KELLY'S HOME AND PHEEBS AND I ARE MIGHTY GLAD SHE IS

With warmer air upon us this morning, my Winter jacket was not required for our country road walk.  Again, we were able to do our half-mile walk for the second day in a row.  If this keeps up, I'm going to enroll in a pole vaulting course just to snub my nose at my right hip.

 OH HOW WONDROUS THE SMELL OF NEWMOWN HAY

 BOTH OUR BEAN AND CORN HARVEST ARE RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER

Staying close to my phone waiting for Kelly's call, Pheebs and I headed home.  I cleaned the glass in the Subaru again and made sure the back seat was spiffed up and squared away for when we picked up the Boss later.  It was shortly after ten when Kelly called saying she hoped to be discharged from the hospital between eleven and twelve a.m.  With that, I figured Pheebs and I would head out and slowly make our way toward London using all the back country roads looking for a few photos.

 SPOTTED A FEW OF THE 'BAYFIELD PINES' GALS OUT FOR A WALK THIS MORNING

SOME FARMERS WERE BUSY PLOWING THEIR FIELDS ON THESE BEAUTIFUL SEPTEMBER DAY

 HEY THIS LOOKS LIKE A NICE LITTLE GETAWAY PLACE FOR THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))

 A NICE BEVY OF HORSES 

 SPOTTED THE WEST END OF THIS COW CROSSING A CREEK HEADING EAST

BEANS, BEANS, EVERYWHERE

We are on the cusp of the most beautiful time of the year here in southern Ontario and these mid-September to mid-October days can be like jewels in Mother Nature's crown.  There is a passive feeling in the air like no other time of the year.  Our foliage is in the early stages of change as are the sounds in the air.  Crickets along the roadside serenaded us as we passed.  The Sun is already at a lower angle in the sky casting a slightly different and paler light over the rural landscape.  I love looking at all the working and hobby farms.  The rugged and beautifully landscaped farmyards.  The pastoral horses, cows, and sheep in the fields.  We live in such a beautiful area.

For the first half of our journey to London today we traveled slowly along old familiar back roads that Pheebs and I have traveled before so I knew where the good stopping spots were for our leg stretches and water breaks along the way.

The last half of our journey took us down a few roads I had never been on before and that of course was a real treat to see some scenery I had never seen before.

 WE CAME UPON THIS LARGE FIELD OF GREEN AND PURPLE CABBAGES 

 AND YES, THIS IS WHERE THOSE CABBAGE PATCH DOLLS OF YESTERYEAR CAME FROM

A couple miles north of London's northern boundary I pulled into the Arva cemetery to let Pheebs out and phone Kelly to see how she was making out.  Our timing was perfect as she was waiting for a porter to wheelchair her down to the hospital's main entrance.  Pheebs and were quickly back into the Subaru making our way into and through London's north traffic construction maze.   We rolled up to the hospital's main door and found a waiting spot to squeak into.  Five minutes later the porter and I were helping Miss Kelly into the back seat of the car.  Shortly after that, with a couple McDonalds coffees in hand, we were on our way home.  I think we have decided to give up on Tim Hortons coffee because we keep getting so many bad ones.  We rolled into our driveway shortly after 3 p.m.  Kelly sure was glad to be home and she is definitely looking and feeling better than she was just a few days ago.  I don't know what was in those intravenus bags they had her on but whatever it was, it certainly helped her.  Kelly thinks that iron infusion was a big help as well.  However, thinking realistically, we know this is only temporary and the future still remains very clouded.  We now again await the liver transplant committee's decision on Kelly's second chance at a liver transplant or a partial transplant.  Kelly's oldest daughter Sabra has told Kelly if she is a match for a partial transplant, she will step up to the plate and be there at her Mother's side to help her.

