'KER-UMPNG' SOUNDS IN THE NIGHT

 THESE RASCALS ARE AT IT AGAIN:((

The few 'ker-umping' sounds I heard in the night told me that temperatures were still above freezing and chunks of heavy wet snow were breaking off and sliding down over the edge of our roof.  'Ker-ump'.

 GLAD TO SEE THE SNOW MELTING OFF OUR ROOFS AGAIN

 MY LONG SNOW RAKE FOR PULLING SNOW DOWN AND NOTICE THE BARE GROUND ALONG ONE OF OUR PATHWAYS

 IT TOOK ME A BIT OF DIGGING TO OPEN THIS PATH TO THE ROAD ON OUR EAST SIDE

My turn to drive as I made my way over to Richard's house on a foggy Thursday morning.  Despite the mist, we were able to find ourselves a coffee shop okay so we weren't denied our coffee and muffins.  It's not good for anything to get between two older fellas and their muffins and coffee.  Our travels this morning took us through Tim Hortons in Clinton and then south down the Morrison Line, west through the south end of Exeter, and then north back to Bayfield.  Fog most of the way but it wasn't a 'pea souper' and it was okay for driving.  

 WE STILL HAVE TOUCHES OF CHRISTMAS HANGING AROUND

 THE BIGGER OUTSIDE NUMBERS ARE IN CELCIUS AND THE SMALLER INNER NUMBERS ARE IN FAHRENHEIT

By mid-afternoon I still didn't have any photos for today so I slipped on my boots and took a walk around the outside of our house looking for some color etc.  The photos are rather dull but it's all that I ended up with on this late gray overcast January afternoon.

 MY AFTERNOON GOAL WAS TO FIND SOME COLOR

 I AM SO MUCH LOOKING FORWARD TO WARM SPRING DAYS WHEN I CAN DECLUTTER OUR SHEDS AND GET ALL OF OUR SUMMER STUFF OUT AGAIN

Since re-configuring my bird station last summer I haven't had any squirrel problems with them getting onto the station.  Well, until yesterday that is after Arrowhead Gramma in Monday's comment section, asked this question....  Al, have the squirrels given up on trying to get the bird's feed or did you finally outsmart them? Missing their antics this winter though I am sure you are not.    Of course, squirrels have a way of knowing what is going on in my blog and they obviously decided it was about time, after reading Arrowhead Gramma's comment, to cause me some stress because Wednesday afternoon I looked up from my computer desk to see a squirrel on the bird station!!!!

 THIS SQUIRREL IS HAVING HIMSELF A FEAST OF BIRDSEED

 HE MANAGED TO SHINNY UP THE BLACK POLE FAR ENOUGH TO GRAB ONTO A BIRD FEEDER I HAD HANGING FROM THE BIRD STATION PLATFORM

 THEN THE LITTLE SMARTY PANTS SWUNG HIMSELF RIGHT UP ONTO THE BIRD  STATION PLATFORM ITSELF.....I HAVE SINCE TAKEN THE HANGING BIRD FEEDER DOWN...PROBLEM SOLVED FOR NOW

Al's Music Box:)) Move It On Over is a song written and recorded by the American country music singer-songwriter Hank Williams.  It was recorded on April 21, 1947 at Castle Studio in Nashville, Hank's first session for MGM is the same session that produced "I Saw the Light," "I Heard You Crying in Your Sleep," and "Six More Miles to the Graveyard." Nashville had no session men during this period, so producer Fred Rose hired Red Foley's backing band, one of the sharpest around, to back Williams.  As biographer Colin Escott observes, Rose probably felt the instrumental break needed a touch of class to smooth out Williams' hillbilly edges, and the band, especially guitarist Zeke Turner, was likely too fancy for the singer's taste.  The song is considered one of the earliest examples of rock and roll music. Though many claim the song "Rock Around the Clock," released in 1954 by Bill Haley & His Comets, was the first rock and roll single, it resembles "Move it On Over", as both feature the same twelve-bar blues arrangement with a melody starting with three repetitions of an ascending arpeggio of the tonic chord, which Williams had partially derived from an old Mardi Gras riff, "Second Line."  "Move It on Over" was Williams' first major hit, reaching #4 on the Billboard Most Played Juke Box Folk Records chart and getting him a write-up in The Alabama Journal. The revenue generated by the song was the first serious money the singer had ever seen in his life. It also earned him a spot on the coveted Louisiana Hayride, the training ground for the Grand Ole Opry.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Fifteen minutes into the flight from Kansas City to Toronto, the captain announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, one of our four engines has failed. There is nothing to worry about. Our flight will take an hour longer than scheduled."  Thirty minutes later the captain announced, "Our number two engine has failed and the flight will take an additional two hours. But don't worry ... we can fly just fine on two engines."  An hour later the captain announced, "Our number three engine has failed and our arrival will be delayed another three hours.  A young woman passenger turned to the man in the next seat and remarked, "I hope that fourth engine keeps working, or we'll be up here all day!"

