KELLY WON'T BE COMING HOME SUNDAY AS SHE HAD HOPED

 PHEEBS AND I SHARING A TURKEY SALAD SANDWICH IN ZURICH THIS MORNING AND 'NO' I DO NOT NEED A HAIRCUT YET

Another rainy gray day.  First, I would like to thank everyone for all your kind comments, concerns, prayers, and general outpouring of feelings regarding yesterday's post.  I can't say enough how all your feelings are so much appreciated by Kelly and I.  These are difficult times at the moment and there will be even more difficult days ahead.  My blog has always been kind of a therapy for me over the years helping me through many rough spots on the road just as it is doing now.  Despite my feelings at the moment, it is my intention to keep the blog going in its same format.  The jokes, the cartoons, the humor, etc.  I will keep readers updated about our situation here but I do not want to fill my blog with sadness despite our situation.  I want readers to continue dropping in here for a chuckle and a laugh at Groaner's Corner, a memorable song in Al's Music Box, warm feelings in Al's Doggy World, something to think about in 'Meanings, and always something pleasing to the eye in Al's Art Gallery.  And hopefully always something pleasant to see in my photos.  So, with all that said, let's have another look into the daily happenings of the Bayfield Bunch:))

 A RAINY DRIZZLE IN THE AIR BUT AT LEAST IT WASN'T SNOWING

It was another dark and cold gray November day that Pheebs and I struck out into this morning.  Finding any photos of interest was a real challenge.  My camera is not at its best in low light situations but it is the enjoyment for me of simply being out there on our morning country road drives with Pheebs and my camera looking and waiting for something to catch my eye.

 A TOUCH OF BLUE COLOR ON A GLOOMY LOOKING GRAY DAY

 AND, A VERY RED FARM WAGON

I had figured on heading to Jerry Rader's Homestyle Catering & Market in Zuricl this morning to pick up some frozen chicken pot pies when an email came in from Kelly suggesting I go to Jerry Raders to pick up some stuff.  In fact, she already had a short grocery list for me.  So, under sullen gray skies, Pheebs and I headed out with a stop at Bayfield's Tim Hortons for a coffee to go.  Being a Saturday morning, Jerry Raders can be very busy but I caught a lucky break with only a couple other people in there.  Later, two ladies beat me to the cashier and I think each of those ladies had about a thousand items in their carts.  With a small cart, I loaded up Kelly's list of frozen foods.  Turnip, Chile, Potato Puffs, and Turkey Noodle soup.  Added to that was a chicken pot pie for supper tonight, some chicken soup in case I get the sniffles in this damp November weather, and a turkey salad sandwich for Pheebs and I to share on the way home.  I didn't tell Pheebs about the free piece of Saturday morning apple pie that I sneakily ate in the sunroom after we got back.

 AT JERRY RADARS

 A BOX OF FROZEN FOOD EXCEPT FOR THE PIECE OF PIE AND THE TURKEY SALAD SANDWICH

 HERE ON OUR KITCHEN COUNTER IS MY HAUL FROM THIS MORNING.....AND IT'S ALL FROZEN SOLID

In Friday's post I hadn't said much about the days activities so here's a short little catch up with a few photos to boot.  With a breakfast special coupon in my pocket, Pheebs and I headed straight away to A&W where I had myself a mess of bacon 'n' eggs, toast, and coffee with a hash brown to boot.  It's been a few years since I last took myself out for a breakfast like that.  From there, we headed down to the harbor for a few pics before heading back through town to Walmart and Pet Value.  With our load of dog and people food, we were soon home where I spent the remaining day indoors out of the cold and gray. With the exception of my weekly phone calls to Aunt Jean, I think I spent more time on the phone Friday talking to people than I've probably spent on the phone in the last 10 years.  I am definitely not a phone person.

