AND A PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE

 A DRIVE FOR PHEEBS AND I AROUND THE COLORFUL SOUTH END OF OUR PARK THIS MORNING

With Pheebs contentedly snoozing, Kelly and I slipped out to run a few quick errands around the countryside this morning.  Our first stop was Bayfield's Foodland for some coffee cream and a jar of Lynch's Honey Mustard.  Next stop was Zehr's Mennonite Country Market south of Bayfield to pick up two Pebbles meals. (one roast beef and one turkey)  From there we headed over to Jerry Rader's Homestyle Market in Zurich, Ontario where we loaded up with 2 pumpkin pies, gravy, cole slaw, four-pot pies, pink jello stuff, a package of gingerbread cookies, turnip, a turkey salad sandwich, two coffees to go, and a Partridge in a Pear Tree.  The bill was almost a hundred dollars and I think it was that darn Partridge in a Pear Tree that cost so much.  It's a good thing they at least threw in the Pear Tree for free or we would have had to sell the Subaru and walk home.  We were back in our driveway within an hour and Pheebs hardly knew we had even left.

Not wanting Pheebs to miss her morning car ride I quickly loaded her up and with Subie's windows down, off we went for a drive......around our Park.  Yup, we just mosied along slowly enjoying the Park's Autumn scenery and snapping a few pics along the way.  We were back home twenty minutes later. 

 THE BIG LOG PILES IN THE PARK ARE DWINDLING AS THE LOGS ARE TRUCKED OUT TO A MENNOMITE SAWMILL SOMEWHERE AROUND ST. HELENS NORTH OF US

With the weather making for another beautiful mid-October morning I felt energized enough to wash the car and clean all the glass.  Raked up a couple more wheelbarrow loads of pine needles and puttered around with a few other putterable things that kept me focused.

 A DRIVE AROUND THE COLORFUL NORTH END OF THE PARK WHERE WE THE RESIDENTS ALL LIVE

 I LIKE THAT RED VINE ON A NEIGHBOR'S GARAGE

Talked to Aunt Jean Friday night.  The Plymouth Harbor special needs folks might be leaving on Monday.  The boards are still on the windows at Sunnyside Village. With another possible hurricane brewing in the Atlantic, they want to wait and see where it is going to go.  To take all the boards off the windows is a big job and expensive, and especially so if if they have to put them all back on in a week's time.  Aunt Jean misses being able to see outside and she still has no idea if her car is damaged or not.  Someone who has been outside told her that the beautiful landscaped grounds are basically not beautiful landscaped grounds anymore.

 NEARLY 22 YEARS AGO ACROSS THE ROAD FROM OUR HOUSE, I MADE THIS PATH THROUGH THIS STAND OF TREES TO THE PARK POND AND FORESTS BEYOND  

 RIGHT BEHIND OUR BACKYARD, WE HAVE THIS GREEN SPACE AND THAT IS OUR ROOF LINE AT THE TOP RIGHT

 MY PATHWAYS AROUND THE HOUSE ARE TAKING ON THEIR AUTUMN LOOK

Ellen's Groove:)) Ellen's bass playing continues and here she is practicing a piece called Domination.  She almost nails it and take notice of the small-handed young lady's fast left-hand finger work on the bass's large adult-sized fretboard.  Wow, that was a mouthful of a sentence eh:))

A LOOK INSIDE OUR PARK'S MAILROOM

Al's Music Box:)) Harbor Lights by the Platters is a popular song by Northern Irish songwriter Jimmy Kennedy.  The song was originally recorded by Roy Fox & his Orchestra with vocal by Barry Gray in London on 29 January 1937.  The melody of the song is done in a Hawaiian style, 18 years before the island became a state. Several versions featured a ukulele and a steel guitar.  Kennedy's lyrics describe the sight of harbour lights in the darkness, which signal that the ship carrying the singer's sweetheart is sailing away. The lonely singer hopes that the lights will someday signal the sweetheart's return.  Apparently the lyricist Jimmy Kennedy was driving from London (UK) down to Southampton on the South coast along the A3 road which led south to Portsmouth. As he neared the coast a fog descended and he was confused about the direction. He saw some lights on a pub and decided to stop. The pub was called The Harbour Light. Some time later he wrote the lyric and music was added. The song Harbour Lights was recorded by the Platters and many others. A blue plaque is today fixed to the wall of the pub. The Platters version featured the recorded sounds of ship bells ringing, plus the sounds of ocean waters splashing, which is heard at both the beginning and the ending of the song, before it fades out.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( The preacher was wired for sound with a lapel mike, and as he preached, he moved briskly about the platform, jerking the mike cord as he went. Then he moved to one side, getting wound up in the cord and nearly tripping before jerking it again.  After several circles and jerks, a little girl in the third pew leaned toward her mother and whispered, "If he  gets loose, will he hurt us?"

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- "A cement mixer collided with a prison van on the Kingston Bypass. Motorists are asked to be on the lookout for 16 hardened criminals."

