KELLY'S HOME:))))))

 EMPTY GRAIN BINS IN SATURDAY'S EVENING TWILIGHT AWAIT THEIR LOADS OF WHEAT

With the weather being so nice again Saturday night, Pheebs and set out for an evening spin around the countryside.  We came across a farmer combining wheat so I was able to get a few pics of that operation. 

 OUR AREA'S WHEAT HARVEST IS IN FULL SWING AS THIS COMBINES ROLLS INTO VIEW

 A TRACTOR WITH A GRAIN BIN ON BEHIND WAITS FOR THE APPROACHING COMBINE

THE COMBINE APPROACHES THE WAITING TRACTOR AND BIN

 THE TRACTOR IS NOW MOVING AS THE COMBINE PULLS UP ALONGSIDE

 WITHOUT STOPPING, THE COBINE TRANSFERS ITS LOAD OF WHEAT INTO THE TRACTOR;S GRAIN BIN

 YOU CAN SEE THE COMBINE'S OPERATOR HERE

 BOTH THESE VEHICLES ARE IN MOTION

 MOVING IN UNISON

 AT THIS POINT I SPOTTED A SECOND COMBINE 

 THE TRACTOR WITH ITS GRAIN BIN FULL NOW HEADS OUT TO THE ROAD WHERE THREE 18-WHEEL TRUCKS AWAIT TO TRANSPORT THE WHEAT TO AREA GRAIN TERMINALS

 IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS THOSE ROWS OF STRAW WILL BE BALED

We had a sultry mid-July summer's morn going on when Pheebs and I slipped out for a wee drive earlier today.  We didn't go too far because there was a chance Kelly might call to tell us we could come pick her up at the hospital.  She did call later to say that if the next round of blood tests late this morning were okay we could pick her up later this afternoon............She later called about 2:15 to say "come and get me".  Five minutes after that Pheebs and were in the Subaru heading for London.  We were at the hospital's front door one hour later.  A porter brought Kelly out in a wheelchair and we soon had her loaded up and headed for home with the exception of a stop at Bayfield's Woodland Drive-In for a bite to eat.  Kelly's feeling better but she is definitely not out of the woods yet.  We'll see how the next few days go...............

 LONDON UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL DEAD AHEAD

 AT THE HOSPITAL'S FRONT DOOR

KELLY'S ALL SMILES TO BE GOING HOME

 SUNDAY FARMERS WERE BUSY

PULLING INTO BAYFIELD'S WOODLAND DRIVE-IN

 HERE COME THE GOODIES

 I HAD A FOOTLONG HOT DOG AND KELLY HAD THIS WHICH IS EXPLAINED IN THE PHOTO BELOW

 'AND DON'T FORGET THE DOGGIES TREATS DAD'

Al's Music Box:)) Where Have All The Flowers Gone by the Kingston Trio.  This is a folk song written by American singer-songwriter Pete Seeger in 1955. Inspired lyrically by the traditional Cossack folk song "Koloda-Duda", Seeger borrowed an Irish melody for the music, and published the first three verses in 'Sing Out' magazine.  Additional verses were added in May 1960 by Joe Hickerson, who turned it into a circular song.  In 2010, the New Statesman listed it as one of the "Top 20 Political Songs".  The 1964 release of the song by Pete Seeger was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Famein 2002 in the Folk category.  Seeger found inspiration for the song in October 1955 while he was on a plane bound for a concert at Oberlin College, one of the few venues which would hire him during the McCarthy era.  Leafing through his notebook he saw the passage, "Where are the flowers, the girls have plucked them. Where are the girls, they've all taken husbands. Where are the men, they're all in the army."  In a 2013 interview, Seeger explained that he borrowed the melody from an Irish lumberjack song with the words 'Johnson says he'll load more hay.' He simply slowed the tune and incorporated the lines into it.  ^{The Kingston Trio} recorded the song in 1961.  Believing it to be a traditional song, they claimed authorship, although upon notice from Seeger they had their name removed and credited Seeger and Hickerson.  Seeger acknowledged their success with this song.  Their single, with "O Ken Karanga" as the A-side and the hit "Where Have All The Flowers Gone?" the B-side, reached No. 21 in the 1962 Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 4 on the Easy Listening chart.