 A LITTLE BIT OF SUN AND RAIN ON OUR WAY TO GODERICH FRIDAY MORNING

 STORM CLOUDS TO THE WEST OUT OVER LAKE HURON

 A&W'S ORGANIC COFFEE....WHAT'S COFFEE GOT TO DO WITH ORGANS ANYWAY??

PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC WAS HEAVY IN THE HARBOR 

 A DOG WALKER ON THE BOARDWALK

A LONE SURFBOARDER ALONG THE SHORES OF LAKE HURON

 PERHAPS A GOOSE WITH TWO NECKS

 EARLIER IN THE DAY AT A&W I HAD TO GET MY JACKNIFE OUT TO CUT INTO THE PEANUT BUTTER PACKAGE BECAUSE I COULDN'T PEEL THE @#%!!*# PLASTIC TOP OFF!!!!

Kelly's Update::  Our first time talking on the phone was around 11 this morning.  Kelly's voice was still weak and a bit strained.  She is finally getting regular food and the physiotherapy people got her up for a walk down to the end of the hall and back.  She said that felt good.  'One' of her main concerns was the Asites problem which is the swelling in her abdomen.  The fluid build-up is pressing on her stomach, her lungs, and her bladder making her feel very uncomfortable.  She found out this afternoon that they are going to tap and drain that fluid Sunday.  She said for the first time ever, her legs are now swollen.  As we talked, her voice did seem to get a bit stronger and I heard a few chuckles in there too.  And then something nice happened.  Kelly's daughter Sabra not only sent her Mom a bouquet of flowers this afternoon but she drove all the way over from Cambridge, came into the lobby of Unversity Hospital and phoned her Mother upstairs.  Between the two of them they cooked up a little plan.  Sabra, with a fresh Tim Hortons coffee and donuts in hand from the lobby's coffee shop, boarded an elevator and rode it up to the eighth floor.  The doors to Kelly's ward were closed with a big sign saying 'No Visitors'.  However, in the meantime, Kelly had enlisted the help of a nurse to walk her down the hall to the other side of those closed doors.  The nurse got a chair for Kelly to sit on because she was so weak.  With that, the door was opened and Sabra was able to step in with the coffee and donuts and give her Mom a big hug.  Kelly said their meeting only lasted about 3 minutes but both Mother and Daughter were crying.  A very emotional moment for both of them.  At this point, it does not look like Kelly will be coming home Sunday as she had hoped.  But at least one thing....she sure is liking that private room she has.  No noise, no gross washroom messes from other roommates, and nobody yammering loudly on their cell phone with no consideration for fellow roommates.  For Kelly this time it was almost like winning a 'single room' lottery.

 THESE ARE THE FLOWERS SABRA SENT HER MOTHER TODAY

 THIS IS WHAT SABRA MANAGED TO SNEAK INTO HER MOM TODAY

 KELLY'S FIRST FULL MEAL FRIDAY NIGHT SINCE LAST MONDAY

Below are a few of Friday's pics showing a lake freighter at the Goderich Grain Terminal.  

 MY FAVORITE GREAT LAKES FREIGHTER THE SAGINAW WAS DOCKED AT THE GODERICH GRAIN TERMINAL THIS MORNING

 FISHING BOATS SAFELY IN GODERICH'S INNER HARBOR FOR THE WINTER

Al's Music Box:)) Traces is a 1968 song by the American rock band Classics IV released as a single in January 1969, the cut served as the title track off the album of the same name. Written by Buddy Buie, J.R. Cobb and Emory Gordy Jr.  The song peaked at No. 2 on 29 March 1969 on the Hot 100, as well as No. 2 on the Easy Listening music charts, making it the highest-charting single by the Classics IV.  "Traces" was listed at 32 in BMI's Top 100 Songs of the Century.

 OUR CHRISTMAS CACTUS IN THE SUNROOM HAS A FEW BLOOMS ON IT

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A retired man who volunteers to entertain patients in nursing homes and hospitals went to Walton hospital in Liverpool and took his portable keyboard along. He told some jokes and sang some funny songs at patients' bedsides.  When he finished he said, in farewell, "I hope you get better."  One elderly gentleman replied, "I hope you get better, too."

