PHEEBS AND I DID MANAGE TO TAKE OUR LEGS FOR A WALK

I slept the night through with my fingers crossed hoping for a sunny morning.  However, with a thick overhead cloud cover, it wasn't to be. Pheebs and I did later manage to take our legs for a walk around the Park's pond this afternoon and snap a few pics along the way.  Shortly after that at 3:05 the Sun finally punched a small hole through the clouds and that was the welcome beginning of a clearing trend.  And, it was that warming sunshine that finally had me back out of the house by late afternoon with my leaf rake, pitchfork, and wheelbarrow in hand raking up some late Spring and Summer pine needles in our backyard.  Nice to be outside doing something useful again.  

A WALK AROUND OUR PARK'S POND LOOKING FOR A FEW PHOTOS

A very poor night for Kelly when her anti-itching pills failed to kick in.  She has an appointment at the Goderich Hospital Thursday afternoon for lower back X-rays. 

Al's Music Box:)) Brothers In Arms by the Dire Straits from their 1985 album, 'Brothers In Arms'.  This song takes me back to my VW Camper Van days on a warm summer's night on a country road somewhere southwest of Mitchell Ontario.  I had just been out for a nowhere drive in the late evening air contemplating my future.  No tape deck in the VW so I had a boombox with headphones.  I had just bought the Dire Straits tape Brother In Arms and with the volume cranked in the headphones I nearly blew myself out of the van with this song.  Right from the soul-stirring opening bars, I was mesmerized not only by Mark Knopfler's haunting words and voice but the sounds of his complex string-bending tonal Gibson Les Paul Standard guitar.  The song continues to build and then from seemingly out of nowhere, I hear a very low-key organ sound quietly and with hardly any notice, enter the mix.  Now my spine begins to tingle and it is the organ that sets me on fire.  By the time the song reached its crescendo and then delicately ebbed away seven minutes later, my whole body was abuzz.  With the ending of the song, I wheeled my campervan around and headed for the nearby Pinery Provincial Park south of Grand Bend.  It was already dark when I booked myself a campsite for the night, stretched out in the van, strapped on my headphones again, cranked the volume, and listened to that whole tape over and over and probably over again.  For me, it is one of those memories that will stay with me forever and every time now I hear Brothers In Arms it sends shivers up my spine.  Yes, I do indeed love my music:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((  At a local coffee bar, a young woman was expounding on her idea of the perfect mate to some of her friends.  "The man I marry must be a shining light amongst company. He must be musical. Tell jokes. Sing. And stay home at night!"  An old granny overheard and spoke up, "Honey, if that's all you want, get a TV!"

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"The Jewish people have observed their 5,758th year as a people," the Hebrew teacher informed his class. "Consider that the Chinese have observed only their 4,695th. What does this mean to you?"  After a reflective pause, one student volunteered, "Well, for one thing, the Jewish people had to do without Chinese food for 1,063 years."

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I DIDN'T WANT TO START ANY MORE BAD HABITS

It rained all night leaving us with a dull and dreary-looking day.  I considered staying in my recliner and just pulling a blanket over my head but I didn't want to start any more bad habits at this age.  Believe me, I have enough bad habits to last me a lifetime!!  With a couple prescriptions needing filled Pheebs and I headed off to Goderich in a light rainy drizzle. Coffee, harbor, beach area, Walmart, and home.  I have my fingers crossed for sunshine Wednesday...........  

 SPOTTED OLD LONESOME AGAIN THIS MORNING ON OUR WAY TO GODERICH

 MORNING BEACHWALK

 THESE TWO GALS ON THE BOARDWALK WISELY HAVE THEIR RAIN GEAR ON

 GRASS IS SOMETIMES GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DRIVEWAY

Al's Music Box:)) Escape (The Pina Colada Song) by Rupert Holmes from his 1979 album 'Partners In Crime'.

CORN STALKS ARE UP SIX, SEVEN, AND EIGHT FEET

GROANER'S CORNER:(( When I went to lunch today, I noticed an old man sitting on a park bench sobbing his eyes out. I stopped and asked him what was wrong. He said, “I have a wonderful wife at home. She rubs my back every morning and then gets up and makes me pancakes, sausage, fresh fruit and freshly ground coffee.”  I said, “Well, then why are you crying?”  He said, “She makes me homemade soup for lunch and my favorite brownies, cleans the house and then watches sports TV with me for the rest of the afternoon.”  I said, “Well, why are you crying?”  He said, “For dinner, she makes me a gourmet meal with wine and my favorite dessert.  I said, “Well, why in the world would you be crying?”  He said, “I can't remember where I live!”

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My plan for tomorrow is to go with the wife to get us both some new glasses…After that, we'll see!

I helped my neighbor this morning and she said to me, "I could marry you."  I couldn't believe it. You do something nice for someone and they threaten to ruin your life in return.

A girl agreed to go out with me after I gave her a bottle of tonic water...Schwepped her off her feet!

Did you hear about the bloke that always got angry when he was out of bread for breakfast?  He was lack-toast intolerant!

Husband: "Now that we are married, perhaps I might venture to point out a few of your little defects."
Wife: "Don't bother, dear. I'm quite aware of them. It was those little defects that prevented me from getting a much better man than you."