EMPTY HAY WAGONS SATURDA EVENING

GROANER'S CORNER:(( While taxiing at London's Gatwick Airport, the crew of a U.S. Air flight departing for Ft. Lauderdale made a wrong turn and came nose-to-nose with a United 727. An irate female ground controller lashed out at the U.S. Air crew, screaming: "U.S. Air 2771, where the hell are you going?  I told you to turn right onto Charlie taxiway! You turned right on Delta! Stop right there. I know it's difficult for you to tell the difference between C and D, but get it right!"  Continuing her rage to the embarrassed crew, she was now shouting hysterically: "God! Now you've screwed everything up! It'll take forever to sort this out! You stay right there and don't move till I tell you to! You can expect progressive taxi instructions in about half an hour and I want you to go exactly where I tell you, when I tell you, and how I tell you! You got that, U.S. Air 2771?"  "Yes, ma'am," the humbled crew responded.  Naturally, the ground control communications frequency fell terribly silent after the verbal bashing of U.S. Air 2771. Nobody wanted to chance engaging the irate ground controller in her current state of mind. Tension in every cockpit around Gatwick was definitely running high. Just then an unknown pilot broke the silence and keyed his microphone, asking: "Wasn't I married to you once?"

- An exhausted hunter out in the wilds stumbled into a camp. "Am I glad to see you!" he said. "I've been lost for three days."  "Don't get too excited, friend," the other hunter replied. "I've been lost for three weeks."

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An engineer, a mathematician, and a physicist were standing around the university flagpole when an English professor wandered by. “What are you doing?” he asked. “We need to know the height of the flagpole,” said one, “and we’re discussing the formulas we might use to calculate it.” “Watch!” said the English professor. He pulled the pole from its fitting, laid it on the grass, borrowed a tape measure and said, “Exactly 24 feet.” Then he replaced the pole and walked away. “English professor!” sneered the mathematician, “We ask him for the height, and he gives us the length.”

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THE DOCTOR TOLD KELLY THE BLEEDING INDICATES THE ADVANCEMENT OF HER LIVER DISEASE

I always call my Aunt Jean on Friday nights and tonight when I called I noticed right away her usual cheery voice was weak and shaky.  Two days ago on her 97th birthday, she was diagnosed with Covid and has been in quarantine in her room at the Sunnyside Village Retirement Center in Sarasota, Florida.  We didn't talk long this time because I could tell she was feeling very tired.  Aunt Jean, like Kelly, is a fighter and by hook or by crook she's not the type of person to let this Covid thing get her down.  She's very concerned about Kelly and wants me to call her in a couple days with any updates so I will in turn update readers about Aunt Jean's condition.

 A FEW PICS AROUND THE PARK BEFORE WE HEADED OUT THIS MORNING

THE PARK'S TREE CUTTERS HAVE BEEN BUSY

Kelly called this morning with a London update and she was in her usual good spirits.  She said at University Hospital it is a team of doctors she has and not just one.  They have taken a lot of blood for blood tests including a blood culture.  One of those blood draws was at 3 a.m. which they woke her up for.  She said most of the nurses were foreign.  Oriental.  She is in a room with one other nice lady.  She said they told her the endoscopy would definitely be done in the morning and afterward, she could have soft food but no Whoppers and fries from Burger King!!  She said they might also do an Ultra Sound.  Update 1: Kelly called about noon saying her endoscopy took place at eight o'clock this morning.  They didn't find the source of the bleeding and the doctor told her the bleeding indicates the advancement of the liver disease as it increases in size causing pressure on surrounding organs.  He told her the only real solution for these bleeds is a new liver.  Kelly and I talked for a while and after the call she said she was going to slip out of her room, head down the hall to the elevator, go down five floors to where there is a Tim Hortons located and get herself a pail full of coffee and a couple dozen donuts:))   