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An English man, French, Italian and German are standing at the side of a street watching a street performer.  The street performer noticed that they all have poor eye sight so he asked them whether they can see him and they responded: "Yes" "Oui" "Sì" "Ja"

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How do musicians pay their debts?  With quarter notes.

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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Al's Doggy World

Meanings

{Quote} We mature with the damage. Not with the years.

Al's Art Gallery

A DIFFICULT PHONE CALL FOR KELLY AND I TODAY

I thought it a bit odd yesterday when 3 emails I had sent Kelly remained unopened.  And I saw half a dozen other things in our 'inbox' also unopened that Kelly usually opens.  And since our 2 p.m. phone call she hadn't phoned back a couple times.  With nurses coming and going tending to things it's easier for Kelly to pick a time to call than me to call her when she's in the middle of something or sleeping.  When no call came by 8 o'clock last night I picked up the phone and called her.  A faintly weakened and barely recognizable voice scratched out a meek 'Hello'.  It was Kelly and she was in pain.  Being immobilized in bed hooked up to a number of IV lines she has not been able to get up to even walk around and those two compression fractures in her spine have become very painful.  And, she had not yet been given any solid food.  As we talked, the positive bounce in her voice wasn't there and she sounded tired and discouraged.  It was obvious she had had a difficult day.  She hasn't been able to access her iPad because she can't sit up straight and that explains the unopen emails. Our phone call didn't last long as she waited for a nurse to bring her stronger pain meds.  The Covid advisory on her eighth floor is still in effect with 'No Visitors'...............

It was a very disheartened Kelly who I spoke with early this afternoon saying some Physiotherapy people had managed to get her up on her feet for a short walk but it didn't go well.  Doctor Scarrow, the head liver surgeon who both Kelly and I have met, came in to talk to her.  He's a straight shooter and told her that despite their best efforts it was very unlikely a matching liver for Kelly would be found.  He also said that despite her spunk, determination, and positive attitude her condition has worsened to the point now where it is likely that her name will be removed from the liver transplant list.  She wouldn't be able to survive a liver transplant now.  A meeting of the liver transplant team on Monday will decide this.  He said the only thing they can do for her now is give her stronger meds to slow down the bleeding and ease the compression fracture pain.  Palliative care was mentioned.  It was a difficult phone call for Kelly and I.  She is hoping to come home Sunday depending on her hemoglobin number. I wished I had happier news...........but we have run out of happy.

Al's Music Box:)) Teen Age Idol is a song written by Jack Lewis and performed by Rick Nelson. The song reached No. 2 on the Easy Listening Chart, No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, in 1962.  The song is ranked No. 77 on Billboard magazine's Top 100 songs of 1962.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( After spending 3-1/2 hours enduring the long lines, surly clerks and insane regulations at the department of Motor Vehicles, a lady stopped at a toy store to pick up a gift for her son. She brought her selection - a baseball bat to the cash register.  "Cash or charge," the clerk asked.  "Cash," she snapped. Then apologizing for her rudeness, she explained, "I've spent the afternoon at the motor-vehicle bureau. I am not too sane right now!!"  "Shall I gift wrap the bat?" the clerk asked sweetly, "Or or you going back?"

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- “What happened to the rich guy with the double chin? He made a four chin.”

Diner: "Pardon me, waiter, but what kind of pie is this?"
Waiter: "What does it taste like?"
Diner: "I don't know."
Waiter: "Then what's the difference?"

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The psychology instructor had just finished a lecture on mental health and was giving an oral test.  Speaking specifically about manic depression, she asked, "How would you diagnose a patient who walks back and forth screaming at the top of his lungs one minute, then sits in a chair weeping uncontrollably the next?"  A young man in the rear raised his hand and answered, "A basketball coach?"
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Al's Doggy World

Meanings

Al's Art Gallery