SHE HAS MORE COURAGE AND FIGHTING SPIRIT THAN ANYBODY I KNOW

 I WAS STUCK FOR A GOOD HEADER PHOTO TONIGHT SO YOU'RE STUCK WITH ME

It was a cool overcast morning at 8:45 when Kelly and I in the Subaru under drizzly wet skies rolled out of our driveway and headed for London's University Hospital.  Kelly had an endoscopy appointment for 10:30 a.m.  It was an uneventful drive there and we even found a place to park in the parking garage.  Our first order of business upon entering the hospital was to retrieve Kelly's lost iPhone charging cord on the 8th floor.  From there it was down into the basement we went where she checked in for her endoscopy procedure.  I headed back up to the main floor, grabbed a Tim Hortons coffee accompanied by a carrot muffin, and elevatored myself up to the 4th floor to a quiet little sitting area right across from the elevators.  I settled into a corner for a probable two-hour stay.  I had my Apple iPod, my Bluetooth headphones, and my Kindle.  Thank heavens I had my Kindle because I could not figure out how to get myself online and I couldn't figure out how to get my iPod talking to my headphones.  Kelly had shown me how to do all this but in my world that doesn't mean anything.  By the time she finished showing me how to do things, I had already forgotten what a mini iPod was and I thought a blue tooth is what you got if you sucked on a really cold ice cube.  Oh boy, I am quite a case of bungling befuddlement when it comes to all this techy stuff.  It was noon when I glanced across the hall to the clock above the elevators.  It was high noon and I figured at 12:15 I would head back down to the basement's endoscopy department and wait for Kelly.  Imagine my surprise when my cell phone rang minutes later with a lady telling me Kelly was ready to go.  She also told me Kelly had had undergone some extra medication and she was a tad groggy.  She didn['t feel Kelly was steady enough to walk to the parking garage and told me to go get our car there and then swing down around the hospital's main entrance and a porter would bring Kelly out in a wheelchair.  So, with that, I packed up my stuff and scurried over to the elevator.  Standing with half a dozen other waiting people, one of the four elevators stopped and the door opened.  There must have been about 500 people stuffed in there.  Cheeks puffed out, eyes bulging, and blank stares on their reddened faces.  We all waited, waited, and waited for the next elevator.  That was enough for me as my patience drained away and I hustled around the corner where I knew the steps to be.  Down those concrete steps I hurried counting all 68 steps along the way to the main floor.  I knew the Gremlins were now upon me and for sure would go out of their way to trip me up on my rush to get over to the hospital's main entrance.  Next was the parking garage dreaded payment machine.  I don't know what happened there but it certainly wasn't normal.  I didn't have a single problem with it.  What!!  Buoyed by my unforseen stroke of luck I quickly grabbed one of two elevators and headed up for the parking garage's 4th floor.  Or did we park the car on the third floor.  Surely not the fifth.  Out of the elevator on the fourth floor, I quickly headed for the opposite corner of the garage where I knew we had parked.  Almost there I didn't think it looked right.  The Subaru wasn't quite where I thought it was.  I clicked the 'unlock' button on the Fob and listened for Subies distinctive  'beep-da beep beep.'  Nothing, tried it again, nothing.  I wheeled around and headed back in the direction of the elevator.  Obviously I was on the wrong level.  Then I stopped, 'wait a minute' I thought.  What if I just walked around the corner up the slight grade and tried the Fob again.  That's what I did and somewhere out of sight around the corner I heard 'beep-da-beep beep'  Yesireeee, there was Subes right where I had parked her.  Now, to get myself out of the parking garage.  Round and round and round and round I went until finally there it was...the Exit.  Knowing the Gremlins weren't far away I thought for sure they would hang me up here at the Exit machine.  I knew for sure that after inserting my ticket into the machine, the arm wouldn't go up and let me out.  That's what happened last time we tried to exit the parking garage a few weeks ago.  Meltdown!!  I nervously pulled up to the machine, stuck my ticket in the slot, and the yellow arm went up so fast it almost went into orbit.  What the heck!!  From here it was only a few hundred yards to the hospital's main entrance.  I thought for sure by now Kelly would be out front pacing up and down the sidewalk waiting for me.  Nope, no sign of her.  It was the usual traffic chaos and it wasn't until I had made my fourth congested stop and go pass around the traffic circle that I snagged a 'No Parking' spot.  Still no Kelly but then all of a sudden here she came with Porter pushing her along in a wheelchair.  Once in the car, we didn't waste any time in getting away from that area.  It was evident right away that Kelly was in pain.  It had not been an easy endoscopy she said.  They banded one Varices in her throat and found a gastric ulcer in her stomach.  She said both her throat and stomach were hurting from the probing endoscopy.  Despite that, she insisted we stop at a grocery store near the Masonville Mall called, Farm Boy  I went in with her and pushed a shopping cart around as Kelly slowly (teetered) around the store picking up a few groceries here and there.  We also picked up a couple turkey sandwiches to eat on the way home.  After about 20 minutes we made our way back to the car and quickly headed out of London making fast tracks for home.  Raining all the way I might add.  We were sure glad to get home and Pheebs was sure glad to see us home as well.  Now, because of that gastric ulcer, Kelly is on two more medications.  These are not easy times for her and they want her back for another endoscopy in four weeks time.  She has more courage and fighting spirit than anybody I know.......................        

