SCHMOOZING WITH OUR NEIGHBORS…..RICK, LADY, WRANGLER AND THE SCAMP

Got ourselves a little smarter this morning and stayed inside until the sun had time to warm things up a bit.  As I carefully peered out I was encouraged by the stillness of the air.  No Palo Verde branches moving and no tall spindly Ocotillo arms wiggling in the wind.  The morning looked like it just might be survivable…… even for me:))
  
WEDNESDAY WE STOPPED AT THE OLD CAMPSITE WE STAYED AT IN FEBRUARY 2008….IT’S STILL MY FAVORITE SPOT OUT HERE BUT THE ROADS A BIT ROUGH FOR GETTING THE MOTORHOME IN NOW
After the last few days of rumbling around in the desert we figured a quiet day at the rig was in order.  Time to catch up on a few things and just take a day for a little homespun rest and relaxation.

THIS SITE NEAR OURS IN 08 WAS OCCUPIED BY OUR FRIENDS MIKE AND MAUREEN FROM LONDON ONTARIO
By 10 a.m. I was into a short sleeve shirt and found myself stretched out comfortably in a lounge chair.  So great to feel that warmer air on the skin.  Fired up our iPod/Bose music center and soon had a bunch of the boys gathered around the campfire.  Hank Williams, Willy Nelson, Marty Robbins, Frankie Laine, Jim Reeves, Dwight Yoakum, Johnny Horton, Hank Snow, Wilf Carter and Merle Haggard were just a few of the fellers who dropped in this morning along with Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers.  Oh, those great harmonies.

Neighbor Rick had invited us to drop by and see his little Scamp trailer so we walked on over and up the hill. Pheebs was sure happy to see her best Pal Lady again and for the next hour the two of them were practically inseparable as they bounded and played together.

PHEEBS AND HER BEST PAL, LADY:))
I have always liked things on the smaller cozy side and Rick’s Scamp had that cozy feeling in Spades. Reminded me of a Volkswagen pop up camper I once had. Rick and his dog Lady live in the Scamp full time and alternate their travels during seasons between Colorado and Arizona. A law enforcement officer for 20 years and in the carpentry trade for 40 years it’s always a pleasure talking to our soft spoken easy going and well traveled neighbor. Always interesting to see how people adapt to their surroundings and Rick has adapted well to his Scamp, making renovations where applicable for him and Lady. 

I especially liked Rick’s hat but it’s not a hat you find in a store.  His hat was a gift from his children and was made specially for Rick by an old hat maker in Colorado.

THIS IS OUR NEIGHBOR RICK
   
 
 
LADY HAS HER OWN QUARTERS RIGHT UNDER RICK’S BED
 
 
 
SOME MAY THINK RICK’S SCAMP A BIT SMALL, BUT TO AN ORGANIZED MAN IT IS WORKABLE PERFECTION:))
It is rare for Kelly to use the oven in the rig, but today, use the oven she did.  No, fortunately for my weight problem, not baking!!  Turkey:))  And, mashed potatoes with gravy too.  Like I always tell Kelly…we sure do eat good for poor folks.

THIS IS WHAT OUR HOUSE LOOKS LIKE FROM RICK’S HOUSE
Friday I think we’ll slip into Ajo and have us a look at the huge mining operation here that once put the town of Ajo on the map.  Ajo’s town center has a very architecturally pleasing Spanish flavor and I did take a bunch of photos in Ajo back in 08 and 09 but maybe tomorrow I will take a few more:)) 

When I opened Live Writer first thing this morning my Blog Followers list was complete and I was able to see our newest Blog Followers.  Let me start by welcoming Susan and Bob from JUST BS!  Susan, all the best to your husband after just being admitted to hospital yesterday.  How unfortunate that was.  TERRY FOX comes in as Blog Follower number 378 followed by RICHARD iLES from Comox BC. (thanks for the ‘Shouts’ a couple days ago) VICKI and CASITA ADVENTURES round out our growing list.  A big welcome and thanks to all of you who have taken the time to drop in on our blog.  I especially like Casita Adventures tag line…"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." — Mark Twain

Some folks have been wondering about GPS co-ordinates to locations we have been in our area.  I think the Mica Mine location may be on this link.  I have to get busy with Google Earth and fly myself out and locate some of those desert areas.  We do have a Delorme P40 GPS but I’ll be darned if we can ever remember to take it with us.  Don’t like leaving it in the Jeep on these freezing cold nights and we always head out the door without it.  Maybe an orange ribbon on my finger.  Of course I would always be looking at the calendar to see when Halloween is.  Why else the orange ribbon on my finger, right!!

