Friday, June 04, 2010

FINALLY.....A NEW CAMERA LENS:))

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THIS WAS THE WAY OF THE OLD WEST

Tonight's photos are a random sampling of pictures from the day we dropped into RATTLESNAKE CRAFTS near Gleason & Tombstone Arizona this past winter.

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SELF PORTRAIT IN A GLASS BALL

With the exception of some weed whacking this morning I didn't get much done around home today but I did get a few things done a whole bunch of miles away.

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CHATTING IT UP WITH THE RATTLESNAKE MAN HIMSELF..................... JOHN WEBER

I have been thinking for over a year now about trading my 55-200mm  Nikon camera lens in for a new 70-300mm lens.  Been watching the prices on a particular lens for quite awhile & finally it went on sale so it was out the door & off to Henry's Camera Store in Masonville Mall, London Ontario this morning.  I did have an alternative reason for going as well because yesterday I while on the way to & from London with the mobility van I had spotted a Jeep Wrangler for sale in the little town of Hensall.  

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MY NEW AF-S VR NIKKOR 70-300 f4.5-5.6 G IF-ED ZOOMERGATOR LENS:)) (fully extended)

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AN ANTIQUE BROWSER'S PARADISE

The Jeep turned out to be a 2001 with a ka-zillion million miles on it plus rust spots so that was the end of that.  Proceeded on to London.  I have blogged before about dealing with some of the 'kids' in retail stores so I didn't go through the door with a lot of optimism going for me.  Computer & camera type stores usually have those young wiz bangs behind the counter who no doubt know their 'technical' stuff but don't seem to have a lot tact when dealing with older folks.  Luckily, this time I dealt with an older fellow by the name of Mike who didn't talk to me like I was some kind of old homeless geezer who just crawled in off the street & didn't know which end of a camera to look through anyway.  I traded in my 55-200 lens plus a 2x Tamron converter.  I didn't expect to get much for them.....and I didn't.  In retrospect I probably should have kept that lens as a spare because there was nothing wrong with it.  It had a lot of miles on it for sure but still worked fine.  Like I've said before.....I'm not the brightest crayon in the package sometimes!!

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IT WAS JUST NICE TO STAND HERE LISTENING TO ALL THESE HANGING ANTIQUES TINKLING IN THE DESERT WIND

The new 70-300 lens is much bigger than I had expected but that's fine.  I'm from the old school where heavier feels better.  I know I'm going to love this lens & I'm hoping to get in a bit closer on those bugs & bird shots now.

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Leaving the camera store I got the brainwave to head on over to a Stratford Ontario auto dealership that had some Wranglers on the lot.  Looked at a couple nice 2007's but the prices were enough to pull your pants down & I could not believe the low ball price the guy offered me for the Caravan.  It was $1,300.00 lower than the lowest offer I have had on the van so far. 

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Headed on back to Bayfield stopping at a few car lots on the way but no Jeeps in sight.  Also stopped in Goderich to take that red 2005 TJ for another run.  It's a 4 cylinder 6 speed & I like it but Kelly is not keen on it.  This is the only place that will take the bike on a trade.  Yes, I could maybe get a few more dollars for the motorcycle if I tried selling it myself but I absolutely hate all that 'bargaining & stupid dickering crap' you have to go through with everybody coming to look at whatever your selling.  Some people enjoy that BS but I am not one of them.  Nothing like haggling over money to bring out the worst in people!!

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The big spring rush is over at our front yard bird feeders for another year.   Activity is way down as the Cardinals, Blue Jays, Red Breasted Grosbeaks, Orioles, Nuthatches, & others have all but disappeared.  Still a few Goldfinches at the feeders, some sparrow type birds & of course the ever present all time front yard scavengers....the squirrels!!

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I unplugged our troublesome external hard drive from the desktop computer & hooked it up to our newer Win 7 Toshiba laptop this afternoon & it worked perfect.  Re-plugged it back into the desktop tonight using a different USB port this time & so far so good.  I'll know when I go to publish this thing in a few minutes.  Maybe it's not the X-drive after all.  Maybe it's just the color of my socks or something.