 AFTER THIS MORNING'S ENDOSCOPY I THINK KELLY TALKED HER ROOMMATE OUT OF HER TUNA SANDWICH

 KELLY'S HAUL AFTER A RAID ON TIM HORTONS EARLIER TODAY

Friday night after talking to Aunt Jean I decided to take Pheebs for a car ride.  I can't remember the last time we were even out for an evening car ride.  It was 9 p.m. when we headed into Bayfield with our front windows down, the Moonroof open, and a touch of heat on.  By a grand stroke of luck, we were able to catch us a sunset at Bayfield's beach and snap a few quick pics before the setting Sun splashed into Lake Huron.  From the beach and harbor area, we slipped back up 'Long Hill Road' and took ourselves for a cruise down Bayfield's Main Street.  How nice to see so many festive people out and about on the street and at the outside cafes', two ice cream parlors, and the coffee shop.  Especially in the summer months, Bayfield draws people from far and wide including many boaters who dock below the bluffs and walk up into the village.  From Bayfield, Pheebs and I quickly slipped out into the countryside for a slow ride down to the end of Bayfield River Road and back to our Park.  I marveled at how great it felt to be out and about in the evening hours for a change.

 A MID-SUMMER EVENING WITH PEOPLE ENJOYING THEMSELVES ON BAYFIELD SOUTH PIER

 A SLOW CRUISE ALONG BAYFIELD'S MAIN STREET

ICE CREAM ON A WARM SUMMER'S NIGHT

 I LOVE SUBIE'S DASHLIGHT CLUSTER

 'IT'S STARTING TO GET DARK OUT HERE DAD'

Pheebs hadn't been out for a morning car ride for two days so we weren't long in getting ourselves out the door today on this refreshingly cool and beautiful 61F sunny Saturday morning.  We got a quarter-mile walk in.  I could easily go farther but it's too much of a stretch for Pheebs now.  Kelly had a parcel to be picked up at the Bayfield Post Office located in a local convenience store so on the way I figured I'd grab a Tim Hortons coffee to take home for later.  I forgot it was a summer week-end morning in Bayfield and I was soon embedded in a long line of vehicles going through the drive-thru.  It turned out to be the longest wait of ever and I figured every vehicle in front of me had to be ordering about 25 coffees and 42 donuts each and that Hortons must only have one employee on duty this morning.  It's a good thing I was not in a hurry to be somewhere or my impatience would have blown me right out of the Subaru's seat through the open Moonroof!!  From Tim Hortons, Pheebs and I stopped in to see our good friends Richard and Gayle for an hour or so and from there it was home we went.  The heat and humidity quickly ramped up and that was the end of going outside for me so I immersed myself in my reading again.

 THE LADY IN THE CAR AHEAD OF ME PICKS UP HER COFFEE AT THE DRIVE-THRU WINDOW

 WILL THE LITTLE POOCH GET A TIM BIT TREAT??

 'AWWWW SHUCKS....NOT TODAY:((

Al's Music Box:)) These Eyes is a song by the Canadian rock band The Guess Who. The song was co-written by the group's lead guitarist Randy Bachman and lead singer Burton Cummings and originally included on the band's 1969 album Wheatfield Soul. It was first released as a single (backed by a tribute to Gordon Lightfoot titled "Lightfoot"), in their native Canada, where its chart success along with the influence of CKLW-AM Windsor's radio station music director Rosalie Trombley, helped land them a U.S. distribution deal with RCA Records.  It was subsequently released in the U.S. in March 1969, and became a breakthrough success for the group, as it would be their first single to reach the top ten on the Billboard Pop Singles chart, peaking at number six, and would eventually be certified gold by the RIAA for sales of over one million copies. It was also a top ten hit in South Africa. While it was actually the 18th single released by the band overall, it was the first from the line-up of Cummings, Bachman, Jim Kale, and Garry Peterson and produced by Jack Richardson.  Bachman had the original piano chords with an original title of "These Arms". Cummings changed the title to "These Eyes" and added the middle eight.  At first, the band didn't even want to release the song considering the gentle ballad too great a departure from their hard rock roots.  The song features an orchestral arrangement by Ben McPeek.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Three pastors were having lunch in a diner.  One said, "You know, since summer started I've been having trouble with bats in my loft and attic at church. I've tried everything--noise, spray, cats--nothing seems to scare them away."Another said, "Me too. I've got hundreds living in my belfry and in the attic. I've even had the place fumigated, and they won't go away."  The third said, "I baptized all mine, and made them members of the church. Haven't seen any of them back since!"