And a question about changing the header photo on posts.  I forget to change ours all the time so whenever I go to do it it’s like learning how to do it all over again.  I did just try to explain it but got myself all ka-farbled.  If someone out there has an easy explanation of how to do this I would be happy to post it. 

BARREL CACTUS BARBS
Ever wonder what would happen if the Government was convinced you had died…and you hadn’t.  Check out the problems the not so deceased Mike is having right now because they think he is dead.  MEANDERINGS OF WANDERWOLF

GROANER’S CORNER:(( Brain cells come and brain cells go, but...fat cells live forever.
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-Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
-Until one has loved an Animal, their soul remains un-awakened.
BAYFIELD BUNCH PHOTO ALBUMS https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of
right now...AL.

GUESS WHO HAD PUMPKIN PIE FOR BREAKFAST!!

PORTER HILL LINE ON MY WAY TO GODERICH THIS MORNING
All day Saturday I thought it was Sunday and when Sunday finally showed up it seemed like Saturday which now makes Monday feel like Sunday.  Now, if tomorrow is Tuesday and today is really the day after Friday, not Saturday, then how far can Wednesday really be behind Thursday.  Does anybody know where half past today is?  Oh how these long week-ends can sure mess a feller up.

ONE OF MY ‘QUIET SPOTS’ ALONG THE MORNING TRAIL

Unbeknownst to me, Kelly had baked 2 pumpkin pies on Sunday and as it turns out, it's a good thing she did.  I was only away for an hour this morning but that was long enough for you know who to reach a big paw up and over the kitchen counter and snag almost half a pumpkin pie.  The second pie was just a few inches farther back and amazingly managed to escape the big marauding paw.  When I got home the empty pie plate was sitting in the middle of the living room floor along with one of Kelly's shoes and the pie wrapper.  And, not one pie crumb was to be found anywhere.
 
THIS DOGGY IS SUFFERING FROM PUMPKIN PIE OVERLOAD  
During an early morning CNN newscast I heard a woman describe herself as a depressive realist. That rang a bell for me and I rattled that around in my head for a minute. She explained it as seeing the world in a realistic way and feeling depressed about it. Yep, right or wrong, good or bad, I thought that summed me up real good:))


After reading  JEAN AND SKIP'S post this morning I was reminded of our trip through the Page Arizona area back in 07.  We had stayed in Kanab while visiting the north rim of the Grand Canyon and then rolled through Page Arizona heading for the south rim of Grand Canyon.  The night at the south rim did not turn out to be one of our better RVing memories and was the first negative encounter with our rig's troublesome hydraulic jack system.  You can read my post about that night and following day campground mishap here at, FRUSTRATING NIGHT AT THE GRAND CANYON 

It has been a long time since I have paid any attention to my Picasa Web Albums and when I dropped in there today I found a big huge mess.  I have no idea why or where the 'Live Writer' albums came from but each one has a thousand random photos in them.  I wonder how long that nonsense has been going on.   Anyone going to my Picasa web albums would have been finding a confusing mess there for what I figure must have been a long time.  I have made an address change but I really must get in there and try to find out what has gone awry.  I did see a note from Google+ so am wondering if that has had something to do with the shenanigans.   Bugs me when things go in and make changes to my stuff.  Facebook is notorious for doing that.  I don't know enough about Google+ but why 'Live Writer' is now dumping photo albums of a thousand pics apiece into my Picasa album program I have no idea!!  This is the new address for our BAYFIELD BUNCH PHOTO ALBUMS


KELLY CHATTING WITH HER MOTHER IN SPENCERPORT NEW YORK THIS AFTERNOON
GROANER'S CORNER:((  The fattest knight at King Arthur’s round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi. 
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-Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
-Until one has loved an Animal, their  soul remains un-awakened.
BAYFIELD BUNCH PHOTO ALBUMS (revised)
The only thing better than right now  will someday be the memories of right  now...AL.