 KELLY'S LOOKING BACK THINKING "I WONDER WHO THAT GUY WHISTLING AT ME WAS"

 NOW HOW'S THAT FOR A HAPPY COMING-HOME FACE

 KELLY'S COLOR IS MUCH BETTER THAN IT WAS THE LAST TIME I SAW HER A FEW DAYS AGO

Great to have Kelly home and have The Bayfield Bunch all back together again.  Thank you so much to everyone for your care, concerns, prayers, considerations, and offers of help.  You is all good people:))        

 A FEW DRIVE-BY PHOTOS ON OUR WAY HOME

 HARD WORKING FARM FOLKS

Ellen's Groove:)) Here's Ellen working on a bass run called Master Blaster but she has a little bit of finger trouble at the end:)) 

 AND A FEW PHOTOS FROM THE HAY SWAMP WEST OF EXETER ONTARIO TODAY

 A SWAMPY FOREST REFLECTION

 SWAMP STUMP

 THAT LIME GREEN IS NOT SLIME, IT'S DUCKWEED

Al's Music Box:)) You Don't Know What You Got by Ral Donner from his 1961 album, Takin' Care Of Business.

GROANER'S CORNER:((- Phone answering machine message - "...If you want to buy marijuana, press the hash key..."

- I went to the butchers the other day and I bet him 50 bucks that he couldn't reach the meat off the top shelf.  He said, "No, the steaks are too high."

- My friend drowned in a bowl of muesli.  A strong currant pulled him in.

-  A man came around in hospital after a serious accident. He shouted, "Doctor, doctor, I can't feel my legs!" The doctor replied, "I know you can't, I've cut your arms off".

- Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly. They lit a fire in the craft, it sank, proving once and for all that you can't have your kayak and heat it too.

- A Man goes to the doctor, with a strawberry growing out of his head. Doc says "I'll give you some cream to put on that."

- 'Doc I can't stop singing The Green, Green Grass of Home' "That sounds like Tom Jones syndrome. ' Is it common? ' "It's not unusual."

- A man takes his Rotteweiller to the vet. "My dog's cross-eyed, is there anything you can do for him?" "Well," says the vet, "let's have a look at him" So he picks the dog up and examines his eyes, then checks his teeth. Finally, he says, "I'm going to have to put him down." "What? Because he's cross-eyed? ""No, because he's really heavy"

- Two elephants walk off a cliff...boom, boom!

- So I was getting into my car, and this redhead says to me "Can you give me a lift?" I said "Sure, you look great, the world's your oyster, go for it.'

- Apparently, 1 in 5 people in the world are Chinese. There are 5 people in my family, so it must be one of them. It's either my mum or my Dad, or my older Brother Colin, or my younger Brother Ho-Cha-Chu? But I think it's Colin.

- Two fat blokes in a pub, one says to the other "Your round." The other one says "So are you, you fat blob!"

- Police arrested two kids yesterday, one was drinking battery acid, and the other was eating fireworks. They charged one and let the other one off.

- "You know, somebody actually complimented me on my driving today. They left a little note on the windscreen. It said, 'Parking Fine.' So that was nice."

- A man walked into the doctor office, he said, "I've hurt my arm in several places" The doctor said, "Well don't go to those places anymore"

- Ireland's worst air disaster occurred early this morning when a small two-seater Cessna plane crashed into a cemetery. Irish search and rescue workers have recovered 1,826 bodies so far and expect that number to climb as digging continues into the night.
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KELLY IS BEING DISCHARGED FROM THE HOSPITAL THURSDAY:)))

 AUTUMNS RICH COLORS ARE SLOWLY MAKING THEIR WAY INTO SUMMER'S GREENERY

Not a good night's sleep for Kelly because of the itching and leg spasms.  Because of her anemia, she underwent an iron transfusion this morning.  They are going to start her on some kind of 'anti-toxin' medicine.  Her hemoglobin level has stabilized somewhere below normal.  She made another raid on the Tim Horton coffee shop five floors below her today to score a coffee and half a dozen Tim Bits to stash away under her pillow for a later midnight snack.  Update:: Kelly phoned after supper tonight saying they are going to discharge her tomorrow. (Thursday)  They feel she will recover better at home than in the hospital.  So, I will be staying close to my phone waiting for her call:))) 