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- Never trust and Acupuncturist....they are backstabbers!!

- I did my first nude painting yesterday.
The neighbors weren't happy but the front door looks great!

- Man walks into an ancient Greek tailors with a pair of ripped trousers.  Tailor says, "Euripides?"  Man says, "Yeah. Eumenides?"

- I asked my wife, "Do you know a three letter word for 'eggs'?"
Her: It's ova.
Me: Why? Is it because I'm terrible at crosswords?

- If I'm reading their lips correctly my neighbors are arguing about some creepy guy next door.

- I married my wife for her looks.
Though not the ones she been giving me lately.

My son wanted to know what it was like to be a parent so I woke him at 2am to tell him my sock came off.

English lesson…
Tsunami
T is silent

Psychology
P is silent

Knife
K is silent

Honest
H is silent

Wife
Husband is silent

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KELLY HAS FINALLY BEEN TRANSFERRED TO LONDON'S UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

They gave Kelly a ginger ale Thursday night but still no food.  The last meal of any consequence she had was here at home Tuesday night.  Kelly called Al's take-out service this morning and ordered up a medium Tim Hortons coffee with a cruller donut.  She had a few other things she wanted me to bring her so I gathered up those items and headed for the Goderich Hospital being sure not to forget the Tim Hortons coffee shop pick-up along the way.  Aside from some pains in her stomach, Kelly is feeling not too bad.  At noon today, there was still no word on her transfer.  It's a waiting game but at least she is in the right place in case the internal bleeding suddenly starts again.  Seeing all that blood last Thursday was very scary.  Kelly called later to say that her supper tonight would be another ginger ale.  But then, in a second phone call shortly after she said a nurse had just come in to inform her that her transfer to London's University Hospital was set up for 3:45 this afternoon.  At last!!  She is hopeful that she will get something to eat there.  Whether she will have the endoscopy procedure over the week-end is unknown.  Update:: Kelly phoned late this afternoon saying she made it to London.  She's on the eighth floor of University Hospital and they are going to do the endoscopy tomorrow and hopefully in the morning.  And, for supper tonight she is having......a ginger ale:((  Hopefully, after her endoscopy tomorrow she can start piling the food in again:))

 THIS MORNING IN GODERICH GETTING HER IV LINES READJUSTED AND BEHIND THAT BLACK BAG ON THE RIGHT IS HIDING A TIM HORTONS COFFEE AND A CRULLER DONUT

 KELLY SENT A PICTURE OF HER THURSDAY NIGHT SUPPER

In my Thursday post I failed to edit out a short paragraph that I had started earlier in the afternoon and forgot to finish.  Several readers drew my attention to it and felt 'I left them hanging'.  That was certainly not my intention and when I went back and read it, I agreed with the readers and promptly deleted the unfinished paragraph.  I try my best each day to write things correctly and not give anyone wrong impressions, but sometimes I just screw up, forget stuff, and plum get things wrong.