WORKING ON SUNDAY

First let me say that the posting problems I had Saturday night were not caused by Live Writer, Verizon, or Blogger.  I started anew & re-did the blog leaving out the link I suspected of being the culprit & it worked.  So, if anyone has a publishing problem sometime be sure to check your links.  Mine was to a site that contained a lot of audio visual & for whatever reason Blogger & Live Writer did not accept it!!  The site is called, 'Closer To Truth' & can be found by typing that into Google.  My kind of thinking.

I especially liked MARGIE'S POST this morning where she talked about, 'people-can-change. I always like to read about what RV bloggers are thinking & feeling.....not just where they have been & what they are seeing all the time.  We all have different takes on things because of our past & current lifestyles.  Each one of us brings to our posts our own personalities.  Margie talks about the changes in attitude after Full Timing for the past 11 years.

Of course Margie's post set me to thinking about all that & about my own attitude over the past few RVing years as well.  One of the big advantages Full timers have over Snow Birders is the unlimited time factor.  They have 12 months every year to go where they want, see what they want, & do what they want.  They move freely & leisurely with the weather.  A few days here a few weeks there.  No need to rush south ahead of the encroaching winter storms & no need to rush back home to a job or house in the spring.  They have the freedom to plan their routes & activities according to their interests.  I think overall, they have a better attitude towards life because of the lifestyle they live.

Back in the days when I used to attend a lot of AA meetings, AA was often referred to by members as standing for Attitude Adjustment as well.    And how true that is.  It affects every one of us whether we are in a 12 step program or not.  Many folks seem to breeze through life without it being much of a problem while others like myself are always in some phase of constant attitude adjustment or another.  I think much of it has to do with each individuals past as to how much attitude tweaking they have to do & by what means they choose to do that.  Not always an easy task to change ingrained thought processes.  But, it can be done.

SHE'S BAAAACK >>>

I'm sure my attitude will continue to show up in the blog from time to time but maybe not with quite as many jagged edges as some posts in the past.  But, then again...................... 

<<<< ALONG THE MORNING TRAIL

Some fellow blogger folks have asked how Kelly's Dad is doing.  He underwent another surgical bladder procedure this past Thursday & at the moment is not doing the best.  In my opinion he is in very grave health but like so many countless times before, Frank just somehow amazes everyone & manages to pull it all together & rallies back to live & see the sunrise of another day.

KELLY'S DAD FINDS HIS OLD 'MARINE' HAT IN THE ATTIC BACK IN THE SUMMER OF 2007

Our annual yellow peril pine pollen menace is upon us now & as I sit here at the computer I can see clouds of the fine yellow powder wafting through the pine trees.  There is no escaping this stuff because it is as fine as smoke & gets into & on absolutely everything.  This stuff has about the same consistency as talcum powder.  Had to hose off my van before I could even head out this morning.  What a big huge mess we have every year & what a big huge clean up afterwards!!

An elderly wheel chair lady in a neighboring town celebrated her 94th Birthday today & family wanted to take her out for dinner so I had myself another nice mobility van run.  I'm always happy to work Sundays because it gives me something to do on an otherwise sloooooow day.  Took my camera gear along figuring on getting down around the harbor for some pics but by the time I washed the van, picked up some groceries, & stuck some food in my face, it was time to pick the folks up again.  So, I'm going to have to dig into my stock pile of photos again for blog pics.

Rather than drag the above older photo back into the Picasa Photo program to work on it I just 'Cropped,' 'Color Popped,' & 'Sharpened' it right here in Live Writer.  Yes, you can work on your photos here.  Click your photo then look to the menu on the right.  Click on 'Advanced.'  This is where you can rotate, crop, add contrast, tilt, or even put your own watermark (name) on your photo.   To do more photo editing just click on 'Effects.'  Now, click on the little green cross & you can add some effects to your photo.  Hey, & who said you couldn't do it, eh:))

(I color popped & sharpened the above photo for effect)  AND WHO SAID WE DON'T HAVE CACTUS IN CANADA!! 

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Some people try to turn back their age odometers.  Not me, I want people to know 'why' I look this way.  I've traveled a long way and a lot of those bumpy old rough roads weren't paved!!

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

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"UNTIL ONE HAS LOVED AN ANIMAL, PART OF THEIR SOUL REMAINS UNAWAKENED"

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