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NO, THE CACTUS IS NOT FOR SALE!!

I have finally decided to include my SMUG MUG photo gallery on the bottom tag line now.  It is nowhere near done, nor will it probably ever be done because I just have way too many thousands of photos to sort through.  But, it is a work in progress for sure.

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GROANER'S CORNER:((  Suburbia: where they tear out the trees and then name streets after them.

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it......

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

OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

AL'S SMUG MUG PHOTO GALLERY http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/ (a work in progress)

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

Thursday, June 03, 2010

JEEP FEVER.....IT'S WEARING ME DOWN:((

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DAISIES IN A CLOVER FIELD

Well, after all the time & effort I put into Wednesday night's blog finding & arranging all the photos I am tonight......discouraged:((  All the photos for Wednesday night's post were on our external hard drive & I had long & hard time retrieving them because the external drive kept failing.  I'm wondering if that somehow had something to do with the blog not publishing because of incomplete photo data or something.  

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DOCKSIDE IN GRAND BEND

I had trouble with that drive a few months ago & took it into the shop.  It was checked over & found to be working OK but it's acting up again.  I might be in the middle of getting some photos & it will just quit.  I then have to pull out the power cord & keep re-plugging it in to get it working again.  Had to do that 7 times last night & in the end my pictures didn't publish anyway.  We are going to get another external drive & see if we can get all our stuff out of the troublesome one into a new one.  May have to use my hammer & crowbar!!  (

(My heart stood perfectly still tonight as it took 85 seconds for the blog to publish with no error message)

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AN OLD FORGOTTEN FOOT BRIDGE

I think tonight I am just going to keep things simple & use some file photos from the desktop computer.

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FROG ROCKET ON A LAUNCH PAD

It was a long day.  The toilet in our rig doesn't hold water anymore so that means the seal is shot & has to be replaced.  That is not a job for the faint of heart like myself so will have to find somebody who is willing to do that.  Wanted to make sure the black tank was sanitized so I drove the rig to our nearest dump station in Exeter which is a 40 minute drive away & flushed a couple full tanks of water through it with a copious amount of bleach included.   Between each tank full of water & drove the rig around for a couple miles to give it a good slosh.  I will probably do that whole procedure one more time before finding someone to fix that seal.

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THE BONNIE DOON MANOR OVERLOOKS GRAND BEND'S BEACH & LAKE HURON

This afternoon I had a mobility van run to London & back.  Heavy torrential rains made for some bad driving again so by the time I got home late this afternoon I was beat.  Luckily I have tomorrow off so hope to catch up on things at home here.  Grass is about 20 feet tall & there seems to have been some kind of nuclear weed explosion with all the rain lately.

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SPLISH SPLASH I WAS TAKING A BATH

We have just been going round, & around, & around, with this Jeep thing.  Up until last night I was leaning strongly toward the 2005 four cylinder red Jeep in Goderich but after receiving emails & comments yesterday I became discouraged about the 4 cylinder Jeeps being underpowered.  Kelly spent way over an hour last night reading Jeep forums & reviews.  I emailed some Jeep friends for their opinions & emailed some other fellows about their thoughts. 

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MY HEART IS STILL IN THE OLD WILD WEST (This is the cover off a picture book I had as a kid)

This morning my head swung back to the 2009 yellow 6 cylinder Jeep in Exeter & for the rest of the day I was mentally exhausted with red Jeep this or yellow Jeep that!!  Which was the better deal & why.  For sure the yellow Jeep is the better vehicle but for sure it is the vehicle with the biggest price tag too.  Pros & cons back & forth.   Should I trade the motorcycle or not.  The red Jeep place will take the bike on trade but the yellow Jeep place won't.  Tonight I am totally all Jeeped out & am going to have to go stick my head in a pail of cold water for half an hour just to put the fire out.  Say, has anybody out there got a good Jeep deal for the Bayfield Bunch:))

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<<<< A SUNSET SAIL IN BAYFIELD

GROANER'S CORNER:(( 

Let's put the seniors in jail and the criminals in a nursing home.

