anniversary?" she asked.
He: "That's when I come back to get you."

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A customer walks into a coffee shop. She asks the barista, “How much for a cup of coffee?”  The barista points to the menu and says, “Five dollars for a cup of coffee and refills are free.”  The customer responds, “Thanks. I’ll have a refill.”

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Q: What do you call a sad cup of coffee?
A: A depresso.

- If you replace your morning coffee with green tea ….You can lose up to 87% of what little joy you feel in the morning.

- Don’t ever let anyone tell you fairy tales aren’t real. I wake up every morning to drink a potion made from magic beans that brings me back to life.
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