OUT AND ABOUT FOR A FEW PHOTOS THIS MORNING

 SEPTEMBER'S LILY PADS ON A QUIET POND

Well, I just couldn't resist.  As soon as it was dark again Wednesday night I loaded up Pheebs and off we went Subaruing down the road under the stars with our front windows down, moonroof open, heat on, and the stereo cranked.  I gotta tell ya, this is the best sound system in a vehicle I have ever had, bar none.  Finally, after all these years and all these many vehicles I have had over the years this Subaru makes 51 vehicles, 3 motorcycles, and 7 motorized RV's that I have had the privilege or misfortune of owning.  Here is post I wrote in 2007 about most of those vehicles.  I guess I should update that list one of these days.....A Lifetime Of Old Clunkers And Some Nice Ones Too.   

 IN A FEW WEEKS THOSE TREES WILL BE SLIPPING INTO THEIR AUTUMN FINERY

 A FEW NICE TOUCHES OF COLOR

Bright sunny September morning as Kelly headed north to Goderich for bloodwork while Pheebs and I headed east to our walking spot and beyond.  

 YES, AUTUMN'S REDS, GOLDS, YELLOWS, ORANGES, AND BURGUNDY ARE ON THEIR WAY

Coffee to go at Clinton's Tim Hortons then northwest to a favorite area of mine on Little Lakes Road near the tiny hamlet of Ben Miller.  One is always guaranteed a few photos at this spot where the country road wanders between two small lakes.

A GROUP OF OLDER CYCLERS OUT FOR A COUNTRY MORNING RIDE

 HOPE THAT'S NOT A BEAR CUB UP AHEAD

 NOPE, IT'S JUST THE PHEEBS:))

Home around 11 a.m. much of my time again was happily taken up with, well you know................:))

Sad to hear the Queen of England died today.  I wrote a post back in 2008 entitled, Me & Queen Elizabeth.  My earliest memory of the Queen was her Coronation in 1953.  I was 9 years old and I can still remember bits and pieces of it on our black and white television set at home.  And, I remember my mother there watching it too.  My mother always admired Queen Elizabeth and I don't think she ever missed any of the Queen's annual Christmas greetings.  'Long Live the Queen', and long she certainly did live.  All the best now to her son Prince Charles, the new King of England.  

Friday we plan to take Subie out for a day trip.  By the time we get home again, we will have probably logged a couple hundred miles.  It will be nice to see something different for a change.  I think we are both well overdue for a needed change of scenery and routine.  Pheebs too.   

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A man had been driving all night and by morning was still far from his destination. He decided to stop at the next city he came to, and park somewhere quiet so he could get an hour or two of sleep. As luck would have it, the quiet place he chose happened to be on one of the city's major jogging routes. No sooner had he settled back to snooze when there came a knocking on his window. He looked out and saw a jogger running in place.  “Yes?”  “Excuse me, sir,” the jogger said, “do you have the time?”  The man looked at the car clock and answered, “8:15″. The jogger said thanks and left. The man settled back again and was just dozing off when there was another knock on the window and another jogger.  “Excuse me, sir, do you have the time?”  “8:25!”  The jogger said thanks and left. Now the man could see other joggers passing by and he knew it was only a matter of time before another one disturbed him. To avoid the problem, he got out a pen and paper and put a sign in his window saying, “I do not know the time!”  Once again he settled back to sleep. He was just dozing off when there was another knock on the window.  “Sir, sir? It's 8:45!”

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Judy: Billy got fresh with me last night, so I slapped his face. But I was sorry just as soon as I did it.  Trudy: Because you care about him?Judy: No, because he was chewing tobacco.

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KELLY MADE MY DAY BY SUCCESFULLY ACTIVATING THE SUBARU'S SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO

 TALKING TO SOMEONE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PLANET, KELLY SETS UP OUR XM SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO

Before I get into today's post I'm asking readers to be patient with me through this newer vehicle excitement of mine.  It will probably only be a few days until I get myself focused back to all my usual normal stuff again.  For all you folks out there who have bought either a new or used vehicle at one time or another in your life, you will no doubt understand my bubbling.

 HEADING OUT INTO THE MORNING LIGHT EARLIER TODAY

Well, as soon as it was dark Tuesday night you of course knew where I was.  Yup, I was outside looking at all the really groovy lights in the Subaru's dash.  And there is a lot of them.  Not only that,  but I couldn't resist a short moonlight cruise.  I still don't know how to turn the A/C off or the heat on but no matter, driving along I opened the moonroof, looked up, and saw the Moon.  Now how special was that I thought to myself.