Although I woke up tired this morning, I thought I had a reasonably good sleep.  My energy levels today were zero even before and I spent most of my day in my sunroom recliner reading and fighting off the zzzzzzzzzzzs.  Despite that, Pheebs and I did manage to take a walk over to and around the Park's pond.  Back again, it suddenly dawned on me why I might have been dragging myself around all day.  Normally, Kelly makes the coffee in the morning and it's real coffee and on the strong side.  And it's the only real coffee I have all day.  My next two cups of coffee around 10 a.m and 7 p.m. are both decaffeinated.  Without thinking this morning I made my first coffee of the day decaffeinated' and that might have led to my lethargy.  Well, that's my flimsy excuse anyway and I am sticking to it:))    

Al's Music Box:)) The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down is a song written by Robbie Robertson, who spent about eight months working on it.  Robertson said he had the music to the song in his head and would play the chords over and over on the piano but had no idea what the song was to be about. Then the concept came to him and he researched the subject with help from the Band's drummer Levon Helm, a native of Arkansas.  In his 1993 autobiography, 'This Wheel's on Fire, Helm wrote, "Robbie and I worked on 'The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down' up in Woodstock. I remember taking him to the library so he could research the history and geography of the era and make General Robert E. Lee come out with all due respect."  The lyrics tell of the last days of the American Civil War, portraying the suffering of the protagonist, Virgil Caine, a poor white Southerner.  Dixie is the historical nickname for the states making up the Confederate States of America.George Stoneman The song's opening stanza refers to one of George Stoneman's raids behind Confederate lines attacking the railroads of Danville, Virginia, at the end of the Civil War in 1865:  "Virgil Caine is the name, and I served on the Danville train till Stoneman's cavalry came and tore up the tracks again.  In the winter of '65, we were hungry, just barely alive.  By May the tenth, Richmond had fell, it's a time I remember, oh so well".  "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" is considered one of the highlights of The Band, the group's second album, which was released in the fall of 1969.  According to Rob Bowman's liner notes to the 2000 reissue of The Band, the album has been viewed as a concept album, with the songs focusing on the peoples, places and traditions associated with an older version of Americana.  A highlight of the group's repertoire, it has been included in every compilation covering their recording career 1968 to 1977.  The Band frequently performed the song in concert, and it is included on the group's live albums 'Rock of Ages' (1972) and 'Before the Flood' (1974). The song also was included in the Band's Thanksgiving Day concert in 1976 which was the subject of Martin Scorsese's documentary film 'The Last Waltz, and on that film's soundtrack released in 1978.  The last time the song was performed by band member Levon Helm was in The Last Waltz. Helm refused to play the song afterwards. Although it has long been believed that the reason for Helm's refusal to play the song was a dispute with Robertson over songwriting credits, according to Garth Hudson the refusal was due to Helm's dislike for Joan Baez's version.  This is her version ..........The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

 THIS RAINDROP ON A LEAF ACTS AS A MAGNIFYING GLASS

GROANER'S CORNER:(( My wife asked if she could have a little peace and quiet while she cooked dinner.  So I took the battery out of the smoke detector.

Q: What's the definition of mixed emotions?
A: When you see your mother-in-law backing off a cliff in your brand new car.

Our parents got divorced when we were kids and it was kind of cool. We got to go to divorce court with them. It was like a game show. My mom won the house and car. We're all excited. My dad got some luggage.

- The 50-50-90 rule: Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% probability you'll get it wrong.

- The things that come to those who wait, may be the things left by those who got there first.

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KELLY IS STILL IN THE GODERICH HOSPITAL WAITING TO BE TRANSFERRED TO LONDON

Hurricane Beryl on its plodding northeastward trek exited our area sometime in the night leaving us with a sunny dead calm morning.  All was good except for maybe a few farmers who had begun their wheat harvest.  It will probably take a couple days for area fields to dry out from all the rain.  

Kelly called a couple times Thursday night from the Goderich Hospital saying the strong anti-nausea medicine had kicked in and she was feeling much better.  She didn't have any idea when she would be transferred to London so there were a few things she wanted me to bring her before the transfer.  Two of those things would be a stealth mission for me.  She was desperately needing a coffee and a wee something to eat.  Because of the suspected stomach bleed they were not giving her anything and she knew it would be a long day in London before any food came her way.  So, at her request for a Tim Hortons coffee and four sour cream glaze Timbits I set off on mission at 8:25 a.m.  I thought maybe if I put the coffee in my coat pocket and the Timbits under my hat I'd be okay.  Good thing I thought better of that plan.  Kelly had called this morning requesting a few things like a sweater, her book, her iPad, etc.  So I was able to put all that together in a carrying bag along with the Timbits.  With coffee in hand and claiming it was mine should anyone ask, it was into the hospital I went.  Luckily, security was light and Kelly got her goodies.  She is in good spirits and has gone from five IV lines to two.  I stayed for a while before heading home.  At that point there was still no word about an ambulance transfer to London.