---------------------------------

Why are elevator jokes so good?
They work on many levels!

Why are nurses always running out of red crayons?
Because they often have to draw blood.

Why was the woman afraid for the calendar?
Its days were numbered.

What did the police officer say to his belly-button?
You're under a vest.

Why is Peter Pan always flying?
Because he Neverlands.

----------------------------------------

========================

THE 'GRABBER GUY' SHOWED UP THIS MORNING

 I THINK PHEEBS IS ON THE TRAIL OF A MOUSE

It was a foggy morning we started out with today and it kinda stuck around.  Fog is good at this time of year because it means warmer air is moving in.  And, warmer air means melting snow.  That is even gooder.  No sunshine yet but when it comes it will be the very much most goodest of all.  We reached 37F today.

 SO GLAD TO SEE ICE AND SNOW DISAPPEARING OFF AREA ROADS ON OUR WAY TO GODERICH

It seems if we're not dropping off prescriptions we are picking up prescriptions and this morning was no exception.  Pheebs and I followed a rainy drizzle all the way to Goderich and picked up a couple prescriptions at the Walmart Pharmacy.  One for me, one for Kelly.  We made our way home later in the same drizzle.

 THE HARBOR TUG OCEAN A. SIMARD BREAKING UP THE HARBOR ICE AROUND THE ALGOMA NIAGARA AT THE SALT MINE DOCK

The 'grabber guy' showed up shortly after 11 armed with all the necessary tools for installing two grab bars in our washroom.  One near the toilet and the other in the shower.  The thick tiles in our shower turned out to be quite a challenge for him and he burnt out two diamond drill bits before he was done.  He said it was the hardest tile he has ever come up against.  'Chuck' works at Med-E-Ox in Goderich and does all the medical aid installations for them.  A really nice personable fellow.

With temps above freezing today, I felt inspired to get some outside things done while the gettin' was good.  Shoveled all the slush out of the carport, vacuumed the Subaru, moved some wet snow around with my snow shovel, and got my long-handled ice rake out and pulled some heavy water-laden snow off our roof.  I think I did a few other little snively things too but they were so snively I can't remember what they were.  Of course about half an hour after coming into the house my right hip, in no uncertain terms, sure let me know it was not at all pleased with my outside antics.  More extra strength Tylenol to the rescue:((     

 HEADING HOME IT WAS NICE TO HAVE BARE PAVEMENT ALL THE WAY AGAIN

Al's Music Box:)) Till Then was a popular song written by Eddie Seiler, Sol Marcus and Guy Wood and published in 1944. The song was a plea (presumably by a soldier, off to fight the war) to his sweetheart to wait for him until he could get back home. Like many war-themed songs, it enjoyed great popularity when it came out in 1944.

TROTTING THROUGH THE SNOW

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A preacher was completing a temperance sermon: with great expression, he said, "If I had all the beer in the world, I'd take it and throw it into the river."  With even greater emphasis he said, "And if I had all the wine in the world, I'd take it and throw it into the river."  And then finally, he said, "And if I had all the whiskey in the world, I'd take it and throw it into the river." He sat down.  The song leader then stood very cautiously and announced with a smile, "For our closing song, let us sing Hymn # 365: "Shall We Gather at the River."

------------------------------------------

Q: What is the best time to take a Rottweiler for a walk?
A: Any times he wants to!

Q: When is a black dog not a black dog?
A: When it's a greyhound!

Q: How do you feel if you cross a sheepdog with a melon?
A: Melon-collie!

Q: What do you get if cross two young dogs with a pair of headphones?
A: Hush puppies!

Q: What do you call a litter of young dogs who have come in from the snow?
A: Slush puppies!

--------------------------------------------

========================

A SHORT JEEP RIDE

What little enthusiasm I was able to gather together for another dull gray day drained away quickly so all I have are a few pics from a short Jeep ride down to the end of Bayfield River Road and back this morning.

