OR ELSE!!!!!!!!

Hey, we got above freezing today.  Kind of a slow start to the day but when I headed outside I was encouraged by the crunchy snow underfoot.  It would have been a good day to make a Snowman but after careful thought, I decided at my age a Snowangel would be much easier.  So, with that in mind, I abandoned the Snowangel thought and we headed for Goderich.

Another basic routine run with coffee to go at McD's and a harbor run.  A&W for a Double Buddy Burger and some fries for a change.  Stopped at the Dollar Store, Zehr's Supermarket, and of course, Walmart.  From there it was off for home.  Another winter's day behind me.  Oh that Groundhog better come through with the right prediction on Tuesday, OR ELSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Al's Music Box:)) Wedding Bell Blues is a song written and recorded by Laura Nyro in 1966. The best known version was a number one hit for the 5th Dimension in 1969.  The lyrics are written from the perspective of a woman whose boyfriend has not yet proposed to her, and who wonders, "am I ever gonna see my wedding day?" The song carries dual themes of adoring love and frustrated lament.  The title subsequently became a popular phrase in American pop culture.  Nyro wrote "Wedding Bell Blues" at the age of 18 as a "mini-suite". The lyrics were inspired by an affair that actor and nightclub owner Bill Carter had in the 1950s with singer Helen Merrill, the mother of Nyro's good friend Alan Merrill. The song originally featured several dramatic rhythmic changes—a trait Nyro explored on future albums. It was recorded in 1966 for Verve Folkways on her debut album More Than a New Discovery. Arranger Herb Bernstein did not allow Nyro to record her original arrangement, which led to the artist more or less disowning the entire album.  As released by Nyro, the song is similar in content and arrangement to the later 5th Dimension version, albeit with a somewhat more soulful vocal line. Nyro's recording was released as a single in September 1966 and remained on Billboard's "Bubbling" Under chart for several for several weeks, peaking at No. 103. The 5th Dimension had already found hits with Nyro's "Stoned Soul Picnic" and "Sweet Blindness" during 1968. When recording tracks for their upcoming album The Age of Aquarius, producer Bones Howe suggested recording another Nyro song.  Fifth Dimension member Marilyn McCoo was then engaged to another member of the group, Billy Davis Jr., though they had not decided on an actual wedding date when the album was released in May 1969 . The first single released ahead of the album, "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In", was a tremendous hit, while the success of the second single, Workin On a Groovy Think", was much more modest. When a disc jockey in San Diego began playing "Wedding Bell Blues" from the album, Soul City Records saw the song's potential, and in September 1969 it was released as a single.  "Wedding Bell Blues" quickly soared to No. 1 on the U.S. pop singles chart, spending three weeks there in November, 1969 and made one of the group's somewhat rare appearances on the U.S. R&B singles chart, where it peaked at No. 23.  It was the group's second of five #1 songs on the U.S. adult contemporary chart. It became a platinum record.  In 1969 television appearances, McCoo sang lead vocal parts of the song to Davis, who would then respond with quizzical looks. The rest of the 5th Dimension's early hits had featured more ensemble singing, and McCoo's prominent vocal and stage role on "Wedding Bell Blues" might have led to her being more featured in the group's early 1970s productions.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( God created the mule, and told him, "You are mule. You will work constantly from dusk to dawn, carrying heavy loads on your back. You will eat grass and lack intelligence. You will live for 50 years."  The mule answered, "To live like this for 50 years is too much. Please, give me no more than 20."And it was so.  Then God created the dog, and told him, "You are dog. You will hold vigilance over the dwellings of Man, to whom you will be his greatest companion. You will eat his table scraps and live for 25 years." The dog responded, "Lord, to live 25 years as a dog like that is too much. Please, no more than 10 years."  And it was so.  God then created the monkey, and told him, "You are monkey. You shall swing from tree to tree, acting like an idiot. You will be funny, and you shall live for 20 years."The monkey responded, "Lord, to live 20 years as the clown of the world is too much. Please, Lord, give me no than 10 years."  And it was so.  Finally, God created Man and told him, "You are Man, the only rational being that walks the earth. You will use your intelligence to have mastery over the creatures of the world. You will dominate the earth and live for 20 years."  The man responded, "Lord, to be Man for only 20 years is too little. Please, Lord; give me the 20 years the mule refused, the 15 years the dog refused, and the 10 years the monkey rejected."  And so God made Man to live 20 years as a man, then marry and live 20 years like a mule working and carrying heavy loads on his back. Then, he is to have children and live 15 years as a dog, guarding his house and eating the leftovers after they empty the pantry; then, in his old age, to live 10 years as a monkey, acting like an idiot to amuse his grandchildren.  And it is so..........