 IT WAS A GRAY DRIZZLY DRIVE TO LONDON AND BACK 

 THIS WAS MY QUIET LITTLE CORNER OF THE WORLD FOR A WHILE EARLIER TODAY

 ALTHOUGH I COULDN'T GET ANY MUSIC IN MY HEADPHONES THEY AT LEAST DEADENED THE HOSPITAL NOISES AROUND ME AS I SAT HERE QUIETLY READING MY KINDLE

 WALKING INTO FARMBOY THIS AFTERNOON

CHOWING DOWN ON MY TURKEY SANDWICH

 KELLY ON HER iPHONE DOING WHATEVER IT IS THAT PEOPLE DO ON THEIR SMART PHONES

Al's Music Box:)) Woman is a song written and performed by English singer John Lennon from his 1980 album Double Fantasy. The track was chosen by Lennon to be the second single released from the Double Fantasy album, and it was the first Lennon single issued after his murder on 8 December 1980.  The B-side of the single is Yoko Ono's song "Beautiful Boys".  Lennon wrote "Woman" as an ode to Ono and to all women.  The track begins with Lennon whispering, "For the other half of the sky", a paraphrase of a Chinese proverb, once used by Mao Zedong.  In an interview for Rolling Stone magazine on 5 December 1980, three days before his murder, John Lennon said that the song "came about because, one sunny afternoon in Bermuda, it suddenly hit me what women do for us. Not just what my Yoko does for me, although I was thinking in those personal terms ... but any truth is universal. What dawned on me was everything I was taking for granted. Women really are the other half of the sky, as I whisper at the beginning of the song. It's a 'we' or it ain't anything." In that same interview, Lennon said that "Woman" was his most Beatlesque song on Double Fantasy and that the track is a "grown-up version" of the Beatles song "Girl". On 5 June 1981, Geffen re-released "Woman" as a single as part of their "Back to Back Hits" series, with the B-side "(Just Like) 'Starting Over'.  In the United Kingdom, "Woman" replaced Lennon's 1971 track "Imagine" at number 1.

ONE THING I KNOW FOR SURE IS THE OLDER I GETS THE MORE WORSER I LOOKS

GROANRSER  CORNER:((  After 30 years of wondering why he didn't look like his younger sister or brother, the man finally got up the nerve to ask his mother if he was adopted.  "Yes, you were, son," his mother said as tears came to her eyes, "but it didn't work out, and they brought you back."

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There are two things on earth that are universal: hydrogen and stupidity.
There are two ways to slide easily through life: to believe everything or to doubt everything; both ways save us from thinking.

There has been an alarming increase in the number of things you know nothing about.

There has been opposition to every innovation in the history of man, with the possible exception of the sword.