This way the seniors would have access to showers, hobbies, and walks.  They'd receive unlimited free prescriptions, dental
and medical treatment , wheel chairs etc.  And they'd receive money instead of paying it out.  They would have constant video monitoring, so they could be helped instantly if they fell, or needed assistance.  Bedding would be washed twice a week and all clothing would be ironed and returned to them.  A guard would check on them every 20 minutes and bring their meals and snacks to their cell. They would have family visits in a suite built for that purpose.  They would have access to a library, weight room, spiritual counseling, pool, and education.  Simple clothing, shoes, slippers, P.J.'s and legal aid would be free on request.  Private & secure rooms for all, with an exercise outdoor yard & gardens.  Each senior could have a P.C., A T.V., radio, and daily phone calls.  There would be a board of directors to hear complaints, and the guards would have a code of conduct that would be strictly adhered to.

The "criminals" would get cold food,  be left all alone, and unsupervised.
Lights off at 8pm, and showers once a week.
Live in a tiny room, and pay $5000.00 per month and have no hope
of ever getting out.    Justice for all.

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

                                 and

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

OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

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

Wednesday, June 02, 2010

MAJOR BLOG PUBLISHING PROBLEMS AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am having major problems again tonight trying to publish the blog so I am going to try taking out all the photos & links & just publish the text.  Keeps coming up with an error 400 message.  Very frustrated to say the least!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

From time to time we receive emails from folks who read our blog & it's always nice to hear if, when, & how our blog has had something to do with events in people's lives.  This week we received an email from a couple who first contacted us two years ago when we were boondocked along the San Pedro river east of Sierra Vista, Arizona.  A question, & our blog helped set up a series of events which culminated in the folks buying a piece of property near Sierra Vista Arizona just a few weeks ago.

We had traveled from Borrego Springs California to the southeast corner of Arizona in preparation for taking on a ranch sitting job near McNeal in early 2008.  We rolled into Sierra Vista with no idea where to stay because we were a week early for the ranch job.  Kelly got on the RV NET FORUM with a question asking if anyone knew of any boondocking sites in the area.  Several people answered that post & one fellow was a retired military fellow currently working at Fort Huachuca.  He was from Elfrida & we later met him & his wife Jackie.  We nicknamed him Sarge & I have blogged about his Hudson Hornet car hobby before.  The other fellow we heard from was in Colorado & also retired military who had been stationed at Fort Huachuca years ago.  He knew the exact spot where we were & shared some memories of his military days in that region.

We found a spot along the Charleston Road & San Pedro river for a couple nights until a border patrol officer & a State trooper came along & told us we would have to move from that location.  They told us of a BLM location about 3 or 4 miles from where we were that might be OK for us so we packed up & moved.  The spot turned out to be totally excellent & I blogged about our nearly week long stay there before heading to the ranch.  And I blogged about the charming farm couple we met at that spot too. Jack & Gwen came through twice a day watering & feeding their free ranging cattle  It was not unusual for us to have cows feeding nearby.  A nice farm touch I thought.

Awhile after that the retired military fellow & his wife from Colorado were traveling in the Tombstone area & emailed us again wondering where that spot was we had boondocked at.  I emailed back the directions & they headed for the spot to camp for awhile.  While there they of course met Jack & Gwen on their cattle rounds. 

Then, just a month ago they returned to that boondocking site near Tombstone a second time to escape the spring snow storms in Colorado. While talking with Jack & Gwen again one day they expressed an interest in having a look at some real estate in the area.  Turns out Jack & Gwen's daughter in law happened to be a real estate agent in Sierra Vista.  To make a long story short, a phone call was made, a meeting was arranged, several properties were looked at near Tombstone & one near Sierra Vista.  The couple from Colorado, who have periodically been following our blog bought the 10 acre parcel near Sierra Vista & emailed us to say how the whole series of events had led them there.  Now, doesn't that just give ya kind of a warm fuzzy:))

Sure makes me feel good inside to think that we actually had something to do with some other folks happiness.  And all because of a simple question posted in the RV Net Forum way back in early 2008.  Yep, you just never know who's reading these darn blogs alright.

