A WALK IN THE CEMETERY

With no wind this morning it didn't feel as cold to me as it has been.  Under cloudy skies, Pheebs and I headed into Bayfield, washed the Jeep at the carwash, and took ourselves for a walk in the cemetery.

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Al's Music Box:)) How Can You Mend A Broken Heart is a song released by the Bee Gees in 1971. It was written by Barry and Robin Gibb and was the first single on the group's 1971 album Trafalgar. Barry and Robin wrote the song in August 1970 with "Lonely Days" when the Gibb brothers had reconvened following a period of break-up and alienation. "Robin came to my place," says Barry, "and that afternoon we wrote 'How Can You Mend a Broken Heart' and that obviously was a link to us coming back together. We called Maurice, finished the song, went to the studio and once again, with only 'Broken Heart' as a basic structure, we went into the studio with that and an idea for 'Lonely Days', and those two songs were recorded that night".  The song was last performed by the Bee Gees in 2001.

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GROANER'S CORNER:((  I asked a supermarket employee where they kept the canned peaches. He said, "I'll see," & walked away. I asked another & he also said, "I'll see," & walked away In the end, I gave up & found them myself, in Aisle C.

My wife texted me “I love u”.  I said that’s my favorite letter, too.

My kids say they want a cat for Christmas. Normally I serve turkey, but, hey, if it will make them happy.

I put our scale in the bathroom corner & that's where the little liar will stay until it apologizes.

Ask your doctor if a drug with 32 pages of side effects is bad for you.

I relabeled all of the jars in my wife's spice rack. I'm not in trouble yet, but the thyme is cumin.

I love bacon. Sometimes I eat it twice a day. It takes my mind off the terrible chest pains I keep getting.

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OUR SMALL APPLIANCE FIASCO

I call it our small appliance fiasco.  My years old Black and Decker one cup coffee maker had been acting up as of late and I began making some disparaging remarks about it.  Noticing my bluster, Kelly said she saw in a recent Canadian Tire Store flyer that they had Keurig one-cup coffee makers on sale.  It was the kind that used coffee pods and could also be used to make coffee the standard way using bagged coffee.  I thought to myself, maybe it was about time to get myself up to speed with this newer pod way of making coffee.  Well, newer to me that is.  Also, in that same Canadian Tire Flyer Kelly noticed they had Cuisinart toaster ovens on sale.  We've heard lots of good things about toaster ovens as of late and it was something we had talked about a few times before over the last half dozen years.  So, one morning last week it was off to the Canadian Tire Store in Goderich we went.  As per usual, Kelly went in to make the purchase while Pheebs and I waited in the car watching for her to come out whereupon we swoop in right up to the door and load things up.  A store employee behind Kelly had the Keurig in a shopping cart with the Cusinart atop the cart.  Hmmmm, I thought, that Cusinart looks kinda big.  With our haul labouriously loaded into the car it was off for home we went.  I don't know how it happened but when I opened the hatch in our driveway it sure looked to me like that Cusinart had grown.  Wait a minute, I thought it was a toaster oven we bought and not a refrigerator.  No matter, I hoisted the big box out and with sore hip and all made my way up the steps and lumbered into the house with it.  I  plopped the box onto the kitchen counter where we had planned to put it.  I noticed right away it was big enough to totally block the toaster, my coffee maker, and our micro-wave oven.  'Oh-Oh' Houston, we have a problem!!  As soon as Kelly came in she confirmed the problem and we knew immediately we had made a big mistake by not paying attention to the counter-top measurements and the toaster oven's measurements.  We never even opened the box.  Next came the Keurig one-cup coffee maker.  I carefully opened the box and removed our next mistake.  It was a color of green that almost made turned my stomach on end.  Not a good start.  Well, hey I thought, I've got some paint in the shed that.....no, scratch that idea.  But that was only strike one against the Keurig.  It was at this point that Kelly took over and tried to figure out how it works.  Strike two.  We also noticed it seemed kind of cheaply built.  Strike three your out and the game was over.  Back into the box it went  and back to the Canadian Tire Store we went the next morning with our returns.  Not giving up on a one cup coffee maker, Kelly next decided on a Nespresso machine and this time coming out the Canadian Tire Store door she wasn't accompanied by an employee with a shopping cart.  In fact, she carried it to the car by a little suitcase like handle on top.  Home again, I opened the Subaru's hatch and noticed the box looked a little worn.  It wasn't until a few minutes later in the house when I went to open the box that I quickly concluded this box had obviously shaken loose in the hold of an old tramp steamer plowing through heavy storm tossed seas around Africa's Cape of Good Hope.  Despite that, I opened the tattered looking box and set it on the kitchen counter.  There were a couple of things I didn't like about it right off the bat but thought I'd let Kelly wrestle with figuring out how it worked.  Minutes later while comforabley enscounced in my sunroom recliner, I thought somebody had started up an old Massey-Ferguson tractor in the direction of our kitchen.  A bit exaggerated on my part of course but I guess I didn't realize those types of pod machines have a motor or something in them to make the coffee.  Now, noise and me don't get along!!  Not even a little bit, so needless to say I am still contentedley brewing coffee in my years old blustery Black and Decker one cup coffee maker:))

