SEE Y'ALL ON THE FLIP SIDE:))

 DID I SEE A UFO IN SUNDAY NIGHT'S SKY OR A FOSSILIZED FROGASAURUS IN OUR FRONT YARD FROG POND THIS AFTERNOON....MAYBE I SAW NEITHER OF THOSE THINGS

Instead of the Jeep, Pheebs and I piled into the Subaru this morning and headed off to the Bayfield carwash.  That done, it was north up highway #21 to Goderich we went.  Forgetting a few things at Walmart last week I wanted to get those items caught up.  Because I won't be mobile for a while I have been trying to think ahead of where I'm at and round up things so that Kelly doesn't have to make extra trips to round them up for me.  Prescriptions for example.  Oh, and 6 dozen extra cases of Krafts 'Only Peauts' All Natural Crunchy Peanut Butter:))   Our day dawned cloudy but at least it was above freezing and that of course was a plus.  By late morning, sunshine broke through the cloud cover and stayed with us for the rest of the day.  I tried to take a walk over by our Park's pond to take a few photos but my hip was hurting so bad I had to turn back.  Instead, I hobbled around our yard and snapped a few picks wherever I could find a sliver of late afternoon sunshine filtering through the pine trees.  

 AN AZALEA BUD OUTSIDE OUR SUNROOM WINDOW

 SHADOW PATTERNS

For obvious reasons, I will be unable to write a Tuesday post but I have full intentions of being right back here at my keyboard for Wednesday's post.  So, see y'all on the flip side, and thanks to everyone for your well-wishes, advice, and concerns:))

 AN OLD LAMPPOST GLOBE AFLOAT ON A SEA OF PERIWINKLE

 I LIKE CEDAR TREES

A Blast From Our Past:: Jeeping Through Wickenburg's Box Canyon And The Narrows

It was Sunday, January 31st, 2014 when we first Jeeped through this area.  It was the first of three drives through here during our Congress, Arizona years.  

Al's Music Box:)) Stardust by Nat King Cole appeared on his 1957 album, Love Is The Thing. In 1956, Cole came together with popular music arranger Gordon Jenkins to produce the first of the four album collaborations that are described by critics as among the best of either artist. American Jazz commenter Scott Yanow noted that the album "sticks exclusively" to the role Cole had established in 1950s popular opinion as a "superb ballad vocalist". While the album Love Is the Thing little reflects the jazz roots Cole emerged from, the singer's "restrained vocal approach" and the arranger's "unhurried string charts" combined to produce a romantic album of enduring popularity.  (Willy Nelson in later years also did a cover of this song that I like as well)  Willy Nelson....Stardust 

 DID MY CAMERA FIND A DARK CAVE ON THE MOON??

GROANER'S CORNER:(( On the first day of college, the dean addressed the students, pointing out some of the rules:  “The female dormitory will be out-of-bounds for all male students, and the male dormitory to the female students. Anybody caught breaking this rule will be fined $20 the first time. Anybody caught breaking this rule the second time will be fined $60. Being caught a third time will cost you $180. Are there any questions?”  One student raised his hand and asked, “How much for a season pass?”

-  “I don’t believe in reincarnation, and I didn’t believe in it when I was a hamster either.”

- At the cocktail party, one woman said to another, "Aren't you wearing your wedding ring on the wrong finger?"  The other replied, "Yes, I am.......I married the wrong man."

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IN A WEIRD SORT OF WAY

 MOURNING DOVE RESTING ON OUR BIRD STATION TODAY

Kelly had a book to be dropped off at the Bayfield Library so Pheebs and I had ourselves a mission.  Having successfully completed that mission we took a Jeep ride around the outskirts of Bayfield before heading home again. 

DESPIIE THIS GRAY SUNDAY MORNING, I WAS ABLE TO FIND SOME COLOR

 A SHOP WINDOW ALONG BAYFIELD'S MAIN STREET

 'SELLER'S ROW'

Spent the afternoon doing laundry and gathering together most of the things I will take with me when I head for the Sarnia hospital about 4 a.m. early Tuesday morning.  If it's snowing and the roads are not the best I will have to leave earlier.  My check-in time at the hospital is 6 a.m. with the hip surgery slated for 8 a.m.  I am eagarly looking forward to getting this done so that I can get on with the recovery phase.  I don't anticipate any problems other than the normal ones.  I have always been a fast healer and I look forward to the challenge of getting myself fully mobile again.  In a weird sort of way, I am feeling excitement.  And, excitement is always good, even if it is a bit painful at times.  Hmmm, in less than 48 hours I may regret having said these things:((  Par for the course I guess.  I do have a habit of saying things I regret at times.  Hey, at least I will have something different to write about in a few days and I am looking forward to that.  Another adventure:))   

 I AM GUESSING THIS FELLOW IS A RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER

 HEY, WHO THE HECK PUT THAT DUCT TAPE ON THERE!!