 ANOTHER SNOWY DAY

Facebook threw me a memory for this day six years ago while we were boondocked in the Darby Well Road area west of Ajo, Arizona.  Kelly Comes To My Rescue In The Night 

 SPOTTED THIS LITTLE WHITE KOALA BEAR IN ONE OF OUR PINE TREES THIS MORNING

Al's Music Box:(( Money For Nothing is a song by British rock band Dire Straits, the second track on their fifth studio album, Brothers In Arms (1985). It was released as the album's second single on 28 June 1985 through Vertigo Records.  At the 28th Annual Grammy Awards in 1986, "Money for Nothing" won Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with best vocal and was nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year as well. Knopfler modeled his guitar sound on ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons' trademark guitar tone, as ZZ Top's music videos were already a staple of early MTV. Gibbons told Timothy White of Musician in late 1985 that Knopfler had solicited Gibbons' help in replicating the tone, adding, "He didn't do a half-bad job, either, considering that I never told him a goddamned thing!"  The recording contains a highly recognizable hook, in the form of the guitar riff that begins the song proper. The guitar riff continues throughout the song, played in permutation during the verses, and played in full after each chorus.  In 2000, Knopfler appeared on Parkinson on BBC One and explained again where the lyrics originated. According to Knopfler, he was in New York City and had visited an appliance store. At the back of the store was a wall of televisions which were all tuned to MTV. Knopfler said that standing next to him, watching the TVs, there was a male employee, dressed in a baseball cap, work boots, and a checkered shirt, who was delivering boxes. As they were watching MTV, as Knopfler recalled, the man came out with lines such as, "What are those, Hawaiian noises?... That ain't workin'," etc. Knopfler then requested a pen to write some of these lines down and eventually put them to music. The first-person narrator in the lyrics describes a musician "banging on the bongos like a chimpanzee" and a woman "stickin' in the camera - Man, we could have some fun". In the second verse, the performer is described as "that little faggot with the earring and the make-up", and the narrator bemoans that these artists get "Money for nothing and chicks for free".

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A traveler was stumbling through the desert, desperate for water, when he saw something far off in the distance.  Hoping to find water, he walked towards the image, only to find a little old peddler sitting at a card table with a bunch of neckties laid out.  The parched wanderer asked, "Please, I'm dying of thirst, can I have some water?"  The man replied, "I don't have any water, but why don't you buy a tie? Here's one that goes nicely with your clothes."  The desperate man shouted, "I don't want a tie, you idiot, I need water!"  "OK, don't buy a tie. But to show you what a nice guy I am, I'll tell you that over that hill there, about 5 miles, is a nice restaurant. Walk that way, and they'll give you all the water you want."  The man thanked the peddler and walked away towards the hill and eventually disappeared out of sight. Three hours later he returned.  The man at the card table said, "I told you, about 5 miles over that hill. Couldn't you find it?"  "I found it all right. They wouldn't let me in without a tie."

----------------------------------------

Teacher: If I asked you to multiply 50 by 8 and then divide by 4, what would you get?
Student: Probably the wrong answer.

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?"

A woman came to her doctor in a panic.  "Doctor, all day long my daughter eats yeast and car wax, and won't get out of bed!  What will happen to her?"  "Don't worry," said the Doctor, "eventually she will rise and shine."

--------------------------------------

==========================

WELL, I LEARNED SOMETHING THIS MORNING.....OR RE-LEARNED IT -- WHATEVER!!

Last week coming home from Goderich one day we noticed a vibration in the Subaru.  The sun visors were visibly shaking.  I immediately suspected a tire.  Stopped, got out, and had a look around but all tires appeared to be okay.  I knew we had a slow leak in a tire last Fall that caused I vibration so first thing after adding air to the passenger side rear tire this morning it was just me in the Subaru heading to Clinton's Huron Tirecraft, vibrating all the way.  The fellow at the desk suspected frozen ice and snow in the wheel wells and as it turns out he was right.  They brought the car inside, checked all the tire pressures, and let the car sit for about 10 minutes.  And yes, all four wheel wells were tightly packed with ice and snow.  It didn't take the fella long to knock all that frozen slush out from around the tires and I was good to go.  Subi once again floated down the road like on a cloud of air with no vibrations whatsoever.  Of course between last week and this morning, I had myself all buzzed out with all the worst-case scenarios.  I had read somewhere that if a tire goes bad on a four-wheel drive vehicle it is important not just to replace that tire but to replace all the tires.  I saw dollar signs floating around all over the place.  Of course on my way to Clinton this morning I added to all that worry by nearly convincing myself that a tire was about to fly off. (yes, I had that happen to me one time) or that I should just go to the Subaru dealer in Stratford and replace the whole car.  Now, there are two scenarios going on here.  Either I had never run into this ice and snow in the wheel well problem before or if I did, I had of course totally forgotten about it.  Likely the latter because I even forgot where I had put my shoes this morning...... so there ya go:((    