 AND THIS IS WHAT AN IRON INFUSION LOOKS LIKE

 KELLY HAS EXPERIENCED SOME OF THESE THINGS

 HER SUPPER TONIGHT LOOKS ALMOST GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT

Feeling the need for a star fix, I donned my Winter jacket Tuesday night for the first time since last Spring, tippy-toed past a sleeping little doggy, slipped out to the carport, and quietly started up the Subaru.  A few minutes later I was standing in awe on a darkened country road gazing up at a canopy of shimmering diamonds in the inky night sky.  Stars for as far as I could see.  On the western horizon as gold as gold could be hung the large crescent Moon just a few degrees above a distant cornfield.  Not a creature was stirring this cool late summer's night, not even a Mosquito.

A FEW PHOTOS FROM OUR AFTERNOON WALK

A bit nippy this morning and when I got into the car and put my hands on the steering wheel I thought to myself, 'it probably won't be long and I'll have to be wearing my mitts'.  Under mostly cloudy skies and my hip feeling sorta reasonable, Pheebs and did our half-mile country road walk without any problems.  From there we wandered around a few country roads southeast of Bayfield before heading into Bayfield and stopping at the Porter's Hill Wild Bird Seed Company.  Steve, the owner was dressed for summer with shorts on and I of course was dressed for Winter and looking like I had just staggered in out of a snowy blizzard.  Two twenty-pound bags of birdseed and Pheebs and I were on our way home.  I wasn't long in firing up our little gas fireplace in the sunroom to take the chill off.  Surprisingly, the day later warmed up to a very pleasant 71F with a light breeze.

 THISTLES ARE GOING TO SEED

Try as I did I couldn't seem to get myself to begin rounding up the frogs.  Maybe if it was sunny I thought.  Wait a minute...it was sunny yesterday and couldn't seem to boot myself out the door either.  I will just have to be patient and wait for the great outdoors spirit to move me I guess........Well, it wasn't so much the outdoors spirit that later moved me as it was the furry little Pheebs spirit.  I didn't have any photos for tonight's post so she suggested we go for a walk over around the Park's pond and see if we could find some.  And, that's what we did:)) 

Ellen's Groove:)) Here Ellen runs through a new bass line with the family's latest edition, Ringo sitting on her shoulder.  And, you can really see and hear the progress she has made.  So here is 'Lets Do It'   

Al's Music Box:)) We've Only Just Begun by The Carpenters from their 1970 album, 'Close To You'.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Little Emily was complaining to her mother that her stomach hurt. Her mother replied, “That’s because it's empty. Maybe you should try putting something in it." The next day, the pastor was over at Emily's family's house for lunch. He mentioned having his head hurt, to which Emily immediately replied, "That's because it's empty. Maybe you should try putting something in it."

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At the Olympics a man went up to a competitor who was carrying a very long pole."Are you a pole vaulter?"  "No, I'm German, but how did you know my name is Walter?"

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AN ENDOSCOPY THIS MORNING AND A CT SCAN RESHEDULED FOR WEDNESDAY

 THIS TURNED OUT TO BE THE ONLY PHOTO I TOOK TODAY.....DITCH FLOWERS ALONGSIDE OUR MORNING WALKING ROAD

Kelly phoned last night at 9:15 (Monday) saying she is on the eighth floor of the hospital in a room with one other lady.  She was in good spirits and I could tell she was feeling better.  She had 4 IV lines in her arms with 6 bags of various fluids.  She emailed this morning saying her hemoglobin level had dropped even further in the night.  That is not good because it means there is definitely a bleed somewhere.  Earlier today she underwent an endoscopy but there were no signs of blood in her stomach.  This afternoon she was to have a CT Scan but it didn't happen so she is expecting they will do that Wednesday.  Kelly's son Ben had offered to come and see her today but she told him no, she's busy with tests, etc. and being tired, she doesn't feel like having visitors.  She said nurses are constantly coming and going and checking stuff.  I held off posting tonight's blog in case there were any last-minute updates.  Talked with Kelly on the phone tonight and she was once again in good spirits and looking forward to getting on with things tomorrow............ 

