BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE

Kelly's blood test results came in this morning and as she suspected, there is a problem.  She is anemic.  I can't give you all the medical jargon but her red and white blood cells are low again and the last couple of times this happened she ended up in Emergency undergoing blood transfusions.   At this stage of her advanced liver condition and due to an anti-body problem, a blood transfusion is not a good thing in the long run at this point concerning a liver transplant.  On Tuesday we go to London's University Hospital where Kelly has a meeting with a Liver study group coordinator about a study program she has volunteered for.  A stress test will be administered at this time and in her present weakened condition she is worried about having enough strength to pass it.  Unsure of what to do now,  Kelly phoned University Hospital to talk with her liver transplant liaison lady today.  The lady, Amy said that while Kelly is at the hospital this coming Tuesday they will do a blood test to verify the Dynacare Lab findings and then go from there.  She said Kelly may have to undergo an endoscopy to see if she has a bleed in her esophagus again.  Kelly is still feeling very weak today.  The liaison lady said if she feels any worse we are to head straightaway for Emergency.   Right now, Kelly is caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place.

It was a solid gray uninspiring sky from horizon to horizon this morning with a faint touch of drizzle at times.  Pheebs and I wandered around a few country roads and came home.  Noticing I had a few extra energy units left to spare I figured it would be a good time to either clean up the Subaru or wash some windows.  Cleaning Subie won out so I spent an hour or so vacuuming, cleaning inside glass, washing floor mats, etc. and spiffing up the interior with Armorall.  Sunshine began breaking through the cloud cover and by 1 p.m. the temps ramped up as did the humidity.  That was the end of any more cleaning for me and I retreated into the house.  I'll try to get the outside of the car washed Sunday morning before the humidity builds up again.  Who knows when I will get our house windows washed.  I'm thinking maybe 2026 might be a good year for doing that.......   

Al's Music Box:(( Sunset Grill is a song by American rock musician Don Henley from his second solo studio album Building the Perfect Beast (1984). Patty Smyth sings harmony vocals on this song, while Pino Palladino plays fretless bass. Randy Newman arranged the synthesizer programming for the song.  The title and lyrics of the song reference the Sunset Grill, a hamburger restaurant on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles California. Cashbox said that "this melancholy and dynamic track is orchestrated beautifully and Henley's vocals are right on."

GROANER'S CORNER:(( An adventurer travels through the jungle and is suddenly confronted by an unusual sight: fallen trees and trampled vegetation as if something gigantic has forced its way through. He decides to investigate.  After walking for a few minutes, he sees a dead elephant lying on its side and a pygmy jumping up and down with excitement on top of the fallen elephant. The adventurer inquires as to what is going on.  "The elephant, sir," explains the pygmy. "The elephant has gone mad. 'Tis terrible. Elephants are wise and friendly, but when an elephant goes mad, it destroys everything in its path. It cannot be reasoned with, no sir, and it cannot be helped in any way. Unfortunately, when it happens, the elephant has to be put down."  The adventurer inquires, "But how did you kill such a gigantic animal?"  "I killed it with a club," helpfully explains the pygmy.  "It must have been a big club," observes the adventurer.  "Yes, sir, a very big club indeed," says the pygmy. "We have over 300 members!"

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

- I can’t believe I forgot to go to the gym today...
That’s 7 years in a row now...

- What's white and if it fell out of a tree would kill you?  A fridge.

I was in a couple’s home trying to fix their Internet connection. The husband called out to his wife in the other room for the computer password. “Start with a capital S, then 123,” she shouted back.  We tried S123 several times, but it didn’t work. So we called the wife in. As she input the password, she muttered, “I really don’t know what’s so difficult about typing Start123.
-------------------------------------

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

KELLY WILL HAVE THE RESULTS OF TODAY'S UNSHEDULED BLOOD TEST IN THE MORNING

 IT'S OUR MAY 24TH LONG WEEK-END AND IN BAYFIELD THAT MEANS IT'S THE START OF THE BOATING SEASON

Rain tumbled from a darkened sky overnight and well on into this morning.  Pheebs and I were almost needing rubber boots and raincoats.  Undaunted, we splashed our way into and around Bayfield and home again.  Skies later cleared and we had a sunny warm slightly humid afternoon.  This is our big Canadian May 24th long weekend and the unofficial start to summer.  With the next three days showing sun and cloud along with warm temperatures, Bayfield will be a busy place and for some of we residents living either in Bayfield or near Bayfield, it's a good time to stay home and let the city folks race around upside down and enjoy their getaway days in Bayfield:)) 