 OH-NO, THE BIRDSEED IS BURIED UNDER THE SNOW

 'NOW, IF I COULD JUST GET THAT GREEN LID OFF '

 MOURNING DOVES HOLD SWAY OVER BLUE JAYS AND THIS JAY KNEW ENOUGH NOT TO BOTHER THE DOVE WHILE IT WAS EATING

Al's Music Box:)) If I Had A Hammer by Peter, Paul, and Mary is a protest song written by Pete Seeger and Lee Hays. It was written in 1949 in support of the Progressive Movement and was first recorded by the Weavers, a folk music quartet composed of Seeger, Hays, Ronnie Gilbert, and Fred Hellerman. It was a #10 hit for Peter, Paul and Mary in 1962 and then went to #3 a year later when recorded by Trini Lopez in 1963.  It was part of the three songs Seeger played as the warm-up act for Paul Robeson's September 4 concert near Peekskill, New York, which subsequently erupted into a notorious riot.  It fared notably better commercially when it was recorded by Peter, Paul, and Mary 12 years later. Their version of the song, released in July 1962 from the group's debut album became a top 10 hit and won the Grammy Award for Best Folk Recording and Best Performance by a Vocal Group. 

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Liam had left Dublin to go up to Belfast for a bit of skydiving.  Late Sunday evening he was found in a tree by a farmer. What happened said the farmer, Liam replied, that his parachute failed to open.  Well said the farmer, if you had asked the locals before you jumped, they would have told you nothing opens here on a Sunday.

----------------------------------

I just replaced the can of air freshener in the church bathroom with an air horn.....now we wait.

I couldn't sleep last night because I kept thinking how long it takes for a Giraffe to throw up.

I finally did it!! Bought a new pair of shoes with memory foam insoles.  No more forgetting why I walked into the kitchen.

Brain cells, hair cells, and skin cells...they all die constantly but those fat cells seem to have eternal life!!

At some point, Subway convinced us it was healthy to eat a whole loaf of bread.

I asked the Librarian if the Library had any books about Paranoia.  She whispered...."They're right behind you".   

---------------------------------

====================

A WHOLE WEEK OF SUNDAYS

Aside from having to drop off a prescription at Goderich's Walmart Pharmacy and pick up a few things while in the store, there really wasn't much going on today.  Just another Sunday in a whole week of Sundays.  I will leave you with a few pics..... 

IT WAS SO NICE TO SEE A FEW PATCHES OF BLUE SKY TODAY

 HEADING HOME THIS MORNING

Al's Music Box:)) The Shifting Whispering Sands Jim Reeves recorded his version of this song in 1961.  It is a Western song and poem written by Vivian Clark Gilbert and his wife Mary Margaret Hadler. It has been widely recorded and was one of the top songs in the U.S. in 1955 and again in 1962. Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.  The song/poem begins with a narration by an unnamed man who is prospecting for gold in the Western U.S. He wanders into the deserted "valley of the shifting, whispering sands", and describes its desolate, frightening environment. After wandering there for "days and weeks" and using all his food and water, he escapes in some unknown way. He "pays his final debt" for being spared by telling what he learned out in the desert. 

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A truck brimming with Worcestershire sauce meanders through the quaint Welsh town of Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, Anglesey, en route to Rhosllannerchrugog in Wrexham. Unexpectedly, it collides with a Nissan Qashqai.  Veering uncontrollably, the truck subsequently smashes into a car from Llanfihangel Tre’r Beirdd, injuring two Otorhinolaryngologists inside. As one, already grappling with Schistosomiasis, succumbs to a myocardial infarction, a bystander, dialing emergency services on his Huawei, hastily reports the chaotic scene. The dispatcher inquires, "Can you tell me what happened?"  He responds, "It's hard to say."

-------------------------------------

“One of the keys to happiness is a bad memory.”

 

“By the time someone says, ‘To make a long story short,’ it’s too late.”

 

“The nice thing about egotists is that they don’t talk about other people.”

---------------------------------------

A couple of young children are at daycare one day when one of the little girls approaches Tommy and says, "Hey, Tommy, wanna play house?"  "Sure! What do you want me to do?" he asks.  The little girl replies, "I want you to communicate your feelings."  "Communicate my feelings?" questions a bewildered Tommy. "I have no idea what that means..." The little girl smirks and says, "Perfect. You can be the husband."

---------------------------------------

================================

---------------------------------