 KELLY THIS MORNING

Home again, I later took Pheebs for a longer walk down around the south end of the Park.  Environmental tree cutters are here thinning out the forest and clearing trees from lots that will at some point have new homes on them.  These are responsible and professional tree cutters so things are being done right.  There are a lot of old, diseased, and dead trees to be removed for new growth to take place.

 OF COURSE PHEEBS HAS TO WALK THROUGH THE MUD PUDDLES ON OUR AFTERNOON WALK

 STILL MAKING SURE SHE DOESN'T MISS ANY MUDDY PUDDLES

Kelly and I chatted back and forth on the phone and then with a few more things she needed I headed off back to Goderich again this afternoon.  She still hadn't heard any word about the London transfer.  And, she still hadn't had anything to eat except those small round Timbit donuts yesterday.  She had me bring her some cheese and crackers today.  She is still in good spirits with that uncomplaining positive attitude of hers.  But yes, she is frustrated and I can't help but think that somebody has dropped the ball between the Goderich and London hospitals.

 KELLY IS ALL PACKED UP AND READY TO BE TRANSFERRED TO LONDON,,,BUT WHEN??

 KELLY SAID THEY ADDED MORE THINGS TO HER IV TREE LATE THIS AFTERNOON BUT SHE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS

Home again, I later threw myself together quite a conglomeration of acceptable food things.  As readers know, I'm not food person and if I didn't have to eat to stay alive I would be quite happy with that.  However, I do like ice cream, donuts, peanut butter, and milkshakes.  Oh, and I do like a good mess of bacon and eggs occasionally.

I called Kelly tonight at 7 and she is still waiting and she still has not had any food.  She called back later saying they gave her a ginger ale.  It is very unlikely she will be transferred to London tonight so tomorrow is another day........ 

Al's Music Box:)) Come Softly To Me is a popular song recorded by The Fleetwoods, composed of Gretchen Christopher, Barbara Ellis, and Gary Troxel, who also wrote it.  The original title was "Come Softly", but was changed en route to its becoming a hit. Bob Reisdorf, the owner of Dolphin Records, which in 1960 changed to Dolton Records, was responsible for the title change. He thought that "Come Softly" might be too obvious and considered risqué, so he had it changed to "Come Softly to Me." The title phrase never appears in the song's lyrics.  Recording the song at home, the group sang it acappella with the rhythmic shaking of Troxel's car keys. The tape was then sent to Los Angeles where the sparse instrumental accompaniment was added, including an acoustic guitar played by Bonnie Guitar, herself a successful singer-songwriter ("Dark Moon") and Reisdorf's in-house record producer. Released in 1959, the single reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in April.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( After being with her all evening, the man couldn't take another minute with his blind date. Earlier, he had secretly arranged to have a friend call him to the phone so he would have an excuse to leave if something like this happened.  When he returned to the table, he lowered his eyes, put on a grim expression and said, "I have some bad news. My grandfather just died."  "Thank heavens," his date replied. "If yours hadn't, mine would have had to!"

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- I said to my wife, "I need to call the doctor today."
"Which doctor?" she asked.
"No, the regular kind."

Knock-knock.
Who's there?
Dishes.
Dishes who?
Dishes the police! Come out with your hands up!

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A dog thinks: Hey, these people I live with feed me, love me, provide me with a nice warm, dry house, pet me, and take good care of me... They must be Gods!
A cat thinks: Hey, these people I live with feed me, love me, provide me with a nice warm, dry house, pet me, and take good care of me... I must be a God!

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