There is a coherent plan in the universe, though I don't know what it's a plan for.

There is a right way, a wrong way, and my way to do everything.

There is absolutely no substitute for a genuine lack of preparation.

There is always one more bug.

There is always one more idiot than you counted on.

There is no evidence to support the notion that life is serious.

There is nothing so habit-forming as money.

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                            Al's Art Gallery:))

WELL KELLY DID, I DIDN'T

Pulling back our living room curtains in the morning, I love to see sunshine filtering through our tall pine trees and setting the Autumn leaves on fire.  

A short car ride for Pheebs and I this morning and yet I was still late for a residents/landlord meeting at our Park's clubhouse.  I thought the meeting was at 10:30 but it was at 10.  I hate being late for things!!  Kelly was already there so she was able to fill me in later on what I had missed.  The information meeting was about issues in the Park and plans for the future.  Kelly's back has been giving her a hard time this week and she was in pain at the meeting from sitting so we left the gathering shortly before it was over.  I think we are very fortunate to have the caring and attentive Park owners that we do.

  PHEEBS AND I HEADED EAST DOWN BAYFIELD RIVER ROAD THIS MORNING

 A WEEK AGO I COULD HARDLY SEE THIS BARN FOR ALL THE LEAVES

NOT ALL TREES LOSE THEIR LEAVES AT THE SAME TIME BUT HERE ARE A FEW EARLY BIRDS

 NOT TO WORRY, WE STILL HAVE COLOR ALONG THE BUSH LINES

 TRANSFERRING CORN FROM A GRAIN WAGON TO A TRUCK ON THE ROAD AHEAD

  NOT A FARM VEHICLE BUT MAYBE THIS FARMER DRIVES HIS CHICKENS AROUND IN IT AT EASTERTIME

Definitely on the colder side today compared to earlier in the week but that's okay.  For me, this cooler, fresh, and healthier air is way better than that heavy heat and humidity of summer.  Again, I noticed a change in the landscape from yesterday.  Wednesday's gusting winds brought a lot of leaves down. 

A nice afternoon walk for Pheebs and I on this sunny and crisp Autumn afternoon.  I like the sound we made as we shuffled our way along through the leaves.

A FINE LATE OCTOBER DAY FOR AN AFTERNOON WALK AROUND OUR PARK'S POND

A NEIGHBOR'S BACK YARD THAT OVERLOOKS THE POND

A month ago I switched back to my morning veggie shakes after a 6 month period of hot dog breakfasts.  This is normal for me.  I just got tired of the hot dogs and 6 months from now I'll likely tire of the veggy shakes and go back to hot dogs, or porridge, or spaghetti and ice cream....or maybe no breakfast at all except for an occasional piece of toast.  Anyway, here is the latest version of my morning shake....  Into my large blender, I put in two scoops of Protein Whey Powder (vanilla) a big dash of cinnamon, half or a quarter of a green banana, a couple romaine lettuce leaves, a handful of spinach, one stalk of celery, and half an unpeeled apple. To that, I add an 8-ounce glass of skim milk and half a glass of orange juice.  That's it.  I don't bother pouring this concoction into a glass, I just drink it right out of the blender because I am the only one using the blender.  If this all sounds familiar to some readers it's because of my Sounds Yukky - Tastes Yummy post back in 2007 when my shakes were more complex. 

 THIS IS MORE THAN I USUALLY MAKE....I MUST HAVE HAD A SENIOR MOMENT AND THREW IN AN EXTRA COUPLE HAND FULLS OF SPINACH.....I BE STRONG LIKE POPEYE NOW

We had a bit of an iPhone dilemma at our house this week.  Well, Kelly did, I didn't.  When we arrived home from the hospital a few days ago, Kelly realized she had left her phone's charging cord plugged into the wall in her room at the hospital.  Yesterday, Kelly's iPhone 15's power ran out.  She had ordered a spare cord from Apple and FedEx was to have delivered that yesterday.  They didn't.  Today?? nope!!  So, with shaky iPhone withdrawal setting in, Kelly desparately sent out a cry for help on our Bayfield Pines Facebook page.  Did anyone have a compatible iPhone charging cord????  Well by golly, somebody did.  Thanks to Shirley and Bryan Kilmer for responding.  Kelly drove her phone over to their place and they plugged it into their charger.  Kelly said she would pick it up after supper.  About 7 o'clock a white car pulled into our driveway.  It was the Kilmers delivering Kelly's fully charged iPhone.  Yep, nice folks we got here in our Park:))))