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Al's Doggy World

Meanings::

Kelly's Corner

 IN THE MULE MOUNTAINS NORTH OF BISBEE ARIZONA

 THE NORTH END OF BISBEE CAN BE SEEN AT THE FAR END OF THAT ROAD AND THE HIGHWAY LEADING OUT OF THE PHOTO GOES TO TOMBSTONE, ARIZONA 23 MILES AWAY

 READING A TRAIL BROCHURE ON A WALK AT THE SAN PEDRO HOUSE RIPARIAN NATIONAL CONSERVATION AREA ALONG THE BANKS OF THE SAN PEDRO RIVER EAST OF SIERRA VISTA, ARIZONA

Al's Art Gallery

HAD MYSELF A CLEANING BLITZ GOING ON TODAY

 BUNNY TRACKS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DRIVEWAY

Checking the weather forecast and casting an eye out the window I saw that there was very little wind and no snow in the air.  Talked it over with Pheebs and we decided to head out to see what we could see.  Rolling out of the forest under cloudy skies, the air was clear enough to see for miles so off we went east down Bayfield River Road.  No worries about poor visibility.  At the end of Bayfield River Road, we made a U-turn and headed home.  I had stuff to do.  Possessed by an unexpected burst of energy, I wasn't long in getting into things.  Dishes had to be done and I got a load of laundry in.  Out came the vacuum cleaner and away I went.  The washroom was in need of cleaning so out came the cleaners and cleansers.  In the spare room where I have all my clothes I 'finally' got into my closets where things have been hanging for years.  As I have mentioned before in my blog, most of my clothes were brought over on the Mayflower a century or two ago and then eventually brought north by dog sled to the Hudson Bay Company whereupon they languished in obscurity until I found them over a period of time in an assortment of second-hand clothing stores.  Some of them had a few rips and tears and buttons missing but that's okay, I've never been too fussy about clothes.  A friend once remarked, 'You always look like you just crawled out of a dumpster'.  "Thank You I always say, "I'll take that as one mighty fine compliment".  I filled up two large clear plastic garbage bags with five pairs of powder blue denim Jeans with all the worn and frayed holes in the right places where younger people like them.  Half a dozen shirts and a couple of jackets.  I'm doin' good but it hardly put a dent in my small clothes closet.  

 THE LOGGING OPERATION AT THE EAST END OF BAYFIELD RIVER ROAD IS STILL GOING ON

THE ONLY BLOWING SNOW I SAW THIS MORNING WAS COMING FROM A FARMER'S SNOWBLOWER

 THIS SNOWY WINTER HAS BEEN HARD ON RURAL MAILBOXES NOT TO MENTION THE FARMER'S TRYING TO GET THEIR MAIL

 I PULLED SOME SNOW OFF THE SHED ROOF WITH MY BIG SNOW RAKE

 ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE DRIVEWAY

 FRANK KEEPS A PATHWAY OPEN TO NEIGHBOR MONICA'S HOUSE

LATE AFTERNOON SHADOWS ACROSS OUR DRIVEWAY

 LOOKING WEST ALONG OUR STREET

Al's Music Box:)) On A Carousel is a song written by Allan Clarke, Graha Nash and Tony Hicks. It was released by the Hollies as a single in February 1967, having been recorded the previous month, on the Parlophone label in the UK and Imperial in the US. Nash would opine: "We knew it was a hit from the get-go." "Nash would recall that prior to "On a Carousel", "our biggest hits were 'Graham Gouldman songs ... Tony, Allan and I wanted desperately to write a monster A-side ... We thought we were good enough writers, we knew the combination, how to come up with a universal theme, the right kind of hook. So we went through a shitload of ideas until inspiration struck. I'm not sure which of the three of us came up with funfairs ... We [realized] a love affair was pretty much like going round and round and round on a carousel. And before we knew it the song just took shape. It was all there, the words, the tune, there was no stopping it. And Tony and Bobby Elliott wrapped it up in an exceptional arrangement." "On a Carousel" was the Hollies first A-side on which Nash sang lead vocals; he sang the first verse alone, and shared lead vocals with Clarke for the remainder of the song. It was the Hollies' second-last single to be released in the US by Imperial before the band switched to the Epic label. The song was a hit in the UK, peaking at #4 on the single charts, and in Canada it made #7 in the RPM Magazine charts. It was also a hit in the United States, peaking at #11 on the Billboard chart.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A man went to his lawyer and told him, "My neighbor owes me $500 and he doesn't want to pay up. What should I do?"  "Do you have any proof?" asked the lawyer.  "Nope," replied the man.  "Okay, then write a letter asking him for the $1000 he owes you," said the lawyer.  "But it's only $500," replied the man.  "Precisely. That's what he will reply and we will have the proof we need to nail him."

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Sue: My uncle is an umpire in a restaurant.
Lou: In a restaurant?
Sue: Yes. When someone orders pancakes, he yells, “Batter up!”

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- Every time I get a headache I take 2 Ibuprofen and keep away from my children...Just like the bottle says.

Knock-knock.
Who's there?
Dishes.
Dishes who?
Dishes the police! Come out with your hands up!

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On a rural road a state trooper pulled this farmer over and said: "Sir, do you realize your wife fell off the tractor several miles back?"  To which the farmer replied: "Thank God, I thought I had gone deaf!"

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Al's Doggy World

Menings::

Kelly's Corner

HIKING IN THE HUACHAUCA MOUNTIAN'S RAMSAY CANYON WEST OF SIERRA VISTA, ARIZONA

Al's Art Gallery