 A SHAFT OF MORNING SUNLIGHT CASTS SHADOWS ON OUR HALLWAY FLOOR

 CRITTERS IN OUR PARK

A SLIGHT DUSTING OF SNOW AT OUR PARK'S ENTRANCEWAY

 CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS ARE CROPPING UP IN OUR PARK

I stepped out on our back deck late Tuesday night and looked skywards in hopes of seeing a star or two.  I did, so I knew we might have some sunshine this morning.  We did, and with that, Pheebs and I were soon out the door and headed east into the countryside for a country road Jeep cruise.  Even managed a few pics with some blue sky in them.

WHEN IT COMES TO THE SKY, BLUE IS MY FAVORITE COLOR

 WHEN IT COMES TO THE GROUND, GREEN IS MY FAVORITE COLOR, AND NOTICE THE PATCH OF FROZEN WATER

 A SWATCH OF SNOW LEFT OVER FROM LAST WEEK'S SNOWSTORM

I just finished my latest book called, The Adventures of Joey by Ron Anderson.  I liked this simply written true story about a young boy being growing up on a farm back in the 30s and early 40s.  What made this book especially interesting for me is the fact it takes place in Southern Ontario in and around the towns of  Hagersville, Waterford, Villa Nova, and Simcoe.  Although this fellow was about 10 years older than me at the time of this story, there were so many, many, things he mentioned about his childhood and the way things were back then that I could identify with him.  For me in the 50's it was a one-room schoolhouse, living on a farm, in a small village, walking a mile to school and back carrying a lunch pail, girls, cars, and hanging out with other kids, just to name a few.  This book had me chuckling and brought back memories of things I had completely forgotten about.  My next book is 'Canadian History Stories' by Ahoy Publications......I bailed out on two other books.  'The Alien Inquiry' by Steven D. McIntire bogged me down and I just couldn't seem to plow through it.  In the book, 'The Place Between Here and There' by Stephen Weber I was doing okay until the author brought in a hard-nosed religious viewpoint. I don't have any patience or tolerance for people who proclaim, "Their particular religious way is the only way and everybody else is wrong!!!!"  I did not finish the book. 

 DUSTINGS OF SNOW ATOP THE FENCE POSTS

COULD IT BE THE ENTRANCE TO AN ENCHANTED FOREST

Al's Music Box:)) The Fool On The Hill   is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 EP and album Magical Mystery Tour. It was written and sung by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon-McCartney partnership. According to McCartney, the song possibly relates to a character such as Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the Beatles' meditation teacher: I think I was writing about someone like Maharishi. His detractors called him a fool. Because of his giggle, he wasn't taken too seriously. It was this idea of a fool on the hill, a guru in a cave, I was attracted to ... I was sitting at the piano at my father's house in Liverpool hitting a D 6th chord, and I made up "Fool on the Hill".  McCartney played the song for John Lennon during a writing session for "With a Little Help from My Friends" in March 1967.  At this point, McCartney had the melody but the lyrics remained incomplete until September. Lennon told him to write it down; McCartney said he did not need to, because he was sure he would not forget it. In his 1980 interview with Playboy magazine, Lennon said, "Now that's Paul. Another good lyric. Shows he's capable of writing complete songs."