 PHEEBS FIRST RIDE IN THE SUBARU

It was Pheebs first time in the Subaru this morning and just as we had hoped, it is much easier for her to get in and out of.  That was one of the main reasons for choosing this car.  The Sube sits lower than the Jeep and with the doors opening wider it's not as high or as narrow a jump for her.

 AND SHE LIKES IT TOO

Home from our morning walk on this sunny day I dropped Pheebs off and headed into Bayfield for my 10 a.m. eye appointment.  That went fine and I have to be there again Saturday morning when the eye guy himself squirts that stuff into my eyes and then gets up close and personal with his eye machine to stare deeply through my eyeballs to see what my head is thinking.  Despite my thoughts about having to be there, he has never thrown me out on my ear.

 DEFINITELY A PAVING JOB GOING ON AT BAYFIELD'S NEW BRIDGE

Needless to say, after I was home again I spent the next three hours either in or around the Subaru.  Sometimes with the car manual in hand, another time with the vacuum, and another time cleaning the engine up a bit.  While I was doing this, Kelly was also busy figuring out some of the more complicated things.  I was happy she got Subes XM Sirius radio activated because the FM radio stations I had on had me half-drove right round the bend.  For me, satellite radio is well worth its weight in gold.  No hoaky local commercials and no ram-jam ratchet jawed announcers.  Ooops, I'm a bit off track here.  Okay, back to the car.  I think I have the A/C-heater-fan and vents thing about half figured out.  I've located the cruise control thingy in the steering wheel but haven't tried it out yet.  Hey, even the radio stuff can be controlled from the steering wheel.  Well, who knew.  Kelly's working on some of the Bluetooth apps that link the car's technology with her smartphone or something.  I found where the jack and spare tire are kept while Kelly found USB ports and other connectors in the center council.  We're having quite a time here figuring things out.  Well, I guess Rome wasn't built in a day they say so I shouldn't be too impatient with myself trying to figure out this techy stuff all at once.  It's like having a rolling Japanese computer on wheels.

 MY VERY BEST VERSION OF A BIG SMILE

I FIGURED SUBIE'S ENGINE WAS WELL OVERDUE FOR A CLEANING SO I GOT MY CLEANERS OUT AND DID A QUICK CLEAN UP

UNDER THE FLOOR IN THE REAR CARGO COMPARTMENT IS THIS HIDDEN AREA

 UNDERNEATH THAT HIDDEN COMPARTMENT IS THE SPARE TIRE AND JACK

 WHITE WOULD NOT BE MY FIRST CHOICE FOR A VEHICLE COLOR BUT KELLY'S SUNFIRE IS ACTUALLY WHITER THAN THE SUBARU WHICH IS A CREAMIER WHITE

With a lovely late afternoon breeze in the air, Pheebs talked me into a walk around our Park's pond.  I am so much looking forward to cooler days ahead.      

 A FINE AFTERNOON FOR A WALK AROUND THE POND

 FALLEN LEAVES IN THE WATER

 I DON'T KNOW WHAT ALL THESE THINGS ARE SKITTERING AROUND IN THE WATER SO I JUST CALL THEM 'SQUIGGLE BUGS'

 A POND FLOWER

Ellen's Groove:)) Check out these three short clips and you will see how fast Ellen is progressing.  Clip A and Clip B are where she's getting into some tricky fingerwork and Class C is where she is beginning to learn something called 'Slap Bass'.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A man who absolutely hated his wife's cat decided to get rid of him one day by driving him 20 blocks from his home and leaving him at the park.  As he was nearing home, the cat was walking up the driveway.  The next day, he decided to drive the cat 40 blocks away and try the same thing.  As we was arriving back at his driveway, there was the cat! He kept taking the cat farther and farther away, but the darn cat would always beat him home.  At last, he decided to drive a few miles away, turn right, then left, past the bridge, then right again, and another right, and so on until he reached what he thought was a safe distance from his home and he left the cat there.  Hours later, the man calls home to his wife: "Jen, is the cat there?"  "Yes," the wife answers. "Why do you ask?"  Frustrated, the man answers: "Put that damn cat on the phone. I'm lost and I need directions!"

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My horse will only come out of its stable when it gets dark.  It's becoming a night mare.

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