 I AM SURPRISED THAT A WORK CREW HAS NOT CLEANED AWAY WINTER'S DEBRIS ON BAYFIELD'S BEACH BEFORE THIS MAJOR LONG WEEK-END

 I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THESE FELLAS ARE DOING ON THIS ALUMINUM-LOOKING CRAFT

 MAYBE IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH COMPRESSED AIR SO MAYBE IT IS SOME KIND OF 'DIVE BOAT'

 THIS COUPLE MAY HAVE BEEN OUT ON THE FIRST SHAKE-DOWN CRUISE OF THE SEASON

THE TILLERMAN HIMSELF 

 MANEUVERING INTO THEIR BOAT DOCKING SPOT

 A FEW BOATS AND THEIR NAMES

 NOT ALL OF BAYFIELD'S SAILBOATS ARE IN THE WATER

It was a quick trip up to Goderich's Dynacare Lab for Kelly and I this afternoon.  These last few days haven't been the best for Kelly with her energy levels way down leading to feelings of overall tiredness and weakness.  We have to be careful with this because it was these same types of symptoms before that led to her being hospitalized twice with internal bleeding.  She finally decided to get a blood test this afternoon to see if her blood count was down again or if there was something else going on.  She will have the results of her blood test in the morning when she checks it on-line. 

PICKING UP OUR MAIL AT THE PARK'S MAILROOM

 GODERICH'S MAITLAND VALLEY MEDICAL CENTRE WITH THE DYNACARE LAB TO THE RIGHT

 OUR REDBUD TREE BLOSSOMS ARE DROPPING

Al's Music Box:)) I'll Have To Say I Love You In A Song is the title of a posthumously released single by the American singer-songwriter Jim Croce. The song was written by Croce and was originally released on his album Got a Name.  This song is noted for the use of backup singers, as well as a string section, that plays a counterpoint melody during the concluding instrumental.  Croce was killed in a small plane crash in September 1973, the same week that a 45RPM single, the title cut from his studio album I Got a Name was released. After the delayed release of a song from his previous album ("Time in a Bottle") in late 1973, "I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song" was chosen as the second single released from his final studio album.  Croce wrote the song in early 1973 when he arrived home and got into a disagreement with his wife, Ingrid. Instead of arguing with her, she has stated that Croce "went downstairs, and he started to play like he always did when he wrote ... the next morning, he came up early in the morning and sang it to me." One weekend, after being on the road for many months, Jim got a chance to come home to relax with his family. We settled in to enjoy our time alone together. Though Jim was expecting company the next day, avoiding confrontation he never told me that we were to be joined by an entire film crew! The next morning, 15 people from Acorn Productions descended upon our house to record a promotional film of Jim Croce at Home on the Farm. I prepared breakfast, lunch and dinner for the whole film crew and after the group left, I questioned Jim about our finances. After a year and a half of his working so very hard on the road, we were barely making ends meet, but Jim wouldn't talk about it. He hated questions as much as he hated confrontation, especially about money. He stormed out of our bedroom and went down to the kitchen table to brood. The next morning he woke me gently by singing his new song. "Every time I tried to tell you the words just came out wrong. So I'll have to say 'I love you' in a song."

 NICE TO SEE A FEMALE ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK ON OUR BIRD STATION INSTEAD OF A WHOLE HORDE OF GRACKLES

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A big game hunter goes on safari with his wife and his mother-in-law. One morning, the wife wakes up to find her mother gone. Immediately, she awakens up her husband and they both set off to find the old woman.  Suddenly, they break into a clearing and there's the mother-in-law, standing face-to-face with a ferocious lion!  "Quick, darling," the wife shouts frantically, "Do something!"  "Oh, no," the husband says, "That lion got himself into this mess. Let him get himself out!"

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

While giving a physical the doctor noticed that his patient’s shins were covered with dark bruises.  “Tell me,” said the doctor, “do you play hockey or soccer?”  “Neither,” said the man. “My wife and I play bridge.”