Tuesday, June 01, 2010

A LITTLE BIT OF ENVY & A LITTLE BIT OF JEEP

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HAPPY JEEPERS.....We rode with this couple on the Borrego Badlands tour

Today's blog photos are of 2 Jeep tours we were on while in Borrego Springs California the last couple of years.  Check out 4 WHEELING IN GRAPEVINE CANYON & the PALO VERDE & BORREGO BADLANDS Jeep tour.  On both those rides we were totally squished into the tiny back seats of Jeeps.  Figured the only way to overcome this was to someday get our own Jeep!!!!  That day just might be close at hand:))

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ENDLESS MILES OF OFF ROADING IN THE DESERTS, MOUNTAINS, & CANYONS NEAR BORREGO SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA

I am finding it increasingly hard to read blogs lately & especially in the mornings.  The past few weeks I have reverted to using the magnifying glass because my reading vision is becoming increasingly blurry & it seems mornings are the most difficult.  Last October my Optometrist guy told me I had the start of cataracts in both eyes but not to the point where any medical procedures were required yet.  Said to come back in a year.  Noticed my long range vision is not up to par anymore either but not nearly as bad as the shorter vision. Am beginning to wonder if maybe I will have to go back to the eye guy sooner than that. 

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NOT MUCH ROOM IN THE BACK OF A JEEP FOR SURE

I have a second reason for finding it hard reading some blogs as well & it doesn't have anything to do with vision.  I guess it has more to do with envy.  As much as I enjoy seeing where fellow RVers are & what they are doing it also brings home the fact they are out there enjoying & experiencing the physically & mentally active RV lifestyle traveling from one interesting destination to another..... and we are not!!    FROGGI DONNA & STU are wandering around up in Oregon while both MOTTY & PATTI and BRUCE & MARGIE are in Moab Utah.  I am really envious of JUDY &  EMMA heading out on their maiden voyage to Custer South Dakota with their newer rig.  The LITTLE HOUSE ON WHEELS ladies  are enjoying themselves driving through Nebraska while LAURIE & ODEL continue their long sweep into Ohio on a great circle tour of the United States.

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THE JEEP TOUR GROUP CHECKS OUT THE BORREGO BADLANDS IN CALIFORNIA (our desert friend Butch is second from right)

Yes, I know I shouldn't be envious & all that stuff, & yes, I know I should be more grateful to even have the opportunity to travel in the winter.  And yes, I know I shouldn't complain about all this but it is quite simply, the reality of how I feel......period!!  And that's enough out of old Grumble Guts for today so let's get on with some positive stuff!!

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Some of you might remember the caption I had under the picture of that red Jeep in last night's blog.  It read, 'Awwww nuts, here we go looking at Jeeps again!!'  I was informed first thing this morning by the CEO here that the caption would make people think it was just Kelly's idea to get a Jeep & not mine!!  Well, for heaven's sakes we wouldn't want people thinking that now would we, so I quickly went in & changed the caption.  Whewwww, close call for Al there.  But yes, it is a joint decision & all major decisions we make are always done together.  Always!!

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THE BORREGO BADLANDS ARE A REALLY ROUGH PLACE

Now, about the Jeep.  I went up to Goderich this morning & took that red Jeep for a run.  Very nice & I liked how it shifted & handled.  Found me a bumpy gravel road & some train track crossings & there were no rattles.  It is a 4 cylinder engine with a 6 speed transmission & was bought new by a lady in Goderich back in 2005.  She traded it in for a bigger pick-up standard shift truck.  The Jeep has not been abused or driven off any cliffs or over any mountains.  Has a trailer hitch plus both soft & hard tops.

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THIS IS THE 2005 JEEP TJ WE ARE NEGOTIATING ABOUT

The young sales fellow made me an offer on our 99 Dodge Caravan which of course was low so we will have to talk a little more about that.  But, I have decided to trade something else in on the Jeep as well.  Something I actually tried to sell last summer for a short period of time & something I have not been using a lot this past couple of years.  The Motorcycle.  It just does not make any practical sense for me to hang on to something I am not using.  I really enjoyed my early motorcycling days years ago but the excitement has gone out of it for me & it's not something we can take south with us anyway.   It just makes sense to take this opportunity & trade it in on the Jeep.  I will be taking the bike to Goderich Wednesday afternoon for the fellow to have a look at & we will see how we make out from there.

