A NICE MORNING WALK FOR PHEEBS AND I BEFORE CHRISTMAS

With mid-morning temps at 40F and a slight mist in the calm air, Pheebs and I set off east down Bayfield Road.  We didn't have a destination until I thought of one, so without further ado, we headed ourselves in the direction of the Bannockburn Conservation Area.  I had my fingers crossed that nobody would be there and there wasn't.

 A TOUCH OF MIST IN THE MORNING'S COOL AIR

 STILL A FEW SWATCHES OF SNOW LEFT IN A FEW FARMER'S FIELDS

 WE ARE DEFINITELY GOING TO HAVE A GREEN CHRISTMAS

  MIST HANGING LOW IN A ROADSIDE FOREST

 A FAVORITE TREE THAT I HAVE TAKEN MANY PICTURES OF OVER THE YEARS

 AREA CREEKS AND STREAMS ARE FLOWING FREELY

 ENJOYING HER MORNING JEEP RIDE

With recent rains, the river and tributaries through the Conservation area were running strong and we could hear the water rushing along before we came into view of it from the boardwalk.  

 THIS IS THE PARKING LOT TRAIL HEAD

With her nose to the ground, Pheebs thoroughly enjoyed all the new morning smells along the trail.  I thought if only we could get a few bursts of morning sunshine to brighten and cheer things up.  But, it's okay because it was just nice to be out with Pheebs seeing her happily having such a great time.

 LOTS OF WONDERFUL NEW SMELLS ALONG THE WAY

 LOVE THE SOUNDS OF A BABBLING BROOK

Despite the wooden boardwalk being wet and very slippery, neither one of us took a tumble.  We made it back to the Jeep and were home by 11 a.m.

HEADING BACK TO THE JEEP

I would like to thank all my blog readers,  as well as our friends, and family for all the Christmas cards and best wishes this year.  So many of those Christmas cards came from all the good people right here in our very own Park.  This year of 2023 has been a difficult one for us and it looks like 2024 is going to be a very challenging year as well.  Thank you to everyone for your kind words, concern, and support all these years.     

Over our RVing years, we were fortunate enough to spend a number of Christmas Eves and Christmas days in different locations in the Great American Southwest.  Without snow on the ground, it never did seem quite like Christmas to us but that was okay.  We were always so happy to be somewhere warmer surrounded by enchanting desert vistas rimmed by beautiful mountain ranges all around, fiery sunrises, and sunsets on either end of big starry night skies with diamonds shimmering from mountain top to mountain top.  Below are a few Christmas Eve or Christmas Day photos from each year of our travels.

 CHRISTMAS DAY 2007 FOUND US IN BORREGO SPRINGS CALIFORNIA DOING LAUNDRY

 SITTING ON SANTA'S KNEE IN COLUMBAS NEW MEXICO 2006

 CHRISTMAS EVE DESERT CAMPFIRE BETWEEN OGILBY ROAD AND THE MUCHACHO MOUNTAINS WEST OF YUMA ARIZONA IN 2008

 CHRISTMAS DAY 2009 WITH RV BLOGGER FRIENDS JERRY AND SUZY  IN BENSON, ARIZONA

 CHRISTMAS DAY DINNER IN OUR RIG SOMEWHERE BETWEEN ELFRIDA ARIZONA AND THE SWISS HELM MOUNTAINS 2010

CHRISTMAS DAY AT THE RANCH CLEANING CORRALS NEAR MCNEIL ARIZONA 2011.... IT WAS PHEEBS FIRST CHRISTMAS IN THE SOUTHWEST

 CHRISTMAS DAY AT OUR HOUSE IN CONGRESS ARIZONA 2012

 CHRISTMAS DAY 2013 WE WERE BOONDOCKED WEST OF THE KOFA MOUNTAINS SOUTHEAST OF QUARTZSITE ARIZONA AND SPENT THE DAY ON A ROUGH AND TUMBLE JEEP DRIVE INTO THE KOFA'S QUEEN CANYON....BOTH KELLY AND PHEEBS CAN BE SEEN IN THIS PHOTO

ON CHRISTMAS MORNING 2014 WE HIKED UP GHOST MOUNTAIN TO THE OLD MARSHAL SOUTH HOMESTEAD IN THE BLAIR VALLEY SOUTHWEST OF BORREGO SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA

 STRIKING MY MARSHAL SOUTH POSE ATOP GHOST MOUNTAIN AT YAQUITEPEC

 CHRISTMAS DAY 2015 FOUND US IN WENDEN ARIZONA HEADING HOME TO CONGRESS AFTER THE DESERT WINDS BLEW US OUT OF BORREGO SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA

 CHRISTMAS 2016 AGAIN FOUND US BOONDOCKED AT THE CLARK DRY LAKE BED NORTH OF BORREGO SPRINGS AND ON CHRISTMAS DAY WE DID A COUPLE BIG DESERT HIKES....HERE IS KELLY BETWEEN HIKES IN OCOTILLO WELLS ON THE PHONE TO HER MOTHER IN SPENCERPORT, NEW YORK

 CHRISTMAS DAY 2017 FOUND US MAKING OUR WAY TO THE SOUTHWEST THROUGH DALLAS TEXAS

 CHRISTMAS DAY 2018 FOUND US STILL IN BAYFIELD ONLY DAYS AWAY FROM HEADING OFF TO THE SOUTHWEST FOR WHAT TURNED OUT TO BE OUR LAST RV TRAVELING YEAR

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

 Al's Music Box:)) The Old Lamplighter is a popular song written by Nat Simon, with lyrics by Charles Tobias. The song was published in 1946.  The lyrics sentimentalize and memorialize the profession of lamplighters, who walked city streets at dusk turning on the gas-powered streetlamps and turning them off again at dawn.  In 1960, the song was a major country-pop hit for The Browns, released as a single early that year. It went on to become a major top-ten hit. 

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A Few Points To Ponder::

- Tell me what you need, and I'll tell you how to get along without it.

- On the keyboard of life, always keep one finger on the escape key.

- Never trust an electrician with no eyebrows.

- I want to be 14 again & ruin my life differently. I have new ideas.

- Apparently RSVP'ing to a wedding invitation with "Maybe next time" isn't the correct response.

- You are slower than a herd of turtles stampeding through peanut butter.

- Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves for they shall never cease to be amused.

- I'd love to live life in the fast lane, but I'm married to a speed bump.

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On the way to preschool, a doctor had left his stethoscope on the car seat, and his little girl picked it up and began playing with it.  "Be still, my heart," thought the doctor. "My daughter wants to follow in my footsteps!"  Then the child spoke into the instrument, "Welcome to McDonald's. May I take your order?"

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HOW MUCH NICER IT WOULD HAVE BEEN IF TODAYS RAIN HAD BEEN SNOW

I know I grump about snow all the time but out for a short Jeep ride with Pheebs to Bayfield and back I thought to myself how nice this dreary, drab, dismally damp, cold rainy depressing morning would be if all this rain coming down would be a gentle snowfall.  How much nicer things would have looked and how much better I would have felt.  It's pretty hard to come up with any kind of Christmas spirit on a cold rainy day.  Christmas memories for me take me back to a quieter time when I was a small boy.  Oh, how I would like to return to the delights and wonderments of the happy youthful feeling and child-like innocence of those excitingly magical days.........................

Facebook threw me this pre-Christmas RV memory today when we were boondocked west of Yuma Arizona on this date in 2008.....A Windy Pajama Scramble In The Late Night Desert  

Al's Music Box:))  Driving Home For Christmas is a Christmas song written and composed by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea.  Rea said he wrote "Driving Home for Christmas" many years before its first recording in 1978 when Rea needed to get home to Middlesbrough from Abbey Road Studios in London.  His wife had come down to drive him home in her Austin Mini to save money because it was cheaper to drive than travel by train. Rea was recently out of contract and the record company was unwilling to pay for the rail ticket. The inspiration for the song came as they were getting stuck in heavy traffic, while the snow was falling. He started looking at the other motorists, who "all looked so miserable. Jokingly, I started singing: "We're driving home for Christmas..." Then, whenever the streetlights shone inside the car, I started writing down lyrics". Rea never planned to write a Christmas song. It was several years later that while testing pianos with keyboard player Max Middleton he found a tune that fitted the lyrics. Middleton played the distinctive jazzy intro, and together they produced a typical 1950s Christmas carol-type arrangement......(Ever since I first heard this song years ago I have added it to my blog each year at Christmas....it's my fav)   Al:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((  The physician writing out a prescription for his hypertensive cardiac patient: Diazepam 5mg (tranquilizer) TDS".  The patient's wife asks, "Doctor, when is he to take these medicines?"  "Not him ma'am, These are to be taken by you.........He needs the rest!!"

- I’m not bossy, I simply know exactly what you should be doing.

I would like to thank my arms for always being by my side, my legs for always supporting me, and my fingers, because I can always count on them.