- "I have kleptomania. But when it gets bad, I take something for it."

- "My Dad always knew I was going to be a comedian. When I was a baby he said, 'Is this a joke?'"

- "Five out of every three people have trouble understanding fractions."

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Ways to tell if a redneck has been working on a computer::
10. The monitor is up on blocks.
9. Outgoing faxes have tobacco stains on them.
8. The six front keys have rotted out.
7. The extra RAM slots have Dodge truck parts installed in them.
6. The numeric keypad only goes up to six.
5. The password is "Bubba".
4. The CPU has a gun rack mount.
3. There is a Skoal can in the CD-ROM drive.
2. The keyboard is camouflaged.
And, The Number One Way To Tell If A Redneck Has Been Working On A Computer...
The mouse is referred to as a "critter".

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Al's Art Gallery:))

MCDONALDS-HARBOR/BEACH-GAS-WALMART

FIERY SUMAC LEAVES ALONG THE ROADSIDE

Temps came up to just over 60F by noon and with the sun shining, it turned into a mighty fine October day.  Pheebs and I were up to Goderich and back this morning and did all the things we routinely do while there.  (McDonalds-Harbor/Beach-Gas-Walmart)

THE OCIEAN GOING BULK CARRIER VERILA IN PORT THIS MORNING LOADING GRAINS AT THE GODERICH GRAIN TERMINAL

 THIS IS A VERY LARGE SHIP

 THE FRONT SECTION OF THE ALGOMA BUFFALO CAN BE SEEN TO THE RIGHT DOCKED AT THE GODERICH SALT MINE

Home again I took advantage of the weather and carried on with some more outside puttering.  Fixed a troublesome light in the carport, raked up another batch of pine needles, and probably did some other stuff that I have already forgotten about.  

 IN OUR PARK IT IS NOT ONLY THE AUTUMN LEAVES THAT HAVE ALL THE COLOR

Kelly has noticed a slight improvement in her back so maybe whatever it was she wrecked up might slowly be on the mend.  My back has healed up so I'm about at the point now where I am ready to go do something stupid and aggravate it all over again.  

 OUR AREA'S CORN HARVEST HAS BEGUN

Al's Music Box:)) A Lover's Concerto is a pop song written by American songwriters Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell, based on the 18th century composition by Christian Petzold, 'Minuet in G major,' and recorded in 1965 by the Toys. "A Lover's Concerto" sold more than two million copies and was awarded a gold record certification by the RIAA.  Their original version of the song was a major hit in the United States and the United Kingdom (among other countries) during 1965. It peaked on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 2.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( While shopping in a food store, two nuns happened to pass by the beer, wine, and liquor section. One asked the other if she would like a beer.  The second nun answered that, indeed, it would be very nice to have one, but that she would feel uncomfortable purchasing it.  The first nun replied that she would handle it without a problem. She picked up a six-pack and took it to the cashier. The cashier was surprised, so the nun said, This is for washing our hair.  Without blinking an eye, the cashier reached under the counter and put a package of pretzel sticks in the bag with the beer.  The curlers are on me.

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- If you haven't grown up by the age of 50, you don't have to.

- I said I was good at making decisions.  I didn't say the decisions I made were good.

Father: Why don't you answer the door?
Son: Because it didn't ask a question!

- Vegetarian: Indian word for lousy hunter

Q: What runs around a field but never moves?
A: A fence

- The stomach expands to accommodate the amount of junk food available.

- In real life, I can assure you that there is no such thing as algebra.

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Al's Art Gallery:))

GOOD NEWS FROM FLORIDA AND KELLY'S BACK PAIN WORSENS

 IT WAS A ONE TURTLE WALK AROUND THE PARK'S POND THIS AFTERNOON FOR PHEEBS AND I

Aunt Jean in Sarasota, as well as Kelly's sister, husband, and daughter in Clearwater, Florida all made it through Hurricane Milton okay.  I phoned Aunt Jean shortly after 2 p.m. this afternoon and she said aside from the hurricane's wind noise last night and the power flickering out before Sunnyside's generators quickly kicked in, they faired very well.  Her internet is still down but her TV is working fine and she has been able to keep up with the hurricane's aftermath.  She said the windows and doors are still boarded up so she hasn't been able to look outside and she still has no idea how her car made out.  And, it was still too early to tell how bad the damage may have been to the Plymouth Harbor Retirement Center out on Lido Key so she doesn't know how long all those folks will be remaining at Sunnyside Village.  She said she can hear a lot of talking in the hallways and she was going to venture on out there later and see if she could pick up what all the 'buzz' was about.  When I call her Friday night she will no doubt have more news about how things are going there:))  

 IN OUR FRONT YARD THIS AFTERNOON

 UNLIKELY TABLE MATES

We dipped down to 39F overnight but that's alright because at least it was sunny and temps would soon be on their way back up heading for the fifties.  And, 70F is predicted for Friday.