 KELLY SNAPPED THIS PICTURE FROM HER EIGHTH-FLOOR WINDOW AT SUNSET MONDAY NIGHT

 AND THE LITTLE DICKENS SQUEAKED HER WAY FROM THE EIGHTH-FLOOR DOWN TO THE THIRD FLOOR AND SNAGGED A TIM HORTONS COFFEE THIS AFTERNOON.....SHE SAID IT WAS NOT A GOOD CUP OF COFFEE!!

 HER IV TREE

HER SUPPER TONIGHT LOOKED GOOD BUT I BET IT DIDN'T TASTE NEARLY AS GOOD AS MY PEANUT BUTTER AND HONEY SANDWICH

As soon as it became dark Monday night Pheebs and I headed out for a drive in the Subaru to see if we could see the Crescent Moon.....but we didn't get too far.  I could hear a sort of flapping noise under the car so slowing down and opening my window I was able to determine it was coming from the driver's side front tire.  We turned around and headed home.  In the driveway with a flashlight, I was able to see that the tire was about half flat.  Despite that, we did see the big beautiful golden Crescent Moon low down in the West........ Pumped up the tire with my small air compressor this morning and headed quickly for Huron Tirecraft in Clinton.  I was in and out of there in well under half an hour.  The problem had something to do with the tire's bead.  I had them check the other 3 tires for wear and they said they were all good to go.  Imagine that, a tire shop telling you your existing tires are still good instead of trying to sell you four new tires.  It seems in this world gone mad there is still a few isolated outposts of honesty going on here and there.  Home again, I took Pheebs for a spin and we managed half a walk at our country road spot.  My darn hip was barking at me so we came back home and spent the rest of the day inside.  I did a lot of reading and Pheebs did a lot of snoozing.  It was a beautiful day outside with a touch of Autumn's coolness in the air.  I'm hoping I can get myself out into the yard tomorrow and maybe begin my annual frog round-up.

I want to thank everyone for your many well wishes, cares, prayers, and concerns.  As well as the offers of help from the folks right here in our very own Park and beyond.  It's nice to know we have so many friends.  All your messages and offers of help are very much appreciated by all three of us here at The Bayfield Bunch  

Al's Music Box:)) Sittin On The Dock Of The Bay by Otis Redding from his 1967 album, 'Dock Of The Bay'.  Otis Redding recorded this song just three days before dying in a plane crash on December 10th of 67.

 HERE'S KELLY WITH HER MEDICAL NOTES ON OUR WAY TO LONDON'S UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL MONDAY AFTERNOON

GROANER'S CORNER:(( You might be a redneck if...

You think you are an entrepreneur because of the "Dirt for Sale" sign in the front yard.

Your house has a kickstand.

You drive around a parking lot for fun.

Your girlfriend has ever called YOUR parents "Ma and Pa".

You have to duct tape your gloves on.

You've ever pruned your trees with a shotgun.

Someone says they spotted Bigfoot and you go buy tickets to the tractor pull.

You think that Marlboro is a cologne.

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KELLY WAS ADMITTED TO LONDON'S UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL LATE THIS AFTERNOON