GROANER'S CORNER:(( For Christmas, I would like an oil change, a utility bill paid, a gift card for groceries, my vehicle cleaned, four new tires, a chocolate milkshake, and gas money. 

One thing no one ever talks about when it comes to being an older adult is how much time we devote to keeping a cardboard box because it is, you know, a really good box.

I can't believe I forgot to go to the gym today. That's seven years in a row now.

I'm in an abusive relationship with the cost of living!!

I like to make lists. I also like to leave them lying on the kitchen counter, and then guess what's on the list when I am at the store.

I just read a book about marriage that says treat your wife like you treated her on your first date. So tonight after dinner I'm dropping her off at her parent's house.

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A DAY AT A TIME

Al's Music Box:(( Theme From A Summer Place.   Percy Faith recorded the theme, an instrumental orchestral arrangement, at the Columbia 30th Street Studio in New York City.  The single was not an immediate hit, but after it entered the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart at No. 96 on 11 January 1960, it ascended to number one in just six more weeks, on 22 February 1960, going on to set an at-the-time record of nine consecutive weeks at number one,  "Theme From A Summer Place" remains the longest-running number-one instrumental in the history of the Hot 100. Billboard ranked Faith's version as the Number One song for 1960.  Faith won a Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1961 for his recording. This was the first movie theme and the first instrumental to win a Record of the Year Grammy.  "Theme from A Summer Place" is the biggest hit on the American charts by a Canadian artist.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  My boss was honest with me today  He pulled up to work with his sweet new car this morning and I complimented him on it.  He replied, "Well, if you work hard, set goals, stay determined, and put in long hours, I can get an even better one next year."

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While visiting a water show a tourist asked one of the divers, "Why do scuba divers always fall backward off their boats?  To which the diver replied, "If they fell forward, they'd still be in the boat."

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- Sorry that I'm late. I got here as soon as I wanted to!

- It turns out that when asked who your favorite child is, you're supposed to pick out one of your own. I know that now.

- It's fine to eat a test grape in the produce section, but you take one bite of a rotisserie chicken and it's, "Sir, you need to leave the store!!!!”

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ANOTHER HO-HUM DAY HAS LEFT ME WITH LITTLE TO SAY

 I'M GLAD I NEVER TOOK AN INTEREST IN FISHING YEARS AGO OR THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN ME HUDDLED UP OUT THERE ATOP BAYFIELD'S SOUTH PIER ON THIS COLD WET AND RAINY MORNING

Under a gray damp overcast, we had a slight combination of snow and drizzly rain this morning.  Kelly wandered off to Goderich to return a few things while Pheebs and I took a short drive into Bayfield and back.  So, another ho-hum day has left me with little to say.       

A FEW YEARS AGO WHEN LAKE HURON'S WATER LEVEL WAS HIGH IT WAS ONLY ABOUT 10 FEET FROM THESE BOULDERS TO THE WATERLINE

Here is an 'exceptionally well-done' short film by filmmaker Erik Wernquist about what future space travel may look like for travelers.  One Revolution Per Minute. Watch this on the largest screen you can, with the best sound you have. (preferably headphones)  'Sights I'd Like To See From Places I'll Never Be'.  Also, from the same director is another fine short film entitled Wanderers narrated by the late astronomer, Carl Sagan.