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

A new bride was a bit embarrassed to be known as a honeymooner. So when she and her husband pulled up to the hotel, she asked him if there was any way that they could make it appear that they had been married a long time.  He responded, "Sure. You carry the suitcases!"
-----------------------------------------------

A Sunday school teacher asked little Susie, "Who's your favorite person in the Bible?"Susie said, "King Solomon.""Can you tell us why?""Because he was so nice to ladies and to animals.""What do you mean?""He had six hundred wives and three hundred porcupines."
-----------------------------------------------

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

Before you judge an older person for their limitations, reflect on the strength it takes for them to face these changes every day.

MY MIND AGAIN REMINDED ME OF HOW FORTUNATE WE ARE

My diabetic clinic appointment went well.  Nobody tried to stick me with a needle and there wasn't 45 people there waiting in line to be clinicized.  Just my nurse practitioner, my diabetic lady, and me.  They went over my last blood results along with food suggestions, etc.  Summing up, they said I was doing pretty good for a young fella and to just keep on keeping on.  So, out the door I went and kept on going:))

 A SPLENDIDLY NICE MORNING FOR A DRIVE THROUGH THE COUNTRYSIDE

 SPOTTED THIS REALLY NEAT HOT ROD IN THE WALMART PARKING LOT

Following the clinic I grabbed a Horton's coffee to go and headed down to the harbor and out around Rotary Cove.  What a marvelous morning it turned out to be with blue skies and a refreshing breeze coming in off the lake.  I even stopped and took myself for a short walk on the boardwalk.  Heading home, the countryside looked so beautiful with so many hues of vibrant greens rivaling the island of Ireland it's very self.

 I STOPPED AND TOOK MYSELF FOR A WALK ON THE BOARDWALK THIS MORNING

 THE COOL CLEAR WATERS OF LAKE HURON

SHIPS ENTERING THE HARBOR COME IN BETWEEN THOSE TWO TALL WHITE STRUCTURES

 IF YOU LOOK CLOSE BETWEEN THE TREES YOU CAN SEE THE WHITE HARBOR STRUCTURES ON THE HORIZON

 'HEY MOM THERE'S A PIRATE SHIP OUT THERE'

Home again, I cut some grass and whipper snipped some weeds.  I again avoided any heavy lifting or overdoing anything.  Later, with my cooling fan blowing on me I tipped back in my sunroom recliner, cracked open my book, and headed off once again to Prince Edward Island to see what fanciful tales author Lucy Maude Montgomery had for me today.  After reading for a while and after a few zzzz's, Pheebs and I headed over to the Parks pond, sat on the pond's bench, and listened to all the birds twittering in the trees and the frogs along the pond's edge 'chuggerumming' away to their heart's content.  Pheebs likes to roll in the grass and while doing so, two curious Canada Geese out in the middle of the pond paddled over to the edge of the water near where we were sitting to watch her.  Sitting there, my mind again reminded me of how fortunate we are to be living where we do with the calming beauty of Mother Nature at our doorstep.        

 A FROG POND PHOTO CATCH-UP

Al's Music Box:)) Chain Gang This was Sam Cooke's second-biggest American hit, his first hit single for RCA Victor after leaving Keen Records earlier in 1959, and was also his first top 10 hit since "You Send Me" from 1957, and his second-biggest pop single. The song was inspired by a chance meeting with an actual chain gang of prisoners on a highway, seen while Cooke was on tour.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Through the pitch-black night, the captain sees a light dead ahead on a collision course with his ship. He sends a signal:  “Change your course 10 degrees east.  ”The light signals back: “Change yours, 10 degrees west.  ”Angry, the captain sends: “I’m a navy captain! Change your course, sir!  “I’m a seaman, second class, ”comes the reply. “Change your course, sir.  ”Now the captain is furious.  “I’m a battleship! I'm not changing course! ”There is one last reply.  “I’m a lighthouse. Your call Sir.”

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

Q: What do you call a bull that sleeps a lot?
A: A bulldozer!

Knock Knock
Who's there?
Pasture!
Pasture who?
Pasture bedtime isn't it!

There were three Texans; one crane operator, one pole climber, and one guide.  The guide tied the crane to the end of a pole. The crane operator would then pick the pole up on end. The climber climbed to the top and dropped a tape measure which the guide promptly read and noted the measurement. The crane operator then lowered the pole to the ground and repositioned to pick up another pole.  This went on several times when the foreman came over and asked why they couldn't measure the poles while they were lying on the ground?  The Texans replied, "We need to know how tall the poles are, not how long."

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

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