 STAND-OFF

 'OH GO AHEAD BERT, TELL HIM TO GET OUT OF HERE

 'PSSSST, COULD YOU PLEASE GET OUT OF HERE DOVEY

 'I DON'T THINK HE IS LISTENING BERT'

A Blast From Our Past::  Rawlins Wyoming To Monticello Utah With Rain, Snow, And Wind Along The Way  Monday, October 13th, 2014 finds us on the road traveling from our Bayfield Ontario Home to our Congress Arizona home.  We were about three-quarters of the way to our destination.  There is a lot of nice scenery in this post.

Al's Music Box:)) Allegheny Moon is a popular song written by Al Hoffman and Dick Manning and published in 1956.  The song is best known in a 1956 recording by Patti Page. This recording was released by Mercury Records.  

 A TOUCH OF BLUE IN OUR FRONT YARD THIS AFTERNOON

GROANER'S CORNER:(( There were two evil brothers. They were rich and used their money to keep their ways from the public eye. They even attended the same church and looked to be perfect Christians.  Then, their pastor retired and a new one was hired. Not only could he see right through the brothers' deception, but he also spoke well and true, and the church started to swell in numbers.  A fundraising campaign was started to build a new assembly.  All of a sudden, one of the brothers died. The remaining brother sought out the new pastor the day before the funeral and handed him a check for the amount needed to finish paying for the new building.  "I have only one condition," he said. "At his funeral, you must say my brother was a saint."  The pastor gave his word and deposited the check.  The next day at the funeral, the pastor did not hold back. "He was an evil man," he said. "He cheated on his wife and abused his family." After going on in this vein for a small time, he concluded with, "But, compared to his brother, he was a saint. 

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“Behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes.” 

When you’re right, no one remembers. When you’re wrong, no one forgets.

A jellyfish has existed as a species for 500 million years, surviving just fine without a brain. That gives hope to quite a few people.

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JUST ME IN THE SUBARU TO DOWNTOWN LONDON AND BACK

A sliver of sunlight at sunrise and that was it for the day.  But, that was okay because at least it was above freezing and it wasn't raining, snowing, or blowing.  It was a drive into Bayfield this morning for Pheebs with a couple of stops thrown in at Foodland for apples.  Our second stop was at the Porters Hill Wild Bird Seed Company for a couple 20-pound bags of birdseed.  And yes, all of our birds are back at the feeders again:))

With a few ongoing camera issues, I hopped into the Subaru this afternoon and drove over to downtown London's Camera Canada store.  I had never been there before.  Nice store and I found them very helpful.  It was a great drive there and back with most of the way under sunny skies.  And yes, I even had the sunroof open for a few miles.  Why?? Because I could.  And I'm sure I was much warmer than the four motorcyclists I saw go by on their Harleygators.  

A Blast From Our Past:: It was January 31st, 2012 and we were boondocked at the infamous Slab City (The Slabs) near Nyland, California.  We were here to see Solar Mike and have a solar problem looked at on our 2002 Damon Challenger Class A Motorhome. I Think I Could Easily Become A Slabber Some Day           

 THAT'S OUR RIG AND JEEP OUT THERE....OVER THE YEARS WE WERE PROBABLY HERE A HALF DOZEN TIMES FOR SOLAR INSTALLATIONS, ETC

 HEADING SOUTH ON CLARENCE STREET IN DOWNTOWN LONDON THIS AFTERNOON

Al's Music Box:(( Big Iron is a country ballad written and performed by Marty Robbins, originally released as an album track on Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs in September 1959, then as a single in February 1960 with the song "Saddle Tramp" as the B-side single. Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.  It tells the story of an Arizona Ranger's duel with a 24-year-old outlaw named Texas Red in the "town of Agua Fria." The townspeople predict the death of the ranger; an unconcerned Texas Red having already killed "one and nineteen" men, but at the moment they meet, the ranger kills Texas Red with the "big iron on his hip." The ranger's draw was so swift, that Texas Red had not even "cleared leather," killing the outlaw in one shot.  

GROANER'S CORNER:((  An American businessman goes to Japan on a business trip. He hates Japanese food, so he asks the concierge at his hotel if there is any place where he can get a pizza.  The concierge tells him he will call for delivery to his room and takes his order.  Thirty minutes later, the delivery guy shows up. The businessman takes the pizza and starts sneezing uncontrollably.  He asks the delivery man, What the heck did you put on this pizza?  The delivery man bows deeply and says, Just what you ordered -- pepper only.

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- To the person who stole my glasses.  I will find you, I have contacts.

- “To be old and wise, you need to first be young and stupid.”

- “Somedays you eat salad and work out. Somedays you have cupcakes and pizza. It’s called balance.