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WE EVEN HAD A FEW TRACES OF AFTERNOON SUNSHINE ALONG THE WAY

RICHARD, IN HIS VAN, LEADS THE WAY HOME

A cloudy day but at least we are a few degrees above freezing with temps going up even more over the next few days.  It is definitely looking like a green Christmas here.  Up to Goderich and back for Pheebs and I this morning with all the usual stops thrown in.

 I'VE SEEN THIS OLDER FELLOW HERE A NUMBER OF TIMES AND I ADMIRE HIS DETERMINATION AND STAMINA

 NOT SURE WHAT THIS LAKESHORE COUPLE IS DOING BUT MAYBE THAT IS A SELFIE STICK

Richard's van at B&D Transmission in Stratford was ready to be picked up and with the garage closing today for Christmas holidays Richard needed to retrieve the van by 3 p.m.  Pheebs had a Vet appointment in Zurich for 1:30 so Kelly, Pheebs, and I headed there where I got Pheebs inside okay.  Sometimes she slams on the brakes and doesn't want to go it, but not today.  Richard picked me up at the Vets in the Hyundai rental car and we headed for Stratford.  Later when Pheebs was ready to go, Kelly had a staff member help Pheebs into the Subaru.  Pheebs always needs a boost getting in and Kelly couldn't do that because of her Angiogram compromised wrist.  No problem for Pheebs getting out of the car when she and Kelly got back home.  Richard and I made it to the B&D Transmission place in Stratford on time to pick up his van and from there we headed for Richard's place with him leading the way in his van and me bringing up the rear in the rental car.  I love these road trips, and especially so on nice driving days like today.  We even had a few traces of mid-afternoon sunshine along the way:))    

SOME FARMERS WERE BUSY WORKING THEIR FIELDS TODAY

 RICHARD AND I HAD TO DODGE AROUND SOME FARM MACHINERY ON THE WAY HOME

Al's Music Box:))  Get Your Kicks On Route 66 ----- Nat King Cole with the King Cole Trio, first recorded the song in 1946 at Radio Recorders in Los Angeles. Capitol Records released it as a single. It is a popular rhythm and blues song, composed in 1946 by American songwriter Bobby Troup.  Bobby Troup got the idea for the song on a cross-country drive from Pennsylvania to California. Troup wanted to try his hand as a Hollywood songwriter, so he and his wife, Cynthia, packed up their 1941 Buick and headed west. The trip began on US 40 and continued along US 66 to the California coast. Troup initially considered writing a tune about US 40, but Cynthia suggested the title "Get Your Kicks on Route 66".  The song was started during the ten-day trip and finished after consulting a map in Los Angeles. The lyrics mention several cities and towns encountered along the way; Cynthia later commented: "What I can't really believe is that he doesn't have Albuquerque in the song."  (Kelly and I have been through all of the places mentioned in the song except Barstow and San Beradino, California)  I also like Nelson Riddle's instrumental recording of this song as well.  Route 66 TV Theme Nelson Riddle --- Nelson Riddle was commissioned to write the instrumental theme when CBS decided to have a new song, rather than pay royalties for the Bobby Troup song "Get Your Kicks On Route 66."  Riddle's "Route 66 Theme" instrumental was one of the first television themes to make Billboard magazine's top 30, following Ray Anthony's "Dragnet Theme" (in 1953), Anthony's version of Henry Mancini's "Peter Gunn Theme" (in 1959) and Mancini's "Mr. Lucky Theme" (in 1960). The song earned two Grammy nominations in 1962.

 HOW NICE TO BE DRIVING THROUGH A FEW SUN SPLASHES ALONG THE WAY

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A few decades ago we had Johnny Cash, Bob Hope and Steve Jobs. Now we have no Cash, no Hope and no Jobs. Please don't let Kevin Bacon die.

Q: How many talk show hosts does it take to change a light bulb?

A: Three, one to screw in the new bulb, one to ask the old one how it feels to be replaced, and one to take questions from the audience.

Q: How many gun control advocates does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: Let the police do it - private citizens can't be trusted with light bulbs!!

Q: What is the definition of an accountant?

A: Someone who solves a problem, you didn't know you had, in a way you don't understand.

Q: How do you drive an accountant completely bonkers?
A: Tie him to a chair, stand in front of him, and fold up a road map the wrong way.

Q: What do accountants suffer from that ordinary people don't?
A: Depreciation.

Q: How was copper wire invented?
A: Two accountants were arguing over a penny.

You do not need a parachute to go skydiving...You need a parachute to go skydiving twice.

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