 IT LOOKS LIKE THESE TREES HAVE GROWN UP AROUND SOME OLD NAUTICAL GEAR NEAR THE BAYFIELD RIVER

A random post from our ranch sitting days southeast of Tombstone near McNeal Arizona....A Valley Of Legends  

Ellen's Groove:))  A new bass guitar for Ellen.  She tries out her Mayones bass and does a bit of singing.  She has a ways to go but by golly, she's getting there.....Ellen's New Bass Guitar

 SOME FARMERS ARE STILL TRYING TO GET THEIR CORN HARVEST IN BEFORE THE SNOW FLIES

Al's Music Box:)) You Didn't Have To Be So Nice is a song by American rock band the Lovin' Spoonful. It was issued on a non-album single in November 1965 and reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1966.  The song was later included in the band's March 1966 album Daydream. According to its writer, band bassist, and songwriter Steven Boone, it was inspired by 1960s celebrity photographer Nurit Wilde. Billboard described the song as having a "good lyric and strong dance beat." Cash Box described it as a "catchy cut" with "a sweet romantic touch."  The song has been cited as an inspiration for the composition of the 1966 song "God Only Knows" by The Beach Boys.

 YUP, IT'S DEFINITELY PURPLE ALRIGHT

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Being a little older, I am very fortunate to have someone call and check on me every day. He is from India and is very concerned about my car warranty.

I choked on a carrot this morning, and all I could think of was, "I'll bet a doughnut wouldn't have done this to me."

Nothing spoils a good story more than the arrival of an eye witness. (Mark Twain)

I finally realize why I look so bad in pictures. It's my face.

It only takes one slow-walking person in the grocery store to destroy the illusion that I'm a nice person.

Women are like telephones ... They love to be held. They love to be talked to. But, if you press the wrong button, you're DISCONNECTED.

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AND TODAY WAS ONE OF THOSE DAYS

 PHEEBS KEEPS A CLOSE EYE ON THE CANADIAN TIRE STORE DOOR THIS MORNING WAITING FOR KELLY TO COME OUT

Some days it doesn't take much for me to knock my feet out from under myself and today was one of those days.......

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Al's Music Box:)) Gunsmoke (The Radio Theme)  Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas in the 1870s during the settlement of the American West. The central character is lawman Marshal Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad on radio and James Arness on television.  The radio series ran from 1952 to 1961.  In 1955, the series was adapted for television and ran for 20 seasons. From 1955 to 1961, it ran in half-hour episodes and one-hour episodes from 1962 to 1975. A total of 635 episodes were aired over its 20-year run. At the end of its run in 1975, Los Angeles Times columnist Cecil Smith wrote: "Gunsmoke was the dramatization of the American epic legend of the West. Our own Iliad and Odyssey, created from standard elements of the dime novel and the pulp Western as romanticized by Ned Buntline, Bret Harte, and Mark Twain. It was ever the stuff of legend."  (This one is for you Norm, way down there in that Clearwater, Florida place)

^{GROANER'S CORNER:((} The teacher of the earth science class was lecturing on map reading. After explaining about latitude, longitude, degrees and minutes the teacher asked, "Suppose I asked you to meet me for lunch at 23 degrees, 4 minutes north latitude and 45 degrees, 15 minutes east longitude...?" After a confused silence, a voice volunteered, "I guess you'd be eating alone."

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AND TRANSPORTED TO CANADA VIA DOGSLED

It was my turn to drive on this cloudy but rainless Saturday morning so I picked up my good buddy Richard at 9:30 and we beetled off to Clinton's Tim Hortons for coffees and muffins to go.  From there, our travels took us northeast of Clinton through a rural area comprising the little burgs and whistlestops of Bornholm, Brodhagen, and Winthrop.  As usual, our country-drive conversation was not only scenic but also timely, stimulating, thought-provoking, and interesting.  I dropped Richard off at home a couple hours later shortly before noon and minutes after that I was in our driveway.  

Early this afternoon, Kelly, Pheebs, and I were back in the Subaru headed to Goderich.  Kelly's old recliner has been steadily deteriorating ever since we bought it two decades ago and I haven't been able to convince her she needs a new one.  Well, that was until a few days ago when she finally decided on her own that it was time to part with her old well-worn relic that I have a suspicion was probably brought to North America on the Mayflower and transported to Canada via dog sled.  So, that's why we headed for Goderich today to stop into the 'The Brick' and 'Home Hardware' stores to check out new recliners.  To say I was 'staggered' by the price of these reclining chairs nowadays would be putting it mildly.  In fact, I had to sit down in one of those very recliners until I could un-stagger myself.  With a possible liver transplant coming up and the probability of a year-long recovery period, it's important that we get exactly the right 'ease of use' recliner for Kelly so that was our priority.  We both noticed the 'Home Hardware' recliners seemed to be of better quality than 'The Brick' recliners so there are a couple possibilities at Home Hardware.  We didn't make any decisions today because Kelly said she hasn't quite got her recliner worn down to the bare steel rails yet and she figures there is still a couple lumpy miles left in her favorite old antique. 