 NONE OF THESE SUNBURST LOCUST LEAVES WERE IN OUR FROG POND YESTERDAY

LOOKING UP FROM OUR SUNROOM COMPUTER I SAW THIS YELLOW BELLY WOODPECKER SITTING HERE MOTIONLESS.....AND IT REMAINED FROZENLY MOTIONLESS FOR THE NEXT FIFTEEN MINUTES UNTIL I WALKED OUT TO SEE IF I COULD HELP THE LITTLE FELLER.....WHEN IT SAW ME IT QUICKY FLEW AWAY....I HAVE NEVER SEEN A BIRD SIT THAT LONG WITHOUT MOVING SO MUCH AS A FEATHER

THIS MACHINE IN OUR PARK IS LOOKING UNUSUALLY CLEAN FOR ALL THE HARD WORK IT HAS BEEN DOING THIS PAST MONTH, BUT THERE IS A REASON FOR THAT AS YOU WILL SEE IN THE PHOTO BELOW

 THAT'S PARK OWNER ADAM POWER WASHING IT YESTERDAY

Al's Music Box:)) Come Monday is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. It was first released on his 1974 album 'Living & Dying in Three-Quarter Time.'  Buffett wrote the song to his future wife while he was on tour.  At a live performance in 1974, Buffett mentioned that he had written the song heading out to California the previous year, meaning that it would have been written as he was "heading up to San Francisco for the Labor Day Weekend show" in 1973. He opened those Labor Day Weekend shows for Country Joe cDonald at the Lion's Share club in San Anselmo, California.  He wrote the song at the Howard Johnson's buffett while he was staying at in Mill Valleu, California. The single version replaces the third line, "I've got my Hush Puppies on," with "I've got my hiking shoes on."  It is one of Buffett's more popular songs, and is part of "The Big 8" that he played at almost all of his concerts, typically changing the line "I just can't wait to see you again" to "It's so nice to be in...(location of show)...again".  "Come Monday" was Buffett's first Top 40 hit single, reaching No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as No. 3 on Easy Listening  and No. 58 on Country . It also reached number 12 in Australia and was his most popular song there.

 RIPPLING REFLECTIONS ON THE PARK'S POND

GROANER'S CORNER:(( One night, a man on his way home happened upon a drunk, down on his hands and knees searching for something under a street light. The man asked the drunk what he was looking for so diligently and the drunk said he had tripped and his Rolex wrist watch had broken loose from his wrist. The man, being a kindhearted soul, got down on his hands and knees and began assisting the drunk looking for his watch. After about ten minutes without any success, the man asked the drunk exactly where he tripped. "About a half a block up the street," the drunk said. "Why, pray tell," the man asked the drunk, "are you looking for your watch here if you lost it a half a block up the street?" The drunk replied, "The light is a lot better here."

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- I wanted to marry an English teacher when she got out of jail...But you can't end a sentence with a proposition.

- An insurance agent's wife was learning to drive when the brakes failed. "What should I do?" she cried. "Brace yourself, and try to hit something cheap."

- How many birds does it take to change a lightbulb?  Ideally three, but Toucan.

- Which dog could breathe underwater? Scuba Do.

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I stopped at the local Burger King for a cold drink and was reading the menu over the counter. I noticed a sign to the side that stated “Picture Menu Available”.  I had to ask the clerk what it was for and she told me that they had a number of customers who couldn't read and they used that.  Of course I asked how they would know this picture menu was available and her answer was the classic, “Well, it says so on the sign, doesn't it?”

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                         Al's Art Gallery:))

 OUR FUTURE??:((