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State Mottos::

Alabama: Yes, We Have Electricity
Alaska: 11,623 Eskimos Can't Be Wrong!
Arizona: But It's a Dry Heat
Arkansas: Literacy Ain't Everything
California: By 30, Our Women Have More Plastic Than Your Honda.
Colorado: If You Don't Ski, Don't Bother
Connecticut: Like Massachusetts, Only The Kennedys Don't Own It Yet.
Delaware: We Really Do Like The Chemicals In Our Water
Florida: Ask Us About Our Grandkids
Georgia: We Put The "Fun" In Fundamentalist Extremism
Hawaii: Haka Tiki Mou Sha'ami Leeki Toru (Death To Mainland Scum, But Leave Your Money)

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KELLY'S LIVER DOCTOR WANTS TO SEE HER IN LONDON NEXT MONDAY FOR A 'TALK'

A VERY RARE SIGHTING THIS MORNING INDEED

Sunshine:))  How encouraging to pull the living room curtains aside and have an abundance of morning sunlight tumble through our window onto the floor.  And to think, that little patch of sunlight had just traveled 93,578,502 miles just to get here and light our lives:))

 I'M GUESSING THESE FLOWERS SEEN IN OUR PARK THIS MORNING ARE ZIMMIAS

A short country road drive for Pheebs and I because I wanted to get home and start on some Sumac tree cutting and Pine tree trimming in our backyard before the day heated up.  

THIS FELLOW LIVES ON A FARM JUST EAST OF OUR PARK

I wasn't long in filling up our utility trailer with pine and sumac branches.  Now, with fingers crossed I turned the ignition in the Jeep and it started.  I wasn't long in hitching up the trailer and heading for our Park's recycle area.  I was careful not to turn the Jeep off just in case.  With Libby safely back in the carport, I puttered around cleaning up and that was it for my day.  I was a sticky ball of paste by the time I was finished so I had no choice but to haul my sorry old sack of bones into the house and throw them in the shower.

BEFORE MY TREE TRIMMING PROJECT

 AFTER THE TRIM

 BEFORE

 AFTER

 A PILE OF SUMAC BRANCHES WAITING TO BE LOADED INTO THE UTILITY TRAILER

 SORRY FOLKS BUT KELLY MADE ME POSE FOR THESE PICTURES

For a while now Kelly has been having a lot of pain in her lower back so tomorrow she is off to see her Nurse Practitioner in Goderich.  Her itching problem has returned and her liver doctor in London wants to see her next Monday at University Hospital for a 'talk'.  We'll see what comes out of that.  Something has to be done, Kelly can't go on like this.  

Al's Music Box:)) Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree by Tony Orlando and Dawn from their 1973 album, 'Tuneweaving'.   

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Elaine went to visit the much-heralded local fortune-teller.  In a dark and hazy room, peering into a crystal ball, the mystic delivered grave news: "There's no easy way to say this, so I'll just be blunt - prepare yourself to be a widow. Your husband will die a violent and horrible death this year."  Visibly shaken, Elaine stared at the woman's haggard face, then at the single, flickering candle, then down at her hands.  She took a few deep breaths to compose herself. She simply had to know. She met the fortune teller's gaze, steadied her voice and asked, "Will I be acquitted?"

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Did you hear the story about the Irishman who drowned while he was digging a grave for a friend who wanted to be buried at sea.

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-“A cannonball is a party for artillerymen.”

- I was watching the London Marathon and saw one runner dressed as a chicken and another runner dressed as an egg...  I thought, "This could be interesting."

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PLEASANT AND EASYGOING LIKE HIS MOTHER

Another dull and dreary day but Pheebs and I did get out for half an hour this morning.  

 A DISTANT YELLOWING BEAN FIELD

 IT APPEARS AREA WINDS HAVE BEEN HAVING THEIR WAY WITH THIS BANK OF SOLAR PANELS

Kelly's son Ben phoned from Sauble Beach 85 miles north of Bayfield saying he was heading home to Cambridge but would swing down through Bayfield to meet us for breakfast.  At 10:45 we did just that at Renegades Diner.  I've always liked Ben, he's pleasant and easygoing like his Mother:))  

Al's Music Box:)) Diamond Girl by Seals & Crofts from their 1973 album, 'Diamond Girl'.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  The boss wondered why one of his most valued employees was absent, but had not phoned in. Needing to have an urgent work problem resolved, he dialed the employee's home phone number and was greeted by a child's whispered, "Hello."  "Is your Daddy home?" he asked.  "Yes," whispered the small voice.  "May I talk with him?"  The child whispered, "No."  Surprised and wanting to talk with an adult, the boss asked, "Is your Mommy there?"  "Yes."  "May I talk with her?"  Again the small voice whispered, "No."  Hoping there was someone with whom he could leave a message, the boss asked, "Is anyone else there?"  "Yes," whispered the child, "a policeman."  Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee's home, the boss asked, "May I speak with the policeman?"  "No, he's busy," whispered the child.  "Busy doing what?"  "Talking to Mommy and Daddy and the Fireman," came the whispered answer.  Growing more worried as he heard a loud noise through the earpiece on the phone, the boss asked, "What is that noise?"  "A helicopter," answered the whispering voice.  "What is going on there?" demanded the boss, now truly apprehensive.  Again, whispering, the child answered, "The search team just landed a helicopter."  Alarmed, confused, and a little frustrated, the boss asked, "What are they searching for?"  Still whispering, the young voice replied with a muffled giggle..."Me!"

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A FEW PRE-AUTUMN PHOTOS

A cloudy and cool morning.  I am in need of some sunshine.  A few pre-Autumn photos today.

Al's Music Box:)) Rainy Day People by Gordon Lightfoot from his 1975 album, 'Cold On The Shoulder'.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  As a sergeant in a parachute regiment, I took part in several nighttime exercises. Once, I was seated next to a Lieutenant fresh from Jump School.  He was quite sad and looked a bit pale so I struck up a conversation.  "Scared, Lieutenant?", I asked.  He replied, "No, just a bit apprehensive."  I asked, "What's the difference?"  He replied, "That means I'm scared with a university education."

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Q: What does a Hindu wish someone on their birthday?
A: May you have many happy returns.

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