 THIS IS ABOUT THE SAME EXPRESSION I HAD ON MY FACE TODAY WHEN I LOOKED AT THE PRICE TAGS ON THE RECLINERS

Al's Music Box:)) It's Now Or Never is a song recorded by Elvis Presley and released as a single in 1960. The song is one of the best-selling singles by Presley (20 million copies), and one of the best-selling singles of all time. It was recorded by Bill Porter at RCA Studio B in Nashville.  Based on a song Elvis liked by singer Tony Martin, (There's No Tomorrow) Elvis mentioned the idea to his music publisher, Freddy Bienstock, who was visiting him in Germany... Mr. Bienstock, who many times found songwriters for Presley, returned to his New York City office, where he found songwriters, Aaron Schroeder and Wally Gold, the only people in that day. The two wrote lyrics in half an hour. Selling more than 5 million records, the song became number one in countries all around and was Presley's best-selling single ever... a song, Shroeder and Wally finished in 20 minutes to a half hour which was the biggest song of their career.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A hesitant driver, waiting for a traffic jam to clear, came to a complete stop on the freeway ramp. Traffic thinned, but the driver still waited.  Finally, a furious voice from the vehicle behind him cried, “The sign says to yield, not give up!”

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Today, I melted an ice cube with my mind just by staring at it.  It took a lot longer than I thought it would.

- If the temperature is zero outside today and it's going to be twice as cold tomorrow, how cold will it be?

- Do married people live longer than single ones or does it only seem longer?

- How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

- What is the speed of darkness?

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When I offer to wash your back in the shower, all you have to say is ‘yes’ or ‘no’.   Not all this “Who are you and how did you get in here?” nonsense.

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THE ONLY WAY TO SALVAGE THE DAY

A cold cloudy and rainy damp morning but hey, all the snow was gone, we were above freezing, and it wasn't windy.  A short uninspired drive into Bayfield and back for the furry Kid and I.  The only way to salvage the day was to turn up the sunroom's fireplace, tip back in my recliner, and bury my face in a book.  Kelly is feeling much better today.  Her biggest challenge yesterday was trying to stop the bleeding from the teeth extractions.  In only a few short days she has lost 3 pounds:(( 

Al's Music Box:)) Save The Last Dance For Me is a song written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, first recorded in 1960 by American musical group The Drifters with Ben E King on lead vocals.   Songwriter Doc Pomus tells the story of the song being recorded by the Drifters and originally designated as the B-side of the record. He credits Dick Clark with turning the record over and realizing "Save the Last Dance" was the stronger song. In the song, the narrator tells his lover she is free to mingle and socialize throughout the evening, but to make sure to save him the dance at the end of the night. During an interview on Elvis Costello's show Spectacle, Lou Reed, who worked with Pomus, said the song was written on the day of Pomus' wedding while the wheelchair-using groom watched his bride dancing with their guests. Pomus had polio and at times used crutches to get around. His wife, Willi Burke, however, was a Broadway actress and dancer. The song gives his perspective of telling his wife to have fun dancing, but reminds her who will be taking her home and "in whose arms you're gonna be."

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GROANER'S CORNER:(( People don't always post on my Facebook wall but when they do, they wish me happy birthday and then ignore me for another year.

- A couple was having a discussion about family finances. Finally the husband exploded, "If it weren't for my money, the house wouldn't be here!" The wife replied, "My dear, if it weren't for your money I wouldn't be here."

- If Iran does get the bomb, I won't say Ayatollah you so.

- Struggling to get your wife’s attention?  Just sit down and look comfortable.

Mindy: "I finally fixed that annoying noise in my car."

Missy: "Really? How did you do it?'

Mindy: "I opened the door and pushed him out."

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