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Had a great working & driving day with the mobility van through the countryside this afternoon & tomorrow morning I am off early again.  I am a happy guy these days being kept so busy......"jeep jeep:))"

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THE GROUP IS OUT OF THEIR JEEPS & ON THE MOVE...Kelly is the third one from the end & I think she just stepped in some Coyote poop!!

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Did you know Tom Sawyer was the first novel to ever be written on a typewriter & it is impossible to lick your elbow.  And by the way, despite what you first may think, you will actually be able to read the following..........."I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?"  See, told ya so, & stop trying to lick your elbow!!!!:))

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

                                 and

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

OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

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

Monday, May 31, 2010

BUSY DAY & A NASTY HAIL STORM!!

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WE HAVE BUSY LITTLE BIRDS IN OUR FRONT YARD GARDENS (I may have posted this pic before but can't remember)

Turned out to be a busy  Monday as I filled in for a driver this morning & used the company's mini-van to move a fellow from one town to another for a short medical appointment.  This afternoon I was back in the mobility van & off to London with a young disabled fellow & his Mother on board. 

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PARKED AT LONDON ONTARIO'S WELL KNOWN & RESPECTED UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL LAST WEEK

We were almost at our destination when the sky's opened up & we got hit with a short & savage rain storm with beating hail & nearly zero visibility.  Sounded like the hailstones were coming right through the windshield.  Fortunately the heavy deluge of ice & rain only lasted about 10 minutes but it was enough to spawn immediate flood warnings on the local radio station & it was amazing how much water was cascading down the streets.

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HAIL ON THE GROUND BESIDE A HOUSE & SHREDDED LEAVES ON CAR OUT FRONT

Someone asked again what camera equipment I use & because I didn't get on it right away I have forgotten who it was so I'll include a link to a post I had done about that on September 19th of 2008 just in case that same person happens to be reading this tonight.  Just read the camera part & disregard all my other blusterings that day in long ago September.  The country was in full blown financial meltdown at the time & so was AL's attitude.......again:((  Click on..... NIKON CAMERAS

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COUPLE OF NIKONS & A CANON.....NIKON D50 ON THE LEFT WITH THE D40 ON THE RIGHT & CANON BOTTOM RIGHT (Am hoping to trade that longer 55-200mm zoom lens in for a 70-300mm zoomer shortly) Photo was 'colored popped & sharpened' in Live Writer:))

Whenever I see we have a new follower I generally click on their profile to see who they are & if they happen to have a blog site.  That is how I have come across other folks interesting RV blogs & have sometimes included their links in my posts.  In the last little while I have generally liked to try & give new bloggers or new followers a bit of a jump start by including a point of interest from their post into my blog.  Latest follower Terry K's profile shows most of his categories as 'classified' so I am not too sure what that is all about.  My experience has been that most folks are very free, honest,  & open, with their RV lifestyle & blog sites, etc.  So, TK if you are a legitimate follower, I say welcome.  If not................??

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WAITING PATIENTLY FOR A HUMMINGBIRD TO SLOW DOWN!!

My external hard drive seems to be acting up tonight again & is not letting me access my file photos.  I have a lot of photos stored on there.......or did!!

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HAVING A LOOK AT ANOTHER JEEP.....2005

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A woman walked into the kitchen to find her husband stalking around with a fly swatter.  "What are you doing?" She asked.  "Hunting flies" He responded.  "Oh, killing any?" She asked.  "Yep, 3 males, 2 females," he replied. Intrigued, she asked "How can you tell?"  He responded "3 were on a beer can, 2 were on the phone."

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

                                 and

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

OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

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

Sunday, May 30, 2010

WORKING ON SUNDAY

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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...................... 

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<<<< 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.

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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!!

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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.

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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:))

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(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.

                                 and

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

OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

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