- “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”

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SO, DOWN I SAT

 A SUNNY MORNING IN THE COUNTRYSIDE

By golly, we are on a roll here with these sunny days and milder temperatures.  Maybe it's true that the North and South poles are reversing.  Ya, and maybe it's also true that if I flapped my arms fast enough I could fly to the Moon and back too.  By 8 a.m. we were already at 47F and later in the day a 99-year temperature record was broken when temps rose to 56F.  Say, you don't suppose the weather Gods looking down saw my dilemma with all the cold gray days and decided to give me (and a whole lotta other people) a break do ya.......Nawwww, I didn't think so either.  But.........

 NICE TO SEE PEOPLE OUT FOR A WALK ENJOYING THE SUNSHINE AT GODERICH'S ROTARY COVE

Pheebs and I didn't waste any time this morning in getting out of the house and into the sunshine.  With front windows down we almost didn't even need to have the Jeep's heater going.  Of course, the keyword there was 'almost'.  Goderich was our destination but instead of heading there directly, we decided to amble along a few dusty country roads savoring the morning.  And, why not take the gravel roads because after all, I had just washed the Jeep a few days ago, and what's a Jeep if it doesn't always have some dust and dirt on it.

 I'M QUITE HAPPY TO SEE ALL THE SNOW GONE

 GODERICH'S INNER HARBOR IS FREE OF ICE

Home again I made sure I had some good reasons and excuses to keep myself outside.  I busied myself with my lawn rake cleaning up my pathways around the house.  I always find raking things up to be relaxing except when raking leaves.  I do not like raking leaves because leaves have a mind of their own.  They cling to the tines of the rake and generally do not cooperate with where I am trying to move them.  Even raking up dog poop is easier than raking up leaves!!

 STILL A BIT OF ICE AND SNOW ALONG THE SHORELINE

I don't know where all our front yard birds went this past week but they certainly have got up and went somewhere.  Very few birds at the feeders.  It would have been a nice afternoon for a walk around our Park's pond but after my earlier raking the only thing my hip would painlessly allow me to do was sit down.  So, down I sat:(( 

A Blast From The Past...February 8th, 2009 takes us back to our early ranch sitting days near McNeal Arizona.  We were just learning the ropes from ranch owners Jeannie and Ray before they left on an RV holiday of their own.  Storm Clouds And Snow In The Mountains     

Al's Music Box:)) Sugar Shack is a song written in 1962 by Keith McCormack. McCormack gave songwriting credit to his aunt, Beulah Faye Voss, after asking what are "those tight pants that girls wear" to which she replied "leotards". The song was recorded in 1963 by Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs at Norman Petty Studios in Clovis, New Mexico. The unusual and distinctive instrument part was played by Norman Petty on a Hammond Solovox keyboard; to be precise it is a Model L, Series A.  On November 29, 1963, "Sugar Shack" received an RIAA certification for selling over a million copies, earning gold record status.  The song is featured in the films Mermaids, Dogfight, Forrest Gump, Congo, and Stealing Sinatra, and in the television show Supernatural.

 A FEW TOUCHES OF THE CHRISTMAS SEASON STILL HANGING AROUND

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A man in Topeka, Kansas decided to write a book about churches around the country. He started by flying to San Francisco and worked east from there. Going to a very large church, he began taking photographs and notes. He spotted a golden telephone on the vestibule wall and was intrigued by a sign that read: "$10,000 a minute." Seeking out the Pastor he asked about the phone and the sign. The Pastor explained that the golden phone was, in fact, a direct line to Heaven and if he paid the price he could talk directly to God. The man thanked the Pastor and continued on his way. As he continued to visit churches in Seattle, San Diego, Chicago, Greensboro, Tampa, and all around the United States, he found more phones with the same sign and got the same answer from each Pastor.  Finally, he decided to go to Canada and see if the churches were different there. Upon entering a church in Bayfield Ontario, behold, he saw the usual golden telephone. But this time, the sign read: "Calls: 35 cents." Fascinated, he asked to talk to the Pastor.  "Reverend, I have been in cities all across the United States, and in each church I have found this golden telephone. I have been told it is a direct line to Heaven and that I could talk to God, but, in the other churches the cost was $10,000 a minute. Your sign reads 35 cents. Why?"  The Pastor, smiling benignly, replied, "Son, you're in Canada now... It's a local call."

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- Why is 6 afraid of 7?  Because 7,8,9.

- Did you hear about the painter who was hospitalized?  His doctor says it was due to too many strokes.

This young man was elated when he turned eighteen in a state where the curfew is 11:00 p.m. for anyone under seventeen years of age. He told his Dad how happy he was that now he could stay out until 3:00 a.m. if he wanted.  “Yes you can stay out as late as you want, but the car is under seventeen and it has to be in the garage by eleven,” his father said.

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