Richard's turn to drive this morning so he picked me up a 9:30.  With coffee and muffins in hand from Goderich's McDonalds our travels took us northeast of Goderich through the countryside and places like Auburn and Ben Miller.  These semi-monthly coffee runs of ours are good therapy for both of us old guys.  Richard 87 and me 80.

 STANDING AT THE END OF OUR DRIVEWAY WAITING FOR RICHARD I NOTICED THESE MORNING SHADOWS CREEPING UP THE ROAD

 WE HAD TO STOP AND WAIT FOR THESE FARM GEESE TO CROSS THE ROAD ON PORTER'S HILL LINE

Kelly's back is still hurting her and she said it was worse today than yesterday.  She had a similar thing happen to her not that long ago and an X-ray showed a 3 vertebrate compression fracture due mainly to Osteoporosus which Kelly also has.  She worries that her back condition might impact a liver transplant......if she ever gets to that stage.  I can tell she is discouraged.

 KELLY ON HER COMPUTER

Low on photos for today's post, Pheebs and I headed off for a walk over to the Park's pond and beyond to see what we could find.  A nice early 55F October sun and cloud day with no wind.

 OUR PARK'S FOUNTAIN AND CLUBHOUSE

 A GNARLY OLD WILLOW TREE ALONGSIDE THE POND

 I PLANTED THIS BAMBOO GRASS BESIDE THE PARK'S POND ABOUT A DOZEN YEARS AGO

 HEY, IS THAT AN OTTER IN THE PARK'S POND??  NOPE, JUST A WOODEN STUMP WORN SMOOTH BY TURTLES SUNBATHING ON IT

Al's Music Box:)) Dang Me is a song by American country music artist Roger Miller. It was Miller's first chart-topping country hit and first Top Ten pop music hit, whose "jazzy instrumental section" helped make it "the quintessential example of Miller's lighthearted humor, which brought him many more hits."  In 1998, Roger Miller's 1964 version of "Dang Me" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.  Newly signed with the Mercury Records subsidiary Smash Records,Miller gathered on  January 10–11, 1964, with music producer Jerry Kennedy, music arranger Bill Justis, and session musicians Ray Edenton and Harold Bradley (guitars), Hargus "Pig" Robbins (piano) Bob Moore (bass) and Buddy Harman (drums) at the Bradley Studios on Nashville, Tennessee's Music Row.  On the second day, they recorded a run-through of "Dang Me," with Miller giving rehearsal direction (such as "one more time" at the end of the first chorus). The run-through was the final version released to radio. Miller, in his official biography, recalled writing the song in four minutes in a Phoenix Arizona, hotel room. Johnny Cash in his last major interview claimed Miller wrote the song at Joshua Tree in California when Miller got out of the car with pen and paper to go write the song. Cash asked Miller what he was doing to which Miller replied "I'm writing a song. You can't come look."  Kennedy had already started work on many other of that session's songs before he eventually brought the recording of "Dang Me" to his home. Upon playing it, he recalled, "My kids came screaming down the stairs when 'Dang Me' came on. They thought that was the greatest thing they'd ever heard. I started playing it over and over and over again...".  Kennedy and Mercury Records chose "Dang Me" as the first single of the May 1964 LP Roger and Out. The album was shortly retitled and rereleased that year as Dang Me (Smash SRS-67049)  The song spent 25 weeks on the Billboard country-music chart, reaching number one, and peaked at number seven on the magazine's pop chart. It went on to appear on numerous Miller compilations. On film or tape, Miller performs it, with other songs, in the 1966 concert film the T.N.T. Showc, and as part of a closing-number medley on season three, episode #21, of The Muppet Show in 1979.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Father Murphy walks into a pub in Donegal, and says to the first man he meets, "Do you want to go to heaven?" The man said, "I do Father." The priest said, "Then stands over there against the wall."  Then the priest asked the second man, "Do you want to get to heaven?"  "Certainly, Father," was the man's reply."Then stand over there against the wall," said the priest. Then Father Murphy walked up to O'Toole and said, "Do you want to go to heaven?" O'Toole said, "No, I don't Father."  The priest said, "I don't believe this. You mean to tell me that when you die you don't want to go to heaven?" O'Toole said, "Oh, when I die, yes. I thought you were getting a group together to go right now."

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- You know you're getting old when you stoop to tie your shoelaces and wonder what else you could do while you're down there.

- What's the difference between a pigeon and a banker?  A pigeon can still leave a deposit on a Ferrari.

- What happened when the hyena swallowed an Oxo cube?  He became a laughing stock!
- How do young wizards and witches correct their homework?  They use a spell-checker.

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"I am overjoyed! Soon I will be able to payoff all my loans and at last be debt free.  I'm on my way to the bank, thrilled to know that in a very short while I will finally have all the money I need to begin enjoying life for once.  I am so excited I can hardly get my ski mask on!"

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Al's Art Gallery