 PHEEBS AND I HAD A PERFECT MORNING FOR OUR COUNTRY ROAD WALK

Not a good night for Kelly at all, and when she finally got up she was totally drained and feeling very sick.  She had no energy to take Pheebs for their morning walk and sat huddled in her recliner under a blanket.  She didn't even bother with her laptop computer and her condition didn't improve as the day went on.  I insisted on going into the hospital with her to see the doctor for her 3:30 appointment.  She thought about it for a bit then reluctantly agreed.  I knew she was too weak this time to try doing it herself.  I figured one hour to the hospital, one hour there, and one hour back would be okay for Pheebs to stay home.  So, that's what we did.  It was 1:38 with a sad little doggy face looking out the window when we rolled out of the driveway heading for London.  Luckily, upon arriving at University Hospital's 4th floor liver department they took Kelly (us) right in.  A concerned Intern saw her first and asked a few questions.  He then right away conferred with Kelly's liver doctor.  Dr. Teriaky upon entering the room quickly made the decision to admit her.  He didn't waste any time in having his staff making arrangements for a room.  For the first time, I noticed Kelly's skin had a yellow color to it.  Dr. Teriaky then talked to us for about 15 minutes answering our questions.  At one point Kelly had tears in her eyes because she knows her life is on the line.  Dr. Teriaky told us he will again submit Kelly's name to the Liver Transplant Committee.  The liver disease has now progressed to the point where they have tried everything they can, short of a liver transplant.  I asked him what will happen if she isn't accepted for a liver transplant.  I don't remember his exact words to me but he made it clear that they have done everything they can and without a transplant, Kelly will go on suffering with severe itching, nausea, internal bleeding, and everything else that comes with the final stages of this terrible disease.  A liver transplant is her only hope and even that comes with a high risk factor and a whole host of its own problems as well.  But, it's worth the risk because it is the only chance she's got.  Tomorrow (Tuesday) she will undergo an endoscopy to determine where she is bleeding.  She will also undergo a number of other tests as well so we don't know how long she will be in the hospital.  We're thinking at least two or three days for sure and quite possibly more.  It was 6 o'clock by the time I got home after fighting my way out of the hospital's parking garage and then through London's construction-plagued 5 o'clock rush.  I grabbed a chicken/bacon wrap at Tim Hortons and a coffee in Lucan and made fast tracks heading in the direction of Bayfield.  Sure had a happy little tail-wagging doggy at the door when I got home.       

 WE HAD US A REAL NICE CLOUD-STUDDED DAY

Al's Music Box:)) Summer Wine by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood from Nancy Sinatra's 1967 album, 'Nancy In London'.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Three preachers sat discussing the best positions for prayer, while a telephone repairman worked nearby.  “Kneeling is definitely best,” claimed one.  “No,” another contended. “I get the best results standing with my hands outstretched to Heaven.”  “You're both wrong,” the third insisted. “The most effective prayer position is lying prostrate, face down on the floor.”  The repairman could contain himself no longer.  “Gentlemen,” he interrupted, “the best praying I ever did was hanging upside down from a telephone pole.”

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A nursery school driver was delivering a van full of kids home one day when a fire truck zoomed past.  Sitting in the front seat of the truck was a Dalmatian dog. The children started discussing the dog's duties.  "They use him to keep crowds back," said Tommy.  "No," said Billy, "he's just for good luck."  Peter brought the argument to a close.  "They use the dogs, he said firmly, to find the fire hydrants."

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WE'LL SEE HOW TOMORROW GOES

It was off to Goderich for Pheebs and I on this dark drizzly Sunday morning.  Gas, coffee, harbor, the cove area, and Walmart to pick up a prescription.  I think Kelly's appointment with her liver doctor on Monday is coming just in the nick of time.  She has been feeling very weak and not well for the past few days and we suspect internal bleeding again.  Her blood test from late last week showed a very low hemoglobin level.  We'll see how tomorrow goes.

 I'M SURE THIS IS THE SAME LITTLE FELLOW WE WERE BEHIND LAST WEEK AT THE McDONALDS DRIVE-THRU

ANOTHER LITTLE DOGGY OUT FOR A RAINY SUNDAY MORNING DRIVE

 A QUIET SUNDAY MORNING STROLL IN THE COUNTRYSIDE

Al's Music Box:)) Stoned Soul Picnic by The Fifth Dimension from their 1968 album, 'Stoned Soul Picnic. 

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Some friars needed to raise more money for books for the school, so they opened up a small florist shop to raise funds.  Since everyone liked to buy flowers from the men of God, a rival florist across town thought the competition was unfair. He asked the good brothers to close down, but they would not. He went back and begged the friars to close. They ignored him.  So, the rival florist hired Hugh MacTaggart, the roughest and most vicious thug in town to "persuade" them to close. Hugh beat up the friars and trashed their store, saying he'd be back if they didn't close up shop.  Terrified, they did so, thereby proving that "Only Hugh can prevent florist friars."

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